There were also a few, not very subtle sexual...
There were also a few, not very subtle sexual innuendos thrown in for good measure
The poems, posted on walls all over the city, and then in Tregea and Certando and Ferraut, were torn down by the Barbadians almost as fast as they went upUnfortunately they were memorable rhymes, and people didn't need to read or hear them more than once
Alberico would later acknowledge to himself that he'd lost control a littleHe would also admit inwardly that a great deal of his rage stemmed from a fierce indignation and the aftermath of fear
There had been a conspiracy led by that mincing SandreniThey had very nearly killed him in that cursed cabin in the woods
This once, he was telling the absolute truthThere was no pretense or deceptionHe had every claim of justice on his sideWhat he didn't have was a confession, or a witness, or any evidence at allHe'd needed his informer aliveHe'd wanted Tomasso aliveHis dreams that first night had been shot through with vivid images of Sandre's son, bound and stripped and curved invitingly backwards on one of the tiffany replica machines
In the aftermath of the pervert's inexplicable death, and the unanimous word from all four provinces that no one believed a word of what had happened, Alberico had abandoned his original, carefully measured response to the plot
The lands were seized of course, but in addition all the living members of all three families were searched out and death-wheeled in AstibarHe hadn't expected there to be quite so many, actually, when he gave that orderThe stench had been deplorable and some of the children lived an unconscionably long time on the wheelsIt made it difficult to concentrate on business in the state offices above the Grand Square
He raised taxes in Astibar and introduced, for the first time, transit duties for merchants crossing from one of his provinces to another, along the lines of the existing tariff levied for crossing from the Eastern to the Western PalmLet them pay, literally, if they chose not to believe what had happened to him in that cabinHalf the massive Nievolene grain harvest was promptly shipped home to balenciaga bag BarbadiorFor an action conceived in anger he considered that one to be inspiredIt had pushed the price of grain down back home in the Empire, which hurt his family's two most ancient rivals while making him exceptionally popular with the peopleIn so far as the people mattered in Barbadior
At the same time, here in the Palm, Astibar was forced to bring in more grain than ever from Certando and Ferraut, and with the new duties Alberico was going to rake a healthy cut of that inflated price as well
He could almost have slaked his anger, almost have made himself happy, watching the effects of all this ripple through, if it wasn't that small things kept happening
For one, his soldiers began to grow restlessWith an increase in hardship came an increase in tension; more incidents of confrontation occurredEspecially in Tregea where there were always more incidents of confrontationUnder greater stress the mercenaries demanded, predictably, higher payWhich, if he gave it to them, was going to soak up virtually everything he might gain from the confiscations and chloe dior the new duties
He sent a letter home to the EmperorHis first request in over two yearsAlong with a case of Astibar blue wine, from what were now his own estates in the north, he conveyed an urgent reiteration of his plea to be brought under the Imperial aegisWhich would have meant a subsidy for his mercenaries from the Treasury in Barbadior, or even Imperial troops under his commandAs always, he stressed the role he alone played in blocking Ygrathen expansion in this dangerous halfway peninsulaHe might have begun his career here as an independent adventurer, he conceded, with what he saw as a nice turn of phrase, but as an older, wiser man he wished to bind himself more tightly and more usefully to his Emperor than ever before
As for wanting to be Emperor, and wanting the cloak of Imperial sanction thrown over him, however belatedly, well, such things surely did not have to be put into a letter?
He received, by way of reply, an elegant wall-hanging from the Emperor's Palace, commendations on his loyal sentiments, and polite regret that omega de ville men's watches circumstances at home precluded the granting of his request for financingHe was cordially invited to sail home to all suitable honors and leave the tiresome problems of that far land overseas to a colonial expert appointed by the Emperor
That, too, was as usualTurn your new territory over to the EmpireCome home to a parade or two, then spend your days hunting and your money on bribes and hunting gearWait for the Emperor to die without naming a successorThen knife and be knifed in the brawl to succeed him
Alberico sent back sincerest thanks, deep regrets, and another case of wine
Shortly thereafter, at the end of the fall, a number of men in the disgruntled, out-of-favor Third Company withdrew from service and took late-season ship for homeThe commanders of the First and Second used that same week to formally present, purely coincidence of course, their new wage demands and to casually remind him of past promises of land for the mercenariesStarting, it was suggested delicately, with their commanders
He'd wanted to order the two of them knock off tiffany jewelry throttle