Base Camp 13 was chaos wrapped in commerce.
The settlement sprawled across a natural plateau at the edge of the Canyons of Echoes, sheltered from the worst of the whispers by massive stone walls someone carved with sound-dampening runes. Tents and permanent structures competed for space, merchants hawked everything from healing potions to enchanted earplugs, and climbers from a dozen different floors moved through the crowds in various states of battle-readiness.
The Lightbreakers walked through the main gate and immediately became the center of attention.
"Is that them?"
"The ones who killed the Siren Queen?"
"I heard they made forty Flame Court soldiers strip naked."
"I heard it was a hundred."
Dante ignored the whispers, though he noted how quickly the rumors had spread. Floor 13's ambient mana might cause hallucinations, but it also carried information at impossible speeds. Everyone in the camp already knew what happened in the canyon.
