Battle of Montaperti
The Battle of Montaperti reaches its climax as the Florentine Ghibellines realize they've been betrayed by Bocca degli Abati, who cuts off the hand of their standard bearer, causing panic and disarray
Setting
Rolling hills of Montaperti, near Siena, Tuscany, Italy. The battlefield is scattered with fallen soldiers, broken weapons, and banners. The ground is trampled and muddy from the clash of armies. A small hill overlooks the chaos, where commanders once stood.
Characters
Bocca degli Abati
primary
A middle-aged Florentine nobleman with a wiry, sinewy build, bearing the marks of a seasoned warrior. His sharp, angular face is framed by a short, dark beard streaked with grey, and his deep-set eyes glint with cunning. A prominent scar runs down his left cheek, a relic of past battles.
Ghibelline Captain
primary
A middle-aged man of commanding presence, his face weathered by years of campaigning. He has a muscular build, a short-cropped beard streaked with grey, and piercing dark eyes that miss nothing. A jagged scar runs from his left temple to his cheekbone, a testament to past battles.
Wounded Standard Bearer
secondary
A young soldier in his late teens, wiry and sunburnt, with tousled dark hair matted with sweat and blood. His face is streaked with dirt and his lips are cracked from thirst. His left arm is badly wounded, yet he clings desperately to the banner with his remaining strength.
Sienese Archer
secondary
A wiry, sun-browned man in his late 30s with narrow eyes permanently squinted from years of tracking distant targets. His short beard shows streaks of gray, and his arms are corded with muscle from drawing heavy war bows repeatedly.
Fallen Knight
background
A middle-aged nobleman, his once-proud armor now battered and bloodied. His face is gaunt, with deep lines of pain and exhaustion. His greying beard is matted with dirt and sweat. Despite his wounds, there's a fierce determination in his sunken eyes.
Dialog
Bocca degli Abati
Such fury, captain, and yet your standard lies in the mud. Had you but considered my counsel earlier...
Ghibelline Captain
By Saint Michael's sword, Bocca! You will answer for this treachery with your blood!
Bocca degli Abati
Answer? I have given my answer, captain. It was written in the fall of your standard bearer.
Ghibelline Captain
Men of Florence! Rally to me! The serpent Bocca has struck, but the day is not yet lost!
Bocca degli Abati
Lost? No, captain. It was lost the moment you trusted a man who sees farther than your banners fly.
Ghibelline Captain
Then die knowing you've doomed honorable men for Sienese silver!
Bocca degli Abati
Ah, but silver outlasts honor on such days as these, does it not?