Gerald, with Esther tagging along, goes into the local chapel and gets a large parchment and some charcoal sticks. Esther enthusiastically agrees to help Gerald pick up basic literacy, and the local priest seems to warm up to her after learning that, loaning the two of them a book of the rites of the Silver Flame to work with while they're on the trail.
Since this quest isn't a hugely urgent one, Gerald also takes a whittling knife and a whetstone, for carving things out of wood. A thick woolen blanket is begged off Sir Bernard's wife, and Gerald takes a simple short sword and short bow, making a mental note to get some more practice in. Gerald is okay for a novice, but lacks much of the experience other followers of Sir Bernard have of similar age. As the party intends to travel through thick woodland, they'll be on foot, so he doesn't take much more.
The next day, the party sets out, Sir Bernard in the lead and fifteen men, ages roughly sixteen to thirty, tag along in addition to Gerald, Esther and Lady Thurlow. Everyone except the witches are lightly armed in case they run into the goblin scouting parties they've heard about, but the mood is generally optimistic.
“The sight beyond sight tells me of this magic sword.” explains Lady Thurlow. “I don't know the specifics, but I can feel when we draw closer to it, and I see it in my dreams, glowing, pulling like the current of a river.”
The party makes their way through the woods. They bring down the odd stag or boar, and forage for fruit and vegetables. The forest is mostly untouched, since it's quite dangerous for the solitary traveler. Poachers are rare, because men are not the undisputed ruler of the woods.
A monster surveys the party from a high cliff.
Esther and Gerald spend many hours working first on the alphabet, then later, slowly and laboriously through the prayer book. Gerald picks it up relatively quickly, yet not as fast as he'd like. One day, Esther mentions that Gerald is probably the first proper friend she's had, given that she's lived with Lady Thurlow in their corner of the woods all her life. For his part, Gerald has had plenty of friends in a manner of speaking, but none who were willing or capable of teaching him to read. He punches her very lightly on the shoulder.
Two weeks into the journey, Lady Thurlow announces they're drawing very close to the sword. The party emerges into a clearning with a large, fresh pond in the center. The surface of the water emits a faint whine and ripples from the center. Sir Bernard walks to the lip of the pond. Faintly glowing blue, a pitted, rust-coated longsword lies a couple of feet under the surface of the water.
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Topic: (ISG) Fantasy Suggestion RPG: Back To The Baron's Castle (Read 21408 times)