Catanism

“Age of Enlightenment” Expansion –
“The Era of Prosperity” Theme Set

Chapter 2 of 4

A few months later, in the Prince’s reception room:
His face pinched with grief, the Chancellor entered and bowed to the Prince.
“Why so glum?” the Prince grunted. “Have the peasants skipped their dues, because their brats are wasting time in school instead of helping with the harvest?”
“Worse, my Prince. The Brigands have struck again and robbed a shipment of wool and gold that was meant for you.”
The Chancellor ducked the princely slipper flying towards him as well as the furious rant that simultaneously rained down on him.
“What’s gotten into you, Chancellor! Confronting me with such ghastly news before my afternoon nap, that’s outrageous! And what do you intend to do about that riffraff?” “We could hire Mercenaries, your Highness, to secure the roads.”
“Mercenaries, I see! If they offer their services for free, then I’m all for it.”
“Probably not for free, but we could send the thieves who are now in the dungeon to the Princess’s realm and use the stolen goods in the Thieves’ Hideout to pay the Mercenaries.”
“Good proposal, Chancellor. Killing two birds with one stone. The Princess’s success and popularity are a thorn in my side anyway.”

In the neighboring principality, the Princess was walking through the streets of her city, accompanied by a small entourage. At a plaza, she encountered some children standing around a well with empty buckets in their hands – they were all weeping.
“Why are you crying, children?“ she asked.
One girl valiantly stepped forward, made an awkward curtsey, and replied. “The well is empty, Your Highness, and in all other wells of the city, the water is bad and makes us sick. If we come back with empty buckets, our parents will be very angry again.“

“There is no clean water?” The Princess gave her sister a horrified look. “Why does nobody tell me these things? Somebody has to do something about it!”
“Dear Princess, I didn’t want to bother you with that,” her sister replied. “Only an Aqueduct that carries fresh water from the mountains to the city could help. But building one is too expensive. We cannot afford it.”
“Yes, we can!” With a forceful movement of her hand, the Princess seemed to brush aside her sister’s concerns.
“There are many craftspeople here that are looking for work. We’ll construct a Builders’ Hut, gather them there, and provide them with the tools and building materials needed.”
“Dear princess sister, that still leaves the financing problem unresolved, particularly since a mysterious band of thieves has been stealing resources from us lately.“
“The Prince sent them after us, that obnoxious fellow. But we’ll turn the tables on him and send Bera the Insurrectionist after him. That will increase his unpopularity, until he is ready to help us out with resources for our Aqueduct in return for Bera’s
withdrawal.”

“The Era of Prosperity” is the first of three new Theme Sets of the “Age of Enlightenment” expansion for “The Rivals for Catan.”

Klaus Teuber

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