One Brief Shining Moment

[Prince_Asuryan]

'Our knights died fighting at the forefront of the battle last year, against the fiercest of the Saxons. We need the men to reinforce our numbers. We would not be seen hiding at the back, or fighting the weak.'

John tried to keep down the anger bubbling in his voice

'As for glory, we fought at the battle, we killed many Saxons. Not to mention many raiders that have crossed our borders.'

[Bob of Beleriand]

Alain reflected for a moment, considering his answer. "I fear you are right, your lordship, Mearcred Creek was alas not a decisive enough victory, it perhaps little more than a bloodied nose upon the face of a rabid wolf. But I hope for the sakes of not just Hampshire, but all, that King Uther could claim his rightful position. The Saxons would crash as if a wave upon the rocks against a united Briton."

[Calarion Sapherior]

As all the groups returned to the castle at the end of the day, it became apparent that each had managed to retrieve a very similar amount of game. However, Sir John's preeminent skill at falconry meant that he had managed to bring down more prey personally than any other, with the consequence that his group were declared the winners and served first at dinner. After feasting on the quail, pigeon and rabbit which the hunters had brought down, the tables were cleared aside for dancing. "Sir Tinian, would you dance with me?" the beautiful Lady Katelynn asked, her eyes glowing in the smoky hall. Other women claimed the other knights as well, as the musicians began to play a reel.

ooc: Everyone needs to roll for Dancing. Tinian is dancing with Katelynn, and John has a 'special' partner as well; everyone else can invent their dancing partner. If anyone has any other courtly skill that they want to show off, they can do so as well: successes will bring glory!

[Anarion]

Tinian cringed inwardly but smiled in response. "I am not much of a dancer," he said, "but for you I will try my best." He danced with her a while, feeling awkward but enjoying it nonetheless.

"I fear I make better accompaniment to a dance than I do actually dance," he said. "I would like to play the harp for you sometime, lady Katelyn."

OOC: rolled 15 to dance, a miserable fail. Rolled a 2 for harping if you wish, my best somewhat courtly skill.

[cidracin]

Aldrydd briefly danced with the blonde girl who had polietly offered to dance with him. He was quite horrible at it and excused himself as soon as possible and went searching for beer. Seeing how much interest the Lady had in Tinian, Aldrydd decided that he would stop his advances rather than risk straning his friendship with Tinian by continuing to compete for the Lady's affections. Aldrydd spent the rest of the night drinking a lot of ale.
OOC: Dancing 5

[Prince_Asuryan]

John nodded to his partner, wondering who this lady was, for she seemed special to him for some reason. He danced with her, but found his skills distinctly lacking, much to the amusement of those around him.

OOC: rolled 13 for recognize and 11 for dancing.

[Calarion Sapherior]

ooc: I sent you a PM about your dancing partner.
interesting statistics: I just made a list of NPCs for my reference. We've had 45 (!) NPCs thus far, not counting squires or family members.

Over to one side, Sir Aldrydd, Sir John and Sir Gaius noticed Sir Lethodus surrounded by other knights, laughing to one another. From the actions which some of the other knights made, with idiotic expressions on their faces and jerking, stumbling movements, it looked as if they were mocking the dancing ability of the Salisbury knights. Their laughter was reserved particularly for Sir John's travails, for his partner was an older woman and a terrible dancer, whose iron grip crushed Sir John's fingers as she relentlessly jerked him about the floor.

They fell quiet after the dancing, when Sir Tinian performed on his harp, for he was a highly skilled musician indeed. The lady whom Sir Gaius danced with began to sing as well: she had a very pleasant singing voice, and so the whole hall listened intently to the tragic love song. Lady Katelynn's dark eyes were fixed intently on Sir Tinian as he played.

On the sixth day of their quest, the knights collected their squires and the two chests of money, departed from Winchester, and began riding north towards Silchester. The road led through a flat and rolling plain, with many farms and small villages in sight. It was mid-morning when Sir Aldrydd spotted something on the horizon behind them: a group of horsemen. No one else could see them initially, but soon all save Sir John could see the riders, approaching in haste from the south, from whence they had just come. Thanks to Sir Aldrydd's keen senses, they had some time before the riders reached them.

[Prince_Asuryan]

OOC: Woops missed that PM, my mistake...

IC: John had to strain to see the riders, until they were pointed out to him by his fellows.

'Keep riding,' he said, though concern could be heard in his voice, 'but be ready in case something happens. I expect it's that oaf Sir Lethodus, probably attempting to put us off our way...' John still smarted from the mocking he had recieved from Lethodus, and now disliked the man far more than was probably necessary.

'Find a good spot for us to occupy should there be a fight, and keep weapons ready.' A thought occurred to him. 'Check yourselves, in case we have been set up. I don't want them accusing us of stealing something, only to find it on our person.' So saying, he loosened his sword in his scabbard and began to head for higher ground.
'If anyone has suggestions, I'd like to hear them.'


OOC: I'm taking prudent to a whole new level - paranoia

[cidracin]

Aldrydd inwardly doubhted John's belief that the party behind them was Sir Lethodus. Aldrydd had not had the displeasure of meeting Sir Lethodous but from what John and Gauis had told him of the Earl's son he seemed to be more of a stooge than a knight. "Perhapss John, Hampshire is rather poor so perhaps Sir Lethodous is coming in an attempt to relieve us of our gold."

[Krusader]

Gaius scowled.
"I would not put anything past Sir Lethodus. And if what I heard is true, maybe the Earl would want some mercenaries for himself. We should find higher ground and see what happens. And if Lethodus has come to fight he should be killed. If we spare him, he will try to kill us to avenge his shame. He is very full of himself."

[Anarion]

Tinian sighed. His mind was still full of Katelynn; his vision, it seemed, lost within the depths of those dark eyes. He ripped himself out of his pleasant reverie at the others' comments and tried to focus. If it came to a fight now, it would hardly do to meet his maker after just having met one of his angels. He smiled ruefully at Aldrydd, pleased that he had earned the favor of the Earl's daughter, but slightly embarrassed that it had been at Aldrydd's expense.

"If they are after the gold we must ensure that it is protected. Keep it surrounded until we know what they intend and how many they are," he suggested.

[Prince_Asuryan]

John nodded his agreement. 'I don't want this to resort to bloodshed, but we need to be prepared, just in case. We have a lot of the Earls gold here. Besides, we are hardly liked by Lethodus.'

[Bob of Beleriand]

"I would sooner like to turn face and resolve any possible conflict or misunderstanding. In fact we could be overlooking the simplicity of other riders in transit, much as we are."

[Calarion Sapherior]

As the riders got closer, Sir John squinted. He could make out the lead rider; it appeared to be Prince Madoc ap Uther himself! The riders drew closer, and the knights of Salisbury headed towards them, when Sir Gaius corrected Sir John: it was a group of ten knights; as predicted, their leader was Sir Lethodus. "Prince Madoc's campaign against the Saxons will require financing," the handsome knight smirked. The other knights began to spread out to surround them. "A bunch of womanish cretins from Salisbury would, doubtlessly, be grateful to contribute to the war fund."

[Krusader]

Gaius decided that if things came to fighting he would charge straight at Lethodus.

OOC: Rolled a 10 for Passion Lord if applicable.

[Prince_Asuryan]

'We will not hand the money over Sir Lethodus,' said John, calmly. 'The money comes from the Earl of Sailsbury, so that he may defend his borders and aid King Uther, you cannot have it.'

He looked at the proud knight who stood opposite him.

'A knight does not steal from his allies.' He said simply, 'If you require financial aid, appeal to the king or the Earl as you see fit. Or have Prince Madoc do it, for he must hold sway with the richest of the nobles.'

He drew his sword, but held it in a loose, nonthreatening manner. If it came to fighting, he would defend his lords money with his life.

OOC: Rolled a 14 for the passion Loyalty: Lord, if it's appropriate.

Rolled 11 for orate

[cidracin]

Aldrydd saw that this situation was a razor's edge from slipping into chaos. It didn't help matters that John and Gauis had grown to abhor Sir Lethodus. Aldrydd decided he would attempt to avoid bloodshed if it was possible. He thought for a moment about what he could say to sway the oafish Sir Lethodous to return to Winchester. Aldrydd decided how he would attempt to sway Sir Lethodous, though before he began speaking he grabbed a spear from Bruce and readied it in case his attempt failed.
"Sir Lethodous you may not recall who I am but my name is Sir Aldrydd. As Sir John told you we cannot and will not give up the gold were carrying with us. It belongs to the Earl Roderick and we are all sworn to protec it, so if you were hoping of intimidating us then I suggest you head back to Winchester now. If you are willing to fight us I would remind you of a few things before hannd so that I can say that I at least tried to prevent bloodshed later. Firstly I would remind you that by stealing this money you are in fact stealing from my lord Earl Roderick of Salisbury and that your actions may be cause for war between our two counties. From what I have seen of Hampshire I doubht that your county could afford such a clash.
Even if our counties do not go to war Earl Roderick will never lend aid to Hampshire if it is attacked by Saxons in the future and Winchester looks so frail that it would fall even if all the knights of Hampshire defended it. I would also appeal to your sense of loyalty to your lord and father, for surely he did not invite us into his halls and serve us the best his table had to offer and allow two of us to court his daughter only to condone our theft and possible murder. That would be quite ludicrous. So by robbing us you are disgracing yourself, your father, and your people. Also your father will not believe we decided to give you this money out of the kindness of our hearts. Lastly I would remind you that the men of Salisbury may not be especially skilled at dancing and falconry but that is because we spend our time traing for combat. If you have any desire to continue your life healthy and whole I would leave now. If not I can assure my companions Sirs John and Gauis will take great pleasure cutting your pompous head off. As a matter of fact if you don't leave now I can gurantee you won't leave here whole of body even if we can't kill all of your traitorous companions afterwards." Aldrydd finished his speech with an icy glare upon his face.
OOC: 6 for Orate and 5 for Loyalty Lord if the speech fails.

[Calarion Sapherior]

Sir Lethodus' group of ruffians looked at each other as Aldrydd spoke. Two of the riders began to back off. "Get them!" snarled Sir Lethodus, and the seven other knights moved forward. Of the last two, one hung back for a second as Sir Lethodus stared at him, and then moved to the attack, slowly; the other shook his head and then wheeled his horse, riding back to Winchester.

And then battle was joined.

ooc: I'm off now, so I'll roll the battle when I get back.

[Anarion]

"Pah," said Tinian under his breath. "You can bet Prince Madoc would see none of this gold." He made no other move, staying quite close to the gold carrying pack horses. As the knights advanced he prepared for battle. For Earl Roderick he would see that no enemy took this gold while he lived. For Katelynn he vowed that he would indeed live. He'd not waited so long to meet such a woman only to die the next morning.

OOC: rolled a 12 for Loyalty

[Prince_Asuryan]

John gave a shouting war cry, and dug his spurs into the flank of his charger. He'd be damned if it was his command that cost them their lives. He moved to engage the closest of the knights, bringing his sword to strike.

OOC: So yeah, +10 to my sword skill please.

[Bob of Beleriand]

Alain had but second-hand knowledge of the previous behavior shown by Lethodus, but by the measure that he would raise arms in an act of brigandry against his felows spoke as much as he need know. He drew his sword, eager to repay the gift of kindness Roderick had shown him.
OOC: Loyalty Passion - 8

[Krusader]

Gaius spurred his charger into action going for Lethodus.

OOC: Rolled a 10 on Passion Loyalty Lord and +10 to Lance if it is succesful.

[Calarion Sapherior]

The combatants flung themselves together in a deadly fray. Swords struck and spears splintered. Sir Gaius charged directly at Sir Lethodus, and was struck from his saddle immediately by another spear. He crashed to the ground and groaned in pain, and could not muster the strength to move. It appeared, however, that Sir Lethodus' knights had no intention of killing at this time, for the victor did not kill Sir Gaius where he lay, but moved onwards to continue fighting. Sir Tinian broke his spear on a knight's shield and felt his own shield jerk as his opponent's shield shattered against it as well; the two drew swords as the knight who had felled Sir Gaius advanced upon him. Sir Aldrydd's spear struck his opponent upon his helmet and swept him from his horse, audibly snapping his neck. Sir Alain was struck lightly by one of his foes; he returned the blow with greater force, although his enemy continued to fight. Sir John, meanwhile, felt the lance-head strike him and piece through the armour; the head broke off in his body as he fell and rolled in the dust.

The knights of Salisbury wheeled their horses around and drew swords, preparing to guard the treasure with their lives if needs be. But they were now horribly outnumbered. Two enemy knights engaged each of them, while Sir Lethodus and the last of his knights brandished their swords at the squires, who fell back: there was absolutely nothing that they could do against knights. Sir Tinian roared in fury and flung his attackers back, striking upon the left and upon the right. Sir Aldrydd struck an enemy clear from his saddle, but received such a buffet in return that he could not keep his seat and fell to the ground. Sir Alain held both his foes off, but received a blow upon his helmet that made his head ring. Sir Lethodus and his knight had taken possession of the two baggage mules now. The knights redoubled their efforts furiously, but the weight of numbers was too great. Tinian's sword was knocked from his grip, and he was forced to unsheath his long-bladed dagger; a poor defense against a sword. Sir Aldrydd struggled to rise, but was struck again and fell insensate. Alain also fell.

"As I said," Sir Lethodus sneered. "Women."

At which point Sir Gaius jumped at him.

Having mustered his strength, Sir Gaius physically flung himself upon the other knight. Sir Lethodus howled in surprise and then tumbled back off his horse, falling on to one of the mules bearing the treasure chests. The chest was knocked free and spilled open, spilling its cargo upon the road: gold coins - and many rocks. The treasure was not there! Everyone gaped - except Sir Lethodus, who was furiously pulling himself out of the muddy road, sword in hand. "You whoreson bastard!" he yelled, and charged at Sir Gaius. Sir Lethodus' skill with a sword was greater than it had appeared before, at least when he was angry. Sir Gaius, surprised and overwhelmed by the other knight's vicious rage, fell, and Sir Lethodus dropped his sword and shield and began to strike Sir Gaius' face, over and over, shattering his nose and dislodging teeth. Blood trickled from the stunned knight's face, and both eyes were beginning to swell from bruises as he blacked out. Finally Sir Lethodus' fury seemed to abate; he flung Sir Gaius aside violently, and seized his horse. "You poxy Salisbury turds!" he shouted, and the knights withdrew, leaving the Salisbury knights lying in the road.

ooc: Two freak criticals against you lot in the first round of combat changed the odds instantly, and drastically. At the end of the fight, I realized I'd miscalculated damage and let those who were then not too badly wounded recover, which is why Sir Gaius got up again. Everything that happened, including the revelation of the treasure being missing, I rolled for. The dice have a sense of drama!

Hit Points after first aid:
Alain 14/29
Aldrydd 16/26
Gaius 7/27. -1 Appearance. Was on 1 hit point until a critical first aid came along. Conscious - just, and needing chirurgery. Will the curse of Lady Gwiona claim him yet?
John 12/27
Tinian 26/26 (unwounded, but disarmed)

[Prince_Asuryan]

Stunned, John struggled to his feet.

'We need to move Gaius,' he said, 'he'll need help, and soon. Is there a village nearby we can take him to, we cannot risk Winchester in case the Earl is against us...'

He turned to look at the assembled squires, 'What do you know about the gold being missing? You were with it during our stay in Winchester no?'

OOC: Did we do something in a past life - the dice hate us!

[Anarion]

Tinian gritted his teeth and hurled a rock in exasperation in the direction the knights had departed. They had been worsted. His mind was racing. The treasure was gone!

"Sir Lethodus, it seems, was as surprised as we were that the gold was gone," he noted. "The only time it has been out of our sight was when we were falconing. It must have been taken that day. Or," he added slowly, "it was never there at all, and we are serving as decoys for Earl Roderick. I didn't look in the chests myself. But I doubt this is the case."

"I cannot believe that this is the work of the Earl of Winchester either. Perhaps he knew Lethodus would try such a trick and did this to aid us? His advisors seem to hold no love for him. In any case I could appeal to Lady Katelynn. I would hope that she has not been playing me for a fool. If her affections are as true as they seem perhaps she would help us."

"It's a good thing Gaius is already engaged," said Tinian. "He doesn't look too good. Should we split up I wonder? Gaius needs to get to London soon to seek his sister."

[cidracin]

"I don't think Gauis will be in good enough condition to make the rest of the journey to London for in the very near future. Our first priority should be to get Gauis to a healer as soon as possible. Secondly we must find the rest of the treasure because with Gauis hurt and without all the treasure there is no point in us continuing on towards London. Though Tinian perhaps you are right about splitting up for it would be tough to get our whole party back into Winchester to search or the gold and find Gauis a healer without drawing much attention to ourselves."

[Calarion Sapherior]

The squires were as surprised as the knights were. After questioning them for a while, Lardans confessed to opening the chests after the first night in Hampshire, out of curiosity as to what all that money would look like. He confirmed that it was all there at that point. The squires also admitted that during the day when the knights had gone falconing, they had felt a little unusual after dinner, and particularly in the morning after. They had, however, checked the treasure, and the layer of coins above the rocks had tricked them into thinking that all was well.

[Anarion]

"So we are not decoys then," said Tinian. "That settles it for me, we'll have to return to Winchester too, like it or not. Unless you want to go search for the horse with golden hooves to pay for mercenaries." He said the last with some sarcasm.

"We can use this gold we have left to pay for Gaius' care nearby."

He thought some more. "It must be either Sir Dyfed or Sir Tudri," he concluded. "Whether on orders or otherwise, but it can't have been Lethodus or the Earl himself. They were with us at the time. I bet it was that rat-faced knight," he said suspiciously.

[Bob of Beleriand]

Alain's ears rang slightly, he was slightly unsteady on his feet, but his equilibrium was not entirely gone. "The Earl made a very obvious choice to demonstrate his generosity, despite his economic circumstances, no to steal from us flies in the face of his gesture. We should return and search for the thief."

[Calarion Sapherior]

Thinking hard, Sir John remembered that there was a nearby Roman Catholic nunnery at Whitchurch where Sir Gaius could be taken, only a few hours to the north-west. However, Whitchurch lay inside Silchester, only a short ride from Levcomagus, and it was possible that a border patrol from there would find them. Assuming that they did not, they would be able to return to Winchester by the end of the day, Tuesday evening.