“Brilliant, truly brilliant.”
Indeed the estate was something of an architectural marvel in its own right, but the minister’s thoughts were far away, fixed on the logistics of battles soon to begin. He took notice of Bernstein, a well dressed man, a politician and strategist no doubt, and met him with a firm, two-handed handshake, per Almunecar custom. Adelio gave the other officers the gesture to continue with the unloading as well as the preparation of the army to mobilize at moment’s notice, and started in the direction of the mansion to which he assumed Bernstein would lead him.
“If I wouldn’t be too rude, and given the dire circumstances…’ Adelio started. “I should speak to address the issues of war, as it is the purpose of my arrival.” Adrian was unsure of the atmosphere here, whether it would be impolite to rush to matters of business so quickly.
“In particular, I would like to address the status of this island, as it is host to your – and mine as of now – base of operations. We will be fighting two alliances, is that correct? I spied other foreign fleets headed towards Ngananoa so resistance will be much heavier than first thought, I would suspect. Might we consider a blockade?” The Minister hoped he wasn’t being too rash to speak so openly before even arriving at a proper war room, but he had become used to leaving out the niceties with Fransisco. “Come, let us discuss the details.”