The Magnaura

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios interrupts with a grunt.

I fear we are getting off topic. The Patriarchal Representative has asked a fine question. What are the official charges against the 'Organization' that are being brought by the Senate?

A broad charge of 'conspiring to commit treason against the Empire' seems appropriate. As well as 'threatening the Royal Family'.

But more specifically, they have assisted in the extermination of Iconium which clearly violated an Edict. They have sent someone to assassinate me. They have harrassed, threatened, and I believe attacked, the Princess. They have kidnapped Veronica who is a citizen of the Empire. They are clearly criminals and I am sure we could find dozens of criminal codes that they have broken.

I welcome others in here to bring forth their own lists of charges.

[00jebus]

Yes, fine, Im sure we all agree that these men are scum, at best jumped up bandits with delusions of power, at worst skilled and deadly assassins, but the Lady Veronica, has not yet provided us, despite asking repeatadly, with a way of finding the orginasation, nor any knowlage of how they are equipped.
*He mutters* Instead she said some very unkind accusations as to my character....thats the Milanease for you... always moan about needing help but never tell you anything that will allow you to help them....until you owe them money that is..

*Normally*
Im sure the grandmaster, along with all reasonable men, would disprove of simply tourching large parts of cities in the hope of killing one or two of them,

*he looks at veronica* So, how about telling us where they get their money? or their weapons? food even? large groups are always tracable when you know this.

[ULC]

Veronica ignores the comment about her heritage.

"The Organization is equipped with whatever they wish to be equipped with. While Ignatios was with us, we had samples of a liquid fire available to us for instance. And as for where they get there money, well, I find this humorous, but the Imperial treasury itself. I'll let you know of which counters are with the Organization."

[Northnovas]

Aleksios stands and looks toward the woman…

Yes I think a good question has been asked and if someone can formally produce the information of this “Organization” that I have heard about but know of no substance.

Perhaps a committee could look into this along with the Basileus report from the woman and then proper discussion and action can be taken by an informed chamber. Till then I request that out of confidentiality that she be removed from the room so that we may discuss real issues and that is the defence of this city from invaders.

I am willing to remain in Constantinople and arrange for the defence of the city by forming a Tagmata of Noumeroi to garrison the city. We must coordinate defenders of the city and scouts to track the movement of the enemy by watchtowers and actively initiate contact with the enemy outside the region to wear them down before they arrive here.

[Ferret]

Hypatios returns to the Magnaura, looking deep in thought.

I have one more question for the girl. What do you know of the man named Gregorias, who brought you to me?

[Andres]

A tired man enters the Magnaura.

My master, Comes Savvas ek Militou, reports that the army besieging Corinth has been defeated. 178 prisoners were ransommed back for 768 florins.

The Crown Prince of the Fatimid Empire has been slain in the battle.

The messenger turns to the tables of the Asteri.

My master offers his sincere condolences with your loss. He would have offered you his condolences personally, but unfortunately, he got severely injured during the battle near Corinth and was not able to make the journey towards Contantinople.

The messenger sits down to drink some water.

[Kagemusha]

" I applaud Savvas ek Militou, for his victory against the Egyptians in Corinth. He has shown that attacking our heartlands will result in swift defeat. I hope he will soon recover from his wounds and i will send a barrel of wine which has been added medical herbs to him, so his recovery will be more swift."

[Smowz]

A rich Genoase merchentman hands a scroll to one of the speakers at the magnuara

Nevoulas ek Philadelphius regrets that he cannot be here to offer his sorrow in person, he is unfortunately stranded on Rhodes. He paid a Merchentman a large sum of his personal wealth to bring a short message here.

The House of the Asteri for so long a shining hope for the empire has now suffered grave misfortunes losing good men in honor for the empire. I owe Kosmas a great debt for bringing me into the fold and allowing me to be part of what I hoped would be the great resurrection of the empire. The ideals have been severly tested recently and I believe the deaths of the great men of the Asteri is divine punishment for the gross display of incompetence and despicable behavior of others.

I pray for all of our souls.

Nevoulas ek Philadelphius

[OverKnight]

The Basileus speaks.

The loss of Senator Mavrozomis is a bitter one. He lead his men on Crusade with panache, outpacing his fellows. It is a terrible shame that such fervor may have contributed to his demise. He was a good man and a selfless leader. I will miss him.

Aleksios pauses respectfully for a moment.

I wish to congratulate the Senate on recent victories against the Egyptians. Senator Ksanthopoulos and the Order have performed valiantly in the Levant helping to shield this very city. I hope the Megas Logothetes quickly and fully replenishes their armies.

I am also grateful to Savvas ek Militiou. With my army needed here, he managed to repel an invasion in the west with the few resources he had with assistance from the Asteri. His victory is a testament to his skill and to constructive cooperation between the Houses.

[woad&fangs]

A messenger pidgeon flutters into the Magnaura with the following message
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have heard rumours that the Muhamedans are calling their own crusade against our capitol. If these rumours are true then I would like to offer my opinion on this matter. To my knowledge their are four routes that the Muhamedans might attack by.

*The Fatamids may attack northward from Acre. Luckily, God's hand has guided the heretics of the Reich into the Levant with a massive army. They should be able to prevent the Fatamids from using that route.

*The Fatamids may also attack by sea, sailing from the port of Alexandria. If this should happen then our brave crusaders will send them to a watery grave.

*The Moors may sail from the west. We currently have a large fleet in the Aegean. If it would sail to the southern tip of Greece then I believe we will be protected from the Moors.

*Anatolia is where we are most vulnerable to a crusade, or Jihad as the Muhamedans call them. My advice would be to attack and to continue attacking. Keep the Seljuks on the defensive and prevent them from preparing a counter attack.

~Solomon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[GeneralHankerchief]

Patriarchal Representative:

I wasn't suggesting anything one way or another. I was simply ignorant of the circumstances.

*The Representative goes over the transcripts again, sifting certain things.*

[GeneralHankerchief]

Patriarchal Representative:

Anyway, I was under the impression that Hypatios exterminated Iconium on inspiration from a dream, not because of any temporal urging. Can we get clarification on this?

[deguerra]

I am glad to see things are moving on all fronts of debate once again.

Regarding the Caesar: While I can understand the need to strike at our foes, it is not always prudent to do so at the detriment of one's own defences. I am not fully confident in my position as the sole thing standing between an unknown number of Turks in a fortified city and western Anatolia. I would be most grateful for any assistance that could be provided.

Regarding the organisation the questions that have been asked are good ones. Strator Makedonios' list of charges are quite accurate, to which I would only add that they threatened my infant children, just to demonstrate the lows they would stoop to.

Because I had a good relationship with the late Strator Ampelas I would like to note that as far as I have been able to ascertain, many Strators were approached at one stage or another, and I never found any proof that Strator Ameplas' connection went beyond that.

I also happen to have a great deal of respect for Strator Vringas, and would caution anyone from making judgments and decisions based on the words of this woman, who, while clearly having some knowledge, seems unable or unwilling to provide any sort of concrete insights.

Finally, must Iakovos really be represented in the Senate by his wife? I understood this august body to be one weighed in tradition and formality, not some sort of discussion circle where husband and wife are interchangeable. I realize Anna has spoken here on my behalf on one occasion, but she did so only that once, only because I myself was indisposed and only because of the great importance of her report.

[ULC]

Veronica closes her eyes as she listens to the politician's discuss the matters at hand.

"First, I would like to address Senator Kalameteros, whom I'd like to thank for his hospitality. I answered the questions posed to me fairly, and if it has not occurred to you that I stated that the Organization has any equipment available to the Empire, and that it has been withdrawing funds from corrupt Imperial money counters, then this will: the Organization long ago, even before Symeons coup, began placing it's members within Imperial armies and recruiting soldiers into the Organization, and currently, a significant portion are still on Organization payroll. I can also lead you to the Organization's burned out library in Cannakle, although i do not know what you will find in there."

Veronica glares at Hypatios though.

"Yes, I knew of the thing called Grigorias. Aleksander recruited him on the basis that he be put under watch, since we did not trust him, but nor could we leave him to his own devices. Grigorias was, I must put emphasis on that, was an Imperial diplomat. If you will check your records, I believe he was exiled for his "eccentric" tastes and "conduct unbecoming a representative of the Imperial court." Considering you Hypatios are still here, then Grigorias must be a man ten fold more terrible then even you."

Veronica gazes across the room, looking at each Senator in turn.

"I hear talk of expelling me, or sending for Iakovos. May I ask why you wish to pull a man who has put his faith in me to represent him to the fullest from the frontlines to discuss something that he has already known? I do believe it was him and Grandmaster Makedonios who brought up the glaring weakness of the southern Anatolian and Levant front. My husband has chosen to stay in Adana, since he sees no point in debating something that there truly is no discussion too, and defend the people as best he can, with what little men he has."

[OverKnight]

The Basileus reenters the Magnaura. He appears gaunt and tired. His fingers are ink-stained.

The loss of Markianos Ampelas is a tragedy. He was a good man and a capable Megas Logothetes. I came to respect him a great deal. We are poorer without him.

The Lady Veronica is under Imperial protection. Please be courteous to her during her stay in the Senate.

The Basileus slowly turns, his gaze sweeping the chamber.

The Empire faces a dire threat. Hordes of infidels, driven by religious fervor, will try to storm our lands, making their way to this very city. At the same time, many of our men are committed overseas.

There has been much division in this chamber. We have argued over the merits of the Crusade, over pride of place when it comes to recruitment and buildings, and searched for traitors in our midst.

In the face of the Jihad, we must cast aside these differences and defeat our true enemies. Come the four corners of the Earth, if we stand united, we will defeat them all.

Aleksios stands grim and resolute.

I say let them come. Let them dash themselves against our walls, bloody themselves against our bravery and die when faced with our valour and arms. We will emerge from this crucible stronger than before. The Empire reforged and reborn, with this time of troubles serving as the birth pangs of a new age of triumph.

We will persevere. We will win. Because we are the greatest Empire the world has ever seen.

The Basileus finishes with a hushed intensity.

We ARE Rome!

[GeneralHankerchief]

*During the last speech, the Patriarchal Representative lets out a snort and, chuckling, makes his way out of the building.*

[Kagemusha]

Messenger enters the diet and reads from a note.

"I have scattered a small rebellion in Nicae. Released the few survivors.- Ioannis Kantakouzinos"

[Andres]

But more specifically, they have assisted in the extermination of Iconium which clearly violated an Edict. They have sent someone to assassinate me.

Savvas stands up, a smile on his face.

That's interesting. I've heard rumours, I've heard stories, but I never, ever saw an official report about an assassination attempt on you. Are you sure it wasn't something you imagined during one of your deliriums caused by your illness?

Anyway...

Savvas looks at Aleksios.

Wherever my lord needs me, I will follow him. I as well volunteer to defend Constantinople.

Savvas sits down again.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

OOC: Northnovas is allowed to move my avatar and the garrison in Arta.

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios looks at Savvas.

No, I am afraid it very much happened. I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't know it was part of a larger effort. A grim smile preceded the next sentence. Also, with the tone of some of you in here, I didn't think you would care.

I'll give a quick overview. I had a watch put on my window after Veronica here snuck into my chambers. The watch saw a man crawling up the wall. My men alerted me and we laid in wait in my room while a straw dummy took my place in bed. The man put a knife to the dummy's throat and I announced my prescence. Veronica appeared in the window and distracted the man. A fight broke out, three of my guards died, my shieldbearer was injured, but we captured the man.

Veronica knew him as part of a criminal gang that Symeon used to belong to. Apparantly, I was getting close to something with my investigations into who was harrassing the Princess. I locked the man in a cell. When I went to question him, he was gone. The group he belongs to had found a man and threatened him to take my prisoner's place.

That is what happened. If you wish, I can present witnesses, including three people that are already present. Looks in turn at Veronica, Iakovos, and Nick the Shieldbearer.

[Andres]

Makedonios looks at Savvas.

No, I am afraid it very much happened. I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't know it was part of a larger effort. A grim smile preceded the next sentence. Also, with the tone of some of you in here, I didn't think you would care.

With sarcasm dripping from his voice, Savvas says:

You're breaking my heart, Grandmaster. Don't talk such nonsense. Of course we would care. You're such a funny guy and a joy to be around.

Have some more wine.

Savvas puts a goblet of wine in front of Makedonios.


It is of course unfortunate that Iaokovs isn't here to confirm the story. With all due respect to Veronica and your shieldbearer, but the word of a Senator carries more weight.

But I guess this "assassination attempt" will also be included in the report Veronica and her husband are going to give to the Basileus?

Anyway, we have more important things to discuss right now.

Savvas looks at the tables of House Asteri.

Mylords, House Tagamata will march whatever troops they can assemble towards Constantinople. Once we reach the Capital, we will combine our efforts with the Emperor.

Is House Asteri able to recapture Caesarea and if so, how much time will it take?

I suggest the the Caesar, House Komnendoukai and House Asteri wipe out the Turks as fast as possible.

Savvas looks at the tables of the Order.

Will the Order be able to hold Antioch and the surrounding settlements until an army of House Asteri or the Royal Army of the Caesar reaches you?

Savvas then addresses House Komnendoukai.

Gentlement, forgive me, but can you shortly brief me on the current military situation of your House? Would it be possible for you to send any reinforcements to Constantinople or to the Order?


In the meanwhile, I suggest that the Crusaders combine their forces. We have to deal out serious blows to the Fatamids and we should break them by conquering their main cities. Therefore, whoever is beyond these petty sabotage attempts, please stop this. Combine your forces and cause as much damage as fast as possible to the Fatamids. The Crusaders cannot afford the luxury of striving for personal glory.

Religious reasons should be enough, but if some Crusaders don't care much about religion, then they should work together for the sake of the Empire.

Savvas sits down again.

[Privateerkev]

Makedonios first addresses the Patriarchal Representative.

Both Lady Veronica and Her Highness saw Hypatios working with men who belong to this 'Organization.'

The Princess included it in her report to the Senate.

Of interest is when she said, "Finally he revealed his true colors, working hand with a ruthless group who stoops to threatening children and aiding butchers in their bloody tasks. Some of you might have heard of this "Organization", well they were present at Iconium and at Machonios' side!"

I believe Hypatios was lying about getting a message from the Lord. He knew he was in trouble and he tried to make up excuses.

He then turns to Savvas.

I've already sent my report to the Emperor and had mentioned the assassination attempt. At the time, I didn't think it was something that had to be announced to the Senate. But I am touched by your concern and I appreciate it.

As for your questions about the Order's readiness, I am afraid it looks rather grim. We have 12 units seperated into 2 armies. The Caesar is finally delivering the rest of my army and it will be in Antioch this year. But the quality is woefully inadequate for the task at hand.

But my plan is to hold the 2 river crossings near Antioch. With two armies, we can block what ever path the Jihad takes to us. That should stall the enemy long enough for the rest of you to send a relief force to the mountain pass that links Adana to Antioch.

If the timing is right, we'll get some unexpected assistance from the Germans. At the very least, they should at least prove a distraction to the Fatimids.

What we could use is more spearmen. Even militia. Antioch can train hundreds of them in a short time. My own infantry are made up of peasants so any thing would be an improvement. We need units that can hold a river crossing. Our tactics won't be nuanced. We'll just grind them down at the rivers. Even if we lose we'll make a dent.

[Warmaster Horus]

Nikiphoros speaks in direction of Makedonios:
"Grandmaster, I thank you for saying the kind of thing we should be saying. I think the only thing to say is good luck, and may the Lord be with you."
He now turns to the others in the Senate:
"That is our first line of defence. It is weak, but it is there to stall the Fatimids. Now, we should start forming a second line of defence."