Some days later Nik was giving out his usual alms at the church, winning the noumens over at least, when he heard from the priests that his younger brother was in the city. It would have surprised Cordelian to realize how much you could find out through the church. His curiosity was piqued because he knew Pel had no official visits scheduled today. His brother was not in one of the patros’s areas, surprisingly enough, but a merchant area. Nik decided to go see what he was doing. Fortunately, he had chosen modest clothes today, as it would be inappropriate to flaunt wealth in front of the poor, so it should be easy for him to slip into the city without being mobbed. Pel must also be trying to pass unnoticed, and Nik didn't want to upset his plans.

It didn't take long for Nik to ride out to where one of his brother's strigulos was on guard duty at a street corner. Although she was in the clothes of a noumen, he recognized the attractive, but scowling young woman who seemed to be one of Pel's favorites. She in turn recognized him right away. She looked like she wanted to send him away, but of course she had no right to do so. She didn't bother to greet him properly but wordlessly gestured to him to follow her into the building behind her. She took him to the second floor of the apparently empty house that overlooked a small square. They were near the main docks of the city, and he could hear the sounds of ships and fishermen. Pelagius was in a large, unfurnished room which occupied most of the second floor, sitting next to an open window looking out at the square, with a small table and some refreshments in front of him. Disappointingly, he did not seem surprised to see Nik.

Pelagius smiled after they greeted each other. "I was told you were coming to see me."

"By who?"

"Oh, you know," Pel waved noncommittally. "My people."

"I was hoping to get the drop on you, you know, shock you with my derring-do." Nik huffed. "You have some sneaky people."

"My favorite type. You too, since you heard about my visit here. Why don't you sit with me? Have some figs and wine. It's quite refreshing."

Nik took him up on the offer, and soon sat impatiently across from Pel, waiting to be enlightened on what they were doing there. Nik looked out onto the square, hoping to find some clue, but all he could see were noumens going about their business. They were near a shop, where a middle-aged couple seemed to be busy, although he was having trouble determining what exactly they did. They wore only chitons, but they looked to be of high quality, and both were wearing fine jewelry. Noumens then, but well-to-do noumens. There were no products on display, and the couple mostly just talked to their customers and then wrote intently on wax and clay tablets. Nik glanced up at Pel and confirmed this shop was what interested his brother. What was interesting about it though, Nik had no idea.

"So Pel, what am I looking at?" He asked, gesturing towards the shop.

"It's a shop. Some people must work to make money, perhaps you’ve heard that somewhere."

He fixed a level gaze on his brother, who chuckled, before obliging him with some more details.

"They are shipping merchants. They make shipping arrangements for other sorts of merchants who need to transport goods."

"So, they own ships?"

"No, they connect shippers and merchants. It's inconvenient for shippers and merchants to deal with each other directly due to difficulties in scheduling and filling an entire ship with what could be multiple shipments from different customers. So, shippers go to these middlemen to record what ship space they have available and when, and merchants record what they want shipped and to where. The shipping merchants try to arrange matches between these two, sometimes arranging more than one-"

"I'm sorry I asked." Nik groaned. "Please, stop boring me to death. This must be the most tedious occupation imaginable."

Pel frowned at him slightly. "Comerce is what keeps the empire running, keeps Dardanos running. The economy is the source of our power."

"Our nobility of spirit, our culture, is the source of our power."

Pel snorted. "That is a pompous line, brother."

Nik cleared his throat in embarrassment. It had been pompous.

Pel continued with some asperity. "A city this large requires imported goods constantly, otherwise it would be unable to support the population. The grain allowance is the most obvious example, but there are many others. Shipping, by the river and the sea, are the life-blood of the empire. Dardano, Hagiatrocos, Melanthoros, Heliokopos, Tractarius; all the major cities are where they are to take advantage of trade. Dardano on the river Rubo, Hagiatrocos looking out on the south Melancthon, Melanthoros the west, Heliokopos the gateway to Bithia and Tractarius to Monar, and so on. Although Hagiatrocos has the best location of any of them. One day it might surpass us as the greatest city of the empire."

"That's what you're doing here, keeping an eye on the wealth of the empire?" Nik asked, trying to derail Pel's never-ending lecture.

Pel did stop, thankfully, and sipped his wine. "Yes, in a way," was all he said as something in the shop caught his attention, and he turned to get a closer look. Nik copied him.

Two girls had entered the shop, one a teenager, leading the other in with her, a small girl, probably about two years old. They both wore similar chitons to the couple, and looked happy and well-fed. These two looked to be the daughters of the couple, judging by the way the couple greeted them. Nik glanced back over at Pel, who was looking at the two girls intently. Nik was certain Pel was only interested in the older one, who even from this distance was clearly a beautiful girl.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Pel, after all that impressive discussion, you're actually just here to look at a pretty girl, aren't you?" He was both amused and disappointed.

"It's an important business, and the family is doing well at it. It's good to familiarize yourself with the foundations of the empire," Pel said without looking back at him.

"And coincidentally, they have a young and beautiful daughter?"

"Exactly. Pure coincidence." Pel turned and grinned unashamedly.

Nik shook his head in exasperation. He'd tried to get his brother to appreciate the virtues of chastity before with no success.

"I can't believe I came out here just for you to lust after a noumens girl."

Pel stood up. "Well, let's go back then. I'll have to come back when my disapproving older brother isn't around to tell me off."

Nik couldn't resist getting a couple of extra jabs in, which Pel took in good humor, apparently cheered up by seeing his latest crush. Nik decided not to ask how he was planning to approach the girl, as he didn't want to know.

----------------------------------------

"Tokropos," Cordelian began, "I think it's time I settled down."

"Great idea, Your Highness. It could be very profitable."

He and Tokropos were in his own audience chamber. He'd finished the day's work and Tokropos was sitting, back straight - admirable posture - across from his desk. Cordelian had gotten used to Euphastolon not being there, not sitting in the corner making sarcastic comments. He supposed a part of him missed his brother, but overall not having Euphastolon hanging over his head was a relief. He had been resistant at first to Euphastolon dying, but he'd come around to the wisdom of it. The man had earned it several times over, and he just wasn't trustworthy. He’d considered blaming Nikolonium for the death, but he didn't want people looking too closely into what had happened, so it suited him best to accept the official story of an illness. Anyway, this way everybody still suspected Nikolonium, and he looked honorable and magnanimous for not pursuing the matter further. He found Tokropos made a more useful ally than his unstable younger brother, as she was more predictable, and better at getting other patros to follow her lead. Probably because half of them had mortgaged their lands to her.

"The choosing of a future Empress is not a task to be taken lightly." He was feeling more and more confident due to how smoothly everything was proceeding. Meronion was gone, Euphastolon was gone, Nikolonium discredited, and Fornulus was fading more each day. Everyone else was either on his side or not a problem.

He had no interest in marrying a woman, but a Doukar needed to produce heirs, so being married would make him a more stable prospect for the crowns. He was close enough now to the crowns that he could take his pick of women in the empire. Most people thought of him as the true Mekos, not Theodorian.

The family he married into would become staunch allies, so he wanted to choose whoever would be most useful to him. His own family wanted him to marry one of his cousins, Lictorius, a girl about Helastus’s age. He had no intention of doing that: his own family would always be his allies, so marrying her brought him nothing he didn’t already have.

"We'll have to wait until the mourning period is over before any actual marriage," Tokropos said, as if he didn’t remember.

"Naturally. However, I can choose a family now and begin to make the arrangements. Euphora's eldest daughter, Euphorian, for example."

Tokropos raised her eyebrows in surprise. Euphora had been allied with Vicca's family. This was exactly why he was considering choosing her family. It would be a waste to choose an existing ally when he could secure a new alliance instead and increase his power. Choosing someone with ties to the old regime would also smooth his transition.

"A bold choice," she said. "Euphora is a rich woman. Rich holdings. Tin, gold, copper, you name it."

Cordelian had no doubt Tokropos’s covetous eyes knew all about Euphora's holdings. Unfortunately for her Euphora was wealthy enough to be able to stay out of her clutches. According to rumor, Euphora despised Tokropos. Tokropos made her money herself, while Euphora's wealth stretched back centuries. She also had several friends who Tokropos had ruined.

She continued. "They say Euphorian looks like a horse's backside, and her voice is like the bray of a donkey. And she smells likea donkey too."

Charming. Cordelian suspected the source of these rumors was the very woman he was talking to.

He gave her a supercilious stare. "Do I seem like His Exaltedness or Pelagius to you? I am not the sort of trivial person who is concerned with such matters."

Tokropos chuckled. She knew Cordelian couldn't care less what the girl looked like. It was a question of duty, nothing more. A marriage would also keep the new type of patros who'd spent too long at the church from gossiping about him and his lovers. He couldn't stand the church and those who swallowed their nonsense whole, like Nikolonium. He much preferred the more old-fashioned patros like Tokropos who thought only in terms of benefitting themselves and keeping the empire strong (to benefit themselves). Much cleaner and simpler than dealing with people who believed in some esoteric set of rules which disapproved of everything. There was no reasoning with those people. It was impossible to convince them to mind their own business or get them to understand that some actions were necessary for the good of the empire.

Tokropos stood after telling him some interesting information about a couple of patros at the court, her business completed. She never wasted his time, which he appreciated.

"Tokropos," he said as she moved to leave. "You have a niece of a suitable age, do you not? I'm surprised you haven't made your case."

"Ha!" Tokropos laughed as she walked out. "Don't worry about me, I'm not offended. Much more profitable to be the power behind the crowns. Safer too, you royals don't seem to live long."

Cordelian approved of her realism. Tokropos didn't have the background to be a suitable choice, but he'd wanted to make sure she wasn't nursing any resentment against him.

He had a smooth path to the crowns now. There wasn't much left for him to do, except clean up some minor loose ends. Nikolonium had shaken his composure the day he'd returned from Hagiatrocos, but ultimately the boy knew nothing and could prove nothing. Cordelian felt certain he could just ignore him. The only remaining obstacle was Theodorian. He had to convince her to abdicate to clear the way for his own ascension, but that would be simple enough. She had no desire to become Doukar. He would wait until Fornulus was clearly beyond saving, because Theodorian wasn't ready to face facts yet. From seeing Fornulus yesterday he could tell he wouldn’t have to wait long.

Yet he found himself feeling uneasy. His instincts were warning him that something was wrong. He had the unpleasant feeling of not being totally in control of the events around him, but he couldn't point to what was out of his control. It could be Meronion's unexpected fate that was unsettling him. He ran over his plans to reassure himself. Anxiety would only lead to mistakes, so he needed to ignore his irrational fears.