Chapter 4: The Spy in the Barony and The Alchemical Fire
The spy was not an accident. They were a strategic message from Crown Prince Theron: I am watching, and you will not escape my attention.
Valerius returned to the castle courtyard just after sunrise, the memory of the stylized falcon insignia still sharp in his mind. He ignored the shivering, starving peasants who were awkwardly attempting to till the land under Torvin's nervous direction. He addressed Elara.
"Our immediate threat is external, but the greater danger is internal. The man you saw near the well is an agent of the Crown's intelligence detachment, a specialist named a Watcher. They look for anomalies—a sudden surge of resources, unexplained confidence, or technology that shouldn't exist."
Elara tilted her head, her face emotionless. "A flaw in the defense?"
"A flaw in the secret," Valerius corrected sharply. "If he reports the Arcane Forged Cannon or the speed of our crop rotation, the Barony will be invaded by a full legion, not just Marauders. Your task, Elara, is to create visible chaos and visible fear during training. Make our defense look desperate, panicked, and entirely reliant on brute force and luck. Draw his eyes away from the AEM manufacturing."
Elara merely nodded. "Chaos is efficient, Baron. I will begin the drills immediately."
Valerius left her to her work. He couldn't rely on the peasants' loyalty; he could only rely on their fear and Elara's Oath. He retreated to the small, scorched study. He had 3 SP remaining, 5 days until the attack, and a delicate chemical process that could cost him his life.
The Alchemically Enhanced Munitions (AEM) Formula was complex—a multi-step alchemical process requiring a precise temperature curve and, crucially, a small, volatile shard of the Shadow Seed as the stabilizing catalyst. If the mixture failed, it wouldn't just be inert; it would detonate, destroying the only defensive weapon they possessed.
He gathered the crude components: sulfurous powder found in the ruins, filtered water, and the remaining Shadow Seed resource. As he worked, he activated a passive System function: Shadow Proximity Alert (Tier 1).
SHADOW PROXIMITY ALERT: ACTIVE
RANGE: 50M. UNKNOWN SIGNATURE DETECTED. (Grade E: Standard Human)
The
Watcher was circling. Valerius smiled grimly. His life was now an extended chess game against a man he couldn't see, played against the backdrop of an explosives factory.
Outside, Elara's presence was immediately felt. She had the seven peasants digging trenches exactly as the Fortification Design schematic dictated—deep, angled trenches that funnel the enemy. She was ruthless.
"You dig as if the enemy is already upon you! You dig to kill, not to hide!" Elara's voice cracked like a whip. When Torvin, the Elder, complained about the unnecessary depth, Elara simply demonstrated the trenches' purpose by pushing a heavier peasant into the pit, forcing him to scramble out under his own power. Her training was not about motivation; it was about efficiency and fear, creating the perfect scene of terrified, desperate resistance for the Watcher to observe. [2]
Meanwhile, Valerius began the final, critical mixing of the AEM. The air in the tiny study grew thick and metallic. He used the arcane knowledge from the System to detect and stabilize the volatile magical energy within the compound. The slightest tremor, a misplaced drop of water, or a sudden spike in local atmospheric pressure could turn the mixture into a bomb.
AEM CATALYSIS COMPLETE. VOLATILITY RATING: 95%
WARNING: IMMEDIATE STABILIZATION REQUIRED. ADDING SHADOW SEED CATALYST.
He took a tiny, obsidian shard of the Shadow Seed and dropped it into the viscous liquid. The liquid immediately turned a deep, unsettling crimson and began to smoke. Valerius held his breath, his eyes fixed on the chemical reaction. The instability was exactly what he expected from a formula designed to break physics. If he stabilized it, he proved the Tech Uplift worked. If he failed, he died.
The smoke cleared. The liquid solidified into a stable, crimson paste—the Alchemically Enhanced Munitions.
PRODUCT: AEM (Tier 1 Munitions). STABILITY: 100%. YIELD: 12 Volleys.
PROGRESSION ACHIEVED. REWARD: 5 SP.
CURRENT CURRENCY: 8 SS
The reward was immediate and quantifiable. The System validated his success with 5 SP, which he immediately spent on the Tier 2 Tech Uplift: Basic Architecture & Water Management System. [1]
Food and Defense are managed. Now we begin to build the city.
But his strategic triumph was interrupted by a fierce spike in the Shadow Proximity Alert. The Watcher was no longer circling. The Watcher had entered the courtyard, using the noise and chaos of Elara's training as cover.
Valerius risked a glance out the shattered window. The Watcher, a tall, nondescript man with sharp eyes, was now standing near the Arcane Forged Cannon—the single, irreplaceable weapon Elara had salvaged. The Watcher feigned interest in the trenches, but his fingers casually brushed the cannon's barrel, readying a subtle act of sabotage.
The Watcher had stepped into Valerius's jurisdiction.
Valerius knew he couldn't risk open confrontation. He had no magical power, and a direct fight would expose his secret. He only had 8 SP left. He needed a brilliant, unseen counter.
Valerius instantly accessed the System. He didn't have a weapon schematic. He didn't have a combat spell. He had the Tier 2 Water Management System.
Valerius smiled—the cold, calculating smile of a man who loved a complex problem.
He spent 3 SP to instantly activate the Basic Water Management Schematics over the old, overgrown well near the Watcher. The System didn't simply provide knowledge; it altered reality based on the schematic. With a silent, subtle shift of arcane energy, the old, blocked wellhead burst outward with a furious, high-pressure geyser of black, stagnant well water, suddenly redirected by the new system schematics.
The geyser struck the Watcher directly, not with force, but with foul-smelling, cold, disgusting sludge. The Watcher, soaked and momentarily blinded, stumbled away from the cannon in professional shame, his cover ruined by a mundane disaster.
Valerius watched him retreat into the forest, coughing and wiping the filthy water from his eyes. He wouldn't risk another approach today. The Crown Prince's Watcher had been neutralized by the Barony's new plumbing.
4 Days Remaining. Valerius had built his weapons, secured his food, and temporarily dispatched the spy. But outside the gate, the first organized advance scouts of the Marauders were beginning to mass, drawn by the stench of the stagnant water and the promise of easy prey.