Imperial Diet III

[Stig]

Ansehelm stands again

I applaud you Herr Hümmel, you have got my vote for the position of Chancellor. I believe that you will be able to recapture the lost city of Thorn, my city of Thorn.

[AussieGiant]

A messenger makes his way to the Diet floor in the livery of House Austria. He clears his throat and begins to read the unfurled parchment

My Lords,

Now that my father is leading the Riech's new Crusading Army to Damascus, I hear by follow his wishes. I am now the Steward of Austria until such time as my father returns or god takes him from this earth.

Long live the Reich!!

The messanger folds the parchment and departs the Diet floor

[Warluster]

The spy Dieter von Darmstadt enters the DIet,closely accompanied by Fritz,Prinz Jobst's main captain and bodyuard


Mein lords,counts and Duke,

And of course mein great Kaiser,

I have been sent by Prinz Jobst, who does not wish to be back at the Diet for some years

Dieter glares at some people from the paper he's reading

He has sent a message, which I shall read out:

Mein fellow electors, mein Kaiser,
I have been warded off Rome for now, but I have very joyful news.
Dieter von Darmstadt recently investigated the place where the battle between the EIA and the Danish Crusaders happened.

I sent him to report to you persoanlly,
I also welcome back mein Kaiser, we missed you much. I also congratulate mein fellow swabian Chancellor Hans on attaining the position of Chancellor.
I shall return soon after I go to help the Franconians fight off those Poles,

God be with you,
Prinz Jobst,
Count of Dijon,
Commander of the EIA,

mein fellows,

At the battle I found many dead, of both Danes and Germans.

I found that the Danish Family Member was killed from Crossbow fire.

And I also found that the Danish were those who struck first, several german Scouts were found dead on the edge of the forest, and with interviews with the soldiers under command of Jobst, they thought it was a invading French army, and they knew not it was a Crusading Danish Army.

If there are any inquires Prinz Jobst has said I may fill in his position in the Diet for now, until he returns.

Dieter bows and sits where Jobst usually sits, while Fritz sits behind him.

[Stig]

A messenger from Breslau enter the Diet reading out the following message

Meine Herren,

I must say that I do not believe that Prinz Jobst is free to go. Ofcourse it would have been nice if the Danes told us they were coming, but we knew that a crusade was going on, so they were free to pass through. Now we are at war with them, not because of them, but because of the Prinz.
And here he is, offering his help to Franconia. May I remind him, that he is the one that got Franconia into more trouble. We lost my city of Thorn, we have trouble with the Poles, and here is Jobst, getting us into trouble with the Danes as well. A big thank you.

If Jobst really wants to help us, I suggest he takes his men and joins the crusade. That way he'll do the Reich a favour, and he doesn't get Franconia into trouble.

Ansehelm von Kastilien
Count of Thorn
Current Governor of Breslau
Heir of Franconia

[FactionHeir]

*Hans sighs and begins to speak*

My lords,
While I would like to believe what Dieter von Darmstadt is reporting, I should caution that the findings do neither prove nor disprove the events.
So, we know some bodies of our individuals bearing the Imperial uniform have been found at the edge of the forest, but does that really tell us anything?
And so I ask,
Were they truly Germans and if so, were they officially part of our Prince's forces? For all we know someone could have stolen these uniforms.
Were they slain by the Danes or in a dispute with their own comrades or even another group we are not aware of?
Were they the ones who initiated the aggression?
Did they truly die where they were found or were they moved there or did they even get slain during the ensuing battle, merely slightly detached from the main force?

We lack information my lords, information, that I sent this man out to forage, yet he only brings back two pieces of some importance, the second one being, that some soldiers thought it was a French invasion. Considering we have been at war with France and the French wear quite different uniforms, is the story that some soldiers tell truly reliable?

Now, while these pieces do not redeem our Prince, they also do not incriminate him. There is a lack of any credible source that could tell the true story, for the soldiers will try to protect themselves and their commander, the Danes will incriminate us and the locals will say whatever they are paid to say or they like, and the slain do not seem to give much away.

The spy Hugo on the other hand sends word that Prince Haakon of Denmark is still alive, which means that the noble slain north of Staufen is not him, unless the informant is mistaken.

I would ask for anyone who believes there may be another avenue of investigation to speak up so it can be pursued.

[gibsonsg91921]

I, Ehrhart von Mahren, Count of Prague, believe this matter should be settled once and for all. A prosecution committee shall hear the crimes and the evidence, and question Prinz Jobst before this Diet. This committee should number in four, and each Duchy should have one representative. Then, an open vote whether the Prinz is guilty of attacking the Danish Crusaders preemptively or not, and the Kaiser Henry shall prescribe his doom, if he is found guilty.

I propose that the 4 representatives shall be those who have most strongly questioned our noble Prinz's actions, thus justice, if necessary, shall certainly be carried out.

[OverKnight]

Otto thinks a bit and speaks:

In order for such two large forces to stumble upon each other unawares, there must be some sort of conspiracy afoot on their side or ours, most likely both. Agents provocateurs in both forces could have caused the confrontation. Perhaps if we followed a trail of florins in this matter. . .though we don't know specifics, treachery of this level requires large bribes. Are any of our men, particularly in the Prinz's forces that day, newly rich? Are any survivors of the former Danish crusader force enriched despite their defeat? The army is still near our borders, perhaps if we dispatched a spy there, we might find some answers.

[gibsonsg91921]

However, idle debate and information-gathering without action is futile. We must try Prinz Jobst for his alleged crimes, and put this madness behind us swiftly and quietly without erupting more argument.