The Lygers, having proven victorious
against the Fire Elemental Lord, returned to the fortress city of Thunderhaven . Most of the shops were closed now, and the people
of the city had migrated to the center court, where a jousting field had been
erected. The stands were full of cheering townspeople, awaiting the
exciting joust that would determine their future ruler, for the winner of the
jousting tournament would receive a great prize: the hand in marriage of Princess
Camille, middle daughter of King Rast, ruler of Thunderhaven.
The party quickly made preparations for the upcoming event. Both Reinhardt Van Nystrom, and Kaluryn Parfore had previously registered for the tournament using forged documents. To be eligible to participate in the festivities, the champions needed to prove they were of noble blood, and also register a horse, and squire. Gjertrude volunteered to play at squire for Kaluryn, and Faye would be the squire for Reinhardt.
After
a brief ceremony where the combatants shared a glass of wine in front of the
king, and with each other, the champions moved to their places to begin the
first round of battles. Champion Gillroy sat atop his white steed, his silver
armor shining brightly in the hot sun of the day. Reinhardt sat atop his own horse,
quivering a little with the anxiety of the moment. Gillroy’s stance was disciplined and
perfect. His lance held out
straight and unwavering. This
is going to be a hard match to win, thought Reinhardt, reaching up a moment
to see Princess Camille’s kerchief nestled into the wrist joint on his armor,
neatly tucked away behind his shield. The
princess had chosen Reinhardt to accept her favor before the match, and
something about that act empowered him slightly. He wanted to do his best to impress
her. Still, he knew this
would not be an easy challenge.
The horn rang out, and both combatants charged forward, their horses galloping swiftly. Reinhardt did his best to hold both his lance and shield steady, which was difficult enough without the horse moving as well. There was a loud thunk, and Reinhardt felt Gillroy’s lance strike his shield, the impact of which nearly ripped the protective item out of his hand, and caused him to almost lose his balance on his horse. He steadied himself somehow, and made the round to face his opponent again. There was another trumpet blast, and the two combatants charged forward once more. This time, Reinhardt felt the lance strike his armor straight on. A few chaotic moments later, Reinhardt found himself lying on his back in the dirt. He had been unhorsed and lost the first phase of the joust. If he had any chance of winning, he would need to beat Gillroy in martial combat. Faye, acting as his squire, approached with his sword, and helped him out of the dust before taking his lance and horse back to the sidelines with her.
Reinhardt readied himself, and the
trumpet blast out for the third time. Knowing
he had the disadvantage, Reinhardt attempted to use the wooden pillars as cover
to help protect his back from his foe. Gillroy,
however, simply walked forward, poised and ready to strike. Reinhardt thought he saw an
opportunity to land a blow, but as he swung, he overextended, exposing himself
to attack. Gillroy, having
trained in combat his whole life quickly took the advantage, and landed
multiple heavy blows to Reinhardt, ending the fight in a matter of
moments. Reinhardt was
simply outmatched, and no amount of luck, favor from the princess, or skill was
going to add up to a winning combination against this dangerous foe. With Gillroy’s final blow, Reinhardt
dropped his sword and yielded, knowing he had been defeated. Now that Reinhardt had failed, the
Lyger’s chances in the tournament rested on Kaluryn’s shoulders.
The next match was between the stout
and domineering Ogden Stonedealer and Kaluryn Parfore. Kaluryn mounted his horse and rode out
to face his enemy. Ogden was a large man, wide around the belly, with a big busy
beard sticking out the bottom of his helmet. He also appeared to be very
powerful. Kaluryn knew this
would be a tough foe to beat. Using
one of the two ‘spell-secret’ marbles given to him by Taymos’ friend Loquo, he
quietly cast a haste spell on himself. Instantly,
he felt quicker and more alert. This
would help him react faster in combat, and possibly give him an edge.
The joust match played out much like
Reinhardt’s had, except for that Kaluryn had been fortunate enough to land a
very lucky blow with his lance that somehow had snuck between Stonedealer’s
lance and shield. The burly
man was knocked to the ground.
Success! Kaluryn had managed to
get lucky. If he could somehow win the
hand to hand combat phase, he’d be able to move on to the next round and
possibly win back some of the money that the party pooled together for an
entrance fee / dowry. Kaluryn hopped off
his steed and led the horse over to Gjertrude who was approaching with
Kaluryn’s sword. He handed the reins off
to the druidess, and took his place on the martial combat field. The trumpet sounded, and with a speed he
wouldn’t have expected of it, Ogden Stonedealer charged forward, his flail
swinging wildly. Kaluryn ducked behind
one of the wooden pillars. If the burly
adversary landed a direct blow, Kaluryn knew he would be done for. Stonedealer approached rapidly, and took a
large heavy swing for Kaluryn’s head.
The nimble wizard managed to duck just in the nick of time, and
Stonedealer’s flail impacted with the wooden pillar, sending wooden splinters
raining over him. Fortunately, the
attack left the burly man’s flail stuck in the wood, and Kaluryn took the
opportunity to go on the offensive. With
a reflexive speed, Kaluryn slashed and stabbed at the brutal giant, skewering
him several times, his blade sliding in between the plates of heavy armor that
the bearded man wore. In a matter of
lucky moments, Kaluryn had brought the big foe to his knees, and forced him to
yield. Kaluryn would go on to the next
round of the joust!
The
final match was almost no contest whatsoever.
Ryn Redclaw, the mysterious warrior in black and red armor had
effortlessly dispatched of his opponent, Gleiss J’ho. The last match went quickly too. Hogan Hiro faced off against McHali Na’avi,
losing in a close finish to the knight.
With the
first day’s matches completed, the King announced that a royal ball celebrating
the jousting festival would be held that evening, and the party left to their
rooms to prepare for the festivities.
The ballroom was full of all the noble lords and ladies of Thunderhaven, as
well as many of the more affluent citizens. The King and Queen had a fair
sized crowd around them, and musicians were playing music on a small stage that
had been erected on one side of the room. Kaluryn, Reinhardt, Grimnash,
and Faye all entered, impressed with the classy festivities, atmosphere, and
merriment of the ball.
Gjertrude and Constance followed behind too, but when she saw the large crowds, Constance decided to head back to the Inn to get some
fresh night air. Gjertrude followed after her, as she wanted to go back
to the Inn as well, to
check on some of her animals.
Grimnash immediately moved for the refreshment table at the ball, burying
himself behind a stein of ale and a large plate of food. He shoveled the
hors-d’ouvres into his mouth so quickly that much of the food and ale dribbled
down his chin and made a mess of his beard. He finished off the meal with
a triumphant belch, garnering rude stares from other party patrons.
Grimnash didn’t care, though, and disappeared in search of a place to take a nap
and sleep off his meal.
Reinhardt was enjoying a glass of
wine, when suddenly he heard a voice from behind. It was the princess. She expressed to Reinhardt how truly
disappointed she was about how his match had gone during the first day of the
joust, and how she still desired and wished that he could be her champion and
marry her. The two of them left the
party briefly to go on a short secret tour of the castle. Princess Camille even showed Reinhardt her
collection of books in the expansive library of the castle, where she would
spend hours reading about the adventures of knights fighting dragons, and the
heroes of ages past. Reinhardt flirted
back, hoping that perhaps this might sow the seeds for a future option, should
they somehow need to convince the Princess to help them later.
Meanwhile, Gjertrude and Constance
had arrived back at the Inn , The Foggy Hallway. Constance was quick to return to the room, but what she saw when she
reached the hallway was alarming to her.
The door was ajar? Had anyone
left it open before they had left? No, thought Constance ,
and in a swift moment, she slinked up to the door and peered inside.
Whoever had invaded their room at the ‘Foggy Hallway’ had already
left. The window was open as well, and the curtains flapped in the cool
night breeze. Hoping to catch a glimpse of whoever had escaped, Constance quickly dashed to the window and peered out of it.
The infiltrator had disappeared, but she
thought she caught a shadow moving into the alley down the street.
As she was about to climb out the window and use her spider climb ability to
creep down the side of the Inn, Constance spotted a shiny chain hanging from a
loose nail in the window frame. Here a small amulet had gotten caught on
the nail while whoever had been rifling through the party’s belongings was
escaping. In a moment, Constance snatched up the amulet and hunted down Gyertrude, who had
been following behind her after the two of them had left the royal ball.
With
little time to explain, Constance grabbed Gyertrude’s hand and led her along, explaining the
situation as they ran. They moved into alley after alley in pursuit of
their prey, Constance using her powerful sense of smell, and Gyertrude using her
tracking experience to eventually arrive at a small stable in the North side of
Thunderhaven, deep in the slum district of the city. In the stable was a
single mount: a black warhorse with deep red eyes that almost seemed to glow
when the two women adventurers examined it. Next to the stable was a small
shanty, and Constance ,
without thinking, quickly moved to kick the door down.
“Wait!”
hissed Gyertrude, attempting to stop her companion. “We don’t know what’s
in there!”
“I got
this!” was all Constance said before bursting through the door to confront her foe.
It was Ryn Redclaw, the joust participant who had been mysteriously absent from
the royal ball. For the first time now, Constance was able to see her foe. Ryn was a sinister and
powerful looking man, hidden beneath twisted black armor, and thick black wool
strips that were wrapped around the larger plates of armor. His face was
more than half obscured by the black cloth, as it stretched across his face and
mouth, leaving only his eyes exposed. Through the cloth, Constance could see the heavy scratch-scar that darted in a diagonal
across his face. His skin was unusually dry and cracked as well.
Wherever he was from, it must be hot, thought Constance .
Not wasting time, Constance summoned her deep vampiric intimidation skills, lowering
her voice, and strengthening her piercing gaze. “Stop there!” she
shouted, not desiring Ryn to attempt to flee. “What were you doing in our
room at the Inn ?” Her
voice dripped with power as she interrogated the dark knight.
Ryn hesitated for a moment, then denied the accusation. Constance would have none of it, however, and swiftly brought a blade
against Ryn to further empower her threatening talk. Her other hand began
to harden with the stone-charm bracelet on her wrist; becoming a stone weapon
she could use if things got messy. However, she would not need
them. Her intimidating glare was enough for Ryn to cave. “How did
you know I was there?”
The next morning came, and the party
traveled to the jousting grounds together.
This would be a difficult match, as the drawn lots for that day’s match-ups
had Kaluryn facing off against the dangerous Champion Gillroy who had bested
Reinhardt in the previous match. This
would be another difficult match.
After a second wine ceremony,
Kaluryn put on his helmet and mounted his horse to ready himself for the
jousting phase.
