Lance, Cloak, Veil
Episode I: Pilot
On the 15th of First Seed, in the year AE 314 by the Imperial Count, under the light of the Lord and his guardian constellation, the Warrior, House York arrived at the town of Norcross for the wedding of James Hartigan and Alayna Madigan. Their marriage will bind their respective houses both politically and lineally, and is of particularly high profile among the matches made in the Rivermark. The wedding, which is to be preceded by a three day long tournament in honor of the bride and groom, is being attended by all of the Rivermark’s noble and knightly houses.
Most important among these houses are the Berwycks, Leywoods, Lynches, and Yorks, the last of these being the house of our protagonists. House Marten, whose lord rules the Rivenmark and to whom all these houses owe fealty, is also in attendance, as is a representative of High House Osroy, to whom the Lord Marten in turn pledges his sword. This wedding is a cause for celebration and mirth, but beneath the surface, not all is well in the county of the Rivermark.
On the outset of this occasion, our protagonists number three. Kean York, son of Lord Denys York and his wife, Lylah, is the young heir to House York and a promising leader to his subjects. He is accompanied by his good friend and half-brother, Nicolas Hart, a bastard whose parents are Lord Denys and an unknown woman hailing from a city-state in Etryca across the Three Seas. Lastly, there is Jon Dicksson, a scheming retainer to House York and, ironically, a eunuch in spite of his name.
After arriving at the town of Norcross and making themselves at home in House Hartigan’s Castle-on-the-Cross, our protagonist went their separate ways. Nicolas, knowing that he and his half-brother are to participate in the joust tomorrow afternoon, stopped by a local tavern known to Norcrossers as the Gay Horse, so named for the weathered sign above the door that has long been missing an ‘R.’ He laid low for some time, gathering information on his opponents and learning a great deal about the knights participating in the tournament. Young Kean York, keen (heh) on winning the favor and affection of a noble lady of high birth, was given a favor to wear into his joust by the young and beautiful Lady Katryn Hartigan, daughter of House Hartigan and sister to the groom.
While Kean York made a diplomatic misstep here and there in winning the favor of the Lady Katryn, it was Jon Dicksson, eunuch and scheming bastard, who made the worst choices of the day. House York has a long-standing rivalry with their neighbors to the south, House Lynch, and Jon Dicksson went to considerable lengths to win a few points for the Yorks. After digging up a bit of dirt on the Lord Lynch’s scion, Kyler, among the gossiping courtiers at Castle-on-the-Cross, Jon sent a courier along to Ser Kyler Lynch with the express intention of blackmailing him.
After meeting with Kyler at the Gay Horse, the two engaged in an unproductive exchange under the watchful eyes of Lynch retainers and Nicolas Hart, who was still gathering details about the tournament while nursing a tankard of ale. Kyler Lynch departed after mercilessly mocking Jon, who then left out the back of the Gay Horse into an alley. There, he was beset upon by a pair of muggers, suspiciously armed with Corscivan stilettos and more intent on cutting his throat than taking his wallet. Despite the combat capable bastard’s intervention and incapacitation of the two assailants, cut Jon Dicksson’s throat the would-be muggers did.
At this point, a hitherto unmentioned York cousin by the name of Myron appeared at Norcross.
At the conclusion of the afternoon, Kean York, his half-brother, and his cousin arrived at the rooms of the Lady Lylah York, who had summoned them for an important discussion with House York’s bannerman, Lord Ruttiger, and their longtime ally, Lord Leywood. Lady Lylah informed our protagonists that Lord Lynch intends on garnering support among the noble houses for his claim to a plot of York territory, and will present his case to House Marten for a verdict by the end of the tournament and wedding celebrations four days hence.
Over the next few days, it is imperative that House York work similarly to gather the support of the noble houses so that House Marten does not force the Yorks to hand over their land. A game of intrigue and deception is already in motion, and now our protagonists have been swept up into it, hopefully before it’s too late.
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Session was great. We’re looking for another player, maybe, if anyone’s interested. The system is the A Song of Ice and Fire Role Playing Game (SIFRP). Rulebook can be provided.
More next week.
1. Hartland
2. Westely
3. Rivervale
4. The Northern Marches
5. The Kingdom of Arleon
6. The Perencoast
7. The Vieric Tribelands
8. Corsciva
9. The first of the Three Seas
10. The Terlish Isles
