The briefing room was dead quiet. The "TUFF GRANNY" mug was noticeably absent from Valerie's desk, and that single missing detail told Nathan everything he needed to know about their next assignment.
"Tower of the Whispering Dark," Valerie said, sliding a thin, black-tabbed dossier across the table. "High Class. Seven floors. It's located in a subterranean cavern system in the northern badlands. Two centuries ago, the Tower swallowed a buried pre-calamity city, turning it into a realm of absolute, magical darkness."
She leaned forward, her hands folded over the file. "I do not mean standard darkness, Cross. I mean a predatory suppression of the physical senses. Your light sources will work, but at a fraction of their normal output. More importantly, the atmosphere heavily distorts sound. Voices will be muffled, misdirected, or swallowed entirely. Communication is going to break down."
