The merchants of Venuce moved swiftly.
With Kyle Armstrong's departure fresh in their minds and vengeance burning in their chests, they pooled their resources to arrange rapid transportation toward the first valley junction.
It was the perfect ambush site—narrow, winding, and easy to manipulate into a death trap.
They hired specialized services to get there ahead of Kyle's caravan, and once they arrived, they began setting up their elaborate scheme.
Some of them directed workers to carefully loosen boulders along the cliffs, ready to trigger a rockslide at a moment's notice.
Others spread word to mercenaries and bandits who operated in the nearby hills, offering hefty pay for one simple task: ensure that Young Master Armstrong did not leave that valley alive.
With a growing sense of satisfaction, the merchants took up hidden positions at various points across the terrain, confident in their strategy.
But then, they waited.
And waited.
