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A little different direction with this update, Nil. Been reading Anibal lately? ;) Very nicely done including a little forum activity among the nasty description of Judge Peter. Seems he is trying to drug the people under his thumb.
 
Very amusing and witty post. :cool: The size of the print was clear and easy to read for me. I hope you are able to take this time off work and decide what it is you want to do next. After 30 years of working at a job that I enjoy very much I can assure you that it beats the ever loving crap out of doing something you don't like. :D Life's too short to work somewhere you dont' want to be. Of course life doesn't always let you pick and choose. :( Wish you the best. Wow just looking at the news. One million protesting in France. you guys don't go half way when it comes to kicking up a fuss. ;)

Joe
 
The illustration for the Cozy Cat was terrific, what with the self-referential posters on the wall...

... but that newspaper is hysterically funny! I've read and re-read it and I keep finding new jokes! Thanks for the mention, by the way.

:rofl: You've done well!



So you're playing the terrible Turks, are you? Stay tuned to HistoryPark to find out what happens to the Sultanic Minions in my universe. ;)
 
Coz One: So, what's Judge peter up to?
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Yes, I have good sources of inspiration, herm... [muttering]Who's that Anibal you're writing about? Don't tell the others I don't know, I hate to look dumb and ignorant...[/muttering]


Storey: It was fun to write anyway. Regarding my future, I have roughly three possibilities at hand: trying to become a civil servant (very hard, but much more interesting than what you probably think), remaining a computers technician (relatively easy after an updating of my skills, but not a wonderful dream either) or going into biotechnologies... And yes, we know what we want. :D OTOH, our government knows what he wants too...
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Director:
The illustration for the Cozy Cat was terrific
Yeah, I know, but I was too lazy to redraw it...
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but that newspaper is hysterically funny! I've read and re-read it and I keep finding new jokes! Thanks for the mention, by the way.
Glad you enjoyed. I'm not fond of completely crazy tales where the story is merely an excuse for a heap of bad jokes, but I still like to throw some humour in. And it's never bad to butter the readers up a little, is it?
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Stay tuned to HistoryPark to find out what happens to the Sultanic Minions in my universe.
Would not like to miss that :) .
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Nil, take a look at this AAR to see what I am talking about in regards to Anibal. He also has some other great HoI and EUII AARs that you can find in those respective librAARies.
 
coz1 said:
Nil, take a look at this AAR to see what I am talking about in regards to Anibal. He also has some other great HoI and EUII AARs that you can find in those respective librAARies.
Wow, okay... Understood. But we don't play in the same category, I would say...
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Nil-The-Frogg said:
Wow, okay... Understood. But we don't play in the same category, I would say...
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No - he is Brazilian while you are French. ;) And imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right?

In truth, very original and once again - loved the in-jokes. :D
 
Wonderful newspaper, Nil. :) I see I even merited a name check: I got to diss Jean Claude Van Damme, the Muscles from Brussels! Woohoo! :D

Adding those whimsical stories (I'm sure Joe will be well pleased with his portrayal :)) made for some good fun and it worked well to make the newspaper sound more 'real': after all, there's more to a newspaper than just the headline story.

A nice change of perspective to add some information on Judge Peter. With all the hints you have dropped about the Judge so far, I very am worried about Mr. Voltshead's continued wellbeing. I fear he will share the faith of investigative reporter Johan Usse.
 
Here comes an update at last. A short one, unfortunately. :(

But luckily, I have a nice bad excuse(tm)! I'm trying to catch up with "The Golden Horde : Back from the Dead". Might not be enough as an excuse... Ah, and a big fat Crimean independentist sat on my keyboard! So that's all your fault Duke, you should have crushed them quicker...
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BTW, yes Stuyvesant, "the Muscles from Brussels". ;) But that's his brain which is really funny, or frightening, depending how you consider it. I've been lurking on a site dedicated to him. He's hilarious when you understand french, but I guess he can be in english too when he wants. He's particularly good at mixing the two in a completely far-off and unintentional manner. Wow, coke really harms!
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# 6 d


Cozy Cat Club, Wednesday in the evening (continued)

“Too bad I missed this show. Looks like it’s been great.”

Kallistos dropped the newspaper back on the table and smiled brightly:

“Seems like we all have our little problems as well, doesn’t it Peter?”

Then he crossed the Judge’s eyes. His smile vanished along with any hint joviality.

“Peter, don’t try that with me.”

Their gazes remained locked to each other. Kallistos traits progressively sagged. A few droplets of sweat started to moisten his front. But he stood. Still as immobile as a statue, Peter whispered:

“I’ve asked you a question, Tsadkiel.”

Kallistos jolted and successfully directed his look at Peter’s gloved hands instead of his bottomless eyes.

“What do you seek with that comedy Peter?”

The Judge bent over the table to bring his face in Kallistos line of sight. His black leather gloves emitted a faint rustling. He had his first expression since the beginning of this interview, in the form of a thin carnivorous smile. He stared at his interlocutor over his glasses.

“You seem a little weak. Do you happen to lack… something.”

Kallistos shivered, looked back and tried his best to cope with the pressure.

“You can’t break the likes of us, Peter, you know this.
- You’re not too sure yourself. But I don’t want to break you. I want a reliable answer.
- Okay.”

Both of them released the tension and leaned back. Kallistos drew a red and yellow handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped sweat off his face.

“Well, Voltshead is just an ambitious jester as you sure know. He wanted to have a little pick on you to boost his political ascension but lacked evidences. I just made plausible ones for him to use. I’m confident that you will be able to debunk them easily.
- I hope this stupid move has been rewarding.
- Hear Peter, granted you can finish me off as you want. But I still have less debunkable tricks in store as well.
- I wouldn’t have expected any less from you.”

Judge Peter joined his hands, crossing the fingers, and put them face down on the table.

“Now, if you really want to buy your way out, you will have to come up with substantial data about the Kamilet’s puppet master. Or masters.
- I’ll think about it then.
- Think hard. Think fast.”

Kallistos rose. He did not try to hide his quivering. The Judge would have noticed anyway.

“I guess we have finished then? I’ll contact you as soon as I have any suitable currency.”

Peter didn’t bother to answer. He simply reopened his red folder and resumed his work. Kallistos went out of the cubicle and crossed the club in a state of mind close to delirium. He would just remember jazzy music, whirling banks of smoke, the dark masses of people around tables. He gripped the bar’s hedge like a castaway reaching an heavenly beach. Was he as distorted as his perceptions? Probably not. But he sure looked like a well soaked drunkard. He discerned Mary and addressed her with a thick voice:

“Mary, this bottle… I need it now. Weak. The… bottle…
- I don’t understand what you mean. And I don’t want to have anything to do with anybody in your… condition.”

She turned away and went. Kallistos was about to yell after her when he noticed she had forgotten her cocktail on the bar. The glass was full. He whiffed. The sweet smell he lounged for was there, and it was strong. He took a long sip. His mouth burnt, a thread of fire went down his gullet and tears watered his eyes. Pure, it was pure! This shook him like a whip. Things all around him recovered their usual sharpness in a few seconds. “Thanks my dear. I’ll have to marry you one day”. He drank it bottoms up.

Minutes passed as he waited for the waves of warmth to fill in his body. His ideas cleared up, his self-confidence went back. “Now, Peter, would be the perfect time to resume our little conversation…” But that would be pointless. He nodded his bodyguards. The redhead paid for their drinks and the three of them left the night-club.

The street was still desert. Kallistos sent his blond acolyte to check the way. He came back a minute later.

“No problem sir, Olaf and Sittas await us in the car.”

They hurried to their vehicle, slammed the doors and drove away as quickly as possible. Kallistos kept peering the darkness outside. As they engaged on the unlit North Lake Shore Drive, he patted the driver’s shoulder:

“Slow down. Stay alert.”

Sittas turned back in his seat to look at his boss.

“Something worrying you?
- Indeed. I guess the time has come for a dirty cleaning up.”
 
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When I said 'terrific' I meant 'very good'; terrible ('very bad') has a similar look but a different meaning. So, I meant to say, I really liked the artwork for the 'Cozy Cat'.


That's an interesting update. One wonders if it is mere alcohol in that cocktail.
 
Duke of Wellington: Thx. Oh, Poor Judge Peter... A dedicated civil servant who would do anything to preserve law and order :rolleyes: . Bah...
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Director: Oh my, I should have checked my dictionary. Both meanings are valid though...
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"One" might be wise actually...
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Something makes me feel like the Judge will eventually feel some of Kallistos' anger once he has done this work. The Judge just seems too at ease about everything, like he thinks he has a handle on it.
 
You know, I didn't even connect the newspaper you created with the newspaper the judge was talking about in the post before that. :rolleyes:

But I get it now. Finally. :) So Kallistos leaked some information, as a reminder to the Judge that he can still be dangerous? I have to admit that my opinion of Kallistos has improved quite a bit because of that. It might not have gotten him very far with the Judge, but it does show some intelligence, something that seemed a bit lacking when Kallistos and his bodyguards first entered the nightclub.
 
Looks like you aren't indifferent regarding the Judge. Luckily (for me :p ) he's a central character in the story.

Stuyvesant: Ah, yes, poor Kallistos just has a jester aspect to him that can prove either handy or badly penalizing, depending on the situation. Do not worry though, he's still a real mobster. His henchmen might not be ever so bright, but they wouldn't dare challenge his authority.

But we will let these characters rest a little, back to:
 
# 7

Byzantium : July 1419 AD

Maro had woken up early this morning and went on the desk to see the sun rising over the Bosphorus. He spent half an hour lost in the contemplation of the widening white aura rising to the east, quickly giving shape to the skyline. The white turned out to be faint blue as the surrounding darkness faded. He was fond of such quiet instants and just tried to forget anything else. He would have fallen asleep again under the quiet rolling, but the coldness of pre-dawn air kept him awake. The trip had been terrible. Mediterranean Sea’s perfidy had cost him more than one meal and he still felt a little weak after those days of seasickness. The sun itself finally shown up, allowing the gentle waves to become a moving carpet of silver all the way to the City.

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He scratched his arm and contemplated with envy the heap of beautiful palaces in their green setting. His ship crossed the way of many small fishermen’s boats, their shining white sails swollen in the morning breeze. Noisy corteges of seagulls followed them in the hope of withdrawing their share from the fishnets. He was nervously scratching his chest and forearms as the crew began the maneuver to get past the watchtower guarding the entrance into Eleutherion port, on the westernmost shore of the City. He surprised his own foot scratching the bottom of his calf as the ship tacked between bigger vessels. Finally, they arrived in view of their docking spot along a wooden jetty littered with ropes, barrels and various crates. Two other boats were anchored, only leaving a small space for the newcomers. To his great displeasure, joining the wharf in such conditions took a long time, with careful use of gaffs. He was still absent-mindedly scratching his left flank when the men moored the ship. A dozen of dockers hurried from nearby stores with planks and established a footbridge. Maro knew them, for Alexios had the habit of always hiring the same men, so that he would know where to find them and who to blame in case some goods went missing.

He suddenly spotted the bright colorful clothes wrapping a little man with a small grey goatee. Maro pushed a greasy tuft away from his eyebrow and cursed. What the hell Alexios was doing on the dock? The little man came to him with open arms. He raised on his toes and embraced Maros but instantly jerked back.

“Pffrraa! Have you sprayed yourself with the whole freight of perfume instead of selling it?”

Maro sharply brushed his black coat and had an exasperated nod.

“That’s westerners conception of personal hygiene you know.
- Yes, now that you mention it, I remember their cities as a bunch of stinking holes. Sometimes beautiful holes but stinking nonetheless.
- That, and boat travels hardly allow you a thorough washing either.”

Alexios remained silent a few seconds, staring at the swashing water, fondling is goatee. Maro noticed slow contractions of the little man’s cheeks, just as if he was discussing silently with himself. He finally got out of his trance, shrugged and turned to Maro:

“How was this journey?
- Storms, hard bargains. Those venetians are handling the wealth of the world. Could have the whole city plated in gold, if they were not so stingy: we are dwarves in comparison. They can be bamboozled though… Oh, and storms again on the way back. We’ll be lucky to have anything else than glass shards in those crates after such a battering.”

He rose his tone and added loudly:

“Especially if those bruisers don’t take a little care when handling the stuff!”

The nearest docker frowned and emitted a low grunt but the team proceeded swiftly with the unloading. Alexios took Maro's forearm and lead him up the jetty.

“An exhausting trip then. Have you seen my son in Venice?
- Yes.
- And what’s your opinion?
- Well, he’s a nice guy… Definitely a nice guy.”

Alexios raised an eyebrow and dubiously looked at his young colleague:

“Was it that bad?
- Herm… Frankly…
- Yes?
- He’s better at spending your money than anything else. But a nice fellow though.
- Not that it comes as a surprise, of course.”

Alexios sighed and padded Maro's back. The latter nodded in the direction of the clean wooden entrepôt ahead:

“I’d bet that business has been flourishing lately or you wouldn’t bother roaming personally around here, would you?
- Right and wrong. I’ve made a hefty profit selling weapons from Trabzond to the legion. But that’s not why I was around.
- So the legion is buying equipment? Just about time if you ask me. Their antiquities were not even fooling parades groupies anymore. Some general might have been a better schemer than usual.
- Maybe, maybe not. The order came from the Emperor himself.”

Maro stopped and looked back at the vessels, pointing at a nice fourty feet sailboat:

“Does your presence have something to do with the Alexandrian Ducat then? Wasn’t it supposed to sail to Cyprus by now?
- Indeed. But that’s my biggest ship and I need it for more important things. We will have plans to draw as soon as possible.”

Alexios had a gloomy mood. Maro impatiently scratched his own shoulder and finally asked with an irritated voice:

“Hear Alexios, I give up. No riddles for me now. I need a hot sweet bath, some decent food and maybe a little bender. So, please: what happened?
- The good question would rather be: ‘what did not happen?’”
 
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Nice to get back to the past for a moment. It's always a fine line to straddle in spending too much time in one or the other. And it seems there is something soon to happen that later sets up what we see in the future.
 
We're back in the City of Man's Desire, which should receive the attention of Turkish armies soon, if your admission that you are playing as the Ottomans is anything to go by.

Instinctively, I am glad to see the Byzantines arm themselves, but I fear it'll be too little, too late.

Anyhow, I enjoyed the scene and the descriptions. I particularly liked this line:
The sun itself finally shown up, allowing the gentle waves to become a moving carpet of silver all the way to the City.