Oaken Scrollcase

[[The oaken scroll-case has a teal streamer trailing at the bottom. It is delivered by a Lysene page with equally deep dark teal livery and a polite disposition. He lends you all due accolades and says that the Lord Manderly would be pleased to discuss the feasibility and logistics of such plans with you at any time you find convenient.]]



[rule]



[i]Letter from Lord Manderly[/i]



Esteemed Lady Frey,



[indent]I must say I am glad to be of service to the Çrown and the people. Yet before I talk on matters of business I am to open up lightly to you if you would not feel it an intrusion. I feared not long ago that after my recent tragedies that I might cloister myself in some pious yet selfish isolation. My daughters arrival and in no small part due to the kindness by which you and all of the good people whom attended the funeral had saved me from such self-imposed punishment. I truly thank you for such accord and shall get 'back to business' as it were.

I've drafted up the following plans to tackle the King's Task as soon as possible. Included are the plans for renovation of the sewage lines, alleviation of the suffering caused to the people, and the plots by which I will have done to raise the necessary coin without impacting the Royal Treasury.

Some of the Income Plan shall require a woman's touch and finesse and there is no other than yourself I might find suitable for such a role. While being a white-haired old Lord has it's benefits in this society, surely, in my many years one learns to see clearly that being a Lady of high repute and standing provides skills beyond men's in event-planning and matters of social toil (which is a particularly hard toil, I know well and true!)

I shall endeavor to briefly summarize the quandary in short. There is an outbreak of illness in Fleabottom as a result of rended sewage lines. The King has ordered the sewage lines renovated and the cost not reflected in the yearly expenses. The current labor cost requires us at a basic level to have a professional architect provender a pre- and post-inspection, muster rote laborers to handle clean-up, muster smiths to create the necessary accoutrements required for such repairs, and muster city workmen to refit and apply renovations. Then we have the civil costs which includes eight plague doctors to aide the currently ailing populace as well as any workmen that may fall ill during the renovation.

The cost I estimate will be about $4,000 Gold Dragons. This is of course a conservative estimate so that we may hopefully have excess rather than fall short. Thus I've outlined in the plans below the relative costs of each portion of the renovation and how we are to raise such funds for the endeavor in total.[/indent]

Faithfully,

Lord Wyle Manderly



[rule]

[i]
// A particularly long scroll outlining the estimated expenses follows, it's in a quick readable hand. //
[/i]


[i]Expense Estimate on the King's Task[/i]


Esteemed Lady Frey,


Here is my estimate of expenses towards the task.




[indent]
[list] [*] $750D - [i][b]Inspection Costs[/b] - The inspection costs will cover the pre-inspection of the damages, the formal draft of the required fittings for manufacture and repair, the workers plan and drawings, as well as a post-renovation inspection and report. Normally these would cost much more, since architects hold their craft as high as the Lords they serve, yet I will put forth thine own architect Llysirio and thereby have a preferred rate by his long service to my family. He handled the renovation of the Wolf's Den, a mountain of a project and has showed his capability in plotting out the raising of Grey Harbor by the Karstarks. His service funds have also been cut because I assured him if his service was quality he would be added to the King's List of preferred inspectors.[/i]


[*] $1,000D - [i][b]Smithy Costs[/b] - The parts manufacturing is likely to be the one cost we cannot reduce by means of social graces. These include costs of raw materials and labor. We'll simply use the ones on the King's List and the castle forges for a bulk of the labor and outsource the rest to the Landing Smiths. They tend to work a bit harder for less money if they have a shot at getting on the King's List so perhaps waving an offer around may reduce manufacturing time.[/i]


[*] $650D - [i][b]Rote Labor Costs[/b] - The rote labor is the unskilled labor. These workers generally are scooped up by the handful in the streets coming from hamlets and villages. I would /highly/ recommend sending some notices throughout Fleabottom intimating that any able-bodied men and women who are healthy and eager to work may find the Crown Inspectors Office and add their name to the lists. I recommend one third of the workforce be from Fleabottom and paid accordingly. In the notice, it will be noted that any workers who serve admirably may be up for assigned apprenticeships and may hold chances at becoming tradesman or skilled workers in due time. By this means, we shall use this tragedy to raise up some of the poor families to a less miserable state. These workers would be doing the clean-up effort, hauling jobs, supply-runs, and message handling between work-teams.[/i]


[*] $800D - [i][b]Workmen Costs[/b] - The workmen are skilled laborers proven for their efficacy and largely organized into guilds. The guilds tend to not be flexible in their pay so the cost is the bare minimum we would be able to pay out. These men will require no coaxing as per the Rote Laborers and will do most of the fitting, renovation, and paving that goes with repairing the sewage lines. They have pre-defined supervisors and the ilk, requiring little oversight by the Crown.[/i]


[*] $800D - [i][b]Civil Costs[/b] - The plague-doctors will need to be hired from the Citadel. Eight should cover the afflicted populace of Fleabottom and workmen who are working on our renovation will receive 'expediency tickets' and will have priority for health-care in order to reduce worker attrition due to malady. This not only shows that the Crown is responsibly caring for it's subjects, it is also a way of reducing cost of worker attrition which tends to be a sink-hole in tasks that risk worker health.[/i][/indent]
[/list]

Estimated Total Cost -  [b]$4.000 Dragons[/b]

Faithfully,

Lord Wyle Manderly



[Rule]


[i]
// Just when you thought the first droll scroll was long, another unfurls in a quick readable hand. //
[/i]


[i]Income Estimate on the King's Task[/i]


Esteemed Lady Frey,


Here is the estimate of potential incomes towards the project.


[indent]
[list]

[*] $1,500D - [i][b]Increase Coin Production[/b] - [i]A temporary increase in the hours that laborers work in the Royal mints should lend us a net yield of one third increase per mint. This is an estimated $500 dragons per mint, which is a total of three mints. This includes the cost of labor, envoys, and inspection by Crown Inspectors to see when the hours of labor can be fit in. This also includes additional ore production and inspection of the Westerland Gold Mines. This overtime will be capped at $1,500 dragons in order to prevent worker attrition or undue duress.[/i]

[*] $1,000D - [i][b]Institute "Shackle Tax"[/b] - [i]A new tax applied to all slave-made goods. Goods from provinces that have not outlawed slavery will be assumed to have been slave-made unless provided with personal inspection by Crown Inspectors from both the Mistress of Trade and the Master of Coin. Once both seals are affixed to a document indicating the goods are 'Shackle-Free,' the merchant will then be free from the Shackle Tax. The tax will be a third of the cost of the goods traded for common goods and half the cost of the goods if luxury items. Tax evasion will be expected after the first week, but the first week should be enough to raise a minimum of $1,000 dragons towards the project. Any tax evaders will be seized and charged with Grand Larceny for theft of the Crowns rightful dues. Not only does this tax make a strong stand against slavery, it also encourages trade with Pentos and Braavos over vile slave-states. The estimate does not include the potential incomes from seizing goods from tax evaders. That may yet throw the total into excess.[/i]

[*] $800D - [i][b]Good Faith Request[/b] - [i]it is not uncommon in times of charity from the Crown to request the aide of the Faith in doing the duty of shepherding the subjects of the Kingdom. In this case, the High Septon may be moved to cover the cost of the Citadel's plague doctors if Septons may join the eight doctors on their righteous work in order to provide ailing peasantry the comforts of Faith and to those who find their sickness beyond the powers of even the Citadel, may provender them their last rites as due any member of the Faith. With the right discussion, the High Septon may be moved to see the righteousness of the King's Task and might well provender additional funds from the Faith's coffers.The total does not reflect this and is quite conservative. [/i]

[*] $700D - [i][b]Mothers & Maiden's Tea Dance[/b] -  [i] A planned event for Lords and Ladies of good Faith. Requires cooperation from the owners of the Tea House to annual costs for the charitable event in the King's name. The Tea Dance will consist of tea and then a dance, unsurprising there. Throughout the event the attendees will be told the reason for the event is to encourage all Houses to help alleviate the suffering of the poor in Fleabottom. This will not be positioned as the Crown begging it's banners for money, but as the Crown encouraging virtue in it's subjects and looking to see who holds closest to caring for the smallfolk as well as their own. Attendees will write the amount of their donation on rose-scented parchment into a small rosewood box passed across the event. At the end of the eve, the event host will note the highest House donation and the second highest House donation; the foremost donator will be accorded with the honorary title of Mother of Mercy or Father of Righteousness whereas the second-most donator will be lent the title of the Maidenheart or Stoutheart. The estimate is extremely conservative given the tendency for the Nobility to give freely of their coin especially with the chance to be recognized openly doing so. It provides the Nobility a chance to feel good about themselves and do some actual good and alleviates the Crown from a good amount of the costs. The estimate does not take into account excess, the estimate is based on a conservative assumption.[/i]


[/list]

[/indent]

Estimated Total Yield - [b]$4,000 Dragons[/b]

As you can see, there is a good chance there will be an excess of funds. As such I recommend the temporary establishment of the auxiliary fund to be drawn from primarily in-case any unintended expenses arise (new breaks in the sewage line, new medical costs, etc). After the job is finished, if any excess is registered I recommend first and foremost using the funds to take the list of laborers drawn from Fleabottom who served admirably and paying to have them placed into apprenticeships. if there is still excess, the coin may go into the King's Royal Exchequer for use in the Treasury by the Master of Coin for future infrastructure endeavors.

Besides the overview of the entire outlined plan by the King's own request, the primary role I had in mind for you would be to lead the Mothers & Maiden's Tea Dance, if you would do an old man the honor of helping to run such an event. I am little in the ways of knowing how to run a Tea Dance but I am ever enthused to attend and do some dancing. As to the inquiry with the High Septon, I had a mind to do the request myself if the King was unavailable. It would guarantee the funds if the King requested it but it would also belittle his position to request coin in his own person, thereby as a faithful and pious banner, I feel I might have the lower bearing and good capacity for such a role.

I fear I've given you ample bed-time reading to put you to sleep thrice over with droll numbers and droller banter, but such is the business of Coin. Never too spicy and if it is, it tends to be suspicious. I always told my daughters that if I should ever fall sick, never put before me dreamwine or milk of the poppy. A few ledgers with numbers shall do! I do hope the above does not completely exemplify the drifting qualities of such trade too readily. May the day find you well and the Seven shine their grace upon thee.

Faithfully,

Lord Wyle Manderly