Player @Intercept-1 has been banned for four half lives. Reason: spelling "arbitrary" incorrectly, assuming incorrectly that @Venerable is in a position of authority that can be abused.

Oujda-Angad

Along the road to Lothington, Sir William and his comrades met several patrols of local troops. Through them, the Crimson Knight learned that Lothington was still in the Kingdom's hands. However, the city's men-at-arms had sighted more enemy patrols in the area than the previous day. In the late evening, the royal party arrived on the outskirts of Lothington. The people, although they continued their daily lives, were obviously quite shaken by the tense events of the previous days. They went about their business laden with an extra burden: the realization that by the week was out, they could be in the hands of evil. . . Or worse. "We'll stop at the tavern to get a room and stow our belongs," said Sir William. "I want to get a look at the enemy force before the night is out." By now, the days of midwinter made the sky dark early in the evening. This was the case as the four men made their way through the city. The huts and shops appeared as mere silhouettes, lighted only by the occasional torch. Even the light from these torches danced eerily along the streets, creating contorted shadows that seemingly reeked of evil. "These day are dark in more ways than one," breathed the messenger. A chill went down his spine as the words left his lips. "Indeed," replied the field officer. "It is fortunate that this part of the city is far from the enemy and is under patrol by our men." His words were of some consolation, but they did not diminish the fact that the city - and the Kingdom - were in great peril. "Me sees th' city square up ahead there," said Bartholomew. The party of four moved out of the alleyway that led to the square and stopped in its center. In front of them stood the tavern that Sir Randolph had mentioned. Sir William opened the door and stepped out of the bleak, dreary streets and into the center of the light, musical atmosphere of a bustling tavern at suppertime. Off to the left of the entrance were nine or ten tables that currently held the guests of the inn on the second floor of the building. "May I help you sirs?" asked the innkeeper and tavern owner as he waded through the packed building. He had to yell with all of his voice to be heard over the deafening garble of voices that were originating from his guests. "Aye," replied the Crimson Knight. "A table and a room would be sufficient." The innkeeper nodded his head and began leading the men to a table at the far end of the room before all became aware of a ruckus at the other end of the room. Apparently, a waitress had delivered a patron's dinner, a baked fish. Another man, who had either been waiting for his food longer or was emboldened by the strong drink in his blood, looked enviously at the tempting food as it had gone by on the way to its recipient. The rightful owner of the dinner was just preparing to begin his meal when the other man jumped from his table and, bolting across the room, seized it from him. "What be the meanin o this?!" cried the shocked patron as his dinner's garnishing piled into his lap. He latched on to the other end of his food before it was out of his reach and looked through several layers of gravy to see who would be so bold as to attempt such a dastardly deed. "Erwin ya thief! Give me fish back!" he yelled. The thief responded with a grin and tugged on the dinner while the innkeeper, red in the face from trying not to laugh, looked at the shocked countenances of Sir William and his companions. Finally, the innkeeper couldn't hold his emotions in any longer and burst out into peals of laughter that shook the entire building and added to the deafening cackles that the rest of the occupants were producing. After several seconds of these theatrics, he finally controlled himself to a point that he was able to offer some explanation to Sir William: "This kind o nonsense happens all th' time among the regulars. No need to worry, Sir." All the tavern's occupants laughed even harder as the original owner of the dinner wrenched his food from the thief's hands. An explosion of gravy, breading, and seasoning showered over the struggling pair as Erwin the thief fell on his rear after losing hold of his prize. "So Erwin, ya villain!" he yelled "Ya want me dinner? Well take it then!" With that, he unleashed the fish on the food thief, slapping him with it and covering him in breading. "Oi! Oi! Lay off with that wicked thing! Ye tryin t' knock me into next week?" he exclaimed. At this point, the hysteria in the room had reached its climax, and even Sir William and his comrades couldn't hold back their own laughter. Finally, the innkeeper, still roaring, intervened in the struggle. "Alright the fight be over! Break it up, you two! Erwin, how many times do I 'ave to tell ye to not bother the others? This'll be the third meal that ye've spoiled fer poor Harold 'ere this week." "Aww but it t'was only a bit o fun!" said Erwin, the food thief. "A bit o fun, my foot!" said Harold. "Every bit of un that you creates norm'ly costs me a'least two crownes!" Despite these words, however, an inkling of a smile began to curl onto Harold's face. Finally, after another moment of hesitation, he said to Erwin, "Alright, ye clown. Take a half of it. Yeh probably need it more 'n I do to keep your mischief causin' energy suppley'd!" He cut the fish in half and gave part of it to Erwin before slapping him on the back and returning to his table. "Thanks 'Arold!" exclaimed Erwin as he did the same. Sir William and his now jovial companions finally followed the innkeeper to their table. "A bit o mead for you sirs?" asked the innkeeper. "We have the best in th' city, we do. I brew it meself." "Aye, that'll do," said Sir William in reply. They all ordered good dinners to complement their tall glasses of mead, and the innkeeper returned directly. As he walked to Sir William's place at the table to give him his meal, he leaned close to his ear to whisper something: "Back room behind the kitchen after ye finish yer meals." As he spoke, he pressed a small, round metal object into Sir William's hand before streaking off to serve his other customers. Sir William stole a quick glance at the object. It was a golden medallion with the king's seal on it, just like the one that he had shown Sir Randolph to verify his identity. It was a symbol carried by every agent working for the crown, and in this case, Sir William was sure it meant news. He passed the medallion to the others under the table to speak for itself, until all of them understood what had happened. Only Bartholomew was uncertain of what the medallion meant, so the messenger quietly explained its significance to him. The meal passed quickly for them all, and when they were finished, Sir William and his men trooped to the door that led to the room behind the kitchen, unsure of what news would lie on the other side of it.

Thanks for the feedback! I had taken a looong break from Tanki and the forum, and had completely forgotten about this series. I actually opened Microsoft Word and was deleting old documents when I rediscovered this and began working on it again for the first time in over a year. I have part 5 written and ready for submission, with part 6 in the making. The plot will have much further development as well. My original idea with this series was to create a medieval fantasy themed short novel, but as I'm writing more of it, it seems to be developing a hint of mystery to it as well. Anyway, time will tell what happens in the end, since I quite frankly haven't figured that out yet. lol. Thanks for your complements and a late congratulations to your promotion as helper!

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#TWNC Because he closed one of my topics too.

Very nicely written! I love the accurate representation of the course after a conflict has occurred between a parent and child. It is sooo realistic! (I know from experience lol)

I know it's been a LONG time since I submitted anything on the AWS, and the last installment of this story that I created was submitted well over a year ago. I would highly suggest to anyone unfamiliar with this plot that they read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Hope you like it ? The trio of victorious officers led their captives away from the cheering crowd that had gathered in front of them. Sir William knew a friendly agent who lived in this village and set off to find his hut somewhere among the other dwellings. "Sir, what will the people do now that they know who we are and why we are here?" asked the field officer, the other man that Sir William had selected. "These five are most likely only a handful of the enemy spies in the area." "I've already thought of that," replied the Crimson Knight. "All local militias have been mobilized and are guarding every road to and from Lothington and its surrounding villages. Men-at-arms are patrolling the forests and other areas that enemy informants could slip through." "And how did the local forces get notified so quickly? Lothington Castle just fell yesterday," asked the officer. "Our messenger here," said Sir William, with a wink in the messenger's direction," Alerted this region's commanding officer to the enemy on his way to see us at the king's castle. I commend him for his quick thinking." "Thank you, Sir," said the messenger. "And if I recall, this hut is the home of our informant, Sir Randolph." A small brown hut, constructed of wood planks and roofed with thatch, stood off to their right. It blended in with the other ones around it, appearing inconspicuous to say the least. The three knights led their struggling prisoners to its entrance, and Sir William, looking around quickly to make sure they weren't being watched, rapped on the door. A strong looking man girded in chain mail answered it. He mumbled something suspiciously to Sir William, who produced a golden medallion stamped with the king's seal and showed it to the man. "Do come in, your Excellency; excuse me for my suspicion, for a man can trust no one in these days, even if they do carry what appears to be the sword of the great Sir William," said Sir Randolph as he opened the door to the knights and their prisoners. "That's perfectly understandable," replied the Crimson Knight. "One cannot trust his neighbor with ruffians such as these five lurking around." He clapped a heavy hand on his prisoner's shoulder to reinforce his words. The one-eyed spy tried to shrug it off and grunted with the effort, but found Sir William's steely grip to be as unmovable as his sword. "Bring them in here and we'll see what they'll tell us of our enemies," said Sir Randolph. They all entered the hut, some more willingly than others, and Sir Randolph provided his comrades with refreshments and his captives with strong rope. "How many soldiers do the Dark Lord and the Black Knight have in total?" questioned the messenger briskly. He stared coldly at the faces of all five men with an expression of impatient anger, and his piercing eyes finally centered on the one-eyed leader. The man stared back with equaled ferocity, but unlike the messenger, he could not hide the gnawing fear that gripped at his conscience. His one eye stared nervously at his interrogator, taking careful note of the clenched fists and hinting motions towards the engraved dagger at his side. The messenger waited for almost a minute before the man finally responded to the question. "About five 'undred thousand me thinks," he replied timidly, feeling the adrenaline from the fight finally dwindle away. "They's all at th' castle. I don't knows what they be plannin' t' do long term like, but me heards the officers talking about takin th' town o Lothington after some days. That's all I knows: honest it be. That's all th' five o us knows." The messenger's stern countenance softened slightly as the man poured out the story of how his home town was captured by the Dark soldiers when he was a boy. "I losed me eye a runnin' from em when they tried t' force me into their army. When they catchted me they drove a hot iron into it as a punishment for tryin t' run away," he said as he looked dejectedly at the floor. "Go on," replied the messenger. He slowly unballed his fists and relaxed. "Me servded their army fer two and a 'alf long years before they put me on this job. We five was to spy out th' villages around th' city o Lothington an' report to th' Dark Lord's staff what we seed. He seemed to 'ave a special interest in this province fer some strange reason. Never told me why, but he wanted me t' look fer caves in th forest. A' course that ain't a happenin' now, but I be glad it ain't," continued the reluctant spy. "Caves in the forest?" thought the messenger. What the blazes would the enemy want with those?" After contemplating this for a moment, he audibly said to the spy, "What is your name fellow?" His anger was now gone and he looked with increasing interest on the man who moments before he had been ready to strangle. "It be Bartholomew, Sir" he replied. "Well Bartholomew, I'll see that you get pardoned from the gallows for taking up arms against the Kingdom," said Sir William, who had been listening from the other side of the room. "However, you may still be required to serve some prison time." Bartholomew brightened instantly. "Thankee, Sir," he said in a relieved voice. There was a moment of silence before one of the other spies, who had been obviously holding back his rage, shouted loudly at his former leader. "Traitor! You lying dog! You seal your fate with this treason against you supreme commander, his highness, the Dark Lord!" This exclamation prompted similar outcries from the other prisoners, which Sir William and his comrades tried to quiet for fear of being overheard by someone outside. In the chaos, one of the men broke his bonds and struck Sir Randolph, who was closest to him, across the face, knocking him to the floor. The assailant proceeded to lung towards his shocked victim, while in the process revealing a wrist dagger that he plunged towards Sir Randolph's throat. Sir William, the Messenger, and the field officer were too far away to react, although the messenger lunged in a futile effort to stay the bloodthirsty hand that held the weapon. Just when Sir Randolph was about to feel the cold, steel blade cut him, however, a boot of heavy black leather knocked it away. A fist cracked smartly across the face of Sir Randolph's attacker, and the man toppled into a heap on the floor, entirely unconscious. The fist turned into a friendly hand which offered to help the fallen royal knight off the floor. Sir Randolph, still stunned by the blow that his unconscious enemy had given him, looked up slowly to see who had saved him from such a close brush with death. He was instantly shocked by the face that he saw over him. "Are ye whole n' healthy, friend?" asked Bartholomew as he helped Sir Randolph to his feet. The Crimson Knight, the messenger, and the field officer rushed over to help. "Y-yes, I'm fine," replied Sir Randolph. "But how did you get loose?" "Oh that," said Bartholomew. " Me chair hads a rough edge an' it sliced me rope like a magic knife." He held his hands in front of him to show the cut, jagged rope and pointed to a protruding splinter on the back of his chair. "Well, you can stay free as far as I'm concerned," said Sir Randolph. "You've more than proven that you're one of us and not one of them to me. Any objections, Sir William?" "I see no reason why you cannot remain unbound either," said the Crimson knight. "And furthermore, I want you to come with us on the rest of our mission. You seem to be a good fighter, and you have knowledge of the enemy tactics that will likely com in handy." " Oh thankee Sir! I would be glad t' help ye!" exclaimed Bartholomew. The four knights went about tying up the one unconscious prisoner and checking the bonds of the other three. Bartholomew cleaned with a bowl of well water and changed his raiment to something less sinister than the black cloak that previously adorned his shoulders. "I regret that I cannot give you lodging in my cottage here, as it's small quarters would be quite uncomfortable for you," said Sir Randolph to Sir William. "However, you can make Lothington by the late evening and there is a comfortable tavern and inn there that I'm sure would suit you well," he continued. "Oh and one more thing, Sir William. Here is a sword of fine workmanship for you to carry in place of your own great blade. It will be less conspicuous if you were to run into any more enemy spies. Your own blade will be safe with me." Sir Randolph handed Sir William a double-edged arming sword which looked very much like those of his companions. "Thank you for your help, Sir," replied Sir William. "We will get going immediately. Will you be secure with these prisoners? "Yes, I will call in three or four of the local force's guards in case anything happens. You needn't worry," said Sir Randolph. With that, the three knights and their new comrade Bartholomew said their goodbyes to Sir Randolph and set off towards Lothington.

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If you want a fun FPS game that, like tanki, is free to play, then check out Warmerise. It is futuristic first person shooter with lots of different maps, team battles, and, most importantly for me, a better balance of buyers to nonbuyers than Tanki has. You can also make and publish custom skins to sell for in game currency in addition to earning it in battles. Also if you're more of a strategy person then check out any of the Plarium games, like Pirates: Tides of Fortune, Stormfall: age of war, or Soldiers inc. They are very similar in their setup, but all fun. Tribalwars2 is another fun strategy medieval game that involves taking bases in a game world. You can join or create a tribe and take entire provinces. Within a game world, tribes compete to take the entire realm, with the exception of players not in a tribe. New game worlds open after awhile. Lastly, you might check out the Studio Hoppe RTS games. They are mostly set up the same way, with the exception of some features. This is also a base taking game, but the gameplay is much faster and you can actually see the units, which are tanks, aircraft, helicopters, boats, and trains, on a realistic map. Please note that some of the really early Studio Hoppe games such as Alpha wars do not have boats or trains. Among the ones I play are River combat, Panzer rush, Desert Order, Strategy Combat, and Base Attack Force. These are listed in the order they were released, with River Combat being the oldest. The two newest games, Strategy Combat and Base Attack Force, are more accommodating for non buyers, as gold prices are lower for upgrades such as better guns on your base. Have you played any of these games before?

I am rich an architect, however, and I redesign the mental institution into a beautiful modern house. Of course all the other patients have to go but I build them a new facility. TPBM is run over by a maus.

Thanks ;) I have a couple old ones under a similar theme called "War For the Kingdom". They are in parts of one two, three, etc. . . I wrote some of the earlier ones when I was younger so they may not be as vivid or detailed as this one, but the story is incomplete and I intend to pick it back up again where it left off. Hopefully, I can upload the next part to the forum before long.

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Wow! Thanks for the comments! I never expected to get any feedback on an over - one year old post, but guess I was wrong.

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Food Do you think Tanki should give players the ability to make and sell custom skins for crystals?