101 Dalmatians

The carriage of Hoffaktor Abraham Weißenheimer once more clatters forth from the courtyard of his towering townhouse in the Hunsruck Judengasse, commissioned yet again by His Grace to pursue negotiations abroad, this time with the court of Albrecht Mordicus, Herzog von Lagerburg-Slobbovia, for the possible exchange of recruits for the mutual benefit of both courts.

The successes of recruiting officers in the Mosel valley in finding candidates for the newly expanded grenadier companies of the Herzogerheer, with the assistance of the Archbishop-Elector, have greatly exceeded expectations, and, for that matter, the resources of the straitened Obersaynische Exchequer. The news of Saracen depredations along the Dalmatian coast, brought lately to the attention of Msgr. de Chiaroscuro's sources in Vienna, have presented the opportunity both to escape financial embarassment and to boost further Herzog Ignaz's prestige in Vienna by further contributing to the defence of the Reich.

Hoffaktor Weißenheimer's mercantile contacts in Vienna and Italy will be taxed to the utmost to conclude the transaction, but the potential rewards, both to Herzog Ignaz and to Weißenheimer, working as always on commission, make the effort, and the pains of the journey, worth the hazard.