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Curse of Darkness VII - Britania
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<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 5934210" data-attributes="member: 6669384"><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">*** </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"You won?", the king asked, incredulous at the news. "The fiend that emptied an entire city, that drove out their entire army, you bested him?" </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Not with blade or bow, but at the bargaining table, and he may not even realize it just yet. He'll hold the city until we're ready to claim it, and until then there is no organized force to oppose you to the south. You can expand your holdings right up to, and possibly past, the city walls. Just don't go inside."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"And what did you give this fiend for all of this?", the king asked, suspicious to the last.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"I provided him with a few barrels of refreshment, and a promise to find a way to send him home.", Penn laughed. "It took a bit to get him to understand what we were getting out of the deal, but once he did it all worked out."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"So what was he doing there anyway?"</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"We're not sure. The people who summoned him are all dead. I believe they were going to send him after you, to be honest. I wouldn't put it past them. In any case, someone else tried to call in Demons to try and get rid of him, and some of them may still be running around. But he's going to sit there in the town square until we return."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"So, I can simply take what I want?", the King asked, still not believing his good fortune.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"You can take not only the lands, but the people who work it. You offer them your protection from the 'horror' the Bretons called forth, patrol the areas and you collect your taxes on the quarter day."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The King rose from his desk and moved across the room to lean his weight on the great map table. And he began to laugh. His hand swept out, removing the markers for the enemy forces around Carlisle, and he laughed.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"You're a strange man.", he finally said, looking at the Fey. "You find spies by asking them to report themselves, and you win wars without fighting them. I'm not sure I like what my son is learning in your company, but I can't find fault in the end results."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Well, you should.", Penn replied. "In fact, you should be furious. In particular, you should be furious at dinner."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">*** </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The following evening was an oddly solemn occasion. Refugees had started to arrive from Carlisle, and the King's resources were being stretched to, and past the breaking point.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"'twill be a hungry spring, my liege.", Lord Cornesh declared. "Better to turn them away."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"You have already started to empty your own grainary to feed the prisoners you have.", added Burnlough, the clan chief from the northern marches. "You won't be able to withstand a siege when it comes."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Who will lay siege to us, if we hold Carlisle?", the King answered. "Our enemies to the north now serve as our thralls, so there's no threat from that direction either. So you say we have too many people? Too much land? May I have this kind of problem every season."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">He rose and marched around the table, his voice ringing across the hall as he spoke.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"In the course of a few short weeks, our enemy's have made mistake after mistake, and our positions have become more secure than ever. But if we allow our enemies to recover and regroup, we'll be the poorer for it. Yes, it's a gamble. But the prize is well worth it. So clear the woods in the southern pass, and let these folk build steadings there for the winter. We'll feed them what we can, and we'll extend our patrols to include their northern farms."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"So your son has earned his lands?", came the question from somewhere in the halls.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"My son? I've heard the tale of his exploits, and his part in this was to fall in battle against the forest beasts. This was given to us by our enemies, not taken by our courage."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Seeburn was on his feet, rigid with fury. "I've fought for you, and I've won prizes you didn't dream were in your grasp. I've earned my inheritance thrice over!"</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"You've earned nothing!", thundered the King, his face distorted with fury. "You were born with my name, and I’m sorry to allow you even that. Now sit like the hound you are! Sit and be silent, for this is a time when men speak."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">Furniture crashed to the floor as the Prince stormed out of the room. None blocked his path, but none met his gaze.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Then begone!", shouted the King after him. "Begone from my home, my holdings and my sight, and return not for a full year! Banished you are, by your own arrogance and pride."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">*** </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The ride out of the city was cold and lonely. No words of greeting or farewell met or followed the companions, for none dared risk the King's wrath. Word of the banishment had spread quickly, and the order had been given that neither Seeburn nor his companions receive any aid at all.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">They crossed into the southern woods, and there stopped to rest.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">A group of riders came from the winter wood to meet them, their expressions dour.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"So, it is done.", said the lead rider. </span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Yes, you are to continue south for two days, then turn to the east. Return to the city in a week's time, and tell no one of this meeting.", Seeburn instructed. "Do you need our cloaks, to carry off the ruse?"</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Nay, we have garb to match yours.", the leader replied. "Whence get you now?"</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"We meet the ship on the south point, and from there, well, its best you not know."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The other rider nodded gravely, then turned away south.</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">*** </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">It was after sundown when they first spied the ship. The captain lowered a barge to handle the animals, while the companions rode along to keep them calm.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Grikka!", called Seeburn with joy when he saw the old Gypsy woman on the deck. </span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">The old woman laughed and embraced the Barbarian Prince. "Tis an odd day indeed when we are given an honorable send off, and the King's son is the one who skulks under cover of darkness."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"Not to worry.", Seeburn laughed, patting his inner pouch under the heavy wraps. "I already have his pardon, in writing, and you are always welcome in Dumphreys."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"At least until we're not.", joked Theobold as he joined the reunion. "But tell me, why the whole dance?"</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"We have a job to do in Hibernia, and our enemies have spies in the palace. So we make them think that the King has abandoned his plots against the Red Masque, and sent us away. You get the passage in our place, so those spies won't ask why the ship was sent."</span></span> <span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px"></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: 'Arial'"><span style="font-size: 10px">"I love it.", Theo laughed. "Are you sure you don't have some Gypsy blood in you?"</span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 5934210, member: 6669384"] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2]*** "You won?", the king asked, incredulous at the news. "The fiend that emptied an entire city, that drove out their entire army, you bested him?" "Not with blade or bow, but at the bargaining table, and he may not even realize it just yet. He'll hold the city until we're ready to claim it, and until then there is no organized force to oppose you to the south. You can expand your holdings right up to, and possibly past, the city walls. Just don't go inside."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "And what did you give this fiend for all of this?", the king asked, suspicious to the last.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "I provided him with a few barrels of refreshment, and a promise to find a way to send him home.", Penn laughed. "It took a bit to get him to understand what we were getting out of the deal, but once he did it all worked out."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "So what was he doing there anyway?"[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "We're not sure. The people who summoned him are all dead. I believe they were going to send him after you, to be honest. I wouldn't put it past them. In any case, someone else tried to call in Demons to try and get rid of him, and some of them may still be running around. But he's going to sit there in the town square until we return."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "So, I can simply take what I want?", the King asked, still not believing his good fortune.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "You can take not only the lands, but the people who work it. You offer them your protection from the 'horror' the Bretons called forth, patrol the areas and you collect your taxes on the quarter day."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] The King rose from his desk and moved across the room to lean his weight on the great map table. And he began to laugh. His hand swept out, removing the markers for the enemy forces around Carlisle, and he laughed.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "You're a strange man.", he finally said, looking at the Fey. "You find spies by asking them to report themselves, and you win wars without fighting them. I'm not sure I like what my son is learning in your company, but I can't find fault in the end results."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "Well, you should.", Penn replied. "In fact, you should be furious. In particular, you should be furious at dinner."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] *** The following evening was an oddly solemn occasion. Refugees had started to arrive from Carlisle, and the King's resources were being stretched to, and past the breaking point. "'twill be a hungry spring, my liege.", Lord Cornesh declared. "Better to turn them away."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "You have already started to empty your own grainary to feed the prisoners you have.", added Burnlough, the clan chief from the northern marches. "You won't be able to withstand a siege when it comes."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "Who will lay siege to us, if we hold Carlisle?", the King answered. "Our enemies to the north now serve as our thralls, so there's no threat from that direction either. So you say we have too many people? Too much land? May I have this kind of problem every season."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] He rose and marched around the table, his voice ringing across the hall as he spoke.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "In the course of a few short weeks, our enemy's have made mistake after mistake, and our positions have become more secure than ever. But if we allow our enemies to recover and regroup, we'll be the poorer for it. Yes, it's a gamble. But the prize is well worth it. So clear the woods in the southern pass, and let these folk build steadings there for the winter. We'll feed them what we can, and we'll extend our patrols to include their northern farms."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "So your son has earned his lands?", came the question from somewhere in the halls.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "My son? I've heard the tale of his exploits, and his part in this was to fall in battle against the forest beasts. This was given to us by our enemies, not taken by our courage."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] Seeburn was on his feet, rigid with fury. "I've fought for you, and I've won prizes you didn't dream were in your grasp. I've earned my inheritance thrice over!"[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "You've earned nothing!", thundered the King, his face distorted with fury. "You were born with my name, and I’m sorry to allow you even that. Now sit like the hound you are! Sit and be silent, for this is a time when men speak."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] Furniture crashed to the floor as the Prince stormed out of the room. None blocked his path, but none met his gaze.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "Then begone!", shouted the King after him. "Begone from my home, my holdings and my sight, and return not for a full year! Banished you are, by your own arrogance and pride."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] *** The ride out of the city was cold and lonely. No words of greeting or farewell met or followed the companions, for none dared risk the King's wrath. Word of the banishment had spread quickly, and the order had been given that neither Seeburn nor his companions receive any aid at all. They crossed into the southern woods, and there stopped to rest.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] A group of riders came from the winter wood to meet them, their expressions dour.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "So, it is done.", said the lead rider. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "Yes, you are to continue south for two days, then turn to the east. Return to the city in a week's time, and tell no one of this meeting.", Seeburn instructed. "Do you need our cloaks, to carry off the ruse?"[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "Nay, we have garb to match yours.", the leader replied. "Whence get you now?"[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "We meet the ship on the south point, and from there, well, its best you not know."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] The other rider nodded gravely, then turned away south.[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] *** It was after sundown when they first spied the ship. The captain lowered a barge to handle the animals, while the companions rode along to keep them calm. "Grikka!", called Seeburn with joy when he saw the old Gypsy woman on the deck. [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] The old woman laughed and embraced the Barbarian Prince. "Tis an odd day indeed when we are given an honorable send off, and the King's son is the one who skulks under cover of darkness."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "Not to worry.", Seeburn laughed, patting his inner pouch under the heavy wraps. "I already have his pardon, in writing, and you are always welcome in Dumphreys."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "At least until we're not.", joked Theobold as he joined the reunion. "But tell me, why the whole dance?"[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "We have a job to do in Hibernia, and our enemies have spies in the palace. So we make them think that the King has abandoned his plots against the Red Masque, and sent us away. You get the passage in our place, so those spies won't ask why the ship was sent."[/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial][SIZE=2] "I love it.", Theo laughed. "Are you sure you don't have some Gypsy blood in you?"[/SIZE][/FONT] [/QUOTE]
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