Chapter 176: Follow the Clay

Aria arrived at the council building before sunrise.

Three folders lay on the table: their supply contracts, their production schedule, and the Northern Trade Authority’s latest notice.

She had spent most of the night reading all three.

Kelme entered, carrying two cups of tea.

"You look terrible."

"Good morning to you, too."

"I brought tea. I thought it might improve your mood."

Aria took a cup.

"It doesn’t."

"Should I bring something stronger?"

"Bring evidence."

Kelme sighed. "Tea was much easier."

Lucan arrived shortly afterward, followed by Martha and Duke. Once everyone was seated, Aria placed the Authority’s notice in the middle of the table.

"They want to review the reassignment of privately contracted materials this morning. Our supplies are on the list."

Duke frowned. "Can they legally do that?"

"Apparently, they can redirect certain materials during an emergency. What we need to know is whether they can redirect materials we’ve already purchased without considering our existing contracts."

"And if they can?" Martha asked.

"Then we need to know what protects us from losing everything because someone else considers their project more important."

Lucan opened his ledger.

"I’ve already contacted our supplier. There’s something you should know about the first shipment."

Aria leaned forward.

"The one hundred and twenty sacks?"

"Yes. They weren’t redirected because the region had run out of clay."

He paused.

"They were redirected because the Eastern Corridor construction project failed to receive its own shipment on time."

Silence filled the room.

Duke spoke first.

"Why?"

"Transportation problems. Their contracted supplier couldn’t deliver as scheduled. The Materials Office decided to compensate by reallocating supplies from other buyers."

Aria stared at him.

"So they took our clay to cover another company’s failure."

"That’s what the records suggest."

"Did anyone ask whether we could afford to lose it?"

"No."

"Did anyone notify us before making the decision?"

"No."

Kelme raised a hand.

"I have a question."

Aria looked at him.

"Is it a useful question?"

"I’ll let you decide. If their supplier failed to deliver, why didn’t they simply wait for their supplier?"

Lucan nodded. "That’s precisely what I intend to ask."

"Then congratulations," Kelme said. "I’ve contributed to the investigation."

"You’ve contributed a question," Aria replied.

"I’ll take what I can get."

Aria gathered the documents.

"Let’s go."

---

Director Elira Voss received them at the regional office later that morning.

She looked genuinely displeased when Aria explained what Lucan had discovered.

"Let me see the supplier’s records," Elira said.

Lucan handed them over.

She examined the documents carefully before calling for an assistant to retrieve the Eastern Corridor’s allocation report.

The report confirmed the essential details.

The construction project had experienced a transportation delay. Rather than postpone its schedule, the Materials Office had redirected one hundred and twenty sacks of clay already contracted to New Beginning.

No one had checked whether the original contract could be fulfilled through alternative supplies.

Elira set the report down.

"This decision should have included a review of existing obligations."

"Should have?" Aria asked. "Was that review performed?"

Elira hesitated.

"No."

Aria felt her frustration rising, but she kept her voice steady.

"Then I want three things. Written confirmation of why our materials were reassigned, a decision on compensation, and clarification of whether the Authority can redirect privately contracted supplies without notifying the buyer first."

"I can request the documentation and review the compensation question."

"Can you stop another reassignment while the review is happening?"

"That depends on the Materials Office."

"Then please contact them."

Elira studied her for a moment.

"You understand that the emergency regulations give the Authority considerable discretion."

"I understand that discretion doesn’t make every decision sensible."

Duke concealed a smile.

Elira did not.

"You’re making this difficult."

"No," Aria replied. "I’m making it documented."

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then Elira called her assistant.

"Arrange an urgent review of New Beginning’s existing contracts. I want the Materials Office to explain the basis for this reassignment before any additional decision is made."

The assistant hurried away.

It wasn’t a victory, but it was movement.

Aria thanked Elira and left with the others.

Outside, Duke walked beside her.

"Do you trust her?"

"I trust that she wants the problem investigated."

"That wasn’t my question."

Aria glanced back at the office.

"No. But I don’t need to trust her completely to use the information she gives me."

---

By the time they returned to New Beginning, the council had already begun adjusting the production schedule.

Without the missing clay, they couldn’t maintain their previous output.

Rather than risk missing every deadline, they decided to prioritize orders with the nearest delivery dates and reduce production until new supplies arrived.

The workers were informed of the situation, and the council agreed to protect wages as much as possible from their emergency reserve.

Nobody liked the decision.

But nobody argued that pretending the shortage didn’t exist would make it disappear.

Martha helped contact customers whose orders might be delayed. Lucan searched for alternative suppliers, while Duke arranged for the settlement’s records to be copied and secured.

Aria prepared a formal challenge to the reassignment.

She included the original supply contract, proof of payment, the production schedule, and the Eastern Corridor report.

Every claim had evidence behind it.

She wasn’t going to accuse the Authority of deliberately targeting New Beginning when she couldn’t prove it.

She was going to make it impossible for them to ignore what they had done.

By evening, the challenge was ready to submit.

Aria sat at the council table, reviewing the final page, when someone knocked on the door.

A messenger stood outside with a sealed envelope.

"From the Northern Trade Authority."

Aria accepted it.

She broke the seal and unfolded the document.

Her eyes moved down the page.

Then she stopped.

Kelme noticed her expression.

"Please tell me that’s good news."

Aria placed the letter on the table.

The Authority had identified additional privately contracted materials for possible reassignment under the emergency regulations.

Several businesses were listed.

New Beginning was among them.

The proposed review was scheduled for the following morning.

Martha read the notice over Aria’s shoulder.

"They’re considering taking more of our supplies?"

"They’re considering redirecting them," Kelme said. "Apparently, the word makes everything better."

Aria ignored him.

The first reassignment had been made because another supplier failed to deliver. Now the Authority was preparing to review more private contracts, potentially before the businesses affected had any chance to object.

She closed the folder containing their challenge.

"Tomorrow, we’re going to that review."

Duke nodded. "And if they refuse to listen?"

"Then we’ll make sure every decision, every reason, and every consequence is written down."

Aria looked around the table at the people who had trusted her to help build New Beginning.

They had escaped one system that treated people as possessions.

She wouldn’t allow their new home to become dependent on rules nobody could question.

"Get the contracts ready," she said. "This time, we’re going to challenge the decision before they make it."