[Act 1] [Scene 14] [Warehouse]

[Benedict]

"Hear me out! You don't know me, but I know you!

My name is Ferran and I've sailed the four corners of the great sea. In all my travels I've seen many things, great and small. I've seen pirates and smuggler rings, nobles and knights! When I came here I heard amazing tales about you Rocco the Red!

Rocco the Yellow you should be called! For you are a yellow-bellied bastard, hiding behind your men like a girl hides behind her mother's skirt!

One of Venice's greater swordsmen? Laughable! The biggest boss in Venice? Absurd! You are a three inch fool and loathsome as a toad!

You send your men in the middle of the night to scare a woodcarver for what? Because a noble kid can't keep his manhood in his breeches. Now three of your men are captured and battered, two more are wounded, and still you fool your men that this battle can be won. For what? You losing face! To whom? That feminine perfumed Blasio! And you go against who you beggar of description? Against House Acerbi, a member of the Council of Fourty!

Not only you don't deserve to be called Red, not only you are not fit to lead this gang of brave men, you are a disgrace and calamity to every Venetian simply for drawing breath!

If you are the man you claim you are you should grab a knife and face me Rocco the Yellow. Not in a fancy duel like the nobles play to pass their time or issue over trifles. You should face me in a challenge to the death like our class fights behind crowded market streets and in deserted warehouses at midnight. Man to man, knife to knife. No fancy armor and flimsy rapiers and other stuff the nobles do! Only our bare chests and steel blades! Then you can reclaim your title!

But that will never happen and I bet a king's ransom to that! For you are too afraid to face a man in combat, pissing your pants while you hide behind your men! You natural coward without instinct! Enjoy your new title for the rest of your miserable life Rocco the Yellow!"

OCC Ferran wants to goad him and embarrass him in-front of his men. What do I roll?

[thirtythr33]

Ferran barley even gets to finish his litany of insults before Rocco bites the bait and screams back. "Who said that? Who THE FUCK said that? Come down here and say that to my face you little coward! March your sweet cunt down those stairs if you intend to back up your mewling!" There is a loud clanging of metal on wood; the familiar sound of someone throwing down a heavy weapon. Then an exasperated grunt, following by the sudden sight of a steel sallet helm flung against the wall where you are waiting at the top of the stairs which clatters still on the floor. "Come on! Don't worry about my men killing you - the pleasure is going to be all mine!"

[Benedict]

"I'm coming you bastard to make you swallow those words! Then I'm going to bury you and your name! For you are unfit for any place but Hell!"

Ferran casually removes his armor and clothing. He remains only wearing his shoes and breeches, brandishing both baselard and cutlass. He turns to Marco with a chuckle.

"Senior, should I not return, see to it that I am properly buried."

Then he marches down the stairs.

[Korbel]

"Don't even think this way, Ferran" - Marco responds.

"Rocco! Do you have a physician? If not, send your wounded men here upstairs. You have no use of them anyway, don't let them die if don't have to. Then Ferran will fight you. What do you say?

[thirtythr33]

Rocco calls back in response to Marco. "Don't you fucking worry about my and my men! And I wouldn't let that scum you call a doctor touch 'em!"

As Ferran descends the stairs, the first thing he sees is that Rocco and his men have shoved the boxes that were used to barricade the door towards the middle of the room with a good view of the bottom of the stairs. Behinds the boxes are two crossbows pointed directly at Ferran, but they hold their fire. "Minchen. Shoot any other bastards that try to come down those stairs." Rocco says.

Looking around the room Ferran notices that about half of Rocco's men are missing. There are only the two crossbowmen, three thugs with mace or short sword, and Rocco himself. None of the remaining men appear wounded.

Rocco himself is standing in the middle of room with his poleaxe at his feet. His head is bare, having hurled his helmet away, showing his face almost as red as his big bushy beard. He is struggling to undo one of the straps on his breastplate, when he appears to lose his patience and he simply wrenches the clash open, bursting the leather strap. He lets his armor clatter to the floor. He looks Ferran up and down. "Haha, you look like a drowned rat! Fucking runt. I could snap you like a twig." You wouldn't normally call Ferran a "runt", but when Rocco pulls his shirt off showing his broad muscled body it sure makes it seem like it. Rocco keeps his eyes on Ferran as he holds his hand out to one of his men who passes him a short sword.

He takes the blade and begins pacing back and forth while flexing his shoulders and arms, all the while glaring at Ferran like a stalking lion. "Any last words lassy?"

[Benedict]

Ferran spits to the floor.

"I hope you took a bath. Because if you smell as bad as your breath does we've got serious trouble."

With that final insult Rocco roars and charges at Ferran with a vicious thrust to the neck. The Catalan braces himself, swings his baselard up parrying the blow, and steps in with a nasty sideways slash to Rocco's belly, cutting the brute deep. Rocco collapses from the impact of the blow as a shower of blood splatters around him. Ferran steps over Rocco to deliver the killing blow. The gang leader however is in a murderous frenzy. Screaming out in anger he reaches out to grab Ferran by the feet and wrestle him to the ground. One moment too late. Driven by youth and his burning ambition to make a name for himself, Ferran beats him to the punch, slashing across Rocco's belly from side to side with his cutlass. The blow is so strong that it disembowels the brute, his entrails sprawled all over the floor.

Ferran, covered in gore, takes a step back, catches his breath, and makes the sign of the cross.

"Rocco the Red... Alas, you lived up to your name..." Ferran whispers.

Turning to the thugs.

"The fight is decided men. Your boss is dead. You have no reason to oppose House Acerbi anymore."

[Marras]

Cirillo looks at the fight and it's amazingly short span in awe.

"Wow! Looks like I got lucky once in my life having a friend like that...".

[thirtythr33]

Rocco cradles his entrails in him arms like a baby, not quite comprehending what has just happened to him. "Who... the fuck..." he mumbles before going silent for the last time.

When Ferran tells the remaining men the fight is over, the crossbowmen lower their aim a fraction. A long silence follows before one of the thugs speaks up. "Except that you still have our comrades captive. Release them, and House Acerbi will never have to deal with us again. This feud will end with Rocco."

[Korbel]

"And what are you going to do next, without Rocco?" Marco asks from the upper floor.

[Marras]

"Marco, you do know that we are still outnumbered and Ferran is down there, alone. If their crossbowmen got there already, Ferran's chances of getting out of there alive are next to nil.", Cirillo comments in low voice.

[Korbel]

"So... we will have to exchange them for Ferran? Marco opens his eyes wide.

[Marras]

"Yes, it can come to that if things go badly."

[Benedict]

"Listen to me everyone.

There is no reason to continue a fight that is already over.

Senor Marco already challenged Blasio for his crime and the scoundrel was beaten."

Turning directly to Rocco's men.

"This was a fight Rocco should have not picked. By choosing to assist one of two opposing nobles in their fights he brought doom upon himself. You all saw what happened. Aye, Rocco was a great man. Alas, his pride was greater still, and that led to his undoing. I challenged him in a fair fight, and we fought as real men do, with you being our witnesses. It's a pity a life was lost, but that was ordained by Providence. We only played our parts.

Rest assured your comrades are alive. I won't lie, they are hurt. But only because they didn't surrender when they had the chance. I'm sure senor Marco will release them on the spot and we can carry on with our lives.

Don't forget men, we stand here bickering over something already resolved, while that bastard of an Emperor is about to lay siege to your fair city! Rome has been sacked, Florence is revolting! Everyone should unite against this common enemy! And before anyone dares to say I'm a foreigner, bear in mind this... My country is enslaved by the Spaniards for centuries, I have more reasons to hate them than you'll ever know!

So, think everyone carefully, then speak, and most importantly, act! There's no reason for needless bloodshed!"

[thirtythr33]

As Ferran describes the duel as one of divine providence, the thugs nod along and one makes the sign for a cross in the air. They seem pleased to hear that their friends will be released and they lower their crossbows another few inches.

Then when Ferran starts talking about Rome, Florence and the politics of the greater region they become stand-offish. A different thug, one standing by the far door with a truncheon, speaks up; his voice rough and gruff. "Fuck Rome! Fuck Florence! We just want our friends back. They have suffered enough for what they done. From what I've heard, they didn't hurt anyone and you lot've gone and tortured 'em the last two days! Just cause you might have some noble blood in you doesn't make it alright to hold people hostage for pretty crimes."

[Marras]

"Marco, Rocco is dead and Blasio was humiliated by you in the duel. I don't fully trust these men but without a leader they will go their way and it will take time before a new leader emerge. They won't bother your family at that time. I say we release our prisoners.", Cirillo says to Marco.