Chapter 15 - Shadows from the South
While Frostpeak celebrated its newfound security, miles to the south in the opulent capital of Oak Haven, a secret meeting was taking place in the shadows of the royal parliament.
Lord Alistair, a wealthy merchant lord who had once traded extensively with the Reed family, paced back and forth across a plush Turkish rug. Seated across from him were several disgruntled southern nobles who had lost their trading privileges when Giselle seized her family's estate.
"The northern queen thinks she has won," Alistair sneered, slamming his fist onto a mahogany table. "She humiliated the Reed family, seized our trade routes, and now the Alpha King rules the entire frontier with an iron fist. If we do nothing, our economy will collapse under northern tariffs."
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"What do you propose we do?" a nervous baron asked, clutching his wine glass. "Their military might is unmatched. Even Sterling's mercenaries were wiped out in a single day."
Alistair smirked, leaning forward as he produced a heavy, dark iron box covered in arcane seals. "We don't fight them with brute strength. We use diplomacy as a mask, and poison as our weapon. I have acquired a relic from the southern ruins—an ancient soul-bane poison that targets Lycan bloodlines and royal frost heirs alike. We accept their invitation to the upcoming trade summit in the neutral territory of Meridian... and we end them both."
