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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Graham frowned as he looked around, the trees around him only seeming to get denser and thicker, as he pulled Triumph to a halt. "I hate to say it, Triumph," he said with a frown, "but I think we might be lost. It's okay, though! At least the tournament doesn't start until tomorrow, so we've got plenty of time. I was just hoping to get there to see everyone, you know, make sure they're getting settled, maybe have enough time to go see the Fantastical Floating Island? Let me just take a moment to check the map."

Reaching into his cloak to root around for his map, Graham slipped off of Triumph...

...and straight into open air. Not realizing just how close to the cliff's edge he was, he immediately went tumbling down the steep mountainside, head over heels, again and again and again, bouncing off of rocks, scrambling through bushes, narrowly missing tree-trunk and scattering wildlife...except at least one time where the tree definitely got in his way, and, stunned by the impact, he fell to the side and continued tumbling again until, finally, he landed roughly on his bottom, blinked a little from the whole ordeal, and held out his hand to catch his cap as it came tumbling down. Fitting it back onto his head, he sighed, picked himself up, and looked up forlornly from where Triumph squeaked far above.

Then trotted confidently into the woods, and Graham sighed again, shaking his head. Triumph would stay the path up there, but there was no way he was getting back up to Triumph! "Well, then," he said to himself, "guess I'll take the low road..."

With that, he set off, guided by a sign that helpfully pointed the way, just a few more miles to the East. And as he started down the path, something caught his attention. It sounded like....marching? With a renewed sense of dread he couldn't quite explain rising up inside of him, Graham rushed forward, to where there was a ledge where a bridge seemed like it might have gone, and, across the river, he saw it. A procession. A promenade. A....PARADE?

"Hey!" Graham shouted from the other side of the river, bouncing up and down and waving his arms to get their attention. "Over here!"

But it was to no avail. The knights and their mounts kept marching forward, flanked by Daventry Guard, leaving him behind. "I could have sworn the Parade of Hopeful Knights was scheduled for the next day!" he opined. He should have been with them! Marching with Triumph!

It seemed his first few minutes in Daventry were off to a terrible start!

He started back down the road, deep in thought, then he heard his phone buzzing at him and, momentarily distracted, pulled it out to have a look.

"Oh! It's Arden!"

He frowned as he read it, sighed, and quickly typed out a response.

I know! I just saw it a bit ago! I've run into some trouble and I'm stuck on the other side of the river but I hope to figure something out soon!!

Did you get to see it too, then? The parade? I'm so upset I missed it! It wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow!!

Do you need some help? We can maybe run and get Professor Blackstone or something?

Or solve a bunch of tiny little puzzles in an almost Rube Goldbergian fashion that somehow ended with Graham getting across the river!

"Y'all," she said aloud, "Graham's not in the parade. He's stuck in the other side of the river."

Graham frowned at his phone a little, because, on the one hand, he really didn't want to miss out on anything poetant, and, on the other hand, this was his mistake and he felt he should make it right by his own efforts instead of putting anyone else out. But a good knight knew how to use his resources well, and everyone knew that friendship was the greatest resource of all!

For having missed the first event, it sure felt like he was already in the middle of a trial, indeed!

maybe, is what he ultimately concluded. we'll see if I can't figure something out. If not, I might need your help! But, in the meantime, you guys just enjoy the parade and maybe suss out my competition a little! Hopefully I'll be there soon!

Pretty sure the greatest resource of all was chronomancy. Or maybe that was just the greatest magic. One of those.

Let us know ASAP either way, okay? We're here 4 u

"He's gonna try to get across on his own, but he may need our help. Until then he asked us to keep an eye on his competition for him. See what we can figure out about them."

So far, Arden had figured that most of them were very shiny.

"That's terrible!"

Thank you for stating the obvious, Belle.

"We've got to help him."

"I think he wants to try for himself first," Arden said. "Maybe like some kind of 'a knight can't stop at the first difficulty' thing?"

Which was why Arden was not a knight. Because if the choice came down between go big or go home, why wouldn't she choose to go home? Home was where all her stuff was.

"A Knight should also know how to Utilize Resources," Belle pointed out. "Like us! But wanting to do it on his own makes sense."

Arden shrugged wildly. "He does want us to watch the competition, though. See what we can glean about them."

Belle's eyes lit up. "Oh, I like that! A little quest of our own. Should we take notes?"

She had a little notebook in her bag because of course she did.

Arden did not because Liliana and Senshi were the nerds of the group, so she was definitely gonna be dependent on Belle keeping track of what they spotted.

"Yes, absolutely," she decided. "That's also utilizing his resources."

"Have you noticed anything particularly interesting yet?" Belle asked.

"Besides the lack of our favorite Knight-to-be and Triumph?"

"That I have no idea what I'm looking for," Arden said immediately. "Also that the birds here are much friendlier than the ones on Fandom, and in this place, puns are practically currency."

That last one earned a sigh.

"Graham had to have honed his wordplay skills somewhere."

Belle found the puns charming.

"Do we have unfriendly birds in Fandom? I never noticed."

Belle didn't spend much time with birds as a general rule.

"Now...as to what to look for... someone with armor that's too shiny may have no experience wearing it. Let's see if anyone looks very nervous. Or if anyone looks suspicious."

How they'd be able to tell from here was a mystery.

"I get bullied by birds on Fandom a lot," Arden admitted with a sigh. Which was just enough of a Fandom weird thing that she was pretty sure she could get away without having to explain it.

"...How do we tell if armor is too shiny versus shined for being in a parade?" Yeah, she was definitely deferring to the expert here.

"Polished is different from new," Belle said. "Look, that fellow there? His armor is nicely polished. But that one looks like his is brand new! And he moves so stiffly."

Gotta break in the leather bits, dude.

"Oh I see," Arden said, not seeing any such thing. "Look for the guys walking stiffly. And, the obviously brand new armor."

Nope. Not even a little bit.

"Exactly," Belle said with a firm nod. "Now, have you noticed anything yet? Anyone looking particular imposing to you? Or nervous?"

Or likely to cheat, maybe?

"Uhhh..." Fake it till you make it, maybe? "How about that guy?" she asked, pointing at a small clump of Hopefuls. "You see him? You know, the one with the kinda sketchy face."

Sorry, random guy who happened to exist where her finger was pointing. Your face was probably fine? Maybe?

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

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.

Re: The Parade of Hopeful Knights! - ToK, Day 1 - 05/06.