On the same night that Isabella and William had planned a special dinner party to introduce Roland to Isabella's best friend, something really bad happened. The City Lord, Liam, had sent a big group of 1,000 soldiers on a special mission. They were supposed to kill a very unique and rare monster, a kind of snake called the Serpensis Vireo, that had been seen near the lands he ruled over.
This snake monster was very dangerous because it was super poisonous. But, oddly enough, its flesh and blood had special healing properties. People were willing to pay millions of gold coins for just a little bit of this monster's flesh and blood. That's because one could use them to make very special healing potions. These potions could work as a cure for almost all kinds of poisons you can think of.