What follows is some background material related to session 10 of the current section of the Compromise and Conceit campaign. Essentially, it is the result of interrogating la Belle Dame sans Merci and a single Irish mercenary.
Answers to questions: la belle dame sans Merci
French plans
- The French are helping the colonials in order to destabilize America and create trouble for the British
- America is a testing ground for new Infernal technology
- La Belle Dame facilitates the trade of essentials between the colonials and the French
- The French primarily provide low-grade weapons, money and raw materials to the colonials through traders like foul-mouthed Jacques
- The French also provide access to high-grade new Infernal technology through the NWFC
- The genocide plan at Delaware was not French (la Belle Dame clearly considers this plan distasteful) but was the idea of the colonials around Washington, and the NWFC, which is attempting to clear Delaware lands for its own dubious purposesGenocide of natives in British America strengthens French relations with the natives of New France, which comparatively treats its natives very well.
- The French think British colonial philosophy is entirely wrong, being brutal and uncompromising, and they think it will always fail. They are happy to encourage the colonials and the British in their foolish conflict, because while they are divided against each other and treat the natives poorly, they are guaranteed to lose America, which will make the French wealthier, and their position in America stronger
The Arrangement with the North West Frontier Company
- The North West Frontier Company (NWFC) is developing a variety of new infernal technology with the help of the French
- Primarily the NWFC are doing this because they don’t believe Britain can keep a grip on North America in the long term, and they would prefer the colonials and/or the French to take on North America than the Indians
- The French and the Colonials are negotiating for the NWFC to gain a large stretch of land, probably in Delaware, as sovereign territory in exchange for their help
- The NWFC partially bank rolls the colonial acquisition of infernal technology. Partly they do this so they can test their new inventions, but also partly they do it so that they can guarantee the colonials remain wedded to infernal technology
- There are elements in the colonial leadership – particularly in more rural areas – who are opposed to infernalism in its most naked forms. The NWFC aims to destroy these peoples’ influence through feeding the other factions – particularly those around Washington – with powerful new infernal inventions
- Part of the cost of these developments is defrayed by the French, who get to share the technology once it is developed
- The French also have their own equivalent company to the NWFC, the Hudson Bay Company (the HBC), but they don’t want to involve the HBC in these actions because
- It would make their seditious activity more obvious, since the HBC isn’t very active in English lands, usually
- The French consider this sort of dirty behaviour beneath their own companies, and particularly odious things like the genocide in Delaware are best left to companies “with the moral fibre for that sort of thing” – i.e. British companies
- If the activities of the NWFC were uncovered, a conspiracy linking them to the French would not necessarily be obvious
- La Belle dame sans Merci chiefly dealt with the NWFC through foul-mouthed Jacques, but she also has had dealings with Madame Custis for some more delicate matters.
The arrangement with the Irish
This is strictly no business of the French. La Belle dame sans Merci didn’t even know there were Irish mercenaries involved in her rescue until she heard them speaking – and even then she thought they were Scottish (no offence).
Where was she going?
To a small beach called Stoneforge, to be picked up by the French Corvette Unfortunate lapse of Discipline. From there, to return to a much-needed retirement in France.
What is a corvette?
A small, lightly armed ship of modern design that skims over the water.
Answers to questions: the Irish Mercenary
- The Irish mercenary (Danny) was hired in New York 6 months ago
- The company he works for, The New Shadow Army, is run by a rich Irish businessman based in a small independent island in Newfoundland
- No-one knows why he is in Newfoundland, but presumably he is an exile from Ireland. No-one knows how he makes his money or why he supports the colonials
- Currently, most of the New Shadow Army is working for the colonials in security roles, except those guarding the island
- Soldiers of the New Shadow Army can be ransomed back to their employer, though Danny is only worth 50 gps.
Compromise and Conceit 
April 7, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Fr Cantrus is busy swearing, drinking, praying and screaming over his lost arm. But in the gaps between those activities he manages to convey the questions below (obscenities removed in the interest of brevity):
1. Do you know how badly I’m going to hurt you for this?
2. No. It’s going to be much worse than that.
3. What do you mean that wasn’t a question?
4. How many men will be on the corvette?
5. Will M. Sans Merci be willing to assist in attacking the French ship and turn evidence for us in return for her freedom?
5. What would the English do if the one armed harlot was handed over to them? Ideally we’d want her freed or ransomed back to the French (hopefully to never see her again)
The suggestions his allies would be able to extract from the following general mélange of noise from the priest would be:
1. We should parole the Irish soldier on the condition he carry a message to his employer for us and use that to setup a meeting. We can then attempt to subvert his loyalty over to our side to provide the soldiers we’ll need.
2. Someone get me a drink.
3. We need to share this information with the colonials to separate them from Washington. Once that’s done we can turn the evidence over to the English to gain their assistance against that heretic Washington.
4. We need to make sure the Indians understand the role the French have played in this to expose the French for the scum they are.
5. We need to ensure that the North West Frontier Company is investigated and that only trust worthy upright men direct its future activities. I nominate David Black as the best representative the King could hope to have.
6. The whore Custis should be infected with whatever diseases the devil can see fit to grant such a snake in order that she can share them with her unwed bedfellow Washington. Ideally something that’ll make his manhood drop off.
6. We need to find me a replacement arm immediately or I’m going to start sending the Angel of Death at random people near me who aren’t regarding this and the death of Washington as their top priorities.
April 7, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Answers to the questions:
1. I didn’t do it! The other wizard did
2. Oh.
3. Sorry.
4. A corvette can hold about 25 marines, and usually also has some cannon.
5. Yes, anything to escape this madness.
6. (can’t count properly now you’ve had a hand chopped off?) You don’t know what the British would do but most likely ransom her to the French.
April 7, 2009 at 2:16 pm
“I say old boy what happed to your arm ? That must smart a bit what ? I did shoot the beggar but he went and hid like the cowardly curr he is, or was. I have some, err, condiments that might help with the pain, or at the very least will help you forget it, or that you ever had an arm at all for that matter !”.
Hmm, I think it would be hard to convince the French that George Washington (GW) had attacked them – he has too much to lose from doing so. But we might be able to convince them that other colonials attacked them in direct opposition to GW. If we can make GW look less like the leading light of the colonials and more like one extremist who does not carry the majority with him, the French might leave him – seeing less of the firm bet they were anticipating. The problem we have with getting the less genocidal colonials involved is Stuart’s take that, once they act, it will trigger a war, GW first and the British second. They’ll lose the first unless we sufficiently weaken GW by by removing French and the North West Frontier Company’s (NWFC) support and I’m not sure that Merton could entirely support the second part (certainly not outright war, a more equal footing though yes).
GW is the prinicple antagonist here. The French have lost the war with the English, they’re just interested in maintaining New France and licking their wounds. once they’ve fully recovered things might change but for the time being their own interests come first, not GW’s and not the NWFC’s. They’ll happily stir things up while they can profit from doing so but not if it will risk open war with the british or geopardise things in New France. That gives us a few levers:
1. I think it’s safe to assume that collusion with the NWFC and the collonials is contrary to the settlement reached with the British crown and would not go down well with them. This presents the risks of renewed hostility with the foe they’ve just lost to. They aren’t ready to renew that fight.
2. If the prophet has enough leeway with the natives in New France, we can threaten stabiity there by exposing the French involvement in the genocide. OK, it wasn’t their plan, but they knew of it, and thru the NWFC provided tacit support (funding at the very least), maye even the wizard who did the spell as we know it wasn’t the colonial at the fort (could also have been NWFC).
3. They genuinely dislike GW’s tactics. How trustworthy are genocidal maniacs generally ? There’s no reason to assume his antinative genocidal tendancies will stop at the borders of New France – unless they plan to damn every river that leaves colonial territory. Even if it was just the natives of New France he killed it would hardly help stability there.
4. How trustworthy is the NWFC? They’re “British” afterall, and they’ve already proved their perfidy in that respect. Just where are they getting all this wonderful new infernal tech from exactly ? Why do they want a large area of land ? Wolfram and Heart have some competition I think !
We have various letters and our own not insiginificant word which may be enough evidence here, but the only real evidence we need is Le Madame Belle herself. She’s important enough to the French that her confession of these facts could not be disregarded or brushed aside. We could also just ransom her back to the French for extra leverage. Le Madame Belle may even be able to help here. Doubt she’s overly tustworthy but we have kicked her butt twice now so she will at least respect us, well, as much as she would anyone who prefers to fight rather than make love with their face 😉 If we could convice her that the colonials in opposition to GW are not insignificant and that we are siding with them and the natives, that we’ve already trashed the fort and the genocide plan and are moving onto the NWFC and GW next, she might happily make the argument for us ?
Either way, I think we have enough leverage to remove french support from both GW and the NWFC. On that basis not sure we need to take on the Corvette at all (esp if it was just taking Le Madame home). The colonials will lose the low level trade with the French that’s helped support them and if the french make a point of saying it’s GW’s tactics they disklike, and the reason for their withdrawal, that’ll undermine GW from within his own support base. The withdrawal of funding from the NWFC will hamper their infernal research and weaken GW militarily.
This suggests, to firmly kick the other crutch away, the NWFC itself should then be the next target before we go for old 30 dicks himself (btw Laura – a link you have to watch before tonight – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbRom1Rz8OA – it may help you understand our position on GW a little more – or maybe not ;).
A snooping trip around the NWFC, perhaps on the exucse that we wish to equip Father Cantus with a new arm might provide us with final evidence of the NWFC’s treachery to the crown. They might also then be prepared to switch side and provide similar support to the less extrmist colonials, but whether they’d want it or not ??? Depends on their own agenda as well – doubt it’s pretty.
In terms of GW himself, one idea might be to try and get a myrmidon delivered to his pad as a “gift” of the NWFC, but one which ultimately we can assume control of during the final confrontation ? Plus a cat of course, we need a cat to lure his dog to chase ! Or perhaps just a nice stick ?
Lord (Hic) Merton
April 7, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Dear Diary,
Thank whatever infernal fiend is empowering me today that I’m right handed! The loss of “lefty” (as I’m already thinking of that arm) is going to be a great shame for myself and the members of my parish. Next combat I must find a way of letting the meat shields approach the foe while doing my best to “support” them from a distance (and spare myself further limb loss).
Clearly I need to take stock, re-assess my resources and then adjust my plans to kill that cur Washington. I think the others got the gist of my plans despite the pain-enforced sobriety I was speaking through (and their own assorted mental deficiencies – Is Brian putting hearts into lunch pails???).
To settle my mind somewhat I’ve decided to re-list my “Hate list” of those who must pay and the reasons for their forthcoming punishment:
– The English (the other Irish would never forgive me if they weren’t on the list)
– The other Irish (bastards never send enough Guniness to this lousy continent)
– The Northwest Frontier Company (I’m still jumpy every time I look into a child’s eyes)
– The French (chattes)
– Magua (two armed asshole)
– That guy who looked at me sideways the other day (I can’t remember why he’s so far up the list, this may be a record keeping error – must review)
– Madam Custis (The Devil’s Harlot. Does run a good party though)
– Washington (Everything is his fault!)
– The Church (She was 17 and wanted it! Exile from Vienna for such a paltry offense!)
– The Devil (With allies like this…)
– God (May be allied with Washington or non-existant. Either is unforgivable)
There. That should keep me busy. Now to herd these cats at my enemies in the right order to ensure victory!
Note to self: During enquiries for new arm, ask what other prosthetics are available. No reason.
Now its back to the drink for me,
Davie