For Validor: Chapter 1

>>1192908
>I'd be honored to wield your blade.
>though may I ask why?

>>1192908
>I'd be honored to wield your blade.

And thank you Brine, this means more than you can know.

"I'd be honored Brine. And though this means more than you could know, I must ask why?" You say taking the blade from his grasp.

He chuckles a little
"Don't tell me you forgot sir? It's your birthday today! If I remember correctly it's 34 today is it not? Getting a little gray." He says playfully tapping your chest.

>Still young enough to take you in battle.
>Remember who the Master and who the apprentice is here Brine.
>I am getting a bit old, aren't I?
>Other

>>1192955
>I am getting a bit old, aren't I?

>>1192955
>I am getting a bit old, aren't I?
What's Brine apprenticed to us in, if we're no longer a knight? What is our profession now?

>>1193030
Blacksmith

You move your aching shoulders and remember the grey hairs you had found the last time you cut your hair.

"Maybe I am getting a little old." You grumble

Brine frowns slightly
"Hey it's okay sir. I know you'd probably feel better if you went home. There's another gift there for you, after that you can go practice your sword arm, heard there's a small band of travelers here in Validor and they're offering coin to anyone who can take their 'master swordsman' he looks like a bellend to me." He says scoffing

>Don't speak of others that way, Brine. I'll go see these travelers.
>I'll see if these old bones can give him a challenge.
>My fighting days are behind me.

>>1193061
Give him a laugh and say "Never underestimate your opponent, I once met a man who made everyone believe he was a drunkard so that he could gain an upperhand."

>I'll see if these old bones can give him a challenge.

>>1193061
>I'll see if these old bones can give him a challenge.

>>1193061
>I'll see if these old bones can give him a challenge.

>>1193061
This >>1193067
I've been watching forged in fire, I'm ready for blacksmith quest.

You laugh

"Never underestimate an opponent, Brine. I once knew an old man who would pretend to be a drunkard in order to gain the upper hand." You say clasping his shoulder

He looks at you and tilts his head
"Guess I never thought of it like that, but he isn't acting like he's weaker he's being rather..well. Bold I suppose." He says

You begin to leave the heat of the forge as you head to your small thatch hut on the northern part of the village.

"Well then I'll see if these old bones can give him any sort of challenge." You say over your shoulder
=========================

You get to your home and open the door, the design is simple, a single room, small stove, bed, table and chest for storage. You look to a small wooden box on your bed with a thick string wrapped all the way around it tightly. You use the blade to unceremoniously cut the string and the entire box falls apart. Insode lies a note.

"I wasn't apprentice to a carpenter for a reason -B"

You smile and pick up the belt made of a tough leather. On the right hip is a skillfully crafted sheath for your blade. The design on it resembling sparks flying up towards the hilt, the sheath is fastened closed by iron buttons and a silver thread.
You buckle the belt and slide the sword into the sheath, it slides silently into the oiled leather.
Perfect fit.

You leave the house and see in the town square a conglomerate of people and the sounds of blades connecting.

You also see Clara, the town doctor sewing up a young mans head and cleaning dried blood from his face off to the side of the gathering.

>Go watch the fight
>Go to Clara and check on the boy
>Other

>>1193140
>Go watch the fight

>>1193140
> go watch the fight
Gotta know the enemy. Maybe he is bad enough that we can beat him with just a blacksmiths hammer.

>>1193140
>Go watch the fight
The hell are people fighting for?

>>1193140
>Go watch the fight

Rolled 18 (1d20)

You push through the crowd after giving Clara a small nod and get to where you can see the fight.

You recognize Tensi, one of the men tasked with guarding the village fighting with the strange traveler. The traveler wears a chestplate of iron with a white cloth wrapped diagonal across. He dances around Tensi lightly flicking aside his spear.

You see the traveler carries a thin double-edged blade, he wields it with great precision flicking and jabbing aside Tensi's spear and giving him small knicks and cuts.

You watch as the stranger begins to get more aggressive with his fighting style seeming to grow tired of his own showmanship.

[18: Great Success]

You watch as he deflects a thrust from Tensi and guides the head into the dirt. He swings downwards as the spear is stuck and severs the head from the sturdy maple stick, you remember crafting that speartip for Tensi's 16th birthday when he could officially join the guards.

With no tip Tensi tries to use the shaft as a quarter staff but the blade of the stranger easily cuts through it, he uses the broad side of his sword to crack him across both knuckles. Tensi drops both sticks and now unarmed is subject to a harsh punch to the nose. You hear a wet crack and Tensi goes down.

The traveler lowers his blade.

"Give it up for this brave lad, maybe next time son you could hope to be closer in skill to Bondure Melonet. But alas I'll be taking your 15 coin entry fee. That makes it a pot of 95 gold coins to whoever manages to fell a master swordsman. Any takers?" He calls to the crowd, he scratches his black goatee and scans the crowd he doesn't even linger on your for a second.

You have 50 coin.

>Challenge the stranger
>Keep silent
>Other

>>1193253
>Keep silent
Our battle is long past. Our sword arm is rusty. We ought not to seek a fight for the sake of pride we no longer hold dear.

>>1193253
> challenge him
We have a new blade that needs testing. If his can cut through an unbraced staff easily the edge must be very fine and liable to chip and deform, pity we don't have a shield to blunt it on.

>>1193253
>Challenge the stranger

You step forward.

"I've a new blade to test stranger. Would you have me as a competitor?" You say

He looks you up and down

"Surely, you dont think due to your age I would go easy on you?" He asks with a smirk

"I'd ask if you would, that you don't." You say quietly

He rolls his shoulder and lifts the blade.

"Then give me the name of my latest adversary so my bardic companion here can sing of your defeat among others." He says this as a small fellow behind him opens a small book and readies a piece of fine charcoal.

>I am Sir....

>>1193335
Finst

>>1193335
Hendrick

File: cf1.png (93KB, 247x248px) Image search: [Google]

93KB, 247x248px

>>1193337
Is that even allowed? An OP being the main character?

>>1193344
not common, but then asking for a name is generally ill-advised, so why not go all the way?

>>1193337
>>1193339
Hendrick Finst?

>>1193353
That could work.

>>1193353
This

"I am Sir Hendrick Finst, former Knight of King Avalon." You say puffing out your chest, just a bit.

Bondure scoffs
"Rank has no worth outside of castles and courts. You may have been a knight but obviously you outgrew your rank." He says chuckling

The insult was clearly made to anger you and disrupt your thinking, you breath deeply and clear your head before moving your hand to the hilt of your blade, the layers of thin black leather giving a comfortable grip. You draw the blade and it exits the sheath without so much as a whisper. The soot blackened blade sparkles with particulates from the forge and the silver edge even reflects a bit of the light.

You step into the circle of people and Bondure bends his knees holding his blade like a rapier. You both begin to circle each other staring into the eyes of one another.

>Wait for him to make a move
>Feint left, then overhead chop
>Go for a direct stab
>Slash at his legs
>Other

The DC will be higher or lower depending on the difficulty of the strike, your experience, and the opponents combat style.
Combat rolls are a single d100, until I begin my update rolls will be allowed. Roll 1d100 with your choice.

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>1193407
>Other
>Probe him with feints and jabs.
We're not yet familiar with his style, though it seems primarily reactionary in nature. We also need to get used to the balance and weight of our sword.

>>1193407
Yeah, dis >>1193426
Except not just jabs because we are not fucking fencing. Also try get a blade lock and shove him to see how steady he is on his feet.

Rolled 9 (1d100)

>>1193407
>Wait for him to make a move

Rolled 38 (1d100)

Dropped my dice.shit, they round here somewhere. Oi, kitty, get out of there. Aha, back of the couch, typical.

>>1193407
>ask the bard how many villages he's bothered with this show

>>1193452
Until we get a handle on the limits of his and our own abilities, I imagine it would be best to keep him at the blade's full length so he's least able to exploit our lack of recent experience.

And longswords are generally constructed as versatile compromises between cutting and thrusting characteristics besides.

Hence, jabs rather than cuts.

You hop forward and begin a few gentle stabs to get a feel for his style and this blade.

The sword is perfectly balanced and surprisingly leaves your hand feeling unencumbered as the blade is surprisingly light, Brine must have listened about folded thin steel being string as a big block of it.

You continue to dance around him and he deftly flicks away most jabs until you use one of his deflections as momentum to bring the side of your blade to his.

The swords cross and lock in place, his young agile body pushing against your powerful muscles developed by the King's training and hammering molten metals for years.

You both continue to push and you try to gain the upper hand.

Roll1d100+25 for your strength bonus against him.

Rolled 29 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>1193504
>tfw we have nothing more to teach our apprentice

Rolled 52 (1d100)

My roll didn't go.
Beat this roll to succeed.

Rolled 91 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>1193504
We are a stubborn old oak.

>>1193493
But that would ruin our guard because he can just parry our jab aside and step forward and put us on defense with an extended blade.

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>1193512
Well done on the first roll as well.
=========================

You push back violently and he begins stumbling backwards completely off balance.

>Tackle him to the ground
>Go for a stab
>Sweep the legs
>Other

Also mystery roll. Oooh scary.

>>1193522
>Sweep the legs
>Five Knuckle Shuffle
>AA
>Go for the pin
>1
>2
>3

>>1193522
>Sweep the legs
>Other
Can we disarm him while he's busy keeping his balance? We never exactly agreed to terms of the duel, but I doubt it's to the death.

And if it comes to wrestling the sword from his hands by force, we're apparently stronger than he is.

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>1193522
>Sweep the legs

Rolled 58 (1d100)

>>1193522
>Sweep the legs

Rolled 2 (1d100)

>>1193590
>>1193601
Oh, we're rolling? Okay. Here comes a 1.

You take advantage and rush him once more. You hook your foot behind his knee and jerk it forward causing him to tumble backwards. He lies on the ground and tries to regrip his sword, you step on his wrist and kick the blade away.

"Very well..you've won, now get off me you oaf." He yells redfaced

>Break his nose
>Stomp on his wrist
>That's not a nice way to speak to a man who could kill you right now.
>Well fought.
>Other.

>>1193615
>That's not a nice way to speak to a man who could kill you right now.
>Crowd vote on breaking his nose or not.

>>1193614
Lucky I had started writing before that roll, my friend.

>>1193615
>That's not a nice way to speak to a man who could kill you right now.
>But, well fought.
Be the better man, offer him a hand up.

Let the bard make what he will of what happens next.

>>1193615
>That's not a nice way to speak to a man who could kill you right now.
>Well fought.

>>1193615
>That's not a nice way to speak to a man who could kill you right now.
>Well fought.

>>1193615
This >>1193624

>>1193646
Second

>>1193621
And I am quite glad for it.

"That isn't the way people usually speak to ones who could kill them." You say menacingly

His face goes sheet white but as you let loose a jovial laugh from the belly you offer him a hand.

"Well fought." You offer

He dusts his sash and gives you a slight bow.
"To you as well Sir Finst." He replies

He turns to his group consisting of a hunter in a dark cloak with the cowl raised, the bard who is scribbling furiously, and a woman who is cleaning her finger nails with a stiletto dagger.

"Come now, it is time we move on."

Him and his party begin leaving when you hear Brine pipe up.

"Wait! Don't you owe him some coin?"

Everyone looks to the swordsman who narrows his eyes.

"Yes well you see..the noble sir never paid his 15 coin entry fee. Therefore, the fight was not for sport but..for fun." As he says this you notice the Ranger's hand hovering near his belt.

>Demand the award
>Let the money go
>Other

>>1193691
>Give people half their money back.

>>1193691
>Let the money go

>>1193691
>You're right, there really is no sport in thrashing a boy about.

>>1193691
>apply face to palm
>Demand the award
I asked if you would have me as a competitor.

Fair call desu, but he broke that kids nose when he was unarmed so fuckem.

>>1193691
>Let the money go, after a fashion
"As you never collected it before raising your guard, Sir Melonet, naturally I would not yet have paid."

"Still, consider making an old man feel young again my payment. You have a sharp tongue, sir; I pray it never crosses someone whose ache for gold is stronger than the ache in their bones."

Decision is to let it go. But what will you say, use logic or just let him know someday someone's going to wreck his shit for those words.

>>1193718
This

>>1193751
That breaks the tie then spoke too soon.

>>1193750
Why not both? The intention of >>1193718 was to show the logical flaw in his argument, but let it go nonetheless.

You call out to the warrior. "As you never collected it before raising your guard, Sir Melonet, naturally I would not yet have paid."

He narrows his eyes and goes to respond when you hold up a hand to silence him.

"Still, consider making an old man feel young again my payment. You have a sharp tongue, sir; I pray it never crosses someone whose ache for gold is stronger than the ache in their bones." You continue.

He nods softly and returns to leaving with his party.

You hear grumbles from the crowd but yell to all of them.

"My next release from service payment will be more than enough to cover your losses, I'll also be repairing any weapons damaged or broken in fighting that lad."

You exit the circle and head for your forge. It isn't long before Brine catches up to you.

"Why..why would you let them go with our money when they were beaten fairly after injuring some of our own?" He asks, his face pink with frustration

>Pressing for the coin would have led to actual bloodshed.
>I owe you no explanation, Brine
>It was a paltry sum.
>Other
(Sorry it took so long, the app kept deleting my text.)

>>1193854
>Pressing for the coin would have led to actual bloodshed.
And I have seen enough of that blah blah old man wisdom that no-one cares about.

>>1193854
>Pressing for the coin would have led to actual bloodshed.
Gold is cheap; lives are expensive. Men who so cheaply wager their blood for coin, and coin alone, would likely not hesitate to use any means necessary to make their escape.

The crowd there was large; that would make it harder for an arrow or a dagger to miss.

>>1193854
>Pressing for the coin would have led to actual bloodshed.

>>1193854
>>Pressing for the coin would have led to actual bloodshed.
>Gold is cheap; lives are expensive. Men who so cheaply wager their blood for coin, and coin alone, would likely not hesitate to use any means necessary to make their escape.
>The crowd there was large; that would make it harder for an arrow or a dagger to miss.
Very well put Stevo.

You sigh and look at this young man, the man you helped mold from a young age. The man you helped through the loss of both his parents.

"Gold is cheap; lives are expensive. Men who so cheaply wager their blood for coin, and coin alone, would likely not hesitate to use any means necessary to make their escape." You say softly holding his shoulders

"But..you already beat one of them, we could have taken the rest. We outnumbered them." He sputters

"Exactly the problem. The crowd there was large; that would make it harder for an arrow or a dagger to miss." You say matter-of-factly

Brine nods and stares at the ground.

"I understand." He says softly

You pull him into an embrace before sending him to get materials for the reforging you'll surely have to do later today.

>Return to the forge
>Go home
>Try to see where the travelers went
>Other

>>1193945
>Return to the forge

>>1193945
>Return to the forge
We are, first and foremost, a blacksmith by trade. There'll be work to be done.

Especially since we just promised to repair any damaged or broken weapons.

>>1193945
>Return to the forge

>>1193945
>Other
Check in with Clara first, before we return to the forge.

You return to your forge. Hang up your belt and put on your apron. Before long Brine returns with customers. You reforge countless swords, the speartip and even a couple arrows.

After a long evening of work you remove your smock, place your hammers in your chest and walk Brine to his small home next to yours, amazing him with war stories. You bid him goodnight and promise to help him train tomorrow, he's been improving.

You also go to your own bed and after a few bottles of ale you manage to get drowsy enough to crawl into bed.

You sleep well for a few hours.

You hear some yells. The smell of roasting meat. Late night cookout the young people like to do, or at least that's what Brine told you.

>Get out of bed
>Go back to sleep
>Yell for them to save it for the morning.

>>1194037
>Get out of bed
Hmm.

>>1194037
>Yell for them to save it for the morning.

>>1194037
>>Go back to sleep

3 way tie. Waiting for a tie breaker.

>>1194068
This one. We're tired.

>>1194068
Supporting

You decide to let the kids have their fun. You pull the blankets back up and hear something thump against your door. You figure the kids are getting rough until you here a sharp whistle and crackling. You look up and see a fire slowly spreading to your dry thatch walls.

You launch out of bed and head for the door. But it wont budge, something blocks it from the other side, the yells of excitement now that your groggy sleepiness has disappeared are actually screams of pain. Validor is under assault, and you need to get out of here now.

>Bust through door
>Climb out the window
>Use the chamber pot to put out the fire
>Other

>>1194197
>Bust through door
Fuck the house let's save people

>>1194197
>Climb out the window
There's a perfectly serviceable window that will save us the hassle of forcing our way through our own front door.

>>1194197
>>Bust through door
"No one attacks my town"

>>1194197
>Climb out the window
Get out ASAP.

You take a step back and chrage your own door. The crates on the other side go clattering across the hard dirt as you look around panicked.

Multiple huts are on fire and even a few dead bodies in the streets are as well. Your stomach betgins to seize up as you remember how you mistook them for roasting food. You see a man with a crossbow in front of you looking away he's aiming a fkaming bolt for Brine's home which also has the door blocked off.

>Tackle him
>Sneak away to get your sword
>Call out to him
>Other

>>1194265
>Tackle him
Smush his head into the ground or something.

I go to the shop and get back to find people voted to sleep through a fire, dammit.

>>1194265
>Tackle him

Soooo many tropes

Roll 1d100 woth your choices guys. We are officially in combat.

>>1194310
I'm truly sorry if it is not your cup of tea my friend, but I hope you can find some sort of enjoyment out of the story and if not hopefully you'd be respectful anough to just go read something else. Thank you for the bump in any case

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>1194315

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>1194265
>Tackle him
A knight must know more than fighting with sword alone.

>>1194333
Tropes aren't bad, they just necessitate a certain mentality with regards to choices. Just phoneposting because i wont be here long enough to vote.

Also, Brine has SO many death flags right now.

Rolled 75 (1d100)

>>1194315
Rolling for last minute nat1

>>1194333
checkered.

You charge into the man before he can fire, you lift him into the air and drop him with a crack over a rock that breaks his ribs and causes his breathing to become ragged. He tries to lift the crossbow and fire at you but you kick it out of his hands and the flaming bolt fizzles in the dirt.

You hear banging in Brine's door as smoke comes out in thin wisps through the window. You go to move towards it when you hear a scream and see a man with a long knife approcahing Clara.

>Go help Clara
>Go free Brine


(This is thread for me rn I took medicine and it's kicking in so I'll be asleep soon. Make your choice, discuss your choice and tell me how the story os so far because I'm enjoying writing it.)

>>1194396
>Go help Clara
Fire can kill, but not as fast as a severed artery.

>>1194396
We're going to need the town doctor.
>Go help Clara

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>1194396
>Help Clara first
Shoot the knife man with the loaded crossbow at our feet.

That ought to buy us enough time to hurl something through Brine's window, letting out the smoke so Brine doesn't die of smoke inhalation (and can hopefully climb out on his own).

This in turn buys us time to kill the knife man, after which we can remove the barricade from Brine's door with Clara's help.

There is no way this can go wrong.

>>1194396
>Go help Clara
Maybe we skipped the part of Brine's apprenticeship where we taught him how to open doors.

>>1194427
>loaded crossbow at our feet
I'll get behind situational awareness anon.

>>1194427
>>1194436
>He tries to lift the crossbow and fire at you but you kick it out of his hands and the flaming bolt fizzles in the dirt.

>>1194446
Crossbows aren't exactly prone to sliding readily across dirt or flying long distances. I can't imagine it flew more than a few feet - far less than the distance we would likely have to travel to engage the knife-wielding man in melee.

>>1194446
The fire is out, not the bolt.

>>1194462
Probably take less time to charge the fucker than find a bolt and reload though.

>>1194469
We've clearly got different readings of exactly what's happened here. I had assumed that there would be some mention of the crossbow shooting the bolt upon hitting the ground, or the bolt landing some distance away.

As it is, my assumption is that the bolt still remains loaded (or at least the bowstring still nocked), and that the bolt was just extinguished when it and the crossbow hit the dirt.

In the case that the crossbow is no longer loaded, I would still suggest grabbing it - because almost any melee weapon, even a crossbow used as an improvised bludgeon, is better than our bare fists.

We'd have to play it by ear on how to rescue Brine, though. Perhaps we could yell for Clara to get him out while we hold of the knife user?

Alright, thread resumes as we near the end of chapter one.
=========================
You reach down grabbing the crossbow and try to line up a shot. The knife wielding man is nearly upon Clara now, the blade he holds reflects the flames and as sweat pours into your eyes you take the shot.

Roll 1d20

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>1196069

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>1196069

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>1196069

>>1196117
>>1196204
You guys are terrible shots.

>>1196270
Nice job showin us mate

So wait, the story is done for now or?

You pull the trigger and the bolt fires. It lands with a thwack in his back and he goes down screaming. Clara takes advantage and grabs his knife stabbing him multiple times.

You hear the banging continue as Brine struggles to move the crates blocking his door, smoke and ash swirl as you sprint and begin moving crates. You hear a crash and see part of the roof collapse, this followed by screams only increases your pace of throwing near 70 pound wooden crates over your shoulders.

You yank open the door and find Brine writhing on the floor his entire left arm ablaze. He screams and rolls, you hear creaking it won't be long before the rest of the roof collapses but every second of burning risks debilitating injury.

>Drag him from the house before putting him out.
>Put him out in the house.

>>1196676
>Drag him from the house before putting him out.
Better an arm than his life.

Also, he was literally just on the other side of the door, trying to break it down. We only need to toss him a few feet to get him out of the way of everything but flying splinters.

>>1196676
>Drag him from the house before putting him out.

We wont need to go far

>>1196676
>Drag him from the house before putting him out.
Big problem, then small problem.

>>1196676
>>Put him out in the house.

You drag Brine from the house, the flames engulfing his tunic licking your arms, the pain dampened by the rush of adrenaline.

You begin to pat out the flames and cover him in dirt to quell the fire. You watch as the house creaks again and a large timber collapses landing with a shower of sparks right where Brine had been laying. Brine mumbles to you and you try to listen but the sound of flames and screams drown his words.

He slowly lifts his arm and points over your shoulder, you see someone who turns your blood to ice. The Rogue from the travelers, his cloak blending with the darkness of the night, he stands over the body of Tensi. You watch him bend down and pull a dagger from Tensi's gut.

You look for a weapon and see Brine has your old sword on his hip, you draw the blade and go rushing after the Rogue. As you past Tensi you see the blood pooling into a crimson paste of dirt and fluid. You nearly yell when his hand shoots out and locks around your ankle.

"Help...please" he whispers through a mouthful of blood

You have minor medical knowledge, maybe enough to keep him steady until Clara can get to him.

>Pursue the Rogue
>Treat Tensi

>treat tensi

>>1198999
>Treat Tensi
It keeps happening.

>>1198999
>Treat Tensi

>>1198999
>>Treat Tensi
"I will hunt them down for this"

>>1198999
>Treat Tensi