Word reached Drake within four days, Mercer's fastest rider pushing through two changes of horse to deliver the warning as quickly as possible. Drake's response arrived considerably faster than Mercer expected, his own messenger arriving barely a week later, carrying not simply a letter but Drake himself, traveling with minimal escort and genuine urgency.
"I came the moment I read your warning," Drake said, greeting Mercer in the council chamber courtyard with none of his usual measured formality. "If this threat extends beyond simple rivalry, beyond even what either of us once represented to the other, I wanted to understand it directly rather than through secondhand correspondence."
"I'm grateful you came," Mercer said, genuine relief filling his chest at the sight of his old adversary
