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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3097210" data-attributes="member: 3448">Back to the normal mix of characters.Session 10After chapel, the Archducal Council gathered in their usual chamber in Alistair’s wing.  Mahler had returned from his duties with the Exchequer and joined Kit, Dame Brionna, and Alistair for the discussion of the day’s agenda.  Kit held out a scrap of paper.  “My network brought this note to me from the Duchy of Brightspan.”The note was handwritten, but none of them recognized the hand.  It was short and direct:The Duke is less of a threat than you think, the Duchess not at all.  But the eldest son is not the only one who has been corrupted.  Nor is the Abomination of Shurr the only threat.  Look beneath the city.  The great threat is traveling painfully underground to Shurr.”Dame Brionna nodded.  “That’s consistent with what we learned when we arrested Lady Deborah Brightspan.  I still don’t trust or like the Duke of Brightspan, but he seems like he may be better than we thought.”“I still don’t trust him,” said Kit.  “And I’ve looked into that spiritual advisor his wife had.  She’s definitely not Glor’diadelian.  She might be a follower of Mider, but it’s hard to say… it’s hard to tell with them, and we don’t have any ins to their organization.”“Or she might have returned to the faith of her ancestors.  Or at least of her foremothers,” said Alistair.  When Kit didn’t add anything more, Alistair turned to Mahler.  “How are things at the Exchequer?”“There is a lot of good news-- the treasury is doing just fine.  But it’s not all well.  The primary thing that’s causing concern is the tremendous reduction in the exotic spice trade.  Prices for any of the major imported spices have spiked.  But while that’s the effect that the wealthy are noticing so far, the spice disruption isn’t the worst of it.  The worst problem is that the import of rock salt, also generally from the South, has also been disrupted.  As a result, we might have serious problems with pickling, canning, and the curing of meat, and that will concern the rest of the population, especially when winter comes.”  The rest of the Council nodded in understanding.  It was currently early summer, but you always focused on how the winters would be.  “Another source is the salt mines in Brightspan,” Mahler continued talking over the low grumbling that produced, “but they are not nearly large enough to supply our needs.  Even leaving aside the question of relying on Brightspan, Canberry has always needed to import large amounts of salt.”“What about the salt flats in Caldra?” asked Alistair.  “I thought they supplied much of our needs.”“They produce the wrong sort of salt.  Caldra produces a profusion of granular salt, but it’s not suited for the sorts of preserving tasks for which we use rock salt.”“We don’t have any reserves laid in?” asked Dame Brionna.  “I would have expected the Her Grace the Archduchess to have prepared for this sort of eventuality.”“She did, but…  Her policy was to maintain an eight-year supply of all of the vital supplies that could be stockpiled, including rock salt.  But for the last many years, as her health and vigor were fading, her ministers became less diligent, and even sold from the supplies to take advantage of periods of high prices.  The stockpiles are essentially depleted.”“What can we do about it?  Do the people in the Exchequer have any thoughts?”“At least, those who are not too busy killing themselves,” added Dame Brionna.Mahler smiled.  “The Exchequer’s office is probably the least decimated of the high government offices.”“I guess there’s an advantage to people who have more loyalty to money and themselves as to the Crown,” replied Dame Brionna.“I’ll go consult with them more fully.”</blockquote>

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