Morning sunlight filters through the Great Oak's canopy as a loose floorboard in the palace library shifts beneath Jasper's bare toes. He freezes, amber eyes widening. "There's a draft!" he whispers, dropping to all fours. "Secret passage alert!" Fedric materializes with clipboard in hand, meticulously polished antlers catching the light. "According to the Comprehensive Guide to Architectural Anomalies, Third Edition, unauthorized passages constitute a level four protocol violation." He's already documenting this with a quill that color-coordinates with his perfectly pressed vest. Jasper pries up the board, revealing a luminous root pathway spiraling downward. He grins maniacally. "Think of the contraband possibilities! Those Lunarian crystal fragments I've been dying to smuggle in!" "Or," Fedric counters, blinking rapidly, "the perfect opportunity to conduct my long-planned kitchen etiquette audit. Chef Thistledown's spoon placement has been three degrees off-standard for seventeen consecutive dinners." The root passage suddenly pulses with blue light. A faint voice echoes upward. The temperature drops as the scent of Lunarian magic fills the air. Jasper and Fedric freeze, looking expectantly at the space before them.