Strategic Reconnaissance

Your report of King Zarek's capture changes the operational parameters immediately. An undisciplined soldier rushes blind, but an officer of the house of axeton calculates terrain first. At dawn, I climbed the ribbed spine of three stacked leather volumes to claim the highest vantage point on the desk. From this perimeter ridge, I surveyed the broad carpet valley below, identifying shadow corridors and narrow gaps between chair legs where enemy beasts could establish holding cells. My axe remains raised in ready strike while my shield locks into forward guard. We will stage an extraction, but every maneuver requires a verified vector.