The Homecoming 24.

An Event...

The duelists are all in full plate armour or half plate. Including Tamric Drubine, who gets his half plate from the sack it's carried in by Dorc da Orc. The nobleborn teenager who usually wears padded leather armour, puts on his heavier plate in one of the fitting tents on one side of the field.
He's helped by a local armourer and Riley Hait the mercenary ranger, who tells him "Be careful" as he hands the teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin his helm.
Tam nods, puts on the helm, dropping down the visor, which covers the lower half of his face, from the bridge of the nose down. After thanking the local armourer, he exits the tent, followed by the mercenary ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen.
The former heir to the knight of castle Drubine in the kingdom of Sarcrin makes his way to the lists. To where the circles where the unarmed combat event was held in the morning.
Two more circles have been marked out with crushed chalk, and the first of the duelists are already in them, as the event has got underway.
Tamric Drubine stands behind the second circle, next to his opponent, a local noble by the name of sir Olmban. A man in his early twenties, who is stockier and shorter than the near fifteen year old noble from the kingdom of Sarcrin.
Tam ignores his opponent, and looks at the two competitors in the circle that he will soon enter, this fine, and mild winter's afternoon. The nobleborn teenager doesn't really watch them, instead he clears his mind as he was taught to do.
As he knows taking part in a duel is completely different than being in a real battle. The only event in a tourney that's remotely close to actual combat, is Lé Grande Melee.
"He looks focused" quietly says Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy when Riley Hait the mercenary ranger joins him and the others of the group with the exception of sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who is with the other competitors in the duel event.
"That he does" quietly says the mercenary ranger, who continues with "I wonder if he'll show how actually good he is?".
"He will" says Lisell Maera who continues with "Look at who teaches him" after a slight pause she adds "Especially the lord". Riley Hait, Dalinvardél Tanith and Shur Kee the monk, then Dorc da Orc all nod to that.
For Tam is taught the sword by sir Percavelle, Mira Reinholt the mage and lord Farque. All of whom, including the former paladin Percavelle, are all about the minimum of movement, and striking quickly and efficiently in not just a duel, but in battle in general.
None of them, especially lord Farque likes to waste their time when it comes to combat.
"Well here he goes" quietly says the mercenary ranger who is really a hordes outrider from the southern tundra by the name of Zubutai Timaginson who just happens to inhabit the body of Riley Hait.
The ranger from the elven principality of Envadarlen looks over to the stands, and spots lord Milburn, pointing towards the competitors in the event that's taking place now, as he explains something to his granddaughter the lady Linara Lé Dic.
So i wonder what you'll think of this? Riley aka Zubutai the barbarian hordesman thinks to himself as he briefly watches the nobleman who is effectively the regent of the fief. The ranger Hait then looks back to the circles where the duels are taking place, one of which Tamric Drubine has just entered.
The nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin after stepping into the marked off circle, watches his opponent sir Olmban enter the circle. Noticing the way he walks, and moves. Even the slightest of movements.
When the local nobleman stops opposite him, the two of them look at the judge who is standing off to one side of the circle, who says to him "You both know the rules". The two nobles, one local, and the other a visitor from another kingdom, nod.
The judge, an officer in the Lé Dic army, then tells them "When i give the command, you may start".
Tamric Drubine looks at his opponent, and nods his helmed head to the man, sir Olmban barely nods in return.
"Draw!" shouts the judge of the duel, both nobles, draw their longswords, they keep their eyes on one another. As Tam has his blade point down to the ground in a low guard as he's been taught, and as he prefers. While sir Olmban holds his sword in both hands, forward and sticking out to one side.
"Begin!" shouts the officer in the local army who gets the duel underway between the local nobleman, and the visiting nobleborn teenager.
The son of the former knight of castle Drubine in the kingdom of Sarcrin, is in a stance with his left boot slightly infront of his right. His point down low guard is slightly to the right of him. And he doesn't move as many other competitors in the duel have done already, or are doing at the moment, where they circle around before acting.
Tamric Drubine just watches his opponent, not watching sir Olmban's blade, or his eyes through the slot in the local nobleman's full helm. Instead the nobleborn teenager from the feudal kingdom of Sarcrin watches his opponents chest, and more importantly shoulders. As they're always the first indicator, not just in a duel with swords, but in any fight, what a person will do.
Sir Olmban moves, with his chest and right shoulder moving to the right and back, indicating he's going to swing his sword around from that side. Tam moves in response to that, much quicker and efficiently than the shorter and stockier local noble.
The goal of the duel event in a tourney is to unarm your opponent, or to incapacitate them. Without harming them in anyway, or as little as possible. True some people end up getting injured and wounded. But since killing blows are disallowed, and that everyone is in heavy armour, either full plate or half plate. Severe injuries hardly ever occur. If they do, bone setters and healers are in attendance. And in this festival tourney, the local druid who serves the lady Lé Dic is also here. He'll magically heal anyone who is unfortunate enough to get badly injured.
As his opponent's sword comes towards him, Tamric Drubine lifts his own blade up to meet it, as he does, he's stepping forward towards sir Olmban, ready to swing his longsword that he got in the elven principality of Alínlae, straight away. Far quicker than what his opponent is expecting, or realises is possible.
"Well that didn't last long" dryly says Riley Hait the mercenary ranger "I bet that hurt" says Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy who winces as the local noble who is Tamric Drubine's opponent, hits the ground, dropping his sword, after Tam slams the flat of his blade against the side of his opponent's helm.
"Hehehehehe he got knocked the fuck out" says a chortling Dorc da Orc who points at the unconscious local noble who Tamric Drubine has defeated with just two sword strokes, one to block his opponent's weapon, and the other to knock him out.
"Well everybody knows now" murmurs the ranger Hait as a ripple of excitement goes through the gathered crowd, and cheers go up from many of them, at seeing how quickly and easily the visiting teenage noble won his first duel.
Amongst the other competitors, those who actually watched that particular duel. There's looks of surprise as well as concern on many of their faces.
With the exception of sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who just shrugs his heavily armoured shoulders, as he expected no less from Tamric Drubine. After all, he helps to teach the sword to the nobleborn teenager from the kingdom of Sarcrin, and knows how good he is with a sword.
Riley Hait, along with Dalinvardél Tanith, as well as Lisell Maera. All look over to the otheside of the lists, where on that side of the field, the stands are located.
They see the look of utter surprise on the face of lord Milburn as he sits next to his granddaughter who is the lady of the fief. Even though sir Percavelle Lé Dic said the visiting teenage noble would be the only person who could compete with him in the duel event. He didn't believe it. Until now, after seeing how effortlessly, efficiently and quickly Tamric Drubine defeated the local nobleman sir Olmban, who lord Milburn knows is no slouch with a sword.
"Well that's definitely stirred things up for sure" quietly says Riley aka Zubutai Timaginson in the elven language to the spy Tanith, the mercenary ranger who was brought up and trained in the elven principality of Envadarlen continues with "With you winning the longbow class, and Lis winning with the crossbow, as well as Shur Kee with the unarmed combat, not to mention what Dorc did first thing this morning".
The ranger Hait nods to the stands on the otherside of the field and adds "Now with Tam showing how good he's with a sword, that lord Milburn has got a lot of thinking to do". The spy Tanith nods in agreement, then in elven he quietly asks "You think he'll try anything?".
The two of them, along with Lisell Maera, who unlike Shur Kee and Dorc da Orc, can understand the conversation in elven. Look towards the competitors in the event that's taking place at the moment.
"He's surrounded by a few people there, somebody might try something" quietly says the elf from the principality of Alínlae in his native language "Too many people still adore him, i don't think it'll be in a situation like that if they do try" quietly says Riley Hait, who then adds "More likely to be in a duel, or in the grande melee tomorrow afternoon".
The three of them, the mercenary ranger from Envadarlen, the spy from Alínlae, and the teenager orphan from the city-state of Brattonbury, are all looking at sir Percavelle Lé Dic, who in his overly loud, and booming voice, is talking to some of his fellow competitors. Mostly the non noble one's, as they're the one's who have always got along with their former earl.
Soldiers who have served with him in the past, and those that saw him when they were growing up. Even with his annoying voice, and the way he talks, they genuinely like the nobleman who once ruled them.
Not so, those amongst the nobility within the fief. Some of them didn't particularly care for him when he was their earl. Who was too absent in their opinion, and not a good leader.
And there's those amongst the local nobility who don't appreciate that he's returned to the fief he once ruled. They would of liked it if he had never returned, or got himself killed in some conflict in some far flung kingdom.
Chief amongst them is lord Kievar Milburn, the grandfather on the maternal side, of lady Linara Lé Dic. Who is definitely not pleased with his former son in-law's, brother showing up in the Lé Dic fief after being gone for nine years.
After glancing at Lisell Maera, Riley Hait quietly says in elven to her and the spy Tanith "Keep an eye on him". "Percy?" asks the attractive teenager from the coastal city of Brattonbury "Him too" replies the mercenary ranger, who then nods over to the stands on the otherside of the field, where lord Milburn is sitting watching the duels . . . . . .