19:28:01, 30th May 1329.
Douglas Keep,
Douglas, Scotland.
That evening, Liam and the other page boys rushed to their positions within the great hall. They awaited the guests, and the Lord and Lady. Their uniforms were presentable enough that they attracted only a few sidelong looks from the worthies gathered for the meal.
Soon the supper had begun, with Liam fulfilling his duties diligently. On the first day of pouring wine, he'd almost spilled it over the table and Lord twice.
Since then, he had been much more careful, both in learning his duties and in ensuring his obeisance was correct. Whatever skill bowing was amongst the symbols in his statistics, it must be rising. He’d seen a number of visions appear after correctly completed genuflections.
To Liam, the letters still meant very little, but he had worked out the numbers a few days before and discovered something about what they meant. His Lord, however, had massively expanded his capacity to use the System. He had discovered multiple tables and lists that connected with his status as a Lord. Now he could see what was happening to all the armor, horses, fields, ploughs and workmen in his fief.
Lord Douglas showed those present at the meal the options available for development of his lands. There were climate focussed upgrades, systems to enhance soil yield, something to increase ‘Spirit Density’. There were also defensive upgrades for the walls, the keep and for the town. The Church could now extend a ‘Sanctuary Zone’ around the town as well.
One trader stood, begging permission to speak. “My lord, I also have something similar.” He said.
He described a system that allowed him to increase the speed of his transport wagons along roads, to give them added protection and to upgrade the ability of the driver by a small amount.
Colm also stood. “I also, Milord.” he said, nervously. “Mine can increase the cutting speed of tools and lower the unintended damages to wood. I can also better store and preserve wood, as well as increase its durability by a significant amount.” He explained. “Its asking for ‘Tribulation Credits’ however, and I do not have any.”
Lord Douglas nodded.
Andrew was the first of the pages to step forward. “Milord, I believe we may know something of these ‘Credits’.” He said, pulling a handful of coins from his pocket.
James Douglas’s eyebrows rose with interest. He gestured, beckoning Andrew closer. Taking a coin, he bit it gently, then held it up to one of the arrayed candles upon the table before him. “It is unlike any other metal I’ve seen before.” He mused.
“How did you discover these?” he asked.
Andrew bowed, shame-faced. “I… I mean to say that we,” He gestured to the other pages. “We were curious to know if killing animals would give some Tribulation Experience.” He looked up as gasps came from the guests.
Lord James’ brow furrowed. From where he stood, Liam could see his Lord’s anger grow at those words. “So you just went out and slaughtered someone’s animals, did ye?” His voice was low and cold.
Liam stood forward now. “Begging pardon, but no, Milord.” He said, his voice trembling. All present, except the squire, were silently passing judgement upon the Page boys.
“I was explaining to the other pages how I glowed after I…. k…. after the archer…” He paused a moment, collecting himself. “Llywelyn… That is Page Gryffud thought that the reason my level had increased was because I received Tribulation experience from… from…”
“Ridding the world of a wicked man?” Lord James finished, his voice now more tempered. “No one thinks worse of you for that. The world is a better place without him!”
Heads around the room nodded. The news of the bandit attack had spread slowly into the town from the keep, as the guards were prone to gossip. When Squire Iain had returned to the keep early that day, he had reported that the bandit’s encampment was empty. He had followed the trail of a group of men out of Douglas’ lands to the South.
That they had left Douglas lands was good. The size of the party was of concern, however, and so Lord James had ordered the guard to be doubled as a precaution.
“You say you gained levels?” The Lady Tatania asked. “What level did you reach?”
“I am at level five Milady.” Liam answered.
This caused some exclamations amongst the other worthies gathered for the dinner. Clearly, there had been a great deal of speculation and discussion about the township regarding what these new visions meant. None had so far exceeded Level one.
Except for Liam.
“My Lord, may I ask what animals, exactly, these pages slew?” Sir Keith asked.
Lord Douglas nodded his permission.
“Answer lad.”
Andrew spoke up again. “We went down to the undercroft of the Granary, Sir Keith.” He said. “There are always rats in there, and we thought that perhaps by trying to clear some out, we may gain experience. Maybe even match Page Liam’s level.”
“And did you?” Lady Tatania asked, curious.
“No, Milady.” Aidan answered this time. “We only reached around 50 of the 100 Experience we required for reaching the end of the first level.” He said. “We found the rats only gave a small amount of Experience.”
Lord James rubbed his chin, thinking. “The archer killed several Men at Arms himself just after the first horn blew.” He said. “But we didn’t see him glow, did we?”
Liam spoke up. “But, he did glow, Milord.” he said, remembering the fear brought on by the dark glow. “He glowed a dark evil black, and I could not move for fear when I saw it! I could swear I heard the cries of the damned.” He crossed himself, shivering at the memory.
“Then you’re lucky to survive, and even more so to slay the bugger! Begging her, Ladyships pardon.” Sir Keith said, "I don’t know what levels do. But I would think that if an evil man can gain from them also, it would only make him more dangerous.”
Lord James nodded in agreement. He turned to the Seneschal. “Do we have anything planned for the morrow?” He asked.
“No Milord.”
“Then we should plan a hunt.” The Lord said. “It would do us good to gain some credits, and if this cold weather gets worse, we’ll have snow and sleet at midsummer. It would do us good to have some fresh Venison or Pork.”
The Seneschal was hesitant and offered some advice. “It may not be entirely safe in the forest, Milord. Especially not given the recent attack! Nor the Boar sightings.”
“You may be right. But it is the duty of a Lord to not only keep his people safe but also his lands.” Lord James said. “As that boar is a threat to any who travel the forest, we’ll bring out the garrison to ensure our success. Leave a small force behind, and have them bar the gates. They are not to open them unless by order of myself or the King until we return.”
Liam looked at the other pages, who were grinning at the exciting prospect of a real hunt!
As the dinner service ended and the Pages returned to their chambers, exhausted from the day. Liam could tell the morrow would be just as exciting.
*****************************************
The next day, the Keep awoke early. Overnight, the weather had turned to icy cold. The pages awoke and rushed to their morning ablutions. They shivered and mist formed on their breath. Changing quickly, all four boys put on thick woolen coats, pulling cloaks over their shoulders. These they draped over a shoulder, to form a sash they could tuck their arms into, wrapping the cloth around their bodies before finally tucking the ends into their belts to keep off the muddy ground. They then went about their duties quickly, trying to stay warm.
The pages found themselves surrounded by a buzz of activity that did not cease until the boys and the hunting party mounted.
In a few moments, the garrison formed up to lead them out. Stopping briefly at the gate, Lord Douglas gave orders to the guards.
"Bar the gates once we leave, but maintain a constant watch." He ordered. "If the bandits arrive, send a runner to the church to sound the bell and gather everyone in the keep! Then bar the gates once more. You should have time to do so."
Squire Iain had assigned Liam and the other pages to carry the wine and food for the Lord, Lady, and Sir Keith. These items they kept in their saddlebags, the horses' heat keeping the items from freezing. The boy’s primary duty was to carry the weapons for the hunt.
Liam held a long boar spear. It’s thick haft wider than his wrist, and its leaf blade capped with a crossguard to prevent a charging boar running down the blade as they were wont to do. He truly hoped never to meet a beast that would require such a weapon.
Its size alone would need be terrific to warrant such a weapon.
Aidan carried Lord Douglas’ longbow and quiver, while Llywelyn and Andrew carried a pair of matched heavy crossbows for the Lady’s use.
As Liam discovered from Andrew's ongoing commentry of everything around them, heavy was not a reference to their weight in hand, but to how much force they delivered through the bolt.
As they rode through the town, many of the townsfolk had gathered to wish them luck, and a cheer went up as Lord Douglas came into view. He and Lady Tatania waved gracefully at the people, the lady accepting small bundles of flowers from some towns girls as she passed.
Once out of sight, she handed these off to Andrew, who discreetly dropped them behind some bushes when the party reached the edge of the forest.
The hounds were eager for the chase, huffing impatiently as the Men at arms set up a small encampment. Meanwhile, the huntsman gave instructions on how events would proceed.
“Milord, we will hunt the great boar and try to take some deer today. We have been tracking a few of the deer, but the boar may not run when the hounds try to drive it on. It is of great size now and instead may turn at bay." He warned.
"The hounds will find and move the beasts to the pass, through which the Men at Arms will block their path in the spear wall. If Milord would take his bow and Milady her crossbow, we shall have you stationed above the pass and ready to begin the hunt by Bow and Stable.”
The Master of the Hunt had described the tactic to take as many animals at once. The more prestigious style of Par Force would only result in one or two of the animals being slain. Hunting by bow and stable better suited Lord Douglas’ dual intent. Not only would it gain food for the town, thus reinforcing the people's security; it would also expand his fiefs capacity with the system through increased Tribulation System Levels, experience and Credits.
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They left a few men to guard the camp. Should any mischief find the hunting party, the camp would double as a rally point and healing station. The guard physician set up his table and tools not far away in a long white tent.
Liam dismounted with the other nobles and unpacked his saddlebags. It was Liam’s duty to carry the fruit and wine for the Lady’s comfort, and he carefully placed each item into a shoulder-bag. He adjusted his belt so that the sword would not drag on the ground and slung his spear over his shoulder as he’d seen the guards do in the keep.
Ready now, Lord James led the mixed group deeper into the forest, stopping at a shallow ravine. The sides were bluff and offered little purchase, while the middle of the depression remained dry and flat, ensuring good footing for the Men at Arms to form a wall of shields and spears.
The men sat about waiting, knowing that they would have fore-warning of the approach of any game.
Above the blocking force, Lord James and Lady Tatania waited in hastily built shade cloths, sipping wine and eating small meats and fruit. In the distance, Liam could hear the baying of dogs. He saw the other pages perk up at the sound.
“It sounds like they’ve found a trail.” Andrew said.
For Liam, all of this was new. He knew the nobles hunted game regularly, but he’d never known how they went about it. It all seemed much more coordinated than he’d expected. The Lord and Lady stood from their ease, taking up their weapons and standing ready above the ravine. Squire Ian stood beside Lady Tatania with a second crossbow, prepared to load the clumsy weapons as she sent bolt after bolt into the deer.
An odd pattering sound, like rainfall on a stone wall came from the forest and a herd of deer bore into sight. Liam realized that it was their hooves making the sound as they bounded forward.
They funnelled towards the ravine, the barking of the hunting mastiffs spurring them in their headlong flight. In the lead ran a large stag, its pointed antlers showing at least fifteen prongs.
As it entered the mouth of the trap, it spotted the waiting Men at Arms and charged them, its forest of antler spines dropped at the last moment as it slammed into the shieldwall of soldiers, knocking those in the rear ranks from their feet. The impact concussed the men in the front rank, and they staggered. The deer tried to rear back, but the soft wood of the shields snagged the antlers, forcing the stag to bend its neck awkwardly as it shook from multiple spear blows.
Liam watched on in a horrified fascination as more spears came to bear on it as other harts poured into the narrow space. He thought there were about 30 deer in total, a good 10 of them adorned with antlers. Their numbers rapidly dropped as the pike wall of the Scots Men at Arms took its toll.
The twanging of bowstring from Lord James and the sharper thump of the crossbow releasing sounded out repeatedly. Soon glowing light flooded the ravine as Men at Arms gained levels. Lord James missed multiple shots and had yet to gain a kill. As Liam watched, he saw a bolt from Lady Tatania's crossbow strike a tall hind in the throat. The bolt immediately cut its spine, sending it to the ground. It's life blood fountained briefly from its wound before it stilled.
The Lady glowed gently, and Lord Douglas looked at her with a deep longing, the supernatural radiance making her more beautiful than ever. Her skin shone a flawless alabaster and her hair glowed with soft gold accents in the light of her achievement. Her smile was radiant, both in spirit and in truth. Liam, too, could only gape in awe at the beautiful Lady.
“Go on, husband. If you cannot hit one with the bow, thrusting as you usually do will suffice!” She called loudly, sassing him. The comment flew over Liam’s head like one of his Lord’s arrows, but the men gave a hooting laugh at the Lady’s double meaning.
With a grunt of effort, the Lord fired one last shot that missed, and under his breath muttered, “Perhaps if my darling wife would not keep bucking so wildly, every time she released, I may perfect my aim!” so low that only Liam could hear.
Looking back at the slaughter in the gully, Lord Douglas scowled and gestured for Liam to give him a spear. Liam did so, watching as the Lord clambered down and into the depression, sliding the last few feet to the ground. Unsure of what he should do next, he decided that if the Lord needed to hand him the spear back, he would do no good to his Lord from atop the ravine.
Liam walked to the edge, and eased his way down, following his Lord's path into the gully. As he reached the bottom, a hart kicked at him. Liam saw it coming and fell back against the side of the ravine, managing to avoid the blow. Regardless, the animal was too far away and had merely struck out in warning.
Liam began to reconsider the wisdom of following his Leige down the embankment.
Lord Douglas had recovered from his slide into the gully quickly. Seeing the Hart attack Liam, he speared it in the stomach, driving it into the opposite wall of the ravine. Liam drew his sword and stood at his Lord’s back, stabbing at any animal which came too close.
Men at Arms moved up the defile, culling the last of the deer. Liam watched Lord Douglas reach down to his belt and unsheathing his knife. He leant down, and in one quick motion sliced across the Hart’s throat. Soon, it's weak thrashing ceased.
A golden glow suffused him, and he grinned. The slight limp he was still walking off had disappeared entirely, and his skin was as clean as it had ever been. Looking up at his wife, he waved his arms to show he was alright and then noticed Liam.
“What are you doing down here, you wee fool?” He asked.
“I followed you Milord.” He said. “I wasn’t sure what to do after you took the spear, but thought that you might need me to carry the spear once more when you’d done with it.”
The Lord laughed at Liam’s innocent desire to be of use. “Well, don’t put yourself in harm’s way simply because I choose to be there,” he said, “but since you’re here, you should ta…”
The sound of snorting came through the trees, muffled by distance and the crash of underbrush being trampled. The sound was followed by a guttural bellow from the treeline which had interrupted the Lord.
The dogs had gone silent as a massive beast hove into view. It was by far the biggest animal Liam had ever seen.
“What on God’s green earth is that?” Lord James asked.
The sight dumbfounded Liam.
“Quickly, men, out of the Ravine!” Lord Douglas ordered his men. “If the beast attacks, we need to flank it.” He looked at his spear, knowing that the thin wooden shaft would break in a moment if he attempted to brace it against this monster’s charge.
The men of Douglas spread out in a wide formation around the mouth of the ravine, looking more nervous than eager. No shield wall would stop this behemoth.
To Liam, the animal looked like one of the village pigs, but grew nearly ten times as large, covered with thick, shaggy hair. It looked furious. At the shoulder it was as tall as a shire-horse.
As it opened its mouth to bellow a challenge, he saw tusks nearly as long as the sword he held at his waist.
Liam stood behind the Lord, once more unsure of what to do. Above, he could hear shouted orders, and he hoped that Lady Tatania, Squire Iain, and the other pages were being led away to safety by their guard. They would likely head back to the encampment. Perhaps they could bring the men from the camp? He thought.
He risked a glance in their direction but saw no one on the lip of the ravine, then back at the enormous boar. It seemed unlikely they could return in time.
The boar snorted, pawing the ground with one cloven hoof as it prepared to charge. The sound caused Liam to return his attention to the boar as it sped straight into the confined space.
Unfortunately for Liam and Lord James, its path took it towards them.
The monster moved rapidly, barrelling forward with its head down, and bladelike tusks bared. Lord Douglas grabbed a hold of Liam’s shirt and pulled him roughly to one side moments before the beast would have slammed into them. Liam almost lost his grip on his sword as he fell, having had no time at all to even attempt a swing at the Boar.
The charge had taken the beast into the ravine. Now, with no way of turning itself, it walked backwards towards them.
The Lord of Douglas wasted no time seeing if Liam was comfortable. Instead, he leapt to his feet and charged the hindquarters of the boar. It kicked and bucked as he stabbed the spear into its meaty thigh, the blade only penetrating a small amount before catching on the thick hair. A Man-at-Arms ran up and gave aid to his lord. Together they rammed the spear in deep, severing a tendon and causing the mighty boar to let loose an ear-splitting bellow of rage and pain.
It finally turned, but now was at bay. The massive head tossed as it let out a snort of fury, displaying its tusks. It appeared to be warning them not to come closer. Liam watched as the Men at Arms formed up with Lord James in the centre. They charged the boar, who surprised them with a quick rush on three legs, knocking the formation apart and splintering several shields upon its tusks and beneath trampling hooves.
As its weight once more fell upon its injured leg, it stumbled, forced to retreat. Two of the Men at Arms lay crumpled in a moaning heap of tenderized flesh and splintered wood, but the rest seemed to have avoided too much harm. Lord Douglas was limping once more, having re-injured his leg. He stabbed towards the beast’s face, only to have his spear knocked aside by a leathery snout.
Liam saw an opportunity and circled back up the side of the ravine to approach from above. He had been thinking of leaping upon the Boar’s back in some last-ditch attempt to kill it.
Fortunately, he saw that such a bold action was unnecessary, as when he reached the position where the noble party had first awaited the prey, he saw a surprising sight.
Lady Tatania stood with several fresh guards, all readying bows to fire into the beast’s flank. Squire Ian held Lord Douglas’ bow while Andrew and Llywelyn, the Lady’s crossbows. They had not retreated after all, but had simply waited for an opportunity to present itself. Now it had, and with a voice born to command men, Lady Tatiana gave the order.
“Loose!” The arrows flew the heavy bows a mere few meters and sank up to their fletching into the boar. Despite the heavy hide, the arrows were being flung by war-bows. Each having a draw weight close to that of their wielder. The Crossbow bolts did more damage, disappearing entirely into the animal’s flank.
One shaft must have passed into its lung, as a gout of bloody foam erupted from the Boar’s mouth. As it struggled to breathe, Lord Douglas and his men closed in, a fine mist of blood coating them. The second volley did more damage, and the third finally killed the monstrous Boar.
With a final grunt, it slumped to the ground, its back covered in a carpet of arrow and crossbow fletchings.
Aidan, meanwhile, held the other boys’ spears, a dour look upon his face at being left out. Liam grinned at him, understanding the feeling. So far today, Liam had gained no experience, and had barely swung his sword at anything. For Aidan, it was worse, simply being the carry mule for his friends.
“Don’t worry Aidan, next time it will be us slaying all the beasts and Andrew and Llywelyn can hold our bags.” He said, to cheer his friend up. The attempt failed,
“I bloody hope so.” Aidan said, grousing in a low tone. “They buggers didn’t even bloody ask. Just. ‘Here Aidan, hold this,’; they said, then off and pilfered her ladyship’s crossbows for their own blaggardly use.”
The other boys returned to Aidan and took up their own burdens once more. Aidan glowered quietly as the other two beamed with pride, the glow of freshly gained levels only now fading.
Liam watched as the guards began the unmaking, looting each animal's corpse through the Tribulation system before carving up the meat and packing it in carefully prepared linen bags the Huntsmen brought forward. Each of the woodsmen brought a dog forward to sniff at the beasts as the Unmaking took place, being rewarded by choice cuts of fresh meat and plentiful pats of gratitude from the hunting party.
This complete, the dogs took their ease while their masters began carrying the harvested meat to the horses.
Lord James approached with a party of his Men at Arms, their expressions jovial despite their bruises. Only two men received severe injuries, but the death of the massive boar had granted a level to everyone who took part in the kill. Both men now stood on unbroken limbs, staring at each other in wonder.
Lord James did a quick tally. The Men at Arms had averaged five levels from the hunt, while his lady wife had managed six, earning by far the most experience. So much that she was nearly to level seven.
Each of the pages had earned four- with the exception of Aidan, who looked incredibly put out - and Lord James had also reached level six, as had Squire Iain.
Liam, like Aidan had earned nothing.
“Men of Douglas!” Lord James shouted, getting the attention of the entire party. “We have enjoyed a great wealth of success today, and much of it, I owe to my Lady wife!” He gestured to Tatania who blushed crimson.
One huntsman yelled out. “Three cheers for her ladyship! Hip, Hip, Hip!”
“Huzzah!” came the cry of all in the clearing.
At this, the blushing Lady gave an elegant curtsy to acknowledge the honour done to her by the party. She then rewarded them all with a genuine smile of purest joy.
“We will return now to the Keep to feast and to enjoy our successes.” Lord Douglas said. “We must also divide up the loot we received from the Tribulation System!”
Cheers now followed them as Lord Douglas and his wife led the way back to the keep.