The return to Schwarzwald Keep was a descent from the brutal clarity of the mountains into the murky politics of victory. Kaelen's small party dragged sleds of loot—rough furs, stolen silver candlesticks, a few decent swords—but their true prize was the lack of body bags. Two men with shallow cuts. An 8% casualty rate where 40% had been acceptable.
Jannik rode at the front, his chin high, the narrative already solidifying in his mind: His daring plan, his leadership. The levies muttered the truth among themselves—the cliffside path, the false blockade, the rockslide—but truth was a whisper against the shout of a noble heir's glory.
The Keep's gates loomed. Count Vollmar's forces had also returned, but not to cheers. The feint at Serpent's Pass had been a costly success. The raider warriors, expecting an easy ambush, had instead met a prepared shield wall. They'd broken, but not before taking a bloody toll. The muster field was now a hospital and a morgue. The smell of blood and cauterized flesh mixed with woodsmoke.
[ ZONE UPDATE: SCHWARZWALD KEEP - POST-ENGAGEMENT ]
Atmosphere: Triumphant (Official) / Somber (Actual)
Resource Drain: Medical Supplies - Critical, Morale - Volatile.
Lord Anselm met them at the quartermaster's yard, his pinch-faced expression unreadable. His eyes scanned the Falken contingent, noting the intact numbers, the minimal injuries, the laden sleds. They lingered on Kaelen, standing silently by Despair, before settling on Jannik.
"Ser Falken. Report."
Jannik launched into a polished, vigorous account. He spoke of the arduous climb, the decisive strike at dawn, the clever positioning that prevented enemy escape. He never mentioned a secondary path, a false blockade, or a rockslide. The plan, in his telling, was a single, brilliant thrust.
Lord Anselm listened, his fingers steepled. When Jannik finished, glowing with self-congratulation, the logistician asked only one question. "Casualties?"
"Two lightly wounded, my lord. Ready to fight tomorrow."
A flicker in Anselm's eyes. A micro-expression of profound interest. He glanced again at Kaelen, then back to Jannik. "Efficient. The Count will be pleased. Your house's share of the spoils is twenty percent. The rest is for the treasury." He paused. "You and your… tactical advisor… will attend the victory council tonight."
It wasn't a request.
[ REPUTATION UPDATE ]
Lord Anselm: Noticed → Analytically Interested.
House Falken (External): Standing increased from "Laughable" to "Usefully Cunning."
The "victory council" was a more somber affair than the first. Count Vollmar sat, looking older, a bandage peeking from under his tunic sleeve. The lords and knights who had fought at the pass wore their losses like invisible cloaks. The Falken success was a bright, discordant note.
The Count praised Jannik's "initiative and decisive action." Jannik accepted the praise with a modest bow, his performance flawless. Kaelen stood in the shadows by the wall, where the younger sons and lesser attendants were meant to be.
Then Lord Anselm spoke, his voice a dry rustle of parchment. "The strategic outcome is favorable. The eastern mines are secure. However, our total casualty rate stands at twenty-two percent. Supply consumption exceeded projections by thirty percent due to medical needs." He let the numbers hang, sucking the residual glory from the room. "Efficiency in future engagements will be paramount."
His eyes swept the room, landing briefly, meaningfully, on Jannik. "We have seen one model of efficiency. Low cost, high yield. It is a model worth… studying."
No one clapped. But every lord in the room now looked at House Falken not as a joke, but as a curiosity. A weapon that didn't break when you used it.
After the council, as they filed out, a page approached Kaelen. "Lord Anselm requests a word. In the scriptorium."
Jannik's hand clamped on Kaelen's arm. "What does he want with you?"
"I suppose we'll find out," Kaelen said, peeling his brother's grip off. The touch felt like ownership.
The scriptorium was a haven of quiet, lined with ledgers and maps. Lord Anselm stood by a table, unrolling a scroll of the surrounding territories. He didn't look up.
"Your brother is a passable swordsman and an excellent liar," Anselm said, his voice conversational. "The story he told was smooth. Too smooth. It lacked the friction of truth." He finally looked at Kaelen. "Men who climb cliffs and fight battles do not come back with clean tabards and perfect recollections. They come back with mud, adrenaline shakes, and fragmented stories. Your brother has the shakes. But his story is pristine."
Kaelen said nothing. His SOC: 2 screamed at him to stay silent. His IQ: 14 calculated probabilities.
"The two wounded men," Anselm continued. "I spoke to them. Their stories were… specific. About a safer path. About holding torches in a narrow place. About a clever boy who kicked rocks." He tapped the map. "The Shepherd's Back is a death trap for a direct assault. Yet you lost no one. That is not luck. That is geometry. And logistics."
He fixed Kaelen with a stare that felt like being inventoried. "I am the man who makes wars possible. Not glorious. Possible. I need tools that achieve objectives without breaking my ledgers. Your brother is a blunt instrument. You…" He trailed off. "What are you?"
Kaelen met his gaze. The truth was his only currency here. "I'm what happens when you give a man who is very good at losing a system to quantify how not to lose."
Anselm's lips twitched. Not a smile. A spasm of understanding. "A cost-benefit analysis with a pulse. Interesting." He unrolled another map. "There is a supply caravan coming from the south. Bandit activity has increased. The usual escort would be a knight and ten men. A standard cost. I am considering… alternative security."
He was offering a test. A quieter, dirtier job.
[ QUEST OFFERED: THE LEDGER'S BLADE ]
OBJECTIVE: Secure the supply caravan (Code: Violet) using any means necessary. Maximum budget: 5% of caravan value (to be paid to you).
SECONDARY: Do not reveal Count Vollmar's direct involvement.
REWARD: 1,000 XP, +3 Attribute Points, 5% of caravan value (Gold), Unique Skill Unlock.
FAILURE: Loss of caravan, exposure, death.
VALERIUS'S NOTE: "WAR IS BUSINESS! FINALLY, SOMEONE SPEAKS MY LANGUAGE! NEGOTIATE A HIGHER PERCENTAGE!"
"I'll need authority over the men assigned," Kaelen said, his voice still flat. "And access to the caravan's manifest and route schedule."
Anselm nodded, as if he'd expected nothing less. "You'll have six men. Not knights. Men who ask few questions. The caravan master will be told you are a… freelance security consultant. The rest is your concern."
Back in the Falken camp, Jannik was holding court, drinking with a few other minor knights. He glared as Kaelen approached. "Well? What did the old miser want?"
"A logistics assignment," Kaelen said, the lie effortless. "Inventorying the new supplies. He likes my penmanship." It was perfectly plausible, perfectly insulting to a warrior's pride.
Jannik snorted, turning back to his wine. "Of course. Go count sacks, brother. Leave the glory to those who earn it."
Alone in his tent, Kaelen finally opened his interface. The 800 XP from the raid glowed. The 2 Attribute Points waited. He had a new, secret quest. It was time to invest.
He went to the newly unlocked Combat Skill Branch. It was sparse.
Available Skills:
· Precision Strike (Cost: 1 SP): Forgo power for accuracy. Next attack ignores 10% of enemy armor. (Req: SKL 5)
· Dodge Drills (Cost: 1 SP): Passive. +2% to base Dodge chance. (Req: AGI 6)
· Pain Threshold (Cost: 1 SP): Passive. Reduces the effectiveness of debilitating [Pain] debuffs by 15%. (Req: END 7)
None were right. He wasn't a front-line fighter. He never would be.
Then he saw it, a greyed-out skill at the bottom of the Knowledge Branch, visible only because of his IQ 14.
[ SYSTEM GLITCH ANALYSIS II ] (Req: IQ 15, Previous Skill owned)
Allows for minor manipulation of system parameters in a localized area. Example: Temporarily inflate an ally's perceived threat level (SOC). Slightly obfuscate your own presence (Stealth).
Manipulation. Not of swords, but of reality's code. It was perfect. But it required IQ 15. He had 14.
He allocated his 2 Attribute Points without hesitation.
[ ATTRIBUTE INCREASED: IQ: 14 → 15 ]
[ PERK UNLOCKED: Analytical Overdrive ] - Short-term processing speed increase during high-stress calculations.
He then spent 1 of his 8 available Skill Points (100 XP = 1 SP).
[ SKILL LEARNED: SYSTEM GLITCH ANALYSIS II ]
[ WARNING: Skill is inherently unstable. Overuse may attract… systemic attention. ]
He had 7 SP left. He invested 1 more into Logistics I, evolving it.
[ SKILL EVOLVED: LOGISTICS I → LOGISTICS II ]
You now intuitively understand morale as a quantifiable resource. You can predict breakdown points in group cohesion. +10% to all party efficiency metrics.
The remaining 6 SP he saved. The caravan mission would require… flexibility.
That night, as he reviewed the caravan manifest (wool, iron ingots, medicinal herbs), a final, grim screen appeared. Not from the Vigil Protocol. From the Ledger.
[ THE LEDGER OF GLORY - SPECIAL ENTRY: THE REAL COST ]
ACTION: Traded personal glory for institutional utility.
CONTEXT: Accepted a covert, deniable mission from the power behind the throne.
VALERIUS'S VERDICT: "YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE SHADOW OVER THE SPOTLIGHT. THIS IS WISER. GLORY IS A CURRENCY SPENT QUICKLY. INFLUENCE IS A CAPITAL THAT COMPOUNDS. BUT REMEMBER: THE TOOLS OF THE SHADOW ARE ALWAYS EXPENDABLE TO THOSE WHO WIELD THEM."
GLORY AWARDED: +75
[ VALERIUS'S INTEREST: 70/100 ]
[ NEW TITLE EARNED: [ Anselm's Calculated Risk ]
Effect: +10% to rewards from covert/deniable operations. -5% to trust from traditionalist allies.
Kaelen lay back, staring at the hide ceiling of his tent. The sounds of the camp—a victory song from Jannik's circle, the moan of a wounded man from the hospital tents—washed over him.
He had no glory. He had a hidden quest, a bag of soon-to-be-stolen silver, and a skill that let him cheat reality itself.
He had traded his brother's brittle admiration for a powerful man's cold utility.
It was, his IQ: 15 informed him with icy clarity, the most efficient possible trade. The math was flawless.
So why did it feel like he'd just lost something he couldn't quantify?