This ledger ain’t for guests, gossip, or gawkers. It’s where I keep the truths worth keeping, debts paid in blood, bargains struck in bad light, and lessons learned the hard way when ale and steel were cheaper than wisdom. If this book’s been left out, it means the past still has teeth, and I don’t plan on forgetting where they came from.

Go ahead, brave adventure. Read the bloody ledger … if yer dare.