---
The camp spread out ahead under lantern light, beasts, guards, and wealthy pretension all arranged in careful layers.
The black armored lizard lay low near one side like a scaled siege problem pretending to rest.
The two white griffin-like birds watched from their perch with hard yellow eyes and silver-feathered disdain.
Armored men shifted formation as the carriage approached.
The wheels rolled to a stop at the edge of Mihos Dawn's chosen ground.
For one heartbeat, no one moved. Then the camp itself reacted. Not with a shout. Not with formal welcome. With organized suspicion.
