Letters to and from President Borgio 'The Besieger' of the Tilean Federation of States to Engineer Holden winter 2502- spring 2503
Dear Holden
The copper pinching nature of those who often gravitate toward trade or engage it in due to it being their family business is established my friend, I recall that incident in a taverna in Stiani when you made a sutler eat the debased coin he tried to give us as change for the good gold coin that we gave him for the horses feed! Good sense is never in the company of one who desires wealth above all things my friend, even I now richer than any of my dreams of avarice have found that gold plates make the food taste bad and food tasters are truly the most despicable of people in the main!
I am glad to note that more investment has arisen from the publicity campaign in the Empire and Marienburg than anticipated; I am told that there have even been a few noble investors from Bretonnia beyond your friend and ours of course! Though I am told that the money has been washed so that its origins cannot be ascertained, this I am told has been facilitated by the vampire mafia who are long experienced at hiding things of all kinds from the eyes of the authorities! The input of your own open investment into large capital projects such as the building of a trackway line to Campogrotta from the hub of Viatarano (which in its self leads to many minor industrial lines and the main line onto to Trantio) to replace the unreliable water borne transport along the rivers leading from the great tunnel (due to fluctuating snow levels other than the flow from the underground passage itself the river levels have recently become unreliable for yearlong barge traffic) There are of course many others not least investment in the extensive rare earth mines of Sartosa and the trackway to Luccini!
Yes indeed this material might be a great help in all manner of things! I am told that it is possible to cast this material into things as varied as water or sewerage pipe to structural supports as well as the obvious military uses! In fact I will be sending in my next missive a report on how this is aiding the construction of trackways throughout our fair nation! I have seen plans for the first all concrete bridge (only designed to cross a small stream at first) for the new line that some of your investment is going towards realizing! The team I have sent to the north has reported that they have found suitable deposits of aggregate, sand and the main ingredients to produce military grade concrete on site for the coming defense of Kislev from the hordes of the north! All that remains is to produce the specialist part required in our manufactories and to ship them north via the sea route to Erengrad ready for construction! I and no doubt your own employees on site will send you information on the progress of this joint project between us!
I have good news regarding the anti-greenskin compound, as part of the local Orc and Goblin extermination campaign in the forests of southern Tilean and the high valleys and un-dwarf underground spaces of the Appuccini mountains. I have decided to authorize the main chemical works responsible for the anti skaven compound to set up a separate line and facility to produce this in bulk to see if this can have an effect on the re-growth of the foul menace and help this holy ancient mission a reality rather than the pipe dream of old soldiers! I will of course need some help potentially so would it be possible to reattach the team you have send to aide in this to the facility that I have mentioned from their present bunk in the main university compound?
The architectural team you have sent here has now gone north with the concrete team as this seemed the best idea and your local factor on the ground agreed as well, though your response only managed to get here a scant few days after they left! This is most impressive my friend and I must admit those who are employed in the imperial postal service could give lesson to my own pale imitation in Tilea, in fact would it be possible to send a team of your top postal workers to my capital to help raised the efficiency of my own? They seem to take the concept of taking your time to new levels beyond the normal for a Tilean public servant! I have great hopes for this project in fact several of my savants have posited that special mixes of this substance are possible (that when treated and blessed correctly by a priest of Shallya) will resist the fell powers of the Lord of Rot and his kin!!!!
Trantio is now running at full production meaning that more track can be rolled and more steel produced than ever before in this fair nation of mine!! Also there are plans for a factory to produce Steamwaggon engines and wagons both for freight and for passengers on site supplementing the already existing works at Miragliano meaning that there might be enough slack in the system to approve those contracts for Estalia that we have mentioned in previous letters between our various factotums and ourselves! This could help their economic expansion and improve the performance of my own investments in that newly invigorated place!
As always I am thankful for your compliments my friend but I am more interested in the plans and possible contracts you have hinted at!! The two years old contract to supply cartridge boxes to the State militaries and the local militia forces you are setting up is most lucrative and the factory is looking to expand into the production of cartridge belts, and webbing and other leather impedimenta with the opening of the plains of the south to large scale industrial ranching and meat preservation the prices of tanned hides has come down sufficiently for this to now be profitable even if you factor in the transportation and administration costs! The plans and patents for other goods have been passed out to the local investors and manufactory owners for consideration and i have no doubt that you will be receiving bids from several in the next few weeks and months for the contracts you have specified and for the potential profits involved I think the line will be long my friend!
I have noted the large scale importation of paper from the Empire, in fact it has increased in line with its decrease in price until now my friend! I will not have it said that the Tilean man must use imperial cast off to wipe his behind or write to his senator complaining of his taxes! In fact the form he filled his tax information onto most likely come from a Mill in the southern Empire! This must not stand! To that end I would like to purchase the license for the process that must be in use in your industrial heartland!? I have plans to set up the first mill in Ebino so that the smell you mention might be kept from my nostrils and my fair city while still being able to enjoy the products of its labors! The price of wood with the new tools being purchased from the Dwarfs is also lower than ever before especially with the new Wood wagons especially designed to bring logs straight from the forests to the lumber mills and hence the new paper mills where now such waste from the process is discarded that might in future be used to make more paper for my subjects to write upon then bother me about their petty concerns while I should be contemplating the military glory to be had in the north old friend!
I have consulted with the priests and the senators from the various sates in my kingdom (in all but name anyway!) and they agree that a state sponsored organization to combat corruption of the spirit and the body would be most advantageous, especially as who can say what consists of heresy? I always can find someone who considers the weight of the gold rather than the weight of guilt…… The order will be set up in the next few months to no fanfare accept that those who need to fear such people will soon know of it! I will keep you updated on their progress. The team of witchfinders who have done such sterling work so far are to form the heart of the training command that will shape this new force into paladins to resist the darkness that lies in all human souls lest it overtake us and bring down the new nation that I have formed from the dusty earth of Tilea!
Indeed William Stassanberg is proving to a source of the highest quality and might mean something truly important before too many years have passed (that is of course if he survives the no doubt hellish environment of the underground spaces of the hated Skaven!) uluckily as of the writing of this missive he has not managed to smuggle out another installment of his saga! Though I assure you that as soon I do I willattach it my most recent missive before! it is always worth reading for the tactical and societal information it provides on these scum alone!
I have founded another institution in concert with the temples of Mannan (I could have tried to do without the damn priests however gods can be sooo touchy about excluding their lackeys that it did not seem worth the effort to do so!) the Mannan Marine school and research group or MMSR for short, they will fold into a state regulated system combining all the local lifeboats (each small harbor almost always has one at least when they are not practicing smuggling and wrecking!) from all the smaller and large ports under one organization and combining it with the already existing religious framework of the priests. The new school will teach harbor masters, linesmen, harbor pilots, navigators, sea captains and so in the proper way to placate the sea and to make the most use of it for its human masters! I do not have as much control over this institution as others, however the good work it should do will outweigh this problem. The reduction in smuggling and wrecking when we have the main offenders locked into a system that is designed to prevent it should pay for the start up and ongoing costs (students will have to pay for teaching of course!) beyond that which could be realized by improving the seaways of the bay and its environs!
Thank you for letting me know about the possible danger from the naval minded Ratmen! My savants have suggested to me that an increase in the size of such 'warpreactor' vessels was probable especially in the light of the reduction in the quantities of slaves that they are taking into their evil places of industry and toil! This must be hurting their production and this is where the reports from this 'William' come into their own as I have previously mentioned! They are increasingly trying to use golblin slaves and other creatures in their enterprises in fact several enterprising creatures have been caught trying to dismantle and no doubt later copy labor saving devices that have been installed into the various industrial enterprises and in fact our growing trackway system now being built almost solely (the new Steamwaggon design you sent with your last letter was most helpful I am told especially the tooling and moulds that you sent with them!) by the fruits of my growing industrial powerhouse of a nation!
Hah, I recall that leaking tub and the cargo that it ended up containing and I recall the drinking that we did in the local tavern with the profits especially I recall that raven haired beauty you were bouncing on your knee and then 'disappeared' with for a time? The Ironclads that you promised have now arrived and are fitting in well with my existing fleet! Especially interested are the local shipwrights of my dry-dock and ship construction complex as these are of a newer design and look less like floating armored rafts and now look resemble Iron ships of the line! Most impressive in terms of armament and endurance! I have heard one of their captains boasting at a diplomatic reception for their arrival (that I was forced at attend by my wife of all things!!) that it could go around the world in 80 days! Though I am sure he would run out of fuel for his ship and be becalmed long before he could do so or be could be swallowed whole by one of the numerous monsters that await the unwary in the deep and open oceans of this world!
I am glad that the formidable lady has left and is on the way to take up her new posting! I hope that her journey is swift and her sharp mind can improve things beyond the already smooth relationship that we have at present managed to keep rolling! The ability to communicate is most important! On that note I am sorry regarding the experimental carrier pigeon and the breeder and mage team here wish to send their apologies to the man who was injured by their creation! Would this be possible as they are most distraught? In future I will rely on the secure courier and postal system to convey these private musings and communications! Though they are said to reliable I do not trust mages or magic overly much and I would rather take the time penalty accept in the most urgent of circumstances to send any thing via the post (though the packages/letters tend to be warded as even I realize the need to keep prying eyes away!) on that note I hope you receive the model Steamwaggon that I have sent attached to this letter I would like your opinion on its mass production possibilities and some advice for my savants on the best materials to be used in its construction? As regards to the past you have helped me in so many ways now to become the man that I am now that any reminder of past deeds is superfluous my old companion! Though the need for better policing is a subject that I would like to raise with you in another letter as the present watch and guard systems are not fit for purpose and must be reformed to suit the now united nature of my fair Tilean states!
The island of sin as you so eloquently put it in your last letter cannot be denuded of its population, however like you suggested remove the ring leaders and the followers are easy to deal with….. I looked into it the cost was too large and the possible bad press to great! Most of those with skills of some kind would find work easily enough those who still hungered for life on the edge could take service with the new Lustria squadrons or receive a land grant in one of the outlying lustria islands. Though you had to be hard to work those places as the labor was too often from a source that did not bear looking at no matter its original source and the tax to keep the dark at bay was also a factor at least to those still with a soul! The new mines can take care of any truly incorrigibles that the noose does not find a home for I think! The advance parties have linked up with that old pirate (whose changing sides had ensured victory) and have finished surveying the old mine sites and identified several other newly exposed deposits, the prisoners from the battle and its aftermath have already come in useful clearing the trees, building walls, clearing overburden from rare earth deposits and many other tasks that would have slowed the work given the lack of Dwarfpower available to crawl. The lead mining engineer has predicted that useful quantities of ore will make their way to the dock by no later than the turning of the year.
The channels to those of the Undead who wish greater trade and interaction with the living world rather than its destruction are widening, just last week an agreement discussed between mage and liche priest for the exchange of several tons of fine building stone for the same weight in finely quality gunpowder! They could of course use this against us but the stone we are getting in return is rumored to the most beautiful in the entire world, Elven expeditions have ventured into that cursed land to gain several small slabs of the wondrous material. The value placed upon several well cut tons of the stuff will be most useful, above and beyond the value of possible future trades as their desert kingdom has untapped resources that could aide us against the darkness. Their present policy of armed neutrality towards all sides in the new Great War, so far was helping us more than Chaos so it is to be pursued? I would to hear more of your own contacts with the unholy creatures and any suggestions on possible trade items with them would be most appreciated!
The ground has been broken or more accurately drained for the Areoporte Extrodini and the laying of the concrete pads for the landing towers and hangers meant for the separate dwarfish airbase has commenced while the outer human areas have just started to be drained ready for later construction. The advance team sent by Barrak Varr has arrived safely and is helping my engineers both military and civil to layout and plan our own needs and facilities. Though while the dwarfs have agreed to base various air assets here the transfer of technology has been limited to suggestions and help rather than direct access to plans so far! Any help you can direct my way would be most welcome my old friend!!
The timber is hard to find and expensive to extract without direct assistance or at least passive non resistance of the Lizardmen, however in return for air capability I will move many mountains and drive my captains and mages to search out more. In fact in some areas denuded due to natural disasters (hurricanes for one thing flatten forests most satisfactorily) and not yet retaken by the magical jungle have been made available to us under treaty for plantations of the 'gummi' and now this light weight timber, helped by the impressive magic of the scaly ones these can be brought to quick maturity if supplied with the right nutrients and of course lots of water and light! Harbors to house the ships that will carry this crop along with other trade items are now being constructed by impressed labor from home and the military engineers sent over on the first fleet along with the garrison left behind. These 'treaty ports' will be most useful in the growing closed relationship between humanity and the former servants of the Old Ones, also they serve as resupply stations for trade fleets going to and from Ind and further!
I have a favor to ask my third son has made so much trouble here to be frank that he needs greener pastures in which to change his life or be disowned at least! I would owe you an favor if you would take him in hand maybe see if there is anything worth saving there? Of course if this is not possible there is always the army? Though he is an indifferent student of the martial arts at best the fire of battle might bring out some steel in his soul? I hear your own children are doing well, in fact if you would want to send one of your sons to the schools (that I have built along the lines you have suggested) here I would do the same favor for you in return?
Awaiting your reply
Your friend Borgio
Dear Borgio
Of course nothing could be simpler the lad can sit the usual exams then we shall see what can be done, if you want me to ease his way that could be achieved though with a reduction of the utility of the exercise yes? I am increasing the intake in the spring solstice anyway so putting him on the list could be achieved as well as tutoring in math's and reikspiel if required? There is no need to call it a favor old friend, who knows maybe he will turn out to have hidden talents? Children of the powerful often do not match up to the shadows of their fathers I am afraid my own progeny will and are no doubt are in dread! Though to be fair my first born son does show a great talent and propensity for musical (alas engineering holds no interest for him) composition and the playing of several instruments, my second she has shown a very unwomanly interest in medicine of all things! She is not of the religious bent so the priesthood is out, perhaps in your fair nation this might be more easily accommodated? The youngest being only three it is difficult to tell what he might be or achieve in his life?
The jungle continent of Lustria has many wonders and I must admit I had not heard of the concept of magically force grown trees before? I would assume they would take small seedlings and then alter the flow of time or other such arcane aspect of techno-sorcery to make them fully ready for harvesting? I would wonder if other cash crops could be grown in similar ways now that the Skaven have been mostly removed, Coffee, tea, spices, tropical fruits, the possibilities are endless! Commercial possibilities aside, medicinal plants and basic crops could be a possibility? I will check with my sources if you check with your my friends as to what they would be open to?
The regeneration of the lands of the Lizardmen under the leadership of Sotek is advancing their great (new) plan according at least to the reports that the Skink ambassador (all though mouthpiece is more of a correct description) regularly shares with me in Greypeak. He has also asked for some aide in transporting some Slann (plus small escort army of course!) to the Dragon Isles of all unholy places! The feral colony (avoided by all but the shipwrecked or mad no one returned!) is in a most important place in the Old Ones network of geo-magical control systems and in term of trade! The pacification of these islands by the Sotek Lizardmen faction could in theory be achieved with magical means accept according to information relayed there is a 'dampening field' covering the primary islands that prevents this hence their feral nature in the first place apparently!
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
I am glad to hear of the progress of your Areoporte Extrodini! Truly the conquest of the air must be achieved in time to help refuse the evil that prowls the dark corners of this world! From my own sources your progress is good, however any help that you need as far as infrastructure goes or negotiation with my friends in the Dwarf business community just ask! I have sent in a separate packet the plans and architectural drawings for several of the facilities in the far north and various other places in the Empire that have been completed, planned or hopeful to assist you in your endeavors. As well your effort to develop your own industry as far as mass manufacturing certain elements of the airship construction and basing facilities is to be commended! This can only reduce the price of these weapons of the air before as some might say the balloon goes up!
They were a most curious people before the rise of necromancy and the plague of vampirism according to the records and those of the dwarf loremasters that can be persuaded to talk on the subject. Obsessed with death, afterlife and ritual to the exclusion of all else, they are not much changed now to be truthful if you look at it logically. I have heard of this stone, the Elves use it in the construction of certain temples and thin sheets are also cut by magical means for the construction of shielded living quarters for mages and other sensitive beings. Its one significant property other than its translucent alabaster white veined with a slightly grey material looks was that it adsorbed, deflected and in mass adsorbs and transform Dhar (black) magic into harmless light or heat reflected back in the direction of the evil intent. Any price is worth the regular supply of this material for experiments if nothing else on how to duplicate it!
I am glad that you have changed your mind regarding depopulating the Island! The ordinary rural population need not suffer for their overlords misdemeanors after all they are needed as you say for the infrastructure works that are required for the reopening of the mines! These once fed the furnaces of the southern Worlds Edge Mountains with the various and many additives that fine steel work requires, there are other sources of ores that yield similar metals but these require twice the amount of material required than by the Sartosa highland mines (mineralogists and old dwarf miners say that the extinct volcano that is slated to become a reservoir and hydroelectric power station for the smelting process is responsible for the rich deposits last extensively exploited before the War of the Beard) this will prove to be most lucrative for your nation and will increase the likelihood of you being declared a Dwarf Friend and given most favored status as regard to import and export duties from BaraK Varr and beyond!
I look forward to the ladies arrival in my fair home and then to treating with her when she assume her post in Nuln! There are many things that a direct trusted representative on site could facilitate especially with the upcoming campaigning season and the eventual clash of armies and good versus evil that is inevitable before long! I will of course pass along your apologies to the pigeon handlers of the Grey peak loft! The person in question has now fully recovered and the scars only glow in dark on nights when the cursed moon is close in the sky, so nothing to be worried about really! I hear that several reconnaissance regiments of imperial cavalry are interested in the creatures (mother rumor is alive and well!) if they can be harnessed to a mages control and used for scouting duties and assassination tactics they could be useful indeed! The model Steamwaggon has indeed arrived safe and sound and is being examined by the various experts involved with the design team in Grey peak, at first glance there is no major issue other than the amount of wood in their construction, however the quality of the wood means that according to those who have looked over your plans and prototype no structural strength would be sacrificed, though lifespan and serviceability would be affected. I think at the prices mentioned in the attached plans that there will be customers in the Imperial, Border princes or Estalian markets as well as the Tilean one! Policing is a subject that is becoming more and more of an issue as the state militaries are increasingly drawn to the north crime is exploding especially in the industrial areas! I will send a further report on the plan in the Empire and you can relay the plans from Tilea regarding this subject!
I recall my head being overly small for my brain the day after and the strange affliction that I had to visit the priestesses of Shallya to get cured of as well my friend! I always remember during our travels together that you never had to resort to the ladies of the night but rather found a warm bed in an abode that was not yours even for the night! It was several days after that I remember seeing you running down the main street during market day clad only in your best shirt and being chased by an older gentleman armed with an antique blunderbuss and an enraged expression on his face! Your nation is the perfect place for both short ranged and long testing of new designs away from prying eyes and scribbling pens! So as long as you continue to help me I will continue to reach out the hand of friendship to you!
Traveling around the world in 80 days would be physically impossible unless you had a lighter than air transport, of course these things exist but not on the scale that would be required or with the range and speed needed to achieve the target time! However there are developments in this field the gliders (similar but scaled up versions of the 'wings' that the few crazed enough mercenary companies to use them call them at least) and the principles that enable them to fly have been tested and it seems possible that with the addition of a more light weight version of the engines that power gyrocopters and a 'propeller' (a device developed from the marine version as after all if it could move water efficiently maybe air could be dealt with in the same fashion? And so it seems to have proven!) an glider could be modified to range up to three hundred miles from its home base before having to land or be resupplied by a military Airforce fuel blimp (themselves developed for the northern war so that the airbases being constructed behind the main line of resistance could be resupplied without recourse to land transport!) this procedure was best undertaken with the help of a competent mage, however there are mechanical systems in place that would allow the transfer of fuel without them as well, though at greater risk of course! This kind of craft with the refueling facilities already in place for the airship service could indeed travel around the world in 80 days as the errant captain stated!
Food tasters are one of the evils those of us in positions of power must put up with I am afraid at least if they want to go on living! Mine are needed in fact I have several over the years! I know Gold cutlery is also unpleasant to eat with, you always think what if I swallow some? Of course the cheaper plated and pewter sells well and a major source of wealth and export income for us both! I recall that incident and in fact during my early days just ruling the city I did it a few more times before hanging them from my favorite leaning tower! Business always attracts those in the family that like to squeeze a coin to get some extra value from it will their house burns down around him! However without protecting him and his ilk you would have nothing to do anything with!
I too am pleased by the results of this campaign and I will follow it up with similar for other causes and projects! The upper nobility in Bretonnia tend to fall into two forms those who are born to it and those who rise into it, those who rise into it tend to be ramrod straight in their devotion to the lady ever seeking to become Grail Knights and rise to demi-godhood etc those born High Nobles might preach the creed but often are more interested in worldly things even if through several servants hands and others so that those little things that their lands could not provide be purchased, that suit of dwarven made plate armor ordered, imported silks made into dresses and so on. The Undead underworld is partly of concern and in other ways not a threat other than to those without the spirit to resist them (if supervised or at least penalized for open transgression of the rules) and their bonded underlings! Say nothing more my friend as you know these projects and investments will not only make us lots of money they will also let the fight be taken to the foe away far from our own shores so the majority can stay alive in their beds without fear of dying from the blade of Beastman from the woods or Skaven rising up through their toilets! I have several projects in the empire and in southern Kislev (there is nothing much left of the north by this point after all!) that should reduce costs substantially, I am also asking because I know you have several engineer companies and the majority of one of your 'legions' nearby the site I am thinking off. They are presently overwintering in a base camp waiting for the thaw to dry out before starting the construction of the various reserve lines of defense, earthen and hydraulic works that are required. What I propose is that before they start this task they assist my surveying teams in opening up several deposits of ores and other substances that might prove useful to the cause of defense of the north located a scant few hours walk from their present camp…
The advances in the material sciences is speeding up as the months advance, I would be most fascinated to see diagrams of the 'cast' items that you have described in your letter as the uses of the substance you describe is so far unknown to me! The idea of the all concrete bridge is one that I have thought of often since I heard of its existence! So please send me details and news on this! The fact that there might be the requisite materials on hand in the north will simplify things immeasurably in the coming period of greater war and invasion threats! I am glad that my money is making a difference in the progress of things in your nation and I am pleased that your own investment in the Empire is increasing in relation to your own internal investment! If you need help with transport issue regarding this movement please let me know!
That is great news and I await most eagerly the results from this test run as there are many places that could benefit from this method of fumigation rather than the usual pace by pace extermination and then eventual re-battling for the same territory due to their nature of foul rottenness fungus un-people that they are! I will be more than happy to provide any help that you need towards this purpose as with many other that we have pursued together over the alas long years! There are several developments in mass produced chemical and other compounds as well, have you ever heard of a mystical material called 'Stainless Steel'? I have certain information and I am wondering what you have regarding this?
I am glad to hear that they are helping the team going to the north and that they have enough initiative to change long held plans! Their contribution could prove to be most vital in the long term as the northern front will be where the metal meats the meat! The Post Office is one of the pan state organizations as well as the Imperial Investment Bank that can be held up as tangible proof that the new Emperor Karl-Franz is changing things to enable the fight to be more successful and deny the dark! I am most pleased to hear your high opinion of them and I am more than happy to connect your own officials with whatever level of the organization that you deem necessary to the advancement of your own network! The news that concrete can be altered to resist the powers of the darkness is most interesting and I will be most certain to set a team of my top savants to looking into this option if you would be most kind as to share your research with my own group?
I am glad that Trantio is finally online, the kinks and issues have been a multitude! It is logical that more waggon works etc must be opened. I have also heard that a concrete plant is also in the planning stages, truly things are moving a higher pace than predicted old friend! The news that Estalia might benefit from some price reductions in material supplies is good news as you know the travails they have suffered under and the mighty works that they are undertaking take their toll of the purely monetary aspects of the world in furtherance of the Great New Plan! Investments are secondary to the survival of the forces for order! However as it is key that money must flow and wealth be accumulated to make other things possible, the reconstruction after the reconquista could prove to be vital in advancing the ability of that place to support the war effort!
I have started to receive hundreds of enquiries regarding the possibilities in regards to the supply needs of the Ever-War. I must admit the supply of contracts and design ideas are creating a craze of investment in the various emporiums that are dedicated to such in Nuln at least! There will be many more contracts for the multitude of small items that the army of the North requires don't you worry my old friend that is one thing I can guarantee without any hesitation or prevarication! I have seen the designs for your Browne belt and accessories for the cavalry and infantry and even if they are not taken up by the Empire at large I will certainly order them for my own regiments that I muster bi-yearly to send into the cauldron of the north! The increase in the supply of preserved food for the North and of course for the general population is a priority so please be assured that reserve funding will be advanced to any enterprise that will sign supply contracts with Imperial purchasing agents for long term viable options. Also interest free loans or grants depending upon the volumes and start up costs are available, of course equity in the enterprises will also be considered instead of loans for the right opportunity!
I would be glad to help you gain the license for the papermaking process as practiced by the Imperial paper guild (without charge of course!) so at least that the scourge of paperwork might be inflicted equally upon all rather than merely upon those who pretend to be in charge of this mess of a world that we live in! Complaints are eternal while suggestions can always be subsumed… I have heard of a process where wood waste that would be burned or discarded (often into rivers and streams) can be made into a low cost building material called Ply-Te-Wood some naval minded folk have also voiced the opinion that this could be useful in the construction of small craft for the patrolling of the extensive river front of the Empire!? The concerns of the ordinary man must be considered before you suffer the fate of those who have decorated the towers of your capitols towers of old! There is always glory to be had in the north and I am afraid the day will come when you must harbor and lead all your strength to hold back the darkness from subsuming all in its path and making this world in to an into variation of the cold dark north and its tastes and horrid fasciations! There are snares for the unwary there that contain all the levels of the hells promised to us by Sigmar and his priests.
Interesting turn of phrase El Presidente, a State Inquisition would be a most potent tool in the right hands and a terrifying one in the wrong ones! However I think that in your 'Kingdom' it is best to spent everything on 'defense' because when they come for you all will be ready….. I am glad that the 'cadre' that I encouraged to help you are helping to root out evil already! Reports have reached me that they have already assisted your new Order to catch several secret cults and deviant sorcerers, more than a few have tried to infiltrate the fledgling creature in its early days but were caught by the truth seers that I helped you to contact on your hour of need?
The Skaven are always a danger whether they are nautically minded or not, the damn swine! The construction of more of these warpstone powered 'reactors' should worry any sane person as their propensity to explode all over the landscape and everyone in it with green glowing dust! Last week there was a raid on a Steamwaggon going from Karak Azgaraz to Stomdorph all for a load of high quality steel ingots and some dissembled machine tools! (Lathe's, drop hammers things like that!) Those of the crew that did not kill themselves afterwards were taken as slaves poor devils, however the fact that one of their infernal wheeled reactor slave transports exploded when approaching the scene of the successful raid meant that the slaves most likely would die in hideous mutation before the week was out! The news that they are taking goblins as well as everyone else is most interesting and disturbing at the same time! The Dark Dwarfs have used them albeit with many issues (especially for others!) efficiently as a slave labor force for centuries and if the Ratmen are cunning (and let's be honest they are noting but!) they can make them self propagate so reducing the crushing need to constantly replenish their labor force due to the unhealthy conditions that pertain in most Skaven lairs and industrial/resource extraction areas!! Restricting their incessant slave taking has always been my first objective of course followed by the rolling back of their existence in general! That this first objective is succeeding at least partially is good news beyond compare my esteemed friend! The fact that they are trying to copy our methods and technology in part or in total is both good news and bad! Good in that I don't think that they can as organized at present and bad that they are becoming more obvious in their behavior! I think steps must be taken to disrupt them further, maybe some kind of aide or at least recognition can be forwarded to this William as help for his resistance against this gutter species! I am glad that your national military industrial complex is growing; at least your part of the old Great Plan is coming to fruition as predicated!
I am most interested in your system of 'Coastguards' and I know that the helping folk of Nordland will take to this system just fine after all they have the skill set…. On a serious note there is of course already a system for this in place (both in a secular, a religious and a regulatory sense) for the seaborne trade of the Empire through Marienburg however there are lessons to be learned in regards to the many hazards that the river system presents to commerce and the persons of loyal citizens of the Empire. The growth in the power of the numerous Riverine and Maritime guilds over the past century has lead to various changes in commerce not least the various bond exchanges and venture share trading popping up like Orc's all over the place! The increases in training of the various water borne trades is to be encouraged so that wealth is more easily spread! I have not until recently I feel paid enough attention to the importance of trade and water borne power projection or 'gunboat diplomacy' as a imperial diplomat put it to me at a recent reception regarding industrial development that was held at my abode recently (secretly it was set up by my wife for a young couple that she had her eye on! however some useful work was achieved) so let that be a lesson the most frivolous of things have purpose when angled correctly! Well any way I must retire and be ready early upon the dawning of the sun to be about productive business so until the next letter!
From Engineer Holden
