Medieval wannabe fighters reporting to Everard

[Austi_Scot]

"Ok, you 10 Medieval wannabe fighters - don´t go thinking you´re a Knight or anything like that, not yet anyhow.

There will be some training here, after that is done your services will be up for sale to anyone who finds they are involved in an Execution of Ascendancy.

Now everyone get yourself out into Hallucination and catch yourself a horse. Then report back here."

OOC) Others are welcome to join in this story. Post in the genre of the story from this point on please. only post in charater in this thread, take OOC into another thread please.

[Austi_Scot]

Everard turned around and headed back to his tent as the the ten made no motion. After five steps he jumped back at them, his face as red as it had ever been, his bread seemed as though it had caught fire. Everard was about to yell something about stop wasting the time and how each man should be sure to get a sturdy stick they can fight with, but as he did he saw as it were a hoard of men coming into the clearing.

His mouth wasted no time, "Hand to hand," he yelled as he quickly passed the ten in a dead run towards the hoard. All were stunned as the ten turned and watched and the hoard stopped suddenly in their tracks and even began to retreat.
"They are ours!" Everard, gave out the battle cry of victory. As he approached the hoard, those who were too surprised to run knelt to one knee and bowed their heads. Everard stood up straight and tall no more than an arms reach from the first of them. "What say ye!" he said in a loud gruff angry tone.

"We are soldiers, come to learn to be knights," the closest one said without looking up.

"Well," Everard now began in a more friendly tone, "all of you are here for Knighthood?"

"Yes Sire, all two hundred and ninty of us. I see the other ten got here before we did."

"How do you know how many," Everard bellow, "are you some sort of leader."

"As a young boy I vowed to my father that I would gather three hundred men to serve the Great Everard. My father Gervase, when he was old, told me of a great young man. My fatay be `he who taught the brave how to protect Hallucination."

" If it pleases my Lord, I am Albyn, son of Gervase. All these men were told of your greatness by me as I traveled on foot throughout the Barony of Hallucination. We all grew up on this land and now we want to train under you to defend it with our life if necessary." Came the reply.

"Well, that was your first mistake!" Everard said as he turned and pointed towards his tent. "What is that you see over there, tied up to that tree by my tent?"

"Sire, it is a great white stead of the plains of Hallucination."

"Coming here on foot was your first mistake. All Knights should have a horse. Now Albyn, as you call yourself, since you are the self-proclaimed leader of this ratty bunch of men, get yourself and them out there and catch a horse. Everyone who wants to be a Knight must have a horse!"

"NOW GET OUTTA MY SIGHT, ALL OF YOU!"

Everard turned and headed back to his tent. "Wonder if they´ll even think about having a weapon?" he said aloud as he went, hoping at least one of them would hear him and all of them would have enough sense to do something about it. He could hear Albyn telling the men to follow him because he knows where a great herd of horses live. Secretly Everard hoped that none of them knew or would ever find out the meaning of his name least they start calling him names and he have to kill some of them.

[Andreas the Wise]

"Brothers, attack!"

Without warning, a small herd of centaurs leapt out of the forest and began to attack the wannabe fighters while they tried to capture horses. The horses began to run away, concerned by the whinnying voices of the centaurs, while the centaurs turned on the fighters, bows at the ready.

For a moment the fighters were startled, but Albyn rallied them. "We greatly outnumber you, centaurs. Go back to your forests, or ..." Before he could finish the sentence, two shards of ice flew through the air, one going through each of his sleeves and pulling him to the ground, pinning him their through his clothes. Neither had so much as scratched him.
"Warning shot," came a voice from the woods. They could see no face, but the accent was certainly not Kildarian. "These horses are under the protection of the Mekos Korol. Tread no further if you value your lives."

The fighters stopped, unsure how to proceed. "Leave now," came a voice from another side of the wood.
"Then we won't have to hurt you," came a voice from the other side of the clearing.
There was no way of telling how many there were surrounding them. The fighters weren't trained for this yet. Most of them fled. Those that remained, seeing that the others had fled, fled also. Then the centaurs were alone, and, slowly, some of the horses returned.
"This might be easier than I thought," said the first voice.
"We should have taken their clothes," said another.
"Quiet," said a third, who had the same accent as the first. "There will be time for that later. For now, we merely need to spread our name. I wonder if anyone will work out what it means?"

[Austi_Scot]

Albyn laid there for a few moments, astounded by the whole situation. He was astounded that the herd of Centaurs appeared in the first place and that they didn´t just kill some of the men, astounded even more that the men ran when he had stood there with courage.

The ice shards melted enough to allow Albyn to get loose, and as the horses returned he stood up and headed into the forest where the men where standing around, in a daze it appeared to Albyn.

"Alright there!", Albyn called out, "all of you come out to the edge of the clearing. We´re going to have a little talk right here and now!" Albyn stepped back into the clearing and noticed the horses were not scattering in fear. He also noticed the feeling he got that the Centaurs were still watching, but he wasn't sure about that either.

"First of all we did that whole thing wrong. Don´t try to catch any of those horses right now, not just yet." Albyn motioned with his eyes as the "We got caught there and it´s for sure half of us should be dead."

"Six of you men step forward, we´re going to divide into smaller groups and you´re each going to be the leaders of a group." Albyn said with authority.

The men began to look around at each other and were soon pointing out those who should be the leaders.

In a moment Amaury stepped forward, then Turstin and Ranulf; next Osgood, Guillaume, and Warin were thrust forward by the men. "You last three, the men pushed you out." Albyn looked into the trees to see what he might as he spoke, "Go back and stand with the others."

"Nay," came the quick reply for Guillaume, "the men have decided I should be here. If they don´t want me as a leader let them grab my arm and pull me back." Osgood and Warin puffed up their chest and stood tall next to Guillaume as if to say the same.

"Alright then, so be it,´ Albyn agreed, "at least for now." Albyn was continually looking around. "The rest of you find food whist the seven of us talk. ... and don´t try to catch anymore horses tonight."

The men did as Albyn told them and the seven went into the midst of the horses, sat down on the grass and began to talk.