1-11-1266 TGR
Phillipe - official accounting notes on treasury spending
Branwyn to Queen Wilamina Mosskin
Your Majesty,
Affairs have gone relatively smoothly this month. We have not heard further rumours of a crusade brewing, and so we shall hope that we may put the matter to rest and Drillian shall not be viewed as responsible for starting a religious war in Terraguard. The rumours of Kayugans attempting to travel to Drillian and conquer the Mist has also been quiet. I believe since Father Mortin failed in his plan to recruit Uncle Tristan for such a task and we are now aware of his plans, that he has ceased preparing for such a foolish thing. I shall keep you apprised if there are any further developments.
Speaking of Uncle Tristan, he has resigned his post as my spiritual advisor. I believe his need to reconnect with his church after all that has happened to him of late has taken precedence over his duties here with me. Considering the many manipulations that he has had to endure, it is a testament to his faith that he is seeking such a peaceful way of handling the situation. Jennevive has been of assistance so far in his absence and we have taken on Patron Kenna, a priestess of Uthe, to assist as well. She is quite wise and has an innate skill for diplomacy that is exceedingly helpful.
Tristan has brought us an official replacement for his office. A Patron Dominic of the church of Belinos to act in his stead. As you may imagine, this does not sit well with Aunt Jennevive, but they shall simply have to learn to work together. Patron Dominic has taken the proper oath to Jennevive to assume the position and should be able to take on Tristan’s former duties in short order.
As far as our diplomatic efforts are concerned, I believe we are doing quite well. Our first Kayugan feast celebration was quite successful. We have also extended our good wishes and appear to be on good terms with the various kingdoms and baronies to the east, namely Turndale, Turndile, Golinar and Cornelia. At our next event at the manor, I shall be mediating and attempting to ally Thonriff and Josclin to help avoid incursions upon their lands.
Sir Indigo has begun making inquiries regarding ships for Drillian, but this is in the early stages as yet. He would like to know if Her Majesty would prefer to commission ships to be built or to acquire surplus or confiscated ships that we may be able to procure.
The City Council of Dryads Lair has proven to be the bane of my existence. They seem to wish my personal presence at every single weekly meeting and wish me to resolve their disputes whether they involve Drillian or not. The Merchants Guild is especially bothersome and wish us to remove our tariffs, but as far as I can tell, they have done nothing to reduce or remove theirs. I sent aides to the last meeting, but think that I may have to become involved more personally if this bickering continues. I am quite amenable to pleasing our hosts here in the city, but I do not feel it is in Drillian’s best interest to succumb to every demand that is placed upon us – especially if it hurts our economic interests. It seems more of a test to see how much they think they may extract from the new Ambassador than a realistic expectation. Along those lines, the Council has asked us to house the trade delegation from Rivers Bend, which of course I should be happy to do. I think that if we can align our goals with that of Rivers Bend and present a united front in trade negotiations, that shall serve Drillian much better.
Lastly, the investigation into Mistress Waverlyn’s murder continues, but is a slow process. We have acquired a new source of information, but leads seem to trickle in and with every new piece of information, we seem to need to investigate more.
I believe I have conveyed the events leading to the death of Mistress Waverlyn. We have learned that a girl dressed as a stable boy was found in the Ambassador’s room minutes before her staff discovered that the Ambassador had been stabbed and the house set ablaze. Since there was a protective ward placed on the house to prevent people from teleporting, it may have been a thief who snuck past the guards and had climbed into her bedroom window. This girl died in the fire and so information is limited as of yet.
Jennevive has made arrangements to question the priest who had performed the rituals on the Ambassador’s remains to confirm the conclusion that she had died of poisoning and to see if there is anything else we may learn of the matter from him. But at this point, it is the poisoning that is our primary concern. The stabbing and fire seem incidental to the thief who had entered her rooms.
We have learned that the former Ambassador seems to have killed a Greek priestess from Gort. We have not yet learned the exact reasons for her to do so, but I suspect it was part of her planned crusade against the Greeks. Our discreet inquiries into the matter show that this is not widely known and this particular priestess was not of such renown to have caused concern outside of her own lands. This revelation does disturb me. Ever since I have arrived here, I have questioned the late Ambassador’s methods, but this it quite beyond diplomacy and makes me grateful that she was stopped before her schemes were uncovered and it brought possible war to Drillian by her acts alone.
Your humble servant,
Marquessa Branwyn the Mysterious
Branwyn to Queen Wilamina Mosskin Your Majesty,
I have just returned from another City Council meeting and wished to make sure this letter was on its way to you with the monthly dispatch. I am not sure whether it should be my last meeting I will attend or if I should make this a permanent weekly appointment.
The Council members are so completely self-absorbed that I believe that they forget who is sitting at the table with them. In this particular meeting, Admiral Olana bemoaned repeatedly the sorry state of the Terraguard Navy in Dryads Lair. They are having difficulties recruiting and are so short of men that, according to him, patrol ships sit empty in the harbor, while the danger of pirates looting their trade ships looms at every turn. It is surprising to me that they should so loudly proclaim their weakness in front of a representative of Drillian.
What is interesting and related to this issue as well is a seeming lack of funds to recruit successfully at home. I find this very difficult to accept and so did other Council members, as an audit of the Navy Department’s bookkeeping was immediately ordered. In the meanwhile, the solution most vehemently proffered was to recruit “disgruntled peasants” from the Small Kingdoms. The Admiral would be looking, as he says, for disenchanted citizens whom he could sign to long term military duty contracts. He wishes to send notices to not only to Drillian but all over the Small Kingdoms. I write this to you trusting to your judgment if you wish to inform others of the Admiral’s plan.
Now, this is the City Council’s blustering and the entire Council was not in agreement on the issue. Prince Loplin has the final say in the matter and I did offer a more appropriate solution. The Prince is perfectly within his right to issue an edict to the provinces under his rule to supply the Navy with either men or coin for the replenishment of naval forces. But alas, only Lord Hightower acknowledged my suggestion. The other Council members seemed to be too involved in arguing with each other and the Admiral too taken with the thought of recruiting outside of Terraguard to give any reasonable suggestion to handle internal matters internally much thought.
This Council also requested that I, for a quite generous reward, procure a magical mind control item for their use. Some of the Council were, thankfully, as suitably outraged by this as I was and I told them in no uncertain terms that I would not provide any governing body with such a dangerous item. I also received an anonymous letter requesting that I “remove” a Council member. These requests are abhorrent to me and as I said upon starting this letter, my first inclination is to ignore this body entirely. However, if there is value to be gained from these sessions to garner information on the city’s plans and schemes, I shall continue attending these meetings.
Jennevive has said that she will produce the priests who looked over Mistress Waverlyn’s remains, but has failed to do so thus far. If she will not bring the priests to the house so that I may question them myself, then I shall be going to the Celestry on my own. Sometimes her protectiveness prevents advancement of one of our main objectives and my duty. I shall not let her become an obstacle rather than an asset. I shall give you a report on those efforts in my next letter.
I eagerly look forward to word from you in response to last month’s correspondence and hope that you shall be pleased with my work here in Dryads Lair.
Your humble servant,
Marquessa Branwyn the Mysterious
