The Return of the Welfs

Revan86 said:

One wonders what poor Sieghard would have to be stressed about... [looks at his family] Holy--! Seven brothers and sisters? Well, I commend the good Catholic parents he has on their fecundity, but yeah, that stress seems to be completely understandable now. I did kind of get a grin out of seeing the Kaiser first appeal to his nobles' honour, and then to their greed, before Sieghard stepped in to save the day, as it were.

Anyway, sorry about the tourney, dude, but if my experience playing as the Big Grey Blob is any indication, really you just need to kind of roll over in order to crush the rebels in Hungary. A simple walk around the Balaton, as it were!

One really minor thing, though - 'endanger' is a verb, like 'endangering her life'; 'in danger' or 'endangered' should be used there. But your writing is otherwise of very high quality, and I'm looking forward to seeing how you handle the rebel scum!

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Yeah 'endanger', looked wrong when I put it in, I was thinking in danger but typed in endanger instead, lol. Will edit it in a second. But yeah the rebels in Hungary will be an easy fight, but a few things to get to before that and I actually only raised around 9k of the imperial levies. Figured raising all of them as a newly crowned emperor may be a tad bit risky.

And yeah Sieghard has a crap-ton of siblings! Guess that is a good reason to be stressed probably doesn't help that he's a German ruling over Calabria, think that's a Sicilian duchy, I'm sure the populace down there isn't very welcoming towards him lol But with those diplomacy stats I hope he lasts a while, he could prove useful, if not I think I'll have to go with the slow glutton of Cassio d'Este as Chancellor.

DC123456789 said:

Hmm... so duke or king... I'm guessing king. Did they manage to regain the throne of France?

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We will get to that when the time comes. Patience DC At the current point in the game I was actually under the impression that the Karlings were extinct, but I was proven wrong in the 13th century, so we will hear about them sometime in the 1200s so it'll be a while. But we will just say they rule over more territory than they originally had.

Chapter XLI - 1165 - Part 7: Another Attack

Chapter XLI - 1165​

Slowly over the summer of 1165 the Imperial levies would answer their call to arms to march into Hungary to put down the rebel lords of whom were trying depose the Kaiser's wife. Welf however had decided against calling forth the entire might of the Holy Roman Empire, electing instead to leave some of the more powerful lords with their levies intact in case of a rebellion or worse a country thinking this as an opportune time to strike. All in all roughly 9,000 men would soon be camped outside the walls of Munchen eagerly awaiting the march to war and spoils, dreaming of making a name for themselves upon the battlefields of Hungary.

Captains were appointed to various regiments and one such Captain was the young Duke of Brandenburg Ruprecht Udonen. He was a bit weak, a skinny lad, but was diligent and had the kind of discipline that a leader of men needed on the battlefield. He also was tactically intelligent, and was a good Captain to serve under the auspices of the General and Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire Mayor Udo of Dachau.

While he was out and about on his daily business of ensuring his men were armored and running drills to prepare them for battle, that Jourdain ran into him. "Dwarf," the Duke of Brandenburg greeted a little annoyed that such a small man was out on the fields of men, and a little suspicious of the former Spymaster of the von Rheinfelden's.

"Your grace," Jourdain bowed in greeting, "How comes your efforts to arm the men of the Kaiser's war machine?"

"Good," the skinny Duke grunted looking away from little Jourdain.

"Seems to be going well," Jourdain said looking at the men sparring with practice blades, and some wrestling, while others tended to horses and shining armor. "Have you heard the news?"

"What news?" Ruprecht asked not really caring.

"The Doge's of Genoa and Capua have sent much gold to our glorious Welf to help in our war," Jourdain mused turning his attention to the frail looking Captain. He knew his statement to not be entirely true. The rival Doge's had actually sent the money to get in Welf's good graces and to hopefully talk him into embargoing the other Republic at some future date. Nevertheless, the gold would be used to line the pockets of the lords and levies to march into Hungary.

Again Ruprecht merely grunted, obviously not caring at all. The man was rather simple, only caring about men and tactics and warfare. Jourdain was a little disappointed, he had hoped with the influx of new arrivals outside the city that he could finally find some men that shared his feelings, finally someone to speak too. And perhaps a place to hide and escape Munchen once and for all.

"Have you by any chance seen Mayor Nikolaus?" Jourdain asked, no longer knowing of anything else to say and still wanting to solve the mystery of the new Spymaster's disappearances late at night.

"No," Ruprecht answered matter-of-factly, and then sighed, obviously relenting and giving in to some conversation. "He is probably out and about on his Imperial Majesty's business, little man. Something you should be doing as we men have jobs to do you know."

"Yes, yes indeed. And some of us men, are sadly held hostage for reasons unknown to us," Jourdain shot back sarcastically as horns began to sound in the distance.

Ruprecht stood straighter at the sound, looking a bit confused an unsure, as his hand naturally fell to the pommel of his sword. The men in the field stopped what their exercises almost in mid-swing, one unlucky soldier even caught a blow to his head as he failed to parry due to the horns that were now blaring from all directions of the practice field.

Then, men began to run, here and there, much to frantically for Jourdain to even register what was occurring. Could it be that the Hungarian rebels under the lead of Duke Lothar of Transylvania had decided instead of marching on Queen Terezia that they would march upon Munchen and the Kaiser instead? Such a nonsense thought, but that's the only answer he could imagine.

Bells atop the walls then began to sound in a battle to drown out the horns. Men clad in armor now rushed around heading out in one direction in such a mess one could not have even begun to imagine that they had been trained to march in a disciplined formation.

All the while Jourdain and Duke Ruprecht of Brandenburg stood there puzzled trying to figure out what on earth was happening when in the distance some riders and a carriage bearing the Imperial crest could be seen racing towards the gate.

It was then that a shadow loomed over the former Spymaster, and out of the corner of Jourdain's eye he realized Ruprecht had drawn his sword, but a few seconds later more shadows towered over the dwarf.

"Jourdain d'Aubonne," Mayor Udo of Dachau, Imperial Marshal, and colleague of Mayor Nikolaus of Furth announced. "I hereby place you under arrest for orchestrating an attack upon his Imperial Majesty, Kaiser Welf, and for the murder and assassination of Kaiser Lothar von Rheinfelden."

Jourdain turned, his heart skipping a beat and when it resumed its beating it felt as if it was trying to jump from his throat. "So this is how it happens?" Jourdain finally croaked finding some version of his voice, as he turned his head to the now red faced Duke Ruprecht. "How is it I attacked the Kaiser when I was standing here with-"

The Duke of Brandenburg swung a practice blade, not to kill or maim but to render the dwarf's wily tongue inoperable for the time being. It connected with the side of Jourdain's head with a loud THUNK! sending the dwarf toppling over into the darkness of unconsciousness.

Wilkey said:

The plot thickens, I can’t wait to see if Jourdain is in for a promotion or a one way trip to the gallows.

Also you should totally embargo both Genoa and Capua at the same time.

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I don't know if Jourdain would even take a promotion, pretty sure he's had his fill of Bavaria at this point But his fate will come to a head in the next few chapters and thus his story will come to some sort of end.

And embargoing the trade republics at the same time would be fun In fact there's some funner things that end up occurring with one republic later on that will probably make you laugh, I know I had a lot of joy watching what happens. But that's pretty far down the road, about 35 years from the current point in this story.



Announcement:

Anyways, just to mention to anyone unaware the ACA's have rolled around again. Only mentioning them because I was unaware that they were going on until I saw it posted on Densley's great AAR, the In the Footsteps of Charlemagne - The Second Coming of House Karling. So with that said I highly encourage those that haven't voted to go forth and vote for whichever AAR you enjoy reading the most. Here is the link so that you may go and cast your vote:

AARland Choice AwAARds 2013 - Q1/2

Revan86 said:

Ah, bribery. It'll get things done - not necessarily the things you want, and not necessarily at the price you want, but things will get done.

Jourdain looks to be in some dire straits just now, but I guess we'll see how it turns out. Keep up the great writing, tnick0225!

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Yes bribery, the best way to get someone to smile to your face, and pull the knife out when you turn away

But Jourdain is in a wee bit of trouble, and it seems I've tortured the poor dwarf long enough so time to wrap his part in this tale up.

DensleyBlair said:

Doges' money is always appreciated. I'm sure the ~700 ducats was well received by the Kaiser!

I'm certianly intrigued as to Jourdain's date now. His past is finally catching up with him, it would seem. That said, I'm not too keen on Nikolaus, either...

Oh, and thanks for the little mention. It certainly means a lot

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I definitely loved the Doges' money, I realized how beneficial it is to be a large powerful nation with the new trade republics.

Glad the story of Jourdain seems to be of interest to everyone. It has been fun weaving a story around him even though he kind of disappeared from the game after Kaiser Lothar died. And Nikolaus, well we shall be finding more out about him in the next few updates as well...him and Jourdain's story arc are in many ways the same.

Your welcome for the mention, I enjoy your AAR, and well I would not have realized the ACAs were going on if I didn't read yours so, thank you for letting me know those were going on!

Chapter XLI - 1165 - Part 8: Surviving Assassination (again)

Chapter XLI - 1165​

The carriage bearing the Imperial arms, came to a stop outside the gates of Munchen, as soldiers began to gather, mumblings, and groans and fear of what may happen next began to sound from the gathered mob. No one truly knew what to expect, for if Kaiser Welf was dead already, surely the Princes that were already gathered in Munchen with their levies would begin fighting for the crown. A six, seven, eight way battle beneath the walls of the new Imperial Capital was not something anyone wished for.

The carriage door popped open, and Kaiser Welf, King of Bavaria and Croatia, stepped out without even a scratch or mark upon his royal body. The assembled men, levies of the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire stepped back in awe of the miracle they were witnessing and shouts of joyous relief began to sound from all around the carriage. Fears of a civil war that could easily have erupted in those fields were put to rest at the site of Welf, and the relief that such war was avoided reverberated throughout the encampment as more men began to rush towards the scene to witness the survival of their Kaiser.

Welf stood for a moment taking in the sounds of joyous celebration and began to walk forward, where the gates to the city had swung open, and the crowd parted as he strode through. He smiled as he walked, knowing full well the loyalty of common man was in his grasp, and that now was the time to make a move, for these peasants and lowly knights assembled would surely walk through the gates of hell for a man so blessed by God.

As he approached the gate he saw three men standing just beyond the entrance, along side a retinue of household guards. He recognized them as he neared, Mayor Nikolaus, Mayor Udo, and Duke Ruprecht Udonen. They all bowed in unison, but they seemed a bit to casual and on-guard to the Kaiser's trained eye.

"Gentleman, Lord of Brandenburg," Welf greeted, "Shouldn't you be with the men, rallying them, taking them forth to march upon the Hungarian Rebels?" The Kaiser new better, the levies that were gathered had all finally arrived just a few nights before, and the march was not supposed to commence for another fortnight. But, things had changed that afternoon. Welf had decided it best to start the march now, while his miraculous survival was fresh in the minds of the levies.

Mayor Udo just looked at the Kaiser, as did Ruprecht, trying to find words to voice their opinion. Mayor Udo finally found his voice and said, "Do you wish our march to begin now?"

Welf looked at his Marshal and smiled, "Yes."

Udo looked at Duke Ruprecht uneasily and then to Mayor Nikolaus hoping one of them would find their tongue and intercede. "Sire, we still have not trained them fully," he stated.

"They need no more drills, Udo. They will fight for me and what I wish, for I am blessed by the grace of God in their eyes. Do you not hear those cheers? Do you not feel the desire of those men to spill blood in the name of their blessed Kaiser?"

Udo stepped back, as did Ruprecht to allow the Kaiser to enter through the gate fully, but Mayor Nikolaus still stood in his way. "Sire," the Spymaster began, "Your father's uncle, the last surviving son of King Welf the First, this morning, grave news, but perhaps you would speak with his child and widow?"

The Kaiser just looked at his spymaster with contempt, his suspicions grew by the minute. "Nikolaus, I do not care at this moment. Alberto Azzo Orsini is family, his son is a great Steward, but Orsini has never ever done anything of note to warrant my care of his passing. Now with that out of the way, Nikolaus I will climb to the battlements and speak to my men."

With that the men stepped out of the way and allowed the Kaiser to make his way to the steps of the wall, and watched him climb to the top. He yelled down to the men as they looked up and began to cheer once more. Most would not be able to hear his speech, nor did they even care, as they were still celebrating the miraculous survival of their lord and sovereign.

The body of Welf's speech was basically rallying the lords that were among the crowd to don their armor and prepare their steeds and gather their men, for today they would set forth to march. He ended on a note reminding them that their gracious God demanded they lay their life on the line for him and his wife, Queen Terezia, Empress, of Hungary.

As he finished, Duke Lothar of Saxony, the Kaisers cousin, rushed up the stairs and the two embraced as the Duke whispered in the Kaiser's ear, "Udo, Ruprecht, and Nikolaus have imprisoned Jourdain, cousin. I fear something is happening between those three."

Welf merely nodded and smiled, and patted Lothar upon the shoulder, "Have no fear cousin, the evil deeds of men will not go unpunished. Meanwhile, go to the dungeon with a suitable amount of men, and ensure that no one questions nor touches Jourdain."

"Yes, your highness," Duke Lothar Welf said, "Should I also check upon the Prince?"

"I will do that, and afterwards I will come to speak to Jourdain personally," the Kaiser answered. They embraced once more and the two walked off the city ramparts together, but parted ways once they were back on the ground, so that Lothar could go about his duties.

As Welf walked past he glanced back at the three men of Nikolaus, Ruprecht and Udo one last time. And new the answer to all that had troubled him after the last attack that had happened not even a year ago. It had not been the Kaiser Lothar who sought to kill him, nor some Transylvanian rebel, but some of his most trusted servants. But he needed proof this time, he did not want to kill anyone else based off of personal suspicion as he had Lothar von Rheinfelden.

* * * * *​

Welf had checked upon his son, Prince Welf VIII, who was just fine. A maid informed the Kaiser that his 11 year old son refused to eat, claiming he didn't want to be a fat old man like the elderly Marshal Mayor Udo of Dachau. The Kaiser had laughed for the first time that day, and told his son if he did not eat something he would turn into a skinny wastrel like Duke Ruprecht, but the Prince didn't even recognize the name nor know what his father was talking about. So the Kaiser patted the boy on the back and stalked out of the room and made his way towards the dungeons.

As he walked down there he could not help but feel the presence of the ghosts that had at one time been tenants. He pictured the face of the false-prophet Giselbert, the crazed lunatic of Reinhard Welf of whose name had been scratched from the family tree, and whose descendants now ran among the peasants in Salzburg as lowborn rats and orphans. Then there were those that had been placed there after his father had been mauled and eaten by wolves, like Gotthard Rapotonen. A faithful servant, who had become too greedy, one could not forget the anti-king Albrecht von Tirol either, for he had died in the same cell as well.

Family, faithful servants, Kings, lunatics, and priests, had all walked these dark corridors and now Jourdain was yet the latest victim of Munchen's hunger. Jourdain, the misfit Frankish dwarf, the man who had seen the Welfs take the helm of the Empire, was now the newest occupant of Giselbert's Abode.

As Welf turned the final corner he saw torchlight once more, and his cousin standing there with a handful of guards. "Cousin," Lothar said once more greeting Kaiser Welf with little formality. "The little one awakens."

"Just in time," Welf replied as he nodded, and a guard opened the door.

Within Giselbert's former residence the dwarf slowly wriggled about eyes clenched shut, moaning some unintelligible slurs or grumblings. "Jourdain!" Welf bellowed as he and Lothar entered the cell.

The dwarf's eyes flickered open, and then shut and back open again. His eyes seemed unable to cooperate with their owner's wishes. "Jourdain, your liege is here to speak with you," Lothar said a bit more quietly and more soothing then his cousin.

Jourdain, finally managed to right himself and sat, eyes squinting, "So the lord who had me arrested decided to come visit me?"

Welf recoiled just a bit, "It was not I who did this to you Jourdain. I had my suspicions about you yes, but not this, not ever."

"Sure, I suppose your Imperial Highness thinks he can lie and appease this dwarf? I think you're majesty is overestimating the bounds of forgiveness and understanding now," Jourdain sneered as his eyes slowly opened a bit wider, as he rubbed the large throbbing bump on the side of his head. "God, my head, you may as well lop it off your Welfian lordship."

The two Welfs looked at each other unsure of what to make of the now very unpleasant dwarf. "Jourdain, you were looking into Mayor Nikolaus, did you ever find out anything?" the Kaiser prodded unsure of what else to say except to drive ahead with the purpose of even coming down within the old haunted lair of Giselbert.

"As a matter-of-fact," Jourdain said finding his feet, and spitting blood out as he stood, just a little wobbly and dizzy but nevertheless stood for the first time since Ruprecht had knocked him unconscious. "I saw him and Marshal Udo one night talking out beyond the encampment, at least I think it was Nikolaus, he was wearing one of those fabled black cloaks. Afterwards Nikolaus wandered off into the countryside and hasn't returned, at least that I know of."

"When?" Lothar asked.

"Three days ago..." Jourdain said and trailed off, "I think..."

Lothar looked at his cousin, "And to think Udo will be leading the troops into Hungary."

Welf stroked his beard in thought, for a few moments when Jourdain interrupted, "Don't forget that skinny weasel Ruprecht Udonen either, seems to me he was named a Captain for your brilliant Marshal."

The truth of all of this was almost too much to bare. Welf stood in shocked silence as his mind raced how could he have been so blinded by these peasants who had sat upon his Council had earned his trust even through thick and thin all to undermine him just months into being Kaiser. What was their motive? To place Ruprecht upon the throne? Surely not.

"What should we do about this plot, cousin?" Lothar asked obviously growing a bit angry.

"Take some men and ride with Marshal Udo's regiment, and when the moment is right in the thick of battle do your damndest to slay both Duke Ruprecht and the lowlife Mayor Udo. Jourdain and I shall stay here in Munchen and take care of Nikolaus."

Lothar nodded and excused himself taking half the guards with him, leaving the others to guard the Kaiser, as Welf and Jourdain just stood there sizing one another up. "And me, your highness? Am I to rot in this crypt? Is it not enough you had me a prisoner within the city, now you need me to reside in the home of crazed men of lore?"

The Kaiser turned, and stepped out of the cell shaking his head, trying to think. He kept trying to think of a worthy plan of action to corner Nikolaus but could not come up with anything and Jourdain's constant sarcasm and obvious anger was growing into a nuisance.

He slammed the door of the cell shut and nodded to the guard who slammed the bolt to lock it, and the Kaiser simply said, "When I come back Jourdain, be ready to serve and earn your freedom by staying quiet until I ask your council. For now, you shall stay in your cage, in Giselbert's Abode, its safer here than anywhere else, for not even Nikolaus can reach you here."

With that the Kaiser began the long walk through the corridors inhabited by the history of the Welf rise to power, and once more Welf's mind turned to these phantoms, and how a dungeon could have ever kept so many important people within it's bowels.





*******Note: I was intending to finish up the year 1165 in this update...unfortunately, words kind of went crazy again and well made this a bit too long to finish up the longest year thus far in this AAR of the Welfs. But the next update should be able to accomplish such, and finally we won't be hanging out in Munchen. Constantinople will be visited as well as a battlefield in Hungary...and quite probably end the next update back in Munchen, but that may or may not have to wait. Due to this update not covering as much time as I had hoped, the fate of Jourdain has been prolonged a few hairs. Once again hope you have enjoyed this one!

DensleyBlair said:

Jourdain in Giselbert's Abode? That can only spell trouble...

I'm still not sure what I think of the now-Kaiser. I don't know if I'll ever really come to like him – though that's definitely better for the story. Looking forward to visiting Constantinople. I wonder what will occasion that.

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Haha yeah figured I should bring up the fact that our short-lived priest/prophet is still known in this. But yeah ole Kaiser Welf, this AAR will go back to focusing on him again here pretty soon, and you will probably get a better feel for him then.

But yeah Constantinople some entertaining stuff will be happening over in the ERE that will need to be focused on just a bit, so have to set the stage for some of the interesting things that occur over there, especially since there is some Welf blood floating about in that neighborhood.

Chapter XLI - 1165 - Part 9: Dawn of a New Year

Chapter XLI - 1165​

Dawn rose over Constantinople as the city began to awaken as a new era was dawning as well. Several nights before, the Emperor Konstantinos XII Diogenes had died in his sleep. He had named his son, Ioannes Diogenes, as his sole successor. It seemed in that instance that the majority of the Eastern Roman Empire's elite were more than happy with this, but the former Emperor's body had yet to grow cold.

Ioannes's ascension was not an accident however. He was the product of a seed that had been planted by the steady statesmanship of Augustin Welf, and the humble servant of the family Regent Gotthard Rapotonen.

But through the glamorous facades of the churches and ancient Roman palaces and monuments dedicated to the Diogenes family, lay a darker truth that was stirring somewhere in the depths. The Seljuk threat had given way to an uneasy peace on the frontiers, giving the elites time to plot, and stir up trouble. And not many men whose station was always precarious during an Imperial transition of power, began to whisper about what it may mean that the blood of the German Welf's now wore both the Purple and covered themselves with Imperial Regalia in Germany.

Many would whisper that such a thing could be disastrous, and that the Welf Dynasty may very well seek to take complete and total control over the East as well. The fact that Ioannes bore the name of Diogenes was not enough to lay those fears to rest, and for one man, the Megas Domestikos Akab, was a bit flustered by his new Emperor's connections, and feared that perhaps the day that the East bowed to the West would once again come.

It was on that day as dawn rose in the East glistening over ancient Constantinople, that the newly proclaimed Emperor Ioannes II Diogenes, a dwarf, would begin his administration of the Empire. And it was that day that the Megas Domestikos would begin plotting for his demise. For, Akab, the lowly Armenian who had risen through the ranks of the Army proving himself in Emperor Konstantinos's wars, knew a secret that only he and one other living man knew.

Ioannes had not been Konstantinos's most favored son, for there was another of illegitimate birth hiding in the shadows right beneath the nose of Constantinople's elite.

* * * * *​

The Holy Roman Empire's levies had been on the march for just shy of a month and a half. Slowly making their way towards the front in Hungary. Far ahead of the army the scouts reported that a small contingent of twelve hundred men under the leadership of Duke Almos of Pecs was assembling outside the village of Csorna.

Upon hearing this, Mayor Udo, dying for his first battle as Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire urged his men forward promising glory to the soldiers, all the while trying to plot a way to turn the tide in his own favor, perhaps finding a way to overthrow the Queen/Empress and taking the throne for himself, or barring that handing it back over to the Arpads would be more favorable than allowing the Welfs to bring subdue the large sprawling Kingdom of Hungary.

Nevertheless, the Mayor and his trusted adviser Duke Ruprecht were more than sure that the Welf reign in Germany would be short lived, if everything went well hopefully less than one year. And with luck Duke Ruprecht would be able to withstand the firestorm of chaos that would ensue with the sudden death of the newly crowned Kaiser Welf.

What no one new was that Duke Lothar Welf of Saxony was in their host. Him and his men had stayed relatively to themselves, and the Duke of Saxony had hidden himself as just a random knight in service to one of his Barons. If Udo had known of the Welf's present he would have done his level best to slay the spy and servant of the Kaiser.

The dawn came just as it had over Constantinople, and the opposing armies formed up in their lines and faced off.

Duke Lothar and his men sat in the reserves just within site of Duke Ruprecht's men. It was apparent to the Duke of Saxony that there would be no way to be able to slay both the Duke of Brandenburg and the Marshal Mayor Udo of Dachau in the same battle. But, ridding the world of Duke Ruprecht was the first priority of Lothar's, as he saw it with the Duke of Brandenburg dead there would be very little plotting left to do.

And so as the battle began to wage and Duke Ruprecht charged headlong into the fray, Duke Lothar quit hiding in the mists of his men. He urged his horse forward and turned toward his men raising his sword to the sky and shouted, "Today we rid the world of those that would see our Kaiser dead, today we rid the world of those that would see his wife dead. On this new day, we ride for our Kaiser, we ride to give our lives and our blood for the sacred vows we have pledged as his loyal vassals and servants. On me! Ride!" He shouted turning his horse around spurring it urging it forward into a trot as his men followed suit.

"Let us teach any and all men, German or Hungarian the price of Treason against my House!" Lothar shouted as his steed eagerly picked up speed into a full out sprint with the pounding of the other knight's horses not far behind.

They charged directly into Ruprecht's main body as Lothar cut his way through German and Hungarian, cutting a path towards the now unhorsed Duke of Brandenburg.

He rode the skinny Duke down, just as Ruprecht parried a blow from the rebel lord Duke Almos of Pecs, Duke Lothar delivered a blow as he rode by severing the Duke's head, watching as the blood sprayed up and time stood still for but a moment as the Prince of Brandenburg's headless body toppled to the ground at the feet of the Lord of Pecs.

The battle would continue, but Duke Almos was most perturbed at the site of German killing German and sought to leave the scene and retreat so him and his troop could reassess the situation and take stock of their losses.

As Almos and his troop retreated Lothar took complete and total control of the German's who were far too confused at the bloodshed they had seen, but tired of the leadership of Ruprecht they unified under the banner of Saxony and charged after the routing levies of Pecs, slaying every last soldier they could catch.

And thus the first mission of Lothar's was completed.

* * * * *​

As the sun rose over Munchen on the same day as Ioannes's ascension to the purple, and the same day Lothar slayed Duke Ruprecht at the feet of Duke Almos, Jourdain lay in Giselbert's Abode deep within the bowels of the new Imperial Castle.

He had resigned to his fate to rot away in the damp darkness, he thought he had felt a rat nibble on his toes just the night prior, or had it been the day? He had lost track of the days and nights. He was sure it had been a year, when in truth it had been just short of a month.

But for the first time in weeks the cell door creaked open for more reasons than just food. For a guard walked in with a torch once more and behind him stepped Kaiser Welf.

"Do you think you can locate Nikolaus's hiding place, Jourdain?" the Kaiser asked.

"Yes, your majesty I can...I think," Jourdain whimpered, his heart thumping in his chest thinking he may finally be freed from this hell hole of ghosts.

"Then it is time I set you off, you're appearance should have changed enough to where none of Nikolaus's spies will be notice you immediately," Welf explained.

Jourdain stood, a bit confused, "So you do trust me even though I still want to leave Bavaria completely? What's to say I won't just leave and not find the Mayor?"

Welf smiled, a ghastly smile that scared the living hell out of Jourdain, "Because dwarf, if you don't realize by now my reach is far, you wouldn't survive such a treason. And I must say your future depends highly upon the information you bring me.

Jourdain gulped, rubbed his neck, wondering what it would feel like to have an ax lop his head off. "Then let this be my final duty to you, Kaiser, I will do it if you swear I will be freed from your service forever."

The Kaiser just looked at him and laughed again, "D'Aubonne, dwarf, and wily whisperer of gossip to the von Rheinfelden's, have you not learned in all your years the promises of the powerful mean nothing? Power has no honor, dwarf, but if you please me I may for once decide to grant your heart's desire to retire at once."

Jourdain stood there unsure of what to make of Welf's unapologetic and blunt remark. It was true, the promises and oaths of the powerful were about as worthless as cow shit. In fact in Jourdain's experience cow shit was more useful than the word of Princes, and Kings, and Emperors.

But nevertheless Jourdain decided to submit to the Kaiser's will, for he desired nothing save for some fresh air and to escape the hell hole of Giselbert's Abode. And thus, he was allowed to walk out of the dungeon and out of the Castle finally able to see the sunlight for the first time in just a hair over a month. It was at that moment as he breathed in a deep breath of fresh air that he decided he would be faithful and pray that perhaps this time the promises of a Kaiser would prove to be better than the manure used to kill Kaiser Lothar von Rheinfelden.

Glad you enjoyed it Revan and that you are still reading Do have to say I'm currently working on Jourdain's final piece in the story before he is allowed to wander off into peaceful retirement. Him and Nikolaus will take center stage in the next update, as well as an unexpected guest that will be found in the Kaiser's bedroom (not to ruin any surprises of course)...

Lothar Welf is a loyal cousin thankfully even though he's no longer the heir of the Bavarian Welf Estates, but he's in an odd position as the Duke of Saxony, especially since none of his duchy is in Saxony, just owns a sliver of land up near the coast close to Denmark. But Lothar will pop up in the story quite often, he and Welf both became Dukes before they were a year old, so they're natural allies in a way.

And then there is the cousin with another surname Ioannes II, the maimed dwarf, and probably should have been maimed on his nose, but eh Pdox portraits for ya...I was wondering if he's a dwarf because he's missing his legs but perhaps someone only cut him while shaving or something. It's his reign that will make things in the ERE a bit interesting, and since he is a cousin, well there will be a slight focus on the happenings in the court of Constantinople periodically, just because shit sort of blows up like Jourdain's cow manure bomb.

Other then that I thank ya for reading and commenting once again Revan, all of my regulars seem to have decided to take a vacation all at the same time! lol...but anyways hope the next update continues to be enjoyable!

Glad to hear you enjoy it Lord Durham! Means a lot to hear from one of the Great Old Ones as Deaghaidh said in a comment on your The Sons of Ragnar Lodbrok: In the Shadow of the Great Old Ones AAR...which I've been meaning to go read sometime.

You're right though it is rather hard to argue against a lopped off head, now Lothar will have to deal with the Marshal Mayor Udo of Dachau after the battle.

Lord Durham said:

Thanks for the linkage. Due to time constraints I keep my updates fairly short, so you shouldn't have much trouble getting through it. Now, where's the next update?

Click to expand...

Your welcome, and I'm still working on it, but hopefully sometime in the next 7 to 8 hours it will be up.

Chapter XLII - Unraveling of a Plot

Chapter XLII - Unraveling of a Plot​

The Army under the leadership of Marshal Mayor Udo of Dachau had chased the remainder of the rebel Duke Almos's men to the Castle Sopron just to the northwest of the battlefield outside the small town of Csorna, and set to lay siege to the stronghold. The men were anxious to finally get some rest from forced marches and were still riding relatively high on their first bloodletting of the war. There was a bit of uneasiness within the camps though, for no one had forgotten the the ride of Lothar, all in the name of his cousin the Kaiser. Under normal circumstances it would have been a ride to be sung about for the ages, but the men couldn't quite wrap their heads around the idea that Dukes were slaughtering Dukes, killing fellow Germans at the same time as Hungarians.

It was that uneasiness that led Duke Lothar Welf to sit in his tent late at night musing over the repercussions of following his cousin's orders, for the battlefield of Csorna had not been the only place that blood had been spilled that day, and Lothar kept turning the events of that day over and over again. Wondering if it had been the correct moves, or if he had made a dreadful miscalculation. As he sat there brooding over whatever may lay in the future, his mind once more turned back to the hours after he had murdered Duke Ruprecht Udonen of Brandenburg.

After the battle had been won, Lothar, and his band of men had turned back to the main body where Mayor Udo had sat comfortably in his tent awaiting news of how the battle had gone.

As the Duke of Saxony's men approached the tent of Mayor Udo's, Lothar brandished his bloodied sword and swung himself off his steed. His men followed suit all silently, knowing full well that more German blood would grace the sands of Hungary, shed once more by fellow Germans.

Lothar came to the entrance of the tent, interrupting the quiet conversation Udo had been having with one of the armored men.

Udo turned his head toward the entrance, looking at the intruder in disgust. He didn't realize the man who had entered was Lothar Welf, he didn't even know the Duke had come on the march to Hungary.

"What is it?" the Marshal asked gruffly, "How goes the battle?"

Lothar then slowly removed his helm and dropped it to the ground with his sword still in his hand. He looked at Udo, waiting for a brief moment as they stared into each others eyes watching as the Mayor of Dachau slowly realized that the Duke of Saxony, cousin of the Kaiser was standing before him.

Mayor Udo slowly began to mumble something, but couldn't quite find the words and Lothar knowing it was time turned his head just a bit and shouted over his shoulder, "To me!"

His men came into the tent swords drawn and methodically executed each of the Marshal's men before any of them could even begin to think of drawing their own weapons in defense.

Udo shakingly stood up, his fists holding his weight against the table, anger and fear bubbling up from within him, "What is the meaning of this treachery, Lothar!"

Lothar stepped forward as his men closed in on Udo as he slowly raised his sword until its tip rested beneath the Marshal's chin. "You wanted my cousin, the Kaiser dead, is what has happened. You and the sniveling prick Ruprecht, who you would be pleased to hear has made his way to the depths of hell for his part in your treason."

Udo turned pale as a ghost, as he felt a warmth grow in his groin and slowly flow down his legs. His lips quivered as he attempted to find words, but was so visibly shaken that he could think of nothing. He couldn't even make himself swallow for fear of Lothar's blade piercing his skin.

"So you will listen to me Marshal, you will continue to 'command' the armies, but under my eye. You will be guarded day and night by these men, you won't so much as shit without them watching. And when we finish this war, and return to Munchen I will allow my cousin to pass judgment upon you. Feel lucky, Marshal, for the Kaiser ordered me to end your life along with Ruprechts."

Lothar dropped his sword, and sheathed it, looking at the bloody mess that he had made inside Udo's tent and snorted. He then nodded, and acting on cue one of his men hit Mayor Udo of Dachau in the back of the head with a club sprawling the fat man across the table sending him into a deep long slumber.

* * * * *​

Jourdain had spent most of his time after being released from Giselbert's Abode, trying to flush out Mayor Nikolaus. The man was quite the elusive shadow, only time it was ever really easy to find the Mayor of Furth was while the man was in the Council Chambers and from there the man would disappear into the shadows as if he were a shadow himself.

But one night, Jourdain had finally been able to tail what he thought was Mayor Nikolaus. He followed him, taking him all the way to the farmhouse he had always suspected as some dark and sinister location. He found a spot where two planks of wood were separated giving him a decent enough view of the inside of the old decrepit building. His only wish was that it was daylight so he could confirm Nikolaus's presence.

From his position he could just barely hear the voices of two men, yet he couldn't make out the owner.

"Take this to the Kaiser's bed, and lift the sheets and lit it slither within," a voice commanded.

"Yes, lord," another voice answered, "but why a snake?"

"Because the previous attacks were botched. Its obvious we do not have the ability to attack the Kaiser so bravely, so a snake will have to do."

"Why not cow-shit and fire?"

"Snakes are silent and their bite deadly, the manure bomb was a once in a lifetime feat pulled off by Jourdain, Welf's men know to smell rooms before allowing the Kaiser within."

The voices trailed away and only one man was left. Jourdain sat there a minute longer stood and slowly crept around the building towards the main door. He wanted to get closer, close enough to try and identify the man that had given the snake over. As he crept inside he felt his belt and realized in a minute of horror he no longer had his dagger. He stopped dead in his tracks as he tried to regather his thoughts as an arm wrapped around his neck and all of a sudden the feeling of cold hard steel pressed against the side of neck.

"I should have known you would continue to hunt me dwarf," the voice said. "I should have had Ruprecht and Udo kill you when they had the chance."

Jourdain's heart was beating so rapidly it felt as if it would jump from his chest. "Who are you?" the dwarf croaked, knowing full well his life was over and the question was probably the stupidest last words a man had ever uttered.

"You know who," the voice sneered, putting more pressure on the blade as it slowly dug into Jourdain's skin making him squeal and squirm. As he struggled the man tightened his grip to hold the small former Spymaster of the von Rheinfeldens. "You wanted to be free of captivity, well I will set you free."

The man yanked Jourdain's head to the side, and shoved the blade deep into the dwarf's neck, sliding it to the side, opening the arteries and veins and airways, as blood gurgled up and the life that was Jourdain d'Aubonne slowly faded away as he crumpled to the floor.

The cloaked man then knew it was safe to remove the hood of his cloak knowing for sure he was alone. He walked over to the sole candle that lit the room and blew it out as he left the old barn.

"Now to home, to sleep in my bed, and await the fate of Welf and the Empire," Mayor Nikolaus said to himself as he set out on the road back to his town, the City of Furth.