The Rumor Mill 4:
Macheveli:
D100 => 1
"Is he here?" He looked to one of his apprentices, his biographer as he wrote. The Priest was trying to give him last rites, but Macheveli did not care for theatrics or pleasantries of religion, at least from a man who was not a friend.
"Please, he will not be here! I ask you to take the rites, save your soul from damnation." The Priest begged, but Macheveli only waved him away. "So you may see him when you greet him in heaven."
"Hell awaits me, for what I have done, and I do not believe anything on earth can help me. But Heaven awaits Him, for his goodness." He said.
He looked to his biographer. "Write this down quickly, before I leave this mortal coil. I want to make sure he gets all of it."
Hours passed, even days… but Macheveli knew it was important. Nay, revolutionary.
He then coughed… knowing it was the end. "Did I play the part well Luciano?" He whispered, and the scrawling stopped. "My son?"
"I think you have." His apprentice said quietly. Dammit, he wished his son was here. To not let him be alone with a man, who was never going to be his equal.
Octavian… Augustus destroyed the Republic. Destroyed a dream that he himself gave up on for a United Italy.
But Macheveli admitted one thing. Augustus had a fine choice of final words.
"Time to applaud for my exit." He said. Whether it be heaven or hell, it would not matter.
He would dream of a better world in his final moments. Better than Heaven promised, or maybe, he would be there.
And he closed his eyes and embraced eternity.
Reward: Nicciolo Macheveli is dead. His legacy is touted, and legendary. A single man, who through will and fortune, unified Italy.
Legacy Score: 500,000: Widely considered the master of politics, a man who could prosper in any era. You are a titan that all political men and women will aspire to be. And above all else, you leave behind a nation that will now struggle to outlive you.
But you have faith, even in your final days… That Italy will survive without you.
New Action available.
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Isabella of Austria:
D100 => 68
As she looked to her son, she held him tight and allowed herself to nurse him. And it was something she did not expect. Expecting something that she never felt in her short life.
She felt truly afraid that she needed to be better not for her husband or her father. But for her son.
Because holding him in her arms, she did not see anything, no ambition, no secrets. Not a single thing that she had known her entire life.
And he was her's. Not to mold, to turn into anything…
But to love.
Reward: Isabella has realized something, that has only been gnawing at the back of her mind. She wants to love her son. To support him in whatever he desires. And she will do everything she can to do that.
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Rome: 94+5=99+
D100 + 5 => 88
Rome rallies not to the Pope for spiritual guidance. Because there is a need for His word and the words of the Popes.
But now is not the time for anything. This is a time for when ITaly will be forged again. This time forever.
Perhaps it may be lost.
But they learned one thing from the great inventor who was their king.
"Better to be together in progress, than masters of nothing."
Reward: Rome begins to do more than inhale a new breath.
New Action available.
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Florence:
D100 => 85
Milan:
D100 => 37
Meanwhile, in Florence, the Opportunity to make money off of war is sniffed, and Italian Bankers rush to every corner of Europe, hedging their bets and making deals with anyone they think can turn them a profit.
Though it seems that even with a central bank, some rouge bankers, from Milan, have invested money into France, to give the Emperor more money to field troops, and buy weapons… though not Italian ones, given the Troops at the border.
But even though, there is an opportunity that any man would be insane not to take.
Reward: Florence begins to invest heavily in all sides of the war, to make a killing on who might be the victor. Even keeping a large sum ready to lend to the Kingdom of Italy.
Meanwhile, French bankers in Milan begin lending illegal sums of money to the French… traitors. But they fled with much of their assets back to France. Somehow.
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Venice:
D100 => 50
The sisters of the academy begin to beat the sounds and drums of war.
Classes are expanded. Sailors are trained in small maneuvers. Captains, big and small, merchant or navy men, are given orders from the Doge.
War is coming, and we will win it.
Reward: Venice prepares. For War, so that it may live in peace.
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Naples:
D100 => 79
The riots were put down with pike and shot. Cannon and bluster.
They could feed the mouths of the hungry, the ill, and the poor if there was order.
Order was restored… though there are quite a few fewer mouths to feed.
And even great Duke Cosmo knows that to be harsh invites rebellion. So he does his patriotic duty to the state.
He gives many rioters, the men at least a choice.
The Mines, or the Army.
Most choose the Army.
Reward: Naples's food situation is sorted, though with a heavy-handed approach that is unpopular, and some say, illegal.
And Duke Cosmo has indeed done his duty to fill out the ranks of the Army. "They are the scum of the earth." He says.
"But they are our scum."
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Sicily:
D100 => 56
All they see is profits from sulfur and saltpeter. Guns and gunpowder.
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Greece:
D100 => 86
The Knights of Rhodes, and many of the men who are now… substantially part of the Italian Army, have formed their own battalions and regiments, to fight beside, but not part, of this Italian struggle.
They hold no love for the King, at least fully, as many others do.
But they have hatred for the Heathan and the Heretic.
Fighting with Italians will do.
Reward: Seasoned Knights join the Italian Army, and prepare to defend Italy. Though not part of the chain of command. Something that irks many of the officers of the Army.
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The Army:
D100 => 92+5+
D100 => 76+5
The army made progress on their fortifications, and are making quite some good time. It's enough for now. Even as the French watch their every move, and look for any weaknesses.
Because that is their life now. They are the first, and some would say, the last line of defense for Italy.
Reward: The Fortifications will be finished one turn ahead of schedule (next turn)
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The Navy:
D100 => 1+5+5=11
Corsairs. Pirates.
French. That were some of the few words that managed to reach the admiralty, or the academies from couriers and commanders.
They were pirates, privateers hired by the French, giving them a blanket to hide their involvement.
But the fleet is scattered and disorganized.
But the command was never broken. There is a plan. Many plans are in place for this scenario.
They have orders. Training. Time… And above all else, purpose.
The French made a mistake. And by God, they would reap the whirlwind of their misfortune.
The sea would run red with blood.
Reward: The Italian Navy was scattered, and spread out all through Italy.
But they are about to come in for round two.