ASoIaF RPG - A Tourney of Gulls IC

[DrZombie]

His jowls shake as he chuckles, and he carefully points at the younger knight. "You. Oh for shame!," he teases, "Tell me your not the bastard's father!"

OOC: 2 successes against Ser Laton; influence reduced to 2, Laton is at 7/9 composure.

"Ser Gough. Your insinuation is an insult to me and to my House. I take offence. Either apologise or draw steel." Laton says with a dangerous light in his eyes and his hand on his mace

[OOC : I only just realised that ENworld ate my post. I made the same reply a few days ago and was waiting for a response.]

 

[muggie2]

Roy stood up, eyes motioning Ser Jarl to the brewing danger, then realized just how stupid that must seem. As if anyone in the inn wouldn't have heard that exchange.
"I apologize, Ser Jarl. It seems that the lad's tolerance also has limits."
He muttered under his breath "... although it took the intimation that the lad had fathered a bastard for those limits to be realized."
He thought for a couple of seconds. Those two had seemed as thick as thieves. Maybe they'd been playing a nastier game of words than he had realized. It had seemed they'd been friendly all this time. Had he misjudged them?"
He suddenly focused on where he was and what he was doing. Standing, unarmored, weaponless (unless one counted a cheap wooden tankard) in what might soon be a serious battle.
"Oh, Stranger take me for an idiot!" he cursed.

 

[Cor Azer]

"The Stranger has more pressing idiots than you, lad."

Haken rests his hand atop his swordhilt, but he resists the urge to rise. Ser Laton had already laid the challenge, and a show of force would only exacerbate the hot tempers.

Across the room, Ser Gough manages little other than blinking several times, competely taken aback. It takes a moment for the sarjeant himself to realize that Ser Gough wasn't acting - he seems to truly believed that it was ok, even expected, for a knight to treat a woman in such a way. The smashing of that belief left a definite impression on his fading smile.

"I..." Ser Gough opens his mouth a few times, and closes it silently.

Sweat beads on the rotund knight's forehead as he realizes the stares of almost everyone in the room are on him.

"I'm... I'm sor-" He snorts, clearing his thoughts if not his record. "My apologies to you, Ser Laton," he says as he stands. "And by extension to the Lady Palla." He bows, suprisingly graceful. "It was not becoming for a knight to say such things, even in jest." He drops one last gaze at the remains of the meal in front of him, sighs, but turns from the bench. "I shall retire for the night."

He leaves the room without another word or looking anyone in the eye. His lady Dawlyn follows closely behind, a comforting hand hovering hesitantly by his shoulder.

Haken is about to speak when Hanna rises from the bench, smiling shyly at Ser Laton. She moves to leave, but looks back just before disappearing down the hallway and mouths a silent thanks to the House Vantri heir. She lets her hair tumble down around her face as she follows her lady to their room.

Mugs are raised for Ser Laton, and a slow murmur grows louder, eventually echoing down to a small room holding a sellsword.

"Honour bends nor breaks!"

 

[DrZombie]

"Honor bends nor breaks." Laton acknowledges the toast of his men.
"Some fresh ale for me and my men, if you please, milady. This conversation has left a foul taste in my mouth."
Laton stands and looks at his men.
"Some believe that the faults of the father pass on to the son. I am not one of them. I value each and every one of my retainers, no matter their parentage. But enough of that matter. I leave for my rooms. Tomorrow will be a long day. Uncle, if you could join me for some discussion 'bout the morrow?"

 

[Captain Impossible]

Ser Jarl looked at the boy. "Knights are men, nothing more. As for the sellsword, he's a glorified highwayman who..."

Before he could finish, Laton had warned Ser Gough in harsh terms. Ser Jarl rested his hand on his sword, but saw that the rotund knight has unprepared and unwilling to fight. Ser Jarl hid his smirk at the sight of Ser Gough's hasty retreat.

At the young heir's request, Ser Jarl rose from his seat. "Thank you for your story. Rest now, and if you wish, you may travel with us to the tournament in the morning," he said to Roy Stone before joining his nephew.

"Don't get too pleased with your performance, boy" Ser Jarl whispered to Laton. "Ser Gough is a runt on the field, but he's a giant in the gossip circles. We don't want to make an enemy of him on the eve of the tournament. Try to patch things up in the morning." Ser Jarl raised an eyebrow as they walked upstairs. "That said, it was a masterful feat of getting him out of our hair and impressing that girl."

 

[Cor Azer]

Agorn frowns as he hears the chants echoing from the common room.

Honor, he thinks. Stupid rules for limited men. He stares are the three sharing his room, trying to gauge how closely they take those words to heart. Who's going to try something foolish, he wonders. Words are wind, he thinks, remembering an old expression. Actions are all that matter.

The sellsword smirks to himself, watching the expression on Mhyrko's face as the gears and thoughts roil through his mind. Got one thinking, did I?

He eyes master-of-hounds, but soon comes to realize that his expression is equally being scrutinized.

Seven hells, he curses silently. Changing tactics. I let something slip... What did I let out?

Agorn fights off a distressed look, but in his mind he begins replaying the conversation so far. Nothing stands out as incriminating, but the sellsword realizes that he's trying to juggle too many balls in this game. Save my ace in reserve, but for now...

"Mhyrko Vantri. You know I'm not a knight like your Ser Jarl; for now, I'm a sellsword, and we got our own sort of honor. A contract. I have never broken one and never will. A sellsword who breaks contracts doesn't get any more. I don't much care if you respect my actions, but you have to respect a man who keeps his word... his oath."

The sellsword watches the master-of-hounds closely for any reaction, certain the steward and guard would follow the Vantri cousin's lead.

"You're not a knight either, but like all them Vantris, you got your own honor. I respect that - a man is only worth his convictions; his actions." Agorn pauses for deep breath, and then pushes, laying out his idea. "You're not going to just let me go. I may be wishful, but I'm not a fool. But there are alternatives to just killing me here. If you look past the circumstances, I showed tonight that I've got some ability with the sword. I've got a streak of stubbornness like any Kingswood boar that says I'm not going to fold to my employer's enemies..." He pauses, letting the implication sift into the master-of-hounds thoughts.

"Hire me. Raquinno dropped my contract earlier tonight, so I'm not beheld to any oath of service. I could give you one to House Vantri. Not asking for much. You can always use more swords traveling across the Vale so close to the clansmen."

The image of a young boy looking out at the Sunset Sea fills Agorn's thoughts, and he stiffens is lip to fight off the sad memory. I'm not ending here...

"I'm not your foe, Vantri. I've got plenty of them out in the world, and I mean to pay them all for what they did to me and mine." He bites his tongue to keep from spitting, but soon adds, "Lannisters aren't the only ones who pay their debts..."

"Don't let me end here."

OOC: Agorn uses Shield of Reputation to try to improve Mhyrko's disposition, and then spends one of his Destiny points to still make an Influence attempt. I guess it doesn't matter too much, but I think Gurthngwaw is right, in that it should be Agorn's disposition and technique this round that is learned, not last round. In any event, he's trying to be Amiable to Mhyrko, and using the Bargain technique - offering service for some sort of freedom. Roll results: Mhyrko's disposition is improved to Amiable (note +1 bonus to Persuasion tests), but still Agorn's words don't seem to move him.

 

[Gurthngwaw]

[FONT=tahoma, new york, times, serif]Mhyrko listens as he looks upon the sellsword. He considers carefully the words of the prisoner and realizes that in order for the Vantri to put this puzzle together they will need the pieces this mercenary is holding. No doubt they will not be freely given but perhaps there is another way.
"You say you have been learning. Well, so have I. You seem ready to talk...to come to an agreement if you will. Lets see what we can do about that."
"It's true we cannot set you free, mainly because of the death of the stableboy. I am sure a man of your ability could easily have knocked him out or somehow avoided killing him. So my first question has to be why? Why is he dead? Can you give me some reason I can present to justify it?
As for the knight, he still lives yet the purpose for your fight with him is also going to be a major concern. Is there anything you can give me to understand how this came to be?" [/FONT]
[FONT=tahoma, new york, times, serif]"Without the why...isnt that what you said? Consider this. Without the why, how could they judge you anything but a murderer? If you have a why, give it to me. I promise I will make sure the sers know it before they decide what to do. If you hold it til the last it will only seem to be a desperate effort to escape justice. Just consider it and do what you think is best. I won't force or trick answers from you. But if you able to judge a mans character then i tell you to judge mine and see if it tells you to believe me." [/FONT]
"Don't let you end here? I can only try if you give me the means to help you. Its clear there is more to it."

 

[Cor Azer]

OOC: Gurthngwaw, you also get +1 on your Persuasion roll for being Amiable (due to Agorn's shield of reputation) which bumps you to a 16, good enough for 3 successes, and 6 influence after reduction, leaving Agorn at 2/12 composure... I'll see what others post before adding his response.

 

[Gurthngwaw]

OOC: crickets chirping

 

[Captain Impossible]

Ser Jarl reentered the room holding the sellsword. He saw that Mhyrko and the mercenary had exchanged words, but Jarl had missed the details.

"So, has he given us any reason to keep him alive?" the knight asked his companions. Obviously, there had been words, but no information exchanged. At least not the information Ser Jarl sought. He addressed the sellsword.

"You're running out of time, my friend. You're bluffing your way to the chopping block. Being silent isn't going to help you. Even assuming I was determined to advocate for you simply out of curiosity, right now I have nothing that can stay the hand of those who will judge you. You need to tell us your story."