[Tracking: Intrigue, 10+20+10+20+17=77]
Arnao's investigation into the assassins hits quite a few snags along the way. Search as he and the cento occhi might the assassins left little signs of their time here, and little to look in to. He asks you to describe the assassin that broke into the villa, and you didn't exactly commit the mans details to memory, though one thing does catch his attention. "So the assassin only had a hidden blade? No sword at his side, Dagger, nothing?" "If he had one I didn't see it and he didn't use it against us, is that important or something?" Arnao pulls out a small book from one of his pouches and begins to flip through it while saying "It is unlikely that most Branches of their creed would go unarmed unless they were a very traditional branch, and the English are anything but traditional.
Now there are a few possibilities, either he merely didn't pull out a weapon or lost it, but I don't think it was the English. If this is a more traditional branch like it sounds it could be either the French or Spanish brotherhoods, though id lean towards the French. They are slavishly devoted to the old ways od their creed, and far more cultlike. They rely almost entirely upon the hidden blade, giving out a dagger and sword only to their higher-ranking members. They may have sent their junior members after you either due to allegiance to the French king, simply because you are a templar and they thought you and your family vulnerable, or some other reason or a mixture of them. It would also explain why we didn't find any signs of an English ship they may have come by.
You trade with Provence, yes?" the question surprises you a moment before you respond "I inherited trade with Provence when we annexed Pisa, what about it?" "That is likely how they arrived, if I may have your permission to look at the logs of Pisa's harbor me and the eyes may catch a lead we could then follow on." You want them found, at least to hopefully cover up that you had the artifacts, so you give a nod. "Permission granted, and from there you may hunt them further at your discretion so long as anything unsavory cant be tracked down to me. You may also want to speak with the templars in savoy, they may know more about their French neighbors, ill send a letter so they'll know you might come by." With a nod and a salute from the crow he leaves the room, off to find the crows and give out commands.
---
[Repairs: stewardship, 33+15=48]
You allow Django to retreat from bologna while a few workers are given the basic description of what needs to be finished. Shortly enough, the city, while still bearing scars if you know where to look, is back to its original shape. The citizens are no longer living in buildings with holes in the roof nor walls cracked and falling. The city walls, likewise, are in good shape, should any army come to attack they won't immediately fall. The citizens are still surly and strange however, possibly the only reason they haven't revolted being that you've sent an army at their rival of Modena.
---
[???: Stewardship, 35+20=55]
Its some time before you next hear from Django. Apparently he's been racking his brain on what he'd actually want to build, and while he had many ideas, a good number were either unpractical or would cause another attempt by the zealous to try and murder him. Eventually he came across an idea with the help of the acting troupe that Georgios helps with. The plaza that they've been operating out of recently has been closed off due to some merchants or nobles desire to build a new villa, and they've been looking for a new place to work out of, and as steward and a friend of Kostas he could give them some tips. Sadly no tips were to be had, but there was inspiration, as Django decided to build a theater in the old Greek style.
Well, mostly In the old Greek style. While that certainly works for what they needed, it was outdoors, and a simple stone platform with seats around it, while possible, would be incredibly boring, so instead he plans on building a grand building for theatre and other artistic display with the wonderful inclusion of a roof, truly an architectural genius of our time. This does however cause issues for lighting, and so with the aid of the actors he devises large windows above the stage and throughout the building to allow in as much light as possible centered on the stage. Failing a sunny day there's also plenty of scones and candelabras and a grand chandelier in the main chamber to provide lighting. Hopefully the building will be done within a few years but obviously that's only if everything goes well.
---
[Loans: Diplomacy,68+20=88]
While it may not have been the English assassins who attacked your home this time, it doesn't mean they won't try again in the future, and it wouldn't hurt to support the young king in his current financial troubles against your mutual enemy in the French either. A legal writ promising him the funds to be acquired via the bank of Medici, sadly you don't have one of your own banks in England yet, for a total of 700 florins, equal to quite a bit more in their shillings. There is to be no interest charged on this loan, only the promise that he should not aid the assassin, and where possible harm them as he would the French with just a touch more discretion. This part of the deal obviously isn't part of the information given to the bank but rather sent shortly ahead of the coin to henry directly.
A response is received shortly after from the young king.
"Dear Duke Borgia-Romana of Romagna,
My thanks for your offer of coin, it is one I will gladly accept, though I fear matters with these assassins may prove tricky. I vaguely know of those you speak of, my father mentioned them few times in passing in-between the time of my brothers death and his, so my knowledge as to how to recognize or have them hunted is limited. I do still plan to honor the conditions of your loan however I can, but it may take time for me to begin. I do hope you understand.
May we fight together on the field against the French, King Henry of England and lord of Ireland."
---
[Alliances: Diplomacy, 45+20+20+10(Charles and Juan vouching for you)-40(vast difference in strength)=55]
You decide to try suggesting an alliance with Emperor Maximillian. Machiavelli tells you that it is a poor plan, men of that strength don't seek allies of your rank but subjects, but it can't hurt to try. A few weeks, however a very blunt response comes your way. "To the Count of Romagna,
While your offer of alliance is recognized and appreciated, the emperor does not wish to be tied by alliance to such a lower power. You may request admittance to The holy roman empire as one of its very many territories and this request would then be debated amongst the electorates and lords of the empire. May your days be ones blessed by the Lord.
Signed, Imperial steward Balthasar Magne."
Machiavelli Asks you for the letter without telling you why, and seeing no reason not to you oblige. You immediately regret this decision as he has it framed in his house labelled "The hubris of Borgia".
---
[Treasure hunting: Learning, 52+18=70]
Searching for new pieces of Eden goes about as well as you'd expect. These items have been hunted, horded, and coveted for millennia, perhaps since the dawn of man, so it wont be an easy thing. You search though ancient records, find many allusions to things which may have been pieces of Eden, Miracles of god, or mere exaggeration for a better story. Looking towards the ancient gods, as apparently, they existed in some manner if consus spoke the truth, perhaps Zeus's lighting bolt was a staff of Eden such as the one that Juan took from the papal palace, or maybe you might find some lead further east searching for whatever it was that Nergal had hid though your uncertain if you even wish to travel to the east again. Egypt may also hold some artifacts but you'd need to get around the mamluks for that. You would need quite a bit more time and more sources of information to find a good lead on something tangible.
---
During all the various tasks that you've busied yourself with, you make sure to set some time aside for your sons and nephew. The two older boys seem to have taken the assassins attacks to heart, growing somewhat paranoid and alert at every noise in the dark, though you manage to get the two to distract themselves from it for some time.
Lupo, you allow him to indulge more into his stories, that or pester Guillaume who is all too happy to tell tales of knightly valor, and he tries to mold himself into the righteous and just knight he wishes to be, all the while keeping his "Chrysaor", a Schiavona according to Lupo and Guillaume, close at hand despite the request to not train with it until the next year.
Giovanni likewise spends his time deep into stories, though instead of ones of knights and heroics they are instead of the ancient past. You ask him about it and he tells you he simply feels drawn to it, finding these old legends help him focus his mind. He and Lupo often find themselves challenging each other to games or competitions, a competitive spirit developing between the two.
As for Apollonio he seems to have been unchanged by the assassins' attack, though you suppose that makes sense since he wasn't targeted by them nor near the attack. He spends his time exploring every nook and cranny of Ravenna, often with a small following of grooms to keep him from harm, doubled since the attack, and often without as the little monster seems to love sneaking away and giving people a fright. You can only hope that he will grow out of it by the next year for when his learning begins, otherwise he may just escape his tutors and their lessons.
Overall, they seem to do be doing well after the attack, that or they've mastered the ability of every child to lie to their parents. You do your best to make sure they feel safe and protected here, and hopefully one day they won't need your protection, but even now you imagine that won't stop your worry.
+1 relationship with the boys, Apollonio has gained +5 intrigue, +5 learning
---
[Edumacation: Learning, 14+20=34]
Elenas metallurgy school continues to flounder, seemingly dead before it even arrived. The clearing of the collapsed mines has left her with little opportunity to even think about the school, as rubble is cleared away and sifted through for the greater part of the year. She requests the support needed to help with the repairs, either manpower or cash.
---
[Rescue: Intrigue, 65+20=85]
Sophia has managed to finally track down professor Belotti with the aid of a byzantine templar by the name of Leandros to the fortress of Masyaf. An ancient assassin fortress since before the crusades, it once housed the leaders of the assassins in the holy lands, it fell into the hands of the Mongols long ago, and since then has been largely abandoned save for the villagers in the surrounding mountains. The assassins of this age managed to track down the last of their keys, located beneath a bookstore. Leandros had led the templars expeditions here throughout the past two years but had been chased away by the assassins, his men giving their lives to ensure his escape.
Now its once again infested by assassins, and sadly one professor from Pisa. Leandros split away from Sophia, his goal here being the reclaiming of at least one key so as to deny the assassins entry to the vault, and he has no interest in the professors survival, leaving it all on Sophia. The break in to the fortress is not a clean nor easy thing according to her, but she manages it somehow, and finds Vivaldo in a tent in this main chamber and library of the fort. With this place guarded as it is it proves challenging to free the man, but she has an idea. Age and weather have taken its toll, and much of the place is falling apart. One statue along the crown of the fort pushed to the ground below and it had results better then expected. It fell to the earth and punched a hole into some lower part of the fortress. The assassins jumped at the event, and though it put them on alert it distracted them long enough to free the old man.
Sophia dressed herself in an assassins robes and used the combination of disguise and distraction to sneak the old man out "on the orders of the master assassin". It took some time to escape the town, haggling for a horse for herself and the professor to escape on, as well as many days travel to reach a port willing to risk the pirate and warring ships to hop along the coast back to Italy, coin she tells you you owe her, but the professor is back if worse for the experience. While the assassins treated him well he was still a prisoner and they made sure he knew it. He kindly requests some time off, and in exchange he brought some tomes with him from the assassins fortress, just what he managed to have on him at the time of his rescue. As for Leandros, Sophia doesn't really care what happened to him, she had a dislike of the man.
---
[War: Martial, 49+15+18=82]
Though it takes more time then Ast would have liked the Ferrarese army is finally chased off from their siege, freeing up the Army of Ravenna. It wasn't some great battle or impressive feat of cunning, but the mere lack of supplies and support. Apparently they were expecting for the army of Gaston de Foix, the kings nephew, to come and help them, but an unfortunate accident took the life of the young general, ending a quite impressive record for the few months he led any army. In a cavalry charge against the city of Turin in savoy, an attempt to open a path for the French to send in more forces, his horse stumbled, leading him to fall from his saddle, leaving the boy underfoot his own cavalry charge. Needless to say the king was furious at this. Their misfortune is to your gain however.
Army of ravenna freed.
---
[Construction: Stewardship, 43+20=63]
Yet more snags are hit by the construction crew, as more and more snow seems to want to stick to the lands where the castle is being built. Shovels are turned from moving dirt to snow as they find themselves facing one of the few enemies mankind is yet to beat, weather. The fourth and final floor of the building Is finished however, leaving the interior to be finished along with a few towers to keep an eye on the horizon.
[426/500]
---
[Compass: Learning, 29+35=64]
It isn't a pleasant last few months of testing the compass for Leonardo, as he travels aboard a ship of the N.W.C. to test the compass further in non ideal circumstances. These tests do work out however as when he comes back he tells you it is fully ready for actual use and production, as well as that he hopes to not set sail on the ocean ever again.
---
Speaking of the N.W.C. news has come from the colony ship to the American coast, and it isn't good. Once again nothing but a half built settlement is left standing, with not a sign of bodies, warm or cold, anywhere to be found. Even members of the company are starting to believe the claims that the land there is cursed and in need of an exorcism.
---
The sack of Rome is over. Cesare, after months of a never ending barrage upon the city, has marched his men inside, fighting off the few guard still willing to fight, and marching right into the apostolic palace. Now stories from here vary depending on who does the telling. Cesare claims that when he marched in and demanded to be led to the pope he found the man dead in his bed, either by illness or taking his own life. Others however claim that he marched in with a sword and plunged it into the popes heart.
This is a horrible turn of events, for multiple reasons. One, it's a horrible blow to the morale of the holy league and has left the papal army unsure of what to do with their leader dead. Two, the Borgia name is now even further reviled then before. A pope hasn't been killed in half a millennia, and it doesn't matter if your brother didn't actually do it, the stories are already spreading, claims that Cesare is a demon that took human form, that Juan is satanist and practitioner of witchcraft, that you are the spawn of lucifer himself and adopted into the one family evil enough to be worthy of it, and all these tails spreading from the French.
For now Cesare holds his army in the old city, or what's left of it, either settling in to occupy the city, or perhaps he has some other reason. More Spanish armies start to pour in to Naples, seemingly going for complete control of the peninsula.
---
You hear a knocking at your door one evening, not recalling if you had any visitors scheduled. After the last few unexpected visits you make sure to keep a pistol in your good hand when you open the door, though that proves unnecessary when you find an aged dutchman in a rectors clothing at your door. "Good evening sir Borgia, My apologies for the tardiness in arriving but with a war in the way I believed it safer to travel carefully." "Sir Boeyens? I should be the one to apologize. I had forgotten that you were coming, I would have better prepared my home for a guest if I had remembered." "There is no need, I should have sent a letter telling of my arrival but things have been quite busy on my journey. You may still get your opportunity to clean up however. I've just come by to let you know I've arrived sooner rather then later. For now I'm staying with that fool Belotti, the trouble he's gotten himself into just during the time it took me to get here. I'm more then willing to talk papal matters whenever you wish, and now seems to be quite the time what with Good pope Julius' fate. The man always expected to die by the sword, though I imagine he would've rather it have been in the holy land facing off some heathen brute. Anyway I don't wish to take up any more uninvited time, ill be off now just send a messenger when you have the time, now have a good night."
---
you have 735 florins, an elite army, 3 regular armys, 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
[] 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?
