The sun had risen completely now and the moment Adrienne stepped out of the ground level of Dragon Keep, she breathed a sigh of relief as the chilling aura was left behind.

Adrienne had also realized it, that the Keep had fallen into such an unbearable state due to the absence of the Dragon King.

He was the light of the stronghold... the strongest and mightiest dragon, the noblest and most powerful amongst his kind, a man whose mere presence brought life to the Keep itself.

Adrienne had always known the dragon king was the one, he was her choice from the very first moment and Adrienne had never looked back.

"His Grace should return soon... the Keep is not the same without him." Adrienne murmured lowly, pulling the fur coat tighter around herself.

"At the very least... when next he leaves, I should be able to accompany him. I must ensure to be in his good graces with this opportunity." Adrienne added.

Out in the courtyard, a carriage already awaited Adrienne. As a royal born Fae, there were luxuries Adrienne was allowed even so far from home.

Adrienne walked briskly over to her carriage where the carriage driver sat awaiting her. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Will My Lady be heading home?" The driver asked.

Adrienne frowned slightly at the mention of home. That manor in the citadel she was forced to reside in was not what Adrienne considered to be home.

There was just one home for Adrienne and it was not even back at the royal forest of the Fae where she originally was born and raised, it was here in Dragon Keep, by the dragon king’s side.

"Not the manor...we will travel downtown." Adrienne said to the carriage driver.

"Downtown district?! But that is no place for a noble lady, and especially not a fae!" The carriage driver exclaimed in surprise.

Adrienne’s frown deepened at the loud tone of the carriage driver, glancing around to make certain no one had heard before she returned a dark glare to the carriage driver.

"My aunt had you accompany me to assist me, and that is all you are allowed to do. It will never be your turn to question my intents."

"We are headed downtown, and that is all. Take the most conspicuous path, I need not tell you that I travel in secret." Adrienne warned in a chilling cold tone before she climbed into her carriage.

The carriage began moving not long after, making its long descent down from Dragon Keep.

The path was steep down the mountain that the Keep itself was built out of and so the carriage descended at a slow pace.

It was only when they were fully away from Dragon Keep, that was when the carriage was stirred into a steady pace.

"My Lady, it will take at least a day’s ride to arrive downtown." The carriage driver said to Adrienne from outside the carriage.

Adrienne gave no response, a day...a week, or even a month, it did not truly matter.

Adrienne would make the trip downtown one way or the other, only in the Downtown district could Adrienne accomplish an important aspect of her plan.

There was not much time, only now that the residents of the Keep were sent out into the citadel could Adrienne be assured that there would be no eyes on her.

___________________

There was a noticeable change in the atmosphere the very moment the carriage made the final turn that lead them right into the streets of Downtown district.

It was late noon when the carriage arrived Downtown, they had taken the shortest and fastest route and had made no stops all night and so they had arrived before a day was up.

At this time, the district was at the peak of its daily activities with carts and carriages trooping in and out, regulated by dragon guards.

The streets were crowded, majority of the residents of Downtown district were out and about, going about their daily routines.

As with every other district of Keep Skies, the Downtown district was populated and always a busy place, with merchants trooping in and out for the purpose of trading.

Adrienne could hear the bustling of the flurry of activities down the street, though the downtown district housed a large population, yet it was strictly organized with well regulated rules.

The dragons had an orderly structure in which they coordinated every district and every fortress to ensure the safety and prosperity of the people.

No other race were as advanced and innovative as the dragons, Adrienne knew this well enough.

It was why no other race had been able to subdue the entire realm under their rulership for centuries.

Just as there were academies of learning all across Keep Skies, there were also guilds that governed every works of life from smiths down to even the street vendors... everyone could be held accountable to a guild or union.

It was the same all across the twelve great fortresses of the Asvarian stronghold, ensuring that the dragons were in complete and absolute control of law and order.

For everything else, the dragons had granted complete freedom.

But unlike other districts, there were dragon guards marching down the streets of Downtown district on a regular patrol.

It was not a common sight to find dragon guards interrupting the lives of the common people in the other districts, but it was common here in downtown.

And that was because the downtown district was populated majorly by what the people of the Asvarian Stronghold knew to be ’The Branded’.

Most of those who had settled in downtown were those guilty of crimes but had gained amnesty after the overthrow.

They were free to live as they pleased by orders of the Dragon King, so long as they obeyed the laws as any other citizen did, however the district was guarded more closely due to the back story of majority of its residents.

It was a district of probation and reformation, residents could enter back into society if they were deemed worthy of it.

Adrienne pulled aside the curtain of her carriage and peered out, wincing slightly when she met the eerie gaze of an imp, with bright yellow eyes and scaly skin.

The imp hissed fiercely from where it stood and Adrienne was quick to let her curtains down, it would do her no good to get into a confrontation.

"My Lady, where would you have us go?" The carriage driver asked as the carriage rolled down the streets of Downtown district.

"Downtown Inn." Adrienne replied quietly.

"You intend to consult the Broken Blade?" The carriage driver realized in horror.

The Broken Blade was a hushed name amongst the darker minds of the stronghold,

All knew of their existence but not many knew of their true purpose and for good reason, they were one of the evil the dragon lords would immediately exterminate.

But to many, including Adrienne, they were a necessary evil.

"I do." Adrienne replied simply.

The carriage driver said nothing in protest but Adrienne could sense his disagreement and she did understand his concerns.

The downtown district was a place of reformation but not everyone could truly be reformed.

It provided a normal life to those who had once been incarcerated for crimes of being different, most especially half-bloods of other races which the previous dragon king did not tolerate.

However, there were those who had taken the opportunity to build a base of crime for themselves here in downtown district, hidden from the knowledge of the dragon lords.

One of such was the ’Broken Blade’, on the surface, they were a merchant guild, however the commodities they peddled was unlike any other merchant organization.

Every outlawed and contraband goods could be acquired from the Broken Blade, there were no limits to the services they provided as long as the gold was right.

The major commodities the Broken Blade dealt on was Intel and Crime...for the right price, they could source for any information one needed underneath the skies.

And for the right price, the Broken Blade could quietly and naturally make anyone and anything disappear.

As intriguing as both of these were, there was something the Broken Blade had that was even more interesting to Adrienne.

Amongst the services they provided were answers to questions that were beyond mortal comprehension because in the service of the Broken Blade was a powerful seer.

For the right price, one could find the answer to any question, even a question that was impossible...as long as it was known to the Earth, the skies and other forces of nature.

Now, Adrienne sought an answer to a question that lay far beyond the seas, in a land untouched by the reign of dragons... the land of the wolf shifters.

To rouse the dragon lords against the attendant, Adrienne would need to have something... something that could completely and utterly destroy the attendant.

And Adrienne knew just what question she needed to ask...