As Zaliyah sat in the secluded corner of the exclusive wing, the shock of his entrance began to fade from the room.
The conversations of the surrounding noblemen began to pick up again, their loud, arrogant voices gradually drowning out the soft music played by the courtesans. They spoke with the careless freedom of men who believed their wealth made them untouchable in this frontier territory.
"The cold is becoming unbearable nowadays," one older nobleman spoke, rubbing his wrinkled hands together near a small coal brazier in the center of their seating area.
"I swear, the frost gets deeper into the bones with every passing winter. The northern spirits must be angry." a man replied
"That's why you need to find yourself a new, younger wife, old friend," a third man replied with a booming laugh, patting his stout belly. "Married men don't complain about the weather. They have a warm, lively bed waiting for them every night."
