The room was abuzz with chatter as it neared capacity. Elara saw many important names passing through, and even more faces she didn't recognize. From local guilds to lesser houses, hundreds of people accompanied the primary houses as they took their seats, waddling behind like lost ducklings. Her satisfaction from scoring an invitation from House Gradaway lessened slightly as she noticed how many other lesser houses were trying to do the same thing she was. Well, she obviously that was going to happen, but seeing the competition still twisted her gut.

  Before long, a man stepped down onto the center stage. Despite the fancy attire adorning the man, he stood out little when compared with the gaudy garbs, jewels, and wealth draped over all the gathered nobles. Jewels were as common as sand on the beach, and the finest silks money could buy were the barest minimum of the material lining the audience. Despite this, the man had a presence about him.

  An Aura of authority. Elara felt the gentle nudging in her mind; a subtle pull that drew the eye. That imperceptible weight of command. The Aura of someone in the high Elite Realm.

  The man was an older gentleman with a long, graying beard and hair to match. He had a somewhat rotund figure but still carried himself well. He wore a refined, dark blue robe with the city's insignia on his chest. There was a golden sash draped over his opposite shoulder, emphasizing the adjacent symbol emblazoned on his heart. These were the colors of the city. Like his clothing, his eyes were a dark blue, with a golden symbol of the city almost glowing from his right iris.

  The man raised a hand, and within seconds, the room quieted down. He took a long moment to look around, before speaking up in a loud, carrying voice.

  "Esteemed members of the city council, representatives of our great noble houses, and honored guests welcome all. I am city lord Torren Lietjar."

  Torren paused for a moment as the crowd gave a polite clap at his introduction.

  "We are gathered for this hearing today to address a growing matter of concern raised by House representatives Tolly Gradaway and Ada Vultez. As many of you are aware, we have officially confirmed that there is indeed a growing portvale to the north. It has been raised to the council that the increasing activity from the portvale is drawing unfamiliar and increasingly formidable creatures into our lands. This hostile presence threatens not only the lives of our citizens but also the economic bloodline this city was founded on.

  "The Houses of Gradaway and Vultez have already felt significant repercussions from this encroachment into our territory, as well as many local traders and guilds, such as the Traveler's Guild." He waved his hand respectfully in the direction of a few representatives scattered throughout the hall. "It is imperative that we not only understand the nature of this threat, but assess the numerous challenges it presents, and formulate a comprehensive strategy to safeguard our realm."

  Elara listened silently as the city lord continued his speech. While the city lord had no official vote in the decision of the council, he had made his stance on it abundantly clear. Not that there was any surprise.

  The relationship between the city council and the city lord was that of a judge and executioner, respectively. The seven primary houses voted on the laws of the city, and Torren Lietjar enforced those laws. The lord had little say in the day-to-day running of the government, except when it came to matters of military. When faced with a hostile force, the lord had significantly more sway in the political swing of power. As long as he could justify that his actions were somehow directly related to dealing with the active threat, his verdicts were unquestionable. But unless the council agreed to consider the portvale an actionable threat against Saltbrook, he couldn't make any moves.

  Stars knew he was clawing for every scrap of autonomy he could get his hands on.

  "Today, we shall hear from various experts brought forth by our great houses to shed some light on the dangers we are facing, so we might understand the potential ecological and societal disruptions we will be facing, and take accurate measures to mitigate the incoming fallout. Our goal is to understand the enemy we see on the horizon today, so we may make informed decisions about the best possible ruling for this looming menace.

  "Thank you."

  Torren nodded respectfully to the gathered crowd before taking his seat at the base of the amphitheater, in front of his section.

  As soon as he was seated, the first house representative to his right, Bardol Montenwell, stood up and began his small speech, before calling up one of his house's invited guests. To her surprise, or rather lack thereof, the expert in question was clearly a high-ranking guard or adventurer of some kind. Bardol had started giving an introduction of some kind for the man but was interrupted halfway through.

  Much like the city lord, this man too had an incredibly high-level Aura, though it was completely different. It felt sharp and violent. He definitely had a high affinity with blades of some kind. He had been actively trying to keep the Aura contained, but it had slipped out momentarily as he took in the crowd. Just because someone was good at fighting monsters didn't mean public speaking in a crowded room was suddenly any easier. Elara, along with countless others in the gathered audience, twitched or gasped in pain as the Aura hit them for the briefest instant. She had instantly gotten several tiny paper cuts in various parts of exposed skin, and minor slits appeared in some of the parchment before her. The man instantly pulled the Aura back in, horrified at his slip-up, and his face paled. But the damage was already done.

  Elara smirked with satisfaction. No, she barely managed to stop herself from outright bursting out in laughter. This adventurer had done one of the absolute stupidest things he could have possibly done for his sponsors.

  It was required by law that all individuals in the Elite Realm or higher with a combat-related class must wear an Aura suppression device of some kind. This was usually something like a cloak with bits of lead woven through it, or several pieces of orichalcum jewelry. But, obviously, some people hated wearing these, for obvious reasons and tried to manually dispel their Aura. This was fine in small bursts, but required extensive training, and a lapse in concentration could send it right back out.

  So, not only did the man actively injure potentially of various nobles, including the seven house representatives and the city lord himself, but also made it obvious he was actively breaking the law in front of said nobles. This was not a good look for his sponsors, as one might guess. There was a moment of silence as Bardol stared at the adventurer with a death glare before the fool was promptly tackled by a dozen different guards and hauled off to likely rot in a dungeon.

  As Montenwell was almost certainly voting against Gradaway's plea, this was the best possible outcome for the Sinfreed House. Elara managed to contain her amusement quickly and refocused. She was distantly aware of Randell tsking in annoyance at the idiocy, while Wendy whined at the new wound on her forearm.

  Despite the incident, Montenwell did still have a few other sponsored parties available, and they preached how amazing this opportunity was for training up guards, earning levels in combat classes and thus solidifying the city's military power against foreign powers, and the huge boons to the arms and related industries. They insisted that this portvale would only increase the trade of blacksmithing goods with other nations after their local smiths leveled from creating so many suits of armor and other gear.

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  The next two houses to bring up their own experts were the Saintsmark house and Paulvaun house. Both of which seemed to be remaining neutral and seeing which way the wind blew. Their sponsored parties had fairly straightforward, unbiased explanations of what a portvale was and why that may or may not be considered dangerous to the local region. That was perfectly fine. A neutral vote now just meant a potential ally later.

  Next, was House Gradaway. An older woman, somewhere in her mid-fifties, slowly stood up and addressed the crowd.

  "I am Tolly Gradaway, representative of House Gradaway. As the active representative of my house, I first summon forth an accomplished professional to speak on our behalf. Randell Sinfreed, head of house Sinfreed and a credible authority into the nature of magical fauna." She indicated at Randell before retaking her seat.

  Elara glanced at her brother, giving him a look to make it clear he better take this seriously, or else. He just rolled his eyes at her before making his way to the front.

  The older man took a stance in front of the large room full of nobles with a stoic, some might say almost apathetic air. He didn't bother introducing himself, nor offer any pleasantries. He simply took a look around, and immediately dove into his prepared lecture.

  It was... dry. He spoke in an almost complete monotone. At first, anyway. He started off by explaining the nature of the portvale from an ecological perspective. Its effects on the local wildlife, and why that mattered. It was dense but informative. Then he moved on to mass migrations and their direct effects on the city. What kinds of monsters and other wildlife could be expected, and how they might deal with entirely new creatures? The entire time, he made it clear how much danger the population would be in with the rate the monsters were appearing. He didn't sugarcoat his words. Monsters were going to keep coming, and they were going to get stronger with every passing year.

  Despite his obvious efforts to be obstinate, and the extremely serious nature of his words, his passion slowly started to seep out. His lecture gained more colors and more life as he continued. When they finally got to the questions-and-answers phase, it was as if he had forgotten who his audience was entirely, like he was simply talking to yet another eager apprentice.

  He was hit with dozens of questions, just like the other sponsored experts, and Randell answered the questions gladly, with the mirth of a man talking about his favorite pastime.

  What threats are out there? Too many to count.

  How reliable is your work? Very.

  Are there any benefits to leaving portvale alone? No.

  Won't the area stabilize naturally? Long after we're already dead.

  How quickly can you study new monsters? Reasonably quick.

  The entire time that the lecture was going on, people wandered around their respective sectors, discussing the information quietly, or asking questions with their neighbors.

  This was the moment Elara had been waiting for. As the lecture continued on, she made her way around the sector, trying to up-sell her house and all the benefits that would come with working closer with their lesser house.

  It was clear people were put off by his borderline disrespectful attitude. Having little other choice, she opted to lean into it.

  "The Sinfreed house is one dedicated entirely to its research. Our family has many well-known professors who give lectures full-time at the local Springmark academy, and other intellectuals, like Master Randell here, who have published many famous works on various fields of magic. Everything from magical creatures to the nature of Essence itself. Our family doesn't have time for political games. Too much nuance. I'm sure you understand," finished the politic-obsessed woman.

  "I still fail to understand how putting our house crest on your books helps us deliver caravans, unmolested," replied a gruff nobleman.

  "Ah, you see, Master Randell has published many works on the nature of monsters, including the ones that have only started appearing recently. We've been working towards pushing these papers into circulation among the local guilds to better prepare caravan guards, as well as scouts and adventurers patrolling the roadways. The more research we publish, the better those combatants understand the threats they face and thus will be better equipped to deal with them safely. If you help offer us some credibility and exposure, we'll be able to ensure your wagons get the protection they need."

  Elara flitted from person to person within the Gradaway sector, offering her sales pitch. Some were more receptive than others, and she took every opportunity to explain the strengths of the other members of her family in their own fields of research. But by the time Randell was striding back to his seat, Elara felt like she had accomplished her goal of getting their name out there. She even managed to speak to a few of those from the Vultez house as well, though only a few lesser nobles. Still, it was enough.

  The Gradaway representative called up a few more experts after Randell finished before the hearing moved on to the remaining houses. Like Gradaway, House Vultez leaned heavily into explaining how bad the portvale would be for the people and the trade industry over the coming years if the portvale was left alone.

  House Nightford passed their turn entirely, offering nothing to the discussion. They wouldn't be affected either way, so they didn't see the need to contribute.

  Lastly, House Summerdall. Much like Montenwell, they made their stance clear. Though they went the route of explaining that the resource expenditure to deal with maintaining the portvale would be higher than the resources lost by just leaving it alone. It was inefficient, and despite the loss in the caravan trade, the city wasn't losing any money; people were just starting to travel by ship instead.

  By the time all seven houses had said their piece, the city lord resumed his place on the stage.

  "I'd like to personally thank you all for your insightful contributions to this hearing so far. We've heard many amazing points from many knowledgeable individuals. Now, while we will not be casting any votes today, open discussion will now be encouraged for the remaining duration of this event." With that, he clapped his hands, and stepped away, clearly not having any intention of discussing anything with anyone.

  Almost as one, people began to filter around the room, mixing with the other houses to point fingers and accuse them of one thing or another. Bribes began subtly passing hands, and the small fleet of random scribes began trying to note down every random conversation at once, to little success.

  Elara focused on the conversation between the primary house representatives themselves. She tried to get as close as was reasonably acceptable for her station. Thankfully, the group made no effort to conceal their discussion, and Elara was far from the only individual obviously eavesdropping.

  Selles Summerdall spoke up with a smirk. Despite speaking to all the people around her, her eyes never left those of Tolly Gradaway. "I stand by what I said. It would be more beneficial to this city to leave the portvale alone, instead of wasting resources to quarantine it. I'm sure, in time, aspiring adventurers or glory-seeking heroes will charge in and deal with the issue for us before it becomes a true threat. We're hardly the only city within its radius."

  Elara rolled her eyes discreetly. she thought.

  Bardol Montenwell agreed instantly. "This is an opportunity. It's expanding the job market. Do you know how many combat-class users have been traveling to this city to find work? The industry is booming right now. It would only cripple that growth if we cut off our resources now."

  happens

  Tolly glared at the two. "People are out there."

  Bardol sniped back in an unconcerned tone. "Then just hire more caravan guards. Problem solved."

  "And burn every delwin of profit the caravans manage to pull in? I'm sure you'd like that."

  "Of course, I would," Selles chirped.

  Ada Vultez jumped to Tolly's aid. "It's not just the caravans who are hurting. Our salt mines and farms are being ravaged every day. People are going on strike. Miners are refusing to enter the tunnels without an armed escort. And, as I'm sure you're aware, Selles, salt is still this city's primary export."

  Bardol grinned wide as he answered in Selles's place. "Then hire more armed escorts. We wouldn't want the city to suffer because you failed to pull your weight."

  "We can't hire any guards if we can't sell any salt!"

  Elara winced. Ada was a younger member of her house, and her inexperience shown.

  Derric Saintsmark, standing nearby, butted in, taking advantage of Ada's lapse. "If your salt exports are failing, I'd be happy to discuss offering a small loan to ensure everything stays in perfect running order."

  With the Nightford and Paulvaun houses remaining neutral, the sides were clearly drawn in Elara's eyes. Two for quarantining the portvale as soon as possible, two against, and the predatory loan sharks of Saintsmark were waiting in the rafters like a vulture, ready to jump in to pick the failing house's corpse clean.

  The outcome was clear from a continent away. Not that she expected anything different.

  At least the Sinfreed house would benefit from this. If the portvale stayed open, that just meant more work for them, and more opportunities to raise their house status.

  Overall, Elara thought today was a success.