The night before the festival was to begin, while many in the fortress city were making final preparations for a day of joy and celebration, a gathering of an entirely different nature was about to begin in a formal dining room deep in the caverns of the ancient fortress.
Unlike the last time Ashlynn had dined with Nyrielle, Thane, and the handful of others who made up what passed for a ruling council in the Vale of Mists, this time the room was filled to capacity and not a single seat at the long cedar table was empty.
