The next morning, he gathered his closest allies—Lukas, Elara, and Torren—in secret near the river.
"We can't stop building," Adrian said. "If we do, the saboteurs win. But we also can't ignore this. Someone inside is working against us."
Elara's jaw tightened. "You think it's the chief."
"I think he's pulling strings," Adrian admitted. "But strings only move if hands are willing to be pulled. That means more than one person."
Torren spat into the dirt. "Cowards. Let them come at me with hammers, not stones in the night."
Adrian's expression hardened. "No. They want to break our spirit. Instead, we'll break theirs. We rebuild the kiln—twice as strong. We guard it day and night. And when they try again…" He let the silence hang, cold and sharp.
Lukas's small voice broke it. "What if… what if they're our neighbors? People we eat with, work with?"
Adrian looked down at the boy, then at the horizon where the wall was supposed to rise. His voice was quiet, but unyielding.
"Then we find out what matters more—blood ties, or the future."
The new kiln rose faster than the first.
By Adrian's orders, villagers worked in shifts. Torren oversaw the fire, Elara organized the clay and water, and Lukas darted about, recording sketches of every step. This time, guards stood watch at all hours, spears in hand.
The saboteurs had struck once. They wouldn't get a second chance.
Or so Adrian thought.
On the third night, Lukas shook him awake. "Master—come quick!"
Adrian grabbed his spear and sprinted after the boy. They reached the kiln just as Torches revealed a trail of footprints pressed deep into the damp earth near the riverbank.
Not raider tracks. Bare feet. Villager feet.
Adrian knelt, tracing the path with his hand. The prints were fresh, still sharp. They led straight toward the outer huts.
Elara arrived with her son on her hip, eyes narrowing. "Someone among us."
Torren's face darkened like storm clouds. "Point me at them, Builder, and I'll drag them out by the neck."
But Adrian's voice was calm, measured. "Not yet. If we accuse the wrong person, the village fractures. We need proof."