After a trying year the future of Arbasses was beginning to look positive once more; their colonial possessions were beginning to turn a profit and promised strong long-term profitability, their deal with the Sofon Dominion was beginning to look like a master stroke and their coalition of rivals faced a crisis from the warlike state of Terheridon. The only slight downside was the costs inflicted by the discovery of the new empire across the sea but there was a few tricks up Marcus’ sleeve to deal with that.

The first matter of business was the matter of their ship construction deal with Valm which’d seen them net a profit of $0.5B to their coffers and $2B worth of work going to their shipyards. In return they’d produce a fleet for one of their colonial allies to expand with. All in all it was looking like a triple win off this deal for the Councilate. Work was to begin immediately on these ships and utilising their new shipyards and technology they’d be able to pump them out relatively quickly.

Now to the Terheridon conflict, there was a number of interesting avenues to take with this opportunity. Firstly he had his friend Emperor Walhart III suggesting neutrality from the Commerce League, there was the Kamalao Republi asking for international condemnation and finally there was the option of bringing their full weight to bear in assisting the aggressor. After all they were attacking Bennipolis, the nation that’d been the cause of the global recession and has proclaimed outright aggression against the world. Bennipolis had spat in the eye of the world and been shocked when it’d responded.

[hider=Valm]
Emperor Walhart III,

I agree with your standpoint of having neutrality in this conflict with not condemning the actions of Terheridon. Business as usual should continue however I feel it is worth noting that we should watch the international scene with regards to this invasion. Should the times begin to appear desperate for the Terheridon due to intervention of Bennipolisian allies then we should consider intervening to openly assist Terheridon. Whilst this seems like a contentious decision, seeing Terheridon destroyed or crippled would destroy the balance of power in the region and open the Commerce League lands up to invasion by our rivals. In fact, I shall take the extraordinary measure of commiting $1B in order to secure a new arms shipment for the Terheridon armies, supplied by you of course. Keep my actions in this anonymous and secretive, I trust in the confidentiality of your government.

Marcus de Happeself
[/hider]
Now to the matter of the international pressure, Marcus decicded; the Kamalao Repbli had called upon the nations of Edorinas to declare the invasion illegal and condemn it. But a question had remained for Marcus and the Council as to whether it was illegal or not; he’d put his nations best lawyers, judges and doiplomats onto the matter and they’d come back saying Terheridon did indeed have a casus belli for invading Bennipolis. Such a revelation had torn Marcus down the middle, he did not want open hostility and war to ravage Edorinas yet he couldn’t proclaim against the law and expect justice within the land. The Casus Belli in question was mainly revolved around two incidents: firstly the colonial proclamation which despite being sent by a deposed leader could still be seen as an aggressive action and as such the Terheridons were merely defending themselves and secondly the attempts of Bennipolis to halt their arms supply was a dishonourable action and as such they could claim grievance for that. Yet they hadn’t announced a Casus Belli for their invasion either so there was another shred of doubt around the legitimacy of their invasion. All in all, Marcus felt he couldn’t condemn it internationally and still feel just about his actions.
[hider=Kamalao]
The Honourable Kamm Kutuk,

I write to regretfully inform you that after consulting the lawmakers in my country, who deemed the invasion of Terheridon as legitimate due to a Casus Belli regarding dishonourable actions and blatant aggression, cannot condemn this invasion. Whilst it’s legitimacy may be questionable, I cannot definitively state that it is illegitimate thus I cannot condemn it. Despite my hopes of seeing a peaceful Edorinas and commerce that is not ravaged by war there is little I can do to intervene in this conflict for the purpose of a peaceful resolution

Marcus de Happself
[/hider]

Through war came one major opportunity however; their supply of Drikin, a cheap and more potent form of alcohol from their colonies, whilst unsafe to drink had proven to be an affective anti-bacterial agent. As such Marcus sent his merchants out to the nations of Edorinas praising the medicinal effects of Drikin, with a particular focus on those at war. Infection, disease and injury were all common in war, as such would a supply of potent anti-bacterials not be handy for their doctors?

Business was also proposed with the Sofon Dominion, they're colonial possessions were coming further under threat from privateers due to the actions of a few jealous nations that sought the wealth of others. 
[hider=Sofon Dominion]
To the Most Esteemed King Edgard III,

With the new scourge of piracy on the seas threatening our domestic and overseas trade from the new world, I write to offer the Sofon Dominion a chance to purchase ships from the Arbassian shipyards in order to further to protect your trading interests. I offer both new ships and ships straight away in order to provide immediate protection. Whilst this will not change our current friendly relations should you say decline this opportunity, I believe such an arrangement will greatly profit the both of us as well as laying a foundation for creating a fleet for the Sofon Dominion using our unparalled knowledge and skills. Here are the prices we offer:
Brig - 20,000,000
Sloop - 70,000,000
Schooner - 150,000,000
Frigate - 400,000,000
SOTL - 600,000,000

I look forward to your reply,
Marcus de Happself
[/hider]
The last matter he had to attend was a secretive one, funds were sent with an armed escort and the utmost secrecy in order to secure a contract for reasons unknown.

TL;DR
-	Arbasses neither condemns nor condones the Terheridon invasion (do I receive the bribe for this as Kamalao technically called us to assist?)
-	0.5B is deposited into the Council coffers and ship production commences for Valm
-	$1B is deposited into a Commerce League fund
-	Drikin is offered as a cheap and potent anti-bacterial agent to the nations of the world, a handy tool in this time of war (based off the effects of normal alcohol)
-	[hider=GM]
-	$1B sent to Valm in order to assist with arms production for the Terheridonian war effort
-	$0.5B invested into the Cartographers guild in order to explore south of Aventia with Arbasses solely receiving information about any new lands
[/hider]