To: His Honour Giscard Guillaume, Councilor in regards to Commerce and Trade; His Honour Suede Roschen, Councilor in regards to Agriculture:
Gentlemen,
I spoke with the Brotherhood lieutenant Maxwell Bishop in my office tonight; he has reliably informed me that Councilor al'Nerun has, at long last, left on his -- mission. May the One God ride with him and bring him back unharmed; but, in the event that he does not, I think it best to be prepared for all eventualities.
Lieutenant Bishop informed me of his suspicions regarding this new, illegal militia, the Hand of Myrken; he does not believe that they are patriots or have our best interests in mind, and I agree heartily. He wishes to shortly begin active drilling within their sight to show our strength and discourage them, and we agreed that certain covert operations were most likely necessary to discover exactly what it is they are doing. Lieutenant Bishop has a somewhat-founded suspicion that they may be part of the storied invasion force; I believe there is a greater story there for many reasons, but it is as yet unclear to me.
At any rate, it will never hurt to re-establish ourselves in the public eye as something other than a band of milquetoasts -- no matter what happens to Councilor Kerrak, we do [I]not allow his sacrifice to be made in vain. Especially now, as the drow will no longer believe we are complacent; Kerrak has effectively made our first move, gentlemen, and it is best that we be ready to play the rest of the game.
In these times we must not be without a Councilor of Security; none of the three of us, I believe, would be ready to test our own military mettle with Successor Faeryl. I propose we appoint someone to fill the seat in a temporary, short-term fashion, until Captain Kerrak returns, bless his soul. General Eriks will do nicely; likewise, Kerrak's second. I do not recommend Lieutenant Bishop; he is a competent and capable man when instructed, yes, but his gullibility has already been called into question in the matter of the two girls, and his request last night for the Council to consider the rule of martial law in the days to come is out of the question.
And, as usual, I have no idea how we are going to pay for any of this. I'll come up with something.
Sincerely,
Coriolanus Helstone
Councilor of Administrative Sanctions[/I]
