Chapter 514: Let Them Think It Worked [ GT Bonus - ]

The most dangerous information in the Adventurer Guild was not necessarily the location of its treasury or the arrangements protecting its valuable facilities.

Sometimes, a seemingly ordinary administrative document could reveal considerably more than its contents suggested.

Sage Alistair understood this particularly well, which was why he had spent the previous evening preparing a document that contained almost nothing worth stealing.

The parchment lying upon his desk described a proposed transfer of valuable Greyfen materials from the dungeon outpost to the Royal Capital Headquarters.

According to the document, the shipment would depart in four days, accompanied by a small escort of hired guards. Its contents supposedly included rare Mana Crystals, monster materials, and several unidentified treasures awaiting examination.

There was only one problem.

The shipment didn’t exist.

Boren examined the document with growing amusement. "You’re telling me that someone has been offering our employees gold for confidential information, and your solution is to give them exactly what they want?"

"Not exactly," Sage replied, dipping his quill into an inkpot. "I’m giving them something they’ll believe they want. There’s a considerable difference."

Boren studied the listed cargo. "These materials are worth a fortune. If I didn’t know better, I’d be tempted to rob the shipment myself."

Sage looked up with a disappointed expression. "Boren, after everything we’ve been through, I expected greater loyalty."

"I said tempted, Guildmaster. I didn’t say I’d succeed."

"An important distinction," Sage acknowledged, adding his signature to the parchment.

The document was convincing because most of its details were ordinary. Greyfen regularly sent materials to Headquarters for appraisal, storage, and research. Transporting valuable resources under guard was entirely reasonable.

Only the cargo’s extraordinary value and unusually small escort made the proposed shipment interesting enough to attract unwanted attention.

And Sage intended to discover exactly whose attention it attracted.

---

Pax arrived shortly afterward, accompanied by Cassian Rook.

The three men reviewed the operation behind closed doors, while Boren listened from beside the window.

"The compromised employee works in Logistics," Pax explained. "He’s already provided minor shipment details to an intermediary operating through a commercial brokerage. We’ve identified two previous payments, although he doesn’t know we’ve been observing him."

Cassian’s expression darkened. "He should have been dismissed the moment we confirmed his involvement."

"He will answer for what he’s done," Sage replied. "But first, I want to know who is purchasing the information."

Pax placed a small map upon the desk. "The intermediary usually meets him outside working hours. If the employee believes he’s discovered something valuable, there’s a good chance he’ll arrange another meeting."

Sage nodded toward the forged document. "Then make sure he encounters this through the same records he has previously accessed. No special messenger, no suspicious invitation, and absolutely no suggestion that anyone wants him to read it."

Cassian examined the map. "What if someone attempts to intercept the shipment?"

"There won’t be anything to intercept," Sage answered. "We’ll observe the road and protect ordinary travelers, but I have no intention of placing an actual caravan in danger merely to satisfy my curiosity."

Pax smiled approvingly. "Then we follow the information rather than the cargo."

"Precisely," Sage replied. "Whoever receives this document will have to decide what to do with it. That decision should tell us something useful."

---

The compromised clerk was named Oswin Pell, a quiet administrative employee who had worked in Guild Logistics for several months.

Oswin had initially accepted money to provide information about ordinary deliveries. The payments had seemed harmless, particularly because the records concerned goods already moving through public roads.

But the requests had gradually become more specific.

His contact wanted shipment values, escort arrangements, and the names of merchants transporting valuable materials.

When Oswin discovered the proposed Greyfen transfer among the records available to him, he immediately recognized its potential value.

That evening, he visited a small wine shop near the western market.

A narrow-faced man named Daven Rusk was waiting at a corner table, pretending to examine a merchant’s ledger.

"You’re late," Daven remarked as Oswin sat opposite him. "I was beginning to think you’d decided our arrangement was no longer worthwhile."

Oswin glanced around nervously. "I found something important. But I want more money this time."

Daven’s expression sharpened. "That depends on what you’ve discovered."

Oswin leaned forward and quietly described the proposed shipment, including its departure date, cargo, and escort arrangements.

Daven listened without interrupting.

When Oswin finished, the intermediary opened his purse and counted out twenty gold coins.

"Consider this an advance," Daven told him. "If the information proves accurate, there will be more."

Oswin accepted the money, unaware that a man seated near the entrance had spent the entire conversation pretending to sleep over an unfinished cup of ale.

The supposed drunkard departed several minutes later.

By midnight, Pax knew that the first part of the operation had succeeded.

---

Daven Rusk did not return directly to his employer.

Instead, he visited a commercial office belonging to a brokerage that specialized in arranging transport contracts between merchants and independent carriers.

Pax’s observers followed him through the crowded streets, taking care not to remain close enough to attract attention.

Inside the office, Daven met a merchant agent named Corbett Vane.

The conversation lasted less than fifteen minutes.

Afterward, Corbett dispatched two separate messengers.

One traveled toward a district containing several mercenary headquarters. The other entered a wealthier commercial neighborhood where Edmund Krail maintained numerous business interests.

When Pax received the reports, he immediately recognized the significance.

Until now, the bribery attempts had appeared to involve several independent groups.

The forged shipment information was beginning to reveal how those groups communicated.

Pax instructed his observers to continue following the messengers without interfering.

The first messenger eventually delivered a sealed note to an administrative officer employed by the Iron Fang Mercenary Company.

The second reached a trading office associated with one of Edmund Krail’s commercial partners.

Neither delivery proved that Gideon Marholt or Edmund personally directed the bribery operation.

But the connections were becoming difficult to dismiss.

And the information hadn’t finished traveling.

---

The following afternoon, another message left the Iron Fang’s administrative offices.

This one was carried to a tavern frequently visited by members of the Black Banner Mercenary Company.

Pax’s observer watched the messenger speak privately with a scarred mercenary before departing.

The mercenary subsequently returned to Black Banner’s headquarters.

When Pax brought the latest findings to Sage, Boren was already waiting inside the Guildmaster’s office.

"Three organizations," Pax explained, indicating the marked locations on his map. "A commercial network associated with Edmund Krail, an administrative contact within Gideon Marholt’s Iron Fang Mercenary Company, and an intermediary connected to Roderick Halbrecht’s Black Banner Mercenary Company."

Boren stared at the markings. "So all three are involved?"

"Connected, certainly," Pax answered. "Whether they’re coordinating directly remains unconfirmed. But information from the same compromised employee has reached individuals associated with all three."

Sage examined the map.

"Interesting. The commercial intermediary receives the information first, but the mercenary contacts are informed afterward."

Pax nodded. "Which suggests the commercial network may be handling the payments and distributing whatever information the others consider useful."

"Or someone is deliberately using that network to conceal their involvement," Sage observed.

"That’s possible," Pax admitted.

Boren folded his arms. "Should we confront them now?"

Sage shook his head. "Not yet. We know where the information traveled, but we don’t know what they intend to do with it. Let’s see whether our imaginary shipment inspires anyone to make a particularly foolish decision."

---

Two days later, the answer arrived.

Pax’s observers reported unusual activity among several independent mercenaries who had recently accepted short-term contracts through intermediaries associated with Black Banner.

The men had purchased additional provisions, arranged horses, and begun asking questions about roads connecting Greyfen to the Royal Capital.

Meanwhile, a commercial agent connected to Edmund Krail had approached two transport contractors, inquiring whether valuable Guild shipments might be traveling with insufficient protection.

The inquiries were carefully phrased.

Nevertheless, their timing was revealing.

"They’re preparing something," Pax reported during another private meeting. "I can’t confirm whether they intend to seize the cargo, frighten the escort, or simply gather more information. But the supposed shipment has attracted exactly the attention we expected."

Cassian examined the latest reports. "Then we should reinforce the road patrols."

"Quietly," Sage instructed. "Coordinate with the appropriate authorities where necessary, and make sure ordinary merchants aren’t exposed to unnecessary danger. I don’t want anyone mistaking an innocent caravan for our nonexistent shipment."

Pax nodded. "And the compromised clerk?"

"Continue observing him until we’ve secured the relevant evidence," Sage replied. "Then remove his access to confidential records and proceed through the proper disciplinary process. We’ve learned enough from that particular channel."

Boren looked toward the map. "What about the mercenaries preparing to move?"

"We watch them," Sage answered. "If they attempt to attack travelers, Cassian’s people and the authorities will have reason to intervene. Otherwise, they’ll spend several days waiting for a shipment that was never scheduled to leave."

A faint grin appeared on Boren’s face. "That’s rather cruel, Guildmaster."

Sage looked offended. "Cruel? I’ve provided them with an excellent opportunity to enjoy the countryside."

---

On the appointed morning, several suspicious individuals positioned themselves along the road where the valuable shipment was expected to pass.

They waited through the early hours as farmers, merchants, and ordinary travelers continued toward the Royal Capital.

No Guild caravan appeared.

By midday, their patience had begun wearing thin.

One group withdrew after receiving a message from a mounted courier. Another remained until late afternoon before abandoning its position.

Pax’s observers recorded their movements and identified several individuals involved.

More importantly, the failed operation prompted hurried exchanges between the same intermediaries who had received the forged information.

Daven Rusk returned to Corbett Vane’s office.

Corbett dispatched another messenger toward the Iron Fang.

And a separate courier departed for a commercial residence that Pax had not previously connected to the investigation.

The residence belonged to a minor merchant whose business dealings extended far beyond his apparent means.

That discovery interested Pax considerably.

---

That evening, Sage reviewed the results with his intelligence operative.

"We’ve confirmed connections between the commercial intermediaries and both mercenary companies," Pax explained. "We’ve also identified another possible financial channel. Someone appears to be supporting these activities through businesses that don’t conduct enough ordinary trade to justify their expenses."

Sage leaned back thoughtfully. "Can you identify the source?"

"Not yet," Pax admitted. "But I have people examining the connections."

Boren shook his head. "All this because we invented a shipment."

"Not entirely," Sage corrected. "The shipment gave them something to act upon. Their own decisions revealed the connections."

He examined the map, where Pax had marked the movements of messengers, intermediaries, and suspected financiers.

For years, powerful organizations had relied upon their influence to control opportunities available to ordinary Warriors.

Now some of those organizations were apparently willing to purchase confidential information and contemplate attacking Guild property to preserve their advantages.

Sage could have responded with threats or demonstrations of magical power.

Instead, a forged document and several patient observers had exposed relationships that his enemies had worked carefully to conceal.

"Keep investigating the financial channel," Sage instructed Pax. "And preserve every report. When we finally confront these people, I want evidence they can’t dismiss as another tavern rumor."

Pax gathered the documents with a satisfied expression. "Understood, Guildmaster."

After he departed, Boren remained beside the desk, studying the map.

"You know," Boren remarked, "most people would consider it unfortunate to discover that several powerful organizations were conspiring against them."

Sage smiled as he returned to his paperwork.

"Perhaps. But there’s something rather encouraging about discovering that your enemies are willing to spend their own gold chasing a caravan that doesn’t exist."

Outside, the Royal Capital continued its ordinary business.

And somewhere within its wealthy districts, several men were beginning to suspect that the information they’d purchased had cost them considerably more than they intended.