Burying Kenneth; St. Crispin's Day
Subject: Re: Gully's or Bust; the first night
2 quick questions, Ty. How many hours are we from Nesalin and what time is it?
From: Ty
Subject: Re: Gully's or Bust; the first night
Six hours from Nesalin, and it is around 4am.
From: Mike
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
Garyth sees Pensive approach and holds up a hand, forestalling the elf. "No," he says. "There are others out in the camp that need it more. And besides," he says, glancing at the wagon where Kenneth's body lies, "I still have work to do tonight." Did it come out a little more harshly than he intended? Perhaps. What did it matter, though, really? If the elf decides to take offense and leave, maybe it would be for the better. He was sure to be safer out on his own, with only himself to look after and without being in the midst of such a large and obvious target. Garyth turns away, calling for the Falcons to help him bury their comrade.
It doesn't take long before the grave is dug--five soldiers trained to entrench themselves quickly in combat need little time to dig merely one hole. Garyth looks up as he climbs out, but can't see the moon or stars; the forest canopy is too thick, or perhaps the demon's fog still clouds the sky. Kenneth's resting place won't feel much of Pelor's warmth, but hopefully he will be safe, cradled within Gaea's embrace. The grave will have no marker, and lying as it does surrounded by thick bushes and scrub, it will not be easy to find. It doesn't feel right, and in his heart Garyth apologizes to Kenneth, but hopefully this way will keep the young soldier's body from being desecrated by the dark one's minions.
Garyth takes a step back and watches as the Falcons lower their brother-in-arms into the grave. It's not pretty; even with his eyes closed, Kenneth looks anything but peaceful. A gaping arrow wound in the chest has that effect. One by one the Falcons climb out, dusting themselves off. They stand by the grave, looking at Garyth. What do they want? Ah, of course. They expect him to say something. He's the commanding officer; it's his place to do it. Garyth finds himself wishing he knew Kenneth better, that he could say something personal, something appropriate, but nothing comes. He looks down, searching Kenneth's features. "May Gaea accept you to her bosom, Kenneth, and protect you from the darkness." He's not sure where the words come from, but they'll have to do. "Pelor and Heironius grant us the strength and show us the way to let your death be not in vain." He looks around to the rest of the soldiers, a cold feeling touching the base of his spine. How many of them will still stand by the end of this? Will any?
Garyth looks to Osred, to see if the priest has any words or blessings before they cover Kenneth and leave him.
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
"There are others in the camp that need it more," Garyth says.
Pensive pauses. "Perhaps, Garyth-- but you are the one that the camp needs the most right now." Guilt like ash in his mouth, gritty and hot. "I will wait until after you have seen to the guardsm-- to Kenneth. Then, I will tend to your wounds."
So Pensive follows the humans to a bare patch of earth. He watches men, come just from battle, disarm, remove their armor and shirts, and bend themselves to the earth to scoop out a grave for their dead friend. Pensive starts to join them, but thinks better of it. This was not a place where he could force himself into belonging. Not yet. At the grave, he was an accepted onlooker. Not a participant. But he offers what help as he knows is needed-- leather gloves, an extra shovel, a pick and a lever bar. He doesn't try to intrude here. Not this time.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
Garyth looks to Osred, to see if the priest has any words or blessings before they cover Kenneth and leave him.
Osred steps to the foot of Kenneth's grave, gazing down toward the body, invisible now in the gloom, for a moment before clearing his throat.
"Kenneth died well. He was a Blood Falcon, and he died doing what Blood Falcons do--fighting to protect the people who live on this island. He wanted to live--blue hell, none of us want to die--but he knew when he took his oath he wasn't likely to last long enough to be awarded his parcel of land and his little pouch of gold."
He looks at the men assembled around him, catching and holding Garyth's eye for a moment as he speaks.
"Being a Blood Falcon was never about keeping safe, far away from battle. If it were, most of us wouldn't be here. Kenneth wouldn't have. I'm proud of the way Kenneth died, weapon in hand, fighting Evil. Evil! Think about that! Who here among you ever thought that you would test your blade against Evil itself? That's what you did tonight, make no mistake. Those things we fought may have had the shape of halflings, but they are an arm of Evil itself. We're all of us blessed by the gods, by Heironeus, by Pelor, by all the gods of Good here today. You're pissing down your legs at the thought of it, and you'd be crazy not to be. But you're standing up to it, and you're striking against it, and your gods know you can do it even if you doubt it.
If we survive, this is going to be the center of our lives--everything you ever do, everything you ever did before, it'll turn around this week, this fortnight. This is what you'll tell your grandkids about, and Kenneth and the men like him who fall in this will be the ones you weep over when you've had a tankard too many.
If we fall, we'll fall as we lived, protecting the farmers, the merchants, the lords and the ladies, the people of this island. If we fall we'll fall well, like Kenneth here, swords in our hands, the enemy's gore dripping from our blades. Either way, live or die, we'll fight, and we'll fight well. Be proud, men, you're warriors, chosen by the gods. Every damned one of you."
From: Scott
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
Good gravy, Jake.
You're channeling Henry V; is it St. Crispin's day already?
:-D
Nice turn.
From: Jake
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
Thanks. I wasn't completely sure it was Osred--it's a bit more eloquent than he usually is--but it felt right, and I think he's had occasional bursts of eloquence before. If you were to ask him about it he'd probably tell you that his god was speaking through him, and he was as surprised as anybody else.
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
Very nice turn, Jake.
I wish Farron could hear that. He'd probably get up and walk!
From: Karl
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
How funny, I almost said that exact same thing!
From: Mark
Subject: Re: The Exodus; Scattered to the winds...
I was thinking a bit more along the lines of Patton, but he would have said something about making the other poor bastard die. :)
Mark