Donner and Thalia: Satisfaction is Demanded (Episode 3)

Chapter 5

5.

The score between Donner and Lance now stood at eight to seven. Unfortunately, in Lance's favor. After the morning run, Donner met Theodore outside the castle.

"More combat training today?" Donner asked, "Need your armor cleaned, anything you need of me, Sir Theodore, your humble squire is ready for duty," Donner said, taking a bow.

"Not going to be anything too taxing today, at least not physically, today we'll be sharpening your mind," Theodore said, pointing to his head as he led Donner into the castle and through its ancient stone halls back to his office. On his large, ornate dark oak desk was a stack of unrolled parchments with a weight holding them down and open.

"So many duties a Knight has," Sir Theodore said, as he got behind his desk and took a seat in his leather chair, "And today you face your most boring foe," Theodore put his hand on the papers and sighed, "Paperwork," he groaned.

"I heard say that it's nine-tenths a Knights work, at your level at least," Donner said.

"Nine-tenths, biggest understatement since Sir Clifton warned us about the Elves returning," Theodore said, rolling his eyes, "Pull up a chair, my young squire,"

"You think the elves are coming back too?" Donner asked.

"Here's a bonus lesson you could use, don't talk about the elves too openly, especially in the company of a Wizard. They find it a very taboo subject, but between you and me, my young squire, it's an inevitability. You mentioned to me earlier that your Wizard may be going to the Academy next season, right?"

"Yes, Leonard, he's very excited."

"There is a group of Scholar Wizards in the order who've done rituals to see into the Fae. The world beyond ours. They've been exploring it. In confidence, some have told me tails of seeing Dragon eggs preparing to hatch. One even says he saw a Red Dragon whelpling,"

"That's impossible, Sir Clifton killed the last red dragon," Donner said.

"These Wizards I've discussed this with, when they talk about what they've seen, they go white in the face, terrified of the threat that the Elves can pose."

"We need to tell people," Donner said, "How can you just sit on information like this?" he leaned in, already feeling dread at the prospect of those masters of arcane and their dragons threatening his homeland.

"They're waiting," Theodore said, "It's believed the elves know if they attack Kinleath while she's strong, or try an incursion on the Mainland, they'll just lose again. Another great hero, like Sir Clifton, will lead us against them. That's why I fight, I fight to keep Kinleath strong. So long as our Island is strong, we would be able to support the mainland in event of an Elvish invasion. They have power, yes, but their numbers are small, they don't breed like humans do, nine years an elf spends in the womb of its mother, they're long-lived, a small population at far too great a disadvantage for them to try a military invasion, even with dragons on their side." Theodore said. "That's why work like this is important." Theodore patted his hand on the stack of parchment on his desk. "This bureaucracy, this boring paperwork. As much as I'd hate to admit, it's crucial to our kingdom's strength, let's give you an example," Theodore reached for the first in his stack of papers.

"Oh," Theodore smiled, "You'll get a kick out of this, Hasbeek is asking for five thousand gold to fix that gaping crater you and your friends left in it after your battle with the Rat God."

"Does it really cost that much to shovel dirt into a hole?" Donner asked.

"It's not just shoveling dirt, do you know how the contingency business works?" Theodore asked.

"Contingency, I've always heard them mentioned, many a time my dad has said he's getting screwed by the Contingency agents, what are they exactly?"

"Your father is a blacksmith, correct?"

"Yes,"

"Let's say he's pounding away at another one of his artisan-crafted pauldrons, and his hand slips, and he crushes his fingers with a hammer," he said.

"He wouldn't be able to work anymore," Donner said.

"No, he wouldn't, and you and your mother will be left without a family income. That's where the Contingency agents come in. Your father, if he's wise, pays a monthly stipend to a Contingency agent so that in the event of an accident, your family will be financially secure. The basic gambit of contingency is that everyone pays, so when one person needs it, they can get it,"

"But what if no one gets hurt?" Donner asked, "Where does the money go then?"

"Many an argument has been had over that, are you familiar with Lord Fibonche?" Theodore asked.

"Yes, his nephew is one of the other squires from the barracks, Myles, and he's apparently very wealthy," Donner said.

"He got his start in the Contingency business. When there is no contingency to pay, the agents keep the gold they've collected and just put it in their pockets. It's such a wide field, Contingency for your professional health, for a ship you have an investment in, even for your own death, should it be untimely," Theodore said. "Now, we can hire people to fill the hole in Hasbeek for much less than four thousand gold, but since the Kingdom is paying for it, we are obligated to provide contingency in the case a man falls and gets hurt. And the kingdom has deep pockets, so the contingency agents know they can charge us a bit more."

"Why doesn't the kingdom just offer contingency themselves, why do we need agents to oversee this and line their pockets," Donner said.

Theodore sighed and put his hand to his face rubbing his eyes, "You are arguing one of the biggest debates in the Kinleath Landsmeet halls. It's just how it is, maybe we can find a solution for it someday, but until then, too many people have too many opportunities to make too much gold," Theodore said.

"Is dealing with this really what running a fiefdom is like?" Donner asked.

"Not getting scared off, are you?" Theodore looked up and smiled.

"I've been told this was something that Knights like you had to deal with,"

"Not as exciting as slaying a dragon, is it?" he asked.

"You say this is how we help people, right?" Donner asked.

"There are so many more ways to help people then winning glory in a fight, as Knights it is our duty to do what the country needs of us," he looked to the pile of at least forty pieces of parchment, "And if this is what the country needs us to help with, this is how we help," Theodore said.

"So, should we approve giving eight hundred gold from the treasury to Hasbeek? To begin the repairs?" Donner asked, "The Kingdom is lush and has more gold then they could possibly spend, so do you just sign the order, and it happens?"

"If I sign the order, it does happen, however, while the Kingdom's gold reserves are vast. Thanks in part to Knights like you adventuring and paying your taxes, they need to stay vast, so the government of Kinleath can still command its dominance over the island, and to a lesser extent, the Mainland. We have a budget we must stay within. We need that vast amount of money to keep us strong, again, think of the Elves coming back. That's something that's going to drain our coffers when it happens." Theodore said.

"We have to look through all these orders, and then parse out the minimum amount of gold we think necessary to solve them. As big as this pile is, I have one threefold it's size of hateful pigeon messages from concerned citizens about how I'm choking the country I so love, so that's what we're doing today."

Donner took a deep breath and nodded, "I want to be a Knight, and if this is the work of a Knight, then this is the work I will do," he said as he pulled his seat up closer, "What's next," he asked.

"A fire destroyed the town of Leonbruck's grain,they're requesting twelve hundred gold to bring in enough wheat to last themuntil next season," Theodore said as he read the next parchment in the giantpile.

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