IGIWS: FIRST DRAFT: Chapter 241

"Of course. Let's see the figures and how the numbers will affect us," Eamon said.


Rya smiled and handed the document to the Lord Gawain who took it over to Nathaniel first.


The Earl grabbed the document and started going over it carefully.


"You can correct any of my numbers if I was wrong, Lord Nathaniel," Rya said as she patiently watched the Earl.


Nathaniel didn't notice her watching him. Instead, he focused on the numbers.


He had to admit that the Dark Elf was very thorough with her calculations. She got all the right numbers that affected the trade deal.


After a moment, the Earl face had a slight smile written across it.


'She was very accurate... Hmmm... It seems that this Dark Elf isn't just some simple woman seeking power... She seems very intelligent. She would make a fine asset to the Kingdom... I just hope that the Meredydd line doesn't end with Quinus,' Nathaniel thought.


Nathaniel puts the paper down and slides it over to Lord Johan who catches the page and quickly looks at it.


"Does 3.5% work for your domain, Young Lord Johan?" Nathaniel asked.


Johan read it carefully. It was very fair. He would definitely approve the trade deal.


"Yes. My father would most definitely except this deal as long as the other Lords' approve the tax rate, then we would accept the terms." Johan said as he slid the page to his right so Baron Thaddeus could read it.


Thaddeus quickly reads the document. At first he frowned then his brows shot up after reading the numbers. Thaddeus slowly looks up at Nathaniel and was about to speak but the Earl cut him off.


"3.5% Thaddeus..." He said sternly.


Thaddeus looked a little defeated at first, "But why won't you consider the 5% tax rate like the rest the other Lords do in the north?"


"Because I don't know what your capable of delivering my goods to the Kartoll Kingdom... This will be the first time I try using your cities to get my goods delivered to the Kingdom." Nathaniel answered.


Thaddeus glanced at the document again with a pained look. He really could use the income, but at the same time he wasn't sure if he could handle the goods coming into his cities. Rya saw the look and she knew what could help Thaddeus.


"Lord Thaddeus... If things start working out well. And your cities are able to house and distribute the Earl's goods them he will most likely increase the output of how much he sends your way... Correct me if I'm wrong, Lord Nathaniel?" Rya asked as she looked over at the Earl.


The Earl had a amused look on his face, "Why do you think I would increase the amount of goods I ship to Kartoll, Miss Rya?"


"Because you send it yourself. You actively try not to use William's ports. So I'm assuming whatever surplus you sell up North is beginning to drop the price due to less demand. You need another outlet for your goods and you chose Thaddeus's border city." Rya explained.


Nathaniel nodded his head slightly while having a slight glint in his eye.


"Yes... You're a sharp one, Lady Rya... The only kingdom up North that still buys my goods for market value is the Kingdom of Marn... But they put a cap on how much they buy... They seem angered by sending most of their gold on our goods. But they need it because their crops haven't grown well because of their lands dryer conditions. It's made things tense between our two countries. But you're right about the surplus... I'm trying to find more ways to get rid of it." Nathaniel answered.


"If Lord Thaddeus shows you that his domain is capable of delivering your goods with minimal losses... How much would you be willing to send his way?" Rya asked.


Thaddeus and Johan looked at the Earl with curiosity.


"Hmmm... That's a tough question, Lady Rya... But if there's no issue for half a year... Then I might be willing to up the output by over 100%. But that's the best I could offer," Nathaniel said.


Thaddeus's elbow slid off the edge of the table and nearly smacked his face into the polished wood, but he stopped it just before impact.


"You-you mean double?!" He exclaimed.


"Yes... If you can handle the volume... Then yes, I will double the amount to 5 Million bushels of wheat and 2 million bushels of cotton... And if I have no issues within five years of this agreement then maybe I might reconsider the tax rate," Nathaniel answered.


Thaddeus was dumbfounded and he didn't know what to think. If Nathaniel could actually follow through on that promise, then Thaddeus would gain a massive fortune. He could probably double the size of his city and have enough money left over to start construction on a new castle for him and his family that was more spacious the old one. But he felt a glare coming from Duval. The Prime Minister was fine with hurting William's income but he didn't want his allies to be so financially independent that he had to actually convince them to remain his allies.


Quinus noticed Duval's glare and he decided to add the cherry on top to convince Thaddeus that he didn't want to miss out.


"Lord Thaddeus... I've been working on a new project. It's called the canal... Think of it as a man-made river. We can use this canal to bypass the Kingdom of Kartoll and reach the Eastern coast directly. This will make it easier to move goods to the east. And the Earl would probably agree to a higher tax rate if there isn't another domain involved... Wouldn't you, Lord Nathaniel?" Quinus said as he glanced at Nathaniel.


Nathaniel raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.


"If I don't have to pay the higher taxes to use the Kartoll port cities... Then I can afford a 7% tax rate, Prince Quinus," Nathaniel replied.


"That's 322 million silver coins!?" Thaddeus exclaimed. 'That's equal to 322 thousand gold!... That's nearly doubling my domains profits!'


Thaddeus was seeing dollar signs in his eyes but he was brought out of his daze when Quinus spoke.


"But it's a shame that I wouldn't be able to create your canal with how things are... Especially since I won't have the heart to do the project when the status of my fiancee is uncertain," Quinus replied as he looked at Rya.


Baron Thaddeus's face went blank for a moment and then he looked at Rya and then to Nathaniel and then to the Crown Prince. He was weighing his options and after all these years of following Marquess Duval has brought him and his domain not as much wealth and power as he once thought it would. And the Marquess isn't as powerful as he once was. Duval was still influential in court and was still the Prime Minister, but he had no military power. He had to hedge his bet on the Prime Minister. He couldn't sit back anymore and hope a better offer would come along. It was now or never.


Baron Thaddeus looked over to the Prime Minister whose face had a mixture of anger and annoyance.


"Prime Minister... I like to recast my vote on the emergency session... I'm... I'm changing my vote to present," Thaddeus stated which caused the entire chamber to erupt into stunned murmurs and shocked gasps.


Quinus had a triumphant smile and he looked at Duval who's face was a shade darker than normal.


"Are you certain, Baron Thaddeus Windermere... If I were you then I think long and hard about this decision," Duval said under a deep frown.


"I have, Prime Minister... I was not privy to the information about the Lady Rya's actions and her willingness to protect are future king and kingdom... If she does has nefarious intentions then I shall change my vote again... But until then, I feel like my lack of knowledge should keep me from choosing either option. So, I choose present," Thaddeus replied.


Duval's frown turned into a scowl and then he took a deep breath and calmed himself down.


"I understand... And I'm deeply disappointed in your... Un... Willingness?... Lord Eamon? What are you-"


"I'm just curious about the document, Prime Minister," Eamon stated as he grabbed the paper out of Thaddeus's hand.


Eamon showed a bored look at first but then his right brow rose slightly and his left eye narrowed and he looked over at Thaddeus who looked away from his gaze.


Eamon put the paper down and folded his arms over his chest. He was deciding if he should approve this deal in the first place. What he was struggling with most was his loyalty to Duval. He promised him the Ministry position if he helped him become the Prime Minister all those years ago. But no matter what he did, he had to bend backwards to make certain arrangements for Duval and with the last ten years of William undercutting his deals, he was barely making any profit for the Fiafyr Kingdom. He was barely making any money for the Royal family or his domain. He could hear the whispers about how Earl Nathaniel should have never been stripped of the position when Duval won. Nathaniel has done nothing to lose it, except for not siding with Duval. Nathaniel improve the lives of his people and the Royal family and was one of the powerhouse domain's within the entire kingdom. Eamon thought he could do better than Nathaniel. But now after two and half decades of dealing with the backstabbing, the greed, the lust for power and wealth. And now he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He doesn't want to see Nathaniel leave the Kingdom. And then there is the problem of William.


Viscount William Lysander, who started pulling stun after stun that made him look bad in front of everyone. Even the King and Queen. He would dry dock a whole fleet of ships and not pay the owners and crews. He would hire workers and not pay them, and if they didn't work, he would throw them in prison. And if they tried to protest, he would call the guards and have them arrested.


These were people from different countries that William was hiring and using and then throwing away like garbage.


William was ruining the name of the Fiafyr Kingdom and no matter how many times he or Duval tried to stop him. William would just do whatever the hell he wanted. Which brought the backlash from the King, the foreign dignitaries, the Merchant Guild, and the Noble Houses.


And now, with William's latest stunt, William had a massive fire, destroyed a bunch of expensive equipment, and a warehouse full of food that was supposed to be shipped out to one of Duval's foreign ally.


Things have gotten so bad these last five years that Duval demanded that all the Southern territories must not taxes any of his agricultural goods to enter their domains. Eamon thought the Marquess was gathering large sums of gold from Alaric when he was serving out his punishment. But now he had no clue where all that gold was going. The Prime Minister seemed to be hemorrhaging money and he didn't know how the third richest nobleman was acting like a cash starved peasant. And seeing this deal the Dark Elf proposed was something he couldn't say no to.


If Eamon were to refuse the deal and let Duval win, then all of the Fiafyr Kingdom was fucked. And Eamon couldn't shake this feeling that war was around the corner and The Prime Minister seemed hell bent on this peace treating with the Alliance. Like it would cure all the ills of the Kingdom. His faith in Duval was beginning to waiver after seeing how poorly he acted under pressure this morning alone and he lost control of this emergency meet to the very woman he was trying to expel.


Baron Eamon Stirling sighed as he sat there. He knew what he was going to do would make him lose his ministry position. But the evidence was clear, Duval is a ineffective Prime Minister and a poor leader. And Eamon can't allow the Kingdom to suffer for the Prime Minister's shortcomings even if he gave him more power.


"Prime Minister... It's been a rough these last five years... And I need to make the best decision for my domain. I'm just being careful and making sure that Lady Rya's deal is good for our country..." Eamon tried to prepare the Prime Minister for what was going to happen.


"I understand what you're saying Eamon, but the Dark Elf is dangerous. You all are more worried about lining your pockets than realize that she's going to bring war and destruction to the kingdom." Duval argued.


This gave Eamon pause for a moment. Quinus knew one thing that Eamon Domain was desperate for was food. His land was tough to grow crops on and with the Purple Slag that he was able to get from Baron Zellin Coldforge and the Dwarves he was able to start the farmland in his lands. If Rya, the Saintess and Savior of Ironside, were to be expelled from the Kingdom than the Galfrei Domain might leave and become a Independent state and Eamon's easy supply of fertilizer was gone making him more dependent on Duval and Alaric's lands.


Quinus needed to turn Eamon against Duval and this was the best opportunity to do so as he saw the conflicting emotions on the Baron's face.


"Baron Eamon... Has anyone informed you on the situation that happened in Ironside over a month ago? I know Baron Zellin set a report to parliament but the Baron never got a response back from the Prime Minister." Quinus asked.


Eamon, Thaddeus, and Nathaniel all looked confused while Alaric looked at Duval who's face had turned white. William would have enjoyed seeing the Marquess in such a state but he was trying to find a way to kill this deal. Sebastian showed little emotion as he slowly looked at Duval as was disappointed to see his friend look so panicked. Terenthiel and the other Divine Three didn't care about what was going on as they all looked like they were trying to make Rya's head explode with their glare.


"No, my liege, I haven't anything... Is there something I should know?" Eamon replied.


"Well that's disappointing... The Mercenary Group that was hired by the Duke and my cousin tried to conquer Ironside for their own... That's one of the reasons why I took so long to get back to the capital..."


Murmurs and whispers began to circulate through the room while Eamon looked at Duval.


"Is this true? I didn't receive this report or any kind of communication from Ironside." Eamon said as he tried to remain calm.


"I didn't send out a report because the issue was delt with and I didn't see a reason to involve you all." Duval explained.


"You didn't think a war was a good reason to send out a report?!" Eamon exclaimed as he looked at the Prime Minister.


"It wasn't a war. It was a small group of rogue Mercenaries that were taken care of easily," Duval said as if it was no big deal.


This caused everyone in Quin and Rya's group to scoff.


"Ten thousand of the Black Roses? Are you an idiot?" Sir George balked at the Marquess' statement.


"The Black Roses!? The Duke hired that Mercenary group from right under our noses!... Did you order them to invade Ironside!?" Eamon accused the Duke.


Alaric had one of his patented glared, "Oh course not!... I hired some of them to be my son's bodyguards and nothing more... I rid myself of their services once they reported that my son was killed... So whatever they tried to do was of their own accord and none of my concern..." The Duke lied.


"So you admit that you had some Black Roses working for you?!"


"I did... And it turns out that the rumors about their exploits were greatly exaggerated. And my son payed the price for my foolishness..."


Quinus looked at his uncle, "No, Uncle... They were everything they were cracked up to be... They captured Lady Rya with a powerful slave collar and used her to kill hundreds of the Ironside's army. The Kings Slayer almost killed me. And Rudolf Rose, the Leader of the Mercenaries, was about to kill the all the mages of the Ironside Guild. If we weren't able to free Rya from the slave collar then Ironside would have been conquered..."


"Lady Rya?... You're talking about the Dark Elf here?" Eamon asked.


"Yes, she is... She was the only person able to kill the Kings Slayer and she healed my wounds so I could stop Rudolf from killing Archmage Hajdah and his surviving members of the Mage's Guild. His enchanted shield was a bit of a problem... But he fell to my blade nonetheless," Quinus answered.


Eamon looked at Rya and then back to Duval. While at the same time Quinus looked at his uncle who just glared right back at him.


"Do you have something to say nephew? If so, please speak up," Alaric stated as he looked back at the young Prince.


"I may not have proof, uncle... But I doubt you cut yourself off from the Mercenaries. And if my suspicion is correct, then you're the reason why Rudolf was trying to conquer Ironside... One less ally for my father to rely on and one more piece on the chess board to get the throne for yourself..." Quinus said.


Alaric smirked, "Bold words... But I'm a loyal servant of the Kingdom, nephew. You should know better than to think that your old uncle would want the throne for himself."


"Your actions say otherwise, Alaric," Rya interjected as she smiled at the Duke.


"And what are my actions saying, Lady Rya?" Alaric asked as he gave her an angry look.


"That you're a fool who's original plans have failed... I wonder what you're going to pivot to now that you can't get the throne with a war? Hmmm?" Rya smiled as she taunted the Duke.


Alaric remained quiet and even though Rya was bluffing, she was closer to the truth than she knew. This made Alaric nervous about using the Kingdom of Marn to invade the north... If she was in one of the Royal Armies then they would annihilate anything that gets in their way. Everything he's planned for must be put on hold until she was delt with. Killing her was out of the question due to her healing magic. Breaking them apart was the best option. But that was in a field he was weak in. Alaric needed a woman's touch and no other woman could do the job better than his wife, Leandra. He needed to give her all the resources she would need to carry out her plans.


Alaric smiled at Rya, "My... Aren't you two the perfect couple... You even think alike."


Rya just gave him an annoyed look because he didn't mean it as a compliment and it seemed like he was giving her a hint, but she didn't know what it was.