The Republic Reborn

[LD]

[ooc=Location]
Manzinni was there when the election concluded, and he beat a hasty retreat back to Rome proper when circumstances were clearly going awry. Although the Castel San Angelo could withstand a great siege for many a day, the Castel is not where he has an interest, and he'd rather not be at the mercy of Pierleone's generosity in not opening the eminently defensible Castel's gates should matters turn sour and Pierleone need a bargaining chip, and so, in the thick of the confusion, he headed back to his estate, mentioning to Cencio that he'd raise the alarm and receptive to hearing any instructions/requests Cencio had.

Re: his second son, Ronaldo, who was earlier ordered on the walls... for purposes of NPC-ing him. He's a hot-head, he's interested in fighting and he's looking to prove himself. He's like a mini Calafatus and in earlier turns, went with Calafatus to Rieti to train soldiers. He tends to prefer the Imperials, but he's more mercenary in terms of who he's represented, so he has no great hate for the Church. He rode in the last crusade. Whereas Vittorio Manzinni is cautious, Ronaldo would ride at the head of a column and take unnecessary risks and waste the family's fortune if it meant a chance at glory.
[/ooc]

[Magnus Pym]

Polycarp, does my character have an estimate of the number of men under Frangipani's command?

[TheMeanestGuest]

OOC: I don't think Superbright posted yet. I also informed PC that Basile would be unlikely to stay in the Leonine City if de Morroccho was there and intent on staying, as he would feel uncomfortable with both of Rome's Consuls being within Pierleoni's fortifications, regardless of the situation or the fact that he's on relatively good terms with the man.

[Magnus Pym]

Is Superbright even alive?

[Polycarp]

In Rome

[ic=On the Senate Floor]Senators are still arriving from around the city as news of the disorder in the Leonine City spreads.  Some have yet to arrive, and some number – including several of the consiliarii – are believed to still be in the Leonine City.  They may be trapped there – assuming, that is, they are even still alive.  Senatorial servants, frantically counting those present, have only just declared that the Senate possesses a quorum and can thus lawfully do business.

What business it should do, however, is unclear.  The Senate has little information about the situation.  Who is Pope?  Is this another dual election, as in 1130?  Who struck first?  Is this an imperial conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate Pope Alexander (Rolando) or a Frangipani-Demetri conspiracy to overthrow the legitimate Pope Victor (Octavian), or is it a power play by both sides?  Does Signore Frangipani, now camped north of the Leonine, know what's going on?  Is the Castle St. Angelo still in Pierleoni hands?  Is the Patrician alive?

There are calls in some quarters for immediate action – what forces Pierleoni has surely cannot easily overwhelm two hundred knights, let alone if the Frangipani forces outside manage to enter the district.  The militia ought to march at once on the Leonine at once, pray that the Pierleoni still control the Castle and the eastern gate, and root the Prefect, his men, and their so-called Pope out of Roman territory.  Yet the senate is broadly pro-imperial and sympathetic to "Victor," many are reluctant to take such a strong and violent action while so much is still unknown.  Some also caution the senate about acting too soon – if the Senate supports "Victor" but he subsequently is dethroned, killed, or abandoned by whatever cardinals supported him, the Senate will poison forever its relationship with "Alexander" and could place itself at war with much of the Latin nobility.

There is also concern for the state of the people.  The procession was tense, but non-violent.  Since then, the people have been eagerly awaiting the end of the conclave and the new Pope.  Instead of a clear message of an election, however, the city is now filled with rumors of two popes, not to mention bloodshed in Saint Peter's Basilica itself.  Even now there are reports of disturbances and rioting in the Campus Martius.

The situation may not be helped by the fact that the imperial legation appears to have taken matters into its own hands.  The reichsmarschall Otto von Wittelsbach was last seen in Pinee et S. Marci, riding towards the Tiber with some of his men and a growing mob, bellowing to the crowd that in the name of the Emperor he would wage "vigorous war" against the usurper.  Despite this pro-imperial mob, however, the citizens are evidently not all of one mind, and there are other reports of a crowd throwing stones at Arnoldist clergy near Santa Maria Rotonda chanting "Monticelli, Maledicte" ("Monticelli [one of Octavian's names], accursed one").[/ic]

In the Leonine City

[ic=The Castle Battlements]Bitter fighting is reported around the Vatican Palace, where Octavian, Imar, and several other cardinals and priests are believed to be trapped.  The mob that first burst into the basilica and shouted the name of Victor now appears to be dispersed, and the defenders of the palace may be no more than two dozen imperial knights and some equally small number of armed partisans and guardsmen.  Reports of fighting are also coming from immediately to the west of the citadel, at the foot of the north gate – the only barrier to the entrance of Frangipani knights into the city, if indeed that is their intent.  Early on, some of the citizenry was reported to be engaged against both the pro-Victor and the pro-Alexander forces, but the Prefect's knights are a fifth of the entire civilian population of the district, man, woman, and child; no overwhelming Roman mob is going to materialize, at least not from this side of the river.  Pierleonist balistarii shoot bolts down at their opponents below, trying to fight them off, but the walls of the city were designed to repel outside invaders, not contain invaders within.  The wall west of the northern gatehouse may have already fallen.

On the turret battlement of the Castel St. Angelo, Patrician Giordano Pierleoni dons a hauberk with his servant's aid, and calls for his sword and shield.  Cencio, a number of other armsmen, and a small group of senators who could not or would not flee the Leonine City are gathered in the same location, looking over the city below.

"I have killed a Pope in Rome before," growls Giordano, the normally reserved Patrician trembling with rage.  "By God, what is one more?  Bring me Antonio's Pope, I'll anoint him with Antonio's blood!  They'll burn in hell together!"[/ic]

Sorry, rough weekend.  Let's get back on track!

Is Superbright even alive?

I hope so!  TMG may have to make his decision on his own, however.

[TheMeanestGuest]

I will try to post something tomorrow night from my phone, but I just noticed this right now, and have a flight to catch in the morning. As you will note, I edited Basile's location before you posted this, and he is in Rome.

[Polycarp]

Let's set the deadline for this event for Wednesday, July 9th.

[Magnus Pym]

[ic=Before the Senate]Honorable senators,
I was shocked to learn that, with the conclave's business seemingly finished, no definite Pope had been elected and that, instead, the leaders of the Church are in conflict. In the midst of this turbulence I clear my heart of doubts and remind myself of my duty as a member of this most August institution. The same institution whose purpose, as I understand it, was always to protect the people and the interests of Rome.

To whom, then, does it befall to arbitrate this dispute? Should emotions be further stirred, the great families of Latium might be tempted to make Rome their battlefield. Our friends and families need not suffer the consequences of a papal succession war. We must determine who is the rightful pope and, failing that, move swiftly to remove threats. By the removal of threats I mean only that Roman property should not be sullied by warmongers and truces established to give all involved parties more time to resolve this incendiary situation in the most peaceful way. If my honorable colleagues here present find themselves in agreement with this proposition, then perhaps it would be best to immediately find the proper manner to handle this crisis. A manner befitting the Senate.[/ic]

[Magnus Pym]

I suppose the due date for the orders will be postponed?

[Polycarp]

Regarding that... what's up, folks?

Except for TMG, who I believe is vacationing right now, I haven't gotten any PMs or requests for delays.  The site seems rather slow in general lately, and I hardly see anyone in chat.  I don't remember summer being particularly slow at the CBG, but I could be mistaken.

Are we just busy right now, or is interest in the game waning, or something else?  I have absolutely no problem with delaying or even going on hiatus if that's what people need, but nobody's even said anything about it, which is sort of new in RR - I don't think we've just had a general silence like this in the 2+ years we've been running it.

[Nomadic]

I didn't know I needed to. I didn't get an IUE pm so I assumed there was nothing for my character to do. I've been kind of sitting here waiting for things to progress.

[Magnus Pym]

Problem is without word from the consuls we cannot, as individual consiliarii without consular title, do much. I propose we postpone this; I doubt interest in the game is waning. It's probably just "that one summer".

[LD]

I've been waiting for Superbright and the update. I check the thread regularly.

[Polycarp]

It seems like I need to clarify something: when I asked each of you where your characters were, that was just a preliminary thing to establish what you'd be able to do during this event/turn.  Those weren't orders for the turn.  The IC statements posted here, earlier on this page, were intended to be a prompt.

There have been no IUEs because we're not "inter-update" right now.  We're not waiting for an update; we're on event 3.  We're in the middle of a turn.

This turn is essentially "what should be done about the event that just happened in the Leonine City?"  My question about where your character is was just to establish what you'd be able to do for this turn.  If you're in Rome, you can post IC in the Senate (see the Senate prompt), and if you're in the Leonine you can communicate IC with anyone who is also there (see the Pierleoni prompt above).  Both of those prompts reflect what is literally going on right now in game-time and you can take part in them (or not).  Either way, you're welcome to post orders for this event, just like in the previous events in this series.

Problem is without word from the consuls we cannot, as individual consiliarii without consular title, do much.

Very well.  TMG has said he'll be back from Panama this weekend, so hopefully he'll be able to weigh in soon.  As for Superbright, if I don't hear anything by Sunday we will assume that Senator de Moroccho's location is unknown and senators in Rome and the Leonine will have to proceed without him and/or his wife.

Even if you don't want to give orders without the consuls, however, you're still welcome to make your own opinions known in the Senate (if in Rome) or to Pierleoni and the other senators gathered at the Castle St. Angelo (if in the Leonine).

Does this all make sense now?

[LD]

I think that makes sense, though I'll add a note- I have been holding off on the orders for the Turn itself (rather than the events) until all the events are done- it is too much work to try to figure out which orders can be done in the shorter timeframes, so I'm holding off on responding to the initial turn actions and dispersing my money accordingly until all these little events are done--is that a completely poor idea?

I was also waiting to hear if Pierleone had anything to say to Manzinni when Manzinni left the Leonine city.

And once again, the below is not something I wanted to write since it falls to the Consul to take the lead here, and once again M would rather just retreat to his citadel. But seeing as how the consul is missing in the city.

[ic=In the Senate]
Regardless of what must be done regarding support for one person as Pope over another, the immediate situation calls for action and that action should be to defend Rome and to send relief to aid Signore Pierleone, whose men might otherwise be massacred. Once peace is assured in Rome- then we can determine who is the real Pope. The Senate needs take no side at this moment. This moment however calls for action. And rioters must be dealt with. And the Senate must establish order-by force if necessary. Those who lay down their arms will be spared and escorted from the city. I say this as a senator, equal with you on this matter and awaiting a vote- we should send troops to relieve Pierleone and peaceably escort the outsiders from our City, while still maintaining our wall defenses against the greater danger.
[/ic]

This will probably be seen as support for the German Pope, but oh well. :D As a player I prefer that, even if Manzinni would rather prefer to sit this one out.