A biting wind howled through the eastern marketplace of Winterspire Citadel, carrying a chaotic mix of scents: the sharp tang of uncured animal hides, the savory smoke of roasting meat, and the metallic ring of a distant blacksmith’s hammer.
Stalls lining the streets were crude affairs—little more than canvas sheets stretched over wooden poles, their wares displayed without ceremony.
This had once been a sleepy trading post, a place for local
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