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Small difficulties for a man of his admittedly consummate conviction and intellect. He shall overcome- sounds like he's being drawn into Brittany despite himself, though I doubt that will ever enter his conscious mind.
 
A man proves to be a man when he's placed in hard circumstances. Trials, then, are not a problem, but an occasion for glory.











Sometimes I must confess I surprise myself... :D
 
The Bishop has his own masters to answer to, besides the Duke. But Jacques seems smart enough to figure out what to lure them in with. Hopefully he will.
 
Even wily and cynical courtiers cannot long resist Britanny's charms ... er ...

Well, let's leave that there before I get into bad puns.

His own descent/ascent into 'domesticability' is quite fun though.
 
Olaus Petrus: In the next update Jacques begins to see the agricultural benefits of constant rain and appreciate the many riches of the lush Breton countryside :)

Kurt_Steiner: I might just steal that line. It is worthy of Jacques at his most grandiose.

JimboIX: "Consummate conviction and intellect"? Another statement worthy of Jacques. I think I'll just let you guys write these updates, you clearly have the measure of the man

RGB: Jaques is much more akin to King Jean in this regard. Both regard having vassals as irritating chores.

stnylan: Please, this AAR is a pun free zone. When I want to take it downmarket I'll start taking about the "vast tracts of land" that Countess Jeanne possesses.
 
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December 21st, Year of Our Lord 1337

If there is one thing that I despise more than being rebuffed… well there are quite a number of such entities, one of which starts with "Hélie" and ends with "de Pontchâteau"… but I digress. Safe to say that my ire is drawn to many targets these days. One of these is unannounced surprises - of the unpleasant sort of course, I would very much welcome being surprised to learn that Edward Plantagenet had finally mustered his armies and taken Pays de France. Again my mind wanders.

Whether the surprise of today is beneficial or not, I do not know. Apparently unable to continue as the Duke's spiritual advisor, due to his journey to Rome, the Bishop de Donges has dispatched his sister, a woman, to fulfil his duties for him. She arrived at the castle, unannounced, today and promptly demanded to see the Duke. Unusual to say the least. More surprising is that the woman was actually shown to my liege's chambers where they did confer for an hour!

I am not entirely sure as what to make of this Marthe de Donges…

Marthe.jpg

Marthe de Donges: Attractive and pious. A poor combination

December 24th, Year of Our Lord 1337

The faith woman will make a fine addition to our court. She is after all completely deranged and possibly insane. That is the only explanation for the woman's behaviour. The witch does not cease in her prayers! Numerous times I have called by her chambers to make an introduction only to find her prostate upon the floor. At first I took this to be a welcome development, only to shortly realise that the woman was deep in prayer and mumbling words of praise to the Good Lord!

If that were not enough evidence as to the unhinged nature of Marthe de Donges' mind, the woman has apparently demanded that she be given a prominent role in the celebratory Nativity mass tomorrow morn. To think of a female leading such a ceremony is… well unthinkable. That the Duke has acquiesced to her request only proves that the madness is spreading.

December 27th, Year of Our Lord 1337

With the Feast of the Nativity safely over I can forget about religion until Easter. Of course that means that I will have to avoid that zealous witch de Donges as much as possible. Given that she spends her days cloistered with the Duke in prayer that should not be a problem. If the old man were not by Death's door then I would suspect that he was taking advantage of the, admittedly not unattractive, woman.

January 4th, Year of Our Lord 1338

A new day and a new year. Very well, I may at least make the attempt to be optimistic. This year I shall engineer the downfall of the family Valois, escape Brittany and make my way to the Levant where I should tussle with the Saracen, then building my fortune on the Mediterranean trade routes before retiring to a small château outside Milan. Perhaps Jeanne de Dreux would consent to accompany me on these grand adventures.

On a slightly more realistic level I expect the following year to contain much rain.

January 9th, Year of Our Lord 1338

My work on building a network of informants goes well. Despite being hindered as I am by my isolation, much progress has been made in contacting former acquaintances from my youthful years in Paris. I have still to turn this informal list of friends into a more lasting informant network but work continues apace. With hope I shall have enough contacts in place within the next month to follow the progress of the war. It has been a harsh winter and I expect that neither the English nor Frankish nobles will be overly willing to abandon winter quarters in the coming weeks. The spring will undoubtedly see the proper commencement of war between the two powers.

If nothing else this project of mine does occupy my restless mind on these dreary days.

January 17th, Year of Our Lord 1338

I don't quite believe it. Perhaps there is some truth and sense to this Marthe de Donges after all. For the past several months the Duke de Dreux has lain within reach of the Boatman. Almost entirely removed from court life, an absence no doubt notable from my papers, it was apparently only a matter of time until he was called from this life. One may imagine my surprise, and that of the court, when he was observed taking a walk in the gardens this morning!

This was the first time that the old man had made it out of his room in over a year and, while not fully recovered, his condition has clearly improved beyond measure. How could his disease revenged lungs have recovered is beyond my knowledge. The Duke's noted piety, and the ministrations of Marthe, can only have impressed and garnered the favour of the Heavens. A disturbing thought that.

I must consider carefully the ramifications of this development. Certainly an active Duke would limit my own independence and may well cast an uncomfortably close eye over my dealings with England. As for the rest of the court… I can only imagine the fury of Marshal Jean and his wife. Would they dare to take direct action to resolve this crisis? Perhaps that would be best for my position as well.
 
Realistic plans of Jacques sound very good. I believe that he can achieve this goal. Unrealistic ones would have been too hard to achieve, especially with the talents our hero has.
 
Ah, the unpleasantnesss of a Lord having a say in your affairs....
 
I don't know - seems safer to me for him to remain caution, and see what develops. After all, it may be to his advantage to play Marshal and Lord against each other.
 
The de Donges woman perhaps could use some Jacques' gentler attentions..with a bottle of wine or two he might be able to cure her..The Duke is off death's doorstep? A temporary reprieve I suspect, crazy miracle woman or no.
 
The old Duke is becoming a nuisance... is he going to die ever?
 
The plot thickens... I hope we'll see a lot of action thanks to that :cool:
 
All Quiet on the Artois Front... No news, no surprises, nothing?
 
Kurt_Steiner said:
All Quiet on the Artois Front... No news, no surprises, nothing?
Not really. I haven't forgot about this but my workload's been crazy recently and its hard to get time to sit down and write. I should have an update by Saturday but don't expect too much in the next week or two.
 
Don't expect an update for at least a week. Work is going to be a bitch for the next month or so. After that however I plan to get things back on track and move forward at a fairly brisk pace.

Olaus Petrus: I find you lack of faith in Jacques' abilities disturbing :D

RGB: What's a Chancellor to do, eh? Incidentally I haven't stopped reading you AAR, I'm just a week or two behind on that as well.

stnylan: True enough, but opportunity tends to bring instability.

JimboIX: If only Jacques hadn't wasted that wine on the Marshal. And if only Marthe wasn't a religious nut...

Kurt_Steiner: This is CK - he might die tomorrow or he might live to be 103. I know which our "hero" would prefer

Pirate Z: Pffft this is Brittany, not Gunnlandia. Revolutions, assassinations, coups and general political turmoil or otherwise interesting events occur only in the latter ;)
 
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January 21st, Year of Our Lord 1338

The tense atmosphere of these past few days continues. The Duke has not been particularly active, while no longer dying he is still obviously ill, and the Marshal is away visiting Rennes where he hopes to construct a training ground. The rest of the court awaits a meeting of the two men with mounting anxiety. The Duke's position remains weakened by his lengthy illness and the Marshal's camp has been cultivating many friends, both within and outside of the ducal court, during this time. The potential for instability is great. Only that witch de Donges appears impervious to the tension in the air.

Duke Jean and his wife clearly feel that they have my support and no doubt this was a factor behind my appointment, but I cannot afford to align myself with the wrong side. Despite this I feel that it is my duty to write to Countess Jeanne and inform her as to the upturn in her uncle's health. It is of course my responsibility as Chancellor of the Duchy to keep the Duke's vassals informed as to the situation.

January 22nd, Year of Our Lord 1338

One year. It seems as though I have been stuck in this backwater for a decade or more; yet I am assured that it has been but a single year. I shall not celebrate this anniversary but rather shall rededicate myself to ensuring that I do not spend another year surrounded by these damned Bretons.

February 8th, Year of Our Lord 1338

The expected troubles have not occurred with the return of the Marshal from Rennes. In public he does profess delight at his half-brother's company… though the forced nature of these words is obvious. The Marshal is not a man to who subtly comes naturally and his true feelings are easily divined by the more observant members of court. Despite this I am heartened to see that open confrontation has not occurred - Brittany is dull but open conflict is best avoided. No doubt the Marshal and his wife feel secure in the knowledge that the Duke is a man of advanced years. They can wait.

In the meantime the continued failure of Jeanne de Dreux to marry into a powerful family ensures that the Marshal remains heir apparent to the duchy. After such a long illness, which has yet to fully subside, the Duke can also ill afford to risk open strife and struggle.

February 14th, Year of Our Lord 1338

Since "miraculously" curing the Duke de Dreux of his pneumonia Marthe de Dronges has become even more insufferable than usual. The recovery of the Duke has seemingly cemented whatever delusions the woman may have had regarding her own connection with Christ. The woman is thoroughly convinced as to her abilities to heal sickness and disease. Naturally that impressionable clod Hélie de Pontchâteau is convinced as to her saintly nature. Either that or he is entertaining more base thoughts.

February 17th, Year of Our Lord 1338

Alas that life outside this miserable little duchy continues on without regard to the struggles and intrigue of court. Apparently the mild winter, excepting Brittany of course, has allowed the Kings of France and England to begin preparations for early campaigning. Already preparations are underway in both Paris and Westminster for new royal expeditions to Aquitaine. I cannot deny my pleasure at hearing of the imminent return of active campaigning. Perhaps the French Dukes will chaff at the increased burden or God will guide an English arrow to King Jean. I think I'll savour that last image….

Astonishingly enough I have received word of these events while they are still relatively recent. It appears that my efforts during the long winter were not in vain. Of course the intrigues amongst the court, as well as the bumbling nature of its members, will no doubt interfere with my efforts to influence events. Such is life in Brittany.
 
I don't know who is more hateful, if Marthe or the old Duke...
 
I'm glad Jacques is getting some positive reinforcement. I think he'd best settle into Brittany for a few more years though.
 
More war, goody. On battelfields, clever crows feast. And this is not to say that Jacques is a carrion crow, but that he can benefit from it.

About my AAR: thanks for still reading it, I hope you do catch up.
 
ComradeOm said:
One year. It seems as though I have been stuck in this backwater for a decade or more; yet I am assured that it has been but a single year. I shall not celebrate this anniversary but rather shall rededicate myself to ensuring that I do not spend another year surrounded by these damned Bretons.

One year and certainly eventful. I wonder how long it lasts to cover the second year, if something actually starts to happening. :D