Etienne Servien was one of Cardinal Richelieu's intendants. In 1632, on the Cardinal's order, he traveled throughout Europe. He spent a week in Grantville, taking the lay of the place, and concluded that it was not a town of witches. However, for political reasons, Richelieu decided to treat Grantville's presence as witchcraft. Servien was also tasked with going to Vienna to convince Ferdinand II to expel the Austrian branch of the Abrabanel family, in the hopes of crippling the NUS's, and by extension, Sweden's economic base. This failed, a fact that did not surprise Richelieu.