Chapter 178: Lines Beneath the Soil
By noon, half of Blackwood’s central settlement had colored stakes driven into the ground.
Red beside the road.
White near the unfinished market.
Three black ones behind the Adventure Guild.
And one very unpopular purple stake directly beside a public well.
Kael stood over that last marker with his hands on his hips.
No.
Tavian Merrow looked up from the device resting beside his boots.
No what?
Put it somewhere else.
Tavian stared at him.
You want me to move the underground magical conduit?
I want the conduit to not be under the drinking water.
Those are very different requests.
Hugo Stone crouched beside the well and examined the stone lining.
He’s right, my lord.
Kael looked at him.
You’re supposed to be on my side.
I am.
Hugo tapped the stone.
That’s why I’m telling you the truth.
Kael looked back at Tavian.
The mage had spent the morning carrying a brass instrument shaped like a short tripod through Blackwood while Iris Hollow walked ahead of him marking locations.
The device had three crystal needles suspended inside a circular frame. When Tavian placed it over certain sections of ground, the needles turned.
Sometimes slowly.
Sometimes violently.
This one had nearly spun itself apart.
Kael looked down at the purple marker.
How bad?
Tavian adjusted one of the crystal arms.
Bad is not a measurement.
Tavian.
Moderate contamination.
That was apparently the closest the man came to plain language.
Can people drink the water?
Not until I test it.
Kael immediately turned.
Captain Roland.
Roland, who had been speaking with two guards near the road, approached.
My lord.
Close the well.
Roland glanced toward the villagers already gathering nearby.
For how long?
Until Tavian tells us otherwise.
Tavian looked up.
I haven’t agreed to that responsibility.
Kael ignored him.
Bring water from the northern well. Extra barrels if necessary.
Roland nodded.
Yes, my lord.
A woman standing nearby stepped forward nervously.
Lord Kael?
Kael turned.
She held a clay water jar against her side.
My lady’s family has used this well since before I was born.
Kael recognized her as one of the older residents from the central village.
Have any of you been sick?
Not more than usual, my lord.
Tavian’s head lifted sharply.
Define usual.
The woman looked at him.
Tavian pointed toward the well.
Headaches? Strange dreams? Animals behaving differently? Children complaining of a bitter taste?
She frowned.
The goats stopped drinking from it last winter.
Kael’s eyes moved to Tavian.
The mage became still.
When?
The woman thought.
Before the heavy rains.
Seven months, maybe eight.
Kael felt the answer settle unpleasantly.
Eight months.
That was close to when the western monster reports had begun.
Tavian stood.
I need a sample from the bottom.
Hugo already had the rope.
Kael looked at the woman.
Nobody drinks from this well until we know what is happening.
She bowed her head.
Yes, my lord.
No protest.
No argument.
That somehow made Kael feel worse.
These people trusted him to know why he had suddenly closed something their families had used for decades.
He didn’t.
Not yet.
The mapping had started at sunrise.
Tavian had wanted twenty assistants.
Kael gave him Iris and Hugo.
Tavian had complained for six minutes.
Then Iris found the first buried channel before his instrument did.
He stopped complaining about her.
Mostly.
They began west of the settlement and worked inward.
Iris used terrain.
Old drainage patterns.
Tree roots.
Animal trails.
Places where moss grew badly.
Areas where insects seemed absent.
Tavian used mana measurements.
Hugo used the simplest method of all.
He looked for places where the ground or stonework did not match what should have been there.
By midday they had identified five probable underground lines.
Only two carried active contamination.
One passed beneath the western road.
One passed beneath the well.
Three others appeared dormant.
Kael unfolded the map across the side of a wagon.
The marks did not form a random pattern.
That bothered him more than if they had.
Tavian pointed with a charcoal stick.
This line comes from the western forest.
He drew eastward.
It passes beneath the abandoned village, enters Blackwood here, then divides.
One branch toward the settlement.
Another south.
Kael followed the charcoal mark.
Toward Bram’s fields.
Hugo nodded.
Some of them.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
The experimental crops?
Possibly.
That was not a word Kael wanted to hear anymore.
Iris returned from the tree line.
She had mud on one knee and a small bundle of dead grass in her hand.
Found another patch.
Tavian looked at it.
Where?
Southwest edge of the road.
Same yellowing?
Iris handed it over.
Worse.
Tavian examined the roots.
No rot.
No insects.
He rubbed the soil between his fingers.
Kael watched him.
Contamination?
Probably.
You just criticized me for using bad as a measurement.
Probably is scientifically respectable.
Hugo snorted.
Tavian looked at him.
You have something to add?
No.
That was definitely a lie.
Kael expected Tavian to recommend evacuating the settlement.
Instead, the mage asked for lunch.
Kael stared at him.
We may have corrupted magic beneath people’s homes.
Correct.
And you’re hungry.
Also correct.
How can you be this calm?
Tavian cleaned his hands on a cloth.
Because panic is not a cleansing method.
That answer irritated Kael because it made sense.
They ate outside the unfinished guild hall.
Bread.
Cheese.
Cold meat.
Nothing ceremonial.
Galahad Charney joined them halfway through.
He dropped a small leather pouch onto the table.
Kael looked at it.
What is that?
Goat money.
Kael blinked.
The first guild team returned.
That got his attention.
Alive?
All three.
Galahad looked offended.
Your confidence wounds me.
What killed the goats?
A marsh cat.
Kael waited.
That’s it?
A large marsh cat.
Tavian continued eating.
A thrilling foundation for history.
Galahad ignored him.
Mara Fen tracked it to a ravine north of the village. Old female. Half-starved. No mutation. No strange mana. No ancient ruin. No conspiracy.
Kael looked at him.
You’re enjoying this.
Very much.
Because I assumed it was connected to the cave.
Because you assume everything is connected to the cave.
Kael tore off a piece of bread.
Fair.
Galahad slid three quest reports across the table.
Mara’s handwriting was neat.
The second adventurer’s looked like he had fought the ink.
The third had drawn a crude picture of the animal.
Kael frowned.
Why is there a drawing?
Galahad smiled.
He can’t write well.
Kael looked up.
Then why is he filling out reports?
Because the guild accepts adventurers, not scribes.
Kael looked back down.
The drawing wasn’t good.
But it clearly marked the animal’s size, wounds, and the direction it had approached the village.
Useful.
Galahad tapped it.
Exactly.
Kael nodded.
Keep it.
The adventurer?
The report system.
Let people submit sketches if they can’t write properly. Have a clerk turn them into records later.
Galahad smiled slightly.
That is why I came over.
You already thought of that.
Yes.
Then why ask me?
Because you’re paying for the clerk.
Kael stopped chewing.
Tavian looked at Galahad.
I like him.
Kael pointed at both men.
Neither of you are getting more money today.
A shout came from the training yard.
Not alarm.
Anger.
Kael recognized Marcus Wintermere’s voice.
He stood.
Galahad sighed.
There goes lunch.
Darius was waiting when Kael reached the yard.
Marcus stood inside a chalk circle with a sword in hand.
A thin shimmer of Aura crawled along the blade.
Three candles had been placed around him.
Two were out.
One still burned.
Victor Ravenshade leaned against a post nearby.
Leon Ashford and Damien Ravenmoor watched from the shade.
Kael approached Darius.
Problem?
No.
Marcus answered from inside the circle.
There is definitely a problem.
Darius ignored him.
Kael looked at the candles.
Aura Control?
Control aptitude.
Darius corrected him immediately.
Not the same thing.
Marcus’s jaw tightened.
Again.
Darius nodded.
Again.
Marcus drew in a breath.
Aura gathered around his arm.
Too much.
The candle flame bent sharply.
Marcus reduced it.
The flame straightened.
He tried pushing the Aura into the sword.
The second candle went out.
Marcus cursed.
Darius’s expression hardened.
A knight may curse.
Marcus looked surprised.
Darius continued.
Just preferably after the enemy is dead.
Victor laughed.
Darius looked at him.
Victor stopped.
Kael folded his arms.
So passing this isn’t required for knighthood.
No.
Darius walked toward Marcus.
Every Knight should be able to awaken Aura and use basic reinforcement.
Body.
Weapon.
Armor.
That is foundation.
He tapped Marcus’s sword with one finger.
True Aura Control is different.
Marcus looked at the remaining candle.
How different?
Darius looked toward the soldiers.
Some knights never unlock it.
The yard became quieter.
Even Kael paid closer attention.
Darius continued.
They can still become skilled knights. Dangerous knights. Honorable knights. Some will serve for forty years without ever crossing that threshold.
Victor frowned.
Then why test us for it now?
Because I need to know what you might become.
Darius looked toward Damien.
Ravenmoor.
Damien stepped forward.
Sir.
Show them.
Damien took Marcus’s position.
He held his spear horizontally.
No dramatic release.
No surge.
Aura simply appeared along the metal spearhead.
Darius placed one candle beside the tip.
The flame didn’t move.
Then Darius placed another candle beside Damien’s left shoulder.
A third behind him.
Damien’s Aura increased.
Only around the spearhead.
Nothing leaked from his body.
Kael felt the difference immediately.
Marcus’s Aura had filled the space around him.
Damien’s did not.
It went exactly where Damien wanted it.
Victor’s smile disappeared.
Darius looked at them.
That is not complete Aura Control.
Damien glanced toward him.
Not yet?
No.
Damien’s expression showed mild disappointment.
Darius continued.
But you’re closer than most.
Kael looked at Damien differently.
The System’s old evaluation had called him a general candidate.
That had nothing to do with Aura Control.
Leadership.
Political instinct.
Loyalty.
Those were separate qualities.
Good.
Kael didn’t want every strong person in Blackwood to become strong in exactly the same way.
Darius looked toward Marcus.
Your Aura output is stronger than Damien’s.
Marcus blinked.
It is?
Yes.
Marcus looked toward Damien.
Victor muttered.
There goes his ego.
Marcus ignored him.
Darius continued.
And right now Damien wastes far less.
Raw strength and control are not the same gift.
Marcus stared at his sword.
Can I unlock it?
Darius’s answer was immediate.
Possibly.
Marcus frowned.
That’s all?
No commander worth following will promise you a breakthrough because you train hard enough.
Darius’s voice remained calm.
Some doors open.
Some don’t.
Train anyway.
Marcus looked at the candles.
Then stepped back into the circle.
Again.
Darius nodded once.
Kael smiled.
That was probably the correct answer.
The well sample turned purple at sunset.
Not visibly at first.
Tavian placed three drops into a shallow silver dish.
Then touched a thin crystal rod to the water.
A faint violet thread appeared.
Hugo swore.
Kael did not.
He was too angry.
How dangerous?
Tavian did not give him a lecture this time.
Low concentration.
Could it make people sick?
Yes.
Could it mutate them?
At this level? Unlikely.
Unlikely.
Tavian met his eyes.
I am not going to lie to make you comfortable.
Kael looked toward the sealed clay jars containing the remaining sample.
How long has it been there?
Can’t tell yet.
The goats stopped drinking months ago.
Animals often notice things before humans do.
Kael walked toward the window.
Outside, lanterns were appearing along the settlement road.
People moved between homes.
Children carried baskets.
Workers left construction sites.
None of them knew that Kael had just discovered something beneath one of their wells.
Tavian spoke behind him.
You need to close more than the well.
Kael turned.
What?
The southern fields.
Hugo placed the map on the table.
The active channel passes close enough that runoff could spread contamination after heavy rain.
Kael’s mood darkened further.
How many fields?
Four confirmed.
Possibly seven.
That’s food for three villages.
Hugo nodded.
I know.
Kael thought of Bram.
Walter.
The refugee farmers who had just been promised land.
Of course it had to be farmland.
He looked toward Iris.
Get Bram.
She was already moving.
Bram arrived with Walter less than an hour later.
Bram still had dirt on his boots.
Walter carried an old walking stick he did not really need but refused to stop using.
Kael showed them the map.
Neither understood Tavian’s markings at first.
Hugo translated.
These four fields might be affected.
Walter’s expression changed.
Affected how?
Kael answered.
Something under the ground may be contaminating the soil and water.
Walter looked at him.
Poison?
Not exactly.
The old farmer stared at the map.
How long?
We don’t know.
Bram leaned over it.
Which fields?
Hugo pointed.
Bram’s finger followed.
Then stopped.
No.
Everyone looked at him.
Bram tapped a different field.
This one too.
Tavian frowned.
We didn’t detect anything there.
Bram looked at him.
You didn’t plant there.
Tavian’s expression tightened.
Explain.
Bram straightened.
Potatoes came out small last season. Wheat before that grew tall but weak. Stalks bent in ordinary wind.
Walter nodded slowly.
We blamed the soil.
Bram pointed toward another parcel.
But this field grew better.
Tavian moved closer to the map.
How much better?
Bram looked at Kael.
That Earth-infused crop you’re testing?
Kael nodded.
That one.
Silence.
Tavian stared at him.
Earth-infused what?
Kael had forgotten Tavian had not been involved in the agricultural project.
Bram explained.
Not elegantly.
The soil around one experimental section had produced unusually strong Earth-element saturation.
Tavian’s face went through several emotions.
Interest.
Confusion.
Then irritation.
You discovered abnormal elemental agriculture and nobody told me?
You arrived four days ago.
That is not a defense.
It is an excellent defense.
Tavian grabbed the map.
Show me.
Bram pointed.
The experimental field sat close to one of the dormant underground channels.
Not the contaminated purple branch.
A dormant one.
Tavian went silent.
Kael recognized that silence now.
It meant the mage had found something worth thinking about.
What?
Tavian tapped the map.
Maybe dormant is wrong.
Hugo understood first.
Inactive to your instrument.
Exactly.
Kael stepped closer.
You think that channel is doing something to the crops?
Maybe.
Tavian raised a finger before Kael could complain.
And this time maybe is appropriate.
Walter looked between them.
My lord.
Kael turned.
The old farmer’s expression was serious.
Are you closing the fields?
Kael looked back at the map.
Yes.
Walter nodded once.
No argument.
Kael frowned.
That was easier than expected.
Walter gave him a tired look.
I’ve farmed longer than you’ve been alive, my lord.
If something beneath my field is turning wolves into monsters, I can miss one harvest.
Kael almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Walter added.
But someone will have to explain that to the families who depend on it.
There it was.
The actual problem.
Kael looked toward Lily, who had entered during the discussion and was already calculating something in a ledger.
How much stored grain?
Enough for several months if we ration carefully.
And trade?
Orrin Belmore’s next caravan is due in six days.
Kael nodded.
Buy additional grain.
Lily’s pen stopped.
How much?
Enough to replace the closed fields’ expected yield.
Her eyebrows rose.
That will be expensive.
I know.
Tavian looked toward him.
You could wait for confirmation.
Kael looked at the contaminated water.
No.
If I’m wrong, I lose coin.
If I’m right and wait, people eat from poisoned ground.
Walter lowered his head.
Thank you, my lord.
Kael disliked the gratitude.
He had not solved anything.
He had merely chosen the more expensive risk.
But perhaps that was part of ruling too.
The notice went up the following morning.
Kael expected anger.
He got questions.
A lot of them.
Why were fields being closed?
Would farmers still be paid?
Where would grain come from?
Could livestock graze nearby?
Was the well dangerous?
Had anyone already been poisoned?
Kael stood in the settlement square and answered what he knew.
When he did not know, he said so.
Some people looked frightened.
Others irritated.
One man accused the newcomers from the western village of bringing corruption with them.
That ended quickly.
Kael stepped down from the stone platform.
The man immediately bowed.
My lord—
Say it again.
The man’s face went pale.
Kael did not raise his voice.
Say what you just said again.
The crowd became quiet.
The man swallowed.
I only meant the trouble started when—
It started months before they arrived.
Kael pointed toward the western road.
Those people lost their homes to the same problem we’re dealing with now.
The man lowered his eyes.
Yes, my lord.
Kael looked around the square.
Nobody in Blackwood gets blamed because they’re convenient.
If we find a person responsible, we’ll deal with that person.
If we find a creature responsible, we’ll deal with the creature.
Until then, we deal with facts.
Tavian stood near the back of the crowd.
He gave Kael a small nod.
Kael pretended not to notice.
Later, Mara Fen returned to the guild hall carrying the jawbone of the marsh cat.
Galahad stared at it.
Why?
Proof.
You already filed the report.
The farmer wanted proof.
Galahad looked at the jaw.
Then at Mara.
Leave it outside.
Mara grinned.
First quest completed?
Officially.
Her two companions smiled.
Galahad took three small wooden tokens from the counter.
Provisional F-rank remained stamped into each.
One of the men frowned.
We don’t rank up?
After one goat quest?
The man looked slightly embarrassed.
Galahad leaned forward.
You survived.
You followed instructions.
You returned with a complete report.
That means I’ll trust you with something harder.
He slid another parchment across the counter.
The lumber camp.
Mara’s expression changed.
Two missing workers.
Yes.
Still want a promotion?
She took the parchment.
After.
Galahad smiled.
Better answer.
Kael watched from the doorway.
The guild was beginning to move without him.
That felt good.
Strange.
But good.
Then Iris appeared behind him.
My lord.
Kael turned.
She was not smiling.
What happened?
I found where one of the underground lines ends.
Kael’s mood changed immediately.
Where?
Iris looked toward the eastern horizon.
Not ends.
Surfaces.
How far?
Twelve miles east of the settlement.
Kael frowned.
That’s beyond the mapped branch Tavian expected.
I know.
What is there?
Iris hesitated.
An old stone structure.
Imperial?
No.
Village?
No.
She looked at him.
And someone has been there recently.
Kael’s eyes narrowed.
How recently?
Two days.
Human tracks?
Yes.
How many?
At least four.
Black Dragon?
No.
Imperial patrol?
No.
Kael glanced toward Darius across the guild hall.
Sir Darius was already watching them.
He had read enough from Iris’s face.
He approached.
Report.
Iris repeated it.
Darius’s expression hardened at the mention of unknown tracks.
Did they enter the structure?
Yes, Sir.
Leave?
Iris paused.
I found three sets leaving.
Kael looked at her.
You said four entered.
At least four.
Three left.
No one spoke for a moment.
Darius looked toward the map on the guild wall.
Twelve miles east.
Still Blackwood land.
Yes.
Kael thought about the Sanctum observer they still had not identified.
Imperial agents.
Foreign interests.
Ancient researchers.
Or simply four unlucky travelers.
He refused to decide before seeing evidence.
Who knows about this?
Kael asked.
Iris shook her head.
Only me.
Good.
Darius looked toward Captain Roland.
Roland.
Captain Roland approached.
Sir Darius.
Quietly prepare six riders.
Names?
Darius did not hesitate.
Victor Ravenshade.
Leon Ashford.
Elias Thorn.
Julian Valcrest.
Marcus Wintermere.
Damien Ravenmoor.
Kael looked at him.
All six?
They need field work more than another afternoon with candles.
Marcus, who had apparently heard from across the hall, looked relieved.
Darius added.
Bring the candles too.
Marcus’s relief vanished.
Victor laughed.
Kael smiled.
Then Darius looked toward him.
You are staying.
Kael’s smile disappeared.
Excuse me?
You spent yesterday learning that ruling means delegating.
Kael stared at him.
I dislike when lessons become inconvenient.
Most useful lessons do.
Iris looked away.
Again.
Kael noticed.
You find this funny?
No, my lord.
Liar.
Probably.
Darius took the map from the wall.
We’ll inspect it before nightfall.
Kael wanted to argue.
Tavian needed him.
The fields needed decisions.
The grain purchase needed approval.
The guild had its first real missing-person mission.
And Blackwood could not become a territory where every problem stopped until Kael personally rode toward it with a sword.
Fine.
Darius’s eyebrow rose.
Fine?
Don’t make me repeat it.
Darius handed the map to Iris.
We leave in ten minutes.
As he turned away, Kael called after him.
Sir Darius.
Darius stopped.
Kael rarely used the title with him.
That made several nearby soldiers glance over.
Bring everyone back.
Darius looked at him for a moment.
Then nodded.
Yes, my lord.
Outside, the Black Dragon Banner moved above the training yard.
Six named soldiers began gathering equipment beneath it.
Not anonymous men.
Victor.
Leon.
Elias.
Julian.
Marcus.
Damien.
Kael knew their strengths now.
Their weaknesses too.
That was precisely why watching them ride away felt different.
For years, Darius Valen had commanded armies large enough to change borders.
Today he would take six Black Dragon soldiers twelve miles east to investigate an old ruin.
Kael suspected Darius would treat both responsibilities with the same seriousness.
And somewhere beyond the eastern fields, beneath a stone structure nobody in Blackwood remembered building, one of the ancient lines pulsed once.
White.
Then purple.
Then went dark.