The Papacy - An Alternative History

[Misha]

"Form up here! Stand & fight you bastards! Show these mercenaries how real soldiers fight!"

Lieutenant Jusserand continued to attempt to rally the men of the French right wing. He felt like it was beginning to work. If he only had a few more minutes he would be able to halt & then reverse the relentless advance of the Company's left. He smiled to himself & thought, then we'll show these mercenaries a trick or two...

Touched perhaps by a moment of premonition, he looked up to the promontory. And then all hell broke loose...

**********************

Sergeant Misha heard a tremendous roar & buckled under the pressure that hit him in the back. He blinked, rocked unsteadily for a moment, then realized that the French were in full retreat & smiled. He stood up straight & prepared to order the pursuit. No words escaped his cracked lips.

"Ah, what the hell! Let the miserable French bastards go..." was his last thought before he collapsed in a faint...

 

[Forster]

Man, I can't get back for a few hours and you already have the battle almost over!

Cpl Forster had pulled his men back, and had them mounting the horses. He figured about all he could do now was for the men to draw their sabers and charge into the French flank as it bent the company's line further back. Then the explosion came, too close, too big. Most of his men and horses were knocked to the ground, and all kinds of debris was landing on and around them. They were almost deafened by it. After being stunned, the men and the horses started to get up. Forster, for some reason, knew they had to act quickly. He started shouting, calm the horse, calm the horse. Hang on to the reins or they will bolt. A few did not hear, their ears still ringing, but there was always one nearby that did and he would grab the reins of the others horse and force them into the riders hands.

He didn't know how long it took, but they got the horses still, and they mounted. Forster gave the signal and they wheeled with somewhat rough precision, and moved off slightly to the rear of Misha's unit.
He was trying to see where it would be best to make the charge. He only had 75 men. The he watched, stunned as both Rictus and Misha started to move forward, not back.

Rictus seemed to be having the worst of it, and his men looked as if they were on their last legs. So be it. He gave the signal, and the charge began, into the long French line. As luck would have it, the French had just started to retreat and Rictus poised to let his men get their breath. Forster's men hit them at full gallop, sabers swinging. With that the retreat became a rout, as the terrified French turned and ran.

 

[Rictus]

(This is back before the explosion, but not to much)

His eye was bleeding profusely now, but adrenaline was, so far, keeping him from feeling much of the pain, even so, it hurt. The French were still trying to advance, using men and bodies to shift the Free Company, but it wasn't working and now both flanks had managed to advance half a dozen metres between them and the break through had been totally crushed.

But they couldn't keep this up and it was more an act of defiance than a battle-winning assault. Another French trooper went down in a flurry of blows and a veteran managed to down the soldier next to Rictus before being speared.

Rictus was just squaring up to a pair of regulars when it exploded. 'It' being the hill, and, to Rictus' mind, the whole damn world. Maybe two thirds of the fighting troops around it were knocked flat and the two Frenchmen he had been preparing to fight were beheaded by the spinning wheel of a cannon. Bodies were thrown high into the air, mangled limbs and blood showered the area, as if it hadn't known enough of it so far.

A deathly silence fell over the battlefield, as the rumbling and the echoes died away. Even the dying seemed to be quiet, even if briefly. Then all hell broke lose, cheering erupted from behind Rictus, who had to couldn't turn to see what the fuss was about because of the press of bodies and the French were running.

There were so many of the blue coated soldiers that it wasn't really a rout, but a massacre: at first Rictus had led the last of his men in a bloody counter-attack, now that the spirit of the enemy army had broken but the dust was all-obscuring so when the pounding of hooves annouced the timely arrival of the cavalry, Rictus had let them through and decided to go and find who ever had caused the explosion, letting the last of his men pick off the wounded.

The pall of dust was expanding, already it covered a large part of the field and was now reaching what remained of the camp, most of which had been packed away during the last desperate hours of the battle.
***
Well, apparantly it had been Doctor who had caused the battle-winning explosion, but that didn't stop his ears ringing or the numerous shrapnel wounds he'd recieved or his eye...His eye! Shit! Gotta find Doctor, hope he has some of that coffee left over too.

 

[unmerged(2826)]

BOOM!!! A large explosion sounded on the battlefield. Sir??? Giovanni asked is that the signal??? I think it is, Giovanni, let's get them!!!! Charge!!! Farnese shouted. Kill those bloody French!!!! Mort aux françaises!!!! The confused French didn't knew what was happening!!! What was this???? They saw a large stream of their own cavalry attacking them??? Throw away those French cloths, fight like a real Parmese!!! Farnese shouted. Huh now the had parmese cloths , what was this??? Were they surrounded???

 

[Lord Durham]

Aftermath

Junior watched Lieutenant De Lyon pull out his sword and assume a defensive position.

With all the dust it was hard to see what was going on. Instinctively he moved closer to Jess and the Banner.

Through the swirling cloud several figures appeared, hacking and coughing and totally covered in a film of dust.

"What do you think?" Jess asked.

"About what?" said Junior.

"Them, stupid! Are they Company, or French?"

"I don't know! Why don't you ask!"

"Why don't you!"

"No, you!"

"You!"

"Will you both shut the hell up!" De Lyon glowered, then looked back at the approaching men. They were beating the dust off their uniforms, and each other. One of the men looked very familiar. "Rictus? That you?"

The man stopped and coughed. "What do you mean: 'Is that me?' Who do you think I am?"

De Lyon lowered his sword. "You don't want me to answer that. You OK?"

Rictus grunted. "Got any water?"

De Lyon nodded. "Some. Spinola sent supplies back with Barkdreg."

"Barkdreg? Figures. He must have caused the explosion. Wait till I get my hands on the runt. I don't care who his father is. In fact, his father will probably thank me."

Someone cleared their throat, and all eyes turned to Doctor. "Sorry. That was me. I think I used a bit too much powder."

Rictus tossed his arms in the air and began to stagger away, mumbling, "If that doesn't beat all..."

De Lyon stared, "Rictus! Your injured! Doctor!!"

Rictus stopped, blood was welling up through the film of dust. "It's nothing. I think I lost the sight in my left eye."

"Nothing? Stay here! Doctor!!"

Lieutenant Mortlock came limping out of the settling dust cloud. He flashed Junior a smile. "Jess. Go round up the men. Misha, Forster, the Nipponese, Cornelius, and all the others."

Bloomfield's boy ran off.

As they waited for Doctor, Lieutenant De Lyon glanced at Junior. "Lad, what's the name of that town down the road there?"

"Pamplona, sir."

"Pamplona is it? Well, when we get the men assembled, Pamplona is going to get a visit from the Free Company. I think we all deserve a rest."

-------------------

I'll never learn from past history
Everytime I post a closing segment, I keep forgetting everyone has their own tale to wrap up. My apologies.

I deleted my Aftermath post and rewrote it to include Rictus' eye injury.

Short of Emperor Dennis and his Time Warping through the closing stages of the battle, this went extremely well, if I do say so myself.

I won't post the AAR portion for a couple of days in case anyone wants to tie up loose ends on the battlefield or in Pamplona.

Good work everyone!

 

[unmerged(2540)]

Unexpected Reunions and new friends

Ryuko and Maur, along with their crew, ran as fast as they could, but knew they were too late to help out their friends. They had seen a huge cloud of dust, something that would only be in the case of a French Rout. And so, Ryuko, Maur and the others all slowed their pace, and made a slight detour to arrive near to the position of the Free Company. While they did this,Ryuko made a silent prayer, hoping that Ijiro was ok. He had a sinking suspiscion that something bad had happened. He hoped beyond hope he was wrong.
Maur, lost in thought, did not notice the struggle that was taking place in the visage of Ryuko. The group travelled as fast as they dare, and after about 40 minutes, they heard the peel of a church bell. They did not know it, but they had somehow reached Pamplona, and Ryuko, without thinking, headed towards the Church. To see what he could see. Maur and the others stayeed a fair bit back, allowing Ryuko to scope out any dangers that might present themselves. Little did they know the historic meeting that would take place at that small Church. Little did anyone know...


Ryuko watched as the priest approached him. Obviously, not a nice sight to see, Ryuko still had bits of blood on his tunic from the dead Frenchmen. But the priest did not flinch, offering aid to Ryuko. Ryuko was grateful and accepted. The priest led him into the church, and to the back, where a small infirmary had been set up. And there, Ryuko burst into a massive smile. Sitting upright was Ijiro, talking animatedly with a young priest, as the other Nipponese warrior watched over the two. And Ijiro saw Ryuko... and cried out in joy, sadness, anger, surprise, a whole host of emotions. And the two clasped shoulders, even though Ijiro flinched. Ryuko noticed now how bad Ijiro was . How much pain had been inflicted on him. And Ryuko frowned. Ijiro would never be the same. Even as the two talked, Ryuko noticed that where once Ijiro was silent, brooding, now he was almost chatty. Where once he had been worried about the "mission", no such worry seemed apparent now. And when Ryuko mentioned the other group, Ijiro was silent, and the silence was so great that it enveloped the enitire Church. Even the birds on the trees outside stood still, holding their breath. Ijrio had heard rumours of others being sent, and so, thought perhaps this was another such group. He did not know how wrong he was...

Maur fidgeted outside, rolling a dagger between his finger, and not suffering anything for it. Such was his skill. Such was his prowess. Such was his boredom! He looked to the group who had simply referred to themselves as the "Sun of the East", the Nipponese who had travelled in the guise of monks. And he again wondered why it was that his new friend,Ryuko, had shown almost reverance to the leader of this "Sun of the East" group. And Maur looked upon the Church as the silence settled in. For a second, he did not breathe, he did not move, as did everyone else around the Church. Quite a peculiar site, a peculiar feeling. Maur wondered what had just happened, and stared intently at the Church, and wondered...

Ijiro could not speak. He had heard of the famed "Sun of the East", but never had thought that they would be sent to Europe! In fact, he wondered who was leading them, and this curiousity gnawed at him until he could stand it no longer.

"Who leads them?" He asked Ryuko

"Well, I think it better that you meet him and he tells you himself...
" And with that, Ryuko made a cooing noise, like a doves, and the leader of the "Sun of the East" moved from Maur's side, and headed into the Church. He literally seemed to disappear, and reappear in the Church doorway. And in braod daylight, with very little cover. Maur was duly impressed. But when would he meet the fearsome Ijiro he had heard of. He wanted to see if his idea of what Ijiro looked liked jived with reality. He would have is chance soon enough...

Ijiro sat in awe. He rubbed his eyes, not realizing he couldn't see out of his right one, and tried to get up. He flinched, and was amazed when the man before him made motion for him to remain seated. Ijiro managed to stutter out:

"Y-y-y-you're you! You are the one! You are a legend!" And the man smiled as he looked over Ijiro. He saw that Ijiro had been hurt fairly badly, yet he was duly impressed that Ijiro did not try to hide behind the pain. He had tried to stand, even though he probably could not, not solidly at least, and motioned for the piest to leave them. His wave seemed to send a ripple outward, as all the priest left the infirmary. It was simply Ijiro, Ryuko, the Strange Man, and some wounded. And then, in a whisper so soft it sounded like the rustle of trees in the wind, the strange man told Ijiro what Ijiro had known since he had first laid eyes upon the stranger.

"My name is Mori Nagayoshi. I am the 'Scythe of Death'."

And Ijiro stood up, on faltering legs, and gave a bow to Mori. So it was true. He would have to find out what the "Scythe" was doing in such a small, backwater town...

Ryuko knew that it was not right, but whispered something to Mori, to which Mori nodded. Ryuko gave a bow to Ijiro and Mori, and then went out to fetch Maur. And he smiled, broadly, and then, laughed in glee. Now the fun would really begin...

Maur watched as Ryuko ran towards him, and saw him break into laughter. And Maur's curiousity was piqued. Yes, for certain, Ryuko was more jovial than a regular Nippon Warrior, but then again, the only Nippon Warriors Maur knew were Ryuko and the others, this "Sun of the East" group. And so he was shocked when he discoverd that he would actually meet Ijiro. This would be interesting...


****************************************************************


[OOC: Well, not sure how long it would take the Free Company to regroup and head to Pamplona, so i went under the assumption it takes more than 40 minutes. But if not, well, I will simply make Ryuko and the others much closer(maybe 20 minutes is better?). I simply want Ijiro to meet Mori before the others of the Free Company get to him. Just wanted to add some spice to the mix that is the Free Company. BTW, a note, the "Sun of the East" is not a real group, at least that I know of, but the general is real, although he died in a battle early on in RL( Battle of Nagakute)(of course, got this from STW). Just thought I would take him from that battle, and ask "what if..?"
Hope this isn't too presumptuos of me. And I think that Awasaki will be shocked! Shocked! SHOCKED! by this turn of events.

 

[Lord Durham]

Burial Ground

Dead is Roland; his soul with God.
While to Roncesvalles the Emperor rode,
Where neither path nor track he found,
Nor open space nor rood of ground,
But was strewn with Frank or heathen slain,
"Where art thou, Roland?" he cried in pain:
"The Archbishop where, and Olivier,
Gerein and his brother in arms, Gerier?
Count Otho where, and Berengier,
Ivon and Ivor, so dear to me;
And Engelier of Gascony;
Samson the duke, and Anseis the bold;
Gerard, of Roussillon, the old;
My peers, the twelve whom I left behind?"
In vain! - No answer may he find.
"O God," he cried, "what grief is mine
That I was not in front of this battle line!"
For very wrath his beard he tore,
His knights and barons weeping sore;
Aswoon full fifty thousand fall;
Duke Naimes hath pity and dole for all.


Junior laid the manuscript down on the tavern bench and leaned back against a wooden support beam. He closed his eyes and remembered...

* * *

As night fell after the battle, General Spinola arrived with the vanguard of the combined Spanish and Portuguese army. The soldiers marched past the mercenaries, staring in awe at the destruction in the pass. Many crossed themselves at the sight of thousands of dead that stretched from the centre of the pass to the exit on the French side.

After setting up pickets at the far end of the pass, General Spinola detailed all his trained leeches to help with the Company injured. To his surprise, the Company begged off, preferring aid from their own people. Those that weren't wounded, slept like the dead.

All except Doctor and the Moors. They had no time for sleep.

The following morning was bright and fresh. Lieutenant De Lyon himself oversaw burial arrangements of the Company dead. There were many. General Spinola displayed his oratory skill and gave a eulogy that left not a dry eye.

Finally, the remainder of the Free Company left the site of Roncesvalles, and marched south to Pamplona for a much deserved rest.

In a rare display of honour, the Spaniards and Portuguese lined the road on either side of the mercenaries as they marched past, and removed their helmets in respect.

Eventually the Company reached Pamplona and took up residence in the San Cernin district, where they were reunited with the Nipponese. The traders and merchants there went out of their way to make the Free Company as comfortable as possible.

Their reputation had preceeded them...

* * *

Junior was brought from his reverie when the door of the tavern flew open. The Company men who occupied the tavern stopped to stare at the stranger that stood framed by the doorway.

He was huge. He was almost as large as old Barkdreg.

Sergeant Misha, who sat at the same table as Junior said, "What a bear! Look at the fancy coloured clothes. What is he?"

Junior's father, Lieutenant Mortlock replied, "He's Landsknecht. From one of the German states. He's a long way from home."

Sergeant Misha said wistfully, "So are we..."

The man entered the room.

----------------------

H_S: I'm glad you beat me to the punch. I only had to make a slight alteration. In reality Pamplona is about 10 miles from the pass. A days march for the injured Company.

I want to extend a welcome to Derek Pullem, who has offered to come aboard. Derek, that's your lead in. Have fun!

BTW, feel free to work around this post if you wish. I'm sure Doctor has a good tale up his sleeve

 

[unmerged(5185)]

Fermat's last journal...

(OOC:...

...I have come up with an elegant and riveting tale to tell, but alas this margin is too small to contain it.

But seriously, I've been busy with RL, and my weekends are usually shot anyway, though I do intend to post SOMETHING for the next evening or two of revelry. It just might be some time.

Hmmm, so this is what fluff posts are about.

-Corey )

 

[Lord Durham]

Yeah. Weekends are notoriously slow. We'll make time in Pamplona to blow off steam and get into a bit of trouble, eh?

Fluff post? I never quite heard it put that way before. I guess that makes Bloomfield one of the Kings of Fluff!

With Derek coming on board, and possibly one other person, I may extend this campaign for one more round to give them a chance to get aquainted, especially now that Storey's found himself in charge of the French army

 

[Rictus]

I deleted my Aftermath post and rewrote it to include Rictus' eye injury.

Cheers mate! You really care!

Tell you what, Ijiro and I have a healthy set of eyes between us, maybe we could get Doctor to splice us together or something (jus' kidding H_S, wouldn't want to cramp your characters style )

 

[unmerged(2540)]

Originally posted by Rictus


Cheers mate! You really care!

Tell you what, Ijiro and I have a healthy set of eyes between us, maybe we could get Doctor to splice us together or something (jus' kidding H_S, wouldn't want to cramp your characters style )

well, what would that be like? A crazed Nippon warrior and you, joined at the hip, or something. Whew, well, that would be interesting as all what all Sides, nows I gots Mori and the "Sun of the East", hell, Ijiro is expendable(And you thought what Ijiro did was unbelievable Ya ain't seen anything yet, hehe

 

[Derek Pullem]

An Introduction

It hand been a long, bitter war for Eric Pohlman already. From the “victory” of Mainz over the French in the Palatinate where he lost his brother, to the damned fool Spaniard Medez who threw away the war in Lyon and lately the destruction of his company at the hands of the French, fighting alongside the Portuguese, the last few years had been hard. How much he longed to return to his beloved Bavaria and hunt in the forests as he used to in his youth. But the death of his brother and his comrades demanded vengeance.

The tales of the Free Company, the “Schwarzfahne”, had reached him during the retreat from the Languedoc. Here at least was a band who could fight the French and exact a measure of blood. They certainly knew their business in the battle by the river. Well so did he. Cradling the canvas case carrying his treasured hunting rifle he remembered the French cavalry patrol who tried to tried to take it away from him after Languedoc…………
----------------------------------------------------------------------
…..It was just after dawn. Eric hadn’t heard the horses from the other side of the hill but he couldn’t miss the silhouette of the four horsemen on the brow of the hill. “Scheisse, a patrol” thought Eric, “No where to run, time for Sabine”. He slipped the long arquebus out of its case and rammed the butt of his axe into the ground in front of him.

“Hey fancy man! Don’t you know those landsknecht stripes went out of fashion twenty years ago?” yelled the French lieutenant leading the patrol. “Don’t be silly now, you couldn’t hit anything with that at this range. . It must be 200 paces at least. Just put the gun down and we’ll talk about your ransom.

“These clothes are the smartest in Bavaria….” retorted Eric. Well they were when his father had given them to him with his rifle on his 18th birthday. “..and this is a rifle not a ‘gun’”. With that he rested the barrel on the notch between the axe blades and drew aim on the lieutenant. He squeezed the trigger gently and the wheellock turned sending the bullet towards the French. The ferocious recoil from the weapon would have flattened a lesser man but the rifled grooves did their job well. The shot flew true and took the Frenchman squarely in the chest.

“Merde” cried one of the horsemen as their leader fell. The outrageous shot confused the three remaining troopers who hesitated. Eric desperately reloaded this weapon ramming the next shot down the barrel. The rifle was deadly accurate but the grooves, which gave the weapon its accuracy, hindered the loading process. Eric could hear the hooves on the rocky ground as he finished reloading. Looking up he saw the nearest horseman 50 paces away. A snap shot dropped the fellow’s horse and he fell sprawling on the ground. As the two remaining bore down on him Eric flung himself to the floor, just evading the slashing swords which bounced off the hard leather cuirass which protected his back. Sitting up he drew the two pistols he always carried and let fly at the backs of the cavalrymen. A grunt from the left hand rider let him know he had hit home. Without looking at the last horseman he scurried to retrieve his axe and stood his ground as the last man charged home. Ignoring the rider he took the horse in the neck, dispatching the unfortunate Frenchmen as he struggled to recover from the fall. Surveying the wreckage of the skirmish he remembered the second rider. Striding up to the hapless Frenchman he drew himself up to his full height of six and a half feet and glowered at the fallen foe. “ Go little man! Go and tell your masters that Eric Pohlman of Bad Writingden is alive and well and will return the troubles of the last few years on them tenfold.” The Frenchman crawled away and ran back towards France proper.

“Well…” thought Eric as he collected a fine horse and a few souvenirs of the battle, “…maybe my luck is changing!”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trotting through the pass at Roncevalles Eric could not believe the carnage the surrounded him. From the Spanish herald he spoke to, the battle had been fought for more than two days. The very earth itself had been torn apart in the struggle! “Where is the Company?” he asked. “In Pamplona” the Spaniard replied “Ask for the Captain”.

In Pamplona he asked at the gates for directions to the Company. He marvelled at the fact that he never had to clarify which company he was talking about – there was only one Company. He found the tavern where the locals had said the company had taken billets and opened the door.

Looking around he could tell he had found the right place. Grizzled veterans and young blades looked at him, obviously wondering who he was. Why one young lad was giggling he didn’t know?

“Damn” thought Eric, “the Company was originally English and is based in Palermo – I speak neither English nor Italian well. What were those English phases the Hungarian taught me before Mainz? Ah, I remember one!”

“Hello soldier boys! My nipples are exploding with delight!”

The entire tavern collapsed in a heap of uncontrollable laughter.


(With apologies to Monty Python)

 

[Lord Durham]

Lieutenant Mortlock listened to the men laugh when the stranger made his introduction. German for sure by the accent. Huge looking and dangerous by the way he held himself. There were only two reactions the man would have at this outburst of raucous laughter.

His choice made him a instant hit. He smiled. It was a lop-sided grin, and it assured the men he was not offended.

Lieutenant Mortlock relaxed and stood. He grimaced. His arm and leg were heavily bandaged, and hurt like hell. Moving around the table he approached the bearish man. The German had at least a good foot in height over the aging lieutenant.

Mortlock stood before him and said in crude German, "As introductions go, that's original. Name's Mortlock." He held out his hand, only to have it engulfed in a bear-paw. They shook.

"Eric Pohlman. Bavarian."

"Have a seat. I'll order some wine and food. I'd offer beer, but the stuff here is little better than goat-piss."

They moved to the table, as the room returned to normal. Mortlock made introductions. "Gentlemen, this is Eric Pohlman. I present Sergeant Misha, newly promoted Sergeant Forster, Corporal's Jess Bloomfield and Felipe Barkdreg, and this giggling fool is my son, Junior. He's the Company Annalist. Junior, wipe that smirk off your face."

The Bavarian sat down and the bench creaked under his weight. Misha waved at a serving girl, circling the table with his finger. The girl nodded.

Junior said, "Father... er, Lieutenant Mortlock said you're Landsknecht."

Eric held up a hand. "To be slow. My English is poor."

Barkdreg mumbled, "So I've noticed."

"My son commented on the fact you are Landsknecht." His rusty German was improving. He looked at Barkdreg. "Go feed the horses!"

Eric Pohlman replied. "Ja, Landsknecht. Where is the Captain?"

The men exchanged glances. Mortlock said, "Captain Bloomfield is seriously injured at the moment. Lieutenant De Lyon is in nominal command."

The food and wine appeared, and the serving girl laid the mugs and platters on the table. Eric eyed the Spanish beauty appreciatively.

"Ah. May I meet Lieutenant De Lyon?"

"Well, at the moment he's with Doctor and Lieutenant Rictus; another one of our injured. Can I inquire why you want to meet him?"

"Ja. Simple. I wish to join."

The men exchanged looks. They all nodded. This was a good thing. The Company had maybe 1500 effective mercenaries remaining after the battle, and half of those were injured. It was the largest loss of life the Company had endured in over 70 years. Slowly the word was going out for replacements.

"How did you find us?"

The man broke into a wide grin. "Easy. I followed the trail of bodies."

"Why do you want to join?"

"Ach. These questions are much too simple. Why, to kill French, of course."

 

[unmerged(3525)]

Re: An Introduction

Originally posted by Derek Pullem
“ Go little man! Go and tell your masters that Eric Pohlman of Bad Writingden is alive and well and will return the troubles of the last few years on them tenfold.”

Now that's funny Let's hope the rest of the Company understand the joke because there's plenty of scope for a little misunderstanding here

 

[Derek Pullem]

Pohlman looked around at the Company. Yes, he had made the right choice. Here were a band of brothers with whom he could return all the troubles the French had laid upon him tenfold.

"Herr Lieutenant, I am Jaeger. In my last company I led a file of arquesbusiers. We hunted the leaders of our foe. Let me show you Sabine"

The giant German carefully unwrapped the rifle and laid it on the table in front of Mortlock. It was obvious to all that the weapon was completely different to the Company's arques. For one thing it was half as long again as the standard weapon. The most striking thing though was the craftmanship which was evident from the wheel lock mechanism and the engravings on the stock.

"What kind of arques is this?" asked Mortlock.

"This is no arques" said Pohlman "This is rifle. See, the barrel has grooves!".

"But why?" said Mortlock. "Surely that makes it more difficult to load"

"Ja" said Pohlman "But let me show you"

Pohlman led the Company outside. "See cock of wind on God's house" he announced in English to the Company. Barkdreg, who had returned from the stables, sniggered. "Look nearly". Pohlman went through his ritual of loading the weapon, balancing it carefully on the axe turned gun rest and aiming at the weather vane.

"It must be all of 250 paces" whispered Jess Bloomfield, "What is he doing?"

The crack of the rifle sounded across the square followed shortly after by the ricochet of the bullet from the weather vane.

"God!" exclaimed Forster "Whatever it is I want one!"

"Do you have any more of these 'rifles', Eric?" asked Mortlock.

"Ja, Lieutenant. But they are in Bavaria. I can make you more if you like. My father taught me. It takes maybe 2-3 months for each rifle to get the barrel right"

Mortlock groaned. No super weapon for the Company handgunners after all. But still the big German could be useful. "Junior, Felipe! I want you to show our new guest his quarters and introduce him to the history and ways of the Free Company."

"Thick you are all" said Pohlman in his broken English to the assembled throng.

"And for God's sake teach him some English" said Mortlock despairingly

 

[unmerged(3525)]

"That's quite a nasty injury that Captain's got there" Rictus commented outside the building that had become one of the Company's makeshift hospitals.

"Small wound but nasty all the same" De Lyon replied. "I think that we were lucky to have Doctor arrive last year or we might now be looking for a new Captain. But I have this feeling that the old boy will live yet"

"No chance of us doing much more in this campaign given the losses we've taken in the past two days", Rictus continued.

"Not unless we just keep observers, I agree." answered De Lyon. "We've taken too many casualties to do much more but even getting home's going to be a little difficult"

"Well let's hope that the Spanish have cleared the remnants of the French away." Rictus said. "I clear route to Genoa and we'll be well on our way back to Palermo where you can get to work on you printing again"

"Yeah, I sometimes think that it's getting to the stage where this fighting game has overtaken me", De Lyon mused. "There's less call for mercenary troops these days as the bigger armies get better equiped. Perhaps we'll still get the odd job here and there but there's definitely a sea change going on here." Then stopping for a moment he thought again and said, "well I think I need to get some sleep first. I guess I should talk to Mortlock once I've had a chance to rest a little"

 

[Lord Durham]

Lieutenant d'Silva approached De Lyon and Rictus as they stood in the street, deep in conversation. d'Silva felt old. Christ, he was old. But through all the years he had managed to keep himself free of any major injury. He was well past the age of tempting God.

They greeted him. "Lieutenant Rictus. How's the eye?" He watched as the man subconciously adjusted a huge bandage that Doctor had tied around his head.

"Doctor said I didn't loose it, but he's not sure if I'll ever see again."

The old artillery expert nodded. "The Captain?"

De Lyon shrugged. "He's still out. Doctor says he's in something called a coma."

d'Silva said, "I guess that means you're riding the big horse for now. You don't look thrilled."

"I'm not. It's like taking control of a sinking ship."

d'Silva grabbed his forearm. "We've been through worse. Talk to the lad. Have him go back into the Annals. You'll see. You'll do just fine. Now, is Doctor with Captain?"

"Yeah."

The artillery man left the two old friends behind, and slowly shuffled into the makeshift hospital. He was the last of his generation of the Company, back when they were called the Freeman Company. All his friends from that age: Thebarge, Fournier, De La Croix, Captain, were retired, or dead.

The room that held Captain Bloomfield was simple. The man lay in a deep feather bed, probably the first time in years he had lain in one. And he had no way of knowing.

Doctor looked up at his entrance. "Lieutenant?"

d'Silva sat himself in the nearest chair. "I'll be blunt, lad. These bones of mine are too old for this game. I've seen you at work with my 'babies'. You've probably forgotten more than I've ever known. I'm going to recommend that you take my place."

The Doctor was surprised. And he faced a dilemma. Could he do both jobs?

d'Silva cut into his thoughts. "The artillery men are a good lot, as you're aware. The Company needs you as a doctor, too. There's no reason you cannot do both. One of the first principles of command is how to delegate. Surround yourself with competent people. Provide them guidance. You'll do fine. Think on it."

* * *

Jess and Felipe led the Bavarian to a series of buildings that the town merchants had turned over for their use. They led him to a corner room.

"That should do," Jess said. "Leave your stuff there. I'm not sure what Lieutenant De Lyon has in mind for you, but you'll meet him soon enough."

Eric eyed the bed, then sat on it, testing the springs. "Long time since I see one of these."

Felipe broke into a huge smile. "I saw you looking at that serving girl back at the 'Neutered Bull'. You know what? I think she likes you. Her name's Maria!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really. You should check on her later."

Jess hurried from the room. Felipe waved on the way out. "See you soon."

* * *

As Jess and Felipe walked down the street back to the tavern, Bloomfield said, "He just got here, and already you're causing trouble. What if he takes you up on that!"

Felipe shrugged. "Then I guess he gets introduced to her three big brothers."

Jess shook his head. "He'll realize it was you that set him up. See his arms? He'd rip you in half."

"My dad can take him."

"Your dad's back in Palermo tending his flowers!"

From across the street the Nipponese were walking in a crowd, talking excitedly. They passed by Jess and Felipe, stopping to bow. Ryuko wondered why Felipe looked so white.

 

[unmerged(2540)]

Baby Steps...

Ijiro had finally been able to walk slightly, even though he used a cane to steady him from time to time. He hoped that soon he would no longer need it. He had opted not to join Ryuko and the others in their walk around town. Instead he sat in prayer and meditation. His mind flickered to thoughts of Mori and what he and Ryuko were doing. They had decided to explore the town. Ijiro continued with his meditation...

Ryuko, Mori and Maur all walked togehter. The three had become the most strange of friends. Two Nippon Samurai with a French Brigand leader. Not a triplet you would think of anytime soon. As they walked through the town, Maur thought on how just a short while before, he had had thoughts of ambushing these men. he smiled as he thought on this, and Ryuko asked in incredibly bad English:

"What..laugh...you...at? Funny...what?"

To which Maur answered in the best English he knew:

"Mon ami, I am merely thinking on decisions that could have been made in the past..."

Ryuko stared vacantly at Maur, and Maur laughed out loud. These three would surely make for the best of friends. They should have a name for themselves. He thought on this as they continued down the street. As they did, they met up with the other Nipponese men, and all headed towards the tavern. Maur wanted to see these Company Men up close, see what they had to offer him and his men. He wondered if he would meet the man known to many, even those not in the Company proper, simply as "Captain". He would have much to discuss with him. The group reached a juncture, and Maur looked down to the street, and realized he was in the quarter where the Company men were billeted. Since he and his men were not of the Company yet, he decided he would satiate his curiousity, and explore the area. He pulled Ryuko over, and whsipered something to him in slow English:

"Me...Go...That...Way..."

And he pointed down the road that lead to the merchants area(*) and smiled as Ryuko and Mori both nodded. Although Ryuko was supposedly the linguist of the group, Maur had noticed that Ijiro was far more fluent, in Portuguese, Spanish and French. It seemed strange that he knew so many languages, yet knew no English. Why it was weird, he did not know, just seemed so

And so, he headed off, and Ryuko, Mori and the other Nipponese headed off. As they walked on, they noticed young Jess and Felipe coming out of another street further along the way. They all stooped, bowing to the two, and Ryuko wondered why young Felipe looked so white. Well, no matter. They headed to the tavern...

Maur headed down the street, and could see what looked like a tree in the middle of the street . As he closed in, he saw it was no tree but a man. A massive man who seemed to be taking deep breaths, enjoying the fresh air. Maur decided he would greet the man. And so, he raised his hand in friendship, and waved to the man. the man looked at him, and waved back. in his best English, Maur shouted out:

"Hello there! How are you?"

To which the huge man answered in a mish of German and English:

"Gut. Wie gehts? ...Hello"

Maur looked at the man. So he was from one of those Germanic nations in the middle of Europe? Well, he was curious. In his best German, he responded in kind:

"Gut. Was fahren** Sie? Ach, Ich heisse Maur. Ma-ur"


"Ich heisse Eric"

The huge man replied

Eric was suitably impressed by Maur's speaking, and soon the two were conversing. It was incredible how much each could understand each other. After a while, the discussion turned to the Company, and Maur asked Eric how long he had belonged to the Company. Eric looked at Maur in askance, and smiled a big toothy grin

(In German, or Bavarian, whichever is more correct )

" Not long. In fact, I was ushered in very quickly. I think they all like Sabine"

Maur looked curious. Who was "Sabine"? And what had she offered to the members of the Company? He asked Eric where he might find this "Sabine", to which Eric smiled, and went back into his room. He returned a short while later with an exquisite arquebus. But it looked like nothing Maur had ever seen. He asked Eric what exactly type of gun it was, to which Eric replied:

"Rifle"

Maur was curious, and left it at that. Sufficed to say, his curiousity was piqued. So the two went on discussing long into the evening. And through all of this time, Maur never let on he had once served the French. He knew that some in the Company he hoped to join would as soon kill him as welcome him and his men into the fold. And so he kept that little secret hidden away from Eric, and in fact, from everyone. Only Ryuko, Ijiro and Mori knew where he had come from. And of course, his men...

Ijiro sat down, his leg giving him a great deal of pain. He had been walking in a back-and-forth pattern, trying to build up strength in his leg. His arm also hurt like heck, but at least his eye was better. Well, it did not hurt anymore. So that had to be good news for him. He continued walking back-and-forth, back-and-forth, for the rest of the day, and thought on how Ryuko, Maur and Mori were doing...

Ryuko and Mori, along with the rest of the Samurai, turned in to enter the tavern. They had given slight bows to all who were outside the tavern, and were amazed at the activity in the tavern. It seemed that 50 men were in the tavern, and with the 11 Samurai, well, it made for a crowded tavern. Ryuko motioned to a young serving girl, smiling. The serving girl smiled back, and quietly sidled up to Ryuko. She put her arm around his waist reassuringly. Mori and the other Samurai all smiled, some even laughing out loud. For those who knew Ryuko, or had spent any time with him in direct contact knew he had a sort of animal magnetism that drew the young ladies his way. Although he was a Good Christian Samurai , he occasionally enjoyed a little bit of un outside the lines. He smiled, and saw Awasaki sitting in a corner. He whispered something to the serving girl, who did not understand a word of it, and nodded when Ryuko pointed in Awasaki's direction. She grasped his hand in her own, and led the group to where Awasaki sat. Awasaki had not met Mori yet, in fact, he had headed for the tavern as soon as he had left Ijiro. And there he had stayed until now. He was thoroughly drunk, and did not immediately recoginze Mori. After some time, a look of horror crossed his face. Ryuko, Mori, the other Samurai and the serving gril all laughed as Awasaki tried to get up, but collapsed onto the table. Mori poked Awasaki, and said in Nipponese:

"Do not worry, friend. I do not judge you as you are, but by what you have done. And what you have done speaks more than any drunken accidents could. So do not worry. Here, let me buy you another."

Mori smiled, and motioned for Ryuko to tell the serving girl to order a round. He handed her a small sack of coins, and when she opened it, she saw that there was enough for a couple of rounds. She tried to tell Ryuko this, but he simply took her hand and gave it a kiss, as would a gentlemen. The young serving girl blushed, and Mori and the others laughed out loud, in a good natured way. Ryuko would not be lonely tonight And so, the serving girl went to fetch the drinks, and Mori nudged Ryuko, a smile playing in the corner of is eye:

"So, tonight we should not wait up for you?"

The others all laughed, as Ryuko nodded. The serving girl returned, placing the mugs on the table, and Ryuko pulled her down onto his lap. She giggled, and gave Ryuko an impetuous kiss on the cheek. They would be not going back to where Ijiro and the Nipponese were billeted. He offered the serving girl some of his drink, and she took it hesitantly. Soon the group was singing Nippon folk songs, with the serving girl trying her best to mimic them...

****************************************

[OOC: oh, oh, now Ryuko will have to deal with the 3 brothers of the serving girl. i wonder if it is true what they asy,"The Bigger they are, the Harder they fall"? We'll see soon enough

 

[Lord Durham]

San Cernin - Pamplona

I figured if the Company was to spend a few weeks in Pamplona, the least I could do was come up with some kind of map. Well, this is the best I could do. At least the historical portion of San Cernin is correct. That is the merchant/tradesmen area where the Company is staying. (the area that I put a square around) Hopefully this will give everyone a sense of scale and location.

Note the low bastioned citadel to the right on the graphic. That would very much be in existance during this timeline.

 

[unmerged(2826)]

Sir, Farnese asked, was I fighting well???? I'm still young and unexperienced, but as you might know I'm the sun of Frederico II Farnese, duke of Parma. When my father would die my older brother Sandro would be his heir. I as second son would become some useless prince!!! That's why I joined the Free Company, my father,God bless his soul didn't know how evil my brother was!!!! He killed my father!!! me and my faithfull guards could run away!!! But I swear I'll revenge my father's dead and kill that scum of a brother, he is even working together with the French, my father's worst enemies!!