The Lazy bum

"We had it all planned out so perfectly," he muttered, more to himself than to Ethan. "Jaegar was to be the fall guy, the rogue element that would take the blame for all our machinations. With him out of the way, branded a traitor, and locked away in the deepest dungeons of the Prison of Stormhold, we would have been free to proceed with the next phase of our plan."

Ethan leaned forward in his chair, steepling his fingers as he regarded Lorcan with a mixture of concern and calculation. "Lorcan, if I may... Perhaps this setback, while certainly unfortunate, is not as dire as it first appears. We still have other avenues we can explore, other pawns we can move into position."

Lorcan whirled on him, his eyes flashing with arcane fire. "Other pawns? Do you think this is some simple game of chess, Ethan? We're talking about our fate here! And now, with Jaegar not only free but likely out for revenge, everything we've worked for is at risk of crumbling to dust!"