And About Time Too...
The day of Will's wedding had arrived. Will was dressed in the ceremonial Ranger's outfit, created some years back for Halt and Lady Pauline's wedding. He wished he had a mirror to confirm that he looked exemplary, but his pay did not extend to cover such luxuries. Will then checked himself one last time, and left to the ceremony on his horse, Tug, with his dog, Ebony, following behind. After arriving in the clearing, Will flocked to his friends that arrived for his wedding. Halt, Lady Pauline, Gilian, Jenny, Malcolm and Trobar were among them. Horace was his best man, and Evanlyn was Alyss's matron of honor. Evanlyn, or more correctly, Cassandra, was expecting a child, but there was no sign of the pregnancy yet. Baron Arald, the celebrant, motioned for things to begin, and right at that moment Alyss emerged from the woods. After the vows were completed, and the kiss "sealed the deal," Halt spoke, "And about time too!" Halt turned away in a coughing fit, but really, he wanted to conceal the tears that were rushing down his face.
The Fragment
Hal, a Skandian, was controlling his home-made ship, the Heron, on the seas surrounding Hallasholm. Stig, his first-mate, asked, "How does she handle?" Hal replied, "Like a bird."
Afterword
MacFarlane gently placed the fragment on the surface of his desk. The other nine stories found in the concealed trunk had been carefully assembled, copied, and preserved. He had left this fragment till last because it was incomplete, barely one hundred words, and because it was something different. There was a legend of a young boy, half Araluen and half Skandian, who revolutionized the design of the Skandians' wolfships. There was a brief mention of him in the chronicle of Will's journey to Nihon-Ja. This fragment has revealed a further clue to his story. If one page exists, then there must be a complete story. MacFarlane plans to try to unravel this mystery and discover the entire story about Hal and his Heron.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
March 10, 2012
The Bridal Dance:
Chapter 1:
A series of accidents has ocurred at Castle Redmont, the stage of Horace and Princess Cassandra's wedding. Desmond, the Baron's head steward, believes that they are not accidents, that they are intentional. Will went to the castle to meet with Desmond about the latest accident, while Halt boards the mail cart to protect it from robberies.
Upon meeting with Desmond, Will questions him about any person working in the castle who might have a grudge against you or the castle as a whole. Desmond replied that Robard had been demoted from assistant steward to a dining hall waiter. Will requested that Robard meet with him for... a little chat. Will easily pursuaded Robard to tell the truth, whether it be by yelling at him or lying saying that two people saw him commit the crime, when they had not. After their discussion, Will proposed that they discuss matters further tomorrow, and let Robard sweat on the possible punishments overnight.
Chapter 2:
Early in the morning, a steward from the dining hall sprints from the castle to Will's cabin, and announces, "It's Robard, sir, the former trainee. He's dead!" After arriving at the scene, Will asks questions such as "Was there a note- suicides usually leave notes." and "Was the body moved from its original position?" Desmond replied 'no' to both answers. Will looked around and found two names: Serafino and Mordini, Toscan names, he thought. Will left to ask around the village, starting with his child-hood friend Jenny, a restauranteur, about any information related to their profession. She said no, but they might know at the inn where the two Toscans stayed. After discussing the Toscans with Joel, he revealed that they were wool buyers. Will then asked to see the Toscans' room, since it has not been re-lent to any other costomers. After inspecting the room, will concludes that there was a slightly sweet smell, but he could not place what it was. Then, he talked to the local wool buyer, Barrett, and he said that the Toscans did not even visit his store.
Later that evening, Will was braiding a new bowstring since the present one on his bow had frayed. While rubbing beeswax along the string, he recognized the smell as the same from the Toscan's room. Beeswax was used by archers to strengthen their bowstrings, and by crossbowmen as well. This made Will start to think. The Toscans might not even be Toscans at all, but from a neighboring city-state whose people spoke with similar accents- Genovesans. Genovesans were contract killers and murderers who worked exceptionally well with poison. What if Robard's death had not been suicide, but due to poisoning by the Genovesans? And who are they going to kill?
Chapter 3:
The new foreign arrivals had erased the urgency in his finding of the so-called Genovesans. Maybe he had just over-reacted. The first was Erak, Oberjarl of Skandia, a long-term friend of Cassandra. Next was Selethen, Wakir of the Arridi province, Al Shabah. But, when Will ran into Desmond a day later, that urgency was restored. There was a table plan for the banquet of the wedding with the events listed in order in Robard's room. These events included Entry, Meal service and speeches, Dance, Departure. There was a small mark beside the word Dance. There was another mark right opposite the bridal table. Will went to check out the mark opposite the bridal table. There was a half-built platform with an ideal vantage point if someone wanted to harm the King. Meanwhile, Will needed to get started on his speech, as he was best man. But, the doubt of an assassination was too great to get Will's creative juices flowing, so he went to sleep, postponing his speech even one day closer to the wedding.
Chapter 4:
Two days later, the matter was driven from his mind by the arrival of Wolfwill. Wolfwill had been assigned the longest trip of all, bringing in the guest with the greatest distance to travel. Shigeru, Emperor of Nihon-Ja, had arrived for Horace's wedding. Horace, Cassandra, Will and Halt had helped restored order when an uprising occured in Shigeru's country. When Will brought up his most recent findings to Cassandra and King Duncan, they simply waved off the matter, stating that the most recent false alarm for an assassination had been but only three weeks ago, and they would never postpone the wedding.
Chapter 5:
The day of the wedding had arrived, and Will had never gotten around to rewriting his speech. It was a beautiful sunny day for a wedding in the courtyard of Castle Redmont. Baron Arald of Redmont performed the ceremony. The King was giving his daughter away. And Shigeru had been granted the position of Patron-Sponsor of the wedding.
After the wedding had progressed and the vows taken, it was time for the banquet- and the speeches.
The first of these was the Patron-Sponsor of the wedding, Shigeru. As created by Lady Pauline during hers and Halt's wedding, the duty of Patron-Sponsor was to convey an expensive present upon the newly-weds. He granted them the castle of Hashan-Ji, with income from its surrounding farmlands and timber forests. It is also quite close to the Emperor's summer palace. Horace respectfully declined the income- but gladly kept the castle- and requested that all future income from the castle be shared among the families of those Kikori who gave their lives in the war against Arisaka, the upriser who tried to kill Shigeru. Will had still never written his speech because it burned in a fire some weeks ago, and it may have turned out to bee a good thing. After reciting an amazing speech, a swallow was released and perched on a massive support beam. His eyes registered something else, a detail that was overlooked, so he went to check it out.
Will ran to the Skandian table and grabbed Nils, extra security in case he had to fight Genovesans. They both ran up the stairs. Will realized why the mark had been placed against the word Dance. King Duncan would be most exposed as he danced with the bride, making him a perfect target. Will heard a burst of applause as Horace finished his speech. Will had only seconds until Duncan would be killed.
As Will crashed through the door, he instantly recognized the two men in their dull purple cloaks as Genovesans. He quickly drew his saxe knife and threw it at the crossbow string of the first Genovesan, severing it in half, and his throwing knife at the second, killing the man. Nils yelled "Get down," as he hurled his weapon at the Genovesan who was, until a few moments before, holding the crossbow. Will rose and sprinted back down the stairs, just making back for his wedding dance with Alyss.
Chapter 6:
A group assembled in Baron Arald's office looked up as Halt entered the room. Halt had been assigned the task of interrogating the surviving assassin. Genovesans usually did not talk or respond to death threats. But, Halt threatened to infect him with one of his own poisoned arrows, and the only man in Araluen that could produce an antidote lived eight days away. The Genovesan also revealed that the target was exposed for a much longer period during hte dance; it was Cassandra. The man who wanted her killed was Iqbal. He is Yusal's brother, and wanted revenge on Cassandra since she reduced his brother to a drooling idiot. The plan was to leave an Arridian crossbow behind, and caused tremendous distrust between both Arridi and Araluen. They were lucky that Will had been extremely alert.
Chapter 1:
A series of accidents has ocurred at Castle Redmont, the stage of Horace and Princess Cassandra's wedding. Desmond, the Baron's head steward, believes that they are not accidents, that they are intentional. Will went to the castle to meet with Desmond about the latest accident, while Halt boards the mail cart to protect it from robberies.
Upon meeting with Desmond, Will questions him about any person working in the castle who might have a grudge against you or the castle as a whole. Desmond replied that Robard had been demoted from assistant steward to a dining hall waiter. Will requested that Robard meet with him for... a little chat. Will easily pursuaded Robard to tell the truth, whether it be by yelling at him or lying saying that two people saw him commit the crime, when they had not. After their discussion, Will proposed that they discuss matters further tomorrow, and let Robard sweat on the possible punishments overnight.
Chapter 2:
Early in the morning, a steward from the dining hall sprints from the castle to Will's cabin, and announces, "It's Robard, sir, the former trainee. He's dead!" After arriving at the scene, Will asks questions such as "Was there a note- suicides usually leave notes." and "Was the body moved from its original position?" Desmond replied 'no' to both answers. Will looked around and found two names: Serafino and Mordini, Toscan names, he thought. Will left to ask around the village, starting with his child-hood friend Jenny, a restauranteur, about any information related to their profession. She said no, but they might know at the inn where the two Toscans stayed. After discussing the Toscans with Joel, he revealed that they were wool buyers. Will then asked to see the Toscans' room, since it has not been re-lent to any other costomers. After inspecting the room, will concludes that there was a slightly sweet smell, but he could not place what it was. Then, he talked to the local wool buyer, Barrett, and he said that the Toscans did not even visit his store.
Later that evening, Will was braiding a new bowstring since the present one on his bow had frayed. While rubbing beeswax along the string, he recognized the smell as the same from the Toscan's room. Beeswax was used by archers to strengthen their bowstrings, and by crossbowmen as well. This made Will start to think. The Toscans might not even be Toscans at all, but from a neighboring city-state whose people spoke with similar accents- Genovesans. Genovesans were contract killers and murderers who worked exceptionally well with poison. What if Robard's death had not been suicide, but due to poisoning by the Genovesans? And who are they going to kill?
Chapter 3:
The new foreign arrivals had erased the urgency in his finding of the so-called Genovesans. Maybe he had just over-reacted. The first was Erak, Oberjarl of Skandia, a long-term friend of Cassandra. Next was Selethen, Wakir of the Arridi province, Al Shabah. But, when Will ran into Desmond a day later, that urgency was restored. There was a table plan for the banquet of the wedding with the events listed in order in Robard's room. These events included Entry, Meal service and speeches, Dance, Departure. There was a small mark beside the word Dance. There was another mark right opposite the bridal table. Will went to check out the mark opposite the bridal table. There was a half-built platform with an ideal vantage point if someone wanted to harm the King. Meanwhile, Will needed to get started on his speech, as he was best man. But, the doubt of an assassination was too great to get Will's creative juices flowing, so he went to sleep, postponing his speech even one day closer to the wedding.
Chapter 4:
Two days later, the matter was driven from his mind by the arrival of Wolfwill. Wolfwill had been assigned the longest trip of all, bringing in the guest with the greatest distance to travel. Shigeru, Emperor of Nihon-Ja, had arrived for Horace's wedding. Horace, Cassandra, Will and Halt had helped restored order when an uprising occured in Shigeru's country. When Will brought up his most recent findings to Cassandra and King Duncan, they simply waved off the matter, stating that the most recent false alarm for an assassination had been but only three weeks ago, and they would never postpone the wedding.
Chapter 5:
The day of the wedding had arrived, and Will had never gotten around to rewriting his speech. It was a beautiful sunny day for a wedding in the courtyard of Castle Redmont. Baron Arald of Redmont performed the ceremony. The King was giving his daughter away. And Shigeru had been granted the position of Patron-Sponsor of the wedding.
After the wedding had progressed and the vows taken, it was time for the banquet- and the speeches.
The first of these was the Patron-Sponsor of the wedding, Shigeru. As created by Lady Pauline during hers and Halt's wedding, the duty of Patron-Sponsor was to convey an expensive present upon the newly-weds. He granted them the castle of Hashan-Ji, with income from its surrounding farmlands and timber forests. It is also quite close to the Emperor's summer palace. Horace respectfully declined the income- but gladly kept the castle- and requested that all future income from the castle be shared among the families of those Kikori who gave their lives in the war against Arisaka, the upriser who tried to kill Shigeru. Will had still never written his speech because it burned in a fire some weeks ago, and it may have turned out to bee a good thing. After reciting an amazing speech, a swallow was released and perched on a massive support beam. His eyes registered something else, a detail that was overlooked, so he went to check it out.
Will ran to the Skandian table and grabbed Nils, extra security in case he had to fight Genovesans. They both ran up the stairs. Will realized why the mark had been placed against the word Dance. King Duncan would be most exposed as he danced with the bride, making him a perfect target. Will heard a burst of applause as Horace finished his speech. Will had only seconds until Duncan would be killed.
As Will crashed through the door, he instantly recognized the two men in their dull purple cloaks as Genovesans. He quickly drew his saxe knife and threw it at the crossbow string of the first Genovesan, severing it in half, and his throwing knife at the second, killing the man. Nils yelled "Get down," as he hurled his weapon at the Genovesan who was, until a few moments before, holding the crossbow. Will rose and sprinted back down the stairs, just making back for his wedding dance with Alyss.
Chapter 6:
A group assembled in Baron Arald's office looked up as Halt entered the room. Halt had been assigned the task of interrogating the surviving assassin. Genovesans usually did not talk or respond to death threats. But, Halt threatened to infect him with one of his own poisoned arrows, and the only man in Araluen that could produce an antidote lived eight days away. The Genovesan also revealed that the target was exposed for a much longer period during hte dance; it was Cassandra. The man who wanted her killed was Iqbal. He is Yusal's brother, and wanted revenge on Cassandra since she reduced his brother to a drooling idiot. The plan was to leave an Arridian crossbow behind, and caused tremendous distrust between both Arridi and Araluen. They were lucky that Will had been extremely alert.
Friday, March 9, 2012
March 9, 2012
Purple Prose:
Chapter 1:
Will is eating dinner at Halt and Lady Pauline's house. He tells them bothhis speech, although it is a little... shall we say poetic. After hearing the first few lines of Will's speech, Lady Pauline proposes a change: just speek from your heart, like you did at our wedding [hers and Halt's.] He replied that he would think about it- simplifying his speech so that Halt could understand the flourid language heard in his speech.
Chapter 2:
After an unsuccessful day hunting for Jenny's restaurant, Will decided to give his speech another go by reading it to both his dog, Ebony, and his horse, Tug. They responded like all pets do when they are bored- they went to sleep.
Chapter 3:
Will was in the middle of rating Redmont's Battlescholl in the annual report to the King when Halt walked in to his cabing. Halt went on, saying that we [Halt and Will] have a mission: track down and defeat the Moondarkers. The Moondarkers are ship wrekers who lay false beacon fires to make the ship's captain think that he has reached port. Will brought his speech with him on his journey so that he could work on it in the evening. On the ride, Halt and will made a plan of action. They would scout around and look for signs that the Moondarkers are getting ready for an assault. The Moondarkers would need to build a beacon fire to grasp the attention of ships passing by. This fire would need to be prepared days in advance, so there would be a good chance that would be located outside in the open.
Chapter 4:
The pair of rangers first went to see the actual beacon in the town of Hambley. But, the tall headland behind it hides the beacon from the view of any ship coming down the coast from the north. Beyond that headland hill is a beach. Halt thinks that is where the Moondarkers will build the false beacon. During the first war agains Morgarath, the army was too preoccupied with winning the war that they did not focus on capturing criminals. After Morgarath was defeated, Halt and Crowley drove them out of Araulen. But they are back again. It took Halt less than two hours to find the Moondarkers' campsite. There were a sixteen people that Halt could see, all of them men, working tirelessly to pitch their tents before the evening meal. A delicious aroma of meat roasting over a fire filled Halt's nostrils. He thought that he had done enough recon for tonight, and headed back to Will.
Chapter 5:
Halt decided that he might need to get some help from the local villagers. Since Will will be attending to the beacon fire, Halt will single handedly take on the sixteen Moondarkers. Will will throw a packet filled with colored dye into the fire, producing a change in color of the flames, either a deep red or yellow. The ship captain will see the flames change color, realize that this is not the real beacon, and head back out too sea. The next day, the Moondarkers went to work building the false beacon. A messenger arrived saying that he spotted a ship a geat distance away. There was shouting as the already-cut firewood was stacked into the beacon, ready to be lit at a moment's notice.
Chapter 6:
Will could see a ship in the distance. Halt reasoned that since the wind was blowing against the ship, it would take approximately two hours for the ship to get level to the false beacon. Then he left to go rouse the Watch from the village to combat the Moondarkers. He left it late so that, unlikely as it may sound, the villagers would have no time to warn the Moondarkers of the Rangers' presence in the area. Will then started to move into position. Some time later, Will was about a hundred meters away from the beacon. He looked seaward and was startled about how quickly the ship had traveled. Will proceeded towards the false beacon, only to be confronted by the words, "What the blazes are you up to," and the wind of a battleax as it whipped past his face, missing him by mere centimeters.
Chapter 7:
Instinctively, Will's saxe knife leaped from his scabbard into his hand, startled by the sudden appearance of the large man wielding the battleax. Will drew a striker out of his satchel; Gilian had advised him to jump off a cliff if you ever have to face a battleax with just two knives. te threw The striker, knocking the man out. Will had only seconds to act, as the ship was coming close to beaching. He threw his satchel containg the pouch of dye into the fire, and a blinding pillar of vivid purple flame shot seven meters into the air. The ship at sea turned back to safe waters, recognizing the beacon on the beach as a fake. Will dashed over to Halt and the Watch, aware of fierce fighting going on around the beach.
When they rode home a few days later, Will was in a gloomy mood. First, his bow was ruined in the fight with the ax-man. Also, when he threw his satchel into the fire, his speech was in that satchel, Will's only copy of the speech. He had made notes about the speech... but they were also in the satchel. And Will could not even remember a single word of the speech. Halt prompted Will, by asking who the speech was written for, and then went on to ask other questions. The answers to Halt's questions became the foundation for Will's speech, words from the bottom of his heart. The fact that Will's speech was in the satchel did clarify one detail. It was why the flames turned purple- it was not hte dye, it was Will's speech.
Chapter 1:
Will is eating dinner at Halt and Lady Pauline's house. He tells them bothhis speech, although it is a little... shall we say poetic. After hearing the first few lines of Will's speech, Lady Pauline proposes a change: just speek from your heart, like you did at our wedding [hers and Halt's.] He replied that he would think about it- simplifying his speech so that Halt could understand the flourid language heard in his speech.
Chapter 2:
After an unsuccessful day hunting for Jenny's restaurant, Will decided to give his speech another go by reading it to both his dog, Ebony, and his horse, Tug. They responded like all pets do when they are bored- they went to sleep.
Chapter 3:
Will was in the middle of rating Redmont's Battlescholl in the annual report to the King when Halt walked in to his cabing. Halt went on, saying that we [Halt and Will] have a mission: track down and defeat the Moondarkers. The Moondarkers are ship wrekers who lay false beacon fires to make the ship's captain think that he has reached port. Will brought his speech with him on his journey so that he could work on it in the evening. On the ride, Halt and will made a plan of action. They would scout around and look for signs that the Moondarkers are getting ready for an assault. The Moondarkers would need to build a beacon fire to grasp the attention of ships passing by. This fire would need to be prepared days in advance, so there would be a good chance that would be located outside in the open.
Chapter 4:
The pair of rangers first went to see the actual beacon in the town of Hambley. But, the tall headland behind it hides the beacon from the view of any ship coming down the coast from the north. Beyond that headland hill is a beach. Halt thinks that is where the Moondarkers will build the false beacon. During the first war agains Morgarath, the army was too preoccupied with winning the war that they did not focus on capturing criminals. After Morgarath was defeated, Halt and Crowley drove them out of Araulen. But they are back again. It took Halt less than two hours to find the Moondarkers' campsite. There were a sixteen people that Halt could see, all of them men, working tirelessly to pitch their tents before the evening meal. A delicious aroma of meat roasting over a fire filled Halt's nostrils. He thought that he had done enough recon for tonight, and headed back to Will.
Chapter 5:
Halt decided that he might need to get some help from the local villagers. Since Will will be attending to the beacon fire, Halt will single handedly take on the sixteen Moondarkers. Will will throw a packet filled with colored dye into the fire, producing a change in color of the flames, either a deep red or yellow. The ship captain will see the flames change color, realize that this is not the real beacon, and head back out too sea. The next day, the Moondarkers went to work building the false beacon. A messenger arrived saying that he spotted a ship a geat distance away. There was shouting as the already-cut firewood was stacked into the beacon, ready to be lit at a moment's notice.
Chapter 6:
Will could see a ship in the distance. Halt reasoned that since the wind was blowing against the ship, it would take approximately two hours for the ship to get level to the false beacon. Then he left to go rouse the Watch from the village to combat the Moondarkers. He left it late so that, unlikely as it may sound, the villagers would have no time to warn the Moondarkers of the Rangers' presence in the area. Will then started to move into position. Some time later, Will was about a hundred meters away from the beacon. He looked seaward and was startled about how quickly the ship had traveled. Will proceeded towards the false beacon, only to be confronted by the words, "What the blazes are you up to," and the wind of a battleax as it whipped past his face, missing him by mere centimeters.
Chapter 7:
Instinctively, Will's saxe knife leaped from his scabbard into his hand, startled by the sudden appearance of the large man wielding the battleax. Will drew a striker out of his satchel; Gilian had advised him to jump off a cliff if you ever have to face a battleax with just two knives. te threw The striker, knocking the man out. Will had only seconds to act, as the ship was coming close to beaching. He threw his satchel containg the pouch of dye into the fire, and a blinding pillar of vivid purple flame shot seven meters into the air. The ship at sea turned back to safe waters, recognizing the beacon on the beach as a fake. Will dashed over to Halt and the Watch, aware of fierce fighting going on around the beach.
When they rode home a few days later, Will was in a gloomy mood. First, his bow was ruined in the fight with the ax-man. Also, when he threw his satchel into the fire, his speech was in that satchel, Will's only copy of the speech. He had made notes about the speech... but they were also in the satchel. And Will could not even remember a single word of the speech. Halt prompted Will, by asking who the speech was written for, and then went on to ask other questions. The answers to Halt's questions became the foundation for Will's speech, words from the bottom of his heart. The fact that Will's speech was in the satchel did clarify one detail. It was why the flames turned purple- it was not hte dye, it was Will's speech.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
March 8, 2012
The Inkwell and The Dagger:
Chapter 6:
After watching the portcullis of the castle for the day, the observer on the hill noticed a small covered cart drawn by a single horse, with an unmistakable cloak of a Ranger controlling it. Ten minutes later, a second cart- larger than the first- emerged from the castle and headed toward the forest. Lord Foldar had told the observes the exact plan of the two carts- the real and the decoy. Everyting was going according to plan. Foldar chose to attack the large cart. He and his men charged, only to fall by the deadly accuracy of the Ranger, Gilian, and his troop of archers. Knowing that his plan had failed, and that his nine man squad had been reduced to three, Foldar retreated. Ranger Gilian galloped in pursuit. Gilian's horse was majorly faster than Foldar's battlehorse, so he caught up to Foldar with ease. They jumped to the ground and started their duel. In reality, the money was in the decoy cart the whole time. Without telling Foldar's informer, possibly the Baron or the seneschal, Gilian transferred the money from the large wagon to the small cart. Gilian, being a master swordsman, quickly defeated Foldar, thus making Araulen a safer place.
Chapter 7:
Gilian immediately went to the Baron's office, to unravel the truth about Foldar's informant in the castle. After questioning Philip in front of the Baron, it was revealed that Philip was not the informant. After all, why bother to repay the money that borrowed from the treasury if you were planning to steal it anyway? The fact is, Baron Douglas is Foldar's informant. The Baron glanced around the room for a way to escape. He found a dagger that was lying on the desk, and dove for it. But Philip was quicker. He dove forward, scooped up the heavy inkwell, and threw its contents into the Baron's eyes. Gilian said, appropriately naming the story,"I've heard that hte pen is mightier than the sword, but I never knew the inkwell could be mightier than the dagger."
Chapter 6:
After watching the portcullis of the castle for the day, the observer on the hill noticed a small covered cart drawn by a single horse, with an unmistakable cloak of a Ranger controlling it. Ten minutes later, a second cart- larger than the first- emerged from the castle and headed toward the forest. Lord Foldar had told the observes the exact plan of the two carts- the real and the decoy. Everyting was going according to plan. Foldar chose to attack the large cart. He and his men charged, only to fall by the deadly accuracy of the Ranger, Gilian, and his troop of archers. Knowing that his plan had failed, and that his nine man squad had been reduced to three, Foldar retreated. Ranger Gilian galloped in pursuit. Gilian's horse was majorly faster than Foldar's battlehorse, so he caught up to Foldar with ease. They jumped to the ground and started their duel. In reality, the money was in the decoy cart the whole time. Without telling Foldar's informer, possibly the Baron or the seneschal, Gilian transferred the money from the large wagon to the small cart. Gilian, being a master swordsman, quickly defeated Foldar, thus making Araulen a safer place.
Chapter 7:
Gilian immediately went to the Baron's office, to unravel the truth about Foldar's informant in the castle. After questioning Philip in front of the Baron, it was revealed that Philip was not the informant. After all, why bother to repay the money that borrowed from the treasury if you were planning to steal it anyway? The fact is, Baron Douglas is Foldar's informant. The Baron glanced around the room for a way to escape. He found a dagger that was lying on the desk, and dove for it. But Philip was quicker. He dove forward, scooped up the heavy inkwell, and threw its contents into the Baron's eyes. Gilian said, appropriately naming the story,"I've heard that hte pen is mightier than the sword, but I never knew the inkwell could be mightier than the dagger."
Friday, March 2, 2012
March 2, 2012
The Inkwell and The Dagger
Chapter 3:
After discussing his plans with Crowley, Gilian set off for Highcliff. Upon arrival at the gate in the castle wall, Gilian was met by a sergeant. The sergeant looked doubtfully at Gilian's weaponry, an armament containing a sword, since swords were not usually carried by Rangers, but eventually let him through. When Gilian entered the castle, he asked to see the seneschal. After talking to the seneschal for a while, Gilian asked him if he knew about Foldar. The seneschal replied that he knew Foldar and Morgarath at Castle Gorlan. Now, Gilian was intrigued as he had never met someone who knew both Foldar and Morgarath. Then, Gilian requested to see the baron, but he was out hunting, so Gilian went to his quarters to ponder the recent events and his plan for the next few days.
Chapter 4:
Gilian traveled to the local inn, as innkeepers were well-informed about the recent gossip. He asked the inkeeper, Maeve, about what she knew about the seneschal, Philip. Maeve replied that Philip was a good administrator, if he can keep away from the dice. He ran up an immense debt with the other gamblers at the Swan tavern. Although Philip does not come to Maeve's business, she has seen him a couple of times late at night, heading toward Ambrose's house. Ambrose was a man who gambled against Philip. Gilian had a lot of information to digest after this lengthy conversation, so Gilian said good-bye, and left. On the ride back to the castle, Gilian was attacked by two assassins. Gilian's horse, Blaze, "panicked" to provide as a distraction for Gilian to roll out from the horse and hide underneath his camouflaged cloak. The two assassins, thinking that they had killed Gilian, used their leader's true name when he arrived to confirm that they had killed their man. Lord Foldar knew that Gilian was here in Highcliff tracking him, and there were only two people who knew Gilian's true mission.
Chapter 5:
Gilian watched as Philip, one of the two people who knew his mission, clumsily walked past Gilian hidden in the shadows underneath his cloak. Philip was carrying a large white sack, presumably filled with money, and a lot of it. Gilian had spied on Philip earlier and watched him depart from a secret entrance to the castle, with the same sack, only it was empty. Since Philip was moving slowly, Gilian had ample time to beat Philip back to the castle and choose an unobserved spot to watch what Philip does with the money. Gilian noticed that when Philip returned from the strong room, the place where the castle's money is kept, he was not carrying the sack of money.
Gilian then proceeded to the Baron's quarters, to reveal his plan for capturing and defeating Foldar. He plans to put the money in a small cart, defended only by himself, and send it off approximately ten minutes before the usual one. But, Foldar will be watching the castle, so he will see the first cart leave. He will follow the cart and secure the money. But, Gilian proposes a double bluff. He plans to put the money in its usual convoy to trick Foldar into attacking the small one.
Then, Gilian went to the archery commander to secure six archers for his purpose of defending the convoy.
Chapter 3:
After discussing his plans with Crowley, Gilian set off for Highcliff. Upon arrival at the gate in the castle wall, Gilian was met by a sergeant. The sergeant looked doubtfully at Gilian's weaponry, an armament containing a sword, since swords were not usually carried by Rangers, but eventually let him through. When Gilian entered the castle, he asked to see the seneschal. After talking to the seneschal for a while, Gilian asked him if he knew about Foldar. The seneschal replied that he knew Foldar and Morgarath at Castle Gorlan. Now, Gilian was intrigued as he had never met someone who knew both Foldar and Morgarath. Then, Gilian requested to see the baron, but he was out hunting, so Gilian went to his quarters to ponder the recent events and his plan for the next few days.
Chapter 4:
Gilian traveled to the local inn, as innkeepers were well-informed about the recent gossip. He asked the inkeeper, Maeve, about what she knew about the seneschal, Philip. Maeve replied that Philip was a good administrator, if he can keep away from the dice. He ran up an immense debt with the other gamblers at the Swan tavern. Although Philip does not come to Maeve's business, she has seen him a couple of times late at night, heading toward Ambrose's house. Ambrose was a man who gambled against Philip. Gilian had a lot of information to digest after this lengthy conversation, so Gilian said good-bye, and left. On the ride back to the castle, Gilian was attacked by two assassins. Gilian's horse, Blaze, "panicked" to provide as a distraction for Gilian to roll out from the horse and hide underneath his camouflaged cloak. The two assassins, thinking that they had killed Gilian, used their leader's true name when he arrived to confirm that they had killed their man. Lord Foldar knew that Gilian was here in Highcliff tracking him, and there were only two people who knew Gilian's true mission.
Chapter 5:
Gilian watched as Philip, one of the two people who knew his mission, clumsily walked past Gilian hidden in the shadows underneath his cloak. Philip was carrying a large white sack, presumably filled with money, and a lot of it. Gilian had spied on Philip earlier and watched him depart from a secret entrance to the castle, with the same sack, only it was empty. Since Philip was moving slowly, Gilian had ample time to beat Philip back to the castle and choose an unobserved spot to watch what Philip does with the money. Gilian noticed that when Philip returned from the strong room, the place where the castle's money is kept, he was not carrying the sack of money.
Gilian then proceeded to the Baron's quarters, to reveal his plan for capturing and defeating Foldar. He plans to put the money in a small cart, defended only by himself, and send it off approximately ten minutes before the usual one. But, Foldar will be watching the castle, so he will see the first cart leave. He will follow the cart and secure the money. But, Gilian proposes a double bluff. He plans to put the money in its usual convoy to trick Foldar into attacking the small one.
Then, Gilian went to the archery commander to secure six archers for his purpose of defending the convoy.
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