Chapter 2: The Basement Workshop
The nondescript building stood wedged between a spice merchant's warehouse and a cobbler's shop in the merchant quarter. Kheldar had walked past it dozens of times during his unauthorized explorations of the city without noticing anything remarkable. The facade was weathered stone, identical to every other commercial structure on this street. A faded sign above the door advertised cloth imports from Sendaria, though the windows were shuttered and no customers entered or left during the twenty minutes he spent watching from across the street.
Javelin had given him the address that morning along with instructions to arrive precisely at noon. His uncle hadn't explained what the building contained or why they were meeting there instead of at the palace. The secrecy seemed excessive for what was supposedly just training, though Kheldar was beginning to understand that nothing about intelligence work followed expected patterns.
He crossed the street at the appointed time, trying the door and finding it unlocked. The interior was dim, lit only by thin shafts of light filtering through cracks in the shutters. Dust covered most surfaces, giving the impression of long abandonment. Bolts of fabric were stacked against one wall, their colors faded and their edges frayed. A counter ran along the back of the room, its surface bare except for an old ledger book that appeared not to have been opened in years.
"Close the door behind you."
Javelin's voice came from somewhere in the back of the shop. Kheldar shut the door, hearing a bolt slide into place automatically. That mechanism hadn't been visible from outside.
His uncle emerged from a doorway concealed behind a stack of fabric bolts. The arrangement looked random, but when Javelin pushed against one particular bolt, the entire stack pivoted smoothly to reveal a narrow passage. The mechanism was clever, using counterweights to make the movement effortless despite the apparent bulk.
"This building serves as one of several safe locations for training and operations that can't be conducted at the palace," Javelin explained, gesturing for Kheldar to follow. "The cloth import business is legitimate enough to avoid suspicion, though we haven't actually sold fabric here in about fifteen years. The occasional customer who ignores the closed signs gets redirected to a functioning shop three streets over."
The passage led to a staircase descending into darkness. Javelin lit a lamp hanging at the top of the stairs, carrying it as they descended. The steps were stone, worn smooth in the centers from long use. The temperature dropped as they went deeper, and the air smelled of earth and metal.
The basement room was larger than Kheldar had expected, extending well beyond the building's footprint above. Someone had excavated additional space, reinforcing the expanded area with stone pillars and barrel vaults. Worktables lined the walls, each surface covered with equipment and tools arranged in precise organizational systems. Lamps hung from ceiling hooks, providing bright illumination once Javelin lit them methodically.
Kheldar moved to the nearest table, studying its contents. Locks of various designs were laid out in rows, ranging from simple pin mechanisms to complex combinations of gears and levers. Tools were organized beside them: picks of different sizes, tension wrenches, thin probes, and devices whose purposes he couldn't immediately identify. A leather case contained what appeared to be lock diagrams, technical drawings showing internal mechanisms in cross-section.
The next table held surveillance equipment. Listening devices designed to amplify sound through walls. Mirrors angled for observing around corners. Thin fiber tubes that could be inserted under doors or through keyholes to provide visual access to secured rooms. A collection of what looked like ordinary household objects, revealed upon closer inspection to contain hidden compartments.
The third table was dedicated to document handling. Sealing wax in various colors, each labeled with its corresponding noble house or merchant consortium. Blank official forms from different kingdoms. Inks and papers of specific types, presumably for matching existing documents. Tools for lifting official seals without damaging them, transferring them to fraudulent papers.
"Your education begins with refinement of skills you've already been practicing without proper instruction," Javelin said, moving to the lockpicking table. "You managed to open Lord Varash's desk mechanism through trial and error, which demonstrates natural aptitude but also reveals fundamental gaps in your understanding."
He selected a moderately complex lock from the table, holding it up for Kheldar to examine. The mechanism was encased in a brass housing with a keyhole centered in an iron plate.
"Before you attempt to pick any lock, you need to understand what you're dealing with. Mechanisms vary significantly in design and sophistication. Some are straightforward pin systems that yield to basic manipulation. Others incorporate trap mechanisms designed to detect and punish unauthorized entry attempts."
Javelin set the lock on the table and selected a thin probe from the tool collection. "This is a Tolnedran merchant lock, commonly used for securing valuable documents and currency. It appears standard at first examination, but contains a deliberate trap for the unwary."
He inserted the probe into the keyhole, moving it carefully while explaining the internal structure. "Five pins, standard configuration. Someone approaching this without proper training would begin manipulation exactly as they would with any similar mechanism. Watch what happens when I apply tension to the plug."
The probe moved deeper, then there was a soft click. Immediately a bell rang inside the housing, loud enough to be heard throughout a building.
"The false keyhole triggers an alarm mechanism when the plug rotates past a certain point without the correct key," Javelin explained, silencing the bell through a reset procedure that involved inserting a second tool through a hidden access point. "A proper approach requires identifying the trap before attempting entry. Feel along the interior edge of the keyhole."
Kheldar took the probe, inserting it carefully and exploring the keyhole's perimeter. His fingers registered a subtle irregularity, a small projection that shouldn't be present in a standard lock design.
"That's the alarm trigger," Javelin confirmed. "Once you've identified it, you can disable the mechanism before proceeding with the actual lock manipulation. In this case, you need to maintain constant pressure against the trigger while picking the pins, which requires using two tools simultaneously instead of the standard single-probe approach."
They spent the next hour working through progressively complex mechanisms. Each lock presented different challenges: unusual pin configurations, false gates that simulated successful manipulation while actually reinforcing the locking mechanism, spring-loaded bolts that required precise timing to defeat. Javelin explained the theory behind each design, then demonstrated the correct approach before having Kheldar attempt it himself.
The work required intense concentration. His fingers cramped from maintaining the delicate pressure necessary for feeling internal components. Several times he triggered trap mechanisms accidentally, setting off alarms or engaging secondary bolts that made the lock impossible to open without the proper key. Each failure required reset and analysis of what had gone wrong.
"Lock manipulation is as much about patience as skill," Javelin said, watching Kheldar struggle with a particularly complex Nyissan design. "Rushing leads to mistakes that can compromise an operation or worse, leave evidence of attempted entry. Take your time, map the internal structure completely before applying any manipulation pressure."
By the time they finished the lockpicking exercises, Kheldar's hands ached and his eyes burned from the sustained focus. Javelin seemed satisfied with his progress though, making notes in a leather journal about specific techniques that required additional practice.
"Tomorrow we work on surveillance detection," his uncle said, extinguishing several of the lamps. "For now, study these diagrams. I want you to be able to identify twenty different lock types by their external features alone."
He handed Kheldar the leather case containing the technical drawings. The diagrams were detailed, showing not just the mechanisms but also subtle external indicators that revealed internal design. Pin positions that created specific shadow patterns in keyholes. Slight variations in housing construction that indicated the presence of trap mechanisms. Weight distribution that suggested additional security features.
Kheldar carried the case home, spending the evening memorizing the diagrams and testing himself on identification markers. The work was tedious but absorbing. Each lock type had its own signature, a collection of small details that together revealed its nature to someone who knew what to look for.
The next morning he returned to the building at the appointed time. Javelin was waiting in the basement, though the room's configuration had changed. The worktables were covered with cloth, concealing the equipment underneath. His uncle wore ordinary merchant clothing instead of his usual palace attire.
"Today you learn to identify surveillance," Javelin explained. "Intelligence work requires constant awareness of your surroundings and the people within them. Someone following you will attempt to blend into normal street activity, but there are always tells. Inconsistent behavior, faces that appear in multiple unrelated locations, movement patterns that mirror your own too closely."
He handed Kheldar a map of the city with a route marked in red ink. "Walk this path exactly as indicated, taking approximately two hours to complete the circuit. My agents will follow you at various points along the route. Your task is to identify them without being obvious about your observations. When you return here, you'll report how many tails you detected and where you first noticed each one."
The route wound through multiple districts, crossing from the merchant quarter into residential areas and then looping back through several market sections. Kheldar studied it carefully, memorizing the street names and turns.
"How many agents will be following me?"
"That's part of the exercise," Javelin said. "In operational situations, you won't know how many hostile observers you're dealing with. You identify threats through observation and pattern recognition, not through receiving advance intelligence."
Kheldar left the building and began walking the prescribed route. The morning streets were moderately crowded, merchants setting up their stalls and workers traveling to various employment locations. He kept his pace casual, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder or scan obvious surveillance positions.
The first tail became apparent three blocks into the route. A woman in servant's clothing had been walking behind him since he left the building, maintaining consistent distance despite several turns. When Kheldar paused to examine goods at a vegetable stall, she stopped as well, pretending to adjust her basket. The behavior was too reactive, matching his movements rather than following her own independent path.
He continued walking, now actively searching for others. A street vendor appeared in his peripheral vision multiple times, always at different stalls but wearing the same distinctive green cap. The repetition was subtle, probably invisible to someone not specifically looking for surveillance, but once noticed it became obvious. The vendor's movements correlated with his own too consistently to be coincidental.
Shop windows provided opportunities for observation without obvious backward glances. Kheldar paused occasionally to examine displayed goods, using the reflection to study people behind him. A young man carrying a carpenter's toolbox showed up in three separate window reflections over the course of ten minutes, despite the route having turned several times. His position varied, sometimes ahead of Kheldar and sometimes behind, but his presence remained constant.
The exercise became more challenging in the market sections where crowd density increased. Individual faces became harder to track in the press of shoppers and merchants. Kheldar focused on clothing details instead, looking for distinctive elements that stood out in repeated sightings. A woman's blue shawl appeared multiple times. A man with a pronounced limp passed him going the opposite direction, then somehow reappeared behind him two blocks later.
Some potential tails turned out to be false patterns, coincidental travelers whose paths happened to overlap with his route. Distinguishing genuine surveillance from random overlap required careful observation. The genuine followers exhibited subtle behaviors that revealed their attention: glances that lingered slightly too long, movement adjustments that matched his pace changes, positioning that maintained optimal observation angles.
By the time he completed the circuit and returned to the basement, Kheldar had identified six definite tails and two possibles. Javelin listened to his report, making notes and occasionally asking for clarification about specific observations.
"You caught five of the six agents I deployed," his uncle said when he finished. "The woman in servant's clothing, the vendor with the green cap, the young man with tools, the woman in the blue shawl, and the man with the limp. Your two possibles were both civilians whose routes genuinely overlapped with yours."
"Who did I miss?"
"An elderly man feeding pigeons in the market square. He was positioned there before you arrived and remained after you left, but he observed and reported your passage. Static surveillance positions are often harder to identify than active followers because they don't exhibit movement patterns that correlate with your own."
Javelin pulled out a street map, marking the locations where each agent had operated. "Your detection rate is acceptable for initial training, though you need to develop awareness of static observation posts in addition to active tails. We'll repeat this exercise daily with varying routes and different numbers of agents until you can reliably identify all surveillance attempts."
The training sessions continued over the following days, each focusing on different aspects of tradecraft. Memory techniques occupied an entire afternoon, Javelin teaching systematic approaches for retaining observed details without written notes. The method involved creating mental frameworks, organizing information into categories that made recall easier.
They practiced with room exercises. Javelin would lead Kheldar into a prepared space, give him two minutes to observe everything, then remove him and test his recall hours later. The rooms contained dozens of objects arranged in seemingly random patterns. Memorizing everything required building mental maps, noting spatial relationships and distinctive features that served as retrieval cues.
"In operational situations, you won't have opportunities to take notes during initial observations," Javelin explained. "Everything must be retained mentally until you reach a secure location for documentation. The human memory is remarkably capable when properly trained, but it requires systematic organization rather than attempting to remember everything as an undifferentiated mass of detail."
The exercises grew progressively harder. More objects, shorter observation periods, longer delays before recall testing. Kheldar developed his own mental frameworks, finding that organizing information into narratives made retention easier. Objects became elements in invented stories, their positions and features serving as plot points that helped reconstruct the complete picture.
After five days of intensive training, Javelin presented his first solo assignment. They met in the basement workshop as usual, but his uncle's demeanor was different. More formal, treating this as an actual operational briefing rather than a training exercise.
"Lord Kamon's connection to the Tolnedran merchant factor requires further investigation," Javelin said, spreading street maps across one of the worktables. "Your observation at the state dinner identified a paper transfer that suggests an ongoing relationship. We need to understand the nature of that relationship and what information or materials are being exchanged."
He marked several locations on the map with red ink. "Kamon's residence is here in the noble quarter. His known social connections include these families. His routine typically involves morning visits to other nobles, afternoons at the palace attending various ceremonial functions, and evenings either at home or attending private social gatherings."
Kheldar studied the marked locations, already planning surveillance routes and observation positions.
"Your assignment is to follow Lord Kamon for three consecutive days, documenting all contacts, locations visited, and activities observed. You will maintain surveillance from morning until evening each day, identifying everyone he meets and noting the nature of each interaction. Under no circumstances will you allow yourself to be detected. If Kamon shows any awareness of surveillance, you will break off immediately and report."
Javelin handed him a leather notebook, small enough to conceal easily but containing blank pages for documentation. "Record everything in this journal each evening after completing the day's surveillance. Specific details matter: physical descriptions, conversation topics if you can overhear them, items exchanged, emotional states as revealed through body language and tone."
The assignment was real operational work, not a training exercise with safety measures and instructor oversight. Kheldar felt excitement mixed with nervousness. This was what he'd been working toward, actual intelligence gathering that would produce information of genuine value.
"Questions?" Javelin asked.
"What if he goes somewhere I can't follow without revealing my presence?"
"Document the location and withdraw. Static surveillance of sites he visits can be conducted separately if needed. Your primary objective is mapping his network of contacts and identifying patterns in his activities."
Kheldar began surveillance the next morning, positioning himself in a coffeehouse across the street from Lord Kamon's residence well before dawn. The establishment catered to early-rising merchants and laborers, providing excellent cover for extended observation. He claimed a table near the window with clear sightlines to Kamon's door.
Lord Kamon emerged shortly after sunrise, dressed in formal visiting attire appropriate for calling on other nobles. A servant accompanied him initially but was dismissed after two blocks, leaving Kamon to continue alone. The lord walked with casual confidence, nodding to acquaintances he passed but not stopping for conversation.
Kheldar followed at a careful distance, using the surveillance detection techniques he'd been practicing. Kamon showed no awareness of being observed, his attention focused forward rather than checking for tails. The route led deeper into the noble quarter, eventually arriving at the residence of Count Melthon, a minor aristocrat whose family had held lands in southern Drasnia for six generations.
Maintaining observation required finding a position that offered visual access without being obvious. Kheldar selected a small park across from Count Melthon's residence, claiming a bench partially concealed by ornamental shrubs. The position allowed him to watch Melthon's door while appearing to be just another idle noble's son enjoying the morning air.
Lord Kamon remained inside for approximately ninety minutes. When he emerged, his posture had shifted slightly. He walked faster, with more purpose, though his expression remained neutral. No servant or companion accompanied him. He carried nothing visible, suggesting whatever business had been conducted didn't involve physical document or material transfer.
The pattern repeated throughout the morning. Kamon visited three more noble residences, spending between one and two hours at each location. The visits appeared social on the surface, the kind of calling that minor nobles engaged in regularly to maintain their network of aristocratic connections. Nothing about the behavior suggested anything beyond normal social obligations.
Kheldar documented each visit carefully: the noble families involved, the duration of each meeting, Kamon's demeanor before and after. The details seemed mundane, but Javelin had emphasized that patterns emerged from accumulated observations rather than individual dramatic revelations.
The afternoon brought a change in routine. Instead of returning home or proceeding to the palace, Lord Kamon traveled to the merchant district. His destination was a coffeehouse near the central market, a more utilitarian establishment than the places nobles typically frequented.
Kheldar entered the coffeehouse several minutes after Kamon, claiming a table positioned to observe without being directly in the lord's sightline. The interior was crowded with merchants conducting business over coffee and light meals. Conversations overlapped, creating acoustic cover that made individual exchanges difficult to isolate.
Lord Kamon sat alone initially, ordering coffee and waiting. His attention focused on the door, watching each new arrival with brief evaluative glances. The behavior suggested he was meeting someone specific rather than simply stopping for refreshment.
The contact arrived twenty minutes later. A well-dressed man carrying a leather document case, his clothing suggesting successful merchant status rather than nobility. He scanned the room briefly before approaching Kamon's table, taking the seat across from him without any greeting that Kheldar could observe.
Their conversation was quiet, voices pitched below the ambient noise level. Kheldar couldn't hear specific words from his position, though he could observe body language and interaction patterns. The merchant opened his document case, retrieving what appeared to be papers that he spread on the table for Kamon's review. The lord examined them carefully, occasionally asking questions that the merchant answered with reference to specific sections of the documents.
The meeting lasted approximately fifteen minutes. At its conclusion, Kamon gathered the papers and placed them inside his jacket. The merchant closed his document case, both men standing and departing separately without any obvious farewell. The entire interaction had been conducted with remarkable efficiency, suggesting prior established relationship rather than initial contact.
Kheldar faced a choice: follow Lord Kamon or pursue the merchant. Javelin's assignment focused specifically on Kamon's activities, but the merchant represented a potentially significant contact worth identifying. He chose to stay with the primary target, watching Kamon depart while memorizing the merchant's physical description for later documentation.
Lord Kamon returned home as evening approached, concluding the first day's surveillance. Kheldar withdrew to a secure location and spent two hours documenting everything he'd observed in the leather notebook. Names of nobles visited, timing of each meeting, the coffeehouse contact and document transfer, detailed physical description of the merchant, behavioral observations throughout the day.
The second day followed similar patterns initially. Morning visits to noble residences, Lord Kamon maintaining his social rounds with no obvious deviation from aristocratic routine. Then the afternoon brought a return to the merchant district and the same coffeehouse.
The merchant was already present when Kamon arrived, suggesting the meeting had been scheduled for a specific time. Their interaction was brief this time, just a few minutes of quiet conversation before both departed. Kamon carried nothing visible when he left, though he could easily have concealed papers inside his clothing.
Kheldar followed as the lord traveled through the merchant district, his route winding through several commercial streets before arriving at a warehouse complex near the docks. The late afternoon timing meant reduced activity in the area, most merchants having concluded their business for the day.
Lord Kamon entered one of the larger warehouses through a side entrance. The building's main doors were closed and appeared locked, but the side entrance admitted him without difficulty, suggesting either the door was left open deliberately or Kamon possessed a key.
Finding an observation position proved challenging. The warehouse district offered little natural cover, most spaces being open loading areas designed for efficient cargo movement. Kheldar circled the building carefully, searching for concealed vantage points that would provide visual or acoustic access to the interior.
A stack of cargo crates positioned against the adjacent warehouse's exterior wall offered possibilities. The crates were arranged somewhat haphazardly, creating gaps and irregular surfaces that someone could potentially climb. More importantly, the stack's height would provide elevation, allowing observation into the target warehouse's upper windows.
Kheldar climbed carefully, testing each crate's stability before committing his weight. The structure held, though several crates shifted slightly under pressure. He worked his way to a position near the top of the stack, finding a gap between crates that offered a sightline into the warehouse's interior through a high window.
The window glass was dirty and the interior lighting dim, but he could make out shapes and movement. Lord Kamon stood near a central table where several other figures had gathered. Kheldar counted five individuals besides Kamon, all dressed in merchant attire. One of them was the contact from the coffeehouse, identifiable by his distinctive document case.
The group positioned themselves around the table, their attention focused on materials spread across its surface. Kheldar couldn't see the documents clearly from his position, but he could observe the general interaction patterns. This was a meeting of established participants, people comfortable working together rather than conducting initial negotiations.
Conversation was animated but controlled, voices rising occasionally but never reaching levels that carried clearly to his position. He caught fragments through the window's imperfect seal. References to "eastern routes" and "coordinated deliveries," though the context remained unclear. One participant gestured emphatically while discussing "schedule adjustments," apparently concerned about timing for some planned operation.
The documents they were reviewing included papers with visible seals. Kheldar strained to identify the seal designs through the dirty window glass. Some appeared to be standard Drasnian commercial stamps, the kind used for customs clearance and cargo manifests. Others looked different, their designs unfamiliar from this distance and viewing angle.
One document that passed close to the light source showed a seal that made Kheldar's breath catch. The design was Angarak, distinctive in its harsh geometric patterns and the specific symbols associated with Angarak administrative systems. He'd seen similar seals in intelligence briefings at the palace, examples of documentation used by Angarak merchants and government officials.
The meeting continued for approximately forty minutes. Participants exchanged documents, Lord Kamon receiving several sealed papers that he examined carefully before placing them in an oiled leather envelope. The atmosphere was businesslike but also carried undertones of tension, everyone present clearly aware they were conducting sensitive operations.
When the meeting concluded, participants departed separately at staggered intervals. Kamon was among the last to leave, exiting through the same side entrance he'd used to enter. Kheldar remained in his position among the crates, watching until all participants had dispersed and the warehouse returned to darkness.
Climbing down proved more difficult than ascending had been, his muscles stiff from maintaining awkward positions during the extended observation. He moved carefully, testing each foothold and avoiding sudden movements that might destabilize the crate structure.
The third day of surveillance added final confirmatory details. Lord Kamon followed established patterns through morning social visits, then returned to the merchant district for another brief coffeehouse meeting. No warehouse gathering occurred, but Kheldar observed Kamon visiting a shipping company office and conducting business with their chief factor.
By evening, he'd compiled three days of detailed documentation. The notebook contained names, locations, timing, physical descriptions of contacts, and specific observations about the warehouse meeting including the presence of Angarak sealed documents. The accumulated information painted a picture of organized activity far beyond simple social networking or legitimate commerce.
Kheldar returned to the basement workshop, finding Javelin waiting with maps already spread across a worktable. His uncle looked up as he entered, expression shifting into focused attention.
"Report."
Kheldar delivered his findings verbally, using the memory techniques to recall specific details without constant reference to his written notes. He described the morning noble visits and their apparently social nature, then detailed the coffeehouse contacts and document exchanges, culminating in the warehouse meeting observation.
"Five participants besides Lord Kamon, all dressed as merchants," he recounted. "They reviewed documents around a central table, discussing what they called 'eastern routes' and 'coordinated deliveries.' The schedule appeared important to them, several participants expressing concern about timing. Multiple documents bore Angarak seals, distinctive geometric patterns consistent with examples I've seen in palace briefings."
Javelin listened without interruption, his expression grave as the report continued. When Kheldar finished, his uncle was silent for several moments, studying the maps and making notes in his private journal.
"The Angarak seals confirm our worst suspicions," Javelin said finally. "Lord Kamon isn't just involved in smuggling operations for profit. His network has connections to Angarak intelligence agents operating within Drasnia. The sealed documents you observed are likely communications or operational instructions being passed through commercial channels."
He marked several locations on the map where Kheldar had observed meetings. "This represents a significant security threat. Angarak intelligence gathering in the western kingdoms is extensive and sophisticated. They use merchant networks as cover for espionage operations, exactly as we do. The fact that a Drasnian noble is facilitating their activities suggests either coercion or ideological sympathy."
Kheldar felt the weight of what he'd uncovered settling over him. This wasn't academic exercise or training scenario. This was genuine espionage, hostile intelligence operations directed against his kingdom. The people he'd observed in that warehouse were working to undermine Drasnian security, gathering information or facilitating activities that threatened the nation.
"What happens now?" he asked.
"Now we conduct deeper investigation to map the complete network and identify all participants before taking action," Javelin replied. "Your surveillance has provided crucial initial intelligence, but we need comprehensive understanding before we can neutralize the operation. Arresting Lord Kamon immediately would alert his contacts and cause the network to disperse or go dormant."
His uncle closed the journal, regarding Kheldar with an expression that combined satisfaction and something more complex. Pride, perhaps, mixed with the grim awareness of what this work actually entailed.
"You've just completed your first genuine intelligence operation and uncovered an active Angarak espionage network operating in Drasnia. This is the reality of what we do. Not games or intellectual exercises, but identifying actual threats to the kingdom and providing the information needed to counter them."
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!