The circular hall felt more like a jail than a place of study. The stone walls, covered in ancient frescoes, seemed to bleed under the bluish torchlight. The heavy draconic doors slammed shut behind us with a crash that reverberated in my chest. Thirteen heroes, lined up in a semicircle like convicts awaiting their sentence.
No one spoke. The silence was heavy, thick with mistrust. The dragons eyed us like sated predators, the elves stood stiff as ivory statues, the dwarves grunted into their beards but didn't dare raise their voices. And us… the four human rags from Duskfall, eyes fixed on the dust, bitterness and yesterday's paper still stuck to our guts.
I couldn't take my eyes off the frescoes. The scenes carved into the stone depicted creatures so massive that even my breathing started to speed up. Faces, tears, gaping maws… it was as if the walls were watching us, ready to judge.
