The Campaign Builder's Guild

Light Dragon, this is the message in question.

[ooc=Old Message to Manzinni from Tolomeo II]I have little patience for commoners trying to play the part of lords, and no more for commoners trying their amateur hands at theology.  You "senators" of all people should know why he has left, for it is you who have forced him into exile.  If my protection of His Holiness troubles the Romans, than they must be content with my apologies unless their words are backed with not hot air alone, but silver.[/ooc]

It does appear to be in his hand and would presumably be hard to forge, but I should point out that there is no explicit statement that he will "hand the pope over."

This--"If my protection of His Holiness troubles the Romans, than they must be content with my apologies unless their words are backed with not hot air alone, but silver."
Sounds pretty straightforward as being "hand the pope over".

Or did you mean silver as in weapons? I took it to mean a bribe... I may have been acting on the wrong presumptions now that I think about your comment.

If I completely and utterly misinterpreted that Out of Character... then Manzinni wouldn't have shown the letter to Fortis... I really didn't get that silver=weapons with all my planning up until now.  :angry:

It is possible that Tolomeo was being purposefully vague...

Edit: Silver almost certainly means money, not weapons.  Still, it's a somewhat vague statement.

[ic=Letter to Vittorio Manzinni]Dearest friend,

My agents have returned from the Iberian peninsula with good news - they have found a supplier of Iron Ingots from the Basque country. They are most eager to work with us and are looking to begin a relationship as soon as possible. They do not list a base price, rather we must tell them how many ingots we desire and they shall bill us. I believe they are trustworthy (well, as trust worthy as any foreigner from a far off land can be). We should make great haste in pursuing this venture.

Your partner,

Senator Domenico DeRosa [/ic]

[ic=To the Senate] Dear Senators,

It has come to my attention that several of the greatest churches in our fair city have fallen into ruin and disrepair over the centuries since their founding. In their haste to leave the city, the papists brought much hardship to our places of worship. The priests have fled along with the Pope and have left only monks and low ranking clergy to administer the churches. Though they have struggled valiantly, their efforts have been for naught. Rome, the center of Christendom in the west, is the laughing stock of the known world! Since we are now the leaders of the Eternal City, I believe it is our moral duty to shepherd the repairs and beautification of Rome's churches. We should make Rome a beautiful city and that begins with its places of worship.

I propose we should enact a poll tax on the non-Catholics of this city. The revenue from this tax would be funneled into a fund to be administered by the Senate, which would oversee the rehabilitation and beautification of the greatest churches in Rome. [/ic]

[ooc=Orders]- Send a man to find the most trustworthy, but affordable,  Genoese Merchant House to ferry the ingots from Iberia to Rome.

- Send some men out to assess locations in the city that would serve as good places to establish a small number of inns and taverns that could be used to house merchants and religious pilgrims. If possible call in a few favors and purchase the land and materials necessary to establish a handful of these inns. Spend no wealth on this.

- Get one of my servants to help me fashion a nice looking wooden cross with Senator Hugo de Vinti's patron saint's name engraved on it.  [/ooc]

LD, the party is going to be in summer. Althought I was very happy with this and have been kinda waiting for it. It's premature.

Until you give me your final say, I will consider that I haven't read it, and that the post does not exist.

:P

Magnus- I guess just assume it's a party at my house in that case then. You'd have been invited (DaVinti), and DeRosa, Di Fontaine and Basile. [So a Di an De and a Da]
--
[ic=To DeRosa]
That is most capital news. There remains but one difficulty- we can import the iron ingots, but we cannot forge the ingots. Our blacksmiths are not numerous enough to forge the mail. Do you have thoughts on this matter? Even if the iron arrives... we may need to spend double the wealth to craft it and then it may take a year or two to develop the chainmail.

Rome is not a great city of arms manufacture.  While it has blacksmiths that can forge mail, there are not too many of them. Currently, almost every smith capable of making mail is making hauberks for the men of Consul Calafatus, and it may take a full year for the city's smiths to armor only a hundred men.  Raising "heavy infantry" – that is, armored infantry – would be about twice as expensive as unarmored infantry, as well as taking much longer before their equipment would be ready.

I regrettably am finding it difficult to see the profit in this venture at this time. I want to see profit in it and I want to aid Rome, but this aid may come far too late before the Emperor's arrival. Your thoughts are always welcome.
[/ic]

[ic=Letter to Senator DeRosa]

Salutations, esteemed colleague.
This letter was long overdue, but better later than never is what they say. I write to you to apologize for my conduct towards you over the Formello matter that exploded two season ago. Sometimes, a friend has to go to great lengths to save another, and I feel I did such a thing. I appreciate your holding back of your plans. I know, as a fellow senator, that keeping our word is paramount. Since you've done me a favor, I will do you one, and will resume working in collaboration with you, should the need arise, and support you in your endeavors.

Also, I extend to you personally, although I already made a mention at the Lesser Council, an invitation to my up-and-coming party in the summer. It will be grand and there will be many great entertainers. I would like it very much if you blessed us with your presence.

Sincerely,
Hugo de Vinti[/ic]

-Extremely OOC- I must admit I'm somewhat surprised your character knows that much about Gregoriopolis and Ostia. Now, to other matters.

[ic=In Response to Manzinni at his Party]Ah, Manzinni!

This is good news, indeed. You did your studies very well, and I thank you for seeking my opinion on such an important matter.

An alliance with Sicily is in the best of our interest, and if it has to start at sea, the better! The Sicilian fleet is a force to be reckoned with, and its blessing would give us much leeway in future economic endeavors. Perhaps even military, though this one is a touchy part I'd prefer we consult with Signore Calafatus, should we aim to accomplish expansionism designs.

So they seek salt? We are in luck, my friend! Gregoriopolis has much of that, and it is my understanding that they trade it locally only. Perhaps if we were to sell it to Sicily we could get not only naval protection, but an income as well. Unless the benevolent King Roger II of Sicily mentioned no possibility for this. In this case we will have to do with naval protection.

Tell me, friend, how much do they pay for salt over there? Let's say, by the [standard denomination (pound?)].

Regarding your concerns for an eventual Roman presence in Gregoriopolis, yes it would be a risky venture. As you said the most important would be to not alienate the residents of this fine town. But there is the matter of malaria, which I am looking into, and the Pisan thieves who steal marble from the ruins of Ostia. I'm sure we can arrange something, but first I'd like you to answer the question about pricing. Best for us if we don't waste our times, eh?[/ic]

Polycarp, you haven't mentionned this to me before in my Intelligence Report of Gregoriopolis, but maybe I should know? How much does one have to pay for a [standard denomination (pound?)] of salt from Gregoriopolis? Naturally it's an information they should have gotten...

I think that everyone knows that Gregoriopolis has salt. It's an issue of how much they had- but after Di Fontaine's march to the sea where he met the salt farmers (public knowledge to everyone in the posts)- Vittorio certainly would have discovered about the salt.

March to the Sea was public knowledge:
[ic=March to the Sea Reposted]
"...They were graciously welcomed by the small population of Gregoriopolis, though somewhat less so by the local priests.  The sindaco showed the Senator the ruins of Ostia, as well as the marble-kilns and salt pans where the Gregoriopolitans make their living.  They requested that the Romans bring wine and cloth, for these things were in great demand in their village.  The Senator and his men stayed at Gregoriopolis on their second night, and reached Rome by the end of the third day of the expedition..."[/ic]

Now, I may not have known about the marble-theft was by Pisans, but I do know that the Pisans would potentially be angered if Rome starts up a trading post at Gregoriopolis; also it was public knowledge that the Gregoripolitans are melting down the marble (also from the March to the Sea).

Oh... /facepalm

[ic=Reply to Consul Calafatus]That is excellent news, Consul.  We will turn out all the soldiers we can muster.  Rome need not gather its entire force, but heavy infantry, cavalry, and men skilled in siege weaponry are greatly needed.

Rector Truffa[/ic]

[ic=Reply to Consul Calafatus]If the Faliscans dare to meddle in your attack, the Consuls of Perugia would find it difficult to justify an intervention given that it is a Roman offensive that we are not participants in.  Furthermore, it would be impossible for us to march through Faliscan territory to aid you.  We consider the attack on Farfa ill-advised, and while it will not damage our relations with Rome in our view, I cannot offer any promise of support in this endeavor.

Nevertheless, I will convey your request to the Consuls and hope to provide you with a definitive answer to the question of the proposed League by next season.

Fulco Ferrante di Perugia[/ic]

[ic=To Manzinni]We need to find a way to attract blacksmiths from the surrounding countryside and towns. Perhaps if we were able to acquire some land and offer them low rent? Perhaps we could convince the other senators into making Rome an arms dealer? Convince them to create a veritable industry from scratch. Of course the two of us would be at the helm of this venture. [/ic]

[ic=To Hugo de Vinti]Dear Senator,

Fret not about what occurred during those painful days. We were all on edge and politics demanded decisive action.

I humbly accept your most gracious invitation to your wondrous party. I shall wait with baited breath until the day of the event.

Sincerely,

DeRosa[/ic]

OOC- I updated my Orders carp

OOC-"We need to find a way to attract blacksmiths from the surrounding countryside and towns. Perhaps if we were able to acquire some land and offer them low rent? Perhaps we could convince the other senators into making Rome an arms dealer? Convince them to create a veritable industry from scratch. Of course the two of us would be at the helm of this venture. "

So Polycarp- as far as our characters know in game- how ridiculous does this sound? From what I see- rome lacks leather, iron, and blacksmith skills and transportation to be an arms dealer.

It does however have a central location.

Heh better get my orders in...

[ooc]
- I will wait through the week of the pilgrimage, participating as is necessary. Once the holy week is over I will go on a trip of my own, gathering up a small group of bodyguards as well as several loyal and eager assistants. We will load up a small caravan with wine held back from the sales during the holy week and set off for Tre Fontane. Upon arrival I will greet them and offer to hand the arms of my guards into their safekeeping for the duration of our stay if they voice any concerns about armed men. I and all of my men will then if permitted, pay our respects. After this I will thank the Abbey, offering them a gift in the form of a cask of the best tasting wine from my lot (picked by myself) as a personal thanks from myself to these devout men of god for doing his righteous work.

- After Tre Fontane we will make our way down to Gregoriopolis where we will greet the locals saying that their interest in wine has come to the ears of Rome and I have come to help fulfill that need. I will sell the wine from the caravan to them, slightly marked up to pay off the cost of bringing it down to them. I will also discuss with the locals about their needs and if there are any items greatly desired by them from Rome. Furthermore I will inquire into the cost and possibility of investing in the salt fields.

- Additionally I am going to make a full market census and send out men all over to get an idea of how the markets in Latium and the surround are doing. Men will be sent to Rieti, Subiaco, Avezzano, Portus, Sora, Fondi and Nettuno. Additionally I will send men to Genoa, Venice, and Naples. They are to conduct an examination of the local markets to see what is in high demand (and thus possible to ship from Rome and sell), what is in high supply (and thus possible to buy and ship back to Rome for a profit) and to get a general idea of the size of the local market and its health. The primary focus should be on the price of things with salt, wine, and wool. However, everything should be looked at to some degree. The men may spend up to a season investigating their assigned settlement but may return sooner if they feel they have completed their census quicker. Furthermore I will spread amongst them coin equal to [1 wealth] which they may use to pay for their journey, bribe and befriend local merchants, and to bring me back a sample of anything they find that they think would sell well in Rome.

- I will also have several of my men who remain in Rome do a census of the local Roman market to see what is in highest demand.

- Due to all of this I cannot be there for the war on Farfa but as I have pledged support to that effort I will pay [1 wealth] to the hiring of temporary mercenaries that will travel with the consul's forces and offer aid in the war.
[/ooc]

Quote from: Light Dragon
OOC-"We need to find a way to attract blacksmiths from the surrounding countryside and towns. Perhaps if we were able to acquire some land and offer them low rent? Perhaps we could convince the other senators into making Rome an arms dealer? Convince them to create a veritable industry from scratch. Of course the two of us would be at the helm of this venture. "

So Polycarp- as far as our characters know in game- how ridiculous does this sound? From what I see- rome lacks leather, iron, and blacksmith skills and transportation to be an arms dealer.

It does however have a central location.

During the Renaissance, it was quite common for the non-master tradesmen to go from city to city seeking higher pay and better living conditions. I'd imagine we could do the same, though on a much smaller scale. All we really need is a single master to train some skilled apprentices to get the ball rolling.