The Synod finally responds after weeks of increase anti-clericalism across a variety of regions, only to send a Sancellist to an Etosian dominated region, with the intention to have diplomatic conversations about their issues. Naturally, the local Etosians completely blindside the High Reverend, and he is sent home without having achieved any fruitful conversation with anyone. Further south, House Delmotte investigates the obscuranism in Alracusa, concluding that the publications were merely generated by the lowly peasants, and that there was no greater conspiracy behind it. House Yaotl ends up paying 20,000 Regals including an official order for the Soor-Al-Rassa to invest fully in battling the disease, along with the 5,000 dedicated by the state, the assistance of the Shademarsh Colony, and the 10,000 dedicated by house Peirgarten itself. With these final payments, the disease has finally been contained, and declared no longer at risk of spreading “unless extraneous circumstances were to be presented or vigilance is wavered”. House Yaotl also ends up funding an investigation for 1,000 Regals, which is terribly understaffed as a result of the poor payment, aside from having no clear direction or source target. Various confusing reports return along the lines of “Piracy is a global issue, Digmaan” and a variety of dictionary descriptions of the word Raiding. House von Drachenburg ends up having multiple diplomatic meetings with the Genevaud Cantons and the Duchy of the Hinterlands, eventually agreeing in a compact to close the borders with Lorhauser. This also comes at the same time while the Northland Confederacy effectively announced an embargo on Lorhauser merchants through the Velheim commune using military arms to inspect all incoming traffic. The end result is obviously that the disease has no chance of leaving Lorhauser, but that Lorhauser’s economy starts buckling as the only region that is still accessible is Vultaro, which is not exactly the most favored trading partner of Lorhauser. The situation is made far worse when, just as the riots seem over, a sudden explosion of violence occurs among the peasants in the villages that Rodrigo Peirgarten had just cleared out. While the contingency force marched back to the capital, they were harassed several times along the way by skirmishers that seemed relatively well armed, surely with weapons that are not attainable to normal peasants. Upon closer inspection, state loyal men find posters in these villages, with a perfect handwriting of Rodrigo Peirgarten, which is confirmed by the local Bailiffs to be authentic, producing the following statements: “To the spineless cretins, riot against my family, and I will make myself a pair of pants from your skin after I'm done flaying you on the rafters of Eleng. I'll make sure to cook the remains of your meat for my panthers appetite. Your ringleaders have already gone before you and now decorate my wardrobe. Unlike you, I make not threats, but promises. With the utmost sincerity I spit on your existence, Ser Rodrigo Peirgarten.” The peasants are outraged, demanding their Duchess to put her tyrant Duke Consort in chains, and trial him for cruelty against the peasantry. The State meanwhile initiates a heavy Tariff on dyes from Vicii and Coivra, with the intention of both generating income, and also punishing these ill-paying states for their lack of taxes. The result however is less than anticipated: because of the scarcity of Dye, these states are accutely aware that the relation of power actually favors them, and they simply shut off the Dye exports, choosing to stockpile them instead, accepting a temporary loss of income now to gain skyhigh profits when the markets re-open. The shortage of Dye quickly turns into an explosive demand, resulting in the actual price also skyrocketing to over 4000% of the original price. As a result, all Fabric producing provinces suffer severe shortages and a shrinking economy, some with very severe results that are predicted to spread out over the coming weeks. The early calculations point out to a shrinkage of the following economies: Pays Sud 20% Vultarin Hegemony 10% Duchy of West Rourke 60% Which will negatively affect Houses Bagshaw, Hartwell, Reinard and Yates-Varley Duchy of Narlas 30% East Dragenthal Barons 30% Duchy of Duerrstein 100% Which will negatively affect House von Duerr United Free Baronlands 50% The Iron Duke of the Vultarin Hegemony immediately lodges a complaint to the Chancellor, accosting her for allowing a simple diplomatic disagreement to escalate into a tariff conflict, and negatively affecting the Vultarin economy as a result, swearing to take revenge where measures appropriate if nothing is done to rectify the bullying of the Vicii Republic, demanding that all negotiations and treatment with the Vicii Republic should instead go through the rightful dominion of the region, the Iron Duke. Further news reaches the wrong ears that the Finance Minister has indeed solidified a tax on the Aristocrats, and that the Aristocrats of the city are complying in massive numbers. Especially the publication of House Hartwell, once more verifying that a tax has indeed been levied onto the Aristocrats is counted as proof, resulting in House Anahera being able to spin an easy tale of misery for the lesser convinced families. Citing Hartwell, losing 50% of their income to production costs, another 10% to the mandated Tenpenny tax, leaving 40% of which only 35% is kept as profit margin, creating doom-scenario advertisements proclaiming that when the Finance Minister Tyrantess is done with the Aristocrats, they get to keep 14 Regals of every 100 Regals that changes hands, a rate at which they "might as well be commoners since they get better wages". They further remind the other Aristocrats that they already pay the Tenpenny Tax, and that there is no legal obligation to levy a fief tax on them since they don't own any fief lands from which to generate income, since all Aristocratic income is derived from self-made commerce. In a natural response much like they did with House Delmotte in the past, the Aristocrats issue an embargo on House Tyrannian’s domestic commerce, plummeting prices of Fruit and Marble from this region and reducing their commercial income to a pittance, in an attempt to force the Finance Minister to back down from a tax on the Aristocrats by attacking her family. House Avalorn meanwhile celebrates their relations with the local Altalar nobility through charm offensives, and aids in the construction of better defenses of their capital with a 10,000 Regal injection. Despite the somewhat lukewarm response, some say the Duchess of Altery has become tone-deaf to the Empire at large, and seems more concerned about what is happening in her vegetable garden than engaging in high-stakes politics in the Empire. Typhonus makes another two publications, the first one concerning the state of the Finances and the Army, in a clear attempt to garner favor from the disillusioned: "The Secretary for the Army, after a long discussion, made a threat. That he would only halve the conscription rates of -all- Houses if House Typhonus personally ended their War Pact, on top of personal favors. It's become clear that on one end, we have a War Minister who is trying to conscript based on personal gain, and a Finance Minister who refuses to pay the soldiers of the Empire.” This threat, turned out to be reality. The Army minister did indeed half the conscription rates of all families bar house Typhonus, meaning this political machination is bare for everyone to see, leading to a rather public humiliation for House Viduggla among many of the yet neutral houses in the state’s issues. Furthermore, House Typhonus pledges to pay the missing money for the wages of their own troops in the state army, citing further, while increasing their own troop morale: "The Finance Minister’s pointless Charter, with which they have made no effort to ensure the Tenpenny army is properly paid, is a sham. House Typhonus will cover the cost this week "for the sake of the men in the field" but threatens drastic action on the Finance and Army Ministers if the Tenpennies go without full pay by the following week." Viduggla once again tries to meet with the atheists in his realm, but with lack of funding or proper logistics, the Duke manages to reach about 24 people, who all invariably say the same thing: The Gods have not given any reason to be believed in, aside from this, no representative data can be tracked, since the Duke cannot possibly visit hundreds of hamlets in one week without any financial backing. Furthermore, the Duke engages in discussions with the Gallovian philosopher, who reacts confused. The Duke’s economy has already benefited from his presence, increasing by 3% despite the denunciation of the Reverends from Gallovia, and the Philosopher subsequently refuses to acknowledge the Duke’s negotiations. Finally, the Duke himself travels to Ostyr in an attempt to talk to the Ostyrian Barons, but he is simply denied entry to the lands. The docks of Ostyr’s capital deny his entry and he is sent back home with a fairly stern warning not to return again. Finally, House Harhold crosses the border of the West-Dragenthal Baronies, invading Swinnigh without a declaration of war and immediately taking a border outpost without any fighting. The Baronies hastily scramble to bring their standing army together, and suffer a defeat in the battle of River Amblington, close to the Harhold border. Harhold ends up taking minimal casualties, but is unable to actually beat the Baronial army, which is forced to retreat to the capital of Swinnigh. Harhold’s forces meanwhile settle in for a siege on River Amblington, with a hefty 15,000 Regal bounty for supplies and morale, which markedly improves. With this act, the first war of the archipelago is declared since the iron peace, a war without formal casus belli or war declaration.
