Seeking...

While Uller went to a roamers' campsite nearby -allegdly seeking out prostitutes- the others went into town to buy and sell. New weapons, better armor, the works. Uller found himself surrounded by two lovely women, sisters to add to the flavor. But it turned out the man wanted nothing else but a warm and friendly chat.

Returning from their morning spree, the others found Urek in Berthold's tent, trying to scribble down a coat of arms. Symon recognised it immediately as that of House Longheart, the House Eddard claimed to hail from. A quick round of questions and answers later, the suspicion on Eddard as a culprit in the poisoning of the little lord rose to a peek. Urek had stumbled across a pile during his strolls in the forest, and upon his search, had seen that device on a tunique. Amongst the clothes he also had found a rolled-up tent and some weaponry. As soon as Uller returned, he saw the Maester of Cider Hall standing partly covered by a tent receiving something. He reached his neck to see what exactly was going, but at that time the Maester was already returning to the Hall.

The men decided to round up and go after Eddard. Leading them towards the spot where he thought he saw a man looking at him and then running away, Urek found one of his arrows again, but no sign that there had indeed been someone running through the woods. Symon and Arys stayed behind on the look-out, while Berthold and the others went to seek the pile.

Not long after Symon and Arys had hidden themselves, they saw movement on the hill top. A shadowy figure of an animal, black with white stripes crossing its large body. Arys recognised the creature being a shadowcat and found himself puzzled why these mountain animals were roaming in the Reach. They decided to let the animal go unharmed and later joined up with Berthold's crew again.

At the site of the pile they found the clothes gone and some of the weaponry missing. Berthold tracked two set of feet, one coming to the pile and another one leaving it. They set out after the tracks. These quickly led them to a main road. A search left and right ruled out the direction this mysterious man was heading... back to the village, apparentlty.

Topping a hill, the search party was riding towards a group of Night's Watchmen, who were heading away from the town with a few prisoners to be taken to the Wall. It did not strike them at first but while they were riding towards these Brothers, Urek had sneaked away. The Brothers, interests peaked with the mentioning of Urek's name, asked to be received at Berthold's tent later that evening. Ser Yronwood agreed, puzzled by the black man's sudden eloping.

The tracks they were following were hidden under dozens of other footsteps, so the band returned empty-handed to their tents. Urek was already there, and soon found himself subject of a genuine crossfire of questions. He turned out to be a Brother of the Night's Watch on the run. If he were to be catched, death would await. Berthold offered him protection in exchange for an oath of allegiance and Urek joined the Yronwood Household as Parak, just another ordinary servant. The men would hide the black clothes and discard of any other sign pointing to Urek's true identity.

Meanwhile, not wanting anything to do with these brawly talks, Alanys went to see the horse trainer. He had agreed to assist her in her further development as a horse trainer. After a few exercises, they both withdrew themselves to a shed where a steed was kept. Alanys, confident by earlier successes, was to ease the animal and come out with it, either riding or leading it. That seemed not such a succes. The horse trainer had to step in to avoid Alanys being kicked to the death.

The horse trainer returned the wounded Alanys to the camp site, arriving at the same time with a soldier bearing a message. Alanys' wounds were tended to, while Berthold allowed Symon to take the message. In it, The Grey Sisters apologised profusely for the fact that Mollos' body had vanished: the lid of the coffin had been broken apart, and there was no sign of the dead knight.

White ravens flew over...

Two funerals and a banquet

During a visit to House Morrigen to show his last respects to the fallen squire by the hands of his own, Symon not only found a patron but also saw the opportunity to rise House Withers back to its former standing. His end of the deal for accepting the money and support was clouded in mistery. One day his services would be called upon... No time to ponder long though. The competition continued. Had Longheart, Eddard's knight arrived timely? And where was the strange squire anyway? No one had seen him since his victory at the squires' mêlée... Trumpets sounded, calling all knights to the grounds.

The jousting started excellent. All three managed to escaped both death and utter humiliation in their first round. Symon stepped down after a risky joust -although encouraged not to do so by his squire Arys- and it would seem he was among the first to use common sense. Two knights fell. Deadly wounded or dead on the spot. The lances and keen eyes of Berthold and Mollos won. The toss determined that the two befriended knights would compete against eachother. Suspense filled the tournament grounds and the hearts of our companions. Who would prevail? To what cost? Would either one of them back down in time? Or would their hunger for glory, renown and -above all- financial profit take the best of them? Lances at the ready they spurred their steeds. Breathing stopped, hearts pounding, adrenaline pumping...

A shattering, the deadening sound of breaking wood.

As dust fell down around the stamping hooves, Berthold sat straight-up in his saddle. At his feet lay Mollos, pierced with the hardened tip of Yronwood's lance. In the mere minutes Mollos' soul fought for survival, Uller tried to sew the wounds, stop the bleeding, anything... yet all was in vain. The eyes broke, their stare towards the heavens... fixed upon the Stranger's face, who had come to guide him beyond this vale of tears.

There was no time for mourning however, as Berthold was to face the last knight in the final joust. A match worth watching. Both took damage as lances splintered, crashed upon the shields and again they launched themselves forward. Innumerable rounds they reeled in their steeds, turned, rode again. Again. Again. Until Loras Rowan missed. Another dead man to be collected by the Grey Sisters. One more name added to the list.

Surprise at the start of the knights' mêlée. The young lord Tyrell, heir of Cider Hall, had succumbed to his illness. A young man replaced him under the balcony. A new appearance shook the crowds a second time: a stranger, Dornish of descent presumably considering his physique, joined the other knights at the fighting grounds. Cloaked in white fur, armed with a shield and spear, bearing a self-assured smile. He took the west corner, Symon the north, Berthold the east and Dayne the south. Step by step they moved closer towards eachother. Dayne, Symon and Berthold formed some sort of triangle at the center. They crashed down on the white-cloak. Blows were exchanged at a high pace, taunts followed by a quick step aside, shields rattled. With cunning, well-placed strikes and sudden shifts of adversaries, whirling around blades, evading spear points at the last second, Berthold prevailed a second time.

That evening all were invited to a banquet at Cider Hall. Before riding off, Perros decided to search for Eddard. Arriving at his camp site, he found the squire had dissapeared. His search of the tracks lead him over the little creek at the end of the camping grounds, in the direction of the woods. No further sign. As if Eddard had gone up in smoke.

Upon their arrival at Cider Hall, it became clear that the Hall was nothing more than a little keep. One large hall, the roof beamed with cider trees, was the main and only living area. Four long tables were set up before the small table of honor. Our friends took their places amongst the other 80 or so invited. The meal began as Lord Tyrell, accompanied by the lady, the House's maester, a young man and the commander of the guard took their places. Drink offerings were made in honor of the young heir and soon all names of those fallen the last days followed. Eyes flew over the crowds to see how 'enthousiastic' offerings were joined. The young man sitting at the lefthand side of the lord was introduced as his lord's nephew. He would, in time, inherit the lands of his uncle. Cheers flowed through the Hall, short and doubting. While one envigorating dish followed the other, a visitor was brought forward. A man, in his late thirties, dressed in black. A man of the Night's Watch, a band of former criminals exiled to the North to protect the Wall from whatever was lurking in the lands of Always Winter. A criminal. Whispered voices arose as this stranger was invited to dine at the lord's table. Surely that was unheard of...

After the lord had taken his leave, the musicians continued to liven up the Hall. All seemed to relax a bit more and conversation became less public as several men and women withdrew themselves in corners and niches. Arys had an akward but rewarding conversation with the white-cloaked knight. After conversing with Symon, White -as he preferred to have himself called- agreed on teaching the squire how to use spears. First lesson was to be held before the break of dawn the next day. Yronwood and his escort, Alanys of the West, had a little talk with Mareq Dayne on the subject of the little lord's demise and Eddard's dissapearance, while Perros laid down his ears to the gossip of the other squires. None had seen him since the mêlée.
The Night's Watchman seemed to intrigue Yronwood as well. Straightforwardly looking the stranger in the eye seemed to peak his interest too. As the black cloak made his way through the crowd towards Berthold, Arys sneaked up on him from behind. The wachtman's name was Urek, he said. Since Berthold -hailing from the deep south- had not yet heard of the practices of the Night's Watch, a lively conversation followed. They decided to meet up again the next day.
As everyone took their leave, Symon saw something strange. As he made for the door, a young serving maid quickly eloped him. He turned to look, but she already stood at the other end of the Hall, her back turned towards him. No one else had seen anything peculiar about the maid, and none could really recall her having served them, so Symon left it at that. Seeing that Ser Morrigen was leaving the Hall on foot, with his companions already riding off before him, Symon decided to accompany his patron in case anything was to happen to him. It was an uneventful stroll.

Upon their arrival at the camping grounds, they witnessed Urek setting up his tent at the edge of the grounds near the creek. Apparently the commander of the guards had given him leave to camp there. Since Berthold had already dropped off his escort at her wagon, and possibly because his inquiring mind had still some reserve about this Umek, the conversation from earlier continued.

Alanys did not feel like sleeping yet, so she left her wagon in search for the stable master of the inn she visited earlier. She was determined to learn how the man had been able to handle her war horse so quickly and without effort. She found him asleep, and although the stable boys were adamant at waking him up, she decided not to. The old man could probably do with a good night sleep, she must have thought. As she rode back to her wagon, she suddenly felt something pulling her out of the saddle. Opening her eyes again after tumbling to the ground she found -to her surprise- her neck pricked with a dagger. The two thieves wanted the contents of her purse. She quickly handed it over, climbed back on and drove off. She cared little for her purse, it only had some copper and some ladies' stuff in it anyway.

The next morning, before the crack of dawn, Arys went to see his teacher, White. A few runs later, and with one foot wounded, he returned to his master with the news that White had agreed to train him. After breakfast, Berthold and Symon rode off to the archery range to meet with Dayne, White and Morrigen. Five arrows each, to be shot at the same time, would determine the winner of the archery contest. Helped with a small amount of some special herbs from Uller, Symon aimed his arrows slightly better than the others. He won the last round of competition.

The end of the competition was immediately followed by the awards. Arys, as winner of the squires' joust, received 280 moons. Eddard, as he was not present, did not collect his sum. Perros received 210 moons for winning the archers'. Conclusively all were awarded a gold-laquered token as proof of their actions.

The first tournament had ended. Our friends did better than many of the other squires and knights. At least, they can still climb in the saddle and ride off...

p.s.: A large loaf of bread costs 1 copper penny (CP). Ten pennies are replaced by a coin named a star (CS). Five stars make a silver stag (SS). Ten stags equal a moon (SM). Twenty-five moons make a dragon (GD). Or, reversed:
1 GD = 25 SM
25 SM = 250 SS
250 SS = 1 250 CS
1 250 CS = 12 500 CP

280 SM, the winnings of Arys, make a lot of bread...

Say for instance, that a man would like to purchase the best weapons, armor, and horse. Without even buying vital stuff like tents or bedrolls he would have to spent about 14 000 SS (1400 SM or 56 GD). Considering the fact that an artisan can make a decent living with half a stag a day... Not every man has the privilege to ride around on a fancy horse with posh pink feathers.

The Killing Fields

The squires' tourney ended with two winners in our heroes' team. Arys won the joust whilst piercing the armor of his unlucky contestant of House Morrigen. None of our heroes joined in the mêlée. Luckily. Eddard of Longheart, the squire travelling without his knight, did compete and pulled a few tricks out of his sleeves. After some misleading manoeuvres he was declared winner of the sandy battle. Although heavily wounded and barely capable of holding a bow still, Perros managed to aim better and more precise than any other contestant. Almost certain that the bandages and stimuli of Uller had something to do with that.

During the end of the chaotic jousting (Eddard was literally thrown out of the jousting), the ensuing heated emotions during the mêlée and the pulsating tension of the archery the little lord -who was presiding the tourney- took ill, and was returned to Cider Hall under guidance of the House's Maester.

With two out of three wins for our company, spirits were uplifted. All eyes were now turned to the squires' masters. Would Berthold, Mollos and Symon live up to the expectations of their pupils?

The Squires' Tournament - The Joust

After setting up camp, the band of friends split up as those of some House renown go pay their respects to the higher Houses, such as House Dayne. When courtesies and plaisantries are exchanged each return to the tent. They meet up with Eddard, affiliated to the House of Longheart, whose patron is arriving later. After a little excursion into the village foraging for wine, all return to their bedrolls.

The next day the Jousting for Squires start. Eddard is quickly eliminated and luck quickly runs out for Perros as well. He's mortally wounded when a lance pierces through his light armour. Hopefully he can recover enough for the mêlée, if he would choose to participate.

Arys shows that bravery is close to stupidity as he continues his round of competition standing on the ground, instead of being mounted. As a token of his respect, his competitor petitions to the presiding lord that both contestants are allowed to continue the ladder competition.

For honor and glory!

The last companion has joined the group under the Yronwood banner. Mollos Oakheart from the Reach has met his old friends once again. Together they ride off to Cider Hall where House Tyrell has declared that three tournaments for squires will be held. Champions will have to compete in jousts, mêlée and archery. Three tournaments in total will take place: one on the grounds of Cider Hall, one in Bronzegate and the final one in the Crownlands. Enrollment fees are 100 moons per squire per tournament. When the squire tournaments are finished, knights will have the possibility to compete in the same three disciplines, free of charge.

Berthold Yronwood, determined to shine in glory, has sought out the skills and knowledge of the reputed Alanys of the West, horse trader and first merchant to determine the worth of outlandish coinage. Her capabilities and bargaining skills have already proven their worth when the knights wished to purchase tournament lances. The bantering did not end in favor for the sorry craftsman and it would seem that the deal closed, both by Yronwood and Flowers, will turn out profitable either way, on loss or victory.

Uller of Oldstones has been taken on as a man of medicine in order to ensure that both squires and knights will be able to perform at their utmost capabilities during the competition. Whether his healing hands will be able to keep up with inflicted damage remains yet to be seen.

The latter is not the only question remaining...

Prelude

There they stand... Ready to ride off, towards the horizon. Their horses saddled and their possessions packed. A last check-up of their armour and weaponry before they lead their steeds to unknown adventure, certain peril and probable death.


Ser Berthold Yronwood of Dorne, a landed knight.
Perros Sand, his trustworthy squire.
Alanys of the West, a horsetrader.
Arys Moore, a sworn sword with the blood of giants running through his veins, hailing from Arryn's Vale.
Ser Simon Flowers, a hedge knight from the Reach.
Uller of Oldstones, a rejected novice from the Citadel.
An unknown and shadowy figure, hooded for now...

DORNE: The Dornish are a fierce people with skin burned dark by the sun, who live in the cities and towns of the southron deserts. Rhoynish blood still flows strong in this region, the most removed of the Seven Kingdoms. The southernmost kingdom of Westeros, Dorne is a desert land of red mountains and warm winds. Its princes rule from the mountains, the desert, and the sea, following 1,000 years of Rhoynish tradition and rule. Until Princess Nymeria and the Rhoynar crossed the sea, it was populated by the descendants of the Andals and First Men, who fought bloody wars all across its lands. Nymeria married into the Dornish nobility, and their family attained supremacy over the rest of Dorne. The people of Dorne are fiercely independent, but loyal to their rulers; it was the only land to escape the wrath of Aegon the Conqueror and his dragons. Daeron I, the Young Dragon, eventually conquered Dorne, but was unable to hold it as the treachery of its lords soon led to rebellion and independence. Dorne ultimately won peace with the Targaryen kings through marriage and treaty rather than war. It was the last of the Seven Kingdoms to fall under Targaryen rule.

THE REACH: The southron lords dwell in the brightest gardens of the Seven Kingdoms, and maintain the purest heart of chivalry. Knights, tourneys, and romance overflow the cups of the people of the Reach. The Reach is a beautiful region of lush fields and vibrant flower gardens. Its boundaries stretch from the Blackwater Rush in the north to Oldtown in the south, and from the Dornish marches in the east to the shores of the Sunset Sea. These lands are the heart of chivalric tradition in the Seven Kingdoms, and many of the greatest knights come from the House of Tyrell, or their bannerhouses. The fields of golden roses near Highgarden and their elaborate traditions hide a proud and vain people, however, and the ruling house of Tyrell is one of the most ruthless and conniving of all that play the game of thrones. It was not always this way. The Tyrells were once only stewards of the royal house of the Reach, the Gardeners. When the Gardeners were destroyed on the Field of Fire, Aegon raised the Tyrells to supremacy ... but some say the Florents or the Hightowers would have had a better claim.

THE RIVERLANDS: The people of the Trident and Gods Eye bridge the Seven Kingdoms, both with their waterways and their political alliances to both the North and the South. The riverlands are the heart of the Seven Kingdoms. Within its borders are some of the most storied and significant castles in Westeros. House Tully flies its red and blue banners above the castle at Riverrun, while their bannermen, the Freys, guard the river crossing where the Green Fork flows from the swamps of the Neck. New alliances and old rivalries keep the Riverlands in a state of flux, and the winner of the game of thrones may very well be determined on its green fields.

THE VALE OF ARRYN: The Vale is home to a people of one of the purest lines of Andal blood. They have developed a high respect for peace, hospitality, and courtesy, yet are also famed for their honour and skill at arms. A hidden paradise nestled among the sheer peaks of the Mountains of the Moon, the Vale of Arryn is one of the oldest of the Seven Kingdoms as well as one of the most remote. Accessible only by long, treacherous mountain roads or by sea, the Vale has stood apart from the turmoil and intrigues of Westeros since the Kings of Mountain and Vale took the lands from the First Men. The Vale’s isolation — and the depredations of the mountain clansmen — have given rise to both pragmatism and caution among the folk who live there.

THE WESTERLANDS: The Westermen are descended from Andal adventurers, who built a kingdom upon the goldmines of Casterly Rock. West of the Trident and north of the Reach is a region known as the Westerlands, a rocky land of miners and fishermen. The Westerlands are rich in coin, thanks to the many gold mines that dot the surrounding hills and mountains. Additionally, the coastal fisheries and large tracts of grazing land keep the region well fed. The Lannisters of Casterly Rock are the unrivalled rulers of this precious hill country. Through their ruthless actions and the devotion of their enforcers, such as House Clegane, House Lannister has seen every family in the region bend the knee to their lord, Tywin Lannister. The region has been spared the worst ravages of war despite its richness, and the key to winning the Seven Kingdoms may yet lie in who controls these wealthy lands.