I, Borgia

[1+18+12+5=critfail vs 82+20-10=92]

You do your best to put on a confidant face and say "Alright, we can talk, but I ask that you keep it quiet. A friend of mine is sleeping and id hate to wake him." The man is still for a moment and seems to look you over, looking for any signs of lying? That it might be a trick? "Ill be completely honest, I expected you to run or try to pull some trick, not for you to talk. But let us talk then, after you." He says and gestures back to Zelics house.

You head back inside, still hoping to see some innocuous detail or trinket that could miraculously save you, and failing that go over to a table and prepare for whatever this is going to be. Both of you take your seats, the assassin taking the chair closer to the door, trying to keep you from running? "So, I presume that you are signore Valentino Borgia? The world thought you had died in Firenze like so many others, yet here I find you now, alive if not well.

So tell me, how did you survive where so many else died?" oh that is a hard question, especially since you don't really know since Nergal was in charge. May as well be mostly honest here. "To be honest I don't truly know, after everyone went mad I lost control of myself as well, all I do know is that I lived when many others didn't."

"And what exactly happened? The world believes that Savonarola summoned a horde of demons to possess everyone in some last desperate effort to not be defeated, but I believe that you and I both know of ways other than demons to control man?" Okay, he wants to know about the apple, that doesn't mean he necessarily knows I have it. "Savonarola possessed an Apple of Eden, I didn't know that he had it or even what it could do until he used it on my mercenaries to make them turn on each other.

He quickly became the main priority, so the leader of the mercenaries tried to rush and kill him. Unfortunately he didn't succeed and was killed by Savonarola. I didn't have a choice so I ran after him myself. Thankfully he couldn't use the apple on me and I chased him into the city, there he used the apple, and then people went into a frenzy." It seems like he is about to ask you something else before stopping himself. This pause is a chance for you to divert the conversation some.

"Pardon me for asking, but may I know your name? it feels strange to refer to you as nothing but Assassin." Hes caught in his thoughts for a moment before saying "I am Ezio Auditore da Firenze. I'm surprised your father hasn't mentioned me." Oh, oh shit, he's from Firenze, that makes this so much worse, he might think you killed his home. Play this respectfully. "I am sorry for your loss, signore Auditore. And as for what my fathers told me, truthfully I've stayed uninvolved in the templar side of things entirely until stumbling my way into the middle of it."

You can feel an anger in the man, see it on his face, but he pushes it down. "It is about more than just the assassins against the templars. Many years ago your father ordered the execution of my father and brothers, trying to eradicate the Auditore name, and would have done the same for me, my sister, and my mother had we not escaped."

Goddamnit father, you refuse to pay for his actions. "Enough about me, where is the apple? We searched Firenze from top to bottom and there was no sign of it. Our allies in the east reported a man traveling with what they assumed to be the apple, and you match the description."

There is no way for you to convince him to leave you with the apple, unless you want to give an item of unimaginable power to a member of a cult dedicated to killing templars you'll need to lie like never before. "It is true, I had the apple. After awakening from its effects it was in my hands. I was surrounded by the dead, some few still tearing each other apart. I couldn't let anything like that happen again so I fled. I didn't care where really, so long as it was away. Eventually I ended up going east until I was past even the ottomans, and I looked for the deepest, darkest hole I could abandon it in. Hopefully the world never hears from it again."

The assassin just stares into you, eyes burning a hole into your soul, until he relents. "Very well, that is perhaps the best you could have done. But I doubt your family will have any kind words for your acts." He believed you? He believed you! you might just live through this wait what was that about your family? "My family? What about them?"

"Your father seeks to open a vault with the apple as a key. It is said that the one who opens this vault will be the prophet, of what I don't know, only that Rodrigo believes it would grant him power, the ultimate goal of all templars. Your brother, similarly, wants this power, seeking to unite Italy, under himself of course. I can only imagine what the rest of your family wants with it." On saying this the assassin rises from his chair and heads for the door.

"I would advise you cut all ties to your family and their templar connections Valentino, they will tear you apart if it benefits them." And with that he leaves. You wait for a minute, two, three, before you let yourself relax. From behind you hear Zelic "Valentino, what was that?" you turn and see the old man, in his hands a pistol.

"I heard you talking with someone and saw that man, was he one of those assassins you and Sophia had worried about?" "yes, yes it was, but he's gone for now. Do you have any other exits from here? I need to get to Cesare quickly, and I don't trust that he's just going to leave the city quietly." The man hands you his pistol and starts to move some furniture out of the way before pulling away a rug. Below it is an old trapdoor. "I think it leads to the catacombs under the city, but I couldn't tell you how to navigate them. Go quickly and I think you can escape, either to Cesare or out of the city."

You hand the gun back and say "Thank you Zelic, truly." "Keep the damn gun, hold on a moment while I get you more powder and shot, you'll need it more than me." He rushes into his room and comes back with a satchel and lantern that he hands to you. "Now get going, before he comes back." And so you climb down into the Ravenna catacombs. Now you only wonder, where do you go? To Cesare like you had planned, or flee Ravenna, perhaps to Rome or somewhere else?

[] Cesare, not only is he the closest and your friend, he might not be safe from the assassin.

[] Rome, your father seems to know more about the pieces of eden, he might know how to keep it safe.

[] Constantinople, to find Sophia and the byzantine templars, you don't think the assassins know about your connection over there so you might be safe.

[] Write in

These catacombs are a damn maze, but you need to get to your brother now. You start to head roughly in the direction of his villa while looking for any exit out. Surrounded by ancient and dead Romans and Byzantines, the choking claustrophobic nature of these catacombs, it only worsens your mood. Will you or Cesare have a similar fate if the assassins get to you? You try to force the thoughts out of your mind, focusing on the task at hand, but they linger on the edge of your thoughts.

Finally, after far too long running you find a stairway leading up. Rushing up and out of it you find yourself near the center of town, in an unlocked small shack behind an inn storing wood and tools. You head through the inn, startling the owners and early patrons. "Apologies, excuse me, ill be out in just a moment!" you say navigating your way around the few people there until you are out the front door. You quickly look around and orient yourself, the villa should be about a mile north of here, and so you start to run.

You do attract some attention from the surrounding people. A strange man running towards the governors villa is certain to attract some attention, thankfully none of it is from the guards. Soon you find yourself in front of the villa, the one you had thought about repairing yourself. Large and grand, especially in comparison to the rest of the city, with Borgia banners hanging from the roof. Guarding the building are the swiss guard, who quickly notice your approach.

"Halt vagabond, you aren't allowed in the governers' villa at this time, wait for when he's holding court." You guess your brother has started let the citizens bring complaints directly to him, but that really does not help right now. "This isn't a matter for court, Cesare is in danger, one of the assassins is in the city right now and I need to speak with him. Tell him that Valentino is here." At that the guards seem to react, giving each other a look before one heads inside before quickly returning. "Wait here a moment, there will be guards to escort you to the governor."

Seeing no other option but to wait you do so, scanning the rooftops and alleys and everywhere and anywhere an assassin could appear. Paranoia starts to grip you, what if you were too late, what if the assassin is already in there, what if he's hidden somewhere watching you right now. After a few minutes that feel like an eternity the guards arrive and, unexpectedly, grab you and shove you inside. Despite your protests against their treatment they drag you through the villa until you arrive in a large office on the second floor. Inside is a large and heavy table in the center and a desk in the back, sitting behind it is your brother.

"Sir, the man claiming to be Valentino and claiming that assassins are in the city, as you requested." Cesare rises from his chair and approaches. He's let his hair grow down to his shoulders, and now sports a trimmed beard. Even when at the center of his power he wears armor, a shining cuirass decorated with cherubs with a red cape attached to the back. But what you most notice is the look on your face, a mixture of restrained rage and hope.

He stands before you, analyzing you, going over every little detail on your face. it is a long time before he speaks. "So, You claim you are Valentino, Valentino Borgia and not some other who happens to share the name and thought it would get him a quick audience?" "Of course I'm a Borgia, your brother, I swear it." "We will see, first you will tell me about this assassin and then I will determine who you truly are. The assassin, where did you see them, and what details can you give?" You didn't think you looked so different as to make him unsure but its fine, you'll convince him.

"He approached me outside Zelics home, just before dawn. He wears black armored robes with their symbol the centerpiece of his belt. He said his name was Ezio Auditore da Firenze and he was bearded with a scar over the right side of his lips. I couldn't get a good look at the rest of his face because of his hood. I don't know how he knew I was in Ravenna but he asked me about what had happened in Firenze."

He judges you for a while more before telling one of his soldiers "Have wanted posters matching his description made and placed around town, hand a few to the patrols so that they can recognize him, and tell the criers to inform the citizens, if there is an Assassin I don't want to give him any room to rest." And the guard rushes off to follow his orders. Then to the rest he says "Leave the room but guard the doors. I wish to talk to him, alone." And they follow his orders immediately.

"So, You claim you are Valentino. While I admit you have some resemblance it isn't enough to be sure, so I will ask a single question. Who burned down the Castel Sant'Angelo?" "We did brother, we were desperately bored so we made a scheme to escape, and were fortunate enough for the blame to be placed on the assassins because of a strange man climbing the castel I lied about." He looks at you, emotions crossing over his face, disbelief, surprise, and finally relief. He grabs you, lifts you up, and gives you a hug that threatens to break your spine.

"Brother, it truly is you, we thought you had died at Firenze, we had to bury an empty coffin, you barely look like yourself, how is it that you are alive?!" You return the hug, while trying to lessen his death grip on you. You're unsure if you should give the full story about what had happened, so you decide to alter it slightly. "I can only imagine I was extremely lucky. Savonarola used the power at his disposal and turned the world mad. I got caught in it and lost myself. I've only recently regained control of myself. I found myself far to the east, in some cave likely buried under sand or stone by now. As soon as I had control of myself I rushed back home to find you ruling Ravenna in my place."

"That must have been the power of the apple of eden that Savonarola had. Father had only found out he had it shortly before you marched on the city, and his letter to warn you arrived too late. Father told me and Juan about them, after you disappeared. He said they were dangerous relics of unimaginable power, it's a miracle you survived it.

Does the apple still exist or was it destroyed by the priest? The templars searched Firenze for it but could find no sign," "I'm afraid not, I saw some golden object on him but I lost control soon after." It hurts somewhat to lie to your brother like this but you're not sure if he'd be safe with the truth. "Damn, an object like that should not be unaccounted for, look at what the priest did with it, imagine some bandit or the assassins getting it. They'd hunt us down like animals. Maybe that's why the assassin questioned you about Firenze?"

"Perhaps, but for now I think it is out of anyones hands, and that is good enough for me." "True, it could be worse. Let me go write a letter to father, tell him that you live. You take a seat somewhere, I'm certain that father will have some plan for you but for now I'd like to have you as an advisor, if you wish." "An advisor? Brother, I thought I would get the governship back when I returned?" he pauses on his way to the desk and turns back to you, a pained look on his face. "Valentino, you were gone for almost two years. I've held the governship since then, finally getting out of that damned cardinalship. I cant just hand it over now, after the work I've done."

"Fine, fine, well see what we can do. For now lets just get that letter sent to father then deal with that assassin, alright?" he calms somewhat at your words, and continues to his desk, pulling out paper pen and seal. For now you will act as an advisor until the response comes from your father, what will you do in the interim?

You have 300 florins, a discretionary budget from your brother

You have three actions, use them as you will

Please make your vote in plan format

Martial
[] The army you were building was finished under your brother, perhaps you should check on them, see if there's anything that can be done to improve them

[] While your brother has worked on the local gangs and criminal situation there is still work to be done, send a platoon to clear out the remains

[] Write in

Stewardship

[] Your brother hasn't made any trade deals while in power, maybe you could make some?
-[] Who?

[] The current iron mining operations are doing well, but perhaps they could expand?(50 fl)

[] Your brother found blacksmiths while you were away, perhaps they could forge you something?

-[] What?

[] The ruby mines could always be improved, try to do so(75 fl)

[]Many of the districts are still in ruins, occupied by the former exiles, you should repair them so they aren't living in ruins and tents (125 fl)

[] The woods are dense and large, perhaps you could expand the operations (50 fl)

[] The docks are in good repair at least, perhaps you should purchase some ships to help with trade and defense (100 fl)

[] Write in

Diplomacy

[] Your father thinks you should get married/find an alliance, maybe you should look for a bride?

[] Maybe you could look for an alliance, without marriage?

-[] Where?

[] Send a letter to that Shakulu fellow, any enemy of the ottomans is possibly an ally of yours

[] Perhaps you should go meet one of your neighbors directly?

-[] Which one?

[] Send a letter to a different Power, such as Venice, the Ottomans, etc

-[] Who?

[] Your brother has recruited many advisors and agents of his own while you were away, perhaps you should meet them?

[] Write in

Intrigue

[] Perhaps a few assassins of your own could be useful, try to hire Cahir and Caha

[] The Cento Occhi Still serve the Borgia thankfully, you could use them to get some intel that would be useful?

-[]Intel about what?

[] the city still has some gangs, maybe you could get them on your side?

-[] Where?

[] The assassins are still a problem, now more then ever, find information on the one you met, Ezio

[] write in

Learning

[] Seek treatment for whatever the presence is

[] There's a whole new world out there, send one of your squadrons out to map it for somewhere a colony could be made (takes one turn, and is much more likely to succeed with your map, you may choose a location on the eastern American coasts/Bahamas, 500 fl)

-[] Where?

[] Write in

Personal

[] The Apple has unimaginable knowledge, see what you can learn from it

[] Perhaps you can train in use of the Apple, so you could use it safely and perhaps learn more uses of it

[] The assassin said your father was going to use the apple to open some vault, perhaps you could open it instead?

[] Train in use of the Apple, perhaps it has more to it than knowledge and mind control?

[] Send a letter to a family member

-[] To who, and what about?

[] You should learn how to use that dagger Cesare gave you

-[] Or maybe something else?

[] Write in
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Had a migraine while writing this so I may have missed some things