[Welcome to Volume IV]
"Marshal has fallen. That puts us at a disadvantage."
"A disadvantage?" another voice scoffed. "We all knew that fool would fail. He was bound to get himself killed sooner or later."
"Even in failure, Marshal gave us what we wanted," a third voice countered. "Perhaps even more than we expected."
"More?" someone challenged. "I don't see how we gained anything beyond our original objective."
"If anything, his downfall might have exposed this board."
"Lucian has always been a problem," another voice cut in. "Thirty percent of Dominion remains loyal to Black Dragon. As long as Lucian is alive, he will continue to be a thorn in our side. Now, that wife of his has become another problem."
"Blaming one another will accomplish nothing. We've already identified the threat. Lucian married a remarkably capable woman, which means we now have two people to worry about. The only question that matters is this: How do we eliminate them?"
Silence followed.
