The Enigmatic Invitation - Levantine Struggle diplomacy thread

**phonicsmonkey** · 02-13-2011, 11:53

Constantinople, ancient Byzantium, winding city streets layered in the thick lacquer of countless generations of memories, the lost souls of innumerable civilizations clamouring to be heard amidst the hustle and bustle of daily life. Girt by the impenetrable Bosphorus in whose murky depths lay the detritus of millennia, encrusted with barnacle and shrouded in thick silt.

If all roads in the west lead to Rome, surely even the humblest pony trail in the orient must at some stage in its wending way converge with its multitudinous peers in one hideous nexus on this beating heart of humanity, bringing with it the wayfarers, adventurers, soothsayers, rogues and clergymen cast adrift on the shifting sands of the Levant.

So it is of little surprise that there are to be found within the walls of the mighty Byzantine burg representatives of the major powers of the east: the Crusader States of Antioch and Jerusalem, the Sultanate of the Turks, the Caliphate of the Fatimid Egyptians and of course the Byzantine Emperor himself..each have their appointed persons in situ.

It is of some greater surprise however that these very persons should each find themselves invited, by way of a parchment of unrecognisable seal, delivered by hooded messenger in the dead of night, to a parley of unknown intent, to be held at a disused Basilica in the obscure Sixth Hill district of the city.

And it is to this mysterious rendezvous that we are now ourselves invited, to observe the events which are now to unfold before our curious eyes....

*This is the in-character diplomacy thread for players in The Levantine Struggle hotseat game. Please do not post in this thread unless you are invited to do so by the GM of the game.*

**Cecil XIX** · 02-13-2011, 13:53

A man enters dressed in a simple, knee-length chlamys. His cloak is off-white, perhaps from too much time outdoors, and is a bit frayed around the edges. It's only decoration is a cross which dominates both front and back.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

"Well well well, what's all this then? Is there anyone else here bothered at having been awakened at such an ungodly hour just to be summoned for... something?"

He pauses, and looks around.

"Oh. There's no one here. Well if this is another ambush then GET ON WITH IT!"

He pauses again, this time with his head darting to look at every which way. After a while he sighs.

"Man this is boring. I suppose I could leave, but then an anonymous summons in the middle of night just sounds so interesting..."

He takes a seat in the apse vault and waits, his eyes occasionally darting to some shadowy corner.

**Nightbringer** · 02-13-2011, 21:43

After a few minutes, the sound of boots on stone becomes audible, and three men march into the room. Two of the men are fully armored in chain mail and brigantine, with masks covering their faces, leaving only their eyes to be seen. The man in the center is garbed entirely in black silks, and from his posture it is obvious he is the leader of the group, he turns his scared and wrinkled face towards the Christian diplomat already in the room and makes a disgusted face.
I wasn't aware that barbarians were going to be invited as well.
With that, he makes his way to the center of the room, turns, and directly faces the doorway, (away from the other diplomat) waiting.

**GeneralHankerchief** · 02-13-2011, 22:13

As the various diplomats enter the room, they notice a piece of parchment hastily tacked on to the front door.

The Kingdom of Jerusalem seeks to maintain trade and friendly relations with all powers of the Levant and surrounding areas. Any diplomat proposing such will not be turned away. In addition, the Kingdom hereby and publicly claims the lands of Damascus and Banyas for its own.

**Nightbringer** · 02-13-2011, 22:25

Having read the parchment, The Fatimid diplomat burst into laughter
It seems that the so called, "Kingdom of Jerusalem," is too afraid to even show its face at a diplomatic meeting. I wonder, how shall such men fare in battle?
He gestures and one of the men with him hands him a scroll of parchment. He hastily scribbles a message on it and tacks it up next to the one from Jerusalem.
It reads The Fatimid Caliphate seeks to maintain its lands against these Christian invaders, and in doing so, it is first necessary for its armies to forcibly remove them from said lands. We ignore all claims to land you make, for it is not your land to take. If you wish to live, you had best set sail for home now, for a wall of steel is coming your way.