Late that night, several soldiers from the Wayne faction quietly inspected the fortress armory after receiving a report that sothing had gone wrong with the inventory records.
At first, the problem seed small. A few crates of weapons had been signed out from the storage ledger without clear authorization. But when the officers began comparing the records with the guard logs from the inner gate, sothing unusual appeared.
The transfer orders listed the Lennox military unit as the receiving party.
The soldiers exchanged uneasy glances.
"Did the Lennox forces report a training exercise?"
"No."
"Then why were these crates moved?"
One of the officers frowned as he examined the docunts again. "These orders carry Lennox command approval."
The news spread quietly among the guards.
By morning the rumors had already begun circulating through the fortress.
At first, the rumors moved quietly through the barracks and supply stations, carried in low voices between soldiers who were not entirely sure whether what they had heard was true or simply another misunderstanding caused by the growing tension between the two most powerful families in the fortress. But the story did not fade the way ordinary rumors usually did. Instead, it grew larger with every retelling, until the whispers eventually reached the streets where civilians began hearing fragnts of it as well.
Soone claid that several crates of weapons had disappeared from the fortress armory during the night.
Another insisted that the transfer orders bore the authorization of the Lennox military unit.
Others added their own pieces to the story, saying they had seen ard n moving equipnt through the inner district long after midnight, while the fortress should have been quiet.
By the ti the morning patrol finished its rounds, the whispers had already beco accusations.
And accusations had a way of spreading quickly in a place where fear and suspicion had beco a normal part of everyday life.
The central square outside the inner wall was crowded with more people than usual.
Most days it was filled with workers transporting supplies, or residents, and workers from all sectors. But today the square had beco sothing else entirely.
Groups of soldiers stood facing one another, their weapons lowered but clearly ready if the situation required it.
On one side stood the soldiers loyal to the Wayne family.
On the other stood the Lennoxs’ military force.
Neither side looked willing to step back.
One of the Wayne officers held a sheet of paper in his hand as he spoke loudly enough for everyone around him to hear.
"These orders were signed under Lennox’s command," he said firmly. "Three crates of rifles and two boxes of ammunition left the armory last night, and they were recorded as transferred to your unit."
A Lennox soldier stepped forward imdiately. "That’s impossible. We never received any such weapons."
The Wayne officer shook the paper in the air. "Then explain this."
Murmurs spread through the crowd that had begun gathering around the square.
Residents whispered to one another, exchanging uneasy glances while trying to understand what was happening.
Inside the fortress, weapons ant survival. If soone had been secretly moving them outside the system of command, that was not a small matter.
That was treason.
Another Wayne soldier spoke up, his voice sharper than the first. "Several guards at the inner gate reported seeing Lennox soldiers transporting crates through the district late last night."
"That’s a lie," a Lennox guard snapped back.
"You expect us to believe the armory records are wrong?"
"You expect us to believe your accusations without proof?"
The voices rose louder. Hands tightened around rifle grips. And the distance between the two groups slowly began shrinking.
Before the tension could escalate between both sides Chris Lennox arrived, his expression was blank but his eyes were sharp and calculating. Behind him, Dylan followed, matching his pacing. His eyes were grim, and a vein bulged out from his neck, his eyes glaring at the Waynes soldiers.
Chris had been inford that there was a disturbance among the soldiers, but he had not expected to see half the fortress military gathered in one place when he stepped into the square.
The mont he appeared, several heads turned toward him.
The Wayne officer holding the docunt stepped forward imdiately.
"Mr. Lennox," he said, a faint smirk flashed through his face so fast that most people missed it, however it didn’t escape Chris’s scrutinising gaze.
Chris stopped several paces away from the opposing lines of soldiers and glanced calmly between the two groups before focusing on the officer.
"What is happening here?" he asked.
The officer lifted the docunt again. "Several crates of weapons disappeared from the armory last night," he said. "According to the transfer records, they were authorized under Lennox’s command.
Chris frowned slightly. "That’s impossible, we never made such an authorisation."
"That’s what we’d like you to explain."
Behind Chris, the Lennox soldiers had already begun forming a tighter line, their posture clearly defensive.
One of them stepped forward. "We didn’t move any weapons last night, and besides we were in charge of guarding the entrance gate and towers. You are all trying to fra us and bully us!"
The Wayne officer looked unimpressed. "Then how did these orders appear?"
Chris held out his hand calmly. "Let see."
The officer hesitated briefly before handing the docunt over.
Chris scanned the paper quietly. The transfer record carried an authorization seal connected to the Lennox military division. At first glance, it looked legitimate, but sothing about it did not sit right with him.
Chris lowered the paper slowly. "This signature is forged," he said.
The Wayne officer scoffed. "That’s convenient."
"Why don’t you conduct a proper investigation since you won’t believe my words, because that authorization never ca from ."
"Then perhaps soone in your command did."
Chris shook his head. "No one in my command would move weapons without informing ."
The murmuring around the square grew louder.
Suspicion moved through the crowd like a ripple spreading across water. At that mont, the tension between the two factions had reached a dangerous point.
Several soldiers had already raised their rifles halfway.
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