Heavy timber doors bolted shut with a dull thud, sealing the inner command lodge of Three-Pine Ridge from the howling mountain wind and the loud cheers of the soldiers celebrating in the snowy courtyard outside.
The moment the iron bar dropped into its bracket, the invisible "Sound-Severed Void Ward" woven into the log walls hummed to life, cutting off all sound and spiritual perception from the camp beyond. Inside the spacious timber chamber, two large bronze braziers heaped with glowing pine-charcoal and blocks of aged spirit-sandalwood radiated a lush, tropical heat that smelled of sweet wood-resin and warm skin.
