Khenal
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Peek: Earl if'Gofnar
🕑 Added 2024-12-02 01:15:09 +0000 UTCEarl Paulte Heindarl Bulifinor Magnamtir if'Gofnar smiles from one of the balconies of his lavish estate as he watches the trades ships come in at the docks. He doesn't need to be there to inspect the cargo to know he'll be making a lot of money. The simple number of ships tells him all he needs to know.
And soon, his informants should deliver him what else he needs to know. For the most part, his plans have done well over the winter. On this side of the Gofnar, his children are running their cities well, skimming the appropriate amount to swell his coffers without taking so much as to cause an audit. The only one he hasn't heard from yet is Rezlar, but the lad is so timid and out of the way, he can't imagine him being capable of gaining that sort of attention from the Crown.
Up the Gofnar, his companies and shells among the dwarves continue to bring him a portion of the riches buried under the holds. If he continues to play it slowly, he should be able to corner a majority of the mythril imports! He might be able to spend his dotage as a Count, possibly even a Duke if his other plans pan out!
Across the Gofnar, his contacts among the orcs funnel through his holdings more and more of the exotic monster and herbal components that so many crafters hold dear. He can't hope to get a majority on everything, but a few vital pieces might be up for grabs, if certain competitors have... unforeseen misfortunes.
He's still years away from being in a proper position to profit from such things yet, but it still pays to get ahead and insert operatives early. Said operatives seem to be doing well, as no news is good news. He doesn't need to hear updates from them regularly. No, that'd just be a good way to get caught.
And past the orcs, his agents in the Principalities do their best to guide the chaotic nation as he wishes. Steering the nation as a whole is well beyond his means, but subtle little nudges aren't beyond him. He can still quietly stoke tensions between the boarkin and the birdkin while encouraging them to buy more and more weapons and armor from him.
He should be able to turn one of them into a staunch ally by the next Conference of Princes. Tensions always flare up as it approaches, and his mythril shipments should be ready just in time to supply both sides of the conflict. No matter who wins, he'll have an ally.
He idly plots as he returns inside, enjoying his day and entertaining a few noble guests. The evening sees him in his private office, receiving reports from his informants. Most confirm everything is going smoothly, but one sticks out.
Fourdock. The informant had trouble getting anything out over the winter, but now he can finally see how his youngest fared over the colder months. Reading the report, however, causes him to frown and eventually scowl as he takes in all that has happened.
He was vaguely aware of the new dungeon, but didn't pay it too much mind. Even when it subsumed the murderous one, it didn't seem like it'd be a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Vassalizing the sea dungeon didn't even catch his attention. It's not like it would open up the sea routes, right?
Wrong, says the report. Even worse, the growth of the dungeon is putting several of his plans in jeopardy. It's already outputting enough herbs to impact the profitability of his ventures with the orcs, and if it is able to do the same with its new orichalcum and mythril nodes, his careful cornering with the dwarves could fall apart, and so to tear asunder his plans for the Principalities!
Even worse, the Crown is auditing the Fourdock books to ensure nothing untoward is happening. He takes a breath and clams himself. No, that might not be the worst thing, now that he thinks about it. While he's very poor at dealing with the rabble, the lad has a natural head for numbers, and is still too young to understand how easy it is to get those numbers to lie for you. Even the informant agrees that the Crown is unlikely to find anything scandalous. He might even be able to use that as leverage for his other children and himself, build a reputation of honesty that will allow them all to take a larger cut, especially himself.
Still, something needs to be done about that dungeon. Attacking it directly would be folly, but monopolizing the output shouldn't be too difficult. He may even be able to use it to pressure his foreign holdings into giving him even more favorable rates.
He sits and considers, his scowl slowly shifting to a smile. Little Rezlar won't oppose him if he comes to deal with this personally. In fact, he'd probably appreciate it! It's no matter that he seems to be taking a more active role in leading, a father knows his son. It shouldn't take much pressure at all to make him fold, and then his wider plans will enjoy the benefits.
Now he just needs to decide when will be the best time to visit his son.
Comments
Markell
Because saying “his companies and shell companies” is tautology, (saying the same thing twice). And more importantly the author is showing that he has both legitimate companies and illegitimate companies, showing he has “lots of fingers in lots of pies” as it were. Because there is a difference between having an active legitimate company that you conduct business with, and: Shell company. noun. “An inactive company used as a vehicle for various financial manoeuvres or kept dormant for future use in some other capacity.” In this case we’re told he is already trying to corner the market. And given that his son “doesn’t know how to make those numbers lie for him.” In order to avoid an audit in any meaningful capacity you need to move your assets in a way that seems legal and unconnected to you, (laundering) and in order to do that you need at companies that at least exist on paper. However, even if you own the shell company, you need some means of acquiring the assets or an auditor will simply ask the shell where the cash flow came from, so the shell’s goal is to remain utterly neutral during the tax process: the money can come in and out, but the profit of the shell must remain zero not to draw attention which is what enables the transfer of wealth so it seem legitimate. In order to get the money back to you; there still needs to be a way for you to earn that money “legitimately” by say, having your business “provide” goods or services to the shell, it appears as if the assets were merely acquired through legal custom. This doesn’t just apply to hard cash but any asset; your shells acquire goods to corner the market without raising any alarm bells from the auditors.
Aerowarrier
He’s gonna get a rude awakening once he sees how much Rezlar has grown over the winter
Steve
I think you're just adding your interpretation of what he wrote. If that was what was meant to be inferred it was a bad way to do it, a few more words or a re-wording of the sentence would make the point better clarified. Just stating 'his companies and shells' is a long way from just saying his 'shell companies.' If that was the case, then why list it as his companies and shell companies?
Markell
I think they mean “shell companies”, so he’s basically setting up a bunch of smaller fake companies to purchase the mythril and corner the market without anyone else knowing that all of their “demand” is just one guy hoarding the goods who can later use said goods to not only set the price by controlling supply but also threaten the dwarves to lower their prices or else he’d flood the market with all the Mythril he’s bought. So yeah; guy is a scumbag.
EmeraldCheetah
Oh boy, here comes politics, and it's about to knock on the door of a god
Steve
"Up the Gofnar, his companies and shells among the dwarves continue to bring him a portion of the riches buried under the holds." Shouldn't "shells" be "shills?"
Ben Bass
TYFTP! Now this is interesting, I wonder how Rezlar will stand up to papa now that he is becoming a bit more worldly.
Elmithian
Clam himself? Is he closing himself off to better think introspectively, or is that a typo for calm?
Elmithian
Duke? But he's written as Earl here no?
Blue Trooper
Raggy
Blue Trooper
Oh snap!
Omen
A god of Change.... I see no way this backfires for him at all
Loren Loiselle
Are there merchant marines dissociated with the guilds and under direct employ of the crown similar to standing army, rather than special agents like Olander?
Ethan Barrow
He's about to mess with an actual God. We'll, best of luck to our favorite mayor.
Matthew Bright
Based on what's been said in past stories; nodes increase in value the longer they go untouched. My guess is the dimishing returns from constantly exhausting the node would be worth significantly less than defending it and letting it accrue value. For a basic dungeon the math would be: Upfront node: base value of node gained as soon as it regenerates. No multiplier or other sources of mana. Defended node: (base value node + time multiplier) + exp from monstered killed defending node + potentially exp from killing deliver.
David Rusk
May the raven have mercy on his soul if he touches Rezlar, for he is one of Thadium’s…
Khenal
Earl. I had Duke written, but it's too high of a rank. Earl is a middling noble rank, but a powerful one could easily aspire to higher. A Duke aspiring to more will necessarily have to dabble in regicide if they want a promotion.
Logos
That assumes the dungeon can be exhausted. If delvers can harvest resources continually, there is no decrease in time spent delving regardless of node location.
Typhoonator
Ruh roh
Matthew Frasier
Don't forget the upkeep cost. He has let nodes atrophy to reduce cost if they are not properly difficult to get. Like with the trees in the maze that he let out.
Munirah Hutchinson
Having the stuff in the entrance would actually result in less time spent delving, reducing the benefits for the dungeon.
Cha0sniper
Uh-oh. Trouble is a-coming for Rezlar, the poor kid.
Anthony Felscher
Nah, I think Olander is Thediem's "in" for the king. And a way to keep on the kingdom's good side.
Tsume Eiranis
The plot is thickening... Political intrigue ahoy
Demonlord
Thanks for the nice peek 😊 Can't wait to see Thediem CHANGE the FATE of the Earl 🤣
Wolf_Senpai
Ah.... I see someone wants to break thedeims record of Zero casualties.
LinaBoeckwurm
Oh, oh dear..... This isn't going to go how you think it's going to go XD
Logos
Tne first thing I thought of for Thedeim to fight back was to flood the orichalcum/mythril market by having the deposits spawn as close to the entrance as possible, making it trivial to gather enormous amounts for the delvers. But then I thought, why don't dungeons do that already? Thedeim doesn't because he's about 'challenge', but other dungeons aren't conscious enough for that level of decision making, and having their best nodes easily accessible would drastically increase their traffic and thus xp gain. Even with no intelligent designer, you'd expect dungeons to naturally evolve to such a toybox state.
Magnadra
It was said he is a son of a noble that has the same name as the lake/river. I don't remeber a royal connection
Raufgar
TFTC! I see what you are aiming for, Khenal-senpai. As a loyal supporter I shall keep mum on your plans, and wait with cautious anticipation as they come to pass. After all, Thediem always protects his friends.
DittoMikko
I dont think anything was changed from what I remember, but I could be wrong.
Im Da Mario
Well this can only go well.
Elain C. Moria
Looks like Thedeim is about to put some pompas ass directly in his place. Painfully. And yeah... I don't think he 'knows his kid' anymore. He's about to get a very nasty surprise.
Stickboy172
I cant wait to see how teemo interacts with this pompous blow hard.... I can't wait to see if the Duke actually does proper research (he sounds like a schemer so probably) or if he goes in blind not knowing our rat and dungeons famous hate for politics
PickledTink
I honestly think Miller should teach Onyx his skills. Including the Butlering. It would make her perfect for dealing with individuals like this, as well as murderous dungeons in future.
Pete Magnuson
I don't remember him having ties to The King or anything, I always thought he was the son of a middle lord. Maybe I'm just awful at memory tho
Kevo
I haven’t read anything but the first name and laughed
AbyssalIceLord
....was Rezlar's background RetConned or something? I thought it was said that he was the youngest of the Royal children. I must have been making assumptions based off of some info if not.
Herakilla
Thanks for the peek! There's our next antagonist it sounds like. Can't wait for the greedy Earl to be humbled if he tries to put any harmful restrictions on Fourdock or to control Thedeim
Daniel
Thanks for the peek! Can’t wait to see the downfall of the Earl
Munirah Hutchinson
Uh oh! He might not know his son as well as he thinks he does.
Ayyyy_Korn
Ooh some scoundrel of a capitalist, lookin to have a bigger slice of pie. Maybe this is the undesirable power i was low key hoping Olander would be
Austin Miller
So begins the phase of "fuck around." Can't wait for the "find out."
Vorquel
This will not end well. Not for the earl, anyway.
Eriach
And do sets thr next arc and villain set to trespasse against Thedeim
Speedsaber
A new evil emerged and now potentially forces Thediem to face his worst enemy, politics.
Tim Judge
It is good to stay clam when thinking nefariously. stops secrets from getting out. ;-)
Kevin Neely
BTW is it supposed to be Duke as the first word or Earl?
Kevin Neely
Hmmmmm
Geoff Urland
Oh this will be fun.
