True to his word, Thorne provided resources.
Three days after their meeting, Ren found himself in a private study at the Thorne estate, surrounded by decades of accumulated intelligence. Maps, ledgers, correspondence, reports from agents across the continent. A lifetime of information gathering spread across tables and shelves.
"The Patron first appeared in references about forty years ago," Thorne explained, gesturing at a yellowed document. "A merchant from the eastern provinces mentioned 'The Patron's assistance' in securing a difficult trade route. I noted it at the time but didn't think much of it."
"And then?"
"And then I kept noticing. The Patron's name, or title, appeared in places it shouldn't. Transactions that made no sense. Political decisions that defied logic. Always subtle, always deniable, but forming a pattern if you knew how to look."
Ren studied the timeline Thorne had constructed. The Patron's influence seemed to spike every five to seven years, then recede. Major events like economic crashes, political upheavals, even a brief civil war twenty years ago, all aligned with these periods of activity.
"They're not just manipulating commerce," Ren said slowly. "They're shaping history."
"That's my conclusion as well. But to what end?" Thorne shook his head. "I've spent years trying to understand their goals and failed. Every time I think I've identified a pattern, something contradicts it."
"Maybe that's the point. Maybe confusion is the strategy."
"Perhaps. But confusion without purpose is just chaos. And The Patron's moves are too precise for chaos."
Kira entered the study, carrying more documents. She'd been helping organize the intelligence, bringing her own pattern recognition skills to bear on the problem.
"I've found something," she announced. "In the shipping records from fifteen years ago. Look at this."
She spread a series of manifests across the table. At first glance, they seemed unremarkable: cargo shipments between Silverfall and the eastern provinces. But as Kira pointed out specific entries, a pattern emerged.
"These items don't exist," she said. "Fictional goods being shipped by fictional merchants to fictional destinations. But money changed hands. Real money, documented in legitimate banking records."
"A laundering operation?"
"More than that. The money flows point to a single destination, an estate in the eastern mountains called Shadowholt. According to official records, it's been abandoned for centuries." Kira's expression was grim. "According to local rumors, it's anything but."
Thorne leaned forward, his fragment ability activating as he touched the documents. "She's right. These are falsified records covering genuine transactions. Whoever created them had access to legitimate merchant codes and banking protocols."
"Inside knowledge," Ren said. "Someone connected to Silverfall's commercial infrastructure."
"Or someone who controls it." Kira met his eyes. "The Patron isn't an outsider influencing the city. They're embedded in its foundations."
The revelation shifted Ren's understanding. He'd been imagining The Patron as an external force, a criminal mastermind or foreign power manipulating events from a distance. But if they were part of Silverfall itself...
"We need to narrow the list of suspects," he said. "People with access to banking protocols, merchant codes, political influence. People who've been active in the city for at least forty years."
"That's still hundreds of possibilities," Thorne pointed out.
"Then we start eliminating. Who doesn't fit the profile? Who couldn't have made these moves?" Ren turned to Kira. "We need Brix. His information networks could help identify candidates."
"Brix works for the Silver Shadows. And the Shadows..."
"Might be compromised." Ren nodded. "But we can test that. Give Brix a piece of false information, something traceable. If it gets back to The Patron, we'll know the Shadows are involved."
"That's risky."
"Everything is risky. But sitting here analyzing old documents isn't going to catch someone who's evaded detection for four decades." He turned to Thorne. "You said you'd give me resources. I need access to the Shadows, real access, not contractor status. And I need authority to pursue leads without asking permission."
Thorne considered. "The Shadows are protective of their independence. They won't appreciate me inserting someone into their operations."
"Then don't tell them you're inserting me. Let them think I'm just a useful contractor who keeps stumbling onto valuable information." Ren's smile was thin. "The best cover is one that looks like coincidence."
"You're thinking like Varen," Kira observed quietly.
"Varen's thinking got results. His methods were wrong, but his strategies worked." Ren met her eyes. "I'm not becoming him. But I'm using what he knew."
"Be careful you know the difference."
It was a fair warning. The line between using Varen's memories and being used by them was thin. But right now, those memories were his greatest asset.
"I'll complete my remaining contracts," he told Thorne. "Build credibility with the Shadows. Once they trust me, I'll start asking questions, subtle ones, deniable ones. If The Patron has hooks in the organization, I'll find them."
"And if they find you first?"
"Then I'll die and resurrect somewhere inconvenient." Ren touched the Compass on his palm. "But I don't think they will. Whoever The Patron is, they're used to operating without opposition. They won't expect someone to actually hunt them."
"Collectors have tried before," Thorne warned. "Some of them were more experienced than you. None of them succeeded."
"Were any of them working with you?"
Thorne was silent for a moment. "No. They weren't."
"Then maybe that's the difference." Ren turned toward the door. "I'll report back when I have something concrete. In the meantime, keep digging through the archives. There's a pattern here. We just need to find it."
---
Outside the estate, Kira fell into step beside him.
"You're taking a lot of risks."
"I know."
"For a fragment you might get willingly if you just wait."
"Waiting isn't an option." Ren stopped walking, facing her. "Thorne has two to five years. In that time, how many other fragments will I need? How many other holders will have to die? If there's a chance I can earn fragments through cooperation instead of violence, I have to pursue it."
"Even if it gets you killed?"
"Especially then." He started walking again. "Kira, I didn't ask for this. I didn't want to be a Collector, didn't want to spend my existence hunting pieces of myself across infinite realms. But since I don't have a choice, I'm going to do it my way. And my way doesn't involve becoming another Varen."
Kira was quiet for a long moment. "You know, when I first met you, I thought you were naive. A soft man from a soft world, completely unprepared for what was coming."
"And now?"
"Now I think you're naive in a different way." Her smile was unexpectedly warm. "You still believe in things. Kindness, fairness, doing the right thing even when it's harder. Most people lose that after enough pain. You haven't."
"Maybe I will. Eventually."
"Maybe. But until then..." She extended her hand. "I'm with you. Whatever stupid, reckless, idealistic thing you decide to do next, I'm with you."
Ren took her hand. "Partners?"
"Partners."
They walked back toward the Warrens together, the afternoon sun casting long shadows ahead of them. Somewhere in those shadows, The Patron waited.
But for the first time since arriving in Silverfall, Ren felt like he was moving forward rather than just reacting.
He had a target. He had resources. He had allies.
Now he just needed to survive long enough to use them.
**[INVESTIGATION STATUS: INITIATED]**
**[PRIME SUSPECT: THE PATRON (IDENTITY UNKNOWN)]**
**[CONFIRMED DETAILS: 40+ YEARS ACTIVE, SILVERFALL-CONNECTED, MASSIVE RESOURCES]**
**[LEADS: SHADOWHOLT ESTATE, FALSIFIED SHIPPING RECORDS, BANKING PROTOCOLS]**
**[NEXT STEPS: COMPLETE SHADOW CONTRACTS, INFILTRATE INFORMATION NETWORKS]**
**[ALLIANCE STATUS: KIRA SHADOWMEND (SOLID), CASSIUS THORNE (CONDITIONAL)]**
**[WARNING: HUNTING SOMETHING THIS POWERFUL WILL ATTRACT ATTENTION]**
**[PREPARE FOR COUNTERATTACK]**
The hunt had truly begun.
And Ren had a feeling his prey wasn't going to go down quietly.
