The Rise of Asturias - a CKII fictional AAR

Started by undercovergeek, June 27, 2016, 11:46:20 AM

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mirth

Quote from: Staggerwing on July 10, 2016, 06:18:21 PM
Great Storytelling 'Geek!


Quote from: Airborne Rifles on July 10, 2016, 08:57:08 AM
Lopez the blind spy. I like the ring of that  :).


Like Blind Pew from Yellowbeard




Or Treasure Island.
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

Staggerwing

Yes, but IIRC, in Yellowbeard Pew is an actual spy.
Vituð ér enn - eða hvat?  -Voluspa

Nothing really rocks and nothing really rolls and nothing's ever worth the cost...

"Don't you look at me that way..." -the Abyss
 
'When searching for a meaningful embrace, sometimes my self respect took second place' -Iggy Pop, Cry for Love

... this will go down on your permanent record... -the Violent Femmes, 'Kiss Off'-

"I'm not just anyone, I'm not just anyone-
I got my time machine, got my 'electronic dream!"
-Sonic Reducer, -Dead Boys

Sir Slash

Some spy. I hope Obeko didn't bet his whole budget on Blind Lopez.
"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

JasonPratt

I feel great disappointment.  >:(

But hey, the history of the game is the history of the game.  O:-)
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PanzOrc Corpz Generals -- Fantasy Wars narrative AAR, half a combined campaign.
Khazâd du-bekâr! -- narrative dwarf AAR for LotR BfME2 RotWK campaign.
RobO Q Campaign Generator -- archived classic CMBB/CMAK tool!

undercovergeek


undercovergeek

Manrike stood with his back to the great fire, slightly bent and lifting the lower part of his jacket to let the heat at his back. He sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction, it was good to be home. The kitchen hands were busy laying out a quick evening meal for him, cold cuts of meat, hunks of bread and a jug of wine.

'Will there be anything else my Lord?' asked the chamberlain

'A meal for my friend here' Manrike gestured towards his travelling companion. The chamberlain eyed the stranger suspiciously, then nodded his approval. He clapped his hands sharply,

'Another setting, quick, quick', kitchen hands scuried through doors and returned with more food and set another place at the table.

Manrike caught the chamberlain's arm as he passed, 'Is he up?'

'I'm up, of course i'm up. You make more noise than a travelling band of hedge knights. Dear God man, where have you been?'

Manrike was busy chewing his way through a slice of meat, he put his hand up to hold off further inquiries until he'd finished. He swallowed and washed the food down with a large gulp of wine, and for a while there was no sound in the room except the crackling and popping of the fire. A huge smile broke out on his face, and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand,

'Bremen!'

'Bremen?'

'What a wonderful place, huge stone buildings, high beamed houses, you'd like it there. Beer! Not wine, oh the beer, big foaming mugs of beer'

'You went to Bremen to get drunk? There is beer and wine here my friend', Obeko chuckled at his old friend, 'Come, what were you doing so far from home, and for so long?'

Manrike held out an arm and Obeko squinted down its path into the shadows of the room, beyond the glow of the big fire.

'There is nothing there you old foo.....', a man stepped out of the blackness, eating a chicken leg.

'Holy Mary, Mother of Jesus!' Obeko had been unaware of the mans presence. The stranger slowly placed the food down on the table, and bowed crisply,

'Stefan Guttier at your service' he said in perfect Spanish. He took one step backwards and try as it might the fire could not illuminate his face or cast light on his profile. Obeko let out a snort of laughter,

'Oh thats marvellous, that is absolutely splendid. Well done Manrike, well done.' Obeko shouted for the chamberlain who appeared in seconds, 'Show Senor Guttier to his room, there will be plenty of work to do on the morrow'


undercovergeek

Obeko and Manrike watched the two men leave in silence.

'I have work for him on the morrow'

'You sound like you've been busy whilst I've been away'

'Indeed, some of it reliant on you finding a man like that', Obeko tipped his head towards the door

'An improvement on Lopez?'

'Piss on Lopez' barked Obeko

Manrike spluttered on his wine, 'What in God's name has happened in my absence?'

'Do you recall Gartzio?'

'Short fellow? Good with numbers, isn't he the steward in Asturias?'

'Thats him, guess who his father is...... was?'

'Lopez? He kept that very quiet, well, well'

'I know. Guess who his mother is?' said Obeko, sipping his wine and watching Manrike closely

'Some strumpet from court? Go on'

'My wife'

undercovergeek

Manrike swallowed his wine slowly and deliberately

'But he is younger than your daughter'

Obeko nodded slowly

'Does anyone else know?'

'I do not know' sighed Obeko, 'the information was passed to me by a stranger, before i knew what it was he was gone'

'My Lord, if anything happens to you and then Munia this man will inherit Viscaya and your line will end'

'How long have I paid you to tell me what I already know my friend? I need a son'

'You have no time for such a plan. Surely there are already things in motion to have you killed and then Munia..... its what i would do'

'Our friend from Bremens first task is to recruit some allies and build a network of intelligence to prevent that'

'And then?'

'Kill my beloved wife'



undercovergeek

Sebastien watched from the shadows of the watchtower. It was sunrise, the sky turning a lighter shade of purple, the new day uninterrupted by the clamour and chaos of castle life. He could hear the waves crashing against the cliffs, horses whickering in the stables, and somewhere below him hurried footsteps as the kitchen prepared for the castle's many breakfasts. The supports of the rope bridge groaned as a morning breeze caught its planks, this is what he had come to see. The bridge spanned a long drop to the rocks below, it was built as a short cut from the main keep to the curtain wall to save having to walk all around the wall. Ever the light sleeper he had been woken every morning since he had arrived four days ago, invited to court by Stefan Guttier. It wasnt that the singing was particularly bad, or loud, it just seemed so out of place in these surroundings and that is what had stirred him from his sleep. So here he was for the fourth morning watching Isabella, the Countess of Viscaya, singing her songs to the morning sun on a rickety rope bridge above the sharp rocks of the castle cliffs. He eyed the ropes bound to the support posts of the keep wall, and flicked his thumb across the blade of his knife, then slowly stepped back into the depths of the watchtower until he disappeared into the shadowy dark

Sir Slash

"Take a look at that". Sgt. Wilkerson-- CMBN. His last words after spotting a German tank on the other side of a hedgerow.

undercovergeek

Obeko stroked the muzzle of Manrike's horse, 'Ride well my old friend. May God watch over you and our task'

'I don't know how long it will take, but I will make all haste to deliver the claim. I have men there now in the grand library searching the scrolls. A Viscayan claim on Santiago will be yours my Lord.'

'We need this. With an unfriendly King in Asturias we must have more land, more men behind us. If we can take Santiago and then Coruna we can press for the Duchy of Galicia, and then with a little luck and a little patience we can nudge the usurper off his high throne'

'As long as the damn Muslims stay out of the way, more than one Emir fancies himself the western coast and its trading rights'

Obeko nodded, aware of the constant threat to the south, 'I know' he sighed

'Will your...... Family 'business' be concluded when I return?' Manrike asked, always the diplomat

'When I see you again you will be uncle to a new Viscayan heir and you can bounce him on your knee and sing songs to my new wife'

Manrike frowned, he was torn between the future of Viscaya and the violence that must secure it

'Do not be troubled, everything will go to plan, what could go wrong? Now ride to Santiago and make me a Duke'

undercovergeek

Isabella woke, struggled with stroking her husbands face as he slept, he'd been distant lately, she thought better of it and got out of the bed. She looked at Obeko once again, they both knew there was something wrong but neither of them had the courage or motivation to bring it up, after all these years could he know about Lopez? That had been the worst year of her life, her husband away campaigning against the Muslims with the King of Navarre, the court to administer as Manrike and the other members of the council were assisting Obeko, and then Lopez returned from Constantinople with intelligence and stolen plans from the Byzantines . Tall, handsome Lopez there at exactly wrong the time, and Gartzio had been conceived, she had run to her sisters in Burgos as soon as her condition began to show, and she had left the crying baby with her to return to Viscaya as her husband returned, bloody and defeated from the wars.

She had not slept well since hearing of Lopez's death alone in the streets of a distant land. It troubled her more than she thought and she had taken to walking the castle walls and singing songs from her childhood as she walked. Stopping occasionally to take in the views of the Viscayan landscape, her favourite spot the rope bridge where she could feel the wind on her face and a sense of freedom from the rituals of court. She dressed now and set off on her morning walk. She nodded to the kitchen staff as she passed, always busy, always running around the place, and raised a friendly hand to the stable hands tending the Count's horses, and made her way to the bridge.

The sun was coming up over the mountains to the east, and a gentle breeze stirred her skirts as it came up through the slats of the rope bridge. She was humming a song her mother had sung to her years ago and she closed her eyes to conjure up memories of her. Suddenly the bridge lurched under her feet and she grasped the top rope to steady herself, but it flapped uselessly in her hands, she quickly adjusted her footing to counter her balance but she could feel herself tipping forward. If she could only reach the ropes on the other side of the bridge, as she struggled to turn without falling over the side the top rope of the other side gave way, and she was left slowly losing her balance on a wooden walkway with no hand supports two hundred feet above the rocks below. She straightened and ran, ran as fast as she could toward the castle but with a loud snapping noise the slatted foot section tilted forty-five degrees as another support rope gave way and her whole footing subsided, planks began to slide off the bridge and fall towards the rocks and she screamed with the realisation that she wasn't going to make the safety of the castle wall. With one final snap, the last rope gave way and she felt herself start to fall........

undercovergeek

....she opened her mouth to scream but the shout caught in her throat as she felt a vice like grip around her wrist. It was like a band of steel, unwavering and solid and she looked up to see the castle blacksmith staring down at her. She hung limply, dangling freely from his outstretched arm,

'I have you my lady' he rumbled, and started to pull her up.

There was a commotion in the tower as Obeko came rushing to the bridge, followed by a number of staff and the Spymaster. Isabella sank to her knees, gasping for air

'The bridge, it just gave way, I was going to die' she whimpered. Obeko bundled her up in his arms and stroked her face as the tears started and shock took over her system. She started to shake and he held her tightly

'You're safe, it's alright' he reassured her, but the withering glare he gave Stefan over her shoulder suggested otherwise

undercovergeek

'Tell me one more time' demanded Obeko, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, 'Manrike explains these things much clearer'

'Right...' Stefan steeled himself, ignoring the insult, 'Your wife has a brother, Veremondo, currently the Count of Asturias de Santilla, to our West, and the heir to the throne of Asturias'

Obeko nodded, 'Go on, go on'

'The King, Aurelio, currently has no son, he has no children at all actually. Were the King to meet with a nasty accident, and also his brother Veremondo, then Isabella is Queen and you are King of Asturias my Lord.'

'Would this be the same kind of accident my wife came across?' Obeko was still furious with the Spymaster for the failed attempt on Isabella's life.

'My Lord, my agents are working on that as we speak'

'Forget it, it's too late, the moment has passed. She is constantly shadowed by her guards, has food tasters, and a footman who walks across any suspicious parts of the castle before she does, it's over. We need to plan in other directions'

'As you wish my Lord'

There was a knock at the door and a messenger entered carrying a very small, folded parchment. It was sealed with the symbol of an owl, Manrike's own seal. Obeko missed the old man dearly and was desperate for news from abroad, he took the parchment and hurriedly opened it whilst Stefan nodded to the messenger to dismiss him. He read for a few seconds, the message was very brief, but contained everything Obeko was looking for

'Good news my friend, Manrike has secured us a claim on Santiago, and rides to Coruna to further our claims and gain us rights for the Duchy of Galicia'

'Do we gather the army my Lord?'

'Not yet....... not yet, let us see what can be gained in Coruna first, better to march for a Dukedom than a county', Obeko sat back in his chair and pondered for a while, 'Find me a number of people willing to support a plot against Veremondo and Aurelio and there may be some land and a title in this for you'

Stefan smiled, and rose to leave, 'Leave it with me my Lord'.

Obeko nodded, and dismissed the Spymaster. Once the door closed behind him he winced and clutched his left arm, he hadnt known how long he would have to disguise the shooting pains down his arm from Stefan. He rubbed at his shoulder and arm and the tightness in his chest

undercovergeek

Manrike sat patiently in the inn. He was waiting for two riders to escort him to the library and from there to the archives where his staff had found old parchments linking ancient Viscayan claims on Coruna. Two men entered the inn and stood silently in the door way, nodded to Manrike and waited for him to rise. The three of them left and rode to the library.

After dismounting, Manrike made for the large wooden door and was stopped by a huge hand on his shoulder

'This way Senor, the entrance to the archives is at the side of the building'

'Very well' replied Manrike as he was shown the side entrance

He stepped forward and opened the door ready to greet his colleagues and congratulate them on their find. As he entered the archive chamber he frowned, he had expected a vast hall of bookcases and parchment cases, long tables and busy librarians buzzing amongst them. This was a small antechamber of stone, no furniture, no books, no parchment or tables and none of his staff

'Oh no' he muttered to himself, just as the first dagger plunged into his neck from the men behind