July 1265:
Pope Sergius has appointed me as a Commander as well as his chancellor.
November 1265:
Well then. I will take up my loyal troops and set sail.
December 1265:
But of course! I'll put on my shabbiest finery and subtly join in with the smallfolk's conversations!
January 1266:
I knew this day would come. My only loyal troops are outnumbered, lead by one of the conspirators, and almost all loaded on ships in preparation of sending them to England. I truly do have no choice.
I will ensure that Bruto dies, of course.
February 1266:
My chaplain had died. In selecting a replacement, I have discovered that Shujah has orchestrated a revolt in the council; he called in a favor he had with my steward, who in turn was owed a favor by Gonzalo.
I see there is now no choice but to clear house entirely. To drain the fetid swamp of entrenched Councillors. Luckily none of them are powerful vassals.
Later February 1266:
I've gained some knowledge of skullduggery. Time to pick a new goal... You know, it would be good to have an heir, terrible though the thought is.
It seems that the next greatest threat is Countess Nunzia inexplicably trying to bring about gavelkind succession in the duchy. I'm not sure what she expects to gain, but she and her supporters have 93% of the strength I do.
Hopefully this crusade will help weaken the rebel forces. Yes... I'll form them into an army and send them on hopeless sieges. They'll lose enough men to be no threat to me for some time.
May 1266:
Well, time to find another new chaplain...
The boatload of sacrificial troops is still on its way. For now I will fight conservatively with my loyalists.
September 1266:
Apparently all it took was killing a few Aztecs. Who'd have thought?
October 1266:
I do not have time to deal with this. Make him disappear.
Later:
November 1266:
Blast! We've run out of money! This crusade is ruinous! My men have made some progress in securing Devon, but now I would be wise simply to retreat. When the rebellious troops arrive, at least I can ensure their death is swift and inexpensive.
January 1267:
My vassals' troops dispatched the revolvers after a few days.
February 1267:
ANOTHER revolt, this time in Almansa. I'll see if there are enough defenders to handle it there.
April 1267:
Finally. Hopefully they'll be crushed; I've already lowered the ships, so they'll never return. But my expenses are still absurdly high. I'm not sure how I can restore a positive income.
June 1267:
That's one conspirator down.
January 1268: Several more conspirators and disloyal vassals have been sacrificed by the Aztecs. And we're only ten months from restoring a positive balance! '68 is looking up!
February 1268:
Well now, I will see what this text has to say... (It grants Illumination, +0.05 Prestige and Piety per month!)
April 1268:
Pope Sergius V has been succeeded by Pope Gregorius VIII.
July 1268:
Countess Matild has finally succeeded in fabricating a claim on Jerusalem.... Only days later, she went through with the claim....
October 1268:
We have paid off our debts from the crusade. In celebration, my steward has stepped down.
November 1268:
THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE! Now let's never do that again.
March 1269:
I've been reading that mysterious book. It still eludes me.
June 1269:
I've become a mystic from reading the book. I suppose this will be useful.
Later June:
ONE TIME!
ONE SINGLE TIME! I knew it was a bad idea!
Also later June:
Well I guess she'll do. Too bad it couldn't have been a son, but I'm not going to be picky. On a day like this, it makes a man think of his legacy... I should find a suitable regent. Oh, and "Alisia" won't do at all. I'm naming her after you, Ermenegilda.
July 1270:
Some of the townsfolk are doing something new. I suppose. (upgraded town infrestructure)
August 1270:
France and the Holy Roman Empire have gone to war following HRE's upraising of an antipope. I will serve as the Pope's commander, and I believe I can even afford to raise up the vassals.
Meanwhile, the Aztec Crusade has slowed to a halt. We had almost won, but much of our progress has been lost.
February 1271:
A few days later, King Endre of Hungary just faked his own claim on Jerusalem. It's been my week, that's for sure.
On the other hand, I am a lunatic mystic duke, that's pretty awesome.