The Shadow Information Network, too, grew faster than most people realized.
Reaper and Eldran had done well.
Very well.
By now, the network already counted millions of people across different layers of usefulness.
Together, they became something terrifying.
A continent-wide nervous system.
The rapid creation of Lootwell's branches made the work easier. Every branch became a public face and a hidden node at the same time.
Beneath the formal corridors, each branch also had hidden routes, quiet rooms, emergency exits, concealed courtyards, shadow paths, and watcher stations linked to the larger network.
Reaper and Eldran chose representatives carefully.
Then they trained them.
Briefly, by Reaper's standards.
Terrifyingly, by everyone else's.
A young branch scout once emerged from Reaper's "brief training" with pale lips and a thousand-yard stare. When asked what happened, he simply said, "I now understand that standing still can be suspicious."
