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Post by Father on Jul 1, 2018 11:55:52 GMT 1
Lady Yselle Flowers is a very attractive young woman with a youthful and innocent looking face, full of curiosity, with large doe-like eyes, her wavy dark hair seems unkempt in a way that suggests that it really isn't. She is lithe and slender, with a spring in her step that speaks of a girl full of life. Her gown is very much like a black silken robe, comfortable and easy to move around in, and one that looks like it could be donned in less than a minute without any assistance needed. It is heavily embroidered with images of dragons and flames in Red. Ser Mikel of Harroway, that would be in the Riverlands if I paid attention to my lessons as a good proper lady should. Her curtsy is so deep that one might suspect that the intent is to mock custom or simply showing off her flexibility and strength. Perhaps both. "And it sounds like the name of one who were knighted because he has a good story to tell to my ears." Her eyes are all but shouting "Do tell!" |
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 2, 2018 8:30:06 GMT 1
Mikel studies her for a moment with a polite smile as he tried to place her before returning her curtsy with a slightly exaggerated bow of his own.
“I would love to tell you the story Lady Yselle. Though I should warn you it is not for the faint of heart. It is a story from a lonely mountain road with bold Knights and their brave squires, stout men at arms, fearless maidens, and the demons of the Burned Men. It is of courage and fear and life and death.”
Here he paused a moment to take a cup of wine from a passing servant, nod a thank you, and offer it to Yselle.
“Are you sure a tale like that would be interesting to you?” He smiled again and this time it was not polite but genuine, her light heartedness had already put him at ease.
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Post by Father on Jul 2, 2018 13:26:42 GMT 1
"Why yes indeed, ser!" Yselle beams with excitement. "I once was a bastard, now all dragon, I am no brittle lady that might faint, fall down and shatter at the depiction of man's entrails coming out of him."
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 2, 2018 20:56:28 GMT 1
“In that case I shall do my best to tell it.” Mikel takes a theatric breath before beginning. “We were traveling from Harroway to Gulltown for a tournament when it happened. We had left the high road before the bloody gate and took the way which would have us passing by Redfort. It made for beautiful traveling and the patrols we encountered gave us the reassuring news that things had been quiet lately.”
He took a sip of his wine before continuing. “That quiet was ruined before we made it to Redfort. The first we knew something wasn’t right was when we heard the horses pulling the carriages screaming. I remember looking back and seeing them thrashing about on the ground, arrows protruding from their sides. Then came the demons of the burned men! Howling and whooping they burst from their concealment and charged down at us.”
“The men at arms reacted swiftly and formed a line protecting the carriages just before the tribesmen crashed into them. The Knights formed up and charged along the line of tribesmen from behind and us squires followed their lead. The first charge went well but they were ready for the second and my horse was killed beneath me. Somehow I reached the line of men at arms but before I turned to take up a position I noticed a pair of the tribesmen and gotten past them and were trying to rip the door off a carriage.”
“They were big men and when they saw me coming they made straight for me. It happened fast and they didn't die easily. After that I ensured the carriages were safe then joined the line. It didn’t last much longer. I cannot recall if a horn was sounded or a command given, but suddenly they were melting back into the tree line they had come from and back into the mountains.”
“I imagine they only fled because they hadn’t rolled right over us even with the advantages of surprise and numbers. It had been smart of them to kill those horses knowing we wouldn’t leave those in the carriages behind. If that line hadn’t held I doubt any of us would have survived. Anyways we reorganized quickly and managed to get moving again but before we did I was Knighted. I think the two other squires would have also been if they had survived. Everybody there fought well and hard that day.”
Finishing his story he swirls the remaining wine in his cup before having another taste. “And that’s the story. All I left out was that the Burned Men had been riding Shadow Cats and the two I slew near the carriage had in fact been Giants.”
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Post by Father on Jul 2, 2018 21:44:20 GMT 1
"Must be some big shadowcats to carry giants into battle." her little laugh at the thought is reminiscent of a childish reaction, a child that has grown old enough to recognize outrageous embellishments as being exactly that. She had listened very intently, now her face is full of questions. "What are burned men, ser? Demons conjured forth by the priests of Rollor?"
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 3, 2018 7:02:42 GMT 1
He smiles to her comment about shadow cats and giants, happy that she had found humor in what he had said instead of deciding she had been wasting her time speaking with him.
"They certainly weren't shadow kittens, that much I can say with certainty." He allowed for another friendly smile before continuing. "The burned men are one of the tribes living in the mountains of the moon. They came by their name from their coming of age ceremony in which they burn off a part of their body. The more important the part the more highly regarded one becomes. From what I have been told all the tribes have nasty reputations but they all fear the burned men." He takes on a thoughtful expression. "I imagine if I were born a burned man I'd singe some hair and see if that was good enough. Though it would be awful if it never grew back, I imagine they'd look at me like a freak afterwards."
"I'm still relatively new to the reach.." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "They don't have anything like that running around here do they?" His voice was serious but his expression with playful. |
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Post by Father on Jul 3, 2018 9:02:29 GMT 1
"We used to have a troll under our bridge, ser." Yselle spends half a moment in thought before her face lights up as the answer comes to her. "My brother used to say so, and siblings never lie to each other, he said that to. Then one day when I was feeling adventurous I found him there, all drunk and stinky, his hair all a mess. He had even grabbed one of the serving girls over his shoulder and removing her clothes before devouring!"
"My brother the troll, he wasn't too happy when I rescued her from becoming a midnight snack, trolls doesn't like their eating habits being interrupted, not one bit, but that one was all huff and puff."
"You shouldn't go spread that tale around, though" She eyes a certain septon walking about the room. "Some people might get the wrong idea."
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 4, 2018 8:22:41 GMT 1
"You won't catch me spreading troll talk, it would create all kinds of madness. Before you knew it anybody with green skin would be strung up and all the bridges nearby burnt down." There is the briefest of pauses before he continues as he was still processing what she had told him. "The rescue was very brave of you. I hate to say it but I fear most would have been urged on by fear to get away. I would love to hear of another exploit of yours if you are willing to share."
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Post by Father on Jul 5, 2018 1:08:24 GMT 1
Exploits? Me? Ysilla just smiles and shrugs. "Well there was that time they thought me how to paint, and I was starting to get good at it, and they just left me alone to my devices since they finally had my attention captured on something that supposedly was ladylike, I think I mostly liked it because finally they approved of what I did, and then they just left, so, I waited for a bit, got too bored and then went to fetch a ladder, they asked what I was doing with it and I said I was painting a picture of my horse, and they were all like, do you need a ladder for that. So with a perfectly straight face I told them that there weren't enough space on the canvas, and Ser Lemoncakes is so tall that I wouldn't reach high enough to paint his head without it, then I walked on, I almost reached my quarters before they realized what I had just been saying and came running after. Best fun I ever had."
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 5, 2018 4:03:42 GMT 1
Mikel laughs before responding. "I have only just met you and know that it was a poor choice of them to take their eyes off you. I cannot imagine how many times you taught them that lesson. I imagine Ser Lemoncakes was flattered though."
"Do you enjoy events such as what we will see here the next dozen or so days - the mingling and the jousting and all of it? I have never been a part of this side of it and apart from the delight of meeting you I do not know how I feel about it just yet. But I suppose it is still extremely early. Any recommendations on how to make the most it?"
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Post by Father on Jul 5, 2018 13:15:57 GMT 1
"Oh, I didn't paint her on the walls, ser. I just made them think I did."
"How to make the most of it? Skip the joust, skip the hunt, go on adventure!"
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 7, 2018 7:37:49 GMT 1
He laughs before responding. "And just what sort of adventures could I find out here? I had heard a pleasure barge down the Mander is worth enjoying. Perhaps wandering the market will lead me to something interesting. But if I'm wrong, I'm open to any suggestions on where to find some adventure." |
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Post by Father on Jul 7, 2018 13:12:59 GMT 1
"There are always cakes in the kitchens, and there's the maze. Or suggesting to some lady that charming knight such and such were asking about her when he really did not. Though my favorite is to embarrass my brother, he has all these wants, but requires frequent reminders that he needs entirely different things, like humility."
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Post by Mikel of Harroway on Jul 8, 2018 20:06:21 GMT 1
"Well I probably shouldn't look into earning the hatred of the many women hoping to find their Knight in shining armor, but the maze sounds interesting! I have never been in a maze before. With my luck I'll get good and lost with somebody discovering my bones twenty years from now. Perhaps I should look into hiring a guide...and of course before we set out get some pies from the kitchen for the journey."
"Now there could be an opportunity in this. If you send people into the maze to get good and lost I can sell the pies to them when they begin to starve. Then we can split it, fifty fifty. How does that sound?" |
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Post by Father on Jul 8, 2018 20:22:33 GMT 1
"Wouldn't be right, taking pies from the kitchen and sell them later." Ysilla shrugs "My granny-nuncle always said that I had to earn such things honestly, then I earned it by my father, you know, the king, charming and handsome, well, he supposedly was that, before he became king, oh where was I? Oh, yes, he had me mentioned in his will, and I must have earned a small fortune by honestly being born or something, I don't quite get the logic, but I'm not turning it back either, and then the present king calls it a stipend and sends me letters of credit every moon or so. Which is a good thing, because then I can't spend it all at once, I like buying things, especially the stuff you buy just because you can." She stops herself and thinks for a short moment. "Oh, yes, selling pies. Can you make a pie?"
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