Catriona looked at where the wound used to be. As expected from the few other times she'd received the Power of Arkay, the area was a bit sore. Turning to Cyas, "Thank you Brother Cyas."
Turning to Rion, "Always."
Gawain bows and takes his leave from the king's court to join with his companions and share Arthur's invitation. "This whole story makes me uneasy," the prince admits to them all, still unable to ascertain the motive behind the crime...
Rion nods and bows with deep humility at being invited to speak with Arthur. "I thank you, Sir Gawain of Taelen, for relaying my king's command to me." Straightening up, he focuses on the question at hand. "Indeed, it is troubling and difficult to discern what is happening."
Jevar paused having started to make his way out of the tent. He nodded to Gawain's message. He turned back to the others.
"Alright, lets just make sure we don't confuse our king with our information? It might hamper any further investigations if we accidentally muddle things from the start. The bandits were hired by a Scribe of some Noble or the noble themselves. We have a letter that points to that. They used a common sleep aid, albeit a strong dose of it to subdue the young lass. The leader was the only one to know what really was going on for fear of his friends backstabbing him...and that's about all I remember. Apart from there is an abandoned mine that has more bodies." he said as an afterthought.
Rion listens thoughtfully. "Yes that sounds correct. Let us add the letter-writer said he would send someone along to pick up the girl and deliver the coin. But we will, of course, surrender the letter to His Grace."
Catriona decided to chime in, "Something about the wording doesn't sit right with me. It's almost as if they knew Elmina was going to be in the final tilt. Or am I the only one getting that feeling?"
"Well, to be fair she was the name on many lips to likely win the jousting." Owen told them with a shake of his head. "The Duke wouldn't stop talking about her skills in the days leading up to the tourney."
After a few moment he shook his head. "Go speak with the King, I shall watch after Elmina and our captives for the time." Owen suggested.
Rion nods and heads to the king as soon as the others are ready. "Arthur is wise. Simply providing him with the information will be helpful."
When you return to Arthur he is not alone, with him is a average height thin framed person with long slightly waved black hair. He is dressed in a nice white shirt and pants, with high black boots and a black sleeveless overcoat trimmed in gold and red.
"Ah the knight who found her I take it?" The person asks with a slight tilt of their head. After a few moments you notice this is a man, but one would easily be forgiven for thinking he was a woman at first glance.
"Yes." Arthur answers the man. "Knights this is Lemian." Arthur introduces you all to him. "Because of what you have found I felt the need to call him in upon this matter." He explains.
"Our King has told me only a bit, and said the rest of you might be able to inform me better. Will you kindly go over what happened, and leave no detail out please." Lemian requests.
Trimar looks around at the others and bows his head and steps back allowing one of them the limelight in this situation.
Rions hestates, not thinking himself fit to speak to the king so. But when he sees no one else speak, he bows deeply and steps forward, presenting the letter. "Your grace, we followed the tracks to a mine guarded by a brigand, whom we slew. Inside we found and defeated more of the same, taking their leader alive. We also found the girl Elmina. From this letter that the leader surrendered to us, we conclude they were hired. We do not know by whom." Rion bows again.
It was Lemian who reached out and took the letter before reading it over. "This was written upon paper form a noble scribe." He comments. "I wonder if this was pre-marked then stolen... either way I shall look into it."
"Thank you Lemian." Arthur said with a nod before looking back to his knights. "Gawain and I called you all here to give council." He explained. "It is obvious that they had a plan, but we've no idea why it was for... I worry the pages are in danger."
"Indeed, the motive for the abduction is elusive," Gawain agrees. "Who benefits from the tourney being interrupted, or from the abduction of a page?"
Gawain shakes his head. "In any case, this all casts a shadow on festivities that were meant to bring light to the lives of the people."
Trimar pauses and clears his throat to gather their attention for a moment. "The purpose of these tourneys is for the pages to garner the attention of a knight to take them on as their squire, yes? If that is so...then we have an easy way of shadowing them and protecting them then. It would not be out of line for knights to be seen talking to their potential squires." he offered.
"Of course, if you have a page in mind to be your squire already, then you have the opportunity to really get to know their character in this time while also being there to safeguard them and the tourney from any further plots." he offered as a solution.
He wasn't completely sure of who he would take as a squire at this time or if there is one he'd prefer to shadow. He might end up just getting placed in the end and seeing how it goes.
"You can get many things from pages." Lemian answered Gawain. "Control of the future knights being a core one." He added.
"The pages cannot compete if the knights are by them the whole day. It would also deprive some knights of the chance to watch other pages." Arthur said obviously beginning to get slightly annoyed. "This was suppose to show a new era, a bright future for those who safe guard us, and we can't even safe guard them!" He stated. "But, Trimar's suggestion is a fair one... and if we want to continue this it is likely the best we have... However, the last round of jousting must begin soon... Can young Elmina joust?"
"According to Cleric Genalie, Elmina is going to need the night to recover. The Vavish Bloom really took it out of her."
Rion nods in agreement with Catriona's words. "She will be well but she needs a little time."
Trimar pursed his lips "Perhaps, you could adjust the schedule of the tourney. Hype up the final Joust and get the crowd more eager while giving the young girl time to heal. Putting it after the Archery contest would be a decent time as injuries would be low and so would fatigue." he offered.
He thought a bit more "Though, I don't know when the Melee is, so that might mean one of them might have to bow out of the melee due to injury...well, we do have the Clerics." he said musing aloud mostly.
"You could also surprise the audience with a tourney of knights if ever some of my companions are willing to demonstrate their skill and risk a fracture or two," Gawain proposes. "It would allow some of us to remain in the field, rather than in the stands, to keep an eye on things."
Catriona couldn't stop herself, "That actually sounds like a good idea Ser Gawain. I'm willing to volunteer for such a detail."
Of course, the fact that her Brother would be watching had nothing to do with her volunteering at all.
Arthur rubbed his chin as he turned and paced a bit, thinking hard on the choices before him. The knights had pointed out a few good options but in the end it was Arthur's call. "Hmmm, maybe we could do both. This day is not over and the masses are promised a final joust of the day. I will allow knights who wish to try their hands today. I cannot move Archery up else tomorrow will be lost. But we could place the finals of all events to the final day and remove the grand melee in favor of them." Arthur said.
"Do you all believe that would go over well?"
Catriona thought for a moment, "I believe if the announcement is presented properly, it could go over very well. Perhaps if it were presented that you intended to have us do the final joust for today and save the Pages joust on the last day?"
Rion nods. "Yes I do believe the crowds would only be all the more excited by postponing the finales. That will increase the suspense."
"Mind you, it would be a pity to remove the grand melee," Gawain comments, thinking of the squires who hoped to shine at the event.
"If I extent the games an additional day people will know something went wrong." Arthur pointed out. "Something would have to go, Jousting has already been done, Archery and Dueling give the pages too much chance to show what else they are good at. Though it is true that the grand melee allows us to see what type of character the pages have." He said with a shake of his head.
Lemian looked over the group and his eyes narrowed on Catriona. "Ser Lady Catriona, how well do you sit a horse normally?" He asked.
Taking a knee, "I sit well My King. Although I will need to borrow one since I left Fergus back at the royal stables."
Rion nods in agreement. I've seen her ride. She knows her business.
"The taverns that have tents out here have a fair stock of ale and wines in barrels. If we really wish to keep the people's minds off the face the pages are not Jousting the final bit... we could do a drunken night joust." Lemian offered as a small smirk tugged at his lips. "It could be quiet entertaining."
Rion nods. "Yes that will be good. It will keep the people laughing instead of worrying. I'm not much for jousting and don't drink myself but if necessary, I will play at drunken jousting to keep the peace."
Trimar raised a brow "Won't that be a sloppy mess, the poor Clerics will have a fair bit of practice at the end of the day at least..." he said amused.
"The cleric may have their hands full yes but the minds of the people will be occupied as well." Lemian said with a shrug. "I trust our knights are well enough at their craft that a few flagons of alcohol wouldn't put them too much off their game."
Arthur seemed to stroke his chin thinking. "You know, that isn't a bad idea. But I would like those who wish to participate to agree to such a thing. What say you Catriona?" He asked with a grin.
While not particularly adept at The Game, Cat new well enough that a well timed distraction could go a long way. And what better distraction could there be than 'drunken Knights' making 'complete idiots' out of themselves.
"My King, while I agree with Ser Trimar that injuries would be at a higher than probable outcome, the benefits of such a much needed distraction outweighs the risk. I would do my part to help alleviate the worries of the people."
Trimar looked sideways at Catriona and then back at Lemian and the King. He shook his head "Well, I know better than to question such things. A bit of disadvantages make the audience quite amused and mirthful while watching what is otherwise normally a serious match. It's been a long time since I've held a lance but I suppose I can take one up and compete as well." he said not wanting to be out performed without a fight.
Rion nods somewhat reluctantly. "If my king desires it, I will do it."
"Wonderful!" Arthur said with a small chuckle. "Lemian can you set up for the barrels to be brought to the jousting area?" He asked.
Lemian gave a nod before pocketing the letter he was given and left to do as he was told.
"I thank you for this! I will make arrangements for this, in the mean time will you inform the other knights that are here about what will be happening so that they have some idea?" Arthur requested. "I will inform Duke Lukous about what will be happening and you can send the knights that wish to partake to him."
"We will tell the knights and encourage them to participate," Gawain answers the king. "And while Lemian looks into finding the scribe responsible for writing the letter, we'll take advantage of this time to attempt to discover those responsible for the abduction."
With that, the paladin bows and takes his leave.
Gawain goes from knight to knight talking about the joust that would be happening late tonight and gets a few knights involved.
Ser Drafen was willing to take part, however he seemed to be a little nervous about the fact it was a joust while drunk. Yet is that was what Arthur declared that is what he would do.
Ser Jonith on the other hand seemed rather excited that that the joust will be a drunken joust... and maybe a little too eager to join as he swiftly leaves the prince to tell the Duke he will be joining this.
Ser Seth seems a bit confused at the idea, but his younger brother who was a page in the matches earlier today tells him to just join. Seth seems a bit annoyed with Landon but after his defeat today, Seth agreed if only for his brother.
Ser Lady Napheen was a bit taken with the idea. Being a jouster herself she never though of doing this drunk. But she agreed that she would try it once.
Ser Marrik is the last to agree to take part, though he does take the longest to answer when Gawain asks him to take part. It was as if he was thinking on something or weighing pros and cons.
Having found willing participants, Sir Gawain cannot but participate. As he prepares alongside the other knights, he keeps an eye out for suspicious behaviour – after all, it is entirely possible that their enemies could sabotage this event as well as the last!
Curious about Ser Marrik's caution, Gawain engages the young knight in particular: "I understand your reluctance, but I wonder: other than the risk of some small injury, why would you not participate in the event at your king's request?"
Trimar gathers up a bottle of decent wine while he makes his way to inform the Duke. He wasn't a heathen though, he grabbed up a mug too at some point and kept his cup full. He raised his cup here and there to the others enjoying their day and finally he managed to make it to the Duke.
He made sure to have enough to offer some for the Duke once he got there. "It seems we've got quite the event. It'd be a shame if we didn't all do our part for it, yes? I've come to formally offer my entry into the Drunken Joust." he said chuckling a bit before offering the bottle to the Duke.
"It isn't injury I'm worried about." Marrik answered with a small sigh. "I just... don't do well at night it all." He said.
Duke Lukous gave a small chuckle when Trimar came up offering him a bottle. "It would be interesting to see how you deal with this Trimar." Lukous told him as he waved the bottle away. "I have been informed about the joust for tonight. The casks will be delivered shortly. Tell me Trimar... what do you think of this?" He asked.
Catriona was nervous, not because she was worried about her skills after imbibing some alcohol, it was what she might say to certain parties about her personal revelations.
Trimar shook his head a bit at the Duke turning up his offering. He shrugged and refilled his cup one last time before setting the empty bottle on a nearby table. He looked at the Duke for a moment and shrugged slightly "A drunken joust? Well, if it weren't for the fact that healers would be on hand I'd not step one foot near that jousting field. Even still, there is the chance of death all the same from someone not being able to hold back or even a lax in the muscles at the wrong moment of receiving an attack. But, I don't expect to win merely put on a good show and hopefully make it past the first round or two." he said cheerfully.
He looked upwards almost lost in thought "It'd be quite the sight I imagine from the crowd. I would be having a right laugh up in the crowd cheering on swaying combatants." he said in afterthought.
At that sentence, he put the cup back up to his lips and downed it. He looked at the Duke and smiled devilishly "I aim to be unseated by the evening. With this face and a "bruised ego" from such a loss, I have no doubt I'll find myself someone lovely that would want to take care of such a knight's injuries for the evening." he said laughing out loud.
"Walk with me," Gawain invites the young knight. He leads the way to the poorer part of town, here and there interrupting their conversation to offer alms. Occasionally, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he stops to lay his healing hand on the wounded, offering a caring smile and accepting thanks in the guise of payment.
"We all have secrets," he continues as they walk. And we've all strayed from the right path. Truth be told, I have learned far more from my mistakes than from my successes and I have come to believe that our steel is tempered by trials and failures, not by victory and glory. Does that make sense?"
He allows Ser Marrik to think upon the question before continuing.
"Admittedly, I am curious – and I will atone for it in prayer. But to be fair, I want you to feel free to confide in me as a fellow knight and as a friend. If we are to fight side by side, then shouldn't we trust in each other?"
"Why do you not do well at night?" Gawain asks finally with sincere concern.
"Ah, Catriona yes?" A voice called. Upon turning to see the source a tall woman in minimal armor and a small shield upon her back. This was Napheen, a fellow knight and long spear user. "Lost in thought are you?"
Lukous seemed to nod in agreement at first... then sigh when Trimar got to his bonus point. "You know, this some how isn't a shock coming from you." He stated. "While we wait, tell me what you think of the pages?" Lukous requested.
Marrik joins Gawain on this walk. He watches Gawain and listens to the man as he speaks. One could see the gears turning in Marrik's head.
"Some things... you shouldn't burden others with." Marrik told him with a sigh. "Even more so when it comes to those you care for. But know, it isn't something that will endanger you."
Cat jumped slightly, "Yes I am, or was until you came along. It's been quite a day for me. I've learned something and I'm still trying to process." Although she didn't quite understand why, Catriona felt like it was the first time she was seeing Napheen. There came a slight nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. But thoughts of Aline put those feelings to rest.
Looking at the mug before her, she asked aloud to no on in particular, "What is in this?"
Trimar waves his hand a bit at the dismissive comment towards his sorta joke. When asked about the pages however, he scratches his chin.
"From what I've seen so far, I haven't been particularly enthused. But then, I've only seen the joust so far and managed to converse with one of the lads. Young Wymer seems to have a temper and pride beyond his station as a page. In my opinion, he wouldn't cut it as a squire or a knight...but perhaps someone would have the patience to temper the young man into a worthy fighter and protector." he said remember every that passed before the events of the day.
He scratched his chin "I'd like to see the Grand Melee and Archery Contest before I'd think I would have a good judge on the pages." he said at length.