As morning cast its golden rays upon Argonia Central, Ean awoke to the tantalizing scent of bacon mingling with the faint aroma of coffee. He rolled out of bed and made his way downstairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Samuel. Uh… what's that you're eating?"
"Cake and bacon."
"Cake and bacon? Bacon, I can understand. But cake? For breakfast?"
"I like cake. I like bacon," Samuel stated. "At my age, I could die before the day ends. When I start each day by enjoying my favorite meal, I know if I die, I will die happy."
Ean chuckled. "Who am I to argue with your wisdom? Cake and bacon for breakfast it is."
"Not for you," Samuel corrected. "You're young and need to stay healthy. I made eggs and fried red potatoes for you. You can have two strips of bacon. Then it's back to the park to see if the spy replied to your message."
"A farmer's meal it is then," Ean replied. "When I return, I want to help you around the store to repay your hospitality."
"I appreciate the offer," Samuel said, "but you should attend to your duties as the interim Spymaster of Argonia."
"For the few days I was an apprentice, I tidied up the office. What exactly are my daily responsibilities?"
"To be the spy in plain sight. Wander the town listening for what people are gossiping about. Let the concerns of the citizens be an indicator of the information you should be gathering for the king before he knows he needs it."
"I serve by eavesdropping. Interesting. If I have to return early, what's the protocol for coming and going without disturbing your business?"
"Check the window display. If you see a single book bound in red leather, I'm with an important customer and you should wait. Two red books mean danger." Samuel set a plate of food in front of Ean. "Spare key for the backdoor is on the west side window casing."
Ean savored his breakfast before leaving to wander the city streets.
* * *
He meandered through the lively streets, scanning the crowd. His wandering brought him to the market square where vendors haggled with merchants, merchants peddled wares to customers, and the constant flow of customers' gold pieces kept the wheels of commerce turning.
As he strolled through the throng, he pretended to inspect the goods for sale while attuning his ears to the murmur of the crowd. A shopkeeper's voice caught his attention.
"Business sure has been slow today," she said with a sigh.
A shopkeeper in the stall next to hers nodded in agreement. "Fewer visitors from Brindle," he said.
"Where are they at?" she asked.
Her companion responded with a grim expression. "You haven't heard? A group from Brindle got into a fight in Argonia North. Guards roughed them up real bad. Now Brindlers are afraid to cross the bridge into Argonia."
"That's not good for business," the woman lamented. "Most of my customers come from Brindle."
Ean's concern grew as he listened to their conversation. The tension between Argonia and Brindle was palpable, even among the common folk. As he continued to eavesdrop, the questbook in his satchel vibrated softly, signaling it had recorded this new information.
LOG ENTRY CREATED: Rumors - Argonia Central
Recalling his primary aim for today was to reestablish communication with his local spy, he made his way, indirectly, to Argonia Central Park. He was hopeful the dead drop held a message with answers.
The park was full of young school-age children playing and exploring. His pulse quickened. What if a kid discovers the dead drop and takes our messages?
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Trying not to look concerned, he made his way to the tree with the dead drop. It was still there. Someone had draped sap-covered branches over the hollowed-out log. His message was gone. In its place, a new message.
Encrypted_Message-02 added to Inventory
Ean opened his questbook and pretended to read while palming the scrap of parchment and placing it inside the notebook. His fingers trembled in anticipation of decrypting the message.
HXOTJRK GZZGIQY GXMUTOG CKYZ OT ZCU CKKQY
Reversing the words, he only saw one word that might be reversed. He flipped the message end-to-end and then flipped it over. No orientation he tried made the message decipherable. His heart sank.
I hope Samuel knows how to decipher it.
QUEST ACCEPTED: Q-005 Decipher Encrypted_Message-02
* * *
Samuel was busy poring over a large tome as Ean entered from the rear of the shop. He approached his mentor and held out the message. "The spy delivered this, but it's not encoded with the Reverse The Word cipher."
Samuel's eyes flicked over the parchment. "Let me see," he instructed. "The spy has anticipated this may be a trap so changed the cipher," he mused. "If they believe they are communicating with you, then they will have used another simple cipher."
"There are more ciphers?" Ean asked, surprise lacing his voice.
"Oh yes," Samuel replied, a wry smile on his face. "Many more. One of the most famous is the Caesar Cipher. It is named after a famous military general from antiquity who encrypted messages by shifting the alphabet 3 characters to the right."
SKILL UNLOCKED: Caesar Cipher
LOG ENTRY UPDATED: Spycraft – Ciphers
Ean used a blank piece of parchment to write the alphabet in two row. On the second row, he started the letters 3 characters to the left. He stared at the cryptic message in his hand, his frustration growing. He had shifted the alphabet, as Samuel had instructed, but the resulting plaintext was gibberish.
uelqgoh dwwdfnv dujrqld zhvw lq wzr zhhnv
Confusion and frustration filled his brain as he stared at the parchment. Two feelings he was growing accustomed to in his new role. His self-doubt whispered the safety of Argonia was in doubt if they were relying on a spymaster incapable of cracking the simplest of ciphers.
"What did I do wrong?" he asked, turning to his mentor with a perplexed frown.
"The Caesar Cipher is too well-known," Samuel explained. "The spy must have shifted the alphabet by another value, or 'offset.'"
Ean's shoulders slumped in defeat. "With twenty-six letters in the alphabet, the shift could be anywhere from one to twenty-six," he sighed. "Does the spy expect us to try every combination?"
"Sometimes, a brute force approach like trying every combination is necessary," Samuel replied. "However, I suspect our spy used another trick of spycraft to leave a clue. Examine the parchment for any clues."
Ean was inspecting the parchment when the front door's jingle prompted him to hurry upstairs out of sight.
While Samuel helped the customer, Ean stared at the parchment but noticed nothing other than writing. Running his fingers across it, the bottom right corner had a slight roughness. He held the parchment up to the light streaming in from a window. His jaw dropped. The bottom right corner was pierced with six pinpricks that let the light through. Excitement surged through him. Were they made by accident or put there by the spy? A glimmer of hope flickered within him.
He waited for the customer to leave and then rushed downstairs.
"Samuel," he said, his voice hushed with excitement, "Look."
Samuel leaned in, his sharp eyes examining the pinpricks. "Those are not there by accident."
Ean's anticipation mounted as Samuel continued, "The number of pinpricks is a message hidden in the message, telling you the offset value."
CLASS RANK INCREASE: Spymaster +1 (4/6)
Comprehension washed over Ean. "Spycraft holds so many secrets," he breathed, awestruck. "Nothing is ever what it seems at first glance."
"The point," Samuel explained, "is to try to hide information in plain sight in a way that only those trained in spycraft can see what is hidden. Try deciphering the message with an offset of six."
QFK: Try using the Caesar Cipher with an offset of 6 letters to see if you can decrypt the message before Ean.
HXOTJRK GZZGIQY GXMUTOG CKYZ OT ZCU CKKQY
Ean sat down at the table, a fresh sheet of parchment before him. He took a deep breath and deciphered the message, one letter at a time. Slowly but surely, the plaintext emerged.
QUEST COMPLETED: Q-005 Decipher Encrypted_Message-02
REWARD: +1 XP
SKILL UPGRADED: Caesar Cipher +1 (2/3)
Ean's heart raced like a rabbit fleeing a fox. He looked up at Samuel, his eyes wide. "It says, 'Brindle assabs Argonia West in two weeks.' What does 'assabs' mean? Is that a codeword?"
Samuel compared the ciphertext with Ean's translation. He pointed to the second word. "Try decrypting that word again."
A minute later, he replied, "I rushed and made a couple of mistakes. 'Brindle ATTACKS Argonia West in two weeks.' His face went white.
"Brindle attacks!" His voice urgent, Ean asked, "What do we do now?"
"This spy has given us what is known as 'actionable intelligence,'" Samuel said, his tone grave. "Meaning the king can take actions based on this information. Go now and inform the king," he stated. "This is a matter of utmost importance."
Ean rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his satchel. With the help of his spy, he was going to prevent a surprise attack. Filled with adrenaline, he rushed out the door as his mind buzzed with the implications of the message he carried.
QUEST ACCEPTED: Q-006 Inform the king of impending attack