[center][b]Throne Room[/b][/center]
As per usual on a normal afternoon, the King sat in his throne accompanied by Grux, a few dozen royal guards, and Hugo, who sat next to him. Before the throne was a long walkway lined with citizens waiting their turn to speak with the king directly. Often the complaints were minor, a shipment had been delayed or harpy attacks on cattle. Sometimes the complaints were more serious such as a guard going against the law, or a gang of thugs reigning terror. Gustavo listened to as many as he could in a day to personally answer the people’s questions. Hugo sat in to help and provide a second opinion and other ideas. The king has made a serious effort to listen to his people and ensure they were satisfied with how things we’re running throughout the kingdom. In return, there has not been a rebellion in the kingdom in his entire four decade reign.

As he listened to the complaints of the people, a young messenger approached from the the crowd, accompanied by guards. Many people in the line behind shouted and yelled complaints and expletives, only to be silenced by a wave of the king’s hand.
“Young man, I assume there is a reason you have cut in front of all these people.” The king spoke gently, calming the situation and easing the tension. 
“Yes your majesty. I am here to deliver a letter directly to your hands from Lord Nikias. He specifically stated for your eyes only, my lord may that part very clear.” The young man spoke clearly, tightly gripping a sealed envelope.
“Very well then.” The king spoke quickly holding out his hand, gesturing for the lad to approach. The messenger was quickly ushered out of the throne room by guards to the applause of many in line. Gus put the envelope in his lap and turned his focus back to the peasant in front of him.
“Alright, can you restart friend, I seem to have forgotten what we we’re talking about.” Gustavo spoke in a kind tone.

[center][b]Small Council Chambers[/b][/center]
Sitting at the large table map, Gus stared at the tree’s etched into the stone, representing the location of the ondorro forest. The forest had once covered the eastern half of the kingdom, before the intervention of man. What was left was now a sanctuary for an eight legged army that fed on his citizens, as well as a large population of forest dwelling creatures. Chopping down and removing parts of the forest was not going to be a the solution again, as it would only move the menace, rather than exterminate it, and wreck the local ecosystem. Plus, with the growth of the farming industry, the excess wood would only go to waste or worse, destabilize prices. 

On the table sat a letter and the envelope that once contained it. Grux sat next to Gus, mulling over the contents of the letter. Nikias had proposed a solution to the spider infestation north of the city. He proposed a contest, offering a great reward for the hunter could kill the most spiders in the forest during a twelve hour hunt. Lord Nikias would pay for the event, and even put his own men on the line to ensure a decisive winner. Each competitor would be accompanied by a Weyenberg guard to keep the kill count honest, as well as ensure competitor safety. Lord Weyenberg would also reward the top five spider killers greatly. 

The plan explained in the letter sounded fantastic, and both Grux and gus wished they had thought of it first, but they also struggled to figure out Lord Weyenberg’s angle. It was not often the high lord’s did something for the people without ‘urging’ from the king. 
“Maybe he’s realized his trade empire can never be successful if his caravans keep getting picked off by spiders.” Grux thought aloud.
“That’s plausible, but why not just invest in more caravan guards?” replied Gus
“Why keep paying for more men to fend them off, when you can eliminate problem with one large payoff?” the commander explained confidently.
“But do we allow a man who has not been seen for months to call our citizens to battle against the spider menace, just so he can expand his trade?”
“You’re joking right? We just enlisted an entire guild of bums off the street to help us fight the shit lurking outside the walls. What make this so much worse? It’s still voluntary and they’ll have a guard with them” Grux explained to his friend, honestly confused as to why gus was so hesitant to accept Nikias’ plan.
“You make a lot of valid points.” Gus nodded in agreement. “Send word of my approval to Weyenberg. We will begin posting notices of this competition tomorrow. You are my eyes and ears on this alright? I don’t want to have to burn that forest down.” Gus spoke with a new level of sincerity. Grux only nodded as he exited the room.