Thread #6388307
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You have journeyed much, in these lands most strange; these unending mountains whose peaks stretch towards the heavens. Through ridge and pass you have gone, by valley and crest alike, over leagues unnumbered of blackened stone and roaring wind. What remained, then, but to press ever onwards, towards some end unknown, unseen, and scarcely dreamt? Lo, and upon the farthest verge of sight, a mountain beyond all telling, whose sides were as sheer walls set against unending skies. Thither you were drawn, compelled somehow to climb it, to ascend beyond, and gaze upon what remained above...yet before your feet could touch that dread ascent, one trial most great remained; a narrow path, a ledge upon which one could scarcely stand, poised above gulfs unfathomable, whose stygian darkness struck the surroundings with a force most like light.
What narrowness it was, what blade-like edge which stood as your only road. You could not cross it with what you carried; you could not cross it with all you brought. You could see, in the distance, possessions much alike; replacements most plentiful, of quality far greater! But how should a soul one so readily abandon that which had brought them through all that was? What hardness of heart might it take to hew one's lifeboat into lumber? To turn one's cradle into kindling?
No will so greatly weighed, none save the will to live.
You search the resolve to do so inside you; you drive your will to muster strength. What littlest burden may you carry, that shall find you the grit to walk?
You awaken.
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Sun flows upon you, down from the sky and throug the smallest cracks in the window shutters. Your living conscience rushes to reasses your position, thoughts rushing like a windmill creaking once more with a gust of breeze. You remember quite clearly now...
You are Alessandro Galliota - Lord of the Viscounty of Portblanc of the Princedom of Segoma of the Mirevalian Empire. Through effort and will, you had journeyed across the continent to the land of Straccia as an expeditionary force in support of a civil war, and had come out of it victorious. It was perhaps because of this that your liege, the Crown Prince Don Carles IV Brascarams had summoned you to the imperial capital of Mascaloma, to his own castle.
You remember, too, how he offered you a deal unlike any other; to abandon your home and title and return once more to that exotic peninsula, where you would overthrow the Despot of Senucco and take his place. You had accepted this deal, regardless of your misgivings, and in following, been admitted to the Guest Pavillion of the Imperial Alcàsser to spend the night.
All in all, a memorable day to say the least.
Dragging yourself from your bed, you wasted no time in calling your Valet de Chambres Thibaud to dress you in your daily garbs, as he did every day. As the old man had just finished doing so, a small bell beside your door was rung; you had been told this meant service! Once presentable, you opened the door, and beheld as two female servants carried plates of dishes for you. "Breakfast, Milorde", they claimed. You knew that such meals were often a more private matter in great palaces such as this; banquets and communal dining was left for more important meals such as lunch or supper.
You ate your portions with ease; the bread, whiter than anything you had seen and so fluffy as though to melt in your mouth with a single touch. The cheese, somehow kept cold even in the heat of summer, with a taste remarkable and yet light enough so as to not bother the early senses. Thin stripes of fried pork, too, on the sides, and all accompanied by a choice of wine and small beer. You chose the small beer. It was refreshingly gelid.
As you finished your small meal, you pondered your prospects for the day; later, you would meet with the Prince, for further planning of this great enterprise you had accepted. In the morning, however, you were free to do as you pleased. There was much a man like you could do, in a city such as this, and some of it perhaps helpful to your final cause. You went over your options...
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Visit the Imperial Court
>Visit the Imperial University of Mascaloma
>Visit the Basilica of the City
>Visit the Imperial Library
>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/
Thread IV - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/2026/6326513/
Field Handbook - https://rentry.org/TercioQuest (Updated)Welcome to the fifth installation of Fog of War. It would seem to my luck that, as of now, I am still able to use this site, and no action has been taken towards it that I would know of. It is my deep hope that it will remain this way, but please keep in mind that things may change.
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>>6388308
>>Visit the Imperial University of Mascaloma
Oh splendid, Here we go again!
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Good to see things are still fine on your end for now.
>>6388308
I have no objections whatsoever to revisiting our nerd palace but for the sake of a second opinion, for what we can solely find here (since we probably don't need to have gone all this way to research Senucco when we have our archives back home that can just as readily tell us the dustier old histories that could be relevant),
>Visit the Imperial Court
It'd easily be the place where any up and comers would want to find themselves, and rubbing shoulders with a few fellows of ambition could result in some additional friends and support in the preparations to come, even beyond what our patron would already offer.
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It has been often said that it is education that makes the man, be he a noble sire, a wealthy burgher or a man of the cloth, and you are inclined to agree. You have read that once, all manners of studies were done by way of informal teaching; of tutoring, of small monastical schools led by men of the church. Certainly, such methods are still and well alive today, most notably for children too young to partake in complex studies or those who long to the lower rungs of the mercantile and monastical classes.
Yet as with many things related to those members of the faith, advances were made; although the scholarly orders of the church, such as the Santo Cor kept and still keep their centuries-old traditions and teachings away from the public, the demand for initiate brothers who already held knowledge of most basic tenets of religious and natural law had grown far beyond the supply as the growth of urban centers continued unchecked. It was amidst such demands that the concept of an university was borne.
Although initially constrained to religious matters, the growth of the Mirevalian Empire, as well as the crown's continuous efforts of centralization that moved governance from purely arbitrary rule to that which is based in law and bureaucracy, so too did the noble classes begin to seek education for their sons; knowledge of literacy became not an ability, but a necessity of their inborn position.
This chain of events was the background which ultimately lead to the formation of the Universitat Impériale, the Imperial University of Mascaloma. Although already existing as a small scholarly school meant to educate the clergy required to maintain the spiritual health of the very rapidly growing capital, it was given a charter and accompanying legal privileges to become a true and proper university in 1391 by the newly ascended Teodor V. Although his reign would last but two years before his untimely death, the charter, which granted to the university not only a considerable and ongoing stipend from the imperial coffers, as well as a considerable plot of land, would remain in activity even to this day, allowing the university to become the foremost academy in all of Mirevale.
Today, you were revisiting it once more.
It was a greatly sizeable building, in a city where space was of such great value, of such a size that one could compare it only to other imperial estates, such as the Alcassér and the Imperial Court. As you passed the entrance, you were able to see a group of students, merrily talking amongst themselves as they passed around some bottles of what you assumed to be wine. Although it had been but a few years ago, this sight appeared to you as something of a whole life past...certainly, you were not the same student as you were when you attended these hallowed halls.
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Of course, this begged the question; why had you come here exactly? What goal was set upon your mind when you chose this place amongst all others to spend your time before the meeting with the Prince?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>You wish to inquire about students whose knowledge may be of use to you
>You wish to endow some manner of scholarship
>You wish only to stroll the grounds and reminisce of your time here
>Write-in
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>>6388827
>You wish to endow some manner of scholarship
Surely there is some new thing we can see news of, and draw inspiration from. Perhaps even some fresh analysis of what we enacted in the past, since it is the most recent military action of our Empire.
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Well, there are plenty of things one might do in such a place, but only one amongst them can only be done in this out of all others, and in such short time: to meet an old fellow! Though the scholars who are hired for teaching in this instituion have a tendency towards the older side, it has not been enough time that they should all be found deceased.
With your goal in mind, you stroll into the main building, intent on finding someone who may lead you to your goal...and to your good fortune, it does not take long until you do so! You find a clerk who remembers you yet still from your study days, and he directs you to the office of one of the scholars whom is not currently giving class, and whom you remember quite well; your old tutor of civil law, one Magister Ruberto del Çomel. Knocking on the door to his office, the man opens, and certainly, it is the same face you remember.
"Master Ruberto." you say, politely greeting him. "I am one of your former students, Alessandro Galliota. It is my good fortune to see you once again."
The man studies you for a moment before bowing in respect. "It is mine good fortune as well to see a student of mine, your lordship. Please enter, if thou wills it!" he says, welcoming you in as you walk into his office. Closing the door, he shuffles over to his table. The man is certainly old, but he seems to have aged well; although his hair is white, his features seem very vibrant and healthy looking - well beyond what you would expect from a man in his late sixties.
"Last I had seen thee, young lord, thou hadst left this institution to hold of your noble title due to the death of thine father. I can only hope mine tutoring has aided your efforts as a lord."
And certainly, they had! Although there is much in the manner of leeway for local laws in the Empire, and especially so in an autonomous region such as the Princedoms, there is much yet in common with standard Imperial Law. Your education gave you a good deal of knowledge in how to deal with the day to day matters of ruling on disputes and setting policy.
"That it has, Magister." you reply
"Good, good...your lordship remains amongst one of my best students, certainly - thou hadst not the wastrel's temperament that seems to have taken most of the noble students. Nay, not even those bound for a clerical life stand must better in that regard, drinking away before they are put in the cloth as though they are prisoners waiting for death."
He begins to chuckle, though it quickly turns into a cough. After a moment, he settles down, and looks to you again.
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"Forgive my petulance, young lord, but allow me to ask thee this...what matters bring you to the throne city, this time? It had come to my ears that the Prince Don Carles had begun a war in Straccia...might I wager your presence to be a good portent as to this?"
Ah, that is certainly a question...
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Tell him about your true goal here, with hopes he may perhaps give some advice
>Keep the secret to yourself, tell him only of the war you won.
>Write-in
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>>6389486
>Keep the secret to yourself, tell him only of the war you won.
I suppose what >>6389579 said about the summons is a point that can't be avoided, nor has any reason to be. Though information flows freely and quickly in capitals and I think we'd rather not give the current Despot any cause to prepare for us early.
>Write-in
I think we can couch concerns we have in the realm of the theoretical though, even if it's pretty difficult to not be direct about it. Perhaps something like matters of law binding the shortcuts of force and conquest, that may be a route to undermine the Despot and also something we can work to our advantage when we take his job. Surely there are piece of Imperial law we can implement to stabilize our position- or that point out instabilities in military autocracies.
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>>6389486
>Tell him about your true goal here, with hopes he may perhaps give some advice
cant get help if we dont ask and it would be good have a unconnected mind look at our task and give us advice
also very happy to see you back Tercio!
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"You remain wise still, Magister. It is victorious that I return here, and his highness the Prince as well."
"Ah, how fortunate!" the old man replies, smiling.
"Yes, our victory was won quite swiftly, though it was not a war of conquest. I..." you say, before stopping mid-sentence as you came upon an idea that might give you answers without compromising your secret. "It is but an errant thought, Magister, but one that had brought me some manner of curiosity nonetheless. What might one as knowledgeable of the law you do, were you made Viceroy of one of those foreign republics, in the far north? It would seem to me nigh impossible, to conquer a land with no nobles, no lords, none bar a class of ruling merchants."
"A curious thought indeed..." says Ruberto, grumbling as he rubs his beard in thought. He turns to you. "I've not great knowledge of history, young lord, but the matter of law is something I have studied deeply, and to this I tell you, law cannot be grown from aether. Even our Imperial Law holds roots to the old customs of the land. If I were given such an honor, certainly, I would seek to use their law to mine own benefit."
"I see..." you say, considering his words for a moment. "Enough about me, however, Magister - what goes on in this university still?"
Your question having been answered, you then talked of casual matters with Ruberto for another hour or so, until the ringing of the bells signaled your time to go. You waved your old tutor off, and silently hoped you would meet him yet again when you next returned to city.
With your morning matters dealt with, you make your way once more to the Imperial Alcàsser, and to your good fortune, you are none too late for the lunch! Although not a true and proper feast, there remains yet still a communal banquet that is held on every saturday, as was the centuries-old traidtion of royalty. Lead to one of the dining halls of the palace, you find yourself seated amongst a plethora of other imperial guests, and even as a mere saturday lunch, it is certainly a great sight! To your side and front there are dukes from both near and afar; men of the highest echelons of the military, the Prince Carles himself, and most notably of all, the Lord Regent of the Empire, the man who was left to keep the throne while his imperial majesty, Teodor XI, lead his armies in the far west: Archbishop Immanuel das Holas, of the Archbishopric of Mascaloma.
It is not often you see a man of the white cloth in such positions, you muse. Although it is true that the church rightly holds great sway over the matters of men, the regular body of the faith is yet amongst the weakest of them: the maintainers of the soul, yet lacking in the tradition and study of the monastic orders of brotherhood. Being that they hold but a single seat within the Holy Council, it is no surprise.
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Regardless of his presence, however, you keep yourself focused, knowing what far greater goal lies ahead. The food, of course, is soon brought: great platters of whole roasted meat of every type: of pork, of hog, of deer, of cow, of hare, and of goat too. Two large pies of meat, adorned with a pheasant's head upon them, were also present. There was manchet bread, of course, and soup of several types too. There was wine, and where you had thought you seen all manners of it, you were surprised to find a new one, sourced not from Mauva but from the snowy lands of Samica. You did not even know it was possible to grow grapes, in such a place...
Yet most memorable of all were, without doubt, the Subtleties. These fine sculptures, made of marzipan and sponge sugar, meant to depict all sorts of matters from animals, to ships, and even castles. You knew that a veritable guild of culinary artisans remained at the beck and call of the castle for the sole production of these fine creations, and you were at last able to taste one! The sweetness, needless to say, was almost overwhelming.
With the desserts finished, the banquet was at an end - all that remained were those of the very highest rank, such as the Regent and the Prince himself, who ate small, wafer-like sweet biscuits stamped with the coat of arms of the Brascarams family, a subtle delicacy reserved only for those of great honor and power. You were not amongst them.
Still so, you left the banquet greatly satisfied, and ready for whatever matter there was to discuss with his highness the Prince - who by good fortuned, had just as well sent a servant to call you over, that you might by escorted to that very same office of his once again...
"Your highness." you say, kneeling in greeting as you enter the room once more
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"Greetings once again, Viscount. We shall be going over some varied matters relating to our...plan, today, but first amongst them, I think it wise of us to go over the current situation on the peninsula. Do come closer", he says, gesturing to a table on the side of his office, where a map is laid out. Whereas the great map set on his wall portrayed the entirety of the continent, this one seemed to be contained to the Straccian peninsula, although in this case, there seemed to be yet some remainders of what previously remained.
"In the North, the situation is stable, although not in a manner to our liking. The Republic of Genatta, being a waterlogged swamp with little else of note other than the cultivation of Wetgrain, remains under the influence of the League, and I have little doubt they are at work to expand it - the Principality of Sufia holds good relations with Bach, and the Judgedom of Ghiabria
"Judgedom?" you say, not quite remembering what such a manner of government was.
"It is the rule by a an absolute autocrat, who bears the title of Judge. It is in all matters not dissimilar to a royal crown. Irregardless...The Duchy of Silenia has proven somewhat amicable to the Empire, but theirs is an aging lord with no heirs. Nevertheless, they remain friendly for the moment."
He puts his hand on the map, gesturing to the leftmost side.
"In the West, there is of course, Nera, whom you know plentifully, and shall be your staging point. The Avonnese, another Judicature mucjh like Ghiabria, does not stand with the League, yet their rivalry with Nera makes them unsuitable for friendship all the same...though they might be more willing to aid weakening a foe such as Senucco. The Kingdom of Allegro, of course, are the remannts of the old Great Kingdom...they've little power to spare, despite their claim to the region."
"What about Vitellia?"
"They are a city state of the same name...well fortified, but unable to make any great movements. Having seen what happened to Antinia, however, they may be desperate to find a path to avoid the same fate...perhaps something you may be able to use."
You ought to remember that much. To take over a nation, mere warfare is not enough...you must make use of diplomacy as well. Don Carles continues to speak.
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"Finally, there is the East. Much like the other countries of the eastern coast of Straccia, they are nearly all afflicted with rains that have left their coasts as swamps and wetlands.The Republic of Chiantia stands as notable in this regard, that they have managed to raise a grand city out of these murky waters. They are another one of the puppets of the League in the region, alongside the Principate of Monto. The latter have tried to destroy Antinia quite a few times already, but failed quite substantially. Friendly or not, it would not surprise me if they were to make a move should the Despot find himself unable to protect his new conquest."
He takes a breath.
"The Marquisate of Lubro is remarkable only that it is opposed entirely to the League of Bach, being surrounded by their puppets. You may find in them a possible ally, in the future. At last, Bellavista is little more than a haven for privateers and pirates on the Meringian, but one that has survived since the 12th century."
Although it seemed he was done, one more state seemed to catch your attention. Pointing to the borders on the furthest right, you asked. "And what of Keusig? I know them to be of the human race, rather than Straccian, and the kin of those who had fled the Ipenali Mountains during the reign of Old Himmeria, but where do they fit in this theater of politics?"
"Not greatly, I am afraid. Much like the Vidrellians, their neighbours leave them with little in terms of political ambition beyond the defense of their borders. If that is all, then I would have us proceed with the next item of the day, but if you've any questions, you may ask them as you wish, Viscount."
>Yes, I do have questions (If so, which)
>No, let us continueNo update tomorrow, I will be busy
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>>6390046
It seems pretty clear that, besides the Despot (we haven't actually heard his name yet, I think, though names only serve to distinguish between the similar anyways) our biggest problem is going to be Chiantia and Monto, almost definitely motivated to act by their patron in Bach, even if not in clean unison because of Lubro separating them from proper cooperation. Carles' counterpart in Bach, if we're unfortunate enough for such a rival to have cast his eye on the same region, probably sees the same opportunity as we're being made to take.
The Despot's probably not that concerned about them if he's kept his power and might up this long, and could probably knock around both of them if they tried something by themselves, but the moment we hurl ourselves in it's just a matter of time. And another enemy we'll have to fight.
With that in mind:
>Yes, I do have questions (If so, which)
>What support or leverage can Bach levy towards Senucco or our own campaign, through their puppets?
I'd imagine notable mercenaries or similar varieties of indirect support would be a given, beyond the finances needed to support those. At worst, an expeditionary force of "volunteers" or "adventurers" of Bach's own would not be a welcome sight.
Our best advantage would be not being anticipated, but even if planning goes perfectly and nobody knows our game until the moment we declare our war of "liberation," there's definitely going to be a scramble the moment we make our move.
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>>6390046
Oh golly, this is fun! What a complex game! Bear with me as I work out my thoughts
Okay, so I've bastardize Tercio's beautiful map to identify those countries that are sure to oppose us as an agent of Mirevale or at least are under pressure from Bach to do so. They are in red. Of these, we're conduct a land campaign so the greatest threats are Monto and Chiantia, both on the east coast.
States inclined to favor us are Nera (obviously), Silenia (unless the duke has died before we even arrive), and Lubro in the southeast. I've marked them in blue. So long as we make contact beforehand, Vitellia is probably a friend as well, though not an important one
Allegro and Avonna seem like the real wild cards here. They're well situated to intervene if they want. Avonna seems liable to view us as a Neran agent and might oppose that. Carles has told us nothing important of Allegro.
Since this is very much Carles's plan, the only question I can think of is:
>How important are the interests of Nera?
Why ask this? Avonna is an important unknown: it dislikes the current Senuccan despot, but is also rivals with Nera. We might be welcome as a friendly government for Sennuco, but not if we are perceived as a Neran ally. So we should ask Carles if and how often we can throw Nera under the bus to cut deals with Avonna
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>>6390261
Not to put the cart before the horse but with Vitellia's concerns, Antinia's subjugation, Allegro's lack of power and Lubro's lack of friends, depending on how things play out and how good our deal making is, I think we could finagle a sort of "Central Straccian League" or the like that's just a wall of defensive allegiances. Trying to knock everybody over into one flag Risorgimento style could alarm rival powers, but a defensive league of smaller states in troublesome positions could both frame us as liberator and protector while also presenting a stone wall in the face of escalations: the sort of peace I think Don Carles wishes for.
Just floating the idea of it, we're a long long way from even beginning to actually act upon such grandiose plans.
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>>6391611
I have another question:
>The border with Chiantia looks quite strange, crossing the river several times instead of following its course. Is this perhaps a result of some convoluted legal dispute or long-standing territorial claims that we need to be aware of?
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You knew somewhat of Senucco, from your tutoring, your reading, the things you had heard during your stay in Straccia; yet the specifics of that nation evaded you so. And amongst these, one stood by as of great importance...
"What of their wealth? Your highness had told me of their wealth of fertile ground and of mountain resources, sire, but they remain a landlocked state - and not one of the boisterous, barbarian plaindweller kind like the Gigantes. Whatever trade they may carry out upon, is it not of greater difficulty to what one might easily acquire and ship through the sea?"
"Not quite..." says your prince, shuffling the table to show another map which showed the mountains and rivers of this land. Though you knew not how deep the Prince's trove of maps and charts, they were proving useful indeed.
"The Vietta River, which falls upon the sea and streaks across the north of their land, stands between two great valleys. It is a land with fertility greater even than those verdant hills we had seen in our campaign in Tilano. The farmlands there alone are capable of sustaining the population of the cities of the Despotate, but even beyond that, their lack of coast has also rendered their territory entirely without the curse of the wetlands to be found in their eastern neighbours. Chiantia, in particular, was quite dependant on their crops to supplement their own, until the League offered them an alternative supplier..."
That would certainly explain their loyalty - Chiantia, you believed, was the second biggest city in the entirety of Straccia, short only of Vetra in Silenia - with Montellegaria as a close third. Still so, it begged the question... "If they have gained a new supplier, who, then, might still buy crops from Senucco?"
"Is it not true you yourelf have gained dozens of thousands of Imperii from the trade of Bachman Glass, Viscount?"
Well, he's certainly not wrong.
Before you are able to answer, however, he continued to speak. "Aside from independent merchants, they've also connections to Lubro, Allegro, Vitellia, Avonna, and until not so long ago, Antinia. And of course, whatever they produce is highly sought out within their own territory...quite curiously, despite the lack of any truly great city, the lands of Senucco are second in terms of populace only to the Silenians."
"I undertand, my liege - though, if they've enough connections in trade, might they not ask for the help from Bach, as it was with the Spisa?" The thought of being on the other side of such an expedition seemed a tad too ironic for your taste.
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"Quite the opposite." replied the Prince. "To aid the Despotate so brazenly would invite enmity from the governments they had already seized. To the league, their interests require only that Senucco remains powerless while their influence increases elsewhere. It is far more likely they might support whatever interests Chiantia and Monto decide to take upon this war."
Hopefully, it will be to your favour...still, one question yet remained, for the moment.
"I must also ask, sire, of the degree of independence as to this conflict of mine. To what degree might I be bound to the interests of the Nerans? What direct support might I be able to acquire?"
"That, Viscount, shall depend upon your actions. To intervene too brazenly, too directly, would invite a spark that, however miniscule, might set alight the arsenal of Mauva...and bring us to direct war with Bach. And as for support, and local interest; there is only so much that my influence might realize, before those states which remains independent still begin to fear the expansion of the Empire, and flock to the League accordingly. However you deal with those local powers of Straccia, it must be with assets borne of your own hands."
So a war of your own making, then. It seems almost impossible to you, that an foreigner might drive himself to the conquest of one amidst the most populous of realms within a distant land...but you have agreed to the task, and so, you must achieve it.
"That is all, your highness. My curiosity is sated." you say, bowing once more out of reverence.
"Very good - then let it be so. It is time we move to a different matter, one of a choice that must be made. Your...suit of armor"
"Forgive me my liege, but my armor?" you say, not quite understanding what he meant by such a statement.
"To drive a war of such ambition by oneself, strong belief is required. It is most important that one should show themselves with a degree of power and appearance in the battlefield. Even mercenaries, flighty as they are, may be influenced by one's air of authority to remain longer upon the field. To that end, it does not do well to wield the same manner of armor as the knights that protect him."
You had, upon the eve of the Fortelli War, chosen to buy one of the ready-made suits of plate, rather than to have one made in custom for you. Though it served you well, perhaps it would have been better to take the more expensive road...
"My apologies, milorde. It was with little time that I was able to acquire my piece of armor." you say, excusing yourself to the Prince.
"It is of no issue - but you must use one of better make if you wish to succeed. I had told you upon our victory, Viscount, that you would be rewarded. To that end, I shall be the one to bear the cost for this order."
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"My unending gratitude, your highness. You are too generous." you say, bowing yet another time. Although you have little doubt you would be able to afford even the most expensive of plate suits, to receive such a gift from a Crown Prince amongst all others is a great honor indeed. There is little doubt the artisans, whoever they are, shall put far greater effort into an order given by none other than the Prince himself.
"There remains a question pertaining to this, however." he interjects. "There stand amongst this continent three cities whose armorsmith possess skills of great note. Mascaloma, in which we stand; Strahlendorf, from Bach...and Antinia, which now stands under the control of Senucco."
"Is it even possible, milorde, to acquire such? I know not of the state upon which Antinia stands, but in comparison with how Montechia was left standing upon the end of our siege..."
"It is possible indeed, Viscount, though risky...it is not often that a smith might receive an order of suits fit for a monarch, and even so, for one not fit for the inhuman features of the Straccian. Questions may be raised, and however unlikely, knowledge of the source might reach the Despot's ears. To order anonymously would bring even further questioning.Yet their quality is unparalleled, and it cannot be denied what benefits it might bring to be armored in the style of the locals when you seek to overthrow their ruler."
"What of the smiths of Strahlendorf, then?"
"It would be of great ease, of course. Gold flows freely in their land, and the merchant class is unscrupulous in their dealings. There would be little in the way of questions, and the quality of their make is of little inferiority, compared to those of Antinia...and yet, distant as it is, it could find itself lost - taken by highwaymen, or an rival smith seeking to tarnish their rival's name, or even stolen by pirates at sea..."
"Mascaloma, then - certainly, they are as reliable as they are safe..."
"Truly they are, Don Alessandro, and yet the patterns and qualities of their style are seen with ease. There shall be little doubt of your origin, then, and it shall be that much harder to convince the locals that you have taken to becoming one amongst them."
Truly, a conundrum you might have never thougt capable of existing! It truly speaks to the web of trade that has spun through this land, that one might so easily consider options of such great distance to hold similar availability. Yet still, the problems they pose remain real. What would remain, then, the most valuable of assets?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>I shall choose Antinian Plate
>I shall choose Strahlendorf Plate
>I shall choose Mascaloman Plate
>Write-in
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My apologies for the late post, I had problems.
>>6391616
I'll just say this for free, but, while the real reason is that that's just how borders work on the software I used, It will probably be treated as a case of enclaves on a long-standing contested borderland.
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>>6391619
>I shall choose Strahlendorf Plate
And to ensure it is not lost, we'll go to Strahlendorf personally to receive it.
>>6391620
Since the river is likely a major trade artery, the question of tolls is probably a really hot one right now as Senucco lost their leverage of being Chiantia's main grain supplier
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>>6391619
Whilst I think the risk of procuring the Strahlendorf plate is minimized by the fact that we already have trade links to Bach, and thus we could find a way for it to be transported on one of our own ships and minimize the risk, I think there's more inspirational value to be had in plating ourselves in the steel of whence we are liberating. Putting the Despot on watch, I think, might actually work to our advantage in a way. If somebody tells him, that same rumor probably reached plenty of other places within, too, after all.
>I shall choose Antinian Plate
As long as don't have to wear fake dipper ears.
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>>6391619
>I shall choose Antinian Plate
Guaranteed to get it, and so what if the Despot hears of our coming, it will add to the legend.
>>6391527
I don't mind it. It's a quest about conquest and battles after all, and this will give us both. Though I am interested in what the plan was if we had refused.
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You had heard plentifully about each and every one of those styles of armor. You had worn Mascaloman plate in the worn, and even if you had not been put in much threat, it performed admirably still with your knights, even in their mass produced forms. You knew of the technological and scientifical advances of the Bachmen, how their plate was of metal with unrivalled quality. You had seen, with your very eyes, of the gleaming forms of the Famiglia, of the Amazonian Cavalieri. Although they had died to your heavy muskets all the same, not even the wall-like coverings of the giants were able to do so.
Yes, ultimately, even the mightiest of armors stands little chance against the heavier of firing calibers - of the muskets, of the rabinets, of the cannons...though you may survive a hail of arquebus shot, you will die to those things all the same. With the advent of cannons, no place in the battlefield is truly safe. To quibble over some small modicum of quality is pointless. Yet one thing should give great effect in regards to the origin - the effect upon the men.
If you are to take a country of a foreign land, then you must take the image of one of their own: you must wield their arms and their armors, and fight not as human, but as Straccian!
"I shall take the Antinian Plate. The risk, whatever it may be, is worth the benefits"
"Very well, Viscount. I shall have my servants sent to your quarters to take your measures, and have them sent to the smith. That will be all for today."
Giving him one last bow, you leave his room and travel to your own, where just as he had said, a couple of servants awaited. Whereas your previous measure had been taken by hand by your dear maid, Joan, these men who did so again were far more meticulous - every inch of your body was measured and written, once with regular , then in the underarmor that one wore under plate. It was a mathematical process - a distillation of all your features and lengths, all for the creation of a singular piece of armor.
Hopefully, it would be worth it.
Following your meeting with the Prince and the measurements, you were left to your own devices for the rest of the day, and the day after that as well. Indeed, for the very whole next week, you did little but enjoy your stay at the Imperial Capital. Though you spoke with Don Carles once or twice, being a guest at the Alcàsser, you did not talk of any further matters relating to the Senucco Plot. You had asked him about the prudency of talking of matters of military strategy, but he warned you that there would be little to say that might not be obsolete by the time in which it came to be applied, or indeed entirely made useless by the variables of war.
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Instead, you occupied yourself with other things - you attended a session or two of the Imperial Court, where you came to learn that his imperial majesty Teodor XI continued yet to wage his crusades at the furthest western end of the Empire, reaffirming the authority of Archbishop Immanuel to lead in his stead. You also came to learn that a good deal of wealth was wagered on these conflicts...which, luckily, were far and by outstripped by the gains of the boundless silver and gold mines in Samica.
You had talked with the Magister, as well, discussing matters of the university, of recent happenings, and of the state of law. According to the old master, he told the state of the Imperial Bureaucracy to be inconsistent to an ridiculous decree - that the Grand Duchy of Bagra held more independence unto their own than most of the seemingly independent neighbouring kingdoms, and that the true extent of central authority was more like a chain of islands surrounded by a sea of lordly control than any true all-abiding state. Although you could not entirely find problems with what the man had said, being a nobleman yourself, you could not deny that Don Carles acted far beyond what was expected and even allowed of a Crown Prince.
Most of all, however, you spent time in the Alcàsser, resting still from the rush of the travel to the capital, and to prepare for the return that would no doubt soon ensue. You spent time wondering how you might explain to your family, to your mother, that you were bound for that distant land once more, abandoning your inheritance in search of a far greater prize. You hoped that the word of the Prince might soften such a blow, and your brother was able to take up the mantle where you would leave it.
It was the 20th of February, 1544 when you were called once more to a meeting by the Prince, Don Carles...
>ROLL 1D100 FOR POSSIBLE EVENT, THREE TIMES.
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"You will have to go, now."
"Pardon me, your highness?" you ask, incredulous at the sudden statement of the Prince.
"The situation has changed, to our misfortune. I have been told that Don Fernando is to arrive in the city soon."
"Prince Fernando, sire?"
"Yes...my brother."
Don Fernando - or, as he was known by his full name, Prince Fernando I Brascarams, was a Crown Prince of the Empire, a son of the Emperor, and the Lord of Camponia, greatest of all the Princely States. He was the firstborn, the eldest of his generation, the favoured son of Teodor XI, and almost certainly the biggest obstacle between your liege and the Imperial Throne. Why had he elected to come to the capital now, of all times?
"My informants have told me that it is his intention to contend my behavior to the Lord Regent. That my war is a matter of imprudence that had risked open conflict. It might be the case that I shall be forced to wait for a response from his majesty my father...a matter which might take months. If you remain here, you shall most certainly be told to remain for questioning - and word of our plot may leak. For the sake of the plan, you must depart posthaste."
Damnations a hundred! That is certainly a bothersome thing. Although in theory, a Princely State held the right to wage conflicts on their own, the practice was far more granular. To invite a full blown conflict against the likes of the League is far beyond what they are allowed, and the Fortelli conflict inched ever close to such. This mission to entirely dethrone a state, however, would be even further off...
"To depart home, sire?" you ask.
"As far as it is known, you had been sent here to receive your reward for good service. Your departure may not be suspected, if swift enough. I shall steer to clear myself of any wrongdoing, and depart as soon as I am able. As for the matter of your armor, it was to be delivered to Honderias regardless, so there is no issue."
"Very well, your highness. I shall seek passage home immediately." you reply, bowing. It would seem your travel has been cut short...
"There is one other thing first, Viscount." he says, reaching for a small, sealed piece of parchment.
"This is a letter of reccomendation of mine relaying your good name and plenitude of wealth. I would have you deliver it to Don Joaquim Vilaboras, and use it to secure yourself a loan of good terms."
Vilaboras...what other name could represent more mercantile wealth than such? Although once mere commoners, their ownership of enormous mines of copper and silver in the Grand Duchy of Bagra had made them wealthy beyond compare. You know them to now be the wealthiest, greatest banking house in all of the Empire; your own local magnates, the Viscaras, had gained their wealth solely through the usage of these connections to acquire themselves the money necessary to pay for a monopoly charter. Still, though, you cannot help but ask...
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"Your highness - although such a gift is of incomparable magnanimity, is it truly necessary to acquire a loan? As your highness has said, my coffers are plentiful."
"The coffers of Portblanc are plentiful, Viscount. How much of them you wish to take with you is within your discretion. Although I leave this matter to your own choice," he replies, handing me the letter. "I must remind you that there is much that may go wrong in a war, and that the bankers of Straccia shall be far less merciful in their interests. Give the matter some thought as you travel."
"Very well, my liege. Are there any other matters that are required of me?"
"Nay, Viscount. That will be all for now. We shall meet again in my return to Honderias, where we may deal with the matter of abdication."
Bowing one last time, you excuse yourself, and return to your quarters. In an hour, all your belongings are packed, and soon after, you are left out into the city again, ready for your travels. Escorted by your men, it takes little time for you to find a trustworthy captain who has made a business of ferrying noblemen such as yourself on their way to and fro the Imperial Capital. As the sky begins to take an orange tint, you stood on the deck of the carrack and watched the shape of the Imperial Capital decreases in the distance.
Although you had been in Mascaloma for but a single day, plenty had happened. You had agreed to partake in the Prince's plot for Senucco, agreed to take a path you could have never expected to take. It surprises you even now, to think about it. Shall you regret this? Had it been a foolish mistake, to agree to a plan of such unbound ambition? Perhaps it is too late to wonder. You have chosen your bed - now it is up to you whether it shall be one of gold and silk, or of wood and dirt.
For now, however, perhaps it is better to worry about the matters directly in front of you? Much like the Prince had said, all that wealth you have acquired belongs to your position as Viscount. Have you truly the right to leave your brother, and after that your nephew, entirely bereft of the winnings? How much shall you take, and how much shall you leave? Depending on the amount, a loan might certainly be your only way to acquire the funds necessary to pay an army. In your previous campaign, you were able to rely on hired soldiers, and on the coffers of Don Carles, but the next time, you shall almost certainlty have little choice but to make use of mercenaries...and the war may not be as swift as that against the Fortelli. The costs for this conflict shall almost certainly be far, far greater.
Still so...a loan from the Vilaboras?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Yes, I shall go to Lisbad and discuss a loan
>No, I shall simply continue on home.
>Write-in
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My apologies for disappearing and being unable to actually deliver the post yesterday, stuff happened. I generally want to keep the rate to one post a day because I don't know for how long i'll be able to use the site, and there's a lot of story I want to cover.
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>>6392995
>Yes, I shall go to Lisbad and discuss a loan
As much as we are well off enough already, the less we drain from the coffers, the better off our brother is to take the reigns, and the less chance we give our ministers heart palpitations from our absence. Moreover, it's better to over and under prepare, and a loan from the biggest and most prestigious bank in the region with a letter of guarantee from a member of the Imperial family is a boon too great to just pass over. The only real way I could see it becoming a problem is if Don Carles got taken down and we got isolated- which I doubt we'll see happen too suddenly or easily.
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>>6392995
>Yes, I shall go to Lisbad and discuss a loan
Not that we shouldn't also take money from Portblanc, but more money is better and I'd feel bad about leaving our brother totally drained. When it gets to making that decision, hopefully we can talk it over with Jonatan
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>>6392995
>No, I shall simply continue on home.
We're rolling in cash from Portblanc, and we never undertook any major works that would drain them. That on top of needing to wait a few months for Prince Carles' go ahead means we should have enough to fund the expedition. Additionally, I don't like being in debt to bankers.
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Traveling through the Astranian Ocean once more, you cannot help but notice the stiff cold winds coming south, from Samica. Though you cannot see such distant territories from upon the deck of the carrack on which you travel, you know it to be there. That vast continent, far larger than Mauva is, with lands seemingly neverending. Though the coastal regions had been known to humanity for a great many centuries, the depths of the continent remain untravelled by mankind even today, when Mirevale has conquered a great many parts of it.
This conquest, of course, begun with the northern states, the ones who stood across the Agura channel, those beastly Meios who ruled their states as roving kings. In the north, it was the Vulpii who ruled, those red-earred warriors who so often raided the southern coast. Nowaday, such memories were little more than such, the Vulpii subjugated and put to work at aiding expansion into the depths of the land. Joan's people, you remember, originate from further south still, though where exactly on the map, neither she nor her father know.
What mattered, however, was that it was in Samica where those great mines were found - those great mines, bearing gold and silver. Though it had been a few decades since the fact, the flow of precious metals from the continent did not stop. Yet there was one thing that they could not find, there - one metal that, though not as valuable, was no less useful: copper. The metal of peasants and serfs, of the lower classes. It is with this metal that the commoners do trade, and as of today, it is the House of Vilaboras who by themselves own the rights to nearly every great mine of copper in the eastern regions of the Empire. They've mines of silver, as well, and most likely some of gold, of course...but none could dare to be compared to the depth and width of their control over the trade of copper. Had it not been for the strict Imperial control over every last speck of mineral leaving the southern continent, you have little doubt they would have acquired those for themselves, too - but even with copper alone, they have gained power far beyond what one might have thought possible for their social class even amidst the merchant culture of the lands of Bagra.
What this meant, ultimately, was that the Vilaboras were not merely rich, but powerful. They, amidst all others, held the ears of the Empire, and you have heard that it was with their money that the Grand Duke was able to reach his throne, amidst all others who hoped to acquire it. To default on a loan of theirs, like a nobleman might have done with a simple merchant, was not an option with such a house. Still so, you had little other choice...you needed money, and none but them could give as much as you needed.
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It was the 1st of March when you were at your goal at last - Lisbad. Up through a river, but a few miles of distance from the Canaverian Sea yet grand all the same. Mascaloma may have been bigger - more populous, and perhaps more powerful, being the seat of the Empire. Bagra, however...was a city of today. As you slid into the port, it was as though you were transported to Straccia yet again, where stucco bricks and roofs painted in all manners of exotic colors spread across the waterside facade. Mascaloma was grand, yes, perhaps the grandest city of the world - yet it was an old city as well, one weathered by centuries, where modern buildings stood out amidst the lot. This was not the case for Lisbad - all buildings looked as though they could have been built yesterday, though whether they were new indeed or merely modernized like your own castle, you could not tell.
You left your ship, much like you did on Mascaloma, though this time you had paid them to wait for a two or three days, that you should see if you would need to remain longer, before letting them go off.
Your bodyguards followed you close by as you walked through the city, blades in their hips after your identity as a nobleman had been confirmed by some officer of the port. After further questioning, you were also able to acquire the location of the Vilaboras bank. The building in question had turned out to go by the aptly named of Banco Vilaboras, an urban palace of no small gesture located in the heart of the city. As you approached the gate, two men in fanciful clothing and what you assumed to be long knives in their hands stopped you.
"My apologies sire, the bank is closed for the day"
"I assure thee, your sire will wish to see me." you say, as you carefully produzed from a scroll case from your belongings, opening it to reveal a letter inside - a letter sealed in golden colors. "This is a Princely Seal, you understand? Tell this to your lord, and he shall call me so."
They shared a look.
Five minutes later, you were on a sitting room of sorts, lounging on the softest chair you had ever found in your life, of what material you knew not what. You had been waiting for that man to appear, the patriarch of the richest commoner family in the Empire, one amongst the richest in all of Mauva and perhaps the world, a man whose riches could rival that of kings and dukes.
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What entered, however, was a middle aged man in plain black clothes with a white shirt, a brown wide coat and an embroidered hat.
"Your lordship" he said, bowing, in an amazingly simple tone. "Although we have not been acquainted yet, allow me to introduce myself as Don Joaquim Vilaboras, the Grand Burgher of Almarães and Head of the Vilaboras Banking House. I am told that a message of Princely origin has been sent for me."
"That it has, Grand Burgher." you say, raising from the couch as you extend the sealed letter. "I am Don Alessandro Galliota, Viscount of Portblanc. I bear a missive from his highness Prince Carles IV of House Brascarams. All shall be clear, once it is read."
Taking the missive, the man walks over to a desk in the corner of the room, and carefully breaks open the golden seal, allowing the letter to be read. For a minute, he seems to carefully look over the text - then for a second, a third, a fourth, and a fifth. It is the tenth minute when the man looks up to you, with a smile that, although genuine, holds an air that you cannot help but find unsettling.
"It is certainly very good to see this, Lord Viscount. It is my honor to meet a man of such esteem in the eyes of his highness. He has told me all that there is to know. You seek a loan, yes? One of considerable quantity."
"Of course. It is for a purpose of great value." you say, not delving deeply.
"Ah, there is no need to hide such things, your lordship. I have been told well of your intention to conquer that state in the middle of Straccia, the Despotate." he says, grinning.
"He has, then...?" you say, not quite sure of his expression.
"Ah, Trouble yourself not with me, Viscount, for I hold nothing but the best of intentions towards such an auspicious plan. If a man such as the Imperial Prince trusts your capabilities, It would be unthinkable indeed to doubt it. If you seek funding, I shall certainly be capable of providing it." he says, stopping for a moment, before continuing. "What amount doth you seek, your lordship?"
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You quickly go over your finances in your head - when you last left Portblanc, your treasury stood at a grand 259,775 Imperii.While it would be well within your power to take all your coffers worth together with you, you must remember that it will be your brother who is left with an empty vault.
You also remember that, during your campaign in Straccia, your regiment, with all the mercenaries and soldiers adjoined, held a cost of 9,050 Imperii per month. Although already a considerable amount, you remember well that because you may need to require far more on mercenaries than recruited soldiers, the cost to hire a force of similar strength in Straccia could be very much higher than such.
You must consider this carefully. The money you take with you shall be your lifeline - there will be no benefactor to pay your wages, as it was in the first time. There will be no way to acquire wealth from Portblanc in the midst of conflict whilst you are stuck in the depths of a foreign continent. Outside of looting, ransoming, and most certainly egregiously priced loans from local bankers, what you take is what you will have.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>50,000 Imperii
>100,000 Imperii
>150,000 Imperii
>200,000 Imperii
>Write-in (Specify the number)
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>>6393812
>200,000 Imperii
I’m inclined to be irresponsible and take as much as we can. Would want to know the repayment terms and collateral expectations before committing however.
But my thought is that we don’t have to spend it all on war (and bribes?), and assuming we’re successful in getting a foothold then we have some money to invest in trade. Worst case is that we’ll have cash on hand when we start making repayments, giving us time to set up income streams.
One might say that it is kind of irresponsible not to take advantage of the Prince’s backing desu
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I think it's important to remember that this one's for all the marbles. A big loan is a long term problem to be addressed, but it will address any short term problems we have, such as "unable to pay our mercenary army for the time needed to endure a siege rather than a risky assault" or "we don't have enough friends" or "we can't get a big enough army," where we lose everything anyways.
To put some perspective into this, when Don Carles negotiated his treaty with the newly installed puppet- I mean rightful rulers who were illegally disposed, the payout, over time, was around 800,000 Imperii, roughly according to the treaty at the end, though it doesn't count such things as the value of the sack prior and various other benefits, what's important is Alessandro's assessment of this amount being at the minimum double of what Carles invested into the campaign in the first place- and he had far more levied troops rather than mercenaries than we can hope to call upon, as well as foreknowledge of political circumstances and a meticulous plan to carry out a coup and switcheroo at the enemy's very heart.
So I propose-
>>6393812
>Write-in: 300,000 Imperii
200k is acceptable. 300k is an utterly mad sum, but may be what we end up needing, if we don't start sacking the absolute shit out of everything in Senucco to pay wages, or get on a high horse because of Vessena Bridge and purposefully go in hoping to shoot out the keystone.
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2 things I think we need to keep in mind: We need to know the interest rate and expected repayment schedule, and we want to be aiming for a short campaign. It doesn't matter how much in reserves we have to pay the army if we take too long to seize the state. "Home before Christmas" and all, but I think that unless we're preparing to get bogged down, an excessive amount is not needed.
Additionally there's also the matter of what we take from Portblanc when we leave. Obviously we want to leave our brother a good amount, but considering that the cost of building a brand spanking new castle is 50,000, and we currently have 250k+ on top of trade income, I think we can take a considerable amount without crippling him (heh).
Assuming that we take 100 or even 150k from Portblanc, I think getting enough for 250-300k in total would be a good aim for our warchest.
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>>6393842
I agree with this. I don't know how expensive "very much higher" is, but since we'll have to act alone and require a bigger army, I'm inclined to guesstimate 20k/month. At this price, even 200k only lasts us 10 months and puts us at an unacceptable time pressure.
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>>6394016
Honestly, if it was just us, then no. However, this guy already knows Carles's plans, which makes me think he just sees us as an executor of the will of the prince, and thus, practically speaking the same person. We did come with a sealed letter indicating as such.After all part of why the guy with the funny name had to invest so much in the election of Maximillian's successor was to try and protect his already existing investments, and certainly not an abundance of generosity.
I agree that we should know the terms of the loan, though I feel like Splendour would look down on institutions like compound interest.
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You are blessed, amongst others of the nobility, for your utter lack of debt. Thanks to the plentiful income from the tolling of ships going through the Zidarra River, as well as general taxes on trade (and your own participation in such) and the wise stewardship of your father, you inherited a fiefdom that saw no need in costly loans, as a great many parts of the nobility in the Empire do. What you shall undertake soon, however, will be the funding of a very whole war on your lonesome - and if you are to rule a country, you would rather not tear it to cinders first through sacking and burning...
"What amounts might be within your capability, Grand Burgher? Might a sum such as....300,000 Imperii be beyond your reach?" you say, tentatively.
The man, surprisingly, is not shocked at the incomprehensible amount you have asked of him, but with a smile, answers. "To one of such high esteem such as yourself, Viscount, it could be arranged, with time. However..." he says, as begin to rifle through a small booklet on his desk. "Such an amount would ruin one such as me, sire, if turned to failure. The interest on such an amount would be...one quarter of the amount, to be paid yearly, at a non-compounding rate. From the moment the amount is delivered and signed over, of course."
The moment the words leave the man's mouth, your reaction is immediate - you exhale through your nose, as though you have heard some manner of joke. A quarter? Twenty five percent, every year? After but a single year, you would owe to this man 375 thousand - after two, 450, after three, 525.
"That is a very considerable amount, Grand Burgher." you say "Certainly, you must know I am no failing merchant, to receive terms as such. My monetary safety is good and true."
"Ah, but it shall not be, your lordship, once you have absconded to foreign lands." he replies. "If thou were to fail in your campaign, I would be left bereft of very considerable funds, utterly bankrupt. I would have no choice but to go after your kinsmen for the debt - and something as ugly as such is far against my wishes. It is necessary of me to add such terms for mine own safety."
"Trust you not in the words of the Prince?" you say, attempting to pressure him.
"Had I not trusted in the words of his highness, sire, I could never so much as dream of making such a loan." he replies, his hands shooting up in a gesture of defense. "An amount such as this would be enough to bankrupt lesser kingdoms, you must understand. It is only my utmost loyalty to the noble name of the Brascarams that drives me to accept such an request."
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You attempt to hide your bitter expression - how greedy must this man be, to ask such a ridiculous amount? You may not have been a banker, but you knew these terms to be far from kind. You also knew, sadly that his statement about the size of the loan and the dangers he would face to be no less than the truth. If you were to fail, there would be little he could do other than go after your family, and between the distance of where they stood to the political separation of the Grand Duchy and Segoma, such a matter would be bothersome, even if you had little doubt it would be far more so for your brother.
You knew plenty of loans to be backed by deeds of land or property, but being the owner of but a single, small, urban viscounty, there is little you can give away yourself. Sadly, you may have little choice but to accept such terms, or decrease the amount in question.
"What terms would you ask, Don Joaquim, for a lesser quantity, then?" you ask, out of curiosity.
"Well..." he seems to think for a moment. "In truth, it little matters the amount, being that the risk remains the same - but as a token of my trust, I would whittle down the interest to a mere fifth (20%) for a loan of a hundred thousand less and three-twentieths (15%) for a similar deal so.
They are better terms, certainly, but not in an amount you wished. Uncertainty over your choice clouds you, something that the Vilaboras Banker seems to notice. His hands clasped, he begins to speak.
"I understand such rates to be very high ones, even with justified risk...yet for the sake of aiding the will of his imperial highness, I have a very generous offer to give your lordship. In exchange for a trade, I will have your loan given in full, at an interest of but a mere tenth (10%) of the value - a rate so low, it would be little more than a donation."
"And what 'trade' would this be?" you reply, your eyes narrowing.
"But two worthless little things, your lordship - nothing of importance to one with a future as grand as yours. For the safety of my investment...I would have you sign to me the rights to all collections of taxes and tolls within Portblanc until the debt is ended, in the event of a failure to pay. Of course, with a victory as assured as yours, it is nothing but a mere formality!" he adds, chuckling, before continuing. "In terms of collateral however...I would ask of you, but a mere agreement to be signed only when you have succeeded in your conquest. I would ask a charter, granting the House of Vilaboras a monopoly over all iron mines in Senucco."
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You had more than a few thoughts about this offer of his, but as for the matter of the mines, you remembered that the mineral wealth of Senucco was, almost entirely, that of iron, an ore which their mountains seemed to be greatly rich of. Aside from the mines in Nera, which just so happened to be located near their borders, no other major sources of iron were present in all of Straccia. Though you are certain one might have been able to find them, should they tried to look, in the Ascarpian Mountains, no man dared to invest in those lands, where Gigantes often roamed.
As for the loan itself...a tenth was a very, very good interest rate indeed, increasing by a mere thirty thousand every year. Yet was it worth it this 'promise'?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Accept his special offer
>Take the original terms as they were
>Settle for a smaller loan (If so, specify which)
>Give up on taking a loan entirely
>Write-inIf it's not too clear, the rate for decreasing a loan is that he'll remove 2,5% of the interest for every 50k less
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>>6394205
Alright, so as to the offers:
>I would have you sign to me the rights to all collections of taxes and tolls within Portblanc until the debt is ended, in the event of a failure to pay.
This is not that terrible on the face of it. Unless something drastic were to happen, Portblanc actually makes quite a bit of money on an annual basis, and with all the investments we've made, tightening the belt for a few years isn't the worst collateral.
As to the other...
>I would ask a charter, granting the House of Vilaboras a monopoly over all iron mines in Senucco.
This is a huge power play on his part. An extension of a monopoly over not one, but two countries' vital ore supplies. Especially given that said iron source is what supplies the famous armorers of Antinia, it would be a soft vicegrip over force of arms. One that I think we'd really rather have our own option over exploiting the rights to, or promising to, even if we are on the same "side." Moreover, if we win and then reveal to Senucco that we preemptively signed over the rights to their mineral wealth to a foreign bank...well, that probably wouldn't go over well at all.
Even if we win and consolidate our new conquest in less than a year, however, it would mean that we'd have to scrape together 250,000 Imperii to get back down to a 10% rate. As opposed to starting at 10% from the get go. It is, to be fair to him, a very generous loan rate...in exchange for a tremendous favor to himself.
I'm not actually sure which to take yet, though, I'll let some other people weigh in before I decide myself whether it's better to go down to 200k again, or if we think we can expect to win enough loot that the increased interest won't be a serious long term problem.
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>>6394217
I would be strongly opposed to both of the special terms offered. The monopoly on iron is just as bold as you state, plus news of it leaking out would turn the existing (and presumbly wealthy and powerful) mineowners against us.
As for signing over revenues from Portblanc, it would really fuck over our brother. It would be a better move to empty the viscounty's entire treasury than to undercut Jonatan by removing the state's revenue
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>>6394205
>Settle for a smaller loan (If so, specify which)
Ask for a loan of 150,000 imperii
To me, this is the sweet spot between interest rates and access to capital. It is a large sum of money, especially when augmented by whatever we do take from Portblanc, but we can cover the interest with less than 1/2 of the Portblanc treasury so it shouldn't be crippling if things go really badly
Also, I wrote down the cost of access to capital for the different loans:
>If campaign lasts 1 year:
300k loan has a real cost of 375k (75k interest)
200k loan has a real cost of 240k (40k interest)
150k loan has a real cost of 176k (26k interest)
100k loan has a real cost of 115k (15k interest)
>If campaign lasts 2 years:
300k loan has a real cost of 450k (150k interest)
200k loan has a real cost of 280k (80k interest)
150k loan has a real cost of 203k (53k interest)
100k loan has a real cost of 130k (30k interest)
>If campaign lasts 3 years:
300k loan has a real cost of 525k (225k interest)
200k loan has a real cost of 320k (120k interest)
150k loan has a real cost of 229k (79k interest)
100k loan has a real cost of 145k (45k interest)
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You anons are really underestimating the money cost of this
Don Carles made basically the perfect keikaku scheme war and it still took like a year. And we only won the battle because we had our entire army + a bunch of elite rifleman mercenaries
You think giving up the mines will piss off the nobles, but you know what'll really puss them off? If we have to pillage their cities just to pay our soldiers once we run out of money.
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>iron mine monopoly
Absolutely unacceptable. We're basically signing over our only reliable money maker once we take the state.
>>6394313
I'm also thinking we go for 150k, and grab 150k or even 200k from Portblanc. Portblanc is self sufficient, and unless Jonatan gets involved in a separate war somehow I doubt he'll need 100k to build himself 2 extra castles, or an entire fleet of ships.
>>6394316
A good chunk of that was getting bogged down sieging the city. If we can avoid that, or bring cannon that will help bring down walls, we should be okay.
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>>6394320
>A good chunk of that was getting bogged down sieging the city. If we can avoid
And how are we gonna do that? Even if we beat the Despot, he'll just run back to a city, shut the doors, and wait until we go bankrupt.
>or bring cannon that will help bring down walls, we should be okay.
From where? The only cannon guy we know doesn't have a siege cannon.
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>>6394322
>wait until we go bankrupt.
Our army isn't going to pack up and leave overnight if we run out of money anon, and even getting to that point will take at minimum several months. And even the despot hiding in a city isn't the worst thing that can happen, because then once we take that city we win the campaign, no decisive battle with losses necessary. It all really depends on how the campaign plays out, and while more money might soften the impact of unexpected events, I don't want to pre-emptively chain ourselves to excessive debt repayments that will cripple our ability to grow moving forward.
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>>6394329
Anon, you're being catastrophic over something that hasn't and might not happen. Yes, running out of money is bad, but it's not the end of the world. If we run into the situation where we're laying siege to a town and running out of money, then the promise of loot should keep them going onwards. It's a question of risk vs reward. I believe we can manage without the extreme loan, and the benefits of such a loan aren't worth the cost. And I choose to believe that anons are smart enough to not walk us into a situation we're we'll be on the verge of getting couped by our own men.
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>>6394335
>it's OK guys we'll just pay the mercs later, once they get me into power
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>>6394313
If the merchant was willing to drop from 25% down to 10% in exchange for "two little things", then each of those would be worth 7.5% respectively, right?
The iron monopoly is too much, but...
We could offer him JUST the taxation rights within Portblanc for 7.5% less.
On a loan of 150,000 Imperii, the interest would go from 17.5% down to 10%
If the campaign lasts 2 years, the cost would only be a total of 180k
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>>6394375
While I still think y'all are underestimating the costs of a campaign, I wouldn't be surprised if the man was highballing us solely so he could offer us this "deal" so he could get an iron monopoly and everything else is just meant to make us accept it.
He is a mining magnate, after all.
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>>6394316
>>6394379
I am also nervous of eyeballing the cost of the campaign, so I went ahead and guessimated the costs. If we wanted to field an identical army (we probably won't), I think it would cost *12,715 imperii per month* to field it among mercenaries.
That calculation is based on the cost of past mercenary and free company units, plus the assumption that arquibusiers cost about as much as pikemen and that heavy cavalry would be twice as expensive as light cavalry.
So, assuming that ballpark figure, this is how costly a campaign would be:
>Campaign of 1 year: 152,580 imperii
Campaign of 2 years: 305,160 imperii
>Campaign of 3 years: 457,740 imperii
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>>6394386
To break that down, this is what I estimated:
1,500 pikemen for 2,500 per month
900 arquibusiers for 1,440 per month
300 swordsmen for 445 per month
120 light cavalry for 1,500 per konth
175 skirmishers for 520 per month
150 knights for 3,750 per month
900 men of the Banda Grisa for 2,500 per month
1 cannon for 60 per month
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>>6394386
>>6394405
I would say that based on this, the estimate should actually be adjusted. Last time, we made up only one regiment of an army. Now, there's plenty of preparations left to be had, but I think one thing is clear in that if we go in with what was sufficient last time, we'll get our asses kicked. So we really ought to double any estimate of costs, since quite frankly, we want to be the center of attention. We want the disaffected subjects of the Despotate to feel like they need our help, not for us to display that we need their help. It doesn't mean fighting alone by far, but it does mean being the most formidable actor. Otherwise somebody else will budge us out and it's curtains.
Though there's some good news for our war chest. Even if we don't want to loot and burn everything, the Despot is sure to have allies, lackeys, direct possessions and assets. Those, as far as I think can be concerned, can be freely and profitably pillaged. Additionally, I think it's only appropriate that we shake down some people for a polite amount of sponsorship. So even though I think the costs will remain enormous, we have means to address it elsewhere.
Point being that I think it'd make more of a splash to have more at the start than less over time, but we're only at financing right now rather than any actual planning.
So with that wall of babbling out of the way-
>>6394205
>Settle for a smaller loan (If so, specify which)
I'd honestly go for 200k, but the flow seems to be 150k while draining more of our liquid personal finance, which I guess is fine.
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>>6394205
>Settle for a smaller loan (If so, specify which)
150k
No special offer
Clean out our treasury before we go (won’t take long to refill for our bro)
I’m pretty sure we can find a source of income within a year, even if the war goes onwards. We’ll surely take a city or two and instead of pillaging we’ll ask for protection money aka taxes. Surely they’re already paying the current Despot so we just get them to pay us instead.
In the previous campaign we took over a few towns pretty easy and did foraging etc.
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>>6394313
>>6394320
>>6394433
>>6394526
>>6394527
>>6394360
I'm a bit busy today becauseI found a cool game thansk to this site and have been playing it since morning, however, there still seems to be some discussion going on.
Because of this, I'll just go and address the idea...although the "promise" is not worth as much as the mining rights, the Grand Burgher will allow the following deal - if you take the 300,000 loan and give away taxation rights in case of failure to pay, the interest will be only 20%, so a decrease of 5% overall.
Whether you wish to take that deal is, of course, entirely up to you.
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>>6394526
>I'd honestly go for 200k
Me too, but 150k has more votes. Unless people are open to changing it? 200k over 3 years would only net 120k interest, which I think is doable. It's 300k where the debt becomes crippling. A question of how long we expect the campaign to go for, I think.
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>>6394313
>>6394527
>>6394526
>>6394241
>>6394708
I see a lot of support for 150,000, but if the anons who say they'd take 200,000 would actually choose it then 200,000 would win. However, since only one of you formerly changed, I will wait another half an hour and if nobody objects I will go with the former
If you want an option, just vote for it, just saying "It doesn't have enough votes so I won't vote for it" is exactly why it doesn't have enough votes.
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It does not take one considerable learning to know what the great drawbacks of an issue such as thus is. It is beyond thinking to surrender the source of a material as vital as iron to a foreign party, and even more so when it is amongst the biggest sources of revenue for one's nation. And to endanger locking your own family and inheritance into endless debt at the hands of a merchant? Though you believe your own capabilities to see this conquest through, you are not so foolish.
With that said, you know very well how expensive this war will be. To field a single regiment, one fielded in majority with conscripts and citizen soldiers, gave you a cost of over nine thousand per month, and more than half of that cost came from your mercenaries; mercenaries upon which you would take to rely entirely - in a foreign land, where you are known as a foreigner, where there is no state to back you, and where you shall have to field enough troops to take arms against an entire nation, and one where victory shall not be granted by the Splendour above with ease as it was against the Fortelli. To run out of money, when leading an army with nary a single drop of loyalty in their bones, would mean your total and utter defeat with no hope of revival.
Still so, you cannot stomach such terms.
"My apologies, but I will have to settle for half my original amount if that is the case - a hundred and fifty thousand."
"Of course, Lord Viscount. Although, if your lordship intend to take these to a campaign in Straccia, thou must wish to take them in the form of Spadas, correctly?"
"Is the Imperii not worth more?" you reply.
"That it is, Don Alessandro, however it is also a coin of distant origin. There are many who charge a premium for foreign coinage, and exchangers will often take their own cut as well. To deliver them as such would allow us to ensure greater safety, as well - our affiliates and business partners in Straccia are capable of meeting your demands once you have arrived there. Would that be agreeable with your lordship?"
>Yes
>No
Regardless of what your answer to the financier was, however, all this talk of finances and wealth gave to you the idea of an opportunity you possessed to yet realize in that city of trade and coin. You had, following your victory in the war, agreed to a rather sizeable trade deal for the exchange of Omieran Wool for large quantities of Bachman Glass, so greatly desired in your nation yet in poor supply due to the tariffs and taxes levied on such goods coming from Bach. Although you had been making some very considerable profits out of the thing, your sales so far had been done mostly at will - selling to any merchant who might offer to buy.
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Now, however - you are on a city of traders, a city of men with many clients whose hunger for foreign luxuries grows insatiable by the day...and a city of merchants whose reach goes far beyond the land of Straccia. When you abdicate from your lordly throne, you shall lose the privileges you might have had when concerning with the export of the ever-so-coveted Omieran Wool and the avoidance of rather painful tariffs...but your brother will not - and were you to secure to him a business partner, you would avail him of the need to ensure all that merchandise was sold.
With such safety, you'd certainly feel less guilt about taking a greater sum from the treasury. In the time before your departure, you have decided, you will look for a permanent trade partner!
>ROLL 1D100 TO FIND A TRADE PARTNER, AVERAGE OF THREE ROLLS
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Rolled 36 (1d100)
>>6395027
>Yes
I assume we'll receive promissory notes to Vilaboras' Straccian partners. It'll be much easier to transport, and we won't have to hire a sizeable contingent just to guard the money on the way.
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>>6395027
yes
does this mean we repay in the foreign currency etc? I assume the loan isn't for 150k imperii and we'll get screwed on foreign exchange etc. when we pay it back in spadas.
Getting the money from the local area lenders and paying them back also seems safer than transporting it across countries
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>>6395027
>Yes
It saves a step of bean counting frankly. There's also a layer of obfuscation when it's not all being done in massive amounts of foreign coin.
>>6395142
>Getting the money from the local area lenders and paying them back also seems safer than transporting it across countries
The implication from
>our affiliates and business partners in Straccia are capable of meeting your demands once you have arrived there.
would imply that the only thing we have to transport is a checkbook.
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"Very well, then...if I am not wrong, that should amount to around 160,000 Spadas, correct?" you say, quickly remembering the difference in content of the coins.
"Indeed, Lord Viscount. Allow me to prepare a document for our deal..." replies the banker, before leaving the room, leaving you alone once more. After half an hour of waiting, he comes back, a paper in hand. Lifting yourself from the chair where you had been sitting, you take it in your hands, and begin to read. The terms seem standard - a binding contract detailing your acquisition of a loan for a hundred and sixty thousand Spadas at a rate of 17,5% interest per year, starting at the moment the principal is delivered. In the bottom, three lines remain - one bearing the signature of Don Joaquim Vilaboras, and one empty, awaiting its signatures. Surmising the one is yours, you ask for a quill. The banker hands you once, already wet with ink, and in a flourish, you write away your name.
"Very good - now, to place our seals and officiate this trade." Taking out a container, Don Joaquim drops two goblets of wax on the letter, and signet ring in hand, presses his finger against the paper, leaving the arms of the Vilaboras in mark. You do much the same, and with that, oficially enter into great debt with this banking clan.
"Good, very good." says the financier, before producing yet another paper; this time, a promisory note entitling you to the agreed amount in the name of the Vilaboras Banking House. "Although I shall still have to warn my associates to prepare for the delivery of such a large amount, this note shall ensure you are able to receive the money."
You pocket the note, making sure to store it with care. "So it is. My gratitudes for the business, Grand Burgher."
"Thank you, milorde. The gratitude is all mine..."
Freed from that bothersome matter, you spend the rest of the day walking through the trading houses of Lisbad, looking for a partner on which you may offload the piles of fanciful glass you have acquired. Though you consider remaining a few more days, if only to visit the sights of the ducal capital, you decide against it. In the end, night falls before you are able to succeed on your goal, and the merchants close for the day. You sleep in your docked ship, that you are not forced to move your belongings
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The second day, however, proves far more fruitful. You meet a man, one Bernardo Douras, who deals in the import of foreign goods to Mascaloma. Indeed, you remember spotting one of his properties in the capital when you were making your rounds of the trading district. Talking over a platter of fine cheese and wine, the man proposes to accept your offer of Bachman Glassware for the remaining length of your contract with Vituccio Gaglietti...at a rate of 25,000 Imperii per haul. In comparison to what you were previously making, it is certainly a decrease...however, you have been unable to find any willing to pay as high as this. Ultimately, you decide the safety of your income to be worth a small slump in profits, given your brother's inability to travel at length.
With both your businesses finished, you embark once more upon your ship, and continue onwards in your journey, out of Lisbad and towards Puerto Bala, where the inland trip shall begin anew.
>NO CHOICE FOR NOW
>UPDATE CONTINUES AS USUAL
In the meantime, some questions
>How has the thread been so far?
>Do you think the financial babbling has been too complex?
>Do you believe the writing in this thread has felt rushed or otherwise of lower quality due to the daily updates?
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>>6395547
I'm personally happy with shorter and more frequent updates to get through this "interim" and arrive at the upcoming campaign. E.g. I'm happier if you're slower with the map and warfare updates and faster with the scene setting
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As you disembarked on the docks of Puerto Bala, you could not help but few how odd it felt, to so quickly return. It is the 2nd of March, a little over a month since you had first arrived on the shores of the Canaverian Sea. Though you had not expected to spend as long as a year or more, you had thought you would be on the capital for a longer amount of time! When you venture out to acquire some rental horses to take you along on your journey towards the Marjoisse River, you find the very same man from whom you had rented on your way there, with the very same horses you had used.
You decide to take them.
Taking a far more leisurely pace than the rushed gallops you had used on your way there, you arrive on the city of Isé on the tenth. By virtue of being the closest connection between the southern sea and the Marjoisse River, whose great length leads all the way to the Meringian, Isé has become a very large trade port. Although travelling upriver is a deed of considerable difficulty, the other direction is far, far easier - to such a degree that a simple barge of wooden logs would be sufficient, were one lucky enough not to run into any storms. Still so, a river is a river, and boarding a riverine barge, you begin your travel north, climbing upwards towards your home.
After another week of travel, you find yourself making a sudden stop on a town. Through some manner of misfortune, the small quantity of food that was carried amid the barge was spoiled due to bad sealing. Your ship is forced to make a sudden stop in the town of Tava, on a county of similar name. As you walk through the borough, you cannot help but notice how...decrepit the settlement seems to be. Certianly, you've seen plenty of old buildings...your own castle was of quite a great age, until your modernization works. Yet this city appears as though a mere shadow of what it once was. The walls, once certainly mighty, seem to be far too large for the smaller town that now is, and are fallen into disrepair to such an extent that along the edges you had seen quite a few communal farmplots, with stone houses whose source of material does not seem hard to guess.
Still so, you meet with the liege lord of these lands, a Count by the name of Don Gonçalo de Nevas. The middle-aged man seems happy to house you, as any proper lord would with a noble guest, and over a shared meal of roast lamb and ale you learn that his family had once been the Dukes of Garáos, and even before that, the Monarchs of a Kingdom of the name of Badanor. They had once held lands that spanned from Friás to Estra Alta, and they once were so fruitful that entire cadet houses were born from the furthest of their branches.
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But then, it was all lost - first to Mascaloma, who soon became Mirevale, and then to the Orellanos, who shattered the remnants of their Kingdom and seized even Garáos. And of his family, the last member of their last cadet branch had died of a pox several years ago, leaving him to inherit the County of Ous further north. They were still autonomous, in theory - sworn in allegiance not to any Duke, but to the King of Badanor, a title now held by the Emperor himself. In practice, he cannot so much as travel between his fiefs without the permission of the Lord Orellanos. His family continues yet still - but as a shadow of what once was.
Regardless as to the grim fate of his line, when you retire to your chambers and lay on your bed, you cannot help but wonder of the future of your house - the House Galliota. Although you are wealthy, you are the lords of but a single island in the frontiers of the Empire. The entire sum of your wealth and power depends on the levying of taxes and tolls and tariffs. What would become of you, then, were such a lucrative business to be taken over by order of Imperial Decree? You had hoped that, under your leadership, you would acquire more titles to your name, but soon enough, you shall all but abandon your goals within the Empire on the dream that you might achieve greater ones within the land of Straccia.
And what of Straccia, then? You shall, if you are lucky, seize the state of Senucco under your leadership, and estabilish yourself as a Despot in a land of merchants and republics. What then? You had been tasked to serve as a counterweight against the League, but shall that be entirely it? Shall you serve as a mere governor of circumstance until the day of your death? Why, ultimately, have you agreed to such a plot?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>You will continue to grow your power, whatever it takes
>You will plant new roots for your lineage
>You will continue to serve the Empire
>You will rule content as an enlightened monarch
>Write-in
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>>6395860
>You will plant new roots for your lineage
I think this option to leave a legacy is best. Many man will gain power, and then lose it (to war or old age and death etc). What will we leave behind?
In the past we've talked about improving warfare with new types of cannons, we've talked about trade law reforms, we just rennovated our home castle
We'll be able to be a Napolean or Khan that unifies people via war and then sets common law that benefits people moving forward.Who knows, maybe we'll make laws of marriage between nobles and owl women acceptable...
I think that is better than "power, whatever it takes" (which will surely put as at odds with Prince Charles when we want to invade somewhere but he would prefer that we don't)
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>>6395860
>Write-in
>You will not be forced to choose between love and duty
As despot, you will still rule and still serve the empire, but without the barriers of custom and tradition that prevent you from marrying your true love. This is the solution you have been looking for
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>>6395860
>You will plant new roots for your lineage
"As much power as possible" feels like biting the hand that feeds us, though it could be possible to unite Straccia again and reforge Allegro from a powerful central position, the concept of the Great Balance may preclude that. Better to form a stable, major possession, as dear old dad did, and leave the even greater and further world upsetting thing to those after us who will have benefited from what we have built. Nobody talks about Phillip the Second's father, but they all talk about his son, as it were.
Whether said descendant ends up having spoon ears or feathers or Splendour forbid be a normal ass human who can say yet. Anything's possible for a Despot, or so we've been told.
>>6395547
>How has the thread been so far?
I've liked it, but I know we haven't gotten to the biggest step off, which is where we finally pass down the chair and go to Nera.
>Do you think the financial babbling has been too complex?
It's alright, it's nice to plan meticulously in regards to how much we have. Probably not *too* meticulously but it's like building a house. Except it's a war.
>Do you believe the writing in this thread has felt rushed or otherwise of lower quality due to the daily updates?
No, though as long as you're not being exhausted by the pace I do like the speed of it as far as number crunching goes.
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>6395860
>>You will continue to grow your power, whatever it takes
Legacy is what matters here.
And as for the quest? No complaints, like the thread, the financial stuff is cool in my book as it builds more of the world, and no I don't think it is rushed.
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>>6396024
We're really not there yet since we have plenty of preparation left to do but if we try to do something like a re-signing bonus or whatever equivalent for anybody who happened to come along for our first Nera expedition, we'd have a solid core of veterans, who probably still have equipment or at least know how to use it.
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It is often said that ambition and pride is the fall of man, that worldy greed, as the church often calls it, is the greatest of all sins. Yet it is ambition that drives history onward, that moves millions throughout the world. It was through power that the Empire was estabilished, and peace was created upon the lands where they rule. It was through the conquests of Old Allegro that their culture was spread and the seeds for the renaissance of today were first planted. Is it wrong, then, to wish for power?
You are the heir of a small house - if your brother is unable to sire a child, the sole heir. To fail would mean to be the final point in the long path of the Galliota, a road spanning centuries and beyond. Yet even if you were to have a child, or two, or five, or ten, what would it matter in the long run, stuck in a small island, dependant on flow of coin that could one day end? Shall they end up like the de Nevas, confined to a rotting castle on a shrinking town? If even kings may become paupers, what shall happen then to a mere viscount?
The true reason why you had accepted this wild plot is a simple one, in the end: ambition. Whatever acceptance you might have had to a life of calm nobility has turned sour, unappealing, unacceptable. Ever since you had partaken in the Fortelli War, a burning ember has grown inside you, fueled you, turned into a blazing fire. You are not content with Portblanc - you wish for a Kingdom. It is not enough to modernize a castle - you wish to own a new one. You wish to turn the Galliota into a family whose utterance brings respect - a house wide and true, to last the ages.
And if that future you so seek lies in Straccia - if you must abandon Mirevale for this foreign land, and if your descendants shall one day bear inhuman ears - then so be it!
You wake up in the next morning just a quite bit tired, your sudden bout of ambition and pride having left your restless for some hours longer. Nevertheless, you eat a hearty though somewhat simple breakfast of bread sops soaked in sugar, honey and milk. After giving thanks to your host, you continue off in your road towards Portblanc, towards your home (even though soon enough, it will cease to be so)
The rest of your journey is, fortunately, without issue, and by the 22nd of March you safely arrive at the island of Uharta once more. In the distance, your castle stands, the modernization process still well underway by your estimations. You wonder if you shall remain here long enough to see it finished at all. The ports, of course, are busy as they always are, and especially so as the heat of summer is replaced by the gentle cold of autumn. Due to the suddeness of your return, there is of course, no welcoming party as you disembark. Still so, you walk towards the castle, wondering what has transpired in these past few months you have been gone...
>ROLL 1D100 FOR WHAT HAPPENED WHILE YOU WERE AWAY, THREE TIMES.
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A strong sense of deja-vu washes over you as you walk through the palace gates, your return announced ahead of you by your servants. It is much like the last time - no, exactly like the last time, when you returned from Straccia. You find your brother in the main hall, just as you did back then. He is the first to greet you, doing so with a smile.
"Brother!" he says, walking to you with an unordinary amount of energy in his step. "I did not expect you to return to early...brother, you will not believe what has happened in your absence."
"It is good to see you as well, Jonatan. What has transpired in my absence?" you say, carefully tapping his back.
"It is fortune beyond fortune, Graciosa is with child!" he says, happily.
"What?" you say, very much surprised. "Do you jest, brother?"
"It is no jest, Alessandro. It is confirmed by a brotherhood physician. It is very early still, but it has been confirmed nonetheless. It is a blessing by the Splendour, it is!"
"Truly, it must be." you say, tentatively happy. It appears perhaps a tad too grim to even entertain it, but you cannot help but hold your breath until the birth comes to pass. You very much wish you could be taken by utter joy, not only at the prospect of a nephew or niece, but that there may be one left behind to inherit Portblanc when you are gone to foreign lands, but there is a reason why it is not often that one bearing one of the Malevolent Infermities carries on their branch of the bloodline.
Still, it would do you no good to say as such. "It is very good to learn this, Jonatan, but, have any other matters transpired in my time away?" you say, attempting to move the subject at least for the moment. You already know you'll certainly hear no end of it from your mother. "I hope all things have progressed smoothly."
In the span of a moment, the smile on his face seems to fall, and he turns away. "I...believe if it is better you see if for yourself." he says, before beginning to move towards one of the corridors, cane in hand. You follow him, anxious to know whatever it was that could possibly cause this switch of mood. You follow him through a corridor, and then another, deeper yet into the palace castle. Just what was it? What had happened? What had occurred in so short a time when you were gone?
There was a giant hole in the wall.
There, where once had been a hall filled with frescoes and paintings, there was now rubble and sunlight peeking through. The entire corridor was beyond filth, covered with dust and mud and pebbles. Half the ground was sunk, an event which had clearly been the reason for this fall. You are entirely without words. Your hand clenches, vibrating your very bones and digging into your skin.
"What is this?" you ask, your voice raising in tone "What could possibly be the cause of this? Was it shot by a bloody fucking cannon?!" you say, practically yelling at him.
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"I am told it was that escape tunnel of yours. It would seem it did not hold up as it was supposed to, and a portion collapsed on itself. It is only fortunate it was not in an area below one of the second floors, and none were hurt by the collapse."
"Have they begun fixing it yet? Where are the labourers?" you say, rubbing your eyes.
"Asides from moving out all the...surviving paintings, I had them simply seal it off for the moment. I am told that it will be a very considerable cost to fix this matter, and so I thought it better to send you a letter before allowing any such costs." He coughs into his hand. "You arrived...earlier, than I had expected."
"How much?" you ask. "How much will the repairs be?"
"25,000 Imperii."
"Wh-" you ask "How much could it possibly cost to raise a single wall? I hast projected the cost of a very new castle to be less expensive than so."
"I know not much of architecture myself, but I was told it is related to the stability of the ground, and the manner in which the castle was first built. The masonry, I believe."
Damnations all, all this for some miserable, useless novelty tunnel you had installed out of mere whim. You shall have to see about punishing the architects who had endangered your very household with their failure, but for now...what shall you do?
CHOOSE YOUR OPTIONS
>Accept the price, pay for a full reconstruction (Add one year and twenty five thousand of cost)
>Offer to pay as much as is necessary to ensure reconstructions go as fast as possible (Add six months and forty thousand of cost)
>Eschew the masonry, just put up anything that'll keep it from collapsing further regardless of the look (Add three months and ten thousand of cost)
>Write-in
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>>6396702
>Accept the price, pay for a full reconstruction (Add one year and twenty five thousand of cost)
Better to have it done right than leave an ugly kanker, especially since we're not the ones who have to deal with it. Also, a flaw in an emergency escape tunnel would be the absolute worst thing if it were actually needed...
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File: Treasury of Portblanc, June.png (576.8 KB)
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You take a deep sigh.
"I will have it repaired...and deal with the other matters, as well. For the moment, let us meet mother, for I am certain she has plenty to tell me."
And she certainly did. Your return was met with happiness, of course, as well a questions about what it was that his highness had called you all the way to the capital for. You chose not to answer for the moment, being that it was still somewhat uncertain. Your mother seemed not to care, however, as she was far too busy fawning over Graciosa, enough to only tell you that she expected you to deliver her a gift such as this as well a few times a week. Joan on the other hand seemed far more friendly than usual, a bit more attached than even what she used to be.
Still, you quickly settle in again, and things seem to go back to normal for a while. You pay off the first fifteen thousand in the repair efforts, and though they shall take a year to be complete, at the very least it will still only be around five months for the rest of the castle to be entirely modernized. You also make sure to triple the amount of support beams in the now halfway clogged escape tunnel. The architects who had been responsible for the plan had already left after the tunnel was completed, but you have given the order to hunt them down for the crimes of negligence and endangerment of a noble household.
It is the 1st of June as you look over the treasury reports for the month, and just as you had expected, your contract with Bernardo Douras also begins to take effect, and your crates of glass begin to be shipped southwards, towards Lisbad and wherever further they may go. Things are...calm. The cold continues to roll in as winter approaches, and Gersenda already shows the very slightest of bumps in her body. Although you continue your lordly duties as usual, you feel that there is more you should do with your time.
Yes, unless the worst were to happen, the chance that your brother shall indeed give House Galliota an heir who may allow you to avail yourself of this throne increases with each day. If you shall truly abandon your home, is it not better to prepare for such a matter? The question, ultimately, is how...
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Your first thought is of military matters...you know very well that it is foolish to rely entirely upon mercenaries. Although your regiment has long disbanded, and none of the true citizens and nobles who had participated on it would ever abandon their families and homes to live in some distant inhuman land, there may be yet those of lower origin who may miss the glory and pay of the military life. What's more, with the other regiments of Segoma disbanded, there may be those from the other regiments who may feels similarly. You could attempt to hire them for a more permanent contract, one that shall express to them the possibility of not returning home. It would bite into your overall income; but a company of veterans drilled for months is an asset that would serve you very, very well in Straccia.
The second, of course, is of the intellectual kind; it is simply wise to know thy enemy. You know about Senucco, certainly, but not enough to rule it. Although some things may only truly be learned directly, you could start by going over their history and other such things.
The third is in regards to your brother. If you resign, it is he who shall rule as regent for his own child. You could tell him, in secrecy, of your Senucco Plot, and thereafter attempt your best to teach him the necessary skills he was not educated upon when it comes to ruling a fiefdom, and in specific when it comes to ruling Portblanc.
All matters are of great importance, but you must choose one to begin with.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>You will begin re-recruiting your old veterans for a personal company
>You will begin studying the Despotate of Senucco
>You will begin teaching your brother how to rule
>Write-in
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>>6397217
>You will begin re-recruiting your old veterans for a personal company
To be fair to the other options though, while our own exceptional core to build everything else around that feels some personal familiarity with us is the most critical to our military success, dropping everything on our brother without any preparation could also be quite troublesome even in the short term. Therefore-
>Write-in
Might it be possible to wrap in August, and have him surreptitiously prepare Jonatan for rulership? I have a feeling he might be better suited for such anyways.
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>>6397217
>You will begin teaching your brother how to rule
As tempting as it is to learn more about Sennuco, this option seem nicest to our dear family
I oppose the training soldiers this because these are going to be the dregs of society. Rather have foreign professional mercenaries than local professional drunks. It just seems like it would create problems
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>>6397217
>You will begin re-recruiting your old veterans for a personal company
Having a company loyal to us personally would give us a solid base of support to rely on.
However...
>You will begin teaching your brother how to rule
Want to leave off on a good note. Even if it's just a few pointers, it's better then nothing.
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>>6397648
Okay, this specific image that I'm making for the next update is taking a lot longer that I imagined, I apologize but I will have to postpone the update until when I wake up and finish it.
It will (hopefully) be worth it though.
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Throughout the days of June, a curious sight repeats itself among the villages and towns of Segoma. In the early morning, a man in a great wagon, escorted by guards, walks into a town. Upon arrival, he walks into the closest tavern or inn, and asks for the shopkeeper for a great many products, laying them out like a feast. He announces loudly, for all to hear; The Viscount of Portblanc calls all veterans. Eat merrily, for this is his gift! Throughout the day, there is much drinking and feasting, and men are given his offer: to fight once again under his banner. They recount tales of his victories against giants and knights, of his great stand at Vessena Bridge, and offer a gleaming coin of gold for those who go back into the fold.
To the lawful Citizens of the principate, it is a poor offer. The pay for a common soldier, bearing pike or arquebus, is no greater than what they may have already made. After a year abroad, in that muggy heat, with mud and death around them, the comforts of home seem far greater. To the Dregs of society; the poor and the criminal, the abandoned sailors and the jobless lot, they remember only the consistency of their employer, and the glory and loot, and the grim life where they returned.
The day passes by, and by morning, the wagon departs, filled with drunk men and new contracts...
It is the 18th of July when the last of your recruiters has returned at last. In your castle courtyard, men are arraigned once again, scattered into a teeming mass as they await the your orders. Hugues Regnard, your former Captain of the Guard and second in command through the Fortelli War, approaches you from behind as you stand on a balcony overlooking the men below, bowing in salutations. He was to first and so far the only one to whom you confided your plans of a foreign voyage.
"Don Alessandro, I have just received the report from Provençal. It would seem that our campaign has worked quite well, even with some odd losses from men who deserted their recruiters after receiving their signing pay...although only around 220 of the men from our regiment sought to rejoin,870 veterans from the rest of the Segoman Army have gathered here. In total, that is 1,090 recruits that we may use as you will. Adding their costs to the payment of the recruiters themselves, as well as the funds for all that had to be bought during their travels, the whole effort has costed us a little over 1,300 Imperii"
"I assume they've no arms of their own."
"Nay, sire, they are but Dregs." he replies, shaking his head. "The positive to such, of course, is that we may drill them as we wish. Because your lordship chose to modernize the city armory, and because we've no limit for time, we may choose to train them in whichever manner we wish."
"I cannot help but doubt that a peasant could be trained to the heights of a noble knight." you point out.
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File: Company Recruitment.png (6.4 MB)
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"Perhaps not, sire, but short of finding mercenaries of such type in Straccia, these may be our only source of heavy cavalry. And knightly mercenaries are rare indeed...ultimately, it is to your lordship's judgement."
He hands you a document showing the different costs and requirements to form a company.
"Some of these terms seem to be new, Hugues. Might you explain them to me?"
"Of course, milorde. Though they are not standard to an Imperial Tercio, I believe they might be useful in our goal."
Hugues clears his throat, then begins to speak once again."
"Companies, of course, are the standard infantry unit - three hundred men, subdivided into squadrons of twenty five and each led by a corporal. Light Companies, or simply Light Foot, are half-sized companies of foot meant for, well, light work. Although not as capable in battle, they are more effective in matters of Scouting and Foraging."
"Troops are your standard mounted unit - sixty horsemen, divided in lances of five each, led by a lance corporal. Wings are a far heavier battle formation of horse with two hundred men each, much like the formations of the Famiglia at Vessena Bridge. They are far stronger in battle, of course, but they cannot be sent to multiple tasks as several independent troops might be."
"I see..." you reply. In the corner of your eye, however, you notice something.
"About these equipment prices, Hugues, do we not have the old equipment they had used? It would save us some money to simply hand them out them once again."
"Of course, sire." he replies quickly. "However, most of the men to whom we had assigned equipment were pikemen, and a good quantity of them perished in the war. We would be able to fit one or two regiments of Pike at most without incurring further costs. As for the others, they were all mercenaries or citizen soldiers who owned their equipment."
You had one final question. "Although I understand that I may leave a unit with partial strength, what would happen, were some recruits to be left behind still? What shall be done with them?"
"You may simply dismiss them at will, of course."
"True."
With all your questions finished, you gazed upon the courtyard yet again. The men talked amidst themselves, their forms like clay for you to mould. Though they are not noblemen tried and true, these are all subjects, men of Segoma to whom your rule will be their only anchor in the foreign land of Straccia. Whatever their loyalties are, they are far greater than what a mere mercenary might have. You should consider well how to use them.
CHOOSE YOUR REGIMENT
>I will train them as...(Specify the type and numbers of units, and if partially filled, specify their strength)
NOTE: For the sake of fairness, all regiment "ideas" with two or more vote will be added to a list, whereupon the end of the voting period, you will be allowed to choose from one of them as your final vote.
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>>6398048
Alright, to float a few ideas and not decide yet, I think there's a few basic structural ideas we can follow. This bunch is, of course, not even close to the entire force we'll be using, but it is a chance to either make a solid center to build everything else around, or to make a singular hard-hitting capability.
A simple and easy one for example would be three companies of musketeers and a wing of knights (in case we need to make a heroic powerful charge), and everything else procured would be to support that, since any dolt we find can be trained to pick up a long stick and stand in place. That's just the very simplest and grug-brained idea though.
There's also the appeal to absurdity by having five wings of knights that we call the Famigliain't or some shit, but that would be a difficult to justify expense and not necessarily the best thing to sink every single gold piece into right from the get go no matter how imposing such a force would be.
Since these are sure to be our most reliable people, dregs though they are they do have more familiarity and fondness for us than a mercenary we sign on a month before a fight, it'd be good I think to spec them out in a manner that they're useful but aren't at a huge risk to get slaughtered out of necessity, such as in the heavy infantry line breaking role. Tempting as it might be to speedrun linear infantry tactics and just have a gun line, I wouldn't recommend that either, since musketeers in the past have seemed very vulnerable to other ranged infantry getting in range of them, and cavalry threatening them. So any musketmen we outfit should have cavalry/skirmisher support to screen away anything else while their heavy firepower and high range takes care of the actual punch.
I think the viable "core" for the all in on guns would look something like 3 companies of Musket and a troop of Skirmish for each of them, though Cavalry might actually be better since they would be able to directly attack light elements better to keep them away. If we want to lean more into out-horsing our enemy (not a bad route to go since the often unmentioned second part of tercio tactics is strong mobile elements to take advantage of fixed enemies) then I'd say 2-3 wings of knights for a hard hitting reserve to commit and "honor guard," with the rest distributed into cavalry or skirmisher troops so that we have hunting dogs to go along with the metaphorical boar spear when it comes time to stick the pig. If we're most interested in having this form the sturdy core of the line and our most reliable anchor, then I'd resist the temptation to make them into line-smashing greatswords or a similar assault unit, since those are bound to take high casualties, and instead make the majority either pikemen or halberdiers.
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>>6398055
We don't have to have a balanced force at this point; we're still going to recruit a lot more mercs. As for bodyguards... Maybe we could swap one musket company for light one, freeing up 40 men, and make them into bodyguards. Arm them as cavalry.
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>>6398048
My vote:
>2 companies of pikes (600 men in total)
I don't think running short of pikemen would be good, and I wouldn't want to have to completely rely on mercenary companies to fulfill their niche which I'd argue is essential in an open field against cavalry. I'd love to add other infantry types to counter enemy pikemen, but I also think those might be filled by mercenaries.
>2 light companies of muskets (300 men in total)
I prefer muskets because they outrange arquebusiers. I also feel light companies being more flexible would help missile units.
>2 troops of knights (120 men in total)
I was wondering whether to vote for more infantry or add cavalry. But considering this would only get another company of infantry, I think 2 troops of knights would be good to ensure we're not completely outclassed by enemy cavalry. I voted for "knights" instead of the lancer "cavalry" unit type because a knight unit should usually defeat a "cavalry" unit in a direct engagement, although they're more costly and less flexible.
>1 troop of skirmishers (60 men in total)
They're more flexible than knights and can fulfill the roles of scouting and harassing
10 men would remain, we can assign them for our guard I guess? We do have a guard of musketeers, right?
Also, it isn't clear to me if we do still have men for making up a cavalry guard or if we will have to rely on drafting the dregs.
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>>6398061
I don't know if they're technically cost-effective, but they're more powerful than other cavalry types in the melee and can counter non-pike infantry in the open. They work as long as you're not relying on them to defeat pikemen frontally or fight in broken terrain.
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>>6398057
>There's also the appeal to absurdity by having five wings of knights that we call the Famigliain't or some shit
DEW IT
I would honestly vote this just for the memes, it would be so funny.
>>6398048
Anyway, my vote is for
>1 Wing Knights
A battering ram which we can use to exploit weaknesses in the enemy line.
>1 Troop Knights
As backup and replacement for casualties. Could also use as our bodyguards.
>2 Companies Muskets
Muskets saved our asses at Vessena Bridge. They are a must, even more than the knights.
>1 Understrength pikes
To round out what's left.
This is obviously not something we can fight a campaign with on our own, but as the core of our army it'll do. Knights, which we can't easily get anywhere else, and muskets which are our big beat stick. Also lots of heavy weapons to keep the mercs in line.
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>>6398048
Go for an elite and loyal core, and then just recruit infantry who we put on the front lines to take heavy casualties. The idea is that since we're investing in these troops, their use is to harry/kill the enemy and ideally stay out of harms way.
Could be convinced to just have a cavalry troop for the body guard, but I think thematically I like the idea of a tough warrior elite to act as a reserve. Might give us a bit more prestige than just looking like every other warlord.
>musket company (300) [devastating range] 527, 612/month
>musket company (300) [devastating range] 527, 612/month
>musket company (300) [devastating range] 527, 612/month
>skirmish (60) [scouting/foraging] 318, 216/month
>skirmish (60) [scouting/foraging] 318, 216/month
>knight troop (60) [body guards, unit where we are attached] 918, 486/month
= 1080 troops (put the spare men as musket men to replace casualties) I'd also assume the dregs are being put into the 900 musket men, they can consider it as a promotion
==> 3135 to setup, and 2754/month upkeep, which will be pretty good
Can we ship all the leftover pike gear to maybe help us outfit a unit in the future? Presumably when we're in power we can recruit from the local population.
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>>6398048
Alright, seeing other people posting what they have, I'll make my own proposal.
>2 Companies of Musket
Vessena was won with the same number, and though I'd definitely be fine with a heavier investment for several reasons, I want to present an alternative idea. After all, you can only fit so many gun lines in a battle where, invariably, people are going to close to melee range.
Though we also ought to have learned at Vessena that repeated fire from too many guns causes blackpowder smoke to turn against you, so going too heavily in on guns all around should be accounted for later.
>4 Troops of Knight
What Hugues says about heavy cavalry being hard to come by any other way shouldn't be discounted. Having them while the enemy doesn't is a huge benefit- not having them while the enemy does also means ceding the war of mobility and hoping they'll come to us. I'd even consider having more of them, but that would mean cutting into the musket core and also becoming extremely expensive. 4 independent troops with the potential capability to mass into one block should be sufficient capability to be feared- and potentially to manipulate our enemy into having to account for them while our muskets rule the field.
>2 Troops of Cavalry
>2 Troops of Skirmish
This is to have a reliable mobile support element while also not going all in on Knights. Knights are the slowest thing mounted after all, barring mutant mega horses, so they wouldn't be able to necessarily react quickly to an attack against, say, our musketmen, or be committed quickly to turned stragglers chewed apart by guns.
Also, I don't think it should be discounted that loyalty in long-ranging reconnaissance forces is of particular value. We ought to be able to particularly trust our screens.
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>>6398535
Easy consolation can be found in that the Despot himself has been blacklisted by the artillery guilds, only able to get some of his own through a loophole involving the Fortellis- who are no longer in a position to offer such, probably, though the straggler is still out there with his 401k.
Which means, one, we might have an easier in with hiring our own if we choose to, and two, the Despot is unlikely to have any big guns himself.
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>>6398048
Being the dregs of society (criminals, sailors, etc.) I don't think we can expect them to fight as well as mercenaries even with several months of drill. Their advantage is being more loyal than any mercenaries. So, with that in mind, I suggest forming units of whatever groups are most likely to break rank and flee. I think that would be the cavalry, because they can literally ride away from a battle.
Also, equipping pikemen for free is a no-brainer. I mean, they are basically on sale
>2 Companies of Pike
1 wing of Skirmish
>1 wing of Cavalry
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File: The Viscount's Regiment.png (1.5 MB)
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After some several dozen minutes of thought, you begin scribbling down several ideas for possible compositions for your soon to be regiment. Although it shall not be as great as, say, an Imperial Tercio, or even as your first regiment, it shall serve as the loyal core of your force in Straccia. They are the men around whom the rest of your forces shall gravitate. They are the only ones you shall be able to fully trust amidst a sea of disloyal mercenaries.
Some more time yet passes, and you finally finish writing the ideas on the parchment, which you pass on to Hugues. He begins to read them, with an odd expression, and after some time, speaks. "Not all of these add up to our full numbers, sire. Shall I assume you intend to dismiss them, should you go with such?"
"Indeed...to keep them around, outside the organization, as recruits, would be rather bothersome. They've been paid well enough for the time spent here." you reply.
"Of course, Don Alessandro."
"And another thing," you add, "I believe it would be of no issue to carry with us any leftover pikeman's gear to Straccia to equip any men we were to recruit in that region, no?"
"With enough vessels, certainly. However, your lordship, it is unlikely we will be able to recruit Dregs as we are able to here - certainly, there would be plenty of complaints and trouble, if we were to begin sweeping up the people of the cities of Straccia to join our force. Had they not wished these men to remain within their walls, they would have removed them so."
"Perhaps, Hugues, but it is of no harm nonetheless..."
Regardless of such things, however, there still remained a choice to be made.
CHOOSE YOUR OPTION
>Type I
>Type II
>Type III
>Type IV
>Type V
>Type VIIf I have made any mistake in my calculations, please do point it out.
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Just one thing to you guys voting for pikes, can I remind y'all we lost like half our pikemen in one battle, and when it was a BRIDGE? Like literally the best possible defensive position?
And that these are the only loyal guys we'll have? Once they're out we can't replace them.
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>>6399150
We placed on all pilled up on a bridge where they couldn't maneuver and then got them stuck there while the anti-pike mercenaries tore them up. We need to do some kind of after action review, because placing pikemen on the bridge instead of just off the bridge was one of the chief mis-steps in that battle
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>>6399155
Pike don't maneuver, pike are a wall. They're also a lot slower than all the anti-pike mercenaries.
The fact is that pikemem will literally always get torn up because their business is literally to be a meat shield for the gunners
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>>6399150
The rentry page states that rodeleros are extremely good at breaking pike walls, so they were countered.
Pikemen also were one of the main reasons our army wasn't overrun by enemy cavalry in that battle, besides wagons. Which is why I'd prefer having more pikemen than less in the army.
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>>6399076
>Type II
PIKES IN FRONT
GUNS BEHIND