John spent the night turning over everything the mine represented, and by morning he had settled on how to move forward.
He summoned a small, private meeting the next day, attended only by himself, Robert, Morgan, Leon, and Zak. Before anyone spoke on the matter itself, John made the terms of the gathering clear. Nothing discussed here left this room without his direct approval.
He began with the auction, laying out the pressure the clan now faced — the Formation Core Stone, the competition expected from the Moonshade Mountain Domain's stronger powers, and the reality that entering that world at all meant stepping somewhere considerably beyond the clan's current strength.
Only once that context had settled did he mention that Robert had secured something during his recent investigations, something that would meaningfully change how the clan approached this entire problem.
