The darkening sky of evening over Enderton matched the mood of the council as they walked towards the bakery. A quick question at one of the affected homes got Phipp the name and location of the baker, a recent arrival to the area.

Tyler pushed open the door, looked around for obvious threats, then nodded to Jason who stepped into the new building.

“Just a minute!” a voice called from the back room. The king stepped up to the shelves displaying the few baked goods that had not sold earlier in the day. Jason’s eyes fell on one basket in particular. There it is, he thought. Square scoring and all. He gave a significant look to the rest of the council that trickled through the front door, and pointed his chin at the container with the familiar loaves.

“There we go,” a man emerged from the door behind the bakery’s wooden counter, rubbing his hands off on the apron he wore. “How can I…” His words fell off as he took in the unexpected crowd in the space.

“What an unexpected group,” he faltered, “and so late in the day. I am afraid I have almost sold out, but if you don’t see what you’re looking for today, I would be glad to take orders for tomorrow.”

“Do you not recognize your king?” Alex sternly spoke as the man finished. The baker’s eyes widened as he scanned the group.

“My humble apologies,” the man said, and bowed low towards Alex. “I am new to the area and have not yet seen your majesty.”

Jason’s laughter filled the room, and Alex slammed his palm into his forehead. “Not me, you simpleton,” he growled. “Him!”Alex practically shouted as he pointed to the king.

The baker craned his neck up to look at where the angry man was pointing, and shuffled his feet to reorient his extended genuflection. “Apologies, again, your majesty,” The man held his position for a few more seconds, and finally the king controlled his mirth for long enough to ask the baker to stand.

“Ahh,” Jason wiped tears from his eyes. “It’s nice to just be another human sometimes. Thank you for the humor.

“That said,” he continued in a more controlled tone, “we actually came because of this,” he pointed towards the loaves in question. “What can you tell me about them?”

“My rye bread?” the baker asked in confusion. “Nobles don’t normally like it as much, but I’d be happy to tell you anything you want to know.”

“Any specific herbs you add to it?” Jason asked, but the man shook his head no.

The king continued his line of questioning. “Unusual ingredients? Poisons?”

At that, the man’s eyes widened more than Jason thought possible. “N-no my lord,” he stammered. “Of course not!”

Jason sighed. “Unfortunately, there are dozens of households with people writhing in pain, some dying. The one thing they all seem to have in common is you.”

Tyler stepped forward as the man became increasingly frantic.

“Tyler and Alex have some questions for you, and I want you to answer them all to the best of your ability. You will not be mistreated,” Jason shot a stern look towards both of his men, “but until we know more, you will remain in custody.”

The baker broke down, sobbing, and Alex grabbed a chair to seat him. I hate to have to do this, but I can’t take any chances, the king reminded himself. I wonder what evidence we can find in the kitchen?

Phipp and Samantha both followed him through the opening to the rear of the building and started opening containers and rifling through the man’s storage. So much for treating this like a crime scene. But I probably couldn’t do anything with fingerprints, anyway.

Jason joined the search, looking for anything out of place or hidden. It wasn’t long until Phipp called him over.

“Take a look at this,” the man said. “This must be the rye he was using.” The councilman allowed the grains to cascade through his fingers, back into the sack.

“Is that what it normally looks like?” Jason asked. “It looks like it’s a blend of grains.”

Phipp shook his head. “No, not usually. I have seen dark, large grains like this mixed in with rye before, but never this much. I’m not sure what it is, though. Perhaps a farmer would know for sure if it was another type of grain or if they have begun to rot and swell.”

“Good idea,” Jason commented. “But until we can find someone who knows if this could be our culprit, let’s keep searching for anything else unusual.”

---

Try as they might, the group was unable to find anything else that seemed worthy of scrutiny.

The building was quite new and snug by medieval standards, and apparently the mice and rats hadn’t had a chance to move in yet and leave their droppings amongst the supplies. It’s sad that I’m impressed by that, Jason shook his head. But this guy either doesn’t keep his poison here, or it is already mixed with innocuous ingredients, or it was the rye. He admitted that he bought the load from a farmer at a very cheap price, and wondered if the farmer thought it was partially spoiled.

But if he is responsible for so much suffering and death, is ‘I didn’t know’ a valid defense? He wondered as he stood looking down at the haggard man. What do I do now? While I think rye is the culprit, I can’t be 100% sure...

“Alex,” the king finally spoke.

“Yes, your majesty,” the man replied.

“Burn all the rye,” Jason commanded, “and let the people in Enderton and the rest of Unity know what we’ve concluded. Any rye is to be destroyed if it has darker grains. As for our baker, here, keep him under guard until we know for sure. Then I will pass judgement.”

The man in question closed his eyes, and didn’t bother to hide the tears that began to flow anew.

We’ll see. Jason thought. I hope this works, because if not, I’m removing a major food source from the poorest of my citizens. There will be ramifications of that, I’m sure.

Please, please work.

---

Victor’s mother hugged him tightly, squeezing him and refusing to let him escape.

I’m not a kid any more, he thought to himself, but didn’t say a word under the watchful eye of his father, the Marshal of Brighton.

Finally, she let him go and stepped back. Piece, his father, approached and clasped his arm.

“It will not be long, my son, until you reach my height,” the Marshal spoke solemnly. “I have no doubt you’ll surpass the height of my acheivements, either, in your own time. This is your opportunity to begin that journey.

“Be cautious. Be considerate. Do not rush into hasty decisions. Ignore empty flattery, and assume all flattery is empty. Keep your ears open, but do not let others decide your path.

“You are going to have no authority or position in this new kingdom of Unity. If you act like you do, it will likely be your ruin. If you embrace it, it will be your strength. There is no freer man than one without a title.”

Victor quitely listened to his father’s farewell speech, then interjected, “But am I not doing this for marriage and perhap even a title?”

Pierce smiled broadly. “Perhaps I misspoke. There is no freer man than one without a title and unmarried,” he emphasized the last word and dodged the swat from his wife. “What I am trying to say is that you will be in a position to make choices that others can not. The plan we discussed should set you up for success, draw Unity and Brighton closer together, and please the king. But don’t be afraid to make choices in the next few months that have even more potential. You are a smart young man,” the Marshal concluded. “Make us proud, my boy.”