The Stage Conference Concludes

There was much for the Glory People's Congress to discuss—not only the various internal policy guidelines of the Horde, but also a secret agreement with Stormwind concerning the Bilgewater Cartel Goblins.

To be honest, if he had a choice, Zul'ra did not want Stormwind to swallow the Bilgewater Cartel, that juicy prize. But Gallywix of the Bilgewater Cartel had truly been courting death.

After the campaign against the Scourge ended at the beginning of the year, the Judgment Army was disbanded on the spot in Northrend. The Alliance and Horde could finally set down their heavy logistical burdens, but before they could even breathe a sigh of relief, they nearly choked on their next breath—the Bilgewater Cartel Goblins had driven up grain prices.

Since the summit in December of Year 26 After the Dark Portal, when the Ashen Judgment Army was established, the Alliance and Horde had transported hundreds of thousands of tons of grain to Northrend over the year-long northern campaign against the Scourge in order to sustain the army's operations.

Including the earlier resistance against the Burning Legion after the opening of the Dark Portal, the Second War of the Shifting Sands before that, and the localized wars against the Scourge, the Alliance and Horde had spent enormous amounts of money and supplies protecting the world. Their stockpiled grain had basically been exhausted.

With grain prices suddenly soaring at such a time, panic was inevitable. Things were relatively manageable on the Horde's side, but on the Alliance's side—especially in Stormwind—several disturbances reportedly broke out, and it took tremendous effort to settle them.

Although no truly major disaster occurred, before the autumn harvest came in, the Horde and Alliance had lost no less than two million gold coins between them. As the chief culprit behind the grain speculation, if