The air within the tunnel was damp and heavy, the faint whisper of wind still guiding them deeper into the earth. For a long moment, Luke and Ilyrana stood in silence, their eyes tracing the faint markings of the passage, their ears attuned to the distant hum that seemed to emanate from nowhere and everywhere at once. They had found it—if not the stronghold itself, then the path that led to it. The place where the Association of Schadenfreude had hidden for years, beyond the reach of every knight, scholar, and hunter that had sought them.
Luke exhaled slowly and leaned against the cold wall, the stone pressing its chill into his back.
"We should… take a seat," he muttered, more to himself than to her. "Rushing in headfirst might just be the quickest way to never come back out."
