Last Friday's game was interesting. Our Crusader's player from the Spies and Pirates game had decided he wanted to test my thoughts on canon, and he's wanted to run the A Song of Ice and Fire RPG for a while. Knowing that I've read all the novels (and now in preparation for the game, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as well), and am a fan of the written universe, if not quite so taken with the TV show, our Crusader has chosen a landscape I know well.
My character was one Ser Eldon Coldrock, known as the "Ironfoe" for his hatred of the raiders from the Iron Islands. He was twelve when Balon Greyjoy attempted his rebellion, Ironmen came to Cold Rocks, Eldon's hometown, and a place his family had lived for thousands of years, at least since the days of the First Men. The sea raiders burned the place to ground, killing Eldon's great uncle, his uncle, his older sisters, and his older brother. Only he and his aunt escaped out of their whole family (Eldon's parents are dead or missing, and he has barely any memories of them).
At the age of fourteen he was squired to a hedge knight named Ser Ardol, and three years later, remnants of Balon's broken forces stole the young heir of the House of Greenstem, a banner house to the wealthy House Dross. When Ardol was wounded severely enough that he could not carry on, Eldon went on alone. Through feats of daring, he rescued Clement Greenstem, and they in turn rescued Ser Ardol and brought him back to the Greenstem family hall. It was there, once Ser Ardol was well, that Eldon was knighted, and undertook his vigil before the eyes of gods and men.
Three years were spent traveling Westeros, and when he returned to the House of Greenstem he was a tall, powerful man, if plain of face, and humble in origin. His hatred of the Ironmen has never abated, however, and he took for his arms a squid laid low with a sword through its body, and three drops of blood falling from its ghastly wound. Another year passes, and the game began - Ser Eldon is in service to House Greenstem, and the young Lord Clement is fond of his hedge knight friend (though this may not last).
House Greenstem and House Dross are invited to the birthday of a nearby lordling house, the Mousers. The eldest son has attained his majority, and Lady Nora of House Dross brought him a Sand Steed, the spirited and fleet horses of Dorne. Lord Clement brought him a good castle forged sword, and Ser Eldon brought nothing but a willingness to win at the games in the lordling's honor.
There would be a tourney and a melee that day, but first there was a great deal of mingling. The Mouser's daughter, whose hand in marriage was the potential reward for winning the joust, had taken a shine to young Lord Clement, and the two of them went to the manor's garden for a chance to speak in private, a potentially scandalous act. Who better to protect them than Ser Eldon, Lord Clement's childhood rescuer?
Well, Ser Eldon is nothing if not completely inept at stealth, so it was pretty obvious he was following them. At a discreet and polite distance. Unfortunately, a young lady is not something one lets go missing (particularly when the "Lusty Lord" of House Dross is out and about), and her meddler of a brother came calling. He interrogated Ser Eldon, but Eldon isn't exactly the maester of witticisms and simply covered for Lord Clement. However, the lordling soon discovered the truth, and let his tongue wag a bit too far, threatening Ser Eldon and Lord Clement.
There was some funny bit about about having his father throw us out (in particular yours truly as Ser Eldon), but Ser Eldon was having none of it, and told the boy he'd like to see his father try to throw him and his horse out of the tourney. Not to mention the insult to House Greenstem.
Meanwhile, back at the party, Lady Nora, the "Lusty Lord's" twin sister was being none too subtly threatened by Tywin Lannister's favorite sister, who laid out our Banner Lord's concerns over the bandits who had infested our lands (and the lands of our banner house, House Greenstem), and the rather blunt threat of murder and rape if we didn't get things in order. Essentially an ultimatum was on hand: Clean up the bandits, or Tywin will send the Mountain that Rides to do it for you.
Our Lord of House Dross was in the meanwhile, trying to get into an old maid of a widow lady's skirts, but she turned out to be a little more adroit than he had anticipated, and he'd pretty much managed to get himself informally engaged by the end of his "seduction attempt". On the other hand, things were working out for Lady Nora, because the widow her brother had his eyes on, was not only head of a banner house to the Mousers, but also in possession of a larger army than either House Dross or House Greenstem. Moreover, the Mouser's daughter and Lord Clements clear attraction hadn't escaped her shrewd (if drunk) notice.
When it came time for the melee, Ser Eldon was pitted against Lord Dross, who trounced him rather handily. Certainly he wasn't as easily outwitted in the field as he was in the manor house. Thankfully, no real injury was done, though Ser Eldon was out of the running for the prize purse in the melee.
However, it was Lord Clement who ultimately won the melee, and they moved on to the joust.
The joust was chancy. Very chancy. I'm completely surprised I made it as far as I did (bless that bonus die in Ride). At the end of it, it was just me and Lord Clement. Our first pass, as I recollect, was a tie. Our second pass was not. He didn't make his test to stay in the saddle, and I chose to be a gigantic dick and burn a Destiny point so that I'd automatically make the test. Now, I didn't do it because I wanted to have my hedge knight marry the Lord Mouser's daughter. No. I did it because it's a much better story if Lord Clement has to stew a bit, and Lady Nora gets to scheme getting Clement and Odette married, while placating the good Ser Eldon with something more to his liking. Plus, it puts pressure on Odette's family to relinquish their banner house to House Dross.
I may not be as clever as our good Lady Nora (played by the Spies and Pirates elf), but I have my moments.
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