Elberhard: I am grateful to my brother for his service investigating the circumstances of Kaiser Siegfried's death. His inquiries are complete, although the outcome is far from satisfactory. I will circulate the full text of his communication to all Electors.

As all must surely suspect, the death of the Kaiser inside the supposed safety of the Reich was not random violence. It was an assassination, conducted by a paid of mercenaries. What is worse, it appears that they were hired by men within the Reich - specifically, within Bavaria. Unfortunately, we do not know the identity of the individuals involved, although we may speculate.

Electors, the Reich has become like Saturn - it is devouring its own children. We must stop this descent into violence and civil war. Everyone must show restraint and discipline. The laws must be obeyed; the Charter must be obeyed. Offices of state and chains of command must be adhered to. There can be no open rebellion, no loose talk condoning rebels. Gentlemen, the wolf is in the pen - we must stand together, back to back or be devoured.

In that spirit, I make two further announcements. First, Outremer will be gifted as Kaser Siegfried planned. You may reject unification. I cannot and will not impose that on you against the will of the Diet. You may vote on that issue at the next Diet session. But the gifting of Imperial lands is within my authority as Kaiser and Chancellor. You may disagree violently with it - violently enough to kill our Head of State - but that will not stop me. I will honour the late Kaiser's wishes and see that his promise to Emperor Isaac is kept.

Second, you will notice that Duke Hans makes mention of an unauthorised army being raised by Dietrich von Dassel in Ragusa, sanctuary of the turbulent priest, Alexander Luther. As a Swabian, Dietrich is answerable to his Duke. I authorise Hans to take the Kaiser's army to Ragusa and arrest Luther. The Duke may make whatever steps are necessary to restore discipline and the proper chain of command in that citadel.

The text of Hans's report:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


Brother, Emperor,

I have completed the investigation I believe and have managed to capture nearly all of the men who were part of the attack on Siegfried and his retinue. As you read this letter, they are on their way to Rome under my guard.

It seems that they were neither brigands nor assassins, but mercenaries who had been extraordinarily well equipped and paid off by a man in Florence. Luckily, the leader of the mercenaries was taken alive, and he remembers the payer to have a Bavarian accent and to be acting on behalf of another, who he did not identify.
Based on the amount paid, 60,000 florins in total, it is safe to assume that it must have been a noble with good connections or a group of nobles, as no merchant would be able to afford this amount of payment. It would probably be useful to investigate which house or noble has recently been expending much of their capital or have saved extraordinary amounts to commit to this undertaking.

Meanwhile, my agents in Ragusa have reported back to me regarding Dietrich von Dassel. While they did not bring information on his involvement with the Order, they did report that Alexander Luther is under Dassel's protection at Ragusa, spreading his heretical lies, and that Dassel is ammassing a large host loyal to his person and Luther's cause. I would suggest that you and Duke Arnold stop him immediately or allow me to intervene. It should not come to a siege as my agents have infiltrated the citadel, but still I would not wish unnecessary spilling of German blood, unless their faithlessness is proven.

With regards,
Your brother Hans