"I will look for ways after we got through todays paperhell" I state and start reading the first paper.
The following hours we worked silently. Paper after paper we read and sorted the papers again. One stack for papers that should be approved, one for disapproval and one for the ones that are to old to even need the decision of one of the two. After I was done I saw that the other two weren't, so I got me a new blank pice of paper and summerized the critical problems in this kingdom. While writing I realized that many problems had connections or causes with other problems on the list. A few were unrelated, which makes them easier to solve. But after finishing one thing was clear. If the kingdom stays this ignorant, the kingdom will go under at a fast pace. After finishing the list of problems, I look for the root of them.
The security is the easiest to solve. It will take time but it will be possible to improve the fastest. The bigger problem is the rest of them because they are all conected in one or the other way and it can't be solved over a short time. The slavery can't be get rid off without weakening the nobles, but the nobles can't be weakened without solving the food shortage, the abolition of the slavery, the security problem as well as every other little problem. And on top of that for stopping the food shortage we need to stop the slavery. Nobody of this kingdom would ever suspect the food shortage to be the effect of slavery, after all superficial there is none. But after living together with a Fae and their blood running through me, I know more about their story than all the humans in this kingdom.
The slaves of this kingdom are mostly made up of Fae, bought from dealer or catched in the nearby forest. After years and years of abusing, overworking and killing them off, the pain the forest and his lord feels affects the nature. Resluting in less and less deforesting, ferillity of the earth and the emerging of natural disaster.
Ray is surprisingly faster finished than Gideon an is now standing to my left, looking on my assumptions. Taking a pen he writes some more information about the Fae on the paper. After finishing he leaves the room. Clueless I look after him until the doors shut behind him. A few papers left in front of him, Gideon looks up. "Where is he going?" he asks. "I wish I would know it, but he does this often. Vanising without an obvious reason." I answer Gideon an read through what Ray wrote for me. The most are supplements of my little Information about the nature, descent and life of the Fae in this kinngdom. But one point he wrote and encircled is a critical information that shows me that simply freeing the enslaved Fae won't do it. They sure are complicated creatures.
"But isn't he wearing a slave collar? He shouldn't be able to go around without your permission." Asks Gideon now seemingly iritated. "That one is fake, it's just a ruby and no blood diamond." I answer his question truthfully. Now he seems shocked and apparently quit unconfortable. "You must change your mindset Duke, if we want to abolish slavery. For that we need to free the Fae. You can exercise with Ray, he is tamed. You won't have that with the other ones." Gideon frowns a little and thinks. "I get what you mean,and you have a point, it's just, he could kill us all with the flick of a finger if he wanted to. Such a dangerous person to be unconstrained is new and fearsome." I get his fear, it's not something he normaly experiences, he at least wants to change himself so I won't coment on this anymore and will give hime the time he needs.
After he finished his work, I swiftly briefed him about my list and the conections I realized. As I thought only the Fae informations are news to him. And we start diskussing about a few simple rudiments to solve two problems we want to start with. "The security problem may be theoretically easy to solve, after all the man started slacking of after nobody watches them anymore. That is the root that must be changed. For the dealer we need to dispatch those soldiers to protect them, if we want to finally make money again. The problem here is that none of them is trained to defend against Monsters, as they had no contact with them until now" lays Gideon out. I continue the discussion "And for dissolving the slavery, we first need to show the people that we work on it, that we care for their opinion and reassure their anger. Distributing food should show them that we care and would reassure them a bit. Therefore we need to cut down the exuberance in the palace and that of the nobles. But that won't be easy. the palace can be controlled but the nobles need to change off their own will" I underline the free will on the new paper on the table in front of me. " An new food trend may makes them want to change their eating habits" throws Gidon his thoughts in. I ponder, "A new eating habit. A new dish. The dish must be quite filling if we want to reduce the needed quantity. But the dishes have to vary to please their hard to please tastebuds"
Rice is a posibility that comes to my mind, the problem is that we would need to buy it again and with the current spending it's not in our budget right now. and I don't want to get it for little money just because it comes from my homeland. "How about potatoes, they can be quite filling" suggests the Duke. "That may be true, but they are already known to be a meal for the poor. Nobles won't even try them under this context." I still don't know if I shuld mention the rice to him, but a possibility he knows about will at least be a thought worth. "There ist this plant we grow in Crae, we call it rice plant, out of it we produce rice, there are different kinds and can be used for all kind of meals, if you drink water while earing it you will won't be hungry for quite a long time. It's popular and you're full quite fast too. The problem is we would need to buy and import it, but our Budget is to tight for it." I lean back in my chair.
Gideon thinks about what I said, and soon rings for a servant. Curious I wait for his next steps, what is his Idea? A servant arrives a few seconds after. "Go to my secretary and ask him for the order report I finished last week, han bring it here." She responds "Yes my Lord" and vanishes. I think I get what he wants to do. Miserably I say: "That is even more paperwork for us." And let my head dropp on the table. Whining won't solve a thing but I can let out my frustration.