Hundred Scales Round 5/Awakening

Hibernation was a mistake. The young Iztacoatl awoke from her winter long sleep to heaps of parchments; requisitions, complaints from the merchant caste about whatever petty issues they had at the moment, search party reports, road delays... And even as she worked through the heap even more came flooding in as the thaw cleared way for news to arrive from beyond the city. An expedition team - or what remained of it - returned, reporting not only bandits mustering in the south east but a river beyond the bounds of the forests that might make for a new place to expand; talk of various tribes gathering around the canals and requests for advice regarding how to regulate them; requests from the acting Architect Overseer to assign a second overseer due to issues with the trade road leading to the mountains.

The white scaled woman let out a sigh as her advisor dropped another heap of scrolls in front of her as she signed off what seemed like the last document, a decree regarding the price of produce due to the need to export to the fledgling colony until their orchards were up and running, "Oh how I loathe Moonlight... If only there were a way to keep warm through it all." She mumbles, rubbing her head as she looks over the paper... Only for a decidedly mixed expression to wash over her pale features, "What's this now?" She quirked a brow curiously, yet at the same time frowned, unsure of what to make of what she was reading, "Hunter Report, Survey of North Eastern Forest; Sightings of non-beastfolk beyond the forest boundaries. Sending report to continue observation. Intentions unknown, will report further when better informed." She read aloud, as much to herself as to those present, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. On the one hand, they were strangers, an unknown element worryingly close to home, on the other, they could be potential new trading partners... She looked up to her advisor, motioning for a fresh piece of parchment as she looked over the remaining documents, all much more mundane than that little piece of news, "It seems we have interesting times ahead. The world seems so much smaller now." She hummed, taking the offered sheet and setting to work writing out orders.

Her first, and most important, order was to retract the scouts and have them report everything they knew in person; the second was, as advised by her overseer - one who had had their position since before even her predecessor held the title of Iztacoatl and was viewed with a great deal of trust -  was to establish a new workforce and immediately set them to work clearing a way to the river at the edge of the forest under the watchful eyes of a squad of hunters; and finally, a decree to treat the shanty dwellers as proper citizens so long as they understood the law of the land and did not cause too much of a fuss, as well as an order to establish proper homesteads for the lot; after all, goodwill built trust, and trust built a willingness to do business.