“Whenever she visits friends in the court, she tries to feel the pulse of the nobility,” his father explained. “She’s mentioned several times that patience is wearing thin and many nobles are frustrated.”
“You’re using her as a spy?”
“To an extent,” the king said, unabashed. “It was her idea, you know.”
Relam shook his head. “Wonders never cease,” he muttered. His frail, small mother was one of the last people he would think to use as a spy. But, Relam thought, maybe that observation in and of itself made the idea of his mother being a spy a viable one. Besides, there were different sorts of spies. His mother was well-suited to move inconspicuously about the court, under the guise of social visits, all the while gathering information for his father to act on or ignore as he chose.
“It would appear things are coming to a head,” the king mused. “I can’t pretend there aren’t problems that I would like to solve - the river for one. Every time I eat fish I worry about what the fish might have fed on.” He frowned thoughtfully. “The only problem is, there are only so many hours in a day and only so much money in the royal coffers. And you said one of the issues was taxes? Fools!” He snorted derisively. “Everything in this world costs money.”
“Nevertheless, we should at least hear them out,” Relam said. “We have a duty to the people, yes?”
“Yes,” the king agreed. “Bring Clemon back, will you Narin? I think Relam has briefed me enough.”
Narin stood quickly and went to the door, ushering in Clemon, who still looked quite agitated. The king’s chatelain stepped forward quickly and thrust a scroll into the king’s hands. “This is the message, your majesty,” he added unnecessarily.
Relam’s father rolled his eyes and unrolled the scroll scanning it quickly. Halfway down the page he stopped, frowned, then started again. Finally, he lowered the scroll to the table and tapped it thoughtfully.
“Well?” Relam said, trying to read the scroll upside down. “What does it say?”
The king flipped it around so that the others could read it easily. Relam held the scroll to prevent it from rolling back up and read the entire message slowly.
To His Majesty, King Orram
The Assembly of Nobles and its High Council has several items that it wishes to draw to your royal attention. Such items are highly important in nature, and solutions are desired to be implemented as soon as possible. Should no action be taken in response to this plea, the Assembly will be forced to consider action of its own. The issues in need of addressing are:
Greater National Security along established trade routes (Namely in the forest lands along the Furnier Sea but in other regions as well)
Expansion of the Royal Navy to create a viable patrolling force in the Southern Sea to discourage piracy
Cleansing of the Furnier River, and punishment of offenders in a manner consistent with the crime
Formation of a committee for the judicious deciding of land disputes and other matters of property allocation
Reduction of taxes on the higher classes who have so long borne the burden of funding the kingdom and its enterprises
These grievances are the five most urgent and require immediate, satisfactory action. The Assembly of Nobles and its Council shall be the sole judge of what constitutes satisfactory action. At minimum, this Assembly calls for a joint meeting of the Council, His Majesty, and any advisors His Majesty should wish to include. It is the desire of this Assembly that such a meeting take place within a week of receipt of these grievances.
The Assembly of Nobles and its High Council
Head of Assembly: Lord Thius
“It’s signed by every lord on the High Council, plus a fair number from the larger Assembly,” Lord Clemon noted as Relam finished reading.
“Yes,” the king agreed. “It’s not quite as bad as I expected, all things considered. Really, they’re just whining for the most part and they have always done that.”
“They sound serious this time,” Clemon warned. “Shall I set up a meeting, your majesty?”
Relam’s father pondered this for a moment. “Tell them they may join me in the council room on the second level, above the entrance hall, one week from today at the ninth hour,” he said finally. “Make it clear that I am dictating to them, not the other way around. Narin, I would like you to be on hand but you will be the only guard in the room. Is that clear? I will not rely on military strength to deal with the Assembly.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Narin agreed. “A wise course of action given the situation.”
“Excellent,” the king said, forging on. “Clemon, I will want you there of course. And you Relam.”
“What?” Relam said, caught off guard. “You want me at the meeting as well?”
“Yes. You need to start learning how to run this kingdom. And how to deal with the Assembly. Unfortunately, they’ll be around during your reign as well.”
“And including the prince won’t seem too unusual to the Council,” Clemon mused. “Technically, even though he is not confirmed in his duties, he still ranks equal or higher than all of them.”
“Are you sure?” Relam asked, somewhat hoping that Clemon could come up with a way to keep him out of the meeting.
“Positive,” Clemon replied. “I think including you is the right thing to do, your highness. Is there anyone else you would like to include?” the chatelain continued, turning back to Relam’s father.
Orram frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t think so,” he said finally. “Let’s keep it to us four plus whoever the Assembly sends. Any thoughts on that score, Marc?”
“Lord Thius, certainly,” Clemon replied immediately. “And I should think the great lords will be there as well. Perhaps a few of the minor lords that signed the scroll
