Josep Roig was not at all sure that this was a good idea.

It was far too late to back out, of course, and besides, Josep had not made it as far as he has by refusing to take calculated risks. Everything would be fine.

Everything was usually fine for Josep. He had been born into a fairly wealthy merchant family in Pezzack, and he learned the family business as a young man and then took it over when he was thirty. The business grew and prospered, as Josep sent shipments traveling all over the region; when the first rumblings of rebellion went through Pezzack, Josep cut his losses and got out of the city. There are other harbors along the Hellcoast.

He was courting the daughter of a Baron at the time, and his show of prudence and loyalty to the Crown compensated for his financial losses. Josep and the Baron's daughter were married, and soon they had a son. To add to his good fortune, his chief business rivals had not managed to get out of the city, or, in one case, had backed the rebellion outright, and Josep reaped the benefits. Now settled in the town of Blackridge, Josep had begun to eye his father-in-law's barony and the laws of inheritance, which he thought dreadfully unfair, when the sudden and unexpected news came that the Thrunes had been overthrown and Asmodeanism banned altogether.

When the call came for representatives to stand for election, Josep knew this was an opportunity a clever man could take advantage of. His father-in-law was vehemently opposed, believing it to be a trap for all those who had been loyal Asmodeans under the former regime, but Josep thought it was unlikely. Besides, the old man had nothing to gain and everything to lose. Josep, on the other hand, meant to feel out his chances if he submitted a petition to the new Queen, asking for the law to permit inheritance to pass to a younger sister over an older, if she was married and had a child and the older sister was widowed and childless. Especially if the older sister was widowed because her husband had died fighting the new regime.

There was also simply the matter of business. Why should Josep not use this opportunity to make connections and do some trade? The nobility was far too eager to turn up their noses at business, in Josep's experience, given how much they enjoyed the proceeds of said business when they turned into fine dress, good food, and entertainment.

So Josep Roig stood for election as a delegate. His father-in-law refused his support, but he did have the good sense to keep quiet about it, at least. Josep was well-known and well-liked among the wealthy citizenry of the region, and his election, in the end, was a question of a few words dropped in a few ears. And then - off he went.