Unsurprisingly, they did find a few shards of metal. Not much, but enough for Verdan to be sure that the same group had been involved each time. To him, it was the damning proof he’d been looking for that the Brotherhood were involved in all this, but he knew that realistically it wasn’t enough.

  It wasn’t enough to think that the only other people who used Sigils might be targeting him and the city. Even thinking it was enough to send Verdan into a rage, but he was doing his best to think things through logically.

  It was theoretically possible that the Brotherhood had made these things and sold them on, or that a splinter group had broken away with the knowledge, or any number of other things. Verdan’s gut told him that none of that had happened, but it was the defence that someone would make.

  Verdan was more convinced than ever that there was an active group of Brotherhood agents in the city, and he suspected they had ties to the new council members. So much had changes, and so quickly, that he couldn’t help but be suspicious.

  The problem was that Verdan worried he was being paranoid. The Brotherhood had an extensive network, but it felt like he was jumping at shadows. These attacks were real, and so were their consequences, but this was all too much effort to just hurt him.

  Why burn the granary, for instance?

  Falk had told him that a key grain reserve in the city had been burnt, and that the thick plume of smoke they could see was far larger up close. The whole building was gone, the fire having ignited the dust-filled and caused an explosion despite their best preventative measures.

  A lot of destruction, and a lot of lost food. The days were growing shorter and colder; food would be harder to find soon. No doubt provisions could be made, but it was a hefty blow to the city all the same.

  It had been hours since the attack now, and there had been no sign of any further activity. Patrols around the area belonging to Clan Thrain had been put in place and security tightened, there was little else Verdan could do.

  Grimacing in distaste at the lack of results, Verdan wished, not for the first time, that he could check on his Legion spell. Normally, he would be linked to it constantly, providing a steady stream of Aether as well as direction.

  This time, though, he’d bound the spell to Rocky. The other constructs would use up the Aether within themselves for their animation, but the Legion spell itself would be powered by Rocky. Verdan had filled his champion with as much Aether as he could, but there was a limit to how long the spell could last.

  Really, he was worried about his apprentice, about Magnus running into more trouble than expected and Rocky failing at a crucial moment. Thankfully, he could feel that all the spells he’d cast on them were active, but that was as much feedback as he could get.

  “We’re ready to head back when you are, Boss,” Nikau said, drawing Verdan out of his worried reverie.

  “Right. Yes, let’s go,” Verdan said, casting a final worried glance to the north before setting off back home. Magnus would be fine.

  -**-

  The next morning arrived before he knew it, and the first thing that Verdan did was check for his awareness of the Legion spell. It was still there. Satisfied for the moment, he went about his normal routine, trying to plan his day out as he did.

  The Kranjir situation was tense, and the overall issue in the city wasn’t good either, but that didn’t mean that Verdan had any idea of how to fix them. No, what he needed this morning was an unrelated issue, something to get his teeth into and start things moving.

  Hopefully, that would help him come up with some ideas for everything else.

  Thinking back on the last few days, Verdan tried to think of what needed doing outside of the main problems, only to curse as he realised that he’d never had a chance to speak with Natalia.

  She’d already been up before him that morning, so he hurried over to the workshop. He wanted to catch her before she got too lost in her experiments. Surprisingly, though, she wasn’t there.

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  “Alden?” Verdan called out, stepping back out of her workshop and looking around for a sign of either of them. Nothing, and it looked like she hadn’t begun working yet today either.

  Heading back outside, Verdan saw Nikau assigning tasks for the day and made his way over. “Nikau, have you seen Natalia or Alden anywhere?”

  “I can’t say that I have,” Nikau said, turning to the cluster of guards and calling out. “Neld, have you seen your brother or Natalia?”

  “They went down to the Adventurer’s Guild first thing,” Neld said, yawning as he rubbed at his eyes. “Maybe an hour ago?”

  “Thank you. Go get yourself some sleep. You’re on night shift again this evening.” Nikau sent the tired guard on his way before turning to Verdan. “Are you heading after them?”

  “I was going to, yes.” Verdan shrugged. “I wanted to speak to her, and I need to head to the Guild, anyway. The sooner the better, in all honesty.”

  “Could you wait an hour or two?” Nikau asked after a moment of thought. “I’m short of someone to send with you. We’re stretched thin, especially with the majority of the Mhorgain fighters out of the city.”

  “There’s been no word?” Verdan asked softly, only for Nikau to shake his head. Sinead had promised to send a runner as soon as she had word of either of the two groups, and the lack of news was worrying.

  Dirk had gone further afield and would most likely be back by nightfall. Magnus, however, was a more open-ended timeframe. The Darjee had only been a few hours from the city when they struck the Kranjir travellers, but they had a decent headstart.

  Magnus would catch them; of that Verdan had no doubt. What concerned him was that the Aether he’d invested in the Legion spell wouldn’t last forever. In fact, assuming that Rocky and the others had been moving fairly constantly, it would be running low by noon. If there had been combat, it could already be on the verge of failing.

  Drawing himself out of his worries, Verdan focused on Nikau and shook his head. “I’d rather go now. Sitting around here for a few hours won’t help matters.”

  “I understand, but with the enemy so active…” Nikau trailed off and grimaced. “I’m not comfortable sending you on your own, but I can’t force you to wait.”

  Verdan opened his mouth to say that he was going anyway, but after a moment he simply sighed and nodded. He didn’t want to wait, but he knew that it was an unnecessary risk to take.

  “I don’t mean to intrude, but if you need an escort, I’d be willing to step in,” Makk said, walking over to join them as he fiddled with some of the fasteners of his armour. With Bastian still out of the city, Makk had taken his position as intermediary seriously and spent the whole day with Verdan. In the end, Verdan had sent him to Adrienne for some temporary sleeping housing. Between the guards, the Airta and Makk, they were about full on the estate, giving it an air of activity that had been lacking when he first arrived.

  “I’d be honoured, thank you, Makk.” Verdan nodded to the armoured man before giving Nikau a questioning look and getting a slight nod in response. He felt fine taking just Makk with him, but the whole point of having someone as experienced as Nikau working as his guard Captain was to take advantage of his expertise. “Do you need a moment to get ready?”

  “Not at all, I’m ready when you are,” the warrior of Gwyll said, making one last adjustment to his armour before gesturing to the gate. “Shall we?”

  -**-

  A tense atmosphere hung heavily upon the city. It was the same one that had been slowly building since Verdan returned, but now it had a dangerous undercurrent to it. Fear.

  As they made their way to the Adventurer’s Guild, Verdan saw few people out on the streets, and those they did see were thronging to the markets to buy food. Verdan could see the worry and fear as food was bought and hoarded.

  Already, some of the traders were running out, and that only reinforced the feeling of scarcity. Things were escalating, but Verdan could see city guards moving in force to the markets. Hopefully, they would keep things calm.

  Things took on a more organised air around the Adventurer's Guild, but perhaps not in a way that Verdan was happy with. Usually, the adventurers in the city were a mismatched lot, relying on what gear they could scavenge or afford when and as they had the money. Providing a basic temporary enchantment to such people was a large source of Verdan’s income.

  It was a good relationship, they got what they needed to gain an edge in the fighting, and he got the money he needed to fund his research. They were one of the main avenues for the sale of his healing medallions as well, which was hardly surprising.

  While there was some of that still to be seen, the majority of the adventurers were equipped more uniformly than normal, and the groups they formed were evenly sized and made up of the same selection. Two archers, four spearman and two shield-bearers. It was the same with each group he saw.

  They weren’t identical, of course, but the similarities were there to be seen, and Verdan found himself with mixed feelings. This kind of organisation and clear use of tactical doctrine was only for the better for the adventurers. If nothing else, it might help reduce the casualties they took.

  Verdan couldn’t help but remember the groups of armoured warriors that Arber had brought north with him though. The style was very similar, and he was fairly sure he could see one or two of them as they took jobs and left.

  Perhaps he was simply being pessimistic.

  Rubbing his eyepatch, Verdan took a deep breath and spent a few moments calming himself before setting off towards the Guild headquarters. This was a good opportunity to sell his services and earn some money.

  Despite everything going on, there was still the thought in the back of his mind that Natalia was funding most of the estate.