Politics was all about probing. Most terms were already quietly negotiated long before an official meeting. Formal talks were often little more than signatures and ceremonial approval.0

There was an advantage to this: everything stayed polite on the surface. No one would lose face, and relations wouldn't easily fracture.0

But there was a downside as well: both sides had to share at least some common ground. If they were fundamentally at odds, "pre-negotiation" was little different from tearing things apart in advance.0

And that was exactly the current situation.0

Alderien had originally gone to negotiate with James Watson on Ambrose's behalf. But out of sheer spite, the young elven king had very "accidentally" revealed that Ambrose himself had come to the Court of the Silver Moon.0

James Watson's response was immediate: he would not deal with a lich. Let the creature keep Arthur Lyon's spirit—for now. The paladins would come for it soon enou...0