Peek: The Crown

King Edwuarl Horlon the Third sits regally in his chair, listening to the initial taxation reports.  Few others in the throneroom are able to mimic his poise as he listens, though he can't really blame them.  It's not even the royal ego pointing out flaws in others while ignoring his own.  He actually quite enjoys statescraft, even if few of his nobles do.  One of his most potent political threats is to offer a noble a seat at these reports.  More than one noble has caused a mild scandal by falling asleep.  The gossip gives the other nobles something to do, at least.

For him, the numbers are an interesting gauge for how his kingdom is doing.  He does his best not to obsess over areas that report lower numbers than last year, just as he tries not to puff up and preen over the areas that are doing better.  He's the elven King, not a birdkin minister.

Still, he can't and doesn't fight the sense of accomplishment when the various parts of his kingdom are doing well.  Even if little is directly because of him, small reductions in taxes can make the people feel much more confident, and actually produce more wealth for the crown than burdensome ones.

It does mean he has to sometimes listen to foolish nobles who think they could have had a larger share of the wealth, but such fools are easy enough to replace, via a myriad of methods.

He pushes those kinds of thoughts aside for now, wanting to keep his mental list accurate to compare with what the reports are saying, and to compare with the previous year.  He frowns when he hears the numbers for Fourdock, and holds his hand out to his steward for his copy of last year's reports.  The clerk rattling off the numbers pauses as his liege checks the numbers for last year.

King Edwuarl frowns before speaking.  "Tax revenue is up over 200%.  Did the local noble impose more taxes?" he asks as he looks through the ledger, seeing slowly-declining revenues for well over a decade.  Honestly, the town would have been soon on the docket to receive investment form the crown to improve the productivity, if not for this boon.  Of course, such a tax boon could also be a last gasp as a noble tries to wring the citizenry for as much as possible.  Some nobles take Edwuarl's focus on numbers to think he can't read what's happening behind those numbers.

The clerks and accountants shuffle their papers as more attention is paid to Fourdock's income than in decades.  An apprentice points to a line for her superior, and the orcish woman nods before standing.

"If it pleases the crown, I believe my apprentice has found the answer.  Adventurer Guild revenue is also sharply up in Fourdock, and there appears to be a new dungeon listed."

Murmurs fill the throneroom at the news.  A new dungeon can bee a great financial boon, after all.  The king looks thoughtful for a few moments before looking over to one of his advisors.

"Are new dungeons always so lucrative?" he asks.  While he is pretty sure most dungeons aren't that much of a boon, he'd like to have his advisor confirm it.  The experienced elf has been into practically every dungeon on the continent, not just the kingdom, and so the crown trusts his judgement when it comes to the odd locations.

"Rarely, sire, especially for one so young," he answers, and takes a few seconds to recall what he can about the out-of-the-way town of Fourdock.  "If I remember correctly, Fourdock doesn't, or at least didn't, have any good dungeons for delving.  If they have a new one that offers a proper delve, it could certainly explain the boom."

The king nods at that.  "Order a light audit, and familiarize yourself with what the Dungeoneers have on the situation in Fourdock.  If it's just a lucrative dungeon, that's fine.  If it's especially lucrative, we may authorize the funds to improve the roads and other infrastructure.  If the local noble is strangling the citizenry with taxes, that's less fine."

The advisor gives a bow.  "Yes sire.  I shall visit the Dungeoneers once the meeting is finished?"

The king nods and brings his attention back to the ledgers before him.  "That will be satisfactory.  If there are no other concerns about Fourdock, let us continue on to Fourdry.  We believe they suffered a flood in the spring, and there was concern for their fields.  How has the harvest fared?"

Fourdock is easily pushed to the back of his mind as he focuses on the crop reports.  Fourdry is one of the prime grain suppliers for almost a quarter of the kingdom, so the state of the crops are of much more concern to the king than a minor economic boon in the northern reaches of his kingdom.  While he would hardly begrudge them their success, feeding his people is a more pressing concern than a bit of extra coin in the royal coffers.

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Partially inspired by Stickboy, who wanted to get a look at what outside nobles or even the crown think of Fourdock and Thedeim.