Kovets will write a summary, mindful that the legate might arrange to somehow read it. He hasn't detected obvious evidence that the emissaries work for Tar-Baphon except of course indirectly, and he believes them to be accurately representing their orders from Oppara, and their purpose is presumably to check if the crusade is making effective use of Taldor's resources. 

And in the morning the servants will bring the delegation a humble frontier breakfast. If the auditors are checking whether they're spending money effectively it'd look pretty bad to obviously spend a lot of it on 'pampering auditors'. 

This is a little bit surprising - it's not that pampering auditors is a good way to show that you're being responsible with imperial funds, but it makes auditors happy, and with many legates, making them happy is a better way to get it reported that you're very financially responsible than actually being financially responsible. It's possible, of course, that they know this particular legate's reputation, and are confident that whatever corruption is present they can successfully hide behind the churches present. Some of his staff might complain, but it's not like they are eating worse than they were on the road.

(Though, since they might be here a while, some of the staff can make it known that they have a cook with them, and can feed themselves with access to the local quartermaster or general stores)

They can be directed to both. Vellumis has three general stores by now, though they don't stock a lot of luxuries. One of them has a deal with a crusade wizard for more luxuries in wintertime but obviously can't possibly bid for his seventh circle slots in-season, and one of them stocked cheap home-grown spices when Arazni was alive and is now selling down the last of that supply at prices that barely beat Teleporting them in. There's also a quartermaster who works on supply to the front but who will certainly tell the auditors that they don't look like the front and he accordingly can't offer them anything.

Well, they have a collection of dried herbs and spices and mostly just need meat and flour and butter and the like. Things that tend to be available even in far-flung provinces.

In the meantime, there's serious business to attend to. Is Legate Angelus correct in assuming that there's not much in the way of tax rolls available?

Hmmm? Charantis has the tax rolls, and some military-quality maps which have numbers corresponding to land parcels. She even has a spare copy the auditors can look over even though she wasn't expecting auditors. There's not much in the way of tax revenues, yet, but they know who they've granted land to and what they're supposed to be paying once the land is cleared and how much of a waiver they were granted last year. Lots of waivers were granted last year, generally for reasons like 'local druids hostile' and 'local wildlife hostile' and 'land still being cleared'. 

The taxes do not yet pay for Vellumis's civilian government. The Church of Aroden is covering the difference. 

Ah. That's faster than he'd expect, given how... unconsolidated... the region is. Is the front too busy to spare soldiers to deal with the druids and wildlife?

There were efforts well underway when Arazni died and then those people were called back to the front. The region is accordingly less consolidated than it was four years ago.

The Knight-Commander says that if the war is won it'll be a year's work, three at the worst, after.

The grand prince will be pleased to hear it, he's sure. What is the Crusade's understanding of the treaty with Ustalav? Is there a well-defined planned postwar border?

Path River. Can't miss it. The border with Belkzen on the other hands is entirely up in the air; they'll see how the war goes.

(Charantis's impression, which she's not going to say, is that the Knight-Commander thinks she doesn't have the capacity to administer Ustalav effectively, doesn't care for the Empire to have it given that, and was happy to agree to the restoration of its previous monarchy, though she made some pointed inquiries about getting Caliphas in particular and found it'd be expensive.)

That seems like a sensible border. What are the other terms of the treaty? Who, exactly, is this treaty with?

She does not actually know all that much about this - it's not a road or a sewer or a taxable plot of land - but she probably has a copy of the written agreement somewhere. It's with some Ustalavic nobility in exile and the church of Pharasma and possibly some other interested parties (with interests in the Empire not expanding that far north. She won't say that either). 

He reads the obvious into that. Iomedae is setting foreign policy for herself and making few to no claims outside of the Empire's traditional borders. She's allied with the dwarves and intends the restored monarchy of Ustalav to be indebted to her personally and may very well be planning to join the League for mutual defense the moment Tar-Baphon is back in the ground.

"I'd love to see it if there is a copy around."

You cannot accuse Charantis of not being organized. There's a copy of that treaty along with a copy of the crusade's charter and all other treaties to which it may conceivably be subject, the oaths of the paladin orders, the proceedings of its courts, etcetera. They're welcome to review it all. Iomedae says that recordkeeping is the means by which civilizations may transcend the capacities of mortals as individuals, that recordkeeping organizations are a close analogy to the processes of the gods themselves. 

That... is the first time anyone has tried that particular form of flattery. He's impressed. He smiles as if it got to him, and starts looking through those records.

The treaty with Ustalav cedes everything north of the Path river and recognizes the legitimacy of the Ustalavic monarchy and its contributions to civilization etcetera etcetera. The Crusade's charter has been renegotiated every five years. The early ones, from before Iomedae, are a standard charter for a war on one of Taldor's borders. The charters that name her Knight-Commander are not that. They oblige Iomedae most notably to return those magic items on loan to her at the end of the war, to spend the Empire's resources wisely towards victory over Tar-Baphon, and not to command the army or her Knights or any portion thereof anywhere in the Empire outside liberated Encarthan except by the Grand Prince's express permission. The Emperor can relieve her of command of the Crusade, if he wants, but not of the Knights of Ozem.

Her paladin order's oaths are - legalistic, and carefully specified, and specify that they can be altered only with the personally communicated approval of Aroden or another Lawful god which sponsors paladins of the order, which is odd both because 'the personally communicated approval of Aroden' isn't generally an available thing one plans around and because this order, like nearly all paladin orders, is not multiple-god. That's generally considered unwise for a paladin order; what if the gods disagreed?

Iomedae's oaths oblige her not to lie, and not to communicate deceptively even under a fairly expansive range of circumstances, with a lot of notes on how this works with the exigencies of war. 

The Shining Crusade has a short, clearly written, fairly exhaustive legal code that is on the merciful side but not outside reason. Liberated Encarthan is governed under a legal code derived from that rather than from the Imperial legal code. 

Mhm. Not too much surprising here. He takes notes even so, and will set one of his wizards to making copies.

...'Those magic items on loan to her.' Are they listed?

Extremely fancy headband that enhances all of cunning, wisdom and splendour; extremely fancy belt that enhances all of strength, speed and health. Banner of Victory. Also a holy avenger as a personal loan from the archduke of Menador in recognition of a favor Iomedae did him; that loan was negotiated separately but it's mentioned here just for completeness, as is the fact she has been loaned armor by the Dwarves.

Well. She's a paladin, which means she's going to give it back. Is she, uh, paying interest on any of these extremely valuable magic items the Empire has loaned her?

Well, several of them have acquired extraordinary new powers while she's been using them. Arazni added some features to the crown and to the banner, and the holy avenger is a major artifact now. Charantis isn't sure how to calculate the interest rate on 'turning your valuable sword into a major artifact', since it's not as if this is a service available for purchase. 

Hm. The agreement specifies the items as they were when they were loaned out; Does Charantis have details on the items as they are now?

...well, no, Iomedae doesn't go around disclosing the capabilities of her magic items. There is a war on. She could probably do a secret consultation with a priest of Abadar who could produce an appraisal.

He has one on staff, that shouldn't be a problem.