The Capture of the Palace of Antiochos and Church of St. Euphemia

[Honors Bastion]

The forces of the Provencal Knight Simon de Provence appeared before the ancient Palace of Antiochos. Simon knew very little about the ancient palace save for that it stood upon a hill, that it was built a long, long time ago, and that there could be many riches to be had in taking the palace. When his forces arrived at the palace, they found the structure relatively intact and apparently un-looted by the Venetians. The reason for this was that a group of Byzantine troops still protected the ancient palace and the church connected to it, that was founded in the name of one of their saints, a St. Euphemia. Apparently the Venetians decided not to attack the palace and loot it, preferring to claim easier prey in the fallen city.

Simon approached the remaing Greek soldiers and shouted to them “The city has fallen. Surrender and your lives will be spared and ... I may even forbid my men from looting your precious church. Resist and I ensure that you suffer a painful death and that nothing remains of St. Euphemia. And give me your response quickly. I don’t know for how much longer that I will be able to restrain my men. They want vengeance for their fallen comrades and they now see a group of Greeks who would be perfect targets for their revenge. You have five minutes to decide or I release my men. Choose wisely.”

Simon then quickly returned to his men and readied himself to storm the palace if necessary and take what he thinks should be his.

OOC: I need a mod to roll whether or not they will surrender.

[Ganbarenippon]

Roland was tired and angry. And confused. Today had seen his first battle and it had been nothing short of very bloody. Many and mroe of his cousin's men, Provencal's like the two of them,men who had served his house and family for their whole lives, lay dead at that terrible breach. He had always thought battle was a song, glorious and noble and honourable until he had seen the bowels of a man he killed let go as he died. Or the sergeant who had saved his life cut down so suddenly. He was tired and weary and heartsick yet at the same time he also felt a strange thrill. He had lived. Where many a more veteran man had died he had survived, and to his very great surprise; had even thrived toward the end of the battle. He realised that much as he might feel disgust at battle now, he was good at it and a part of him had enjoyed it.

Right now, he saw a group of men denying Simon what he wanted. That made him angry too. He had bled this day, seen men die that he had known all his life and nearly died half a dozen times. It was God's Will he be rewarded for his suffering! Why couldn't these Greeks see that? How dare they defy Simon, and deny Roland his prize! Snarling, blood spattered, and haggard the tall young knight must have made a terrible sight as he moved toward the Greeks and hefted the longsword he had found somewhere.

"Choose wisely boy lovers!" He barked. He was not sure which terrified him more, the fact that the Greeks might fight and he be forced to kill again, or the fact that a part of him wanted nothing more than to storm the gates with axe and sword and fire. Heart pounding in his ears, he waited.

[Lucius Malfoy]

OOC: I need a mod to roll whether or not they will surrender.

I don't think a roll is even required, HB. I mean the city is ours and there would be no point to demanding their surrender.

The doors flung open the Latin conquerors as Greeks filed out with their hands up.

[Honors Bastion]

OOC: I wasn’t sure so I thought that it was best to be on the safe side and ask for a roll. Thanks LM.

Simon smiled as the Greeks opened the palace doors and filed out with their hands in the air as a gesture of surrender. There weren’t very many of them, no more than thirty men or so. Some sported injuries that they had received from the battle while others showed no signs of injury. The men looked tired and weary from the long siege.

Simon moved forward from his host and said to them “You have made the right decision. As a reward for your swift surrender, I shall destroy the sanctuary to your St. Euphemia and I will keep the looting of her church to a minimum. Now get out of my sight and return to your homes, wives, and children. Tell them that they are under Catholic rule now.”

He then turned back towards his men and said“Secure this palace. Once it is under our control, I want 100 men to guard the palace and another 20 men to protect the Church of St. Euphemia. The rest of you are to search the city for whatever loot that you can find and bring it here for safe keeping. When the sackis over, we didive the loot equally amongst all the participants. I do this so that those who are left behind to protect the palace are not left out. Do you understand me.”

His men roared with their approval and they quickly moved to seize the palace. Over 750 Frenchmen surged forward and expelled any non-Crusader form the palace. In short order, the Palace of Antiochos was firmly under Simon’s control with flags of House de Provence being placed everywhere to tell the other Crusaders that this palace was his. After ensuring that the palace was under his control, Simon quickly selected 100 men to guard his palace and another 20 men to take over the Church of St. Euphemia and protect it for him as well. Once both places were fully secure, Simon let his men loose, to wreak havoc upon Constantinople and strip the city of its wealth for his own. The only suggestion that Simon made to his men were to first start off with the nearby Palace of Lacaus, another ancient palace with many riches. While his men sacked the city, Simon departed with his cousin and ten of his knights towards the Great Palace to meet with the other Crusader Lords.

[Honors Bastion]

With the meeting now over for the evening, Simon de Provence and his entourage of his cousin and his ten knights departed the Great Palace and headed towards his newly conquered home. As he walked the short distance to his new palace, Simon examined the streets of Constantinople, absorbing all of the sights and sounds in the conquered city. He could hear the screams of women as they were defiled. He could hear the laughter of men getting drunk no doubt from the spoils of the city. Though night had fallen and a coat of darkness had been cast upon the city, the many fires and plumes of smoke could be seen clouding the air around him, burning his eyes ever so slightly. What had they done he thought, as he bore witness to everything. The Jewel of the East was being sacked by Christian hands and he was playing a role in it. Was his remorse finally starting to show as his anger and desire for revenge started die down. Simon did not know.

When he finally arrived at the Palace of Antiochus, Simon found it just as he left it hours before. His loyal soldiers still protected the palace gate and walls and his men were still coming and going on their trips to loot the ancient city. After speaking with his men at the gates for a few moments, Simon then entered his palace complex to finally inspect and explore his prize. When he entered the first of the buildings in the palace complex, Simon was met by two of his old friends who had been with him ever since he had left Marseille to make his own lot in this world, his Guard Captain Sir Stefan d’Arles and his right hand man, Sir Hugh de Marseille. He had left both of them in charge of overseeing the palace and getting it back into working order as well as organizing the loot that his men brought back.

He approached his two friends and said “How is it going boys? What have you done since I was gone?”

Hugh was the first to respond and said“The palace complex is secure Simon and under our control. The palace suffered some damage during the siege but it is nothing that can’t be easily repaired. The Greeks seemed to have been using the palace as a headquarters during the siege to defend against the Venetian assault and it explains why the Venetians had not yet breached the palace walls when we had arrived.”

Simon smiled at Hugh’s words and replied“How is looting going? I can see that we have acquired quite a lot for ourselves haven’t we.”

“Yes, commander. The men have brought back a large amount of loot and most of the men are resting right now before they go out for another run. Henri was just about to lead another group of knights to loot a nearby chapel my lord, the Chapel of St. Euphemia. Our men are still guarding it as you said to earlier commander but none have breached its doors just yet.” answered Stefan.

“That is good to hear Stefan. I have made a new decision. I want you to recall all of our men Stefan and forbid them from looting anything more. We have more than enough treasures in this room to last most men a lifetime and I see no reason to continue to pillage the city anymore. I have an announcement to tell you all. Quiet down and listen.” said Simon.

Simon scanned the room and examined all of his men who were present and said in a tired yet booming voice “We officially have new emperor boys. All hail Emperor Bohemond I de Lusignan, the new Emperor of the Latin Empire. May his reign be long and prosperous. Spread the word boys. We will celebrate tomorrow this joyous news. Some of you may question why I am forbidding any more looting. I will tell you why. With our new emperor, we have carved a new path in life. Many of you have been with me since our days in Aquitaine under the service of Count Laurent as mercenaries. Well, now boys we serve a new master, one that will lead us to more victories and to much more wealth. As such, I see no reason for us to loot anymore of this city’s wealth for we will need it in the days to come. Now go, get some sleep and rest for tomorrow a new age has begun.” Simon’s men answered him with cheers and shouts and all understood his reasons. They understood that their old lives were over and that new ones were about to begin.

As his men went off to find places to sleep, Simon spoke to Stefan and said "Organize a schedule for a watch. I want this palace to stay under my control. Make sure that no one dares to steal our treasures. Place guards here if necessary."

He then turned to Sir Henri, his lieutenant and personal bodyguard "Keep the chapel of St. Euphemia under my control. I have a plan to use it for tomorrow." Henri nodded and quickly rushed to gather a few more men to reinforce his soldiers that were already protecting the chapel from other looters.