The Connacht Summit

[Keirdran]

Lathrop's brow furrows just a bit as Minister Burns outlines the plan. It wouldn't be entirely wrong to say the idea, or some form of it, had crossed his own mind. The issue is- "You would need to know the houses could be deterred by the supply, rather than economically enriched to the point of being able to offer more concrete support. Obviously they cannot and will not treat with you directly, that would be acknowledging the Provisional Assembly’s right to self-govern, hence we would act as the middlemen."

Rephrasing the matter, at least in part, gives the proverbial gears time to turn in Mark's head. "Let's consider each house. Rhineland will likely work well enough. The Guild have treaties in place and, despite issues with their corporate interests, they remain amenable to negotiating with the Guild. Furthermore I don't actually believe they have much they can throw behind Bretonia... at this time. If we do supply them gold we would need to make it pretty clear that helping The Crown escalate matters in Dublin is likely to impede the Guild's ability to supply." There's a strain in his voice as he outlines the matter, a hand rising to rub at his forehead.

"Liberty next. The Guild has minimal dealings with them by my last check, though I could be wrong. Otherwise our interests rarely collide either politically or economically, but at the very least I understand they are quite open to a deal like this", Mr. Lathrop considers aloud. "They've no interest in throwing money behind a foreign cause unless it does benefit them, and we can make a rather convincing counter offer to enrich both them and the movement." This, at the very least, seems to please the Director. A rather hassle free task by all reckoning.

But there remains another. "Then we have Kusari, and with them I am admittedly in the dark." With a pause he turns to Schulze, taking a breath before addressing him. "Guildmaster, what exactly is our situation there? I don't believe we conflict all that much, but my understanding is that they are far more interested in fostering a relationship with The Crown." The question is left to receive an answer, a preliminary conclusion close enough all the same.

"All in all it sounds doable, if you can truly supply enough gold to partially satisfy each house. That and, of course, while I'm more than happy to support the movement we need to ensure it is financially viable... for all involved. Right now the supply of gold correlates very favourably with the counter-supply of iridium- a resource that I am very well aware you also make great use of in ship building. That would conceivably have to change somewhat, balancing production for Republican forces against easing House-supported Bretonian pressure." As if sorry for this rather unfortunate fact he smiles apologetically, much as he had before engaging in this long-winded analysis. "It... it will be quite the balancing act, Mr. Burns. A great many potential pitfalls and at cost too, whether successful or not. And that isn't even considering the Corsairs... but we'll get to that still."

Heaving a sigh, he looks for a second time to Guildmaster Schulze. "With all this said, I would like to hear your opinion as well. I know we hold a rather solid neutral position among the houses, and that our support for the Republican movement here is well storied, but this could go either way for the Guild... especially with Bretonia. The Crown may have made some, quite frankly, idiotic moves in recent history... but this won't go unnoticed."