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Italy: Tales of Friendship, Treason, Love and Death

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Lord Valentine- Hehe, that's the purpose, that way I keep you interested ;)

Snugglie- That's right! It's always best to have a battle plan. As for the officer, just wait.

Enewald- Maybe, maybe :D

EUROO7- Haha, no family yet, as for the your appearance, I expect next chapter you'll appear.

robou- That wasn't that gory, I can do better than that, just wait ;)

comagoosie- Yep, it's a natural talent, he's a natural born killer. But I repeat, no, no family yet. Maybe some of you will be disappointed when you learn who's the officer.

canonized- Thank you very much. Both mysteries will be solved in the next chapters.

Griffin.Gen- Glad you like it. Good to have you onboard!

spl- What were you expecting? :p

Thanks everyone for the comments!
 
I am curious who the advisor is. He smells evil.

Nice meaty update!
 
Slinky said:
I am curious who the advisor is. He smells evil.

Nice meaty update!
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He's evil indeed. Glad you liked the update!
 
Chapter V
Reencounter​

Back in their tent, Giovanni, Giuseppe and Giulio sat down, resting from the battle. Many soldiers had gone to celebrate to the nearby taverns, but the three friends had decided to get some rest for now, celebration could wait. They were now talking about how battle had gone for each of them in their side of the field.

“I didn’t see too much action at first” said Giuseppe “since I wasn’t in the front line at the start of the battle, I just saw how the Milanese cavalry crashed against the front line, where I presume, you were standing, Giovanni” Giuseppe looked towards Giovanni, who just nodded while cleaning his face with some water. “At first I thought the line would cede, but they held bravely and didn’t give the enemy a chance. After the first waves of enemy infantry descended upon the same front line that had held against the cavalry, I started getting uneasy, as they considerably outnumbered us and the Bolognese soldiers didn’t appear. But still, Rossi didn’t decide to moves us to the front to bring some relief to our companions. I could only see from my position how every centimeter of ground was fought to the last breath, nonetheless, it wasn’t enough and Rossi soon realized this as well, for he finally decided to move us to the front line. We were received with cheers from our fellow soldiers, but we were still at a numerical disadvantage and despite our efforts, and initial momentum, we began to be pushed back little by little, although the right flank was doing better than us.

“Fortunately in that moment, the Bolognese finally decided to show up, although it would have been better if they had arrived earlier, no offense intended here” this time the comment was for Giulio. “They made their job in an excellent way, for the face the Milanese had, they clearly weren’t expecting this attack, after that, the pressure practically disappeared and it was a matter of minutes before my flank took the upper hand in the battle. The rest is well known. But now that we are talking about it, what took you so long to arrive, Giulio?”

Giulio grabbed an apple, gave it at bite and smiled. “Mancini” he said “He is well known back in Bologna and Rome for his unorthodox, sometimes risky methods of fighting battles. Even after the first attack we were ready to crawl out of the woods to start killing Milanese, but Mancini wanted us to wait, “the Sienese soldiers need to toughen up” he said, “he was of the idea that most of your army was composed of recruits that needed to feel the battle in their flesh, otherwise they would never become real soldiers. However he was putting the whole battle in risk with his point of view. As the battle progressed, our preoccupation grew, as we saw how the Sienese wouldn’t hold for long, but Mancini was as imperturbable as ever. Finally after, the last wave of enemies had attacked, and after several complaints from our side, he decided to move.”

“And you arrived just in time” said Giuseppe “without you the Milanese would have overrun us. How about you Giovanni? How did your first battle go?”

Giovanni had been cleaning his sword with an old piece of cloth, lost in his own thoughts, barely hearing what his friends were saying. When Giuseppe called his time, it took a moment for him to react, but he start talking as if never had happened.

“I must confess that I was just as nervous as you were during your first battle, Giulio, I thought I would die after the first cavalry charge, but the start of the battle changed me completely. I felt as if I had been doing this for years, and started fighting against every single enemy soldier that would stand in front of me. But that wasn’t the best part, after a while, it almost felt like routine fending for my life, but it was when one of the officers decided to help us in the front line when things got interesting. It seemed he wanted to do it all on his own, fighting several enemies at once from his horse, but even for an officer, it was too much for him and he was soon outnumbered, as everybody else, but the fact he was an officer made him a tempting target for the enemy, so I decided to go and help him, along with some soldiers. After a quick fight we were able to save him but what would be my surprise when I realized I knew the officer I have just saved.”

“Who was he?” asked Giuseppe “I know several officers, but I can’t imagine who could be the one you saved.”

“I met him several years ago, it’s actually a funny story” said Giovanni “It all started when…”

At that moment, captain Rossi entered the tent, interrupting Giovanni’s tale. He looked tired, but happy for the victory and after greeting the three of them he turned to Giovanni and told him:

“Giovanni, there’s someone who wants to speak with you, clean yourself and get presentable, you are going to see him now. You have ten minutes, I’ll be waiting outside.”

Captain Rossi exited the tent while Giuseppe and Giulio looked at Giovanni intrigued, but he could almost guess who was the person who wanted to have a word with him, so he stood up and after putting aside his arms, he cleaned all the dirt and blood off him, tried to comb his hair and dressed in the only set of clean cloths he had besides the ones he was wearing. He then said goodbye to his friends and went out, where Rossi was waiting for him. The camp was full of life at this time, drunken soldiers singing old songs, playing dices or heading towards the tavern. Celebration had spread all across the camp, both on the Sienese and the Bolognese sides.

“Follow me” Rossi told him.

They started walking through the camp, where the celebration continued. Giovanni recognized some of the soldiers that had fought with him during the battle, they waved at him; some of them congratulated him for his performance. They kept moving for a while, until they reached the tents belonging to the officers. They stopped in front of one of them and Rossi turned to him.

“Here is the one that wants to speak with you” he said “Try to behave.”
“Yes, sir” responded Giovanni.

Giovanni entered the tent, which was well decorated, noble-like, with everything to make life more comfortable during the campaign. And in the middle, sitting in a much worked wooden chair, was the same man he had met when he was a boy and had fought with during the previous battle: Francesco Petrucci. Having been the leader of the Petrucci family for almost two decades, he had grown tired of politics and administration and had decided to join the army. His status among the Siense ruling families had given him a privileged position among the army, along with the rank of senior officer.

“I would have never imagined that the same reckless boy that stumbled upon me while I was going to a meeting ten years ago would be the same one that would save me from death this afternoon.”

“And I sir, would had never imagined that the very same Francesco Petrucci would remember me, a boy at that time and a simple soldier now.”

“I am surprised as well, I remember that encounter well for some reason, perhaps because of your laughter and youngness, while I was surrounded by political intrigues and an unhappy marriage, and you were young and with no preoccupations, ever since the day I turned eighteen I have missed that life. Sometimes during the later years I remember the scene and laughed a little, that helped relieve some pressure from my life. But, how is it that you remember me as well?”

“It’s one of those memories that turn into anecdotes and accompany you for the rest of your life; it’s also a good story to tell your friends from time to time.”

“I see… But that isn’t the reason I called you here, to discuss about what that memory means to each of us. First of all, I want you to thank you for saving my life, otherwise, I’m sure my head would be now a trophy in the Milanese camp. I’ll be grateful for the rest of my life.”

“Thank you sir, it was an honor being able to help someone like you.”

“Second, I was impressed with your sword abilities, for being a simple soldier as you say, you know quite well how to fight a battle.”

“Thank you.”

“So I have a proposition for you. I could have recommended you to captain Rossi, and you’d have ascended quickly, but that’s not my wish, instead, I want you to become my personal bodyguard, you will accompany me for the rest of the war and after that, I’m planning to return to Siena to the government, it seems this war will be more than enough for what I wanted, so, what do you say?”

“I’m really honored sir, it would be a real pleasure to be your bodyguard, but I feel that being with you would private me from battle experience.”
“Don’t worry about that, that’s why I want you as a bodyguard, I know that as an officer my job it’s to command the troops and occasionally fight, but I like being in the front line, just like you do, but I can’t do it alone, so this is the reason I’m asking for your services. What do you think now?”

“I like this proposal better, but if I may ask for some time to think about it, you would do me a great favor, sir.”

“Excellent then. I’ll meet with you again in the morning so you can tell me about your decision. Until then young Giovanni.”

***​

“Now that the council has been assembled, let’s discuss this unexpected change of events regarding the war with Siena. Berni, please share your thoughts with the rest of us, now that the Pope and his soldiers have entered the scene, what should we do?”

Berni stood up and after looking to the other members of the council, started talking.

“As the Duke has pointed out, the Pope has decide to support Siena in their war against us, and that puts us in a difficult situation. After the defeat we suffered yesterday, our soldiers are completely demoralized and right now we cannot afford more troops so the most viable option it’s to forge and alliance ourselves.”

“But, who would want to form an alliance with us at this time?” said one of the members “We are surrounded by enemies, the Germans to the north, the Venetians, the Tuscans, the Pope himself…”

“You are forgetting one, who would be willing to help us” Berni said “Savoy, it seems they are willing to help us in our wars in Central Italy if we help them with they wars.”

“Very interesting Berni” Visconti wrote down something “Could you arrange a visit to Torino in the next few days?”

“It’s been taken care of, my lord, we will depart tomorrow morning. Fiorelli will be in charge of holding the enemy in Pisa while you are away.”

“Excellent Berni, you’ve saved yourself once again from the dungeons. Gentlemen, we are ready, tomorrow we leave for Torino to see Ranieri.”
 
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perhaps, via this, Giovanni might get a dab hand into politics, though that is quite a long shot...
 
Mwuahahahahahahaha!!!

I am the King of Savoie!!!

I am evil! :D
 
Petrucci? Did not see that one coming. Seems like they reconciled very easily though, and that's always a good thing. Giovanni's getting a taste of a life less simple than the one he's known, I presume! :D
 
Will this be the end of the three G's? Will we see no more of the Gregarious Good Guys, the Guaranteed Gabbing Gaurds, the Great Gaping Gofers, the Genuin Goatish Geezers, the Giant Gobbling Geeks, the ... I'm sorry, got carried away there for a bit.
 
Giovanni seems like an excellent army man. If in time he gets to know how to command, and with some help from Petrucci, he could make his fortune and become a great Italian general.
 
robou- I would not put my hopes in it, Giovanni is a natural born soldier, and I doubt he will be very interested in politics

Griffin.Gen- Thanks!

EUROO7- What assures you you are the king of Savoie, maybe Ranieri is only the messenger or their contact there :D

Snugglie- Well, the reconciliation was an easy thing indeed, but it was because their previous encounter hadn't been that bad ;)

Slinky - :rofl: That was very funny, but don't worry, they'll be togheter again ;)

Qorten- That's right, he could aim high, but who knows what luck has reserved for him
 
Capibara said:
EUROO7- What assures you you are the king of Savoie, maybe Ranieri is only the messenger or their contact there :D
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But why would I be the VII? ;) :D
 
EUROO7 said:
But why would I be the VII? ;) :D
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Who knows, maybe he just wants his name to look cool :p

gomagoosie said:
heh good to share war stories and learn a little about the past.

I wonder if there are anymore stories lurking in the back of his mind.
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Maybe another one, maybe some ghosts from the past return (Not Slinky nor EUROO7 :p)
 
Capibara said:
Maybe another one, maybe some ghosts from the past return (Not Slinky nor EUROO7 :p)
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That's right, I am not a ghost :D
 
Slinky said:
That's right, I am not a ghost :D
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Just wait until you get killed in the next WW :p :D
 
Capibara said:
Just wait until you get killed in the next WW :p :D
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Then I'll be a haunting spirit and not a ghost :p

We'll just see how it'll turn out.
 
Hmm an interesting upturn for our good ole Gio . Old memories , this could be very interesting . I suspect some romance intrigues involved that will make these new friendships strain , I think XD
 
canonized said:
Hmm an interesting upturn for our good ole Gio . Old memories , this could be very interesting . I suspect some romance intrigues involved that will make these new friendships strain , I think XD
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That's right, he's very good chance ;) As for intrigues, who knows? maybe, romance sometimes screws up everything
 
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