| Questions Answered and a Squire's Request |
| Summary: | Kell has a chance to speak with Cherise after running into her on the Greens and a Squire spies the pair before approaching with a question. |
| Date: | 30/07/2012 |
| Related Logs: | Charlton's visit to the Roost. |
| Players: |
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| The Green |
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| The Green is a large field of deep green grass, nearly flat, that runs along the base of the towers. The road into town runs along the far edge, hemming it in neatly to a confined area where beyond a line of trees serves as a subtle windbreak. This area is most often used for drilling or practice for the guards but also serves as home for festivals, tournements, and another other gathering that might require the space for a large number of the local residents. A well-trodden path winds around the side of the wall and moves towards the coastline. Another heads southwest, toward Kingsgrove. |
| Jul 30, 289 |
<FS3> Cherise rolls Marksmanship: Good Success.
As guests the Charltons were treated passibly well though reasonably some precautions had been taken upon Cherise's request to engage in target practice. With a possible hunt on the horizon, though she'll not particpate it was entertaining to pretend. A pair of Highfield guardsmen stood in the background as the lady was given a new arrow for the quiver. After lining up with the bullseye she released the arrow upon an exhaled breath. It landed just outside the dead red center. Close but not perfect. "Another." She commanded softly, waiting for a young male to run out for the target and retrieve her arrow. "Do have him set the target a few breaths to the right."
The activity on the Green draws Kell's attention as he walking out of the Four Eagle's Tower with a pack over his shoulders while wearing his usual outfit and the Terrick Surcoat, the latter self-mandatory since there are important guests present. Instead of going right down the dirt path that leads to the coast, the Terrick Knight looks to where the target shooting practice is situated and is surprised to find a Lady notching and shooting arrows. He approaches but does so quietly as not to disturb or distract Cherise if she chooses to shoot again.
<FS3> Cherise rolls Marksmanship: Great Success.
After the target was once again adjusted to the lady's preference she slipped another arrow into her grasp, lining with the quiver in order to land the third, fourth shot. Cherise released the arrow after exhaling deeply. A great success as it landed on the outer ring of the dead center. "Well done m'lady." The guard complimented. Under the praise Cherise shined, smiling brightly and even standing a touch taller. "Thank you." Whatever his names was. "A shame you two are the only witnesses to this as I am afraid I may never come that close again." Softly she laughed while lowering her quiver.
"Not the only witness, Lady Cherise." Kell chimes in from the side as he offers Cherise a soft applause with his hands before bowing his head respectfully to the Lady while ignoring her guards as well as the Terrick men assigned to watching her. "That was very well shot, M'Lady, I am sure you would've given the other competitors at the Seagard archery contest a run for their silver." Kell certainly wouldn't have hit second place if she was shooting that well. "I am surprised that you are a marksman, M'Lady." Surprised and perhaps a little shocked that a refined Lady like her would be shooting bow and arrow.
While her guards may have been well aware of the Terrick Knight's presence, Cherise was swift to a gaze over the shoulder. A blonde curtain of hair followed in it's wake. "Ser…" It took her a moment. "Drakmoor." Ah, she settled and relaxed upon recognizing the man just from the previous day. "When you have as many brothers as I Ser, you learn to climb the steps onto their level." Her eyes turned away briefly just as the finely crafted quiver was passed off into the hands of one of the Highfield men. "An archery competition? Pity I missed that." The latter of her words had been laced with sarcasm. Though her eyes return to him, large and a bright shade of blue. "But thank you." She manages to say just before summoning a queer grin, "Come to politely escort me from the Green?"
"I see, I guess you would be right on that point." Kell says, taking Cherise's word as it is since he himself has no siblings though he would have guessed that she could've still been the pampered Princess of the bunch, playing with dolls and whatnot in her youth. A smirk appears at her mention of it being a pity she missed the competition before shaking his head at her question, "No M'Lady, I just happened to pass by, was going to take a walk out on the Coastline. But if you require an escort, I would be glad to accompany you to where you wish to go?" He isn't going to question why she would require an extra escort when she has guards with her already, though he is a knight and perhaps a knightly escort is preferred.
Though in truth she required nothing from the Terrick Knight, her words revealed the complete opposite. "Yes, I would not object to having a sworn guard my path." As the quiver in the posession of one of her guard's, the other departed briefly to retrieve the arrow and target. She'll not wait for the man to return but after a breath her slippered feet are on the move in a direction for the keep. The pace was slow, casual and unhurried. "You're familiar to me somehow. I cannot place it." Cherise comments absently.
Kell voices no objections nor does his facial expression show any sign of protest as the Lady asks for him to perform his knightly duties as an escort. His plans on spending some time with his own thoughts is of course ruined but atleast he is in the presence of a pretty lady, so it is somewhat salvaged. "I would be honored to act as your escort then, M'Lady." Kell's head inclines towards Cherise's direction as he takes position at her side, matching the pace she chooses to use. As for her comment, the Terrick Knight does give her a brief glance, as if trying to recall if he had met the Lady before in the past, "I do not believe we have met, M'Lady. Though I do not have the best of memories." Perhaps it is to the various blows to the head during his career as a knight.
"Hmm…" The thinks aloud while eying the vast expanse of green up ahead. A name fitting for it's nature. "Perhaps I am mistaken. There has been quite a few exciting events as of late." Though not all were pleasurable in a sense. "As you serve the Terricks, I wish to know of your opinion. Entertain me if you will Ser Drakmoor." The lady speaks softly as both hands lay across her rounded abdomen. "Do you believe this place may ever flourish as it once was? Without aide?"
At the mention of events by Cherise, Kell can only run a hand through his hair while the other hand rests on the pommel of his sheathed sword, "Well, I have participated in some of the events at the various Tournies recently. Got lucky and was Champion of the paired melee contest at Seagard, second in the achery contest… managed to ride seven passes against Lord Regent Nayland at the joust at the Twins." Listing the most recent events just in case Cherise remembers him from those vents.
As for entertaining the Lady with answers to her question, Kell looks a little uncomfortable at the thought since he is no Noble nor a politician, but he obviously can't say 'no' to a Lady's request. The question that is given to the knight isn't unexpected but he doesn't give an immediate answer, perhaps trying to find the right words or a response that won't get him into trouble. "Honestly, M'lady, no, we won't recover without aide. However, we are not at the point where we need immediate aid, we have time to seek out friends and allies who wish to aide us, of course not without some recompense in return, but also not at a cost high enough where it hurts us in the future after we recover. The Four Eagles will flourish once again though, it's just a question of when." There is a sense of pride in the Terrick Sworn's response and no presense of dishonesty either.
Wesly slowly emerges onto the green. He's slowly walking, following Kell from a distance, watching the knight carefully. He's not trying to be sneaky, but he's not exactly trying to get noticed either.
Kell's reply warranted a smile from the lady who had very briefly gazed to the Knight. "Ah, I remember now. You unseated… I believe it had been a Nayland." The particulars she couldn't summon up for now. Cherise released a small bell of laughter. "It is no easy feat I am sure. Still, if I had not offered my congradulations then, I do so now. A pitty your colors are not our own. There is an immense pride in seeing a champion named from your house." After a few paces she listened while the sworn Terrick shared his opinion, dutiful and loyal through and through. "Indeed… when." She repeated although oblivious to her surroundings and any who may be following them. That was the escort's duty, to grant their charge freedom from worry. "My maiden house was worse off than the Eagles. Still are I am afraid. Sometimes ill luck remains for far too long, no matter how much effort is expended to quell it away. Or perhaps it is a balance of sorts, levied by the Gods…" Musing moreso to herself the woman maintains a pleasant tone with the Knight. "Do not mind me Ser. I rarely entertain these thoughts, let alone in the company of another."
Kell manages a smile but ultimately shakes his head in response, "I wish I was the one that came out the victor in that tilt, M'Lady, but sadly on the seventh pass, it was the Lord Regent who unseated me. Though I didn't think I would even have a chance to get a seventh pass against that defending Champion." He does incline his head at Cherise though, thankful for her words and congratulations, "I guess when I found myself here when the Reavers first struck and fighting through the hard siege at the side of Terrick men, my fate was bound together with theirs. Bonds stronger than steel are usually formed in battle, M'Lady." For now, Kell is preoccupied by being Lady Cherise's escort so the Terrick Sworn does not spot Wesly skulking after them. He does look away for a moment, perhaps having some thoughts for himself about ill luck and whatnot, only nodding his head slightly as if in agreement with Cherise, "Bad luck does seem to come in waves but if we stand strong and continue to act with honor, I believe we can weather the bad times and come out ahead in the end. We need to have faith in ourselves and in the Seven, for what they have planned for us." Finally Kell scans the area with his eyes, perhaps finding the time to do his duty and he does spot Wesly hanging back, arching a brow.
Wesly's eyes catch Kell's, and they widen, for just an instant, before he looks away. Nope. Not following them. Just standing around. He kicks some dirt with his feet, looking at a tree nearby. It's a fine tree. "You're a big fella, aren't you," he says softly to it.
Cherise smiles towards the ground, her mistake in offering praise when it need not be given. "Still, you advanced quite far." For a common man. "I suppose after defeating the reavers the men of the Riverlands posed little challenge, except to one another." Her husband competed, bested by a Terrick and a Nayland as she recalled. But not by this one. "But what would you think if the Seven sees fit to leave your fate as is? Rationed for longer than the years of your life may allow?" She asked him before adding. "The Gods have plans, I have no doubt of that Ser Drakmoor. But sometimes I believe the Gods require us to forge our own paths and in their names." Just a thought shared with a pious man. The Lady Charlton does follow his gaze to the stranger some yards in the distance, inspecting a tree. Her attention perks for a brief moment before resettling unto their walk ahead. "I suppose he is no threat then?" She murmured quietly as all potential inhabitants of the Roost may have been a threat for they were not her well fed people.
"You would be right, M'Lady, the Gods may have plans but it is indeed up to us to pave our paths and forge our own destinies. To rely fully on the Seven to carry us to life would be..a mistake, perhaps a fatal one. And the Gods know just how hard the people here have tried and are still trying." Kell says as his eyes returns to Cherise after seeing that Wesly wears Terrick colors and he has seen the face from time to time around these parts. "Perhaps that is also why our welcome to you and your party may have seemed a little… rough. Maybe we have been trying too hard and are use to being too careful. But we are most grateful for the generous gift your House has brought us, most grateful." As for the question of possible threats, Kell shakes his head, "He is not, he is one of ours, I believe a Squire. I have seen his face around the Roost before. Do not worry, M'Lady, while you are here as our guest, your safety is paramount, especially when I am your escort." A warm smile is also offered to Cherise, perhaps an attempt to reassure her.
Wesly looks back once again at the knight and the lady. He pats the tree, and then slowly moves a little closer to the others, watching them once more. He swallows, and then finally, he approaches. "I um… Pardon me, Ser, My Lady…" He looks at Kell, "You rode against Lord Nayland eight times in the tourney before he was barely able to fell you," he says, a statement, but just a bit of a question as well.
A geninue smile stretched across her features for the Terrick sworn. "Thank you." Hearing the gratitude was certainly fullfilling as Cherise stared a touch longer before returning her eyes to the keep ahead, just within sight and reasonable distance to no longer need an escort. He wasn't needed in the first place. "I am not estranged to starvation and times of ill luck Ser Drakmoor. As neighbors the Roost's flourish may very well enhance our own. Perhaps I am hopeful for a friendship denied elsewhere due to false allegations and jealousy." Cherise makes a sound, accompaning the lift of a shoulder. "Ah well, perhaps he is an admirer of yours?" After all he was a near champion. She smirks as a small but graceful gesture is waved in the direction of the Four Towers. "My guards will see me the rest of the way, perhaps you'll …" Her eyes turn to the young squire that had just neared the pair of them. And she was right, he was an admirer. Knowingly she grinned, parting with "Goodday Ser and squire." If that is what the young man was. The Highfield men assumed their duties and provided an esocrt for Cherise on her return to the towers.
As the Squire approaches, Kell's eyes focuses on the young man again as Wesly approaches before he glances back to Cherise as she speaks, giving her a look of disbelief when she suggests that the youth may be an admirer. He does bow his head respectfully to Cherise as she departs into the Towre, "Good day, M'Lady." With the Lady gone, Kell turns his eyes back to Wesly and looks the young man over, "Seven. Was only seven times and on the seventh pass, his lance hit me and I hit the ground. Whether it was one pass or seven, a loss is still a loss." Though most may not see it the same way but that is what the Terrick Knight says with a slight shrug of his shoulders, "I believe I have seen you around the Roost before, a Squire, correct?"
Wesly smiles, standing a bit straighter. "I am." He shrugs a bit, "I was under Ser Talon Merrick. He died during the invasion of the Iron Isles." He furrows his brow just a bit, "You also won the paired melee. And, did quite well with the bow, as well, Ser."
Hearing that the Squire's knight died on the Iron Islands, Kell can't help but wince and shake his head, "Many good men died that day, many good men." As for the other accolades he may have collected, the Terrick Knight inclines his head to Wesly, "You would be correct, Squire, though some luck was involved, as well as having a steady knight as a partner in the paired melee."
Wesly chews on his lip a moment, nodding in thought. He looks down at his boots, then back at Kell. "You were very impressive that day, Ser. I um…" He sighs, and nods. "I should think a squire would be quite lucky to have an accomplished knight such as you as their mentor, Ser."
As Wesley continues to speak, it slowly becomes clear what the young man is looking for and asking for. Kell can only shake his head slightly, as if not knowing what to say as he wasn't even prepared to have a Squire, "I don't think so, I don't think a Squire would be lucky to have me as their knight. One, I never squired for one myself so I do not know how I would mentor one, or teach one. In fact, if you've had proper training as a Squire already, you may know more of the finer points of being a knight than I do. Second… I don't have the resources to pay you, or buy you whatever you need." Kell stops there, eyeing Wesly, letting those truths sink in first.
Wesly slowly begins to chew his lip, and the further into the response Kell gets, the lower Wesly's gaze drops. At some point, his shoulders even slouch almost imperceptibly, and he nods. "I um… I understand, Ser." He swallows, his brow furrowing just slightly as he takes in the denial, and there's something about his posture that might indicate that he expected that response, perhaps has even received it several times from others. He nods once, and then pushes a forced smile to his face, returning his eyes to the knight. "Of course. Heh." He gives a bow, "Forgive me. I didn't mean to interrupt your evening, Ser." He nods one final time, and then turns, heading back towards town. As he passes that same tree from earlier, he points at it, and sternly mumbles to it, "Not a word."
"There is nothing to forgive, Squire. Just that I am sure there has to be better prospects for you to find, who would do your training good and make you an actual knight." Kell says as he shakes his head again, seeing how dejected Wesly was, "I was just a boy when I rushed off to join the call of War during Robert's Rebellion, a common born soldier with nothing but a spear and shield supplied to me. It was by luck and perhaps the wish of the Seven that I was at the right place at the right time to result in my knighting, that's all." Nothing spectacular or graceful in how he attained Knighthood. With a nod to the departing Squire, Kell watches the young man depart, hoping that Wesly will find someone who would make him into a proper Squire and eventually, knight.
Wesly pauses then, looking back at Kell. "It's been nearly four months since my knight passed, Ser." He shakes his head, holding his arms a bit to his side. "Soon, there will be no prospect who would consider me." He shrugs, "I'm a commoner. The noble's won't take me. Most of the sworn swords have squires already, or… Or they won't take me because they know the tales." He doesn't elaborate. Instead, he stands proud once more, "I'm a good squire. You'll find no better to care for your horse, Ser." He lingers a moment more, and then bows. "Thank you for your time," he finally finishes, meaning it sincerely. Once more then, he begins to leave.
Kell does listen to Wesly's words, wondering what tales the younger man speaks of, perhaps something he will have to find out about himself. But atleast the words from the Squire is considered and it is something that the Terrick Knight may think on and consider when he has time. Of course he would have to learn what a Squire is suppose to do.
