W Navarre

CHALLENGE V: Category B: La Cospirazione: Part I

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La Cospirazione: Part I

It was a calm, quiet evening, and the only noise stirring the silent streets of Tergiversa was the resounding trod of heavy boots on the rough streets again and again as Alesio de Fiori hurriedly made his way to the outskirts of the city.  As he approached a small gateway he heard voices and paused, warily peering into the shadows: all was safe.  
There was a man on horseback, another sitting on a small part of the wall, and two others figures outlined a little further back, one a tall Minotaur and the other a slim girl.
 As Alesio arrived the man on the horse jumped down and grasped his hand in excitement. “Tomorrow!” exclaimed Staffan Conzaga, stamping the ground.  “All is arranged! Tomorrow we will meet in the palace of Illaryian: there will be none to stop us! Di Carlo will be crowned Rego and by Sana Argenta, the people will be wildly pleased with it!”
Di Carlo nodded, and Alesio stroked his beard. “All seems to be going well.  Supano should have known his days were numbered.  Are there any final matters to arrange, Luca?”
Luka skipped off the wall and there followed a short talk, all in hushed whispers.  Finally everything was settled, just as the sky began to darken.
Addio, gentlemen,” Staffan remarked, climbing onto his horse with a short glance at the sky. “Tomorrow then, at dawn, I will meet you in Illaryian.”
“Godspeed!” Luca waved him off.  Then he leaned back casually on the wall as the man and his bodyguard the Minotaur galloped off.
“An ambitious man,” Alesio remarked.
“Aye,” di Carlo assented carelessly.
“He will stop at nothing,” Alesio flipped a knife in the air.
Luca looked up thoughtfully.  “None of us will?” he ventured with a sharp look.
“What I mean is ... ” Alesio de Fiori fingered his knife suggestively.  After a short silence he added, “I don’t think you should let him escape out of your hands.”
Di Carlo stepped back in affected horror and ventured no remark.  The girl leaning on the wall watched out of the corner of her eyes. 
“This will be the last time Staffan Conzaga ever plays himself into your hands,” Alesio leapt forward and spoke with animation. “If he once gets away he will grow all too powerful.  He is cautious and scrupulous: we will never be able to get him in his fortress at Laryian, and he will stop at nothing.  I promise you he will not be satisfied with the gains tomorrow’s work will get him.  He has played himself into your hands this once, but it will be the last time.  Finish him now or it will soon be too late.” Alesio frowned and let the knife slip into his belt.  “And you will live to regret it.”
The girl inclining against the wall leaned closer, moving her fingers nervously.
Alesio saluted her and shook Luca’s hand. Not another word was exchanged, only De Fiori mouthed silently, “Assassinate the man.”  
Then Alesio De Fiori pulled his cloak about him and walked quickly away, back into the city, and Luca watched him out of sight with his hand held pensively to his chin.
“Assassinate him?” he mused, eyeing the girl with a slight grin. “I suppose we just might be able to do so.”  

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The Palazzo by General  尓àvarre

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The beautiful blue water of the canals of Illaryian calmly reflected the stately arches of the Rego’s munificent palazzo, but all else in the city was far from calm, and inside the luxurious palace halls there hung a thrilling atmosphere of victory and success.  Soldiers and guards marched hurriedly to and fro through the palace’s otherwise empty halls, and, besides that, throughout the courtyards and rooms barely a whisper could be heard; save the whisper of the wind as the fresh air seeped in through the open windows.  But in one corridor a calm and even voice broke the stillness with measured tones, as Luca di Carlo, the Rego now of the twin lands, conversed thoughtfully with Staffan Conzaga about the affairs of the Realm.  As they finished the talk Alesio De Fiori walked in and bid them adieu.  
“Sirs, I have matters to attend to,” he bowed, “and will make my way to my house now.”
“Aye, sir,” Luca di Carlo nodded.
Alesio thought that he seemed to be looking past him, and looked briefly around. There was only a distracting shadow moving behind the pillars. He bowed again to Staffan.
Bowing shortly in return Staffan cried vehemently, “Well met, sir! Without your aid, I swear by Sana Argenta, we would have never seen a day this glorious!”  He chewed vigorously on an old herb popularly used by the farmers of Northern Varlyrio. “Who would have thought that it would be so simple? Such a show as at the coronation today I have never seen. Far too much shouting. Ah, yes, addio, sir!”
Alesio walked smartly out, just tipping his hat as he passed out of sight through the archway.
“I as well will now leave, with your permission, Rego,” Staffan grinned conceitedly.  “There are pressing matters to attend to at Laryian, and I expect we shall not see each other again, for some time.”
 The olive merchant merely grinned good-naturedly in return, and waved his hand casually.
“But au revoir, di Carlo,” Staffan smirked, lowering his eyebrows in a clever way. “When we do meet again, remember the ones who put you into your position.”
“I will remember you,” Luca commented with boyish insouciance, “very kindly for your aid and support. No better man could I have by my side, sir.”
A sound flowed through the room as of the barring of a door.

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The barring of the door.

Staffan turned, startled for a brief second. “Farewell,” he said, dismissing it quickly, and walking a few paces. “Minos!” he loudly shouted through the passageway.

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"Minos!" he shouted loudly.

“Oh, Minos is already gone sir, I dismissed him,” Luca smugly remarked, pushing a loose tile around on the decorated floor.
 Staffan looked at him keenly, a puzzled look in his eyes. The sound of footsteps in the corridors increased.
“I do not need to say, my dear Staffan, that he has been well payed,” Luca genially observed.
Suddenly from every direction the Royal Guard poured into the room and Staffan stepped quickly back.

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From every direction the Royal Guard poured in! 

“What does this mean, Luca?” he bellowed. “What are the guards here for?”
Luca di Carlo waved them up with nonchalance, and Staffan turned pale.

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Luca motioned the guard to close in.

“What … what is this, man?”

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"What is this, man?" cried Staffan.


“It was not my idea, sir,” Luca grinned, stepping up till his face was within a few inches of Staffan’s. The soldiers clamped into a square about them, leaving no room for escape. “And I am sorry for the fate that befalls traitors, Staffan Conzaga. But the only place for traitors in our Realm lies below the dirt; and I do not mean the Sunken City.”

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The soldiers formed a square around them.

“Traitors? What do you speak of?” Staffan cowered, his trembling hand clutching something behind his back.
“What do I speak of, sir?” Luca’s voice rose now.  “Matters to attend to at Laryion? Your proud domineering air? A dagger in your hand?” Luca grasped Staffan’s hand and dashed the dagger he held in it to the ground.
It slid across the room, and Staffan fell to his knees, powerless in Luca’s grasp.
“Oh, consider my family!” he cried.
“Your family? You are very close to them,” Luca mocked, “while they are all leagues and leagues away, where you sent them, far away from you! And as for the girl Poppa, she is in a dungeon somewhere now. Non importa, I will take care of her and assure her an honorable husband in due time.”
The Captain of the Royal Guard bent over and retrieved Staffan’s gilded dagger.
“No!” Staffan cried, violently seeking to shake himself from Luca’s fierce hold as the Captain of the Guard approached.

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The Captain of the Guard approached.

Luca Di Carlo only soberly remarked, “Such be the fate of all traitors in our Realm.” 
Then he threw Staffan to the floor, and at his signal the Captain of the Guard bent down and buried Staffan’s own knife into his heart. It was over, and silence reigned once more in the vast halls of the Palazzo of Illaryian.

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It was over.

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Staffan was dead.

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And the vast halls were left in silence once more.

 .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

La Cospirazione by General  尓àvarre

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To be continued! 

Stay tuned for the next three parts over the weekend. This is my build and story for category B of Challenge V. Expect more intrigue to come! Hope you enjoyed the story and the build, I think I went a little colorblind with all those crazy colors I tried to use :wink: . More pictures including some special effects in the spoiler. 

Spoiler

 

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There is a moonlight version. And here you can see the whole set:

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The Royal Gaurd:

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Hope you like it! C&C are welcome!

 

 

 

Edited by W Navarre

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You dirty dogs! So much for Minos the incorruptible! :laugh:

The build itself is amazing. Love the colour scheme and the figure positioning, in particular I love the way the woman is peering through the curtains.

The story? Pah! I love it. Staffen dying will open up quite a few narrative options for me, so I like the way you went about it. He's a ruthless murderer anyway so don't feel too sorry for him. Poppa is currently in Kaliphlin, so not sure if this is shown in any of the other parts of this collaboration. Parts I and III appear to be unrelated so I'm curious to see how part II stitches them together.

One complaint is that some of the photos, in particular the last one, are really washed out. Also they are a little bit grainy, that can happen when the ISO is set too high. A minor detail.

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3 hours ago, Basiliscus said:

You dirty dogs! So much for Minos the incorruptible! :laugh:

The build itself is amazing. Love the colour scheme and the figure positioning, in particular I love the way the woman is peering through the curtains.

The story? Pah! I love it. Staffen dying will open up quite a few narrative options for me, so I like the way you went about it. He's a ruthless murderer anyway so don't feel too sorry for him. Poppa is currently in Kaliphlin, so not sure if this is shown in any of the other parts of this collaboration. Parts I and III appear to be unrelated so I'm curious to see how part II stitches them together.

One complaint is that some of the photos, in particular the last one, are really washed out. Also they are a little bit grainy, that can happen when the ISO is set too high. A minor detail.

Haha! It wasn't my idea! I knew some people would wake up surprised today :rofl: . Thank you very much! Good eye, you don't miss a single detail, and the girl is very important! 

The story took a lot of work. It's meant to cause a ripple effect throughout Varlyrio! Watch your back, mate :wink: .  Poppa isn't in Kaliphlin anymore :laugh: . Unless it really messes up your plans Luca kidnapped her from Kaliphlin (you'll have to free her, or Luca will arrange to take care of her as a hostage, and when she grows up marry her off).  This way you have to retaliate, hehe. Part IV should tie it all together, mwahaha! But yes, Part II is also meant to be read before Part III, of course :sweet: . 

I know, the photos weren't the best. I like the photos of the bottom story but not the top story. Also the colors in the build were kind of mixed up. Thanks for the tip! 

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Very nice build and minifig posing! Nice architectural choices too - that cool yellow looks amazing, and I love the chrome gold rings on the pillars. 

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7 hours ago, W Navarre said:

Haha! It wasn't my idea! I knew some people would wake up surprised today :rofl: . Thank you very much! Good eye, you don't miss a single detail, and the girl is very important! 

The story took a lot of work. It's meant to cause a ripple effect throughout Varlyrio! Watch your back, mate :wink: .  Poppa isn't in Kaliphlin anymore :laugh: . Unless it really messes up your plans Luca kidnapped her from Kaliphlin (you'll have to free her, or Luca will arrange to take care of her as a hostage, and when she grows up marry her off).  This way you have to retaliate, hehe. Part IV should tie it all together, mwahaha! But yes, Part II is also meant to be read before Part III, of course :sweet: . 

I know, the photos weren't the best. I like the photos of the bottom story but not the top story. Also the colors in the build were kind of mixed up. Thanks for the tip! 

I'll wait until parts II and IV are posted to see the full story, but if it mattered all the same to you, could Poppa be held somewhere in Kaliphlin (maybe with a local lord who the de Fioris are close to or bribed) so I can rescue her from there? Basically, the reason that Gisela is in Avalonia (other than my collaboration with @Grover) and Poppa is in Kaliphlin is so that I can build in those styles if I get bored building in Varlyrio.

I'm probably going to make Staffen's death legitimate regardless of who wins the challenge, as it gives me quite a few options for future builds. So I am totally fine with this turn of events.

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Really gorgeous build!  It's funny, because you and I had similar ideas (you'll see when our team posts our story).  Love the detail and the color schemes.  It really looks good like a Venetian house interior.  The open scheme you used is great, and you make excellent use of the trans purple and pink bricks (I struggle to use them in my builds).  The face in the curtains, the slightly leaning fences, the SNOT tooth plates... all outstanding.  The lighting, particularly the light through the windows and doorways, is great.

As for the story, it's good, but there are some details you may want to edit to make them consistent with canon:

Quote

“Your family? You are very close to them,” Luca mocked, “while they are all leagues and leagues away, where you sent them, far away from you! Except the girl Poppa. Ah, but she is in a dungeon somewhere now."

According to canon, Staffen sent Mychel, Gisela, and Poppa away.  Bernaldo and Staffen's brother Nestur (as well as his father Besil, but he's retired) are still in Varlyrio.  Poppa is distinctly not in Varlyrio (she is in Kaliphlin), and was probably the best guarded of the children whose whereabouts were the least known.  Not saying she couldn't be kidnapped, but you could edit this to say that he had sent away some of his capable children, and didn't hide Poppa well enough, since she had been found and kidnapped in Kaliphlin, not Varlyrio.  It would be an interesting story to build, since there may be some infiltration of the Conzaga family in order to find out here location.  I would expect there to be some necessary explanation for why she was able to be found (as @Basiliscus points out it could be a de Fiori influenced family).

I found Staffen to be portrayed as kind of cowardly and sniveling, which is not the vibe I have had of other stories of him, but perhaps that was intentional and meant to show that he was only interested in saving himself in the end.

I did like the rest of the story, however, and I think you're doing a great job shaking up the somewhat static Varlyrio right now.  The di Carlos entering and the shakeup of power with the Rego is great so far.  I look forward to reading Parts II and IV!

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6 hours ago, Aurore said:

Very nice build and minifig posing! Nice architectural choices too - that cool yellow looks amazing, and I love the chrome gold rings on the pillars. 

Thank you! I was super glad about the way those rings worked! 

4 hours ago, Basiliscus said:

I'll wait until parts II and IV are posted to see the full story, but if it mattered all the same to you, could Poppa be held somewhere in Kaliphlin (maybe with a local lord who the de Fioris are close to or bribed) so I can rescue her from there? Basically, the reason that Gisela is in Avalonia (other than my collaboration with @Grover) and Poppa is in Kaliphlin is so that I can build in those styles if I get bored building in Varlyrio.

I'm probably going to make Staffen's death legitimate regardless of who wins the challenge, as it gives me quite a few options for future builds. So I am totally fine with this turn of events.

Sure! I don't think I'll have time to write that out in as many words (maybe edit this story) but Poppa can have been kidnapped in Kaliphlin! Glad to hear, I knew you'd be okay since I saw the list of who could die in the Intrigue threads. I just wanted to take you by surprise :wink: . Now it's your turn to take me by surprise! :laugh: Hope you enjoy the other parts of the story as well! The whole story goes completely together with someone else's story, so stay tuned over the following days. . . hahaha. You're not the only one I surprised.

1 hour ago, Grover said:

Really gorgeous build!  It's funny, because you and I had similar ideas (you'll see when our team posts our story).  Love the detail and the color schemes.  It really looks good like a Venetian house interior.  The open scheme you used is great, and you make excellent use of the trans purple and pink bricks (I struggle to use them in my builds).  The face in the curtains, the slightly leaning fences, the SNOT tooth plates... all outstanding.  The lighting, particularly the light through the windows and doorways, is great.

As for the story, it's good, but there are some details you may want to edit to make them consistent with canon:

According to canon, Staffen sent Mychel, Gisela, and Poppa away.  Bernaldo and Staffen's brother Nestur (as well as his father Besil, but he's retired) are still in Varlyrio.  Poppa is distinctly not in Varlyrio (she is in Kaliphlin), and was probably the best guarded of the children whose whereabouts were the least known.  Not saying she couldn't be kidnapped, but you could edit this to say that he had sent away some of his capable children, and didn't hide Poppa well enough, since she had been found and kidnapped in Kaliphlin, not Varlyrio.  It would be an interesting story to build, since there may be some infiltration of the Conzaga family in order to find out here location.  I would expect there to be some necessary explanation for why she was able to be found (as @Basiliscus points out it could be a de Fiori influenced family).

I found Staffen to be portrayed as kind of cowardly and sniveling, which is not the vibe I have had of other stories of him, but perhaps that was intentional and meant to show that he was only interested in saving himself in the end.

I did like the rest of the story, however, and I think you're doing a great job shaking up the somewhat static Varlyrio right now.  The di Carlos entering and the shakeup of power with the Rego is great so far.  I look forward to reading Parts II and IV!

Thank you! Honestly I'm way to tight on schedule to actually write in those details, but it sounds good to me for the canon! And when I have the time I'll change that phrase there!  Yeah, I just took the character Staffan and made tried to place him in the situation, I hope @Basiliscus doesn't mind the airs I gave him! I kind of got that impression from his cold commands and shouts to his family. Stay tuned, as Luca's rise to power is detailed in a saga by someone else, mine is the sequel!! I really look forward to your build and the story you guys have as well! 

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This is quite a fascinating build - the bottom story is gorgeous, especially with the light shining through.  But the top... er... too many clashing colors for my taste.  The nougat is good but makes the white doorways stand out very sharply.  Two less contrasting colors might have been better, or at least less distracting texture to the nougat.  Sparkly bricks were a bold idea, but using similar colors to the hangings looks a little grotesque IMHO.  On the other hand the shields are perfect and all the minifigure posing is really gripping!

The slanting fence is a really interesting idea.  It works fairly well for the half you see straight on, but the perspective makes the left look like the entire second story wall is slanting in some pictures which is really awkward.

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On 5/30/2020 at 11:25 PM, Kai NRG said:

This is quite a fascinating build - the bottom story is gorgeous, especially with the light shining through.  But the top... er... too many clashing colors for my taste.  The nougat is good but makes the white doorways stand out very sharply.  Two less contrasting colors might have been better, or at least less distracting texture to the nougat.  Sparkly bricks were a bold idea, but using similar colors to the hangings looks a little grotesque IMHO.  On the other hand the shields are perfect and all the minifigure posing is really gripping!

The slanting fence is a really interesting idea.  It works fairly well for the half you see straight on, but the perspective makes the left look like the entire second story wall is slanting in some pictures which is really awkward.

I agree! Certainly in some pictures the colours went better, but on the whole it was a failed experiment, which I didn't have time to fix. I thought of lots of different colours, and didn't like any of them. What do you think? For the second story I thought of teal, or spring green, or just tan. The white was for sure, but finding a color to go with the light yellow first floor was too hard. Interesting thought about the hangings, I didn't even notice it. I was more irked by the other colors. I would probably not have done the sparkly parts in the end if I could have. Thank you! 

It doesn't have to be slanting, in some shots it isn't.  I admit I just got lazy, since they kept falling :hmpf_bad: :laugh: . 

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6 minutes ago, W Navarre said:

It doesn't have to be slanting, in some shots it isn't.

Yeah, I noticed.

I think maybe having fewer openings on the second story, so less white and more nougat, would have looked better.  Though teal would have been fun, but probably also too much. :laugh:  Less white and no sparkly bricks would probably have kept the color tone more reasonable.

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Disagree with you Kai.  This blows my mind, but my favorite part of this MOC is actually the sparkly bricks!  The columns and brick-built curtains are cool, but the fact that the sparkly bricks actually somehow work is pretty darn amazing.

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@W Navarre: I have read all the parts of this build now, and while the builds are all great I'm having a hard time making sense of the story. Parts II and IV don't really join I and III together. Here's what I understood:

  • Luca di Carlo (this is @ZlatanXVIGustaf's main character?) has become Rego (how did that happen? I thought that Supano Amancio was the Varlyian leader at the start of this challenge?)
  • Luca di Carlo and the de Fiori's conspire to murder Staffen (note it's not Staffan) Conzaga, betraying their alliance
  • Poppa Conzaga has allegedly been taken into di Carlo custody
  • Alesio de Fiori (the head of the de Fiori family) is unsuccessfully attacked on the bridge, and the assassin blames the Cioto family (but it's not clear whether this is the Cioto or de Cioto family - the latter is yours but I can't find much info about them?)
  • Cadgie de Fiori is attacked in the street by two unknown assailants and killed
  • Capri de Fiori (Cadgie's niece) is taken prisoner by persons unknown (most likely di Carlo soldiers)
  • Luca tricks Alesio de Fiori into ransackign the de Cioto mansion looking for Capri but then the de Cioto men arrive and chase the de Fiori's off
  • Arama de Cioto is nearly killed and it's revealed she was working with the di Carlo's

So it seems as if the di Carlo's have conspired with the de Ciotos to attack the Rego, the de Fiori's and the Conzagas all in one go?

What's in it for the de Ciotos to reveal they killed Capri though?

So I supposed it would make sense for the de Fioris and Conzagas to retaliate in some way.

Have I understood all this correctly?

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On 6/1/2020 at 12:42 PM, Kai NRG said:

Yeah, I noticed.

I think maybe having fewer openings on the second story, so less white and more nougat, would have looked better.  Though teal would have been fun, but probably also too much. :laugh:  Less white and no sparkly bricks would probably have kept the color tone more reasonable.

True, hehe, thank you again! 

On 6/2/2020 at 12:57 AM, mrcp6d said:

Disagree with you Kai.  This blows my mind, but my favorite part of this MOC is actually the sparkly bricks!  The columns and brick-built curtains are cool, but the fact that the sparkly bricks actually somehow work is pretty darn amazing.

Nice to know :sweet: ! It was definitely a thing I wanted to do! Thank you! 

16 hours ago, Basiliscus said:

@W Navarre: I have read all the parts of this build now, and while the builds are all great I'm having a hard time making sense of the story. Parts II and IV don't really join I and III together. Here's what I understood:

  • 1 Luca di Carlo (this is @ZlatanXVIGustaf's main character?) has become Rego (how did that happen? I thought that Supano Amancio was the Varlyian leader at the start of this challenge?)
  • 2 Luca di Carlo and the de Fiori's conspire to murder Staffen (note it's not Staffan) Conzaga, betraying their alliance
  • 3 Poppa Conzaga has allegedly been taken into di Carlo custody
  • 4 Alesio de Fiori (the head of the de Fiori family) is unsuccessfully attacked on the bridge, and the assassin blames the Cioto family (but it's not clear whether this is the Cioto or de Cioto family - the latter is yours but I can't find much info about them?)
  • 5 Cadgie de Fiori is attacked in the street by two unknown assailants and killed
  • 6 Capri de Fiori (Cadgie's niece) is taken prisoner by persons unknown (most likely di Carlo soldiers)
  • 7 Luca tricks Alesio de Fiori into ransacking the de Cioto mansion looking for Capri but then the de Cioto men arrive and chase the de Fiori's off
  • 8 Arama de Cioto is nearly killed and it's revealed she was working with the di Carlo's

9 So it seems as if the di Carlo's have conspired with the de Ciotos to attack the Rego, the de Fiori's and the Conzagas all in one go?

What's in it for the de Ciotos to reveal they killed Capri though?

So I supposed it would make sense for the de Fioris and Conzagas to retaliate in some way.

Have I understood all this correctly?

I'll be glad to give you answers, thanks for asking! 

1 (Yes it is his main character) Of course, the De Fiori story comes in between the first part of this (the intro) and the second! I am so sorry many people missed this essential detail! I knew of the De Fiori story, but I couldn't link it since we posted our story first! 

2 Oh, I am so sorry! I just misread it and have gotten it wrong since then. I didn't have the time I wanted to double check everything, like the fact that Poppa was in Kaliphlin of this name. Agreed, the De Fioris (Garm) wanted Staffen (you) betrayed (in game and in good fun of course! I hope there ware no hard feelings between your team and me!), so Di Carlo (Zlatan) agreed to do so with De Cioto's (my) help. Yes, they did so after Staffen, in accordance with the alliance, helped Luca to the throne, as per Garm's collab and story. 

3 Correct, allegedly she was kidnapped by Luca di Carlo and is now held somewhere. 

4 Yes. Both the De Cioto and the Di Cioto family are mine. Don't worry about the Di Cioto, they have nothing to do with this, since no one in Varlyrio knows they exist (they don't even know there own name) and they haven't stirred in any of this matter! It is a well known fact that, as per the History of Varlyrio, the De Cioto family is of good standing. Ercilia De Cioto was married to the Rego Supano Amancio (that's why they were in teh Amancio Palace). I will try to come up with more info on the De Ciotos shortly. As I told you elsewhere the only ones I have already come up with are: Widow Ercilia De Cioto. Her sister: unmarried Arama Di Athena De Cioto. (There father is alive but doesn't have a name yet. He is the official head of the family).

5 Yes. Cadgie De Fiori, known to be cruel, duels with two men and is killed. 

6 Yes, kidnapped by unidentifiable soldiers.

7 No. I'll give what really happened in just a second!

8 Yes.

9 Yes! We were crazy to do this, but thanks to Garm's installment Luca was already on the throne, so we had four builds to wreck some havoc :sweet: . 

Now for the details, here is what really happened: Luca isn't stupid, he doesn't want anyone to know of what he has done, so this is what he did, after becoming Rego.

1 Secretly, without anyone's knowledge Luca murdered Staffen - pretending with perhaps some reason (or maybe not) that Staffen was on the point of turning against the alliance and betray Luca in order to justify the murder to the Royal Guard. (Only Alesio De Fiori, the new Royal Guard, and Arama De Cioto who helped with all the plans, knew of it, (I'll leave up to you what happened with Minos) for the rest of the Conzagas and the people Staffen simply vanished).

2 Luca also secretly kidnapped Poppa in Kaliphlin (or perhaps he lied to Staffen? Up to you.)

3 Luca sent an assassin to kill Alesio. The assassin failed and Alesio survived with a deep but not too serious wound. 

4 Luca sent two men (who? up to you) to kill Cadgie, another prominent Fiori.

5 Luca left Arama De Cioto in charge of using this distraction to kidnap Capri. 

6 Arama and Luca agreed to a plan to make Luca look benevolent, kind, and good to all the people and to the De Fioris: 

7 They agree to make it look like Arama De Cioto was behind all the murders, including Staffen's, and the kidnappings,

8 And to leave traces. So the assassin of Alesio told him it was the De Ciotos and the paper was left behind on purpose during the kidnapping. 

9 Alesio unexpectedly survived the attempt to assassinate him of course, so as you can tell in the story he surprised and startled both Arama De Cioto and Luca di Carlo,

10 But the plan continues. 

11 Luca quickly gets up his Royal Guard and Alesio's men and pretends to be furious with the De Ciotos. 

12 Luca and Alesio storm the Amancio Palace, where Arama De Cioto and Ercilia De Cioto and possibly others reside. 

13 Luca's men, who are ordered to rescue Capri, find her during the fighting, and so they withdraw with Alesio and Luca after they face Arama (as Luca and Arama had already planned).

14 Arama lets herself be wounded, to make her look noble and to further convince everyone of the narrative that she had gotten mad at the de Fioris and kidnapped Capri and probably assassinated Staffen, Cadgie, and attempted to assassinate Alesio. And also to convince everyone that she and Luca are now no longer friends (you may notice Arama was present throughout the plans to put Luca onto the throne, and she is in Garm's build watching the coronation. She also helped, through her sister Ercilia, to overthrow the Rego, since Ercilia, the Rego's wife, naturally knew a lot).

15 But Luca does cleverly keep Alesio from killing her (purportedly because Luca is benevolent and because Arama is just a girl around 19 years old).

15 Luca talks to Arama Di Athena De Cioto in secret, so that the reader knows that in reality they still are friends and allies.

Note: all the times I say "up to you" I mean it's up to whoever writes the next story. This may be you, or Zlatan, or me or Garm, etc. All Varylrio stories are canon, unless they go against the rules of the Intrigue thread or contradict another story, in which case it's up to Garm's discretion (or in this case who wins the challenge) which account is truth. 

 

--This is really something I've very proud of, since it took my brother Garmadon by surprise, striking a blow at the Conzagas as he suggested, but also a serious blow at the De Fioris! All while keeping up Luca's popular image as the new Rego! And tricking everyone in Varlyrio into thinking that Arama De Cioto (my new main character) has no power now, when really she is the Rego's closest friend! Garm also had just helped put Luca into power as Rego, so the betrayal is real!! Haha. I planned this with Zlatan's help. I hope it will help to keep Varlyrio alive and encourage intrigue, retaliations, and more stories for Varlyrio :sweet: .

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@W Navarre: Thanks for the detailed explanation! It does clear a number of things up. As I mentioned in your part I entry, I'm happy to accept Staffen's death and Poppa's capture (as long as nothing bad happens to her whilst a prisoner), so no hard feelings!

My only complaint would be that because you and Garmaddon are brothers, your entry starts from the end of his entry, and that seems a bit against the spirit of the challenge IMO. Personally, something about that doesn't seem right. Your story is well written though and all the MOCs are fantastic, so I'm in no way suggesting it gets binned or anything, it's just that you've started from a different place than everyone else and that leaves me a bit uneasy.

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Took me way to long to get caught up, but I've finally finished reading up on your story, bro, so I'm back around to comment now! :laugh: :grin:

I'll echo the others on the light yellow and the color-scheme of the lower story in general - really gorgeous stuff there, and the lighting, together with how expansive you managed to make this look, makes for some excellent scenes!  Fantastic job getting the most out of the limited space you had. 
I actually like the nougat and white, but yeah, the curtains and the sparkly bricks on top of all that is a bit much for me!  But the shields and inverted tooth pieces are superb, though I wish there was some way to do those without the gaps, particularly since otherwise you have quite a clean build here (especially for you! :laugh:)  Very nice posing in your pics too - I know that was work with no studs on the floor!

Story-wise - humph man!  Didn't I tell you Alesio said he'd leave it to you and wanted nothing to do with it? :laugh: :grin:  And I expect the De Fiori's will agree with me that Arama is quite a snob saying she "let Alesio wound her to look noble," :tongue:  I must admit I had no presentiment of the cold steel I'd be swallowing in your team's entries, though, so great work with that treacherous backstabbing.  Way to thank the family that put your team on the throne! :innocent:  The Varlyrian way to thank 'em, anyhow, :grin:  Very nice job all around!

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