Part V: Political Intrigues
Chapter 5: Overpopulation
Timeline: AO 295
The room erupted at Hacktor’s proposal to start a war. Numerous council members tried to speak up, whilst Hacktor’s voice boomed over them. All the while Hecla’s laughter could be heard in the background, cutting through the chaotic noise like a blade. Baldur watched his daughter as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and contempt at this spectacle of fools. Yet the king was not amused – instead Baldur was angry at the uncouth display of his council. He was about to call for attention, but another voice spoke first.
“Before we proceed further, we must consider the long-term economic repercussions of any hasty actions.” Lord Aric Rukstinz placed his book down with deliberate care, revealing an intricate cover embossed with gold leaf and arcane symbols. His fingers, adorned with rings of precious stones, traced the delicate patterns of the book as if to underscore its importance. This small, almost reverent action was a subtle display of his wealth and erudition, a reminder to all present of his unmatched influence.
Taller even than Hacktor, Aric remained seated in his ornately carved, high backed chair. Impeccably dressed with a subtle but undeniable aura of wealth, his black hair was perfectly groomed, his beard shining with the finest oil, and his demeanor exuded confidence and power. For Aric’s presence was a reminder to all that while Monty Redstone might manage the crown’s immediate finances, it was the Rukstinz family that controlled the kingdom’s vast capital.
Aric’s icy blue eyes scanned the room, causing everyone to exchange glances and take their seats – including Hacktor. Monty’s hands trembled slightly as he adjusted his papers, while Ly’Mala’s fingers clenched around her chair’s armrest. Even the usually composed General Ortwin shifted uncomfortably, his eyes darting towards Aric and then away. When everyone was quite, Aric added calmly, “I’m sure any decision you make will ensure the prosperity of our people remains paramount.” With that he returned to reading his book.
At first nobody knew what to say. Although none of the council members dared to look at Aric, they eyed one another uneasily. Baldur knew there was a silent understanding between them – while they publicly debated the kingdom’s future, privately, each was maneuvering for personal gain – and having the Rukstinz as an ally was paramount to all.
But alliances can shift in an instant, The Kon-Herr surmised. Today’s ally could be tomorrow’s rival. Yet Baldur also knew that this undercurrent of mistrust was commonplace on the Grand Council —a fragile alliance only ever held together by greed and ambition.
When the tension in the room became palpable, the scribe Grak raised a quill and said softly.
“Point of order.” Grak said calmly. “I believe the prince is proposing war, however, may I gently remind you all that before we consider new proposals, the rules of the council require us to finish all agenda items first.”
At that Hacktor had had enough, as he nearly screamed, “What could be more important than war?”
Baldur overlooked his son’s inability to control his emotions and instead prompted the scribe, “Grak, please remind us of the remaining items for review.”
“Certainly, my lord. After deciding upon the price of Blackwood, there is also the item added by Master Redstone earlier this morning.”
“Which is?” The king raised an eyebrow.
The obese coinmaster took that as his opportunity to rise, conspicuously NOT look at Aric Rukstinz as he said. “If I may, friends. And please forgive my impudence, prince, but even more important than the price of Blackwood or the opportunity for war, is the very real challenge we continue to face regarding overpopulation among the rabble. My king, I know we’ve talked about this before and you’ve expressed your doubts, but I say again that there are simply too many people under the mountains and not enough resources. Why ju–”
“That’s absurd!” Hacktor couldn’t contain himself. “The mountains are vast, eight kingdoms is but a drop in the bucket to what the potential is within this realm, and as far as resources go we haven’t even scratched the surface. If you–”
“Take a breath, son.” Baldur silenced the prince with a warning look, then sighed with thanks that his son actually listened. “You’ve mentioned this before, Monty, but I’ve yet to see any evidence of this. I tend to side with Hacktor on this one.”
“Well, I’m no expert,” Monty’s jowls jiggled as he tried to deflect – for he could see Hacktor’s fists tightened at his sides and didn’t like the glare the prince was showing him. Yet Monty was well versed in verbal wordplay and so he carefully maintained a smug expression and continued explaining. “I’ve only been repeating what I’ve learned myself over the years. You asked us for proof a while back so we’ve had Master Drivingstone’s finest minds in the guilds working on this. Their research has uncovered a troubling fact – it seems the drokkinas amongst our lower classes are making babies at a rate faster than our guilds are acquiring resources. Forecast this out a few years and it’s clear we’re going to run into problems.”
The king glanced at Lord Aric, yet a nearly imperceptible tightening of his jaw was his only indication he’d even been listening. Balder then looked to the merchants’ leader Thork Drivingstone.
Thork stood up to join Monty and said. “Alas, it’s true, my lord. While the prince is correct that these mountains offer nigh unlimited resources, the problem is that we don’t have enough able bodied workers to harvest the food and minerals we need to sustain the number of people we have – particularly among the poorer members of our society who tend to have the most children.”
“All the more reason why the Boma clan declares that we should unburden ourselves from the nevering burdens of confinement of these conflicting mountains,” Ly’Mala jumped in. “The Derkka don’t ha–”
“Are you even hearing yourself talk?” Hacktor was in disbelief at the colorful woman’s diatribe, yet he ignored her word salad and instead addressed Thork and Monty. “What you’re both saying is we need more men to work the farms and mines? That sounds like underpopulation to me.”
As Hacktor fell into Monty’s trap, the coinmaster’s eyes twinkled with satisfaction.
A subtle smirk played at the corners of Monty’s lips, barely noticeable but laden with triumph. His hands, resting on the table, gave a slight, almost imperceptible tap of his fingers, a sign of his concealed glee as he said, “Great prince, you are wise indeed, and in a perfect world you’d be on the mark, but alas, we live in an imperfect world. During these many decades of peace we’ve enjoyed under our great Kon-Herr, our birth rates have skyrocketed, especially among the lower classes – isn’t that right, Grak?”
The scribe concurred. “The census of 275 validates this claim.”
Hecla laughed again – her eyes sparkling with mischief. “My dear brother, it would appear that Monty pen has vanquished your sword.” Her words dripped with irony, her tone both playful and sharp.
She’s intentionally stirring the pot, Baldur knew. The king could see his son about to reply, but he motioned to Monty instead, “I believe you still have the floor. Please continue.”
“What the census also showed is that much of our population is very young, uneducated, and doesn’t contribute much to society.” The fat coinmaster advised. “And for whatever reason it seems that more girls are being born than boys. Obviously only men work the farms and mines, but everyone consumes resources and the peasants tend to consume the most and give back the least. So unless we want girls to become laborers, we’ve got a problem we can’t solve. That’s constraint number one. As for the vast land and resources yet to be realized, we don’t have the workers to open new fields and mines because the men we have are struggling to keep up with the current and quickly growing demand. This is constraint two. Finally, these same worker limitations also impair our ability to found new kingdoms to glorify Baldur’s name, and without being able to open new lands, our growing population is suffering from a lack of space.”
[Here Monty overlooked the fact that he and Thork, along with numerous other courtiers acting with the blessing of the Rukstinz, had previously (and repeatedly) advised the king to focus his resources on external trading operations outside the mountains at the expense of founding new cities below ground. The reasons for this were complex and convoluted but always came back to money – Monty and Thork – on behalf of their clans and the Ruks – promised the king that his coffers would grow (and this is indeed what happened), but the wealthy merchants and their friends fleeced Baldur for all he was worth behind his back. The skillful courtiers understood that when limited resources were controlled by fewer people (especially when those resources came from external sources beyond the king’s oversight), the easier it would be to inflate their wealth. Baldur was happy with the royal coffers expansion, but the elites of society grew far richer – particularly the Rukstinz, whose capital financed the ventures. And all the while the people’s access to goods and services dwindled – the commoners complained, but nobody listened].
At this point Thork stepped in again; like so many elites throughout human history, the overprivileged man skillfully sought to shift the focus to a made-up social cause as he and Monty made their real play. Aric Rukstinz’ lips curled with the hint of a smile, as Thork said, “Within these palace walls there is only peace, freedom, and sustenance. And rightly so, for Rhokki Pass is the glory of our people. Yet take a walk outside the palace and you’ll see the beginnings of the people’s plights. Things are fine now, but if the Gaatz advisors are correct – and they always are – we estimate that by the year 330 the commoners will soon find themselves short of everything – where one cavern now houses a single family, space limitations may require it to provide for two or even three. Bread, mushrooms, and potatoes may soon be in short supply, meat could become hard for them to get, and even if they find those staples, blackwood could become scarce everywhere. The mountains are cold, we don’t want the people having to make difficult choices between heating their caves and feeding their kids. And then there is the issue of air – more people inside these mountains means less air for all of us to breathe – in short the very climate of our kingdom is at risk!”
“Not just the climate, but the entire world!” Monty added dramatically. “We’re all going to die!”
The Apocrypha of Azazel 