The morning sun had barely cleared the horizon when the lead scout burst into the tactical briefing room, his boots skidding slightly on the polished floor. Dara, still wearing the heavy traveling cloak of the Emperor's Eye, turned sharply from the map table where she had spent the entire night strategizing with Marquis Persi.
The scout dropped to one knee, but the look on his face wasn't one of panic. It was a strange, almost bewildered grin.
"Miss Dara, the ruffian hideouts along the eastern ridge... they're disassembling," the scout reported, catching his breath. "One by one, the camps are breaking down. The bandit syndicates are scattering into the winds. The war in Lanjaar is effectively ending before a single arrow could fly."
