The immediate threat of the Goblins necessitated a transition from passive defense to active intelligence gathering. Deacon's next move was to fully utilize Staff Sergeant Michael Tate (Balthasar), his S-2 Scout and Comms Chief.
Deacon summoned Tate to the Hold late that afternoon. Tate, having successfully distributed the Vigenère cipher keys to the Shadow Command (Ruiz, Miller, Kiley, Rodriguez), now stood before his Castellan, looking less like a beggar and more like a human radar dish.
"The network is running, My Lord," Tate reported, his voice a low, steady hum. "The S-4, S-7, S-3, and S-5 assets have all acknowledged receipt. They have the Sergeant's Creed key."
"Good. Now, we use the network," Deacon said, sliding the map of the Blackwood trails toward Tate. "Major Kiley believes the Goblins are advancing on the King's Road. I need confirmation of their numbers and rate of advance. We are moving from estimates to facts."
The Tripwire Defense
Tate, the expert scout, immediately grasped the need for redundant intelligence gathering.
"I can't sit out there, Sir. My cover is too crucial to the comms network," Tate stated. "We need a tripwire defense—multiple eyes, easily dismissed civilians, placed deep on the trails."
"Identify me two assets. Two more soldiers we can bring online instantly for a single, high-risk mission," Deacon ordered.
Tate tapped the map. "I know where the FOB's two supply drivers went—Specialist Jones and Specialist Davis. They were always running recon on the supply trails. They've ended up as woodcutters, living in the nearest peasant village on the Blackwood edge, just five miles out. Perfect cover."
"Go. Use a coded phrase to confirm their identities. Their mission is to get eyes on the King's Road and report back their findings through the most discreet dead drop you can establish."
Tate nodded, already thinking three steps ahead. "The woods are too open for dead drops, Sir. Better: The Blacksmith."
Tate explained the plan: The blacksmith's shop was a chaotic, noisy hub of activity. Jones and Davis would bring their 'cut wood' to the blacksmith for sale. They would place a coded iron tack on a specific, worn anvil. The shape of the tack would convey the Goblin status:
Round Tack: Goblin scouts spotted.
Square Tack: Main force spotted, moving slow.
Triangle Tack: Main force confirmed, crossing the King's Road (Red Alert).
Tate would then visit the blacksmith under the guise of sharpening a tool, retrieve the tack, and bring the intelligence directly to the Castellan.
"Excellent, Sergeant. Establish that network now. And one more thing: that DUST BA code from the Major—was it a one-time request, or does he have more intelligence to transmit?"
"The Major is desperate for communication, Sir," Tate replied grimly. "He's using the margins of the dispensary ledgers to write in ancient languages, hoping I'll find them. He's already requested an inventory of the town's spices—specifically, Pepper and Cumin."
Deacon felt a chill. The Major was requesting intelligence on the town's S-1 (Personnel) and S-2 (Intelligence) assets, likely using the first letters of the spices as the code.
P. E. and C. U. M. I. N. (Potential S-1/S-2 names or roles).
"Your next mission, after you brief the woodcutters, is to begin a covert census of the town's population, looking for anyone with military training that fits that coded request," Deacon commanded.
The Cost of the Lie
Tate prepared to leave, but paused, his voice low and strained. "My Lord, the cost of this deception is… heavy. I passed Corporal Thorne's (Timon's) home today. His new 'mother' was weeping. She genuinely loves the boy's body. When the war is done, Sir, what then? Do we just disappear?"
The question was the core moral challenge of the entire operation.
Deacon looked out at his city, where his entire command structure was wearing stolen lives. "Sergeant, your only focus is survival. If we lose the war, none of this matters. If we win, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. But know this: The Sergeant's Creed doesn't end when the fighting does. We protect the innocent, Tate. That includes the families we wear."
Tate nodded, accepting the burden. His loyalty was not to the uniform, but to the Sergeant and the mission.
Deacon dismissed him, sending the silent scout into the gathering dusk.
The Impatience of the Field Commander
Later that night, Major Kiley's impatience erupted into a direct confrontation. Deacon was reviewing the militia's deployment map when a disguised note arrived, tucked under a loose stone in the fireplace—a newly established dead drop.
The Vigenère-decoded message, written on medical vellum, was sharp and devoid of formality:
HAYES. THE TIME IS TOO SHORT. YOU ARE USING TOO MANY UNTRAINED ASSETS. I WANT RIFLEMEN, NOT FIRECRACKERS. ABANDON PROJECT GROG AND FOCUS ALL LABOR ON CREATING REINFORCED BARRICADES. YOUR STRATEGY IS TOO RISKY. YOU ARE EXCEEDING YOUR RANK. —K.
Deacon crushed the note in his hand. The Major was strategically correct—barricades were safer. But they weren't enough to break the Goblin charge. Kiley was fighting the war he was trained for; Deacon was fighting the war he had.
Deacon immediately scrawled a response using the same medical vellum, sealing it with wax, and using the code key:
DOCTOR KELLY. YOUR ADVICE IS RECEIVED. MY RANK IS CASTELLAN. MY STRATEGY IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. I NEED A DOCTOR, NOT A COMMANDER. I AM NOT EXCEEDING MY RANK. I AM EXECUTING MY ORDERS. S-6 IS GO. I WILL NOT ABANDON THE FIRECRACKERS. —C.
He sent the encrypted response back through Tate's dead drop network, acknowledging the Major's input while firmly re-establishing the inverted command structure. He had less than two days. He would not allow Kiley's anxiety to derail the plan.
The next challenge: The humiliation of Commander Harl.