Italian Quest: A Mercenary Boot

"Get the wagon replaced, as soon as possible." You toss a coin purse to Johannes, who catches it with both hands.

"Yessir!"
--
You've trained your dancing skills for 6 hours a day for the past 10 days, and you thank Christ for your foresight of hiring a tutor. A passable dance is the best you can do, and that's after your tutor put his considerable pedagogic talent to bear on the problem.

Overall, it's not a bad job, you don't feel like an expert at the end of your training session, but you can get through the dances without stepping on your partner even if you're hardly going to win any competitions.

Eventually the day of the ball comes, and you arrive at the palace in your party getup. The silver bird mask attached to your wide-brimmed, white hat feels cold on your skin, and even your thick blue coat can't quite keep the chilly winter night out. Soon enough, you reach the front gate, presenting your invitation letter to the guards alongside a man in yellow and black wearing a lion mask.

The ballroom itself is massive, not to mention ornately decorated with precious metals, gemstones, and silk in all colours. Prominently displayed is the diagonal stripes of azure and gold belonging to da Montefeltro, as well as the Papal Regalia, with its gold, silver, white, and red. This is the kind of fortune one only sees in families that have owned land for a long time, and you are hard pressed not to stare openly at some of the finery.

Not much time passes before music starts playing, and the singing and dancing begins. The partying itself melds together a little, and after a few cups of wine, the order of events begins to blur, but you remember things eventually moving out to the courtyard and the streets outside of it, with colourful carts stocked with the earliest blooms of the year and ridiculous songs, making fun of you and yours, merchants and traders, and even the Duke himself. At one point, the stage is taken by a choir boy dressed in a farcical Papal outfit, who dubs another choir boy "the saint of gamblers and drunkards" to the roaring laughter of their audience.

After the first round of partying has died down, and after a nap of a few hours in one of the palace's guest rooms, you meet with Maximilian, da Montefeltro, and his wife, a tall woman introduced as Elisabetta Gonzaga. She is surprisingly sharp and, although she looks tired, she is more than able to keep up with your conversation about the merits of the terrain around Urbino, and makes several suggestions about how and where the Foglia river might be crossed.

It makes for an interesting conversation, and after several back and forths, you retreat into the duke's office to make use of the map. The four of you reach a conclusion about the best way to discover any scouts Borgia might send out. Elisabetta in particular seems to know the smaller crossings well, and she informs Maximilian when he asks that it is because of her frequent hunting expeditions near Montecalvo.

Eventually, the drinking and the entertainment must end, and you head back to your quarters with a note of instructions and some hastily drawn maps for Johannes. Your second-in-command takes your fairly drunken appearance with good grace, and merely nods at the written orders.

[+1 Relation with Urbino]




At the end of the fortnight, Ludwig reports that he has recruited 50 soldiers to his company, bringing him up to 450 total. (-18 Coins)

[X] Resupply (Gain 978 Coin)
-[X] Arms
-[X] Food (-30% cost)
-[X] Support
[X] Write-in

The coin sums listed in parenthesis are not included in the table's calculations.

Notice a spelling or grammar issue? Let me know, and I'll edit.

I have also rolled for the scouts, which will be part of the next update.

You are Johannes, Second in Command of I Galli Rossi, and you are embarking on a mission. You and your men set out early in the morning on the 4th of March, with the Duke's light cavalry. The Montefeltro men are heading to the bridge at San Donato to intercept any scouts there, while you and your soldiers, a mixed group of pikes and crossbows, make their way across the river at Montecalvo.

At just after noon, you receive a report: Borgia scouts have been spotted marching down the main road towards the bridge. An ambush is prepared behind a hillside near the bridge, but as soon as you sound the attack, a yell sounds from the column. The Borgia troops rush to form up as the Roosters charge down the hillside and onto the road.

Borgia's men do an admirable job at getting into formation, and by the time your quick-march down the slope reaches the enemy, they have their pikes lined up and ready. It creates a strange situation where the pikes on both sides are trying to open gaps in the enemy hedge. The thwup of crossbows firing, followed by clangs and screams in both hedges sends your adrenaline spiking, and you feel almost disappointed as you see the Borgia pike hedge slowly move its way back, away from your formation.

If they can drag the fight on for long enough, Borgia's heavy cavalry could show up and annihilate your entire scout group, and you realise you have no time to waste. You make a split second decision, "Charge!", and suddenly, the halberdiers and pikemen at the front of your formation are pushing their way forward. Another crossbow salvo is fired, but you are not sure what, if anything, is hit as the air is now riddled with curses, clangs and yells.

You are not sure exactly how much time passes before it happens, but in short order the Borgia pike hedge trips and falls over itself in its attempt to back up, and a dozen men swinging two-handed weapons are in the middle of their formation in an instant. They scatter, fleeing every which way, and you motion with your sword. "Hunt them down! Attack!"

What follows is the bloody work of war, and by the end of it all, you've captured or killed a hundred men with only a handful of seriously injured of your own. It's a glorious victory.

--

Author's Note:
Sorry guys, RL's been kicking my ass. We're gonna be on a slow mode for a bit - I hope to have gotten into a better headspace by the time I push out next update, but it would be unfair to leave you without the results of the current vote.

Rolls:
You scouted successfully, prepared an ambush but failed to execute properly. Luckily, Johannes was quick on his feet and managed to beat back the enemy counter attack. The enemy then attempted to retreat, but failed their roll and you beat the snot out of them.