Asteria Pyromacha's Arc

Chapter 3 of 5

Asteria returned to the forge at dawn to check the weapon's progress. The anvil stood empty. The half-forged blade she had left cooling overnight was gone. She searched the workshop twice, moving tools and checking behind the quench barrels. Nothing. She stepped outside and found a stone pillar standing in the courtyard that hadn't been there the night before. Rope wrapped around it twice, binding something against the weathered surface. She approached and saw a torn cloth map tied to the stone, marked with charcoal lines that traced routes she recognized — paths both apprentices used to reach the forge. Pine needles stuck to the fabric. Below the map, wedged between the rope coils, sat a leather work glove. She pulled it free and turned it over. The stitching pattern matched the taller apprentice's hand work, the one who carried the signet ring. Asteria walked past the monument at the edge of the grounds, where broken chains lay wrapped around carved stone. The engravings told old stories about fractured alliances and the cost of distrust. Someone had staged this scene carefully, planting evidence to point blame while the real thief stayed hidden. She looked back at the pillar, at the glove and map displayed like an accusation. The weapon was gone, but the theft itself had become a test — one she hadn't designed. She pulled the map free and folded it into her belt. The glove she left tied to the pillar where both apprentices would see it when they arrived. If she removed the evidence, she would be choosing sides. If she confronted the accused apprentice alone, she would fracture the fragile cooperation they had built at the vault. She sat on the steps of the forge and waited. When they came and saw what had been left for them, they would have to decide whether to trust the planted proof or question who wanted them divided. The weapon was gone, but the apprentices' response would show her whether they had learned anything from the doubled locks beneath the floor.