Book 6: Chapter 7
“That… was a little dramatic but I think it conveys the level of gravitas we’re dealing with here.” Kay replied, unable to hold back some levity.
Amanda’s lips curled up slightly at the edges. “Thank you. We’re currently in a holding pattern and only reacting to what happens, we’re not making any decisions about what to do ourselves. Not only are a number of groups and interests pushing us about what our stance is going to be, being reactive to a situation of this level is a poor decision in my opinion. I believe we should pick a direction, whatever it may be, and commit to that.”
“I agree. If there’s on thing my mentor has taught me, it’s to be decisive.” Hey shot Eleniah a grin, which she returned. “Who’s been pressuring you, and what to they want us to do?”
“Multiple groups and each wants something different. Tumbling Rapids is one, and they just want this entire situation to stop. Not everyone fleeing what used to be Nelam are coming here, enough are headed to Tumbling Rapids that its quickly becoming a problem for them. They’re already straining to care for the people who made their way there and they don’t have a lot of military force to deal with vampyr attacks.” Amanda gave him a level look. “They would love for us to go deal with the problem, but they aren’t in a position to do much for us in return. If we do end the vampyr threat from the west in one way or another the most we’ll get from Tumbling Rapids is goodwill. They were already reeling from the events that you and Eleniah caused when the next round of the Nelamian campaign to take them over hit and caused more chaos among their politicians. Rooting out the leaders that supported Nelam immediately after we ended the Shatterplate War gave them a little bit of stability, but this has sent them spiraling again. They will need quite some time and effort to pull themselves back up.”
She took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Frankly, it might be in our best interests to not let them gain the stability they need. Or at least not help them with it.”
“Explain.”
“Tumbling Rapids has reached a point where they’re only going to decline if they don’t rapidly change their approach, and their leaders are focusing more on personal power and factional fighting to do anything about the problems their facing. If we give them assistance they should be able to dig themselves out of the hole they’re in, but if we don’t they’ll devolve further and further. In a few years the city will be ripe for annexation without any blood spilled, they’ll be so desperate that they might even come to us asking to become part of Avalon.”
Kay stared across the table at his Prime Minister. “How does that make us any different than Nelam was?”
“We aren’t actively trying to make their situation worse or force anyone into untenable positions to make them work with us, we would just refrain from any charity and let them deal with the consequences of their own actions.” She replied without missing a beat. “If we actually made harmful moves under the table we’d have Tumbling Rapids sewn up within two to three years minimum. Leaving them as they are will take longer, but there’s also less chance of harsh feelings down the road.” She set out three packets. “This is a plan moving forward under the assumption that we won’t volunteer to help Tumbling Rapids with non-emergency problems and will see if we can annex them once they reach a point of no return, without any interference from us. It includes the assumption that we will help if they ask and offer suitable payment. This one,” She tapped the on in the middle, “Assumes we do help when they have issues and take a very long term stance toward annexing them using goodwill and negotiations without letting them drive themselves into a losing position. And this final one involves us actively maneuvering to take the city quickly through some mild sabotage and espionage.”