Thebes, Palace of Useramen, Reception Room,
over one year later
Useramen, the Governor of the South, had been at Thebes for a few days. He visited the capital every few months, and gave reports of the cities, presented the status of accounts, and discussed plans of income and taxes that entered the House of Gold each year. He spent his time in meetings, receiving guests, and talking to the most influential people in the Kingdom. He knew perfectly that without direct contact with people he met at dinners or over goblets of fig wine, he would find himself quickly out touch. Therefore, while his position was not in any way threatened, as considerable sums of taxes in the land arrived on time, he regularly came to the city to keep abreast with what was happening and to move among the most i
