Roleplay III -- Part 4
After discussing your intentions with Hammy, he agrees that many children have a rough deal in the current social milieu of the Keep. You swear a solemn pact to combat injustice together for the rest of your lives, wherever it may lie. Then the two of you sweep across the wide grassy courtyard toward the barracks, marshalling your forces as you go. Hammy knows the children much better than you and calls them out by name and circumstance. "Hoy! You there! Rick Scullion! Join us and never taste grass again! Hoy! Tom Bastard! Here's a group for you, if you don't mind knocking heads!"
You pass by Queenie's group and think of how the knights in the idylls would handle this situation. You give her a gallant bow and a few courtesies, after which she breaks down and asks to pet your pony, then airily voices her general state of displeasure at any boy who wouldn't be brave enough to join your noble order. Those boys within earshot all rise to the challenge that she has laid upon their bravery.
After extricating your steed from that scene, you continue toward the barracks with a round dozen of the local boys and explain to the guards that you are levying a militia of the local children to fight injustice. With indulgent chuckles they pass out training staves and advise you to be careful and to have fun. You take the staves to the nearby carpenters shed, and the jolly man quickly saws them in half to make serviceable weapons.
As you leave the carpenters shed, hoots of derision from above announce that Harry Noughting and his rabble have gotten wind of your initiative, which to them suspiciously resembles obedience to an authority. Harry calls down from the roof. "Oi, look at the lordling and's little toy soldiers! I thought toy soldiers was made of wood, but then I suppose I can't see inside your skulls!" More screeches and hoots of amusement from his pack.
You set up a drilling line, and show everyone how to line up on Hammy, and begin going through basic formation concepts like dressing the formation so that everyone has room to swing his stick. Harry continues to hurl down volleys of scorn at the admittedly somewhat comical proceedings, although he does restrain one of his mates from hurling a wood shingle in escalation. Sensing a bit of restlessness and flagging morale under this abuse, you demonstrate a basic lunge and a basic parry, and you are about to pair your little soldiers against each other when Harry suddenly squawks out from his vantage point.
"They're all coming, let's get out of here!" And his pack climb from the carpenter's lean-to shed up onto the curtain wall and skitter away.
The arrival of a clearly unhappy Cadmon and his scowling gang are an unexpected surprise, to say the least, but the real shock is the adult guardsmen who accompany them with beaming smiles and herd them forward with hearty slaps on their backs and a gale of encouragements.
"You boys join the little lord and have fun together!" "Mind his Lordship now! Don't be recreants!" "Brond, get in there and hold the line just like tha father at Mumsford! Haha!" "Cadmon, tha'll not idle away while the little lord be drillin' his troops, lad."
The adults guardsmen march away, proud of their unexpected contributions to your levy. Meanwhile Cadmon grimaces and reluctantly declares, "Right. I'll take charge here, with his Lordship's permission."
You and Hammy exchange glances, unsure of how to proceed.