(Casual D&D IV) A Knight for a Pawn

[dpdx]

[Why, almost three years since our first posts, my Good Knight! How long in game time *has* it been since Exantrius died?]

"Of your order? Sir Exantrius identified himself as a Knight of the Greater Kingdom..."

Hiritus chimes in with some clarification:

"It's the same Order, Fendric. They're also known as the Holy Circle."

"Oh. Well, I am unsure how long it has been, except to say that it was not too many days before we came to Bethel. Shavah, how long has it been since we first met?"

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Shavah tilts her head down, thinking it over. "A month, perhaps? I've lost track of the days... There's been too much else to worry about."

(OOC: Haven't tracked time as accurately as I should, myself, but I believe it's been about six weeks since Exantrius died... which also means that we've been covering ground at the rate of about two weeks per year Mind-boggling when you stop to think about it.)

 

[dpdx]

Shavah's response seems to square with what Fendric was thinking.

"Indeed there has, Shavah."

Fendric turns back to Sir Cariel. "If it was indeed Thedoric who set us upon this journey, and who then subsequently died in our camp, why did he feel the need to impersonate someone for our eyes?"

Hiritus chimes in.

"I almost feel silly for asking this, but if Exantrius felt he needed to come back in this time of dire need, why would he choose to inhabit the body of a Knight he opposed?"

"After we deliver the last letter, I wish to speak with Sir Exantrius."

"He's not -- OH."

 

[Festy_Dog]

Nurthk seemed surprised.

"So... my theory is liked I take it? Heh, feels nice," he says as he trots along.

He tugs at his goatee and looks to the tiny raven in his hand.

"You hear that little one? Good ideas come few and far between, savour them when you can," he tells it, "Hmph, I never gave you a name did I?"

 

[doghead]

Xiao Yu, male human traveller

Xiao continues to keep an ear on the conversation and an eye on the terrain around the road as he trots along. As the miles fall away underfoot, Xiao hums a little tune under his breath. His muscles sing with the simple pleasure of a good work out and his heart beats along in time.

 

[Sparky]

Oliver mulled the happenings over in his mind. What the Knight Cariel said appeared to make sense. He patted Whistler on the neck and turned in his saddle, grunting at a stab of pain in his back. Stiff. Whistler's a fine, fine horse. But me, too old to sit this long in the saddle. He thought fondly of the great baths of Hedrogura, open to him for a brief time in his life. He sighed.

He chuckled at Nurthk's surprise and pleasure and raised his bushy eyebrows as he asked, "Sir Cariel, I wonder, was it you who recieved the dove of this Knight my companions and I briefly encountered?" He pauses and adds, brows knitting. "And if this Knight we encountered had turned from the Order, would his dove still take flight? Or the reverse, would a dove take its last flight to a Knight that had turned?"

He pauses, scratching his head, "I apologize for the bluntness of my questions. I realize they may not be palatable."

I'm starting to sound like Fendric. Dear gods, save me.

 

[dpdx]

Fendric notices the old gladiator wince in the saddle, and decides to suggest a break.

"All very good questions, for which I suspect Sir Cariel needs time to formulate answers. To that end, I suggest we stop for a short respite, as I have messages to send, and several more of us could stand refreshment."

Hiritus nods, and the two of them pull over from the road.

Fendric prepares his holy symbol, and composes his first sending:

Concentrating on Father Yattro of Fharlanghn:

Wish to inquire if any trouble at your station since we left. Slew orc band in mountains, made Eivanrach last week. Hoping no repercussions since.

 

[Guilt Puppy]

"The dove would take flight all the same, I believe," says Cariel, although he does not seem completely certain. "They are enchanted to work only for their designated bearer, but beyond that they make no judgments of character."

"As for who received the dove, I'm not aware who. It was not I; I've only recently journeyed to this region. I may however be able to locate its recipient, given some time, if you have questions which only they might answer."

Shortly thereafter, Fendric receives an answer to his sending:

Some trouble. Mercenary encampments sighted along mountain road, believe incursion planned. Have sent warning, Sethan investigating. Possible aid from Kentaro to disrupt expected troop movement.

 

[Sparky]

Oliver nods, "So there is no way to know if a Knight has fallen." He rides in silence chewing on that for a while.

Fendric suggests a halt and Oliver slides gratefully out of the saddle, wincing all the way down and for several minutes during a strange series of stretches that seem wholly inappropriate for a man of Oliver's advanced age. Some of the poses and stretches are decidedly familiar to Xiao.

He returns to his line of questioning, "What is the liklihood of that, of a Knight falling? I am only a dabbler in the gray struggles of ruling and politics, but they are a sober game indeed. Would it be possible to tell if a Knight had fallen?"

He thinks of the strange man from Eivanrach. The one who gave keys to red-eyed elves in glasses of raspberry-tinged water. One who clouded their thoughts and cleared them. A master at the game. He doesn't mention the strange man in black, but waits, instead, for Cariel's reply.

 

[Festy_Dog]

Oliver posed an interesting question. Was there a means to detect corruption within the knights' ranks? Corruption from within was a the kind of foe which gave Nurthk a shiver down his spine. As the group stopped for a break Nurthk looked up at the blue sky above them, then down at the dark little raven.

"I wonder if they have a name for the darkness that exists between the stars of the nighttime sky... hmm, maybe that's too difficult," and he continues pondering.