War For The Kingdom (Part 5)

[dupuy 318]

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.

Edited October 26, 2020 by dupuy

[Person_Random 4,991]

Approved.

Great work; I really enjoyed this article. It was light and fun, and I absolutely loved the little mini-conflict between the food thief and the innkeeper. It was absolutely hilarious while allowing us to get to know more about each of the people in the story. I think this series is going really well in terms of plot development and description, so keep it up! I see more chapters to approve

Edits: minor grammar changes.

[dupuy 318]

1 hour ago, Person_Random said:

Approved.

Great work; I really enjoyed this article. It was light and fun, and I absolutely loved the little mini-conflict between the food thief and the innkeeper. It was absolutely hilarious while allowing us to get to know more about each of the people in the story. I think this series is going really well in terms of plot development and description, so keep it up! I see more chapters to approve

Edits: minor grammar changes.

Thanks! I thought it was due time for a bit of comic relief in the plot of this story ;). This was the first full chapter that I had written since I picked this piece up again, and I have more development in the plot coming up. 

[Iron_Man 2,376]

On 10/16/2020 at 6:38 AM, dupuy said:

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.

Amazing as always!!! Liked it a lot!!

[Venerable 2,968]

Nice piece, yet again, Dupuy!

The language and writing style feels great to read, especially during the little fight... (I kept laughing at your choice of words)

Looking forward to the next instalment!