PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Pendragon: Tales of Chivalry and Sorcery is the place to go if you want to play Pendragon. Cpt._Funkotron will be your GM, with assistance from CarrieVS.

PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Scarik » Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:59 am

The City of Bastogne

It is spring in the Ardennes. The icy grip of winter has receded and the rivers run full and cold. The chill still dominates the nights and mornings even when out in the fields where cold fog billows down from the hills and lurks past noon in the forests and valleys.

In the west commerce along the River Meuse is already bustling while the interior of the Duchy is just starting to turn the earth. The east meanwhile is still frozen in the high parts but watchmen are on guard for any sign of Saxon incursion. The Rhine is swollen and fast, but Saxon and Danish raiders are rarely turned back by the rough waters alone.

Easter is fast approaching and with it the summons for all of the lords of the land and knights of Bastogne to attend Duke Thierry at his court. There the Counts and Bannerets will speak with the Duke about the upcoming year and the knights will learn their garrison assignments.

As the nobles begin to gather word arrives of two disturbing goings on.

The first is that a robber knight with a large, green jewel on his shield has been waylaying travelers on the road to Liege.

This concerns the Duke as last year he had requested that the Prince-Bishop of Liege lend him a prized relic of Saint Marcian. The Bishop has agreed, but the party escorting the relic was set upon by the robber knight who gravely wounded two knights and then even slew a priest as he tried to protect the sacred device. The villain then pried the silver reliquary from the dead man's grip and absconded with it.

It is an outrage to all people of faith and many have already begun to clamor for vengeance. Duke Thierry assures them that justice will be done and that he will announce his plan on Easter after he speaks to his councilors.

As if that were not peril enough so early in the year tales are told also of a monstrous wolf who's howl casts a spell over other wolves so that they become savage and bound to the monster's will. They have been seen attacking flocks across half a dozen villages south of Esneux (itself a bare 3 leagues south from Liege).

Normal wolves are dangerous enough but the herders are helpless against these, driven as they are by a malign will. All fear for their lives and relate the same, terrifying account of how the great wolf stared at them with shining blue eyes as its minions took away their livelihood.

Whatever the Duke decides to do about these threats one thing is certain: he will send his knights against them, and already the young knights are eager to stand out and be chosen.
  • 6

User avatar
Scarik
TCS Irregular
TCS Irregular
 
Posts: 518
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2017 10:37 pm
Location: Braintree, MA
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby WaitingCynicism » Mon Jul 16, 2018 11:54 pm

Coenwulf quietly finds himself inside the court of Duke Thierry, smiling with his friend Aelred by his side. He quietly takes a sip of wine and squeezes his friend's hand. Sir Aelred had proven to be a loyal friend and a loyal knight of the Duke. "How do you feel about all these rumors?" Coenwulf asks.
  • 4

WaitingCynicism
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:48 pm
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby sunglasses » Tue Jul 17, 2018 1:01 am

Hecate was waiting for her bonded mistress, Rosamund, to arrive. She overhears Coenwulf and drools.


"Yum, wolves."

Of course the excess salvation makes her feel the need to shake, accidentally splattering anyone near by.

She then worries with a bone left at the foot of a table.
  • 5

TCS Etiquette Guide

Rules and FAQs

Zevran wrote:Magic can kill. Knives can kill. Even small children launched at great speeds can kill.
User avatar
sunglasses
TCS Moderator
TCS Moderator
 
Posts: 11541
Joined: Tue Apr 16, 2013 2:52 pm
Show rep
Title: The Speaker of Horrors.

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Chaomancer » Tue Jul 17, 2018 1:17 am

Shadi is all smiles and joy as the winter gives way to spring. It's bitterly cold yet, but the land stirs and soon the sun will warm her. As much as it ever does - her Persian blood calls out for hotter climes.

And now she has a chance to see her cousins again, and perhaps now that they are all knights to adventure with them.

Seeing the great dog drool does nothing to dampen her charm, but she takes a careful route around the beast, staying out of splattering range. A lesson well-learned.

"Good morning, cousin," she greets Coenwulf brightly.
  • 6

Chaomancer
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 1:54 pm
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby WaitingCynicism » Tue Jul 17, 2018 1:58 am

Coenwulf smiles as he sees the drooling dog, then seeing his Persian cousin Shadi smiling. "Hello there, Shadi! How are you?" he asks, holding Aelred's hand as they turn to her.
  • 4

WaitingCynicism
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:48 pm
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Chaomancer » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:07 am

"It's Sir Shadi now, Sir Coenwulf," Shadi reminds him with a grin, tossing her long dark hair over her shoulder. "And I'm too cold by far, alas, but the sun is out and its fire warms. How do you two fare?"

The newness of the knighthood would wear off quickly enough, but for now she was determined to enjoy it.
  • 5

Chaomancer
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 1:54 pm
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby WaitingCynicism » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:20 am

Sir Coenwulf smiles as Aelred hugs him. "Aye, the winter has been cold, but it has been nice having the warmer weather." Aelred smiles as Coenwulf says, "There is something I've wanted to tell you soon."
  • 4

WaitingCynicism
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:48 pm
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Cpt._Funkotron » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:25 am

Rosamund of Savoy arrives soon thereafter, dressed as a lady rather than a knight, with three exceptions; her sleeves stop at her elbows, her hemline hangs mid-shin, and a sword is girded across her waist. She favors blues, her form-fitting dress a lighter shade, her thick rain-streaked cloak a darker shade. She is considerably taller than the average woman, but thin as well, with dark curly hair hanging down to her shoulders. She is uncontroversially beautiful, but then faeries tend to be.

But it is not the time for sportive tricks or courtly wiles, at least not as far as she is aware. There are monsters in the wild and villains on the king's road, this is a sword year! Still, no reason not to look one's best at court. Her arming doublet, trousers, and armor are packed neatly in a nearby chest in the event that she'll need them at hand. She is delighted to see that Hecate is already there waiting for her. She bends down to ruffle her back, neck, and ears affectionately. She intercepts a passing servant and commandeers an entire roast chicken, putting it in front of the great fae hound and wiping her now gristled hands on the dog's fur. Leaving her to her meal, she finds her cousins.

"Dreadful weather, isn't it? I could have almost swam here" she says chuckling while unclasping her sodden cloak, handing it to her squire, sitting down, and wringing the moisture from her dark curls.
  • 5

ImageImageImage
User avatar
Cpt._Funkotron
TCS Camper
TCS Camper
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 1:46 am
Location: Virginia
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Ladki96 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 8:05 am

dog or ppl? DOG! always

Renier of Auvv follows Rosamund inside the great hall. His black hair curls like his cousins' and he is 2.3 metres tall. He nods in greeting to his cousins, then kneels down and busies himself in loving Hecate.

Who's been a good girl? <3 Who's ready to kill wolves and/or a shiny knight? <3 Who wants her coat rubbed? <3

imageedit_7_2268733348.png
imageedit_7_2268733348.png (6.5 KiB) Viewed 9665 times
  • 4

Last edited by Ladki96 on Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Image
User avatar
Ladki96
Time Waster
Time Waster
 
Posts: 1074
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 7:32 pm
Location: India
Show rep
Title: =)

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Baeraad » Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:48 am

Sir Ragnar arrives alongside his great tame wolf, who he has named Geri after a creature his heathen forefathers believed in - he has of course been saved from such pagan blasphemies, but a man should not forget where he comes from. With his reddish hair and pale skin that peels in the sun each summer, it is not as if he can hide it.

"You'd best stay behind if the Duke chooses me to hunt the demon-wolf!" he cheerfully tells his grey-furred companion. "We can't have you turning on me in battle, har!"

Geri gives him a dignified look, but as always refrains from commenting.
  • 5

Baeraad
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 29
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2018 6:23 am
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby CarrieVS » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:17 pm

A tall young knight, in his mid twenties, enters the hall. Sir Ikram ibn Asad, son and heir of the Count of Tunis, is of rather striking appearance amid this almost entirely European gathering, having the swarthy complexion, curly hair, and black eyes of an Arab. He is in fact half Frankish, but in looks takes strongly after his father. This is accentuated by the pointed beard he wears in place of the moustache more usual amongst Franks, though he wears more or less European dress - suited to the climate here where he was born and raised.

He is talking in a mixture of Arabic and French with a younger, slightly shorter copy of himself: his brother Sir Rashad. Both Arabian knights have spent their entire lives here, and were left behind as children when their father, upon coming into his lands, returned to North Africa with his Frankish wife and his other two sons. Count Asad himself spent much of his life in Frankland, sent in his youth to the Frankish court as a pledge of his own father's good will. Now his eldest and youngest son are hostages against his behaviour.

The brothers are close companions: Rashad, only five when their parents left Frankland, has little memory of the rest of his immediate family. Ikram, eight years older than him, took his father's parting words to "take care of your brother" as a sacred charge, and amongst other efforts ensured that he learned the language and stories of their notional homeland, and steadfastly resisted any attempt to convert either boy to Christianity. But they are not so inseparable that they don't have different circles of friends. Rashad leaves Ikram's side, seeing some of their cousins - on their mother's side - who are of an age with him.

"Sir Coenwulf, Sir Shadi, Sir Rosamund" he says quietly, "how are you, cousins? And what do you make of all this strange news?"
  • 4

Last edited by CarrieVS on Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
A Combustible Lemon wrote:Death is an archaic concept for simpleminded commonfolk, not Victorian scientist whales.
User avatar
CarrieVS
TCS Redshirt
TCS Redshirt
 
Posts: 7103
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:43 pm
Location: By my wild self in the wet wild woods waving my wild tail
Show rep
Title: Drama Llama

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Chaomancer » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:33 pm

Shadi smiles and raises an eyebrow at Coenwulf, inviting him to go on. But their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of others. Ah well, there will be time to talk, she thinks, turning to greet the newcomers.

"Sir Rosamund, greetings," she says happily. "The weather is frightful, but it doesn't seem to have dampened your beauty one bit."

"And Sir Rashad! Peace be upon you." That phrase she speaks in accented Arabic, glad to see a fellow follower of the faith. She switches back to Frankish to answer his questions, though, not wishing to be rude to her other cousins. "I'm well, and eager to have a chance to do something adventurous. The winter has been long and dreary, but it seems that there's a lot of knightly work to be done this spring."
  • 4

Chaomancer
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Jul 07, 2018 1:54 pm
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby CarrieVS » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:03 pm

"And unto you peace," Rashad replies to Shadi in the same language. And then in French, "Indeed. Do you not think it strange that these two troubles should be so near to one another at just the same time?"

Could there be any connection between the monster and the malefactor?
  • 3

A Combustible Lemon wrote:Death is an archaic concept for simpleminded commonfolk, not Victorian scientist whales.
User avatar
CarrieVS
TCS Redshirt
TCS Redshirt
 
Posts: 7103
Joined: Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:43 pm
Location: By my wild self in the wet wild woods waving my wild tail
Show rep
Title: Drama Llama

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Cpt._Funkotron » Tue Jul 17, 2018 3:59 pm

Rosamund shines at the compliment. Thirteen years behind the walls of a monastery had done nothing to condition her in the ways of Christian modesty. "You're too kind for saying so. Likewise, I don't think an ocean of misery could drown your good spirits" she smiles.

"I agree" she says to Rashid. "The Robber knight must be making his nest deep in the forest, otherwise he would have been already found and dealt with. I might wonder if he and the devil wolf may be one and the same. It is not unheard of for a man of a wolf's nature to take the very form of the wolf itself."
  • 4

ImageImageImage
User avatar
Cpt._Funkotron
TCS Camper
TCS Camper
 
Posts: 955
Joined: Wed Apr 17, 2013 1:46 am
Location: Virginia
Show rep

Re: PALADIN 786: The Wolf and The Robber Knight

Postby Jellicle » Tue Jul 17, 2018 6:06 pm

Knighthood was still … uncomfortable, even after three years. He’d spent such a long time making peace with being the second son, with the idea of being his brother’s squire, or perhaps the huntsman for some manor lord. Knighthood, and the reawakened ambition that came with it, had been unexpected.

He puts down the steak pie he’d been munching on, and nervously brushes the crumbs off his simple tunic. He’d better greet his cousins. Renier, the half-giant, looks busy playing with that Hecate – the fae had always made a bit ill at ease – so he makes his way over to Rosamund and the others.

“Ah, in truth – a man in a wolf’s skin? I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
  • 5

Jellicle
Commenter
Commenter
 
Posts: 27
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:32 am
Show rep

Next

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests