Gavin sighed, slumping back in his chair. "No, I see what Lord Martinez is talking about. If we make a new trade route, then we will be robbing the nobels who made their living on the existing trade routes. The new routes might cause the lords in that area to start taking airs on the lords who used to run the trade routes. This will cause inner turmoil among our own kingdoms. However," Gavin continued, "what if we agreed to split the trades? Keep the normal trade routes for what we already trade with Loidi, and anything new that we agree on will use the passageways. That way, we are not taking from the existing status quo, but we are still opening up to new trade?"<br/><br/>"As for the garrisons, an open treaty should suffice. Lord Martinez advises we keep the current numbers or up them. While I do see the wisdom in that, I am worried that having so many soldiers posted near Loidi couldn't be seen as an invastion attempt. And visa-versa. We will always be trying to match and growing and that will push us over into war." He tapped his fingers on the table. "What I propose is we keep a minimal staff at the boarder garrisons, but we can man the inland garrisons as we see fit."<br/><br/>*******<br/><br/>Diane started to follow Deston, but stopped when she heard him tell Masako to go visit her father. "Oh, has Lord Martinez already seen Father? He had an order to when he wanted to talk to everyone. The Comtesses were the first part of Goldspar he wished to talk to, and Baroness Masako was after Lord Martinez. If he hasn't gone yet, then she would be early."