August Pays His Taxes

[Aetosion 2062]

The hooves of August’s brown destrier, Viktorya, clopped steadily over the cobbled streets outside of Petrus, the rut-filled road splashing up fetid waste water with every hoof-step. Tugging the reins to his right with a deftness that spoke of time-won familiarity with the animal, he made towards the stables. His short-cropped grey hair shone with a certain solemnity under the cloudy skies. Dismounting with a muted grunt, the man tied his horse to a post and gave the stable-boy a silver for the day. The banners of the royal house fluttered overhead as he walked through the open gates of the city, their clean-cut blacks and whites in subtle contrast to his own muted reds and browns that marked him as a man of the eastern holds.

 

As August neared the central square, a parish priest clamoring for the Church’s dues called from the roadside, “ ‘Ail sire, do ye have tithes for the Lord of Lords? In times s’ch aes these ye should be thankful for ‘is numerous blessins.” Grudgingly, August threw two copper coins in the man’s collecting box and forced a smile. His eyes remained cold as steel.

 

Yak-hide boots splashing through the thin veneer of sewer water that covered the streets after the previous night’s rains, the man made his way towards the grand stairway that marked the climb to the King’s castle. A glance to his left showed a porkish squire unabashedly attempting to fondle a highlander servant girl, but a glance to his right showed the great pinewood doors of the keep proper. The iron-clad guard standing at the threshhold held up a hand to halt him, “State yer name and business.”

 

“August de Montfort, Baron-Regent of Eastcliffe, to pay ‘is majesty’s taxes on my ‘oldings.” August’s voice was measured and uninviting, and he spoke in the foreign tones of Auvergne and Raev that marked his mixed ancestry. His stone-like face was no different, and seemed to be set in a permanent look of unamusement.

 

“Ah, ‘ight then,” the guard said, in a bored tone, “Proof of identity?”

 

August removed his golden signet ring, marked with the coin and crow of his house and presented it to the guard’s inspection, who returned it with a nod and gave three raps of the door, which opened with a thunderous complaint of hinges. Stepping inside, the country noble’s footsteps echoed in the quiet of the stone hall as he made his way to the Treasurer’s office, dimming braziers lighting his way. A huddle of young noble women passed busily by, their conspiratorial whispers speaking of some recent court gossip, none paid heed to August, too absorbed in their own chattering.

 

The tax collection office smelled of musty parchment and rusting copper, and its dingy walls showed a blackening tinge from the soot of the torches scarring the walls. A wizened old man in the employ of the Treasury muttered a greeting to August that sounded something vaguely like, “Goodday,” and accepted the weighty bag of gold minas August handed him, emptying it out onto the rough hewn oaken desk in-front of him, and began to count the coins.

 

Cliffhanger! Did August pay enoug

h taxes? Did the collector have an aneurism? Were the coins of dwarven make? Stay tuned for part two, August Hires a New Servant Girl, to find out.

 

[oblivionsbane 714]

There are not copper minas or gold minas. I think it was agreed upon long ago that they are the coins from Mario.

[Aetosion 2062]

There are not copper minas or gold minas. I think it was agreed upon long ago that they are the coins from Mario.

((To be fair, I only noted golden minas, everything else I described were unnamed coins. If I was a kingdom I would mint and distribute smaller denominations, as gold is rather expensive and would be difficult to use as the chief currency of exchange, as smaller value things like food would be worth less than the gold itself. When under the Imperium Tertius, I always RPd minas as imperial minas, the highest denomination of coinage which was cast in gold, and when I'd give money to beggars etc., I'd RP it as lesser value copper coins.))

[Publius 4098]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.