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It is the chirping of the birds which first jolts you from your stupor, proudly sitting upon their trees, singing jollies to and fro of the merry morning lights. You, who had found no rest, no shut eyes throughout the night, take it simply as an ringing pain on your head. For though you had momentarily found yourself lacking in cognition, it was not rest which you had felt, but a lapse in concentration, a departure of your thinking to some state of sickly torpor.
You had not slept for the entire night, and certainly, it hath given no benefit to your condition. But then again, how could you, with the challenges that you faced?
You are Alessandro Galliota, the Viscount of Portblanc. That much you can be sure of, even in your sorry state...you, who had been brought here to this land of Nera, this distant land from your own, by your great liege Don Carles IV Brascarams. You had come here to wage war in the name of the Spisa family, allied to your country, against the forces of the Fortelli, friendly to your foe. You had launched a campaign throughout their borderlands, partaken in a siege, and most of all, you had faced a force far mightier than yours, many times greater in both number and capability, aided by scores of Himmmerian Giants, those most fearful of enemies of the human race. For a whole day, you had succesfully fought them of, and, shattering the bridge which they sought to take in an pivotal moment, you had sunk to the depths of the river hundreds of their men.
You escaped death, too, by a hair's breadth, when the infamous Famiglia, those mighty knights of Nera, armed with beastly amazonian mounts, had been able to momentarily breach your formation. It was only by bidding your musketeers to fire upon them even as they fought your own men that you had survived, though at the cost of your entire retinue. All those things and much many others had happened yesterday, in this battle upon the Vessena. This battle, you are certain, has not ended yet, and it is this which brings you trouble. For today you must seek out victory and find a way to hold your foes at bay until the city of Montechia falls!
For now, however, breakfast will have to do. Shaking yourself out of this stasis, you raise yourself from the piece of wood that you had used as a seat for the night. Because you had fled into the grove to make your camp, you did not have the amenities of your lordly tent. Of course, compared to those amongst the soldiery who did not have any tent at all, you were not in a poor state. You order one of your servants to gather up whatever is available for you. What you receive, after some time, is...some bread, and some of the cheap rum that was served to the soldiery. Though it be enough to fill you, you cannot help but feel some manner of bitterness in the knowledge that you stand but a few minutes of travel away from your supply wagons.
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With your "morning meal" done you go out to meet your staff and survey the state of your army. Amidst the green-covered canopy, your tired officers , your captains, line up amidst the greenery, ready to give out their reports on the state of their companies. It does not escape your sight that some amongst these are new faces - men hastily promoted after the previous officers, well...died. And that is not to say of those lacking entirely, their units brought down to the last. Though a full report of your casualties would have been ideal, you've no time for such things - indeed, you don't so much as have the time to check which of those amongst the officers that you no longer see are wounded and which are perished. You'll have to leave such matters to the post-battle procedures...if there is one, that is. To your good fortune, Hugues Regnard, your Sergeant-Major informs you that almost a quarter of the men wounded in the previous day of battle were able to be saved to such an extent they could still fight today. Certainly, no greater proof is there of the blessings of the Brotherhood of the Santo Cor, who had loyally accompanied you through this campaign as field doctors.
Despite this bit of good news, however, your situation is none the better - although you had destroyed many a company of the enemy, and indeed brought down the most fearsome of their advances through your slaying of the giants and the Cavalieri of the Famiglia, you had, ultimately, done little towards the full force of the enemy. Though you had slain hundreds of knights, a thousand more still remained. Though you had exterminated several companies in your destruction of hte bridge, several dozen more had remained out of battle the entire day. You were, by all means, surrounded, outnumbered, and thanks to your choice to remain in the forest, your men had spent the night underfed and ill-rested.
"Can the men fight, still, Hugues?" you ask your loyal advisor.
"Certainly, they may, sire, but I do not reckon they'll give such a spirited showing as they had yesterday." he reponds.
"Perhaps it may be wise to retreat, then? Avoid a slaughter." you say.
"I doubt it, sire. Their knights would catch up with us far too quickly, and in open ground, without defences, we would be run down with ease."
"And their way to Montechia would be unbarred, would it not? Damnation." you exclaim. You've got no plan. You had spent the entire night attempting to think. The back of your eyes hurt with a great burning sharpness, and your head ached greatly. You've read enough of modern medicine to know that a lack of sleep disturbs the humours on one's body.
"If I may, your lordship..." interrupts Hugues once again. "There is certain to be some manner of time until the bulk of the army arrives. We could perhaps move onto our camp and secure some provisions for our soldiers in the last minute, to raise their fighting spirits."
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Well, certainly that is an idea that could work, but dare you risk the chance of being caught unprepared? And lest you forget, hundreds of the most dangerous horsemen of this continent stand not too far from your location, sitting upon the field, waiting. Shall they simply allow you to do as you please? You cannot say, for sure.
"Regardless, Hugues, we must strive to think of an strategy for the day. We cannot remain here, in this forest, lest the enemy simply march past us westwards and onto the backs of our colleagues. If they've not sent us a courier, the city must not have fallen yet."
"Very well, sire..."
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION - SUPPLIES
>Make a stop to gather some supplies before battle
>Don't risk it, just go straight to battle formations
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION - ORDERS
>Form a defensive line on the river bank, using the forest and the water as natural walls
>Fortify the area around you camp while having some of your troops in the forest still
>Catch them by surprise - charge out in an offensive to attack their forces while they least expect it!
>Write-in
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Thread I - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2025/6153604/
Thread I (Conclusion) - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2025/6189036/
Thread II - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2025/6231466/
Thread III -
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2025/6275844/
Field Handbook - https://rentry.org/TercioQuestWelcome to this not-quite-full thread of fog of war. I had hoped to simply make this a quick conclusion to the last one, but alas, I was rather busy. While this will not be a full thread, I have decided to extend the ending of the act for a little.
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>>6326515
>Make a stop to gather some supplies before battle
>Form a defensive line on the river bank, using the forest and the water as natural walls
Remaining in the forest is dangerous as long as those fuckers have their fire arrows
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>>6326515
>Make a stop to gather some supplies before battle
We do have the approaches able to be covered by the musketeers, who have the range to ensure some safety. The swiftness of the horsemen will be of better use too.
>Form a defensive line on the river bank, using the forest and the water as natural walls
It is presuming that they haven't left anybody on the other side of the river, but for several obvious reasons I doubt they have any reason to have done that.
I'd wonder if we could try to be cute and retrieve the cannon barrel from the forest now that the fire's burned out. I'm no metallurgist but a fire that burns down trees isn't necessarily enough to permanently deform metal if we're lucky enough on the position of it, especially if the gun is iron and not bronze. How we'd move even a small cannon without its wheels in any timely fashion is another question entirely, since our wagons are pretty valuable at the moment. Any advantage we can squeak out might be worth pursuing.
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>>6326515
>>Make a stop to gather some supplies before battle
>>Form a defensive line on the river bank, using the forest and the water as natural walls
Hopefully we can implement the modified version of plan blue that i proposed in the last thread.
And yes, the wagonburg, we're able to relocate it, right?
As to retrieving the possibly salvageable canon, why not consult the artillery lads and make the attempt?
Welcome back!
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>>6326515
>Make a stop to gather some supplies before battle
>Form a defensive line on the river bank, using the forest and the water as natural walls
Can't just hide in the forest because there are still giant archers and they can just burn us out again.
Support sending some scouts to go and check if the cannon is salvageable.
QM did we have some forces sent south to the southern bridge? Do we assume they died from the knights since they didn't come back last night?
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You cannot deny it would please you greatly to have some additional manner of sustenance yourself. Some pitiful portion of brown, hard bread and shallow poor rum is by no means what you are accustomed to even in the field. And given that an army of the size such as your enemy must spend some good manner of time lifting their night camp, you reckon you've some manner of time. You shall go forth with the idea. Yet to do so, you must take some precautions...
Readying your musketeers as quickly as possible, you post the men on the edge of the forest, ready to fire, watching the Famiglia on the horizon. Even now their tents stand still, threatening you in the distance. Yet they make no movement, show no signs of preparation for battle, even as you send in your cavalrymen to secure the camp. After some minutes of scouring, it becomes clear they shall not stop you, and you allow the men to go in their entirety! You had thought to send them in groups, but to do so would have certainly led to theft and discord amidst the troops...though you do keep your horsemen at the ready, once they have had their fill. As for the rest of the army, they eat with gusto. Knowing their time to be short, the hungry men quickly shovel down whatever ready made foods they had. Salted meats, bread, hardtack, alcohols and spirits, anything they hold which can be eaten directly or quickly cooked. You yourself cannot help but partake in some of your own supply - wine, smoked venison, cheese and your good bread, the white kind made of fine flour, the ones that had been baked before the battle for the night but left abandoned. At one day of age, it is a bit stale, but compared to the one you were forced to gulp down a short time before, it is heavenly.
Your short albeit mirthful early luncheon does soon end, however, and with your stomachs filled and the weariness of your sleepless night somewhat abated by the drink, your men look all the readier for battle - and of course, the enemy, standing in the horizon, continues to not move. Quickly, you begin to think of some manner of plan to deal with your situation - of how to defend from the onslaught of soldiers that shall reach you so this very day. Immediately, your mind springs to the riverbank, the very same you had formed upon yesterday. With the bridge destroyed, certainly, you've no risk of attacks from the eastern bank now. Without the threat of a charging horde, it is all the easier for you to form a proper defensive line as you had, unsuccesfully, planned the previous day. Of course, with an entire company of pikemen lost, and your other footsoldiers severely depleted, you've not the sufficient numbers to create a line from river to grove - and so, you quickly set upon making some makeshift defences.
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There are, of course, the wagons which had served you faithfully the last day. Wheeling them out of the forest where they had remained for the night, you set them up in a line, not too far from the trenches you had dug which, although somewhat filled with mud, still remained as a natural obstacle. Yet that too is not enough - and so, you turn to more...creative tools. In the past day, Capitán Bonino had saved his company from certain death by making a stand upon the corpses of the Gigantes. It cannot be denied that, with their size and armor, they serve as rather decent barricades. Luckily, their bodies are fresh enough that the rotting stench of death has not quite entirely set in - though your men certainly do not smile as you order them to line up the corpses in a manner of wall besides your warwagons....
With your "defenses" set up, you at last have the men take battle formations. The pikemen, of those that remained, form up on the gaps in the wall, closing the line between the forest and the river. Your musketeers, of course, take their place in the wagon, as they had in the previous day. Your arquebusiers are split up - some are sent to the forest, to watch your flank and rear, while the rest remain at reserve, to be deployed when you please. Your horsemen, too, remain at the wait, and so does your reserve. You had thought of simply putting them at the rear, in the gap between the forest and the river that remained undefended...but you do not reckon they would have done much, depleted as they were - better to keep them at the ready to render some aid when necessary. Your force, however weakened, was within a good position, a defensible position, one which would cost the enemy tenfold your number to dislodge! Yes, with this formation, you would hold! You held your sword in your hand, ready for the day's fight - all that was left was for the Fortelli to arrive! And so, you waited.
And waited.
And waited..
And waited...
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It was midday when you had begun to question whether they would arrive at all. Certainly, you should have seen some maner of movement by now? The Vanguard, at the very least, to reunite with the Famiglia that had been left here to hold you down. Yet there was no such presence. no such force. The Cavalieri had, at the very least, taken leave of their camp and properly readied for battle, but they did not move. Just what was happening here...? Unless...but wait, no!
"A small party! I see a small party!" you yell, before even Joan was able to spot it. The small group is quick to approach the Famiglia, bearing what is sure to be the orders for their attack. Certainly, the enemy regiment must be approaching you even now! Yet you are denied yet again - for some moments after the party approaches the knightly forces, they begin to move out! Southwards, abandoning the field of battle entirely. But why? There was no need to tire their horses in order to unite if the Fortelli intended to come towards you...
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Which meant they did not.
Damnation - had you misunderstood them entirely? Had they no plan to engage you at all? Was it their intent to simply circumvent you, keeping the horsemen of the Famiglia as a mere threat to watch their flank while they marched towards your unsuspecting allies in Montechia? Had you been taken for a fool all along?! That could not be, could it? They would not have spent so many men if they intended to merely avoid you. And to remove that which stopped you from striking at their rear? It could not be! Yet still, you cannot help but feel as though you are missing something...you must take action! It is a good thing you've still some light horsemen in your numbers.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Send a scouting party to the south, find out what is happening
>Send a scouting party to the north, find out what is happening
>Send a scouting party to the west, find out what is happening
>Send out multiple scouting parties (Specify which units where)
>Do not send out any parties - just wait instead.
>Write-in
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>>6327895
We should pick two directions to maximize our intel gathering, supporting - what the fuck is happening? Did Montechia surrender or have they decided that we aren’t worth the trouble?
Why would they leave their baggage train undefended?
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>>6327793
>>Send a scouting party to the west, find out what is happening
I think directly pursuing them southwards might result in them turning back just to punk our scouting party if we're not careful. I doubt they want to be followed and for us to know anything beyond the "walls" of our fort, though on the other hand, this could very well be a ploy to lure us out into the open.
The most dangerous short term thing would be if they managed to sneak a force directly west of us, aiming to use the forest as cover for the advance. Though I'm thinking this is unlikely, if their true objective is to march for our allies. Though they would still take about a day to do so, if I have the distances assumed right, since that's about as long as it took us to get to the bridge here in a forced march posture.
In turn, the absolute worst thing that could happen to the enemy is if we fell upon their rear while they drew up lines to fight our allies. It would require the best timing possible to not just be turned about upon and destroyed though.
Alternatively, a relief force might have been sent ahead to us, and they just rode off to destroy them. Any other regiment tragically does not have the strength we had to resist the army we just delayed.
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Though the possibility of a trap certainly exists, you cannot help but doubt it somewhat, given the necessity of speed of which your enemy is bound by should they wish to arrive to their goal before it is fallen by the hands of your allies. You've also great doubts of the chance they've found something upwards on the river - had they done so, would they not have sent their knights northward? Knowing so, you leave an order for your horsemen, your skirmishers and your knights to be divided in equal groups and sent both southwards and westwards, that they may find out just what exactly has happened with this army of the Fortelli. You watch their forms disappear into the distance as you continue to ponder just what exactly hath transpired in this early morning.
It, of course, takes time. For another hour or so still, you continue to maintain your men in formation, but when it is most abundantly clear that there shall be no such thing and the men begin to complain of the foul smell of your "wall" of corpses, you finally allow them to break formation - though you do keep some rotating sentries to ensure no force is sneaking upon you. The men, of course, are happy as they always are to finally have a moment of rest, and you take the opportunity to properly bury those of your force that had fallen in battle, your chaplain giving them the proper rites of burial as all good men of the splendour deserve. You also bury the Cavalieri of the Famiglia and the Himmerian Giants, though not before your men have stripped them all of the valuable plate armor on their bodies - you will certainly have one of those swords kept by you as a memoir of your victory, at least. As you oversee the effort, you cannot help but also notice a great many pieces of wood floating down the river, though you pay it no mind...
It is into what you would guess to be the midst of the afternoon when some of your men finally arrive - specifically, the party you had sent to the south. They had certainly found no trap waiting for them - indeed, they had found nothing at all, save for the village in the river crossing. The locals, of course, refused to say of what had happened to the Fortelli and whether they had passed through - though they did point you towards another dicovery...it being the burnt remains of the skirmishers you had sent southwards. Your men have no idea of what had transpired to them, but yes, they can confirm - your skirmishers were slain to the last. Mercenaries as they were, their symbols were easily found. Perhaps you should have expected such, given the flanking strike on the past day...but at the very least, you are glad it was not a matter of betrayal.
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With nothing else to report on, you allow the scouts to join your troops in their rest, and continue to wait for the arrival of news from the westernly group. Though, with the distance they've to cover, there's no surety they shall arrive before dusk, or indeed, even tomorrow as well - though you can certainly hope they shall do so quickly, at the least. Even if it was not for the importance of your mission, you've not enough supplies to stand out here in this field for another entire week. Be that as it may, however, you continue to wait...
And wait...
And wait...
It is nearly sunset when you are told, at last, of a rider approaching in the horizon, escorted by a small group that is most certainly not of your own regiment. Approaching you, they are quick to idenfy themselves as messengers of your most honorable liege, and transmit a message which you had waited greatly to hear.
Montechia has fallen.
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You erupt in a roar when you hear it, and are none too slowly followed by your men. You have done it! You have held out long enough! If the army has crossed, if the enemies had truly tricked you, it matters not. Their goal has been vanquished, their hopes of preventing the fall of the city dashed. With the city in your control, the entire region, nay, the entirety of Tilano has fallen to your control. And with the damage you had inflicted upon the foe, killing so many of their shocktroops, destroying their Himmerian Mercenaries, there is little chance they would be able to take the city by assault still. Though you've not seen it yourself, the fate of this western theater of conflict has been solved. Against the odds which you had been given, against such perilous foes and great disadvantage, against the very inexperience of your post, you have won the battle of Vessena Bridge.
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE CONTINUES AS USUAL
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WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WE WON! This is our victory, that belong only to us and our men! Holy shit, we killed our number in men while outnumbered by a factor of 3. Yeah, we lost a lot of men, but considering we're still intact I'll take that as a win. Again, we faced some of the best troops the enemy had while horribly outnumbered. We earned this win, and the fame, glory and wealth that come with it.
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>>6328703
Maybe it's a bit early to plan out a whole park full of war memorials and commemorative medals for this battle and campaign but I think our men at least deserve a parade for their hard work in facing this down and surviving.
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>>6328984
I think it's fair to say that we have by and large overperformed for our liege during this campaign, from bringing an army capable of independent operations that numbered well above the minimum to fighting this battle, and winning against the odds.
Being fairly rewarded should likely come with raised expectations, I'm afraid. Whatever his ambitions may come to be, I'm sure that we will continue to be called upon.
As the saying goes, hard work is rewarded with more work.
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>>6329349
This is all true, I have to imagine that Don Carles is going to treat us differently. I have to imagine that our status will riseand give us an opportunity to finally dump Joan, why are we still pretending that she's an option for us, ridiculous
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>>6329582
>We need an heir since we don't have any relatives and our brother was thrown out of the inheritance line
>We cannot legally have a legitimate child capable of inheriting with Joan because she's a furry and a peasant
So how do we solve the issue of wanting to give Joan owlets but needing someone to inherit our stuff?
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>>6329606
This would be the primary problem, yes. We have to remember that it's not just the people above us but below us too that care a good amount about who's lording over them.
Frankly speaking the only option that wouldn't cause trouble might be to two time and try to keep it secret as best we can, but that would be IMMORAL and DISRESPECTFUL to our owl.
>>6329620
Straccians are the omega mutt 1/16th elf endpoint of a degenerated knife ear gene pool and are basically completely human, the beast people are a lot fresher in their interbreeding I think.
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>>6329620
Merchants /=/ Nobility.
>>6329625
>Frankly speaking the only option that wouldn't cause trouble might be to two time and try to keep it secret as best
I'm fairly certain taking a "Mistress" would hardly be abnormal for a powerful noble. Of course, I'm. Not quite sure that that's how we want to treat Joan
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>>6329606
TercioQM said in Act I's thread that
>Although a theoretical child between you and Joan would indeed be unable to inherit Portblanc (If only because she is a serf and thus inelligible for marriage for a noble) it is technically not impossible for a Meio to inherit - in the right place. While the Mainland Imperial Territory of Mirevale would indeed never allow such an event, in the Imperial colonies in the continent of Samica, there is a considerable amount of Half-Beastfolk who were elevated to a "Regional" nobility in exchange for the surrender of their kingdoms and tribes into the Empire.
But in the Overture thread it was also said that
>Any child between you would be a bastard, and to officiate a marriage between you would be all but impossible. You remember reading, in books, stories of men of the peasantry, bastards, who would be 'legitimized' by their fathers and risen to a throne..., but you've not the power or influence to achieve such a goal.
I guess there's two things to keep in mind then
>see if there's a precedent for freeing and potentially ennobling a serf
>see if the prohibition against marriage with meios actually exists in law for the mainland empire of Mirevale
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>>6329647
And in thread III we learnt Alessandro's brother (who cannot inherit himself due to his condition) received a marriage offer and that
>Though your brother had been removed from the line of inheritance due to his ailment, any son of his born healthy enough to avoid a similar decree would, by virtue of being the grandchild of your father, the previous Viscount, a perfectly valid heir to the title. The House of Galliota would, should you be unable to bear a heir of your own, be secured. Though you certainly wish to have a son of your own, as any man in his right mind does, perhaps he need not be a 'valid heir', if that is the case?
So currently Alessandro doesn't seen to be in dire need of a heir, assuming Jonatan can have a potentially healthy one in the future
With regards to this, now I can't recall if daughters can also inherit in Portblanc or in Mirevale in general?
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>>6329655
I get that there are furries or whatever people who like birds are called (featheries??) and they'd be happy with that, but our love for Joan is pure and unsullied and she's got to be our one and only or we lose the star-crossed lovers aspect that makes it beautiful and romantic
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>>6329663
Alas this is the real world. There's no one hero who can solo a giant company on his own, just like how we can NOT abandon our rule for a peasant birdgirl. Best we'll get is tragedy as true love is prevented by the rules - and that's good too!
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>>6329674
Justinian was an emperor though
I suppose Don Carles could try pulling some strings for us, especially if he does assume the role of emperor someday, but that also depends on him seeing it as a reasonable choice or not for his PR
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My apologies for the lack of an update today. I'm in a very busy period, so I don't have as much time as I want sometimes. I will try to get it out tomorrow.
>>6329625
>Straccians are the omega mutt 1/16th elf endpoint of a degenerated knife ear gene pool and are basically completely human
I will comment on this, and basically, while I may have perhaps not focused as much on the Straccians as I should have, it was always my intent to be very heavily human-like. If I were to put a comparison, their immigration and conquest of the Straccian Peninsula is more akin to the Normans or the Lombards than it is to, say, the Turks or the Magyar. They were a very much outnumbered group that intermixed heavily with the local human population, though at the same time they very much "absorbed" their culture
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>>6329774
QM, I'll just post these questions here in case you didn't see them earlier since they'd be useful information for the quest
>can noble women inherit and rule fiefs in Mirevale/Segoma/Portblanc?
>Can women act as regents?
>Is the position of emperor restricted to men?
>are marriages between humans and meios forbidden by law in Mirevale?
>can meios become free persons by Mirevale law? Can they be ennobled?
>Are meios forbidden by law to rule or inherit fiefs in Mirevale?
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With your hard-won victory on your backs, your regiment began to make the way westwards, towards the now-captured Montechia, where your rewards surely awaited you. Your men, though weary, held themselves with a great and proud air, and in the first night which you rested alongside the road on the path to your objective, the night was filled with the cheering of the living and the morning of those who were lost. But most of all, they were filled with bragging - at the very least, such was the case in the noble quarters of the camp, where those amidst your noble cavalry commemorated their great deeds against the foe, calling themselves "Giantslayers" and extolling the victory of the regimant against the Famiglia. You've no less doubt that the common soldiery shall say much the same, though perhaps less so the ones from your homeland who know not of the frightfulness of the Amazon Knights.
Truthfully, you yourself find some good deal of pride in your deeds. Where even those who were experienced in war and far older than you had not dared to sally forward in an attack, you had done so on your lonesome. Where many others might have lost, you acquired victory, and against a foe of such greater power as well! You had almost perished multiple times, but in the end emerged the victor. Certainly, the Fortleli could have crossed the river...but because you had held that very day, they were not able to send forth their forces in an forward attack. By now, they will certainly have no choice but to retreat to their holds in the east. Of course, for some time now you've begun to wonder whether they are in these territories still. You remember seeing some driftwood floating alongside the river...perhaps, they had left that very morning, and the wooden chunks were the remains of a pontoon bridge they had brought down as they left.
These thoughts, amidst others, easily leave your head as you lay down on the bedding in your tent - your own tent - and finally allow slumber to take your weary mind...
The following day, your regiment finally arrives at Montechia, that city you had fought so viciously for. In the approach to the city gates, the effects of the siege can even then be easily seen. In the western wing, a great portion of the wall is fallen, a mark of the success of the sapping plan - yet even now, you see men labour towards rebuilding some manner of defense, rocks piled on the broken aperture. As you march through the city gates, opened for you by your countrymen, it is not a parade that awaits you, nor the cheering of soldiers, nor the chatter of civilians, but an eerie silence, and the stench of ash and blood. At the very outfront, you are divided from your soldiers as an captain of your lord's army bids you to follow him towards the castle wherein you shall reconvene with his highness while your men are taken to that place which has been cordoned off as quarters for the men.
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In your way there, you look upon the state of the city, and you understand quite clearly why it hath taken so much time for this conquest to be won. In every street which you pass through, the signals of fighting remain visible. Many a building are burnt down, partially or completely, leaving you to wonder just how it was the city had not taken to a full blaze. The citizenry, whichever few you see out in the streets, seem deathly afraid more than anything, quickly diving back into their homes as soon as they take notice of your presence. You are quite certain you spot more than a dozen bodies, both armored and not, as you make your way to the central castle, as well as the remainders of barricades upon the streets. It is clear to you that whatever fighting had occurred in the taking of this city, it was far from gentle or swift.
Nonetheless, you do arrive at the center of the city, where the citadel, and presumably the seat of power of this occupation force, stands. The men at guard wave you by as you pass through the gatehouses and into the castle proper. The utterly barren walls which permeate it, however, tell you of the sacking which must have ocurred. Into another room you are taken, and there, you see Don Carles, Don Fadrique, Don Salazar and Don Octavi. The four men, the four commanders of this expedition, stand there as you bow in greeting.
"Your highness, I have returned from the field victorious." you say.
"Phsheh. I knewv itch hadh been in yewr cafavilities, lhad!" says the Count of Zaroza, almost unintelligibly. In his face, a tightly woven piece of fabric holds his jaw together shut. Whatever your reaction is, it is certainly visible, for it is the old baron Salazar which is next to speak.
"Mind him not, Don Alessandro. The Count had suffered a wound in the assault, but it is of little gravity. His jaw has been dislocated, I am told, and is held shut to heal tightly."
"Vound? Psheh. I vahs shotch in the fashe vy some damhnavle mharskaman. Dhe armhor shaved me, butch vhe dhentch vhroke me deedh and jhaw itch didh" continues the man, still yet unintelligible yet clearly not down in spirits.
"Enough." interrupts his highness, holding up his hand. "Don Alessandro." he begins. "It is good to see that you are well, but before all things, I would have you tell me all that transpired in this battle of yours."
And so, you do - you tell them of your approach towards the Carsa, of your burning of the bridges, of your contact with the enemy, of the vast army that attacked you and of the hard-won victory you had drawn from them. You certainly do not forget to tell them of your victory over not only their Himmerian mercenaries, but of the Famiglia as well. As you do, you can see the look of surprise dawning upon the faces of the nobles as they hear your retelling - save, of course, for the Prince, whose visage remains as cold as it ever is. When you finish at last, you are met with some silence, as though they know now what to say.
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In following, the Count Zaroza breaks out in great (but clearly pained) laughter, slapping you on the back in a friendly manner. "Vhahahah! Ghshess dhose Amhazohn vhonies wheren't ash goovh as vhey hoffed, huh! Yew sentch dhose merchants well phacking, lad, you shertainly didh!"
In his part, Baron Salazar is no less friendly, though certainly a lot more proper. "It is certainly an impressive feat, Don Alessandro. To see one as young as yourself lead your men to such a victory is no small feat
Don Octavi, on the other hand, does not seem as pleased. "You lost one of the guns, then? I knew it a possible loss, but certainly, it shall not come cheap..."
Ah, the gun! Yes, the Saker that you had left in the forest with the blaze. The day after the battle, you sent the living artillymen to check on the piece to see whether it had hoped. When you saw it dragged towards you along the ground you had gained some hope, but it was short lived! Though the gun had not melted in the fire as you perhaps ignorantly feared, the artillery master was quick to tell you that he could no longer confide in the abilities of this weapon to fire. Even the smallest warping - he said - could be enough to set the entire thing exploding. The piece would have to be sent back to the Guild, where it could be smelted for the material, and shaped back into form. Well, perhaps it truly is a good thing that these Sakers were contracted out in Don Octavi's name.
As for your liege, he is the last to break the silence - not by speech, but by a slow clap of his hands. "Congratulations, Viscount." he starts. "Your deeds are worthy of respect. I shall certainly take them into account when the time to give out the honors upon the end of this war. For now, however, I shall award you in another way - the portion of this city's sack that was promised to you. I have taken the liberty of assessing the goods and converting them to the currency to save you the trouble of having them sold. In total, the sum is 14,000 Spadas, which I believe amount to around a thousand less Imperii of the same number."
You almost choke - thirteen thousand Imperii? You've managed such great amounts of money, sure, but to gain such a sum from but a portion of the sack of this singular city? Just how much wealth had been extracted from this city? "My gratitude is deep as always, your highness." you quickly answer.
Of course, before you are able to consider whatever it is you shall use this wealth on, there is another matter - your own rewarding. That is to say, the rewarding which you yoruself must give to your soldiers. Certainly, they shall expect some manner of monetary prize, having left such a lucrative venue as the sacking of a city to fight, and especially so after such a hard-won victory. Yet the question remains, how much shall you give?
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CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Reward them with half of the prize
>Reward them with three fourths of the prize
>Reward them with the entirety of the prize
>Reward them with only a quarter of the prize, keep the rest to yourself
>Write-inApologies for the lack of images, but I was in a bit of a rush.
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>>6330042
>Reward them with three fourths of the prize
We have 3,130 men surviving that battle. As much of a nice guy move as it would be to provide any next of kin with monetary relief from the passing of a son, father, or brother, we're frankly about one enlightenment and an entire century of industrial revolutionizing away from care packages and death compensation being of any expectation or obligation whatsoever, especially for mercenaries. Which does make the rest easier.
The monthly wages of the average foot soldier seems to be around 2 Imperii, though I'm highballing that since there's a smaller amount of men with the significantly higher wages of specialists, knights and such. So parting with half is basically a month's worth of advance pay being doled out to the men. Personally speaking, I think a bit more is justified, so increasing things to three gold coins per man should be sufficient, even without factoring the prizes we took ourselves from the battle.
Our warchest could do with some padding, so stuffing another three thousand or so gold into it would do quite nicely. We can't go around looking overly generous just in case that leads to expectations. Though we did buy a lot of soldiers their war kit for them, and we did inspire enough loyalty that a company of pikemen made up of conscripted prisoners and debtors fought to the death to hold the bridge.
TLDR: Everybody's getting around about one and a half times the cash they make over a month in advance including us.
>>6330041
>Don Octavi, on the other hand, does not seem as pleased. "You lost one of the guns, then? I knew it a possible loss, but certainly, it shall not come cheap..."
Boo hoo. We can write him a check later if he's upset that he got to run around and sack a city instead of having to fight combine harvesters and ford f-150s in hand to hand combat.
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>>6330042
>Reward them with three fourths of the prize
Men just went against some of the best the enemy had and made them pay, we owe them this much at least.
>>6330041
>Don Octavi, on the other hand, does not seem as pleased. "You lost one of the guns, then? I knew it a possible loss, but certainly, it shall not come cheap..."
Alright bitch I like to see you do better when you have several units of giants lumbering towards you while that monster cavalry is about to shish kabob you.
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>>6330035
>can noble women inherit and rule fiefs in Mirevale/Segoma/Portblanc?
In accordance with Agnatic-Cognatic Law, Women are able to inherit only when there is no other male heir able to do so.
>Can women act as regents?
They can, though as before, it follows a model of male preference. It is stated in Overture (Thread 1) that, were it not for your brother, it would have been your mother who would have been the Regent of Portblanc while you were away
>Is the position of emperor restricted to men?
It does not necessarily do so, but the way that the succession works very much makes it supremely unlikely for there to be a female emperor, as the office of Emperor is essentially "elected" from the pool of Imperial Heirs by the Electorate.
Fun fact, despitre being important enough to be an honorary "Cousin" to the Emperor (That is, a Grandee), Alessandro (and by extension, anyone holding the title of Viscount Portblanc) is non-eligible to participating in the Imperial Electorate due to being a noble from a Princely State since your liege lord is literally one of the candidates.
>are marriages between humans and meios forbidden by law in Mirevale?
Not at all, though this is where a discrepancy begins to pop up. In Mirevale proper, the population of Meios is very low, restricted almost entirely to "serfs"
However, in the Colonial Territories in Samica (That's the continent in the southern edge of the continent map), marriage with Meios is not only accepted but outright encouraged (So long as the male is human, of course) in order to create a mixed class to serve as "Regional" Nobility, being favored over the local Full-Beastfolk.
>can meios become free persons by Mirevale law? Can they be ennobled?
They can become free, through Manumission. They cannot, however, be ennobled - at least, that is, in mainland territory. Mainland Nobles are required to be "Pure of Humanity" in this regard, and thus not holding traces of any other race. But as before, this is different in colonial territory.
>Are meios forbidden by law to rule or inherit fiefs in Mirevale?
See above
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In the end, you decide to award your soldiers with three fourths of your share. Some might call it a waste, perhaps. This regiment of yours, a good quantity of which are made up of mercenaries, will not be yours to lead through the decades. You are not a career commander, dependant so on the loyalty of his men throughout the years. The mercenary companies shall not even remember this act beyond another addition to their profits, being adepts of a trade wherein loyalty does not exist. And even one of your wealth cannot balk at such amounts - you had, after all, invested over twenty thousand Imperii into this entire conflict.
But even so...
You thought it fair. You thought it deserved - after all, through day and night, your men had not surrendered, not broken into rout, not turned against you even through the harshest of circumstances. They charged at goliaths whose swords were like towers, whose armors were like walls. They held still as knights who felled entire armies crashed upon them like waves upon the shore, and beat them back. They risked death, yes, for your orders, and all for a pitisome pay. No, it was not that you willed yourself to pay them such an amount - it was that you could not bear to pay them any less!
The matter of the payment, of course, is a lot less simple than one might expect - to divide the spoils fairly, one must, of course, find out the numbers of your force in its entirety. Throughout the next days, your army rests up from its wounds and begins to partake in the supplies "taken" from the now occupied warehouses and granaries of Montechia. As they do so, they are also counted, every last one of them, in a sort of military census. You, of course, also remember to include in the heads of the Bluefeathers Musketeers - although not part of your army so much as that of the mercenary regiment formed by Don Carles, their presence was without a doubt the most invaluable of all those in your battle. You could not have defeated the Gigantes nor the Famiglia without their aid. You will pay them as you would any other of your regiment.
Intent set well in mind, you wait for the results of the headcount. According to the search, your force's current numbers to be about 2,530, turning into 3,130 when added to the numbers of the Bluefeathers. As for the cash itself...the total of the spoils you had allotted to the men was 10,500, all in the local currency, the Spada. You quickly went on to make a plan to distribute such wealth amidst the regiment fairly.
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In the next day, the giving of spoils was done at last. You, of course, made some manner of show out of it - gathering the men in the drill square of the city's military quarters, your depleted companies lined up one by one to receive their reward. Some might have chosen this as an opportunity to make some manner of speech, but screaming out like a drill sergeant did not suit you. Instead, you watched on from above a podium as the quartermaster's staff distributed the coins - and with each delivery, the simple phrase: "With his Lordship's regards." The distribution of coins was a simple one - Footmen, from the highest to the lowest, citizen or mercenary, corporal or sergeant, all received 3 Spadas, all glittering in their gold. Your Knights, in their part, whittled down to a mere 70 yet still noble, received 12, a fair sum for their higher stature and bravery in the field of battle. And finally were the captains, who had led these forces in your name in the midst of battle. Many of the number that had first joined you in your campaign had perished; Étienne de Valmoré, José Vesquetas, Bernal Carmentel, Gilete Banguila and even Bartolomé Pardain, a Hidalgo of Portblanc and the leader of your own retinue. In their place were other men, the next ones in line for promotion. For their skill and importance, they received no less than 30 coins each.
With the gifting of the coins finished, the soldiers were left to their own desires - and upon such freedom, there was much cheering and clapping indeed. Battered and burned as it was, Montechia was a city still, and the traders and sutlers which had so far supplied your siege camp with all manners of services and goods remained took no issue with bloodied money. Though the more frugal would perhaps save for their return, many more of the men would take this gift as a windfall to indulge on, to spend on fine wines, fine meats and fine women...though you greatly doubted the quality of the latter. To the lowest of your rungs, this reward, however little in the greater sense, was their payment's worth of multiple months. To those who had managed to nab for themselves some good deal of loot from the remains of the Cavalieri or the Giants, and more so found one willing to buy them, their wealth increased only further! Yes, certainly, war is a profitable venture for those blessed with the fortune to overcome death and disaster - and though it be far from what you had spent, you yourself have not walked out of this entirely empty handed - 3,500 Spadas, or roughly 3280 Imperii have remained from your share of the loot to be added to your own warchest.
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Irregardless of such discussions, however, one thing is certain: the morale of your men shall certainly appreciate this reward, And you shall even more certainly have need of it to do so, if you are to win this war!
In that regard, however, you are not certain what shall be the next move. Your liege, Don Carles, declared that you would remain in the city for a few days more before embarking, but in what manner he planned to defeat the remainders of the still yet rather mighty Fortelli Army, you were not so certain. "The plans of his highness have shown themselves greatly effective so far - there is little left but to follow them loyallty", is what you tell yourself, but you are not entirely certain. In the meantime, however, you've some free time to spend on this now-conquered Montechia.
HOW WILL ALESSANDRO PASS HIS TIME? CHOOSE ONE.
>He shall remain in his quarters and read his books
>He shall fraternize with one particular person (If so, who?)
>He shall write a letter home once again
>He shall reorganize his regiment to deal with depleted units
>Write-in
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>>6331238
>>He shall reorganize his regiment to deal with depleted units
Even if we meet the Fortelli's same force in the field again, I think we can leave the others to bear the brunt of conventional battle. But since we don't know what Don Carles' plans are and we may have distinguished ourselves in his eyes enough to suffer from success when time comes to pick somebody with a special task in mind, it might be time to prepare our battered regiment to better face tomorrow.
I am not opposed to any of the other options for aforementioned reasons though.
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>>6331238
>>He shall reorganize his regiment to deal with depleted units
Alas, the work is never finished. If fortune favours us, Alesandro will have another opportunity to pass his time after this one. As it is, getting the army sorted is the most pressing matter.
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>>6331238
>>Write-in
Let us confer with the captains of our volunteers about replenishing our losses with locals friendly to our cause, and perhaps we might take it to the Prince if we find success.
I still think we should try and bring captain Bonnino into our direct employ, if we can.
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>>6331290
I think this is worth consideration in terms of manpower replenishment but I'm not sure how trustworthy the locals will be, even though I doubt the average individual of footsoldiering class here has any loyalty to the Fortelli, I think they might take the actions of our allies more personally, even if we have pay to offer in a new time of leanness and we weren't the ones who did any sacking (we may as well have since we took our share of that anyways).
Though if any of the former defenders were formerly bonded mercenaries as would be typical of condottieri anyways, they might not be from here and certainly looking for a new employer.
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>>6331305
I suppose I could have made that clearer, but Don Carles already took over the watch for the Giant, remember? It's not your problem anymore, if that's what you're worrying about.
Of course, you can try to talk to him if you so wish, but it's not necessary.
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>>6331409
Ah thanks, I must have forgotten. Yeah I was just thinking we should "talk" with the giant to wrap up that plot thread, but if that is already sorted then no need to waste time on it.
I'll switch:
>>6331305
To:
>He shall reorganize his regiment to deal with depleted units
Not sure if other anons want to reconsider
>>6331311
>>6331408
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The allure of leisure might convince you ever so slightly towards spending this time to rest and recuperate from the hardships you had faced in combat, but you've no time for such things, for your regiment itself stands at the brink of coallpse! In a way, that is. Victor you might have been, you certainly lost a good portion of the soldiers in your force. Amidst your companies and troops, some had been wiped out entirely, and some were at a mere fraction of their full capabilities. Such units would be of little use on their own in a battle. Nay, your task for the next few days ahead would be to reorganize your regiment to the extent of your capabilities.
Your first thought, of course, was to simply find a way to replenish your units, but you found little ways in which you could do so. Whatever mercenaries were been in the region had already been hired by Don Carles. Perhaps more would come as tales of the war spread throughout the land, but certainly not before you were to set off. To hire locals, of course, was not so much as a consideration. Who would enroll themselves within the army of the ones who had laid waste to their town? A foolish concept that would only be entertained perhaps by the lowest of ruffians and spies. No, you'll have to simply shuffle around your numbers and see to it that soldiers are sent where they can best be used. Your first target is the 5th of Shot. Although Capitán Guillen de Costa survived the battle, his unit is at a mere quarter of its strength. You shall, instead, have his men distributed across the 4th and the 6th, bringing them to full strength while Guillen himself is kept as a 'reserve captain' of sorts.
After that, there is the matter of your knights. Towards the end of the battle, when your very life was at risk of the speartips of the Famiglia, you wagered your very survival on a close quarters musket volley against the knights. It worked splendidly, slaughtering them to a men - yet it also took out your own Retinue with it, including their captain. You've no retinue of your own as an result of it. Your other troops are little better, their numbers whittled down to a mere seventy in total. To fix both problems, you forward a dozen of the knights into your 1st Troop, and keep the rest as your new, decreased retinue of sorts. Upon receiving the knews of his new duty, Senor Fulgencio de Valejo swears to protect you with his utmost efforts. You only hope you'll not have need of it...
Although it had crossed your mind to perhaps also do something about the rather depleted skirmishers and cavalrymen of your force, it is doubtful that the Jinetes who made up your cavalry unit would accept outsiders so easily, being an organized mercenary company rather than a mere assemblage of independent sellswords. So far, it would seem as though these few changes would have to do.
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With your changes made ready, there was nothing left to do but wait, and in the 19th of March, the day for your departure arrived! Yet where you expected a depatrue throughout land in a march to the east, what arrived were orders to board the transport fleet that had first carried you to this foreign land. In the following hours, your regiment began the process of loading into the seabound vessels, and you began the process of wondering just what exactly were the plans of your liege. To your good luck, you were to travel amidst the same ship as his, the Mélia Marsana. As the afternoon began to crawl towards the dusk, your fleet left port, leaving behind only the wounded Don Fadrique, whose regiment was to serve as the guarding force for Montechia.
From the deck of the ship, you watched the dock shrink in the distance as your fleet began to inch eastward, shadowing the coast as it began the climb towards what you can only assume to be the heartlands of the Republic of Nera. And as you do, you are yet again set ablaze by curiosity over the plan of the crown prince. To travel by sea would certainly allow you to dodge whatever armies remained still in the passage between Tilano and the mainland, but had a landing close to their capital been possible, would you not have done so at the very start of this war? Shan't his highness inform you of such matters? You decide to use this opportunity to talk to Don Carles, and ask him so. You approach his highness as he is pouring over some papers in his quarters in the ship, bowing in the usual deference one must show before a member of the Imperial House. Yet before you are able to ask about the plan, you find yourself being asked a question first.
"Tell me, Don Alessandro." he begins, looking at his documents as he does. "You've been in this land for some deal of time by now. What would you make of it, this Straccia?"
You'd better think of a good answer.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>I like it
>I do not like it
>I hold no strong opinion of it
>I do not have enough knowledge to judge it
>Write-in
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>>6331993
>Write-in
>I don't see much of the difference, sire. The sun goes up and down, and men quarrel, as I suppose happens in all of this earth.
>But what do you think the Straccians will make of *us*, sire?
let's see what Don Carles has to say on the future plans for this campaign
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>>6331993
>>I hold no strong opinion of it
We haven't spent much time with the local population. We've either been travelling and looking at the countryside, or in war.
The lands seem fertile, but the heavy rains aren't to our taste.
As for the people themselves, all common folk seem the same when dealing with a noble such as ourselves and we haven't exactly been on good terms with what passes for local nobility/merchants.
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>>6331993
>>I do not have enough knowledge to judge it
A shame it is all blood, fire, and ash for us, at this time.
Though I'm sure we could appreciate the beauty and history of this land, under proper circumstances.
Think of the bountiful orchards we have sadly had to loot, a shame.
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"...I do not believe I've enough knowledge to judge it so, my lord." you reply, after thinking for a moment. Certainly, you've experienced quite a lot of this land. The warm weather of the northern regions, so bothersome in full armor. The torrential downpours, as well as the frequence which with they happened. The plentiful harvests which you 'seized', full of fresh fruit and produce and other things you had not seen that often save in the shape of preserved products such as jam. The wealth which even the common peasants seemed to hold. Truthfully, there is no denial that Nera, and perhaps the entirety of Straccia, if it is similar to it, is a bountiful, plentiful land. Yet what does that leave of its people? What of the character of these Straccians, these odd men with ears like almond nuts or a drop of rain upon a glasspane? That, you cannot tell. You have not interacted with them greatly, save for ordering the slaying of their men. It would be easy to call them triflesome and greedy as befits the nature of one whose very blood is controlled by merchantry. Yet you cannot believe such an answer is what your liege seeks of such a question.
"I've had little interaction with these folk, sire, save for seeing them in battle. In that regard, I can attest to their fierceness, but no more, were I to speak of objective matters." you repeat. As you do, Don Carles continues in silence, browsing through the documents in his desk before replying. "A fair answer. It is clear to me you are one of clear judgement, Viscount...of the unsure kind, perhaps."
He sets down his pairs, before crossing his hands.
"I presume you've come to ask me of this attack plan of mine, as have your fellow colonels, and I shall tell you the same I had told them: I seek to sail into their capital, and oversee the restoration of our allies. You may trust my word in that regard." he continues, his every word spoken as though thought of a hundred times before uttered. As for your own answer,
"Very well, your highness." is all you say. It would seem that he is intent on not telling you so. To press any further would be to insult his word, and to insult his word would be to insult the very Empire and their rightful stewards, the House of Brascarams. You bow yet again, and take you leave.Though you have spoken with him much, you can never quite tell what goes on in the mind of the Prince. You are beginning to believe you never will. Whatever schemes he holds, you shall have to see it through your own eyes.
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The path to the capital by sea is quite fast. Though you followed the outline of the coast for a while, the night and following day saw your fleet head onto open sea for a while, no doubt to avoid any coastal fortifications. Nonetheless, it was the 20th (If your memory served you well) when you saw land again. A bay, leading inwards, holding within its coast a city of size you had not seen since your days as a student in the Imperial Capital. It was Montellegaria, the beating heart of the state you knew as Nera. You could not see the city itself from such a distance, but its width was such that even by the seabound coast, many outlying burgs stood still. And though you had not approached them, you knew, even from your ship, what trade they practiced, for it was visible to you as well: coastal fortresses, of the most modern kind, standing at the mouth of the bay which led to the city. And in the waters themselves were the threat which had for so long ignored you, that which may have dealt you an early defeat - the Neran Navy, already in formation, broadsides presented as if challengiong you to move within their range.
It is an imposing sight, indeed, for compared to your own fleet, their numbers are four, perhaps even five times greater. In a line that stretches across your horizon, what must be hundreds of galleys and carracks stand ready to engage you. You also see some galleons , though in numbers smaller than even yours. In addition to the coastal batteries, their firepower dwarfed yours so utterly that you could not possibly see how you you could ever defeat it. Yet nonetheless, you watched as your fleet began to enter battle formations, a good deal of distance away from the enemy, under the orders of your liege. Yet rather than going forward, they form a firing line: as if to let off a barrage in such a distance that even you know is too far.
And then, they do.
If the firing of a cannon was like a thunderbolt, then the barrage of a navy is like an storm unmatched. You hear dozens, hundreds of guns firing uselessly into the distance, the sounds rattling your very skull. In the distance, great splahes of water rise from amidst the waves, marking the points where the cannonfire hit. This orchestra of gunfire continues for a few minutes more as every cannon in the fleet lets off a shot. In the distance, the hostile navy stands proudly, entirely unharmed. After the gunfire stops, there is...silence. You can only hear the sound of the waves. There is no second barrage, no continuation of the fire, no further movements - only silence. You ask Don Carles the purpose behind this attack, as the two of you stand on the ship deck.
"It is a notice of our presence to this city." he says, before going back to back to his quarters.
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For the following hours, nothing continues to happen. Sometimes, you almost faintly hear what seemed like gunfire in the distance, yet it seems more as though a trick of the mind. You continue through your day, with nothing to do but wait or look through your own books as you do so.
It is in the afternoon when something finally happens. From within the bay, departing from the fleet, a lone ship begins to fly towards your fleet, flying the white flag of peace. The ship, approaching you, is directed towards your very fleet, where Don Carles, now on the deck yet again, stands in his battle dressing. From the ship, a small party, in the distinct clothings of the merchant class, appproach him with deference on the deck as they are brought inside. Dropping to their knees, they announce, in a loud yet poorly learned accent.
"Montellegaria surrenders...we have ousted the Fortelli, and took them prisoner, that they may be delivered to you. We shall accept the stewardship of the Spisa once again."
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE CONTINUES AS USUAL
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Italian politics of this era were as cutthroat as this. Allies could turn into enemies after one bad day. Considering we sent their best running AND killed many of their very, very expensive mercenaries, as well as looting a provincial capital, the Fortelli had many bad days. Enough that they lost the confidence of enough allies for the Spisa could stage a counter coup. Well, looks like this campaign is over. Now to head home.
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Just a heads-up, I decided I didn't want to leave you with another "no choice" update, but this next stretch is quite a big one, so I'm going to push it back to tomorrow to get something good out. Hopefully it will be worth it.
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Sort of wonder if old Barbagris thinks he'll get back in the game again after this or if he'll count this as the last hurrah for his company and settle down.
Think we might have some volunteers to fill out his ranks since we'll probably be releasing everybody at the end of the campaign anyways instead of keeping them on retainer.
Not to put the cart before the horse or anything in case of a surprise development or one more big battle on the horizon.
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>>6334217
I've been thinking about this some myself.
I'm certain we'll need to raise an army again one day, and it might behoove us to retain a couple companies of veterans.
Specifically, I'd like to equip and train a company of veteran arquebusiers as musketeers.
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If the sight of that vast city had been imposing in the distance, to see it on person is another matter entirely. And as you slide into a harbor of Montellegaria, it becomes very much clear why the suzerains of this borough hold lordship over a nation of such size and wealth. The buildings in the waterfront show in their very facade a deep wealth - ornate palaces of marble and stone, with balconies of gilded gold that shone in the sun. Edifices of lime-plaster and stucco, where men of all manners walked and entered in great quantities. Scattered along the docks, ocean-facing bastions stood eminently across the water, a clear warning and safeguard against those who might wish to take the city by sea. Yet it was not the banners of this own city that these fortresses flew, but your own, for it was your soldiers who controlled these fortifications in that very moment.
After the ever so astounding reveal of the surrender of the city, matters had moved with great speed, such that you had no time to ponder just how it was that Don Carles had achieved this, how he had captured the largest of cities in this entire nation, how he had won this conflict without firing a single shot. Instead, you were tasked with dispatching several of your own companies to move ahead towards the city and take the fortifications. Though the representative had denied the demand, his highness had been rather quick in finding a deal that would ascertain your safeties without putting the city too greatly at your mercy. It was agreed that you and your army would be allowed to occupy the coastal batteries of the city, as well as to enter with a sizeable escort of your own, as you led your delegation, comprising of not only you of the Army of Segoma but of the [Spisa who had apparently been brought with your fleet to parlay with the gentry of this city. It was a measure of safety, to ensure that the fleet of the Nera, who would "leave" the bay temporarily so as to allow you safe passage, could not simply turn around and trap your entire fleet while their batteries tore you to to shreds. With your men in control of coastal fortifications, a breakout would be not only possible, but entirely unnecessary as your forces would be able to land without facing fire from the bastions.
Your armor donned and swords at the hip, you leave the Mélia Marsana as it reaches the docks, dozens of soldiers awating you already, Don Salazar amidst them. Joining you also would be, of course, his highness Prince Carles, escorted by none other than his own Princely Guard of Segoma, their armors emblazoned with the colors and arms of the Brascarams. As they approached, the soldiers saluted you, bowing to the prince. Don Salazar, who had been assigned with overseeing the occupation of the forts, is the first to speak.
"The coast has been secured, your highness. There are still forces in other fortifications in the city, but I do not suspect foul play on the part of these Straccians."
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"However," he adds, "It is my advice that the rest of the soldiery should remain in the fleet until our allies have been properly put into power to avoid incidents"
"I concur." replies Don Carles "It should also obfuscate our full numbers, I suspect we are greatly outnumbered, and our leverage for the Spisa could very well be found lacking should they believe us to be weaker than them. It is in our interest to act..." he looks around, back at the water. "..Quickly. Baron, please see to it that we are guided to wherever this parlay shall take place as soon as the Spisa arrive."
And arrive they do, for a few minutes later, a great barge pulls into the docks, pulled not by sail but by row after row of mighty oars. Its hull was of the strongest crimson, engraved with details of ivory and gold. Though entirely unarmed, the air that surrounded this barque was such that it was as though every vessel in these ports knelt in their presence. This was the Ceremonial Barge of the Spisa Family, and it carried within them the once-masters of the Serene Republic - and if all went as planned, its future ones as well. When exactly they had gotten themselves in this vessel, however, you know not, though you had never seen it amidst your fleet. Nevertheless, they dock gracely on the waterfront, and soon, you are able to see its passengers yourself.
It is curious, how one may fight an entire war in the name of one and yet never see them. Indeed, even the poor soldiery of the common class may yet see their lieges and colonels, their monarchs perhaps, leading them upon the field of battle. Such was not the case with these Spisa, these merchant kings whose thrones you had recovered. You had not so much as seen them until now, and the sight was certainly one to behold. There were over a dozen of them, some men, some women, and some children, but they all wore clothing of unimaginable wealth. The men, in full-skirted tabards and puffy jackets, embroidered with the red serpent that signified their familial ties. The women, in long skirts yet with low-cut décolettés. And all of them, from the children to the women to the men, wore that most bizarre of jewelries: an extension to their ears, glittering so greatly so as to have bene made with gems and gold, the "earring" was more like a prosthetic of sorts, accentuating the natural almond shape of their ears into something entirely inhuman.
They approached you, talking amongst themselves, with little doubt happy to be returned to their homes. Stepping forward, one amidst them, the patriarch and leader you presumed from the horn-like bonnet which he wore, began to speak to Don Carles, not in Straccian but in your own language, the tongue of Mirevale.
"My gratitudes upon thee, honorable prince. It is great to have returned to our city. I shall assure you that we shall not fail in our terms of our agreement. I shall see the treaty signed as soon as we are returned to our power..."
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Had his highness extracted some manner of promise in exchange for this military campaign? You should hope it is a worthy one, given the deeds you and your men, under the leadership of Don Carles, have done in these territories. You also cannot help but notice the oddity in the man's feature, his nose so sharp and long so as to have been likely to cut any who tried to touch it. You had noticed Straccians as a whole to possess some manner of tendency towards such features, but this man, whom you increasingly suspected to be the former Doge of Nera.
You waved away your thoughts of such matters, however, for with his arrival, you were finally able to proceed! With the Spisa in tow, your force marched through the city towards the rising visage of that palace which rose above the rest. The streets, in comparison with Montechia, were busy - labourers and citizens walked around about, gathering at the sides and the buildings to stare at your procession. There were no signs of fighting, no charred houses or piles of corpses left to rot on allewayways. However these burghers had ousted the Fortelli, they had done so without engaging in true battle. And so it continued for several minutes more, until, finally, you arrived at that palace at the center of the city, the home of the Serenissima Signoria, the ruling body of this state. It was the Palazzo di Nera, and upon its courtyard, there was a geat crowd.
Your arrival, upon passing the gates, was met with cheering and clapping. Wealthy merchants, the men of the gentry who composed the farcical nobility of this city applauded your group, hailing them as though they had not been the very ones to overthrow the men which they now acclaimed. From amongst them, one man seemed to signal their silence, before stepping forward, dropping into a knee, and beginning to speak in his own tongue.
"By the grace of The Splendour, Serene Duke of the Nerans, we, the humbled Signoria of this city, do offer our salutations to you, rightful Duke of the Nerans, and to your blessed lineage as well. We, who, in our folly, were misled by the deceit and false promises of the traitorous Fortelli, did not act as we should have during their coup. Now, we, who had finally gathered the courage to oust these betrayers, seek to rectify the grievous error of our ways, and ask you to return to your rightful place as steward of Montellegaria."
It is certainly a good thing you had learnt the language of this land, or you would have missed such a pitiful speech. What wily words these merchants hold. Though you might have felt more strongly about one who had betrayed his own lord, how can one call this assembly of money changers a nobility? Silent still, you watch as the would-be Doge walk forward, ready to muster a reply of his own.
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"Noblemen of the Signoria. It is clear, to me, that your words ring with truth. The treacherous Fortelli, through lies and deceit, had misled you into remaining quiet as they attacked my station and my family. Yet despite their attempts to crown themselves as tyrants of this Serene Republic, my family, with the aid of the honorable Prince Carles of Mirevale," he says, gesturing towards Don Carles "Have frustrated their plots. With the truth brought to light, you have shown your loyalty by ousting them from their seats. It is therefore only just and righteous that, as the re-titled leader of this city, that I should give you all absolution for the crimes which you had committed."
And at those words, the merchants cheer again. It is, as clear as the day, a farcical play. It is clear what hath happened to you now, how events had transpired. It was the victory you had won over their greatest of soldiers, the fall of Montechia and the region of Tilano. It was these events, not some manner of 'revelation of truth', that had eroded the confidence of this assembly into the Fortelli. They had felt the winds of fortune flowing behind your backs, and, in fear of being caught as an enemy by this invading force, they had ousted the leaders themselves, allowed you in peacefully as a "gift" to soothe the Spisa for their actions. The Doge, in his part, was all too happy to accept it, to forge this theatrical illusion of a world wherein they were innocent and misled, to create a lie that would allow them to return to how things had been, and afford these wealthy men the safety of their fortunes and positions.
With their 'return', of course, matters quickly turned to more practical subjects. Though they had forgiven those of the national assembly for their support in the coup, the Spisa still wished to assure their utter control over the city. For the rest of the day, you and the others of the expedition were assigned with the matter of purging the city's guard of the supporters of the coup. Armed with a list of names, your companies marched from fortress to fortress, from wall to wall, from bastion to bastion, given the power to arrest those that had been declared traitors by the Doge - captains, sergeants, entire units of the guard. Many, of course, had already fled - out of the city and well outside your grasp. Others attempted to token of resistance, locking themselves in some fortifications and refusing any offers to surrender. Those your men cut down, taking the fortifications by storm. In this, the remnants of the Banda Grisa, with their halberds and greatswords, were of great use. Some attempted to bribe you still, not knowing you to be far wealthier than what their meagre offerings could muster. In the end of the day, you had arrested or killed several dozen men, and walked through some fair portion of the Montechia. With the final name on the list struck, you sighed in relief, able at last to rest.
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The benefits of partaking in a purge of a city's nobility, you find, is that it liberates some rather sumptuous properties. Your time in the city would see your quarters in an rather ornate city house belonging to some relative of the Fortelli family. Though not a member himself, his was an abode of quality none too dissimilar to your own castle in Portblanc - and in some ways, such as the modernity of the amenities, superior even to that.
"I ought to remodel that ancient castle." you tell yourself.
Tonight, you shall simply rest, but tomorrow, there are matters still to be done! Although Don Salazar has already been assigned control over the lodging of the Army of Segoma, including your own regiment, during the time they remain in the city, there are other matters which you could attend. You have heard that tomorrow, a great hanging shall occur...a hanging of the Fortelli. That they would meet this fate so quickly surprised you so, but you reckon the Spisa intended to eliminate any chances of a third changing of opinions from the city's gentry. Secondly, Don Carles had also told you that the Treaty which had been talked of yesterday would be signed and formalized tomorrow...at the same time of the hanging, as well. Though your presence was not demanded, you are certain you would be well allowed to take part in such an event. Finally, you could choose...neither. Montellegaria was a city of wealth, of beauty, of art and of merchantry. You could simply take in the sights of the art and architecture, or perhaps visit the merchant houses to see if you could find any exotic items to bring home. It was your choice to take.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Attend the great hanging
>Attend the signing of the treaty
>See the art and architecture of the city
>See the merchant houses of the city
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>>6334401
>>Attend the great hanging
It is brutal and in your face, I would expect hanging children and women. Thus, it is useful for Alessandro to be confronted by it and really understand the consequences of losing. It could be him, his brother and Joan all on the gallows if he fails (given it seems the Don is setting up a power bloc with Montellagria for an attempt at the throne once the Emperor dies).
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>>6334401
>Attend the signing of the treaty
No doubt attending the hanging would provide us with some significant insight as to the identities and motivations of the Fortellis, but seeing as their coup has collapsed entirely, it would probably much more important to ingratiate ourselves with the Spisa.
I also wonder if we might identify a lucrative side deal with one of those wily merchants or lower Spisan nobility, given that our recent exploits will have won us some acclaim and our association with Don Carles might win us favorable terms… we’re a merchant nobleman after all!
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>>6334401
>Attend the signing of the treaty
I concur with wanting to know the terms rewarded, though I have a strong feeling I already know. Which is basically to not only be the prestigious mark of "I did this without daddy's help" but also to bankroll the Prince's election campaign, as it were, when the time comes.
>>6334538
>Wonder if we'll get to see the guy we fought, or if he escaped.
I feel like the army at his command might have managed to escape even hearing about this turn of events so quickly. Which either means there's a loose end to tie up roaming out there, or the Famiglia will return with Vicenzo Fortelli as their prisoner to curry favor with the new regime. Unless they've done that already, of course, but they'd have done it real fast.
>>6334922
>we’re a merchant nobleman after all!
Okay hold on now we're a noble ruler of a merchant city, the phrasing is important lest certain knife eared moneylender fucks think we're their equal and not their better.
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>>6334934
I think it means they're very slightly pointed, like picrel, because the Straccians have a little bit of elf blood but not a lot.
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>>6334934
>>6335006
Alright, so basically, the thing about the Straccians' ears is that I've never quite found a good way to describe them succintly. But the idea is that their ears are kind of like...reverse knife ears? Rather than being long at the top, they're long at the bottom.
The closest thing I can get to a comparison is that they're kinda like a...kite shield, so to say, or a "water droplet", which is how i previously said. I started using "almond shaped" because that's what wikipedia called the shape of kite shields, but it doesn't seem like that's an actual shape.
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Through the shining of the morning sun, you calmly stroll into the Ducal Palace, admiring the sights of the architecture as you do. For some while now, the land of Straccia was reputable across the entirety of Mauva and even the lands beyond it to the north and south as a place of fine art, wherein the most skilled of engineers oft turned buildings into canvases, using the most modern of methods and materials. Modern tooling from Mirevale, glassware from Bach, gold from Samica and tinctures from the far lands of the west. Plenty of other nations, your own Mirevale included, have begun imitating such artistry of their own, building modern structures that contrast ever so greatly with the dark and crude stonework of old. If you are ever to rebuild your own residency in Portblanc, you should certainly be wise to make usage of this architectural science of Straccia.
Having decided to partake in the signing of the treaty, whatever it may be, you march through the halls of the assembly, wherein the Serene Council may take place. Yet as you enter the great chamber where the members of the Signoria and the other councils and assemblies that made up the Neran government were to vote, you found the room...almost empty. The central seats remained filled, and you had even recognized some of the faces amidst them, such as the man who had led the nobility of the city in their 'apology' to the Spisa, as well as the Doge himself; yet the rest of the room was very sparsely populated, with but a few faces amidst the lot. Looking around, you finallly found Don Carles, waiting upon one of the outermost corners, surrounded by his guard. Approaching the man, you are very quickly recognized, and stand close to the prince.
"Hath I arrived too early, milord?" you ask, somewhat confused. "Or perhaps too late."
"You are right on time, Viscount. The assembly shall begin shortly, though - I suspect the number of occupants in the room shall not change too wildly."
"Is this not the ruling body? From what I hath learned, this assembly holds the power to veto any such law that the Doge may try to pass, no?"
"That may be so, Viscount, yet I am afraid most members of this assembly are...busy, this morning. During the time you had been assigned to arrest members of the military in the city, the Spisa were very hard at work in their efforts towards cleaning the city of the great majority of their rivals. A great portion of this city has woken up to find their leading positions left empty, or that their families have been declared accomplices of the Fortelli and their properties seized. And that, of course, is not to say of all those who will be hanged at this very same time the assembly is occurring. Luckily, there exists no law in their society which requires an assembly to possess the presence of their every elector to function."
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Which, of course, means, those who have come are entirely capable of passing whichever laws they may desire in the chaos. It is the exact manner of underhanded deception which one would expect from the merchant class, even if it shall be of good fortune towards the goals of your own party. And just as the Prince hath predicted, the assembly begins with a little more than a few additional representatives arriving. After some short rituals and a prayer to the holy, the Council begins in proper. The first act, as you had expected, was the full re-investiture of all powers befitting the ducal throne of the Doge upon the patriarch of the Spisa, whose name you had finally found to be Ludovico. With his powers invested once again in him, it was the man himself who started the next act - the official seizure of all property of the Fortelli in the name of the state - their vast farmlands in northeastern Nera, their many properties across the cities of the country, even their iron mines close to the eastern borders, near the land of Senucco. All these properties were to be seized by the state, to be sold or used at a later date in order to "garner funds" for the national treasury.
Finally, was the treaty - by then, some two odd hours had passed, and you are certain you could hear in the distance a great crowd, far louder than any market - the hanging of the Fortelli must have begun. With the treaty in discussion, you looked on, rapt, curious to find out the reason, the motification as to why you had partaken in this war, why it had happened in the very first place.
The first term was, as you might have expected, an immediate declaration of peace between the Crowns of Mirevale and Segoma with the Republic of Nera. However brief it might have been, for the period in which they held control, the Fortelli did so with the full 'backing' of the state. The Spisa had been overthrown, as far as you knew, in accordance with their laws, and Iuliano Fortelli, the one who had replaced Ludovico, had been elected just as legally. That conflict which you fought was, by all means, a war both legal and true. And through this treaty, it would end.
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The second term was the immediate forging of an alliance - a defensive pact between their houses, of Brascarams and Spisa, of Nera and Mireval. It detailed upon the nations a duty to aid the other in regards to foreign invasions, were they to be called forth to do so by the other, yet most importantly of all that such treaties be applied only to "foreign" invasions. In words, it was an intent of preventing intrusion upon the "local politics" of the Straccians, yet it was clear at first sight that there were but two states whom should apply to such matters...the Sbravani Tsardom and the League of Bach. This term was not merely a guarantee, but a statement, a great move upon the gameboard of the Straccian Peninsula between the superpowers of Mauva. Whatever conflicts broke out over the fate of the continent, Nera would be on the side of the Imperial Throne of Mascaloma - whether it realized it or not.
The third term was of economical concessions, of "encouragements" to trade - more specifically, the great reduction of tariffs and custom fees for Segoman merchants on Nera. In this, your first clenched - you knew how great a change such a matter was. In the scale of great economies, tariffs and fees were what protected one's state from the dominance of foreign traders. To be able to trade without taxes, or at least with reduced ones, did not merely reduce your costs of maintenance, but gave you a great advantage over other merchants. In time, traders from Segoma would be able to outcompete all but the very natives of the nation, driving out the market dominance of those from other states. And as for you? The increased traffic of trade going from your own Portblanc towards Nera would mean far greater taxes for yourself. To say that you have benefitted from this term would be an understatement of great portions. Yet nevertheless, one more term still remains.
The fourth, and final term was simpler than all others. As a reward for his support, for his defense of the rightful ruler of Nera, the Prince himself, Don Carles IV of the House Brascarams, would be given a monthly remittance of 15,000 Spadas for a length of five years, to be paid either as a salary, or as a lump sum. Quickly adding up the numbers, you come at the final number that he would be given. In total, his highness would be gifted an amount of 900,000 Straccian Spadas, or nearly eight hundred thousand five hundred Imperii.
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...
It is certainly clear why the Prince had agreed to participate in this war. It would take perhaps the entire sum of all revenue collected through all manners of taxation, disregarding all the costs and tributes and upkeep of your own that would otherwise take for such a number, from a whole year of your own Portblanc to match this manner of sum. Though the revenues of a nation far dwarfed such numbers, to receive such a sum in pure gold is a reward of considerable might. Whatever amount his highness had spent on this campaign, you are certain that he must have doubled it at the very least.
With the terms read out, the time came for the council to give their judgement over such a treaty. In a normal case, this would have certainly been met with immediate cries of anger, of utter rejection to such an greatly one-sided deal. The scales which dictated the beneficiaries of this deal weighed so greatly towards your own that one may have thought it a terms of surrender, a demand of tribute from a conquering overlord rather than a treaty of peace and friendship made by equals. It would seem that Ludovico and the Spisa at large were very much willing to sacrifice a good deal of their own state for the sake of regaining their power. In normal conditions, such a treaty would have been grounds for revolt, for rebellion of a ruler so cowardly as to dole out the national treasury in largesse to foreign armies as a means of regaining power.
These were not normal conditions.
And so, with their rivals hanging from the gallows, rotting in the dungeons, fleeing from the city with all that they could take, none stood to oppose this accord. The Treaty of Montellegaria was signed, and that war which would come to be known as The Fortelli War ended, one year, one month, and fifteen days after it had begun.
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBLE EVENT, THREE TIMES.
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>>6335587
There's a lot of house cleaning that has to be done with this sort of deal, I imagine. The legislation just pushed through a completely horseshit treaty while most of them were out or being hanged, and the people footing the bill aren't going to be doing so willingly.
Sucks to be a droopy ear, but we're gonna be making out like bandits. We'll be able to make Joan's maidwear out of cloth of gold without blinking or sweating.
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Right then, how are we going to exploit this windfall?
I'm thinking build up our own fleet with tradeships would be a good bet.
But, what about investing in our infrastructure? Increased trade means increased traffic, hopefully we can do something to expand our accommodations and profit off of those using our harbors.
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>>6335654
This is literally the best thing we could do, in all likelihood. Having a super clear, strictly enforceable and highly predictable civil/trade code would create optimal growth. Preferably we’d keep taxes and tariffs pretty low and then very aggressively build up an anti-piracy fleet to keep our trade routes safe.
The treaty here has the potential to make us ridiculously wealthy, so we should move to convert all that money into military force. This campaign has been a pretty effective real-world demonstration that a big bank account on its own is not enough to keep you from getting deposed
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>>6336377
As far as my references say, for a conflict in such relatively short time and scale, it is a pretty reasonable amount of casualties. Most of the civilian casualties come, of course, from looting and pillaging of villages, and in particular, the Siege of Montechia, which ended pretty damn bad - though you weren't there to see all that.
I suppose I should specify, these types of numbers aren't so much as canonical knowledge as much as general "statistics" I'm making available to the player. Alessandro himself would not know, per sa, the amount of people that died, and indeed it is very hard to find out the full number of civilian casualties during this time period - the only real method would be to have conduct a census both before and after the war.
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Although the immediate occupation of the city had been carried out and control of the Spisa over the body of the republican state had been reasserted, your job in Montellegaria was far from over. After the hangings of the 21st of March and the singing of the treaty, the city remained in utter disarray. The bureaucratic body of the nation had been riddled with holes, positions left unfilled by those condemned by Ludovico and his house. Though you are certain they were slowly being filled again with those that might find loyalty to their family in their newly granted positions, there was much chaos still. In this, the Army of Segoma remained as a peacekeeping force of sorts, putting down riots and calming unrest in the outskirts of the capital. You are not certain what the effects of the usage of a foreign force upon a city's populace is, but you do not believe it to be a good one.
In the midst of this, you yourself stand, strangely enough, with little to do. With Don Salazar in command of these policing actions and Don Carles journeying off to meet the Neterelli family in the south, there was little left of army matters that was not handled by Hugues or Provençal, leaving you with some considerable amount of time in your hands. To your good fortune, however, you knew Straccian, and more specifically, Neran Straccian, it being that most tutors of this language in the Empire having been born of this very same state thanks to their warm relations with Mirevale. It was so thus, that, for the rest of March and the first week of April, you spent your time experiencing the social life of Montellegaria.
At first, you had acted as though some manner of tourist, visiting the sights and experiences that the city could offer - the churches, the fountains, the palaces and theaters. You tasted of their foods - casserole of fine pork and cabbage, eggs boiled in rosewater, breaded venison drizzled in olive oil - all accompanied by the finest of Straccian wines. And it was in these eateries, these elaborate dinners and banquets, that many news made their way to you, informing of the events in that peninsula of theirs and the wider continent in its whole. It went without saying that the end of the Fortelli War had made waves across the region; it was entirely unexpected. When the dethronement and exile of the Spisa had been first learned of, many had presumed that such would be their end, another political house banished from their land and left to languish in obscurity in the lands of some distant ally of theirs, reduced to the gutters of history. When your army had made landfall on Tilano and begun the siege, opportunistic neighbours made their moves - the Avonnese, the Senuccans and even the Santulans to the west. Of the latter, they seemed to have given up their prospects of taking the island of Guiverni when the peace was announced and the Neran Armada was no longer bound to the protection of their shores.
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In the past, Don Carles had mentioned of the Despot of Senucco striking some sort of deal with the Fortelli, and the terms of this deal had soon become clear. After an past attempt to acquire for himself the secrets of cannonmaking, the Despot of Senucco had been forbidden business entirely by the Artillery Guilds of the peninsula. This matter had greatly damaged his warfare capabilities - until, of course, the Fortelli offered them the services of several artillery masters that were under their employe, "bypassing" the guild ban. It had been enough to strike a peace between the two, and now, their target had been revealed at last - the Republic of Antinia, the city of blacksmiths and armormakers. The plate produced by the Antinians was known throughout all of Mauva, yet it did little when faced with a force of overwhelmingly greater size. Although unssucesful attempts to invade Senucco or break the siege had been made by neighbours, sources claimed that even now the city remained still at siege.
What surprised you the most, however, were what news had spread of yourself. After the Famiglia had completely slaughtered the Avonnese Army at Edroa, a great fear had taken the peninsula over the Serene Guard. Never before since the fall of Allegro had such a great number of Amazonian Knights been gathered under one banner. In Montellegaria, there had been boasts of the revolution of warfare, of the undefeatability of such a force in the field. Some had worried that the eastern states who supplied them with the Wetgrain needed to feed the horses such as Chiantia and Genatta would stop their exports entirely out of fear of their power.
The news of the attack had not even managed to finish it's spread when you defeated them at the Vessena Bridge.
Of course, you had not defeated them entirely. In fact, you had not even fought their whole numbers. Yet the effects were the same nonetheless - hundreds of what had seemed to be the finest knights of the continent were slaughtered and an entire army was halted at their most desperate by the singular regiment of some little-known colonel from a vassal state of Mirevale. Such events, all so enticing to the common man, had made their rounds by word of mouth and by messenger, by trader and by pigeon, such that when you had begun your entry into the social world, there was much surprise indeed on their part when they had heard you were the one that had done so. Although many had simply judged it a great blunder on the part of the Fortelli leader, many more had called it a great feat on your part, such that it had been even expected that Don Carles himself, as one of the heirs of the great empire, was the one to lead the force.
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It would be a lie to say you did not feel greatly about the praise which was thrown upon you.
Regardless of your feelings about the newborn infamy of your name that had begun to spread in the peninsula, your time on it would soon end - as soon as Don Carles returned from the Neterelli territories, you would embark on a ship to Segoma and return to your beloved pale shores. Until then, however...
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS
>Engage in correspondence with your homeland
>Finally claim that bank note you had gained in the midst of the war
>Continue to socialize with the gentry of Montellegaria
>See the merchant houses of the city
>Write-in
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>>6336580
>Engage in correspondence with your homeland
Much as I'd like to cash that check, I doubt that the Grand Duchy of Bagra is going to suddenly be incinerated to ashes in a few days, so I think it can wait.
I think it'd be responsible to let our household know that we won, and that we'll be returning soon. Also that the Avonnese Army is manned and commanded by chumps, though they likely didn't have the terrain advantage we did.
Is there any chance that we could get a brief summary of how that went, if we've heard tell of the event? It's hardly necessary to have some illustrated blow by blow, but a little summary would be neat, even if it's as simple as "local commander leaves his flank exposed and gets rolled up like a scroll."
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>>6336577
>See the merchant houses of the city
Guys, guys, we speak the lingo, we’re popular, we’re victorious, we simply MUST set up trade routes between our province and Montellegria, we’d be CRAZY to let this moment slip by
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>>6336580
>See the merchant houses of the city
So that's the broader geopolitical context... And dang, no wonder our name is spreading, handling the Knights a defeat after they just BTFO'd another army is the kind of thing stories are made of. And now, it's time to make some more money!
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>>6336803
>handling the Knights a defeat after they just BTFO'd another army is the kind of thing stories are made of.
Hard to talk your boys up after somebody responds to your story of riding down the Avonnese at Edroa by telling the story of how a bunch of city slicker adventurers from Isedia with blickies led by a bean counter beat you because they were hiding in a pile of junk and carrion.
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>>6336580
>>See the merchant houses of the city
Surely cashing a bank note wouldn't take very long. And hey, we should pick up some souvenirs for our family and ourselves before we leave. Who knows, might even be some choice stuff being put up for auction after all these confiscations.
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>>6336580
>See the merchant houses of the city
yeah lets set up trade connections that will fund our private navy (and then we'll have a bigger force when we fight for the Prince when he makes his play to take the top spot)
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No update today. It's the last week before I'm finally free from work until next year. In the meanwhile, here's a few questions if you feel like answering.
>The first war of the quest is finally over - what did you think of it, as a whole?
>What about the battles? What did you think of them?
>Was there something you were expecting that didn't happen in the conflict?
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>>6337605
>The first war of the quest is finally over - what did you think of it, as a whole?
I liked it, especially the attention to logistics. Though the siege segment felt a bit like hitting our head on a wall - we had to make decisions, but none of them seemed to matter, and nothing we did made the siege end sooner.
>What about the battles? What did you think of them?
Nail-biting.
My main gripe is me constantly misjudging how far units can shoot.
The last battle with the giants and the amazon horses was absolutely terrifying.
>Was there something you were expecting that didn't happen in the conflict?
Internal discord and jockeying for favor and glory. I was afraid we'd have to deal with this shit.
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>>6337605
>>The first war of the quest is finally over - what did you think of it, as a whole?
I liked it. Both sides seemed to have reasonable objectives in mind for the campaign. The war itself felt somewhat akin to the Habsburgs restoring the Medici to power.
>What about the battles? What did you think of them?
Those were good too, especially with your effort on the maps.
The most interesting thing for me personally was actually the moment one of the colonels we sent to scout the river disobeyed our orders and sacked a nearby village. I'd actually look forward to more moments like these where armies don't act like automatons and prove hard to control.
>Was there something you were expecting that didn't happen in the conflict?
Fighting a battle alongside the other generals of our own side. I think it would be interesting having to gauge a battle plan according to how allied generals are likely to act: are their tactics more typical or heterodox? Are they cowardly or brave? Cautious or rash? How trustworthy are they?
I think the Fortelli ought to have been more developed as antagonists. By this I don't mean they need to necessarily be what could be considered as "villainous" or "evil", just more fleshed out. It seems most or all of them were recently executed for instance, but I do not have strong feelings about it because I don't know what they were like. Should I rejoice in their deaths because they might have been horrible human beings? Should I feel guilty of partaking in this war because there might have been innocents among them? I simply don't know because I didn't get to know them. Managing to establish these important character moments is what would make players either determined to get rid of them or even regret fighting them.
Something I don't recall happening so far is much of religious conflict. At least my impression so far is that the Church of Splendour doesn't just differ from historical Christianism dogmatically, but isn't as big a point of contention as dogma was in real life? Right now I'm not sure if this was a choice based on the quest being designed to focus on secular politics and warfare, or on the setting working with a different logic than historical Christianity. Or maybe this could be something covered later on? Idk
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>>6337605
>>The first war of the quest is finally over - what did you think of it, as a whole?
It was fantastic, I particularly enjoyed the army management and logistics aspects while on campaign, and the raising of the army. One thing I would have liked to have seen more of would have been interaction with our captains and officers. Barbagris and the leader of our retinue in particular, it would have made already intense decisions about trying to save or send men to their deaths all the more impactful.
>>What about the battles? What did you think of them?
Vessena was fucking anxiety inducing, and I loved it. I've been here since the /tg/ split and I've never been so invested in a battle.
My only gripe as far as mechanics goes would be trying to imagine the range of fire and movement capabilities of our formations, though as far as narrative goes it kind of works out with our own inexperience in war.
>>Was there something you were expecting that didn't happen in the conflict?
I figured we might see some shenanigans from all the various mercenaries one way or another, or perhaps dealings with
treacherous local nobility and merchants.
We never really picked up any companions or retainers to carry back home with us from the war either, which would have been nice. Hopefully we can at least retain some of our officers.
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>>6337696
>Something I don't recall happening so far is much of religious conflict.
The Thirty Years War didn't happen until the 17th century though, innit? We're still in the 16th.
We did hear of the Emperor leading some crusades against the infidels, also.
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>>6337696
And althought this wasn't asked for, I felt like adding some additional comments on
>things I'd be looking forward to
I think Straccia so far has a lot of potential as a setting for future conflict, with a bunch of unique factions conniving against each other while also being under the looming threat of the "major" factions (Mirevale, Sbrava, Bach), which does resemble the historical italian wars. And besides offering many potential scenarios for intrigue and warfare, at least I'd be looking forward to see how future conflicts could possibly engage with themes of the ethics of war, why are they waged, can they serve a good purpose, how much of your humanity are you willing to sacrifice to win the game, etc.
Besides that I'd like forward to seeing the supporting characters being more fleshed out, layered, etc. Although doing that well isn't easy, I think it's essential to make the stakes matter in a narrative. Make we hate them, make we pity them, make we admire them, make them disgusts us, both friends and foes. Then you will have people really struggling on which choices to pick IMO. On this case I wouldn't mind some degree of railroading if it made for a better story overall
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>>6337703
>We did hear of the Emperor leading some crusades against the infidels
Fair enough, I had forgotten about that.
>The Thirty Years War didn't happen until the 17th century though, innit? We're still in the 16th.
I mean, we're more specifically in a fictional world that in some aspects mirrors the historical 16th century but isn't the same thing.
But IRL with the popes gaining so much cultural and political prominence, and with Christianity being an universalist and extremely dogmatic religion, the politics of the middle ages and the early modern era always involved some degree of religious contention. I think you could partly summarize the political history of the papacy as a struggle for independence against greater secular powers like the ostrogoths, the byzantines, the emperors of the HRE, the kings of france, the habsburgs, etc. Unsurprisingly that led to the split between catholics and orthodox, the creation of "antipopes" by the emperors of the HRE, and then to the western schism during the end of the middle ages. Religion was so important it was political legitimacy, and as such wars ended up creating the issue of which sides embodied the legitimate political authority: the roman popes against the patriarchs of constantinople, or the roman popes against the popes chosen by the emperors of the HRE, or which of both (or three) popes during the western schism was the legitimate one (unsurprisingly france and england picked different sides), etc. And when the political goals did not align with religion, it didn't take too much for someone like Wycliffe to find political support for instance.
The irl Italian Wars didn't have as much religious contention as the thirty years war, but this doesn't mean they didn't have any. Savonarola lived in this era. Venice was excommunicated by Julius II. One of the French kings (IIRC I think it was Louis XII?) attempted to set up his own synod to make one of his cardinals the pope. And the wars were fought with the prostetant reformation as the background, with the popes jockeying against Luther while trying to maintain their indepencence from Charles V. Monarchs like Henry VIII outright broke with the Catholic Church, but even "Catholic" monarchs were unreliable political allies of the papacy
Of course, this is only relevant assuming the Church of Splendour is similar to the Catholic Church IRL, which it doesn't need to be. I'm mostly saying I don't recall them being quite as involved in politics in this quest as the Catholic Church was IRL
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>>6337605
>The first war of the quest is finally over - what did you think of it, as a whole?
Recruitment was fun, with the consequence being we had to use what we choose (and rolled for) throughout the campaign.
Having a series of battles was also fun, lots of different set piece battles that we want to preserve our forces for (in some other PC games you can recruit more easily to replenish forces but here we had to balance immediate objectives with the overall goals of our liege).
The choices of if we wanted to attack a city or not, or path A vs path B (or to rush to get a position or send out scouts). I enjoyed that these choices had impact.
>What about the battles? What did you think of them?
That last one was so tense. So much unexpected (like the forest fire burning one of our cannons, giants crossing the river etc), and yet not unfair.
In general they are all enjoyable and I think the maps provide a lot of value. Thanks for putting in the effort.
>Was there something you were expecting that didn't happen in the conflict?
I was wondering how it would be to NOT be in total command, e.g. when we got to fight under the Prince's command, as a sub-commander. But we chose to fend of the Fortelli so it makes sense.
It might have been nice to spend more of our time politicking with our peers once we arrived, but only if it would matter in a future campaign when we would see them as recurring characters.
>>6337712
>Where are we even going after this anyway
I like the POV changes when we did the battles with some of the scouts etc. I think that enriched the narrative to do it "on screen" rather than just get a report of what happened.
Potentially we could do a POV change and participate in different conflicts using other characters, meaning we're not limited to Alessandro.
In the Panzer Commander Quest there is a PCQN thread at the moment that is exploring a conflict/story on the other side of the continent from the original quest. Since QM has a whole world with different countries fighting each other, then QM can put a spotlight on any specific conflict and flesh out the world (and cross pollinate MCs). For example, the conflicts in Antinia can be explored and don't need to include Alessandro.
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>>6337605
As a whole, I really liked the first war. A good intro to some of the mechanics we'll use later.
The battles were incredibly tense. Vessena was fucking epic. I would like some better guides on ranges, so we can better plan on how to use our men.
As for things that didn't happen... Some more interarmy politicking, and just cooperation with other forces will be very interesting down the line. As well as other sieges, where I hope we can be more of an active participant.
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>>6337617
Thanks for the answers, they really do help.
>we had to make decisions, but none of them seemed to matter, and nothing we did made the siege end sooner.
Truth be told, I just wasn't exactly sure how I could show much more work on your part. Sieges of this time period really just consisted of firing cannons, digging trenches and trying to blow up their walls, and sometimes they'd take entire decades.
Of course, you *would* have probably seen more consequences for your actions if you had stayed for the assault...
>>6337696
>I think the Fortelli ought to have been more developed as antagonists
As for that, I agree. The issue, as usual, it's that it's a bit hard to develop the antagonists when you pretty much never meet them or really hear directly from them due to the constraints of the period, especially when you're supposed to be a foreigner in a distand land who doesn't really know much. If you were fighting, say, in Mirevale itself, you would probably know a lot more about the characters than you did for this conflict.
>>6337701
>My only gripe as far as mechanics goes would be trying to imagine the range of fire and movement capabilities of our formations
That is also something I have problems with, because if I were to make specific ranges and movements, I'd either need to figure out the full scale of the field of battle, or turn it into a grid-based system, both of which have obvious problems. So I decided that just leaving it as a 'general idea' would make things easier and more efficient.
>>6337723
>But IRL with the popes gaining so much cultural and political prominence, and with Christianity being an universalist and extremely dogmatic religion, the politics of the middle ages and the early modern era always involved some degree of religious contention
About that, this is also a sort of consequence of the plot. When I was writing for this setting, I decided that I felt like it would be better if the main religion wasn't just a copy and paste of the church.
So what I decided was that, essentially, the Church of Splendour is a lore more "decentralized" - rather than being essentially built around the orders of bishops and priests and whatnot, a good quantity of the church is instead divided amongst "Orders" who represent different "aspects" of the faith. So for example, you have the Order of the Santo Cor, who are basically medics and physicians who focus the aspect of the sanctity of health and good physique.
At some point, I should probably do a whole thing on the Church of Splendour, but only when it's plot relevant.
>>6337712
>Where are we even going after this anyway?
Keep reading and find out.
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>>6338036
>That is also something I have problems with, because if I were to make specific ranges and movements, I'd either need to figure out the full scale of the field of battle, or turn it into a grid-based system, both of which have obvious problems. So I decided that just leaving it as a 'general idea' would make things easier and more efficient.
I also found getting a sense of accurate range to be difficult in that last battle. I felt that a scale rule would be a helpful addition: a little thing at the bottom of the map showing what 100 meters is or smth like that
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To be fair, we also didn't have supreme command during the siege of montechia, in general we were following don carles' plan.
If we're able to conduct a siege on our own later on I'm sure it would be more interesting, but also actually risky
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>>6338036
Personally, I felt the siege to be rather appropriate, considering our level of involvement.
As to RoM/F, I think that it added to the atmosphere with us not knowing the exact numbers, even if it was frustrating at times. Like I said, I think that we all have a better idea of what we can expect in that regard now, gaining experience as a commander and all.
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>>6338079
I don’t think that other anon is wrong, per se, but I personally had no problem with the siege sequence, we did accomplish some useful stuff and it was not “time wasted”.
In terms of overall quest review, I love the quest myself and I am a huge fan of vision in general, but I would push you as a QM to create more off-battlefield conflict for our MC. It would be interesting to see how we confront social/political rivals. I have no notes for your actual army and battle sequences, and in fact, I’ll be taking inspiration from your work in my own quest! Your ability to create a sense of danger and tension is masterful
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>>6338036
I thought the siege was fine. We arrived "late" to it, so it makes sense there was nothing to do.
I also think it was fine we didn't get to know the Fortelli. Kind of typical for soldiers who are drafted, sent off to war to kill someone that they personally have no quarrel with. Under different circumstances perhaps he could have been allied with them instead (e.g. a mercenary way of thinking).
Something to consider during a siege to get some narrative and keep pacing could be things like resolving disputes amongst troops (mercenary units vs noble knights vs common conscripts), or disciplinary actions (someone looted when they weren't supposed to, etc), or other profiteering (you did give us the chance to build a road to get supplies etc).
Sometimes war is just a lot of "hurry up and wait"
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My apologies for the delays, but I may have hit a bit of a block here. I've been trying, since the past day, to write an update for the trade house visits, since that's what you all voted for.
The issue is, I cannot seem to make it work. There are zero sources for this sort of thing, so without any basis for the cost numbers, nothing seems to be coming out right. I've pretty much wasted all the time I had free today trying to figure out how to make it work, but it's still silly. I'm already over two thousand words into the draft and it didn't get to anywhere that actually mattered, and the whole thing feels really awkwardly worded.
I hate having to continuously delay updates, but until I figure out something there's not much I can do.
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>>6338535
Good news, thanks to some help, I was able to find a good enough basis for the price. It might be a rough update, but I'll try to send it out still, just to let you guys have something to do.
In advance, sorry if the prose feels really weird and stilted.
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Though it gives you some manner of distastesfulness, it cannot be denied what power of wealth creation the merchant trade holds. It is the existence of merchants, of the travels of their ships and the products that they hold, of the taxes and tariffs and tolls that they must pay when passing through your territory, that Portblanc is anything more than a poor island inhabited by fishers and subsistence farmers. It is why you are a man of the nobility, the scion to a house of such honor that they are counted within The Greats of Mirevale, the Grandees, the "Cousins" of the Emperor of Mirevale himself. Whatever the faults of the merchant class, the act of trade is one which you have come to be quite knowledgeable on in your years as a Viscount of the realm.
It is, then, of little question that you would seek to directly benefit from the lower tariffs before you returned home. Although the increase in wealth from Segoman merchants would benefit you through taxes and such things, there was little reason to not partake in the trading yourself, even more so when one cannot pay taxes to himself. Indeed, shortly before you had left for the war, you had already sent forth a trading expedition to the north across the Meringian, in the territory of the League of Bach. It was meant to fetch you a tidy profit, no great sum on the scale which you act, but a considerable one nonetheless.
It was nothing compared to what you could profit, were you to acquire a good deal with these merchants before others did.
It was for that reason that, on that day, you were walking amidst the coastal district of the city, visiting one of the trade houses with whom you intended to make your offer. It was owned by a man of the name of Vituccio Gaglietti, whom you had met during your short time in the social circles of the city. Having no personal connection with any other tradesman, it was the best he could do. As he entered the building, he was welcomed with the honors which befitted one of his statures, and the balding man in clothes of deepest black was quick to lay flatteries upon him - yet even quicker still so turn the matter towards business.
"There is certainly some uproar about the treaty...most certainly from the guildsmen whose goods shall be forced to compete with those from Mirevale." he begins, pouring both you and himself a small cup of wine to accompany the talk. "Yet there is, of course, great profit to be made from this! I deal, primarily, in the trading of raw wool, to be sold to tailors and weavers." he continues, before taking a sip. "And of course, there is no finer wool than Omieran wool."
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Said product being that finest, softest of wools, born of the sheep kept by the men of the Omiera region in western Mirevale, where the flat expanse central plains give way to hills and mountains. It is amongst the most prized of trade goods exported by the Empire, whose origin was kept under such care that the very attempt to steal or export one such sheep was punishable by death. You would have no issue acquiring the wool itself, however; you had done the very same in your mission to Valschen.
"You would be interested in acquiring it, then?" you reply.
"That is so, your lordship...if, of course, the price were to be fair."
You raise your eyebrow.
"You must know, of course, that there are plenty of drapers and woolmen in this city. It had been the tariffs that had kept them masters of the market, but certainly, they've great advantage in the closeness from which their product comes. To be able to sell the Omieran Wool as more than a luxury to the richest of the Signoria, it is necessary to offer a lower price...such as thirty five spada by the stone, the Neran stone of course."
The process of haggling had already begun - that most active parts of this trade, where men would clash with their words over numbers and prices. You knew that offer of the man was but a jest, an attempt at setting the bar low, that you might be willing to settle for a price below average still.
"And how many stone would you buy?"
"I would have you sell me five hundred, to start."
Five hundred? At such prices, you would gain a total of 17,500 Spada. In itself, a fair number, yet far less so when compared to the price you would pay to acquire such wool in the first place - in their coinage, well over twenty! And that was if the price was no different than as it was last year. You'll not accept such prices, of course, not without some compensation of alternative means. It remains to you to use your speech to convince this man of acquiescing to a number numerous enough to reimburse you of the costs you had underwent in this campaign! Yet through which path should it be done so...?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Attempt to haggle the price normally (Will require a roll)
>Attempt to secure a route contract rather than a single trade
>Attempt to exchange it for another good instead which you may then attempt to sell to someone else
>Write-in
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>>6338566
Not putting in my vote yet, just voicing thoughts.
I feel like we have to think more than long term profit potential. Already, this bozo wants us to sell at a loss so that there's wider market availability. This isn't really unreasonable for him to want, since there's been a great wealth upheaval and there's going to be money being given as tribute to Don Carles, meaning that there's even more wealth being drained over time. Selling luxury goods to such a climate over time might not pan out as well as we'd like. Even if Nera remains economically stable, the consumer base for a luxury good may not, especially with the margin being low on our end.
I'd be more comfortable with haggling for a one time payout to take advantage of the wealth upheaval's chaotic windfalls, but if we're going to negotiate something long term, we're going to need to be as harsh and cutthroat to the merchants as we were generous to our soldiery. We have the upper hand here to a massive degree, and we can't let any silver tongues try and make us forget that. Swindling the guy who stopped the Fortelli at Vessena would be a bad look if anybody heard about it, for example.
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>>6338566
>Attempt to secure a route contract rather than a single trade
We gotta think big, here - are there other Mirevalen goods that might sell well? How can we make our domain one of the prime export/import hubs between Straccia and Mirevale?
>>6338566
I respectfully disagree with this anon’s take - we can and should haggle with this Straccian guy so we can turn a small profit, but we need to turn him into a walking advertisement for his peers - work with Gallioti and you’ll make money! Our goal should be to set up as many “low profit” trade routes as possible to undercut our rivals! Once we’re swimming in business we can start acting like a cartel to improve our profitability
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>>6338566
the ships from Mirevale with the Omiera wool will need to return back, and obviously shouldn't return back empty. What can he sell us in return. Can we trade like-for-like and then we don't need to exchange money, and simply make our purchases and sales in our own lands?
Also can hint at our city being a good destination for him and his friends. Maybe if he can direct more traffic to our ports then we can give him some sort of referral bonus.
>>Attempt to secure a route contract rather than a single trade
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>>6338649
As much as the idiom of catching more flies with honey than shit is a nice idea, it depends on the flies not eating your flesh instead of the meals you prepared for them. These are people who turned around on their heels to toss out their elected government and obliterate the legitimate ruling family, down to a mass hanging of their entire bloodline, and this merchant's one of the survivors of that looking to take advantage of the situation. He came up to us with a deal so lowballed that we'd lose money on the cost of product alone, let alone on shipment costs, and you know his ass is going to take advantage of having a monopoly on low-cost luxury wool. There's a precedent to set, and it's that we're not some naive fresh face on the block to be taken advantage of because we don't know the game. This guy probably gave us a look up and down and is measuring if he can rob us for all we're worth while we walk off smiling thinking we didn't just get ripped off.
Being the guy everybody wants to do business with would be a good thing, but not if everybody wants to do business with us because we're a hopeless mark. Straccians have shown us well enough that being ruthless is just good manners.
TL;DR I just don't trust any Merchant of Montellegaria.
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How feasible do other anons think it would be to attempt to breed some Amazonian mares in the future?
We'd need at least one supplier of wetgrain, assuming it really absolutely cannot grow in the land we have on Portblanc.
I don't think the Signoria would be likely to keep the mares in normal circumstances, but I wonder if their recent defeat would entail to them selling some amazonian horseflesh to make up for their financial losses.
The mares would be both an economic and military investment. They would give us a stronger cavalry arm, and there should be plenty of demand for amazonian horseflesh among the nobility of Mirevale.
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>>6339088
I think it would be a difficult and intensive project. In addition to importing a breed population, we'd also need to learn about their pasturage, training, common health problems. There is a whole realm of knowledge in husbandry that we'd have to import alongside the animals themselves
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>>6339249
The limiting factor seems to be the exclusivity of the climate wetgrain grows in, and the enormous appetite of the mares that need it to sustain their strength. I doubt we'd have trouble acquiring a few horses, but shipping wetgrain so distantly in required bulk would be a financial black hole.
We'd be better served by finding a substitute relative of the plant in question or attempting to find a closer climate suitable, if we were to entertain ideas of extending our pelvis breaking snu snu with animal woman fetish to our combat retinue.
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>>6338566
>Attempt to secure a route contract rather than a single trade
Future-cashflowmaxxing
Gotta say QM, I just binged the archives- absolutely terrific quest. Immersive, well-planned, and dramatic in equal measure. The highlights were, of course, the desperate defense against the giants and the Famiglia. However, I also loved the scene of Alessandro and Joan interpreting not!Dido and not!Aeneas. I agree with the anons above asking for more social conflict because I believe you will do a great job of writing it.
Can't wait to ambitionmaxx and marry Alessandro up the aristocratic food chain of Mirevale. There's no way his successes in the field, currying of the Prince's favor, and increasingly profitable domain fail to unearth some excellent prospects.
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If I recall correctly, Alessandro's older brother is getting married, no? if so, there may some slight cause for concern if his new family decides to try and use him to usurp Alessandro's title...
If older brother isn't married, do disregard this.
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>>6339469
He is getting married to the 8th daughter of some random noble as I recall. However, the brother is also a congenital weakling in an empire where the primary religion holds the healthy body in the highest of esteem. So it should be fine?
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>>6339471
Yeah, the whole reason we are the ruler is that God hates cripples and doesn't allow them to rule in their own right. So our brother cannot succeed us, but any able-bodied children he fathers can.
The whole scenario lends itself to Alessandro ruling Portblanc, having dozens of bastard children by his maid, and passing the crown onto his nephew
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>>6328703
Your first instinct as a negotiator is to aim for a higher price. It is only logical, after all - at the one offered by the man, you would have a rather meagre profit of a bit over ten Spada by the price you'd pay for the wool. Yet it is something that he expects, a game in which he holds the advantage as the buyer. You do not doubt you would be able to raise the price to perhaps some odd forty spada per stone, yet to do so would be a waste of an opportunity for far greater profit. You remember well how, in light of their great rivalry, there is a very considerable tariff upon the sale of Glassware from Bach, to prevent the strengthening of the League with such a profitable market - yet despite this, the demands for their crystals remain higher than ever, for the merchants of Valschen, wretched as they may be, are utterly lacking in competitors for this market, so advanced are their craftsmen in the glass-making arts.
"I could certainly accept such an offer, Signore Gaglietti" you begin. "But of course, those ships which shall deliver such goods would be of great waste, used in but a single trip. It would be far wiser to return to the homeland with goods, that they may sell them for a great sum of profit, and I reckon it would be of good mutual benefit to do so at the very same time and place of the delivery the wool, is it not?"
The merchant leans forward, clearly interested - he has taken the lure.
"It should be of little issue to one such as you to acquire Bachman Glassware...rather than to trade in gross coinage, it would be of far greater ease to exchange the products at a rate of, shall we say, one pound of glass for each stone of wool?"
Ultimately, it is not the tariffs which the crown had levied which hardened the glass trade, but the ones it suffered in return - for the Bachmen, too, issued their own tariffs, against the goods which your home exported - wool, of course, being chief amongst them. To trade with them was to be given a choice between a great loss of profit on the exchange of goods, or to buy alone with the use coin, a far greater cost of opportunity. Though such tariffs existed yet still against the Nera, they were far lesser in number - for the moment.
"Hah!" says the merchant, filled with incredulity. "Certainly you jest, do you not, good Viscount? It would take no less than fifty spadas to buy a pound of Bachman Glass. I could not make a profit at such rates!"
"It is so, but how many other could supply you with Omieran Wool at such great discount, and consistently as well? I would be willing to sell to you alone, once every two months, for five years or so, should you accept these same rates."
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With such a contract, this man, Gaglietti, would certainly be able to estabilish a chokehold over the fine wool trade. Yet at the same time, he would be bound to exchange it the rate you had set, even if, by some reason or another, the price of the glassware were to grow. To break the treaty would be to cut his source of wool, which you are certain he will quickly depend on, once such quality is expected of him. He shall have no choice but to supply you, or be swallowed by whoever next accepted your cargo. Luckily for you, however, the man does not seem to realize this.
"Very well, Don Alessandro. It shall be so...five years of your fine wool for five years of the northern glass. Let us draft a document..."
And so, you both sign your documents, using signet rings to prove your identity such that the other must have no choice but abide by the treaty or be found guilty by their governments! Noble as you are, the protections of your station are not extended to the products you have bought, and even one such as you would be forced to pay or face great shame from those around you, your name tarnished so. You walk out of his trade house content, knowing that with a cost of nearly 60 Imperii in your homeland, over twenty thousand in profits of that same golden coin every two months shall await you in the following years.
With your business done, you begin the trot home, walking upon the stone-laden streets of Montellegaria with your escort at your side. With your business by the day done, there shall be little to do other than to enjoy your day with whatever leisure you find. As you continue your walk, however, an odd sight grabs your attention - for upon the streets, none other than the prince himself enters your visage, standing proudly upon his horse with his household guard besides him...as well as a man whom you quickly recognize to be Girolamo Crilan, the "leader" of the Signoria and current advisor to the Doge. You approach the two.
"Your highness!" you say, bowing in respect. "It is fortunate indeed to see you again; and to you as well, Signore Girolamo."
"Greetings be to you, Viscount." the prince says. "It is good that I should see you. I bring with me news that should see us returned to our homeland very soon indeed. I must simply finish some private matters with Lord Girolamo."
'At last!', is your first thought. You have for long wished to return home, to your white sands, to the place from whence you rule. You ask the Prince what hath brought such turn of events.
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"It would appear that after your victory at Vessena, the forces of the Fortelli on the field had begun their retreat to Montellegaria, but when their general Vittorio Fortelli learned of their...hanging, he was very quick to change their target to Favia in the south, where he approached the Neterelli with an offer of a return of their ancient power should they choose to fund a siege against the capital. Luckily, they were wise enough to reject the offer, though not before the man was able to escape together with his warchest."
"And what of the Famiglia?" you say - after all, for all the damage you had done, a thousand more of their numbers still stood by the end of the battle.
"Without their funding and their leader gone, they were...very quick to accept a new offer of service; Doge Ludovico has told me that the aid of our regiments shall be no longer necessary to maintain control. I would have you tell your men to ready for departure in two days."
After that, the Prince and Girolamo leave, leaving you to your walk home with a great many things to think about. At last, the final piece of the game of war has been knocked off the board, nearly a month after the match had been won. In two days, you shall depart from Montellegaria and close the page upon this chapter of your life.
There is, however, one thought that bothers you...that no news of their army arriving at Favia, major city that it was, had arrived on Montellegaria, must means that it was very recent so! Yet how could it have been so, if he had marched there upon learning of the counter-coup? It had happened on the very same day news of the defeat had arrived. His messengers should have certainly had enough time. Yet, had you not heard that it was Girolamo himself that spoke of the defeat at Vessena to the Signoria, before rousing them into action and overthrowing the Fortelli? It was the day you landed on this city, after all.
'Wait', you think.
'Why had we departed from port before we so much as knew of this ousting?
You had, at first, thought it to have been a guess of some sort by the Prince, a prediction that their defeat in the field would have destroyed the trust of the gentry on the Fortelli. But for it to happen on the very same day you arrive? It could not be a stroke of coincidence, not when Don Carles seemed to certain of his plan. When you arrived upon the sight of the city, the Prince had ordered a useless barrage that fell entirely upon the water. You had not thought much of it for then, what else, after all, could one gain from a naval barrage upon the sea? Nothing.
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Nothing but the sounds they had made.
You had always thought odd how readily Girolamo had offered the return of the Spisa into power, and to such extent they allowed them to carry out an absolute purge of their rivals within the city, how all of it had moved with such swiftness, such speed that it had been as though it had been planned for a long time already.
What if it was?
What if it had not been some thrice-blessed stroke of fortune that you had arrived the very same day of the coup? What if there had been a reason for the firing, a reason for the swiftness with which it all happened, what if Girolamo already knew what exactly he was do? What if this was the plan that Don Carles had refused to speak of?
He knew of events within Nera. He knew of the arrival of a representative from Senucco. He knew of the departure of an army towards the south. He went to the Neterelli, and by sheer chance arrived upon the remainders of the Famiglia. He must have known. He must have known since the start. It was not fortune, nor happenstance, nor the blessings of the Splendour. It was knowledge. He knew it before it had happened for he had planned it. He had planned it from the start, from the very beginning, from when he had sent you to defeat the Fortelli and perhaps much earlier than that.
Don Carles had orchestrated his victory from the moment this conflict had begun.
"Sire, are you alright?"
You are suddenly shaken out of your stupor by one of your guards, and remember you are on the streets still. "Yes, yes, I was merely thinking." you say, as you go back to walking towards your lodgings. Shaken still by your thoughts, you decide it better to cease your thinking. It would be foolish to make such great leaps of thought based on uncertainty and assume them truth merely as opposition to the possibility of coincidence - stranger things have happened still through history. At the very least, it remains more likely still than some great all-consuming plan that foresaw everything.
At least, you hoped so.
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE CONTINUES AS USUAL
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>>6339730
He seems to be very fond of the mantra of the best sort of victory being the one that was won before you started marching out.
I'd go as far as to say that our march from overland was part of a masquerade to have the Fortelli believe the seas were ever theirs and that they weren't sending their army across the country with no way to return in time to prevent this.
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Surely some of it came down to chance, but there is no doubt in my mind that a great deal of this was orchestrated. Of course, the best of plans leave room for maneuver.
Surely we have proven ourselves very capable, I don't doubt that we will find ourselves pulled into the inner circle eventually. We'll need to further our studies on intrigue and war I should think.
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>>6339722
In this context, it seems possible that Don Carles' plan worked out even better than he might have planned for, given our unexpected victory at Vessena.
Clearly, he's a very dangerous man and so we'll have to be very careful not to become TOO popular or clever...
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>>6340312
I think it's easy for us to not be his enemy, since he's our feudal liege and we're not really in any practical running to be elected emperor anyways. A path to power would be the Agrippa line (including marriage to a daughter), as another anon mentioned.
If we get that far, the real danger would be somebody else's scheme to knock us out as a blow to Carles.
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To begin the process of shaving, one must first wet the beard, loosening the strings of hair to easen the cut. Your facial hair had already grown to cover the lower half of your face, hanging ever so slightly beneath your chin. It was short enough that all you needed was a bowl with warm water, submerging the beard in the water for the following minutes.
When you had first set out on this journey, you had decided to stop cutting your hair and beard until victory was achieved, a mimicry of the warriors of olds who had done such similar feats. The effect, perhaps, had been lesser than you expected, of course; none of your fellows had much to comment about your growth. The only one to speak of it at length was Joan, who expressed multiple times her disataste for the idea and of how she thought you better looking with a clean shaven face. You are certain she will be happy to see you rid of your beard once more. You had thought about keeping the look, but found the patch of hair increasingly bothersome, no less when ussed in conjunction with a helmet.
When the minutes had passed, you lifted your head, and looked at the mirror in front of you. It was made of clearest glass, so reflective and clear as to seem like a copy of the world around you. Though such glass was by no means new, it was only Bachman Glass that could show so crystalline an image.
Grabbing a second pot, you began to rub a cream upon your beard - some mix of fat and ash, made to clean. You rubbed it on the beard, using the fingers to massage the chin and lather it fully. Normally, such matters would have been done by one of your servants, but in your reading, you had found it an old custom of the old nobility of Mascaloma to shave themselves, giving no man the right to keep a blade at such short distance from one's throat. This manner of custom has been all but extinguished, but you found it a good way to end this promise of yours. Your mind set, you grabbed the shaving razor and brought it to your face - and began to cut.
Several minutes and many mistakes later, you found your face freed of hair once again; though several shallow cuts, some which had drawn some little amount of blood, seemed to replace it. Rinsing with the water which had by then gone cold, you left your chambers invigorated in spirit and look. And for good reason: today would be the day in which you would finally embark the ships to return home. You ordered your servants to pack your possessions, and by the time the bells rung for the ninth hour, you were ready.
The small yet upwards curve on your maid's expression when she first saw you clean-shaven did not escape your sight...though neither of you made any comment.
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With your belongings packed, you made your way to the dock and back into the Mélia Marsana, where Prince Carles and Don Salazar awaited you. The troops had begun loading up since dawn, and the time had come at last to leave. There was no crowd, this time, no goodbye party to wave you off or a parade to bid you farewell. You suspect that the lack of an army at their throats and the threat of purging allowed the men of this city some breathing room in their treatment. Under dark gray clouds and heavy wind, in the 10th of April, 1543, your fleet quietly slipped out of Montellegaria and into the waters of the sea.
In a few hours, those gray clouds soon turned to rain, light enough to pose no threat, but still plenty to send you into your quarters. As you paced around the room, unsure of what to do, you turned your thoughts to the future. You would soon be back to your home - back on Portblanc, where your word was law - or at least, part of it. You have little doubt your brother did a fine enough job alongside August, but you are still the Viscount. You still remember your dreams - your goal to acquire greater titles and increase your sway. Yet do dream is a far more complicated matter than to do, and there is no one road to power. With your "foreign adventure" finished, you shall once again have the opportunity to seek out a path to climb the imperial pyramid...but how?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Perhaps you should finally begin looking for a wife - preferably, one of higher rank.
>You must increase your purse even further - your wealth must be like that of the Grand Duke of Bagra!
>You're wealthy enough, but you need contacts - time to go on a campaign of socialization
>You enjoyed leading soldiers - perhaps you could look at a possible career in the Imperial Army.
>Write-in
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>>6340808
>>You enjoyed leading soldiers - perhaps you could look at a possible career in the Imperial Army.
I like to imagine that Alessandro has gotten a taste for war, and likes it. Moreover, I feel that he has a talent for it, and so I would like to see where that leads him. Money or contacts are good, but this is a war quest, and war is what I am here for. Also no need for a wife yet, settling down is for when he is older, whether it is with Joan or another.
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>>6340808
>You must increase your purse even further - your wealth must be like that of the Grand Duke of Bagra!
War is an expensive business. Especially if we're not a fan of looting and stealing whatever isn't nailed down wherever we set foot. I'd be wary of abandoning standing forces, though. Avarice and envy follows profitable trade, and we ought be ready to defend any massive wealth from being taken the only way it can be defended surely.
Basically I'm saying we'd do well to set up some sort of bonded mercenaries we can put out to sea in our stead and bring back when needed. We've got enough friends for that, I expect.
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>>6340814
>but this is a war quest, and war is what I am here for.
I'll just say ahead in case this confuses people, there will be further opportunities for war no matter what you choose. This is merely a choice for what you think would be your best 'next' goal.
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>>6340808
>You enjoyed leading soldiers - perhaps you could look at a possible career in the Imperial Army.
This seems to be the right way to be of more use to Don Carles, besides we can always use what information we pick up of foreign lands from the army to increase profits back home.
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>>6340808
>You're wealthy enough, but you need contacts - time to go on a campaign of socialization
with contacts we can get more wealth and a wife. we need to understand which way the winds are blowing in our own backyard.
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>>6340808
>You must increase your purse even further - your wealth must be like that of the Grand Duke of Bagra!
I don't think this option precludes the important (but exceedingly boring and hopefully off-screen) of writing a code of commercial law
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>>6340808
>>Perhaps you should finally begin looking for a wife - preferably, one of higher rank.
We'll be coming home with some acclaim I should think, we should strike while the iron is hot. Besides, best to get started on children sooner than later.
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Perhaps money or marriage anons might be tempted to switch to socializing as I was.
Not ideal as being focused on one or the other, but surely better prospects for both rather than joining the army.
Granted, I do love the battles and campaign management, though we are a titled noble with a demesne and the head of a dynasty.
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Your mind wanders to myriad topics - to find a wife, is your first thought...though you quickly discard it. You consider perhaps focusing on the prospects of wealth and trade; but in all truth, there is little more you could do that you had not already done. Your wealth comes, in great part, from taxes, tolls, and tariffs of those vessels which pass by Portblanc, required to do so by law should they wish to pass through on the rivers of Lutan or Marjoisse. To spend the entirety of your time focused on matters of trade, as though some manenr of merchant, would be of great insult to your own social standing and lineage. And although you had perhaps felt some manner of pride at your victories in the field, you've no thirst for blood to drive you out into conflict so soon.
No, there is but one thing which stands above the rest as most useful of all, that most ancient of arts amongst the noble classes of civilization; connection making. You could perhaps hold some manner of banquet amongst the elite of your own city, or perhaps to aim for higher places and spend some time in the court of Honderias, or even that of the Imperial Capital of Mascaloma itself. You would certainly need to renovate your ancestral castle, or perhapthat you may not be spoken of in a poor manner as one who was either too poor or too uneducated in the modernities of art to make his abode a proper palace of the sixteenth century.
Your journey through the sea continues without much issue; your only detour is a short one, when you stop by the city of Montechia for one last time to pick up the troops of Don Fadrique and the last remnants of the Army of Segoma and finally leave the country for good. The weather throughout your returning travel is a calm, as it usually is during the autumn months of the year. The wind on your backs, it takes but a week until you see at last the coastlines of your homeland and the great ports of Honderias. Your arrival is met with much cheering and happiness, the populace of the city praising the Prince's triumphant return home. Though perhaps not a conquest proper, you are certain this victory of his in the great game between the Empire and the League shall bring much repute amidst the candidates of the crown.
Arrived at last, there is but one last great ceremony, held in the the courtyard of the royal castle in Honderias; in front of onlooker and soldier alike, Don Carles congratulates each of you of the nobility who had participated in his conflict: Don Fadrique de Caduyas, the Count of Zaroza. Don Salazar Matagigantes, Baron of Solemais. Don Octavi Colenáz, Marquess of Castalla. And of course, finally, you, Don Alessandro Galliota, the Viscount of Portblanc. With a wave of his hand, the Prince declares you all freed from your ordered call, and disbands the levied army as a force. There is some more cheering, and in the end, you are all invited to a victorious banquet before you are divided once more and sent to your respective fiefdoms
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It is of little surprise to you, when, despite the shortness of time with which it was decided upon, the feast is one of incredible wealth. Dishes by the dozen are passed to you through the length of the night; Snow-white bread, both salted and sweet, followed by spiced stew of lamb, roasted venison and pork as was so often popular, and many more which you soon lost count. There was wine, of course, and some good quantity of it imported from Straccia, perhaps bought or acquired during the course of the war. In the end, the meal is finished with sweet pie of caramel custard, sourced so quickly so as to still be fresh when it is served.
As you continue to eat the sweet dessert, it occurs to you that this shall be the last of your opportunities to speak with the Prince for some manner of time. You have heard him say that he shall soon be made to depart to the capital, for some business he hath not divulged. At the very least, you've no intention of leaving Portblanc for the rest of the year, once you have arrived at last; you've had plenty of travels in the past year. Perhaps you should use this opportunity to speak with him, while humours are well and your victory fresh on his mind...though you would do well to not be so crass as to attempt to extort some manner of favor from a single victory in battle.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Ask about the extent of his planning in the conflict
>Ask him of his plans for the future
>Ask him about something else (If so, what?)
>Make a request of him (If so, what?)
>Write-in
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>>6341663
>Ask about the extent of his planning in the conflict
>Ask him of his plans for the future
>Ask him if he has anymore plans for foreign adventures
I reckon my write in and the second one could be combined but Ill leave em separate just in case.
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>>6341663
>Ask about the extent of his planning in the conflict
I'd think something specific is related but to lay it out,
>Ask him about something else (If so, what?)
I want to know what he would have done if we'd not gotten the better of the Fortelli at the Vessena. He's smart enough to not have had a plan like he had foiled by only one setback, and when playing chess, a master shouldn't blink to sacrifice a knight to save the queen (if we were playing by mad queen rules, which isn't necessarily the standard this far back, but still), but what were the chances that the Fortelli wouldn't dance the right jig to his song?
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>>6341663
>>Ask him of his plans for the future
>>Ask him about something else (If so, what?)
Perhaps we should in a roundabout way infer that we would like to involve ourselves more in his plans, and make ourselves available, should he wish it.
Might be we should make mention of our plans once we return home, perhaps they may be of use to the prince.
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>>6341663
>Write-in
Tell him that we intend to build alliances and strengthen our position socially. Is there anyone he wants us to focus on or avoid? Someone he wants to bring into his influence, but is beneath him to woo personally (or doesn't want to be too overt with). This is more about "what we can do to be a more useful vassal", but in a way that doesn't seem like we're super ambitious and want to exceed our station. More just re-affirming our loyalty.
It kind of leads into the "what are your plans for the future", and how can we fit into them when the time is right. So it might just fit in with whatever else is voted for
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>>6342483
It's an edited portrait of Antonio de Leiva (he was originally too bearded to be appropriate), the funny thing being, he was a Spanish general during the Italian Wars of the early 16th century, so he was a coincidentally appropriate choice of subject.
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Intent set on a question, you approach the Prince, who had just finished taling with some other noble of Honderias whose name you do not know. At this point, the banquet has reached a quite calm stage of an event nearing conclusion, men speaking with one another over varied matters: it is the best of opportunities to ask a question such as this. You greet the Prince, and begin to speak.
"Your highness; I must ask of you this one curiosity of mine. Though I hath triumphed in Vessena, it was by no means easily so. What would have been of the campaign, had I been defeated?" you ask. "What plan would have put to action in such a case?" you conclude.
"A curious question, Viscount" replies Don Carles, without wasting a moment. "But I shall answer it nonetheless. If I am to speak of strategy, it is my belief that the Fortelli had lost when they assembled their army and marched it southward. Your defeat, however unfortunate, would not have allowed them to win. Having sent out their artillery masters to aid the Senucco, they would not have had the artillery to batter down the walls, but be forced to instill a lengthy siege. I suspect that it would not be long after that the costs incurred by their mercenary forces would have driven the reaction we had seen that very day."
"I see..." you say in return - it is a logical response, certainly. It is expected that a man who would think so far ahead as him would not depend on but a single point of failure. It is also sensible that, having ousted their predecessors on the back of "absurd expenditures", it would weigh upon their reputation greatly to have brought similar costs upon the treasuries of the nation. Despite this, however, you cannot help but feel as though you are lacking in the complete knowledge of all that has transpired. Still so, you know a little, and that is better than none. You thank the Prince for the answer, and also excuse yourself, speaking of your early depature the next day.
Before you do, so, however, the Prince speaks to you in return.
"Viscount, though I shall remain occupied for the end of the year, It is my intention to see you rewarded still for your victory in the war. I would have you be in Mascaloma by...february, shall we say, that we may meet again."
"Of course, your highness." you reply, before leaving with a smile. Though you know not of what reward he speaks, to be rewarded at all for your actions is a grand feeling indeed. In that night, you fall into sleep with wonders and theories of what honours you might receive, and how you shall use them to propel your ascent through society still...
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In the morning, much as you had said, you sail out. As it would have been, the Third Fleet, which had served as your naval force through the length of the war, was to move yet further northwest, up the coast, and agreed to ferry you and your force to Portblanc thanks to a request from the Prince. You leave to the sea yet again, this time for a much shorter trip that reduces that lengthy walk into one singular day of sailing. You enjoy that solitude and silence upon the deck of the Melia, knowing what mountains of work lie ahead of you.
>APOLOGIES FOR SHORT UPDATE
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE POSSIBLY TOMORROW, THOUGH
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Your arrival upon your home is, at first, a calm one. It is Joan who first sees the snow-white sands of your island home, sitting where those two great rivers met the mighty sea. Although those ships of the fleet which carried you slid with ease into the dock, there was no meeting party save for that of the port itself...for a while, at least. As you finally began to unload from your ship, a group of note appeared on the corners of your eyes, moving towards the dock. As it approached, it quickly became clear who it was; your own household! Moving towards it, you recognized quickly the visage of Old August, as well as the Galliota castle guard. Though you had hoped your family would have been with them, you suppose it is reasonable that your sickly brother and ailing mother would not make this trip unless necessary.
"My greetings be to you, Lord Viscount!" he begins as you approach the group. "It is most great to see your lordship well and safe. I offer my utmost apologies for the lack of an arrival party. We had not heard news of your return.."
As the man speaks, he continues to give glances to his daughter, who stands beside your other servants. You are certain he held some great deal of worry over her safety as well.
"It's of no issue, August." you begin. "I am certain that Jonatan and Mother await me so; let us return swiftly, that I may greet them."
"Very well, sire."
Your arrival to the castle, in comparison, is far more celebratory; having sent a man ahead to warn them you had returned alive and well, you are received in the main hall, the throne room, where your servants greet you with bows and applause. It is where you also see your brother, and your mother Gersenda as well. Walking ahead, you take your brother in a hug, slapping him on the back as brothers do as you greet him.
"Jonatan! I have returned, at last..."
"Brother, we are much glad to see you safe." he says. "We had not received any letters since your last one...we had grown worried!" he continues. It is then that you remember you had distinctly forgotten to send a letter speaking of your victory to your family. Though you had thought of the matter, you postponed it in favor of more pressing subjects, and forgot it entirely aftewards...the fact that your mother had not yet yelled at you for failing to do so after having went to battle tells you that your brother did indeed not tell her of it.
"It is a blessing of the Splendour to see you unhurt, Alessandro, it is." says your mother, greeting you as well, though with far more tact and etiquette. You can tell she had been worried greatly.
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"I am fine, mother. Men of my stature are hardly ever in danger, in these modern conflicts...I simply send orders at" you lie, perhaps in an attempt to soothe her worries. You continue to greet your family, speaking of the events which you had experienced and asking what things you had missed in your absence. After some time, however, your mother returns to her room, to sleep through the afternoon as she often does, and the servants disperse to carry out the jobs of the day. Joan leaves with her father, no doubt to have a reunion of her own. You are left with your brother, who leans against one of the pillars of the palace as he stands.
"I must say, Alessandro...there is certainly much to your duties. Although the Chamberlain had helped me so, I am certain you shall be quite more capable than I have been for these past few months."
"You underestimate yourself, brother." you reply. "I am certain affairs have not gone any worse than I would have had them myself. What matters conflict this city so, that I have not yet seen? Hath the trading houses gone out into complaints about the tariffs once more?"
"I am certain that the Chamberlain will tell you of all that has transpired...though, I should ask myself, are there not matters you must attend do, of your recent arrival? I would not know much of military affairs, but I have heard many a complaint from the families of noblemen who had departed with your forces, asking of your return."
In this, your brother speaks the truth...there is certainly a lot to do, having just arrived. You shall certainly get to most of these matters eventually, but you must decide which one to focus upon first! In this, perhaps you should focus on the most major among them...?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Officially reacquire the rulership of Portblanc; begin to see to matters of state
>Oficially disband your regiment, and see to the fate of the men you had hired
>Arrange a banquet for the commemoration of your victory, and to notice the noble families whose son had died under your command
>Write-in
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>>6342961
>>Arrange a banquet for the commemoration of your victory, and to notice the noble families whose son had died under your command
This entails celebration for the regiment as well correct? Both high born and low born should be celebrated, before their dismissal.
Also, I think we should try and retain at least two companies of veterans. One of arquebusiers to rearm as musketeers, one of pikes to train into say halberdiers.
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>>6342961
I'm a bit torn, but I'll go for:
>Officially disband your regiment, and see to the fate of the men you had hired
We returned victorious off the back of what is already a famous victory that undercut the Famiglia right at their highest high, and provided the rank and file with a huge payday while the rest of their service was garrison duty. I think we're pretty popular right now all things considered.
That and I'd like to send off the Banda Grisa properly, mercenaries though they be.
While the banquet arrangement is better suited for our current goals of socialization and our personal guard do deserve recognition for selflessly throwing themselves to their doom, I think there may also be misunderstandings about it happening in the first place because we tried to save a bunch of mercenaries, and also that despite them having consigned themselves to sacrifice anyways, we did order them shot alongside the enemy and somebody might try and be a dick about that. Might be something better off not addressed while we're basking in glory.
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Actually, I've got something I need to do right now, so while update is still today, I'll have to postpone doing it for a few hours. In the meanwhile, I'll take the opportunity to save us a full update and give you the choice to keep any specific people you would like to under your employ. This does not mean their full companies - since you chose not to disband it yourself, you'll not get that option. Rather, I speak of the people themselves. Anyone not kept on hire for you shall be leaving your employ, and you might not be able to find them again.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS (AS MANY AS YOU THINK YOU CAN AFFORD)
>I would like to keep all of the captains I hired
>I would like to keep none of the captains I hired
>I would only like a few of them to be kept (If so, who?)
>Write-in
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>>6343701
>I would only like a few of them to be kept (If so, who?)
If we're to maintain only a small, specialist core, we ought to keep the most standout examples.
Which means, in my opinion, Bonino de Gusta for adaptability in maneuver in the face of extreme danger, since a commander of potential musketeers ought to be better than simply knowing how to stand and shoot, and Lucon Demaro, better known as the Barbagris, since knowledge of fighting giants in close quarters is something precious to recount and study. As well as just generally being our go to CQC guy.
Much as we probably could keep everybody on retainer, I doubt anybody else is particularly special that we can't find somebody as good or better if we can't get at them. These two are foreigners and thus probably moving around a lot.
Not to mention, De Gusta is familiar with the Spisa and was in finance, so he'd be a useful Neran to keep around beyond captaincy.
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>>6343742
Ah, I knew I had forgotten something. You see, Bonino, as well as the other volunteers, didn't join you on your way home. They were volunteers, nothing more.
Since I definitely should have included that though, I will rule that if the vote to keep him wins, I'll just retroactively decide you offered him a job.
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Amidst all matters to settle with your arrival, one stands out above the rest. It is the noble families of Portblanc who had made up the core of your knightly forces during the Fortelli War, and their prowess had certainly helped you quite a lot during the battlefield. Yet this also meant that it was these families, your own vassals, who had lost their sons each time a knight died upon the field! And though you would like to say that you had avoided needless losses to the best of your abilities, over a hundred noble sons of Uharta had perished still. You doubt they had been anything more than the 'spare' heirs - the second, third or fourth scions of noble houses, yet still so, it is your duty to inform them.
To this end, you quickly arrange a banquet to be called for the very next day, a commemoratory feast for your healthy arrival and victory in war. It is your first act as a Viscount while August prepares all the papers and documents for you to properly begin the administration of your lands.
When the time arrives, the banquet is held in the dining hall of your own castle, old as though it may be. It is a sumptuous feast, filled with all sorts of meats and dishes but most of all, featuring recreations of those dishes which you had tasted in Nera, and the fine wines you had acquired there yourself. You are, of course, praised in great quantities, applauded by all the aristocracy of your Viscounty for your victory. Some, instead, eulogize those of the nobility lost in the fight, blessing their valorous death in the field fighting for their crown as is the natural and holy order of their station and birth. You take this opportunity to speak of the losses that had occurred, mentioning particularly the flight and charge against the Himmerians, which had claimed many a knight. You also add that the earthly remains of those who had perished would be distributed to their families.
The rest of the night is spent on the banquet, between speeches of bravery and cheers towards your health and prosperity.
In the following morning, after having slept in your own bed, in your own room, for what feels to you like ages, you ready for your return to the lordly throne. Thibaud, your valet, helps you into your noble garbs, and after breakfast and mass you move to the throne room, where August awaits. With a deep breath, you sit onto your throne once more, almost sinking into the fine cushions of your wooden throne. It would be a lie to say that it does not feel good to be returned to this role.
"Let us be started, then, August. What matter shall we deal with first?" you ask.
"I've some matters of the finances, sire, but first, there is one man who seeks to talk you, from your regiment."
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You are surprised - while you had been dealing with the banquet, Hugues had been sent to deal with disbanding the regiment. It was your intention to keep him under your employ, as he had been before, but to also maintain the contracts of Provençal and Bonino, the Straccian who had been captain of one of the refugee squadrons and caught your attention when his quick thinking in the battlefield led to the destruction of an entire unit of Amazonian Knights. You had also tried to hire Lucon Demaro, or Barbagris as he was called, but the old man said that with the money he had acquired in your campaign, he would go on a recruiting tour to replenish the Banda Grisa to their old might, before even the size they had been reduced to when you hired them.
Yet when the doors were opened, the one that had strolled in was none other than Vettorio, the Straccian Artilley Master. Taking a bow, he began to speak.
"Your Lordship, I have only come here to bid my farewell. Now that my contract is over, I shall be returning to the Guild."
"You shall go again into the field on contract?" you ask, somewhat curious
"Not this time, sire. That idea you had talked of to me - of burning cannonshot - it has intrigued me greatly so. I intend to begin proper experimentation. If these experiments give return, your lordship shall certainly be made known of them."
"Fare thee well, then, Artillery Master."
And with another bow, he left, leaving you with your Chamberlain once again. The time for business had finally arrived.
"About the finances, then, August."
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"Very well, sire. In your time away, Lord Jonatan had reigned quite sufficiently. Although no great gains were made, the treasury was kept stable upon its common winnings. In addition, some of thy own projects have been added to our vaults - the remainders of the warchest, for one, but also the profits of the trade mission to Valschen and a delivery from one of your own captains, who claimed to hold a debt. In total, the treasury remains, as of now, at a great 100,000 Imperii"
"That is great, then, is it not, August?" you say.
"Certainly sire...but still coin does little service. I believe it would be in our best interest to begin some manner of project - or multiple, if that is your wish."
It is a sensible thought, and one you cannot disagree with. Yet you are not one to spend frivolously - and so, you and August begin to think of whatever projects remain at your grasp during the near future, keeping in mind that call which The Prince had extended to you, requiring your visit to the Imperial Capital very early next year.
NOTE
Projects are matters which can be taken on by your fiefdom over a long period of time. Their cost can vary not only in size, but in frequency - some projects may require a lump payment in a single time, yet others may require a constant drain, and indeed even further increases in price pertaining to new developments or losses. Although you may take on however many projects as you wish, be careful not to spend your treasury too heavily - sudden expenses, even ones not related to any project, may occur at any time. Additional projects may appear as time passes.
PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
Cost: Varied - 1,000 to 6,000
There shall be but a few weeks until the month of may, and the month of may is the date of your own birthday. In line with your plan to acquire more social connections, a great commemoration could be arranged, inviting nobility not only from Portblanc but from all of Segoma to attend to the event. Although one's twenty-second year is of no great import in Mirevalian culture, any event can be given great import when accompanied by a grreat deal of investment.
PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
Cost: Varied - 2,000 to 8,000
If there is any event that could be given greater import, however, it is the matter of one's marriage - and although you are not the groom, the marriage of your own and only brother is a good as any of an opportunity to prove your wealth. As your brother had already paid the dowry, all that was left was the event itself.
PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
Cost: Varied - 6,000 to 15,000
In this very last year, you had made plans for a possible renovation of your castle, thinking it old and archaic. Your travels have only made this thought into a known quantity. Perhaps it is time to bring your ancestral home to the modern times.
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PROJECT: Build a New Galliota Castle
Cost: Varied - 15,000 to 50,000
Perhaps it is not enough to renovate - perhaps, the time has come to build an entirely new home for your house entirely! Your travels have allowed you to see wonders of architecture far beyond even the majesty of Mascaloma. The choice of styles and technologies is endless...but the costs in both time and money for this project shall be exceedingly huge
PROJECT: Acquire a New Flagship
Cost: Varied - 15,000 to 25,000
Yet another project you had previously considered, but ultimately rejected. It is still within your capabilities to order a great and mighty warship to be made for your own usage from the shipyards of the Empire - it is your right, as a nobleman...if you are willing to pay the considerable costs associated with the matter.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS
>I would like to begin a project (If so, specify which)
>I actually don't want to begin any project
>I have my own idea for a project (Describe your idea - however, it may be rejected)
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>>6343931
So, I'm of two minds about this, and I'm not home so I won't vote yet, but while commissioning our own big, badass, top of the line modern Galleon would be of extreme benefit in certain cases, we'd have to predict what the next conflict is going to be and if it's going to be one where a flagship is useful. For example, if Bach decides to react to this recent power play by whipping its dick out and striking while the iron is hot, then we'll need every bit of power we can get. Alternatively, if we go out on our own independent expedition, a warship is a useful thing to have. It's nothing but an expensive maintenance queen if we don't expect to use it right after we launch it from the shipyards, though.
A safer, cheaper, and still beneficial bet would be to combine the renovation of the castle with our brother's marriage, if he'd accept us putting it off so we can put together a better venue. If we want our brother to be taken seriously as regent in our absence, which will assuredly happen again, then he needs to be respected and have it known he is supported, not left to watch over a vacant lot for somebody to depose on a whim. What better way to do that than to host his marriage in a newly renovated familial home, so all the local nobles are reassured of who's boss?
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>>6343930
>I would like to begin a project
>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
This should do well to increase our prestige. At worst it would see a third of our reserve spent.
I really want to spring for the warship, but it is so costly.
Would we have a rough idea on the monthly upkeep of the ship and crew?
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What were the other ideas people were throwing around when we engaged in a trade contract just before? Perhaps we can invest in that to make it more lucrative?
Alternatively, perhaps we can attract a guild to our city to set up, such as the artillery guild?
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>>6343931
>>I would like to begin a project
>>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
These should synergize well. Host the party and wedding, get our house up to snuff for em.
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>>6343931
>>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
This mix serves our social ends.
However,
>I have my own idea for a project
>PROJECT: Establish a bank of Portblanc
Local financiers could support trade, invest in our industries, and finance wars at better rates than foreign institutions.
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>>6343930
>>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
In addition, I have a question QM: does Portblanc have a pre-existing shipbuilding industry? If so, I'm all aboard the idea of a mega yacht, but I don't think it is worth it to pass the money to someone else's drydocks
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>>6343931
>I would like to begin a project (If so, specify which)
>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
I doubt the castle will be modernised in time for the birthday but it would be nice if it is in time for Jonatans wedding.
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>>6343930
>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
these all seem directly related to our goal of "socialise and create connections"
>I have my own idea for a project
Can we be the sponsor/patron for some commerce law reform? Start some people drafting up some laws? This was the suggestion from some other anon, which could be pursued in the background. The intention I think is to ultimately make us a commerce powerhouse. Let me know if this is possible and if you need more details then other anons can provide input.
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>>6344032
>I would like to begin a project
>PROJECT: The Viscount's Birthday
>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
>PROJECT: Acquire a New Flagship
You never know when you might be in need of a ship. And it can pay for itself by trade voyages.
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>>6343952
I have returned.
>>6343931
Much as I really would like to have that flagship, I don't think the winds are blowing that way and it doesn't do much for our short term goals, so I'll go with-
>I would like to begin a project
>PROJECT: Marriage of Jonatan
>PROJECT: Modernize The Galliota Castle
I'm not feeling a birthday party, though I guess I wouldn't be against one. I'd just keep in mind that the upper echelons of society probably will look down on us keeping a pet bird around for anything meant to be catered towards them.
Though also, even if it's technically something to be done later:
>I have my own idea for a project
I think the idea has been bouncing around some of maintaining a couple of companies of well-trained combat ready troops of a specialist type just to guarantee access to them. Personally, I think the only people worth ensuring keeping around are musketeers, since they were able to punch so hard above their weight class and we didn't exactly have trouble finding halberdiers last time, but this is just spitballing anyway.
I did a bit of figuring out what it would take to carry out the idea of raising and maintaining specialist companies to have around next we go out, in case we wanted to try at that too.
I can imagine a musketeer would qualify as a "special" soldier rather than a mere arquebusier, especially if they're going to be motivated to marksmanship, so each would have a monthly wage of 30 silver regnes, or 2.5 gold imperii. Their corporals, which they have 12 of, need to be paid twice as much, and their captain ten times as much. My math might be off, but the monthly wages of said company would be around 800 Gold Imperii per month, give or take a few. That's hardly a small sum for just one company to be kept around, but it's very solidly within our monthly profit margin as well to maintain, and equipping them probably won't be very expensive.
A dedicated close combat unit would probably be a mere doubling of any associated costs to have alongside, since they'd also be a company of specialists, but that's still well within our ability to maintain.
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>>6343930
>Marriage of Jonatan
>Modernize the Galliota Castle
I'd like to build a bran spanking new castle, just because I think we should go with at least one big spending project, but most of the votes have been already cast.
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>>6343958
In regards to the flagship, it's cost would be covered in 1-2 months income, so I'm going to go ahead and vote for it as well, even though it doesn't look like that is going to win.
Let's not forget the income we're going to be getting from that trade deal we set up.
>>6344101
Considering we already have some officers on retainer, we may as well put them to use.
Musketeers we definitely need to keep on hand, though I think we would benefit by having melee troops to compliment them as well.
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>>6344426
The latter would be nice, but very risky since it's only two companies and you can't predict a disaster. So it's the former.
Mind you it'd be only one or two companies, 300-600 men, more of a core to build a regiment around when necessary than a fighting force all its own, because a proper standing army is incredibly expensive even for nation states of the period and Matthias Corvinus was an outlier.
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>>6344045
>In addition, I have a question QM: does Portblanc have a pre-existing shipbuilding industry?
No.
It might sound weird for an island to not have shipbuilding, but the reality is that if you want to do anything beyond the most basic of canoes or boats, a shipbuilding industry would require an extremely huge supply of very specific trees.
So no, there's no industry, and creating one would not be economically viable.
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>>6344624
Sadly, we have passed the golden age of feudalism where any little noble could upend the entire regional economy by estabilishing some laws on his lonesome.
Although you could pen such a code of law, you would have to petition Don Carles to make it legal throughout Segoma, which would be a pretty complicated matter given he's still technically a vassal to The Empire rather than a fully independent nation.
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>>6344649
As I suspected.
Is the banking idea valid?
I've been thinking and done a little research into projects we could do to increase our revenue, considering we're fairly limited in landmass I suppose we have any untapped resources to exploit, though a few things seem doable.
1. Maritime Insurance - Evidently in the trade republics of Europe it was quite popular and profitable. Not only did the act itself draw in revenue from several avenues besides the merchants paying to be insured, fees taxes etc, it tended to draw in more merchants. If we're able to get into banking, they would compliment one another quite well.
2. Midstream Manufacturing - while we don't produce the raw resources ourselves, we are an outbound hub for inland products due to the rivers that feed into the bay. I don't know how viable it would be for us to do so, but we could attempt to import raw resources for production and sell finished product ourselves. In particular naval supplies such as cordage, sails, and barrels would synchronize quite well I think.
Assuming, of course, these are things we are not already doing.
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Alright, looking through the votes, it would seem to me that the options
>Birthday
>Marriage
>Modernize
Have won in conjunction. I did like some of the ideas, such as the Musketeers group, but they did not receive enough support for me to toss them in together. You'll be able to vote for them later if you want (and there is time) though.
>>6345041
>Is the banking idea valid?
Although Alessandro is far more knowledgeable of advanced finances than your average noble thanks to his background, he does not have the knowledge necessary to begin a project of that type - and furthermore, banking isn't exactly seen as an honorable job in the majority of Mirevalian society. You're not gonna get much respect going that way.
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>>6345167
I am not sure how we would actually go about this. There seem to be two separate ambitions here intertwined: running a bank ourself and getting rich, and establishing a strong banking sector in the city from which to borrow when necessary. Both seems very difficult given our limited resources
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>>6345161
I see.
And fair enough, being a banker would be beneath our station. Would becoming a patron to a merchant family to fund the opening of a bank in Portblanc, and having a controlling interest be seen in the same light? I would think not.
Sure, the pure profits wouldn't be there, but the economy would undoubtedly benefit.
Perhaps it could be a joint venture with a local merchant house and some imported Straccians? Captain Bonino may have some contacts in that regard.
Besides all that, I know we don't own a lot of land, but would there be any validity to conducting a survey of our lands to see if there is anything we could make use of? I would think not, but I thought I would ask.
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You would like to think yourself of the thrifty sort; a nobleman above the well-known stereotype of the petty lord who empties his vaults in largesse, doling out gold and silver as though it were barley bread, hosting parties of the most extravagant manner with loans and borrowings, gathering bills, tabs and charges with every manner of lender and merchant within the land until their situation is inevitably reduced to that of a pauper, barely a noble, barely a liege, with proceeds of his lands entirely beholden to a myriad of sources other than his own. You have acquired a very decent treausry, a very healthy treasury, one far superior to what might be expected of a mere Viscount.
It is well within reason, then, that you should make usage of that wealth! To merely hoard it as though a dragon within his cave, some manner of ill-intentioned miser keeping his pantries locked as his family starves and rolls of silk stashed as they are forced to wear coarsen wool. You had decided to yourself that you sought to increase your standing in society, and to do so you would need to invest, and to spend plentifully! You would simply have to keep a close watch on your ledgers; when the profits began to arrive from your trade agreement of wool for glass on Nera, you would receive relief from these current expenditures...
And the first of such expenditures would be your birthday! Your twenty-second birthday, to be exact. It shall be in a month, yet that is plenty of time to arrange some manner of party. You express your intentions to August, and he nods, beginning to write on his papers the orders which you place. To someone of your stature, a "cousin" to the Emperor, there is a bare minimum ground of expenses for such things...buying the very most basic of ingredients in amounts for all that is necessary - fine flour in great quantities for the white bread, spirits and wines for drinking, meats like venison and lamb and fish as well; the wines. Among that and other costs, you reckon the bare minimum shall be a total of 1,000 Imperii for the party - but that is just the bare minimum. If it is your goal to acquire allies and connections, you must impress, though on which manner you do so, you are not certain...
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
>Acquire a lot of Saffron for the dishes (5,000 Imperii)
>You have another idea you would like to do (Suggestions will be given a price)
>Write-in
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>>6345205
>>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
>Acquire a lot of Saffron for the dishes (5,000 Imperii)
Fuck it, go all out!
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
>Acquire a lot of Saffron for the dishes (5,000 Imperii)
Let's put on a show.
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>>6345205
Oh oooh, I just had
>another idea you would like to do (Suggestions will be given a price)
Let's pay someone to write an account of the war from our perspective. We can sit down, give them a blow by blow account, record our observations on the foreign land, make ourselves look good, and contribute to history
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>>6345205
>>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
Let's keep it (relatively) modest.
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>>6345280
I like this idea, however I would prefer if we wrote it ourself. Gives us the chance to do some propaganda too ala Julius Caesar, and the personal touch is absolutely necessary in my opinion
>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
4500 imperii total is a good start, we have to keep some back for Alessandro's brother and the castle, both of which are more worthwhile than saffron.
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
I understand wanting to import all we can of the most expensive thing, I really do. But I think doing that might actually be the step that makes it look like we're trying too hard.
I'm also in support of >>6345280 for getting everybody to be most aware of our campaign and especially our famous stand at the bridge. It's still recent enough that everybody will want to know it happened, so we may as well tell it in the most grand and memorable way possible.
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
Whats up with the gifts option? Do we give gifts out on our birthday (to show how rich we are etc)?
I'd suggest being a bit modest since we're going to have to fund the wedding and the renovations. And it isn't even an important birthday
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
>Acquire a lot of Saffron for the dishes (5,000 Imperii)
No point in half-assing this, considering our guests are all gonna be rich as well.
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
I know we're educated, but are we educated enough to actually write our own account, OP?
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>>6345205
>Acquire meat and wine in amounts far greater than what is necessary (500 Imperii)
>Acquire entertainment of the umost high quality (1,000 Imperii)
>Acquire modern, imported gifts from the finest craftsmen in Straccia (2,000 Imperii)
>>6345280
+1 to this or just writing our own account of the events
>>6345834
not OP, but military memoirs are very widespread for 16th century european nobility irl
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You must, of course, increase your larders and winehouses first of all - though already the amount you had ordered specifically for the party was plenty, you shall strive for true excess, such that even fine wine may flow freely amidst not only the most high of guests but to the most low - that even the pages and servants shall be given fine venison and fat lamb. In entirety, it shall add perhaps another 500 Imperii to do so...it is quite a steep price, a very steep one, which can perhaps be blamed by the scarcity of such products in your own island of Uharta - Portblanc must, in truth, import nearly all of its food from nearby regions.
Yet to merely be plentiful in food is not enough! You must also provide entertainment...certainly, you've already got minstrels and troubadours, yet that is not enough to make a lasting impression, either. You had heard, once, of a wandering company of Fasian performers who, for rather great sums, may travel to your lands and make their show - and who were just close enough to arrive in time. You also knew of a great composer, from Silenia, whose music you had heard in your travels in Montellegaria. You would hire him, as well. In the end, you would dedicate a sum of 1,000 Imperii for your messengers to go out and offer to these men whatever wealth was necessary to participate.
Yet even that, even that was not enough! There was one more thing that would turn such an event into one that would be commented of even in Mascaloma: a gift! It was, of course, customary to give gifts for guests of honour when they made stay in your home, and even more so in a banquet or commemoration. To give a memorable party gift was a good way to quickly acquire a reputation for your wealth and good taste. Yet what to choose...? You had an idea - one you had seen in Nera, as well - the clock-watch. It was a curious machine, like a pomander apple, a spheroid of brass whose insides told you the exact time of day, like some manner of sundial or church bell yet ever so more accurate and portable. It was a great feat of modernity, certainly, and the perfect gift for your most honorable of guests! Sadly, you did not have the time to order them to be made en masse, and to do so would have been prohibitively expensive anyways, but you did know a man, in Nera, who could sell you a fell for those guests of higher rank. It would, however, cost you up to 2,000 Imperii...
"Sire?" interrupts your chamberlain
"Yes, August?"
"Far be it from my place to judge your lordship's choices, yet I cannot help but feel as though such...clocks" he says, not particularly comprehending the word "..might be better put to use in your brother's wedding?"
"How so?" you say, curious
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"Though it is certainly a joyful occasion, the twenty-second birthday of a lord is no great occasion - it might seem extraneous to those that come that such an inordinate amount would spend. Such usage of money might seem to some as...excessive. Yet none could blame a man for spending great quantities on the marriage of his brother! And as the Patriarch of the Glaliota, tradition would dictate still the giving of gifts to the married ones and the bride's family. To give such...sumptuous gifts, in particular, might spark trust in your...capabilities, my lord, to provide wealth to a possible bride." he says, before coughing.
Yes, you certainly understand what he means...to show wealth merely for the marriage of your brother would be to show you would be capable of repaying twofold for your own! It would be a good sign for your position, as a suitor. Though perhaps not as personally invested in the matter as your mother, August, the great advisor that he is, knows the necessity of a marriage in your future should you seek to ensure the safety of your line. In a more practical manner, it would also solve your issues of your brother's marriage planning...although Jonatan had insisted he be left in charge of planning, your role as the head of the family still left you with some great expenditures - wedding clothes for both him and the bride, buying the foods and drinks and supplioes, arranging for musicians, arranging for the invitation of a most honorable Bishop of the Church of Splendour to officiate the matter...all in all, a 2,000 cost for these matters, and that was without counting the gifts! Yet these clocks could serve plentifully, for such matter, too.
He might also be right about the mention of 'excesses'. Although wealth is looked upon with great honour in your social circles, to spend too much, all at once, with no regards to good sense, might strike others instead as foolish, as the acts of a foolish young noble with no true long term thought. And that would be a strike indeed to the opinion of others about you! You are nowhere powerful enough to pretend at endless wealth to the point of purposeful reckless spending, as many Kings and Princes might. The only downside, of course, is that it is already May 1st - you would have little time to procure some other exotic gift. You'd have to fall back on the classics - gold, fine fabrics, jewelry and the lot, the things you had already bought as part of your basic planning. Nothing that would offend - but still, nothing that would impress, either...
UPDATED -rentry.org/TercioQuest
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Agree to the idea, have the clocks be stored for the wedding instead and give 'normal' gifts instead
>Refuse, have them remain as your party gifts, and buy something for the wedding later
>Write-in
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>>6346410
>Agree to the idea, have the clocks be stored for the wedding instead and give 'normal' gifts instead
I love it when our loyal advisors take action to counteract the good idea fairy, may Alessandro continue to cultivate such good help.
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Perhaps you had been a bit too carefree with your expenses and let yourself be carried away by the goal of showing off your wealth. You agree to your chamberlain's suggestion - you shall have the clocks be carefully stored for the day of your brother's wedding instead.
Time continues to pass, and soon, the day of your birthday is at hand! In the past two weeks since the start of may, the guests have begun to slowly trickle into your abode or the city around it. Aside from those of your own city - especially those who had accompanied you during your campaign throughout Nera as your loyal knights - there were also other nobles of high stature from Segoma itself, such as Don Fadrique, whom you happily welcomed, yet even more so would be Duke Martín de Farrazas, the young liege of the Duchy of Esberas.
Esberas, of course, is that duchy westerly of you - not a member of Segoma, but one of the Empire proper, a noble of the higher echelons who answers to the capital itself. Despite this, however, his land is of little to be spoken of, bearing not the economical importance of your own nor the political supremacy of the Princely States from whom the next master of The Empire shall one day arise. It is not even an powerhouse of production or bearer of importance workplaces. It is but one of a hundred other duchies of the Empire whose economy is centered on the farming of crops in order to feed itself as well as the major cities of the region - though even on this, it is inferior to places such as Camponia, to your east, who indeed supplies many a portion of the crops that feed Portblanc.
Nevertheless, you have never met the man himself - you had simply extended your invitations to all those amidst the region as good manners dictated one did, and it would seem that he had finally deigned to accept it!
The morning of your birthday is a very, very busy one - you wake up early, in your room, and are greeted by Thibaud, who wishes you great fortunes and good health. As you get ready and walk through the palace walls, so does every other greet you in greetings and good wishes...though you also notice the distinct lack of appearance from Joan, who would usually be the first to greet you in such days. You have a quick breakfast, a smaller one this time around, for you know what feasting awaits. You depart to mass - not in the chapel of your castle, but in the great church of your city, where plenty of your guests awaited - though of course, none like the Duke or the Count, who would instead be on the chapel. You, however, were expected to be seen on that morning, on that balcony seat reserved for your family. The mass is a standard one, yet it ends with blessings given to you by the priest, who wishes you well in the name of the Splendour. You leave from your horse amidst a crowd of the city dwellers, who loudly declare their own felicitations for your life and future.
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When you arrive in the castle, your goal is the courtyard; not the military, but the old one, that celebratory courtyard. Where once stood a great jousting ring, which had for decades now been empty as the sport fell out of favour after the particularly gruesome death of a noble and greatly respected Prince - the youngest amidst the current Emperor's brothers. Indeed, he himself would later ban participation in the sport by any member of the Imperial House. Yet despite this, the stands which had been built still endured - and now, it was a place for entertainment of all other manners - and of those, you had plenty.
Your arrival was one of honour - with all the guests already assembled and waiting, you were introduced amidst the clapping of your fellows, and took your place within the lordly box seats. The first activity of the day, your messengers would announce, would be the entertainment! Soon enough, they appeared - the archers, the jugglers, the swordswallowers and the contortionists. Nothing you had not seen, and yet entertaining all the same. None amidst the crowd expected much from the morning shows, for their purpose was solely to occupy your time before the greatly awaited lunch banquet.
A few hours into the morning, however, you were approached by one figure, and certainly not one you could ignore: the young Duke himself, Don Mártín! From mere sight, you could tell his nature as one of the archetypal gallant noble: head held high, jawline as wide and rigid as as his neck, dressed in greatly colorful livery, and with an air of one who holds themselves to be above most others. Few would expect that you, mere Viscount that you were, were most likely richer and wealthier than the man, and by no small deal at that.
"Viscount Alessandro!" he says, with a bold voice. "Good fortune be upon you on this day...certainly, your hold is a most impressive one! Portblanc is a jewel that shines greatly amidst the northern coast."
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"It is my honour, your grace, that you would accept my invitation." you reply, inviting him to seat beside you. You offer him a snack you had set out for just such an occasion - sweet dates, stuffed with nuts and peppers and cooked in honey. He politely refuses.
"What brings one of such great stature as you to my humble anniversary?" you ask, intent on probing his motivations. Wealthy you may be, someone of his stature would not visit the anniversary of a mere Viscount, and one from a vassal state at that, without some manner of objective.
"I merely wish to speak to you, Don Alessandro! The victory of your expedition over the merchant republic has already spread throughout the region, and it is great indeed to see another young noble of the sword and lance." You, of course, know him to have not participated in a conflict; for quite a long time already, this region had not seen much war.
"You embarass me greatly; I merely served the terms of my vassalage, as one humbly does towards their lord..."
"Ah, of course - you've the liegeship of a most honorable man indeed, his highness Prince Don Carles." he says, still yet in a jovial tone. "I must ask of you, Don Alessandro, for many amidst my court have wondered so...what can you say of his highness? Amidst the blessed Princes, he is the one we have heard the least of; yet there is much great respect for his deeds...I would be delighted to hear of his exploits upon the field of battle, so succesful it was..."
Ah - you understand it now. It is this man who is probing you - probing you for details of the Prince! There is little information more valuable in the Empire than those of the Princes. Each passing year of age added to the reigning monarch adds weight upon these truths; adds thirst over the candidates for the next Imperial Election: adds a need to know who amongst them stands to be the strongest of candidates and who the weakest. It does not surprise you at all that this man asks of you such, but what answer shall you give...? You should certainly not want to run opposite to the efforts of your Prince: but does he wish to be well praised, or to remain obscured?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Be realistic - give him an accurate portrayal of Don Carles
>Be laudatory - accentuate your liege's best skills to some considerable degree
>Be careful - do not tell much about the extent of his abilities, downplay them.
>Avoid answering it entirely, attempt to divert the question
>Write-in
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>>6347439
>>Be realistic - give him an accurate portrayal of Don Carles
We can be considerate of the Don and emphasise his good leadership without straying into courtier-level flattery. Consider what Alessandro's manner of speech says of him, it would be good to establish a reputation for useful, straight shooting. Alessandro can still be polite and respectful of the prince while doing so, in my opinion.
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>>6347439
>Be realistic - give him an accurate portrayal of Don Carles
I feel like this overlaps a lot with the laudatory option because the truth is that Carles is remarkable. I can't think of any negatives to say about him really, he is dignified, accustomed to command, and a brilliant strategist
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>>6347439
>>Be careful - do not tell much about the extent of his abilities, downplay them.
I feel like Carles is someone who generally likes to stay under the radar. Given his original plan that is. We don't know which way this noble lies, and until we do I'd rather not give anything away ourselves.
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>>6347439
>Be careful - do not tell much about the extent of his abilities, downplay them.
It's a bit cowardly, but I'm of the belief that Carles is too canny of an operator to be pleased with more men knowing of his nature.
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>>6347437
A hundred duchies? Holy crap, how large is this empire? Or did the rank of a Duchy get devalued with time?
>Write-in
Laud the Prince's ability as a general, administrator and leader of men, but don't mention his scheming side.
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>>6347634
>A hundred duchies? Holy crap, how large is this empire?
It's pretty stonking huge.
I laid twenty five duchies across the continental map portion of Mirevale and it's already so big it doesn't actually fit on the map, so even if the size of a duchy isn't standard it could pretty readily gobble up a hundred I think.
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>>6347725
by the way, I don't know if you're aware of it, but if you ever want to actually get through the slog of making realistic biomes for your entire world, I think artifexian's worldbuilder's log is really good
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Ultimately, you decide that honesty is your best policy.
"What can be said of his highness? It is my impression that Don Carles is of utmost deserving to the noble lineage of Brascarams. I have little doubt that the war could not have been won as hastily and utterly as it was without his keen mind. It is his planning that allowed us victory in the field again and again. The terms which he was able to impress upon the defeated enemy were of great value, as well." you say, keeping your formal tone without delving too greatly into the depths of laudation that would be more fit for a courtier.
"It is high praise of his highness you speak." replies the Duke.
"Indeed, and Don Carles is certainly deserving of it." you say, without adding anything else. It is certainly true that the Prince possesses the keenest mind you have seen - but it would do you do good to add about the frightening degree to which he is able to manipulate events to fall to according to his will. You've no intention of gaining the ire of an Imperial Prince, and much less so from one who holds such a set of skills.
Luckily, the Duke seems satisfied by your answer, and returns to his seat for the morning attractions. It is with gladness that you arrive at the second, and perhaps the most important part of the day - the banquet! With much pomp was your party welcomed to the dining room, a soothing song accompanying the background, made for this very purpose by that Straccian in your employe.
Although you did not go so far as to buy that most expensive of spices, the exotic Saffron, you are certain that the plenty in what you did have would more than make up for the fact. And indeed, in that regard, you did not control your spending! Through the next few hours, you and your guests were treated to course after course after course of meal - the aperitif had seemed like all but a distant memory by the time the main courses arrived, so many were its predecessors. There were meats of all kinds - pork, lamb, venison, beef, chicken, foal. They were delivered in soups, in roasts, in sticks, pies, in pottages, marinated in oil and fried with lard. They were accompanied by manchet bread, soft and fresh in great ammounts, as well as great pots of rice which were refilled as quickly as they were eaten. There was wine, of course - and what great quantities of wine. There was Silenian Wine, Neran Wine, Wine from Chianti, Wine from Valschen, Wine from Montcher and from as far as Southern Bach. Wine with spice, wine with honey, watered down or with milk. Entire bottles given out to be drunk from the source, and also a little rum. Finally, at the end, there were those biscuits, those famous biscuts, embroided with the coat of Galliota, made with sugar and fruit and nuts.
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After all was finished, after you had eaten so much you could no longer beat to eat, you and your guests left yet again, to that old courtyard, where your second wave of entertainment awaited...the Fasians! The men you had hired were Fasconos, members of the Fasian race who had abandoned their pagan faith for the one true Splendorous church. From your seat, the crowd saw the group introduce themselves as the Compañía de hombres sin dolor - the men who felt no pain! Theirs was an much odd race, whose skin was not skin but some like an armor or caparace, more fitting than any garment could ever be, yet so durable as to withstand the blade of a sword.
In their opening act, a great, burly man amongst them grabbed a platform of wood, with countless nails sticking at the bottom. Holding them from below, he held it as another man, this one far thinner, climbed on the platform as the strongman held it above his head! And though he held it from below, not holding at the edges but with his palms, the nails did not pierce him, and he did not show any pain. Yet it was not over - for the man who had climbed above him held his own piece of wood - and extending his hand downwards, he pulled up towards him a third man, the tallest of the lot - and with a trick that seemed to defy physic itself, lifted him upside-down above his head! It was puzzling, it was impossible! How could such balanace be achieved, how could a man, holding a bed of spikes, be utterly unfeeling in pain? Could their natural defenses be of such strength? When the act ended, and they jumped to the ground one by one, you were amidst the first to clap, though certainly not the last.
After that, however, you found yourself growing...bored, so to say. The acts continued, but you found them to be not too amazing. You could tell that the crowd liked it, certainly - in no small part due to the inebriation you were all experiencing. You yourself, however, you had the good sense not too indulge too greatly in drink, such that you only felt a buzz, a strange yet pleasant feeling upon your mind. Yet it was not easy amusement your mind drew itself to, but thoughts of...architecture! Yes, architecture. Though you were busy, you had already begun to think about the modernization of your home.
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There were many things that had to be changed in relation to the building itself - the amenities, the stonework, the rooms, all things which you had not yet quite been given a list of, but of appearances? That you knew well of. There were many ways to change the facade, the likeness of the walls both internal and external such that it could look as though it were almost new. There was, cheapest of all, Plaster and Limewash - the usage of that cheap stone to both smoothen the walls and paint them in a stark white color. Easily available as the stone was, it would take but 1,500 Imperii to paint your entire castle. In sequence, there was painting - not lime paint, but true paint, of the more available kind! Yellow, orange, with some finer details painted in red and even blue. It would certainly look better than a mere limewash, with a not too great price of 3,500 Imperii, but yet it could hardly be called a modernization, could it? The ancient stonework would still remain.
The most expensive of options...and your favorite, of course, was Stucco. Applied with whatever pigment of your choosing, it would cover every wall, and refined to the shapes you deigned. It could be filled with decorations, with frescos, with details of all kinds you wished! All done in the modern manner, Straccian manner! Though perhaps not as great as a brand new palace, it would be the closest you would arrive to such...and it would also cost upwards of 7,000 Imperii, perhaps even more if things went awry.. Not a small sum, to say the least, but the best looking one by far.
Although some might argue that it was foolish to take such decisions after a bout of eating and drinking, you should at the very least settle on what path you wished to take...
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Plain Limewash (1,500 Imperii)
>Commno Paintjob (3,500 Imperii)
>Decorated Stucco and Neran-style decorations (7,000 Imperii)
>You have another idea you would like to do (Suggestions will be given a price)
>Write-in
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>>6348256
>Decorated Stucco and Neran-style decorations (7,000 Imperii)
It's only a surface level improvement but it's also the one that anybody would notice and appreciate first and foremost, as well as decorative surfacing being something that readily stands the test of time. As long as it's not done by a complete asshole at least. I'd presume the costs spiraling from things going awry would be more from some moody spoon ear having artist moments and delaying for years more than anything else, though.
Also the iron is hot for putting up frescoes of our campaign.
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>>6348293
>I'd presume the costs spiraling from things going awry would be more from some moody spoon ear having artist moments and delaying for years more than anything else, though.
maybe the material runs out? or maybe a big accident happen. could be a lot of things.
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Frugality be damned, you've no wish in a centuries old stonehole any longer! That your own abode would stand as a relic from darker ages past while mere merchants lived in works of great art and beauty in Straccia is something you would not abide by! You'll hire architects from Nera, and they'll transform your castle into something befitting a man of the modern era! If it weighs heavily on your purse, then so be it! You've far more money than one of your station normally does.
As for the rest of the commemoration, it goes as you had duly expected - the Fasconos continued their acts for a few mour hours until finally, your party returned for dinner. It was far lesser in size than the lunch banquet, though still above what you considered a normal meal. The eating went by rather quickly, and soon, the final event came; the one you had at least somewhat looked forwards to. The exchanging of gifts! One by one, your guests would make their offerings to you, the host, and as the gracious host you would give a gift in return. Alas, because you had chosen to store the clock watches for your brother's wedding, you had no truly distinguishable gift to give, nothing that could remain in their minds!
And so, the exchange that followed was a regular one; cloaks and jewelries, gems and capes. After all was done, the giving of gifts had finished such that you felt as though you ended with the very same things you had given out, if only in different form...even the Duke of Esbaras, for all his stature, had given you but a velvet robe. You certainly did not wish to demean such gifts, but ultimately, none truly caught your eye; except, most surprisingly, by the one given by Don Fadrique! The man, who had spent the day eating and drinking twice as more as the next three guests put together, presented you with a flanged mace, covered in intricate golden trimmings and embellishments, and upon them was carved the name of 'Knightslayer'
"I reckon you'll make good use of it next time you decide to crack open the heads of some almond-eared merchants in plate, heh!" he says, quite jovially. You thank him, of course - though you've never used a mace, it is certainly an enticing sight.
Still so, the giving of gifts do end, and in good time, the commemoration is over - the nobles leave for their lodgings in the city, or the quarters they had been granted in your castle. In the morrow, they would be returning to their homes, by land or by sea, and perhaps hopefully carrying good word of your wealth, of your taste, and of your deeds. It would have been a great waste, to have set all this up, for no good to come of it in the end...
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As you go to your room to retire for the night, you run into none other than Joan, whom you had not seen the entire day. You look at her, surprised for a moment, before asking.
"Joan...? Where had you been, this day?"
"My apologies your lordship, I was tending to matters of the estate." she says, curtly, in a tone that felt almost like her usual but not quite so.
"Ah, I see..." you reply, not quite sure of how to respond.
"If I may be excused, there are other matters I must attend to." she says, giving a short curtsy before leaving past you, leaving you alone in the candle-lit hallways once more.
"Very well then..?" you say, perhaps to yourself. You could certainly swear that there was something in her tone, but you could not quite place what.
No matter. You'd think of such matters at some later point; for now, it was time to sleep, and tomorrow onwards, the modernization of your home would begin!
>SORRY FOR UPDATE BEING LATE BUT STILL SHORT
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE TOMORROW, MAYBE.
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>>6349513
>a flanged mace, covered in intricate golden trimmings and embellishments, and upon them was carved the name of 'Knightslayer'
Incredibly based, we should remember this when we next campaign with him.
>>6349514
>You could certainly swear that there was something in her tone, but you could not quite place what.
Enough of this will-they won't-they bullshit, can we please just find a proper foreign princess or duke's daughter to raise world-conquering heirs with?
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>>6349518
>Enough of this will-they won't-they bullshit
Don't worry, anon, they'll end up together. It's a match made in heaven
Btw QM, just wanted to say how much I appreciate this quest. I was already enjoying the battle mechanics that are at the heart of the quest, but you are also a very good character writer. I'm enjoying these parts between the battles, including our adorable romance with Joan
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After the birthday, matters return to normalcy, in the way they had been before - you are free to focus once again on matters of the estate and country! In this tail end of Autumn, the flow of commerce only seems to grow as winter approaches in the way it always has. To your good fortune, however, it would seem that no great deal of trouble about the city itself has befallen upon you, and you are free to continue your focus on that which you truly desire, the modernization of your home! After deciding upon the nature of your reforms, you had put out the call for experts in such manners of architecture and art from Nera, and they had at last arrived in your shores!
The experts got to work very quickly, and for the next days, they began to inspect every nook and cranny of the castle, every hallway corner and room - with the exception of those that were of high importance to your own family, of course, for the sake of safety. After a week or so, they were finally able to give to you a presentation of their plans.
"Your lordship" said one amongst them, who went by the name of Migliore de Gabonni "After analyzing these fair grounds of your castle, it is our prediction that it would take no less than one year to complete it - once all the material and workers were acquired, that is.
An entire year...? You did not believe that would be fast enough to finish before the marriage of your brother, but it was foolish to think such great changes as the ones you decided upon could be done within a short period of time. Still so, you must go forward with this project, regardless of the time it takes! You ask the architects about the matter of cost.
"That, sire...it shall depend on the matter of workers and material, but we have not yet been made to know the price of such things in these lands."
"Very well, then - do tell me what is necessary" you reply, surprising the men who doubtlessly expected a noble to be blind to such aspects. For the rest of the day, you explore the matter of the cost of the project - of the wages of workers, as they usually are - of the materials necessary for the job, their availability in the region, and the prices for such. In the end, there is of course also the matter of the payment of the artisans themselves; a rather considerable one given their skill in such exact sciences. In the end, you add another 6,000 to the overall cost projections of the project, leaving you with a total of 13,000 to be put in the initial "reserve" of the project. It is a good thing, then, that the profits from your trade deal have at last begun to arrive to widen your income once more...
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It is June 7th, and you have finally received a returning letter with the sign of the Tallasca Family! In the short missive, their patriarch, Don Tallascas, bids you good fortunes for your return to the throne and repeats his interest in a marriage between his daughter and your own brother, Jonatan. With the dowry having finally arrived, he claims that the marriage should be clear to happen within the next few months at your own leisure. Though it would be a lie to claim you were a sage in the ability of reading men, it is very obvious to you the man is very much looking forward to tying the name of his minor family to one such as yours, even if it is through a man not in the line of succession like Jonatan. The dowry must have also been a great boon to a mere barón like him. Too often you forget that a considerable of noblemen in the empire hold far more impoverished estates than yours - even amongst the higher echelons, there is many a house that has become mired in debts...perhaps it is a good thing most of these debts are held by moneylenders affiliated with Bagra.
Still so, it is good news to see their willingness; you decide to leave the question of the date of the wedding to your brother Jonatan.
"The date of the wedding, you say..." he asks, laying from his bed. "It would have to be somewhere around summer, yes...in January, perhaps?"
"January?" you ask, with mild curiosity. "For what reason doth you wish such dates, brother?"
"Well, you know my condition is less severe during the summer months, brother..." he says, with a grin you can't quite read. "A man should be capable of physical effort during his wedding night!"
You almost choke on your own words, having never so much as expected this manner of discourse from Jonatan amongst all men. Your brother chuckles, inbetween coughs, as your face curls up in indignation. How vulgar...!
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBILITIES, THREE TIMES
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With all immediate matters settled and the next great events a great many weeks away, you are able to at last settle into a peaceful rhythm of rule, calmly passing each day handling the matters of court and home without a need for immediate worry of greater things. Although it is once again winter, that busiest time of year in this port city of yours, you are quite happy to learn that your brother was able to clear up the 'blockage' in the lower courts of Portblanc, who handled matters such as disputes between traders and citizens of the city.
The only matters which truly require your attention are, instead, the matters of the modernization! With your funds set aside and objectives assured, you have already begun - workers have begun to move in from the rest of Segoma, every artisan, mason, carpenter and blacksmith necessary called forth to partake in this project for whom your local labourers are far too few in number. It is in the more foundational ways they begin - repairing parts of the building which had been left to dust and disrepair, replacing old floors with fresh, perfect wood; it shall be some time yet still until they are able to move on from the old and begin with the new.
It is the 1st of July when you realize that it has been at last one year (and a few days) since your adventure began - since that messenger bearing the golden seal walked into your throneroom and conscripted you for a war in distant shores, fighting factions you had never even heard about in the name of a family you had never met. Although your life was thrown into great disarray for the past year, it was perhaps not all bad, was it? You had sailed out into a great journey through foreign lands, partaking of their food and drink. You had been tested, not merely as a commander but as a man of the noble class, of the fighting class, as a descendant of the Galliota warriors who had led by way of sword and land in centuries past; and you had passed with great distinction!
Yet perhaps it is foolish to continue to dwell on such matters now that they have ended. It will do you no good to act as some manner of wisened veteran after acquiring two or three victories. You have read plenty, heard plenty about the wars that happen and have happened throughout this territory, conflicts which far dwarf the war you had done. Even now, there must be many men with a record such as yours, fighting in the far west alongside the Emperor himself, meeting those armour-skinned men in the field of battle. It is very much doubtful that you will find conflict again unless you make a career out of it.
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Though there are no pressing matters for you to worry about right now, that does not mean you are to remain inactive, rotting away on your throne like an invalid. You may find yourself busy later, but for now, you've some ideas for how to spend your time.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Go through yet another entry of the Liber Regionum Mundi
>Begin writing a memoir about your time in Straccia
>Begin frequenting the Gimnàs more and increase your vigor
>Return to an old idea you had during the war
>Write-inWe are back! It is also good to say that there won't be any need for breaks for the new year.
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>>6351648
>Return to an old idea you had during the war
Seems like a perfectly good time to do the groundwork for our shooters, never know when they'll suddenly be needed. Especially considering that muskets seem to be a rather exotic weapon and not something so readily procured as arquebuses.
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As you ponder whichever way you shall spend this little time of freedom you have gained for yourself, your mind begins to pull at the threads of an old memory; an old thought you had had several months ago yet which seems all the more relevant despite your previous decision to avail yourself of deep delvings into the memories of the Fortelli War. For though you yourself may have been freed of warfare, the same cannot be said of the Empire, nay, of any civilization of man! It is the inevitability born from the conflicts of tribes and crowns.
Whatever your thoughts on the nature of war aside, you remember the difficult of communication in the campaign, of the couriers you had to send out to take messages to your captains during the heat of battle. Your forces used instruments, of course...clarion horns, to warn of incoming enemies or to signal the charge of a troop of horse. Yet it is all too primitive, too simple; they are common signals with but a single meaning, and even those can scarcely be heard of during the heat of battle, when gunfire and screaming ring out in a chorus.
You cannot help but wonder of what great use it would be, were these signals to be like a language unto themselves. Yet how would one achieve such a feat...? As circumstance would have it, you've the perfect man for such a manner of thing; the Silenian whom you had hired for your birthday, who had not yet left for his home country but remained within your city doing spending the pay you had given him on whatever it is creatives of his manner spent their free time on; a man named Salvatore da Vitta
After summoning to your castle, you met the man in your throne room, sitting on it proudly as you often did when met with visitors. You know not how you had forgotten him, for his visage was a very marking one: short of stature, almost straddling the line wherein one might be called a dwarf or pygmy, with a unibrow and a moustache that appeared almost angry, as well as ears that betrayed his racial origin. You had been told the man had almost been arrested for violent and aggressive behavior within the city. Yet nonetheless, you knew, having heard the music he weaved, that his skill was without question.
"Your lordship", he says, with a voice like gristle, "How may I be of use?"
"I've a question of your trade, Salvatore." you begin, rubbing your cleanly shaven chin. "What manner of instruments of wind, you say, are the loudest?"
"Well, signore...there is the trumpet, of course, as well as the olifant, the clarion, and the cornett, amidst others."
"Are there any, you would say, amidst these, whose sound might be of such imponence so as to be heard across even the greatest of cacophonies?" you ask.
"...I am not sure what you mean, signore." he replies, perhaps not entirely understanding the nature of your question.
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"You see, I've interest in instruments which may be heard even in the midst of the most deafening of battles, amidst gunfire and cannonfire. It is my goal to perhaps make a language as such, a set of codes and signals of some decent complexity to be shared like words on a letter between commanders of the battlefield."
"I am afraid, your lordship, that no instrument with such power and complexity is made to be carried into the battlefield, yet..."
"Yet..?"
"I believe, your lordship, that I could perhaps make such an instrument! I would require only to return to my workshop, in Silenia, where i have tinkered with such things. I would have need only of the funding to return there, and to be left without need for performances and compositions for clients."
"Very well, then, I shall give unto you 500 Imperii for the matter, and the same amount once over should you succeed, it is far a more than plentiful amount for your usage and comfort."
The man gives a great smile at the words. "I shall not disappoint you, your lordship! I shall return with the instrument as soon as I am able.."
It shall be in his great interest to do so...in the meantime, however, you cannot do much but wait some more.
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBILITIES, THREE TIMES
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>>6352311
>>6352309
>>6352303
You can’t make this up.
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Although the cold of winter is of little power when compared to the intensity of the heat which follows it, it is nevertheless more than enough to endanger one's health. You are well into the winter months of the year, now, and on the colder days, there is oft a slight sheen of snow covering the island of Uharta. It is interesting, perhaps, to wonder, what a true winter looks like; the worst you have experienced in your life were those winters of Mascaloma, when the worst of winters would see a true layer of snow fall upon the earth.
You are wearing your winter coats, however stuffy they may be. It is in these times that you are perhaps somewhat envious of the Meios, so much more naturally attuned to the cold than man. You have read that, within the southern reaches of Samica, where the hold of the Empire is all but nonexistant, the winters grow so frigid as to turn lakes to solid ground, so firm a heavy horse-drawn wagon could gallop upon it without the slightest fear.
Of course, you've no way to verify such truths - August was born on the very northernmost regions of Samica, within lands held directly by the Imperial Crown, and Joan herself is a native of Portblanc. Adding to that, her behaviour in these past months has been...reserved, to so describe! You had thought of confronting the woman, yet judged against the prospect, at least for the moment. You've more things to deal with for now, certainly.
And of such things, well, you certainly held good news! It would appear that your architects and artisans had been conservative in their estimates. Through the dilligent control of Provençal, who of course had remained under your employ and currently served as the logistician and master of pay for the project, the workers and artisans of the modernization effort worked at lightning speed. Already, the castle had been repaired, old damaged parts replaced when possible or mended when not amongst other matters. With the materials available, they had begun at last the layingwork of the stucco, coating the walls of the castle with the first layer of material to be used in the process...this, too, shall not be long: the biggest length of work shall be the meticulous painting and decorating done by the artists.
Indeed, things have been progressing with such swiftness that nearly three months have been shaved from the expected length of the project. You wonder if this had been the goal of the engineers whom you had hired all along, giving you a lengthened prediction such that you would be delighted at the speed of their work...it matters not, you suppose, so long as it is done in the end. Yet it does not escape you that a great many quantity of the labourers shall not be needed, once the crude aspects of the modernization are finished. Rather than send them off on their way, perhaps you could add an additional project to the effort...
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Your first thought is to renovate the castle garden; although it had once been a great work of engineering, with a water fountain that works yet still, the ages have left it rudimentary, in comparison. Although you'd rather not break the ingenious functioning of the fountain, perhaps you could add flair to it, and to renovate the garden itself as well. Perhaps you could begin collecting strange and exotic plants, as is the past-time of many a noble...in a more practical matter, there is also one idea, not perhaps too useful but in a strange way captivating to you; an escape tunnel. Although you read such things had been once common, the era of peace within the heartlands of the Empire is such that it seems of little value...yet it would be a lie to say it is not an appealing thought, to possess a path to escape. And perhaps, should the unimaginable happen, you would have a manner to flee with your life intact...
Finally, and in a similarly military tone, you could modernize your castle armory. Although the architecture itself remains part of your project already, the contents do not share the same fate! It remains, nowadays, filled with obsolete weaponry of decades past; the newest arms being the rough arquebuses acquired by Hugues when he became the Captain of the Guard. You would instead have it filled with brand new weapons, pikes and swords. Modern arquebuses of the imperial standard, with the gunpowder to use them, as well as that most powerful of firelock you had seen, the mighty Musket. It would not be enough to outfit a regiment, or even a proper company of foot, by any means, but it might grant the experience and connections to aid you in any future efforts to do so.
Perhaps you would choose to do more than one such project, or even not a single one at all...but what would be the use of that?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS
>Renovate the Castle Garden (1,000 Imperii, +1 Month to Finish)
>Create an Escape Tunnel (2,000 Imperii, +2 Months to Finish)
>Modernize the Armory (3,000 Imperii)
>Actually, you'll not do anything.
>Write-in (Project ideas will be given costs)
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>>6352936
>Renovate the Castle Garden (1,000 Imperii, +1 Month to Finish)
>Create an Escape Tunnel (2,000 Imperii, +2 Months to Finish)
>Modernize the Armory (3,000 Imperii)
We're so flush with money, and none of this is too expensive to cut into something that might be an emergency, that we may as well be greedy. Though the secret tunnel is more an indulgence than anything, since our castle is made to be a home rather than a fortress, and frankly speaking, as we're on an island, if an enemy actually does manage to control the sea then they wouldn't even have to land to starve us out. There's no real getting around this, so best to entertain other future possibilities that would address that vulnerability more directly if we really anticipate being on the wrong side of the Mirevalian Armada somehow.
>Write-in (Project ideas will be given costs)
I think the intent is to stay on theme with aesthetic renovations, so if we're going to be opulent and showy, why not not towards some reverence for our ancestry, and have a statue of our father erected for the garden in the same style as the other Straccian styled decor? He seems to have been a well liked enough person, all things considered.
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>>6352954
I'd be thinking not something as ostentatious as, say, a giant-height five meter statue of David, but still something that's a show of sculpting skill, a more or less scale-height depiction on a pedestal or the like, maybe on a horse if we're feeling fancy but I was honestly just thinking the man himself is enough.
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Through your trade deal, you have acquired a very substantial amount of income; your treasury grows richer and richer with every month, and without any debt to pay off, or greater costs to look forward to, there is little to do with it but let it sit in your coffers. Yet what is the usage of money sitting on a vault? You've more than enough of a reserve, and you are told there is no end to the demand of Bachman Glass, which you have been selling through your trade with Nera. You will do all of the projects, and be all the better for it.
Yet perhaps there is more you can do, one man whom you owe all to, who had been the one to wisely lead the city to the wealth it currently holds...your father! Your father, one Ramonet Galliota, who had ruled Portblanc before you so. Though he was no conqueror, it was his stewardship that granted you the titles which you hold, the power which you possess by right of birth. It is no less than right that his memory be honored by his successor, yourself. Though it is perhaps harder to make a statue of a man that no longer lives, there is more than one piece of art portraying him within the halls of the castle; you'll have the artists use them as a source, and with it, create a statue of your father that may stand rightly, standing watch over the garden as a memory of times past.
Time continues to pass as the workers continue their progress in the project! Although the advantage which you had gained was all but lost with the additions that you had sponsored to the project, the additions to the house continue nonetheless. Already, the first layer of Stucco has been applied, the renovation efforts on the garden have begun, plans for the escape tunnel are beginning to be drawn, and messages have been sent to weapon salesmen from across the region who may have modern arms to buy. It is the 1st of September. The cold and gloom of winter has given way to the warmth and bloom of spring, and many are the flowers that grow among the trees and greenery in the wilds outside your city.
You have left your city on what you could call a "tour" of sorts of the island of Uharta. Although named for the city upon which it was built, the Viscounty of Portblanc encompasses the entire island of Uharta, which sits at the estuary where Lutan and Marjoisse meet, those mighty rivers which stretch endlessly into the depths of the continent. It is perhaps shameful to say, but you had never given it much thought; outside the walls, there is little to speak of, save some few fishing villages and scant farms which are able to fit on the ground of the island. It is small enough that even from the furthest point in the further coast, the city walls can still be seen from those white shores.
Although you have spent much these past few months, perhaps you could spare something for Uharta itself...certainly, you reserve is of such size enough to afford such matters? You've some ideas on how to make further use of the island...
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PROJECT: Bolster the Fishermen
Cost: Varied - 1,000 to 2,500
There is no profession in this island, you believe, older than that of the fisherman. Certainly, as an estuary of two rivers at the edge of the sea, there is an uncountable quantiy of fish to catch. Yet over the years, the fishing villages have grown smaller as the people of Portblanc have grown to prefer an imported diet of meat and grains over fish. Perhaps throwing some money their way would revitalize this old industry...
PROJECT: Modern Farming
Cost: 5,000
However small they may be, there is still plenty enough space on your island for some deal of farming. Though it would be never enough to feed it, by sponsoring the construction of irrigation systems and other such modern things, the burden on the import of food could be lessened.
PROJECT: Coastal Defence
Cost: Varied - 10,000 to 25,000
It might seem paranoid at best, and dubious at worst, but it cannot be denied that your island sits at a great crossroads into the heart of the Empire; although you've some manner of defenses on Portblanc itself, the rest of your island lays entirely undefended. It may be time to fix that.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>I would like to begin a project (If so, specify which)
>I actually don't want to begin any project
>I have my own idea for a project (Describe your idea - however, it may be rejected)
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>>6354002
>PROJECT: Bolster the Fishermen
It's an unexploited market, one that we do not necessarily need to fill locally, if people won't eat what the nets catch and the mongers cut. There's sure to be a buyer somewhere, even if it's just stockfish for long hauls.
I'd advise against setting up farming, even, just because we put ourselves in direct competition with the grain and meat importers rather than indirectly by having a different thing to eat. If the climate and soil was suitable for wine, that'd be nice, but I have the feeling it isn't since we're not already doing it. We make our money from trade, let's not wound ourselves in the wallet just for misguided aspirations at Autarky.
Also because we're sure to want to save the really big spending for bro's wedding when the chance comes.
>>6354004
>I almost want to go with the coastal defences, but I don't think that it would net us much advantage?
I agree, mostly for aforementioned reasons of our food running dry long before powder would. We'd have the benefit of, at best, holding out for a few months while reinforcements arrive by making the island impossible to assault quickly, at best. Our walls are already the best kind, that of saltwater. Any landing would be impossible to not detect and oppose on the shore it came, unless we were complete jackasses, and fortifications do nothing to break the blockade which would be a less rash commander's way of breaking us.
Coincidentally enough, the easiest place to procure a light, offshore scouting force to detect landings before they happen at all hours of the day and night would be the small boats of fishermen.
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>>6354009
>Also because we're sure to want to save the really big spending for bro's wedding when the chance comes.
I'll just say it right now, since it doesn't seem to have been clear, but you've already hit the ceiling for expenditures on the wedding. You would have had an option to buy some rather expensive gifts but you chose to use the clocks instead.
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>>6354002
>PROJECT: Bolster the Fishermen
Coastal fortifications worth having would require a great deal of artillery, I seriously doubt that we could afford that aspect of it.
Perhaps our land isn't suitable for wine, but what about olives? Olive orchards could be quite lucrative, even if they take a long time to mature. Or figs, for that matter.
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>>6354002
>Manufacturing: Weapons and Armor. Guns, Pikes, Breastplates, greaves, Gloves, Helmet.
>Invite the Artillery Guild to setup shop.
>Start a University
>Research Hospital (Tied to the University)
>See if we can import stone or Logs (pound trees vertically into the ground) and expand our island in size (see if it is feasible)
Let's become a R&D power house and export intellectual Property. We should have room to expand in that unused area on our island.
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>>6354002
>Write-in
Historically the area around a city would be filled with high-value agriculture that sells to the richer city dwellers; namely pig farms, orchards and flower gardens, as opposed to grain fields. If we somehow still don't have this, let's establish it.
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>>6354171
I'm sorry, but those are all urban projects, not something you can just start on the island outskirts. As for expanding the island in size, while it would be possible to do it in the way the dutch did, that is not technology you would know or have any access to.
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>>6354002
>PROJECT: Modern Farming
So long as we are only increasing production without reducing the amount of labor needed on the farms. The last thing we need is peasants flocking to the city because they aren't all needed to work the land
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>>6354578
>The last thing we need is peasants flocking to the city because they aren't all needed to work the land
That shouldn't happen. Don't forget the peasants are working for themselves, they aren't going to do layoffs.
Historically subsistence farmers mostly had an excess of labor and not enough land. It's the landless peasants who migrated to be urban laborers. If anything, higher productivity per land area will allow freeholders to parcel their land into smaller parts to dole out to their heirs, which will reduce the numbers of landless peasantry and consequently reduce the numbers of urban laborers and those who rent land from large landowners, paradoxically leading to reduced workforce.
TL;DR: if agriculture becomes more productive, peasants will just work less land.
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>>6354696
I don't recall being told that the peasants are working for themselves. Everything you said is true *if* the peasants are smallholders, but if they are tenant farmers than the landlords may respond to greater agricultural productivity by reducing the amount of labor they employ and booting peasants off the land. That's why my support for farming modernization is qualified
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>>6354771
Anything we can realistically implement will raise land productivity, not labor productivity. Labor requirements per land area will likely even rise because of the need to maintain irrigation infrastructure. So if the landlords want all of their land worked, they can't boot anyone.
The second consideration is that landlords don't pay tenants, tenants pay landlords, so booting them out won't save on any expenses.
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However poor they might be, these fishmongering commoners, it was by no little reason that they had come to be in Uharta; what better source of food can there be than an island? What better way to feed a city in the sea that from the very bounty that is born of it? Although you have little fear for the chain of supply which keeps all of Portblanc, including your own cellars and larders, fed with fine grain and meat, it would be good to reduce such pressures and decrease your reliance; one can never tell when there might be a great famine.
Yet you cannot simply throw money at such issues, can you? If it had been but a matter of wealth, you could have sponsored an entire guild of fishermen, to begin to act in the waters of your isle. Yet the matter is with the populace; your populace, so addicted to bread and pork and chicken and venison. It would be a lie to say you do not partake of such meat well, so great they are to the human palate and so good to one's health and strength. But fish too, is healthy, and great when prepared well...
You quickly formulate a plan - digging some small amount from your treasury, you spread it across the villages of Uharta, "donations" meant to breathe life into their economies. You are, of course, thanked profounedly by the barons and fidalgos who rule in such villages, but it is not for such reasons that you do so. In the following weeks, you begin to partake more in the fish that are caught by these men. When you are invited by one of the noblemen in the city to dine at their house, it is the course of fish that you foremostly ask for, and it is fish that constitutes the meals when you invite them in return. When questioned for your odd choices, you begin to speak of having decided to try out a Straccian 'diet' of sorts, focused on the eating of fish to enhance one's health. Your cooks, as well, are instructed to follow in the matter, and cook 'Straccian' dishes of fish. Although the matter leaves you with a rather queasy aftertaste, it is not long until some of the other noblemen have begun copying the matter into their own, turning the 'diet' into a fad of sorts; and of course, where the nobility does something, it is not much later that the burghers, so lacking in blood yet plentiful in wealth, follow in an attempt to mimic them.
You can only hope this shall be enough to drive them into a good path; you have eaten far more fish in these past few weeks than you would have ever hoped to.
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBILITIES, THREE TIMES
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Time continues to march forward, day by day, work occupying you from the dawn of the sun to the rise of the moon. It is a comforting, monotone routine, not unlike that of a monk or a peasant, though perhaps more filled with luxurious meals, gifts and bouts of carousing. You spend the morning dealing with matters of the state, the afternoon overseeing the modernization of the castle, and at night you are obliged to follow an unending string of meals, of music playings, of theater shows and whatever else can still be done without sunlight. It is a matter you have grown accustomed to in these past few months, and one you are fine with carrying about for the foreseeable future
That does not mean there are not other things you deal with, of course! Your mother too had her birthday in one of these days, her forty-ninth at that, and though she does not demand for a party of her own like the one you had, you are obliged still to spend it with her, as any good son would for his mother. Your brother remained there, as well, remarkably more active than he usually is. He has been of very good health this year, relatively to his behavior in the past, where you would hardly see him out of his bed or in a chair, confined to the inner keeps.
It is October 1st when you finally find yourself tired of this routine.
"I've had enough of it for a while, August! I've no further spirit for such matters today...not for affairs of state, not for affairs of architecture, and most definitely not affairs of fraternity!" you declare, as if the calm contentness you had had while working fluttered out into the ether. August nods his head, understandingly.
"I shall close the court for the day, meu seynor. It is entirely within his lordship's right to reserve time for himself."
"See that you do so..." you say, lifting yourself from your throne as you go down the hallways, wondering what to spend the rest of this resting day you have bought for yourself on.
"Ah, but what question is there?" you declare to yourself; you know most of all what gives comfort to your mind like none other: book reading! You make your way to your family library once again, where the choices are laid out in front of you. You shall certainly not stop at a single one today, but perhaps it would be wise to start with something more...worldly, perhaps. Ah, but of course! You'll take a gander upon one of the entries in the Liber Regionum Mundi, that book of countries and crowns! You've not seen that one in a good while...
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There are The Princely States, the land which you call your home; though a part of the Empire, the distinguishing features of their existence had given them a chapter apart from the rest of the Empire - much like the Grand Duchy of Bagra, who themselves had a chapter unto their own. There were also those other regions of the land; The Valkes, in the north, and the Lily Coast, in the South. Straitland, of course, was also a choice. What would be your pick, this one day?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>The Princely States
>Bagra
>The Valkes
>Straitland
>The Lily Coast
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Chapter III, Section I: Els Estats principescos
Capitals: Válaza, Honderias, Illos, Madrala, Torvano
Form of Rule: Delegatory Viceroyalty
Faith: The Church of Splendour
It is with accordance to the hereditary law of the land, borne of the practices of the kingdom of Mascaloma, that a holder of many properties and lands who has been graced with a multiplicity of adult sons may, out of a desire to test within them their capabilities for the management of such inheritance, temporarily appoint these sons the stewardship of separate properties; That their abilities in the management of servants and land may be proven through earthen deeds, and their worthiness towards the right of inheritance be made seen in their actions, rather than mere appearance and courting of fatherly favour.
Although such manners of inheritance have somewhat fallen out of favour from the noble class, who may find the practice somewhat complex and bothersome to carry out or even who do not have the necessary children to carry out such a method, this practice is kept well alive by that highest and most prestigious of inheritances within the land; the Imperial Throne of Mirevale. Although previous attempts at such inheritance were made, it was not until the Reform of 1382, undertaken by the then-emperor Teodor IV "The Stalwart" Brascarams following his hard-fought ascension to the throne, that three of five the Princely States of today had been formed, with the addition of Almoria and Bascoña to the system in 1430 by Emperor Teodor X
It all seemed accurate to you, certainly. Having chosen to read about The Princely States, you had somewhat expected that you would know much of what they said; after all, they were your home! Segoma was one amongst these princely states, and indeed the first to have been conquered, just around two centuries ago, back when Mirevale had first begun expanding eastwards, through and beyond the Ascarpian mountains, before being turned into an Appanage by Teodor IV during his great reforms of the Empire.
You continued to read the book.
The functioning of an Princely State is as thus; with the election of a Prince to the Imperial Throne, he is given, alongside the vast array of rights and ownerships of his station, the royal right to assign his children to a princedom. None but those outside of the circle of Prince-Heirs of the Imperial House may become Princes; should there not be enough candidates for the title, stewardship of a state would fall to either the previous holding princes who had not been elected, or a council of the foremost nobles of the unclaimed realm.
You remember how, for well over a few decades, the princedom of Milvisia to your north had remained under rulership of a local noble council; it was not until Prince Leodogari, one of Don Carles's brothers, was assigned to the title, that it was blessed with a liege lord once more...
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You skip forward, to the parts that begin to describe the states in question.
Foremost amongst the states is Camponia, with the capital of Válaza. Holding the greatest size, the greatest population, as well as the greatest wealth, it is undeniable the most powerful and desirable of princedoms. It has traditionally been given to the firstborn son of an Emperor, in recognition of their primogeniture, though some occasions where it has been given to another son have occurred. It is amongst all known for the fertility that it was named after; of their power as a breadbasket, whose bounty serves as the foremost source of food for the entire region.
There is little you can say about this; it is a very aptly named place, with vast fields and teeming masses of peasants who work the land tirelessly. It is not merely wealth that comes with such great quantity of food, but the strength of arms which may be derived from a populace from whom levies or citizen soldiers may be raised, or from which free mercenaries may be born.
In following, is Segoma, with the capital of Honderias. Though of decent wealth, it is greatly dwarfed by its predecessor in all matters save that of trade, wherein their access to the great rivers of Lutan and Marjoisse, which flow well into the country, give them great importance by means of riverine access to the Empire.
Well, you can certainly attest to that one, can you not? It is so very often you forget the blessings of that land which you rule, how much wealthier it is than what one who bears but the title of 'Viscount' should have! And almost all of it pertaining to trade, and the tariffs, tolls and taxes which follow it...
Most distant of all amongst the princely states is Bascoña, with the capital of Illos. It is one of the most recent additions to the Empire, and the easternmost of their territories within Mauva itself. It is for this reason that this state holds the greatest military strength amongst all Princedoms, surpassing even that of Camponia, holding countless castles and fortresses in the borderlands near foreign crowns.
You had once heard heard that the forces of the Bascoñans are equal in training and funding to the Imperial Army itself. You have reason to believe the truth is far less impressive than such, but it speaks to the strength of their military valour. With that said, you are still not certain they would have been able to defeat the Fortelli as easily as you and the others of Segoma had!
Most curious amongst these states, however, is that of the island of Milvisia, with the capital of Torvano. Although wealthier materially than both Bascoña and Almoria, it is the fourthmost in matters of power; although plentiful in fertile land, it is bound by the special privileges and rights of the Milvisiani, those natives of the land who had fought with such bitter strength against conquest that they were granted exceptional freedoms from standard law.
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It is odd to think about that island, standing across the sea, directly north from your own beaches. You have met men from Camponia, Almoria and Bascoña more than once in your life, yet never a native of Milvisia; only those rare Mirevalians from Torvano who remain as their contact with the outside world. Even during that time which their council of noblemen ruled Milvisia, they would oft use couriers and messengers of Mirevalian stock to make their will known...you cannot help but feel a manner of unease when thinking about them.
Finally, there is Almoria, with the capital of Madrala. It is the lessermost of all states in matters of population and wealth; it is a bare land, almost entirely wild, broken by a rare few towns, cities and villages amidst the forests. Although acquired almost as recently as Bascoña, it holds no feature of note, holding neither border with foreign nations, nor with the Empire itself.
It is the sorriest of princedoms; that which is left to the youngest, or most scorned of heirs. How can one utterly depleted of power and wealth make their mark known for the electorate, and show their prowess and strength? You reckon any Prince capable of such feat would be deserving of the throne indeed...perhaps Don Carles, with his skill and wisdom of mind, would be up to the task, but it is far better indeed to have him as your liege.
You let out a puff of breath; although the chapter is very much far from over, having not so much as begun to talk about the Grand Duchy of Bagra, there is not much left in the section of the Princely States themselves. You've had enough of worldly readings; it is time to part to matters of fiction and narrative, made solely for one's reading enjoyment!
Truly, there is little better in life than to read a good book.
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBILITIES, THREE TIMES
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>>6356320
>>6356326
>>6356328
Well, you finally got a subpar roll...I'll begin writing, but I kinda ended up running a bit out of time since I went out for a burger tonight and it took more time than I expected. Might end up just having to finish it tomorrow early.
>>6356469
That is a mistake, yes. I meant inside.
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File: Treasury of Portblanc, December.png (604 KB)
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After your short day of repose, you fall once again upon the routine you had developed for this year; awaken, hold court, manage reforms, socialize with the aristocracy, and return to your chambers to sleep. You continue to hold these routines, somewhat consistently, for the next two months. You begin no new projects, nor go out gallavanting on some new hobby; you maintain your routines, and continue to oversee your work as you will. You do not receive any letters of note; not from Prince Carles, not from your fellow noblemen, not even from that Salvatore, whom you had hired to make you an instrument fit for war.
It was soon December 8th, the first day of the last month of the year; the gentle warmth of spring had begun to give way to the unforgiving heat of summer, of the endless rains beating down upon the streets and docks of Portblanc. Although it was nothing compared to the torrential downpours you had seen in Nera, they are still able to make their mark...!
Due to some freak accident of sorts; the poor sealing of jars, or their positionin in far too humid and wet places, it would seem that a good deal of the materials that had been bought for the paintwork of your castle reforms had spoiled! You admonished the workers and artists for such poor care of resources for thine project, and they were quick to say that they would buy new materials from their own pockets, but the small amount of money saved would ill compensate for the time it would take to get an order for such rare inks in the first place...you had, essentially, made no true progress at all for the past two months! Although you had certainly not lost anything, it would take two extra months for the new materials to arrive.
How convenient it must be to those who live in close proximity to these pigments...
Your other matters, luckily, faired much better - the reforms on the garden were almost done, your father's statue included. Your armory had already been filled; new, modern arms now lined its walls and stands, at your disposal to use when you desired them. Finally, the work on the tunnel continued, the most trusted of workers digging deep into the dirt and stone under your castle, carving out a tunnel, bit by bit. You had also finally received a most curious of items: an iron door, meant for the tunnel's end, which contained a small hole which, when peered upon, would grant you vision on the outside not only forward but to the sides through some ingenious contraption you could not quite make sense of using mirrors embedded upon a lion's head ornament.
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As good as all these tings may be, however, they paled in comparison to the one that would be happening today; the arrival of that one figure which would come to be so important in the following month...! Yes, it was the arrival of the Tallasca Family, bringing with them the woman that would join your family: your brother Jonatan's soon to be bride! It was for that reason that you were now standing near the riverside docks, watching a small galley dock. Your brother, of course, was still in the castle: tradition dictated for an absolute lack of contact between the groom and the bride in the lead-up to an arranged wedding: not even an exchange of painted portraits would be allowed! In such a way, one might avoid the parties reneging on their duty out of some petty preference of appearance.
Although the process was slow, you soon saw the first signs of their party; their "guard", if you could call it that, were but a meager handful of men, not even in plate but in painted leather jackets, carrying broadswords at their hips. You are quite certain even a single pair of your own soldiers would be able to trounce the lot, if it came to matters of equipment. What follows, of course, is a small party; not their full family, as you had expected, with all the other sisters of the Baron trying to throw their charms upon the 'golden fish' that was your own hand, but a mere two! A man, dressed in courtly robles undistinguishable from the manner of fashion that might come from the Imperial Capital, and a woman, covered in a flowing dress. They approached you.
"Your honorable lordship!" said the man, with a smile all too wide and a flowery bow. "Your great lord of this fair city, of Portblanc...! It is my honor, entirely, by the grace of the Splendour above, to see you at last. I had much awaited to see the patriarch of such a blessed and noble lineage!" he says, with another bow.
"It is my honour as well, Don Tallascas; I do hope your travel has been a swift and pleasant one. I shall ensure that you, and the guests thou has brought to oversee the tying of our two houses, shall be kept most comfortably in my city."
"Ah.." he says, with a greasy and uneasy face, before bowing yet a third time. "My utmost apologies, but the rest of the House of Tallascas had been much too busy with absolutely necessary matters...It is my great apology we had not brought all to see this joyous occasion, but the Imperial Courts require the services of my kin, and we would never deny his Imperial Majesty's own ruling body..!"
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"I assume the one behind, you then...?"
"Y-yes!" he says "This, of course, is mine own daughter the bride!" he says, as the woman behind him finally takes a step forward to curtsy.
"Greetings, your lordship." she squeaks.
Yes, a squeak, for what you saw before you did not appear to be a normal human being, but some sort of frightened doe! Though, perhaps that is inaccurate, for you are certain a Meio woman would not be as timid as this one. The woman that you see before you is a too curious sight: a long, loose and flowing cone-shapped skirt, with padded shoulder rolls and long neck ruff. Yet beyond all this, what you see is a woman who is 'small'! She is of clear maturity, of course, but she is small in every personal sense of the word, as though stiff breeze might take her flying like some manner of bird, and like the very concept of holding a sword or spear might shatter her entirely like hammer upon glass.
You turn your eyes back to her father, evading your thoughts for a while. "It is understandable, certainly, your situation, Baron. It is clear that yours is a loyal and dedicated house. I shall see to it that you are given ample accomodations amongst the city, and far well away from Jonatan until the day of the wedding, as tradition dictates, though you of course are more than welcome to the hospitality of mine own palace."
"Of course, thank you, your lordship." he replies as you walk away, most likely bowing even as you have turned your back and began to leave.
As you make your way back to your castle, to return to your duties and tell your brother and mother of the safe arrival of the guests, you cannot help but think about that woman..! You attempt to suppress your thoughts, however you can, but you cannot, no, it is not possible. In your deepest of hearts, the truth is...!
You are somewhat disgusted.
You mean no offence to the woman, but surely, should one whose duty is to bear a child not hold a physique more...fitting, for the task? You have heard that, in certain countries of the faith, further eastward, women such as this are coveted the most, but you cannot understand it! Almighty splendour, you cannot; certainly, when you find a wife of your own, you shall make sure that she is not as this woman is. You pity your brother for having been saddled with one so weak as to appear unable to ride a horse, or walk faster than a slowly pace.
Well, then again...perhaps they are perfect for each other.
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE CONTINUES AS USUAL
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>>6357171
>at the rate this money is coming in
For now. I would be surprised if our good fortunes are a ploy to get us used to them, only for QM to have a war or embargo stop our cash flow, thereby encouraging us to go 'no we must make war so the money flows'. This quest may just be one giant trial to teach the players why countries went to war over money
Anyway we should splurge on something useful methinks. Upgrade infrastructure or do something that boosts our prestige or helps Don Carles.
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>>6357163
Since Jonatan is a cripple with a genetic chronic condition that is excised from the line of succession due to being seen as blighted by God himself, I think this is a case of us having to take what we can get.
The real question is if this broad is baby faced or a dwarf.
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>>6357098
>>6357179
I guess I should specify before I give up the wrong idea, Alessandro is specifically complaining about the woman being a kind of 'dainty damsel', so to say.
I suppose the easiest way to say it would be that Alessandro does 'not' like the Yamato Nadeshiko/K Pop Artist/Victorian Lady archetype of woman.
You have, after all, voted to give him a crush on a woman who was able to spend several months accompanying him on a campaign in horseback and wearing armor, even if she didn't fight.
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>>6357185
K-Pop artists, due to constant dance practice, are actually really fit and would probably be able to spend a campaign on horseback in armor. This was an aside.
That said, I also interpreted your description of the bride as "short", not "dainty", and thought the Tallascas are pushing off the runt of the family onto us
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>>6357186
Well, then I probably didn't describe it well. I was trying to give the impression that she's supposed to be more like the later european type of noblewoman who is supposed to look like some sort of untouched flower who collapses at the merest touch.
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>>6357188
Understood.
Makes sense that they’re not going to marry an amazing daughter to our cripple brother. Presumably as long as our brother is happy, we will be also (and you’ve stopped any coomers from wanting to cut our brother’s lunch).
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File: Marriage of Henry V, Unbekannt, 1850.png (1.2 MB)
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The end of the year comes with little fanfare beyond the normal; beyond the holidays that fill those days towards the last month of the year. You attend the customary masses, of course, and humble festivities that denote it. You continue your work, for unlike the job of a peasant the matters of state cannot rest for a holiday. You see to it that the final preparations for the wedding are finished and readied; as your brother's birthday followed in January 3rd, it was decided that the two events would become one, as perhaps an attempt to finally acquire the good fortune that he had lacked in his actual birth. He has yet to meet his soon to be bride.
The day finally arrives; the morning rises amidst a drizzle of rain, which to your good fortune does not matter as the event was made to take place inside, rather than the garden as your brother once suggested, which has still not yet finished renovating. It begins, much like your birthday, with a short mass, followed by a hearty breakfast. You carry out the duties of state as you must during the morning, and hold a quick lunch, meant but to fill you up for the upcoming ceremony. In the following hour, you, your family and those guests which had been invited by your brother Jonatan take their place in the castle chapel, which thankfully was left mostly untouched by the renovations.
You stand at the side, not at the pews, like the rest, for you are one of the witnesses; at the center, remains The Most Reverend Santiago Degarra, Bishop of Honderias, whom you had invited for this event. He begins a short pre-ceremony mass, speaking of the holy laws of union under the Splendour. In following, your brother is the first to enter, walking uprightly in his formal robes towards the altar, somehow summoning the strength to do so without a cane or form of aid; if it were not for his white hair and pale appearance, one could almost believe him to be a normal, healthy man. As he reaches the altar, the priest turns to you, and asks.
"Viscount Alessandro Galliota, do you confirm this man before you to be a faithful of good honor, and stand as a witness for his matrimony?"
"Of course, most reverend."
"Then so it shall be." he says, and motions for your brother to stand near the altar. At last, the time has come; walking down the chapel stands the bride, escorted by her father, in a great dress of rich yellow. She is walked down the aisle down to the altar. The bishop, looking upon them, turns to Don Tallascas, and begins to speak. "Barón Bitores Tallascas, do you confirm your daughter to be a faithful of good virtue, and stand as a witness for her matrimony?"
"Of course, most reverend."
"Then may the couple stand at the altar, that they may be united in one."
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And so the ceremony is made; your brother and the woman stand at the altar, where they are blessed by the priest, and after a lengthy prayer, the declaration is finally made.
"I proclaim you, Jonatan Galliota, and to you, Graciosa Tallasca, to be wedded in the eyes of the Splendour. May your marriage be fruitful!"
There is clapping, of course, and you join in as well; though you are most of all glad to be done with the matter. Now, all that remained was the wedding celebration; a great banquet, in the honor of the couple, soon began; there were all the manners of food expected of an event; the meats, the breads, the wines and the ales. There is music, although not in great as quality as the one composed by the master Salvatore. It is a jolly matter, and even your mother, so normally dour, seems as happy as you have ever seen her, and one which continues for the rest of the afteroon, well until the final hours of sunlight.
After having done your own share of eating and drinking, your mind turns to more social matters...a gathering is a gathering, after all. Your first thought is to speak with your brother, of course; the man of the day, happily conversing with all others, his new wife by his side as he does. Yet there is also someone else; her father, Don Tallasca! Although he is of low rank, he is a courtier, a man who most certainly knows more about the current events of the Imperial Court than you, out here so distantly from the Mascaloma, does. Given you shall soon make your way to the capital to answer the summons of Prince Don Carles, it could be useful...as you continue to think, however, you also notice none other than Joan, whom you had continued to scarcely see, walk briskly past the entrance of the banquet hall. Perhaps you ought to seek her out and put an end to this strange behaviour of her.
Or perhaps you should simply retire to your quarters and call it a day; you are very much tired from all this, after all.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Talk to Jonatan
>Talk to Don Tallasca
>Talk to Joan
>Retire to your room
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However practical you may wish to be, the truth is that there is nothing a man of such low stature would be able to tell you when it came to someone as cunning and capable in control of information as Don Carles. It is pointless to waste time questioning him. You've got something far more relevant to your own life...
Excusing yourself, you let off an excuse about checking upon the 'gifts' you had prepared for the wedding yourself, and walk off the banquet hall. Turning upon the corridor, you increase your pace, intent on finding Joan, wherever she has went to. This behavior of her has lasted for far too long; you'll have it fixed today one way or the other! As you walk through the corridor, however, you are driven to think to all that had lead you to this, this bizarre connection of yours, this not-so affair.
You remember yet still, the first time you met the woman; you were but a small lad, a child, exploring the confines of thine castle garden, when you spotted her, staring from amidst the trees. Now, you had already known about 'Meios', in some way; you had seen August, when your father had brought you to see him holding court, spectating that duty which would and had one day become yours. Yet the appearance of one of their young, in comparison, was much more different; what you saw, was some overtly fluffy personnage only barely resembling a human your age. You only saw her in passing; she was too young to have worked for the household then. The small owlet soon left both your view, and your mind.
The next time, or perhaps the first true interaction, was when you were old enough to have begun going off on your own; to gallavant off to on your lonesome, or at least to be willing to do so. It was when you were first assigned your lonesome room, and a set of servants with it; there was Thibaud, of course, the old man, who directly helped you in your quarters...but there was also the Chamberlain's daughter, but one year younger than you. She was to aid you in other matters; to deliver messages, or to bring you food when you requested it outside of meal times.
In practice, however, she became your all-time companion. Oh, you had friends of your own kind, other young noble scions of Portblanc who constituted "proper" friendship; men with whom you could practice fighting with wooden sword or participate in the activities of the Gimnas as was expected of a growing man. Yet their interest in matters scholarly were far less considerable. When you spent your days reading through the classics of literature, it was Joan who remained with you, reading as you did. When you wished to speak about an old Straccian fable book, it was she who heard your thoughts. It is little wonder that when she matured into a proper woman, some manner of emotion was to be aroused, and it is increasingly obvious the matter was the same for her.
It's all so bothersome, isn't it? Still, you'll do what must be done.
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And to your luck, you find her, at last! And as coincidental as it would be, she seemed to be carrying with her the set of clock watches you had left out for the birthday...
"Joan." you say, causing her to turn around to look at you.
"Ah, your lordship." she says, in that still weird tone. "I expected you would wish the gifts to be delivered soon, so I went to bring them."
"Will you cease that bothersome facade? What behaviour of yours is this, acting weirdly as you have? What issues bother you, woman?" you say, somewhat more brusquely than you had anticipated. Joan seems to look around you, as if wanting to escape, but accepts her fate.
"Sir - Alessandro, I...I've no wish to be an obstacle."
You stay silent, as if motioning for her to continue.
"I know well, your duty to be wed; It is not something you've asked for. Yet still so, I remain to be a woman. I'll not be the one who leaves you waiting, unwilling to seek your match, yet unable to act on what you wish. Is it not better to cut these bothersome fancies while they are harmless yet?"
Fancies? Does she take you to be some manner of rootless young scion, throwing himself at women with little care? Still so, you do not speak.
"It is my honor to be sworn to your personage sir, but...doth thou believe your future bride might allow it? A personal servant of the fairer sex, accompanying you at all times, not just at home but during the field? I am certain the rumours we had spawned among the soldiery alone, during your campaign in that distant land, were in no small quantity."
"I've no care for some pitiable rumours! Rumours are plentiful about all things, and it is foolish to heed them so quickly." you reply, almost in response.
"Sir, that does not matter. It will not matter if a woman takes it to offense, and tarnishes your reputation by implying you unfaithful. If it is a lady of higher blood, then it will be even worse...you will draw the ire of her family, as well."
You attempt to conjure up some sort of response, but it is no lie, even more so because you had been on the very other side of this line of thought, some good deal of times. It would not be easy, certainly, to hold Joan at your personal employe in the manner you have when married, even if you had broken still whatever affectionate emotions you developed. You'd need a good greater deal of power to be allowed so, and given your goals to use your marriage to extend your influence, that seems unlikely. Oh, you could perhaps find a lady of the blood understanding of your circumstance, but how likely is that?
Yet still, Joan is not done.
"Even if thou found some woman willing to bear with it, sir, I would not! Wouldst thou be able to remain your life, close to thy object of affections, yet unable to act so? I...I've no such strenght of will, sir. In the end, it is for the best, on both our counts. It is the most practical solution to the matter."
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CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Disregard your good sense and embrace her still
>Declare you shall find a solution, some way to leave her not behind
>Admit her words to be the truth; leave the bothersome affection behind
>Postpone your decision; say you've still some more to think about it, but shall have an answer soon.
>Write-in
NOTE
The following decision may have lasting consequences; you have yet to even meet your possible targets of marriage. Commit at your own risk of regret. None of the options are a trap.
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>>6358980
>>Declare you shall find a solution, some way to leave her not behind
I choose this option as a compromise to the waifufags, remain as friends and her as our servant, no more.
Can we please just be done with this nonsense.
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>>6358983
>Declare you shall find a solution, some way to leave her not behind
I get her feelings, she doesn't want to hang around us if she's just going to be stuck in a cuck chair holding our hand while some other person takes all her hard work. But I want to remind people who think that the only benefit to Joan lies between her legs that she's an extremely trustworthy companion, willing to go any distance, and is able to see far and clear, which is such an obvious advantage for any commander focused on gunnery that I shouldn't even have to point it out. She has nothing to offer politically, but is one of the very few people we could ever hope to trust our back to, and I don't think that should be discounted.
To be clear, I don't think "leaving the bothersome affection behind" entails just forgetting everything like a guy dressed in black showed you a funny stick. It means she's going to separate herself entirely from being anything more than a servant of the household, one who never has to look at us.
She's basically trying to go cold turkey from an affection she's had for most of her life, and her father is old and she's single. Give the poor girl a break for being stressed and desperate, a solution doesn't have to involve having to anchor her with our dick.
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>>6359546
We don't need a legal heir, that was the whole thing with our brother getting married. Our future nephew can suceed us and we are free to marry someone we truly love (and also avoid any future romance subplots)
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>>6359547
That's all if our brother has a son. It's not certain. And even so, are we just gonna leave our son to be some poor ass serf? I'd like to remind y'all that Joan is a bound serf. And even if we were to free her, our kid would still be a poor bastard.
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>>6359549
I'll grant that this does depend on Jonatan having a child. But we are fabulously wealthy, there is no way our children end up poor, even if they are not ennobled.
I want to reemphasize my original argument to my fellow anons: if you hate squabbling over waifus, vote for Joan
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>>6359556
I can't imagine "just recognizing him" is so easy, is it? We're not just anybody. We're a noble. And an "honorary cousin to the Emperor", whatever that means.
>>6359557
Even if we're rich, how do you suppose we'll leave that money to him? Especially in a way that he can keep it? He'd still be nothing but a serf, a peasant. He wouldn't have no doggone rights. We're not living in Straccia where everyone's a free citizen, we're in feudal shithole not!españa
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>>6359573
>how do you suppose we'll leave that money to him?
Well there are multiple ways to transfer wealth, including just buying gold and giving our kids the gold, but I think the most effective would be purchasing land holdings with attached rents and transferring it to our children. Deeds to land, mines, etc. as a noble would. In real world early modern societies, you could often purchase rights to certain local monopolies, which is also a possibility depending on the setting.
>He'd still be nothing but a serf, a peasant. He wouldn't have no doggone rights
Peasants absolutely had rights both in the Medieval and Early Modern periods. They also, depending on where they lived, had obligations owed in their feudal lords, like fees for grinding grain, taxes on getting married, fees for using well water, owing set days of unpaid labor. But nobles couldn't just arbitrarily steal shit from peasants, even in real life Spain.
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>>6359573
The medieval period is full of nobles recognizing their bastards and even declaring them heirs. They weren't treated as equal by nobles, but they weren't commoners.
Also, "serf" isn't a caste. A serf is not a slave (unless you're in later Russia). A serf's low status originates from his lack of property and his bond to his master's land. Both of those things are changeable.
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"I shall find a path." you declare, clenching your hand. Joan looks upon you directly in the eyes, as if surprised.
"It's happened before, hasn't it? Such things must have happened before...I shall do whatever is necessary; find some manner of path that you shall not be forced to remain at the sidelines, Joan. I swear to you so." you declare, grabbing the woman by the shoulders as you do so. And though the statement was sudden, you mean every last word of it! You shall not let such matters of law get behind this depth of feeling that bloomed between you both.
In return, Joan stares at you strangely, her pure black eyes betraying no thoughts. A moment later, she moves forward, leaning into you before you can react. Within a moment, you feel a warm feeling assaulting the sides of your head; a kiss! Not one upon the lips, but upon your cheek. And though it lasts for but a moment before she retreats, the warmth stings upon you like aqua vitae upon a wound. Your friend and maid, for herself, sports an almost imperceptible grin before curtsying before you in the formal way.
"I will take you to your word, sir."
It takes the sum of your strength not to set yourself upon her in return, yet you know this to be the furthest which you may go; for now, it is enough, and far more than what was perhaps the wisest of choices. Not that you shall be making any complaint of it, of course.
"If that matter is settled, might we not deliver these gifts, then? Certainly, there shall be some suspicion to my behavior, if we linger too lengthily." you say, as if to change the subject.
"Of course, sir." she says, slipping back into her old, cold tone of voice.
With all said and done, you turn back to the party, the box of gifts in hands; approaching the couple with eyes upon you, you motion for Joan to deliver the clocks to the couple as you explain their function and origin. Two more still, are given to Don Tallascas, as the father of the bride. And though perhaps not as great a reaction you would have gotten if you had given them to the assortment of nobles who had come to your birthday, the compliments you receive for the distinctiveness and modernity of your gift do somewhat assuage the money you had spent on them and your decision to leave them for this wedding.
After this the commemoration winds down, and the couple are waved off to their now shared chambers. You return to your own quarters on your lonesome, happy to have finished such matters at last. Although, you think, as you settle into your bed; you cannot help but wonder if it shall someday be you and Joan who are waved off to their room on the wedding night.
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Some time passes, after the wedding, where you are left without much to worry about; your renovation project shall take many months still, but has at this point mostly abandoned the need for oversight. All that is left is to wait for the artists and artisans to ply their craft, and turn the 'canvas' that is your castle into a painting of beauty and modernity. Jonatan, for his part, seems to be as joyful as ever, and claims to be very much merry at Graciosa, who, although not very talkative, appears as though she shares the emotion. You suppose it is good fortune that they should find themselves happy with this arranged marriage. On your own part, Joan seems to have ceased her odd behavior, and has returned to remaining by your side through your daily activities...to a reasonable degree, of course.
It seemed to you as though the start of the year would be a slow one...but when you receive news that Don Tallasca intends to make his return to Mascaloma now that he has returned his end of the deal, you are reminded of something of great importance...yes, you had been called to the capital by Prince Carles! And the requested date of your arrival had been no later than February! Given the travel time to the capital from Portblanc, you had little time to waste!
There was little argument on the baron's part when you stated your wish to join him on his return to the capital for the matter of business. Although sudden, the quick service of your castle staff ensured that you were ready within the day. Luckily, since your travel would be a short and riskless one, you did not need to go through the process of installing a 'regency' as you had for your expedition, and simply left August himself to deal with matters while you were away. Your one surprise was, of course, Joan's private refusal to follow! Though she claimed she held no intent to remain distant as she had, the woman had plenty of other reasons for her unability to go; though you could swear a muttering of the words of 'self-control' inbetween them.
You accepted it, of course, perhaps a little relieved you might not spawn any rumours by gallavanting across the capital with a woman like her at your side.
While the sun remained still, you boarded the Tallasca's chartered galley, accompanied only by your old servant Thibaud and your personal guard. Setting off from the harbours of Portblanc, you would be travelling south through the river, deep into the heartlands of the Empire...
Where Mascaloma Stands.
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBLE EVENT, THREE TIMES.
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>>6359706
>A moment later, she moves forward, leaning into you before you can react. Within a moment, you feel a warm feeling assaulting the sides of your head; a kiss! Not one upon the lips, but upon your cheek.
Cute.
>It takes the sum of your strength not to set yourself upon her in return, yet you know this to be the furthest which you may go;
CUTE!
Better romance plot than most novels QM, fantastic job
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Rolled 74 (1d100)
>>6359709
>In return, Joan stares at you strangely, her pure black eyes betraying no thoughts. A moment later, she moves forward, leaning into you before you can react. Within a moment, you feel a warm feeling assaulting the sides of your head; a kiss! Not one upon the lips, but upon your cheek. And though it lasts for but a moment before she retreats, the warmth stings upon you like aqua vitae upon a wound. Your friend and maid, for herself, sports an almost imperceptible grin before curtsying before you in the formal way.
>"I will take you to your word, sir."
>It takes the sum of your strength not to set yourself upon her in return, yet you know this to be the furthest which you may go; for now, it is enough, and far more than what was perhaps the wisest of choices. Not that you shall be making any complaint of it, of course.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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>>6359755
Anon...
>Even if thou found some woman willing to bear with it, sir, I would not! Wouldst thou be able to remain your life, close to thy object of affections, yet unable to act so? I...I've no such strenght of will, sir
Read the update before voting, dummy.
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>>6359756
It seemed kinda obvious to me that the difference between those two was "Fuck it, I don't care anymore" aka start having an affair with her, and "I'll find a way for us to be together lawfully"
I mean, what would "intermediate friendship" even mean here?
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>>6359762
Well, if you don't like waifufags, you should be glad it's dealt with, isn't it? There's no more drama or anything now. And there won't be any "ooh secret love life" drama or even worse, a waifu war. So you should be happy it's over at least.
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My apologies if the choices did not seem clear enough, I thought that they were worded well enough that everyone understood the vote since nobody raised any concerns about what they meant during voting time
It's a bit too late to change it, but I will try to be more direct with any future votes. And if you're worried the quest is becoming too "romance focused", we will be getting to the more interesting part soon.
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>>6359769
I thought the main complaint Joan had was that we’d be married to someone else and they wouldn’t want her going into battle with us because of rumors
So the whole “I won’t leave you behind” was “I will marry someone else but still keep you with me and make sure my wife won’t get mad”. Eg a middle option
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>>6359736
>>6359738
>>6359744
Nothing particularly wild...
Sadly, no update today, as the next one is pretty big and will require some extra work. In the meanwhile, I'll ask: are you enjoying this thread? Although it was originally intended as just an ending for the previous, I decided to just stretch it into a full. It hasn't really had combat like the previous ones, so I'm not sure if this civil administration stuff is fun.
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>>6360493
Hmmm... I don't like it as much as combat, but I think it overall improves the feel of the quest. It makes the world and the character feel more fleshed out, which will make the next war more interesting to play.
It helps that you are a fantastic writer
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>>6360493
I probably would have liked it more had we joined the army as I am here for pike and shot warfare.
But that being said your writing has made it so I have not grown bored and its good to expand our background so we know what Alessandro is fighting for.
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>>6360493
It is a nice interlude. Helps know what the stakes are when we go off to battle, and helps flesh out (hopefully) that we might want to manage our affairs from afar etc.
I think choosing a few options and talking to some people to flesh out the world is pretty good enough.
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>>6360493
From my point of view, it's not as exciting since there isn't much conflict. Though by conflict I don't necessarily mean war, but also characters with opposing motivations and ideologies, or having inner conflict within themselves. The biggest source of conflict right now is the relationship between Alessandro and Joan, but besides that things are fairly stable and unproblematic.
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>>6360497
>>6360499
>>6360504
>>6360545
>>6360793
>>6360820
Thank you for your answers; I understand that this 'Interval' between conflicts isn't as interesting, but I feel it is important to showcase the world Alessandro lives in.
Progress on the update is good; I don't want to leave you guys without anything, so here's the first image for the upgrade, which is also what took all my time today.
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It is with little surprise that one should learn that any empire - any state even half the size of L'Imperi Mirevalenc must hold a system of rule as complex and detailed as the vastness of its territory. It is not possible to hold a system like that of Nera, with their simplistic city state republic, where all matters are settled within a single wall, and sent out for the dependant towns to follow; it is necessary to create a vast network of local rulers, able to mete out law of their own independent will! It is necessary to have a nobility. You are one such man, of course, and you would like to believe you have done your duty admirably.
Yet even more so; one must not forget the past, the origins of this system which perhaps run far deeper than the granting of titles as had been done in Segoma for your own ancestors; the servitude of the defeated. There had been a time, centuries ago, when all these lands which now make up The Empire had been independent kingdoms and principalities; autonomous rulers of their own, with legacies and bloodlines that spanned centuries. To destroy them utterly, and throw them to the gutters, would have been a matter most ignoble and bloody, which would have ill become able to achieve all that has been. To allow the possibility of surrender within the minds of their foes; the Kingdom of Mascaloma turned those they had defeated into pawns, adding them into their own fold, maintaining their titles even if at a reduced state.
And so, the Grand Nobility of the Empire was formed, and through the ages, they expanded and diminished, a manner of ebb and flow of noble politics. It had been not too long ago still, even after the forming of the Empire, that some families still held a royal crown; the title of "King" and a Kingdom that it belonged to. Of course, all such titles are held by his Imperial Majesty by now, and with every new Elect of the Brascarams line, the more such lines have blurred and yielded to the power of Imperial control. Perhaps one day, there shall be a time where even these ducal lines are swept away still, and the authority of the emperor shall become ultimate and absolute.
Still so, such a future remains distant, for the moment, and so continues the power of the Dukes. And so, as you continue your journey through the length of the Empire, you make sure to take note of each and every territory you pass through. It was now the 20th of January, a little over two weeks since you had first departed Portblanc, and only then did you realize the great challenges it took to travel to Mascaloma from where you stood. At first, you had taken Don Tallasca's galley; but even for this, the travel was short - a ship like that could not travel upstream, but rather, had to be towed alongside the sides of a river by a team of oxen. Although such towpaths did exist, to use them for your entire travel would have been even worse than going by horse!
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Instead, you disembarked upon a small port a miles away from your city, and embarked upon a new vessel; a keelboat! A flat-bottomed ship, able to be sailed in angular direction to the wind, or rowed when necessary. Yet even so, the conditions necessary to do so with ease were only possible thanks to the river; the great width of Lutan and Marjoisse, and Zidarra, where they met. Without the width of these rivers, travel to the capital would have taken months; in the worst of scenarios, perhaps even a whole year or more!
With your new vessel, travel becomes quite more fastpaced. You sail southwards, on towards the source of the river. You switch from the Zidarra to Marjoisse, and soon enough, you have even left the territories of Segoma into the Empire proper. You travel through plenty of territories, from then on; Cassei and Bajera, Armaña and Gadamayor. It does not elude you how often the river stands as a border between locations; a natural barrier of authority; Frías and Garáo. The County of Ous seemed to you as an irrelevant, tiny, yet somehow independent countdown; but later down the river, you passed by Tava, and you are told both are owned by the same Count.
You have traveled for quite a while, in this vessel, and truly, the service is quite ingenious; it is a small ship, built for velocity, devoid entirely of space of cargo or sleep. When it is time for the night, you simply rest at one of the countless, untold ports along the way. Indeed, there are plenty of lodgehouses and inns along the path, made to house such travelers (though of course, as a nobleman, you simply remain as a guest to any local baron, fidálgo, or wealthy peasant that lives in these settlements)
You are currently passing through Guessôn, and soon enough, you shall arrive in the city of Isé, where you shall disembark one last time and begin a short trip through land to Puerto Bala, where you shall charter a ship to take you to Mascaloma by way of the sea. With little space or time to take your belongings, least of all your trove of books, you have been left with little more than your own mind to entertain you. Currently, you have been brought to a most curious line of thought; and that is of the reason why your liege, Prince Don Carles, had called you so to Mascaloma.
Indeed, it is a great distance he had asked you to travel, with little reason given to it. So what are his motivations, then? He hath spoken of "recompense", but what recompense might require you to go to the Imperial Capital itself? Perhaps it is not for a reward that he had called you for, but for some other reason...but what could that be? If you were perhaps able to deduce it, you might be able to ready yourself for the matter, and make it all the easier.
SUGGESTIONS ONLY
>Write in
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>>6361308
While it'd be simpler if we could ask what was particularly special about the capital city, it honestly seems to have just about everything, so it'd be more of a matter of what Mascaloma has that no other place in the Empire has. Which is self explanatory.
I have little doubt that this is a matter of going on another military campaign, though to attend to it personally rather than having a messenger delivered to us, probably means that it is either a sensitive matter, or so early in any planning that we might have a significant hand in deciding how it might happen.
As far as Don Carles is concerned, we've gone above and beyond anything he asked for or that we were tasked with. We came with the largest regiment, did everything we were told, volunteered for the riskiest duty, and made it so that the penultimate event before his coup de main into a coup d'état was an unanticipated victory, a feather in his own cap, as many seemed to presume he was the one to defeat the Famiglia in the field. Much as he would have won anyways (probably, there were a few points where he was gambling on him knowing his enemy well enough to predict them) it definitely looks better for him if he or his subordinates never lost a battle.
We've turned out to have been a very wise choice for him to involve in his plans as a useful piece on the board. Somebody worth delegating greater responsibility to. Exactly [i]where[/i], I couldn't guess, but honestly I bet that Prince Don Carles already had an idea of what he'd do next before he even retook Nera, and that he isn't just squatting on his giant piles of money like a fat dragon. I have a good feeling that the Neran taxpayers are funding another, even greater expedition on his part.
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>>6361308
The reason I can think to summons us to the Capitol is to bestow something upon us, like a title or an honor, that custom dictates must be done in person.
There is the darker possibility, of wanting us isolated and a de facto prisoner in the imperial city before pressing us for a favor, but I think it is more likely that he wants to give us some title, like Marshall of the Eastern Border or something like that, and also recruit us onto his military staff
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>>6361308
Clear that he wants to give us a recompense, but also discuss something sensitive in person.
Most likely military/political related, rather than just something trade or governance.
Maybe he wants to unify all of the duchies under himself, to do as MC was musing. That would be quite an accomplishment for the prince and would suggest that he is a prime candidate above his rivals.
Presumably he doesn't want to continue to just meddle in international affairs, but instead use his increase in income to maybe build a fleet?
Or maybe he wants us to offer us some amazing marriage alliance with some ducal family which we're going to have to turn down (without offending him somehow) because we made a promise to an owl...
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>>6361308
Carles is obviously aiming for the Imperial Throne, for a man of his abilities it goes without saying. There's not much that Carles could give us that wouldn't significantly change our situation other than a wife, and that is probably unlikely. So the questions we should ask ourselves is, how is Carles planning to gain the Imperial throne, and what is he planning to give us?
>>6361315
Carles definitely planned this all out long ago. But why the war? He's not someone who acts on a whim.
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>>6361394
>But why the war? He's not someone who acts on a whim.
He's probably very well informed politically, not hard to do when you have the resources of Mirevale available to you and spies and informants aren't particularly expensive to have around, so I'd be willing to bet he saw the coup of the Fortelli coming before it even happened. I wouldn't say he caused the coup itself, that'd take a plotter who got carried away and forgot what he was even doing any of this for, but the Spisa did overspend and cause themselves to be voted out of power, with the benefits of their awful fiscal policies being inherited by the Fortelli, and if that was bound to happen anyways, well, better in Carles's mind to have Nera under his thumb personally rather than just being an imperial ally. Especially since he didn't end up having to invest very much for such a big return on money, clout, and forcibly tying Nera to Mirevale while also destroying anybody who might revolt against his impositions.
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>>6361308
If not actually for recompense, there's only two reasons Don Carles would not tell us the real purpose: he wants it to be a surprise, or it is a sensitive matter. I don't see why he would want to surprise us, unless he's going to have us arrested, but he has no reason for that. So it must be something sensitive, and probably related to his plans.
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>>6362065
Actually, I just realized, I'm a bit early. It's only been one day, rather than the usual two. Normally, I'd be fine with that, but since I ran into a bit of a writer's block and I don't want to rush an important update like the following one, I'll push it back to (hopefully) tomorrow when I wake up.
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Whichever the reason you hath been summoned, it remains to be assumed that it is a matter which requires your presence in the capital in specific. You would not believe the Prince to be of the matter who might ask this journey of you for no particular reason, when it would have been far easier to wait for his return to Segoma and deal with such matters then and there. Yet what could possibly require your own presence at this great capital of the realm? What matter could he have not discussed within the halls of his own ownership, in Honderias? Does his highness suspect the secrecy of his own castle? You suppose you will have to find out yourself...
Your journey continues - disembarking at Isé from your upwind sail, your party then takes off southwards, galopping along the roads towards your goal. Indeed, although the baron had intended for you to make through this reach by way of coach, you had made it clear you had no time to waste, and sprang to rent enough horses for your entire party, instead. With a mount in tow, you were able to reach you next target by the 27th of Jenuary, yet another week since you had left. Still so, despite the time, you had at last arrived on Puerto Bala - and with it, the Canaverian Sea, which would take you at last to your destination. And though it was by no means a port of great size, there were plenty of vessels that awaited for men such as you, men of wealth who sought to reach the capital by way of the sea. You chartered a caravel, a right quick ship that could travel at great angles against the wind, and on the 28th you set sail, back again into the waters.
Though you are no sailor, the difference between the Meringian Sea and the one you currently sail upon become clear to you within but a single day of sailing. It is much, much calmer, for one; and far colder, also. Though it still was the summer season, the temperature which you felt was more alike the autumns of your homeland, or the earliest days of spring.
Still so, your travel continued, the wind at your backs propelling you forward and southwards, close to the coast such that you might not have need to carry great amounts of supply, nor risk that most malevolent of diseases known as scurvy, which afflicts those who spent great times without fresh fruit. You pass through the borderlands of the Grand Duchy of Bagra; had you more time in your hands, you would have certainly stopped at Lisbad, great city of trade that it was. But you could not afford such distractions when but such short time remained for your arrival; and so you continued, ever southwards, ever westwards, sprinting across the sea...
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It was the 9th of February when you turned towards land once again.
For the first week and two days of the second month, you had sailed across the windy coasts of Bagra; you had passed through the Agauran Channel, ever patrolled by the Ducal Fleet. You had left to the Astranian Sea, the entryway of the Occidentic Ocean. You had climbed upwards through the coast of Mirevale, stopping only when your supplies required you to dock. You had prayed to the Splendour for good wind and safe passage, and in the end, your prayers were answered; you arrived at your goal, at the divide between the land and the sea which would take you to your goal...
The final stretch towards the capital was, once again, through a river; travelling upstream through sheer effort, using oars when the wind did not permit it. Each day brought you closer, and each day, more and more did you pass by trade vessels of all kinds, clogging the river ever more, until so close were you that there had been no choice but to drag you along the coastline by way of tow.
You arived on the 12th, the twelfth day of the second month, just two weeks and some extra days to spare. Across the horizon, from west to east and from south to north, an endless cacophony of ships surrounded you, both military and civilian, almost fighting to secure themselves a spot with which to dock. It had taken you a good deal of effort, and a rather uncomfortable ride, but at last, you had arrived, with no accidents or delays to trouble you any longer. You had arrived on Mascaloma, The Imperial Capital!
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Stroll amidst the tradehouses of the port
>Attend a session of the Imperial Court
>Visit the Imperial University of Mascaloma
>Waste no time; present yourself to the Prince at once!
>Write-in
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>>6362240
>Stroll amidst the tradehouses of the port
We do make our profit off the guys who have to get into the north sea from down here. It'd be a good amount of advance warning for a lot of things.
I would go for the Imperial Court, I really would, but there's one circumstance that I'd want to avoid in that, which would be somebody asking the very natural question of what we're doing here and what our business is. Which "I don't know but the Prince wants me here" would be a bad answer to and probably not something he wants us to share. We have plenty of reason to go to the trade houses, it's our business. Even the university is a visit for nostalgic purpose.
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It is said by plenty amongst the land that there is no greater city than that of the Imperial Capital, the Crown of Mirevale, Mascaloma! You have heard otherwise, certainly; those that claim of cities that far dwarf it in size in the distant lands of the west, far beyond the Ocidentic. Although you cannot be certain of such things, you can very much attest to the greatness of Mascaloma; and having seen it once again with your very eyes, it would appear the city is no less grand than it was when you last saw it.
It is a great and vast thing, spanning well beyond where your eyes can see, stretching across both sides of the river where it sits upon. Across the docks which so lenghtily extends, countless buildings, palaces, warehouses and villas dot the esplanade. In terms of defenses, it is all the more deep; to have so much as reached this location where you stood, you must have passed by the gunsights of a hundred cannons. So great is their demand for artifices of defense that an entire artillery guild, the Mascaloman Artillery Guild was formed to meet their offers.
As you continued to gaze upon the scenery, your ship was able to dock at last; and no sooner did it do so, the Collector-Officials of the crown were quick to approach, ready to inspect your ship of all belongings and cargo, that they may be sure of their legality, and that they may extract any tolls or taxes from what you held - though, small as your vessel was, and so lacking in cargo, no such issues arose for you.
You had arrived at your destination at long last, where your liege awaited! Unloading your few belongings, you quickly gave goodbye to Don Bitores, who must have certainly wished to be free to his own endeavours at last. With your lordly guard in tow, you marched off into the city, having set yourself upon a goal to seek...the Tradehouses! Although you had certainly no intention of delaying your meeting with Don Carles by even a single day, it was much early yet still, and there was much to be learned from this fair and great city.
As you stroll through the districts of trade, however, talking and hearing and discussing what you may, it dawns upon you just how many Bagrans seem to be the owners of such firms in this city. It is no challenge to tell so; their accents, their clothing, the symbols and heraldries which hang on their doors. Although it had been but a few years since you had last come to this city, you had then spent the very greater portion of your time in the Imperial University, or in the taverns and drinking houses when your fellow students had invited you so. It is certainly true that the people of Bagra were much similar to the Straccians in their spirit of business and merchantry, you had not known of the extent of their presence...
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Beyond that, however, there was little you were able to find, and perhaps that is your own fault. In your own homeland, it was of little surprise that the lord of a single city might deal personally with matters of trade. In Straccia, such distinctions fell even further, where even those in the greatest echelons had their hands in commerce! But here, where the Imperial Household stands proudly, it is seen as a manner of taboo for one of a rank such as yours to deal with work so directly; it was expected that you would send a man on your stead, at the very least, or more properly that you would not be involved in such matters whatsoever, save perhaps as a patron or distant investor. It was only the Bagrans, whose customs saw the art of trade as a matter far more noble, that saw no issue with your presence.
It is certainly impressive, what differences may remain under the breadth of the Empire.
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>NEXT UPDATE TOMORROW
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In the northeastern region of the city of Mascaloma, right close to the river, upon the rightmost bank, a small hill sits, uncovered by the urban sprawl. There are no houses dotting the flats, but shining walls and rising bastions. There are no docks upon the incline, but a lush orchard upon the riverside. And sitting upon the hill, sitting higher than the tallest buildings and more proudly than the proudest buildings, lays a palace without compare; El Imperial Alcàsser de Mascaloma
It is, without a doubt, the greatest palace you have seen, incomparable to any previous. It is like a mountain given form, whittled down into an fine sculpture. It is visible even from afar, from beyond the river, the ornate walls visible even from afar, where the crimson-white paint paint shines upon the sun. It is in this great building that the House of Brascarams - the Imperial House - lives when upon the capital. It is here where the Throne of Mirevale is situated. The Imperial Court, most notably, is not held in the Alcásser itself, but on a separet building upon the Imperial Estates, very close and yet far more open to visitors.
You, of course, are not here to visit the Court.
Standing upon the bridge, you stare at the gateway, ensuring you have not forgotten anything before you approach. Before you stand a collection of the finest soldiers upon all of the Empire; covered from their lowermost toe to the highest tip of their hair in the finest of armor suits, not a single sight remains of their human form; not a single goal is left, save that of the protection of that greatest of families. As you walk towards them, a captain, signified by the sash around his helmet, approaches you, hand on his scabbard.
"State thee thy business."
"I am Don Alessandro Galliota, Viscount of Portblanc, of the Princedom of Segoma. I answer the call of my liege, for his imperial highness hath called me forth to meet."
Immediately, the man looks to one of his subordinates, and with a nod of his head, the man sets off towards the palace, marching with halberd in hand with perfect drill. For the next few minutes, there is waiting - a good deal of waiting. You stand patiently, the rushing of water and the distant sounds of the city filling your ears as you do. Some time later, the man arrives yet again, approaching the captain and almost certainly whispering to him something you cannot tell. Whatever the case, the captain stares upon you, before speaking yet again.
"Disarm thyself of any weapons you hold; show to me any items you wish to keep. Thou guardsmen shall remain behind, behind this gate and no further. Doth thou comprehend?"
"Verily." you reply, before beginning to check yourself. You deliver your personal belongings to your guards, trusting them to remain with it, and step forward to be checked by the guardsman. He pats you down, searching for all traces of threat, going so far as to demand you to remove your boots. Safety, after all, was paramount.
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With your person assured, you were at last allowed in - the gates opened, and after giving one last order for your men to wait for either your return or that of a messenger in this bridge, you passed through the iron gates, and no sooner did they shut behind you.
You walked calmly among the brick-laid path, several guards escorting you as you did so. Their great halberds shone with clear threat; but a single errant move, and you would be gone with little challenge. Not even the mark of the nobility might save you; upon the household of his majesty, none but those of Brascarams held immunity. Still so, you continued to walk, and hoped you would meet the prince soon.
The corridors of the palace were as luxurious as the facade that stood outside; the finest of gold-laid furniture stood by the shade of silken curtains, and fine paintings of scenarios both secular and religious lined the halls alongside statues and royal banners. You were brought swiftly, doors opening as you walked, directed step by step by the guards beside you. At last, you reached a door, a final door, upon the end of a corridor at a distant wing of the rightmost side in the second floor. Two guardsmen, whose livery was as ornate as of those who had brought you, stood by the door, unmoving, like stone. The captain saluted, and the men nodded; and the door was opened before you, and you entered the room, breathing in relief.
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"Greetings be to you, Viscount. I see you have made it safely." says a cold voice, whom you knew by sound. Without hesitation, you dropped to your knee, bowing in respect.
"I have arrived as by your bidding, your highness."
Don Carles, the Prince of Segoma, stood before you; your liege and lord, and a man with a mind most terrible and great. He bore black robes, a black darker than night, with a fine collar of pure white fur hanging on his neck. In his expression, there is calm; yet something else as well perhaps. Raising his hand, he signals for you to rise.
"You may stand, Viscount, and close the door behind you. There are matters which we must speak to."
Nodding respectfully, you rise, and carefully close the door you had passed through; the guards remain outside, unblinking, and do not stop you when you do so. Alone at last with the Prince, you finally take a look on the room. It appears to be some office of sort, with papers and scrolls displayed neatly upon a desk. And behind that desk, as you finally notice, hanging upon the wall with the height of several meters, is a great map, framed upon wood, depicting the very continent on which you stand on; the continent of Mauva. Weirdest of all, however, is the gaping hole on the center of the map, standing in Straccia, right upon its center.
"Interesting map, is it not?" says Don Carles, interrupting your thoughts. "It is an special project of mine. The width of the land is split in a net of squares, which may easily be removed. If a change of even the smallest detail occurs, it may be replaced with ease, and never grow obsolete."
He turns to you suddenly, and speaks yet again.
"Tell me, Viscount, what doth thou think of the League of Bach? It is no secret that they are the greatest foe of Mirevale, yet his majesty my father has not crushed them still. Despite his abilities as a lord of war, he has not brought war to them, but to some distant emirs in far western lands. Why do you believe this to be so?"
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>They are far too strong, it would not be affordable
>They are too distant, it would not be feasible
>They are not a threat, it would not be worth it
>I cannot say for sure.
>Write-in
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>>6363646
>They are too distant, it would not be worth it.
I guess this is technically a write in even if I have only changed the end bit.
But I reckon we could probably invade them assuming the Navy is strong enough.
However it would probably end up costing more than it was worth to do so.
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I see that our liege lord is something of a painter. Metaphorically speaking.
>>6363646
>Write-in
>They are of greater benefit as a distant enemy and counterweight than attempting to subdue and keep as a troublesome subject.
The answer, I think, lies between Mirevale and Bach, not within them. The entire continent is wary of the Himmerians rising up again, and the Veche only defy their brethren because of allies of convenience. The moment the two great human powers of Mauva turn against each other, there's no better time for the Tsar of Giants to make his move. He was arguably already making one, since the Fortelli had giants in their employ. As long as Mirevale and Bach keep their competition at a level where neither one risks exhausting themselves against the other, Sbrava has no opportunity to exploit. They're very secretive, even to their own, so who can say how much they've been preparing since they were stopped in their initial expansion?
Sure, Sbrava has no friends today save for their bastard children to their northeast, but when the continental balance is about to be decided, it'd be madness to think they wouldn't involve themselves some way.
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>>6363646
>They are of greater benefit as a distant enemy and counterweight than attempting to subdue and keep as a troublesome subject.
I like this. Pretty much saying there is more to gain from them being apart then them being a part of the empire.
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"Might it be a matter of balance, your highness?" you offer, quickly thinking of an answer to his question. "As distant as they are, their power becomes a greater counterbalance to the likes of the Sbravani than a threat to Mirevale. To subjugate them would prove greatly troublesome and might drive the Gigantes to run rampant as we fight."
Don Carles stares for a moment, as if thinking of a response, before turning to glance at the unfinished map behind him. "There is logic to what you have said, Don Alessandro. I have little doubt that the Tsar would be quite happy to see the great powers of Mauva locked in conflict. Yet there is a deal more of depth to this. In the end, it is all a matter of balance and opportunity. It is true that war might allow the Sbravani to break the stalemate they have found themselves in, yet there is little doubt the Tsar knows that such an act might drive the war to an early end. To both ourselves and the League, there is little to be gained from a conflict on even ground."
"Yet, if they were to gain an advantage, one capable of changing the tides of conflict, the matter would be most different. That is why, were we to wage war upon the Bachmen, it is most certain that the giants would be amongst the first to come to their aid. "
Is he truly certain of this? It would seem to be a reasonable line of thought, yet if that is the truth, why hath they not acted? With the sheer width of their naval forces in the waters and the ferocity of the gigantes upon the land, such a coalition might certainly be able to dash the empire upon the stones; none else would be able to dispute the rule of the Sbravani upon Mauva or of the Leaguemen upon the sea.
"Why is it that they have not acted, then, milord?"
"Balance, of course. Devoid of our threat, the League would have none but themselves to keep the giant in check. In earlier ages, such an act would have been impossible, but, well...you have seen yourself the efficiency of modern warfare upon the Himmerian race, have you not? "
You had fought giants—and though frightful, even the most well-armored of their soldiers could not endure a volley of musketfire. "Your highness means to imply they are waiting, then? To arm themselves with muskets and heavy firelocks in full?"
"Not quite, there is-" Knock. Knock. Knock.
You turn around to the door where the sudden sound had come from. Who might possibly be interfering in your meeting? Had there been another guest yet to come, at the behest of the Prince? You turn to look at him, but he seems almost pleasantly surprised! "Might you open the door, Viscount?"
You comply, of course, and turn the handle. What lies beyond the doorway, however, is no nobleman or soldier, but what appears to be a simple palace servant carefully holding two cloth-covered squares. You step out of the way as the man enters and kneels on the floor, head hung low as he holds out the pieces.
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"The images requested by his Imperial Highness," he says, and speaks no further. Don Carles, walking towards the servant, grabs the paintings and waves him off. Without another word, the servant leaves, closing the door behind him. Left alone again, you remain silent as the prince opens the cloth-covered objects, revealing what appears to be some piece of wood and...a map? He turns to you.
"It would appear that the pieces of my map had arrived. Might you be willing to place them upon the frame? There is a ladder in the corner," he requests. You, of course, waste no time in agreeing. "Of course, your highness."
Moving forward, you grab the ladder he had spoken of and lay it upon the wall above the painting. Grabbing one of the squares, you carefully climb the ladder, taking great care not to lay your hands on the map, and slowly insert the piece into the frame. In the following, you climb down, grab the remaining piece, and repeat the process. The map completed at last, you set down the ladder in the corner once again and look upon your handiwork.
Immediately, one great change becomes clear to you...the disappearance of an entire country.
"Approximately one month ago, the Despot of Senucco was able to finally breach the walls of Antinia and take the city by assault. With the failure of the coalition that had been formed to put an end to their attack, they were forced to accept subjugation. Now..." the Prince turns to you, having finished speaking.
"What do you know of the Despotate of Senucco, Viscount?"
A curious question, certainly, but one you can answer with some degree of certainty: you knew them to be a state in the midst of Straccia, one of the bigger ones at that. You knew them to be a manner of confederation of cities bound together by the rule of a "Despot", who ruled in the manner of a monarch without a noble class. Indeed, you had even heard about this Despot in particular and how he had begun this war with Antinia with siege cannons he had acquired from the Fortelli. You tell all this to Don Carles, confident in your answer yet not quite sure what his intention with these long-winded explanations was.
"You are correct, of course," he replies. "Yet there is more to them than meets the eye. Although dressing itself in a manner no different from a kingdom or a duchy, the rule of civics lie almost entirely within the hands of the cities that compose it. The Despot, you see, is a...military leader. His is the duty to handle matters of diplomacy, and war, and the maintenance of the professional army of the state. But beyond that, there is no loyalty, no rightful lineage, nor dynastic succession. Any man may hold this title, so long as he holds the support of his soldiers and the approval of the cities...curious, is it not?"
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"Located in proximity to resource-rich mountains, in fertile territory, with cities that have been held in safe care since the time of the Allegro Kingdom. Threatened by neither the League through sea nor the Sbravani through land...and entirely neutral to this great conflict. I had spoken to you of the balance, Viscount, but allow me to tell you about opportunity. It is not merely the giants who wait for war—but every state on the land. In Sudamedia, in the Lily Coast, in the Valkes, in Straitland...and in Straccia. They all wait for the time in which the balance is shattered, when the watchful gaze of the Empire and the League are turned away, that they may scramble to their own seat of power. That they may drag the great power from his throne when he least expects it and flee with the scepter when the others fight for the crown. In every theater and region, they await the moment when they may ascend to be a great player. And you see..." He turns toward you, facing you with a gaze most gelid.
"I shall not allow this to come to be."
There is a certainty to those words—like the certainty of a writer who is looking upon a play, knowing of what comes next, expectant of the actors who shall play the roles. You dare not speak.
"I shall ensure that no single theater may break out upon itself. That they shall remain balanced, embroiled upon themselves such that no great power may emerge to disrupt the balance...and where balance is not possible, that they shall remain allied to my plans. And that is why you, Don Alessandro...shall become the next Despot.
What?
"You shall abdicate your title, and, with my blessing, depart to Nera, where they shall accommodate you as a commander of growing fame. You shall be given several former properties of the Fortelli, that you may assemble a host of mercenaries and soldiers. In due time, you shall receive a delegation of nobles from Senucco, who shall beg you to liberate their cities from the tyrannical ambition of their much-hated despot. You shall accept this request, and with the support of those states that so despise his expansion, you will cast him down and take his place. The balance of power will be restored, and the theater of Straccia shall be secured...at last."
Does he...know of what he has suggested? Have you truly heard what you believe you have heard?
"I am certain you have a great many number of questions about this, which I ask of you, Viscount...you may ask them with no fear. I shall answer all."
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS (NO LIMIT, ASK AS MANY AS YOU WANT)
>What will become of Portblanc?
>Why would the Straccians ever accept a foreigner to their rule?
>How am I to wage a war entirely by myself?
>How are you certain of these predictions?
>Write-in
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>>6364444
>write-in: why me specifically?
>write-in: will you send someone else alongside me?
>write-in: how much support can I expect from Mirevale in this campaign?
>write-in: what would I gain from this?
>How are you certain of these predictions?
>How am I to wage a war entirely by myself?
>Why would the Straccians ever accept a foreigner to their rule?
>What will become of Portblanc?
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>>6364444
>>Write in: How am I to justify abdication of my titles and going off to fight in Senucco?
>>write-in: why me specifically?
>>write-in: will you send someone else alongside me?
>>write-in: how much support can I expect from Mirevale in this campaign?
>>write-in: what would I gain from this?
>>How are you certain of these predictions?
>>How am I to wage a war entirely by myself?
>>Why would the Straccians ever accept a foreigner to their rule?
>>What will become of Portblanc?
>>What will I do when I win?
Well. That's a hell of an ask. Not opposed to it. But I'd have to know what we get after.
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>>6364461
of course, I just want to know if there would additional rewards for us or our family.
Considering the risk, I don't think it would be rash to ask for something upfront, especially in case things go wrong with the campaign
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>>6364444
>What will become of Portblanc?
>Why would the Straccians ever accept a foreigner to their rule?
>Write in: How am I to justify abdication of my titles and going off to fight in Senucco?
>What will I do when I win?
On the question of Portblanc, it might be worth reminding Carles of the peculiar situation of your succession there given your brother's infirmity
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>>6364444
>What will become of Portblanc?
>Why would the Straccians ever accept a foreigner to their rule?
>Write in: How am I to justify abdication of my titles and going off to fight in Senucco?
>What will I do when I win?
Good stuff Tercio, I did not expect this!
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>>6364444
Supporting everyone else's questions in addition to:
>Am I expected to be Despot of Straccia in perpetuity?
>If I am, how am I to act if the balance of power collapses or becomes unstable?
>What are the Prince's future plans once we succeed?
It's a dangerous game Carles is playing here. If he miscalculates, the entire region could be plunged into the very war that he's trying to avoid. What we need is a knowledge of his plans beyond this coup, because we can be sure that it's not going to stop here.
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>>6364444
>What will become of Portblanc?
I wouldn't actually ask this, we and him probably already know that it will be passed to Jonatan. He is newly married, and unless his puny girlish wife is so vigorous she kills him in trying to produce an heir, the succession is most likely secure. What would be more of direct interest is if our estate that we cede includes our colossal reserves of coin that we've built up. They'd constitute quite a significant warchest, after all. We should remember that our initial regiment was an investment of far less coin than we have now- but on the other hand, we'll have to shoulder the logistical costs entirely this time. Which leads to:
>How am I to wage a war entirely by myself?
I'm guessing that the Despot, being a man whose authority and power is entirely based upon a loyal army under his command, is a formidable foe to face on the field for a mere adventurer like we would be. Granted, that means that, if we take out him or his army, we've basically won the hardest part of the task given to us.
The question of "why us" is pretty obvious, I think. We know the language, have a familiarity with the people now, its means of income, we're accustomed to administering territory (the Fortelli assets gifted to us will probably form the new bulk of income to support a war effort), and we're also still fresh in the minds of the peninsula as the boy colonel who won an impossible victory (not so impossible, historians will say, given the circumstances, but not many know scale of what went on). The question isn't why us, but why he'd consider anybody else.
>Write-in: What are we forbidden from doing?
The most critical point I think is to not contradict Don Carles's plans by accident. As relatively simple as it is to supplant a warlord by kicking his ass and taking his chair, we're not only assuming authority over Senucco, but all of its diplomatic problems. We'd do well to be apprised of any points of tension or controversy that we should either be mindful of stepping in, or be able to take advantage of.
>Write-in: What support can we expect to have?
Not just from Mirevale, but from any other players. Nera is, of course, in Don Carles's pocket. They'll do what he tells them to, and given that we're a Spanish CIA plant, the method by which we're supported will probably be through a Neran buffer, rather than directly from the Empire.
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>>6364495
We still need to ask about what will come of Portblanc. Our brother cannot rule directly because he is a cripple. That is why a nephew is so important, because our nephew can inherit even though Jonatan cannot
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>>6364444
glad we spent all our gold updating our castle, just so we can abdicate.
But it does make sense for this quest/game to become a despot and ultimately rule as much as we can, then we can get into endless battles.
Just can't think in character that Alessandro would really want to abandon his family's ancestral seat (it would mean his mother and brother and new sister-in-law would lose their comfort as well right)?
Ideally there would be a way to have our cake and eat it (and by that I mean keep our position and also help out the prince)
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I mean we would be willingly stepping down from being a hereditary noble with a title to go be an adventurer more or less.
And this all kind of makes the efforts and we've made since getting back from the war pointless.
I suppose we could perhaps make an effort to turn Senucco into a feudal monarchy, which could be pretty fun.
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You collect your thoughts, still not quite yet truly believing of the things that your liege had said to you. You had just been told...to abdicate. To give up your inheritance and birthright, which you had so managed, that you may depart to a foreign land, and under through entirely independent works, attack and take over an entire country, an entire nation, a nation you have never so much as set a foot upon, and become its leader. Not by jest or joke, you have been given this order by the Imperial Prince your liege, Don Carles.
"Abdication, milorde...? To abdicate mine nobility? Under what justifications might this be done? I've not a single heir of my house, sire. I have yet to marry, and my brother has been declared infirm and unfit to rule. What would become of Portblanc?"
"Your brother has recently wed, has he not?" the Prince says, though how he had learned of this matter you know not. "Infirm as he might be, men such as he oft remain able to bear children. It would be of little challenge to myself to ensure there were to be no issues, were you to abdicate in favour of the child of the rightful primogen. I am told that Don Jonatan held little issue governing in your stead...I am certain he should be glad to remain as the Regent until the coming of age of his own child. "
It would be a lie to say that you had not thought the matter...though usually in the context of being freed of the burden of inheritance to remain free to become one with Joan. Still so, to leave it in the hands of the Splendour is a great risk...but nevertheless, you carry on with your questions, having little other choice to do so.
"Even if that is the case, your highness, how am I to wage a war entirely by myself? Shall the Empire rend assistance in this matter?"
"Fear not, Viscount, for I shall certainly rend you support in this matter. Not directly, of course, as to do so would invite return by the League, but in the finer subjects. Aside from ensuring that you shall be acclaimed in the first place, I have already begun preparations to see to it that you receive local help in the war."
"And what about the funding of the war, sire? Whatever properties the Fortelli may have had, I am certainly doubtful they may be able to afford an army of the scale necessary for such a conflict."
"That should not be of any matter to you, should it, Viscount? I have been very much lenient, in matters of taxes, and would raise little complaint, were you to bring the vast wealth you had accumulated together with you. And even if that matter should not prove sufficient to you, I've connections which might give you a line of credit at little to no interest..."
He expects you to bear the costs yourself, then. You certainly have quite a good deal of money, and quite the cashflow as well...even if you were to empty the treasury, it would take but another year to return it where it was.
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"I understand, milorde, but it puzzles me yet still that one, even amongst the Straccians and their worldy beliefs, might so readily accept a foreigner, and one of a different race at that, to become their ruler." you ask
"Most would not, certainly." he answers in tow. "Yet the matter of the state of Senucco is one most unnatural. They are more akin to a coalition of cities, in this regard, and entirely uninterested in matters of inheritance and birthright for this title. They see the Despot as the executor of their will towards the outer world...beyond the capital from whence he reigns, local interests hold the highest seat. To be a foreigner is to be a stranger, of course...but it is also to be lacking entirely in bothersome local ties. Though the men that will call you shall do so by my will, the rest shall no doubt find it far easier to tolerate a foreign neutral to a domestic rival."
It is perhaps a bit of a stretch, but then again, such matters have occurred plentiful times, have they not? More than once, you have heard of foreign nobles taking to the rule of a foreign country, going so far as to become kings, not only by the sword of conquest, but by the acclamation of the locals too. Birthright and culture, it would seem, is of little matter when it goes against political aspirations. You continue to question him.
"Let us assume that I should succeed, sire...what can be done, then? Were I to become Despot - what would be done in the hereafter? What would be thy plans? What would your highness have me do, and what would you have me not?"
"If I did not believe thou to be capable, Viscount, I would not have given you this offer so. Were you to achieve this, I would have you work to join Nera as a counterweight to the expansion of the League's influence in the peninsula; to ensure that the era of city states shall not crumble in a great war which might see their lands added to the numbers of Bach. Yet beyond that... I shall not constrain you greatly. You would be not a puppet or vassal, but an ally of the Empire and to myself."
It comes to you that what the Prince is offering upon you is no mere title of nobility. It is not a barony, not county nor a duchy, not even a Viceroyalty. He is offering you rulership. It would not be quite the same as that of a King, but still so, you would be ruler, autocrat, monarch of your own nation, where your word, if perhaps not law, was the closest second. You would have no limitations, save that of these city nobles, and of foreign threat - and even those, with proper action, could be dealt with. What further offer, might a man be able to dream of?
Stil, so...
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"There is certainly much thought to your offer, sire. It is a plan of great depth...yet it is, at the same time, deeply mired in predictions and assurances of things that have yet to come. How can thou, your highness, be certain of all these things?"
"It is quite simple, Viscount." he states, holding his hands behind his back. "To rule over men is to rule over their minds. It is to rule over the thoughts which they have, and the thoughts which they shall have. It is to know what they shall do, before it is done...and in this matter, I have learned quite well. It shall happen. I know it so."
You remain silent, unblinking, unable to think of further questions after the certainty through which the Prince spoke. Your indecision, however, does not seem to go evade him. Your liege turns around, facing the map once again.
"All the same, it is a great task which I would ask of you, Don Alessandro. To abandon your hearth and home, and depart to a foreign land to wage a war of lone conquest. It is no small feat. It requires will, to achieve a matter such as this. It would not do to force a man to undergo such, only to fail by lack of determination and desire. And that is why...I shall give thee the final choice. Reject this offer, if thou cannot bear to abandon Portblanc, and I shall hold no ill will against you. Your talents are far too great to waste on mere bitterness. I would have you serve me in other ways."
He turns once again, and for once, his eyes betray not cold, but fire, the fire of a man who holds the ambition to shape continents.
"Accept, however, and you shall trend into a road of power far surpassing any you might have achieved within this land. And even if you should fail—even if you should perish— know this: your family would be honored so. I would hold your house in honor, and I would see the safeguarding of your kin, and the prosperity of your people. This, I swear, upon my royal name of Brascarams, and my lineage eternal." he finishes, clenching his hands, louder than you have ever heard him speak.
"So what say you, Viscount? What answer will you give? Shall you join me in forging Mauva, not as vassal, but as King? Speak, then: Will you accept?"
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Yes
>No
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>>6365304
>Yes
The Prince's idea is really cool and will raise all sorts of interesting game dynamics and so I'm really excited for it.
That said, I'd make our acceptance conditional on Jonatan actually producing an heir, which is not guaranteed. Also, we should take advantage of being in Mescaloma by the university to learn as much as we can about the geography and economy of Senucco
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>>6365304
>Yes
Welp, can't go against the flow of fate. I do wonder if we could keep a foothold in Portblanc, or add it to our territories, or anything of the sort... We've invested so much into it! It's our home! It prints money!
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>>6365304
As comfortable as it would be to remain Viscount forever and reserve our place on the world's stage to a side part, we've been offered something that we'd only see a shadow of from anybody else in acknowledgement of us.
>Yes
If we're truly beholden to ambition, we accept. This places us and any descendants higher than a lifetime of court politicking and schmoozing could, while letting us far more freedom than operating within the confines of any system. In exchange, we have a daunting task ahead of us. It does mean leaving our hard work behind, but it would at least remain in our family, and ever accessible to us as far as a place to return to, or to ask favor from.
Really though, if we pass this up, will we ever have as great an opportunity again? Who's waiting in the wings to take up this duty if we don't? Is it somebody we could trust to do it better than us? I doubt it.
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>>6365304
>Yes
Time to become king and embrace a lifetime of war!
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What choice might a man make when faced with a question never asked? To give answer to a mystery for which there is no answer that he knows of? Does he follow the bounds of good morality? If so, what morality is there in abandoning that which his ancestors had so bravely fought for, which his father entrusted to his judgement and care? Does he follow the confines of law and chivalry? If so, what choice does one have, when faced with a request made by your liege and prince, so strongly assured that he swore upon the name of his imperial bloodline? Yet beyond morality, and beyond law, one thing yet remains for a man: his instincts.
And your instincts tell you to seek the crown!
"I shall accept, sire."
The response is immediate; the Prince returns your answer with a smile reserved only for those who have won utterly, and acquired all that they sought. It is clear, by far, that he is pleased you have acquiesced.
"Excellent, very good indeed, Don Alessandro. I am certain that you shall not fail in this regard. I predict for you a very positive path to tread, on that verdant peninsula."
"I should only hope myself to be up to your predictions, sire." you reply, before quickly adding. "Though, certainly, I shan't be able to abdict to my title until my nephew is safely born."
"Verily so...there are matters, nonetheless, that shall take time, so in that regard, we have no issue. There will be more to discuss, now that you have accepted, Don Alessandro, but for today, that shall be the end of our conversation. I have arranged a room for you at the Guest Pavillion, and some space in the barracks for your guard. We shall speak again tomorrow."
With his final words spoken, Don Alessandro returns to his seat and his papers, and wave you away. Kneeling in etiquette once more, you excuse yourself, and open the door once more. The guardsmen outside, ever hiding their faces, require no explanation. You step outside, and as the door is closed behind you, they begin to escort you to where you would pass the night.
As you silently march to your daily lodgings, you are left to think of what you've said - of the answer you said - of the choice you had made. It is dizzying, even, to consider how great a change had just occurred, how much has changed and will change with but a few words from your own voice. That island, on which you were raised, that island, on which you ruled; that island upon the northern coasts, with sands of purest white, where your lineage long stood...for better worse, whatever future awaits you shall now come from that distant place, that land of men with curving ears and cities of pure marble.
In Straccia, you shall seek your fate.
>END OF ACT I
>FOG OF WAR WILL (HOPEFULLY) RETURN IN ACT II - THE DESPOT'S ARIA
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Thank you for accompanying me through yet another thread of Fog of War. Although I had originally conceived for this to be merely a conclusion to the previous thread, which was mostly left unfinished, this ended up becoming a proper chapter, and though it was very much different from the previous threads, I feel as though it was very much necessary for the adventure which i am trying to tell.
There are some news, this time, and I'm afraid they're not all good. My idea, after finishing this, was to take a good break between threads to properly prepared for the next one. I would like, if possible, to go through my quest update by update and write down anything of note in order to prevent any further contradictions. I would also be spending this time for things like a proper world map, or perhaps a biome map, or just a more detailed map of Straccia, which is where the focus of the game will have shifted for the foreseeable future of the story.
The biggest problem, however, is more so of a matter I can't quite affect, and that's law. It is very possible, this same year, that it should become entirely impossible to use this site, 4chan, in my country. I would like to hope that is not the case, and perhaps truly, it will not be, but it is a possibility. So in that regard, if the next thread never comes, please know I am not dead, but very angrily fuming in my house, hoping that I'll be able to return one day.
But of course, hopefully that won't be the case!
Anyway, here's some questions for your anons, if you're willing to answer.
>What are your thoughts on the quest, now that we have finally hit the beginning of the middlepoint?
>What are your thoughts on the cast? Do you feel as though the characters have distinct personalities, and if so, what are your thoughts on them?
>What do you think are some weak points in my writing?
>What would you like to see in future threads?
If you have any questions of your own, do post them, and I'll try to answer them on my free time.
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>>6365779
Really just a fantastic quest, I have no notes. Despite the rather brief interactions we have with each character, you have done a brilliant job bring them to life.
If you do decide to grear a biome map, not that you need to, you may find this video series useful as well as the websites he references: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJ67AswrEs&list=PLduA6tsl3gyiX9fFJHi9qq q4RWx-dIcxO&index=29&pp=iAQB
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>>6365779
I hope you'll be able to continue posting, this is one of the highest quality quests on the board. Have you looked into a VPN at all?
Anyway, onto the quest itself. The authenticity of the language is the standout. It feels like a different place, and the way characters speak is a small but extremely impactful feature. The characters themselves are also great, they feel real and like they have their own personality, plans, thoughts, etc. Pacing was a little slow this time round, but that's not so much an issue. I would have liked more politicking, but that's a minor complaint. Also more opportunities for loredrops about the continent and the countries around us. Otherwise it's been great, and I'd love to see more in future.
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>>6365779
>>What are your thoughts on the quest, now that we have finally hit the beginning of the middlepoint?
I love the quest, though I'm somewhat apprehensive of the direction we're going in, afterall we just got back to Portblanc and now we're throwing it away. And midpoint? Say it ain't so, we're just barely getting started, aren't we?
No complaints on the cast, and your writing is excellent.
>>What would you like to see in future threads?
More war of course, and hopefully a path to turning Senucco into a hereditary monarchy, and I should hope a return of the Banda Grisa!
As to my own questions,
Might we be able to bring over some second sons of nobles and the like from Mirevale with us? It seems we'll have ample time to plan things, setting up a few 'mercenary' outfits to come and join us when things get going sounds like a solid plan, and would be a counter balance to actual mercenaries and locals.
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>>6365779
As >>6366000 said you should really look into a vpn.You should probably use a vpn in general,even if you don't post on 4chan.I really love this quest and i hope it will continue,i read it last autumn and it gave me some really nice memories,i discovered it along with a mod for m&b warband called 1631 the 30 years war and I had a lot of fun playing that and reading this.
I remember a english civil war quest but it died sadly,so i'm really glad that somebody did a pike & shot quest,and the fantasy elements such as the giants for example are also a nice plus.I also enjoyed this more peaceful part of the quest too.
Excellent quest,very excited for the next thread.
>>6366000
I believe that the stuff we did in Portblanc will also probably help us later,i don't think it was for naught.