The Port's Building Materials Seemed to Have Frightened Everyone

Many people did not quite understand why Hill was so wary of Bhaal's treasure.

But anyone with a little sense knew that no matter how rich someone was, he would never turn down easy money right in front of him unless it was dangerous.

That left each person to choose between reason and greed.

Hill noticed several wealthy merchants who sold him all the goods they had brought, then moved into the inn with their people. Some even sent for their families in Waterdeep.

Merchants held considerable status in Toril, but they could still only live among their own kind. Money alone could not buy them a place beside nobles and high-ranking professionals.

Merchants who usually wielded great influence often suffered devastating losses when disaster struck.

That was especially true of disasters involving wealth. Merchants bore the brunt of those.

Yet most merchants could not make such a clean break. Once they abandoned this trade route, reclaiming it would be terribly hard.

Building a fortune from nothing was never as easy as it sounded.

Bowing and scraping, struggling to survive, even stooping to contemptible acts—most merchants had been through it all. Many never wanted to walk that road again.

Hill watched the parade of human nature from his balcony. He merely told the Dragonkin waiting at his place for the Silver Moon Dragon Queen that they had best return and close their borders. If they needed to buy anything in the meantime, they should come only to Hill or trade with other continents.

These Dragonkin had followed Gold Dragons and Silver Dragons for years. They were no fools, and they could rein in the hunger for wealth in their blood. They soon understood why Hill had shut the Dragon Queen and her family inside the Maze.

The Dragonkin quickly decided