Solo Tightening the Bond

[Samuel Longwell]

Tightening the Bond Date: 2nd of Winter 516AV Location: The Bronze Woods Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel awoke suddenly, eyes snapping open. He leapt to his feet, reaching frantically for the blade beside his bed. His longsword slid smoothly out of its sheath with a metallic ring and the bald knight searched for the threat as his heart thundered in his chest. It took a few moments for Samuel to recognise he was in his own room, in no immediate danger. He slowly realised that it had been another nightmare and sat back down on his bed, laying his blade across his lap. The nightmare had left him weak-kneed and shivering, so he took a few chimes to try and calm himself. The sweat dripped from his face as he took slow, deep breaths. The knight clenched the hilt of his sword to stop himself from shaking, focusing on the reassuring weight of his weapon rather than the dark thoughts that plagued him. After a few chimes of meditating he started to breath more easily, his terror reducing to fear then unease as the specifics of his dream faded. Eventually he pulled himself to his feet and proceeded to put his armour on. The weight of the metal on the knight's shoulders provoked a similar reaction to that of a blanket for a sick child, Samuel felt safe in his armour's cold embrace. Stepping out into the crowded corridors, Samuel began to move through the familiar press of the crowds. Reaching the stables, he greeted Dan softly. The warhorse snorted in reply, but perked up once the knight produced half an apple from his pocket. The stallion happily munched on the fruit as Samuel started to thoroughly brush the black coat of his mount. The knight spoke softly to the mount, continuing to build upon the tentative bond of trust that had begun to form between the two. Once the horse had been cleaned, Samuel held out the other half of the apple. Dan quickly snapped it up, crunching the sweet flesh with obvious delight. Samuel fitted his saddle and pulled himself into the saddle. Squeezing slightly with his legs, Samuel coaxed his mount forwards. As horse and rider left the city gates, Samuel nodded to the guards and pushed Dan into a trot. It had been the reason for this trip outside the walls, Samuel had wanted to explore the road with his new warhorse. Once the pair were warmed up, the knight pushed his mount to increase the speed. The wind whipped past as Dan broke into a canter, hooves thundering on the road. Samuel focused on keeping his balance, the powerful horse striding beneath him. After a few chimes, the knight tried to gently ease back on the pace, but the spirited Tiaden didn't want to slow. Samuel needed to get the mount under control as quickly as possible, otherwise he was going to travel much further than he intended.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Emergency stop it was then. Samuel had already needed to resort to this once since his purchase yesterday, he was getting the impression that Dan liked going fast. That was all very well but the Tiaden needed to listen to the knight if they were going to make an effective pair. Samuel couldn't help but worry that it was his own inexperience with caring for horses that was causing this disobedience in some way. Samuel shifted his body weight and pushed down hard into the saddle, pulling back on the reins firmly. Dan quickly slowed down to a trot then a walk, at which point Samuel let up the pressure. This was definitely going to need some work. Samuel needed to be able to get Dan to slow almost immediately, with little effort. Otherwise in a battle they would be at a disadvantage. It would probably be a slow process, but Samuel figured that the present was as good a time to start as any. “If I give you some fruit every time you do it right then maybe you''ll work it out eh?” he murmured to the Tiaden, stroking the stallion's neck as he did so. The idea was simple, but Samuel believed it would be effective. Samuel brought his mount up to a canter again, enjoying the rush of wind against his face. He understood why Dan didn't like slowing down, there was a glorious freedom in just letting go and enjoying the moment. He let out a whoop, his smile cracking into a grin. After a chime or so, Samuel decided it was time to try to slow Dan down. Samuel sat back in the saddle, making it harder for Dan to keep the pace up. The Tiaden dropped to a trot, so Samuel shifted forwards again in his seat. “Good job” he whispered, and reached round to give his mount some apple. Dan munched away happily and then the pair tried again. For the next half a bell Samuel put his new horse to the test, repeating the exercise over and over again. Sometimes the Tiaden didn't slow down so the knight had to be more forceful with his commands, but it seemed like they were making progress. After a little while Samuel began to get tired, so he slowed his mount down until they came to a halt. Samuel was sweating from the exercise, but was pleased with the results of his idea. He planned to work more on this with Dan another day. Samuel suddenly remembered that he'd been riding in the same direction the whole time, so he was much further from the city than he'd planned. Turning the Tiaden around, he was about to head back to Syliras when he heard a scream coming from down the road. Much to Dan's annoyance Samuel wheeled them round once again and urged his mount onward. The pair quickly reached the disturbance that had caused the scream. Three armoured men were encircling a man and woman, who appeared to have shackles attached to their ankles and wrists. The man had a longsword in has hands, but his inexperience with the blade was made clear to the knight by the way it shook in his grip. But the other men looked dangerous, hard leather covering their bodies. “Slavers” Samuel snarled, working out what was going on. He quickly reached for his bow and nocked an arrow. The slavers had turned at the knight's approach, and had been looking at each other as if deciding what to do. But as Samuel reached for his weapon they seemed to make their decision, they charged.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Three against one were not odds that Samuel liked, but he doubted the two slaves would be much help. From what he'd seen of them the pair were malnourished and therefore wouldn't be particularly effective in a fight. So it would be up to Samuel to deal with the slavers. But the knight had two advantages. Firstly, he had a ranged weapon. His bow would allow him to deal with his enemies without them getting close enough to hurt him. Secondly, he was mounted. This further compounded the first advantage as it allowed him to stay at a safe distance from his opponents. At least it did in theory, the knight hoped he would be able to implement it correctly to deal with the unfavourable odds. Samuel pulled his drawstring taut and released the arrow at the lead assailant, but his aim was off and the arrow flew wide. The knight grabbed another arrow hastily, but fumbled it as he pulled it towards his bow. The arrow dropped to the ground. The slavers were nearly upon him but Samuel forced himself to remain calm. He drew another arrow, took aim, and fired. This time the arrow flew true, striking the nearest man in the shoulder. The slaver fell, incapacitated, letting out a scream of pain. Before the knight could turn Dan around the other two men were upon him. Samuel drew his sword and managed to turn away a thrust that would have taken his mount in the neck. Dan reared, lashing out with his hooves and forcing the slavers to take a step back. Samuel barely kept his seat, managing to hold onto the saddle with his free hand. At that moment, a sword point sprouted from the neck of one of the men. The male slave that Samuel had so quickly written off had managed to get behind one of the slavers and stab him. The one remaining assailant glanced at his two fallen comrades and took off at a run for the trees. Samuel rode him down, but the slaver made it to the treeline just before the knight and disappeared into the woods. There was no way that Samuel would be able to catch him, the trees were too dense for Dan to get to a good speed and the knight was much more heavily armoured than his fleeing opponent. Dismounting, the knight checked the two escaped slaves for injuries. The two were siblings and neither seemed to be seriously physically injured. Walking over to the slaver he had managed to shoot, the knight drove his blade into him. Once the dirty work was over Samuel listened to the pair's story, barely containing his rage. The two had escaped together, but there was another being held back at the slavers' camp. A young woman who had distracted the slavers enough for the siblings to have a chance to escape.“How many other slavers are there?” Samuel growled, tying Dan to a nearby tree. “There were 4 in total,” the woman replied, “so there'll be two now.” Samuel nodded, passing the man his shield. “I am going to need your help.” the knight said, then began to outline his plan.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel strode through the woods loudly, plate mail clanging loudly and sticks snapping under foot. He missed the leather armour he had recently bought, it was significantly better suited for such forays where quiet is important. However, he conceded, his plate mail did offer significantly better protection. Protection that had most likely saved his life on several occasions. But there was no use thinking about that now, Samuel realised he just had to make the best with what he had. He approached the camp from the south, following directions from the brother. A call rang out, the two surviving slavers had heard the noise of his approach and the one who recognised him shouted for him to stop. “I'm here for the girl” Samuel shouted in return, continuing to walk towards them. The slavers drew their weapons in response but Samuel just kept trudging towards them. “Let the girl go and I will let you leave.” Samuel said, “But if you remain in my way you will regret it.” The last words were spoken with icy undertones that hinted at barely contained rage. The threat seemed to give the two men pause, but the fact that they outnumbered him nullified his attempt to intimidate them. As the three men continued to draw closer together, Samuel realised that diplomacy just wasn't going to cut it and drew his longsword. As the distance between Samuel and the slavers continued to lessen, Samuel started to speed up. When the two men were no more than 15 strides away, the brother leaped from the bushes behind them and ran towards them screaming a war cry. This was what Samuel had been waiting for and he finally burst into a run. He covered the last few strides as quickly as he could in such heavy armour, hoping to capitalise on the distraction as much as possible. The fact that there were assailants coming from two different directions disorientated the slavers for a tick, meaning Samuel was nearly upon them by the time they realised he was charging them down. The first slaver brought his blade up, in time to deflect the wild swing from the large knight. But the metal clad man had a significant amount of momentum and bowled into the other, both of them falling to the ground. The two rolled around in the dirt, blows flying as each tried to vanquish the other. The fight was dirty, with no technique or honour. Simply two men trying to kill each other. It was not a fight that any knight would be proud of, but Samuel was consumed by his rage. This, for him, was not just a fight against a single slaver. In that moment Samuel no longer fought for his life, but for his intense and utter hatred of slavery and all its practitioners. The slaver represented everything that had killed Samuel's best friend and the knight wanted nothing more than his death. Striking his opponent in the face, Samuel managed to draw his dagger and plunge it towards the slaver. The blade slipped between his armour and sunk into his chest.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The slaver gasped, the cold blade sealing his fate. Samuel raised the dagger and plunged it into the dying slaver again, lodging his weapon deep into his opponent's neck. A spray of arterial blood spurted into the knight's face, adding to his already fearsome look. The large knight's usually calm features were twisted into a look of pure hatred. Tasting blood, Samuel spat out in disgust. Whether it was his own or belonged to the man he had just killed, the knight did not know. Pulling the dagger free, he staggered to his feet. The sound of shouting from the direction of the slavers' camp managed to return Samuel to reality. Turning towards the noise, the knight retrieved his sword and passed into the clearing. The view that presented itself made him halt. The last remaining slaver had a dagger at the throat of a woman barely out of adolescence; the slave that Samuel was here to rescue. As the knight remembered the reason why he had come into the woods his rage faded. It was replaced with a desire to save the young woman. Samuel stared at the slaver, who was visibly shaking. It was the same craven slaver who had run before, it seemed he had no stomach for a fight. “There's no need for anyone else to die” Samuel said, in an almost pleading tone. “Just give us the girl and I won't attempt to follow you, I give you my word.” The knight loathed to let such a man go, but saving a life would always be more important. At least, it was the conclusion Samuel had now come to. Not so long ago he would have charged the slaver without a thought, but over the past few seasons he had managed to control his anger rather than being controlled by it. The slaver didn't respond, but when the knight tried to approach the blade drew even closer to the hostage's neck, a bead of blood appearing where the edge rested against her skin. “If you let her go you won't be harmed,” Samuel said, “but killing her in cold blood will result in you dying a horrible and painful death. That I will ensure.” Now that the slaver was outnumbered, by the knight and the escaped slave, Samuel's words had more of an effect than his previous attempt to avoid bloodshed. The slaver thought for a moment, then pushed the woman away from him and grabbing a rucksack from the ground ran off into the trees. As the brother started after him, Samuel placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “Let's get you all back to the city.” he said. “You'll all be safe there.” The return journey was uneventful, the group collected the warhorse and the sister on the way back. Once the three freed slaves had been given guides to the city, Samuel went and made a detailed report of all that had occurred. He had promised not to pursue the slaver himself, but there was no reason another couldn't.

[Elin]

Your grades are here

Samuel Longwell
Skills

• Meditation +1
  Horsemanship +2
  Riding +2
  Weapon: Shortbow: +2
  Weapon: Longsword: +2
  Weapon: Dagger: +2
  Unarmed Combat: +1
  Intimidation: +1
  Running: +1
  Tactics: +1
  Negotiation: +1
  Observation: +2

Lores

• Riding: Emergency Stop
  Armour: Plate mail is a noisy armour
  Armour: Stab through the gaps
  Armour: Slows you down
  Riding: Sitting back in the saddle to slow a horse down
  Riding: The freedom that lies in speed
  Tactics: Attacking from two sides can confuse your opponent
  Slavers killed Samuels best friend
  The taste of blood

Other
Shield Points
+3 Helping the slaves

Notes
Good thread and entertaining to read
This is my first grade so if you think I’ve got anything wrong at all, or that I’ve missed anything off, just let me know and I’ll fix it up

Remember to note on your original request that this thread has been graded