"Well, boy, this tale begins the day after Satan's Tail passed over the skies of Europe. You DO know when that happened, right?"
"Yeees, it was the night of January 22, 1400, and the oddest thing about it is that it hasn't been seen again, and modern astronomers have not been able to locate any celestial object which might be the Tail."
"Good to know that you pay attention sometimes, Henry. If you had forgotten, it was called Satan's Tail because everyone swore they say a hint of crimson in its coloration, sometimes as a general hue, sometimes as what could only be described as sparks. Whatever it was, it greatly unsettled the common people which, coupled with the recent royal decree that there would be an increase on the farm tax this year, led to widespread uneasiness among the masses. However, at the Brass Tap, none of that uneasiness was to be found, mainly for three reason: they were sailors, not farmers, the beer flowed freely..."
"Vernon!"
"...and the wenches were in abundance..."
"VERN-ON!!!" Madeline stomped her foot angrily while glaring at Vernon.
"What?" Vernon flashed that winning smile of his which had gotten him out of many a bind before, and into a few as well. Madeline continued to glare at him for a second, before declaring in a huff, "Oh never mind! You're incorrigible, you know?"
"Be that as it may, m'lady, I promise not to corrupt the young master Henry TOO much." Henry did his best not to snicker. "You know I have nothing but his, and your, best interests in mind." Henry lost the war against laughter this time. Madeline continued to glare at the both of them until she left in a huff.
"Well, now that it seems I will relegated to the sofa tonight, we might as well continue the tale, shall we, Henry?"
"Of course, Uncle."
"At the time I was working as a factor for various interests in Antwerp facilitating the shipment of goods between the kingdoms of Scotland and England and said interests. Of course, at the time the weather was not conducive to sailing, so the Tap was especially rowdy that night as sailors spent their coin and waited for a recruiter - which was a part of my job then - to hire them on so they would know that they had an income come spring."
"Who were these interests?"
"Many and sundry; the noble and high merchant types who preferred to work through agents of their own and did not like people prying too much, but would pay very well for timely and discreet delivery of their goods."
"So...you were a smuggler."
"Such a HARSH word, Henry. I prefer the term 'man of opportunity' myself, and I was still officially a factor, regardless of what slander you want to direct my way." Both Henry and Vernon laughed heartily at that.
"Anyways, I was busy surveying the crowd of ruffians looking for those whom I might be able to place a shred of trust in, when who else should walk but the burly Scotsman, good friend, and occasional business partner Keenan MacDougal, he of the infamous nickname 'Two Peen Keene'."
"Uh, Unc, I don't want to know why he had that nickname..."
"Neither do I. I always preferred 'Two Pie' myself since he had a gregarious appetite and a love of pie. In any case, ol' Keene spots me and of course lets out a bellow, 'Ach! Max (for I preferred to go by my middle name in those days)! Ye old rascal, what a' ya been up too these days?' and promptly deposits himself in the chair opposite me, which I had been reserving in hopes of catching one of the lovely wenches. 'Oh, the usual, Keene. Waiting for the weather to clear so we can set sail again and keep the coins clinking. Examining these roustabouts in hopes of finding a good crew. What brings you to these parts?' 'Well,' Keene, began, hunching in and not looking conspiratorial AT ALL, 'I ha' a...a...
proposition for ya', if ye be willing.'Well, Keene, my schedule IS open at the moment, and I'm always willing to hear what you've got to say.' 'Excellent!' Keene beamed. 'Well, with the recent announcement of the 'Royal Solidarity' agreement 'a'tween our respective monarchs, the demand for Burgundian luxuries has skyrocketed throughout the clans. Now, reliable sources have said that you are the best o' the best in getting what is wanted when its wanted...' "I see where you're going, Keene, and I think we should continue this discussion over a few drinks.' 'Aye, laddie, me throat be parched from the journey.' I'll spare you the details, Henry, but suffice it to say that by Midsummer of the year certain influential Scottish clan lords wished to be sporting the latest in Burgundian fashion and luxuries, as well as sampling the finest culinary and leisurely delights that the Low Countries could offer, among others. That night saw a deal struck between my interests and those of Keene to provide said goods. Little did we know that it would cause us to both be drawn into events we would have much rather stayed out of, but neither me nor Keene suspected at the time. In any case, the next part of the story does not occur until almost two years later..."
In game terms, not much went on that would affect our protagonist between January 1400 and the end of 1401. I got called into a war against Navarre, which is one of those 'answer and ignore' wars. I completed the first mission of conquering Luxembourg, which drew in some of the other HRE states, but oddly not the Bohemian emperor (perhaps because he had just finished having his armies wiped by France, who still annexed Provence anyways). By the end of 1401 I had peace'd with my neighbors and it was only a matter of waiting until the distant states white peace'd. Since Brabant came in as an ally I didn't have a CB reason to annex, even though my next mission was "Conquer Brabant", which I thought meant the one territory, else I wouldn't have taken that in the peace deal (and the 4 Infamy points). But I did learn to hover over the little help icon now 
So that is the situation at the end of 1401, and as you see I still have not yet moved my slider. You'll see why soon enough...
