Post by The Smith on Apr 2, 2008 23:04:31 GMT -5
Patrek stood in the courtyard at the Gates of the Moon, in front of the lines of the newly recruited King’s Men, mostly smallfolk, though a few of them were knights or former squires.
Ser Danwell Farring and Vardis Pryor was relaxing behind with Patrek, observing them with a lazy eye.
Patrek looked at the men with his hard blue eyes. “I do not care who you are or what you were before joining the King’s Men, but once you join that means the safety of the King is in your hands. And so it is my responsibility to make sure that you are prepared for an attack at all times. The King’s Men was newly made when the Usurper Horas betrayed the King and so little prepared, but that won’t happen again. You have each been issued with a crossbow and a shortsword, and I expect you to gain some degree of competence in your handling of them.”
A knight interrupted Patrek saying, “The crossbow isn’t a knightly weapon, Ser. It's a cowards weapon for commoners and foreigners.” he said with disdain.
Patrek’s blue eyes narrowed. “We are supposed to guard the King’s life, acting chivalrous takes second place. If you are under attack and have the crossbow ready you would have one enemy less to think about. If you and your friends are barricaded in the throne room, you would have scores less of enemies to think about. Have the crossbow ready at all times, fire it when necessary and if you have another option than to stand your ground and face them, find a safe place and reload the crossbow and fire again. Some of you may call it craven, and I do not give a rat's arse if you do, but if it means that the King will be safe then you will bloody well do it! Do you understand, Ser?” Patrek screamed at the knight, glaring at him until he lowered his eyes in aquiesance.
Patrek then proceeded to instruct them how to handle a crossbow; sword lessons would come from the Red Keep’s master-at-arms soon enough.
Some of the King’s Men began shooting at targets they had set up while others ran around the walls of the keep. After running around once himself, and finishing a good deal ahead of the others, Patrek sat down next to Danwell and took a large swig from a water skin.
“Don’t you think that you’re too hard on them,” Danwell asked with a sly smile "We don't want them to quit before they begin"
“Only as hard as I need be," replied Patrek "They don’t need to love me all that much; it’s the King that they should love. We should only require their obedience and respect, and if I gain their respect you also will if I show you respect" he said firmly.
"Vardis get your bony ass up and take your stint around the keep. We'll work these men and boys into shape yet” Vardis groaned but got up and began jogging, yelling at the recruits to keep up.
“I was thinking that maybe we should make some sort of signal or codeword that we could use among the King’s Men" Patrek continued, "It would give us some advantage and make sure that it’ll be much harder to infiltrate. What do you say?”
Danwell thought for a moment "Any visual or verbal sign or code could be overheard or let slip - we'd have to change it every once and a while...plus, there's no substitute for knowing your men by face. If we all know by sight every man in our ranks, we are alerted straightaway should anyone try to infiltrate our band. This'll work as long as we keep the numbers low enough, and if it gets too much, we'll just have to make sure that the leaders of the company know each other and we know them. Speaking of which, keep an eye open for any you think would make good leadership material" he looked up at the sky for a few moments
"How about 'Restoration' being our codeword for now?" he suggested
Results:
The King's Men begin to swell with fresh numbers and now approach 40 strong.
Patrek increase leadership to expert
Increase speed to expert
Ser Danwell Farring and Vardis Pryor was relaxing behind with Patrek, observing them with a lazy eye.
Patrek looked at the men with his hard blue eyes. “I do not care who you are or what you were before joining the King’s Men, but once you join that means the safety of the King is in your hands. And so it is my responsibility to make sure that you are prepared for an attack at all times. The King’s Men was newly made when the Usurper Horas betrayed the King and so little prepared, but that won’t happen again. You have each been issued with a crossbow and a shortsword, and I expect you to gain some degree of competence in your handling of them.”
A knight interrupted Patrek saying, “The crossbow isn’t a knightly weapon, Ser. It's a cowards weapon for commoners and foreigners.” he said with disdain.
Patrek’s blue eyes narrowed. “We are supposed to guard the King’s life, acting chivalrous takes second place. If you are under attack and have the crossbow ready you would have one enemy less to think about. If you and your friends are barricaded in the throne room, you would have scores less of enemies to think about. Have the crossbow ready at all times, fire it when necessary and if you have another option than to stand your ground and face them, find a safe place and reload the crossbow and fire again. Some of you may call it craven, and I do not give a rat's arse if you do, but if it means that the King will be safe then you will bloody well do it! Do you understand, Ser?” Patrek screamed at the knight, glaring at him until he lowered his eyes in aquiesance.
Patrek then proceeded to instruct them how to handle a crossbow; sword lessons would come from the Red Keep’s master-at-arms soon enough.
Some of the King’s Men began shooting at targets they had set up while others ran around the walls of the keep. After running around once himself, and finishing a good deal ahead of the others, Patrek sat down next to Danwell and took a large swig from a water skin.
“Don’t you think that you’re too hard on them,” Danwell asked with a sly smile "We don't want them to quit before they begin"
“Only as hard as I need be," replied Patrek "They don’t need to love me all that much; it’s the King that they should love. We should only require their obedience and respect, and if I gain their respect you also will if I show you respect" he said firmly.
"Vardis get your bony ass up and take your stint around the keep. We'll work these men and boys into shape yet” Vardis groaned but got up and began jogging, yelling at the recruits to keep up.
“I was thinking that maybe we should make some sort of signal or codeword that we could use among the King’s Men" Patrek continued, "It would give us some advantage and make sure that it’ll be much harder to infiltrate. What do you say?”
Danwell thought for a moment "Any visual or verbal sign or code could be overheard or let slip - we'd have to change it every once and a while...plus, there's no substitute for knowing your men by face. If we all know by sight every man in our ranks, we are alerted straightaway should anyone try to infiltrate our band. This'll work as long as we keep the numbers low enough, and if it gets too much, we'll just have to make sure that the leaders of the company know each other and we know them. Speaking of which, keep an eye open for any you think would make good leadership material" he looked up at the sky for a few moments
"How about 'Restoration' being our codeword for now?" he suggested
Results:
The King's Men begin to swell with fresh numbers and now approach 40 strong.
Patrek increase leadership to expert
Increase speed to expert