Pushing a Pebble Down a Hill

[Nentsia]

Zemaita - Kingdom of Nerysia

A tall, slender man in a black three-piece suit stepped inside a black, luxurious government car that had been waiting in front of the Nerysian Foreign Ministry building. His face was long, oval-shaped, with every inch of the skin covered by wrinkles. His eyes almost disappeared beneath his own eyelids and the big eye bags. One of his eyebrows was permanently lifted, giving the man a natural sceptical facial expression. He had a mouth, but barely any lips. It was just a horizontal line.

‘Good morning, Dubius,’ a man in the car said as he got in. The slender man, Dubius, shook his hand as he sat down and closed the door. The driver began to drive through the fog of the early morning.

‘Any news?’
‘Not much, Excellency,’ Dubius replied.
‘We have received a diplomatic cable from the WBU. They are proposing a Brigidnan conference.’

Dubius turned his head to the Minister of Foreign Affairs next to him in the backseat and kept staring at him, with his typical sceptical gaze.

‘The position of the government is that we are willing to discuss the easing of travel restrictions and visa policy, but that we also want to put regional security and economic cooperation on the agenda. We want you to lead the negotiations.’

Dubius stared at the foreign minister in disbelief. ‘I am not a negotiator. I don’t make deals.’
‘It’s been decided. Get used to the idea,’ the Foreign Minister harshly responded. ‘You understand the Florinthians and Oslans better than anyone in this country. You have been the king of the West-Brigidna section for ages.’

There was a moment of silence. ‘The Minister of Defence and the Minister of Security have agreed to set up a special liaison unit between the Foreign Operations Department’s WBU specialists and the WBU sections of the Third Department of the General Staff. This unit would come entirely under your command during the negotiations.’

Dubius nodded, as he knew everything had been decided for him already. He wasn’t being asked, be was being ordered.

A week later, the Foreign Ministry hosted a consultative meeting with the newly formed WBU Committee to discuss the Florinthian proposals and to formulate a response. Gaiseric Dubius was present at the meeting, and it was chaired by Foreign Minister Rechiar Nekrusis.

‘As you all know our Florinthian friends have sent us a proposal’, Nekrusis said to a room full of diplomats, political strategists and policy advisors. ‘His Majesty is of the opinion that we should respond positively to such an initiative. His Majesty also stressed however, that we should put Nerysian concerns on the table as well. We welcome a Brigidnan dialogue over freedom of movement, but we also want regional security and trade included in that dialogue. We will share our position with the WBU and our Lomarran and Lanlanian allies.’

As the Nerysian government circulated its initial response, Gaiseric Dubius instructed his intelligence stations in the WBU to approach their sources and networks near the government to find out anything they could about its intentions and plans. In Lomarre and Lanlania, Nerysian ambassadors went to their respective foreign ministers to discuss and coordinate their views on the WBU's proposals.