Juleswain Abbey rests atop a rocky bluff overlooking a small stream, around which pilgrims settle into villagers—much to the dismay of the monks. The Abbey itself is less a single contiguous structure and more a large collection of buildings of various sizes all crowding around a central courtyard. Forge-smoke rises from the courtyard, evidence of brother-smiths hard at work.
A well-trodden trail leads the way to the Abbey proper, hundreds if not thousands of pairs of feet stomping flat the grass and greenery as they carve a path up the hill and to the gate. While possessing no wall proper, the Abbey's outer buildings form a solid boundary against the outside world and would-be invaders.
According to Audrey's studies, Juleswain Abbey withstood a viking attack long enough for reinforcements to arrive and send the Norsemen back into the sea. The scars of the battle—pockmarks in the earth, craters in the stone, and cracks in the walls—litter the land for all to see.
The largest of the craters—now a pond filled with fish and frond—sits just off the left of the pathway. Tonsured monks tend to the plants crowding along the shoreline, feeding handfuls of crumbs and food to the fish below the surface.
"Tell me, Audrey," Reinald's sudden voice pulls Audrey's attention away from the monks ignoring her, "what lessons did your meditations reveal?"
Audrey purses her lips as she thinks, footfall adding a steady beat to her thoughts, "To be more conservative with my fervour. I can win any battle as long as I keep fervour in reserve to keep on guard."
Reinald hums as the monks nod their tonsured respect his way, the gate passing them by in a blur, "Fortunately, your ability to do just that shall soon be strengthened."
It doesn't take a genius of Audrey's calibre to tell what he refers to. A smile crosses Audrey's face as they close in on the open-air forge-pits belching smoke into the sky. Soon, her armour shall be hers. Soon, no mere average bandit shall cut her clothes ever again!
One of the monks lifts his grey-tonsured head from the forge. An older fellow, heavy wrinkles cling to every inch of exposed skin. Yet not even his advanced age can slow or shake the steady hand he hammers with. Down comes the hammer, up spray sparks.
"Reinald and Audrey, I presume," the monk is quick to guess their names; his hairless brows quirking in not-question. "I had expected you an hour ago."
Audrey steps forward but pauses, the feeling of a pair of eyes coming from her right. Reinald is watching her, waiting to see what she'll do. A-ha! This is the perfect chance to show how humble she can be. If she lets the insult—was it even really an insult? No, not at all, just the grumblings of an old man—slide, she'll show that she's worthy of wearing the armour!
Besides, Audrey is many things—fantastic, wonderful, beautiful, the list goes on—but she is far from stupid; angering a Knightly Armourer is a sure-fire way to find yourself lacking armour when you need it most!
"My apologies," Audrey offers a bow of the head, internally chastising herself for being so eager to be embarrassed by a social superior. Acting out in the presence of her superiors? What was she thinking?! She must be spending far too much time around her so-called peers to forget the proper manners her schooling taught! "We were held up by a bandit attack."
"I see," the monk nods as he sets the hammer aside and returns the metal to the forge, "in that case, I suppose you made the best time one could ask for, no?"
"Thank you, Uhtraed," Reinald steps forward now, offering a slight bump to Audrey's elbow as silent praise—which, of course, summons a brilliant smile across her face. "But, we came here for the armour."
Uhtraed grumbles, "Yes, yes, so eager you are. No time for pleasantry, the youth have." Audrey narrows her eyes, entirely cognizant of the pseudo-scolding on his lips for their perceived lateness. Regardless of her internal ire, he waves a hand off to the side, where a sheet covers what can only be a suit of armour. "The armour is there, just make sure to bring it back when it needs maintenance."
"How will I know it needs maintenance?" Audrey asks as, with a nod from Reinald, she darts across the courtyard in a burst of vaguely minty fervour.
Uhtraed snorts, "Trust me, you'll know when it needs it."
Audrey frowns, but says nothing. Besides, the armour—her armour!—is mere moments away from seeing the light of the sun. Taking hold of the cloth with both hands, the smile on her face could plough a field with how broad and strong it is, she wrenches the covering away to reveal her new friend.
The armour glistens with a polished sheen, the light dancing across its surface like a dancer on ice. Thick with iron and heavy in plate, it stands tall and proud. Yet, the iron lacks any hint of personalization, any vague semblance of individuality.
Nevertheless, Audrey remains undeterred as she reaches out, her soul rousing with her glee, and lays hand upon her armour.
In an instant, the world shrinks to a small slit as Audrey is encased in iron. Head to toe she stands, a Squire in truth and not merely in name.
Her soul bonds with the armour, each strengthening the other to greater heights as her power soars leaps and bounds beyond what she could be on her own. Her vision expands, the armour fading away from her sight until it's as if it were never there. Dozens of pounds of iron cling to her body, yet nothing comes close to weighing her down. Her movements are precise, her strength limitless.
This… This is the armour of a Knight.
And it is hers.
(Knightly Armour Acquired)
0~0~0
Of course, just because Audrey would love to spend all of her time getting used to the new power she had acquired, there were certain logistical realities that prevented her from just stomping around everywhere in it. The Knightly Armour was uncomfortable, a little overheated, and restricted her vision more than she was comfortable with–Sir Vieux's warnings about Situational Awareness seemed very much considered with that in mind, and even though she had her visor up now to get some fresh air, she could see how this could get draining if she had to wear it for days on end.
Apparently, the discomfort would fade somewhat in time, as her familiarity with its use increased, but there was a good reason why Knights didn't go around wearing it everywhere–the added strength just wasn't very useful outside of battle, while being able to see what you were doing was always going to be useful. There was always the risk of some ignoble figure taking a swing at you from ambush, or trying to steal your plate so they could tilt the scale further in their favour at the end of the day, so one should always ensure they didn't forget how to do battle without their plate.
"The smart ones will try to take it out of your reach before the fight begins." Sir Vieux described it as the two rode on to their next destination. "You can't win every time, but you can control yourself, and if you ensure that you always remember that your Plate exists to strengthen you, and not be your strength, you'll do fine."
Audrey nodded, virtually bouncing in her seat as her rouncey trotted along beside him. The fact he had donned his own Plate–a far more ornate suit of ashen iron and salt-scored mail–told that their next destination wasn't going to be a social affair. "I understand, but we should still take advantage of it when we can, yes?"
"Of course you should!" Sir Vieux snorted in amusement. "But when things are safe, you should make sure you don't lose the knack of fighting without it. It might save your life one day."
Audrey could feel her strength overflowing now, her body and spirit soaring high, like she had just been granted a fine set of wings… To go back to just being a slip of a girl with a sword? That… Rankled, more than a little, even if she saw the wisdom in Sir Vieux's instruction.
"You'll get a chance to see the difference soon enough." He continued after a moment to note her expression. "I've been discussing matters with the local Thanes while you were getting your head together, and confirmed the bandits we encountered on our journey here were part of a larger band of troublemakers. As we are in the area, we have a duty to make the roads safe for pilgrims and other travellers." He gives a side eye to Audrey, who was now focused firmly on this. "I will go to their camp, and I will tell them to lay down their arms and return to their prior homes."
"Isn't banditry punishable by death?" Audrey asks, a little surprised at the implication that he would talk first. "Would they even stand down if you asked?"
"By the laws of the King, yes." Sir Vieux agrees. "But it is the duty of a Knight to serve as a protector first, not as a mere slayer of men. The chance for them to return to the light must be taken, for I have been granted strength beyond those of common men, and have a duty to use it with restraint." He sniffs dismissively at that. "They'll stand down if they know what's good for them, but just the same, we plan for the worst as well. I will have you serve to run down any who seek to escape should it come to violence, because at the end of the day, I'm but one man, and if they scatter, I'll be hard pressed to catch every one of them before they go to ground."
Audrey bristled at that. "Do you think I'll be a burden then? To be held back from the van? I was victorious against one without my Plate, would I not be able to watch your back against any treachery with it?"
"Peace, peace!" Sir Vieux raised his hand. "It's not a dismissal of your skills, but a declaration of what your duty must be. The most important task when breaking up a camp of bandits is to ensure none of them flee. A bandit who survives a blow like this tends to become a very dangerous one, that serves as a nucleus to future bands, and then we have the same problem a few seasons down the line, except they're wise to your strength now and likely even more difficult to root out. Your position is of the utmost importance, and my Companions and I can't be everywhere at once."
The argument… Was sound, and Audrey let the tension flow away. Ensuring that the problem was solved perpetually? Not merely delayed and made worse for the extra time?
She supposed that would do.
"Take the chance to familiarise yourself with your Plate, how it moves, how it reacts. It'll make you stronger, it will help guide your motions, it won't take long for us to arrive, and we'll likely be in the thick of it afterwards." Sir Vieux continued, seizing upon Audrey's consideration to give her something else to focus on. "God willing, they'll accept the chance to redeem themselves, but the wise prepare for the worst, just in case."
Would having a chance to prove herself, and ensure this strike goes well really be the worst case scenario though?
0~0~0
The journey to the campsite took the better part of the remaining afternoon, the sun hung low in the sky, and the first ribbons of red and orange began to fill the sky in that peculiar way when night was soon to fall. There was still plenty of light, and it wouldn't be long for twilight to fall properly, but the Knight and his young Squire had arrived at a solid hour.
His great charger snorted in anticipation, and Audrey dismounted herself–not quite trusting the Rouncey to serve her well in battle. It obediently got some distance as she took her blade in hand. The honing of the earlier afternoon putting the iron in good shape for another battle, should it be necessary.
"Right, remember, head on a swivel." Sir Vieux reminded Audrey once, then lowered his visor. He clicked his tongue in a strange noise, and his Charger seemed to grin as it walked up to the gate that protected the camp. Did they have no sentries?
A flicker of smoke, and Audrey looked up on top, only to see the hawk of Ash grooming itself, flecks of blood still visible even here. It caught her gaze, and wiggled its brow. What a wonderful thing–she couldn't wait until she could find her own partners to work with.
Sir Vieux's charger simply walked up to the door, reared up, and kicked the damn thing wide open, in a burst of rusting iron and ash. "Now Look Here you greedy shites!..." Sir Vieux's voice bellowed, as his steed walked in. Audrey couldn't help but grin even as his voice lowered below the point where she could keep hearing. At least he wasn't being kind about the matter, even if he was giving them the option for mercy.
It made her feel better about this whole thing.
From there, it was a waiting game. Audrey could hear the muffled voice of Sir Vieux arguing with several men, the sounds of panic, of equipment and things being gathered up, heated words being exchanged. It didn't sound like they were getting ready to surrender, which did imply she would have work to do soon enough. Sir Vieux's hawk had vanished into the shadows, presumably to pick off any attempted escapees–but Audrey had her own duties if the violence intensified.
A moment later, the voices shut out, and she could hear the disappointed voice of Sir Vieux in the distance, clear even now. "So be it."
Then the spray of sea-salt, an eruption of ashen flame, and the camp went mad.
Bodies flung into the air through force, walls shattered by men being hurled bodily through them and not getting back up. Stomps of such force that the ground itself quaked. The hunting call of a hawk at war and the whinnies of a colossal warhorse as death was dealt from side to side.
Audrey stayed low, keeping her eyes peeled and her visor up, just waiting for someone to try slipping the net. So far, it looked like the only ones who were leaving the encampment were those who were already on their way to their Final Judgement, and thus, not her concern.
The one that was her concern was the man who slipped out from between a set of thistles, bursting out only to meet Audrey face to face. "Oh fuck…" He cursed, meeting her gaze–was he disarmed by her angelic countenance? Surely it was not the grin on her face as she lowered her visor.
He brought up his spear and shield in what looked to Audrey as a reasonable combat stance, and gave a desperate battle cry as he lunged forward.
Just how was she going to sort this out?
0~0~0
[ ] Plan Name
-[ ] Stance: List a number of Prayers and Feats up to her Capacity that Audrey will use in this combat
-[ ] Tactics: Explain what she actually intends to do
