After the initial shock of seeing Britannian and Gallian officers walking with the Prince-Bishop, the room full of officers settled down into their seats to wait for an explanation.
Adalbert Heinrich was an astute enough orator and politician to know when he had the advantage, so the Prince-Bishop dispensed with the planned elaborate ceremonies and cut directly to the point.
“My lords, generals, and gentlemen: may I introduce two distinguished, but uninvited guests? I have spoken with these two generals about my planned remarks, so do not be surprised if I sound the part of an ungracious host.
“This is Major General Sir Harald Dawes of His Britannic Majesty’s service. And this is General Louis Renault, Comte de Maison-Blanche of His Gallian Majesty’s army.
“Each of these officers commands the vanguard of their respective armies. They are drawn into our
Kreis by the presence of the armies of Her Imperial Majesty and those of the King of Germania. And, doubt not my lords, for the sake of feeding their armies off of Our rich lands!”
The Prince-Bishop’s voice rose suddenly and dramatically with the last sentence, and he glared accusingly at the representatives from the warring parties. Norris showed no response at all, even as the heads of assembled officers turned to look at him. But when Adalbert Heinrich’s gaze turned to von Blei-Sammeln, the Imperial general blanched, and then tried to recover his composure with his practiced sneer.
“It has ever been Our policy to support Our beloved Empress. Yet it has also been Our policy to keep the peace within the borders of Mittel-Nirgendwo.
“I am not a lawyer, but I am the titular and spiritual leader of this Circle. I ask the leaders of Homburg and Fedora to reach an agreement and end this quarrel before the blood of any more of our young men is spilt, and before the spectre of war stalks among our green fields.”
Many of the assembled generals wondered if any such agreement were possible. Even if the two Hessian states did end their conflict, the general war was sure to engulf the region. Germanian and Britannian armies were not going to cease their struggles with their Imperial and Gallian counterparts at the request of the ruler of a tiny corner of Uropa.
They were right.
Feldmarschallieutenant von Blei-Sammeln rose and bowed to the Prince-Bishop.
“Your Eminence, when the Germanian army withdraws from the lands of my sponsor, the soldiers in revolt lay down their arms, and the rascal so-called Landgraf Bogey and his henchmen are turned over for justice, then and only then will the Imperial and Homburg soldiers march home.”
The silence was immediate and utter.
Generalmajor von Stein, sitting by von Blei-Sammeln, visibly shrank away from his chief with a look of disbelief writ large on his face.
The eyes gradually turned back to the Prince-Bishop, who sadly brought his attention back to Norris. The others all did likewise.
Norris rose as if church was over. He bowed to the Prince-Bishop and marched from the hall. As Norris reached the doors, a scraping noise jolted the room’s inhabitants.
It was the chair of Duke Wilhelm Heinrich von Welf-Este. He also bowed to Adalbert Heinrich and followed Norris from the room. As he did so, the other Welf-Este soldiers, as well as those of Germania all rose and filed from the room.
The War of the Fedoran Seccession had not been stopped by the
Konferenz…it had been expanded.
After Sir Harald murmured his apologies to the Prince-Bishop, the Comte de Maison-Blanche did likewise and both left the stage.
Feldzeugmeister von Dithmarschen was left with his disconsolate ruler, and asked:
“What are your orders, Your Eminence?”
Descending from the customs house down to the waterfront in search of berths to Marseille, Cardinal Maximilian's valet de chambre took just under an hour to assess the situation. Whilst more than a dozen of the smaller feluccas in port could be hired to coast as far as Marseille, or even directly into Arles, the commanders of such vessels are notoriously weather-shy, preferring to row from headland to headland and only unfurling sail in the most favourable skies. While the persistent tramontane winds of late summer argued in favour of passage by oar, what could be merely a three or four day passage with favourable winds could easily stretch out over weeks if poor weather threatened.
The felucca--ubiquitous in the Ligurian Sea, but of marginal seaworthiness out of sight of shore.
The sloop Pharaon bound for Toulon, belonging to the Marseilles firm of Morrel & Son, and a chebec, the Indiscret, and a polacca-chebec, the Serpent, both bound for Marseille, also lay in harbour, all able to make good headway against contrary winds and large enough to be fairly safe in open water, but the passage was certain to be far dearer.
Two rattling days by caleche over indifferently maintained roads through the desolate countryside of the Roman campagna brought Cardinal Maximilian and his party to the principal port of the Papal States, Civitavecchia. As in Rome, the passage of time has left a deep stamp on the city, founded in the time of the Good Emperors and enduring, since the silting of the Claudian harbour at Ostia, as the chief port of the Eternal City. Welcoming the bracing salt air as a blessed relief from the malarial vapours of Rome in the summer, the clerics entered the city, stopping briefly at the Church of the Confraternity of Orazione e Morte, famous for its organ-loft balustrade fashioned from the prow of the flagship of the Papal fleet at Lepanto, to render thanks for their successful arrival and to pray for protection from the Barbary pirates on the next leg of the journey.
A Grand Victory Ball was held at Schonbrunn Palace to honor the newest heroes of the Austrian Empire. It was an opportunity for the Empress to introduce them to Viennese high society and to formally recognize them before the court. The honorees were Field Marshal Reich Duke Wilhelm von Beerstein, Prinz Wilhelm II von Beerstein Baron von Brewswick, Maj Gen Reich Graf Adolph von Coors Baron von Blatzberg, Maj Gen Reich Graf Lother Blunderdonner Baron von Alesgarden, General Reich Graf Pickelmany, Generaloffizer Reich Graf Mackay, General Reich Graf Joffery Lista Baron von Lista, and Colonel Honking Thirst.
Empress Maria Theresa summoned Reich Duke Wilhelm, his son Wilhelm II, and the heroes of the Battles of Alesgarden and Blatzberg to Vienna. During their presentation, Empress Maria Theresa promoted Reich Duke Wilhelm to Field Marshal, invested him into her newly constituted Order of Maria Theresa, and proclaimed him "Lion of the Empire." Duchess Lynda was heard to say, "Thrice a knight at his age is something to behold."
