Chapter 6 – Echoes of a Spark
Two nights later, the courtyard burned.
Not truly. Not fully. But the smoke curling from the east wing was enough to draw every set of eyes, every scream, every wide-eyed child stumbling from bed to windows and hallways.
Sera was first out the door. Arin followed, already pulling on his boots. They met Kall by the main hallway, where buckets were being passed in a clumsy line from the well to the smoldering doorframe.
It had been a storeroom. Mostly rags. Old toys. Discarded furniture.
Nothing anyone would miss.
But it would be remembered.
Especially because of what was found inside.
—
[Villain Act: Orchestrated Crisis – Successfully executed.]
[+Fear in Local Area: Moderate Increase]
[Thread Status – Orlen Vesq: Investigation Triggered (Passive Surveillance active)]
[Side Quest: Hunt the Intruder – 4/5]
Arin watched the flames die with hollow eyes.
He stood near the edges, coughing from the smoke, occasionally handing off a half-filled pail with the blank determination of someone trying to help but clearly overwhelmed. Just enough participation to be innocent. Just enough distance to be blameless.
The true purpose lay with the iron key he'd accidentally discovered in the charred room.
And the letter that Kall had already "found" next to it—unsigned, dirty, half-melted by fire. Conveniently marked with the crest of House Vesq.
—
It was read aloud by Mother Elna at breakfast the next morning.
"…shipment confirmed. No interruptions this time. The boy suspects nothing."
Gasps rippled through the dining hall. Spoons stopped mid-air. Even the younger children sensed something wrong.
A name like Orlen Vesq didn't need explaining.
Elna's face was pale. Older than it had been yesterday.
"I… I will take this to the town guard," she said, holding the scorched paper with trembling fingers. "It may be a forgery, but if it's real—gods help us—we must be protected."
Arin said nothing.
Neither did Sera.
Kall met his eyes across the table.
Just the barest nod.
A spark had been struck. Now the fire would spread.
—
That evening, guards arrived.
Three of them. Not local militia, but city watchmen—clean armor, clipped speech, suspicious eyes.
They spoke with Elna in her office. Examined the blackened key. Whispered among themselves.
Arin stood near the stairwell, quiet as a shadow.
He listened.
They didn't believe the letter. Not fully. But they feared it being true. House Vesq had enemies. Plenty would love to see a scandal flare up.
The youngest guard muttered, "Even a whiff of trafficking and the nobles start eating each other like crows."
Arin turned from the stairwell before he could smile.
He had learned something important.
Truth wasn't power.
Perception was.
—
[System Message: You have created an Opening.]
[New Side Quest Available – "The False Inquiry"]
[Objective: Further erode trust in House Vesq by feeding forged evidence to three influential sources.]
[Reward: New Skill Tree Unlocked – "The Architect"]
[Skill Preview: "False Flag," "Smokeveil," "Disguise Intent."]
Arin dismissed the message with a blink.
This was no longer revenge.
It was war.
And he would need weapons more subtle than blades.
—
Later, in the quiet dark of his secret room, Arin pulled out the old ledger he'd taken from the traffickers' lodge. The pages were scorched around the edges, but intact.
Dates. Locations. Names.
Some crossed out. Some still alive.
He dipped a quill in ink, copied three entries into a separate journal.
Then he burned the original page with a candle stub.
Ash scattered into a clay bowl.
A whisper of something ancient brushed against his mind.
—
[You have destroyed a page of Darkness.]
[+1 Alignment Drift: "Oppose the System"]
[Note: Continued rejection of System directives will alter future rewards and penalties.]
[Current Path Divergence: 12%]
[Hidden Trait Progress: ???]
Arin paused.
That last line.
Hidden trait?
He whispered aloud, voice hoarse. "What are you hiding from me?"
No answer.
Not from the System.
But somewhere, deep inside him, a certainty began to grow.
The System wanted a villain.
But it wasn't prepared for what happened when the villain thought for himself.
—
The next day, the orphanage received a letter.
Wax-sealed in blue.
Official.
Arin opened it in Elna's stead—she'd grown pale and shaky since the guards left, spending hours locked in prayer.
The letter was from a noble house.
Not Vesq.
House Dorrell.
It was an invitation.
A celebration in three days' time for the Duke's granddaughter's naming day.
"Bring your brightest young minds," the parchment read. "Let them see the world beyond the walls. Let them know opportunity."
Sera looked at it with a frown. "Why now?"
Arin didn't answer.
But he already knew.
This wasn't kindness.
It was bait.
House Dorrell had smelled blood.
—
That night, he called Kall and Sera to his secret room.
He showed them the letter. The ledger. The iron key.
Everything.
To his surprise, neither flinched.
Kall spoke first. "You want to go to the party."
Arin nodded. "We need allies. Visibility. If Orlen's watching, we act harmless. If others are watching, we act valuable."
Sera was quiet. Then she said, "We'll need clothes. Not rags."
"We'll need masks," Arin said softly.
"Not literal ones. But roles."
They stared at the flickering candle for a long time.
And then, one by one, they nodded.
—
[Team Formed: The Orphans Three]
[Shared Bond – Secret-Keepers]
[Group Bonus: +10% to Subterfuge Actions when working together.]
[Main Quest Progression Unlocked – "The Masquerade"]
[First Objective: Attend House Dorrell's Gathering Without Being Detected or Exposed.]
[Reward: Access to Noble Circle, First Whisper of the Black Tower.]
—
As Arin lay in bed that night, staring at the wooden ceiling above him, he thought of the fire in the storeroom.
It had been small.
But fires didn't need to be large to change the world.
Just hot enough.
And if he was right?
This next spark would set the noble courts ablaze.
One lie at a time.