The following night arrived with a heavy stillness in the air. A thin fog spread across Oakedge and covered the worn stone path leading out of town. Evan walked with Rynn and Garron at his sides while Branik followed quietly behind. Loras stayed behind to guard the workshop with Mira Joss and Talen. They insisted on staying awake. No one wanted to risk a nighttime raid.

The place described in the letter lay beyond a cluster of abandoned houses at the edge of the forest. Once part of the old settlement it was now a ruin of broken beams and collapsed roofs. A single lantern glowed under a leaning arch. Evan walked toward it with slow even steps.

A tall figure cloaked in black waited there. His face was hidden but his eyes faintly glowed from beneath the hood. When Evan approached the figure raised a hand to signal silence.
“You brought guards. Smart. But unnecessary. We are here to talk not kill”

Rynn muttered “For now”

The figure ignored her. He gestured toward a half collapsed building where a crude wooden table stood. Two other cloaked figures waited inside. One short and muscular. One tall and thin. Both wore the mark of the Black Claw tattooed on their wrists.

The tall figure spoke first. “Evan Hale. Founder of the new workshop. Creator of strange written processes. We have watched your movements. You threaten every traditional alchemist in three regions”

Evan sat at the table calmly. “We do not seek to replace every alchemist. We seek to improve alchemy itself. Your world suffers because knowledge is hidden. If no one shares methods no one grows”

The shortest figure slammed his palm on the table. “Secrecy is power. It keeps value high. It keeps control in the hands of the gifted. If you teach commoners to make potions what happens to us”

Evan answered without fear. “You adapt. Or you fall behind. The world is changing whether you like it or not”

The leader leaned forward. He finally revealed part of his face. A long scar ran across his cheek. “Your system makes potions cheaper and more stable. That is a threat to us. But also an opportunity. If your franchise grows you will need rare ingredients. Sooner or later you will need our routes and our hunters”

Branik crossed his arms. “You mean you want a deal”

The leader nodded slowly. “Only if the outsider understands something. The Royal Monopoly Bureau watches you. If you expand too quickly they will crush you. If you expand too slowly someone else steals your idea. But if you work with us you gain protection. We eliminate competition. We guard your supply routes. All we ask is a share of every advanced ingredient you produce”

Evan studied them carefully. The offer was tempting in the short term. But dangerous in the long term.
“You want a stake in our formula production. That is not protection. That is control. I will not trade one monopoly for another”

The scarred leader’s expression darkened. “Do you think you can survive without allies We control half the rare ingredient supply. You anger us and we cut your access. No frost scales. No spirit vine. No moon marrow. Nothing”

Rynn gripped her dagger. Garron stepped forward. The tension grew thick.

But Evan raised a hand. “If you cut our access we will build new supply routes. We already gathered crystal root on our own. Soon we will map more regions. We will not be owned by anyone not by you not by the Bureau”

The leader stood slowly. His shadow stretched across the ruined floor. “Then understand this outsider. We will not attack your workers. But we will watch. And when you take one step too far we will decide whether to strike or to steal everything you have built”

Evan stood as well. “You cannot steal a system that anyone can learn. That is the point. Knowledge is not yours to cage anymore”

The leader glared but did not strike. He stepped back into the fog. “Your boldness will either make you a king of the new age or the first corpse of it. We shall see which”

They vanished leaving the ruins cold and silent.

Rynn exhaled. “You rejected their offer. Brave or foolish I am not sure”
Garron nodded. “They will test you again. Harder next time”

Evan looked toward the direction where the Black Claw disappeared. “They fear the future. That means we keep moving forward. We cannot slow down now”

As they returned to the workshop Evan sensed movement on the rooftops. Not Black Claw watchers. Not Bureau scouts. Something else. A lone figure with a long coat and a silver crest observing silently.
A Royal Bureau informant

Evan whispered to himself
“Both sides are watching now”

When they finally returned Mira opened the door with worry. “What happened Did they attack you”
Evan shook his head. “No. But they understand our direction now. We need to accelerate before they do”

He placed the Black Claw letter on the table. Loras stared at it with dread.
“This is a declaration. They see you as a rival”

Evan sat down and began drawing new plans.
“We begin phase two tomorrow. Expansion training distribution and regional mapping. Before they decide our fate we decide the shape of this entire industry”

The workshop fell silent
But the revolution pressed onward in every heartbeat