Blueblood

"Good to hear things have been going well for you. I wonder if Tempest will be able to take advantage of your research; she's pregnant now, did you hear? Apparently got knocked up by a caribou." Bluebelle sipped her tea, aware that she was starting to slip into gossip mode. "I mean, not to blame her... Dunnie and I, well, we both got up to some fun times in our day, and yes, once with a caribou ambassador who was in Canterlot at the time! I'm just glad she's decided to be responsible in becoming a parent. I admire that; honestly, I don't think either of us were exactly close to our parents. Me and Temmy, I mean; you were, until the rift opened... "I guess in our own ways, we're all trying to be better to our families than our parents were to us." That was a sobering, but also encouraging reflection. "For my own part, Dunnie, Star and I have resisted the temptation to hire nursemaids and the like. Being rich means you can afford to be a worse pony sometimes, and you constantly have to guard against falling into that pattern of behavior, you know?"

For the verses, and the first instance of the chorus, Sky kept to listening to the little zebra's singing as he played. Her voice was quite good, and he judged she would grow up to be quite a good lead once she had a few more summers under her belt. As it was, he hummed along with her to the tune, only breaking out in lyrics after the second verse, in harmony with her: "Lakini kwa upendo na ufahamu, Mkuu mkubwa, mkuu mkubwa, Uwanda na mawe, ilibadilika, Kutoka utupu, kuwa taifa lenye nguvu!" However long the song went, he would finish it out, before playing out the bridge and coda instrumentally, the little group remaining around to listen to the music breaking into applause once he'd finished. Smiling down at Muziki, he'd pat her head with his wing. "Thanks for teaching me! If your parents are playing a show at the Mareage, I'll have to go and see you with them sometime. Right now, though, I have to go upstairs and see to my own little filly, OK?" Speaking of Dad's and Daughters... "That's right, Flurry." It was with some effort that Shining kept himself from calling the Princess 'Fluffalump' in public, but she'd been good this trip, and it would probably be wise to keep parental embarrassments at her expense to a minimum today. He'd keep that one in his quiver for when he needed to head off a potential sugar rush. That could be dangerous when its an alicorn... "Oh, you have kettle corn? I love that!" The smell of the salty-sweet treat was already making the stallion's mouth damp from anticipation, and the family's reputation for their signature product preceded itself. In the meantime, he reached out a hoof to shake Golden Bit's. "Nice to meet you! And yes, we're here for a long weekend trip. Nothing really big planned out, actually; is there anything you'd recommend?" Keeping an eye on Flurry, he noticed one of the customer's approaching, what looked like a kirin, actually. Was he writing? That was odd, he thought that his sister's friends had cured their silence. Maybe it hadn't stuck with some of them?

Ambrosia closed her eyes and tried to do as Twilight said. A unicorn's horn could be quite sensitive when attuned, though the little filly was still a little too young for her nerves in that part of her to be fully developed. It took no small amount of concentration to both feel and picture where the droplets were, her horn glowing and her tongue sticking out. "Mmm-mm..." Tongue staying out even as eyes opened, she stared at the pot, trying to imagine it filled with dozens of tiny droplets like the one she felt on her horn. Heat up, heat up.... like momma's pancakes on a cold morning... warm in the tummy... burns the roof of your mouth if you bite in too soon.... There was a rumbling within the teapot, a rattling of the lid as the water inside began to bubble. Steam started to emerge from the spout... along with, oddly enough, the smell of maple syrup...

"Having seen from the ground level what a slog and quagmire civil wars can be," Bluebelle replied, with a grim look, "I tend to err on the side of non-intervention even when one could argue for one to be justified. Not that we haven't done good work in Whitescar, and the fact that the rebel clans projected power to us does push it over the line... It's just that I find it frustrating that even after years of fighting, and the work IMAGINE has done there... so little seems to have changed, either on the front lines or on the ground. All the aid I've arranged to try and build a peace gets requisitioned ultimately in the service of a war, and it just puts blood on hooves that try to be clean..." The Princess let the matter drop, cleaning her palate with a well-sugarcoated bit of pastry. "Well, here's to hopes for a peaceful resolution, and a restraint to the steps of fools. Let's move on from business, it's been a bit since we talked, and I'd like to catch up! How is your herd doing? Any new additions lately?"

Kahz, being a changeling, could in fact sense Yù's heart skip that beat, and all those tasty little heart shaped candies floating off of her were just... ah, he couldn't resist! She would feel his tongue slip out around her ear and give a little slurping sound before pulling back, his dark chitin still somehow reddening in a blush. "Heh, sorry, couldn't resist snapping up a little appetizer. You're just the sweetest thing~" He put flirtations on hold as the waitress returned, and he put in their order for a sushi boat. "It'll be be a bit, they make it fresh here. Meantime... if you don't mind me asking, if the mere suggestion of domesticity has you feeling like I just sensed... where do you want to end up, relationship-wise?" He smiled disarmingly over his teacup as he sipped. "I know it might seem a little soon to ask, but... well, I've seen enough in my time to know that the amount of time you think you have is... never quite as much as there's going to be." He smiled, but his eyes were the eyes of one who had seen war.

Ambrosia, still so young and tender in her years that the easiest tricks of magic could make her eyes shine and her heart sing; little Amby clapped and giggled with delight as the Princess brought forth a miracle. From the tiniest and ugliest of worms, not even fuzzy cute catterpillars, came a flurry of flittering butterflies! "Flutterbyes!" She called out, cutely messing up the word in her excitement as she reached out to feel one land on her hoof. Distracted by the display, it took a little time for her to refocus and get back into her seat. Ooh, dipping her horn in the water? Momma said that wasn't how she was going to eat with her horn, but this seemed closer to cooking, and momma hadn't said anything about that. "O-kay, Twilight!" Of course, it took a bit of maneuvering for her to dip in her horn without her curls getting wet as well...

Using magic for a tea party? If Ambrosia had any doubts about who was best princess before, now she had it confirmed in her mind: Twilight Sparkle! With shining eyes, she watched the table float over to them, even reaching out with her own magic to 'help' the purple alicorn set it down. "Okay, I'll get the tea cups!" Applejack was smart enough to not give her young filly fine china, so the cups were a little more durable than the porcelain Twilight and Celestia might have used together. Still, the glazed clay could be fragile if dropped, so Amby did exercise at least some care in that, even if the last few cups clinked a little loudly into their saucers. And now... decorations! Little Ambrosia's eagerness could not be contained. "Oooh, ooh... flowers, and ribbons... ah! And butterflies! Can you do butterflies?"

"So... the De Facto power is to be treated as De Jure with full sovereign rights, regardless of the means of ascension used and the existence of disputes?" Bluebelle tried to sum up the position Ice seemed to present her with, trying to figure out if that argument could fly. "That's... one way to treat international relations, I suppose. Possibly a rather good way to ensure international peace; I'm just not sure how we could adopt it without accusations of hypocrisy, given that we are publicly and substantially supporting one side in an ongoing civil war in Whitescar..." With a sigh, the Princess shakes her head, placing her teacup down as she stretches, popping a few joints with a grunt. "Oy... listen to me talk, as if I was advocating for the war lobby! Truth be told, I personally quite agree with what you've said, so much so that... well, in my line of work, if somepony comes at you with exactly what you want to hear, that's a reason to suspect a catch somewhere." She gave a small, apologetic smile to her friend. "No reflection on you, just... wanted to make sure that I had more solid ground for my advocacy than mere class prejudice and family drama. I'd thank you to take that case to Princess Twilight, though, as your judgment may be perceived as less biased."

"Oh, you mean 'Run for the Roses'?" Sky's face lit up at recognition, at least of what he thought Mizuki was referring to. While the little zebra wasn't trying to play a melody on the keys, she did have an instinctual ear for harmony rather that discordant note series, something he knew came only from practice. Spreading his wings out, gently enough to not push her hooves off, he began to tickle the ivories into the first few bars of the song. "Whenever you're ready, you can start singing!" Just as Psmith was seeing to the final arrangements for delivery and leaving the shop, he looked out the door with a mild expression of surprise. "Speak of royalty, and they multiply their presence. Candy and Corns of all description, prepare to receive cavalry!" That grandiloquent introduction would receive just a throaty chuckle and headshake from the stallion just entering the shop, with his little filly in tow, for it was the other Pony Prince, Shining Armor, down on vacation from the Crystal Empire along with little Flurry Heart. The city of Los Pegasus had many things to offer for a dad and his daughter (Cadence was planning a trip herself with Flurry to Manehatten later), but to imagine that he could possibly bypass a candy shop with an excitable alicorn filly in tow was ludicrous. "Well, here we are in any case. I was *hoping* we could go the entire trip without a herald, but I suppose you can't help yourself, Psmith. Do say hi to Bluey for me."

The future Princess of Apples elegantly enjoyed the drink of her station, the still and calm appearance only broken by the swishing and twitching of her tail. Tea with a Princess, an actual Princess, is something few fillies her age ever experienced, and she was quite aware of the privilege. "Mama has tea with me. Zappers did once, but he spilled a lot. But when I go to school, I'm gonna invite class mates to have some!" Which was to say... just family for now, but friends would surely come. She still spent most of her time at home, but once she was going to a schoolhouse most days, she'd be meeting up with more her age.

"While it is true that Equestria cannot tax the land, we could tax the capital." Bluebelle gave a none-too-happy smile. "Welcome to the wonderful world of tax law, and why it has specialized accountants. But that, ultimately, is a side issue." With a long drink, she emptied her cup and returned it to the saucer. "As far as your argument goes its correct; provided that Norton is in fact the legitimate government. Ridge would, and in fact has, argued that Norton Breakbeak is little more than a bandit who has seized control of an area by use of thuggery, bribery, and charisma. Which isn't exactly the sort of thing one ought to encourage, you know?" The Princess sighed, brushing back her mane with one hoof. "I'm just frustrated by this whole situation because, if I'm playing the part of an advocate, I can argue either side rationally enough to take it without burdening my conscience. If I'm acting as a judge between them, I feel too pressured by personal bias to make a fair judgment. And if I'm acting like a diplomatic civil servant... I can see little recourse to prevent violence if violence is desired. I have appealed to law, but there is no court which can compel sovereigns to obey its orders." After rubbing her temples a bit, Bluebelle seemed to relax a little, pouring herself a second cup of tea. "Really though, I do have to thank you for your offer to balance the forces either way. Honestly, I just needed somepony to unload these problems onto; at the end of the day I can see where both sides are coming from, and how each could be right or could be wrong. I just felt that Twilight and I were being pressured to make decisions based on either legal technicalities or class prejudices, rather than on grounds of true wisdom, you know?"

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"Hmm, you think so?" Bluebelle asked as she poured them both some tea, sounding mildly surprised at Icy's assessment. "As a matter of domestic politics, the land rights are not within Princess Twilight's writ, but foreign relations must always consider the presence and possibility of... The Final Argument of Kings. Or Princesses." Her lips curled in evident distaste for the euphemism for war. "My main difficulty is this: for taxing purposes, Ridge registered his company as an Equestrian corporation as an Equestrian National. Which means that Emperor Norton's nationalization technically stole Equestrian property from an Equestrian. In international law, that can be presented as sufficient fig leaf for a cassus belli. There's precedent, if Ridge chooses to so lobby for it. And while I don't wish to profile either merchants or dragons... neither tend to be very forgiving when their property is abstracted from them. "Given how much of an unknown he is, I don't know how good he is at political warmongering, but its never difficult to get certain elements of the populace riled up about this sort of thing if you know the right ponies to serve as mouthpieces. Ridge seemed satisfied for now with the offer of an envoy from Princess Twilight, but I don't know how long its going to be before he starts seriously moving things to get the military involved... or gets fed up with waiting and hires mercenaries. Either way, in my official capacities, I have no legal grounds to stop him from doing either, as by the letter of the law, he's trying to simply recover stolen goods." She sighed, leaning back in the chair as she treated herself to some impromptu aromatherapy from the steam from her teacup. "All that would be problem enough for me; I detest pointless war, especially when I'm in no position to stop it, but my current travails are more domestic. Norton's rhetoric has captured the sympathies of my wife, Dunnie, and my lack of legal means of supporting him have led her to accuse me of 'Backing a capitalist oppressor of the people against one striving for their liberation.'" A distant noise from somewhere in the manor caused Bluebelle's ears to perk up, but as it was quickly quieted she returned to the conversation. "Mind you, she and I just had our first foal, little Pax, but that means neither of us are operating under full sleep and a balanced mood. Nevertheless, while this situation persists, I'm in the doghouse."

There was only one correct answer to the question of what your favorite tea was, as far as Ambrosia was concerned. "Apple Sinna-mon!" It was so sweet, and warm... plus mama wasn't going to let her drink anything with caffeine in it when she was this young. A little filly needed her beauty sleep, and also not to have her growth be stunted. But a healthy drink of apple and spices was something Amby could enjoy every day.

"All we ask is that you understand why a thing exists before you bypass or cut it. If one cannot answer 'why?', one cannot explain 'why not?'." Pmsith smoothly replied, more or less out of dutiful responsibility to report and represent the views of his employer. His own commentary followed, "Time sensitivity and a literal dragon at the doorstep usually suffices as justification, naturally; one simply must account for the waste which comes from haste." Returning to the matter at hand, the secretary once again sighed. "I don't know if I have fully communicated, Comrade Icy, that Griffonstone and Aquellia are not the same thing? Ridge had registered his company under Equestrian Tax Law, and received a mining concession from the Aquellian governor, but the actual territory of the mine is claimed by Griffonstone. This ambiguity of jurisdiction is the whole crux of the conflict, one which unscrupulous actors may exploit for personal gain. Hence, the diplomatic headache. For now, if you can manage it on short notice, one or two of your agents could be dispatched as part of Gallus' security and eyes on the ground; we doubt that Princess Twilight will object to such measures. In any case, Gallus is probably the ideal candidate for this little jaunt, though I can't say he relishes the trip home. He was quite glad to leave the place, and had no plans to return. On the other hoof, this does make him something of an ideal judge for how positive Norton's impact on the place actually is, versus what is claimed. Said proposal has, at any rate, quieted Ridge's demands upon the bureaucracy, so the situation is currently stable. In so far as the politics of it is concerned, anyway." That was the conclusion of the briefing, which covered the journey. With a pit stop at the station for Icy to send any telegrams or communications as needed, the young stallion would then escort her to Platinum Manor, just in time for tea. The parlor was set for the afternoon repast, a pot each of jasmine and blackcurrant blends set to steep, with all the little treats one could desire there, including a stunningly beautiful mare. "Ah, Icy, good to see you could make it! I trust Psmith gave you the thorough rundown of the situation?" Princess Bluebelle smiled from her seat, though Icy would be able to tell that some significant amount of fatigue was affecting her.

Sky supposed he should have expected Mizuki to hit him with a few titles he was completely unfamiliar with. A professional musician he might be, but his development as one had been isolated for years, so there was a lot of music in Equestria that he was unfamiliar with, let alone from Zebra lands. He didn't let that stop his smile, though! "Mmm, I don't think I do know either of those. Would you like to teach me? If you start humming the tune, I can play it, then you can teach us all the words!" A sing-along with a little filly was *just* the adorable thing to close out a good set! Psmith gestured to reassure the well-dressed young mare, producing a shipping slip from a pocket. "I have been entrusted with bank notes judged sufficient for the purpose; redeemable at any major branch. If there is any change, you may keep it as a personal tip." He gave a little wink at Candy Corn, before pointing out the train car number to Icy. "A refrigerated hold on the Northcolt and Western airship line has space reserved, as long as it is delivered by 4pm this afternoon. I trust the arrangements for dropoff should be little issue, Comrade Icy? And then, yes, I shall most certainly join you in your office."

"From what I understand of the fairly anarchic state of Griffonstone governance, prior to Norton's assumption, or perhaps presumption of power, there may well have been no other authority to appeal to on the ground. I doubt Twilight was aware of this; her efforts to cut through bureaucratic red tape have often led her to bypass the inputs of those bureaus who actually store information on such places. His Highness was rather testy about this when we found out." Wordsworth himself, of course, was the picture of mercurial calm, breezily aloof from infighting. "Which, speaking of said dragon, that brings us closer to the present day. This dragon, Ridge... how much do you know about him? The Foreign Office collects more information on political than economic actors; you would have more connections in the business world. For all we were able to find out, he started his life outside of the dragon lands as... a circus performer, under the stage name 'Puff the Magic Dragon.'" The unicorn could not resist a quirk of amusement around his lips at the recollection. "That... was about all we were able to find, actually. Somehow he goes from stage performer to venture capitalist, with no real indication of where on earth he got his starting capital from. There were no loans, he seems to have been funding his initial efforts directly, but the wages from the circus hardly seem sufficient to account for all the bits. And that's just for all the expenses we could track. "But he managed to land an appointment directly with Princess Twilight to plead his case; apparently Norton 'nationalized' the mining interest, citing exploitation of local labor with profits accruing to foreign interests. Standard rhetoric for that sort of thing. He has put the operations under his own control, using the proceeds to fund trading agreements to bring in both necessities into Griffonstone... as well as the distribution of such patronage as would secure his regime with the locals. Naturally, Ridge brought in a protest to the Princess over this, and Twilight agreed to send an envoy on Equestria's behalf. Word is she is planning for that envoy to be her old student, Gallus." Psmith slid all the papers back into their folders, having more or less exhausted their contents for now. "And that brings us up to date. His Highness only found out about this due to the fact that he currently serves as the archancellor of the School of Friendship, and thus had to approve the extended absence. Hence the scramble to figure out the situation, and as I have said, he was none too pleased to be left out of the decision loop. Not to mention the personal complications this introduced in his domestic situation, but I shall leave that for him to explain himself."

Spoiled did trust Niil, she found. This was a hell of a time to discover that, of course, suspended by leather bindings and metal snaps to an absolute beast reaching air speeds only possible through gigantic musculature and gravitational assistance. She did not scream like a townie on a rollercoaster at Whinnyworld, she was hardly so lacking in dignity as all that, but the thrill took her breath away silently, as the awe and adrenaline took possession of her. The memories, later, would be a vague sense of the thrill, punctuated by certain concrete impressions; the whistle of the air as it felt, for the first time to the earth pony mare, like a liquid or solid thing. The chill, broken only by warmth of hide and muscle beneath her. The crash of smell returning to her senses as they skimmed the ground in leaps and bounds, the scent carrying a potent mix of pine and big cat. The very incongruous thought that her stylized mane had been wind-blown into a wild and unkempt state, and no salon would touch it until they returned... Breath returned, after a minute or two. And with it, words. "The Deep Wilds..." There was a spice there, of something beyond the civilized and truly dangerous. Though, on reflection, perhaps not so dangerous as the Everfree. Still beyond regular climate control, but not concentrated with lush and magically toxic foliage, and beasts of who knew what size or disposition. That still might be the case here, of course, but Niil was a beast of enormous size and friendly disposition, at least to her, so what was to worry about? "I wish I could say I was a great appreciator of nature... when I look at empty land, I usually see potential for development. But what you speak of... intrigues me. A campsite where a city might one day be..."

"Given that the incident with Major Silverbeak occurred some time prior to the founding of STAR, it would surprise me rather more if you had picked up on it. One only finds such stuff after the fact by digging through archives and hunting through byzantine mazes of bureaus and boffins to find the one chap who actually was keeping track of this stuff all along. You're a rich mare, Icy, but your payroll hardly supports hypothetically useful pencil pushers. That's what government budgets are for." Pmsith shuffled the papers back into their folder. "I don't know what else there is to find out, beyond what everyone knows but cannot bring before a court of law. Rank incompetence covered by nepotism is common enough in the less functional hierarchies of this world. What is troubling the Foreign Office is that up until recently, the Aquellian Military seemed eminently functional, even exemplary in many respects." He paused in his work, grimacing like a professional lawyer would at hearing an amateur brush over a contested point of legal theory, or a mechanic told to repair 'the doohickey over there.' "The reason, Comrade Icy, that Aquellia has not responded to requests for your permission to base in Griffonstone is that, technically, they have no legal basis to authorize one way or the other. Their territorial claim over Griffonstone is... disputed. I won't go into the full legal details; it has to do over whether the Aquellian Republic's legitimacy derives from being a seccesser state from or a successor state to the old Griffon Empire. Less controversial is the fact that the residents of Griffonstone have over the years held multiple referendums over joining the Republic, and refused each time; therefore, never ceding any claim to sovereign status. "Ergo, it has made the most sense so far for us to treat Griffonstone as a separate and sovereign state from Aquellia, albeit one which they have some special relationship with. Given its long-assumed lack of any real resources of economic value generally, that meant not dealing with it very much. That may well be why the Republic never sent in the frankly trivial amount of troops it would take to occupy the territory; the subsequent efforts of pacifying and developing the region deemed not worth it as long as it was left alone." He tapped one of the unopened folder with a pencil held in his magic. "Said assessment, however, may be due for a redo, to say the least. But before we move on to that, your last question: Is Breakbeak a potential threat to Equestria? In terms of intentions, Comrade Icy, no indication of outright hostility is evidenced, though like most rulers and patriots he weighs the interests of other countries much lighter than that of his own. His current ambitions would not be advanced in any way by attacking Equestria. In terms of capabilities... Well, given that nopony expected him to get as far as he had, we must treat that as a wild card. The true extent of his network is as yet unmapped, but it is growing. He has already established quite friendly relations with Tenochtitlan."

"Mama taught me!" Ambrosia chimed up when asked. Of course Applejack was Amby's first teacher; there was no way she was going to let her precious little filly go to school without giving her an even chance to impress the teacher as much as she did her parents. Not that her alphabetical lessons had translated into full phonetic mastery, let alone full literacy, as yet, but she wouldn't fall behind in that respect, especially with Twilight's teachings as supplements to her education. Speaking of which... she was being asked about what she wanted to cover next, for practice. This was actually the first time that the Princess had given her such latitude, and it left her stumped for a moment or two. "Ummm...." She ruminated, sticking her tongue out in concentration. "Making Tea!" That was a good thing, right? That was a thing that grown-ups like Rarity did, and Princesses, so Princess magic, especially the magic of the Princess of dresses, must know how to do that!

Wordsworth Psmith had been uncharacteristically concise when he'd relayed to Ice Storm that Blueblood wanted him to have a little word with her. A more accurate statement would be that the Prince was requesting that Psmith accompany her back to Canterlot for a personal discussion by the fastest available transport to resolve a political pickle that was souring his domestic life. Whether that be by train or airship, Psmith would vent his normal loquaciousness in exposition, forgoing any urge to be too flowery, as there was quite a lot to get through. "I hope you will forgive any discursiveness, Comrade Icy." He'd open, with several packed folders of documents and newspaper clipping held in his magic. He stifled a yawn as he offered them to Ice if she wanted to peruse them herself. "His Highness were up late untangling the rather odd history behind this situation. I'll attempt to cover as much as I can before we arrive, but don't hesitate to interrupt with any questions. Having gone to the trouble of obtaining facts, I should hate to have any sleepless hours be spent in vain." "To begin with the more flamboyant case, one Norton Breakbeak III, current and only claimant to the titles Emperor of Griffonstone and Lord Protector of Equestria, although in his latest communications he has dropped the latter. As far as we can tell, he was born on the Clopton Coast, in the far western territories of the Aquellian Republic. He graduated Cum Laude from the Talonopolis Military Academy and entered the famed Griffonian Marines, achieving the rank of Captain. At which point, he was put underneath a Major Silverbeak in a routine desert patrol mission that went horribly wrong. A matter of misnavigation and supply shortages, that left the whole regiment either suffering sunstroke and delirium, or else dead. Norton seems to have contracted an especially severe case, though he eventually recovered to some form of lucidity, to the news that he had been medically discharged, and that Major Silverbeak would not be court-martialed, officially due to lack of compos mentis testimony against him. The fact that he was one of the Silverbeaks, high clan in the Republic, of course did not factor in his acquittal whatsoever." Psmith dealt that statement with the bitterly ironic smile that it deserved. "We surmise at this point that he took his half-pay pension to a place where the cost and standard of living matched his circumstances, one Breakbeak City, at the time a record holder for the dirtiest industrial city on the continent. We say surmise, because the next documented evidence of his existence is a letter to the Breakbeak Gazette denouncing the corrupt Republic and proclaiming himself the true and rightful Emperor of the Griffons, claiming an ancestry back to the Imperial line of Griffonstone. As of yet, we can trace no real evidence of such a descent, though the known profligacy of the latter emperors does lend some possibility of some kind of connection. If those are counted, however, it may well be easier to list griffons of note who cannot claim descent from some branch of the Imperial dynasty. "His neighbors seem to have demonstrated a remarkable degree of tolerance for his eccentricities, elevating him to the rank of 'colorful local character.' Interestingly enough, he seems to have parlayed that goodwill into civic action. He made a great deal about cleaning the streets with soot, often seen scrubbing the facade of his apartment complex, to reveal brick of an unusually picturesque shade of yellow. This attracted attention, and a small following, with similarly driven businessbirds and residents being given 'tokens of Imperial esteem and approval', which seem to have favored their prosperity. This revival of civic life and character boosted his popularity in the city, forming the core of the following which accompanied him to Griffonstone, where he apparently aims to repeat his success on an, if anything, more moribund subject." Psmith would have gone on, had he not had to pause to actually yawn. "Huah, that is his story in brief, though there are any number of details that may prove relevant... I don't know if you or STAR have been keeping an eye on him as well, Comrade Icy? Up until recently he hardly seemed of any significance, hence the rush at the Foreign Office to piece his story together."

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