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Italy: Tales of Friendship, Treason, Love and Death

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Enewald- They'll surely have their vengeance, and they will enjoy it :D

Snugglie- Patience, patience, I assure it will be worth the wait ;)

Qorten- Expect to see more of those souvenirs like that in the future, but this time they will wear a hat :D

Slinky- I promise next updates will get more tense ;)

EUROO7- Matadores, haha, that would be interesting, I must think about it

Griffin.Gen- I told you I would give you a big role.

aldriq- He goes directly to business.

balkanite- After a long time. Indeed he's a tough pope.

robou- Maybe the Pope wouldn't agree that much with the Bulls methods, but war brings together the most unthinked allies

comagoosie- Things will turn right, however, you don't know what could happen in the process.
 
Capibara said:
robou- Maybe the Pope wouldn't agree that much with the Bulls methods, but war brings together the most unthinked allies
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Meh, a pope like me would agree for some...unorthodox methods of warfare.
I mean, they are excommunicated, might as well give them the "Best" :p
 
Ahh , excommunication XD One of my most favourite things to do to naughty naughty power hungry princes . An excellent chapter !
 
Griffin.Gen said:
I'm gonna be a pain in the ass but i really want an update to see Ranieri's reaction :D
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Well, let me tell you now, He (and His armies) will not be very happy with the Anti-Pope in Rome. What we need is true religious leadership from Rome. Not divisive confrontations. Rome will regret ever messing with Savoie!

I remember when there were true spiritual leaders in the Vatican. Not only where they religious, but they were great admirerers of true talent... ;)
 
EUROO7 said:
Well, let me tell you now, He (and His armies) will not be very happy with the Anti-Pope in Rome. What we need is true religious leadership from Rome. Not divisive confrontations. Rome will regret ever messing with Savoie!

I remember when there were true spiritual leaders in the Vatican. Not only where they religious, but they were great admirerers of true talent... ;)
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...
I hate you. :p
 
Griffin.Gen said:
...
I hate you. :p
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:rofl:

I only respond, my enemy. :p
 
EUROO7 said:
Well, let me tell you now, He (and His armies) will not be very happy with the Anti-Pope in Rome. What we need is true religious leadership from Rome. Not divisive confrontations. Rome will regret ever messing with Savoie!

I remember when there were true spiritual leaders in the Vatican. Not only where they religious, but they were great admirerers of true talent... ;)
Click to expand...

i quite agree! :D ha, ha, griffin.gen! :p
 
Well, it has been a month and i guess I'm going to be the one that is going to bump.
You broke your promise Capibara :(
 
Griffin.Gen said:
Well, it has been a month and i guess I'm going to be the one that is going to bump.
You broke your promise Capibara :(
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I know, and I'm very sorry, I've just been to busy with school, lots of reading. I'll try to write something between tonight and tomorrow, however I don't promise nothing, just and update by the end of next week.
 
Chapter XI
A Tale of Two Plots​


The ducal palace of Milan was very busy, as Duke Visconti had ordered an urgent meeting with the council. Word was some very bad news had arrived earlier that morning and the duke was very concerned about them. The main nobles and military leaders of the duchy would be gathered at that meeting. Once everyone had arrived to the council room, Visconti started talking.

“I have gathered you here” he said “to inform you of some grave news that Berni received today, and are of great concern to the security of the duchy. Berni, please give them more details.”

The dark spymaster stood up. “As our dear duke told you, I have grave news. Just this morning I came into knowledge thanks to my spy in Rome that the Pope is planning to excommunicate both the Duke and Ernesto Ranieri.” A mutter of amazement and rage was heard through the table. “Please let me finish. As you may know, this is the precise chance our enemies have been waiting for; especially the Emperor, the Venetian Doge and perhaps even France could get involved.”

“I have fought many wars and brought glory to our country; our armies are full of veterans and battleworn soldiers who haven seen many battles, but you can’t seriously expect them to withstand a three front war, a war that involves two of the most powerful armies of the world. Not even with Savoyard help.” said Luigi Fontane, the oldest general of the Milanese army.

“As soon as the excommunication news spread across our lands we won’t only face problems against foreign powers, but we will have revolts, especially in provinces like Siena or Pisa.” added one of the nobles. “We cannot counter such decree; we’ll have the entire Christian world against us.”

Everyone had started talking, pointing out the immediate problems that the Duchy would be facing right after the excommunication had been issued, but as everyone was talking, nothing could be heard. Berni took the word again bringing silence to the room.
“All your reasons are well funded and I understand we are dealing with a very delicate situation here, all we have built for the last years is in the border of the abyss. As you may know, there are two ways to make the excommunication void. The first one is to get a new ruler, this is that Visconti either gets killed or deposed.” Another mutter was heard through the table. “Please let me say the second option. I would’ve never thought of killing our dear duke. Now, the other way is to get a new Pope so he can revoke the issue or if we can do it quickly, we get him even before it is issued and we save a lot of trouble. Whichever way we choose to go, we’ll install a puppet Pope in Rome that will help us fulfill what we want. It shouldn’t be difficult to bribe the other electors.”

“However, we still have to find a Cardinal willing to bend to our desires” said one of the nobles “Canciani is out of the question of course, he is too loyal to the Pope. He could even be a problem.”

“Don’t worry about him. As loyal as he is to the Pope, we wouldn’t dare making a move against us, it would be suicide. But still, I’ll have him under my watch in case he attempts to do anything stupid.”

“So what is the plan, Berni?” asked Visconti, who had been quiet for almost all the conversation.

“It will take a least a week for the Pope to issue the decree, so we have time to plan this thing well. One quick, silent arrow from a rooftop and everything will be over. After that, it will only be a matter of getting our candidate elected.”

“So be it” concluded Visconti. “And for your own sake, Berni, this plan must work, or I will kill you with my bare hands.”

***
After a week of travelling through the country by night, hiding of the enemy patrols and watching over their shoulders every minute, the group of Sienese survivors arrived to the Venetian border. Those lands would be their base and safe haven while they thought of a way of liberating their city.

“Here we are finally” said Giulio “The lands of Alessandro Drique, doge of Venice. We’ll be safe here while Visconti doesn’t decide these lands are a good addition to his empire.”

“Hopefully that won’t happen anytime soon. He is too busy putting down rebellions and dealing with foreign threats.” said Giovanni. He had only woken up the day before and was pale, since he was still recovering from the wounds suffered during the defense of Siena. Nonetheless he looked cheerful. The rest of the soldiers were tired as well, but were happy of having arrived safely to Venetian lands.

“Shouldn’t our contact be here now?” asked Del Vecchio, one of the soldiers.

“He will be here soon, I’m sure of that” responded Giulio.

“What contact? Who are you talking about?” asked Giovanni puzzled.

“While you were sleeping, we were very active my friend” explained Giulio “We needed someone who could help us here in Venice and after some inquiries we found the precise person. His name is Valentino Sforza. Look, I think there he is.”

Giovanni turned his head and glanced towards the site Giulio was pointing at. A man riding a horse was quickly approaching. When he arrived, he dismounted the horse and proceeded to greet the Sienese group.

“This is Valentino Sforza” said Giulio.

“Lord Valentino Sforza, please” responded the rider. “It is a pleasure.” He was tall and good looking: blond, muscular, and intelligent face and a couple of blue, piercing eyes. His mother had been an English noble while his father had been a Milanese noble that had served in the army for years.

“He is a condottiero, and has served in the Venetian army and…” explained Giulio.

“However, my real target” interrupted Sforza “is the Milanese throne, Visconti is bringing the country to the ruin and I can’t permit that, so I’m gathering an army of mercenaries to invade Milan. I have important contacts inside the Milanese court that support my cause as well. It’s just a matter of picking the right time to strike. I’m also in talks with the Venetian doge for his support.”

“But, what do we get here? We are seeking the restoration of Siena, not a change of ruler in Milan.” asked Giovanni.

“In exchange for your help, I will restore the independence of Siena and I will guarantee your independence.”

“What assures us you are going to hold your end of deal?”

“My word. I’m an honorable man and I will fulfill my promise.”

“You better do or you won’t have a night of sleep for the rest of your life” responded Giovanni.

“Come on, what’s with the threats?”

“Excuse my friend; he is still weak and saw how the city was burned, it’s nothing personal.” said Giulio.

“All right then. Let’s go, we can’t be standing here all day long, can we?” Valentino Sforza mounted his horse and started advancing. When he was at a certain distance Giulio approached Giovanni.

“What’s up with you? He is giving us shelter and you answer him like that.”

“I’m sorry” responded Giovanni, while staring firmly at Sforza. “I simply don’t trust him.”
 
Hmmm so this is how the plot to get the Pope gets its genesis . And I don't trust Sforza either XD
 
Ah damnit, I either will survive an attempt on my life or just die. I hope that it wont be the latter x.x
Nice update. Don't worry, I wasn't pressurizing you or anyting, take your time.
 
I do hope their preferred second option fails and they will have to resort to the first :D
 
It's alive, it's alive! :D Marvellous to see that a new ally is gained, although I would not take his word all too seriously either. But if Giulio trusts him, then maybe so should we?
 
Originally posted by Capibara
however I don't promise nothing
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Which means you promise everything!!! :p :D :rofl: ;)

Anywayz, good update!
 
canonized's post reminded me of the first update, so I went to read it again (Feel's like it was years ago :p )

And I found this: “Insieme fin la morte, niente ci farà cadere”

What does it mean?

Also, Visconti should die and leave Milan to the King of Savoie. :D

Great Update!
 
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