Chapter 4

Chapter Four: THE TAX MAN COMETH

From the EARL of OVERMORE, to the GRAND ARCH DUKE of TAKSHENDAL 15th Aprila 1623
Regarding the Death of CAPTAIN Morris BLACKKETTLE, LORD HIGH SHERIFF of the MARNE TERRITORIES
My LORD GRAND ARCH DUKE.

It is with Great Sorrow I write to inform you of the Death of CAPTAIN Morris BLACKKETTLE, LORD HIGH SHERIFF of the MARNE TERRITORIES. His Mortal Remains, and those of his Entourage were found yesterday on the Road from THICKLY VALE to SNOAD. It is my understanding that the HIGH SHERIFF had spent the previous night in THICKLY VALE as the guest of SIR Adley De IVES, and had left his host early on the morning of the 14th Aprila. A few Miles from the village, where the road passes through KELLING WOOD, the LORD HIGH SHERIFF and his men were AMBUSHED and all were most Brutally Slain.

The Nature of the LORD HIGH SHERIFFS death is unusual. The ground had been heavily trampled and torn up, and two horses had been Violently Dissembowled. One man had been Crushed to a pulp. A peasant gathering mushrooms in KELLING WOOD reported hearing the Attack but by the time he had run for assistance from THIICKLY VALE, there was nothing to be done. This peasant reports having heard a Horrible and Prolonged Roaring, the like and sound of which surpassed his knowledge of local fauna and he swears the LORD HIGH SHERIFF and his men must have been killed by the Dragon of HALKYN MIRE. I find this hard to believe for HALKYN MIRE is some way from KELLING WOOD and the Dragon has not been seen for many years. Also, most of the Retinue had been killed by arrows, though these had all but one been removed from the scene of the attack. The trail left was easily tracked and disapeared into MORDEN FOREST. Once again I fear THE FALCON has struck us a Most Deadly Blow and once more I urge your LORDSHIP to assist us against this BANDIT KING.

As Lord High Sheriff, Silas rides forth from Takshendal in his new carriage and fine clothes, accompanied by his newly acquired men-at-arms. A few peasants walking along the road step aside and doff their hats as he passes and the former Captain smiles to him self as he reclines in the plush seating.
”Would you like some wine?” his young, buxom secretary Nicolé asks.
As Silas sips his wine, a young mans face appears at the door.
”My Lord, have you decided which route to take?” Tarquin Mossbank asks.
Silas regards his secretary with narrowed eyes. He has inherited Mossbank from his predecessor and has yet to decide whether or not the young man can be trusted. There is an obvious air of disregard for conventional rules and practices about the young man which Silas finds slightly disturbing, and yet the fellow seems to be an expert in the art of analyzing other people’s financial position. A talent which Silas can well appreciate.
”I have given this some thought” Silas answers as he savours the sight of Nicolé’s décolletage. ”You say there are three roads into Overmore County?”
”Indeed so My Lord.”
”We shall take the same route Captain Blackkettle took. We shall send a message that Takshendal is not intimidated by petty bandits.”
Tarquin Mossbank swallows and runs a quick tongue about his lips, he had not been with Captain Blackkettle on his last fatal journey, but he has read the report. ”As you say My Lord”.
“But My Lord” Nicolé asks with wide eyes, “Are you not a feared of the dragon?”
“The dragon?” Silas chuckles. “No, I fear no such beast.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Silas and his entourage make their way through the countryside, stopping at various inns along the way and generally taking their time. They arrive in Thickly Vale on 13th Mae and spend the night with Sir Adley De Ives. During the evenings pleasantry’s, Silas asks Sir Adley about the dragon.
“Tis a local legend” Sir Adley replies. “I put no stock in it myself. I have lived in these parts man and boy and I have never seen any sign of the beast.”
Silas nods, but then leans forward. “Do you realise that many people in the city firmly believe in the dragon?”
“I’m not surprised” Sir Adley chuckles. “I find that city folk are generally ignorant about the world beyond their walls”.
Silas nods again. It is all too true.
“Then, whom or what do you surmise killed Captain Blackkettle?”
Sir Adley’s eyes narrow and he gazes into the fire.
“I don’t know. My first thought was the Falcon, but when I saw those horses... they were ripped apart!”
“...and the ground was trampled and a man was crushed?”
Sir Adley glances up at Silas.
“Dragons are the stuff of legends. They do not exist!”

The next day Silas and his men set off towards Snoad and Overmore Castle on the last leg of their journey. Sir Adley watches them leave from his window, then turns to his squire. “Summon the men and saddle the horses.”
“My Lord?”
“I think we shall follow at a distance and see if our new Sheriff is walking into another trap.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Deep in Morden Forest, by a spluttering fire, a man dressed in dappled green sits on a mossy log facing another man dressed in animal skins. Several other men stand at a distance.
“Howard” the man in green speaks with a soft hoarse voice. The other man looks up from the small fire. “I want you to take your boys and meet our new Lord Sheriff and greet him in the manner of the Forest. Henricus and Archibald will go with you. What say you?”
The man named Howard ponders this request presented as an order and nods once. “I will do as you ask, but I shall need more men. The new Sheriff will be guarded well.”
“There is no time to arrange anything else. You must go at once if you are to catch him, but I will give you Peregrino.”
Howard the Woodsman glances across the clearing to where a man in black finery stands beside a large and glossy horse. The Southerner stares back with indolent disregard.
“There is no one else?” he asks.
The man in green smiles and shakes his head.
“I understand how you feel” he replies. “We’re both men of the sward and Peregrino and his companions do not belong here. In other times we would bid him be on his way with the merry tune of our bowstrings, but for now, we need these people. Do not cause trouble Howard. I need them, and thus so do you.”
“As you say” Howard replies and rises to his feet. He plucks a spear from the ground and turns towards his men...

STARTING

Players three and four deploy first, with little time to prepare their ambush it may consist of little more than a fallen tree and 1 d3 traps. Player three deploys directly to the rear of the wooden hut (on the western edge of the table) and then has four rounds before Player one arrives at the southern edge of the table. There is a bend just off table so Player one has no advanced warning of any ambush. If the famers have fled towards Thickly Vale, these may alert Player one.

Player one enters the table from the south and travels north until the ambush is sprung. Player One is naturally allowed to roll for perception.

Player Two arrives at the southern edge of the road 1d6+3 rounds after Player one begins the game.

Player Five arrives at the northern edge of the road 1d6+6 rounds after the ambush is sprung

Player One	Player Three
Silas. Knight 5 x Constables. Mounted 4 x Constables. Un-armoured skirmishers 4 x Constable rangers. Un-armoured. Archers 6 x Retainers Civilians 1 carriage and 2 baggage mules 23 elements	Howard the Woodsman. Warrior. Brother Henricus. Warrior of the Sacred Grove. Brother Archibald. Warrior of the Sacred Grove. 6 x Morden archers . 5 x Morden skirmishers. 14 elements
Player two	Player four
Sir Adley. Knight. 2 Men-at-arms. Mounted Normans. 7 Men-at-arms. Infantry. 4 Archers. Un-armoured bowmen 14 elements	Peregrino. Knight. 4 men-at-arms. Mounted 5 elements
Player five
Lord Phelonius. Knight 3 Men-at-Arms Mounted Normans. 4 elements

VICTORY CONDITIONS

Player one wins by getting Silas across the table, even if he is downed. Note, if Silas boards the carriage then the carriage becomes Silas and to stop him one must stop the carriage. Players two and five win by the same criteria.

Players three and four win by preventing Player one from reaching the far side of the table.

NOTES

1d6 decides the disposition of the farmers. Since player three arrives first, he makes this roll. Player five may take control of the famers if they are loyal to Sir Adley.
1 The Farmers are enthusiastic supporters of Sir Adley and will attack the bandits on sight
2 The Farmers are lukewarm supporters of Sir Adley and will barricade their house.
3 The Farmers flee towards Thickly Vale
4 The Farmers flee into the forest
5 The Farmers are lukewarm supporters of The Falcon, but will allow the bandits to use their house for the ambush.
6 The Farmers are enthusiastic supporters of The Falcon and will join in the fight along side Howard the Huntsman

The buildings are very solid and difficult to destroy. They are thatched however and the weather has been dry so setting fire to them is not hard. Door ways give +1 in cover. The fences and walls give +2. Trees give +1 for partial cover and +2 for full cover.

Every where on the map is Rough going, except the road which is Good (it being summer) and the forest which is difficult. Inside the buildings is also Rough due to the clutter. The farm has four pigs in the sty, but all other animals are out to pasture.

If only three players turn up, player four gives his elements to player three and takes over from players three and five.

MAP

CONCLUSION

After a pleasant night at the house of Sir Adley De Ives, Captain Silas and his entourage make their way along the road to Snoad. To the east the fields are filled with rosy cheeked peasants toiling merrily in the blazing sunshine and Silas waves to them as he passes by. Several children run beside the road side laughing and squabbling over the apple Silas tosses to them.
To the west is the brooding mass of Morden Forest. Silas regards it with gloomy foreboding. After a few miles, the entourage comes to a group of farm houses and as they approach, Silas turns to Andrew Joxenbrush, his sergeant-at-arms.
“Is that a tree trunk lying in the road?”
“Aye my Lord. It looks like it”
“How far do you think we are from the place where Captain Blackkettle was killed?”
“Not far my lord” Joxenbrush replies. “Perhaps you should don your helmet. A fair archer might be able to kill you with a single well placed arrow from those trees”
Silas regards the trees with barely concealed malice. “Confound it! Why don’t they cut them back from the road at least?”
He looks back along the road suddenly with a frown. Raising his hand he stops the carriage and Nicolé’s tousled head pokes from a window.
“What is it my Lord?”
Silas holds up a hand for silence and all hear the distance sound of hooves.
“Some one is approaching”
“My Lord!” a voice calls out and looking up Silas see’s a faint streamer of smoke arching across the sky. Up ahead a farm house has been set alight and in the dry heat, the thatched roof has already caught. A choking scream from the trees brings Silas to his senses and he looks about wildly. Incredibly the bandits have laid a trap on the exact same road. Nervously, Silas looks about, half expecting to see a dragon but noting instead the looks of his men, both eager and apprehensive. As pain filled cries and the sounds of sword play begin from amongst the trees, Silas draws forth his sword and slams down his visor.
“You” he points to a rider, “Go back and find out who is behind us! The rest of you, follow me!” He kicks his spurs and urges his charger into the trees. Ahead of him, several dirty faced men in faded earthen colours appear from amongst the bushes.
“Kill the Sheriff!” a voice cries out.
“Die you dogs!” Silas roars out as he swings his blade out to cut a man’s hat from his head. The man fades back into the bushes, and there is a confusion of voices and horses. Suddenly Silas finds himself falling, as hands upon his tunic pull him down.
“My Lord!” he hears Joxenbrush cry out in alarm from some where behind him, and then all is pain as hands and feet punch and kick at him. Some one hefts an axe like weapon and Silas feels the back of his helmet take the brunt of a blow that ought to have killed him. He scrambles to get away but some sits on his back and tries to work a dagger in between his pauldron and back plate. For a moment Silas fears his life is to drain out into the dirt, but a second wave of attack dislodges the man as the battle about the ebbs and flows. Silas finds himself lying beside his dead horse, gazing in amazement at the sight of the battle which is taking place about his carriage. As he blinks away the blood and sweat he see’s a knight all in black armour attacking the carriage with an axe and narrowly missing Nicolé’s head.
“Look out!” he croaks in a broken voice. The Black Knight and several horsemen in dark finery roil about the carriage and Silas is sure they will destroy it, but then a line of soldiers appear and the Black Knight and his companions are swallowed up in a mass of pikes and kicking horses. For a moment Silas see’s Sir Adley astride a great chest nut destrier, his arm outstretched, bloody sword pointing his orders.
Around him the undergrowth is rent by the lesser ranks as the battle continues, and every where is the stench of burning. Silas looks at a body lying close by and is startled to recognize Andrew Joxenbrush with several arrows protruding from his chest and neck.
Anger and frustration boils within his breast but Silas is battered and bruised and his attempts to regain his footing are hampered by the retreat of the bandits. A man on a horse crashes through the trees and Silas recognizes one of his own men-at-arms. The rider jumps from his mount and kneels beside the Sheriff.
“The day is ours my Lord” he shouts.
“We won?” Silas asks in amazement.
The soldier nods, but before he can answer, a long trumpeting cry echoes over Morden Forest.
“By Thunder! What was that?” Silas looks about in amazement
“I don’t know” the soldier swallows nervously, but it sounded like some great beast.
“Probably just a horn summoning more bandits” Sir Adley interrupts. “Are you still living My Lord Sheriff?”

His armour gently removed, his wounds bandaged and with Nicolé gently dabbing his forehead with a damp clothe, Silas sits at the side of the road watching the farm house burning merrily. Sitting on a fallen log brought from the tree’s Sir Adley and Lord Phelonius, Earl of Overmore watch.
“What say you to your welcome?” The Earl asks.
“T’was a warm welcome indeed” Silas asks, still some what dazed. “But from whence did you come my Lord?”
Lord Phelonius accepts a goblet of wine from his squire and smiles. “I was informed of your arrival and realising you would take this road, I decided to ride down and meet you myself. I thought the Falcon might try to spring a trap once he learned you were in Thickly Vale”
Silas nods, grateful for loyal allies.
“There now my Lord” Nicolé mutters, as she dabs the last of the crusted blood from his face. “You look as good as new again”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Howard and his men stagger past the out lying sentries and fall to the ground, exhausted. The Falcon looks up from his clay mug.
“Is it done?”
“In truth I know not” Howard replies breathlessly.
“How now?”
“Adley was there. I think we got the Sheriff, but it was close. Very close. We burned Hurdlecote’s house too.”
The Falcon tilts his head to one side quizzically. He rises to his feet, walks a few steps away then returns and shouts at the man lying before him on the ground.
“Hurdlecote’s house?! What good will burning his house do? I sent you to kill the Sheriff!”
“There was no time!” Howard growls. Standing up he glares at the Falcon, but after a few seconds he averts his eyes. Though younger and stronger, the force of will in his leader defeats him.
“Is he dead?” the older man asks in a low voice.
“I think so”
"Where is Peregrino?"
Howard grunts in something close to a laugh. Adley sliced him to pieces.
The Falcon swears under his breath.
"He is not going to like that!..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The game was an interesting match between uneven forces. Oleg and myself won very early on as Rasmus made a mistake in attcking into the trees. This could be because he was seduced by his horse, by which I mean, instead of trying to reach the far side of the table by the fastest means, he elected to engage the enemy in a fight he had very little chance of winning. Being a knight on horseback may have given him a false sense of security.

Since the victory criteria had been met so early on, and only two of the five players had seen any action, we elected to continue the game. Playing Peregrino, I decided to take advantage of the early victory and attempt a reckless attack. My initial plan had been to take the courtyard and prevent Rasmus from making a run for it, but with Silas downed I decided instead to attack Palle in a knight-on-knight charge. Palle played it safe though and cowered mightily behind his pikemen. The pike were an interesting challenge and by themselves I think I might have mopped the floor with them, but heavily out numbered, Peregrino met the inevitable outcome of his own folly.

I enjoyed the game, despite a head ache, extreme tiredness and a brooding sense of foreboding (that proved baseless). I think every one got a bit of the action, except poor Bettina who had to watch and learn, but I shall make sure the next big scrap is more even (I'm hoping we can do a three-a-side for chapter six).

Chapter five begins on Oct 2nd, if all goes well.

Be there or be square!