Should the Mongols ride for Scotland, it would be in no position to resist them. With only one castle - Inverness - and a handful of cities, it was the weakest of all the factions, militarily. The Mongols, by contrast, were the strongest. Temujin had came from beyond the Indus, to wreak havoc and devastation on the world, and by the time he crossed the Caspian he had ten thousand men under arms, all of them experienced in the art of war. Fortunately, he did not have boats; any confrontation between the Scots and these nomadic tribes from the east was far off.
Financially, Scotland at least had a stable economy. But it was still tiny. Its annual revenues equalled three thousand florins. That was the amount generated by a single English city. Most of that money came from the King's purse, with the only major economic activity being farming. There was no industrialisation to speak of, and wages of family members and agents was almost half of army upkeep. At least corruption was at a minimum. Any money that was coming in was well-spent.
Still, trade should be an urgent priority; emissaries had already been dispatched to see what England could be persuaded to part with in return for some Scottish goods.
It didn't take long (for Scotland, at least) to see the rewards. In spite of industrialisation efforts in the north, it still made a sum that was quite considerable, by the standards of the British Isles. Though an irrelevance to even second-rate European powers, its population, economy, and overall ranking was increasing. Scotland would one day be on the map. As it was aloof from most conflicts, its rise would only be undisturbed by war on the orders of its monarch, or the defeat of England in France.
Donnchadh was rather pleased with his duchy. It was a pretty rough area, but that just brought him closer to his men. He was also less than a turn's march away from Inverness and had an army of Highland nobles at his disposal, ready to put down any attempted uprising by his brother, baron of Inverness.
Three good men had came into the Crown's service. A merchant, a diplomat, and an assassin. The merchant was immediately sent to monopolise the trade in honey. The assassin was sent south, into England. And the diplomat was sent across the sea, to France.
The Moors were becoming increasingly wary of a Spanish Reconquista, to the point where they spent thousands of florins on a single tower, and a great assembly of clergy was convening in Rome. Alaxandair wasn't really one for clerical affairs, but the Pope considered Scotland faithful, and it was not wise to argue with him.
There. Some leading churchmen sent to Rome, to maintain the illusion that Scotland cares about what goes on down in Italy.
Now this here's something worth worrying about. They are still far off, but it's now confirmed; the Mongols have hooves on the ground in Europe. Their armies are ten times the size of Scotland's one, and they are almost all mounted. They could have appeared either in the Khwarezmian Empire or the Cuman Khanate. If the former, they'll have to go through two superpowers - the Khwarezmids and the Fatimids. If the latter, they'll have to go through mostly empty grasslands, and would be at the borders of Hungary before the Russian principalities spotted them crossing the Volga.
Scotland made a loss this turn, but only because of one-off construction costs. It has to industrialise, and bring its army up to scratch. Its position in relation to the other factions, militarily, seems secure, but overall it is still on the ascendant.
Another merchant thinks he can make some money in England, and enters the Crown's service. Better security that way. The Duke of York isn't known for his sensitivity towards money matters - or his welcoming attitude to Scots.
Poland and Hungary announce an alliance in the face of the Mongol threat. Good. The two of them are among Europe's largest kingdoms, and should keep both the Holy Roman Empire and the Kievan Rus in check.
]
Alaxandair decides that Scotland, too, needs an alliance. He dispatches Aengus mac Gartnait, his man in France, to entreat with French princess Marie Capet as a suitor for Donnchadh.
"Is there a picture of her?" the prince replied, upon hearing of the news. His footman dutifully presented one, which Donnchadh took with greedy hands. "Why the bronze?" he remarked at once.
The duc d'Orleans sought to set him straight, taking the picture from his hands. "Oui, monsieur," he said, waving an overtly affectionate hand over her finely-sculpted royal features. "She is one of these girls who likes to appear 'edgy' in her pictures. Were you up-to-date with modern social trends, as us French are, you'd understand." Sensing he'd offended his host, he promptly moved on. "If you do not like that one, she has also sent others. Please, peruse them at your leisure."
"She considers herself an artist, you know."
"Thank you," Donnchadh replied, taking back the photo from the Duke's sweating palms. "But if I can't handle my wife in this painting, I don't deserve her in all the others. I'll keep all three." The Duke's face dropped. You could almost hear his heart crash through the floor into the pantry. "Do you have any of her father?"
"Oh, um - yes." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out one of the girl's father, pockmarked with tiny holes. "Here."
"It's a bit, um, torn..."
"Yes, quite. What do you think?"
"He looks like her," the prince said whimsically. "And what of her mother? I want to see how she'll age."
"I admire the innovative style. Did you paint this yourself?"
"Oui. When she wasn't looking."
"And that, on her lip, is that..."
"Oui, monsieur. It is a beauty. And, should her daughter grow one, it will complement yours most excellently."
The marriage was hastily concluded the next day.
Now, Norway. Aed mac Fothad, Ambassador to the Norwegian Crown, negotiates a trade agreement. He doesn't want to go anywhere near Haakon the Mauler, who is said to be in his late sixties, and so deals with Prince Magnus, Duke of Eikandarsund, instead.
Not to be outdone by his brother, Domnall orders the construction of a port in Inverness, bringing in much-needed trade revenue from the northern climes.
However, in the spirit of friendly competition, Donnchadh launches Scotland's first non-mercenary ship. Called 'The Bearded Lady' in honour of his mother-in-law, it is sent out into the North Sea to scout for a Danish invasion.
Alaxandair orders the construction of watchtowers in Shetland, the Highlands, and Northumberland. Now Scotland can see any invasions coming. If nothing else, it would give them time to train another ship and flee to Ireland.
Aengus mac Gartnait arrives in the Holy Roman Empire, and, bouyed by news of the royal wedding, negotiates a trade agreement and an exchange of map information.
Speaking of Ireland, it seems that the west of their country is still held by rebels. That means that England's armies are somewhere else. However, it could also mean that there's opportunity to conquer it, and, with Papal blessing, Donnchadh orders the mercenary ships to gather in the western Highlands, whilst Domnall gets to work on an army.
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Monkey beats bunny. Please put Monkey in your signature to prevent the rise of bunny.
m0n|<3yz r 2 pwn n00b[This message has been edited by Gallowglass (edited 04-06-2012 @ 01:24 PM).]