Originally posted by warspite
HOLY LEGION ARMY, ROME
Bragadin handed the letters to the runners and they hurried off to the senators (forster,gandalf,misha,) the letters read
Now is the time to prepare for your dream conquering the holy lands. The Pope has issued a law of crusade against the muslims, I will lead this charge against the heathens, we will conquer them together. But the republic and its senators stand in our way, you know as well as i do the difficulties of politics, that is why the Pope is driven by the only true force, GOD ALMIGHTY. Forget about general Mccollum and the republic, the doge is weak, the pope is rightfully the ruler of all. Join me and the Pope now, we will rule the Roman Empire together and this world will be ours.
"That fool, what does he take me for? A common traitor? I cannot believe that he actually thinks I would sell out my own country for some rediculous idea of a new Roman Empire. As if I cannot see right through his words. What he means is that he wishes to replace the Italian Republic with a reborn Papal States."
Senator Gandalf was in the inner (and most spy-secure) chamber of his private apartments in Rome. The court was on recess for the remainder of the evening and Gandalf had been relaxing in his study when his grand-nephew Vincent Gandalf brought him the sealed letter from General Bragadin.
"But Uncle," said Vincent, "I remember from reading some of your famous speeches in the Senate that you yourself used to speak about restoring the heritage of Rome. Undoubtably that is why Bragadin thought he could trust you."
Gandalf smiled weakly, "My dear Vincent, you are right. I did at one time speak of restoring the glory of Rome. But you must understand, that was mostly political rhetoric. I have no desire to see our Republic turned into a new Roman Empire. My loyalty has always been to God, Italy, and the Pope. However, if the Pope wishes to destroy Italy and set himself up as the new Roman Emperor (or more likely, set up Bragadin as Imperator while the Pope holds the actual reigns of power), then I say that he is in the service of Satan not of God. Oh, I do pray to God that this letter is of Bragadin's devices only and that the Pope is not involved in his subordinate's plots. And yet... yet... "
"Uncle, what you speak could be called heresy!"
"Nay, Vincent, I do not yet accuse the Pope. As I say, perhaps this is of Bragadin only. And yet, it would make sense when I see how persistent Sarducci is on condemning McCollum. In fact, it even seems that he is willing to let Sharur off the hook if only Sharur would be traitorous enough to give them McCollum in exchange. I all fits together. This trial is all about removing an obstacle (McCollum) in the path of the Pope's crusade. Curse it! We now stand on the brink of civil war because he was not patient enough to allow politics to take their course. We had a powerful contingent in the Senate supporting the Crusade, and I myself was on the track to potential Dogeship. Now we're flying apart at the seams."
"Civil war, uncle? Surely not?"
"Vincent, Vincent... didn't you yourself tell me that you saw the Republican Guard camped outside the city, ready to strike if McCollum is harmed? And now with Bragadin declaring himself willing to set aside the Doge and the Senate... well, we must do what we can to prevent bloodshed.
"What can we do uncle?"
"We must act quickly Vincent. There is no time to lose. I am still a
boni veri so I may yet help this trial to end peacefully. Perhaps if I, and Storey, and Dude (heaven help us
) are wise enough in our judgments we can appease both the Pope and the supporters of McCollum and Sharur. There is still the matter of Pope Clement's renunciation of Benedict's attempts to assert Papal authority over secular authority. If that precedent is addressed perhaps we can prove that McCollum and Sharur are not so heretical as Sarducci is trying to make out.
However, failing that, we must be prepared for the worst. Firstly, Vincent, I want you to take a letter to the Doge immediately.
He must be fully informed of the contents of Bragadin's letter. Furthermore, he must reform the Holy Legion immediately.
He must rename the Holy Legion to the Army of Pisa, thereby giving the Doge direct rights of command to the army (since By-Tor is from Pisa), and also thereby disolving the Holy Legion and any rights the Pope has to control of it. Bragadin must be asked to step down immediately, and when he refuses (yes, I say when, not if). Then all forces loyal to the Republic must be moved in immediately to force him to back down. The Republican Guard is already in position. I fear no others can get here so quickly, but we must try. I know the Doge is hesitant to do anything to spark civil war, but if Bragadin is serious about replacing the Repulic with the Pope then we may have no choice. My letter to the Doge will say all this. I will write it this instant, seal it, and hand it directly to you Vincent. My best bodyguards will go with you. You must not be detained and no one but the Doge must see this letter. If you are taken destroy the letter immediately.
Secondly, if it comes to outright battle between the Republican Guards and the Holy Legion I fear for the outcome. McCollum's men are good, but without his direct leadership I fear they will be massacred if they are forced to face the military genius of Bragadin on the field. We must do two things. We must remove Bragadin if at all possible, and we must restore McCollum to his command. Of all our generals, McCollum alone has the abilities to match Bragadin's in the field. I will give you another message to take to Don Forster. Tell him to have his men ready to strike. Bragadin must be incapacitated
by any means necessary before it comes to battle. Also, tell him that if the trial goes against McCollum then we must do what we can to free him and get him to his army. If fear that if Sarducci gets his way in this trial then Lombardi may not hold back, and Bragadin will press his chance to strike (to "protect" the Pope and the people of Rome of course). It would be just the excuse he needs to ignite a coup and overthrow the Republic. McCollum must not be harmed and he must be able to face Bragadin in battle if it comes to that. Perhaps our best option is to have Forster's (and my) men stir up trouble in the mob gathered outside upon release of the final verdict (if it happens to go against McCollum). If we can cause enough disturbance then perhaps our men can free Robert in the confusion and get him to his army. Despite my disagreements with Robert on the issue of crusade, I at least am confident that he is an honorable man and one that is unfailingly loyal to the Republic."
"And Uncle, what do we do about the Pope if all this unfolds as you are saying? Will he not then have even more cause to prosecute even more Senators for challenging his authority?"
"Firstly Vincent, we will pray that it does not come to all this. Secondly, and God have mercy on my soul, it may be necessary to follow the example of King Philip IV of France when Pope Benedict tried to assert too much control over the political affairs of France. He "escorted" the Pope to Avignon, where he could keep a closer eye on him. In other words, my good Vincent; we may need to remind the Pope that it is at the good grace of Italy that he has any semblance of independence left at all under the Treaty of Rome, and that if he wishes to push us around then we can easily remove that independence as well. Oh, God help me..."
Gandalf collapses to his knees with his face in his hands...
"Here I am, plotting against the Pope, and yet I always considered myself the most faithful of Catholics. Nevertheless, I follow God first, and if the Pope is indeed in league with Bragadin's rebellion then I have no other conclusion than that he is not of God but of Beelzebub! My dear nephew, above all pray that this is not true. Pray that when the Pope learns of Bragadin's treachery he will as outraged as we, and will be sympathetic to our desperate actions. Truly, I wish Pius no harm, but again my loyalty is also to God and to Italia."
"I will uncle, I will."
(OOC: sorry for the super long post but I had a lot of ideas to get out. Xanadu, Forster, Meerschaum, McCollum, Warspite, go ahead and run with what I've said. This is what I intend to do about the situation but bear in mind that only Xanadu and Forster will know about this plan at the moment. A lot will depend on how the rest of the trial plays out of course.)
