Chapter 68: A Whisper of Change
Levi didn't sleep that night.
After the builders left, after the crowd had dispersed and the air was no longer thick with grief or fear, he sat alone in his home—his hands resting flat against the table.
He had work to do.
No one was around to see what followed.
[CHEAT ENGINE: ACTIVE]Silver Stags: 1,108 → 108Mossy Stone Slabs: 0 → 200Carved Wood: 0 → 300
In the corner of his room, sacks of coin blinked into place, followed by stacked bundles of wood and slabs of dark, damp stone. He moved quickly, piling them neatly in a side room, covering them with spare cloth.
By dawn, Levi's home no longer looked like a boy's dwelling—it looked like a storeroom for a small noble estate.
He washed up and stepped outside just as the sky turned orange.
"Levi!" came a familiar voice. Jory again—red-faced and winded from running.
"They're waiting," he said. "The builders. Just outside the path."
Levi nodded. "Bring them in."
Moments later, Bram and his men returned. Fewer this time—just four of them, but they looked well-rested and skeptical. Levi didn't speak. He only went inside and returned with another sack.
He placed it at Bram's feet.
The carpenter didn't even reach for it at first. He just stared at Levi, as if trying to see through the boy's skin.
"That makes two thousand silver stags," Levi said plainly. "And inside"—he pointed to the house—"you'll find more stone and wood than you could've hoped for."
The men exchanged glances. One of them stepped inside, then quickly backed out again, eyes wide.
"We'll send the ravens today," Bram said at last. "The word'll spread far with this kind of coin."
"You'll get your hundred men?" Levi asked.
"Maybe more," Bram replied. "But we'll need tents. Tools. Wagons."
"You'll have them."
The men nodded, and for the first time, they bowed—not low, not formal, but enough to mark a change.
A shift.
When they left, Levi watched them disappear into the fog. Jory lingered, uncertain.
"You did it," he said after a pause. "You really did it. They believe in you now."
Levi shrugged. "Doesn't matter if they believe. Just as long as they build."
Later that afternoon, Mae came to see him. She didn't knock.
"You're stirring up a storm," she said.
"I know."
"You're feeding strangers, handing out coin like it's river mud, and now I hear a hundred builders are coming. You planning to be a lord next?"
Levi smirked. "No. I just don't want to be forgotten. Not anymore."
Mae watched him a while, then gave a tired sigh. "Just remember—gold burns faster than dry hay. And folk talk."
"I know," he said again. "But soon, they'll be talking about how Bogwater became something more."
She shook her head, muttered something about boys and their foolishness, and left.
Levi turned back inside—and that was when the knock came.
Sharp. Twice.
He opened the door, and found a rider in northern leather, his tunic damp with travel.
"A message from ser Gewin Thalan" the man said, holding a sealed letter. "For Levi Hallow."
Levi took it, stared at the wax seal. A wolf's head, pressed deep.
And just like that, the ground beneath him shifted once again.