The Tournament of Henpele - Chapter 5 - The Cheaters

Chapter 5 - The Cheaters

                The trio compared notes as they made their way to the meeting place. Sparrow had seen evidence of someone using sigils to control the wind; Annette had come up against an unstoppable opponent who wore the armour of the Lifesworn; and Graeme suspected that Sir Elan had enchanted his armour to keep him glued to the saddle. Discussion led Graeme to a common thread:

                "It's the Marshes," Graeme said. "Arielle's teammates, Sir Elan, and probably the cheating archer - they are all from the Marshes. I guess there's some truth to the old saying around here: nothing good comes from the Marshes."

                "That's cruel, Graeme," said Annette, "I'm sure they don't represent the whole of the Pennant Marshes."

                "That's, uh, the place that's mostly swamp to the east of this county, isn't it? With the tiny baronies," interjected Sparrow.

                "Yes. They can barely feed themselves and constantly end up overpopulated (courtesy of the complete lack of monsters in the swamp) which causes those living there to often turn to banditry. Hence the saying. They're also well known for knighting many who do not deserve it, and for nobility making up about ten percent of the population," replied Graeme.

                "They don't leave because that would mean giving up their titles and their land," added Annette. "I've always thought it's kind of sad."

                "I'd leave. But I can fly," said Sparrow. "You're right. It is sad."

                Cresting a hill that had blocked the field from their view they saw a group of officials gathered, awaiting their arrival. Three villagers and a knight - likely other witnesses - were also present.

                When they reached the gathered people, the head official (indicated by her fancier outfit and hat) greeted them. "The wandering heroes! Well met. The cheating parties should be here shortly - assuming they do not flee," she said.

                "That's unlikely, Sally. We can't do much except for stripping them of their prizes and barring them from future tournaments, Duchy wide. And it will happen regardless of their flight," said another official.

                "Spoiling my fun as usual, Bill. Irregardless, they should be here shortly," she replied, smiling when the other official winced at her use of 'irregardless'.

                "Cheating is a serious allegation for a knight - or anyone - to face. Being barred from tournaments can be troublesome, but the damage to one's reputation can be irreparable. This is not a joking matter," said Graeme, coldly.

                "Listen, ol' buddy, I'm meant to be incredibly drunk right now after two weeks of endless preparation and two days of running around like a madwoman - only I find out that I have to spend my time here straightening out some fucking cheaters. I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE AND IF I CAN'T MAKE A JOKE OF IT I'M GOING TO FUCKING EXPLODE," Sally said.

                "And you should calm down," she continued after a moment, "I'll deal with the cheating properly. Don't you worry your honourable and obviously balding head about it."

                Sparrow laughed as Graeme ran his hand through his hair reflexively. He became flush with embarrassment after he realised what he was doing.

                "I like her," Sparrow said between chuckles.

                Annette smiled, and said, "We'll wait with the - the other witnesses, I assume?"

                "Please do," replied Sally, waving her hand at the assembled witnesses.

                The group introduced themselves to the other witnesses. The knight, Sir Jerome, had come to relate the story of his recovering squire - who had struck Arielle again and again without effect. The villagers were Hubert, who had seen Sir Elan joust recently, and found his sudden gain in skill unusual; Frank who had come to confirm Jerome's story; and Riannon who had become suspicious of Elan in much the same way as Graeme. As they waited, another couple of witnesses - Elaine, another squire who had come up against Arielle and Benjamin (a traveling smith) who had noted the strange wind at the archery competition - arrived.

                A short time after the arrival of the last witness, a group of officials and guards arrived with those accused in tow. Sir Elan, Arielle and the knight she was a 'squire' too, her team-mates and their knights, the cheating archer and a young man in the robes of Naylenor Tower. A couple of others tagged along after the party, likely those who knew the accused; a pair of finely dressed noblewomen and a young blonde woman (almost still a girl) in robes.

                "Finally," said Sally - loud enough for all to here. With an ahem, she continued. "You lot have all been accused of cheating. Neil Goodshot, enough proof of your guilt has been found; especially considering that you were found busy chatting with the young man from Naylenor who has refused to give us his name. Your placing in the tournament is revoked, and you are hereby barred from tournaments in all the Duchies. Young man from Naylenor, your description will be circulated and should you be caught assisting someone cheat in a competition again you will be punished according to the laws of the Duchy you are caught in."

                "This is unjust!" called out Neil. To herself, Sparrow thought, So that's what his name was. ... Wait, I wasn't needed here at all?

                "I've been deputised to mete out justice as I see fit, we know you're guilty, and you're lucky I didn't decide to have your fingers broken instead. You can still hunt for a living. Be grateful," replied Sally.

                Neil grumbled, but kept quiet. Sally continued, "Secondly, squire Arielle, you are accused of being under the effects of magic granting you an unfair advantage in combat. Annette, please relate what you saw."

                At a gesture from Sally, Annette stepped forwards from the crowd of witnesses and began speaking. "After I struck her armour, part of it came free. Underneath I saw pure white armour - glimpses of which I had caught through scrapes in the paint - but I also saw details that I've heard mark the armour of the Lifesworn. Their armour is also said to be enchanted," she said, before moving stepping back into the group of witnesses.

                "Arielle, are you wearing the enchanted armour of the Lifesworn?" asked Sally.

                Arielle turned to those who had followed the accused, her brown eyes looking right at the young woman. Upon the woman giving her a nod, she spoke. "No. My armour is the armour worn by the Lifesworn, but it is not enchanted. And since those fools," she said, indicating the pair of nobles, "cannot afford to pay us, I am going to shed a little light on things.

                "I was one of the Lifesworn, in life. Now I am the only one who persists, as the rest have perished. I am a greater undead, turned by the very necromancer who plotted the downfall of the twelve nations. I came south with Iphoelia, the young woman over there, to explore the land for a time. Iphoelia is the necromancer's only apprentice - the first in ten thousand years, it has told us.

                "I was unstoppable in the melee because my body is powerful beyond human norms. Elan's armour was enchanted by Iphoelia, to add significant softening of impacts taken when desired - though side effects made it difficult for him to walk, and he demanded a means to deactivate it. This was all arranged with us by those two, who are the lords of the other competitors you have gathered. Is that sufficient?"

                "How dare you!" yelled one of the nobles.

                "How dare you!" retorted Sally. "It was unwise of you to expect discretion from those willing to help you cheat - especially when you could not even afford to pay them!"

                The nobleman who spoke glared at Sally, but remained quiet. "Iphoelia, did you enchant Sir Elan's armour?"

                "Yes," said the young woman. Her voice was strangely imperious; as if she outranked all present greatly. "I imbued it with my power in such a manner than any blows it takes strike my magic, instead of Sir Elan. There were difficulties as it was rushed, so I created a means for him to activate and deactivate the effect."

                "Very well," Sally replied, "Knights in service to either Baronet Harry of Third Stretch or Baroness Phyllis of Cardfield are barred from entering tournaments within Norduchy for ten years. The knights repsonsible are barred from competition for ten years as well; the squires who competed are barred until they have completed their training, however long it takes. All placings gained by any of you - which were, of course, first place in both the melee and joust - are revoked. All competitors shall move up a rank as there is not time for rematches.

                "Arielle, should you deceive those responsible for a tournament about your nature again you will be punished according to the laws of the Duchy you commit the deception within; and your description will be circulated amongst the Duchies along with that of Iphoelia. Iphoelia, none you know may compete in a tournament while you are present."

                Iphoelia and Arielle nodded, as did the knights and their squires. Then the other noble spoke up. "Are we to allow a monster - a Lifesworn fallen to darkness! - and her keeper to roam freely throughout the Duchies?" she said. "Think of the horrors they could commit!"

                "The Deadlands are not an enemy of the Duchy, and as such their agents - as terrible as they may seem - are not to be lynched by frightened fools. And yes, they might have done awful, horrible things in the war, but that is the nature of war. So they are free to go. But I will say that I have no control over the denizens of the Duchies, and that their description - and nature - will be spread to all," replied Sally.

                "Of course," said Arielle, passively.

                "Are there any other pleas or complaints?" asked Sally. None of those found guilty spoke - a witness had come forward, and her testimony was damning. At a nod from Sally, several of the officials started scribbling down notes - the findings of the hearing, descriptions and details of punishments and the guilty, details of the witnesses in case they were needed again.

                "Well, that was straightforward," said Annette. "I expected more twists and revelations - I mean, she was a Lifesworn!"

                "They are probably up to something," said Graeme, "but cheating in a county tournament is unlikely to ever be the cornerstone of a dangerous conspiracy. Just a matter of greed and a desire for glory."

                "I hope we don't run into them again. I hate dealing with magic," said Sparrow.

                "Really? I thought you liked magical stuff," said Annette.

                "Ah, mages more than magic. I'll tell you both the story some time. In short, mages make things very complicated and really annoying to deal with," replied Sparrow.

                Annette smiled in reply, and Sally's voice ended the conversation. "Alright, we're done here. I'm off to get very drunk. Annette, your team has moved into second place so be ready to take the reward; Sparrow, I know you have first place in the archery competition so be ready to accept that as well. Now shoo," she said.

                Having been shooed the trio started to head back up the hill and towards the feast, as did the other witnesses and the officials. The cheaters and associates headed in a couple of different directions, the knights, nobles and squires quite downtrodden.

                "Oh, yes, none of you cheating bastards are welcome at the feast. So don't come," added Sally - completely unnecessarily.