Velin's words seemed to suck all the air out of the conference room.
All sounds of argument, complaint, and shouting were choked off in that instant, leaving only a deathly silence.
Dozens of gazes, a mixture of astonishment and suspicion, snapped toward the figure in the corner, who had remained shrouded in shadow the entire time.
"A solution?"
The portly senior deacon was the first to break the silence. His voice was hoarse and weak from hours of shouting, but the venom in his words had lost none of its bite.
"On what authority does this skulking figure get to spout such nonsense? Lady Caroline, is this another charlatan you've dredged up from some backwater corner?"
Velin ignored him.
He simply rolled up the parchment, which was covered in symbols, and tucked it into an inside pocket of his cloak. Then, he rose and walked to the enormous sea chart table in the center of the room.
