pun_king | The Kingdom of Daventry; Monday [05/06] - Day ONE of the Tournament of Knights!

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The Kingdom of Daventry; Monday [05/06] - Day ONE of the Tournament of Knights!

It was a beautiful, gorgeous day in Daventry. Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, there was a touch of a breeze blowing through the thick canopy of trees that spread over the lush land, while adorable critters frollicked and played. It was just the sort of day to usher in the beginning of a great and exciting Tournament of Knights! The Daventry Inn was ready to open its doors to visitors from far and wide, competitors and spectators alike! Come one, come all, for the time had come, for the Tournament to begin.

Settled among majestic mountains and thick, mysterious woods, the Kingdom of Daventry called for the bold, the brave, and the wise, under the watchful eye of its impressive castle. The bridges over its many roaring rivers might be out, making journeying too far beyond the village and the castle grounds a bit difficult, but the call of adventure was in the air, and, in a few short days, there would be a new knight amongst their ranks. Who would find themselves with this new prestigious title? Only time would tell!

[[ it's time, it's time! Come one, come all (especially if you've gotten an invitation, but even then, the portal is very open! Day one of the tournament! NFB for distance, OCD is up! Today is mostly a lot of "interact with the NPCs and each other" day, with the exception of when I get the chance to post plot-related things later in the day. Huzzah! ]]

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Once a solution was (eventually, to be played out in the comments, naturally), the knights have all been officially entered in as competitors in the Tournament, and the announcement has been made that tomorrow will feature the Hunt for the Eye of a Hideous Beast! Yay. Competitors may start now, but they are expected to return to Headquarters tomorrow at five to present their Eye of a Hideous Beast to prove they have what it takes to be a member of the Daventry Guard! Who will show they have the mettle to continue? Only time will tell! Until then, enjoy a nice quiet evening in Daventry, and tomorrow? The real fun begins!

In the meantime, the guests and knights have the evening to themselves to enjoy! Feel free to mod adventures about the town or the kingdom, put where you are in the subject line so others can know where to join you, and get ready for the real excitement to begin bright and early in the morning!

Confident in his ability to procure his Eye of a Hideous Beast by the deadline tomorrow, Walter Harris Ignatius Sally Percival Eduardo Ramon Jr. the Third of Modesto, aka Whisper, had a much more important task ahead of him for the evening:

Being there to receive all of his adoring fans!

Why else would there have been such a migration of people to this small hamlet of a kingdom for the Tournament if not to catch a glimpse of bright, beautiful, shining HIM??

"Now, now, now," he declared, as he posted up outside the inn with a chuckle, striking a series of dynamic poses as he spoke, "never fear, loyal fans! There is more than enough of ~Whisper~ to go around! No need to clamor! Just form a single-file and orderly line, please! You'll all have your chance! Whisper can do it!"

"...Who?" Arden asked in a whisper to whoever was next to her. "Also, wow. Did his parents actually name him that? Or is this one of those 'nobody ever nicknamed me what I was younger so I made up something on my own' kinda things?"

"I have no idea," Belle murmured back. "But I wouldn't want to use my whole name in his case either."

Oh, look at miss one-name-only here.

"But he did," Arden pointed out. "He could have just introduced himself as Walter? Or even Walter Ramon, Jr.?"

She probably would have just side-eyed this guy a lot, but the whole assumption that everyone was here to see him rankled her.

"...I'm gonna get in line."

"May I join you?" Belle asked. "I'm very curious now."

Whisper was giving off Gaston vibes for some mysterious reason.

"Sure," Arden said, "the more the merrier. I just wanna get an idea of what his whole deal is."

Which absolutely included eavesdropping on conversations in line, too.

"If we learn anything we can share with Graham," Belle said, nodding. "I'm just intrigued by this fellow here."

"My name is Liberty," Libby pointed out, in a whisper right back and a shrug of her shoulders, "I don't think I'm in any position to criticize someone named Whisper. But he seems very confident in himself, doesn't he?"

"Yeah," Arden said, lips pressed together. "He sure does."

Hey! Hey Belle! She found one!

"The question is if he's that confident because he's got the skills to back it up, or if he's got something up his metal sleeve."

Libby tilted her head a little at that, peering at the would-be knight thoughtfully, with maybe a slight wince as the setting sun glinted off his armor just right to get in her eyes. She lifted a hand to shield.

"Hard to tell, this early in the tournament," she mused. "But I'm certainly reminded of the story of David and Goliath. The bigger they are, after all...or, in this case, the bigger their ego..."

Her eyes did trail over toward another one of the knights she recognized from the parade lumbering over to a quiet corner of the courtyard, seemingly intent to be left to his own devices, but if they were talking about size, that one was definitely taking the cake with his hulking form and menacing horned helm that gave her a little bit of a compulsory shiver.

"That guy, you gotta be quick to fight, I think," Arden said. "Cause you're not gonna outmass him and if he gets a good hit--"

Yeah, not great.

"But dodge a lot and try to get to vulnerable areas...unless that's not considered 'knightly' or whatever."

Yes, Arden. Fighting dirty for survival was different than tournament fighting.

"Graham's pretty quick, at least," Libby said hopefully. "And I can't see him fighting in a way that isn't anything but knightly. I was asking him a little more about it; apparently, the last day is a random draw for who competes against who in the final tests: Wits, Speed, and Strength." She frowned a little, hating to say it, but it was true. "I think we know where his weak spot's going to be in those..."

Maybe he'd get paired up with the very short knight hopeful for that one? He looked like he could be scrappy, but Graham was easily taller than him by half!

Which gave him reach, at least!

"How do you figure out if a knight is clever, that's another question," Arden said. "Strong and fast are pretty easy, but witty..."

She paused. "If it's a pun battle, hand to the goddess..."

And no one please mind the sudden "Ah, fu-....I mean, zards!" coming from the small, outside smithing area outside the blacksmith shop as Amaya dropped a hammer right on her toe at that name.

She didn't even wince at the pain, though; she was too busy staring daggers across the courtyard at the knight-to-be, doing everything in her power to convince herself that she had to have heard that name incorrectly.

She had to have!

Oh, but she definitely hadn't. Because that would mean Irene had, too.

And...oh. Oh. She had spent quite a lot of time thinking (in a slightly jealous sort of way, very normal) about Zephyr's mysterious father, and yet somehow, this gentleman was even better than everything her mind had conjured up.

Her eyes, as wide as saucers, drifted from Whisper to Amaya, back again, and again, as her mouth fell open very slightly.

"Oh my god."

And then: "Maybe I'll go get his autograph."

The bridge variety were not the only trolls around, this week, it seemed.

Edited 2024-05-06 21:13 (UTC)

And Amaya's gawking face turned withering as it turned to meet Irene's. "It couldn't be," she insisted. "That's got to be a different Whisper!"

Big, popular name in these parts that it was.

Surely, the fact that she could practically see Zephyr in each and every one of those poses and hear her in that catchphrase was also mere coincidence.

"Oh, sure," said Irene, in an echo of the narrative. "Loads of people named that. Practically like Jennifer, or David, or something. Can't go anywhere without running into three, maybe four Whispers. I bet this one was Whisper A. or whatever all through his primary school classes."

Also, yes, she'd met Zephyr. And that, over there, was absolutely her father. Look at those mannerisms!

"He seems cute."

Would Irene have had as much fun with this if not for the declarations made a few weeks prior? Who knew. But security really made it a lot easier to find this all hilarious, that was for sure.

"He seems ridiculous," said Amaya, who would insist that the lady doth not protest too much, because shehad no intention of being a lady about any of it. "And how could you even tell, in that armor? It clearly fits poorly, look at those proportions! How is it possible for someone's head to look that small? Probably a whole brain cell in there. That can't possibly be him!"

Great, now add that to the pile of things that were going to be keeping Amaya up at night....

"He seems very muscular," Irene suggested, "and maybe that's why his head seems disproportionately small?"

She wanted, desperately, to know if his name was an acronym, too.

(People who lived in glass houses with men named Sherlock should not throw stones, Irene.)

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The Kingdom of Daventry; Monday [05/06] - Day ONE of the Tournament of Knights!

Evening in Daventry - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

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Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

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Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

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Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: In Front of the Daventry Inn - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.