Kyle stops. That wasn't his father... Was it? No, of course not... No, his father hits much harder than that. Ugh... things would be much simpler if everything would STOP MOVING FOR A SECOND!
Kyle stops and the floor rises up to attack him, the nails in the wooden boards looking like tiny, mean eyes. Huh. Eventually, he manages a sitting position and watches as the armored blurs fight the fur wearing blurs. It seems the armor is beating the fur, despite being outnumbered-though all the blurs are sort of the same.
One of the armored blurs-which Kyle recognizes as a woman-throws another blur across the room, who lands on a table with nasty crack. Kyle feels like clapping.
Huh. This is fun to watch.
Another blur is heading toward him, a woman-shaped blur. Kyle wonders if this one has a mug to hit him with.
"Look the lord's men at arms approach! Get out of the way!"To his disappointment, the battle seems to break up at her pretty voice. A dim comprehension tells Kyle to join the tide that is leaving, before the guards find him here. Not that it will be the first time...and he'll likely get the blame...then again, he does have the whole bar to himself.
Rilmad keeps the crossbow where it's at, disbelief showing in his voice. "All that matters is that it's Snow, and I'm a peasant. As for where I live, just a local of the area. Now who are you and why are you and those drunken louts here?"
The woman narrows her hazel eyes. For the first time, Rilmad notices she has her own bow, slung underneath the horse blanket sitting in her lap. He can see the tip of the arrow, canted in his general direction.
'Boredom. Our Lord Fathers are talking and talking, at a summit in the Deepwood. We were brought like baggage-the younger of us-so, we decided to go hunting. And, a few fools got to drinking...I came to hunt, though you stole my boar, and those fool lords trampled it. My name is Sheera Linster, and my family are bannermen of the Ryswells of the Rills, Protectors of the Blazewater, Bannermen to the Starks, Defenders of the North...blah, blah, blah. Boring. Aren't you bored?' She asks, with a sardonic lilt.
William brushes some of the snow from his hair, expression curling into a grimace as he examines the clouds. An ill storm, for the summer, though winter had brought much worse than this. It would still make the return to his seat upon the Coldspire longer in coming than he had hoped.
Worrying about the weather, it took the lord a moment to realize Frederich had spoken. When he did, he brought his eyes down from the sky and back to his friend, raising an eyebrow in surprise. He couldn't recall the knight-general ever claiming such a thing. "Do you believe the wildling held back against you?"
Fredrich rubs his hands together, as if feeling the cold.
"I think he spared my life, Sir. The second spear thrust-I didn't even see it-I've never seen a man as fast as him. He just tapped me in the same place, as before. Just a tap...why would he go low twice? It's like he was...mocking me.
I'm not sure he intended to win."Was it shoddy construction that would give way at the weakest push or would it take a strong man in deadly anger to cause it to break? Finally she takes a step back and gives a strong kick to the railing.
....
As the onlookers look around for the warriors Elise shouted about Elise tries to slip into the bar and steal a weapon from the barkeeper among all the confusion.
Elise gives a strong, but careful kick to the railing-it's not hard for her vivid imagination to guess what it was like for the man who fell into the roaring, icy river.
To her surprise, it makes a dutiful thudding sound but remains intact-a bit of a shudder, but no more. She inspects it closely-the rail is strong Ironwood, no more than a few years, and has been well treated with tars to prevent rotting from the foul weather of the North. The rest of bridge is likewise in more or less the same condition...
[KNOWLEDGE TEST=(9)
ELISE'S Knowledge 3D6=9
Success!]she inspects the sight of the break, and find it has been replaced with a length of iron chain for the time-but, the two wooden slats that broke away before the mans push hang down from the railing in two neat pieces. Inspecting a bit closer, she can't help but think they bear the toothed mark of a craftsman's saw...as if the railing was carefully weakened, cut so thin that it would snap at the slightest force applied.
...
Elise notes the barfight was between fur clad northmen and...others, wearing heavy armor, who remind her of pirates-Ironmen. Well, was being the operative word-it seems everyone is fighting everyone in reach now. More Northmen are on the ground than the ones in armor.
"Look the lord's men at arms approach! Get out of the way!" She says, leading to a milling of confusion. Men (And one hatchet-faced, black haired woman with a bloody nose) look to her, pausing in their mutual beatings, suddenly disentangling and rolling for the door.
[COMPETING THIEVERY/PERCEPTION TEST=
ELISE'S Thievery 4D6=9
BARTENDERS Perception 2D6=7
Success!]During the confusion, Elise reaches behind the bar-while the bartender is distracted trying put out a fire from lamp that 'accidentally' fell-and snags something heavy and made of Iron. She brings it out and looks at before tugging it under her cloak. It's a beautiful and superbly balanced handaxe, with a rose filigree in the dark black steel-it looks very sharp. She would guess it might have originally come from the Vale...
Elise gains a Superior Handaxe
Damage: Athletics-1
Traits: Defensive, +1 (Add this number to your combat rating when wielding)
Off-hand, +1 (Add this number to your damage rating, when attacking with this tandem style.)
Superior Craftsmanship, +1 to all fighting rolls when wieldingElise has a feeling the guards really will show up soon enough. The young man-child (who is wearing very fine armor, and looks sort of familiar) is still lolling on the ground like a hound. Agh, poetics.
It has been going on for too long. This Hal need to be thaught a lesson.
Henry throw his glove at Hal's face.
Hal smiles smugly.
"I'll be there, Henry snow. Just make sure you come alone-you don't want witnesses to the thrashing I'm going to give you."...
And later, a whore.
"Just keep him busy, you mean?" She asks. A pretty young woman, Henry thinks, trying to convince a thin looking blonde to do what he asks. A bit too smart for her own good, too. He tried to frame it as merely hiring for a friend, but the woman saw right through that. Otherwise, he gave no details.
"I suppose I don't mind collecting two-fers one night o' work...but, we know this fella you want distracted down here too, the Oak boy. He's got a nasty temper, and most of the girls don't like him, not that anyone has ever bothered to ask us. What if he figgers to break in my teeth? I don't suppose a mighty Lord would protect me, will he?" She asks coyly, likely trying to wager a better price-though the look on her face seems to betray she actually is afraid of Hal.