“Spare a ducat? Spare a ducat for a poor soul, his life stolen by the war?” an old beggar murmured on the streets of Venice at dusk, amid the faint lights flickering from the lavish Palazzos.

The Protector of Venice- Fosco Contrarini scoffed and kept walking. He approached his officer, where several other members of his family were gathered. They talked long into the night, with Fosco spending much of his time listening. It seemed as though everything in his life by this point was listening, listening to the list of ships plundered by the Turkish vassals. Listening to the list of lives of men lost. Listening to the list of the conspirators that had killed the Contrarini Doge… Fosco’s friend- his kinsman. Eventually he could take no more. It was lucky that Girabaldi Palago slipped into the room, and handed something to an elder Contrarini.

“What’s that?” Fosco asked.

Girabaldi smiled. “This, my good Doge, is what will save your skin. This is your city now…” Fosco stared at him. Little did the Protector know, but his family and their own conspirators had drawn up a plot.

They were convinced that a losing war was the perfect time for stability to return to Venice. But the system established before was not working. The position of Doge had come to be that of the consul elected by Senators. Archaic.

On the sheet of paper that Girabaldi had handed to the elder Contrarini, were sketched out plans, plans for the assassination of Fosco Contrarini, signed with the false signatures of 10 Venetian noble Patriarchs. The forged evidence was rushed to the armored hand of von Neutschall. The German’s lips curled into a smile.

“Heads… will… roll.”

A German mercenary rapped on the door of one of the Marked Families with the pommel of his sword, ordering the family exit in broken Italian. Silence. He gestures to his friends, who kick the door down to reveal… absolutely nothing. The Palazzo is vacant. The Mercenary curses and storms back into the street, where he sees a page running up to him.

“Mein ser, they’re gone! All of them!”

Someone had tipped the Marked Families off…

The German Mercenaries rushed to search the area but found nothing. As they approached the vacant and derelict avenue where the Conspiratorial Families once lived in luxury they noticed a few men running. A German mercenary who had kidnapped the children of the Conspiratorial Families recognized them as some young merchants of the Families.

“AFTER THEM! NOW!”

A chase ensued through the streets of Venice, with the Germans barely failing to catch the fleeing Italians, who knew the city better than the mercenaries. Eventually, it was clear where the chase was leading…

In the Arsenal, the Venetians had torn down all the flags of that Most Serene Republic. They had begun organizing themselves, hearing the screams from deeper in the city, of the mercenary plunder and hunting. Finally, the last stragglers forced their way into the Arsenal and the barricades were closed behind them, the mercenaries beginning to throw themselves against the Rebels’ defenses.

As the Doge gave the order and the Germans laid siege to it was clear- Venice had descended into civil war, with the Rebels controlling the Arsenal.

The Army, upon hearing news of the Civil War, reaffirmed their loyalty to the Contrarini, denouncing the rebels as traitors to the Serene Republic.

The Navy, on the other hand, which had suffered crushing losses against Algerian fleets in the Adriatic realized that the root of their problem was the warmongering Contraini family, not the rebels that had tried to gain peace with the Ottomans. So Admiral Emo gave the order. A sloop-of-war hoisted a white flag and sailed directly for the Ottoman positions, conveying messages asking for help to the Sultan. The brunt of the fleet proceeded to Venice proper, where some ships sailed into harbor at the Arsenal. The rest laid siege to the Most Serene Republic of Venice, ready to strangle the Contrarini…

Results

Venice is in a state of civil war!!

The Army remains loyal to the Contrarini while the Navy supports the Rebels

Rebels making up for about 60% of the noble families and their wealth control the Venetian Arsenal and have erected barricades.

Contrarini mercenaries have laid siege to the Rebel position at the Arsenal

MAP https://imgur.com/a/DTG01ke