Dawn came cold and clear.
The bait convoy rolled out at 5:47 AM. Two empty wagons, six guards, one old mage who’d agreed to fake a detection ward for 200 silver. Kade rode rear guard, hidden under a tarp and illusion wards. Ryn led the front, pretending to be just another captain.
From the treeline, Vex watched through a spyglass.
“Empty,” Kess muttered, her shoulder still in a sling. “No mage signature. No real weight.”
Vex lowered the glass. “Good. They’re desperate.”
He didn’t know we’d been watching him watch us.
---
*7:12 AM – The Ravine*
Vex’s pack hit exactly where we expected. Six rogues dropped from the ridge, targeting the front wagon.
Ryn didn’t fight back immediately. She let them take the first wagon, shouted for her men to “fall back,” and ran the convoy into the ra
