The Tournament of Henpele - Prologue - The Arrival

Prologue - The Arrival

                "This tournament ground is not very impressive," said Sparrow, looking down from the top of the hill the party had just crested. Below them lay Henpele town and castle; the capital of Henpele County. Beside it, built over several fields, were the grounds for the upcoming tournament - areas cordoned off for melees, an archery range, several jousting lists and a sign challenge for mages skilled in that art. For a county tournament, however, it was not particularly impressive.
                "Norduchy is one of the safest duchies, Sparrow," said Graeme. "And Henpele County is surrounded by other counties. There are fewer knights here than elsewhere, and thus a smaller competition. On the bright side, the prizes are often greater (though the knights are more skilled at tournaments than they may otherwise be, as there is often little else to do)."
                "When we get closer you'll probably be more impressed," added Annette, "Places like this may have smaller grounds, but they do put a lot more effort into decor and entertainment."
                "I hope we - or even just I - manage to attend the next King's Tournament," replied Sparrow. "That will be truly impressive, I feel."
                "Too much politicking," said Graeme, "too much cheating, and far too long. I would advise taking a look, no more. It is the time wandering knights are needed most; since the vast majority of knights make their way in to compete."
                "Your bitter feelings aside," said Annette, "perhaps we should discuss some of the competition here?"
                The conversation successfully moved to more useful topics, the party continued on their way.

                After settling into an inn (the Boisterous Crab) the party relaxed through the evening. There were still a couple of days to pass until the tournament, which each party member intended to spend practicing. Graeme and Annette were both going to enter the melee and joust (though the knight and squire events respectively), and Sparrow was going to enter the open archery competition (she had sworn for a while when told that there were three separate events, though she became happier when she discovered the open archery event had the greatest prize as few knights, or squires, were good archers).
                Both days passed without incident, with Annette and Graeme training against one another to refresh their skills against human opponents, and Sparrow spending time examining passage of the wind through the archery range, as well as ensuring her shots from the ground remained true. Sparrow was pleased to discover that she could compete in the competition; and also that there was a second competition for trick shots that she could enter.
                As the day before the tournament wound down, they relaxed at the inn, talking about the competition that had arrived. There were no wandering master archers present (with the probable exception of Sparrow), but a few of the Knights who had been present in Two Crags had wandered down to Henpele. This included Sir Peter of Norduchy, a nephew of the Duke himself, who was renowned as a true champion of the joust. There were also several strong knight contenders in the melee - "More than enough to see me right pummeled," said Graeme on the topic - but, as was usual, information on squires was less well known.
                "The only name I recognise is Red Roger, and not only was he knighted recently, he was barred from melees a couple of years ago. His name comes from his tendency to see red in battle - entering a rage - and this led to a few, um, incidents in the past," said Annette when quizzed by Sparrow.
                "So what are your chances?" asked Sparrow. "Well, what do you think they are, rather."
                "My chances are poor," said Graeme. "I cannot out do Sir Peter in the joust, nor those who follow for the chance to best him. And the melee has never been my strong point. Annette, however, will likely do well in the melee; though not in the joust."
                "Our horses aren't for jousting, which is a disadvantage," said Annette. "Graeme's actually really good; he might even cause an upset or two if he gets lucky. But I'm just mediocre with a lance since I prefer to fight on foot - which is almost all we ever do anyway."
                Sparrow nodded, and sipped her soup. She had tried to play it safe, ordering a simple vegetable soup with boring ingredients, but the cook had added far too much salt and it tasted like seawater. "Remind me to avoid getting soup here again," she said.
                The next day, the tournament began.