May, Year 1You accept your renewed commission and receive a much improved paycheck. You don't have specific plans on spending it, so you save up the surplus for now. The structure of the company doesn't really support sergeants, but you unofficially make John and Mord your left and right hand men and involve them in picking members for your band. Your fellow captains have already picked most of the best troops, but you aren't left with the dregs either and end up with an even mix of survivors from the last battle. You eat with them during mess and train with them (lightly) during the day, and with your developing skill at speech and command you form fast ties with your men.
Your injuries hamper heavy training, but you drill spears with the other men and practice with your throwing axes. Your left arm isn't yet strong enough for you to work with a bow yet, but you just about manage to make use of your buckler during light practice. The drills are led in part by another captain, Dens, a Jaeg who was a captain in the older company and a friend of Tovey's. He is a skilled spearman and with your recent battle experience he is able to train you up to a reasonable level of competence with the spear. You make progress drilling in your leathers and Dens gives you several tips on how to better wear your armour to retain your freedom of movement.
Another of the captains, a fellow Tarian named Pannis, has a bit more experience with axe fighting and uses one himself for preference. The handaxe is not as ideal a weapon as a battleaxe in general, but he involves you in a little light sparring and teaches you a thing or two about fighting with axe-and-buckler, which the handaxe is better suited for. He comments that the style is a little different to sword-and-buckler fighting.
The important thing, Pannis explains, is to understand that the buckler is not the same as a larger shield. Whereas a large shield should be worn on the arm, a buckler is really designed to be gripped in one hand. It is manoeuverable, and the skill of using one lies in making small adjustments in position to block the enemy blade. This works particularly well against the long, flat blades of swords and 'swashbuckling', or duelling with a sword and buckler, is a popular pastime and style amongst young bravos.
When fighting sword-and-buckler, one generally keeps both hands quite close together and almost extended in front, the left holding the buckler and using it to guard hands and body while the right grips and manoeuvres the sword. Only a minimum of effort is expended in swinging the blade and one rarely moves the hands away from their positions in front.
The axe and buckler style retains some elements of this, you learn, for instance binding shield and axe on downward swings to protect the body while driving the attack. For the most part however the necessity to swing the axe means leaving the buckler arm forward to protect while drawing the axe arm back and around for the swing. Since it is far more essential to block with the front of the buckler (in part because of the heavier weight and hooked nature of the handaxe) the shield arm must be far more mobile to intercept strokes.
The sparring boggles your mind and you end up focusing most on the blocking aspects (to the pain and detriment of your left arm), only barely able to keep pace with the axe. Even so, Pannis is confident that after a few more months of drilling you should be up to his level with the style.
Nobody else aboard ship is especially skilled with throwing javelins, axes and other objects beyond some basic ability at the dart board. You take up the slack and obtain one of the spare archery buttes from Galen (there are few archers left and you lack the arm strength to learn the bow just yet), pincushioning it with javelin throws and axe throws. You break a few javelins, but you replace them easily enough from the company stores. By the end of the month you feel you have attained a degree of competence with your throwing arm. You even have a couple of contests with the remaining archers, who have joined Captain Twine's band (a Gulsh longbowman you only once met before the battle). They mostly win, but you hold your own given the relative distance.
At the end of May you dock at Shearport a changed man. Also a moderately richer man, and you take some shore leave to visit the lower markets and sell off your loot from Dewden. You don't get the best price for the jewellery, but you learn a thing or two about bargaining in the process and come out of the deal with a few more silvers for your trouble.
You join Galen on recruiting duty and are able to recruit a few more men to your band, despite the recent hit to the reputation of the Black Boars (defaulting on contracts is never popular). They are at least all of fighting age and in reasonable shape, though most of them are unskilled labourers like you were. You take them on anyway and bring the number of your band up to thirteen. Unless you decide you have other plans for them, they start drilling with spears.
Your search for new contracts is unfruitful, however. Word has spread about Dewden and work is thin on the ground. It looks like the company will be spending this month on shore looking for work and drilling the new recruits. So long as you don't make too much noise, it is unlikely the debt collectors will come looking for you here.
You pay a short visit to a local armourer, inquiring as to the cost of a decent brigantine shirt, helm and a new buckler. To your dismay the cost is exorbitant; it appears that the King of Shearport recently put in an order to refit his troops and good iron is at a premium right now. Even just the brigantine would cost your whole purse plus a month's salary. You hold off on purchasing any for now.
How would you like to spend June? You have a bit of coin in your purse to spend and your salary should allow for some luxuries or expenses as needed, should you wish to spend a little time in Shearport.
Age: 15
Recovering - Wounded
Boiled Leather Armour
Basic Iron Spear
Iron Handaxe
Simple Iron Buckler
3 Iron Throwing Axes
6 Wood-Tipped Javelins
Average Longbow
Quiver: 12 Arrows
Steel Dagger
Firepot
Illiterate
Native Tarian Speaker
Not Jaegish Speaker
Not Altanic Speaker
Not Vvardic Speaker
Competent Spearman
Competent Thrower
Average Speaker
Average Armour User
Average Shield-User
Novice Gambler
Novice Commander
Novice Thrower
Novice Surgeon
Novice Axeman
Novice Athlete
Novice Bargainer
Dabbling Hero
Wages: Minor
Purse: Small
Loot: -
Pack of Cards, Fair Dice
Debt: Serious (small basic debt, plus serious fine for evading debt collection)
Wanted for Debt Evasion.
Member of the Black Boars.
John, an Altanic spearman - Loyal
Mord, a Jaegish spearman - Loyal
General Troop Morale - Amicable
6 normal spearmen
4 green spearmen
The Black Boars
Commander Briggs - Respectful
Sea Captain Bors - Seen
Galen, Quartermaster - Neutral
Dawlish, Company Surgeon - Neutral
Captain Twine, a Gulsh captain - Neutral
Captain Dens, a Jaegish captain - Neutral
Captain Pannis, a Tarian captain - Neutral
Captain Tovey, your band captain - Slain in the Battle of Dewden
Karl, your bandmate - Slain in the Battle of Dewden
Brandon, your bandmate - Slain in the Battle of Dewden
Petras, Drillmaster - Slain in the Battle of Dewden
Commander Brecht - Slain in the Battle of Dewden
Author
Topic: Courtier: A Suggestion Game (Read 12033 times)