Interlude CMXXXI: Dragon's Delegation
Dragon's Delegation
Thirteenth Day of the Third Month 294 AC
Hermetia read through the last Inquisition dispatches with more interest than she was willing to admit to herself. She had played diplomat in the realms of water, why not spy in the realms of fire next? Alas, the strident voice of sense would not be silenced. She was nowhere near skilled enough at conjuring to deal with devils as the sorceress Siduri did. Even the erinyes who had no love of intrigues and treachery could play that game with the skill born of long ages.
It was time to go home to Lys, see what plays have debuted in her absence, and the less cheerful prospect of some magister deciding the governor's absence was good time to step out of line. You couldn't really train the treachery out of some of the old guard, just keep watch and hope that when they inevitably lashed themselves to their own pyre it wouldn't burn down too much else in the process. And now I'm bloody depressed at the prospect already.
"Koron," she eyed the 'young' man who was overseeing triton haulers carrying an improbable number of large bulky boxes through the foyer. "Tell me something funny, I need a laugh."
"Did you know returning diplomats don't have to pay any import taxes on any souvenirs they may have picked up in their travels?" he asked with a brilliant smile.
The sorceress laughed, not bothering to hide the expression beneath a demure hand as she might have done in other company. "I'll be sure to pass on that nugget of wisdom to the Office of Trade."
"Now why would you do that?" he practically whined.
"Because if I have to pay hundreds of thousands of marks in taxes I'm not going to let anyone else get away with dodging them if I can help it," she replied instantly. In spite of the fact that such arrangements had been common in Volantis she had never considered making use of her contacts to avoid taxes, not just because she was almost certain it would not work, but because taxes were necessary. They helped keep the realm together for everyone, from making sure the streets did not smell like shit to keeping the realm safe from fish men and frozen corpses. Seeing Koron's worried expression she added. "Don't worry about whatever you are passing through now, laws are not retroactive."
"How come?" he asked frowning still, but more in contusion than worry. "Wouldn't it serve the King's pockets more if they were?" And there was the smile again, flirtatious unless she missed her guess. "I'd ask Menel, but he would probably fill my head with numbers so think I'd have to drink the headache away."
Since he hadn't added that 'he would rather hear it from a pretty girl' this time Hermetia kept the eye rolling internal. "The law has to be founded on uniform principles or it makes a mess of the courts and trying to uniformly enshrine retroactive law would mean every magister in Essos is a slaver, myself included technically."
The old Braavosi corsair winced. "Would've made conquering Essos harder, that's for sure."
***
As Hermaita's household and the other staff who would be leading for the Deep assembled beside the ivory arches that would soon hold the new Terminus to Vialesk. Diana still had not arrived, but Hermetia was hopeful she had managed to persuade one of the local archmages to take the King's offer. Alas, the incarnate arrived late and in a foul mood beside. The last mage she had spoken to had apparently been evasive in the hopes he could hire her.
"Honestly, what gave him the idea I wanted to live there, it's a nice enough place to visit, but I like to see the sun every once in a while," she sniffed. "I'm not some experiment that accidentally attained sapience just waiting to jump ship."
"Home sounds good," Hermertia agreed as the magic of passage washed over her.
What next?
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OOC: Archmage rolls for Vialesk were poor, but the main thrust of the action succeeded. The Terminus Network will soon link four planes.
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