Elara didn't stop running until she had barred the door of their shack, her breath coming in
ragged, terrified gasps.
"Never again," she whispered, her back sliding down the flimsy door. "Kaelen, I mean it. We are
never going back to that man."
[ASSET: ELARA] [EMOTIONAL STATE: TERROR (80%), ANXIETY (85%),
STRESS-THRESHOLD (90%)]
She was close to a complete breakdown. Her utility as a "transport" asset to the market was
now compromised. Kaelen filed this away. [NEW VARIABLE: ASSET (ELARA) UNRELIABLE
FOR 'MOG' TRANSACTIONS. REQUIRES NEW VECTOR.]
He walked over and, just as before, presented the bread.
The offering was again a jarring non-sequitur to her terror. She stared at the loaf Mog had
shoved at her. "He... he gave this to you," she stammered. "Why? What did you..."
"Told him," Kaelen said, his voice a soft, plausible lie. "Heard 'nother secret. He was angry."
Elara's eyes squeezed shut. "Kaelen, this will get us killed. This isn't a game. Mog, the
Red-Rustlers... these are bad people."
"We eat," Kaelen stated, pushing the bread into her limp hands.
[MANIPULATION: REINFORCEMENT (PRIMARY NEED)] [LOGIC: SURVIVAL IMPERATIVE >
FEAR IMPERATIVE]
The simple, undeniable weight of the bread in her lap, combined with the undeniable fact of their
hunger, slowly won the internal battle. Her terror subsided, collapsing into a weary, defeated
anxiety. [STATUS: STRESS-THRESHOLD (90%) -> ANXIOUS (70%), RESIGNED (60%)]
She would survive. She would not, however, be his willing escort again. He had pushed this
asset to its limit.
[ANALYSIS: ASSET (ELARA) PACIFIED. NEW OPERATIONAL PARAMETERS REQUIRED.]
While she broke the bread with trembling hands, Kaelen sat in his corner. The weight of the
three silver bars in his loincloth was a physical, pressing danger.
A new notification from the Abyssal Ledger confirmed his analysis.
[WARNING: HIGH-VALUE LIQUID CAPITAL (3x SILVER) DETECTED.] [STATUS:
UNSECURED] [RISK OF LOSS (THEFT/DISCOVERY): 85% (CRITICAL)] [ANALYSIS:
CURRENT 'HOST' (KAELEN, AGE 4) IS INCAPABLE OF DEFENDING ASSET.] [ANALYSIS:
ASSET (ELARA) IS UN SUITABLE FOR CUSTODY (RISK OF THEFT: 90%, RISK OF
COMPROMISE (PANIC): 95%)] [IMPERATIVE: SECURE CAPITAL IN A 'DEAD-DROP' CACHE
IMMEDIATELY.]
Kaelen ate his portion of bread, his mind cold and clear. He had 20 coppers in his original cache
under the floorboards. That was "petty cash." The silver was "investment capital." It required a
vault.
That night, hours after Elara's exhausted sleep began, Kaelen moved.
[MANA: 50/50 -> 48] [ACTIVATING [SHADOW'S VEIL] (LEVEL 1)...]
He slipped out of the shack. He did not go toward the Rag Market. He did not go toward The
Sump. He went in the opposite direction, toward the ancient, crumbling cistern that marked the
edge of their slum district.
It was a place no one visited. The ground was unstable, and the reek of stagnant water and
thousand-year-old sewage was a potent deterrent.
[ANALYSIS: LOW-TRAFFIC AREA. LOW-RISK OF ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY (98%).]
He found what he was looking for: a collapsed section of an ancient sewer main, its entrance
choked with debris. The gap was too small for an adult, or even a desperate teen, to squeeze
through.
For a four-year-old, it was a doorway.
He slid into the pitch-black, rancid-smelling tunnel. His [SYSTEM: ABYSSAL
LEDGER]-enhanced vision cut through the gloom, painting the world in shades of analytical
grey.
He moved fifty feet into the tunnel, far past the reach of any scavenger's probing arm. He found
a section of the wall where the mortar had crumbled away, leaving a deep, dry pocket between
two massive foundation stones.
[CACHE LOCATION: 'CISTERN-MAIN'] [SECURITY RATING: A- (HIGH)]
He took the small, heavy leather pouch from his loincloth. He paused.
[ANALYSIS: LEATHER POUCH (SOURCE: 'MOG') IS A LIABILITY. TRACEABLE.]
He emptied the three silver bars into his hand. They felt cold. He placed them, one by one, deep
into the stone pocket. He then wedged a loose rock in front of them, masking the opening.
He took the pouch and moved another twenty feet, burying it under a mound of decayed refuse.
He returned to his shack, his "liquid" net worth now [0]. His "invested" net worth was [3 SILVER
BARS]. His "operational" net worth remained [20 COPPER FANGS].
He lay in his rags, the cold calculus filling his mind.
[CAPITAL SECURED. RISK-LEVEL REDUCED TO 'LOW'.] [PHASE 1: 'INITIAL CAPITAL
ACQUISITION' - COMPLETE.] [NEW IMPERATIVE: BEGIN PHASE 2: 'SELF-INVESTMENT'.]
[ANALYSIS: CURRENT ASSET (KAELEN) IS A HIGH-POTENTIAL, LOW-PERFORMANCE
UNIT. PHYSICAL (2), MENTAL (7), MANA (50/50).] [ANALYSIS: HOST IS A 'MAGE' CLASS.
CURRENT ABILITIES: 0. SKILLS: 1 (SHADOW'S VEIL).] [CONCLUSION: ALL FUTURE
PROFIT IS DEPENDENT ON UPGRADING THE HOST'S CAPABILITIES.]
He had stolen. He had sold information. He had acquired. Now, he needed to build.
His small, grey fingers clenched. He had no mentor. He had no teacher. He had no books.
[QUERY: HOW TO ACQUIRE 'MAGIC' KNOWLEDGE?] [...PROCESSING...]
[RECOMMENDATION: ALL KNOWLEDGE HAS A PRICE. RETURN TO 'ASSET: MOG'.] [NEW
OBJECTIVE: CONVERT 'INFORMATION' (KAELEN) INTO 'KNOWLEDGE'
(SCROLLS/COMPONENTS) VIA 'ASSET: MOG'.]
Kaelen's eyes closed. He would let the fallout from his "Red-Rustler" intel settle. He would give
Mog a few days for his greed to overcome his fear.
Then, he would go shopping.