Goldwater Family/Jacelyn/Long Way Home

A lone rider leapt over the horizont and cautiously looked around. His horse was exhausted and weak from hunger, as was the rider himself. The thick, fur cloak around his shoulders perhaps resembled something or bore bright colours in the past, but it has become worn and perhaps intenionally dirtied and dusted. Under the cloak, quiet clinging hinted the rider wore a hauberk for his protection and a nasal helmet has been hanging off the saddle, together with a round wooden shield, bearing no crest. The sword, however, has been a true masterwork. The pummel had a large gemstone in the middle and the handguard has been engraved with a coat of arms of some sort and some words, bearing a family motto. The hood has been pulled over his head, shielding him from rain and snow. Underneath, an ungroomed beard, not that big in size and clearly not as old, crowned the man's face, complemented by a pair of cold and piercing eyes. The rider saw no one on the road in front of him and lead his horse down the hill, continuing down the road, all alone.

Rugged and exhausted Jacelyn passed by Betholm and quickly continued on, hoping to sneak out of Yssrgardian lands as soon as possible. The forests of sparsely populated Betholm have lost in strength and soon gave way to the vast rural landscape around Leibo. As sun began to set and shadows grew longer, Jacelyn had to concern himself with a place to sleep. Normally he would sleep under a tree or in a ditch, as he already did many times in the past, but winter has returned with its last attempt and temperatures quickly fell below a comfortable, even survivable level.

As if luck had never forsaken him, a small wooden inn came into view as he emerged out of the woods. Nothing fancy, only a small wooden lodge with an even smaller stable, all surrounded by a sturdy palisade. It seemed empty and quiet, but he could see some light through the narrow window.

Snow began to fall just as he reached the open gate leading to the house. The lack of people somewhat worried him but with no other roof in sight, there was no other plan he could stick to.

Inside the inn itself, his worries only strengthened despite the pleasant warmth coming from a fireplace in the corner. In the main room, there were only two tables, with holes in the desk instead of plates and mugs chained to the wall. A drunk, dirty, unkempt man slept at one table, with an unfinished pint of ale before him. The tavern keeper was sitting at the fireplace and warming his hands, obviously uninterested. He had a fat face, crowned by a shaggy beard. A large, flattened, obviously broken nose and little eyes, akin to a pig. He slowly turned his head towards Jacelyn and spoke with caution.

“Oi! Who the hell are you?”

“A paying traveller. What does it matter?”

“Not much, I say. But the Lions were around ‘ere not long ago. So many knights, and they still turned tail and ran. Men of our Count are now searching all around, that is. For perdanite stragglers...”

“You have something to eat, or are we going to talk all night?”

The tavern keeper got up grunting and disappeared behind a door. Jacelyn meanwhile sat himself behind one of the sturdy tables, readied his sword and waited. One could never be too catious, especially in such places. A considerable amount of time has passed before the keeper returned, carrying a bowl and a jug. He placed both before Jacelyn and extended his hand in front of him.

“Only some bread and cheese. I’m not cooking past noon.T’is gonna be five silver.”

“Why so much? I could buy food for a week for that.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to haggle, as of now. Five silver, or you can get out and freeze out there.”

Although overpriced, Jacelyn paid for the food and drink, as he was truly hungry and needed a place to sleep at. The bread was old and hard, and cheese a bit stale, but it was food. After he finished eating, he paid the keeper another five silver for a place for sleeping in the stables. With his stomach full and dug inside a heap of hay, sleep soon claimed Jacelyn and he descended into darkness.

Harsh voices and sound of hooves woke Jacelyn up just before sunrise. As he looked out of his hay, he froze. Soldiers, bearing the Scribbler coat of arms on their shields and tabards, were dismounting in front of the tavern. The fat tavern keeper soon ran out of the house and bowed all the way to the ground, leading them inside. Only a handful of the men remained, who gathered all the horses and lead them into the stables. Jacelyn tried to hide himself in the hay and pretend he was sleeping, but it still didn’t take long before the soldiers noticed him. One of the barbarians headed towards him and Jacelyn silently readied himself for a fight.

“Oi! Who are y-”

The man’s sentence has been cut short as Jacelyn leapt out of the heap and slashed his blade against the young barbarian’s unprotected head. The man fell backwards without making a sound and blood flowed out of his face. The other two barbarians in the stables quickly drew their own falchions and withdrew back out of the stables. Loud shouting summoned the rest of the patrol, who have already sat down inside of the tavern. Jacelyn pushed on and made the two barbarians retreat, forcing them to defend themselves against his quick strikes. When the remaining soldiers ran out of the house, one of the two lost focus for a short moment and the young knight’s slash has almost cut him in half.

Glancing over at the quickly approaching reinforcements, Jacelyn tried to get back to his horse and escape. However, before he managed to reach the stables, some barbarians managed to cut him off and driven forward by the deaths of their comrades, threw themselves at Jacelyn. Weapons clashed and one of the barbarians fell dead to the ground, but Jacelyn has been forced to retreat by overwhelming and ferocious attacks shortly after.

The soldiers have surrounded him and tried to exploit their numerical advantage. Jacelyn managed to repel their attacks for a short while, but soon the inevitable came and one of the barbarians managed to hit him with a bludgeon. Luckily enough, he missed the head and hit the knight in the back of his neck, but it was still enough to strike him down to the ground. The other barbarians moved in as one and began to beat and kick him, unleashing their rage, before their captain managed to drag them off of him.

Jacelyn has woken up in a cell. He didn’t know where and only remembered parts of what had happened. He felt cold from the stone floor, as his captors have stripped him of almost everything, leaving him in just his tunic and hose. His head hurt so bad it made him grit his teeth and let out a quiet groan. As he thought his head would finally explode and darkness has yet again surrounded him, he though he had heard a shout echoing through the dungeon. After what seemed to Jacelyn like five minutes, but could have been entire hours or days, he was woken up again, this time by a well-aimed kick from the guardsman.

The door to his cell were open and the flickering light of a torch illuminated the interior. An old, scarred barbarian was grinning at him, with another man standing at the door. That one expressed authority and respect, and was clearly a noble. Or as much as an Yssrgardian can be a noble.

"Get on ye'r knees, bugger!"

The guardsman kicked the young knight again and grabbed him by the shoulder, making him get up to his knees.

"You have the honor of speaking to his Lordship, Count Mortimer des Greys, the Keeper of the Laws! Count your blessings, Perdanite."

Patiently waiting for Jacelyn to fully wake up, the judge began to speak.

“Ah, yes ... another failed warrior from Perdan. As you can see, your act of aggression has not gained you anything but a stay in our dungeons. While here, I would appreciate it if you did not eat any of the rats. They are pets of some prisoners and guards. If you behave yourself, you should be released unharmed and with your possessions intact.”

He pulled in closer to Jacelyn’s face and examined his face

“However, if you have a history of harming our people, you may swing from the gallows or be burned for our entertainment.Contemplate the error of your ways.”

The Count straightened up again and threw a bunch of open letters at Jacelyn’s feet.

“It seems that you have many friends, Perdanite.”

Door was shut and the cell sank into darkness again. Jacelyn still had to think about what the judge said. Don’t eat the rats… He knew he would get released anyway, but he had his honour, he was a knight afterall. And furthermore, to sit in a prison cell is truly boring. He got up and examined the sturdy door, they were built well and made to last. The window was small, more like an arrow slit, and was barred nonetheless.

Jacelyn sat back down into his hay and tried to think. There had to be a way of escaping this place. When a few hours have passed, he could hear the guards entering a cell nearby, and from the few words he could make out it appears as if a fellow prisoner is being set free. Well, someone was lucky. But unfortunately for Jacelyn, luck must have forgotten about him and despite him plotting for the whole day, he hasn’t been able to create a plan for escape. When it was evident he wouldn’t escape today, Jacelyn at least asked for some parchment and ink to write a letter to his captor with. If he wants to hold me here, let him enjoy it, ran through Jacelyn’s head as a prickly smile displayed on his face.

"To the most benevolent, most just and kindest Count Mortimer des Greys,

How has your day been today? I hope you have been well, for I certainly have. I had a good nights sleep and then even ate a delicious meal from the hands of your kind guardsmen.

Signed,

P.S: To the guard, who reads through my correspondence, mind your own business and deliver this to the most benevolent, most just and kindest Count Mortimer des Greys.”