FG: Mafia 27: Bohemian Mafia

[DarkCloud]

ah, I see... well, it made for a good tale- anyone want to change their votes?

--
note: after you rewrite the tale, I'll probably change my accusation. so please ignore the above.

[Whoha]

Hah, also somewhere in it he said "I trust Kass's ability to add".

[Kassiopeia]

Math != storywriting.

Anyway, I can't believe I just did that.

Here we go again:

Chapter II

"Your highness, I request an audience", heard Princess Snowflake from behind the door.

"Come in, please", the princess said and put down her handkerchefs. In stepped Nikolai, the Count of Luxemburg.

"Count Nikolai, always good to see you", she managed to say.

"Good evening, Princess. I know that this has been a hard day for you, but there is an important matter we must discuss."

"I agree, yes... I think he should be buried here."

Nikolai was taken off his beat for a second. "Uhh, certainly, but I was thinking of something different, Highness."

Snowflake raised an eyebrow - something more important than the burial of her young dead brother?

"Succession! Succession, dear lady. Listen."

***

The Royal Historian rubbed his eyes and sighed. "The matter of heritance in the Premysl family of kings has been very straightforward. The eldest son has inherited the throne, end of discussion. Never before has a king died without a direct male heir. This complicates things greatly."

Gjramsey, the Duke of Carinthia, nodded, as did Sparrowhawk of Habsburg, who had came with him to discuss the matter with the foremost expert of the field.

"In any case. What's interest to you is probably, who will inherit Vovan III now, is it not?" asked rah of the two young noblemen.

They nodded.

"There are several who have a pretty much equal claim to the throne. First there's, of course, the eldest sister of the king, Princess Snowflake. If someone were to marry her, the husband would have a claim. A female ruler is out of the question, of course." Receptive nods. "Then there's you, Duke of Carinthia. You are the husband of Eliska, Snowflake's younger sister. A younger daughter does not transfer sanguinity directly, since Snowflake has a superior claim. Eliska would have to..." he swallowed. "... inherit the throne from Snowflake for you to attain the throne." Sparrowhawk eyed Gjramsey's reaction carefully but saw nothing.

"Of course, this is the simple part. Then we have the Pact of Acklenburg that was made between Sparrowhawk's great-grandfather, the King of Holland, and Vovan III's great-grandfather. At Acklenburg Vovan's ancestor promised Sparrowhawk's ancestor, probably to write off some debt he took to finance a war, that should the Premysl family end up without a direct male heir, the Habsburgs, Sparrowhawk's family, would earn the throne. In other words, the title would go to Albert I, and he in turn would most likely just hand it over to Sparrohawk due to his poor health." Sparrowhawk gleamed - his father had told to him of an ancient agreement, but something like this? He had never dreamed of it.

"It isn't quite that simple, again... such sanguinity treaties, by default, only lasted to the second or third generation at that time. The pact was rather informal, and even the historical record is not sure on the details, so your claim can become a very hotly contested one", rah explained. Sparrohawk's hopes darkened somewhat.

"To add to the mess, Theben is Vovan II's cousin. He's an indirect male heir but with a strong blood relation. The same applies for Duke of York of Lower Northern Middle Bohemia - but he is a more distant relative. Altogether, the battle for the throne is going to become a very messy one."

***

"And that is why I was thinking, maybe you and I could, uhm, marry", Nikolai, who had heard the same from rah already earlier today, said, blushing. "It'd be good for everyone - I'd have the clearly strongest claim, I reckon, and it'd avoid a lot of hardship for everyone."

"You're not just after the throne?" Snowflake looked at him judgingly.

"I can't say I am not after the throne, of course not. But I was thinking that I could maybe share the throne or give the other kingdom to some other relatively close relative of the King, may his soul rest in peace."

"Maybe you're just using this as an excuse to marry me?" the Princess asked, smiling shyly.

Nikolai went completely red. "Uh, there's something I have to attend to, and, eh, certainly this is out of order, when even your brother has not been blessed and interred yet. Good night to you, Your Highness.


***

Watch Chief Kassiopeia arrived to the house with 23 pieces of paper and a few charcoal pens. "We shall use these to determine guilt", he said tersely to Sir Skanky who had arrived to help him with the process.

"And what of the other... arrangements?" Skanky asked.

"Being taken care of", Kassiopeia said. "The axe has been sharpened."

The entourage convened in the dining room of the inn. They were given a few hours to discuss the matter before the actual voting, so that all voices could be heard. The debate grew fiercer and fiercer, with pointed fingers and even some obscenites - which were quickly retracted when the fact that a lady was present was noted.

Princess Snowflake went to sit on the chair next to Count Nikolai's. "So who are you voting for, Count?"

"I'd rather not say", Nikolai muttered as he scribbled a word on the paper.

"I'll tell you who I'm voting for. I think it's that wretched, old and fat cook, Whoha is his name."

"Hmm, it does sound like a possible candidate", Nikolai replied. Adagio, the Manservant, who was very worried over the current trend of the discussions, which were postulating his possible guilt, tapped the Count on the shoulder to beg for him to voice his differing opinion. Snowflake saw her chance and swiped the paper from Nikolai's hands, only to be shocked.

"How... could you?" the Princess asked in a confused, sad tone.

Nikolai just looked away and returned the ballot. But Adagio was convicted nine to seven against Snowflake, and the Princess lived.

***

That night the group of now 22 went to bed. Some of them contemplating the strange turn this execution brought to the grand scheme of things, others wondering whether the right one had been executed, and one wondering what he would serve tomorrow for dinner.

The morning was a cruel one, as Chief Advisor joncha was found dead on the floor of the dining room. There were no signs of struggle, and according to the guardsmen no one had entered or exited the building - Kassiopeia and Skanky had assigned a significant number of them, so this much was certain.

Upon further examination, DrSpike discovered that the Chief Advisor's head was limp in the neck, as if after suffering a long fall. But yet...

"But how could he fall from high in a room that's only two men in height?" asked the Royal Steward Reismark.

"This was not an accident. With strength, a single person can twist a head so quickly and abruptly that the neck will be dislodged and snap like a stick. With that, comes death."

***

Theben patted his childhood friend on the back. "Nikolai, trust me, it was the right thing to do, even if it didn't work out this time. Like I said, she is in massive debt. The entire kingdom will be bankrupt if she were to inherit the throne with you. And right now she's looking left and right for a spouse so that she could pay off the debt... but it's the Bohemians we have to think about."

"And you're absolutely sure on this information?"

"Positive. The Duke of Eastern Bohemia has his sources. Think about it - didn't you find it odd she was suddenly so interested in marrying you? With all those years of cold shoulders?"

Nikolai shrugged. He was about to say something, when the news reached them - another murder. They would have to vote again.

"Like I said, Snowflake, not Adagio", Theben said smugly. "Now let's go and have a new go at this."

***

DrSpike and courtier Hercules carried Joncha's corpse to the makeshift morgue, where Vovan's corpse was waiting for burial.

DrSpike checked that the door was closed and hushed Hercules with the familiar finger-to-mouth gesture. "Do not tell the others what I'm going to do now."

"Sir?" Hercules asked.

"There's an ancient art I have been interested in. That of deeply examining the human body by surgical means." He took a knife and started to make an incision on the king's chest.

"Sir!" Hercules protested. "The king can't be cut up like an animal!"

"Sssh! Trust me, Hercules, I have the king's consent. He was as fascinated with the art as I was, and he promised me I could use his body should the opportunity arise. And here it is. I could even find out something about the killer this way."

Hercules just sighed. "The clergymen will not like this."

"Which is exactly why you're going to keep quiet about it", DrSpike said. "What they won't hear about won't bother them, no? Nor me, for that matter. I have no desire to end up burned on a stake. But I need you to stand guard at the door in case someone wanders in."

***

Holy crap, this wasn't supposed to be this long!

Voting begins. You have 36 hours.

Name

Title

Status



1. Rah

Royal Historian

Alive



2.  Nikolai

Count of Luxembourg
Alive


3. Skanky Burns

Chief of the Royal Bodyguard

Alive


4. Snowflake

Princess of Bohemia, sister of Vovan III
Alive


5. Spaced Cowboy

Marshal General of the Bohemian Army

Alive


6. Dauphin

Bishop of Olomouc

Alive


7. Ljube-ljcvetko

Royal Spymaster

Alive


8. Adagio

Manservant

Executed - R1


9. DrSpike

Royal Healer

Alive


10. Jamski

Count of Moravia


Alive


11. Whoha

Royal Cook

Alive


12. Hercules

Courtier in Charge of Foods and Wares 
Alive


13. Jonny

Food Taster

Alive


14. Theben

Duke of Eastern Bohemia, cousin of Vovan III

Alive


15. Reismark

Royal Steward 
Alive


16. DarkCloud

Ambassador of Albert I, King of the Romans

Alive


17. Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk of Habsburg, Prince of the Romans 
Alive


18. Joncha

Chief Advisor 
Neck snapped - R2


19. Tuberski

Royal Diplomat

Alive


20. Ben Kenobi

Archbishop of Bohemia
 
Alive


21. duke o' york

Duke of Lower Northern Middle Bohemia, nephew of Vovan's second cousin
Alive


22. Paddy the Scot

Lord of Pomerania

Alive


23. gjramsey

Duke of Carinthia, husband of the daughter of Vovan II

Alive


24. Vovan

Vovan III, King of Bohemia

Stabbed - R1

[Sparrowhawk]

Now if you change who is crossed off the table it will be perfect

/me

[Kassiopeia]

Silence!

It is done.

Next snide remark from anyone nets him an "accidental" execution next round that won't be cancelled after the players notice that the GM is on something.

[Theben]

DanSed!

Theben greets Princess Snowflake in her quarters. "Your highness, do not let Father Nikolai's accusation change your discretion. If you marry him, you will inherit the wealth of his church holdings. I'm sure something can happen to allow us to marry , after his unfortunate demise...

In the meantime, we should still be wary of the Habsburgs, especially Sparrowhawk."

[Sparrowhawk]

While the matter of the throne is of no small import, the more pressing issue at hand must be finding the killer. In this we must look for those who kill with violence and those who kill with words.

Who is the diplomat among us? Theben who is not only a diplomat, but someone whom the King would not fear, and would have been unsuspecting of should he have met him on a dark path in the forest at night.

/me

[DarkCloud]

36 hours? why not 24 as usual?

I'm voting Snowflake again.

She's greedy and wants to succeed her brother to the throne.

[joncha]

[DarkCloud]

no speaking- you're dead.

[Ben Kenobi]

That is a poor reason to approve of a marriage between Snowflake and the benighted Duke of E Bohemia, to earn the wealth of his church lands.

I see nothing wrong with Sparrowhawk, the Habsburg prince, who will ensure a strong hand at the helm of Bohemia.

Secondly, without the approval of Dauphin, who has not responded, I offer Sparrow an alliance.

[joncha]

Originally posted by DarkCloud
no speaking- you're dead.

Why... don't you want me to reveal my killer?

[Nikolai]

Sure thing. you just isn't capable of speaking right now...

[joncha]

Sure I is... from the grave.

Avenge my death at the hands of the evil Norwegians!

[Snowflake]

It's fate, I tell you. First I was accidently killed by sheep when snowfire was voted off. And then I was accidently killed by Kass when I survived by a mere 1 (2?) vote. Life is hard ... What is the meaning of being alive? Debts ... Like I would care about any debts ... It is the debts of hearts that I'm more concerned about. The hearts of those who loved and protected me ... Don't know how long I would live to repay them ...

Unlike this evil one, whose eyes are greedily looking at the crown, and would want to get it any way he wants, be it marriage, or murder ... Yes, Nikolai, is his name.