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

[dpdx]

Fendric and Hiritus visibly take notice at the latter part of the Knight's explanation.

"Indeed we do, Sir Cariel. I am Brother Fendric of the Temple of Pelor in Hedrogura. This is my sworn companion, Sir Hiritus of Bethel."

Hiritus, for his part, raises his hand to the crest of his helm to return the salute.

"As for making contact with this Brother, I suspect you have already done so. Were you able to hear the entirety of my message at the Monument?" Fendric continues, smiling.

"In any case, well met, good sir. We are on our way to deliver a message to Valsport, and as the circumstances have it, we have no time to waste. Would you care, therefore, to ride with us?"

 

[Guilt Puppy]

"Toward Valsport? Certainly I shall ride with you. I have matters to return to not far from there, so that is quite a convenient suggestion."

He pulls his horse around to ride close beside Fendric.

"I did indeed hear the entirety of your prayer, or so at least I believe. I must, however, confess that I found certain details troublesome. You had some great concern for Thedoric's virtue -- I wonder, what act has he done to warrant such rites?"

 

[dpdx]

At this point, Hiritus, who can never be found riding too far away from Fendric, speaks up.

"I guess I find it encouraging that you found details troublesome, Sir Cariel, because that would mean that the marauders haven't made it this far, yet."

Fendric arches an eyebrow over his shoulder at Hiritus, wondering if Hiritus' detect evil has found something amiss about Sir Cariel. After a brief pause, he returns his gaze to Sir Cariel.

"Yes, we have it on the authority of Sir Exantrius that Thedoric is now leading an army of brigands to sack major cities of the Realm. I do know, from messages to which my friends have responded, that my own city of Hedrogura has lain in ruins for at minimum, a fortnight, and that Bethel and the surrounding towns are in chaos as a result. Father Milos Premule has been missing and is now presumed dead. This morning, I will attempt to send messages to points further along in my journey, in case this army has advanced beyond.

Our Knight further claims that this is definitely at the hand of Thedoric, who has either been turned, or has succumbed to vile and hateful thoughts.

As I said in my prayer, of course. I am aware of Thedoric's former reputation as a statesman, and we have since discovered that the letters we now deliver are in Thedoric's hand, possibly from before he underwent this... change.

We wish the land to be at peace, for the brigand army to stand down, and for Thedoric to return to the Light, as It Is the Will of the One Sun. Nothing more. We have faith in what we do, and hope that it works for these aims.

So I am curious, Sir Cariel, since you find this as troubling as we have, how must the others of your noble Order feel. Certainly Brother Aramil was skeptical, and I am unsure myself if Thedoric is responsible, but the threat this portends is certainly real. With Bethel fallen, and various of the Free Cities buttoned up like tritons, unwilling to help one another, I must wonder if this is the last glimpse of the Realm as we once knew it."

Fendric returns his eyes to the road ahead, awaiting the Knight's answer.

 

[Festy_Dog]

Nurthk, remaining his usual quiet self, stays out of the way. He mutters quietly to the tiny young raven in his free hand as he watches Sir Cariel out of curiosity.

 

[doghead]

Xiao Yu, male mystified human

Xiao does his best to follow what Fendric has to say to the stranger. But all in all there are two many brothers with unpronouncable names and words with too many syllables.

Xiao turns his attention to the stranger, running his eyes over the armour and shield and other accoutrements of the knight's trade. It seems, to Xiao, an awful lot of steel to carry around in a fight. It seems an awful lot of steel to carry around sitting on the back of a horse.

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Cariel listens thoughtfully, absorbing the information slowly.

"It seems," he says, finally, "that you are not aware... Lord Thedoric has passed from this world, some months ago. I don't know the circumstances... Thedoric had not been in heavy contact with the Order for some time. But our knit is loose, so that is not so strange."

He casts his eyes downward for a moment, then looks out toward the horizon.

"Also, you speak of Sir Exantrius... A knight of that name once rode for our Order, it's true, but he was felled centuries ago. Can you tell me more about the man you knew? Was his name merely coincidence, or..." He seems at a sudden loss for words. "There are some legends which speak of great men who have passed returning to the living world in times of great need. Is it your feeling that this is such a case?"

 

[doghead]

Xiao Yu, male human from afar

Now Xiao is really confused. And this time its more upsetting because he had thought he understood what was being said. Theodoric is dead, and Sir Extrantrius dead for centuries. Xiao was under the impression that it was the latter that had initiated this quest, and that the former was currently riding around sacking cities.

Xiao decides that he must have mis-understood. Again. Something. Somewhere along the line. Everything even.

Perhaps he was just dreaming.

Ahh. That would be nice. Because that meant he would soon wake up. And that meant he would be able to get a big bowl of rice. And perhaps a little smoked fish and soup. They had smoked fish and soup in the world of his dream. But it just wasn't the same.

 

[dpdx]

Fendric furrows his brow, and nods his head.

"It strikes me as odd, this: that our bard, Niccolo, while he was with us, was able to recite a poem about Exantrius' valor soon after he introduced himself to us in Hedrogura as Exantrius. Legend does not travel that fast, and the opportunity for it had long since been gone at the time of the recanting, so the 'return of a great man in times of great need' explanation is a plausible one. I had not heard of this myself, and Exantrius did not seem ghostly to me, however.

I also remember that Exantrius died in his sleep, as if the Radiant Light had called him right then and there. When he died, a dove emerged from his breastplate. We bore him upon his steed, and then had to halt it after we had sent it off to retrieve the one thing he had told me to do before he left; these are the letters we are now deliver, and after Valsport, we have two left to deliver in Tourne.

But yet, the letters are written in Thedoric's hand, a detail Exantrius neglected to inform me of before his passing.

As I said to Brother Aramil, I pray that we do good for the Realm in this, our task."

 

[Festy_Dog]

The living dead wasn't something Nurthk knew much about, nor cared to know much about. His last encounter wasn't very enjoyable, so the theoretical encounter with an undead Thedoric struck him as being potentially much worse.

"Heh, perhaps the man we knew as Exantrius was actually Thedoric. Knowing he wouldn't last the journey he decided to write the letters, but then later thought he could save Exantrius some face by claiming that Exantrius was Thedoric and vice versa. It would have been too late to change the letters, but then that would just add something for people to think about. A not-so-red herring," Nurthk threw out the idea, half-jesting.

 

[Guilt Puppy]

"The dove..." Cariel pauses in thought, but seems for once untroubled. "What you saw is not so strange."

He reaches to throat, and fishes out a small pendant from beneath his own breastplate: A silver oval, with a white shield painted upon it.

"As I mentioned, members of our Order are not always in close contact with one another... We are too few and our duties too many, and this means our numbers are spread thin, and in constant movement. It is not unusual to have a knight go unheard-from for months, sometimes years... Without these," he says softly, holding the silver oval forward, "a knight could pass from this world unbeknownst to the rest of our order."

He tucks it back into his breastplate, adjusting it until it falls comfortably.

"We have no hierarchy, understand, nor base of operations: The sanctity of our oaths is universal and equal, and so such things are unnecessary. In lieu of such a structure, we carry these pendants, whose bearers may communicate with one another over great distances, with relative freedom." He casts his eyes downward in some personal contemplation. "Should their bearer die, however, they are enchanted to take the form of a dove, and take flight to find the nearest member of the Order... This allows all to be informed of such an event, and further ensures that the pendant itself does not fall into the hands of another... And, of course, there is the commemorative beauty of such a flight, which is important in itself."


Completing that thought, he turns to Nurthk, to respond to that suggestion.

"How long ago was it that the one you called Exantrius passed away? For I know of no other dove that has flown recently, and that may lend credence to your suspicion."