presents...
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Opening Manuevers
Game Date: 09/15/06
Note: I'm going to have to be brief. I don't have the time to do a full-up narration this week. Redi, Septimus 6 Angelo decided to ask Antonio directly about Mateo. Before doing that, he would send Ellen and her father out to the country house. When Ellen asked why, he explained. In detail. In gory detail. The unflappable Avalonian kept her composure, but after packing up, headed over to the Palazzo Visconti to inform her friend Salvador that, if he needed to get in touch with her, she'd be in San Cristobal. Salvador offered her support and, somewhat abashedly, Ellen accepted a little money. While Ellen was packing, Gianina was doing a Sorte reading for Antonio, to see how his fortunes would fare in the coming war. The reading was bad to begin with, and she slanted it even more to the doom and gloom: bad and hasty judgments, failures, plans incomplete. Antonio tried to shrug it off, but it clearly got to him - he mused that it would probably be best, then, if he ran more of his plans through Gianina first, so she could check their merits sorcerously, to avoid some of the grim predictions. Once Ellen was gone, Angelo came to see Antonio. Antonio genuinely seemed to have no idea what he was talking about, and suggested that this was Countess Odessa's work. After all, Salvador had told him that the woman was angry with him, and it would be just like her to try and drive a wedge between the brothers with a claim like this. In front of Angelo, Antonio wrote and sealed a letter to Gabrielle, asking her to confirm that this Mateo person was gone. Also, since this could be a danger to Angelo, Cristoforo was tapped to guard his older brother. Salvador had spent a few hours with his other countess, Morena Barozzi. The Eisen troop movements puzzled her as well, and the best she could think of was that they were heading for military work in the Caligari land disputes. How they knew to mobilize three days before anyone else knew about the Caligari land disputes... she didn't know. Odessa Blanchard came calling that night. She got tacit confirmation from Salvador that Angelo had gotten Gabrielle's letter, and that he'd further discussed it with Salvador. Also, Salvador mentioned that he'd gone to Antonio for some answers about her anger - so the game was definitely afoot there. He clearly wanted to know the whole story. With some hesitation, the Montaigne countess filled in the outline. She'd taken Antonio to Caligari Island via a portal that night, and gone with him on his task. She emphasized that she did not know the nature of the task, and being made party to such a thing without her knowledge and without her consent was the reason for her falling-out with him. They worked their way into the bowels of Caligari Island, into a realm of bronze and brass levers and green-glass windows... and guards! Antonio's bluffing finally failed, and he shouted instructions to her to flip levers and pull hanging chains while he kept the Caligari men at bay. Finally, a small door opened and the two pushed through it, into a tiny capsule-like chamber of small sort. It had windows - that looked out over a seascape. They were well underwater. Antonio, closing and locking the door behind, addressed a control panel until the whole thing shuddered and then broke free of its moorings. Like a fish, it swam away from where it was docked. Antonio quickly lost control of the the thing, and she hastily tore open a portal to get them back to Monfalcone. Salvador promised to "normalize" Donati-Blanchard relations again; this assurance was all that the countess required at this time in exchange for her information. Voltadi, Septimus 7 A meeting was called to pool the information learned the prior day. The conclusion? Not to bring Cristoforo or Pietra in on this. Wait and see what happens. (Salvador was none too pleased with the delay.) What Happens Septimus 8 - 15 Beatrice Caligari did not arrive when expected. Angelo, with Cristoforo, went out to go look for her. It became clear that, upon learning of the island disaster, she and her guard struck out overland for Caligari territories. Septimus 19 Assassins struck at all the princes save Mondavi. Prince Lucani was killed. Septimus 20 Mondavi's armies started to roll across the mainland. The other princes, focused on winning territory in Caligari land, were caught off-guard when their own territories were threatened. Donna Gabrielle was sorcerously returned to Monfalcone, and was quietly living in the Palazzo Visconti. Septimus 27 Riots began in Charouse. Octavus 1 Odessa Blanchard relocated herself to Breg. Mid-Octavus Angelo found Erich Sieger's personal army moving toward a fort where they thought Prince Caligari was hiding. Since all his information seemed to point in that direction, and since Beatrice did once mention a certain loyalty to her father, he decided to go along. Antonio packed up Gianina and Elsa and headed out to newly-conquered northern Caligari lands as a military governor. Nemise du Arrent Mondavi came to Monfalcone before they headed out, making sure he had his orders straight and to give him a travel token so she could add him to her circuit. She also would be stopping by to get the viscount's report. Continue to next game.
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