Success was a double-edged sword. The Hawkfield favor opened doors Silas never knew existed, but it also drew the gaze of those who guarded the threshold. The "paint and drum" story became Guild legend, told in the Branch C office with awe and in the Branch A mess hall with derisive laughter. But the laughter was growing strained.
Silas's life became a paradox of routine and tension. His days were filled with "Miscellaneous Queries" that were now anything but trivial:
C-017: Calmed a "haunted" forge whose bellows roared with the ghostly screams of a long-dead smith. Solution: Identified a rare metal-eating lichen growing in the air ducts, whose spores vibrated at a specific frequency when air passed through, mimicking a scream. Removed lichen; replaced with common moss. Reward: A masterw
