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[jaass]

I think let Barick do the melee and one on one combat, and let our vassal joust (or archery, if he's good at it). I think just watch the mage duel, as I doubt anyone we enter would make a strong showing, and it'd be tipping our hand, so to speak.

Also, ponder the idea of getting a custom chess set to belatedly give to the victor of that chess tourney. Because chess.

The reward can wait for now if Malehsa is coming to with us we can get to know her better thus giving her a more preferable gift/prize.

[Mlamlah]

You arrange for Barick to enter the tourney as the prince's champion, but for him only to compete in the grand melee and the one on one combat standings. You hear it mentioned by the tourney stewards that the grand melee is going to be a nightmare to manage, as a small army will be present on the field all told.

You invite Bepher to attend the tourney, in jousting and archery. He doesn't have proper armor for jousting, but you invite him to borrow from the palace armory. He mentions he's a fairly decent archer, a useful skill for sailors. Your servants tell you that Bepher is very pleased at the possibility of jousting, something he has done rarely.

Tourney day arrives and with it hundreds and hundreds of spectators both common and lowborn. They pile onto the tourney grounds and past a near virtual barricade of stall merchants hawking wares.
The first event of the day is one on one combat, which isn't considered as exciting as the other events. The fights are largely simultaneous, so you do not get to see all of the fights you would like.
In a stroke of luck Barick's first opponent is a newly knighted 16 year old, whom Barick disarms and defeats with only three well placed and quick blows of his warhammer. The boy is dragged off the field gasping for air, and you can't help but feel satisfied at Barick's easy dispatch of an opponent.

Barick's next opponent is a proper Knight from Adalbert, and the two spend time sizing eachother up in the opening moments of the match. When weapons are joined, Barick does badly. He slips in the dirt and is nearly knocked down by his opponents responding tackle. Barick drops his warhammer in the ensuing close combat and grabs hold of his opponent and shakes him around roughly. The helpless Knight then has his own sword forced out of his hand, and Your champion uses it to batter the man about the helm and shoulders. The knight yields, and Barick wins the match, though the crowd seems unhappy with how the fight went.

Barick's next match is an unlucky pairing with Knight Commander Gerald. Gerald is quite famous for his skill even as he approaches old age, and it's not surprising, he's the head of a Knightly Order known specifically and solely for their combat prowess. Barick admits to you before the match that he doesn't think he's going to win.
When it comes time to fight Barick immediately goes on the offensive, utilizing a style you've never seen before, hammer in his right hand, and a shortsword in a reverse grip in his left. The hammer goes out again and again in the opening seconds of the melee, forcing Gerald to retreat. Barick catches Gerald's first strikes smoothly with his shortsword. Somehow Barick manages to continue his rather successful barrage, keeping his opponent just off balance enough to force his retreat, and render his attacks clumsy. At the last Barick disarms Gerald, and the proud Sir Gerald yields and Barick's victory is met with thunderous applause and cheering. To the best of your knowledge the Knight Commander has not lost single combat for the entirety of your lifespan.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I am staggering the update here in honor of Barick's victory. Feel free to make suggestions on how to react to this turn of events.

[jaass]

Congratulate Barick, and ask what type of style he is using. Is it his own technique or did he learn it from somewhere else?

[Travisplo]

Barick, give us those sweet combat juices! Congratulate him to be the first to beat Gerald in our lifetime. (BTW, did you roll for that? If you did, I would love to see those rolls. )

[Mlamlah]

Barick, give us those sweet combat juices! Congratulate him to be the first to beat Gerald in our lifetime. (BTW, did you roll for that? If you did, I would love to see those rolls. )

That I did. 3d6 for all rolls. Barick rolled 17 his first roll, and his next rolls featured 13's and 14's, Gerald's rolls all hovered around Five. Barick just hammered repeatedly on him and Gerald couldn't recover from being hit so many times with that hammer, wether he blocked most of the blows or not. Barick essentially brutalized his opponent with raw strength, backing him up to where he could no longer retreat.

[3man75]

*The prince looks shockingly at barick*

"so you didn't think you were going to win? was that when you decided to use that...style?"
*put's hand out* "well done barick".

Dude barick is a fucking badass at this point...hopefully we can pick that up from him.

[Mlamlah]

You and a number of noble spectators congratulate Barick heartily on his victory. The Bodygaurd himself seems deeply shocked, and Gerald is helped off the field with a dislocated shoulder.
You mention to Barick that you've never seen that style before, and ask him where he learned it. Barick says nothing, and you shrug it off and begin thinking of some way to honor him for his great victory.

Barick's next match is against Arleth, the son of a Duke known to be a skilled warrior, and brother to Liona. He measures Barick cautiously before battle is joined, not going to underestimate the man who just defeated one of the greatest tournament fighters in the kingdom.
Barick, tired from his heated battle with Gerald, is easily driven back by his new opponent in the first exchange of blows. Barick quickly recovers and holds his ground, attacking Arleth with powerful blows that the swordsman skillfully avoids. This continues for a time, Barick holding his ground and Arleth almost dancing around him, and it becomes clear that Barick is growing wearier with each swing of his warhammer, almost all of which fail to catch so much as his opponents sword. This pattern fails to break, and at the last, Arleth gives a strong kick to the back of Barick's leg, and lays his sword against the man's throat, ensuring his victory.

Barick is out of this part of the tourney, but you still feel proud of your champion, he represented you proudly in this event.
An Adalbert Knight wins the one on one melee, an event one would have expected Gerald to win. You hear dissatisfied murmuring among some of the Analyssian noble's when the event is over. You are sure that some will see this defeat as a sign that age is beginning to slow the Knight Commander, something that might bring his fitness for duty to question.

...

The Next event is Archery, and most of the competitors are Analyssian Knights of the Sail; your vassal Bepher among them. The event is fairly unexciting, and for the most part goes predictably. The local knights largely dominate all competition, and Bepher does decently, but unremarkably.

The next event is jousting, and you have Bepher provided with armor, horse, lances and even lend him Elwer, your squire. Bepher proceeds to do terribly in the joust. It's clear he's not a very good rider, and most of the time he struggles to so much as bring his lance to bear. He's not the only bad jouster in the competition, but it's a little embarrassing. Gerald manages to win back honor in the joust, and makes second, but is unhorsed by another vassal-knight of Penrod's in the second turn of the last joust of the day.

The next event is the mages duel, and it's ussually quite exciting. Heavy enchantments are laid on the field to prevent the battle from getting out of control and to convert anything that might harm mages into flashy and harmless excess. Each battle ends when one mage or another is no longer able to defend themself, ussually because they have exhausted all of their power.
Rai sits with you as the event goes on, and his commentary tends towards the dry and sarcastic. He points out ineficiences in the technique of some of the more powerful mages though, something you make note of. It makes sense for the spellcasting of some of those with more raw power to be sloppy, but it might make such spells easier to unravel. With great disdain Rai points out that Keshlan mages are taught to rely on the environment to produce their combat magic. "A fireball may look impressive." he says "but we Keshlans understand that it's much easier to simply crush someone with a rock or drown them in suspended water, you Analyssians are so wasteful of your energy." You are occassionally annoyed by Rai's unimpressed commentary, but you still make note of many of his points.
Though even Rai is impressed by "Sir Kaelack the grim", an extremely powerful and skilled warmage that rarely attends tourneys-but is present at this one-. He destroys the competition with ease that makes the competition almost boring. You tell Rai that Kaelack is the head of the kingdom's warmage order, and Rai states that it's for good reason. "His spellweaving is flawless... and he has the power to back that up. I'm glad you didn't ask me to join the competition, I would... be worried."
Rai's hypothetical worry is far from unfounded. Several mages are injured, even the tournament wardens protective enchantments are occassionally overwhelmed and must be replaced. He's victorious, but just as often through withdrawal as actual victory. You wonder if this is a man who should even compete.

Finally comes the grand melee, an event that has been awaited with great anticipation, and which draws the largest crowd. The melee includes several hundred participants from all over the country, and the great majority of Penrod's Knights. Participants are all placed randomly through the field in a sort of magic lottery, and tournament officials stand on small wooden towers set up around the field. You can't help but notice that participants placed on the sides of the field have a slight advantage over some of their opponents, having to worry about attack from fewer angles.
Barick is placed in a very advantageous position, near fresh knights and eager youths, but still in the center of the field. Your brother Erik and Gerald are also present. The great scale of the competition will force you to consider where you want to place yourself to better see. You will likely only be able to keep your eyes on one or maybe two of the participants you consider noteworthy. Who will you try to watch during the Grand melee, and the conclusion of the day's tournament activities?
Though... if you wanted to take a risk, you could possibly take out your handmirror and scry, if you wanted to watch the participants with much greater ease.
 

[Travisplo]

Barick, give us those sweet combat juices! Congratulate him to be the first to beat Gerald in our lifetime. (BTW, did you roll for that? If you did, I would love to see those rolls. )

That I did. 3d6 for all rolls. Barick rolled 17 his first roll, and his next rolls featured 13's and 14's, Gerald's rolls all hovered around Five. Barick just hammered repeatedly on him and Gerald couldn't recover from being hit so many times with that hammer, wether he blocked most of the blows or not. Barick essentially brutalized his opponent with raw strength, backing him up to where he could no longer retreat.

OK, Barick. I think you are even more badass. Teach me your unique technique! PLEASE!

[Travisplo]

Watch Barick, and go to the bathroom to scry!

[Nicholas1024]

Watch Barick, obviously. He probably won't win, but I fully expect him to place well.

[Travisplo]

Time for a sacrifice to the dice gods!

[3man75]

The hell with scying. We couldn't do it without the wardens noticing something. I say watch Erin and the Knight commander. Specifically Erin though because he is going to be the one were watching out for and i'd/our character should know about his professional military training.

Also the heck we couldn't scry in the dark forest for that assassin in the dark but now in broad daylight with the WHOLE fucking city/wardens guild of magic enforcers outside were going to risk scyring? Is our life not worth more than cheap gladiator entertainment.

[Weirdsound]

See if you can sit with your father. He likely has the best seats in the house, and can give good commentary on the fights. Watch whoever he is watching, and be polite to his concubine if she is present.

[Travisplo]

Bump?

[3man75]

bump for update!

An again no scying not for something as stupid as this.