Aris spent the next two days buried in the archives, a dusty, cavernous room deep within the barracks that smelled of old paper, leather, and neglect. The geological surveys were a treasure trove of data, hand-drawn maps and notes from a century past, detailing Veridia's foundations. She cross-referenced them with the city map of Wraith attacks, her notes spreading across a large desk like a detective's case file.
Lysette had provided her with drafting tools and a seemingly endless supply of strong, bitter tea. The artificer checked in occasionally, her skepticism slowly being replaced by a genuine, professional interest.
"The old steam vents..." Aris murmured, tracing a line on a yellowed parchment with her finger. "They don't just run under the attack sites. They converge."
Lysette leaned over her shoulder. "Converge where?"
Aris laid a fresh piece of tracing paper over the main city map. She plotted the vent lines, the water table anomalies, and the magnetic variations noted in the surveys. The lines, chaotic at first, began to draw inward, like iron filings to a magnet. They all pointed to a single, central location.
"The Old Quarter," Aris said, her voice tight with excitement. "Right here. Beneath the abandoned Alderman's Hall. There's a nexus. A confluence of geological features. If I were a parasitic, entropic entity drawing energy from the city, that's where I'd put my... my heart."
Lysette stared at the map, her sharp mind processing the implications. "A nest. You think there's a nest."
"It's the only thing that makes sense," Aris said. "The Greater Wraiths have to be coming from somewhere more stable than a random alley. This nexus could be providing a stable energy source, a place for them to coalesce, to grow stronger."
Just then, the archive door opened and Kaelen entered. He moved with his usual silent intensity, his presence immediately filling the dusty space. His eyes went first to Aris, then to the map spread out before her.
"Well?" he asked, his single word carrying the weight of expectation.
Aris took a deep breath. "I think I've found it. The source." She explained her findings, pointing to the convergence point under the Alderman's Hall. "It's a theory, but the data supports it. The attack patterns, the geology... it all points there."
Kaelen studied the map for a long, silent minute. The glow from his eyes seemed to intensify as he absorbed the information. He reached out, his fingers—calloused and scarred—brushing over the spot she had indicated.
"A nest," he repeated, the word a low, dangerous whisper.
"If I'm right, destroying it could significantly reduce the Wraith attacks," Aris said. "Maybe even stop them altogether."
He finally looked up from the map, his fiery gaze locking with hers. "And if you're wrong?"
"Then we've searched an empty building," Lysette interjected pragmatically. "It's a solid lead, Kaelen. The best we've had in years."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. Aris could see the calculation in his eyes. The risk. The potential reward. The lives of his Guards. He was a man who carried the weight of every decision, every life lost.
"Gather a team," he said to Lysette, his decision made. "The best we have. We move at dusk." His eyes returned to Aris. "You will come. You will guide us."
A jolt of fear, sharp and cold, shot through her. Go into a potential Wraith nest? The thought was terrifying. But the look in his eyes held no room for refusal. He wasn't asking the theorist; he was commanding the asset who had found the target.
She had wanted to be useful. She had wanted to understand. Now, she was being taken to the very heart of the mystery, and there would be no hiding behind books and maps. She would be in the field, at the forefront, with the most dangerous man in Veridia.
The intellectual pursuit was over. The real mission was beginning.