I, Borgia

[Smuggling: Intrigue, 8+20+15=43]

You attempt to send off a few ships to Anatolia to smuggle supplies in to Shakulu, but the ottoman fleet seems to have set up a blockade on the coast. Every ship you've sent was quickly hunted down and taken by the ottomans, their forces killed or captured, and the supplies commandeered. Now, knowing that western lands are trying to smuggle supplies to its enemies, the eastern Mediterranean is swarming with their ships.

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[Secret service: Intrigue, 57+20+17=94]

When you approach Sophia with your idea for a school to train spies and assassins your surprised by how receptive of it she is, and how many questions she asks. Would it be a public or private institution, who would be allowed to join, what would the extent of their training be. You hadn't thought this that far ahead, largely planning to leave it to her, so you do your best to answer the questions confidently so that you can at least appear competent.

Eventually after answering her questions she comes up with an idea, a salon. Basically the modern form of the roman forum, nobles and merchants and anyone of note would come by to talk with those within their class, but that isn't the point. The point is the servants, already trained to go unseen even in crowded areas, leave no trace of their passing, and know all the secrets of your average building, they start with plenty of the skills necessary for the work of a spy.

Of course she would only pull from the best of these servants, wouldn't want to grab someone ill equipped for the work ahead. And obviously she would be taking the role of Matron of this salon, no one would be better suited for either part of this role, according to herself at least. Only issue is making something like this costs money and time to build, you can't just clean out a brothel and call it a salon after all.

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[Edumacation: Learning, 38+20+18=76]

When you give Elena to try and start a school for metallurgy her first goal is to find the ones who taught her, i.e. the older members of the original San Marino forts. She asks them for copies of what they knew so that she wouldn't have to try and remember it all herself, their techniques and the less secret of their secrets. From there she tries to find somewhere that would work as a school building for her teaching, eventually ending up in an abandoned Brothel in the city below. She'll need to actually convert it to something more studious of course, then worry about getting students for this school.

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[Scopes: Learning, 88+35+18=141]

You drag Leonardo away from the half-finished work on his compasses to start working on these mirror tubes of his. He needs to find new buildings to convert into workshops, new artisans to actually build the things, and purchase enough quantities of brass, glass, and the tin to make the mirrors for these tubes. They're honestly pretty expensive tools to make, hopefully they work as Leonardo described.

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[Construction: Stewardship, 96+20=116]

Illarios work continues on the castle, now adding in the walls surrounding the castle, tall and thick to keep out unwanted visitors. Once they are finished work begins on expanding the castle upwards from its first layer, towers placed at its corners to give a wide view of the surrounding lands. Illario plans to hire on Michelangelo to help with the decoration of the castle, painting some of the larger rooms.

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[Repairs: Stewardship, 64+20=84]

The repairs to bologna continue, and the people of bologna continue to be unenthused by Djangos presence. While they haven't done anything yet during his work on their homes or walls, he has noticed groups of them gathered on the edge of his work site, glaring at him and his workers. He's also heard no end of slurs towards himself, calling him a damned gypsy, cursed heretic, the usual. The insults don't hurt him much, he says he's grown used to it, but insults can quickly evolve into action, and so he's hired a few mercenaries to protect himself and his crew.

[144/250]

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Since you can't seem to shake Lupos Obsession with knightly tales and heroics, you decide to promise him the stormstruck blade for when he's old enough. Its still not fully finished, the haft and cross guard were never completed, and the blade itself is undetailed and barely sharpened, but this just means Lupo can customize it as he wants. you grab the blade and begin to head towards Lupos room on the bottom floor. As you approach you begin to hear noise, at first you think it may just be Lupo and Giovanni playing at knights, but the closer you get the less it sounds like play.

You rush towards Lupos room and fling open the door. You find in his room an Assassin, Lupo caught in his grasp, as Giovanni swings a fire poker at the assassin. The window is swung open wide, possibly how the assassin got in. Tears are in Lupos eyes as he struggles against the grasp of the assassin, biting at the arm that holds him. there's a pause as you enter, surprise and annoyance on the unhooded part of the assassins' face.

Valentino [35+11=46]

Giovanni [61+6=67]

Lupo [2+5=7]

Not wasting more then the moment it takes to call for the guards and remove the scabbard you swing the sword down at the Assassins head, hoping that even this dull blade can do enough to kill this man, but he raises up his free arm, catching the blade on his forearm with the clang of metal on metal, vambraces over his robes. Giovanni tries to take advantage of this and swings his firepoker at the exposed side of the assassin, but he just doesn't have the strength enough to cause anything more then ripping up the side of the robe. Lupo continues trying to struggle against the assassins grasp but the assassin refuses to let go.

[80+???=???]

The assassin sends a kick in Giovanni's gut, sending the boy falling towards the fireplace. He then knocks your blade away, leaving you exposed as he extends the assassins blade and takes a stab at your head. You barely have the time to raise your hand, trying to knock away the blade, and instead of your face the blade ends up piercing through your palm and out the back. He rips the blade out, widening the wound, with you crying out in pain. "Father!" you hear Lupo yell out at seeing you hurt, but you hear something else, faint enough it may just be your imagination, the sound of approaching boots.

Val [9+9=18]

Giovanni [55+6=61]

Lupo [17+5=22]

You try to grip the tang with your stabbed hand, but if anything that only makes your grip weaker so you try to swing it once again, this time one handed, at the assassins head, but he simply knocks the blade from your hands before kicking it behind him. Giovanni, rising up from the ground, takes another swing at the killer, but again he just isn't strong enough for the attack to do anything of note. Lupo continues to struggle, flinging himself to either side, either to free himself or unbalance the assassin, but it seems the man is experienced at taking captives.

[62+???=???]

With you unarmed the assassin again goes to stab at you. Thankfully Giovanni's swing manages to throw his aim off, instead of hitting you in the chest or throat, it instead sinks deep into your shoulder. Pain erupts from where you were hit, worsened when he rips the blade out, and you can't help but cry out at the pain. Your arm hangs loosely at your side, muscle cut and too weak to make use of the arm. Thankfully the sound of approaching boots proves not to have been in your head, now closer and louder, and even the assassin hears it.

Val [20+7=27]

Giovanni [59+6=64]

Lupo [79+5=84]

Giovanni steps in front of you, wide and wild swings forcing the assassin to step back. With your good arm you grab a candelabra nearby to arm yourself as you start to join Giovanni in swinging at the assassin, causing him to back up more and more until the sword is right below him. Lupo sees it and struggles against the assassins grasp to reach down and grab the blade. Once he has it in his hand he jabs down through the assassin's boot, sinking the blade into his foot then into the floor. This surprised pain is enough for the assassins' grip to loosen, where Lupo is able to escape his clutches.

[89+???=???]

Lupo then pulls up the sword and attempts to stab it into the assassin, but the assassin swings faster, his blade slicing across Lupos face. Your son falls to the ground screaming in pain as the assassin flees out the window. You rush to Lupos side and kneel next to him, almost falling over from your own weakness, as Giovanni runs out the room. Lupo is covering his face with his hands, blood pouring out from under them, as he's crying in pain, leaving you unable to see his face. You start ripping away part of your shirt to clean up the bleeding as you say "Lupo I need you to put your hands down so I can see what happened, I need you to be brave right now okay?" he slowly starts to remove his hands from his face and you see his wound, a deep cut across his face cutting through his nose.

Tears mix with the blood as you try to clean and stop the bleeding as much as you can as Giovanni returns with two guardsmen. You don't give them time to speak as you start giving out orders. You point to the two guards and say "One of you, start alerting every guard in the city to be on the lookout for an assassin, nobody leaves the city. The other grab as many guards as you can and have them fill this villa, I don't want a single room without a man armed, understood!? Giovanni, I need you to go get doctor Jacopo, he lives five minutes down the southern street, his house has a doctors sign and blue tiles, tell him that the duke and his son need help immediately. Now get going, all of you!"

---

The man hunt in Ravenna turns up nothing, while the doctor soon comes to treat your wounds. He tells you that your lucky, an inch more to the right and the blade would've cut an artery. You are bandaged up and told not to move your arm if possible, and to avoid using your hand until its fully healed, essentially leaving you crippled for the foreseeable future. As for Lupo, the doctor says that the boy will be left with a scar for a long while, but so long as no infection sets in he should survive without any lasting complication. For now his would is stitched closed with a heavy plaster set over it and confined to bed rest for the foreseeable future as it heals. Ruxandra sends letters, wishing she could be there, but the chaos of Wallachia would fall apart if she weren't there. She does promise to come by as soon as possible however.

Wanting to cheer up the boy you have one of the servants collect the unfinished sword and have it cleaned and brought to you. you grab it by the sheath in your good hand and make your way to Lupos new room, the old one having nothing but bad memories left. Inside you find Giovanni and Apollonio sitting next to his bed, Giovanni reading to the both of them. You politely cough to get their attention, and Giovanni is the first to turn to you and speak. "Uncle Valentino! Ae you okay enough to be up and walking right now?" "The doctor told me I should be fine so long as I don't stay up too long. Would the two of you mind giving me and Lupo some privacy? I have something I want to give him." Giovanni gets up and leads Apollonio out of the room, while you take his seat next to Lupos bed.

Your boy seems tired and sad from where you sit, last night heavily affecting him. "You were very brave you know, fighting as you did against that assassin. You certainly did better than I did." There's a uncomfortable pause as he looks out the window. "Why do those men keep attacking us. Giovanni told me that mom had been kidnapped by them, they tried attacking before, and now that man tried to kidnap me. What's wrong with them?" he's nearly crying, his hands curled up into tiny fists, as fear and anger swirl around inside him. He's too young to tell about the templars and assassins, knowing that the entire world is filled with these men would be too much for him, so you decide to change the subject.

"Last night I was coming to your room to promise this sword to you, for when you were ready to learn how to fight, just like those heroes you always talk about. Now it isn't fully finished, but I think that just means its free for you to decide how you want it to look, and more importantly, its name." This does distract him for the moment, his eyes filling with wonder at the sword as he seems to ponder its name. After a minute he finally seems to come to a decision. "Chrysaor, the sword of sir Artegall, knight of the faerie queen!" "Faerie queen huh? Must be quite important if it belonged to a knight in her service." You say, and he starts to go on and on about the faerie queen and all the knights in her service, and your all too happy to listen if it puts his mind at rest.

Lupo has obtained Chrysaor. Also more assassin trauma.

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[Training: Martial, 26+18=42]

Asts puts training on hold after the attack, instead having his soldiers comb the countryside. Those not out searching are sent along the border, not allowing anyone to leave your lands in the hopes of catching the assassin. Sadly search as they might they cant seem to find any trace of the would be kidnapper.

[Training: Martial, 64+20=84]

Similarly Guillaume and his knights search the seas for any ships that may belong to the assassin. He tells you that while they may love their secrecy, all signs of subtlety are tossed aside for their ships. They would often have at least the assassins crest painted on the prow somewhere or as an element of their flag, at most they would have it painted onto the ships sails, a waste of paint he tells you. Sadly they also find no sign of the Assassin despite their search.

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[Treasure hunting: Learning, 9+20=29]

You begin to worry for professor Belotti. Its been months since his last letter, and things are becoming more and more chaotic in the ottoman empire. It takes a while for the Byzantines to respond when you ask them where he is, and their answer certainly doesn't help. While he and the Byzantine expedition were searching below the galatea tower they were attacked, likely by the assassins though the ottomans janissaries are also a possibility. the bodies were left behind, and most of the crew was accounted for, the exception being your professor. They couldn't find him among the battlefield, leaving a few possibilities as to what happened. Either he was further in the crypts when this happened and managed to avoid their attack, he fled and is now on the run, or they've captured him and are possibly using him to help in their own search. None of these options are great of course, meaning you will need to send someone to find him.

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[Spying: Intrigue, 96+20+10=126]

The next time Arnao reports to you it is face to face, as he and the cento occhi quickly left Roma due to some of the information he has to share. "As you know Duke Borgia the pope has fallen ill and confined himself to the Vatican. What you did not know is that he's searching for something while there. I believe you already know about it as your brother had mentioned something similar in the past, a vault hidden underneath the Sistine chapel. What's in there I don't know, but Senor Borgia made quite a big deal about it, which means it can't be good for the pope to get in. While most of the construction he's been funding has gone towards building a new basilica, he's also had some of them trying to tunnel underneath the chapel to breach into it.

Furthermore, your brother has decided to march on Roma while the pope is stuck there. He marches his entire army, leaving the barest of garrisons in Napoli, in the hopes of crushing the pope, the source of the 'Holiness' of your league. I hope you do not begrudge my nor the thieves' decision to leave the city before this assault begins."

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[War: Martial, 40+14=54]

While Kostas army was occupying Modena it would seem your brother in law decided to act on his threats immediately, marching his army to Modena and placing the city under siege. They fire cannons into the city constantly, seemingly uncaring for the city that was once theirs, in this pursuit of crippling your army. Kostas hasn't been able to get a message to you, but his forces seem to be dealing with the Ferrarese forces as well as they can, returning cannon fire and repelling attempts at breaching the walls.

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It would seem the colony on the eastern coast of the northern new world hasn't fared well, as when the N.W.C. sent a ship to send supplies they found nothing but a destroyed settlement. Whether by foul weather, failed crops, or dangerous locals, it can't be said. All that you know is that this colony has failed.

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Sultan Bayezid the 2nd​ of the ottoman empire is dead, all hail the new Sultan. That is, if you can decide which of his two sons should rule. Prince Ahmet and Selim have each claimed the throne, and now battle between themselves while also trying to put down the Shakulu rebellions. Ahmet, considered the more reasonable of the two and the more loved son, has been assaulted by and attempted assassination from one of the Janissaries, leaving him scarred and withdrawn from public life for his own security. Selim, while ill loved by much of the nobility, is loved by the soldiers and generals, and is quickly taking land by force while ruling out of a city in central Anatolia called Angora.

But the fun doesn't end there, as with the sultans death pro byzantine and pro-independence rebellions have erupted throughout the Greek lands, led largely by Maria Palaiologos with a handful of other leaders among them. These many wars have turned the empire to a bit of chaos, with far too many events happening for either would be sultan to properly deal with. Currently the Greek rebellions are in a loose alliance with the pro shia shakulu rebllions against the forces of the two sultans, while each of them are also fighting each other.

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you have 1445 florins, a rebuilt elite army, 3 regular armys, a group of bodyguards, a fleet, and enough ships for trade

You have six actions, use them as you will

You may take up to two extra actions but each will subtract 10 from your rolls as you stretch yourself

Please make your vote in plan format

You have the sixth sense bonus and may have an advisor aid you or do a task on their own

Martial
[] The simplest way to expand is to take the land by force, send an army to try and conquer somewhere

-[] Where?

-[] What is your Casus Belli?

[] Have one of your armies train and try to improve

-[] which one?

[] Perhaps you could give the legionary eagle to one of your armies, it could do great things for morale

[] Spend some time to form another fleet of ships and train a crew to man them to protect or attack any naval foes

[] As Romagna expands you may need another army to defend it, start building one.

[] Perhaps you should look into mercenaries you could hire

[] Hire one of the mercenary groups you know of (300fl)

-[]Which one

[] With your current independence you may want to improve your defenses, send some men out to improve the forts

-[] north or south?

[] Write in

Stewardship

[] Give one of your stewards the funds to pursue their own projects


[]You can always make more trade deals(you will need more ships for oversea trade)
-[] 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)

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

[] you could encourage immigration somewhere

-[] where?

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

[] There's a whole new world out there, fund the company to form a new colony (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

Diplomacy

[] Add new laws for the N.W.C. to follow in their colonization efforts
[] Try to find someone within the church you could push into becoming antipope?

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

-[] Where?
[] The templars need new blood, maybe there's someone you could recruit?

-[] who?

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

-[] Which one?

[] You know where Ezio lives, perhaps you should send him a friendly letter

-[] About what?

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

-[] Who?

[] Write in

Intrigue

[] You now have two assassins, give them a target(50fl-200fl depending on the danger/Importance of the target)

[] You now have your own groups of thieves and spies, now what to use them for?

-[] Write in

[] Start spying in foreign land, blackmail or opportunities won't find themselves

[] write in

Learning

[] Give your engineer resources and let them design what they please, perhaps making something of use (50fl)

[] Continue experimenting with the volley cannon, perhaps some new inspiration will strike?

[] Start experimenting with the steam engine

[] try to find this prophecy chamber from Brutus journal

[] search for more pieces of Eden

[] 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

[] It seems you have yet another old god, this time in the shroud, maybe talk to it and ask questions?

-[] What questions?

[] 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?

[] Try to befriend people in your court

-[] Who?

[] 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

[] Try to train a stat

-[] Which one?
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This update was cursed for me