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[Playergamer]

Richards hears the whistling sound, and stops for a few moments, before taking a sip from his wine. "Well. I'm not dead, so clearly I was not the target." As it's revealed that Tower Stonetree was killed, Richards nods, finishing the rest of his wine, before turning to the two towers next to him. "I see no need to panic. This was an assassination, not a massacre. Whoever killed Stonetree is not here for the rest of us." Richards sighs sadly as the plebs begin to panic, running rampant to escape. "Uneducated plebs, with no knowledge of the Great Game. I'm not surprised. Shame, though, I was wondering if this "Octavia" was as good as they say."

Richards casually walks out of the concert after finishing his wine, with a few nearby plebs as proof he could not have been involved, and walks home, taking a seat in his study once more. "Politics is a dangerous game. It appears our friend Stonetree was not as wary as he should have been. Let it be a lesson."

[Sheb]

"What? How do you know they're not coming for us? It might be someone going against all Towers. I find your calmness... suspicious.

I for one am not staying there. I hope the Chief of the Centuria will have some lead by the next Council session."

[Spiderking50]

Goldbloom just stares at the body for a second before the guards push him away. He considered not attending because he was afraid he'd be targeted after the close election.  Goldbloom had never seen a man die. It was not pleasant. His guards hurriedly escort him away from the theater.

[Hiddenleafguy]

After seeing Stonetree fall, Avery began shouting for a healer! "Godsdamn, MEDIC! Don't die on me, HEALER! Someone! GET SOMEONE TO HELP!" needless to say, he stayed until someone draged him back to his villa/ the rest of the day, whatever comes first.

[Illgeo]

"What an insolence!! Who could have done it?"
Hermolaos grabs closest club-like object and scampers around swinging it, trying to find an assassin.

[notquitethere]

Elbegast takes a good look at the arrow in Stonetree's body before the late Tower's guards carry his body off. Stonetree wasn't popular but who be so brazen as to have him killed so publicly?

[Sheb]

"I think I recognize the seal of the Stonetree Foundry on that arrowhead. Not much of a clue given the sheer amounts of those the Foundry turns out, but whoever did this had a deranged sense of humor."

[Lukeinator]

Telmar stares at the corpse. "What kind of sick monster arranged this. Think of the chilren watching this show!"

[Iituem]

Late Maius, 263R

Once again the Council have gathered in the spacious Hall of the Towers. The Senex Princeps, Chief of the Centuria, The Highest Judge and Master of the Coin are all here, along with 41 Towers.  The Senex Princeps begins to speak once everyone is seated on the low stone benches, which form a wide circle around the center of the hall.  The Senex and the three other Crowns, as they are called together, are seated at the northern side.

SENEX:  "Council members, welcome.  Before we begin, the Master and Judge wish to say a few words." 

The Highest Judge stands.

JUDGE:  "It is my duty to inform you that the Tower Windborn has been arrested for the crime of ordering and abetting the murder of the Tower Stonetree.  His trial will be overseen by the Tower Council in two weeks, and in the meantime he is a guest of the Centuria.  The trial will be managed according to ancient custom, with a prosecutor to prove that the Tower committed the crime, and a defence to prove that he did not.  As per ancient custom, the burden lies upon the defence to prove that he is innocent, as guilt is assumed.  As he is a Tower, the final judgement will be delivered by the Tower Council.  If any Towers wish to serve as prosecutor or defence, they may present themselves during this session and serve next fortnight.  If not, lawyers from the Centuria will serve instead."

The Master of Coin stands.

MASTER:  "I would like to once again extend the city's gratitude to the Patriots of Ragona, who have agreed to fund half the cost for the aqueduct extension to Sarlax.  Their commitment to this city should be commended at all levels."

Both men sit.

SENEX:  "Thank you.  Today we have to discuss and decide on three topics.  First of all: That the appointment of generals in wartime, whilst the privilege of the Centuria, should be ratified by the Council.  A provision is made for emergency appointments, provided they can be ratified at the following council."

The Chief stands.

CHIEF:  "As Chief of the Centuria, it has always been my duty and privilege to select generals in time of war.  I choose candidates based on their military acumen, loyalty to the state and contributions to the war, not on basis of political favour.  Sometimes the best choice will not be the popular one.  That does not make it the wrong one.  I oppose this motion on the grounds that it will add unnecessary bureaucratic oversight to a purely military decision.

SENEX:  "Second, that the split of conquered territories, whilst determined by conquering generals as is right and custom, should be ratified by the Council."

CHIEF:  "As Chief, I will always give advisement as to the appropriate division of spoils.  I see no problem with this."

The Chief sits.

SENEX:  "Finally, we have been asked by Anterra to join them in war against Fentius, demanding we uphold our agreement of alliance."

The Judge stands.

JUDGE:  "The alliance is purely defensive, is it not?  Do they have grounds to involve us?"

SENEX:  "The Prince of Anterra's brother, Duke Erras, was assassinated by what they believe to be a Fentian pawn, which they are considering an act of war.  This comes after the disputed mine we counselled should go to Fentius was sabotaged; hundreds of denarii's worth of equipment was destroyed and several score slaves killed, rendering the mine unusable until it is restored."

JUDGE:  "If Anterra attacked the mine, that would be the initial act of war.  They would be the aggressors, we would not need to be involved."

SENEX:  "Anterra does not claim responsibility for the mine's destruction."

The Chief mutters, audibly, from his seat.

CHIEF:  "Bit convenient, isn't it?"

JUDGE:  "Well then, the legality of the request depends on whether we suspect the Anterrans of initiating the conflict.  Of course, we could use it as a pretext either way; for war, if we agreed that the Fentians made their attack unprovoked, or against it if we dispute the assassin's origin or that Anterra struck first."

SENEX:  "If any Towers wish to speak on these proposals, you may begin.  Additionally, I will be accepting any additional motion that is seconded by another Tower, should it be of enough significance to merit discussion."

The Senex lifts the iron staff that is his symbol of office and strikes the marble floor thrice - Clang, Clang, Clang! - The time of discussion is now.

Morning Phase has begun.


Public Document

[Sheb]

"My fellow Towers, I would like to speak about the first two proposals, given that me and Tower Goldblooms are the one that petitioned the Senex to include them in this fortnight's order of the day.

Ragona has been lucky to have been at peace for so long before the Irlax War. However, a side-effect of that long period of peace is that the statutes and traditions regulating the conduit of war have been left pretty much unchanged. Many among us have forgotten what they are altogether.

If you will allow me to refresh this Council's memory on the subject. At the moment, the Chief of the Centuria is free to nominate whoever he wants as general of a campaign. In turns, this general, once the war won, can distribute the spoils of war as he sees fit.

The city of Ragona is lucky that Tower Elbegast was appointed for the Sarlax campaign. Another Tower might have kept all the spoil for himself, making himself King of Sarlax in all but name. But consider what a less patriotic Tower might have done, had this council decided to annex Irlax in its entirety?

We cannot afford to let any successful general turns himself into a King that will seek to impose tyranny on the City. As such, I urge you to vote Aye to the first two proposals."

[Haspen]

Rava Procco smacked her lips.

"One thing our Republic does not need is a popular and skilled politician and commander influencing the Council while handling the leash of our troops. I do not dare to even think what will happen if such a man becomes more ambitious. I say, fellow Towers, vote Nay on the first proposal; keep the politics outside of our military. Let the Chief of Centuria appoint the generals, not our Council, where there are some not ashamed of murdering fellow councilmembers in public."

[Sheb]

"You must have misheard the Senex, Tower Procco. The motion does not rob the Centuria from appointing generals, they just require that said appointments be approved by the Council. I do not seek to politicize the charge of general, which should go to the best commander. I only seek to prevent a corrupt Chief of the Centuria appointing his cronies. We are blessed with an honest man at the post now, but our history shows us that honest men are rare. We need checks and balances."

[Haspen]

The chair under Rava creaked.

"I don't believe this Council should have any rights to do that, nor that it is capable of doing so. And what will be the next change in laws? How long till we end in a scenario where war rages, Centuria requires guidance, and we squabble over bureaucratic appointment for days upon days?"

[notquitethere]

Tower Elbegast stands, "On the matter of the first two proposals, I agree that greater oversight over the division of spoils is in order to prevent the situation Tower Jayne so eloquently expresses. Might I remind the council that the Chief of the Centuria is already an elected position and we may trust the chamber to select a chief who's choice of general is wise and well considered. In times of war, swift and decisive action saves lives. While the matter of ownership of holdings can and perhaps should be chosen in a more deliberative fashion, the choice of leadership should not be subject to undue delays. I agree with checks on the misuse of power, but we must make certain not to hobble ourselves."

"As for the matter of Anterra," Elbegast continues, "While the majority of Towers counselled to uphold the unjust Fentian claim, properly speaking the mine was disputed and was in any case naturally the property of an Anterran noble family. As such, even if the Anterrans claimed responsibility for destroying the mine, it cannot be considered an act of war. In contrast, Duke Erras' assassination is a clear act of aggression, however the Fentian blame is yet to be demonstrated. I counsel that we station men on the Anterran/Fentian border to ensure we are upholding our duty of protection and we send learned men to investigate the evidence that they have of the assassination's Fentian origin."

[Sheb]

"Regarding the Anterran matters, I find the Anterran claims... suspicious, to say the least. However, we did sign an alliance, and we have duties. We should at least dispatch troops, if not actively attack Fentius."