Dante counted twelve guards through the borrowed binoculars, two at the main gate and four more patrolling the weathered stone walls of the fortress. Adrian's advance team moved below, securing the entrance with the kind of coordinated precision that made him uneasy.
"Twelve guards," Vex reported from beside him, his magitech eye whirring as it gathered data. "Two at the main gate, four patrolling the walls, six more inside based on heat signatures."
"Monsters or climbers?"
"Climbers. The heat patterns are too consistent for monsters." Vex lowered his rifle slightly. "Adrian's people are good. They cleared the approach without triggering any of the defensive wards."
Dante watched the distant figures move with precision that spoke to professional training, coordinated hand signals and overlapping fields of fire that most climbing parties never developed. These weren't amateurs playing at soldiers. These were soldiers playing at climbers.
"Too organized," he muttered.
"What?"
