Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Apr 10, 2010 5:11:50 GMT -5
It was obvious to Dougal that Katrina hadn't come across his fighting style before, which wasn't surprising. Knights were either taught how to fight equally or slightly better armed opponents or else unarmed or knife wielding opponents as there was little use in teaching them how to fight heavily armed opponents while unarmed. After all, that was not exactly a common scenario and their armour would prevent them form using most of the effective techniques anyway. It was better to leave that risky and difficult stuff to the lower and lighter armoured echelons whose weaponry would be more likely to fail in the field. Besides that, Dougal had his own unique style that not Battleschool could teach.
Dropping slightly and twisting her shoulder, Katrina just managed to escape Dougal's hands. He could feel his finger tips scrapping the hardened leather of Katrina's armour and silently cursed. While he could probably still match any dodges that she tried to employ, he always liked to have that extra margin of safety. Besides, he hated being reminded that he was not as agile as he had once been. Once upon a time he could have spotted Katrina's attempts to shake off his hand and counter-acted them. Still, there was no point pinning for the good old days.
Katrina kept on dropping and Dougal knew that his plan had failed. Even when he had been at his fittest and most agile he would have been unable to recover from a tackle like this in time to avoid being tripped. All he could do was hope that he knocked Katrina down at the same time as he went sprawling. It might just give him enough to get to his feet and defend himself.
As his legs hit Katrina's body, Dougal placed all his weight forward and bent his body so that, rather than sprawling headlong on the ground he entered into a somersault. The action wasn't so much one of Dougal's plans as a reflex action. Experience and long training sessions with the Temujian fighting instructor had hammered in that particular instinct and, later, he would be glad of it. For now he tried to work out what Katrina would do.
Given the fact that she had some real motivation to win this match and given that she would also be trying to end this match as quickly as he was, the most obvious choice would be to attack him while he was still recovering from the fall. She would attack as soon as she gained her feet, but she would not have the momentum that Dougal did. He could either continue to roll and put some distance between them or he could use his momentum to stand up. He chose to stand.
The instant his shoulder touched the ground, Dougal prepared to stand. His back would be turned to Katrina as he came out of the roll, but he was confident that he could make it up either just before she did or at least at the same time, putting them on the same footing. The main problem was that he would have his back turned for a second or so, and Katrina could close that gap quite quickly.
As he completed his roll and stood up, Dougal gasped slightly as pain shot up his body from his broken rib, although he ignored it and showed no sign of pain when he turned to face Katrina. If what he wanted to do worked, they would hurt even more. If not, then some other part of his body would.
Just as he suspected, Katrina was closing in for the kill, her sword raised high for the kill. Once again he launched himself at her, but he'd learnt form last time. He kept himself low, aiming more for Katrina's pelvic region than he stomach and keep his arms out as wide as he could while still being able to catch Katrina in them. At this range and given their momentum, he should be able to at least catch one leg if she managed to jump off to one side. With a little bit of luck, he would even be able to hit her with his shoulder and knock her backwards as his arms closed around her legs and prevented them from moving.
Of course, there was still Katrina's sword to be reckoned with. She could probably bring it down with some force across his back, but it would be less than if he were further away and it would most likely be survivable in a battlefield. In any case, if he managed to knock Katrina to the ground he could always slide up her body and remove it with a quick bang of the wrist on the ground, provided her used the right pressure point, of course. After that, well, he didn't have much of a plan other than to sit on her and pin her hands to the ground with his own. that should be enough to force her to surrender.
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 11, 2010 21:29:41 GMT -5
Katrina thought she heard him gasp in pain and turned her head to look at him, trying to figure out of he was seriously hurt. His back was to her, though, and when he turned around he showed no sign of pain in his face. She wondered what it could have been. She hadn't hurt him, she knew that. Maybe he had landed wrong, but with the way he sprang to his feet, she hadn't thought so.
She was amazed he was on his feet so fast. If he was slowing down as much as he claimed, then she was very glad he wasn't in his prime right now - though she had serious doubts that his age was catching up to him at all.
She had already committed her attack on him and realized that she was in serious trouble so she tried to bluff. She grinned at him, "not bad, Old Man!" she taunted in fun. She was even more amazed when he launched himself at her again. She had been expecting him to hold his ground and block her swing and then try to grab her. This new tactic put her off guard.
She could see she wasn't going to be able to sidestep him or duck under him this time. He was aiming for lower down. Briefly she considered trying to jump over him, but she wouldn't be able to clear his reach completely. He could still grab one of her legs.
Without another alternative popping into her head and him closing the distance fast, she jumped up into the air and a bit to her right side, flinging her feet wide so that hopefully he would only grab one. At the same time she brought her sword down, hoping to clobber him on the back.
She felt him impact her left thigh just above the knee with his shoulder and he tried to wrap his arms around her hips. She shifted the trajectory of her sword from his back to his left arm, slamming it in hard to his bicep. Maybe that would numb his hand enough for long enough that he would not be able to hold onto her.
Then they both hit the ground. His mass and momentum had made her change direction and she landed on the ground with her left leg completely under him. Her right leg was still free. She bent her knee and brought it up to her chest. With any luck she could use her leg to leverage him loose from her left leg. She placed her foot in the crook of his shoulder and started to push with all of her strength.
Meanwhile she rained another blow to his back, anything to distract him. Unfortunately the angle was really too far while trying to push him away with her foot and so she couldn't get a good blow on his back. She squirmed under him and tried to get free. His body was pressing on her knee and ankle though and only the upper part of her body was moving. Her knee was screaming in protest and she thought maybe she had pulled something in it upon impact.
He had her partially pinned now, and though she knew he had the advantage, she didn't stop fighting for a moment. She even forgot for a moment or two that he was the love of her life as the thrill of battle came over her and she kicked at his face once, trying to dislodge him. If he managed to capture her other leg, she had no doubts as to the outcome of this fight. She had to get free and get back on her feet again. Then she realized she was kicking him and she froze for a moment, overcome with loathing that she had kicked him in the face for just a moment before she went back to pushing on his shoulder and neck with her right foot while trying to pull her left out from under him. So far it just seemed as if she was pulling her own leg off.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Apr 20, 2010 1:26:33 GMT -5
"Not bad, Old Man!"
Dougal wanted to make his own counter, but he was already diving at Katrina, so all he could manage was a smile that she wouldn't see and a grunt that she would probably take as being tied to his tackle. Actually, given the look of surprise on Katrina's face, his tackle was probably the best come back that he could have come up with given their circumstances. It certainly made her speechless, although that was probably because there wasn't enough time for her to say anything before they collided.
For a second, Katrina's legs tensed as though she were going to try to jump over him, so Dougal brought his hands up a little just in time to make a move as Katrina dived to her right. Since she had flung her legs wide open, Dougal was only able to grab hold of one leg, her left leg, and he began to grab hold of it and draw it towards him so that he could trap it under his arm and use his elbow to hold it in against his side. However, Katrina's sword came down hard on his right arm, numbing it and forcing his hand open.
Then they were on the ground. The shock aggravated his ribs and Dougal began to question how wise it had been of him to spar Katrina in his current state, especially when considering that he had a tendency to link pain and women to Rhianwen, which was not good. And, more importantly, given his Skandian heritage. Already he was beginning to feel the killing rage take hold of him thanks to the pain he was feeling. The familiar wolf grin began to spread over his face and Dougal lost valuable seconds banishing the feeling.
Now gripping Katrina with all his strength and trying to get her right leg off his shoulder and under his body, Dougal could feel her left leg pushing on his injured rib. Much more of this and it would either break and cause more problems or he would loose control and come close to killing Katrina.
He was just about to surrender when Katrina kicked him in the face. It was so unexpected, so out of character for trained knight who professed to love him that Dougal was shocked back in time. Katrina's face was overlaid by Rhianwen and he could feel the scars on his chest burst into flame as though they had been prodded by the red hot poker once more. There was no warning, no signs that Katrina could have picked up on. Dougal just went from excited by the fight to looking like he was about to commit murder. And he was.
With a roar of anger, Dougal raised his torso as far up as it could go, while bring his arm back to his shoulder. As he came back down, he unleash a punch that would have knocked Katrina out at the very least, if not broken her jaw or eye socket.
The fist kept coming, full of anger and loathing.
As he was about to land the blow, Dougal was suddenly brought back into reality by the realisation that he had already killed Rhianwen, and the dead never came back. Unsure who was the cause of his anger, he diverted his blow. It skimmed the cheek of his victim and thudded into the ground, pain shooting up his arm. Tears flooded his eyes and, when he could see again, he could see Katrina lying underneath him. Shock registered on his face and he slowly stood up, looking at the bruise that was already forming on her cheek and then at his own hand.
Collapsing to his knees, tears started to fall down his face, although he kept himself from outright sobbing. He needed to preserve some dignity from those watching from the stands.
"I'm so sorry Katrina, so, so sorry."
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 22, 2010 13:25:18 GMT -5
Just after Katrina kicked Dougal in the face and managed to bring herself back to her senses, she saw the look in Dougal’s eyes and remembered the time on the ship when they had sparred. The look was the same.
She saw the blow coming and held still, relaxing the push on his shoulder and waited for just the few split seconds it took to know where he was intending to land the blow. She flicked her gaze from his fist to his eyes at the moment he came back to the present and saw the look of confusion on his face.
He checked his blow just as she turned her head to move with his fist, thereby lessoning the impact somewhat. It was still a good solid impact on her cheek though and for a moment everything went spinning in the air behind Dougal’s head and then she saw nothing but red with bright pinpoints of light floating around as she heard his fist slam into the ground next to her head. She struggled to open her eyes and willed herself to see. If she couldn’t see what Dougal was going to do next, he could potentially kill her. Neither Greer nor Kenyon were present so far as she knew and she doubted anyone else on the practice field would have the forethought to pull Dougal off of her.
She squeezed the other eye open and though everything was blurry and there were tiny lights zinging all around her vision, she could make out the look on Dougal’s face as he realized what he had done. His weight shifted off from her and she saw a tear slide down his face.
She moved her leg, feeling a definite pull in her knee and managed to sit up groggily, the world spinning off to the right, as he said, "I'm so sorry Katrina, so, so sorry."
She wrapped her arms around him, carefully at first, not wanting to trigger his paranoia again, and drew his head close to hers and pressed his cheek against her own that was smarting like crazy. Slowly the spinning slowed and her vision cleared. She stroked his hair and whispered in his ear, “Shhhh, My Love. It is ok. I lost it first. I don’t know what came over me, but I never should have kicked you. I didn’t realize I was doing it until after it was done. I lost control of myself for a moment.” She pulled back and held his face in her hands, wiping the tears away with her thumbs. “I am sorry I kicked you.” She was careful not to say it was her fault because she knew he didn’t like it when she blamed herself - not any more than she liked him blaming himself.
Loud enough for the spectators to hear, she said, “You had me pinned. I yield, Captain!” and then she said softly, just for him, “I do mean that. You win the bet and I will suffer a chaperone.” She grinned at him. “I think we better have an unbiased third party around when we spar from now on though, to keep us from killing each other. So maybe this escort idea is not such a bad one.” She said half-heartedly. She really did want to be alone with him, out in the wild where they could both relax and be themselves. Here she was always on display. Here she was always the “Duke’s daughter” or “the Lady Knight.” It wore on her nerves. Here she could not openly express her feelings for him.
She longed to kiss him soundly right there in front of everyone, but she knew he would not be happy about that, and that he would chastise her for ruining her reputation. Besides that, it could possibly set him off again in his current state, so she figured making light of the situation was the best way to handle it. “Come on! Pull yourself together, Old Man! You don’t want those sissy girls watching over there to see you crying like a baby do you? It will totally undo all that work you did at the Ball to intimidate them!” She smiled at him. “Really, Dougal, I am fine. I am so sorry I kicked you in the face and you are sorry you struck me. Stuff happens. We just need to learn how to spar and practice and not trigger these feelings in each other, but accidents like this are bound to happen until then. We are never going to get beyond them if we don’t try to put our past behind us.”
Then she winked at him, a mischievous grin on her face again, “Besides, I want to work all this out before our wedding night. If we don’t, there is no telling what beasts our – ‘nocturnal antics’ - might unleash within us.” She said suggestively. It was really the first time she had said anything openly about them getting married and she wasn’t sure what his reaction was going to be.
She had hoped they would have discussed the possibility before, but it seemed there was always something cropping up or some person present or some other reason that they just hadn’t sat down and discussed IT. Marriage…It was implied that they were both moving toward marriage, but it seemed to be a very sticky subject for them both and she suspected that he didn’t want to risk their new relationship and more than she did. She was fairly certain he had been thinking along the lines of marriage, since there were hints here and there, but what if he hadn’t been? What if he just wanted to continue on as they were? Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything. Her mischievous look turned to a questioning one as she looked into his beautiful eyes. What if she had gone too far? She couldn’t bear it if he thought of her as a wonton woman. True, she wasn’t a virgin anymore, but she was hardly experienced in the bedroom and she still suffered from the awkwardness of the unknown and a general lack of confidence in that area.
She had noticed that Dougal let her take the lead in public with their relationship and she rather enjoyed that, but she was fervently hoping that when it came down to the time of sharing his bed that he would take control. She really had no idea how to please a man, since she had so obviously displeased her previous lover to the point he had loathed her touch. Her thoughts strayed back to that one night with Rick and she remembered how he had been in complete control. It had been a nice experience, but there had not been any emotions there and she had been glad when Rick had not come back for more. She wouldn’t have been able to continue that relationship, but she was grateful for the little bit of “training” Rick had given her. She hoped it would be enough to satisfy Dougal until She and Dougal ironed out the details between them. Assuming, of course that this what he wanted too. She had blushed at her own boldness of her statement and then blushed more because she had blushed in the first place. How could he possibly be in love with a woman who didn’t know her place in the world and was the butt of every joke in Castle Araulen? More importantly, how could he love a woman who had openly admitted she had been used and cast aside by another man, and who likely wouldn’t be able to bear his children? Surely he would come to his senses soon and extricate himself from this relationship. When that happened she would be devastated. She shied away from the thought, not being able to bear it.
She watched him anxiously for a sign of his reaction to her comment about “their wedding night”, for a moment or two, the rest of the people in and around the practice yard didn’t exist. Her entire focus was on Dougal now and in trying to figure out what he was thinking.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Apr 25, 2010 0:02:49 GMT -5
Dougal expected Katrina to either smack him a good one with her practice sword or else run away in fear. It was only natural, and what he deserved. She had given her heart to him, and he was loosing control and trying to kill her. If he hadn't pulled that blow, the chances were that Katrina would not be looking up at him him groggily. She would either be dead or unconscious, probably with him still punching her in a berserk rage. He was filth, excrement shat from the bowels of Hell itself.
Katrina hugged him. It was tentative at first, as though she wasn't sure what his reaction would, but then she drew his head to her own. Dougal didn't know what was happening and he acted stiffly at first, not sure if he trusted himself to hug Katrina back. Yet, deep down, under the guilt and the self-recrimination, he was overjoyed that Katrina saw fit to hug him even after what he had just done. Besides that, her scent was simply stunning. Sweat mixed with the scented soaps that she used to make the kind of smell that summed up everything Dougal loved about Katrina. She was his equal, in almost every way, the perfect partner.
If only he could control himself.
He surrendered himself, hugging Katrina back, letting his head rest naturally on her shoulder as she stroked his hair. Her words were a comfort, although he didn't allow them to be too comforting. True, she had lost control first and that had resulted in him loosing his, but that wasn't all of it. He was older, more experienced and had a reputation for keeping his cool even in the worst situations. Besides, if he did not screw things up too much, it would soon be his job to look after Katrina's well being and he wasn't exactly going down the right road for that to happen.
“You had me pinned. I yield, Captain!”
Katrina's words jerked him out of his thoughts and he automatically looked over at the crowd. Some, the knights in particular, had been on their way over, but Katrina's declaration, combined with the fact that she was hugging Dougal, seemed to assuage their fears and they went back to whatever they were doing. Still, it was almost guaranteed that this new piece of gossip, about Dougal hitting Katrina and then breaking down, would likely spread like wildfire. No doubt Duke David would have something to say on this, and his job was as good as gone.
“I do mean that. You win the bet and I will suffer a chaperone. I think we better have an unbiased third party around when we spar from now on though, to keep us from killing each other. So maybe this escort idea is not such a bad one.”
He could tell that Katrina was trying to cheer him up and, in spite of everything, he found that his sense of humour was taking over and engaging with Katrina's words. For the moment, at least, he could ignore the fact that Katrina was right and that he wouldn't be able to spar her again without someone else there in case he lost it again. Giving Katrina a small smile, he listened to her further pep talk, nodding towards the end. She was right, stuff like this was bound to happen, whether they had their pasts or not. This was combat training and, although it was strictly controlled, accidents were bound to happen, just as Katrina was pointing out.
“Besides, I want to work all this out before our wedding night. If we don’t, there is no telling what beasts our – ‘nocturnal antics’ - might unleash within us.”
It was the wink that did it. Dougal's smile split his face in half, and then he threw back his head and laughed. It was a deep, rumbling laughter that came from deep within him and it positively boomed across the training yard and into the stands. The pain in his ribs flared up, but the pain seemed to make him laugh all the more. He probably would have continued for a number of minutes if it hadn't been for the uncertain look on Katrina's face. The poor girl, she had completely misinterpreted his laughter.
On an adrenaline high and feeling surprisingly reckless considering his depressive state only a few moments ago, Dougal broke protocol and drew Katrina into a passionate embrace and kissed her for all he was worth. The kiss lasted for a long time and, when he finally broke it off, Dougal whispered in Katrina's ear, "I love you."
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Post by Brandwyn on Apr 25, 2010 21:08:19 GMT -5
Dougal surprised Katrina when he threw back his head and laughed at her comment about their wedding night. She wasn’t exactly sure why he was laughing, but she thought for a moment she saw a flicker of pain in his eyes mingled with the humor. She smiled tentatively back, glad he wasn’t still beating himself up over hitting her.
Then he surprised her again when he pulled her close to him and kissed her long and deeply and she forgot about everyone else who was watching them, about the bet they had made, about her bruised cheek and even how they had both lost control moments before.
Her only thought was how much she loved him and how perfect he was for her. She hugged him tight as he kissed her and curled her fingers in his hair, cherishing the feel of his arms around her and the press of his body against hers as they knelt in the dirt of the practice yard.
When he finally pulled back slightly she smiled up at him and then he whispered, "I love you." She hugged him tight again and whispered back in his ear, “I love you too, Dougal!”
She pulled back and looked into his eyes for a moment as she stroked his cheek with her fingertips, the other hand still entwined in his hair. For those few moments he was her entire world.
Then she moved and tried to stand up and pain shot up her leg from the center of her knee. “Sssss!” she sucked in her breath and sank back to the ground. “I thought I might have pulled something.” She scowled at her knee. “Great and right after the Doc gave me a clean bill of health too. Just what I need.”
Ignoring her own pain for a moment, she looked back at Dougal, “Did I see a look of pain in your eyes a few minutes ago? Did I hurt you?”
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on May 12, 2010 17:27:19 GMT -5
OOC: Sorry for the short post, but at least I've finally got it out.
They parted from their embrace and Katrina hissed as she tried to stand up, her leg obviously hurt. Dougal winced and felt just a little bit guilty, since he had probably done it during the sparring. Still, he was on enough of a high that he managed to keep himself from immediately sinking into depression and being utterly useless. To a certain extent, there was even some amusement. No sooner had Katrina been fit enough to start sparring against a partner again than she was injured again. At least this time she wasn't going to flip out. Dougal doubted that he could handle having both flipped out on Katrina and having to control a berserk Katrina on the same day.
“Did I see a look of pain in your eyes a few minutes ago? Did I hurt you?”
That was Katrina, always thinking of other people first. While he didn't want to admit that she had hurt him, he knew that if he was silent on the issue, she would assume that she had caused the pain rather than unwittingly adding to it. Besides, trust was something that both of them needed to share with each other. Then again, she probably didn't need to know that the fight had been over her reputation. That was a touchy subject for her.
"You didn't mean to. I got a couple of cracked ribs sparring with my men, but I thought I could probably end the match before they hurt too much."
Rolling his shoulders back and arching his back until his back cracked, and sucking in a breath sharply as pain flared up in his ribs. Bad idea. Getting up, he dusted off his legs and reached down to help her up.
"Can you get up?"
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Post by Brandwyn on May 29, 2010 20:40:57 GMT -5
Katrina looked at him quizzically for a moment, preparing to berate him for not being more careful. Then she looked at her own knee that was throbbing painfully and broke into a smirk. She smiled up at him and took his hand, letting him help her to her feet.
“Aren’t we quite the pair?” She laughed, hugging him carefully. She was unsure which side his cracked ribs were on and didn’t want to squeeze them, as she carefully eased weight onto her leg. A sharp pain emanated up and down her leg, but she tried to hide it.
Looking over his shoulder she saw three knights approaching them, the oldest one in the middle with a grimace on his face. “Here comes the lecture.” Katrina’s smile faded into a scowl and then she schooled her face into her own look of disapproval, knowing they were going to say something about her fraternizing with a common foot soldier, even though Dougal was a ranking Captain. He was still a commoner and most nobles just could not get past that.
“Lady Katrina, a word if you don’t mind,” said the older knight with a nasally voice that matched his thin, almost skeletal build. He tried to pull her away from Dougal’s side, but Katrina deftly slipped her elbow out of his grip, resisting the urge to follow it up with an elbow hook to the man’s overly pointed nose.
“As a matter of fact, Sir Beldon, I do mind.” She leaned into Dougal. “The Captain and I have an appointment to keep.” She tried to move past him and his two cronies, but Beldon stepped directly in her path.
“I must insist, Lady Katrina.” He said forcefully, eyeing Dougal who was towering over him. He had to look up to meet Katrina’s eyes as well, but that did not seem to intimidate him at all. “There is the matter of your behavior to discuss.”
Katrina knew she wasn’t going to evade the knight so easily, so she shifted her weight to her good leg and folded her arms across her chest and looked at him impassively, hoping Dougal would keep himself in check. The last thing they needed right now was an altercation with some senior knights to draw attention to them.
Beldon continued, “You are a knight now, Lady, in spite of my good judgment and that of many others in the Chivalry. You are also the daughter of a Duke.” He looked at her expectantly.
Katrina moved to reach for Dougal’s arm again, “Thanks so much for clearing that up, Beldon. I shall give my father your greetings.” She took a painful step to try to get around him and he blocked her again. Katrina gritted her teeth in irritation.
“I am not quite finished, young Lady.” Beldon tried to appear stern but his look was so comical that Katrina would have laughed at him had he not irritated her so already. “As a knight, you are expected to adhere to a certain code of conduct.” Here he eyed Dougal again. “What you do in private is between you and your father, but in public we expect you to behave according to your station.”
“We, Sir Beldon? Do you speak for the entire Order of the Chivalry?” Katrina asked him, drawing up her full height to look down her nose at him. “I don’t recall there being any meeting called on the subject.”
Beldon turned a bit red and shook his head, “No, I mean we three.” He pointed to his two companions. “But if you continue such unseemly displays of- of affection in public, it could very well be that a court of Chivalry could be called against you.”
Katrina eyed him quizzically, knowing full well that she would have to do something far more serious to warrant a court of Chivalry. “Ah then, you are expecting one to be called against you as well, Beldon? I heard tell of your little tryst with one of the scullery maids last week. Seems it has been the talk among the staff.”
Beldon turned even redder and sputtered, “But that is different-“
“Why? Because you are a man?” Katrina asked sharply. “Are you trying to say the code of conduct for a female knight is different from that of a male knight? I would like to see those regulations.” A hard edge came into Katrina’s voice, “I have already participated in this battle and won, if you recall. Are you sure you want to go down this road again?”
Beldon moved back a bit. “No, no. I didn’t mean that.” A look of apprehension entered his eyes. “I only meant that you should be more careful and act with more courtesy for those who are watching you and looking to you as a role model.”
“Indeed?” Katrina raised her eyebrow at him. “Well, if you have a problem with my conduct, I suggest you take the matter up with my Father.”
Beldon looked at her and then at Dougal for a moment as if he were about to protest further. He opened his mouth and then shut it and decided to try to glare at Dougal instead. Katrina nearly smiled again at his poor attempt to intimidate Dougal. Obviously he had no idea who he was dealing with. Sir Beldon worked up the courage and said to Dougal, “and you, Captain, surely they taught you about the consequences of fraternizing with superior officers?”
Katrina nearly held her breath, wondering exactly how Dougal was going to answer the tiresome bore.
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Dougal
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Posts: 597
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Post by Dougal on Jun 15, 2010 1:50:40 GMT -5
“Aren’t we quite the pair?”
Dougal laughed and hugged Katrina back. It seemed as though he was beginning to get used to showing affection for Katrina in public, even after such an intense sparring session. It was also good, he felt, that he could at least put behind him any mistakes that hurt Katrina. He was, of course, going to be much more careful next time they sparred, but at least he wouldn't be scared of doing so.
"Yeah, we are."
Katrina put weight on her injured leg and, although she tried to hide it, Dougal noticed that it caused her pain. Normally, this would be when he became a gentleman and helped her walk. However, he had a feeling that she would much prefer to walk by herself. Just like he hadn't wanted her to know about his ribs because he thought that she would worry, Katrina probably didn't want Dougal to think that he had hurt her too badly and fall into a depressive funk. Or something like that. He sensed Katrina's body tense and felt her head lift up. Something was about to happen.
“Here comes the lecture.”
Dougal's face instantly formed into a blank mask and he disentangled himself in order to face the approaching knights. From the looks on their faces, they weren't here to ask Dougal and Katrina to move their display of affection to somewhere more private. That's probably what they would start off with, but there would be more than that. They would probably tack on a lecture of fraternisation to the end of their doubtless polite request and then go from there. Dougal loathed pompous idiots like this who, in his opinion, usually tarnished the idea of chivalry more often than they upheld it.
A quick scan of the surrounding area revealed that, even if he helped Katrina walk, they wouldn't be able to avoid the knights. As a result, Dougal quickly snapped to attention and saluted the knights, before shifting back to standing at ease and preparing to help Katrina any way he could. Technically, he should have stayed at attention, but he figured that his status as a captain would probably allow him a little leeway, even if he couldn't divulge his rather impressive list of achievements to the knights, not that that would make any difference to the arrogant bastards.
Katrina tried to evade the knight several times and subtly supporter her, but the knights just weren't going to drop the subject. As much as Dougal wanted to just wade into knights and knock them senseless, he needed to show restrained if he wanted to stay in the army at all and, as a result, he settled for eyeballing the knights, keeping his face neutral and making sure that he didn't look at them long enough for them to charge him with insubordination. Still, it was rather difficult to not smile when Katrina caught the knight out the first time, and a small grin crept onto his face the second time she flummoxed Beldon. He could see the man squirming and even a small look of admiration for Katrina on the face of another knight. It was little wonder that Katrina had managed to become a knight if the rest of the Order of Chivalry was as eloquent as Sir Beldon.
Rapidly loosing ground against Katrina, Sir Beldon decided to come after Dougal. Dougal wasn't sure why the knight thought that he would be an easier target and, if he was honest, he didn't care. It just gave him the opportunity to stare directly into the eyes of the man that he now considered to be an enemy and smile. It was a friendly smile, broad and warm, the kind that reached a person's eyes. And yet, coming from such a giant of a man who, up until now had been so blank, it was typically more terrifying than one of Dougal's vicious smiles.
“And you, Captain, surely they taught you about the consequences of fraternizing with superior officers?”
"As a matter of fact, sir, they did not. I suppose it's only natural, seeing as Katrina is pretty much the first female knight. Maybe they teach recruits differently now, but I'm afraid I joined up long before then.
"Of course, if you were referring to the unofficial laws governing relationships between the nobility and the commoners then, yes, I am well aware of the consequences. See, one of my men fell in love with a knight's daughter. Not just in love with her for her station as you would probably think, but in honest to god love.
"Now, naturally, the knight found out about the budding relationship and told my man in no uncertain terms to end the relationship. Being a stubborn bastard, my man continued the relationship. He was court-martialed, ejected from the army and stripped of every financial asset he had. That didn't stop him, though.
"The knight set up a trap to kill him, but I'd trained my man well. He spotted it a mile off and just avoided it. They played cat and mouse like this for a couple of weeks until, one day, I found my man dead on the streets. He'd been ambushed by four or five men and killed. They're weren't your average assassins, either. Whoever they were, they had high quality swords. Almost knightly, I would say."
Dougal stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders.
"Of course, that's a pretty extreme case. Mostly commoners just have their lives ruined for daring to get involved with the nobility or, as is often in the case of women, being pressured into the relationship.
"So, yeah, I guess I do have a pretty good understanding of the consequences of being in a relationship with a member of the nobility. Sir."
While his tone was respectful and his smile pleasant, Dougal locked his eyes onto Beldon's in order to let the knight know that Dougal wasn't about to be pressured into leave Katrina.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 25, 2010 8:45:03 GMT -5
Beldon opened his mouth as if to reply, but Katrina could see a look of hesitation in his eyes as he met Dougal’s confident stare. He closed his mouth again and looked sideways at his two companions, as if for moral support. They were both standing quietly behind him, but with a look of disdain upon their faces.
Katrina didn’t wait for Beldon to work up the courage to answer Dougal’s veiled accusation that his man was possibly murdered by knights. “Sir Beldon, I will reiterate that if you have an issue with me or my conduct that you go through the proper chain of command to voice those concerns. Personally I find your actions far more reprehensible than mine and if you want to call a court of chivalry you go right ahead - if you think you can stand up to the scrutiny upon yourself that such an action will draw.” Katrina then literally pushed herself into Beldon, forcing him to back up, out of her path, rather than walking around him, showing no sign of her knee injury. “The Captain and I have some business to attend to. Good Day!” She glared down at him as she shoved past him and he moved back out of her way, a look of anger on his face. His two friends made no move to stop her or Dougal as they exited the practice yard.
As soon as they were in the Salee and out of Beldon’s sight, Katrina limped heavily over to a bench and sat down on it and began rubbing her wrenched knee. She could feel it swelling already. She was fuming inside at Beldon, but very proud of the way Dougal had handled himself.
“You were great! I was worried you might just punch the idiot in the face and I would have been upset if you had. I wanted to be the one to do that.” She smiled and looked up at him, “I never heard anything about that incident you were talking about. Did you ever find out who killed your man?” She shook her head, “I just don’t understand what all the fuss is about. If two people love each other, it shouldn’t matter at all what station in life they occupy. Stupid rules made by narrow-minded men!” She said in exasperation and rubbed her knee more vigorously in her anger. “I just hate to think that there are members of the Chivalry out there that would murder an innocent man just for falling in love. I suppose I am just being naive though. I know it happens, but I think it is horrible and a complete violation of their Knightly vows.”
After a couple of minutes a page came running up to her and Dougal. Out of breath, he panted, “Sir Katrina, Sir Kenyon is looking for you. He is just outside His Majesty’s council chamber and asks you and Captain Dougal attend him at once.”
Katrina nodded and fished into her belt pouch for a copper coin and handed it to the page. “Did he say what he needed?” The page shook his head, “no, Sir- uh, Ma’am.” The young boy flushed. “But I overheard some of the knights talking about a large band of outlaws along the northern border. May haps it has something to do with that, Sir- uh Ma’am.”
Katrina smiled at the boy. “You may call me Sir. I spent a great many years of practice and waded through a lot of cow dung to earn the title.” She grinned. “Thanks for the information. We shall go right there.”
The boy nodded and pocketed the coin and ran off. As soon as he was gone, Katrina stood up and headed for one of the alcoves behind the armory area where she could bandage her knee with some privacy. “I am going to have to wrap this up so Kenyon doesn’t figure out anything is wrong. If he is about to send us on a mission he won’t do it if he knows we are injured,” which reminded her that Dougal had his own injury that was probably much worse than hers. She limped over to a chest that contained various supplies for treating minor field injuries that were a daily part of the life of a warrior. She fished out some ointment and several rolls of clean bandages and limped to the alcove. “Shall we doctor each other, My Love?” She smiled coquettishly at him over her shoulder. “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours!” She snickered mischievously.
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Post by Brandwyn on Aug 17, 2010 14:14:48 GMT -5
Katrina stopped for a moment before entering the King’s Council Chamber where her mentor was waiting, undoubtedly with several others and likely the Princess. She turned to Dougal to make sure he showed no signs of their recent sparring. She nodded to him, took a deep breath and nodded to the guard to announce them.
She heard the Princess’s lilting voice telling the guard to show them in and steeling herself against the pain in her knee, she strode through the doors without a hint of a limp, a confident stroll and a smile on her face.
She approached the Princess first and gave her a sweeping bow from the waist, which etiquette allowed since she was in her battle gear and not a court dress; she could get away with a bow instead of a courtesy which would have been far more painful in her current condition. “Your Highness, how good to see you again. I trust you are well, in spite of the current state of affairs.”
“My dear Katrina, please come in and be at ease, both of you.” She nodded to Dougal too, and then gave Katrina an uncharacteristic hug. Disconcerted for a moment, Katrina returned the hug a bit awkwardly at first, but then she realized that likely the Princess had very few females she could confide in that had any understanding of what she was going through now that her father was missing and she was left to run the Kingdom. Katrina had a pretty good idea of what she was enduring and admired her for her courage and expertise in handling the situation. Likely she only needed a bit of encouragement. “You have been doing a wonderful job, Highness.” She whispered in Cassandra’s ear as they hugged. “Just don’t let these old codgers bully you into doing something you know is not right. Follow your heart and you will do just fine.”
Cassandra squeezed Katrina’s hand in thanks as she stepped back and dismissing Dougal and Katrina with a nod, resumed a conversation with Duncan’s aide. Katrina saw Sir Kenyon standing over in a corner speaking with the Araluen Battlemaster and two other knights. He motioned for her and Dougal to approach.
“Katrina, Captain! Glad you are here.” Ken said as they approached. “I understand you two are going a bit stir crazy around here.” Katrina glanced at Dougal, trying to suppress a grin, but not quite succeeding. She nodded but didn’t say anything, wondering just what mission the knights had in store.
“We have gotten some disturbing reports from many areas of the Kingdom.” Kenyon said. “It seems the word is out that the King is missing.”
“We knew that was going to happen.” The Battlemaster said, “But what I didn’t think was that the criminal element was going to be so well organized so quickly.”
Katrina looked at him quizzically, “What do you mean, Sir?” She asked him.
“There is a sudden increase in banditry across the country. Mostly it seems to be raids on smaller parties travelling the highways. Those people that look to have some wealth and little to no bodyguards are being targeted.” The Battlemaster explained. “It also seems to be prevalent in the outlying areas.”
“However there seems to be a very organized, large band of outlaws operating in Norgate and reports are that they are growing bolder each day, attacking larger parties.” Kenyon continued. “There is also reason to believe there is a method to their attacks or a goal in mind.” Again Katrina gave him that quizzical look, but before she could ask he went on. “They are more specific in their targets. They are hitting those with military connections. Sometimes it has been family members of knights or soldiers, letting wealthy merchants through unmolested, or sometimes they go after small groups of border patrol or Araluen Guardsmen, even though those men have very little on them. They even hit the wagon carrying the payroll for the garrison at Norgate Castle. Two of the outlaws were killed and we believe they are part of that gang of thieves you two broke up before the war.”
Katrina looked thoughtful for a moment, not liking what she was hearing. “Do you think they are seeking revenge? They could be targeting all military in hopes of hurting Dougal and I.”
Kenyon nodded, “The thought has crossed my mind. There is more too. Worse news,” he said solemnly. “Some of the families that live farther away from the castle and towns that have knights or soldiers in their family have been forced from their homes. The bandits burned out three families and murdered two others in their homes. They took very little, except food and the more obvious wealth before staking the bodies out in front of the homes as a warning. Clearly they have an agenda.”
“Exactly what that is, we don’t yet know.” The Battlemaster looked them over. “Ken here said that this directly concerns you two, as far as we can tell anyway, and he suggested that you two head up the investigation.”
Katrina glanced at Dougal, trying to hide the excitement at finally being given an assignment. She turned her attention back to the other men.
“We thought to send you to Norgate Castle under cover.” The Battlemaster said. “We are going to set you up as a wealthy military family returning from the war. Captain, we are going to give you a brand new dress uniform, complete with all the medals and decorations you have earned over the years. You will finally be able to wear them all openly. Of course we will provide you with a suitable background story.” The Battlemaster winked at the large man. Katrina wondered if there was some inside joke. She knew Dougal often went undercover, but it seemed there might be more to that than she really knew about. He had always been very closed-mouth about his career, of course he wasn’t all that forthcoming about much of anything really, now that she thought about it. It was actually pretty amazing at what she had gotten out of him about his past.
“Katrina,” Kenyon brought her back from her musings, a slight smile playing about his lips now. “You are going to play the doting Captain’s wife. We want you to appear to be a completely helpless, defenseless court lady, totally besotted with your husband.” Katrina eyed him sharply, wondering if he was teasing her. “We are hoping that will give you an edge when you are attacked. They won’t be expecting you to fight at all and will suddenly find themselves faced with not just one expert swordsman, but two.” Katrina nodded thoughtfully.
“We will be sending a modest guard with you, all knights, disguised as common swords-for-hire.” The Battlemaster pointed to the two knights with him. “These two will be in charge of selecting those to accompany you, but you two get the final approval. Hopefully superior training will allow you to obtain your objective.”
“And that objective is?” Katrina asked.
“To capture as many as you can and find out who is organizing them. Capture that person and bring him or them to justice. If you can’t capture them, you of course have clearance to dispatch them as you see fit.” Ken answered. “But if you take any alive, ensure they get to the castle for interrogation and trial. You may use whatever means you feel necessary to get information out of them.” Kenyon glanced at Dougal knowingly. “We want the trials public though, as well as the punishment.”
“We aim to make an example of these men as a warning across the Kingdom that just because the King is not here, it doesn’t mean the laws are not being enforced.” The Battlemaster said. “Any questions?”
Katrina mulled over all they said for a moment, trying to assimilate the information before formulating any questions. She would let Dougal ask first. Likely his questions would spark ones of her own.
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Dougal
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Post by Dougal on Sept 1, 2010 22:48:52 GMT -5
OOC: Well, it's about time I posted . Hopefully I'll be more regular now. IC: Dougal wasn't surprised by the increase in banditry following the disappearance of the King, not to mention that Araluen was still recovering from the war with Aslavia. Posts weren't fully manned as troops were still returning gradually. On the other hand, the fact that the bandits were attacking military personnel, or people with connections to the military, was unusual. It gave pursuing soldiers more motivation when they were tracking down the bandits. The loss of a family member or close friend always helped people to overcome their weariness and plunge on through the wild forest trails. And their plan didn't make a lot of sense, at least to him. Granted, the probably had no military training, but you'd think that they would at least confirm that their targets were in Norgate Fief before trying to draw them out. What did that say about the bandits? Well, their leader, or else key personnel, were likely to have relatives who had been killed by Dougal and Katrina, possibly fathers or brothers. They were irrational, acting out of sheer rage, attacking everyone who reminded them of their relative's killers. That made them both dangerous and unpredictable, since there was no predicting what someone with that kind of anger would do when given the opportunity to attack. Would they order an attack en masse with the intention of overwhelming any supporting forces, thus allowing them to engage in single combat with their target, or would they simply hide in the shadows and loose arrows or bolts at their target? Dougal was so wrapped up in analysing the bandits that he only caught the tail end of the Battlemaster tasking them to deal with the bandits. "...you two head up the investigation.”Perfect! Not only would this get them out of Araluen and away from the toxic stench of politics and gossip, but they would be going back into the field. Dougal gave Katrina a huge grin, not bothering to hide his excitement. He began to consider ways of dealing with the bandits, when the Battlemaster began to outline a plan of his own. Dougal listened out of politeness and, while there were some parts of the plan that he would have enjoyed immensely, he had serious doubts about the plan's workability. He would have loved to have been able to wear all his medals, and grinned sharkishly back at the Battlemaster when the topic came up, remembering both the number of medals he was owed and how he had earned them. Katrina's disguise also elicited a smile, although this one was more of a sly grin, as Dougal tried to imagine Katrina dressed up as a typical military wife. It was almost more than he could do to stop himself from laughing out loud. However, neither of those parts of the plan made the whole attractive. “Any questions?”The was silence for a few seconds as Dougal mentally prepared a plan of his own and politely deferred to Katrina in case she had objections of her own. When he had his plan and it appeared that Katrina had nothing to say yet, he began. "With all due respect, sir, I don't think that that plan's workable. If these bandits are really after me and Katrina, then they're not going to be fooled by the disguise. They're going to see that it's a trap, and that's when things start to go to shi...hell. From what you've told me, the bandits are motivated by revenge and I think that they're also blinded by grief. If they think that they're going to be lead into a trap, then they'll either swarm us, go and get reinforcements and swarm us or simply pick us off from a distance. Of course, they're likely unpredictable enough to do something completely different, like ignore us and wipe out a few more military families. "I also believe that letting ourselves be ambushed is too risky, both in terms of risk to our lives and the chances of it occurring. To pull the trap off effectively, you would need to give the bandits a hint or two about our arrival, giving them time to set up a more elaborate and effective ambush." Dougal grinned, ever so slightly sarcastically. "It goes without saying that if you can send hints to the bandits about our arrival that you could find and destroy them without as much risk. "A better idea would be to work with the local Ranger, Gillan if I remember correctly, and work out the location of the bandit's hide. Then it's a simply matter of either surrounding them or flushing them out. If they're on the Scotti side of the border, then our recent...mellowing of relations might come in handy." Dougal didn't mention that he'd rather have ten Scotti raiders than two Araluen knights - ten Scotti would likely be as noisy as two knights. "Alternatively, we could use a variation of your original plan, only we dispense with the disguises and let the word get around that we're there to deal with the bandit problem after we've arrived. That way the knights will be better armoured and Katrina won't be hindered by a skirt. While he would probably regret throwing the opportunity of wearing his medals, Dougal was satisfied that his plan would prevent unnecessary casualties. He just hoped that the Battlemaster and Sir Kenyon would see his point. Katrina probably would, although Dougal was willing to bet that she would miss not having the opportunity to pretend to be his wife.
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Post by Brandwyn on Sept 10, 2010 14:38:26 GMT -5
Katrina was working the plan out in her mind when Dougal said, "With all due respect, sir, I don't think that that plan's workable. If these bandits are really after me and Katrina, then they're not going to be fooled by the disguise. They're going to see that it's a trap, and that's when things start to go to shi...hell.”
She had to agree with him, though certain aspects of their plan might be workable. She liked his idea of contacting the local ranger. She and Gilan had interacted occasionally while she’d been on border patrol a few times, exchanging information. He was a likable man and very good at his trade. If anyone had a clue where the bandits were, it would be Gilan.
“Contacting Gilan is a good idea, in fact we should probably check with the Ranger Commandant before leaving to make sure anything we do is not going to mess up any plans he may have for dealing with the situation.” Katrina suggested.
“I also have to agree with Dougal that going in disguised would likely be more detrimental than beneficial. If it is a relative of one of the bandits we killed, then chances are he has our description, if he doesn’t recognize us on sight even. I would rather go in with a normal travelling party as if we were just returning to Norgate for duty.” Katrina said, regretting that she would not see Dougal in his dress uniform with all of his medals – yet! There was still their wedding day though, and traditionally soldiers got married in their uniforms, she smiled to herself at the thought. Then she almost laughed at the thought of the look on her mother’s face should she dispense with the traditional white dress and get married in her dress uniform as well. Redirecting her thoughts to the matter at hand, with a slight quirk on her face as she brought herself under control, she continued, “If they attack us on the way in, we should have a large enough party to deal with them, but if they don’t we can contact Gilan when we get there and formulate a plan to deal with them after consulting with him.” She liked to have a basic plan, but keep things rather flexible and fluid to be able to deal with situations as they arose. Right now there wasn’t enough information to form a plan of attack on the bandits. The time now called for recognizance and information gathering. Those were two things she had ample experience in and enjoyed.
A question did suddenly occur to her as the other Knights considered her and Dougal’s views. “Have there been any reports from the Scotti of any of their people being attacked?”
Kenyon looked at her sharply and then he got that look on his face when he was rapidly calculating something and Katrina knew better than to interrupt him. Finally he shook his head, “Not that I have heard,” He looked to the Battlemaster who shook his head. “In fact, we haven’t had any reports of anything on the Scotti side of Norgate for a couple of months now.”
“That is not good. I know many of us have been overseas, but most are trickling back home now and there should be some news being exchanged over the border, even if it is just from the commoners on each side. Often the sheep herders exchange news up there in the hills.” Katrina mused and glanced at Dougal. “Perhaps we should take a trip out to Macindaw right after we talk to Gilan?”
Her excitement was growing. It seemed this was not going to be an easy mop-up job like the usual banditry problems. These men were dangerous, unpredictable and motivated by anger and revenge. There was also no firm numbers on how many they were dealing with. With a lack of news from the other side of the border, it could be they were holed up somewhere near Macindaw. There were many large caves in those mountains that could hide a fairly large contingent of men along with supplies. “Perhaps they just want us to think they are bandits and in actuality they are a rouge fighting force out on some military agenda. It wouldn’t be the first time Macindaw was coveted.” Katrina flushed when she realized she’d voiced her thoughts, not meaning to air them in front of the other knights. It was pure speculation and she had nothing more to go on than her gut feelings. Those feelings were telling her though that this was more than just a simple group of bandits.
Kenyon looked thoughtful, but then doubtful. “Maybe, but I don’t think so. I think a group of vengeful bandits is more likely than someone trying to carve out a piece of land for himself up in those mountains. Still, it is possible.”
Well Katrina was ready to get started. She had sat around this castle long enough and was itching to get on the road. “So, when do we leave? I can be ready in half an hour.”
Kenyon laughed and the other three knights shook their heads. “Not so fast, Kat, for one thing you are going to have to say farewell to your parents and the others in your party still have to be chosen and notified and then provisions for the trip need to be ordered. I would say you won’t be leaving before tomorrow mid-day at the earliest.”
Katrina scowled for a moment, shifting her weight to ease the pain in her knee. One reason she wanted to get out of here earlier was so that Ken wouldn’t realize she was injured, or that Dougal was as well. That reminded her that she needed to wheedle that whole story out of him later when they were alone.
Kenyon and the Battlemaster conferred for a moment and then turned back to them. “Okay, we will let you two formulate your own plan. Ours was just an idea. Check in with Ranger Crowley before you go and make sure you pick some knights to go with you.” The Battlemaster ordered. “You are dismissed, unless you have more questions?” Katrina shook her head, itching to get out of there and start packing. Finally she and Dougal would be on the road together. She couldn’t contain her excitement as she grinned up at him.
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Dougal
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Post by Dougal on Oct 4, 2010 19:31:29 GMT -5
While Katrina thought that the bandits might be on the Araluen side of the border and close to Macindaw, Dougal quickly formed other suspicions. The whole idea of the attacks being solely directed at military personnel and their families, especially the bandit's method of executing the civilians, brought to mind his own campaign against the Scotti just after their attempted invasion of Araluen. He stole a look at the Battlemaster, wondering if he knew anything about that and, if so, whether that was part of his reason behind sending Dougal. But, in any case, he agreed with Katrina, although he did wonder what that small smirk earlier had been.
"Macindaw's a good starting point."
He wondered if Katrina had heard rumours about what had gone on back then. If she had she probably would have put it down to intra-clan fighting, but he doubted that, if these were revenge attacks, it would take her long to figure out who was behind it. That brought up an interesting question. Just how much of his past could Katrina ignore? And how far would he go to hide it? If it was the Scotti, then none of them, or at least none of the leaders, would ever get to speak.
Katrina's other thought was interesting and, while Dougal doubted that it was viable, he knew never to underestimate his enemies. Untrained people did both the most amazing and stupidest things possible, often at the same time, if they had even the slightest amount of an ego. Mind you, though, most groups who did want to make their own country tended to build their economy through robbing merchants and had a tendency to declare their intentions. Still, it was a possibility.
“So, when do we leave? I can be ready in half an hour.”
Dougal knew the answer to this one and started to chuckle even before Sir Kenyon put a damper on Katrina's spirits. Katrina's enthusiasm was one of the things he loved about her, but sometimes she forgot the most basic and important of things. He supposed that was what learning to be an effective officer was all about, and he was going to be more than willing to help Katrina along that path when he got the chance to. Hopefully that would be soon.
“Okay, we will let you two formulate your own plan. Ours was just an idea. Check in with Ranger Crowley before you go and make sure you pick some knights to go with you. You are dismissed, unless you have more questions?”
Since he couldn't think of anything else at the moment, and since it looked as though Crowley would probably know more than the two knights, Dougal shook his head and then glanced at Katrina, who was doing the same. He waited until he had saluted the knights and turned to go before returning her grin and resisted the temptation to put an arm around her. Ah well, no doubt there would be plenty of times on the road and in the field where people weren't trying to kill them and they didn't have any of the men around.
"So, do we visit Crowley or start packing?"
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Post by Brandwyn on Oct 7, 2010 22:26:46 GMT -5
Katrina led the way again back out of the room and into the hallway. As soon as the doors closed behind them, her smooth gait changed to a limp as she favored that knee. “I think we should see Crowley, especially since we are already here. Besides if it is going to take them so long to get the arrangements made, we will have plenty of time to pack later.” She said. She looked up at him as they walked side by side and since there was no one in the hall besides the guard at the door, she slipped her arm around him. She didn’t care if anyone saw them like that. She was too happy at the prospect of being on the road with him again. She smiled in excitement. “I can’t wait to get started! Maybe we will have a chance to slip away from the others for a bit once in a while.” She said, her eyes glittering. “It seems like ages since I had any privacy.”
Then another thought occurred to her and she frowned a little. “I supposed I am going to have to stop in at my parent’s room and say goodbye to them.” She knew her mother, as ever, would probably pitch a fit of some kind about the risks Katrina would be taking and Kat wasn’t looking forward to that. “They are here in the castle too, so we might as well see them after we get done with Crowley.”
As they walked, or rather Dougal walked and Katrina limped, to Crowley’s office, she rattled off a list of knights that she knew were here and whom she thought might be good to take along. She listed their attributes and their bad points too. “Henry is likely going to come with us. I doubt I could get him to stay here once he hears about it, so I guess he is on the list of those to visit before we go.”
By the time they found Crowley, they had pretty much decided on the five knights to accompany them and had two alternates in case one of the five didn’t want to go.
She knocked on Crowley’s door and he told them to come in. Katrina filled him in on what they had learned so far and their plan to contact the local ranger of Norgate. Then she asked if he had any additional information.
Crowley sat back in his chair and thought for a moment before answering. “Well, we had to make some changes and Gilan is now ranger of Whitby and Harrison is the ranger of Norgate. I can send a pigeon to the castle so he will get the message to meet you when he swings back around there on his circuits.” Crowley informed them.
“Now, as to these bandits, I don’t have a lot of information other than what you have already heard about.” He looked at them sadly. “I can tell you that Harrison and Gilan before him have reported that the border with Picta has been very quiet for months now. They chalked it up to the new treaty with the Scotti and counted it as a blessing. Now I am not so sure about that.” Crowley mused.
“Gilan broke up several small bands of outlaws around Norgate, but he saw signs of a larger gang. Unfortunately I had to move him before he could get any Intel on them. Harrison has not been there for long so he hasn’t reported back in yet. He may have some more information.”
Crowley tapped his fingertips on his chin in thought. “I must say though, that it appears that many of the people in Norgate are afraid to travel around the fief and it is becoming hard for the farmers to care for their fields or livestock.” He scowled. “There have been raids on farms and travelers attacked. Morale is low, naturally, and we may have some issues with food shortages there this winter.”
The picture he painted was much the same as what Kenyon and the Battlemaster had just told them. Katrina frowned, trying to think of what question to ask that might trigger some more useful information, but she was so excited at the prospect of leaving the city that she just couldn’t seem to concentrate at the moment. She looked at Dougal again, hoping he might take the lead in questioning Crowley.
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