Hill raised his hand and glanced at his Ring of Winter, realizing that even in Ferun, this Divine Artifact was potent and alluring.
But what did Valkin want with the ring?
As a friend to commerce, some things were impossible to do overtly, especially war.
Once a merchant chose war as a means of profit, they either died without a burial place or became new nobles.
Though it might not sound the same, so-called councilors were in fact no longer merchants; they no longer took commercial approaches in their dealings, which were too cumbersome.
Such merchants would only become more distant from her Church of Wealth.
Unless she could really make the whole of Ferun use only her wealth Gold Coins for transactions.
Hill looked southward, truly perplexed as to what Valkin was plotting—was it greed that had clouded his judgment, or was he simply unable to get off the thief's cart once aboard?
