Many people reported ants marching through the Dawn Empire to the border with No Man’s Land. There were also four goats with them and a Tedsby, but everyone just assumed that those five were just runaway pets.

No, it was the ants that worried the population. And so, when the fifth petitioner came before Emperor Casimir and Empress Orlena saying the roads were blocked by ants, the Emperor decided to do something about it.

But his wife wanted him to be more considering about this. They were adventurers with filled in forms and paid fees. Furthermore, they had return rings and were not bothering anyone. They were not even going through the fields, even though it would have made their journey shorter.

Casimir decided to see who these strange being’s sponsor was and found it was little Theanore. He had frowned at that, wondering why the little girl couldn’t stay out of trouble.

When Cassius had come back heartbroken and speaking of Eliza Orlock, Casimir had felt anger. No Eomis ruler had ever been spurned. But still, Orlena had developed a soft spot for the girl.

He decided to just fine her 9005 coins, one coin for each thing blocking his roads, and then use the money to do slight fixes on said roads. They had probably not paid the caravan fee, anyway, and so he was within his right.

What he was looking forward to, however, was the trade fair that was going to take place in Mirstone this year. Elves from the Sapphire empire as well as grandpa Thinker were going to show their wares.

His traders were going to compete too. Which was a good thing, since they were struggling after little Theanore had made an influx of goods flow from No Man’s Land.

As things were going now, a lot of his subjects were going to be left without a job as they were not as united as the giants, gremlins, and ogres of No Man’s Land. Then, he would need to use the social security fund he had been adding to since the beginning of his reign.

And if he did so, where was he going to get the money for pensions from? The social security fund was for both funding the poor and paying for pensions. It was not ideal, but his taxpayers had balked when he tried to make a separate fund for pensions.

For what did Theanore need all the money for, anyway? She was not a greedy girl and, if the rumors were true, she operated on one million mana just fine. How does he tell her she was too much of a competition for his subjects?

Had she been one of his nobles, he would have confiscated all of her wealth and placed it in the treasury. But she was a good friend of grandpa Thinker and paid her taxes on time. It was unfair to take her money away.

Maybe if he could tax all her trading partners, he wouldn’t be so bitter. The beings of No Man’s Land didn’t pay him any tax. They didn’t even pay customs, as they used tunnels and teleports to trade.

He had taken the problem up with Orlena, and she had snapped at him. Saying he had left the children of the grotto starve when he could have stopped the nymph from making fixes to the roads without having adequate food stores.

She is a baby who doesn’t know better, Orlena had said, and you are the ruler of this land. Just because you are getting free paved roads, it does not mean children have to starve!

Orlena had made him sleep in the guest chambers, and Cassius was not sympathetic in the least. For all that his new obsession was Eliza Orlock, he still liked Theanore well enough and wanted her to get away with things.

With his family in open rebellion against him, Casimir had decided to go about these things with a light hand. He drew the writ for the fine and another writ to calm his citizens and relaxed in his throne.

Then a servant came running.

“Your Imperial Majesty, there are adventurers wanting to fish in the royal lake.” Said the aged man.

“Out of the question.” Said Casimir, dismissing the man.

“But they say that the rare orange balloon fish can’t be found anywhere else, and they need it for a gathering quest. For the merman Marinus.” Said the servant. One of the adventurers was his son, and so he wanted him to complete his quest.

A headache came over Casimir. To deny Marinus was to deny Theanore, which meant more time in the guest chambers. Well, he had enough of not being able to blow raspberries over his wife’s bulging stomach before he went to bed. His child needed to know he loved it. He had done so with Cassius, and he was not going to miss out with his new child.

“Tell them to go. But they better not litter.” Said Emperor Casimir. The servant bowed and ran out. That left Casimir with the planning for the trade fair.

Should he give Theanore a chance to compete? Would his traders have any chance against the crafters of No Man’s Land, who were used to give their wares for a pittance?

All his instincts screamed to him not to. But it wouldn’t be fair. Theanore was a citizen, born in the forest of fireflies, and was even former royalty twice over. His nobles will go up in arms.

Not because they cared about their former princess, but because they could be treated the same way next. Emperor Casimir did not want to be thought of as unfair by his subjects. And so, he began to write.

Dungeon core Theanore,

I hereby send you a writ with a fine for your mobs’ misuse of my roads. You are to pay the caravan fee by the end of the week. Not knowing that it existed does not free you from it, so don’t even try that excuse.

On a brighter note, I would like you to participate in the trade fair that will take place in a month in Mirstone. Traders from the Sapphire Empire and Alerion are going to compete with local producers for the title of Golden Hand. With it, there is a reward of trade rights for trading with mermaids for the next five years. I am certain that, since you asked me about this once, you will jump at the opportunity.

Emperor Casimir von Eomis, The Father of the Empire, The Falcon, the one who dances with fire. Eleventh of my name.

With that, Emperor Casimir sent the letter and the writ and hoped that some miracle would happen and a local trader, that was not Theanore, would win in the trade fair.