Mini-Event: Unrest in the East - Now Active!

Aldric raises his hand to speak again. But this time he stays in his seat and calmly looks at Bromr.

You misinterpret everything I said Sir Bromr. You twisted everything I said with such hatred for the Noldor. I did not say we will let the Noldor burn our cities or destroy this great nation. If they were that dishonorable and barbaric, then we have every right to fight them. But they are not. And I did not say we are to bow our heads and let the Noldor rule us. I only said we are to give them our trust, so that we can gain theirs. We must respect them, so they can respect us. The Noldor and Humans are vastly different in their qualities.Not one is greater than the other. Not one should rule over the other. And I never said that it was we who started the fight. I actually do not know who started the fight between the Noldor and Humans. And at this point, it doesn't matter. If we are given a chance to stop we should take it so no gets hurt between this fight again. I might not understand, but I can tell the Noldor his wronged you. I do not know of your past but I can tell that maybe the Noldor has killed your friends or your family. But let me give you something to think about. What if the fight between the Noldor and Humans never begun? What if the Noldor didn't killed your family or friends because of that?

He calls over a servant and orders a cup of wine. The servant brings the cup of wine to Aldric and Aldric takes a sip while looking at Bromr.

Iskar raised his hand.

As much as I thank you for your calm and wise reply to words drenched in resentment, Aldric, I must say that this is not the place and time to discuss such things. The hour has grown late and there are duties to attend to.
You two can further your discussion in a tavern later, if you like, but now please let us listen to what His Serene Highness has to say to conclude this meeting.

OOC: That was Sir Bromr, not Mat. Anyhow, all you guys are no fun to talk to for a while. I have never seen anyone but the Eventide and the Gauntlets get angry in court...

"If the fight had never begun, then this would have never happened. But it is to late to change what has happened in the past, no? The battle has been going on forever, and no matter what the highborn lords say, whatever they negotiate, the people will not sway. Even now, if you went out and asked a townsman if he trusted the Noldor, the answer would be predominantly no. The High King Mordred has declared that the Noldor are allies, and yet do you see anyone taking them into their houses, anyone trading with them? That is not because they have wronged me, it is because they have wronged the people of Pendor." He trailed off.

"None is better... Bah, and that explains their constant arrogance, their need to control..." he muttered to himself. Mat had sent him to listen, not get into arguments with the others.

A loud clatter came from Sir Ibram's seat, his plated fist rising and falling monotonously against the arm of his chair in assent and approval of the Gauntlet's words, clearly disgruntled and in one of his typical moods. Deigning it a waste of energy to even rise from his seat, his voice rumbles free.

"The first damned decent thing to come out of the Ebony's mouth, I say. You layabouts can dance diplomatically around the subject as much as you please, but the Noldor are suspects, and if that extends to those within the city-limits in possession of their arrows, then Quigfen and his lot can bugger off back to their forests. It's as the Gauntlet says, it would be an unfortunate diplomatic mess if a street mob lynched one of the tree-lovers in the streets, or if one accidentally had their head removed for wandering too closely to the castle, His Grace, or his family." Turning to the Noldor's representative with a superior sneer, the Griffon Knight poses a question riddled with subtle accusation. "After all, what reason does the half-breed have to linger under the same roof as His Grace?"

At last his attention comes to rest on his superior, his marshal, harrumphing contemptuously as he crunches his hand down atop his plated thigh, slowly straightening in his chair.

"Spare a few men? If we were sent here to guard the Duke and instead now are being retasked to lesser deeds, why even bother? Let the upstart popinjay orders scurry through the streets and stumble through the forests. That is not our perogative. One retainer out there means one less gap filled here. As I see it... you're detracting from our standing orders, marshal."

Your concern is reasonable and believe me when I say I will exercise the utmost caution when giving such an order.

But, between ourselves and the castles standing compliment we have more than enough men to cover every known gap for the castle Sir Ibram. We will not be guarding the streets outside the castle.
Finding the assassins is every bit as important to the defense of the Duke as keeping them away so if it be we will do what we must do to assure this issue is kept under control. Furthermore I will only be sending a handful retainers, only if requested, all Knights will be very close to the Duke and his family.

We are guardians of the highest ability and if our Knights couldn't protect the Duke then I doubt anyone
could. Or would you disagree with that?

But this is hardly a courtly issue. We can discuss it later if you like.

“Enough!” thunders the Duke, his formerly so kind of passionate voice now filled with suppressed rage, as he rises and turns towards Sir Ibram. “This half-blood, as you call him, Sir, is a personal friend of mine and has in all the years I have known him, never abused my trust! I will not see him insulted in my court, nor accused of vile crimes without proof. Now hold your tongue! Its insolence poisons my ears.”

Duke Alamar takes a deep breath, obviously trying to regain his countenance. He turns to his wife. The Duchess smiles reassuringly at her husband, soothing him with her eyes where words would have been inappropriate. Those present can see almost watch how the tension flows out of the Duke's body. All the while Quifgen himself remains quiet and serene. He does neither seem offended by Sir Ibram's words, nor does he seem to enjoy the scolding the knight had just received.

“Now, I thank all of you for your council,” Alamar went on. “Wise words were indeed spoken today and I believe that through them, we will be able to overcome this challenge, but only if we work together. Despite of what I have heard of your orders recent misdeeds, I will respect your personal interest in this matter and allow you to take part in the investigation of my city's underworld. Keep in mind though, that the Silvermist rangers still are in charge; their new brothers know Laria well and no doubt will prove invaluable during your hunt for the truth. I expect both orders to put their differences aside. Make no mistake, Knight of the Ebony Gauntlet. What I give you and your comrades is a chance, nothing more. Should I find out that you are causing trouble, or withholding information you might come by, I will not hesitate to expel you from my holdings. I hope I have made myself clear.”

“I also agree that we must send word to the Noldor. They might have information vital to this matter, and in respect of the established peace, I consider it to be my duty to let them now what has happened here. Sir Caranthir, I want you to put together a small group and send them to Elacrai. Find out what you can and report back as soon as possible. I will provide mounts and spare horses for you, so that you might travel swiftly. It is also my wish that you take my son Quentin and a few of his trusted men with you. I am sure they will learn a lot from you, and maybe in return will be able to each you a think or two about mounted archery as well. Have your men ready by noon.”

“Which brings me to my last wish. The assassins themselves are not the only thread we have to deal with. Even though they may have failed in their initial task, the repercussions might pose an equal threat, not only to myself and my family but the whole city. My people are afraid, and fear is a powerful tool in the hands of those who know how to use it. I have already received numerous reports that scared and angry people are beginning to flock together, incited by agitators to take matters into their own hand. We need to react soon, otherwise we might have a riot on our hands.

Therefore, I have made preparations for a small parade to take place tomorrow. We will gather together at Laria castle. From there, we will travel over the great market and head towards the western gate to set our messengers to the Noldor safely on their way. This will give the people of Laria the chance to see that actions are taken to resolve the situation, as well as allowing them to see the respected knights hailing from the marches up close."

The Duke turns towards the Knights of the Griffon.

“I will personally take part in this, and this is not up to discussion. I will not hide behind the castle walls. My people need to see that I am not hiding behind my walls, otherwise it will just be used by evil tongues to justify the fear and anger in the peoples hearts. I am fully aware that this will not make your job any easier, but please understand why I see myself forced to do this. My own men already have received their orders for tomorrow, but I would be grateful, if the Griffon organized whatever help the orders are willing to provide to ensure the safety of the event.”

He pauses, carefully scanning the faces of the crowd, his own emotions once again hidden behind frozen features.

"It is rather late already, and I am sure we are all tired. Therefore, I will leave you to your affairs now. Should the leaders of the orders still think that there are other matters and questions that needed to be discussed, they can find me in my study. Otherwise I bid you a good night. May the gods be with us.”

And with that the Duke and his family departed. The nobles of the Valorshield marches, mumbling among themselves, slowly began to pour out of the audience hall. Soon, the knight's representatives were on their own.

Bromr stared at Quigfen for a few seconds. He's to damned tranquil, he thought. This won't get me anywhere. "Very well, Duke Alamar" He rose, then left the room, heading towards the tavern. "Iskar, go to the tavern. I'll leave men there to go with you in your search."

Caranthir rose and walked towards the door, "I will be in the Chapter house here overseeing the investigation."

Sir Azrael stood and gave a small bow, before following his superior out of the chamber.

“Stupid royal archers, always doing everything so loud and making such a mess” was Theo's first thought.

Time was too tight to allow anyone to issue complicated orders. Seeing that the lords were covered by more knights than enough, Theo decided to do his part. In a mix of shouts and hand movements, he addresse the silvermists:

“Clarion knights, scatter and try to position yourselves on all exits. You are free to stop any suspect that tries to pass through.”.
“Rangers, stay alert for the assassins and attend to Iskar’s orders.”
“Squad, come quickly with me. We are hunting those men.”


The rangers promptly acknowledged the orders and repeated them to those too far away to hear the shouts.

At the same time, Theo and his squad moved quickly to the assassins general direction, jumping, climbing and running over the roofs. They were trying to better position themselves around the place where the arrows first hit, and have a better look from there. With luck, they would see the assassin and start chasing him around.





Azlanek: The Duke's men shot into the crowd. So towards whom are you moving? Please also clarify what people you want to shoot at, because I did not really understood what you meant by that^^°.

EDITED (rewritten, actually. Please read it one more time.)

After the first shock about the sudden happenings, suspicion rose in Iskar. "If I was the assassin, the best distraction I could wish for would be the chaos created by shouting 'Assassins'..." he thought. Seeing that Theo and his squad were already hurrying to investigate the alleged assassins, he shouted:

Do NOT open fire on the crowd, we do not want a bloodbath in the streets of Laria. Just protect the Duke and his family.

The rangers on the other rooftops repeated the orders so everyone was informed. Iskar turned to Cairngrove beside him.

Cairngrove, take a squad and arrest the archer who opened fire. I want to question him later.

Sir Azrael swore, so much for a succesful parade. Without wasting another second he started giving orders to his men:

"12 of you, take positions in nearby corners and try to take the situation under control. Dont jump into the crowd unless necessary. Try to get the crowd to calm down. I and the rest of you scout the houses nearby on this side of the road in case an assassin has taken position in one of them."

The Griffon knights allow this to sink in before rushing to their respective missions.

Sir Ibram, dreary and sombre throughout the parade, utterly indignant at such a secondary role suddenly pauses from his monotonous rotation orders. As the chaos rears its head, he raises a fist in approval of the timely response of the royal archers - or perhaps, merely the fact they have broken the lull in the stormy day. He comes to a halt and about-faces, roaring his orders to the knights behind him.

"Shields up, layabouts! Wedge formation!" He moves through his knights, taking up position at their head, waving them into an ad-hoc, rough-shod infantry wedge. "Into the crowd! Scatter the peasant dogs! If you see anyone with a weapon, take them down with a shield to the face! Rally to that bastard Duke!"

A heartbeat later he is churning his way towards the commoner crowds, ready to layabout himself with his shield and a fist and a howl on his lips.

Caranthir began carefully watching the crowd

"Rangers," Caranthir whispered, "keep an eye out for any suspicious characters and take note of them, and if you must open fire, do it quickly and quietly to avoid more chaos, and whatever you do be sure of your target. I want no innocent casualties from my men."

Sir Mat Waves his hands at first platoon. Instantly they begin entering the buildings and climbing the walls. They do so peacefully but with force. They reach the roofs where they look down upon the crowd with crossbows at the ready in case of an enemies.

He then turs to Second platoon and barks a few short orders. THey rush up in front of the main party and lock shields, forming a riot control point. They do so simply in case of a riot or frontal attack.

Sir Mat finally turns to his command element and they rush to the aid and capture of those who were struck by the archers. Be they friendly or foemen they will be taken care of and brought in for questioning no matter how low and mean they may appear in status.

When Iskar heard that the archers who started it all had deserted their position, even leaving their equipment behind, he was all the more worried.

Perhaps all this was meant to distract our attention from something else. With the Gauntlets and the Griffons down in the streets, we won't be needing the mounted rangers there. Tell them to move to the city gates immediately and stop anyone trying to leave. The mounted rangers patrolling outside the city have to be informed, too.
Also send one squad of rangers to Quigfens manor, one to the Clarion Hall, one to the castle and one to the temple. The remaining five squads are to concentrate on guarding the duke's return to the castle.

Sir Orlando had called for the nearby Griffon Knights to make a formation around the Duke, as he swiftly made his way to the point, scanning his surroundings. They kept a pace and advanced the Duke cautiously, while hearing a few more arrows going into the crowd, and orders being told to troops all across the street. Upon hearing that the first squad, who had fired at the crowd alerting everyone of an assassin, left their gear behind, Sir Orlando was suspicious. He thought to himself that if they were rash enough to do such a thing, and then leave their gear behind, than perhaps they weren't the Duke's men. Those guards could have been spies, and are now hidden amongst the crowd, and possibly making their way to the Duke.

"Be weary men, if there are any assassins in this crowd, they'll be aiming right at the Duke. Keep your head on a swivel and take care in making a close observation of your surroundings!"

He needed to make sure the Knights guarding the Duke were focused and actively monitoring for any movement towards the Duke. He didn't completely believe that they were going to immediately aim for the Duke. If they had posed as guards just to stir up the crowd, it might very well be a tactic they are using to stir up commotion, and make even more civil unrest. If one thing was certain to Sir Orlando right now, it was that crowd control was just as important as catching alleged assassins.