Captain Ressa Kale did not command the invasion when the third day began.
Nobody did.
Seven guilds issued separate route orders. Three noble houses claimed authority over the troops they funded. The city guard controlled the square but refused to control anyone after they entered the divine gate. Two military delegations had brought officers whose ranks meant nothing to adventurers from another country.
Kale stood on a crate inside the Fey Nights camp and let them argue for eleven minutes.
Then she placed the best map of the dungeon on a table beneath them.
"The core is not in this forest." She said.
The argument continued.
Kale drove a knife through the map at the entrance to Level Two.
"It is not in the Highlands either. Every hour we spend deciding whose banner goes first is an hour the dungeon wins. The quest pays contribution. It does not say one guild must do everything."
That earned silence from the people close enough to hear her.
