Beyond the Pit [Pitboss Diplomacy Game] [Story Thread] Part 2 (September)

[Pitboss Persia]

At the gates of the portuguese settlement in the desert

A portuguese messenger arrives at the camp of the piercian army. He is quickly brought in front of the Prince and the Oratress. Fortunately he spoke roman.

M - " Oh, great warlord, may you accept my presence and my words."

A - " You are speaking to the Prince of the Piercian Empire. Say what you have to say or you will soon be a head shorter !"

M - " Forgive me, Prince, i will make my message as short as possible. Your Roman allies are demanding slaves from our Kingdom, and the governor of the town you are besieging has recieved the order to send them the inhabitants of this town. However, the evacuation will take some time. For you to wait he offers you the retreat of almost all the garrison. However, most of the men who stayed are not ready to give up the settlement, so they will try to fight your mighty army. "

S - " My Prince, if we can spare the life of theese people, even if it's only for them becoming Roman slaves, we should let them go. "

A - " I know, Oratress, that you don't wish to kill. But this are times of war. However, loosing less men here in order to have more left to fight the Spartan invasion seems to be an interresting option. "

M - " There is something else. The Portuguese Kingdom offers you knowledge for peace. Their rulership has become much more efficient since they have introduced the Code of Laws. And they are willing to share their method with you, as long as you let the people of this town go and put an end to this war after this inevitable battle. "

S - " This is good, we may save many lives by accepting this, my Prince. "

A - " Hmm... you are right, and their offer seems highly interresting. I will accept this if you, Oratress accept to deploy your full capacity against the resisting garrison of the town."

S - " I guess that i have no choice, my Prince. This way we won't have to many people to kill."

M - " My masters will be pleased, oh Prince." He took a brief look at Sally, and then asked : " Are you responsible for what happened yesterday ? "

S - " I am the Oratress of Storms. And yes, I have called the thunder down on your armies. "



The messenger ran away, screaming hysterically. Asiz laughed at him and was really confident with Sally's cooperation. But she was more ashamed about how the messenger reacted to her than in mood for laughing at him.

[Pitboss Portugal]

All that is changes is that there are no reparations for Rome to pay, accept this and I guarantee the offer is accepted.

of so many lies..

We both know, that Rome doesn't keeps its word. You have showed it many times now!

How stupid do you think we are Roman, we have been lied for the last time.

NO MORE!!!

[Pitboss Rome]

/edited out: OCC comment/

[Pitboss Spain]

Dear Diary.
We hear of all this talk of war and we are upset. Words cannot describe how I fell about this, so I will just end it here.

[Pitboss Portugal]

King Marco

Tell me what does it cost you to agree to this deal? If I'm not honest I'm publicly revealed as a liar. If am you get what you say want.

Enough with the beta version Deals!!!, honor you Original Peace Terms (The one you made just 20hrs ago and declined once i said YES) to prove that there is some dignity left in your civilization, and we will put an end to this ugly moment and there will be peace once again.

Portugal doesn’t care anymore about your threats! Rome has inflicted enough humiliation and damages. My people ask me not to budge as my parents before me to any more pressures. There will be peace now or we die with pride.

[Pitboss H Roman]

Originally posted by Pitboss Khmer
it great sad, a big mausoleam is build and my father he bury. shiva has die. and all khmer sad and rejoice of god.

the great city of Nagara Jayasri has center of rejoice and poetry.

i ganesh do carry on as he.

The Emperor and People of The Holy Roman Empire send their deepest regrets regarding the death of the Great Shiva.

Your nation is in our thoughts and prayers.

It is with humility and sadness that we accept your invitation to the funeral of your father.

Yours in faith,

Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

[Pitboss H Roman]

Simon bowed to the Emperor as he enetered the room, but also know that Otto was not overly particular about protocol, quickly walked over to the desk where the Emperor was working.

Otto: Ah, Simon my good man, did you find it?

Simon: Yes My Lord, I did. But I am still not sure how this pertains to the Roman-Portugal situation.

Simon passes over a large book, opened to a certain page. Otto quickly scans the page and finds the exact qote he was looking for.

Otto: Yes, that is it. You see Simon, this clever individual, Churchill was his name, observed: History is written by the winners. So, in this case ....

Simon listened attentively as his Emperor explained his interpretation of the events in a far away land.

[Pitboss Rome]

General Aelius had a secret. He was sick.

He had always been sick, but had learned to hide it well from all around him. Since his early teens he had been prone to mood swings that made the sudden wrath of the god’s seem tame in comparison. He could awake the happiest man alive, dedicated motivate and would in flurry of productivity overachieve. He would win a contest or perhaps excel at his studies or as on the day he choose his military life he would defy those above him and win. When these times came he was of clear mind, one purpose and his sleep was sound.

But then came the darkness, and it always came, it started with unexplained bad reactions at minor details not fitting with the plans he had laid out, it continued in bouts of irrational and self-destructive behavior and it ended in depression. At the age of 16 he had cut his wrists trying to take his life out of sheer spite in after a trivial argument with friends. It was only his father’s slave’s fast thinking that saved his life. He recovered, and as he did the upswing began and he went into his productive mode, all that seemed lost was found again and with interest, he repaid the debts he had accumulated and he had regained the trust of key friends. His life continued in such an unstable manner. If it had not been for Tullus Hostilius suddenly promoting him first to corporal, then commander and eventually when Tullus became king to general, he would most likely have remained a mediocre soldier.

As a general he had the great fortune of the being of sound mind during the war of Russian aggression, or as it was called in Rome The Great Patriotic War. Afterwards in times of peace the dark demons that tortured his soul and cause decadent and dangerous behavior which was only where kept by the detailed knowledge of the swift justice of Roman law. They could only manifest themselves as a sudden onset of unexplained incompetence, aggravation, anger and clumsiness. This eventually caused him to loose contact with his old friend General Caelius who even approached King Ancus to speak of Aeliuses sudden change of character.

He would become unreliable, he would cheat and lie for no reason, he would become paranoid and he would fight with those close to him. During his days as a private in the army he had been a sane and almost free of his curse. As he became a General power, seemed the key to curing his ailment, he was for the first time in his life happy. This came to an end, he began a slow decline that he didn’t at first notice, he schemed with the senators to dethrone the king. He eventually did so in a particularly bloody way.
He then tried to drown himself in power and pomp and used force to crush the souls of everyone in Rome that questioned him.






These fluctuations where always daily, but not of constant intensity. He would live for years without or with very little darkness, but at other times he would wallow in depression for months. He did not tell the healers or even his family, with which he had, against Roman custom, broken off contact. He self-medicated with alcohol, lots of it, and whores and games of chance. But when the darkness was deepest he could do nothing. And before the darkness enveloped him he the whores, games and wine only made him more irritable.

Once he grew annoyed with a game, despite winning it, he quietly asked to be excused, a few players tried to convince him to stay. This infuriated him and he began to argue. Then someone said: “We are under no obligation to listen you b1tching when you have no good reason to do so.� This drove Aelius over the brink and he ordered all who had attended the game killed. This did little to relieve the constant pain. He became the butcher of Rome, more brutal than any king, yet despite this no one spoke against him, and the state diligently excused and executed his madness.

Everyone with fear or genuine admiration in their hearts shouted: “Hail Aelius!� when they saw him with his guards on the street. And many in Rome did love him, some even thought as they died by assassins blows or as their property was seized “If only Aelius knew…�

This should come as no surprise to the man learned in the Portuguese art of Philosophy:� For unconditional love is only achieved once you are too powerful for envy, when you are not a man to overcome or destroy, but a god to adore.� The official square criers told of the friendship and brotherhood of all, of how Aelius was a Big Brother to even the poorest plebeian. Of how this man of the people is not executing the opposition or random victims, but is punishing traitors of Rome and those who have stolen from the people during the era of the corrupt aristocratic monarchy.


During his negotiations with Portugal he began to notice the symptoms he had shown in his youth, he this time summoned all the reason he could, rationalizing away his paranoia and in a inhuman effort turned to doctors for the first time in his life. He assembled the finest doctors and healers Rome had to offer. He told the of his forgetfulness in diplomatic negotiation, his irrational fits of anger, his whims, his sudden changes of hearth, his bouts of paranoia and lastly of a constant pain half way between his right eye and temporal lobe. The doctors where confused and began consulting amongst themselves. They debated which of several conditions may be the cause, a few suggeste drilling a small hole in his scull as a means of treatment. He felt that by sharing his plight he was finally free, the insanity and the urge to drown his suffering in cruelty subsided. “I felt as If redeemed by the God’s themselves, finaly someone knew! Finally some had said they could help me!� he wrote in his journal.

But Osius Krasus Petovius, Hispanius Hercules the Younger, Antonius Marcus Belgarus, Palpatine and Robertus Plinius Cimmerius had other plans. They heard of the “great leaders� revelations, knowing that if they know of this soon the other senators shall as well, they took swift action and ordered the doctors killed and all the records burned. Anyone hint of this assembly was censored.

The Dictator confronted them and as he did suffered a nervous breakdown. By the end he began weeping as a child and asked them “Why! Why have you stolen this from me?�

“If word got out there would have been chaos. The streets would have been red with blood and if people knew of your madness they would know that we had followed a mad man. You can remain dictator in name and in the hearts of Romans, but we shall now rule through you.�

“Why not let me step down? Any one of you could be named dictator, I can call a meeting of the senate tomorrow morning! �

“How would we choose who among us is to rule? How could we trust that man? No, what you propose would disturb our plans to much, you can indulge in your excesses, start a war on all fronts, drive Rome to the ground, gift away cities on a whim for all we care. But do not leave it, we need you to complete our objectives.�

[Pitboss Rome]

Dictator Aelius had a secret. He no longer wanted to be the master of Rome.

The strong determined man was no more, the disease he suffered from stole this from him, after making him a cruel and heartless man it made also made him a shell of a man. He wanted to sign a peace deal with Portugal, retire to tend a small farm, but the senators and diplomats who had helped him to power, the same senators that had begun to hate and fear him afterwards, those senators began to despise him once they learned his weakness, and once you despise someone you no longer fear them, and the broken man was now unnaturally open to suggestions. The terror of Rome’s big brother intensified, but the brother himself, the butcher of Kings was a sad shell of a man who sought redemption and wished for the life of a simple farmer, but the small cabal of senators had other plans, they would rule through this puppet Rome and beyond… but the madness had spread, Rome was hard to control, and some say that during diplomatic negotiations the King of Portugal had also lost his mind. Rumors of cruelty and violations of protocol could be heard in the high halls of the world.

Truly these where dark times on the continent of Pinchakia.


And the state continued to feed propaganda to the people, the cult of the personality grew beyond measure to the point of adoring the dictator as much as Romulus had ever been in more religious times:

United forever in friendship and labour,
Our mighty republic will ever endure.
The great Roman Republic will live through the ages.
The dream of a people their fortress secure.

CHORUS:
Long live our Roman Motherland, built by the plebeian's mighty hand.
Long live our People, united and free.
Strong in our friendship tried by fire. Long may our purple flag inspire,
Shining in glory for all men to see.

Through days dark and stormy where Great Romulus led us
Our eyes saw the bright sun of freedom above
and Aelius our Leader with faith in the People,
Inspired us to build up the land that we love.

CHORUS:
Long live our Roman Motherland, built by the plebeian's mighty hand.
Long live our People, united and free.
Strong in our friendship tried by fire. Long may our purple flag inspire,
Shining in glory for all men to see.

We fought for the future, destroyed the invader,
and brought to our homeland the Laurels of Fame.
Our glory will live in the memory of nations
and all generations will honour her name.

CHORUS:
Long live our Roman Motherland, built by the plebeian's mighty hand.
Long live our People, united and free.
Strong in our friendship tried by fire. Long may our purple flag inspire,
Shining in glory for all men to see.

[Pitboss Rome]

To: To all Civilized leaders and the King of Portugal
From: General Aelius, Dictator of Rome

These stinky Pourt Gauls have now released a supposed record of our negotiations. While many parts of the text are true, several have been edited, important sections have been changed or edited out.

Do not believe this shallow propaganda.

Also the sections that are true, as ripped out of context as they are, are clear violations of confidentiality. I ask all the leaders who have had private dealings with Portugal to consider if they can be trusted to keep their word, how can you know that your words won't one day twisted and published to fit Portugal's agenda?

We would not mind if the propaganda was well crafted, but it is so unbelievable that it is laughable. Rome wanted war with Portugal to get Outpost, why would we settle for anything else in our negoitations? Why would we offer a deal and then take it back over and over again? It makes no sense. Prior to the war's outbreak we did indeed stall. Once can do this much more efficiently than to propose deals he does not mean to keep. Why would we engage in a practice that would hurt us so badly? As always we Romans are not appealing to trust but to Logic.


I must say mea culpa however on one of the charges.

Indeed the offer after the capture of Outpost changed, this was due to an unfortunate error on my part. I failed to take into account the diminished of the Greek threat and the wonders available to the Portuguese should they have gold. It was a slip of my memory and I as a statesman have no excuse for this... the situation on the ground changes so rapidly, it is hard to keep track.


Rome will be more careful from now on, we can not repair the damage this slander has caused our people will from now and until the end of time only negotiate with Portugal publicly since they have betrayed our trust.

We also announce we until we receive some damages for this insult (we believe one worker to be appropriate) consider to have a casus beli on Portugal. This is independent of any potential peace treaty.



-Magister Populi, Praetor Maximus and Magister Peditum Aelius

[Pitboss Rome]

To: The esteemed Empress of Piercia
From: General Aelius, Dictator of Rome

We understand that there are few workers available in Piercia. And we now have no problem in supplying you the two workers and settlers we owe you as soon as possible, since you have kept your word so far and will probably continue to keep it.

Speaking of that, has the Desert city of the barbarians been razed? We have discussed this in the past and honestly I expected the city to be laid to waste by now. Why is this not so?


-Magister Populi, Praetor Maximus and Magister Peditum Aelius

[Pitboss Rome]

To:King of Portugal
From: General Aelius, Dictator of Rome

Your army may be larger and your technology more advanced, you are also much richer than Rome, but our objectives have been met. Do you understand what this means?

We will not push forward to attack the fortress of Vrata (40% defensive bonus, stationed on a hill, a choak point, 8 axemen and you dare call that a civilian city in public?).

We will simply be content to sit in our lands, and make no mistake Egypt has always been our land, your illegal settlement did not change this. Your predecessor admitted as much in private negotiations.

The city of Outpost, or as it is now know Petovio was indeed yours, but looking at the map once can clearly see that its sole purpose was to extend influence on Rome and our eastern neighbor Russia. We could not accept this, we wanted to force you across the Mediterranean sea out of our subcontinent.

Now... back to my point. We shall sit in our lands and easily repel any attack you try to mount on thosr flat grasslands. We are patient and due to me conscripting in my cities our population is low. Yours is much higher. I am sure they will grow restless sooner than my people.


If you accept the peace I last offered. The peace that allows us to keep lands that are basically ours anyway, we shall change our opinion of Portugal. No longer will you be the imperialist superpower that steals our land, your nation shall be the land of enlightenment. Already many of our people follow your religion, if peace is made we shall make it our state religion.


-Magister Populi, Praetor Maximus and Magister Peditum Aelius

[Toni]

BG women hockey rocks please delete me.

[Pitboss Portugal]

Rome will be more careful from now on, we can not repair the damage this slander has caused our people will from now and until the end of time only negotiate with Portugal publicly since they have betrayed our trust.

Your are insulting the civilized leaders of this continent.

Here what was going through Rome's head while writing this:

Hmm I have lied and lied, now that I have achieved much of my goals is time to switch to being honest. "World hear me I will be honest from now on, so i will be public with my dealings with Portugal"

[Pitboss Portugal]

Your army may be larger and your technology more advanced, you are also much richer than Rome, but our objectives have been met. Do you understand what this means?

Rome you are just too transparent, you can try as hard as you can to make yourself sound right – but your actions have showed the real you.

Was it part of your objections to:

*Kill my father Tir
*Lie about converting, while building and moving legions to attack us.
*Kill retreating citizens from Outpost
*Cancelling your own deals several times just to advance your cause
*Threaten to take our Holy City
*Make as a vassal


We will not push forward to attack the fortress of Vrata (40% defensive bonus, stationed on a hill, a choak point, 8 axemen and you dare call that a civilian city in public?).

Your actions have made us what we are now, we will never give our holy city up!

We will simply be content to sit in our lands, and make no mistake Egypt has always been our land, your illegal settlement did not change this. Your predecessor admitted as much in private negotiations.

Be content as long as you want in your lands.

The city of Outpost, or as it is now know Petovio was indeed yours, but looking at the map once can clearly see that its sole purpose was to extend influence on Rome and our eastern neighbor Russia. We could not accept this, we wanted to force you across the Mediterranean sea out of our subcontinent.

Twisted Roman games, I am not surprised. You have proved this many times over and over.

Now... back to my point. We shall sit in our lands and easily repel any attack you try to mount on thosr flat grasslands. We are patient and due to me conscripting in my cities our population is low. Yours is much higher. I am sure they will grow restless sooner than my people.

The only attacks have been Roman and the aggressor in this war. My forces are here to defend the target you are after Vrata!

If you accept the peace I last offered. The peace that allows us to keep lands that are basically ours anyway, we shall change our opinion of Portugal. No longer will you be the imperialist superpower that steals our land, your nation shall be the land of enlightenment. Already many of our people follow your religion, if peace is made we shall make it our state religion.

Peace version 8 you mean? Which will be cancelled anyway by you the minute I accept.

I have already agreed on a peace and that is the Original Peace you offered.