Solo I predict a...

[Samuel Longwell]

35th Spring

“Not another one.” Samuel growled, pulling himself to his feet and gesturing for the squire who'd notified him to continue spreading the word. He set off at a run, there was no time to lose. The Bazaar was the target this time, it seemed that perhaps 'The Unknown' really were a threat of some kind. The knight knew that people were struggling, but a riot would not make things better.

Every time Samuel needed to run in armour, it felt like the first time. He always forgot how much difficulty he had propelling his body along at speed with the additional 50 pounds weighing him down. It wasn't long before he was breathing hard, the heavy metal sapping his energy. But he pushed on, he needed to get down to the Bazaar as soon as possible. Coming to the stairs that would take him down to the basement level, Samuel leapt down the steps 3 at a time. In hindsight, it was a bad decision. Although the knight had done it plenty of times as a child, the decision did not factor in his armour. He tripped, barely catching himself on the bannister. His heart pounding in his chest, he stared down at the many stairs that he had narrowly avoided falling down.

The knight removed his vice grip from the bannister, then gingerly proceeded down the remaining flights. As he got closer to the Bazaar, he started to pick out a rhythmic chanting emanating from the great market. The sight that assaulted him as he reached the bottom of the stairs made him freeze for a brief moment. The riot was much larger than he expected, the few knights who had arrived were still seriously outnumbered. Multiple vendors were being terrorised, but the knight could only deal with one problem at a time so he rushed over to the nearest.

Most looters scattered, but a pair of burly men were too focused on tearing into a silk stall with their clubs to notice the knight bearing down on them. Samuel charged in with a yell, swinging his shield as he barrelled into the first. The impact knocked the looter back, stumbling into his friend. The two men turned to Samuel, eyes glaring out from behind their masks. The knight didn't particularly want to fight them both, so he tried diplomacy.

“Put down your weapons, this is not a fight you can win.” the knight commanded. “If you continue then the consequences will be far more serious.” The two men paused, then turned and ran off in different directions. Samuel cursed, perhaps his choice in resorting to diplomacy had been a mistake. Although his armour meant that he had less to fear from the crowd, it also meant that he couldn't move as fast as the average looter. So if they ran he was unlikely to be able to catch them. The knight checked that the owner of the stall was ok, making sure he could get out safely, then he set off into the crowd at a run. There were plenty more people who needed saving.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Samuel Longwell]

A squire in Samuel's path was looking around frantically, so the knight slid to a halt in front of him. The fear in the boy's eyes diminished when he registered the knight standing in front of him, blurting out his worry to the more experienced man.

“S-Sylvia is in the middle of that.” the squire said, pointing to the centre of the Bazaar, where the rioting was fiercest. His hand shook, emotions bleeding out into his body language. “She said she couldn't let the rioters get away with it.”

“And what are you doing about that? Just standing here?” Samuel replied harshly. Samuel looked at the teenager, incredulous. Was he really letting another squire risk herself while he stood on the outskirts? The knight frowned, that would just not do. “Follow me squire, we're going in.” The words were spoken with a firm tone, the knight barely managing to keep the disdain out of his voice. Allowing others to come to harm because of cowardice was not something Samuel could stand.

The squire gulped, the knight's displeasure clear upon his face. The boy readied his shield, then followed Samuel's lead. The two pushed through a group of civilians fleeing from the main area of looting. Samuel wondered how many had taken part in the disorder and were now making off with stolen goods. But that wasn't his priority, most important was dealing with the violence that put the citizens of the city at risk.

Glancing behind him, the knight checked that the squire was still following him. The boy was keeping up, now that Samuel had taken charge he seemed less timid. The knight spotted a squire in the middle of a group of rioters, fending them off with her magic. Air buffeted them back as they advanced, but it seemed like she was tiring. Samuel's companion called out to her, it seemed it was indeed Sylvia. Samuel broke into a sprint, closing the distance as quickly as he could. A rioter swung his club at Sylvia's head, only for the knight's shield to interpose itself between weapon and skull at the last moment.

The vibrations rippled through the metal, the force dissipating quickly. It hurt, but the shield did its job preventing serious injury. Samuel 's face flushed. Rioting was one thing, but attacking a member of the order drove him over the edge. He acted on instinct, smashing his shield into the antagonist. The looter stumbled back, dropping his club in the process. The knight swung his mailed fist in a clumsy right hook. The blow did not connect properly, and the assailant managed to regain his footing.

To Samuel's surprise, his opponent threw a punch back. The knight stepped back, bringing his shield up to defend himself. The bare fist crunched against the shield, and Samuel heard the resulting gasp of pain. What an idiot, Samuel thought. The looter was now bent over, clutching his wrist. The knight brought his fist down on his opponent's head, knocking him to the ground. The knight drew his sword, checking that the two squires were handling themselves adequately.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Samuel Longwell]

Seeing the large knight turning to them with his sword drawn gave the surrounding rioters pause, they had been brave enough to attack a single isolated squire but now facing three members of the order their courage crumpled. Once again Samuel found his opponents fleeing from him. It reminded him that the people he faced were civilians, these were not people used to combat in any way. This realisation gave the knight an idea. Exploiting the fact these people were unused to combat could end the conflict early, preventing any more innocents getting hurt.

“Put your weapons down right now.” Samuel roared. Several looters froze in place, glancing back in fear. “If you resist then the consequences will be severe.” The effect of his second sentence was diminished by the fact that his voice cracked on the last few words. His hold over the rioters was broken and they continued to flee. The knight cursed softly and gestured for the squires to come and help him. Neither had managed to subdue any of the rioters, so Samuel decided to send back one of them off with the woozy man at his feet.

“Grab some rope and help me tie this guys hands.” Samuel ordered. The two squires nodded, Sylvia managing to find some cloth from a nearby overturned stall. Sheathing his sword, the knight held the offender still while his hands were bound, then dragged him to his feet. The knight looked between the two squires, thinking through which he'd rather have at his back, then pushed the bound man to the male squire. “Take him to The Tank.” The squire turned white at the thought of it, but a stern look from Samuel quashed any argument. The squire needed to toughen up fast if he was going to make it in the order.

“What now sir?” Sylvia asked, glancing over to the area where the looting was still in full swing.

“We're going to help the civilians that need us.” he replied. “Follow me.” He strode off towards the centre of the bazaar. Up till now he'd just been dealing with the outskirts of the riot, but the chanting increased in volume as he walked. Turning a corner, with Sylvia tight on his heels, the knight saw the mass of angry rioters in full force. The knight did not slow, moving to support his comrades in suppressing the mob.

“Stay close to me lass,” Samuel said, “It could get messy.” The knight heard Sylvia's assent, then they were in and among the chaos. The noise surged from all around them. It was not as ferocious of that of a full-scale battle, but it was still a fearsome sound. The knight checked to make sure that Sylvia was close by, then jumped to the defence of a merchant. The woman was prone on the ground, clutching her head as a group of rioters trampled her under their feet as they scrambled to steal her goods.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel didn't know whether the rioters were apathetic towards the woman they were crushing, or if they were trampling her out of malice, but he was not going to take any chances and be gentle with them. He charged into the pack, shield held firmly in front of him. The speed of his impact rippled through the group, causing several to stumble away. The knight roared with rage, laying about with shield and fist. He managed to clear a small space around the fallen merchant as the rioters fell back from his initial assault. However they soon pressed in once more, several beating at him with their makeshift clubs. He managed to deflect some of the blows with his shield, but the number of his opponents drove him to the ground. Their blows fell again and again against his armour, the metal protecting him from the brunt of what his shield could not.

A howl of wind roared past Samuel's ears, knocking the rioters off him. He scrambled up, pulling the merchant to her feet. Sylvia was swaying on her feet, a glazed look in her eye. The knight pulled the merchant out of the group of rioters. He pushed her behind him, stepping slightly to the side to protect the mage squire as well. It didn't look good. The looters had regrouped after Sylvia's display of power, but they seemed angry rather than scared. The knight didn't understand it, he was so used to most people within the walls capitulating at the slightest show of strength from the order. Yet here was a large group of civilians creating chaos and not backing down even when the appearance of members of The Order.

That, however, was soon to change. Samuel heard the sound of marching coming from the stairs, a reassuring sound that he knew well. A large group of knights entered the bazaar, a tight knit formation of gleaming metal. The bald knight sighed in relief, proper reinforcements at last. The arrival of his colleagues was none too soon. There were still more rioters than knights, but the untrained mob would have no chance now that their numerical advantage had been cut down. Most seemed to realise this, their resolve crumbling as they realised the futility of continuing to fight.

The looters began to rout, taking the items they had stolen and fleeing from the approaching knights. Each individual that fled lowered the morale of those around them, a knock on effect that soon had the whole mob in retreat. Some headed towards where Samuel stood, preferring the better odds of making it past just two members of The Order. Sylvia stepped to his side, dagger drawn. Samuel glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, then turned in shock as he saw blood pouring from her nose. She waved his obvious concern away.

“I've just overworked myself a little.” she said, “I'm fine.” At which point she proved the exact opposite was true by collapsing in a heap. The knight froze, a group of looters bearing down on him and a mage-squire at his feet both requiring action.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Samuel Longwell]

The fact that Sylvia had got this way by saving Samuel made his decision for him. Her safety was more important than apprehending thieves. In the brief moment before the looters reached him, he grabbed Sylvia and pulled her off to the side slightly. Then he stood over her with his shield raised, making no move to stop the looters piling past. Trying to subdue any of them would just put the squire at risk. They were all too happy to skirt around him, glad of the fact that the large knight seemed to have no interest in apprehending them. As soon as they had passed, Samuel knelt down next to the mage-squire.

“You okay lass?” he asked, concerned by the fact she hadn't moved since collapsing. There was no response. Samuel could see her chest rising and falling slowly, so she still seemed to be breathing. The knight put his shield on his back, then hefted the squire up in his arms. He would get her to Soothing Waters, they would know what to do. She was heavy, her armour making her weigh nearly double what she would otherwise. The knight managed a few steps, then had to put her down. This isn't gonna work, he thought to himself.

The knight glanced about for someone to help him. The merchant he had saved was sitting by her own stall, sobbing into her hands. Another merchant stood nearby, staring in dismay at the wreckage of his stall. Neither of them looked like they were going to be much help. The knight had to try though.

“Sir, I need your help.” Samuel said softly. “The squire is hurt bad. We need to get her to the baths as soon as possible.” The merchant stared back at the knight, eyes glazed over. Samuel tried again, more firmly this time. “She could die if we don't do anything. Help. Me.”

The knight's tone managed to snap the merchant out of his shock, and the two moved to pick up Sylvia. On the count of three they lifted, but even with the two of them carrying her they didn't manage to get too far before they had to put her down. Samuel's arms burned from the effort, he had no idea how they were going to get her up the stairs.

“It looks like you need some help there.” said a voice from behind Samuel. The knight turned to see a squadron of knights behind him, several prisoners in tow. The sergeant, who had been the one who'd spoken, stepped forward and gestured for a pair of knights from his squadron to step in. “I'll have a couple of knights help you get her to Soothing Waters.”

Samuel nodded his head in thanks, then the squadron moved on. The progress with four carrying Sylvia was far more swift. They managed to get her up the stairs without too much trouble and it wasn't long until she was safely among the healers of the baths. The healers reassured Samuel that she would be fine. The knight breathed a sigh of relief, he had made the right in decision in focusing on getting her out safely.

Many thanks to Prophet for the box code.

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Samuel XP Award: Running 1 Observation 2 Weapon: Shield 3 Intimidation 2 Leadership 3 Unarmed Combat 1 Tactics 1 Endurance 2 Lore: Cowardice is not acceptable Intimidation: A cracking voice spoils the effect Protecting people is more important than catching thieves Rewards: +3 Shield points for helping citizens