A white fox dashes over from somewhere off hex and play-tackles Mati from the side. The two chase each other for a few moments.

"Oh, there's Tessa. I may as well go get Weiss too, so we have everyone..." Pout, but she walks off, tail flicking behind her.

Tessa is human shaped now, and holding Mati and scratching her ears.

"I hereby nominate myself as academic liaison."

"Hello. I will repeat my introduction as well once all are assembled."

"Tessa, academic liason. I will remember, and send various academics here to liaise with you."

"How does THAT translation effect work? Does it also see this way of speaking?"

It's easier to do Serious Business and remain emotionally detached as a fuckoff giant fox with giant fangs and claws. So she's still that shape as Megi cajoles her out of the log ""hut"".

"...Hi."

 "This is a spell they put on me. I don't know exactly how it works, but it lets me speak and almost everyone hears it in an understandable language. Similarly, it turns words in the air into a language I speak. The two ways of speaking didn't sound different to me, which is a downside to always having this up."

"Oh, and Hello" He greets Weiss, with a respectful amount of trepidation. 

"Minister, it's pretty clear I need to take things seriously. I'd like to take you up on that offer to go meet people or have a tour... Or whatever it was. I've forgotten the particulars. I have a meeting later today I have to attend, though, for negotiations. It might be the best look if I do that one alone."

And watch him like a hungry fox for trickery, but it you don't even hear the offer how can you say it's a bad one? More kitsunes might drift in over the next week or so. Or not. Is she going to take this 'a hex of land for kitsunes' thing seriously? Or abandon it? Only time will tell...

“Yes. My invitation was to the palace, where most influential figures stay. With a small retinue now that you have brought them over. To arrange deals for the mausoleum, meet with reputable construction and forestation firms, and similar. We also offer rooms to stay. More comfortable than an undeveloped hex.”

”If you have a meeting today, I can send someone tomorrow or the day after.”

"To show us to the palace, you mean? I think that will work. Taking things one day at a time is one thing, but at some point you actually have to go."

“Yes, a vehicle to bring you. I prepare apologies for the drivers, all are barbarians.”

"The cars are really loud. What are you burning, fry oil or something?" She snorts. "I'm almost inclined to run instead, but I'd get lost."

“What the engines burn is a secret of the Citrus Nomads. The smell is pleasant but the sound is not. If you would make the journey on foot as a pilgrimage, or through the underground, I would assign a guide.”

"...No, let's just take the car. Hmm. How would you describe the state of politics, law enforcement, and the economy of the city, so I have an idea what to think about?"

Tessa mutters thoughtfully. "Perhaps renewable plant-derived oils... Interesting, I wonder if the biomancers and fleshcrafters are involved there..."

He can summarize.

Political situation! The tyrant rules from his palace. The holders of the keys are also there to represent their peoples. Most of the actual work of running the city is done by the greater ministries and lesser ministries, working with the key holders and various guilds and firms. 

There are two major political factions: those in favor of centralization, and those in favor of keeping things as they are currently. Minor factions also exist, organized around specific comcerns. There used to be alignment factions for law and for chaos, but tensions between them kept escalating into open war, so the tyrant banned both and declared the city officially alignment neutral. Now the city is at peace, at least on the alignment front. 

The state of law enforcement is complicated and, in the opinion of the minister, messy. Most peoples are allowed to keep their own laws among themselves, provided they also follow directives from the tyrant and the ministries. Many of them have their own little militias, or deals with ‘protection groups’ who collect tribute and usually enforce laws in exchange. There are also wandering knights who go around acting for their own personal sense of justice, which sometimes lines up with a law. The tyrant has his own personal guard which intervenes if things ever get too chaotic, against threats to the whole city, and whenever the tyrant personally wants something done.

The economy is based on guilds and similar organizations that use specialized skills and powers. Some are large, like the underground transportation guild. Some are small, an individual sorcerer with a unique power. 

There is a decent bit of manufacturing, though by people more often than by machine. Lots of trade with other worlds, though which specific ones change depending on where is ‘in range’ of various transportation methods. Cosmopolicropolis doesn’t have much farming or mining, and so really depends on external trade. There are colonies from the city on other world, which exist to harvest resources and trade with the city when in range. 

An important organization to know about when doing economy things is the church of sun-grain-gold. They do banking and complicated economic alchemy. The alchemy is usually figurative but sometimes literal. Another important figure is a dragon who is personally trying to own as much of the economy as possible, especially the parts made of precious metals. It is generally agreed on that you know you’ve made it when the dragon offers to buy ownership of your firm. 

Okay that was a lot. Turns out ‘politics, law, and economy’ are a big topic to try and summarize. 

"I appreciate the explanation! It seems we have quite a few people to talk to later. Busy, busy days, huh? I would like to politely note that, while we're not fundamentally opposed to the concept of law and order, the kitsunes have not officially agreed to anything just yet."

“Yes, busy. Plenty to enjoy too, the palace isn’t all bureaucracy and politics and responsibility.”

”As for laws, I understand. Please refrain from starting wars, destroying buildings, and similar things that the tyrant’s guards must respond to. If in trouble over any smaller matters, send a message to my office and I will sort things out.”

"Hmm... Depending on how, precisely, one defines 'wars'... No promises, but I will keep it in mind. I know things can get a lot less friendly than they are now, that's reason enough to play nice."

A step back. “Your dispute here is fine. I want to discourage building a coalition and marching on the palace, taking over a dozen hexes and declaring an independent despotate, that sort of thing. We also would much rather not see things become unfriendly.”

"No, no, both of those things sound like far too much work. I might knock over a building if its owner really has it coming and talking about the conflict and negotiating goes nowhere. The fact that disputes like the one here can still occur mean that I must be prepared to win them. It'd be better if nobody fights and turned all their energies to flourishing, but it's worse to be the one who won't fight back in a world where there are bullies. Classic prisoner's dilemma, really."

“Of course. All individuals and interests are to be defended by someone. Ideally a sovereign, but the self when necessary. It is more polite to attack the owner and preserve the building for others to use.”

“If an important building is knocked over response will be out of my hands. If you are in a dispute where that seems necessary, please ask me and I can try to resolve things in other ways.”

"Well, as you can see, we've had a building knocked over recently, if a small one." She shows teeth, a little bit. "And we took care of it."