[3167] To the Den: Chapter One

Hello again everyone,

Four months ago I posted my prologue here, and I appreciated how much you guys tore it to bits. Now I'm back for more, hoping desperately that I learned something from that.

This is the first chapter of a fantasy series I've been working on for a good while now. This is my first major project as an amateur writer, but it's a story that's very near-and-dear to my heart. I'm still pretty new to this subreddit, but I know this submission is fairly large, so I hope my critiques were of sufficient quality to justify posting it.

In addition to general feedback, I'm also asking for a few specifics. I want to know:

1. if the first page is too slow. It feels like it uses too much exposition, but I don't know if that's just my paranoia or not.
2. if the dialogue in the first scene is okay. I still feel like it might be a bit too stiff and awkward.

Thank you all.

Link: (removed due to receiving enough feedback)

My Critiques:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestructiveReaders/comments/ljjh4r/1079_untitled_mystery_thriller/gnpgbl7?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/DestructiveReaders/comments/lk48ow/2100_two_two_eight/gnp7g1l?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3