[Western] on mercenaries, barons, and raiders...

[Chris England]

    My oh my.  All this talk of late about 'evil mercenaries' and raiders is enough to make a man feel unloved.  To be honest I find the choice between the two of you so slight that I am only the least concerned about the outcome at this point.  Ruspoli has indeed made a nuisance of himself in so many ways of late.  Killing, burning, siezing gold and property, sparing only those who bibe him to leave them alone.  Then there is the matter of the taxes to be paid... hmm taxes...a payment which if not paid will cause soldiers to come and sieze property, burn peoples homes, maybe even to kill them... The temerity of the man to do all that without a shiny hat on!  And he's got it all backwards at that.  Bribe first then the siezing, burning, and killing!
    You will, of course, pardon me of my cynicism.  The product of too many years of too much blood spilled.  Then there is also my childhood.  Raised by peasants you see, under the yoke of a more cruel lord back in Germany.  We largely viewed the difference between our lord and the odd bandit raiders as being that the raiders were polite enough to move on and rob someone else while the lords soldiers and tax men just kept coming.
    Rest assured though Your Excellency, my sword is yours for the upcoming battles, bought and paid for by a loyal supporter that has his own reasons to desire Ruspoli's demise.  I wish I could comfort you with more reasons then that, but I am a mercenary and in the end it's about the gold.  I remember a campaign some years ago that other missives were sent that disparaged my current and your former profession.  I answered those with a call for other mercenaries to come and prove our worth upon the bodies of those that doubted it.  A call you answered with hearty agreement and blackened shield.  Ah for the passions of youth eh?
    Still times change and so do people, even myself.  Once I would have been content with my sword price and whatever spoils may be to hand.  Now... perhaps it would be best for me to somehow insure that the spoils at hand are to my liking...     perhaps...
    As for Rospuli, well he is not one that I can really have sympathy for either.  That he seems to have a personal grudge against His Excellency is apparent.  All his posterings of outrage and feeble justifications for his actions are all a mere contrivance to get the baron on the field in the hopes that the fortunes of war deliver unto him that which he is unwilling, or unable, to get for himself... Kainin's head.  That he drags armies into battle to do this is as base an act of cowardice as can be imagined.  Still, other wars have been fought over more trivial matters than this.  If his motives are not personal then I have even less respect for him.  If it was a thirst for blood, gold, and destruction he wished to slake then he would have been smarter to do so beyond our eastern borders in the lands of our enemies.  Then he would have been hailed as a hero and protected from the destruction he has earned by the very people who now seek to visit it upon him.  To die for the poor choice of victims, it is a pity.
    Blood and gold do apear to make the world go, so I will spill Ruspoli's blood for the gold it will get me and leave such murky moral dilema's by the wayside.  Prepare yourself Rospuli the Fool, me and mine are coming for you.  Do be sure to have some pleasing spoils on you corpse.  I would hate to have to take steps...

Gerrold Von Drachenhohle

P.S.
On a more serious note, I am still needing volunteers for field heralds for the tournaments to be held at Gothic.  Please contact me if you are interested in volunteering.  Every point counts!
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