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Jaques, the latter-day Alexander. Even with just inbred Bretons to command!

All hail.

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And we're not weird. The rest of the world is.
 
Even practical cowards can have their moment of glory I suppose. I did chuckle at the image of him preparing to surrender and suddenly be confronted with a victory.

I also find it very endearing how he manages to construe matters as a slight against him, even if in this case it might possibly be true.
 
Even Peti is astonished by Jacques's victory. This man is going to find, some day, a crown hanging from a bush...
 
Jacques, the unlikely hero of the Loire! Excellent. And he ends up being rescued by our wandering Bishop, who turns out to be an excommunicated, pneumatic, severely wounded heretic with a combined total stats of…3. Ah, CK, how I love thee.

BTW, would I irrevocably lower the tone if I mentioned that I was amused by the idea that Louis was undone because the character I've always nicknamed "Huge Dong" (sorry, that name is just too funny), er, "penetrated" him from the rear? I would? Okay, never mind, then.
 
I love your bishops traits and stats. Sounds like it will be Chevalier Jacques soon. It's interesting because Jacques, as a courtier, must have had such training, but evidently little used it until now or thought it irrelevant to his other skills.
 
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July 19th, Year of Our Lord 1339

I must admit that it has not been an unpleasant summer of campaigning. I continue to chaff at the manner in which the timely arrival of Bishop de Donges has robbed me of the glory of defeating Louis de Bourbon but this fine weather does not encourage low spirits. Together with the Bishop, whose sanity comes increasingly under question, we have continued to guard the southern approaches to Nantes along the Loire. The armies of the Crown have to attempted further forced crossings of the river but there have, thankfully, been no engagements on the scale of my previous triumph. Indeed it has rapidly become apparent that there is little stomach amongst the royalist forces for another battle of such scale. From our personal correspondence I can detect a marked reluctance from de Bourbon, who is also something of a man of letters, to sacrifice his soldiers for the royal cause. This should be no surprise - my contacts abroad report that the revolt of both Flanders and Brittany has greatly weakened the resolve of the French dukes. For now they watch the progress of the wars and gauge the strength of the unpopular Jean de Valois. It is common knowledge that the armies of Flanders, facing little resistance in the east, prepare march on the Pays de France. I pray that the King considers his the protection of his homeland a more pressing cause than crushing Brittany

July 29th, Year of Our Lord 1339

Good news from Anjou! The royalist garrison of that keep have forfeited their honour and surrendered possession of the town to Duke de Dreux and his army. The immediate objective of this campaign has been met and all Brittany can now focus on resisting the imminent royal offensive. This now must be the most pressing fear - I am convinced that the King has embarked on a march north with the bulk of the Crown armies. With the English driven from the mainland and the rebellious provinces in the southwest pacified, at least temporarily, a swift victory in Brittany would similarly silence the mutterings of discontent from other lords and allow for a leisurely campaign in Flanders

It is not surprising that Duke de Dreux entrusted the defence of the realm to a keen military mind such as mine. Now I pray that Saint Christopher grants he and his soldiers good speed as they race to reinforce my position and repulse any invasion from the south. With the combined armies of Brittany - save those campaigning in Normandy with Countess Jeanne de Dreux - I am confident that we can withstand another Royal assault across the river. The longer Jean de Valois spends campaigning in the western duchies (Aquitaine, Armagnac, and, of course, Brittany) the weaker his grasp on the kingdom becomes. Who knows what winds of change another royal defeat would unleash...

August 13th, Year of Our Lord 1339

I scribble these words with a fury that I usually reserve only for the battlefield - the stunning incompetence of Hélie de Pontchâteau has struck again. This insipid and witless excuse for a Frank has used his influence with the Duke to somehow broker a treaty between Brittany and France. Bypassing me (the Chancellor!) the fool has met with the King north of Poitiers and arrived at an accord. The terms are, I must grudgingly admit, handsome for Brittany - retained possession of Anjou and withdrawal from France's suzerainty - but this is only indicative of the harsh days facing the Crown! Flanders has pillaged Paris, if not actually seized the keep, and two more lords (Champagne and Chartres) have declared for the cause of rebellion. All we need do is occupy the King's attention for a few scant weeks and his whole kingdom may collapse. Alas the Duke and his advisors are too blinkered to appreciate the opportunities presented and will settle for a single province as a trophy of their victory. Can they not see how close I am to achieving victory over de Valois? Once more I am constrained by petty men - de Dreux is content to harvest his glory and ignore the wider strategic developments, and de Pontchâteau is just an idiot

I have conferred with the Bishop and he shares my concerns... albeit expressed more as a tirade against the "voices" that he feels are taunting and tempting him. Similarly I have little doubt that Jeanne de Dreux was hoping to expand her northern holdings during this war and, given that the treaty specifically limits Breton acquisitions to the lands of Anjou (safely secured by the Duke), I doubt that she shall favour this accord. I will consider my next steps carefully... but I shall not let victory slip from between my fingers. Not while the downfall of de Valois, and thus escape from this hellish province, is so imminent

September 2nd, Year of Our Lord 1339

I now understand the muted response of the Duke's wife, Jeanne de Dampierre, to a treaty that leaves her brother in Flanders dangerously isolated. For the past week she has been in the throes of childbirth and is clearly in no condition to advise her husband on matters of state. Positively (for her) she has emerged from the ordeal safely and has produced a male heir for the Duke. Should the child survive, and I hear that he is in good health, then it is almost certain that Jeanne de Dreux will never inherit this duchy. Such thoughts inform my temperament as I prepare to pen a new missive to the fair Countess

At times it is almost pleasant to retrieve my mind from these dark pathways and focus on the simple tasks inherent in managing an army on the march. Both myself and Bishop de Donges have begun to move north in order to meet the Duke en route to Nantes. Our liege is determined to enter the town at the head of a procession worthy of a Roman Triumph. Either his thirst for glory and prestige remains unabated or the Duke cannily attempts to claim all credit for the victorious war in order to bolster his own standing within the duchy. Regardless, it will take a quick march to bring our regiments to the rendezvous at the arranged date - I write this as the Bishop's column stops yet again to allow the cleric to either pray or scribble another lengthy dispatch to his equally erratic sister in Nantes. At least it gives me the time required to correspond with Countess Jeanne and to prepare my words for the coming meeting with Duke de Dreux
 
Olaus: I am ignoring much of the actual gameplay in this AAR but I was compelled to mention the hero event once it had occurred. I have always assumed that Jacques, as a 14th C French noble, would have been on campaign before but I can see how this event was somewhat out of character given his preoccupation with intrigue and court affairs

RGB: Just don't you forget that its was Jacques' victory. And not some wandering cleric's *cough*

stnylan: Really the thing that has kept me slogging on with this AAR (throughout the frequent absences) is that I enjoy writing Jacques and his many little foibles

Kurt_Steiner: If Jacques did find a crown in a bush he'd probably complain about how it didn't fit exactly... after making sure everyone knew just how much he deserved it ;)

It's Amazing: "Huge Dong"? Oh dear...

Now I can't stop thinking of him as that!

CCA: Great to have you with us. Don't worry, Jeanne shall shortly be making an eventful return...

JimboIX: I have been waiting to spring that screenshot of the Bishop for a while now ( :p ). And you're spot on about Jacques
 
And those foibles are again wonderfully on display. He is such a marvellously flawed character. Like this most recent update is all about the wounding of his (considerable) pride.
 
That idiot Helie. So what's Jacques next move I wonder? Peace works for Brittany, but not for his personal desire to destroy Jean, so how to realign those two desires?
 
All sorts of idiots meddling in Jacques' long-awaited chance at revenge! Well, he'll get them too one day.
 
Well, if we are going to look for positive aspects at least Anjou should have more pleasant climate than barbarous and misty Bretagne. Maybe Jacques should consider spending some time there organising administration of the newly conquered land.
 
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October 14th, Year of Our Lord 1339

I am not proud of what will soon follow. This I must admit to someone... even if only to myself. Nonetheless a course of action has been agreed and it is my duty, to both myself and the duchy, to proceed with this vile deed. I would ask the blessing of the Lord but have I not his servant the Bishop as accomplice?

October 17th, Year of Our Lord 1339

Remorse is not natural to my character but I cannot help but feel some discomfort at my recent actions. I had no quarrels with the personality of Jean de Dreux... only the course that he had taken. The man was a good Marshal but the challenges of the ducal title sadly proved to be beyond his abilities. Alas that his strength of moral character and presence on the battlefield... bah, I had not intended to pen an obituary. The deed is done and there is no need to eulogise the man, in private at least. Still, I am surprised by this depressed reaction of mine to his death. I have slain men on the battlefield and had a hand in more... covert dealings in court, but this event has shaken me somewhat. It is a weakness that I had not expected

Perhaps it was my own proximity to the murder that disturbs me so. Shorn of the passions of battle murder becomes a very different beast. No wonder good assassins are so difficult to find... and so expensive. I can at least admire the efficiency of a plan that makes the use of such unreliable agents unnecessary - we were able to rely on professional killers from the ranks of our own regiments. The ambush was sprung this morning as the Duke rode out to greet our advancing column. He, and the entire ducal party, were surprised by our armed 'escorts' and were slain not a dozen yards from where the Bishop and I looked on. The deed was quick and occurred out of sight of the Duke's own regiments

Few will honestly believe our story that Duke de Dreux and his comrades were surprised by bandits, who promptly scattered on our arrival at the scene, but they will have no choice but to accept this truth. By now Marthe De Donges should have carried out her role in this nefarious play by disposing of the infant heir and, with the aid of Jeanne de Dreux's soldiers, seizing control of the keep at Nantes. The fair Countess Jeanne is now the only remaining de Dreux and thus sole heir to the duchy. No noble who values their future will dispute her version of events. Such is life - a brutal act of treason, for I am honest enough to accept it as such, will be rewritten as a sad but acceptable series of tragic coincidences

And the wages of my sins? I have been assured that, following a short period of consolidation, the war with France will resume. Lucky indeed that the peace treaty was specifically between Jean de Valois and the late Duke. I can also expect a significant reward from the new Duchess for my role. Alas that the clod Hélie de Pontchâteau was not in the company of Jean de Dreux at the time of the ambush - I had dearly hoped that he would be a casualty of the whole affair - but at least I possess the influence to marginalise his position in court. Does all this justify my betrayal of Caesar? Of course
 
Short but important update today. I've also neglected to update the table of contents in the first post for a week or two but I promise that I'll get round to that next week

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stnylan: My original inspiration for Jacques was Blackadder (specifically II and III) but I do feel that he's moved slightly on from that character. Of course much of that is due to inconsistencies introduced by my lengthily absences and lack of planning

JimboIX: By decisive action!

RGB: He's got a list of those who have slighted him you know :nods:

Olaus Petrus: Which would no doubt have provided Jacques with the opportunity to line his own pockets... Unfortunately at this stage such a fate would appear to be second prize when France itself is apparently on the verge of collapse

CCA: Thanks. Hélie is safe for the immediate future (see above) but continually infuriating Jacques cannot be good for one's health

Indeed the Fates are finally....
 
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Ahh, I can see the inspiration now.

And so Jeanne gets her inheritance after all. I wonder though if what upsets our narrator so much is not so much the murder but the direct action which he has been forced to take.
 
Murderer! But with such good intentions...
 
Hey, the guy had it coming! Still...messy...I was expecting some clever assassinatoring.

Now the Duchess is heir to a lot of stuff and she will need good advisors...
 
ComradeOm said:
Does all this justify my betrayal of Caesar? Of course

No one considers you a traitor if you win, so... :D
 
There's nothing wrong to help Countess Jeanne to get what is her rightful inheritance. After all her uncle was usurper.