Chapter 25 - Mare Atlanticum
Adron woke to the blinding glare of the sun. "Odd," he said to himself, as he tried to blink the pain out of his eyes. "It's only February," continued the Counselor. Stretching, he walked downstairs to find a surprising congregation of people. "W-what?" he asked, scanning the room. They were all naval officers, judging from the coat of arms.
"We would like permission to escort you to today's meeting, Counselor," said one of the men, followed by a bow. Looking at the imported timepiece on the wall, Adron's eyes widened. It was almost time for a Counsel meeting! How had he woken so late?
After quick introductions and an ever quicker breakfast, he dashed out of his house only to bump into another figure right outside.
I'm kind of clumsy today... Adron thought to himself, annoyed at whoever had been in front of his door.
Glancing up, he saw the familiar figure of Petr. "Brother!" he exclaimed, giving him a hug. Motioning for the man to follow, the entire group talked as they approached the Counsel building in the more central parts of the city.
Apparently, the issue at hand was the navy. After thanking him for his representation of the colonies, the men informed him that pirates and other nations were making it difficult for Athens to receive the full benefits of naval trade. Looking over some of the evidence they had provided, Adron simply nodded. It would be a simple matter. More money to the navy. After all, what good was a slightly-improved army going to do them if one of the larger nations came a-knocking?
As he approached the doors, Petr finally spoke. "Brother," he said, glancing off to one side. "Take this,"
After that, the man handed him a sealed letter and dashed from the doors. The front of the envelope was penned in Russian. The translation to Greek was difficult for Adron, but he eventually figured out that it said "Beware the Legacy of Death,"
Cocking his head to one side, Adron decided to push it into his pocket, deciding to take a look at it later. Whatever it was, apparently even the front of the envelope couldn't be read by anyone except Adron, judging by the fact that Russian was used as opposed to Greek or Latin.
Walking into Counsel, he presented the case of the navy, and the result was clear, and finally sent to the Admiral.
"In the Counsel of Athens, 25th February, 1559,
We, the unanimous Counselors of the Athenian Counsel, hereby declare and task the Athenian navy with a mission to place its protection of overseas trade in its foremost concerns. Appropriate funding will be redirected to the naval offices upon request, to be revoked if any sign of incompetency is shown.
Thank you."