Prince Aurelius Titus Scorpio XII
Artos leaned back in the hard wood chair that was behind his equally hard wood desk, his dark hair spilling over the edge of the seat. The sunlight spilling in through the small window in his study, the light reflecting off the cool wood surface as the small candles hanging from the roof flickered and danced to a tune only they could hear. If he listened closely he could almost hear the brown Truvin's singing. If there were truly such things as a 'good' day and a 'bad' day, this one would certainly fall on the good side, or at least, it was lovely in terms of the weather.
His silent musings were interrupted by three loud rapped on the door, "Come in," Artos said closing his eyes to enjoy the last few moments of solitude he would have before that door opened and ushered in all the problems of the outside world.
A large man entered, a scar running down his nose, the blade that had long since passed over his face taking out a chunk of the nose with it giving the man a rather unappealing visage. His hands gripped a stack of papers as if to protect them from any unseen attackers even in the small study that had books and papers strewn about the floor, "My Lord Scorpio, I bring reports and a request from the High Council," his gruff voice broke out smashing what little hope of peace and solitude his small office could provide.
"Sounds riveting," Artos replied dryly, opening his sharp blue eyes to examine and trace the stones in the ceiling, "Let us start with the Council first, I am sure what they have to say is incredibly important, and I truly mean that, I do not mean to insinuate that I would rather put them first and not get on their nerves when they are just down the hall and so very well within pestering distance compared to the subject of your reports."
"I could get Lady Apla for you, I am sure she would love to explain it in person," The man replied, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.
Artos head snapped straight, his eyes flashing with mock terror, "Why would you wish to torture your lord by forcing him to bear the company of such an insufferable woman."
The man stepped forward and took a seat on one of the cushioned chairs before his desk, they were only moderately more comfortable then his own damnable chair, "I do not understand your problems with Lady Apla, she is a very beautiful woman."
"Yes, and she knows it," Artos said laying his chin on his hand, "There is nothing more dangerous on this planet then a beautiful woman who is aware of that fact. That, and the last time she managed to corner me she spent an hour and a half talking about how the light hit the flowerbeds just so that it created such a 'pleasant environment in which to enjoy a nice meal with someone they care about' whilst seemingly immune to my normally charming self."
"Charming," the older man scoffed, "If I recall correctly, I believe you told her that you could think of a thousand ways in which to end your life, and they would all be more pleasant then to endure her company."
"Gregory! Your sarcasm wounds me, I am a very charming prince. Why, if I were to jump upon a white stallion, I would have to beat the princesses off with a stick and try not to enjoy doing so! That, and if I am going to be honest, I could only think of fifteen at the time, but it lacks that certain.. impact that a triple digit number brings." Artos said, covering his heart with his hand as he pretended to imagine himself vigorously smacking all the silly nobility of the realms with a very large stick.
Gregory shook his head, a small smile upon the withered face, "As much as this conversation is interesting and worthy of both of our time, I fear we have business. The Council would like to increase the price of all iron exports by 13%," he said reading from one of the papers, but before he could go on, Artos chimed in, "Agreed."
Gregory rose an eyebrow, "Agreed? Just like that. Are you well? Normally you spend a few days mulling over such things."
"There is nothing to mull over. I was preparing to do the same, although I was going to increase it by 17%, but this is a more reasonable starting point from which we can increase over time." Artos gave a soft sigh as the look from Gregory told him the older man wanted an explanation, "As this war grows, their demand for Iron will increase, and so they will be forced to pay what we demand, and so we are going to increase the price of iron. This will help us cover the cost of importing food which is going to rise in price as the war escalates as well... Also, it allows us to earn a tidy profit on the side."
"Alright, the council would also like to increase taxation by taxing the importation of produce," Gregory said, looking up just in time to see Artos raising an eyebrow, "Denied. We are going to earn a tidy profit, I have no desire to get greedy and start putting a strain on our economy and people. Also, our increase in prices is going to ruffle a few feathers, I have no desire to poke angry bears."
"Very well, I shall send the word later. Also, our... friends inform us that they are gathering," Gregory said softly as one can never be sure who had ears on the walls. In the lands of the scorpio even spies had spies.
"So, it is finally starting. Interesting," Artos said leaning back in his chair as he mused over the sitation.
"Will you be heading out?" Gregory asked watching his prince carefully, "No. Not yet. If I were to visit one side, the other side would get in an uproar and demand answers from me. They would then try to leverage that into me joining their side, and as much as I love listening to nobility prattle on and prance about with their over-inflated egos, I would rather not deal with it at this time."
"Understood my lord, I will leave you to go back to... whatever it is that you were doing," Gregory said pushing himself to his feet and heading for the door, before right before he could exit, Artos spoke as if it was a last minute thought, "Keep me informed of who shows up at where. I may visit if one of them peaks my interest."