After the ceremony, as they prepared to leave, Cole pulled the team aside.
"I'm sorry I couldn't hold on until later. We need to talk," he said. "About the future. About the team."
They gathered in a quiet corner of the village inn where they had been staying during their time in the village.
The atmosphere remained silent and somber as they all took a spot within the room. Cole looked at each of them in turn, then inhaled slowly, before letting it out.
"I'm not sure I can keep leading," he admitted… "I made the call to take that dungeon. I approved Silas using the shortcut. I wasn't thorough as I should have been… I got one of my people killed."
"It wasn't your fault," Donovan said, but Cole shook his head.
