The new day dawns and with it comes two new arrivals to the Convent.

The merchant Kratos Elmid arrived with only a little fanfare. His brassy scales shone in the breaking dawn, mirrored in the brass-coated breastplates of his four guardsmen and the brass circlet worn by his scribe. Aris could tell that he was not impressed by the development of Trebor Village, but the obvious signs of investment and industry scattered about the Convent pleases him more.

Aflia Cencin arrives without any fanfare, just a wandering mage walking down the road to an unfamiliar place. She does have her black court dress on, which she smooths and cleans with a whispered word before entering the conference hall. She looks happy to see Aris, but unsure of how things are going to play out. She also looks like something has been eating at her, grinding her down.

With the first order of business being a (semi)informal breakfast and opportunity for all of the parties to unwind, Aris decides to start the first steps of the diplomatic dance. With a Nod to Lord Wavethunder, he sits down next to Aflia.

"You look like you swallowed a lemon. What's bothering you?"

Aflia sighs, moving food about her plate without eating anything. "Living at Hokfiin Faalyol mostly. Sorting through the records of my father, the mess he left behind. I really don't want to live there any longer than I have to."

Aris nodded sympathetically, "and accepting the Lordship of Cencin would lock you into living there?"

"Yes."

Aris rubbed his chin and drank some cherrybean tea. "There might be a way out of that, you know."

Aflia took a small bite of eggs, clearly forcing herself to eat, "Kratos wants nothing to do with that place, and unfortunately for me, I got there first."

"But isn't Hokfiin Faalyol primarily a testing ground for the Army and Navy, and a firing range for spellcasters in training? if you turn down the title to that specifically..."

Afla takes another nibble of food, "and who would want a tiefling as their ruler? I'd be assassinated inside of a month, three at the outside."

Aris picked up his cup to move on. "you concentrate on eating, I'll see what I can do about getting you out of this jam. If nothing else, you can always live in Trebor. My court, what little of it there is, is always open to you."

Afia nodded and nibbled some more. Aris drifted off to find and meet Kratos Elmid. One third of the plan in place... He didn't have to drift for long, because Kratos was looking to introduce himself.

"Lord Trebor! Such an interesting man, from what I have heard, and such an astute investment in this place!"

Aris shook the man's claw, being careful to avoid the sharp edges. "Rebuilding the reason most people came to Trebor seemed like a good idea to me. I do have a few other ideas stewing about, and a bit of capital to put towards them, but not so much in the way of manpower. What's this I hear about you being named Lord Cencin?"

Kratos snorted dismissively, "an honor I'd rather avoid. They mayoral elections for Cencin the city are fierce, and we merchants have our sprawling trade networks to manage as well. Ruling the province would only take me out of that game and leave me weakened."

Aris sipped cherrybean and pondered this for a moment. "But aside from Hokfiin Faalyol, which as I understand more or less runs itself, isn't Cencin the city the only holding in Cencin the province? If Aflia took that, would you be more amicable to the Lordship?"

Kratos snorted again, but also showed a toothy grin, "direct and to the point. I think I like your negotiating style. If the mayor of Cencin was also Lord of Cencin, that would simplify things a fair bit."

Aris drained his cup as an excuse to drift away, “then perhaps you should look for that to be your goal, instead of avoiding the Lordship all together."

Kratos sipped from his own cup and left Aris drift away. As Aris moved towards the drink table he nodded at Lord Wavethunder once more. Two thirds in place, now to get Queen Shallahai to play along...

Lord Wavethinder reached for a muffin and considered Aris out of the corner of his eye. "What plan are you working on here?"

Aris started to refill his cup, but poured slowly to buy time. "A compromise. Aflia doesn't want anything to do with the Lordship, but Kratos may be willing to accept a portion of it. Slice off Hokfiin Faalyol, and Kratos would take the title, but I think her majesty could find some suitable stings to attach to future-proof this situation, like tying the title of Lord Cencin to the title of Mayor of Cencin the city."

Lord Wavethunder chewed a bit of muffin as he mulled things over. "That would create a merchant republic in all but name..."

Aris nodded, "but Queen Shallahai holds the Duchy of Cencin, as well as the Kingdom, and has enough resources of all types to curb its influence. It would also bring in quite a bit more in taxes for the crown."

Lord Wavetunder stared at his muffin for a moment, ideas spinning though his head, "it would also increase the reach of Althiem, and turn us into something of a trade-hub for this corner of the world..."

Aris shrugged, "And give an excuse for an Althiem-flagged ship to appear in just about any port, carrying agents as well as cargo."

Lord Wavethunder swallowed another bit of muffin. "I think I can sell this Shadow Kingdom approach to Her Majesty, but Hokfiin Faalyol is still a sticking point."

Aris frowned, "the only way out I can see would be for the Crown, as the master of the Army and Navy and sponsor of the Mage Towers, to take it over. Aflia wants nothing to do with it or the titles that accompany it, so it would revert to the Crown in any case. If nothing else, I have offered her a place in my court, such as it is."

Something chirped in Lord Wavethunder's pocket. He extracted a small crystal and glanced at something it projected onto the air before his face. "It looks like lady Ussi has arrived. You go greet her, I'll handle things with Her Majesty. Good luck."

Aris drained his cup and left it on the corner of the table before drifting casually out of the room. Two of three, with the third leaning in my favor. I'll take those odds for the moment.

Lady Ussi looked over the Convent from the cover of the trees. So many deaths had occurred here, so much blood had soaked the land. Yet this Aris Cretu had simply set about rebuilding, bringing life and purpose back to the area. The Queensguard standing about the place set her nerves on edge however. Then again, they were quite obviously not guarding the worker's dining hall that Aris had specified in his note agreeing to the meeting. The approach would take longer than she would like, and the risk of complications had gone up. Lady Ussi was considering backing away and trying again when Aris strolled out of a different building and past the Queensguard towards her position along the edge of the forest. He carried no obvious weapons and wore no armor. His demeanor was cautions, but not fearful. Lady Ussi flicked her forked tongue along her lips, then strode forward to reveal herself.

Aris stopped in his tracks as he got his first look at Lady Ussi. His jaw tightened momentarily as he saw the sun sliding off her scales and the diamond pupils in her eyes. Aris took a breath and then forced himself to relax. "Lady Ussi I presume?"

Lady Ussi Nodded, "Aris Cretu. Your growing legend precedes you."

Aris gave a half bow of acknowledgement. "And the actions of your former people precede you as well. Shall we go inside to talk in private?"

They walked together to the dining hall, where Aris opened to door and gestured for Lady Ussi to precede him inside. When they were seated at the long dining table, Aris asked the first question. "What has driven you away from your superiors to seek refuge with me of all people?"

Lady Ussi's tongue flicked nervously. "I see that you have a sharp mind. The Overlords and their Branded have demanded too much of me and my people. I have lost two of my three sons to their works, and I cannot stand by to see more die in a fight that they cannot hope to win. To break my chains, I am willing to sacrifice everything of my own, but I wish better for my people."

Aris nodded. "I can find no fault with your motivations, but I was expecting a single defector, not a whole family or village. We need a place to hide all of your people before the Overlords bring the hammer down on them for your defection. Ikin is too small, and this Convent too busy, to make do. Given that you came from the woods, I assume that you know them better than I. Can you suggest a place?"

Lady Ussi's brow furrowed. "I can think of two, but why are you so eager to help?"

Aris shrugged, "because I'm the last survivor of Ironbark, and the Branded were responsible for wiping them out. I saw their casual brutality when I rescued the Althiem Princesses and two of my friends from their clutches. Any power that actively encourages that kind of behavior in its agents is one I'm more than willing to oppose."

Lady Ussi nodded, "We could move to another place in these forests and camp out, or we could try and make our home in the old temple... But the witch living there would almost certainly object. Violently."

Status Report:

Treasury: 10000 (after a year of living frugally)

Income: +5 gold per day (semi-retired Agent of Althiem)

Equipment: In good condition.

Estates:

Ikin: Village, Fishing Docks Trebor Convent: Under Construction Four Empty Holdings (may be improved later)

The Ring: obsidian band with one carbuncle gem and two empty settings

Total Deaths:1