The decision to defy a direct order from the Dragon Queen and descend into the capital's criminal heart was not one we made lightly. It was a choice forged in the crucible of necessity, a gambit that traded the illusion of safety for a sliver of a chance at the truth. The Queen's path led to a cage, meticulously designed by Valerius to trap and slaughter us. Our path, the one whispered in a secret message, led into the abyss.
We spent the next day in intense preparation. The grand, sunlit library of the Aeridor mansion became our sanctuary and our armory. While the world above continued its charade of courtly life, we were preparing for a war in the shadows.
