The Aedile's Office

[Sitandria]

In the middle of Diana's residential areas stands a small building which houses the Aedile of the city. Above the small wooden door you can see a sign that reads Aedile's Office.

The building, small and plain, had been redecorated lately and had been added another room. It was the doing of the new Aedile of Diana who thought that just one room isn't enough for all the changes she meant to make. After all, until she had started her job, the former Aedile and his assistant, mainly took care of the buying and selling of deeds. Sitandria intended to make the Aedile's Office's job more vast. After all, an Aedile, especially in the Capital of the Province, needed to take care of other matters besides handling deeds, right?

The only problem was, of course, that the other parts of the Aedile's job weren't given much attention until recently. So, Sitandria was forced to start almost from scratch. The hardest part of it all, was the fact the her assistant Aedile had resigned his job when he had found out about the new Aedile's intention of giving him extra work...

* * *

Once you enter the building, you find yourself in a small room, full with cabinets and shelfs. In the middle, you can see a small wooden table which is used to serve the assistant Aedile. In the chair sits a middle-aged human woman with a soft smile. She turned to the visitor and says: "Welcome to Diana. I'm Vita, the Assistant Aedile. Can I help you or do you need the Aedile herself?"

* * *

A open door to your right, leads into the new added room of the Aedile herself.

Once you enter the room, you find yourself facing a young-looking female who sits at a wooden table. She looks human, but her little pointed ears are a clear indication of her elven heritage. The female hardly notice your entrance as she busy scanning a large stack of paper, her eyebrows frowning.

Suddenly, the browned hair female raises her eyes and sees you. The frowning is gone and in it's place arrives a small smile. Her voice is soft and gentle as she says "Welcome to Diana, the capital of the Carmelyn Province. I'm Sitandria, the Aedile. How can I help you this brightening?"

[Sitandria]

The Month of Cryxatum in the Season of Winter of Era XII (PF),
Era I of the Pax Imperialis,
Era III of the Celestine Mandate

Sitandria, the Aedile of Diana, sat in her Office and searched in the papers on her desk. It was the list of houses that were free to be sold that she was looking for. She needed a house to stay in and she needed it now. Finally she took a a slim folder from and opened it. Opening the pages, Sitandria withdrew a few papers that had on them descriptions of various houses in law prices. She didn't need a big house, not more then two or three rooms. Her brown eyes fell on one of the papers and she looked at it with deep interest.

It showed two rectangles with a smaller box connecting them. Doors and windows were marked on the paper. Let me see... The smaller area is an entry, to the left is the living area with a fireplace and hearth... The other side is the private area, that could be used as for a bedroom. Only fifteen hundred crowns... Sounds good to me.

With a smile, Sitandria took out the deed of the house and began to fill out the particulars for the transfer. She signed at the paper and took 1500 crowns from her backpack. She put the banknotes in the safe and then continued with the process of transferring the house on her name. All that was left to do was to separate the parchment in two, taking the bottom half to herself and keeping the top for the records.

Sitandria smiled and put the key to the house in her backpack. She would go to the house later and see it for herself.

[Sitandria]

Sitandria was busy going throw the various papers on her desk, when her eyes fell on this small piece of paper. She smiled happily as she read the content. It is always good to have near the list of officials that I would be working with... thought the Aedile to herself.

Tearsfall
Thane: Rae'vyn Shanicra
Aedile: Lyr Tlansson

Archadoon
Thane: Lady Aurelia Arkdün
Aedile: Magistrate Donal Kesterley
Officer of Trade Negotiations: Cristobal Von Warbrecht

Demios
Thane: Lady Trimertelle Saros the VII
Aedile: Rosamund DeMar

Jaedaxia
Thane: ?
Aedile: Ny'daen

Sitandria moved another paper forward and looked at the trade list:

Exports:

• Sangre du Carmelya red wine - to Demios, to Daltina
• grapes - to Archadoon
• common tea - to Daltina
• dried fruits - to Archadoon, to Demios, to Medonia
• breads - to Demios
• grains - to Jaedaxia

Imports:

• Meats - beef and fish from Jaedaxia, Sea food from Demios
• textiles - raw textiles from Jaedaxia, textiles from Medonia
• furniture - from Medonia
• weapons - from Archadoon
• literature - Paper from Medonia

[Roland Moonstar]

The Month of Cryxatum in the Season of Winter of Era XII (PF),
Era I of the Pax Imperialis,
Era III of the Celestine Mandate

Lieutenant Governor Roland Moonstar dropped by the office one fine winter's day. He had a vase with pretty flowers in it and a box of chocolates. He left these with Vita. "These are for the Aedile. Don't tell her that these are from me, tell her that these are from a secret admirer. She is skittish, you see, and I don't want to scare her off by paying her any overt attention."

[Roland Moonstar]

The Month of Aperitusn the Season of Winter of Era XII (PF),
Era I of the Pax Imperialis,
Era III of the Celestine Mandate

Roland came in, this time with a pretty little heart-shaped calendar that he had bought off of a priest of Brydgit. He said to Vita: "The Aedile needs to know exactly when to collect taxes, when to pay salaries, when to process reports and when to assess land values. This calendar will help."

The Calendar had various days circled and dates highlighed in red, with little notations from Roland as to when he was expecting what reports.

* Era I
Winter - Kalendryas, Immanis, Ponutis, Melora, Cryxatum, Aperitus
Spring – Optia
Summer - Ioannes, Imperos
Autumn – Junctior
* Era II
Winter – Immanis, Pontius, Melora
Spring - Cryxatum, Aperitus, Optia
Summer - Ioannes, Imperos
Autumn – Junctior, Kalendryas
* Era III
Winter - Junctior, Kalendryas, Immanis, Ponutis, Melora, Cryxatum, Aperitus
Spring - None
Summer - Optia, (-- here he listed the first Thera as when he needed the End-of-Winter Season Report, for example.)(In the second cycle he listed a Solaria tax collection day.)
Ioannes (-- here he listed the second Aslanica as the day he wanted a budget he could submit to Aeri.)
Autumn – Imperos (-- here he listed the first Thera as when he needed the End-of-Summer Season Report.)

(OOC: for those new to fluid time, here is the secret code

Ponutis (January)
Melora (February)
Cryxatum (March)
Aperitus (April)
Optia (May)
Ioannes (June)
Imperos (August)
Junctior (October)
Kalendryas (November)
Immanis (December)

[Roland Moonstar]

The Month of Optia the Season of Sumter of Era XII (PF),
Era I of the Pax Imperialis,
Era III of the Celestine Mandate

* * *

Roland came up to Vita. "Serale, I am here to collect my paycheck." He smiled at the woman he'd come to know over the last two months, and he asked her how she was and what was new with her and her family.

He also made an appointment to see Sitandria. When she was available, he would go see her. "Hello, how are you doing? I found that I missed you very much when you went to Medonia. You should have told me, I would have gone with you. I actually was in the neighborhood-- I was visiting the Pynx-- and I stopped by your place but no one was around except some old hobb lady."

Roland shrugged. "But we can talk about that some more in private. I am here on business. First of all, I think I should have a house here in Diana. I know the Governor and the Justicar both have official residences, but I don't think Diana ever had a manor or townhouse set aside for a Lieutenant Governor. Do some research on this and let me know." Roland gave Sitandria a price range and listed the various features he was looking for.

"Also, now that summer is here, it is time to buy some real estate for the Legion of Justice faction. I am looking to buy or build a guildhouse here in Diana similar to the one we had in Port Constantine. Feel free to write to the Aedile there if you are missing any papers from the deeds and documents folder that I already gave you."

He flipped through the papers currently on him. 'In addition, it's time to get Diana a bank. I have secured financing through Aranais and a few other backers, so don't worry too much about the cost: I can cover it. And I am going to use the Carmelyn Bell company to do the basic construction, such as dig out the basement, build the vault and so forth. Now it's just a matter of securing all the deeds, titles, liens and property zoning codes. I'll give you some time to research this and get back to me."

Roland put away his journal. "That takes cares of that. I am going around the city and province and doing an actual head-count of people and making preliminary assessments of buildings and landmarks. Of course I'm not an Aedile and you'll need to make final decisions on things, but it's important to me to show both Aerienne and Palacrisis that this new infrastructure Initiative is both good for the province and also clearly profitable."

[Sitandria]

Roland

Vita smiled at Roland as he entered the office. The middle-aged woman had grown to like that young man over the last two months. He was so sweet and considerate - just like her husband. She smiled to him, her face relaxed and soft, like a mother looking on her favorite son "I am sure Miss Sitandria would love to see you..." she lowered her voice and whispered "She really liked the flowers and chocolates, you know. But she was a little upset that I wouldn't tell her from who they were..."

Finishing the last sentence, Vita got up and went to the open door to Roland's right. She said a few words and then, turned to Roland "Come in, dear. She would love to see you..."

Once he entered the room, Roland found yourself facing Sitandria who sat at a wooden table. She smiled at Roland and said warmly "Roland, it is so good to see you! Come and have a sit. How can I help you?"

Listening to what Roland had to say, Sitandria nodded her head slowly "About your residences, I will have to check. There hasn't been a Lieutenant Governor in Diana for a very long time, but I'm sure we will be able to find something to your needs. Can you tell me more about the kind of house you want?

Now, about the bank... All businesses are required to be in the Merchant's Plaza, so I'll look what we have there... Hmm, how about this one? There is a basement; the main floor, which is completely open; and then there is the upstairs, which is divided into an apartment-like set up with 5 rooms. All the levels of this house are accessible by the same set of stairs. That one goes for five thousand crowns, but it doesn't have much in the way of furnishings."

[Roland Moonstar]

OOC: I'm assuming that all the sentences after the work 'bank' relate to it?

Roland shook his head. "No, I don't think that description would work very good for a bank at all. Well, the basement is good. We'll need a basement for the vault. And the main room is fine. But I don't see any need for an upstairs area."

He considered the Chalice. "Hmm... I know they have an upstairs, but that is for meetings. No one holds meetings in a bank. It just needs a vault, and it needs a reception area for the teller booths. Perhaps a back room for the accountants and book-keepers. We may have to tour the Mercantile area to see what buildings can be best converted: it's not just a matter of what the description is on paper, we need to make sure the walls are thick enough to prevent a robbery."

[Sitandria]

Roland

"Well..." Sitandria moved her head to one side, thinking. "You will need a place for a guard or two inside the bank, where one of them will sleep and the other work. For that you could use the apartment upstairs. You can also keep the manager upstairs, with the accountants and book-keepers, who don't need to be in direct contact with the clients."

Sitandria looked at Roland with patient. If he wouldn't like this option, she could always look for another building, but it was a common fact that most of the buildings in the Merchant's Plaza were build almost identically. Of course, he could just buy a piece of land along the Merchant's Plaza and build the bank himself.

[Roland Moonstar]

Roland listened as Sitandria spoke. "You have pretty eyes," he said before he realized he said it.

He blushed and looked away for a moment, when he did realize what he had said. "Er, um, hm.... a... ok. Yes, about the bank. All right, perhaps I will end up buying some land and building it. But Diana needs a bank right away, right now, and so I guess I will take this location you are giving me now."

Roland looked down at his papers, burying himself in his work for a moment. "All right. 5,000 crowns." He pulled out his map of Diana, and compared it to the standard map of land plots that most Aediles had.
He checked out where the Chalice was in comparison to the new bank. "Excellent. You are definitely a good Aedile, you have a great head for business."

[Gavin Cabala]

A young Halfling messenger in dark green robes hurried into the office and after introducing himself as from the Office of the Provincial Senator, promptly handed a roll of parchment tied with simple silver thread to the appropriate channel.

The message read:

"Serale!

Ioannes' blessings be upon you this brightening!

With the recent reorganization of numerous tiers in Imperial government that have taken place, it would be advantageous for the various heads of state of Carmelyn province to convene, re-assess the province's status, and redirect our objectives to further advance Carmelyn's development. As such, I would like to invite you along with other key officials in local government, in a Provincial Conclave in Diana, at the Concilium, on the First Brightening of the Second Cycle, Month of Ioannes, Era III CM, at three candlemarks from sunrise.

Your presence would be very much appreciated, and it would be preferable that you bring along copies of Status Reports of your respective offices. Thank you and may Ioannes shine upon you.

Gavin Cabala
Provincial Senator
Carmelyn Province"

[Sitandria]

Roland

Sitandria blushed at the unexpected compliment. "Oh... Thank you, Roland... I..." She tried to force herself back to business with an effort. She tried to control herself by taking a sheet of paper and handing it to Roland Moonstar, the best looking man in all of Diana.

"There is a Business Licenses permit for a new business that you must fill out. While you fill it, I'll have all the papers ready for you right now." She then took big stack of 10 papers and sowed them to Roland, saying "Now, this first packet is the deed to the property itself. You will have to sign in these two places here to prove that you will follow the laws of Aelyria. This next, is the packet for the business. Sign in these five places saying that you will not use illegal goods and, that any damages left behind by citizens of Diana, will be up to you to pay for it, unless it was a reckless attack on your business and such. If you want more details, you may take the time to read it."

Gavin Cabala

Sitandria read the letter carefully and then wrote the date of the meeting in the beautiful heart-shaped calendar that Roland had given her. She thanked the messenger and said that she will be at the meeting with all her reports ready.

[Lyr Tlansson]

Second Cycle of Optia, Summer of Era XII PF

Lyr stepped into the aedile's office with intense curiosity. The building didn't look much bigger than that he had appropriated for himself (along with his job) in Tearsfall: and as he saw this circumstance any nerves which the young Vagaran might have had about coming to see the Senior Aedile of Diana, also in charge of the accounts for the cities of the whole province, slid away like oil on ice. He wondered at it though: what sort of a man was this aedile, who would put up with such modesty and humble pretentions? Lyr certainly felt that he wouldn't have, had he not been aedile of a mere village backwater like Tearsfall. But that's what you wanted.. the thought slid, its truth inescapeable, through him.

Yes, indeed, the first time he had come to Tearsfall - without any hope of ever being anything in the town, not even a permanent resident - he had thought the place a perfect spot to hunker down for a while before the fumes from Jaedaxia would blow over. He had been on edge then, just newly escaped from the hell which the once beautiful Charismean city had become in recent eras, wary of everything and more than a little disilusioned. The disillusionment was still present, but the wariness had gradually worn off.

"Serale? Serale there Vita," Lyr gave the middle aged woman a smile, hardly trying to be charming but probably succeeding anyway - in that sort of easy, off-hand way in which young men full of confidence and good spirits, if not too many good looks, had about them. "I'd like to see the Senior Aedile, if you'd be so kind. Lyr Tlansson, Aedile of Tearsfall." His voice still held a distinct Jaedaxian accent about it which became more pronounced the more the Vagaran let himself loose.

His Serale, when he had been let in to Sitandria's separate office, was accented indeed. A woman? A young woman. Pretty. It ran through his mind in the matter of a second, as the bulky youth shrugged the pack which contained the papers from the office in Tearsfall half off his shoulder and shook his head in the manner of a shaggy dog whose hair has - once again - fallen into its eyes. Lyr wanted an eyeful.

"Well, serale! Aedile Lyr Tlansson, from Tearsfall.. nice place you have here." It was only a slight prevarication: she had her own office, and that elevated the Dianite aedile in Lyr's eyes not just slightly from his own position. If he had his own office... he would be able to nap in the afternoons without anybody being the wiser. Feth, I'd nap any time I so pleased.

ooc: would you like this to happen after or before the sister thread? Doesn't make any difference to me.

[Sitandria]

Lyr Tlansson

OOC: Lets say before, all right?

Sitandria raised her head from the papers that laid in front of her. It was a nice brightening with not too much work and she hoped she will finish early and go home. Her brown eyes looked curiously at the man who entered her office. He seemed to be young and good-looking. Ho, he had a beard! Being raised in a family of mostly elfs, the young half-elf hadn't seem many man with a beard before. It was a change and an interesting one at that.

She smiled, her eyes still on the man's beard "Good brightening to you, Aedile Lyr Tlansson. My name is Sitandria and I am happy to see you face to face at last. Until now you were only a name on my papers..." Sitandria pointed to a chair next to the table and added "Please sit down, dear sir."

[Lyr Tlansson]

She was a half-elf, and looked rather young - but then, that doubtlessly meant she was a lot older than he was, anyway. The thought always made Lyr slightly on edge, for while he would have no qualms about sizing up a female younger than he, doing the same to one who had lived more patterns than his grandma (whoever she had been) was.. disconcerting. He hadn't really come to the aedile's office for that, though, so being met with a pleasing elven figure was more of a bonus than a reason.

Lyr sat down and plunked his pile of papers onto the desk before him. "My pleasure," he replied to her greeting, wondering what the papers Sitandria had mentioned were - what did they have to say about him? He hadn't been in office that long.. after a moment however the Vagaran gave a mental shrug: whatever they said, he didn't much mind as long as it didn't bring any detrimental effects to his current state of full-belied satisfaction.

"Well - I suppose you'd like to get down to papers and reports, eh? Might as well I suppose, if only to get it all over with. Everything you could possibly desire to know about Tearsfall accounts is right here, and here, hm, that's the housing and business lists." Lyr withdrew the papers rapidly, pushing them over to Sitandria with a wave of his free hand before leaning back in his chair with the air of one who felt petty details of addition and subtraction beneath him. In truth, the gross part of the accounts before the half-elf had been made not by the Aedile but his Assistant - that's what Assistants were for (if one were to ask Lyr, at least) - and the Aedile hadn't taken great pains at learning what exactly Marcus had done to create such neat tables and lists. Still, a fealing of something very much like accomplishment washed over him as he looked at the order of the accounts and the profits which the little town had made over the past season.

Really, the little hick town wasn't doing so badly at all - apparently it had been even smaller at one point, even more filled with brute farmers with their hoes and their manure, than it was currently. Lyr was rather glad he hadn't been around then, but thought that the village could do with a great deal more improvement before it actually was more than a splotch of ink on a map.

And that brought him to another purpose for his coming. "Benefits could be even larger if we set up some sort of trade between us.. always good to have pleasing communication channels and all that, you know." He said with a wink. "You wouldn't be needing any fish and fertilizer, now would you?"