Darren shuffled through a few papers he brought with him to the meeting and did his best to look bored. After serving on the Council for a few years he learned several things about being Lord Treasurer. The first was that no one quite knew what his job actually was. All most people knew about the Lord Treasurer's position was that it involved paying for all the government's expenses and collecting taxes. How, exactly, everything got paid for was something few people actually realized, in the popular imagination Darren sat atop a limitless mountain of wealth, just waiting to be disgorged for the Empire, or else he just pulled gold from the air like a magician. This in mind, he got into the habit of bringing along some minor paperwork about the imperial accounts to some of the meetings to impress on everyone the fact that his job involved more than just being a glorified strongbox.
The second thing he learned was that everyone watched the money to predict what to do. If he looked happy, they thought the treasury was full to bursting, and that money was just lying about waiting to be spent on lavish imperial projects and frivolities. If he looked upset or nervous, the realm was nearly bankrupt and a panic would start. He took a lot of effort on practicing seeming apathetic to whatever new terror or blessing had come to the realm. If he didn't seem bothered by whatever happened, then things were ok, but everyone might want to keep a hand on their spending, just as he liked it.
Darren let his eyes wander from the paper for a moment and drift toward the head of the table, toward the Emperor's place, now empty. He rapped his knuckles briefly against the table. Try as he might to seem unbothered, things were bad. Siegfried was dead, or as good as. He could no longer govern, and with Prince Richter dead in the field and no regent named, the Empire was leaderless save for the Council.
Looking about at his fellow Councilors, Darren tried very hard not to groan. It wasn't that they weren't good at their jobs, for indeed, most all of them were expertly qualified, however, with a power vacuum, they'd turn on each other, and turn quickly. Someone would be needed to keep everything in check. He turned toward Lady Katherine as she began the meeting.
My Lords of the Council The situation, as I'm sure you are all aware, is dire. We are beset by war and plague, and death stalks our imperial Family. You have all read the reports on the events of in Iskendar and Magelan, so I will not bother you with the details. I will make my position clear: in the midst of these unexpected tragedies, we must see to the stability of the Empire.
The war abroad I will leave in your hands, Giovanni, the priority here is to assure the safety of our new Heir, the Prince Ferdinand and secure a Regent until a member of the royal family is fit to rule. And we must do so with a smile on our faces, for Sanshas has sent their men once again, and they will be sniffing for any hint of our weakness.
Second, the plague in Iskendar must not be allowed to spread. Refugees fleeing the city will only carry the disease with them; limiting their movement is vital so that the plague cannot spread across the lands. Once the threat is contained my agents will seek out the source, be it in Acherus or abroad.
Well? What say you, my Lords?"
"I say our first priority should be Iskendar." Darren said, meeting the gazes of his fellow Councillors, "As with many I weep for our dear departed Prince. He would have made a fine emperor. He met a most ignoble end and that will be avenged." He punctuated this statement with a sharp bang of his fist against the table.
Letting the sentiment sink in for a moment, Darren paused before continuing. "However, our enemies are far away, and we need not look far to find more pressing concerns. The plagues at Iskendar are spreading, and must be checked at all costs. If we do not act quickly, we may soon find ourselves contending with a disease that will wrack the Empire, rather than the slums of one, albeit large, city." As well as one of our most important trading harbors. Darren thought.
The tariffs at Iskendar, and the trade commissions on all imperial shipping contracts, made up a huge part of his budget, not to mention his own business dealings through the city. Losing that port would be disastrous for the imperial economy, and his own finances.
"Many troubles have come to us recently, and they must be dealt with, however, we must be careful where we invest ourselves. Our efforts for the moment must be directed toward Iskendar. If we allow our homeland to fall, what use will any other laurel be to us?"
