The atmosphere on the western wall changed almost immediately.

A few moments earlier guards had been trying very hard not to stare at the dragon sprawled across government property.

Now every eye turned toward the mountains instead.

The wind howled across the battlements while snow reduced visibility beyond the ridges to shifting white shadows and dark stone outlines.

Malen stepped forward first.

"All patrol units to alert positions."

The command spread quickly along the wall.

No panic.

Just movement.

That caught Seraphin’s attention immediately.

The guards here reacted faster than many trained frontier garrisons he’d seen before.

Lucas noticed his expression.

"We learned the hard way that hesitation gets people killed out here."

The younger investigator looked toward the ridges nervously.

"You still can’t see anything."

Aurethar snorted a thin trail of smoke into the cold air.

"That is because your eyes are tiny and disappointing."

"That’s not comforting."

"It was not intended to be."

The dragon rose slowly from the watchtower afterward, enormous wings unfolding against the storm clouds overhead. Snow blasted across the walls from the movement alone while several guards grabbed onto the battlements to steady themselves.

The tower beneath him groaned in relief.

"Finally," one exhausted guard whispered.

Aurethar ignored him completely.

Lucien watched the mountains silently.

If unknown forces had truly entered the territory secretly, there were only a few possibilities:

spies

assassins

scouts

or desperate merchants making catastrophic decisions

None were ideal.

Seraphin stepped beside him.

"You expected this eventually."

Not a question.

Lucien answered anyway.

"Yes."

The investigator studied him briefly.

"You think House Valcroix sent them."

"Possibly."

"Not definitely?"

Lucien’s eyes remained fixed on the snowstorm.

"My family prefers layered plans."

That sentence carried enough history behind it that Seraphin didn’t push further.

Malen suddenly raised one hand.

"Movement."

Everyone focused immediately.

Far beyond the ridges, dark shapes briefly appeared through the snow before vanishing again behind the storm.

Too organized to be beasts.

Too cautious to be ordinary travelers.

The younger investigator swallowed.

"...I see them now."

Aurethar growled softly overhead.

"They smell armed."

"That narrows it down very little," Gandalf muttered while climbing the battlement stairs with visible annoyance.

The old mage looked like someone interrupted an important nap.

Which, for Gandalf, was entirely possible.

Lucien looked toward him.

"How many can you sense?"

Gandalf closed his eyes briefly.

Mana stirred faintly around his robes.

Then—

"Twenty-three."

The wall became quieter.

That wasn’t a scouting group.

Seraphin frowned slightly.

"That’s too many for simple reconnaissance."

Malen nodded once.

"Agreed."

Lucas looked increasingly stressed.

"We still have investigators here."

"Yes," Lucien answered calmly.

"That’s probably why they came now."

The younger investigator blinked.

"...Wait."

Realization hit him visibly.

"They knew royal investigators were here?"

Lucien didn’t answer immediately.

Because honestly—

That possibility irritated him.

If someone from the south tracked royal movements this closely, then information leakage inside noble territory remained worse than expected.

Aurethar’s voice rumbled from above.

"They stopped moving."

Malen’s hand rested against his sword hilt.

"Ambush position?"

"Watching position."

The dragon’s golden eyes narrowed.

"They’re waiting."

Seraphin thought quietly for a moment afterward.

Then finally looked toward Lucien.

"Whoever they are, they likely didn’t expect a dragon."

"That makes two groups."

Oddly enough, that earned a faint laugh from Lucas despite the tension.

The administrator rubbed his face tiredly.

"I miss simpler problems."

"You complained constantly during simpler problems," Malen reminded him.

"Yes, but they exploded less."

From nearby, Gandalf coughed suspiciously.

Lucas pointed immediately.

"You don’t get to react offended anymore."

The old mage looked away with great dignity.

Seraphin found himself staring at the group again.

Not because of the threat outside.

Because of the dynamic between them.

Knight.

Mage.

Administrator.

Dragon.

Exiled noble.

They spoke less like servants around a lord and more like people surviving the same disaster together.

That kind of loyalty usually took years.

Sometimes wars.

Yet somehow Lucien had built it in months.

The investigator’s thoughts were interrupted when one of the western scouts finally reached the wall.

The knight climbed the stairs breathing hard while snow covered nearly half his armor.

"My Lord."

Lucien turned immediately.

"Report."

The scout removed his helmet quickly.

"Unknown armed group entered the western forests last night."

"How far?"

"Two ridges from the outer mining routes."

Malen’s eyes sharpened slightly.

"Formation?"

"Disciplined."

Another pause.

"And they tried hiding campfires."

Not amateurs then.

The scout hesitated briefly before continuing.

"We also found southern steel markings."

Silence.

Cold silence.

Because southern markings meant organization.

Funding.

Connection.

Lucas exhaled quietly.

"Well. That feels political."

Seraphin’s expression darkened slightly.

"If southern nobles are sending armed groups into an active frontier territory while royal investigators are present..."

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t need to.

That crossed dangerous lines.

Lucien finally looked toward Malen.

"Prepare interception units."

The Peak Knight nodded immediately.

"I’ll lead personally."

"No killing unless necessary."

Malen looked mildly disappointed.

"...Understood."

Aurethar lowered his massive head slightly from above.

"I could simply land on them."

"No."

"What if only slightly?"

"No."

The dragon sighed heavily enough that warm smoke rolled across the wall.

"You people make strategy unnecessarily complicated."

Before Lucien could answer—

Seraphin spoke calmly beside him.

"I’m coming as well."

Several people turned toward him immediately.

The younger investigator looked horrified.

"You absolutely are not."

Seraphin ignored him.

"If armed southern agents entered the territory during an active royal investigation, the crown needs confirmation."

Malen studied him briefly. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"You can keep up?"

The investigator’s expression remained perfectly calm.

"I dislike horses."

Malen stared for a second.

Then unexpectedly smiled faintly.

"...I respect that answer."

Lucas looked between all of them with growing concern.

"This feels like the beginning of a very bad day."

Gandalf adjusted his robes.

"In fairness, those began weeks ago."

Far beyond the walls, hidden among the storm-covered forests and mountain ridge

Twenty-three armed figures waited silently beneath the snow.

Watching Elarion.

Watching the dragon circling above the fortress.

And slowly beginning to realize—

Something in the north had gone very, very wrong.