Evan led the apprentices into the city shortly after midday. The safehouse district was quieter than usual but the tension was sharp like a drawn bowstring. Evan positioned the apprentices in intervals around the area. They looked ordinary but their eyes tracked every detail.

Movement reveals truth Evan whispered. Follow movement.

The first operative appeared thirty minutes later. A young man with a restless posture and shifting eyes. He looked nervous. That itself was a signal. Evan watched from a pottery stall as the operative entered the safehouse quickly without looking back.

That one Evan said has guilt in his steps. He fears failure.

A second operative arrived soon after. His steps were calm but his eyes moved with calculating precision. Not panicked. Not rushed. He carried a scroll tucked inside his sleeve. He walked like someone who believed he still controlled the situation.

This one Evan whispered is loyal to the strategic head.

An hour passed before the third operative appeared. A woman in a dark robe shorter than the others. Her stride was oddly slow and she paused twice looking over her shoulder. Evan recognized her body language instantly.

Split loyalty Evan murmured. She is torn. That is the crack.

He motioned for the sharp eyed apprentice to follow her discreetly after she left the safehouse. The apprentice drifted into the crowd blending with the flow of pedestrians. Evan remained behind tracking the safehouse activity.

A courier soon arrived delivering a bundle of letters. The strategic head himself stepped outside to take them. Evan studied every moment of the exchange. The head whispered instructions to the courier who bowed and left with haste. Evan’s mind raced.

Urgency
Reallocation
New orders
Likely pivot in strategy

He recorded the details mentally then followed the courier at a distance. The courier did not go toward Iron Crest headquarters. He turned toward a different district one near the merchant-registrar building.

Of course Evan murmured. If they cannot win the herbal fight and cannot control trade lanes they will try to influence merchant registration. A legal choke point.

He hurried back to meet the apprenticeship team. The sharp eyed apprentice returned with a detailed report.

The conflicted operative visited three unrelated merchants she reported. One herbal vendor one spice vendor and one metal dealer. She asked the same question each time.

What question Evan asked.

Do you trust Silver Quill’s contracts

Evan closed his eyes briefly. He understood everything now. Iron Crest was preparing a reputation strike. Not against products not against supply routes but against trust itself. If suppliers questioned reliability Silver Quill would crumble regardless of its strategy.

Lenar stiffened with fear. If they break our reputation the entire guild collapses.

Not if we act first Evan said calmly.

He gathered all the apprentices in a tight circle.

Iron Crest has a fractured structure Evan said. Their weak link is the conflicted operative. She will reveal more than she intends because she is soft on pressure. We follow her tomorrow. Her movements will expose their internal disagreement. But tonight we neutralize their reputation strike.

How do we do that Lenar asked.

Evan smiled.
With the truth.
But shaped truth.

He explained the plan. The apprentices would spread through the herbal district again but this time they would not create false rumors. They would present calm precise statements of stability. Silver Quill’s contracts had been reinforced. Shipments were secure. Trade lanes approved. No panic. No exaggeration.

Reputation does not fall to lies Evan said. It falls to silence. So we flood the market with clarity.

The apprentices moved out with purpose.

Evan watched the sunset paint the city in soft amber. He considered the fractured chain of command inside Iron Crest. Cracks that widened with every failed plan. Cracks that would eventually reveal everything.

Evan turned to Lenar.

Tomorrow we pull on the weakest thread. And when that thread breaks their entire plan will unravel.

Lenar nodded though worry lingered in his eyes.

Evan looked at the safehouse one last time.

Information flows like water he whispered.
And Iron Crest’s walls were never built to hold a tide.