The Ironwood Ambush

Forty-eight hours after the Ironwood envoy was expelled from the council hall, the first war drums echoed across the frozen expanse of the Black River boundary. It was two hours before dawn. A dense, freezing fog hung over the pine forest, masking the jagged granite cliffs in a shroud of white mist. Nadia stood atop the northern watchtower of the Silvercreek fortress, clad in her hardened combat leathers, the silver…