"What about their leader?" Satou asked, his tactical mind cataloging information. "You mentioned King Vexor. Does he lead from the front, or does he stay back?"
"Vexor commands from their central encampment, about three miles west of our position. He has personal guard—twenty elite warriors called the Crimson Scales. They were legendary even before the dark magic. Now they're..." she shuddered. "Our best fighters couldn't last more than a few seconds against them."
"And the source of the dark magic?" Freda interjected, her scholarly mind focused on the core problem. "Do you know where the rituals are being performed? There must be a physical site, probably with complex magical arrays and sacrificial altars."
