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RR's
Report
The Trojan War
Brought to you by the Recksocciated Press
Aulis1,
Greece, 1232BC
--- On this lonely, windswept peninsula, a great city is in the
making. Where there was nothing except 4000 drachmas 8 years ago,
there is now a thriving town of over 1000 people, complete with
a fine Hermes Sanctuary. To thank for this wonder we have Mayor
Rodentos, whose diligence has ensured the survival of this outpost
of civilisation. When asked for the secret of his success, he directed
me to Trade Minister Coinexchangenes.
Coinexchangenes
told me that, despite requests from neighbours for food, fleece,
olive oil, sculpture, wine and money, it was nevertheless possible
to make a profit through the export of fleece, wine and oil, notably
to the cities on the other side of the Aegean Sea.
Aulis2,
Greece, 1229BC
--- War is upon us; it was too much to ask that the cities surrounding
the Aegean should remain at peace. The Eastern cities have broken
away, under the tutelage of Troy, and are now actively hostile to
us here in the West. Bronze and sculptures became rare as a result
of this unfortunate split, and we underwent a period of serious
inflation, which was only curbed by diversifying into other industries.
Despite
the growing storm clouds, Mayor Rodentos insisted on keeping aloof
from the conflict - he refused to allow any of Aulis's troops to
venture abroad under the leadership of others (no doubt helped by
the fact that, due to a quarrel with War Minister Pillageus, no
triremes have been constructed during these past 3 years).
Rumours
now abound that Rodentos is planning on taking the war onto the
Eastern shore of the Aegean. When asked, he merely stated that "all
options are under consideration, no firm decision has been taken
one way or the other". We await further developments with some
trepidation.
Tenedos,
Eastern Aegean, 1206BC
--- May I never leave the shores of Aulis again. These past 23 years
in Tenedos have been nothing less than terrible. The one saving
grace was that all the goods set aside for colony construction made
it past the Trojan warships guarding the shores. Without those,
we would have had no chance whatsoever of withstanding the Trojan
onslaught which awaited us after we landed. After bribery had exhausted
the treasury, we were forced to fight for our survival; even your
reporter was forced to grab a few rocks in an effort to save us
from the barbaric Trojans. After 10 years, we finally managed to
complete Athena's Sanctuary, and she aided us in several future
battles (Hephaestus's Sanctuary had been completed a few years before,
but even he paled at the sight of the oncoming Trojan hordes).
Hector
saw to it that any military development we attempted was destroyed
before it really got under way, and it was only after Achilles'
arrival 15 years in that we were finally able to build up our armed
forces with any degree of security.
May
you never experience the rage of Mayor Rodentos, for it was truly
a terrible thing to behold. Having seen the carnage inflicted by
the Trojans at first hand (he commanded the forces in the field
on horseback, and even got stuck right in on a couple of occasions).
He decreed that all the cities on the Eastern seaboard, with the
exception of Troy itself, should be conquered mercilessly. This
was, by and large, achieved successfully, with only Ascania resisting
our armies.
One
thing troubled this reporter throughout his time here - namely,
why Rodentos insisted on keeping all housing to the sea-level land,
with only Athena's Sanctuary on the high ground to the East. When
asked, he pointed to a map showing that the Trojans always invaded
from the East - placing housing on the plateau would have put it
in serious risk of being destroyed by a Trojan assault.
Whatever
the planning behind the layout, it has finally worked, as Rodentos
has just left for Aulis, leaving his Deputy Agamemnon in charge
here. I shall follow him back to Aulis.
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