No one rang another bell that night. The third operational test never happened. After the unknown lower bell changed its answer three times against a challenge it had never heard before, Mireva ended every experiment that could give it another sample. The successful supply route stayed closed, the healer relay stayed silent, and the bronze authentication pairs were collected, labeled, and placed under guard.
By morning, the Sunken Belfry looked almost exactly as it had before the tests. Some of the wardens found that harder to accept than an obvious failure, especially after watching the new authentication method succeed twice.
"We proved it can work," one of them said.
Mireva stood over the same upper-city map they had been using since the bells went silent.
"Under controlled conditions. That tells me we can keep testing. It does not tell me where I'm willing to trust it."
The older bellkeeper placed one of the matched bronze pieces beside the map.
