[Phase 2] Highever and Ever [Daeron & Parmen]

“An excellent idea! There is good hunting in the woods north of Highever. Not many boar, I’m afraid but plenty of deer, and guniea fowl. Plenty of smaller game and birds as well for the hawks. Alys is the true falconer at Highever and she will jump at the opportunity.”

“I will have a servant escort you to your quarters. You can freshen up there before supper. I see that everything is arranged for tomorrow’s hunt.”

"It is good to have you at Highever Ser Daeron. I look forward to showing you the bounty of Highever."

---

Parmen met Ser Daeron the next morning in Highever’s main yard. He was wearing hunting clothes, leathers that were simple and sturdy enough to withstand the day’s activities. In addition to Daeron and himself, Alys and a few of her companions were preparing themselves and chatting happily away. A nearby servant was managing several birds of prey, including a falcon which Alys, kept smiling and whistling softly to. Over to the side two rough-hewn individuals, obviously huntsmen stood together talking

“You often hunt with falcons?” Parmen inquired. Seeing Daeron shake his head, Parmen waved away the issue. “No matter. Alys is the lover of the sport, I still consider myself a student, but these birds make anyone look like an expert hunter."

Walking Daeron over to where the huntsman had gathered several bows and boar spears.” I like to have these along in case we have the opportunity for larger game. My squire Edwyn will hold carry your equipment while we hawk." Parmen gestured for Daeron to choose his own tools. Everything is plain and well-crafted although lacking the look of that produced by master weaponsmiths or bowyers. After Daeron had chosen Parmen hesitated for a second before choosing a strong hunting bow. “It has been a while since I practiced. This will be a good opportunity.”

“This is Goodman Galen,” Parmen said referring to the taller of the two huntsmen, who carried a longbow and quiver. Parmen clapped him on the right shoulder, “With 30 archers as good as him Highever would be as impregnable as the Eyrie." The hunter bowed his head humbly at the praise, but visibly swelled in appreciation of it.

“And this fellow is, Goodman Pate,” Parmen said referring to the shorter man who was missing and ear and the little two fingers on his left hand. “Don’t let his appearance fool you. No other man knows the game trails and dens half so well as Pate.” The tracker grinned, revealing cracked and yellow teeth.

"Here are our birds. The peregrine is Alys’ pride; she calls her Quickwing. It is small for its kind but very quick, changes course quickly in pursuit, and I’ve never seen it miss a strike. The red hawk is mine, but feel free to use him today if you desire. He has extraordinary vison even for prey in the tall grass. The two young falcons are both good hunters, although their inexperience sometimes shows through. I would be careful around the this one. It is beautiful and swift but liable to bite its owner if not shown constant attention. Alys calls her Alena.” Parmen says the last bit almost under his breath.

As Daeron makes his choice the hunting party sets out from Highevers main gate and towards the woods.

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{OOC: Could just RP the hunt but I feel like rolling some virtual die just so I remember the hunting rules. Counting this as a TN12 ( 1day hunt), not sure what any other modifiers would be relevant (for using guides, time of year, region, etc) so feel free to add. Remember to add +1D because we are using birds.}

{P2}Highever: Hunt: Survival(Hunting)+Birds [TN12]: 5d6k4 13 Success!!!

Well I did try to warn him. Daeron seemed not to bothered by the blood running down the side of his face, which given Wyldfyre's temperament, was almost certainly not an unfamiliar sensation to him. 

Parmen had some success with Redwynd, as he named his hawk, taking down a brace of rabbits and a pheasant who was slow in getting aloft. Alys was even more successful with Quickwing never failing to take down a partridge or a pidgeon each time she took flight. Ser Daeron and the rest of their small group seemed to be enjoying themselves. So all in all, Parmen considered it a success. 

Best of all the group had startled as half-dozen deer and Galen had taken down a buck with a single shot through the neck while Parmen was still fitting an arrow to the string. They would all sup on venison tonight in the main hall. Parmen congratulated Galen on his shot and commanded Edywn to help the huntsmen with their butchering of the animals that they had taken. It was not technically his squires responsibility but survival off of the land was a skill set that any soldier should have. The exposure to the blood and gore was an added bonus.

As the group prepared to reenter the castle Parmen handed his brace of rabbits over to the hunters with instructions share the meat with the families of the men. It was a simple act that cost Parmen very little but enhanced his reputation as the generous protector of Highever.

"Will you be joining us tomorrow in the training yard, Ser Daeron? The men are looking forward to seeing the famed Wyldfyre with sword in his hand."

CD: 10

AR: 10

Health: 12/12

Fatigue: 0/4



Full Plate

Shield

Superior Long Sword

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The next day began as many days did at Highever with weapons practice in the main yard. Highever did not yet have a master’s at arms, a situation that Parmen hoped to change soon. Instead the captain of the garrison and Parmen were responsible for their training. At the Arbor training focused on either honorable knightly combat between highly skilled opponents or the chaotic melee that often occurred when a ship was bordered. At Cider Hall battles were fought from horseback, almost to the exclusion of all other forms of combat.

It was different at Highever where Parmen, at least right now, lacked the same quality of men, equipment and horses as he was used to. Instead his work was dedicated to maintaining and expanding his own personal skills while at the same time building soldiers and instilling discipline into the Levalle’s guards. Soldiers to fight a war that Parmen desperately wanted to avoid. Discipline to survive the upcoming conflict. Discipline in the face of naked, overwhelming aggression. There could be few better tests of this discipline than standing against Wyldfyre with a sword in his hand.

Parmen had briefed his garrison on Ser Daeron and his exploits. He wanted to see how they would react. After several minutes of drills they broke up for rounds of sparring. Parmen and his captain put them through a variety of scenarios: 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 2-3. Each scenario had its own challenges. Parmen joined in the drills as both participant and instructor. Parmen was glad to see that although none of his men were a match for Ser Daeron no one cowered from him either. Wyldfyre swordwork was as impressive as Parmen remembered from the Black Tourney, but equally impressive was how quickly he developed a rapport with the men.

Slowly Parmen and Ser Daeron worked through the various opponents and scenarios until they at last had the opportunity to match up against each other knight to knight. Parmen smiled under his helmet and gripped his sword more tightly. 

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{P2}Highever: Sparring: Initiative: 3d6 12

{OOC: Let me know how you want to play this out. We can go as many rounds as you like in order to test out certain situations and tactics or new qualities that we picked up in the off-season.}

Sounds good. Can you point me to the rulebook page with -AP to initiative? I'm worried now that I've been calculating it wrong.

You are correct, you win based on quickness dice.

Well shit...by my math that is 4 injuries and still 10 points of damage. So one wound which will knock him out for several days.

Wyldfyre if you keep breaking your toys you won't get to play with them any more ; )

Since this is a sparring match how would you like to handle it?

I'm good with that although technically I need to spend Fatigue at the beginning of the round to ignore AP. But let's hand wave that one.

My go or do you want to set up for another round. I'm good with either.