A man in his cups is a fearsome thing indeed

Pull up a chair and have yourselves a drink!

I thought maybe I would tell you all about my first encounter with the Hanover line. It was a couple of years back when I was... Well lets just say I was wandering the German principalities aimlessly, yes? I have been known to go wherever my fancy might lead me.

Regardless, during my wanderings, I made my way to the city of Hanover. On the second night of my stay there, I entered an establishment of moderate repute. You know the type. One of the taverns that caters to well-to-do merchants. The type of place a man of noble birth such as myself might go when wishing to mingle with the more common folk.

Looking around the room as I entered, I noticed a fellow who, judging by his dress, was of similar station to myself perhaps. As was only courteous, I, after asking permission, sat beside the man and ordered a glass of wine for the both of us. Or conversation flowed naturally, starting with pleasantries, moving to politics and the like... the type of conversation one would expect of two young nobles such as ourselves.

Of course as soon as the conversation gave him the opportunity, he wasted no time bragging about his connection to the Elector of Hanover. Yes, yes, your father is the second cousin of the king of England thrice removed, or some such nonsense. Jolly good for you. I'm amazed to hear that he attended your coming-of-age party. He mentions that he has been given charge of the preparation for some venture to the New World or other, and I act impressed even though I'm sitting there regretting that I hadn't sat down next to some passed out merchant instead.

Regardless, a man can only brag about his connections so much in one night. By now we are both pretty deep in our cups, me more so than him perhaps, and we start discussing the *cough* merits of the women in the room. There was one lady in particular that he seemed to fancy, and I will admit she was quite the piece of art, but she couldn't begin to compare with the lovely ladies of Hesse, and I told him as such.
-The ladies of Hesse are after all, the finest ladies in the world, as anyone who has been to Hesse can tell you... although some men of Hesse are fond of Irish women and there is certainly no fault in that.-
Needless to say, he took some offense to this, and drunkards being drunkards, we impugned each others honor. So we step outside (or rather, stagger outside in my case) to settle this like men.

Now any sober man could tell that I didn't have a devil's prayer of winning, but needless to say, I was far from a sober man at that point. We draw our swords, and I blindly swing my sword around, while he parries my strikes with ease. I stagger past him and turn to face him. I charge him again. He readies a strike that should take my head, and then... I trip on a rock. I scramble to my feet and begin looking around frantically for my sword, only to look up and see it lodged in my foes throat.

I was quite shocked, but there was little time to waste. I pull my sword from his throat as he collapses to the ground. Before anyone comes to see the commotion, I flee the area. I manage to make it back to my room before collapsing from exhaustion and alcohol.

It turns out that after that, his younger brother is given command of that expedition the arrogant fool had been planning. I hear that this brother didn't have much of a head for money, so he hired a merchant that a friend of his recommended to handle the fiscal aspects of the venture. This merchant apparently botched the job so badly that the expedition managed to run out of provisions and was forced to turn back, resulting in the failure of the expedition. Rather a pity really.

Apparently that was the last straw for the family, financially speaking. They still have their nobility, but they've had to sell off most of their lands and cash in most of their favors in court to pay back the expeditions backers.

What about that merchant, you say? Well, after that, no one was willing to back that merchant, and I believe that everyone deserves a second chance, so I hired her as my personal factor. Strangely enough, she seams much more competent now. I guess she must have learned from her past mistakes.

*chuckle*
Amazing what can come of a simple night of drinking.