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I packed up the most relevant documents and started to head back to the rooms. As I was exiting the library, I overhead Eva and Martina talking again.

"The two of you make a cute couple, you know?"

"I was wondering when you would bring that up. Thank you, by the way. As I said, if you want in the arrangement, I can always get the other girls together so you can ask."

"I'm still thinking about it. Don't rush me. I'm just curious about one thing. Why did you agree to share Sir Knight? Surely you deserve someone of your own?"

Martina laughed, "That's what he said too. I don't think he knows why this situation developed either. That's actually part of the reason we all love him. He actually feels that we deserve better. But that's not just it. He ties himself to our lives somehow. I was the first woman in the group, and after knowing me for only a few days,he volunteered to go on this quest to save my life. Aimée was next and he made sure to buy her armor and to keep an eye on her. Sieghild cares for her brother, Siegbert, a great deal and Sir Knight risked his own life to save him. Felìcita started out as a complete novice in her chosen career, but has been slowly trained to be an able warrior in her own right. Also her entire kingdom and family were saved by the Knight. Rina has had her father avenged and was rescued several times by Sir Knight. Finally Veila only worked with him once before Sir Knight wound up tracking her down and rescued her from the Golden Saber."

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>>28760531
Eva sounded sceptical, "And because he saved your lives, he's somehow entitled to your love?"

Martina sighed, "No. It's not because he saved our lives or the lives of our loved ones that we care for him. It's because Sir Knight really cares about us and he will go to the ends of Terra for us. I know, deep inside me, that no matter what happens, Sir Knight will not leave me and would never abandon me. Every one of us know that. And... and he makes us feel... he makes us feel like we're the beautiful princess who has knights running after her. In all, if anything is worth sharing, it's him..."

"I... I see... I'll think about it a little more. One final question though, what made you go with him at all? Everything I've read about dragons says that they prefer to stay in their lairs and not to come out. What made you go with the Knight?"

"Well... it's complicated..."

"We have the time."

I was in the first thread and never really followed the rest.

Did we ever bone the dragon?

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>>28760557
"Alright... Here it is. When I first met the Knight, we were enemies. I had kidnapped a minor princess and was holding her for tribute from her kingdom. Unbeknownst to me, she was using messenger birds to communicate with the outside world. One of those who received her message was the Knight. Naturally he set out to rescue her. We met and we fought."

"Oh? How did that turn out?"

"He nearly killed me."

There was a long pause after that before Martina continued, "Naturally I was horrified. A mere human shouldn't be able to threaten me like that. I limped back to my lair and healed myself. However when I returned, I found that the princess I captured had refused to be rescued by the Knight."

"Why would she refuse to be-"

"She was crazy. Don't ask. Either way, she had found an artifact in my lair that could dominate a dragon-"

"This would be Isocrates' Rod?"

"Yes... So she began using this rod is to control and dominate me. I had given up any hope of breaking free from my predicament when suddenly the Knight came to rescue me. Now, there's something about dragons that you should know. We don't enjoy social activities. We prefer to hide away in fortified lairs with our treasures and never come out or to see anyone."

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>>28760566
...And then some.

>>28760566
Yep.

>>28760613
>>28760616
Glorious.

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>>28760600
"Even other dragons?"

"Especially other dragons. So naturally, when I was summoned by the Dragonmoot Council, I was terrified. Then Sir Knight did something unusual, he promised to do whatever he could to keep the Council from tearing me apart. When we got there, he volunteered to destroy the Rod to save my life. It was then that I realized, I felt safer with him then I did in my own lair. I naturally went with him, even if it meant dealing with other people. I just decided to treat the others like servants and not interact with them beyond that."

"But that doesn't sound like you... you even offered to introduce me to the other women..."

"I know. I noticed myself changing as I spent more time with Sir Knight. I found myself growing more comfortable around other people and became less afraid of interaction with them. All because of Sir Knight. So that's why I started to follow him and continue to follow him."

I found myself smiling. It is really gratifying to know that you made a difference in someone's life. However I realized that I was eavesdropping and I didn't want to show up then and make the two of them feel awkward, so I fell back a bit and loosened an armor strap or two and returned, now making the distinctive clattering that everyone thinks heavy armor makes. Naturally by the time I was in hearing range, the two were talking about something else entirely.

>>28760613
>>28760616
Isn't that pretty gay?

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>>28760647
The women smiled as I entered the room, I sat down with them and surreptitiously readjusted my armor. Eva turned to me and asked, "So, any luck today, Sir Knight?"

I nodded, "Quite a bit, actually. I was able to find some decent maps of the land, most are modern and relatively up to date, but some go back to the time of Isocrates' Reign." I spread several maps out on the table before continuing, "It's fascinating really. You can see the progression of whatever curse affects this land. Look, all these lands used to be viable farmland and there were hundreds of small villages built around them. Then you can see the lands around Diabolist’s Peak beginning to fall prey to the curse. See how all the farming settlements are now labeled as abandoned towns? You can see this spread further and further through Omrachena Zemli until the viable lands are few and far between... and unfortunately mostly held by House Stanislava. Looks like we'll need them after all. In other news, I found several good sites for staging grounds and I believe I have a way to cut off supplies to Vladychestvo to make life harder for the Golden Saber prior to our campaign."

Eva smiled, "Great! So, you think we can win?"

I nodded slowly, "Possibly. It has been a while since someone took a look at this land from a strategic picture. There are a lot of ways that the capital can be cut off from vital regions of the land. The problem is… I suspect that the last person who did look at the land like this may very well be General Zinoviy. You see…while the Golden Saber has neglected to deal with most of the various bandits and raiders of this land, they have been quite aggressive about hunting down those that dared prey upon these vital routes. So I expect some resistance in that stage. And this is all assuming that we can form this army in the first place."

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>>28760662
It was female all along. The princess, being fucking insane, was too stupid to notice.

FINALLY! About time I found this thread.

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>>28760674
Eva nodded, "If you can come up with a solid plan, I don't think anyone would have a problem with following you."

"That's good to hear, but I'll wait until I see it happening to relax."

Martina asked, "Did you find anything else?"

I nodded slowly, "Yes. This land actually has a surprising amount of infrastructure in place. It's just that most of it dates back to Isocrates' Reign. Even if the curse can't be undone, putting many of these resources back into use could alleviate many problems that plague the land."

Eva was all ears at this news, "Really? What kinds of infrastructure?"

"Well... from what I can tell this is a road network, far more complete than the existing one..."

The two of us spent several hours talking about infrastructure and plans to reinstate it and put it back to use. When we finished, it was dark and we had to retire for the night.

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>>28760769
When we returned to our room I started a small fire in the fireplace and settled down on the couch to read.

Eva sat down besides me and slid in close, "I must say, I'm surprised that you have taken such an interest in that old infrastructure. I would have thought that you'd be more focused on the military campaign."

"The military campaign is only half the issue. If a stable government isn't formed, then it's only a matter of time before the next Golden Saber shows up. That's why I want to meet with those nobles and why I'm looking into the infrastructure. I don't want to just kick Zinoviy and Isocrates out, I want to rebuild this kingdom."

Eva thought quietly for a while at that. Finally she spoke, "What about your King? Would the King of the Realm take kindly to one of his Knights rebuilding a neighboring kingdom?"

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>>28761537
I thought for a moment before answering, "I doubt it. King Charles is... well... he's very much so an old knight. He would be doing this himself if he could."

"Oh? Why wouldn't he be able too?"

"Well... as I mentioned, he is an old knight. He's getting up there in years, and he often has his hands full with political infighting."

"Political infighting? I thought that the Realm was relatively stable?"

"Oh, it is, it is. The problem is... well King Charles spent most of his youth out campaigning and never took a wife. So there is some debate over who will succeed him. It's been keeping him busy."

Eva nodded quietly at that. "That's unfortunate. I hope he finds a solution."

With that she rose, leaned over and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. "You're a good man, Sir Knight. Thank you for everything you're doing." She then left for bed, her hips swaying rhythmically as she walked.

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>>28760712
Nice to see you back.

Nice to see you up and running again, sir knight.
Typically, I have to go to bed.

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>>28762913
I sighed quietly and got ready to retire myself. I returned to my room, shut the door and windows, put out the candle and went to bed.

Later that night, I found myself awoken by a sudden chill. Seeing the various drapes and tapestries flit about, I dismissed the disturbance as merely a stray breeze. I was about to settle back in when I realized, I closed all the windows.

Although I was now wide awake, I still feigned drowsiness and laid back in bed, my eyes scanning the room for danger. Then I saw it, two dark figures crouching in a large window above my bed. I started to move immediately, but before I could escape, the two jumped down on top of me. One landed on my waist, pinning down my legs and the other landed on my chest, immobilizing my arms and covering my mouth, preventing me from calling out.

Gael needs to score at some point. Preferably with the younger twin sisters of an enemy of ours.

>>28766456
Preferably Zinolvy has a sister and Gael shows her that a bard doesn't just have a silver tongue, sometimes it's fucking golden.

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>>28764929
As my breath returned from being knocked out of my chest, I realized that I wasn't dead. The two figures before me lit the candle near the bed.

"Aimée? Veila?"

Aimée smiled at me. "Of course silly. Who else would it be?"

"Oh, I don't know. Golden Saber assassins maybe?"

Veila chuckled, "I guess that's fair. Anyways, we got your letter. What's up?"

"And is it safe to come in yet?" a voice from above whispered.

Aimée rolled her eyes, "Yes, Nadja. It's fine."
As I watched, the dwarven rogue climbed into the room and joined the three of us. "So Knight, what's this about?"

I briefly explained about the odd behavior of the monks and how they requested that we remain outside of the Northern and Eastern Wings of the library. I concluded with, "To be frank, I think that there is something going on in those wings that should concern us. Given the monks' preoccupation with political neutrality, I suspect that they are deliberately keeping us out in order to keep the peace. Unfortunately, this library is invaluable to me right now, so I can't afford to get us kicked out now."

Veila smiled, "So you called us to do the work for you?"

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>>28766456
>>28767112
Well... Zinoviy doesn't have a sister...

>>28767717
Funny image while it lasted. I love anything that could potentially piss in his corn flakes.

>>28767717
Given his tendencies he probably has daughters though.

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>>28767686
I cleared my throat awkwardly, "Well... something like that, yes. I was thinking that you could enter the library under the guise of being here to research something from the magical section or something."

Veila grinned, "Or something," she agreed.

Nadja smiled a little, "Sir Knight, just let us handle the subterfuge. You just stay here and keep an alibi ready."

I nodded, "Well at least let me show you out and make sure the coast is clear for you."

As I stepped out, I saw Martina had woken up from the discussion. Raising an eyebrow she commented wryly, "Well, well, well. Someone is popular tonight. As usual. So that's what that letter was about earlier."

I smiled at her, "I figured I'd send for someone who's specialized in skulking about," I then headed to the door and looked around. Turning back to the rogues I said, "Looks like the coast is clear. Be safe you three, okay? Remember, this isn't worth risking your life for."

Aimée smiled, "Don't worry, Sir Knight. We'll be careful," and with that the three of them disappeared into the shadows and the darkness.

Martina looked at me, "So… did they need us to do anything?"

I gave her my most charming smile, "Well… Nadja did say to establish an alibi. Would you care to join me for that?"

Glad your back knight!

I have a question: Did we ever secure that first princess's body? Because I seem to recall our enemy being a necromancer of some talent...

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>>28768171
[The handwriting here changes to a flowing and carefree script]

Heya, it's me Aimée!

Don't worry, Sir Knight is still with us, he's not captured again or anything. He just can't write right now and I figured I'd fill in what happened.

So after we left the room that Sir Knight and the other ladies were using, Veila, Nadja, and I headed towards the East Wing. From what Sir Knight told us, the East Wing was one of the actual library portions of the overall building. So we went there, hoping to find out what was going on rather than find a bunch of sleeping people.

We crept silently through the empty hallways of the library, hiding to avoid patrolling monks and guards. As we dodged a patrol, Nadja hissed under her breath, "What kind of library has teams of guards walking the hallway? What are they here for?"

Veila shook her head, "Usually arcane libraries will have some guards for the valuable tomes, but why are there several patrols in the guest quarters is the real question."

>>28768624
...
Fuuuuuuuck

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>>28768171
just enough loud huh?

>>28768624
it was discussed on one of the threads before.

the body wasn't found and all.

>>28769037
we-well martina could do it in other ways.. like intervals of flame from the window...

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>>28768863
We got our answer soon later when we approached the main hallway. Inside we could see several monks surrounding someone who had to be the Abbot. They were in discussion, we heard the Abbot say, "All the guests of this… Knight are in their quarters, correct?"

"Yes Abbot. They retired a few hours ago and haven't left their rooms since."

"Good. That should reduce the chance of an… unfortunate meeting between them and our… other guests. Keep an eye on them. We don't want any… problems here."

"Yes Abbot."

The Abbot left the room quietly, leaving the remaining monks there to stand guard. I turned to the other two, "Well that settles that. There is definitely someone here that the monks don't want us to know about."

Lucky for us, traversing the main hall without alerting the monks was an easy task. The large number of ledges, chandeliers, tapestries, and other easy hand and footholds made the transit easy. The monks didn’t even know we were there! I'm pretty sure Veila swiped a few of the nicer objects in the room on the way too.

Only just finished reading the first thread. Enjoyed it. I'm going to keep reading.

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>>28770395
Thanks. I hope you enjoy the rest.
>>28769037
Martina's a dragon, so probably just enough loud and then some.
>>28769222
Another good option too.
>>28768286
Thanks. It's nice to be back.

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Finished thread 2. Still enjoying.
Only comment I have is you seem to have as many pictures of knights as I do pictures of wizards. That is a metric fucktonne of knight images. Have a wizard.

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Alright. I've got to get some sleep. I'll write more tomorrow.

>>28771495
Yeah. I have a fair number, and thank you too! Let me know how the rest are.

bumpiest

Like a bump outta hell

Oh my, it seems that short break was well worth it.
Looking forward to see some more.

Captcha, why are you trying to make me summon The Old Ones?

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>>28770068
We soon found ourselves behind the mooks... I mean monks and inside the East Wing of the Library. We regrouped and started planning.

Veila spoke first, "Alright. Let's start looking around. Let's see if we spot anything valuable while we're at it."

Nadja shook her head, "We should find a spot to hide and conduct a proper surveillance."

I tilted my head from side to side, trying to consider both like Sir Knight would. Finally I decided, "We should look for a hiding place like Nadja said, but there's no reason to rush. We can look for clues as well. And possibly pick up a souvenir or ten while we're at it."

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>>28778155
We began to look around the library. Unfortunately for us, the library custodians had evidently been hard at work and few signs of use remained. Further dismaying us, we realized too late that none of us had the arcane background required to appraise the tomes that surrounded us. Veila and I both felt that an opportunity was missed.

After hours of searching, we failed to find either clues or a hiding space. The only consolation was the myriad elaborate silver candlesticks that we managed to liberate. We were about to leave when we heard a noise from the entrance to the wing.

The three of us quickly hid behind cover as the sound of a woman's voice grew louder. "Remember, Mr. Aldric told us that the Tome might only be readable by moonlight. So we're going to search this entire wing again, book by book if need be, until we find it!"

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>>28778052
Thanks. I hope to return to my old speed soon.

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>>28778434
Sorry about the delay. Appointment showed up out of nowhere

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>>28780637
Just got caught up with the entire story since I saw this thread start. Glorious, Simply Glorious. Anyone else thinking of Zinoviy as looking like Sinestro clad in yellow (offshoot of golden) and black plate armour?

>>28780893
I've been thinking of him as more of Dozle Zabi looking motherfucker in big black armour with gold filigree.

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>>28778416
As we watched on, several people entered the room. To our dismay, they were Golden Saber soldiers! (Okay, fine. Sir Knight's warnings kinda led us to expect this, but still an unpleasant discovery.)

The soldiers were grouped around a figure in golden armor that I recognized as the messenger from Albero Città, the one that had helped kidnap Rina! She was evidently in charge of this mission. The soldiers spread out and began to search the library. They were mostly focused on the books, do it was easy to avoid them. However it was getting harder and harder to stay out of sight, and we were slowly getting forced back to the rear of the library.

Veila turned to me and whispered, "We need to get out of here."

"I know! I just can't see a way past them that wouldn't be immediately noticed."

Nadja tapped us on our shoulders, "Look up there," she said pointing.

Following her finger, we could see a small window high overhead. I turned back to Nadja, "We don't have our climbing gear... it could be dangerous."

"More dangerous than a fight with the Golden Saber?"

"Probably not. Let's go."

We slowly climbed up a nearby bookshelf and picked the lock on the window. Veila looked out and turned back to me with her nose wrinkled in disgust. "Ugh... Aimée, can't we find another way out?"

I looked down myself, the wall was inclined and could easily be used to make the drop easier, but below it was the foulest pigsty I'd ever seen. "Oh Gods... you're right. Let's find another -"

"Too late!" Nadja hissed, and pushed us out the window, escaping herself just before a soldier turned the corner.

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>>28780893
Thanks! I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

As for your image of Zinoviy, right general idea but the entirely wrong build. Zinoviy is far, far... bulkier than Sinestro. To paraphrase another anon who commented on this story, Zinoviy is swole.

>Have a generous drawfag's interpretation of Zinoviy.

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>>28782115
With a wail of dismay, that fortunately wasn't heard by those inside, we landed in the much of the pigsty. After finding that only our dignity was bruised, we carefully made our way out of the sty and tramped around until we stopped leaving a trail of pig wastes. Once we were satisfied that we couldn’t be tracked by a rather embarrassing trail, we headed back towards the South Wing where Sir Knight was staying. Fortuitously, our climbing gear from our first ascent was still in place, and we were able to make our way to Sir Knight's room. It was the same as we had last seen it, save for a strange scorch mark on the ceiling that I'd rather not think about. In the dark I saw Sir Knight get up in his bed, "Aimée, good to see you back. Did everything turn out okay?"

"Yes. I'll tell you all about it, but first… could you draw us a bath?"

>>28782300
Like I said, a hugefuckenormous version of Sinestro.

>>28768144
>>28768122
I could see Zinoviy trying the old "fake lover" disguise for his agent(s) who try to attach to our bard.
He doesn't try it on Sir Knight because he knows exactly how that would end.
Unfortunately for him, the bard took Sir Knight's lessons to heart.

>>28782377
minor nitpick here
>we landed in the much of the pigsty
I think you meant Mulch, mate.

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>>28782561
Actually it was supposed to be muck.

>>28782482
I'd love to hear a conversation about somebody suggesting planting a girl on Sir Knight, and it being rejected because it would backfire.

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>>28782377
Fortunately it turned out that the room that Sir Knight had been given included a massive tub. As he filled it (evidently there was a rainwater tank somewhere above these floors so the water could just flow down) and started a small fire to warm the tub, we stripped down and told him about what we saw.

When we got to the part about the Golden Saber presence here, he looked at us, a serious glare in his eyes, "Lieutenant Faina is here?"

"Lieutenant Faina?"

"The Golden Saber messenger woman. She is here?"

"Oh, I forgot her name. Yeah, she's here. She appears to be the one in charge. There are at least a few dozen other Golden Saber soldiers here with her."

"Describe them for me if you could."

Nadja spoke up, "They were that type that we saw before in that town, the weird guys with the robes and light armor."

"Battlemages then. Makes sense. They'd at least have chance of finding what they're looking for."

Veila nodded, "Yeah. We took a look around there as well, but none of us could make heads or tails of the tomes around there. Perhaps Martina could if you get access though."

Sir Knight nodded slowly as he passed us the soap, "Perhaps. Did you happen to hear the name of the tome that they were using?"

I shook my head bitterly, "Unfortunately not. However we did catch her saying something about how it may only be readable or visible by moonlight. Would that help?"

"It could. In the morning I'll see what Martina knows about that. Good work ladies."

I smiled coyly at Sir Knight, "We'll have to do this again sometime. Candlelit baths are best shared you know…"

He grinned a sardonic smile at me, "Well technically you are sharing it… but I'd like that," he looked at the water which was still discolored from the mess we landed in, "I'd like that another time," he clarified.

so who here think, by the end of the day, the knight will have united 3 different kingdoms into one?

I find it hilarious that a few threads back, sir Knight was wondering if he'd done something wrong when the archive votes seemed to take a swing to the negative, but they've stabalised when the anti samefag systems kicked inb.

I still can't help but wonder if that one buttblasted anon from the first thread (who was arrogant enough to think he'd single handedly driven the Knight away with his autism) got assravaged over how popular the concept continues to be.

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>>28783163
We crashed on the floor of Sir Knight's room that night and awoke early the next morning to plan some more. Well, it would be more accurate to say that Sir Knight woke up early and the rest of us woke up later on. I was getting up and about to enter the common area when I heard Lady Eve talking to Sir Knight, "So… you were a bit loud last night…"

Sir Knight's ears turned red a little but before he could offer an apology, Lady Eve caught sight of the three of us, "…and I can see why," she said in quiet amazement.

Nadja cut off Sir Knight again, "Relax your Ladyship. Sir Knight didn't do anything with us last night. We were covered in pig shite and even he wouldn’t touch us in that state."

Martina gave us a cocky smile, "Well… he may not have been with you…" she began.

Eva gasped at this and Veila laughed, turning to us, "Well we did say to establish an alibi!"

Lady Eva turned on Sir Knight, "I was just next door!"

Nadja gave the noblewoman a funny look, "Does that mean that you're angry with him for carrying on so close to where you were resting or that you're angry at him for not giving you a go?"

Eva turned quite pink and muttered something like "Why I never…" under her breath.

The only person who hadn't spoken yet was Sir Knight, who's face had taken on a hue to rival Martina's scales.

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>>28785215
>archive votes
Well... I was worried.

>anon from the first thread
I don't know... I do kinda owe him one. He was the only person who really spoke out against the romantic arcs at the time. I had intended there to be a larger story, but his criticism really was the "Get on with it!" that the story needed to get kicked off. That's why I love commentary on my work. Even if I can't perfectly please each person, it gives me feedback on how I'm doing as an author and helps me improve the story overall.

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>>28785682
Oh, my.

>>28785940
While I'm glad you were able to take something positive away from it, I really doubt that you could ever have pleased him short of the knight being a eunuch.
But maybe I'm just using this as an excuse to call that guy an asshole again.

>>28786067
His entire reasoning was that he didn't like the idea of multiple companions on his adventure, and that was the reason why it was indisputably horrible. Because he said so. And the entire time tried to argue that it wasn't. I gotta hand it to him, though, Hitler felt a great disturbance, as if more jimmies had been rustled than ever before.

>>28786178
Aye, the reason I like calling him an asshole so much is because I was one of the poor bastards trying to batter some reason into him.
It was like trying to hit a sailfish with bullwhip while riding a unicycle in full plate armour and oven mitts, all this while underwater.

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>>28786067
>>28786178
>>28786255
However, for all his faults, he did provide this one line that I just love:
>And let's not forget he promised to return. Do you still wait for him, on page 9?
(https://archive.foolz.us/tg/thread/27693404/#27723027)

Heh. Every time I read that...

>>28786498
Didn't that bump it up to page one?

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>>28785682
As our bickering settled down, he cleared his throat, "If I may…" he began.

"One, if anyone, and I mean anyone, feels that they aren't getting a fair share of my time and affection they only need ask and I'll do what I can to rectify that situation."

Veila cut in, "By anyone, does that include oh say… Gaël?"

"No!" Sir Knight snapped before clearing his throat to calm down, "Two, I have a strong preference for resolving the current issue with the library first. Business before pleasure, after all. Aimée, Nadja, Veila, can you fill Martina and Eva in on what you told me about last night?"

We once again told the story of what we saw in the library last night, the Golden Saber soldiers, the reappearance of that woman with the gold armor, and the tome that they were evidently looking for.

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>>28786736
When we finished, Lady Eva was livid with rage. "I can't believe it… I know the monks wish to stay out of politics, but to allow the Golden Saber free reign in the library? It's… it's… it's wrong! Damn the abbot! We should just attack those Golden Saber bastards now!"

The entire room was quiet at that, I think this was the most emotion I'd seen from Eva. Sir Knight quietly got up and sat down next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. As he did so, it seemed as though the anger dissipated from her, only to be replaced by sadness. As tears began to roll down Lady Eva's face, Sir Knight leaned in close and said, "Tell me what's wrong. If you don't want to talk about it in front of the other women, that's fine we can -"

Eva shook her head, "No… No, it's okay. I'll just tell you now… After the death of my mother and father, I spent a lot of time here in this library. The monks here helped me finish my education, taught me to find strength with the gods… The abbot was practically a second father to me!"

Sir Knight nodded slowly, "I understand. You feel betrayed. You feel like your home is being violated. I understand."

Eva just quietly nodded, tears still crawling down her cheeks. Sir Knight continued, "If I can, I will drive the Golden Saber from here. However, first I need to finish using this library. With the information here -"

Eva cut him off, "I know, you can drive the Golden Saber from the lands entirely. I understand. 'One who grasps at a foolish handhold, will soon find himself lower than where he began.'"

"A clever phrase. Where is it from?"

"An old holy text. The abbot taught it to me actually. He was one of the people who taught me about levelheaded leadership."

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>>28786767
"He sounds like a wise man. Unless I miss my guess, he's probably only allowing the Golden Saber in here because the consequences of resisting them would be worse. He's probably tried to keep the Golden Saber in the dark even more than us."

Eva nodded, "He wouldn't want his monks hurt in the crossfire."

Sir Knight looked at her with a grave expression, "Don't forget, you're here too," as Eva looked up at him in surprise he continued, "He helped raise you, as you said. He probably is concerned about your welfare too. In his mind, he probably thinks he made the best compromise that he could. Our job is to make a world where he never needs to make that compromise again, and we will succeed at that. You have my word."

Lady Eva looked immensely cheered at that. Wiping the tears from her eyes and forcing a cheerful expression on her face, she looked up at us and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!"

>>28786543
Oh the delicious irony. But enough about old would. Let them scar over, rather than opening them anew.

>>28786767
Still loving it, Knight! I'll read it in about eight hours, once I've had some sleep.

can some one else archive this?
I'm really shitty on descriptions...

i'm so sorry about thread 2 btw, forgot to space bat while tagging that.

Bamp foh THA BAMP GAWDS

It's just a bump to the left
And then a step to the riiiiiiight!

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Might be done for the night. Keep the thread alive/archived for me.

And feel free to ask questions and such. Always fun to answer.

>>28788493
how big is the realm's kingdom?

>>28788493
Is the general a giant or half-giant?

>>28786807
One, female-knight is best knight.

>>28788493
Two, just how much more do you have for this? I know you've said you've gotten planned out in terms of what you want done (or at least I think you did), but just not the how of it all. I'm curious about how much more we got left to see of the story.

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>>28789384
The Realm is a fairly large kingdom. I didn't have a set size in mind, but it has to be large enough to have the resources to field one of the better armed forces in the world (i.e. the Knights of the Realm).

>>28789627
His size would definitely indicate something abnormal, but he otherwise appears to be solidly human.

>>28790218
Thanks, she was originally supposed to be a cleric-type character, but she seems to have out maneuvered my plans and became a quasi-knight herself.

Its hard to say exactly. I could tell you what's left, but that would spoil the story. And I really can't give you a good time estimate either, originally the Albero Città segments were supposed to be about as long as the Hammerburg segments, but they wound up taking much longer. The actual length of the story could vary a great deal.

>>28792783
>Its hard to say exactly. I could tell you what's left, but that would spoil the story.

Now we wouldn't want that, now would we? Yes, we would. Okay, maybe not.

>And I really can't give you a good time estimate either, originally the Albero Città segments were supposed to be about as long as the Hammerburg segments, but they wound up taking much longer. The actual length of the story could vary a great deal.

Alrighty then. Still great ride so far looking forward to the rest.

So as many others have said, thanks for writing and keep at it.

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>>28793163
And my pic didn't upload.

bump

Bumpity

I would do anything for bump, but I won't do that

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>>28786807
Lady Eva looked immensely cheered at that. Wiping the tears from her eyes and forcing a cheerful expression on her face, she looked up at us and said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started!"

Sir Knight patted Eva on the shoulder, "Good girl! That's the spirit!" he then turned to Martina and said, "Do you have any idea about what tome they were looking for?"

Martina shook her head bitterly, "No. As interesting as that tidbit about the moon was, it really doesn't narrow it down much. Lots of arcane writings can only be read under certain conditions."

"Can you think of anyone who is famous for using moonlight like that?"

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>>28799621
"Not really. The Legno Luna Academy used a special writing that could only be read by moonlight, but they were a bardic college."

Sir Knight smiled at that, "No offense to Gaël, but Isocrates or General Zinoviy taking up the role of bard isn't exactly something I'm concerned about."

Everyone chuckled quietly at that. I spoke next, "So maybe we're looking at this the wrong way? Could the moon-thing be associated with something else?"

Nadja nodded, "What else is the moon good for? Could it have something to do with lycanthropy?"

Everyone shuddered at the thought of the Golden Saber with the power of a lycan at their disposal. Sir Knight spoke up to calm everyone down, "That's unlikely. Most cases of lycanthropy come from other lycanthropes, not magic tomes."

Martina nodded in agreement, "That's correct. While some cases of lycanthropy coming from a curse have been reported, you usually have to hate your victim a great deal on a personal level. Not exactly the best weapon for an army."

Veila sighed, "Then what else would a magic user want with the moon? I mean, we can assume that this is for a magic user since they are looking in the magic section? Right?"

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>>28801593

>>28803357
No.

>>28803531
You know you want to see Sir Knight piloting a giant robot, against a giga-sized Isocrates. Don't even TRY to deny it.

>>28803911
I'm not trying, I AM denying it. I'd rather see something like >>http://www.mangawindow.com/manga/gate-jietai-kare-no-chi-nite-kaku-tatakeri than Power Rangers.

>>28803911
Now I'm imagining each of the crew in a separate robot, who form together to form the Knight.

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>>28803357
>>28803911
>>28804449

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Well... I"m alive. Just got off work. I'll be back to really writing sooner or later.

>>28803357
This amused me enough that I briefly considered derailing the plot to make it happen. Thank you for that laugh, good anon.

>>28803911
>>28804449
Why does this idea amuse me so?

>>28807319

Glad I was able to almost derail a story, my GM knows that feeling. Still enjoying your work so far, looking forward to enjoying the rest.

Bump

Bamp

Bump juice , it's the bumpiest!

Bumpenstein 3D

bump

>>28762913
>some debate over who will succeed him
looks like it may end with King Sir Knight

BAAAMP.

>>28819644
nah, it will be Sigbert on stilts and a heavy coat.

Lager will be mandatory in all pubs.

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Back. Writing resumes soon.

>>28821201
Why not just write it up, then post?

>>28821333
hes got to get into the zone

>>28821610
Bamp

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>>28801593
Martina frowned. "It could be something specific. Something less general, or possibly unique to one person."

"Well... if that's the case how can we find out for sure?"

Martina smiled, "Simple. We'll wait for them to tell us. They're searching constantly, right? Eventually one of them will have to ask for clarification about what they're searching for."

I cut in, "Or one of them will find it…"

The dragoness smiled back at me, "Well then, either way we'll know what it was they were hunting for and then we can make plans to ensure that that tome doesn't make its way back to the rest of the Golden Saber, now can't we?"

Nadja smiled at that, "Sounds like a plan to me."

Sir Knight nodded, "Well then. Looks like we are set. Can you three safely keep an eye on the Golden Saber soldiers?"

Veila leaned back with a smile, "Don't worry about it Sir Knight. We'll be fine…"

Sir Knight sighed, "Just remember to keep out of sight of the monks too. They're still in the dark about your presence. I'll just keep up the research on my end. Good luck you three."

We spent the next several days lurking around the East and North Wings of the library, hoping to hear something important, even in passing. Martina offered to cast some enchantments to make us harder to see, but Nadja pointed out that the mages were likely hunting for something that was magically shielded, and as such might have spells of their own to counter that, so we settled for conventional and mundane methods, like lurking in the shadows and pretending to be servants. My experience with being a maid came in handy with the last bit, and eventually was what helped me find the clue we needed.

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>>28822601
It was three days since we had that meeting with Sir Knight, and I was dressed in a servant's robes that I "liberated" from their previous owner and was working on cleaning in the North Wing. As I worked, I overheard two of the Golden Saber battlemages talking with each other.

"Damn Lieutenant Faina. What does she expect from us? Miracles? I tell you that book is nowhere to be found!"

"She's been working us night and day. I'll tell you what we should do… we should prepare a few enchantment spells and make her -"

The other battlemage immediately slammed his hand over the speaker's mouth and looked around nervously, "Don't say another word! You know what would happen if word got out that you said something like that about her!"

The other battlemage nodded, his mouth still covered and the other continued.

"Good. Now let's try to find this damn Tome of Gamayun so we can get out of here. These damn monks are keeping something from us… I can feel it…"

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I'm off to grab some lunch right now, be back soon.

Its been a while since I asked this, but how is the story coming? Everyone still enjoying it?

>>28822970
yup

>>28822970
it's all good.
I like the PoV changes, and I like the way you always manage to avoid making them seem contrived.

>>28823084
agreed. I'd like some more Felicita POV though, her though process is amusing.

M4 part bump

when do we get to fug eva?

>>28824772
too soon.

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>>28822620
After the battlemages had left, I headed back to the West Wing as discretely as I could manage. After I arrived, I had to wait a few hours for Sir Knight and the others to return, but when they did I immediately told them everything I heard.

Sir Knight stood there for a second, then slowly said, "Alright, let's sit down, relax and try that again. This time slower, and remember to breath."

We sat down where we met before and I repeated my story to everyone. Sir Knight sat there, tapping his chin, "So… it looks like Lieutenant Faina is something more than her rank would indicate… but that’s a mystery for later. Right now we need to know more about this Tome of Gamayun. Martina, do you know anything?"

Martina shook her head, "Not much. I've heard of it though. It is supposedly some ancient tome of prophecies, and quite rare."

"Hmm… do you know anything else about it?"

"Regrettably no. However…"

"Yes?"

"We are in the mundane section of the library. Perhaps some research in the history section is in order?"

>>28825898
Hurryhurryhurryhurrryhurryhurryhurryhurryhurryhurryhurryhurryhurryhurry.

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>>28827593
Sorry, work came up. I'll write more soon.

>>28828075
Bump.
What happened at work?

archived and bump!

bump

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Sorry, I got to crash for the night. I'll have more tomorrow.

>>28829941
Not much, I just had to go to it. Sometimes I can update at work, other times I can't.

>>28830884
Much obliged. Thank you!

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>>28825898
>Have one last update before I crash for the night.

And with that we all, or at least those of us that the monks knew about, well those of them that weren't busy with other research, well basically Eva and Martina, set out to research the history behind the Tome of Gamayun. Sir Knight kept on making plans for the inevitable military campaign and Nadja, Veila, and I kept spying on the Golden Saber to see if they found the book.

However a few days later, Martina called everyone back into another meeting. "I've found some information on the Tome of Gamayun. It was an old tome of prophecies like I thought, but the strange bit is that a lot of its content relates to the war between the First Dragonmoot Council and Isocrates. It is evidently written in an archaic form of the draconic language that hasn't been used for ages, even by my race's standards."

Sir Knight frowned, "In that case, wouldn’t the work be mostly obsolete? After all, that war already happened. Right?"

Martina nodded again, "Indeed, however there was one prophecy that was separate from the others, one that would come years after the war. It was known as the Prophecy of Vengeance, and it was said to describe the return of Isocrates and the chaos that was to follow." Martina looked Sir Knight in the eyes, "We need to find this book. If only to know what to expect next."

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>>28833936
*drums fingers* continue...

I can Bump to this

bump before RAF training, and I'll see you on sunday.

things that go BUMP in the night

>>28840292
things like dragons and theifes

>>28841683
Dragons aren't known for going bump, unless they're still learning to fly.

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Back. Updating resumes soon.

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>>28838407
Good luck with your training!

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>>28833936
Sir Knight turned to Martina, "I agree, but are you even sure that this library has a copy?"

Martina nodded, "A good question. I managed to track one original copy of the Tome to the private library of one Vitya Stanislava. He was a mage, specialized in illusions who was also a rather prominent political theorist. After his death in a hunting accident with his son Vsevolod Stanislava, his son sold much of his literary collection to the Monasheskiy Library. So, theoretically there is a copy of the text somewhere here."

Eva cut in, "But where would it be? Are you sure that Vsevolod Stanislava sold the Tome of Gamayun? From what I know of him, he was a power-hungry fool who would have sold his father's collections at the drop of a hat, but he wasn't the type to turn away something that gave him power like a magic tome or a book of prophecy."

Martina turned to Eva, "I would agree with you, but after Lord Stanislava's death at the hands of General Zinoviy, the entire remainder of the collection fell into Golden Saber hands. If they had the tome, they wouldn’t be searching here for it."

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>>28844785
Sir Knight spoke up, "Wait. What books did Lord Stanislava sell to the Library? Do you have a record of them?"

Martina shook her head, "No. If there was a record, it would be in the Library's private archives, which are guarded and locked…"

As she finished saying that, Sir Knight, Martina, and Lady Eva all turned to look at the three rogues in the room.

I sighed, "We'll give it a try tonight…"

That night, Veila, Nadja, and I went down to the main hall again. This time, instead of crossing over to the other wings, we instead crept down the walls and stairs to try to reach the stairs that led up to the Monk's Wing, the areas where the Monks lived and worked and presumably kept their records. It was difficult to reach the free standing spiral staircase at the end of the hall, but we were able to leap from a nearby balcony to catch on to it, avoiding the two monks at the base of the stairs. A Golden Saber battlemage who was passing through the halls looked our way, but he didn’t seem to see us so we kept going. We reached the Monk's Wing and began looking around quietly for some form of records room. After finding countless rooms full of sleeping monks and storage rooms, we eventually found a small library full of ledgers. We started looking around for ledgers from the time of Vitya Stanislava's death, which Martina assured us was a Winter from several decades ago. Eventually we found three books that detailed that approximate period of time. We each took one and began to sort through them. Finally Veila gave an exclamation of joy, "I found it!"

We all looked over her shoulder, sure enough there on the page she was looking at was a small list, "Donations of Lord Stanislava following his father's death," a long list of books followed it.

"Good job Veila!" I said with a whisper, "Now let's get out of here before we get spotted."

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>>28845123
We slowly made our way back to Sir Knight's room, where the other three were already waiting for us. We proudly presented Sir Knight with the ledger and he began to scan the list intently. "I've heard of a lot of these books, it’s a pretty comprehensive political philosophy library, it looks like Vitya Stanislava was a bit of a writer himself too. He evidently authored a lot of these books. Have you heard of them Eva?"

Eva leaned over, "Yes. Most of these books he wrote are a pretty common part of a noble's education in Omrachena Zemli. These ones are probably the original versions, written by Vitya himself. It's sad that his son just sold them…"

"Agreed, but are any of these out of place? Do any of them just… not belong in this list?"

Eva scanned the list herself, "Well let's see…" a second later she spoke up, "Here. This one, On Women, Birds, and War. I've never heard of that one before, and allegedly Vitya wrote it."

I spoke up, "Women and Birds? Wait a minute, I remember by dad mentioning Gamayuns before. Some story…"

Martina nodded, "I think I see what you're going at. Allegedly, in the far East there can be found a strange creature with the head of a woman and the body of a bird known as the Gamayun. It is supposed to be wise, knowledgeable, and able to create prophecies…"

Nadja leaned in, "And Vitya was supposed to be an illusionist as well as a political philosopher…"

Sir Knight finished the thought we all were sharing, "So… could he have disguised the Tome of Gamayun as a random political philosophy book?"

Martina smiled, "It's worth checking out. After all, it's in our side of the library…"

>>28841987
you have definitely picked up the wrong meaning of bump there

>>28847485
Interject mandatory suggestive, "Oh, my~..." here.

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>>28845453
Sir Knight got up, "Well then… what are we waiting for? Let's see if we can't find this tome."

We soon found ourselves in the West Wing of the library, searching the political philosophy section. Eva was in the lead as she knew the library's sorting system best, soon we were in the right section.

Eva spoke up "Alright. This book should be somewhere around here, with the rest of Vitya's work. Everyone get looking, and let me know if you see it!"

"I think I found it!" I called out a second later.

Everyone gathered around me as I held up the tome On Women, Birds, and War. As I flipped through it I could only see page after page of dry meanderings about women, birds, and war, as might be expected from the title. "Are you sure this is it?"

Sir Knight mused for a second, "Wait a minute, you said that Lieutenant Faina said something about moonlight? Let's see…"

He brought the tome out to a reading room with a window, and set it in the beams of moonlight pouring into the room. As the light touched the pages, the book changed. The plain brown cover was replaced with one of gold and leather, the dry pages became an illuminated manuscript, On Women, Birds, and War became the Tome of Gamayun.

As we beheld the new book we heard a clapping behind us. We turned around to see Lieutenant Faina and several of her Golden Saber battlemages awaiting us. The golden armored woman smiled at spoke, "Well done, Sir Knight. Well done again."

Sir Knight stepped forward drawing his sword, "Hello again Lieutenant Faina. What are you doing in this part of the library?"

"One of my battlemages thought he saw someone from your band. He cast a veiling spell and followed her to where she met with you. He then came to me and gathered all of us to arrange this little surprise for you. I see you've found the Tome of Gamayun. Make life easier on yourself and turn it over to us."

bump

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>>28849258
Sir Knight raised an eyebrow as he replied, "Well… how about you tell us why we should? What's in this book that the Golden Saber wants to know?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that Sir Knight…"

"Well then Faina, I don't suppose that it is the Prophecy of Vengeance by any chance?"

From the way the woman's face tensed, I could tell that we hit the mark. She glared at us and said, "Well then… I guess you know. In that case I'm afraid that I can't leave you alive. Men, kill them."

With that the battlemages sprung in to action, well… I say sprung into action. In actuality they were pretty tame for mages. Some magical bolts were flung at us, but they were easy to dodge. Sir Knight laughed at that, "I thought as much. Your battlemages can't risk damaging this book? Can they?" as he said that he lunged forward and cut down two of them where they stood.

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>>28851010
The rest of us quickly drew our own weapons and the fight ensued, even Lady Eva drew a dagger and joined in the fray. The battlemages, handicapped by their desire to not damage the Tome of Gamayun, were not difficult opponents. The real fight was between Sir Knight and Lieutenant Faina. The speed magic that the Golden Saber woman had before was still in her possession and she was almost flying around the Knight with her speed. However Sir Knight was armored well and knew how to use his assets to the best of their ability, while he was mostly unable to land a blow on Faina due to her superior speed, Faina couldn’t do more than flail helplessly against his armor. The battle between them became a pattern of Sir Knight striking at Lieutenant Faina, she dodging his blow and circling around him to strike at the Knight's back, only to have her blow deflected and stopped by the armor he wore. However the Knight began to move, slowly moving towards a corner of the room with his back towards it. I wondered why at first, but then I realized, most of Lieutenant Faina's blows were at the Knight's back where she wasn't obstructed by his shield and threatened by his sword. Suddenly he was near enough to the corner for his plan to work when the golden armored woman next tried to strike at his back, he leapt backwards slamming his body against her and driving her into the corner. As she was recovering from that blow he grabbed her arm and twisted it around his back, pinning her down on her knees. As he did so, Veila finished off the last of the battlemages. Sir Knight growled at the Golden Saber woman, "Surrender! This battle is over!"

Faina tried to break free, but a blow from Sir Knight put her out for the count! He then stood up and looked around at us, "Is everyone okay?"

Suddenly the doors to the wing swung open. In stormed the Abbot, flanked by monks. "What is going on here! Who brings violence to the Monasheskiy Library? Who dares?"

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>>28851147
I think I'm done for now. Sorry it was a short day.

>>28852504
don't be sorry, I'm still enjoying it

and I honestly hope Sir knight punches one of those monks teeth through his brain

>>28851147
you are such a brilliant tease!

>>28852504
I've got one bastard of a hangover that refuses to go away, and I want you to know that reading through the archives is significantly cheering me up

When in doubt, bump.

rump-a-dump-dump
have another bump

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>>28851147
I quickly took a position out of the limelight as Sir Knight and Lady Eva began to explain to the monks what happened. The two of them eventually convinced the monks that we were in the right and that the Golden Saber were the ones who ambushed us, which was actually true more or less. Of course, then we had to figure out what to do about Lieutenant Faina. Of course the Abbot was concerned about allowing Sir Knight to bring her back as a captive when she was enjoying the monk's hospitality, but Sir Knight pointed out that her going back to General Zinoviy with stories about how they offered their hospitality to us wouldn’t help out the monks much either. In the end, they wound up having a long meeting about the whole matter, during which Sir Knight asked me to jot down what had happened for reference. Hopefully we'll be done with this library soon and heading back to the castle and to the next part of this quest.

Later!

Aimée

when you are dealling with the mafia, you have to be careful you dont get bumped of

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Hey everyone. Today I only have a little bit of time to write before I need to leave for my weekly Game Night. I'll do what I can in the interim, but feel free to ask me questions about the story and anything else that comes to mind.

>>28863606
did Lt Fania and the battlemages have armour?

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>>28863642
Lt. Faina has light armor, seemingly made of gold. The battlemages wore no armor, just their robes.

>>28863708
style over substance eh, never has it been more clear that the sabres are just a gang of thugz

>>28863862
it's probably some magical material. if it was actually made of gold she wouldn't be able to move.

>>28863862
Um... Do you even have any idea how hard Gold plating can be?

I usually abhor quests, but this one has my official pardon, because of all of the additions I'm making to my knight/armor folder.

>>28864344
dude, this isn't a quest.

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>>28864344
Not a quest, but I'm glad I could at least provide some use.

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>>28863565
Dear Journal,

I see that Aimée has kept you updated about the recent events. When I told her to write down her report of what happened, I may have meant for her to write a report for me, but I suppose that her method works as well.

After some significant negotiating, the monks agreed to let us take Lieutenant Faina with us when we left the library. However, I believe that we may have used up our welcome with them for the time being. It was just as well, its use for our mission was coming to an end anyways, but I felt bad for Eva, a clear rift had formed between her and the other monks. I remembered what she said about how she had practically been raised here after the death of her family and realized just how miserable she had to be. So one day before we left, I set out to find the Abbot. I found him overseeing several monks in repairing the area we had fought in, despite the efforts of both parties to not damage the tomes, some collateral damage had ensued. When the Abbot saw me he glared at me, but did comply with my gesture to come over and speak with me.

"What is it, Knight?" he said in a flat tone.

"We need to talk. Look. I know that you're angry that we brought violence into this library, I'm not even going to try to argue that we weren't partially responsible for that and I understand that you may dislike us for that. However -"

"Look, I may not care for the Golden Saber, but I'm not about to allow this library to become a battleground!"

"That's not what I was talking about! This is about Eva!"

"What about her?"

"Look, you took her in after her parent's death, right?"

There was a moment of hesitation before he replied, "Yes…"

"Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean? How dare you -"

"No, no. I'm not disagreeing with your choice. I'm wondering why you made it."

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>>28864676
"Well… Her mother was an important patron of the library. She was always in these halls, researching a curse she claimed was on these lands. She always brought little Eva along with her, the girl was so friendly, always helping sort books or copy scrolls… when her mother died -"

"Was killed you mean. By the Golden Saber."

The Abbot actually looked ashamed when I said this. Finally he said in a small voice, "Yes… that's what I mean. When she died… I couldn’t bear to leave the poor girl homeless, so we took her in and raised her until she could take command of her parents' lands."

"So you cared for her?"

"Yes. Yes I did. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No… but I'd like you to think about how she felt about you? Don’t you think she cared just as much about you and the monks? She thought of you as family for the Gods' sake! How do you think she felt when she learned that you were giving aid to the Golden Saber? How do you think she feels now when she's being driven out of her second home?"

The Abbot was silent at that, and eventually I relented. "Look, I'm not asking you to change your library's policies or to get involved in our war. I just want you to let Eva know that you still care about her and that she's still welcome here. I don't want her to lose another family. Okay?"

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>>28864705
The abbot remained silent for a while, then spoke. "You know Knight… I think I may just do that." He looked me in the eyes for a moment then continued, "Thank you, Sir Knight for opening my eyes. I should have come to that decision on my own, but was too blind to do so."

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>>28863606
Alright. I'm off to my game. I'll see you all later.

Feel free to keep commenting and asking questions!

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>Have another small update.

>>28864764
Hours later, when we were retiring for our last day in the library, Eva came up to me while I was reading. "Sir Knight, I wanted to thank you."

"What for?"

"For what you did today, of course. The abbot told me about what you said," with that she leaned down and gave me a small kiss on my cheek, "You're a good person, Sir Knight. I can see why you are so well loved. Good night, I'll see you in the morning," and with that she left to retire for the night. I remained behind, trying to concentrate on my work, but finding myself rather distracted somehow.

The next day we set out to return to the castle. Our departure was surprisingly more cordial than I expected, evidently the goodwill earned by my last conversation with the Abbot carried a bit. We departed, Lieutenant Faina in tow for the castle.

We arrived later that day to some fanfare. The guards came out to meet us in parade formation and took a position of attention on either side of us as we passed through to the castle. I noted with pleasure that Rina and Sieghild seemed to be doing their jobs perfectly. The men were moving with a sense of discipline and unity that I hadn't seen before. At the entrance to the castle stood Rina and Sieghild. As we approached they snapped to attention and raised their visors in salute. "Sir Knight and Lady Eva, Captains Rina and Sieghild reporting for inspection!"

>>28864388
>>28864643
My apologies then, good sir knight.
It's just, it looked like a thread from the OP and the long-winded posts from a namefriend, and I was quick to judge.

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>>28867789
No problem. I understand perfectly. Feel free to either enjoy the story or just swipe all the pictures.

>>28869589
I will do both, my good sir knight.

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>>28869589
Sorry this is taking so long. I might have to write more tomorrow.

>>28873201
take as much time as you need

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>>28873201
*Sigh*

I just got back. Unfortunately it is way too late to write some more. I'll see you all in the morning then.

Keep the thread alive for me.

>>28875569
bump

Act 2: father of Bump.

page 7 wat do

Finally! I've been binge-reading this story all weekend, and I just caught up.
KotR, you are a gentleman and a scholar. Keep up the awesomeness.

>>28881926
Oh dear, mate, you're coming to live update territory.
I hope you're fine with not sleeping.

>>28882004
Yeah, it looks like I'll have to check tomorrow.

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>>28882095
Well... I might have an update in a few hours.

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>>28881926
Thank you very much! I appreciate it!

>>28882959
>Want to catch the live update
>Need to sleep because of college classes

Damnit. I hope I can catch this tomorrow while I'm meant to be working.

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>>28867286
I smiled at the two of them. "Good work Captains. The improvement is remarkable."

Rina smiled, "Thank you sir. I trust that your own trip went well?"

"It did indeed. Let's get inside so we can catch up."

After we regrouped inside, we secured Lieutenant Faina in the castle dungeons and then regrouped with the rest of our party and set about filling each other in on what had happened. Sieghild and Rina were duly impressed by the strategic information I had uncovered during my time at the library and I was equally pleased with their progress. In the time since we had left, they had at least gotten the basics of marching and drills into the men and had actually taken the initiative of constructing a series of barracks outside of the castle to house the additional soldiers that our hopeful alliance would bring. Rina leaned forward excitedly and said, "It should be able to house the majority of the new soldiers as well as store their gear and associated supplies! Would you like to see it?"

I nodded, "Certainly! And let me take the time to commend the initiative you showed in building it."

"Thank you, but it was actually Sieghild's idea."

I smiled at Sieghild slyly as I said, "It’s a good thing she has such a talent for this. Isn't it?"

Sieghild just blushed and muttered something under her breath about it being nothing.

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>>28884438
Fair Warning, the Starbucks I'm writing this from right now has evidently had at least one ban on its IP. So the story may be interrupted occasionally depending on the other users of this wifi account.

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>>28884438
After we finished catching up, we headed down to the site of the barracks construction, where I was pleased to see the rest of our group hard at work. Felìcita was working with some archers and trying to improve their accuracy and technique, Boniface was helping out with coordinating the constructions crews, and Gaël was… well he was singing. He had his lute out and was singing a ballad loud enough for the entire construction crew to hear. It did appear to be helping their moral and they were working hard as a result so I suppose it was pretty useful. However he wasn't really paying attention to much else other than the song, and as we watched he leaned back to bellow out one verse and lost his footing, tumbling down onto a pile of lumber and stone.

We were about to start forward to help, but before we got five feet another guard was near him helping him up. A second look identified this guard as Sergeant Arina, who was evidently chastising Gaël for being reckless with his own life, "…You should be more careful! I know you're used to injuries from fighting, but you're on an important quest now! What is the rest of your party going to do if you get your spine broken from a stupid fall? Let's get you back to the castle. I'm putting you on bed rest until you get better and I'll be checking on you every day to make sure you don't sneak out of it!"

I held out my arm to Martina to stop her from going forward to heal Gaël, "You know Martina, it might be better to let Gaël heal naturally this one time…"

Martina looked confused for a second, then she realized what the two of them were saying and smiled at me, "Good idea Sir Knight."

>>28885109
Aww, Gael gets a girl!

>>28885279
>Aww, Gael gets a girl!
aww, i was holding out hope for him and boniface

>>28886649
Boniface is obviously going to get Faina.

>>28886649

I was kind of hoping that he would get Princess Eva. After all, a charismatic man whose principle function is to increase the morale of the people around him in a land filled with despair seems like such an awesome fit. However, apparently Mr. Knight's harem wasn't quite large enough yet. At least he's getting something.

>>28886912
I like KnightXEva... I think they make a good match for each other...

Hey, I'm done for now, but I'll be back later tonight.

>>28886912
Sorry about that. Unfortunately the plot demanded otherwise...

>>28887445

It's not that I dislike the two of them as a couple. Knight meets Courtly Lady works. Thing is, it isn't just Knight x Eva. It is more like Knight x (Harem + Eva). Saturation is my entire problem with this pairing as I find the continued stacking of more bodies onto the pile to be ridiculous.

I mean, if we had established early on that his dick was magic and just kind of used that as an excuse to account for the growing flock, that would be one thing. As is, there are far too many women willing to share the knight (a dragoness being one of them, mind you). There is genre subversion and then there are plot holes.

Now don't get me wrong, the knight is a pretty cool guy, but you can respect a man without wanting to jump his bones. Let alone getting in line to jump his bone. Add to that that you have a lonely bard waiting in the wings, and there is no reason that the knight should be the only one capable of pursuing a meaningful romance for the sake of "plot advancement".

>>28887941

I am actually rather interested in this point. Why does it have to be the knight who romances her? Unless he is somehow magically greater or different than other men, it seems like a weak excuse to justify yet another woman falling into the pile.

>>28888018
Agreed, however that all is ending soon. Hopefully the upcoming story will help smooth out the group dynamic at least.

>>28888077
Because we are approaching the final arcs of the story and the conclusion needs to be set up.

>>28888018
>>28888077
>>28886912
>>28885279
>>28886692
Forgot to mention, thanks for the commentary and feedback. I appreciate it all!

>>28888393
Thank YOU for the great story, looking forward to the climactic scenes?

>>28888233

Am I understanding you correctly in thinking that you have some sort of twist reveal planned that centralizes on this? In other words, is there some reason why she is so uncharacteristically drawn into romantic love with the knight other than the fact that he is the least assholish, least cowardly man she has probably met in her life? If so, I can understand your stance on not wanting to reveal that at this juncture.

However, it feels more like you have reached a point where you have written yourself into a corner and the only way out involves forcing another romantic subplot. I just don't see her motivations as reasonable in joining this mass of bodies. The political scandal not-withstanding, it doesn't make sense for a normal person to agree to this "arrangement" Of course, out-of-wedlock polygamy may have come into style among the nobles.

I can't rightly question that, but I also can't really see how this is necessary or how the plot could possibly "demand" that this romance happen. Aren't character motivations supposed to dictate the story and not the other way around?

>>28889153
Eh, its fun to read. If he wants to add another girl, let him add another girl. Also, polygamy might be acceptable in her culture. It certainly happened frequently historically and is still around today.

>>28889257

I only bother because he seems to want honest critique on his writing style. While I am not certain whether OP is asking because he one day wants to write professionally, I'd like to do my best right now to point out things that would be attacked under literary review. Poor justification of motive and circumstance is an area of scrutiny where I feel the present overall narrative is lacking.

My commentary absolutely is not meant to discourage him from writing. After all, the story is not altogether bad. I just want to grant his request for feedback in order to help him in his future endeavors.

>>28889435
I know. I was just pointing out that you (presumably) have an enormous cultural bias for monogamy and against polygamy. I have that same bias as well and actually do think that monogamy is a better system. That does not mean that I think that polygamy is impossible or intrinsically evil, or that I am unaware how when the FBI tries to "help" women in certain Mormon sects it frequently backfires, despite the admittedly cultish nature of many sects. Oh, and there are plenty of women from more mainline polygamist cultures who are totally willing to defend their views.

tdlr: polygamy or harems are not only a neckbeard's fantasy they happen IRL in many cultures and seem to work okay. Check western privilage, ect.

>>28889627

I'll grant you that I personally have a cultural bias toward monogamy, having grown up in a culture that predominantly favors it. However, as it appears that we are in fantasy Europe dark ages where the King-Queen ruling structure is still in effect, I am supposing that the society of this world also favors monogamy (at least externally).

This alone would make Eva's actions seem strange enough, but you have to couple that with her literally having known the Knight for a week or two at this point and really ask if this seems plausible. I mean, yes, he promised to save her kingdom from 1000 years of darkness and all that, but he also has 6 other women vying for his affection. Royalty, much like dragons, don't usually care for sharing. The fact that she is willing to push past that (I would argue against her better judgment) is the part that I feel is forced.

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>>28888509
>Thank YOU for the great story, looking forward to the climactic scene
Thank you too.

>>28889153
>However, it feels more like you have reached a point where you have written yourself into a corner and the only way out involves forcing another romantic subplot.
To a certain extent you're right, this addition of another woman is to force the plot to a certain degree. However I've had the relevant part of the plot planned for a while and Eva was part of it, unfortunately between then and now I wound up creating unplanned additions to the group. Hence the somewhat bloated feel of the story.

>>28889257
>>28889627
> Also, polygamy might be acceptable in her culture. It certainly happened frequently historically and is still around today.
> they happen IRL in many cultures and seem to work okay
True, however none of the cultures that the Knight has dealt with are polygamous, so I'd say that the other anon had some valid criticism.

>>28889435
>I only bother because he seems to want honest critique on his writing style.
I do and I appreciate you giving it.


>tendoze Sir
Damnit captcha, that is way too many!

>>28890299
Fair. Mind you I can come up with plenty of examples where royalty did in fact practice polygamy.
>>28890408
You should have probably made this a culture that does practice polygamy, at least among royalty. Hell, you could still make it happen more or less exclusively among royalty which would put Eva's actions in an entirely different context.

>>28890459

And then the Knight became part of Eva's harem. That would be hilarious.

>>28890586
No, among royalty, not nobility. IE: she was asking him to become king, or at least considered him to be of similar stature to a king.

>>28890613
Well, he seems to have the proper scepter

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Sorry, this is taking longer than expected.

>>28890459
>You should have probably made this a culture that does practice polygamy, at least among royalty

Well... I have one or two ideas...

>>28890613
>No, among royalty, not nobility. IE: she was asking him to become king, or at least considered him to be of similar stature to a king.
...And evidently so do you.

>>28893136
Probably should have clarified that I thought that was a good idea as well...

>>28893409
>>28893136
bonus points: he accepts her advances without any idea of the cultural significance

Alright. I think I'll have to put the rest of this off until tomorrow.

Sorry again.

>>28895381
Noooooooooooooooooooooooookay.

Bump through the fire

>>28895381
Well hopefully this still happens

Jack bumped over the candle stick

Bump pun.

Engelbert Bumperdinck


>>28902551
really? all the effort thats been put in an thats the best you can come up with?

>>28904331
I'm not witty. Sorry.

>>28904358
Just do what I do, pick a song title and replace a word with bump

>>28904358
its cool
i wonder how many others are camping here

>>28904407
Well one less, I think. I need sleep.

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I'm back from work. I'll be writing again soon enough.

>>28904631
Huzzaa


>>28904428
good timing

>>28788390
Put your hands on your hips, and bump your knees is tiiiieeeight!

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>>28885109
As we approached the site, Siegbert came out and waved us over to a small tent. When we entered we found him and Boniface chatting amicably with a man I presumed to be the architect for the barracks. The three of them greeted me as I entered, "Hello Sir Knight, how was your trip? I didn’t think a library would be the sort of spot you'd take a woman, much less five!" Boniface chuckled.

"It is nice to see you again, Sir Knight. Let me introduce you to the architect for this project, Illarion."

The rotund burly man stepped up to me and proffered his hand, "Good to meet'cha Sire. Your dwarven friend there contacted me a while back about this little project here and signed me on. I hope everything is to your liking."

"Well, I just arrived, but from what I saw so far, everything appears to be satisfactory. I'd like to take a better look after this though."

"I'd be pleased to show you around, my Lord."

I was about to question his use of "Sire" and "my Lord" when Felìcita entered the tent and ran up to hug me. "Master Knight! You're back!"

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>>28906834
"Felìcita! It's lovely to see you again! How have you been?"

"Great! I've been placed in charge of the archers!"

"I noticed on the way in. You're doing a good job of it from what I saw."

"Thank you! I'd love to get your advice on things sometime…"

I agreed we would have to do that, and returned my attention to the architect, "I am curious why we started the project so soon. I’m not opposed in any way to it, but I'm surprised we started this early."

Illarion shrugged, "Well Siegbert told me when you needed it by, and with Zimneye Solntsestoyaniye coming up I figured we should start early to get things done on time."

"Zimneye Solntsestoyaniye?"

"I forgot you're not from around here. Zimneye Solntsestoyaniye is the local winter solstice festival. A fair bit of feasting and gift giving, but for our purposes the important bit is that many laborers get the week off. That would mean that we need to start earlier if you want the project done in time."

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Sorry about the slow updates today.

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>>28912836

Bump, and trust me, as long as you're writing we don't care how slow it is. Better to wait for greatness than settle for ground-out, mediocre, quick results.

>>28914962
Bampin

Let me bump in peace

My name is Mr Bumpy, I go bump in the night

Even is death, I still bump

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>>28910145
"Good to know. Thank you for telling me about this…"

"My pleasure, my Lord…"

"Good, then I need to speak with Eva about something…"

I left the construction site and headed back to the castle. Inside I found Eva again, writing a letter in the castle library. "Exactly when were you expecting to meet with the nobles about this alliance? The architect for the barracks seemed to think we needed to get started immediately."

Eva replied, "We can meet with them whenever you're ready, but..."

"But what?"

"Well, the Winter Solstice feast is traditionally seen as the end of the old year and the start of the new, even if a more precise calendar says otherwise, and as such it is considered a good time to change the bad behaviors of the past or to launch new endeavors. In addition, most noble houses will offer truce with each other. So if we could hold the meeting during the Solstice, it would be preferable to many people."

>>28923289
>>28923290
damn it! 2 days in a row!

Keep calm and bump on.

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>>28923290
"Well... if the men can present themselves like they did today and the barracks are close enough to done, then I'd imagine that we could convince some lords that we're serious about this war."

"Should I send out the invitations today then?"

"Tomorrow or the day after. I want the opportunity to examine the men and the barracks. Just to make sure that everything is up to par."

With that decided, I mounted Arkhip and rose back out to the barracks and the training grounds. When I arrived, I met with Rina and Sieghild, "Today I'd like to review the troops as thoroughly as possible, but first I need to know what you covered. I saw this morning that they have marching and parade formations down fairly well, but what else have you covered?"

Sieghild spoke up, "Sir Knight, we just started the training really. It’s a miracle that they are this good. They're quick learners, but most of the soldiers are green and their training so far has been laughable."

Rina continued, "I agree. It will be a long time before I would consider putting them near combat. We were busy deciding whether or not to purchase practice swords, when we have them drill with the real thing they come far too close to accidently killing themselves for my comfort."

"Hmm… how are you training them on the weapons?"

Sieghild replied, "Sparring partners currently, but with the dullest swords we can find and in full armor."

"Then don't waist the funds on practice swords, buy training dummies. That way you can have them practice maintaining their weapons and armor as well as train them safely."

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>>28926468
"I'll put the order in today, Sir."

"Good, but that's secondary right now. It appears that it may be advantageous to have the council of war with the other major noble powers in the land sooner rather than later. I need to know if the men can be presentable in time for that. It wouldn’t require much combat ability, just enough drilling and training to make an impression and convince others that we are credible enough to throw their lot in with us. I'll also need to make sure that the barracks are nearly completed by then and are sufficient to back our claims as well."

A voice chimed in from behind me, I turned to see Lady Eva had ridden out to join us as well, "Putting appearances before effectiveness? That doesn't sound like you, Sir Knight."

I turned to Eva, "Everything has a purpose, even drills that otherwise don't seem to be relevant to combat. However our priority now isn't' the soldier's combat ability. The Golden Saber holds several advantages over us, first is their training, the second is their resources, and the third is their numbers. The most effective use of our time right now would be securing alliances with other parties to help counteract the last two advantages, and in order to do that we need to look like we have a chance. Hence we need to focus on appearances," I turned back to Rina and Sieghild, "but by no means does that mean that you should slack off on their combat training or let them get away with something that while decorative would impair their combat ability. Just focus on the drills and maintaining standards."

It's all bumping back to me now.

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Sorry about the wait. Just got back from job one and am off to job two...

bumper car

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>>28929806
Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to update much more tonight. However tomorrow may be a light day so we'll see what happens then.

>>28935071
godspeed Sir!

I'm glad that we will have some Christmas special on this story, it will surely be the nights to remember!

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>>28782300
Here's that edit I owe you.

Sorry I took so long.

One bump, I dont know why

Don't go bumping my heart!

>>28939586
It doesn't even matter how bumpy times I try

>>28939586
It doesn't even matter how hard I bump

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>>28926846
"Now that said," I continued, "Let's see the men. I'd like to observe a few drills and see how they do."

Sieghild smiled, "Of course Sir Knight. We have a drill coming up in a few hours. Would you like to take command for that drill?"

"That would be good, Sieghild. How are the men divided so far?"

Rina answered this one, "Currently, we have divided the soldiers into two companies, A Company and B Company, or Armet Company and Barbute Company as it were. Each Company consists of three Platoons, and each Platoon consists of two Squads."

"Sounds close enough to the Realm's Military for me to work with. Are they being trained in any specialty?"

Sieghild answered this one, "We're following your orders so far. Armet Company is being trained to fight on the squad level with a mix of weapons and tools in each squad, Barbute Company is being trained to fight on the Platoon Level with each Platoon using one type of weapons such as pikes or bows."

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>>28942879
"Sounds good so far. I guess the only thing left to do is see how well they do in the drill. Let's see... let's start with assembling the men as Platoons here, and then having them form up as Companies and march separately to... let's go with the castle grounds. There I'll take command of the overall Battalion and lead them back to the barracks. We'll do some Parade drills and then I'll dismiss them for individual practice. Barbute Company will break up into Platoons and drill separately and Armet Company will break up into squads and drill as well. That reminds me, do we have any Lieutenants or other lower ranking officers yet?"

Rina nodded, "Yes Sir Knight. We've appointed Felìcita, Boniface, and Gaël as Lieutenants in several platoons. I'd like to get Veila in as another one but I haven't had the opportunity to do so yet. I'm not sure yet about how to handle the last two Platoons, but they have the two senior Sergeants so they should cope for now. I'd ask Aimée or Martina to command them, but I don't think that they have the skills or experience for the job."

I tried to picture either the carefree rogue or the dragoness in command of a front line military unit and nodded. "It's not exactly their strong suit. Perhaps if we get specialized enough to have a battlemage unit or saboteurs, but not now. Let the sergeants handle the Platoons for now and we'll look for good officer candidates amongst the troops."

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bump

>>28942594
Keep that in mind, I designed this bump

BUMPIEST

>>28949087
to remind myself how I bumped, so, hard.

boards moving fast, bump

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>>28947622

Gah. Sorry its taking me so long to get back to work guys. Be back soon though.

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>>28953889
Ugh... Sorry. My writer's block has come back in full force. I'll try to do more, but don't expect much until tomorrow...

>>28956306
All good. We're a patient lot.

>>28949087
To bump in due time, all I know


>>28951502
i think youve got the verses mixed up in your head

>>28957646
Time is a bumpable thing

bumpa

>>28960192
Watch it bump by as the pendulum swings

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>>28944216
That afternoon I mounted Arkhip again and rode down to the Barracks to observe the drill. I could see the Platoon Leaders, save Gaël who was replaced by the Platoon Sergeant, organizing their men. The Platoons of Armet and Barbute Companies were on separate sides of the barracks' construction site and were busy getting ready. As I watched, Felìcita, Boniface, and Sergeant Arina called out to their respective Platoons "Platoon, Fall In!"

After the soldiers from those three platoons fell into position, they were told to stand at ease as the other Platoons gathered on the other side of the barracks and fell into formation themselves. A few minutes later, Sieghild and Rina came out to take command of the companies. I noticed that as Rina began to order the company forward, Felìcita slightly stiffened. I should have expected it, it would be embarrassing for a princess to take orders from one of her own subjects, but she seemed determined to do as good of a job as possible so I made a mental note to thank her for her cooperation. After Armet Company marched off towards the castle, Sieghild took command of Barbute Company and took them after Rina and her men.

>>28963368
Watch it count down to the end of the day, the bump bumps always, (so unreal)
(Damnit Captcha, hoofs is not a word either!)

>>28963728
I'm not sure why, but I'm seeing the reasoning behind naming the companies after armour pieces as being the armour and shield that protects the people of the land. Close?

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>>28964104
>naming the companies after armour pieces

Pretty much spot on, also they are based on the Companies' alphabetical designation. So Company C will be named after a piece of armor beginning with C.

The Platoons are named after weapons, but there hasn't been much of a call to detail that yet.

>>28964674
Like Cuirass?

lurking

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>>28963728
Following at a distance, I could see the soldiers doing fairly well, making note of who was making mistakes and which were spotted and corrected by Rina or Sieghild. They were doing quite well so far, however the real challenge was going to be entering the castle through the narrow gates without breaking formation.

As Armet Company approached the ramp leading up to the gates, I heard Rina give the command, "Column half-right, March! Company, halt! Column of Files from the Right, Forward, March!"

Good command voice, I noted to myself. I was further pleased to see that the soldiers under her command followed her directions appropriately, the individual element leaders correctly giving the supplementary orders and acting appropriately. As Armet Company made it through the gates, I heard Rina order the Company to halt and form "Columns of Four to the Left, March!"

You took the bump right out of my mouth