"A small fleet from Neapoli arrived. There are a few things, that demand your attention", Alaric said and placed an envelope, sealed with our coat of arms, on my table.

"Perfect, I just finished the letter for my family. They need to know I am fine and what happened", I added and ripped off the phoenix on purple ground.

"Did the family decide to accept your offer?", Alaric inquired.

"Yes. I thought about renting a ship for them, but now they can just sail back with our fleet", I answered. It took a bit of convincing to get them to accept. They still seemed a bit wary about the whole situation.

"It would have been enough for a servant to deal with them. Our time is precious", Alaric added.

"They saved my life Alaric. Helping them to find a good home is the least I can do. Some things need to be repaid in person", I pointed out and started to read the letter.

The letter was designated to teacher. My family did not yet know of my return to Alexandria. The first half was filled with questions about me and instructions for Niloticus on how to search for me. The reward money for finding and bringing me back was also mentioned.

"Alaric, send somebody to the harbour and let them check the contents", I said quickly. Alaric left the room and re-entered shortly after.

"What did your family load on the ships?", he asked interested.

"My parents are crazy. There are one hundred veteran soldiers with dozen sets of equipment as guards, the reward money of course and three hundred thousand ducats as the first payment of the war reparations", I repeated the unbelievable amount of money.

"300'000 ducats", Alaric mumbled and sat down on a chair next to the wall. "Are you telling me your parents gave you custody over that sum of money?"

"Yes. This does give us an opportunity though. I thought we would have to start small, but now we can compete with the biggest merchant guilds if we plan our next steps properly", I explained and Alaric nodded.

"I did gather a few records from the local guilds and city government. Wanna look into it?", Alaric asked and opened a cabinet. The pile of documents landed on my table and I sighed at the sheer amount of work. This is gonna take us a while.

And it took us a while. We finished the last document long after sunset. In between the ships were unloaded and the goods and coins stored in the mansion and its cellar. The 100 men were housed in the guest rooms. They had to share each room with quite a bit of people, but better accommodations would have to wait. The fleet was resupplying and would set sail in two days. I informed my former party of the time frame.

Our findings were quite interesting. There were two merchant companies which are running on a high deficit. One had established business in Alexandria and Antioch and the other in Alexandria and Constantinople.

Both of them suffered from the war in Neapoli because the demand for the goods they sold fell strongly during the war. It was also harder to reach the harbours with them being semi blockaded by our navy.

In the end, the deficit they incurred was too big to keep their business up. They lacked behind in paying their partners and the taxes for the city government. The Delta Company dealt with the export of glass and vine. They even owned a few small Vineyards and their own glass smelter. The Grand Company produced flex and turned it into linen and then clothes.

"Delta and Grand are my favourites", I finally said and Alaric looked up from the documents.

"Yes, they should be easily acquired considering their debts", he said. "Still with the high budget we have, even bigger investments are possible. I think the start of your company should be more large scale."

I thought a bit about it as well. There was a lot of possibilities to gain wealth from the eastern trade systems, but all this had its risks. Building deep economic ties with the east might turn into a problem when the peace deal expires. They could seize all our assets.

"What do you think about a network of trade that connects all parts of the east with Neapoli?", I asked Alaric.

"That would benefit us the most, but the questions is if the east would allow us to create one. The humans and elves might try to prevent it. I am uncertain what kind of position the dwarves have", he answered.

"Yes you are right, but I hope the talks with house Ptolemy and house Bilibin will allow us to operate in the entire east. The elves and humans might also welcome investments into their regions", I argued.

"In that case, the first thing we need to organize is trusty and capable personal", Alaric said. "And of course buying plantations and farms in the respective regions."

"I have an idea for Aegyptus. Let's purchase a lot of land in the delta region of the Nile. We can use those mostly for crop production and a few for luxury goods such as vineyards. Then we will buy some farms and plantations further south for more exotic and lucrative goods, like spices and specific plants. The most southern villages even rear and grow some magical creatures and plants. Those should be extremely valuable for mages and fetch a high price", I explained to Alaric.

"Sounds good to me. We could do similar things with the other regions of the east. A broad range of goods in our company should also make it more resistant to a local crisis", he added and I nodded in agreement.

"The endpoint of those trade-lines through the regions would be Alexandria for Aegyptus, Antioch for Syria, Trapezounta for the dwarves, Constantinople for the elves and Athena for Hellas and the humans", I said.

"Makes senses. The next thing would be to give the shipyard the task to construct a few merchant vessels for us. I think it would be important for our company to have their own designed fleet", he suggested. "By the way, did you thought about a coat of arms or a name for your merchant company?"

"Yes", I answered. "The flag would be a white Hermes on purple ground and the name would be Hermes’ Merchants."

“That sounds … acceptable”, Alaric said. “We still should search the cooperation of the houses. We need their help to build up our foundation and benefit from their experience.”

“Good point. I will start talks with the houses. Both house Bilibin and house Ptolemy should be interested in a deal where they can profit as well”, I added.

"Yes, we will work the details out in the coming weeks. I will instruct a few of my men to look for cheap land, warehouses and shops to buy in the respective regions. They will also create a list with the most important goods for simple people, for warfare and for making money", Alaric said.

"Your men? Since when did you have other men than the one from your house", I asked intrigued.

"Instead of focussing solely on studying and running after an elven girl, I went out of my way and took a loan at one of the banks here. It is a small group of people I recruited, thirty-four to be exact, but they have worked in different regions for different governors. Their expertise will help us a lot", he said and smiled, with his fangs showing.

"Yes, I should have focussed more on my own retinue. We should probably give funds to some of my future council members. At least a bit" I proposed and pulled out a pen. Numbers and names started to appear on the backside of a document.

"In that case around a thousand ducats would be enough for me to build up connections with local guilds and governments for your trading company and the producing estates", Alaric said and I scribbled away the number I had written next to his name. Did he see it? I need to stop thinking on such small scales.

"A few hundred to Juladia should allow her to expand her net of spies and informants in Italia and Sicillia", I suggested and the nod of Alaric finalized the number 600. "I should probably let teacher have a look at the finished product."

"You should. That man has seen and read more than we ever will", Alaric confirmed.

"Now that the plan for generating income through eastern land is starting we need to address another point", I began and stopped for a moment to enjoy the view behind the window. "How does the situation look home? I have only read a few reports, but the newly acquired lands in middle Italia seem useless and unstable right now."

"It is even worse in reality", Alaric confirmed and a hand went to his chin. "Middle Italia is not only rebellious right now, but the most important centre of commerce, Roma, is a flooded ghost-town. The occupation of the province is more than just unlucrative. It is a big drain on your parents budget and the legion's manpower."

"And half of Sicillia, our main place for revenue, was also lost?", I asked.

"Yes. Our navy managed to secure one key city, but around half of the island joined a new government. They are controlled by the duchies and Carthage", Alaric explained and I sighed loudly.

"Are there plans by father and uncle to wage another war?", I inquired.

"No, they are trying to consolidate the rest of the realm. Neapoli is not ready for another war", he said.

"What are my parents' plans then?", I asked.

"You can read about those there", Alaric pointed at a pile of documents on the sofa. "It is mostly about reconstructing damaged cities, Napule especially. They plan to raise two new legions and fifty ships to wage war for Sicillia in the future as well. It will take time though"

I don’t like those news. Mother and father should have moved their focus elsewhere. I laughed when a realization struck me. The inexperienced heir wanted to questions his parents with over a dozen years of experience on how to run their state.

"Let's make a plan for Neapoli as well. I would like for my parents to avoid another war for now. We could use the war reparations for a big infrastructure and economy packet instead", I said. Hopefully, they will consider at least part of my ideas.

"We can try something like that only when our own plans are finished", Alaric pointed out and I waved him away. He was right, but it couldn't hurt to think about the country as well. Now was the time for big projects. Not when the truce with the east is about to run out.

"Plans aside. Did we manage to get meetings with the houses?", I asked.

"Yes. You will meet them for the first three days off the next week. Starting with house Caesar and ending with house Ptolemy", he answered and wrote the three appointments on the thing that used to be my calendar. It had transformed into our scheduler during the last days. "What do you expect from house Caesar anyway?"

"I want to have good ties with them. They should lose both of their positions and then it should be easy for us to secure some influence in their house’s affairs. I am also considering recruiting Livia as my first diplomat."

"Are you sure about recruiting her? She could be used to spy on us or sabotage our operation", Alaric advised. The remark reminded me of Helvallia's betrayal. I shuddered shortly at the memory of being shot.

"I am quite certain she will enjoy the chance. Her relationship with her own house is bad", I explained and Alaric accepted my decision. He will likely try to keep an eye on her if she accepts anyway.

"Does this conclude the matters you wanted to discuss?", I asked.

"That would be the most concerning ones, yes", he confirmed.

"And the less concerning ones?", I said and looked bemused at Alaric he seemed to be struggling to explain himself.

"A few suitors are heading to Alexandria. They were sent by father and I really don't want to deal with them", Alaric explained and for the first time, he looked uncertain how to approach a problem.

"If you need advice on courting a handful of ladies ask Niloticus", I teased and smiled at my friend. His own smile made my vanish. "Please no."

"Please yes, my friend and further heir of a nation, that defeated the east. Around forty ladies are heading here to court you", he said and broke out in laughter when seeing my grimace. A rare expression for the usually strict and neutral Alaric.

"Forty!? Like a four with a zero!", I shouted and Alaric managed to nod. "Can't we just decline all of them straight away?"

"I would advise against it. A few made deals with your parents and the rest are sons and daughter from influential houses. You should avoid disrespecting them", he informed helpfully.

"Sons? What is the meaning of this?", unpleasant scenarios started to appear in my head.

"I hope you are not thinking about 'that'. They are here to make connections with you. Use this chance well, they might turn to useful allies later on", he explained and I sighed in relief. The imagine of princes courting me was more than just disturbing.

"Understood. Do you know when the first of my 'suitors' arrive?", I asked him and started to prepare plans to avoid them.

"The first should arrive in about three weeks. Don't think of running, I will give them access to the mansion if you chose to hide", he said and stared at me. I raised both hands in defence of my innocence, but it didn't work.

"Fine, I will take my time with them, but should they cross a line it is over. Their family can't do nothing as long as we have good reasons for banning their daughters or sons", I said and Alaric nodded, a bit too slowly for my liking. He enjoys my dilemma, but so did I. "Good luck with your own ladies."

"Thanks, but I think I won't need it as much as you", he counters and we glared at each other. The contest ended when a servant entered and left immediately after seeing us.

"Any new news about Quintus?", I asked finally. The last nights I had slept with him in a shed. Ignoring the protests from Alaric and some servants.

"He is healing fine and the growth spurt has settled down. He should grow normally from now on. Nonetheless, seven-meter in length and over two and a half in height is still terrifying", Alaric informed.

"I know, but I wanted to hear what the doctors and mages said about his nature and condition", I rephrased the question.

"He is stabilized but will need around a month to get back to his peak performance. He should be a black wyvern. The doctors and mages couldn't find traces of dragons in him. You should search for an expert if you want usable answers", Alaric said.

"That is good to hear and yes perhaps a specialist could help to entangle the net of his heritage", I said. "There was another thing I wanted your opinion on. I want to reform the legions of my family."

"There are more experienced people to advise you on that matter. I lack experiences in warfare", he answered.

"In that case, I will have to talk with Niloticus tomorrow, but your opinion is wanted regardless", I made my interest clear and Alaric inclined his head lightly.

"Then what did you plan?", he asked.

"It is hard to describe, but the core would be to create different kinds of legions. They should be adaptable and mobile", I said and Alaric thought about it for a few moments.

"Like a division for fighting in the forest, one in the hills etc.?", he asked and I said yes. "I would advise against it. An army which can perform only in certain terrains is useless, but smaller units of specialized soldiers should be possible in some scenarios", he advised and his concerns were noted by me.

"Then heavy cavalry. We lack good cavalry forces of our own. Uncle had to hire mercenaries from demi-human tribes. I want to create and train our own, with better armour and weapons of course", I added.

"A good notion, but you should still train those troops from people with experienced riders. There is a reason why the empire used to hire them instead of only relying on their own", Alaric said.

"Our heavy and light infantry are fine as they are. I would still like to train them more for different kind of scenarios and equip them better. We could also remove the pilum for another weapon", I suggest.

"Depends. The pilum was used for a reason", Alaric answered.

The rest of the night was spent discussing each of our or my plans. We switched from topic to topic and tried out different kind of ideas before discarding them again. The army reform where the hardest to discuss. We lacked practical experience and while some things sounded good in theory, they might be bad in practice.

Most of the army reforms were put on hold, but the changes in the logistic of the troops and their marches could actually be implemented. The core of the idea was to let the legionaries carry some supplies themselves, while a barrage train, escorted by the reserves, would follow the legion. The baggage train could be abandoned if the need to pursue the enemy fast arises. It would be kept close when the legions moved in normal tempo. More mobility was the goal of this reform, without risking all of the supplies at a time.

Every group of ten legionaries had their own mule. They carried much of their own equipment as they could, including the armour, weapons and rations for 10 days. This would keep the baggage train small and the legion wouldn’t starve after losing it.

The other parts of the army reform would be developed over the coming year. The rest of our plans gained a bit more form and details. Alaric would use his men for finding out the smaller details. The meeting with the houses and our offer to them for cooperation would be the main focus for the next week.

We looked at each other for a while when we realized it was dawn. The meeting was ended and further discussions and planning would follow after resting. I went to Quintus shed, but couldn't sleep. So many ideas popped up for future plans.