The citizens of Phuratus are an industrious people. Everyone, from the humblest labourers to the most highly esteemed academics were respected for their loyal service. For the continued glory of The Kingdom, all pushed themselves, working their bodies and minds like synchronized machines dedicated to a single purpose.

But, like machines, te'visk themselves required maintenance to keep functioning well. They needed to be fed resources, regularly cleaned, and sometimes they needed to be attended to by specialists in their operation. In these modern times, these needs were more and more regularly seen to. However, there was one facet of 'maintenance' that seemed to have deteriorated in the current, advanced era.

Downtime.

Of course, rest is not something the physical body could just ignore. No one, no matter how hearty or determined, can go without sleep indefinitely. If one tried to stay awake for longer than eighty-three bels straight, they would collapse, and likely remain unconscious for a further one-hundred and four bels. And that was assuming that they would ever wake again at all. So sleep was something that was biologically mandated.

There was, however, another kind of 'downtime' that was far easier to neglect. Leisure. Entertainment. Family time. It just so happened that people have a psychological need for socialising and fun. One would not be surprised to hear of the many social and mental disorders that often manifested in those that spurred such so-called 'frivolities'. But more surprisingly, researchers have recently discovered that people that endured such stolid lifestyles often developed physical maladies as well. Heart failure, complications to the digestive tract, and even joint inflammation.

One could quite literally die from a lack of joy.

Perhaps that's why Lord Capield felt so close to death as of late. 

A royal minister's job was difficult even on the best of bels. But recently state affairs have overgrown and tangled into an unsightly and impenetrable bramble. Relations with the Republic of Pitang had been rapidly deteriorating. Trade between the nations was all but closed. Capield could count the number of ambassadors that still remained on Phuratan soil on one claw. They haven't been this close to war since back when the Republic was still an Empire. Then there was this freak explosion back at Fort Greywood. Researcher Skai's team... Or rather, General Hydor's team, had ruled out enemy action. But it still made the Royal Minister of Defense, Lord Harpa Pija, a bit nervous. Project Rutil’proh was a joint venture between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Knowledge, so collaboration with Lord Pija was necessary. And now, to add to his woes, Lord Tuoi, The Royal Minister of Culture, had called a meeting with him and Lord Pija before the Prime Minister.

Lord Capield made a point to arrive at the meeting room as early as possible. He had a lot on his plate already, but this sudden situation was a distraction that wanted to resolve as quickly as possible. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for the originator of this ordeal to show up.

“Warm-Winds, Lord Capield! I’m glad you managed to come here so early.” said Lord Tuoi as he entered the room.

“What is the meaning of this, Tuoi?” cawed Capield. “Some of us are very busy this season. I have many important tasks to oversee that I’m missing for this. I can’t just hop away from them on a moment’s notice.”

“Ah yes, I am quite aware of your disastrous projects, Capield.” replied Lord Tuoi, not even bothering to address his lack of a greeting. “In fact, it is precisely because of the issues stemming from your lacking oversight that I have requested this Demurral Parley.”

Demurral Parleys. A type of meeting that a minister only calls when they believe that a situation is especially dire. It allows a minister to appeal directly to the Prime Minister on the affairs of another minister without the presence of the rest of the available cabinet. Of course, such an extreme option comes with caveats. For one, under most conditions, a minister may only call a Demurral Parley once every four seasons. Additionally, the minister whose affairs are being discussed must also be present. All that to say, Lord Tuoi clearly felt that his issues, whatever they were, were important enough to him to play such a limited and valuable piece.

No sense talking about it then. He and the Cultural Minister just stood in silence while waiting for the Prime Minister to show up. After no more than three driks, she eventually arrived.

“Warm Winds, ministers.” greeted High-Lady Andion Halae as she entered the room and walked past them.

“Warm Winds, Prime Minister.” replied and bowed the two ministers simultaneously; in what would likely be their last harmonious act for the rest of the bel.

The Prime Miniter sauntered deeper into the ornately designed room and made her way to the head of the conference table. After easing herself onto the chair she gestured to the other ministers to take their seats on either side of her position. Lord Tuoi made haste to find himself at her right hand side. Lord Capield was quite satisfied to find himself on her left.

“So, Lord Tuoi,” started the Prime Minister. “What situation is of such importance that you’ve decided that a Demurral Parley was warranted?”

“My Lady,” replied the Cultural Minister. “I have requested an audience with you to recommend that the kingdom begin a formal investigation into the affairs of a programme under Lord Capield’s direction, Project Rutil’proh.”

Lord Capield somewhat suspected this, but it still took a fair bit of effort for him to suppress the urge to react.

“I believe that we discussed the affairs of Project Rutil’proh quite recently, did we not?” asked the High-Lady. “Do you perhaps have further concerns about the recent accident? Do you doubt the veracity of the reports that explained the cause of the explosion?”

“Not at all, My Lady.” continued Tuoi. “I do trust the conclusions reached by the talented staff on-site. However, my concern is the fact that such horrific accident happened at all. And that it caused an injury to a member of a noble house.”

Lord Capield, temporarily failing to hide his disdain, huffed out an annoyed grunt.

Lady Halae opted to ignore the muted interjection. “That is, quite surprising. Especially since I was not aware that any nobles had even visited Fort Greywood in the recent seasons.”

“Ah, yes, this is true, My Lady. But that is because this noble has been on the staff since the earliest seasons of Project Frost-Fae, back when they still worked out of Linnae Campus.”

This time, Lord Capield managed to remain composed, though he did narrow his eyes contemptuously at his fellow minister. Truth be told, he had long suspected that there was someone of royal blood that had infiltrated his projects, but only recently determined that they were connected to Lord Tuoi.

“I see.” mused the Prime Minister as she leaned back into her chair and intertwined her talons. “And why was the presence of this noble kept hidden, Minister?”

“I can do nothing but accept my part in this subterfuge, My Lady.” said the cultural minister with a sigh that oozed insincere regret. “You see, this noble believed that her assignment would benefit from a form of relative anonymity, as she wished to investigate the new language introduced by the… Foreign specimen.” the minister continued as he reached into his coat to produce an ornately designed and sealed envelope. “And so, I sought permission from The Crown to be allowed to conceal her status.”

Of course. As much as Capield disliked Lord Tuoi, he had to admit he was an experienced politician, and he was very adept at the whole ‘shrewd socialite’ part of the job. The network of personal connections that he fastidiously maintained allowed him regular access to even the highest echelons of power and prestige in The Kingdom. Including, apparently, The Crown.

The cultural minister handed the document over to the Prime Minister, who spent no more than a few clegs looking it over. “I see. This all seems to be in order…” she continued reading silently a bit longer. “This noble, she is your niece, Ara Pito?”

“Yes My Lady. Although she used a different given name when she first started working there, to further obfuscate her true identity.”

High Lady Halae hummed as she retuned Tuoi’s document to him. “I’m afraid you’ve put us in a compromising position, Lord Tuoi. On the one wing, a Royal getting injured, even in a top secret mission like this, is indeed grounds for further investigation. On the other, you having your niece’s true status remain hidden makes it difficult for us to take any kind of action now; there will be too many questions. Will you be willing to answer for those questions?”

“If I must.” replied Tuoi with practised coolness.

The Prime Minister remained quiet for a bit as she chewed on the situation. “Right. I will need to think on this for a while. Before I call for a recess, Lord Capield, is there anything you would like to say in response to Lord Tuoi?”

Oh, there was a whole lot indeed that he wanted to say. Unfortunately, very little of it was appropriate in current company. “All I can say, High Lady Halae, is that I have the utmost confidence in the men and women currently toiling away at Fort Greywood. The Crown has determined that Project Rutil’proh is of the very highest priority to The Kingdom. Any investigation will not only be unnecessary, but will impede this already difficult and tremendously complex engineering project. I implore you to consider this in your deliberation.”

High Lady Halae nodded. “Nicely said, minister. Well then, we will adjourn for now. We will reconvene in eight driks.” The Prime Minister rose. The two ministers rose as well. She walked out of the room, leaving Capield and Tuoi alone with each other.

“What’s your game here, Tuoi?” asked Capield.

“Game? There’s no game here, dear minister.” replied Tuoi. “I simply wish to ensure that everyone that works at Fort Greywood remains safe and sound.”

Capield remained silent for moment, studying the endlessly confounding man. “Why did you put your niece in my project, minister?”

The cultural minister turned to look at Capield. “I have other matters to attend to for now. I’ll see you again in a few driks, minister.” He commented after a brief pause, before leaving the room.

Lord Capield remained by himself for a few moments. He had no idea what was going through Tuoi’s mind. What had he been planning? He sighed. Well, no point hanging around in this stuffy room for the next eight driks. He might as well leave the room for bit. Maybe get some fresh air.

As he left room he caught sight of someone briskly walking in his direction. He recognized him. It was Major Gamp, one of Lord Pija’s aides. He seemed to be carrying a binder of some sort.

“Lord Capield?” he said when he was less that a half of a span away from him. “Lord Pija sent me. There’s something you should see here, My Lord.”

Of course. Always more and more work. Not even a short recess in a Demurral Parley was free from some new problem that he would have to contend with. He opened the binder and started reading.

Oh. Oh dear. This was… This was huge. Well, the good news is that if he showed the Prime Minister these documents it would completely obscure any issues that Tuoi would have with Project Rutil’proh. In fact, if anything, more personnel and resources would probably be made available to the project. But the bad news… Well, the bad news was just about everything else.

It looked like Lord Capield was not going to be able to set aside a period for relaxation for a long, long time.