675-08-23 - Horse Without Rider
Horse Without Rider | |||||||
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Summary: Jarvis Bainsworth is in the courtyard to greet the volunteers for his mission, when a riderless horse is brought in. | |||||||
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A late morning this is and activity is reaching its peak in the courtyard of Mergorand Castle. The tall building of the keep is towering to the north, whilst stables, a smithy and a huge building for servants are located to the east and west. The faint sound of sparring can already be heard coming from the area beyond the stables, the training yard, when the doors to the keep suddenly open and Lord Jarvis Bainsworth steps outside. The man is in his mid-thirties, his gait determined yet showing off the grace of a predator that is on the prowl, as he descends the stairs. A cautious expression is almost always present in his features, yet not quite pronounced at the moment, when he arrives at the fountain by the maple tree in the center, and a most expectant gaze is directed towards the Gate House.
Slider had been preparing, meaning he has found out as much as he can about where they are heading and what may come to pass or what they may come upon. Cold conditions, some healing salves, travelling attire, some rope and a few bits of survival gear. Still he wears his camo clothing, his hood over his head and wrapped nicely around him, easily keeping him warm if the time is near. So as he enters through the gate, he starts to head towards the entrance of the place but then he see's Jarvis and he smiles politely towards the man. Once up close and personal. "Lord." in the most polite way.
"Bring me my Dragon!" loud and very proud statement echoes in the courtyard. Two stable boys flinch a bit, bow deeply and run into the stables, while the young Princess Barbeta Brais slowly steps into the courtyard. She is wearing her usual and very simple clothes - perfect for riding. Her handmaiden - exotic beauty from the Golden Lion, and two guards are behind Princess. The company was slowly moving to the gates, but when Barbeta notices Lord Jarvis Bainsworth, she stops and just curiously stares at the man.
Shortly after, in fact only few moments after Slider's unobtrusive entrance, a rider comes into view, a cloak of yellow and green, slightly worn in places but overall well kept, billowing in a sudden gust of wind, revealing a plain chainmail, and the sword hanging by his side. Sir Baldwin of Equis rides into the courtyard, and dismounts when he has reached its center. A bow is offered to the Bainsworth, as Baldwin already knows the identity of the man from a short encounter at Threewater. "Lord Jarvis.", is offered in greeting, before the knight glimpses Slider and greets him as well. "Master Marcus! What pleasant surprise." Another bow will be offered to the Princess when she stops, although this one will be a silent greeting.
Lord Jarvis smiles when he sees Slider. "I see you are already well prepared, Master Marcus," he remarks, a faint smile curling his lips. "I am glad. The mission has already been delayed for much longer than I would have wished, still... It seems we can finally spring into action." The words are offered to Baldwin as well, who is greeted with a light nod. "Sir Baldwin." His gaze will flicker briefly back towards the gatehouse, but for now there is no more activity there but a group of retainers leaving for the city.
Apart from the princess and her retinue approaching. The Bainsworth will fall silent when he notices Barbeta, and offer her a deep polite bow, as courtesy demands it. "Your highness." The greeting indicating he is not really planning on engaging into a lengthy conversation with her.
Marcus does easily notice Baldwin come in, so loud and well a knight. Still of all others, that be the man he would take along, slower and probably get lost. So as Baldwin nods to Slider, he smiles back. "Sir Baldwin, I have heard a lot of rumors about you, some good and some not so good, we can talk once we head out about it." he says politely. It is then he notices the young lady, the Princess of the land and he gives her a bow of his head in respect and a smile. Like he is a stranger, he looks from afar, not saying anything but perhaps admiring, you never know with Marcus.
Barbeta nods for everyone, who greets her too. However, her look to Baldwin will be very, very cold. Though, she is silent. The girl just listens for what others have to say, while she moves closer to the Bainsworth. When she finds a moment of silence, a short pause, she asks, "Spring into action? Has something happened?"
Baldwin frowns a little when rumors are mentioned. Although the addition about them being good and bad makes that frown fade quickly again. "Of course," is his brief reply, not wishing to get further into that when the Lord and the Princess are present.
Sir Jarvis seems to have clammed up somewhat now that Barbeta is not only present but also starting to ask questions. "Nothing to concern yourself about, your highness. A rather... routine thing, if you will.", the Bainsworth replies, with a bit of tension in his otherwise polite tone.
Marcus nods to Baldwin at the agreement of speaking later on. Though at seeing Barbeta approach, he goes down to a knee, keeping his head down, showing respect. He says nothing else, but keeps from saying anything more.
Barbeta frowns slightly, seeing a man kneel in front of her. The girl shakes her head, "No need to do this..." She waves her hand at Marcus, "I am not one of these princesses who need all this... this..." And she shakes her head one more time, before looking back at Sir Jarvis, "Oh really? This is my home. Everything, what happens here is my concern. Even if the rat is found dead in the kitchen is my concern... For example, why that rat was in our kitchen at all..." And she fixes her curious sparkling gaze at Sir Jarvis.
If Baldwin would have noticed the cold look of the princess, it does not show in his mien. He will not kneel either though. Slider's gesture will earn him a slightly bewildered glance from the knight.
"With all due respect, your highness. Even if you are the Silver Leaf of the Maple, I am not to disclose any matter before you." Lord Jarvis Bainsworth clarifies with a slightly detached but polite tone towards the Princess. "If you are curious, I would be so bold as to ask you to speak to your father the king. Who authorized me to conduct some... minor investigations." Another bow is offered, a polite way of letting the princess know she can continue on her own business.
Another glance towards the gatehouse has Lord Jarvis frown though. A single rider comes into view, that won't really slow his horse down until he has reached the center of the courtyard. The rider is leading another riderless horse by the reins.
The Princess straightens, when she hears the man's answer to her. She peeks at the stables from where her Dragon is brought. Then she looks back at Sir Jarvis and grins, "Definitely. I will speak with my Father about it and also about your manners..." Then she haughtily turns and walks to her stud.
The rider in question was none other than Lady Saide Argyris. The minor noble-ish woman turned knight for a high act of valor emerges and once within the courtyard would stop both horses - dismounting from her own. She would allow one of the stable boys to tend to her own horse, but brings the riderless horse further into the courtyard and offers a bow, (because in armor it is hard to curtsey). "My Lord Jarvis... whilst patrolling to the north I found this horse without a rider. It's packs were full of...wolf hide, meat, and perhaps even teeth." Of course, even just remembering the stench of that meat had Saide near gagging, and yet she would hold her composition for the moment. A quick glance to the others within the courtyard and Saide would take a step back. "Forgive my intrusion..." Saying that much more before straightening herself and falling silent.
"Sir," Lord Jarvis will greet the lady, stressing her rather unique status as a female knight in the kingdom of Two Rivers. His curious gaze will turn towards the riderless horse next and he will gesture for either Marcus or Baldwin to go and check on the animal and its saddlebags. "Meat?", the Bainsworth inquires, one brow raised, in Saide's direction. "Did you leave the contents as they were when you found the horse?"
"Master Marcus, Sir Baldwin... Meet Lady Saide Argyris, a knight in service of the crown.", Lord Jarvis will say next, in a way of making introductions. "Lady Saide, this is Sir Baldwin Ivounel, although he likes to call himself Baldwin of Equis these days. And meet Master Marcus here, a man of many talents, languages being one of them."
He will speak as freely as he does now because Princess Barbeta has already vanished through the gatehouse, with her retinue in tow.
Marcus looks in the direction of the rider as it comes in with two horses. He stays silent for as long as possible as the rider dismounts and head in the direction that they are in. Until he is introduced he says not a word and even then he says not much, just nods to the woman knight. There is something about trust and he does not know this woman, he knows Baldwin and knows he will not stab him in the back. As he is asked to check the horse and its contents he does and actually pulls on the string to open to check things inside. Though he regrets it as soon as he does and closes it. Looking at Baldwin he motions they need to unfasten the bags from the horse, so at least they can dump the contents on to the ground if need be. If that is the case he will see what is inside, holding his breath as long as he can.
Baldwin offers a bow, even though Lord Jarvis's address of the woman did surprise him. "My lady," he will greet, once Saide has been properly introduced, before his grey-blue eyes shift to the horse and he steps closer, for an inspection. The smell is undeniable once he is closer, and his face twists a little in disgust, before he reaches to unfasten the saddle bags and carries them over to a free space in the courtyard, where he will empty one of them onto the ground, whilst dropping the other beside Marcus.
Large chunks of meat will drop out of the first saddlebag, uncooked, and already a few days old, so the stench is already quite hard to bear. Covering his face with his gauntleted hand, Baldwin will motion for Marcus to deal with the other saddle bag, while he turns for a brief report. "Meat, my lord; of some large animal, I'd say. It's already in early stages of decay, must have been intended for preservation, that didn't happen."
"Yes. I merely opened the saddlebags to see if I could spot any indication of who this horse belongs to - as it belongs to someone." Saide would speak, "But all the contents are as I found them." Affirming such a question before introductions were then made and Saide would smirk to the two other men. "Sir Baldwin - a pleasure. I've heard a few things of you and your family. Master Marcus, a pleasure to meet you as well." Saide's voice is thick with Two Rivers accent, her hair is cut short as if that of a male, but her armor has been custom made to fit the appropriate body type she has.
As she watches Marcus first step to the horse, and then Baldwin grab the saddlebags to dump them, the stomach of a lady is never quite hardened. She's already been smelling the stench for the length of time when she found the horse to bringing it here and so she would step away from the horse and the men who tend the saddle bags. Her attention going to Lord Jarvis after a moment. "Was that not the Princess I saw leaving here seeming rather...upset?"
One hand will move to cover the lower part of his face, as a means of protection against the stench, but the Bainsworth will step closer to eye those chunks of meat with attentive curiosity. "Hmm. Yes. A large animal.", he muses, moving down into a kneeling position to eye the already decaying remains more closely. "Sliced nicely up. Interesting. Seems the rider managed to kill a huge beast, lived long enough to skin it, but not to preserve it? The question is, what may have kept the rider from doing so..."
Saide's question has him look up and make a dismissive gesture. "The Princess wanted a report on what we are up to. I reminded her of the fact that I do not owe her any explanation on our actions, and if she'd like to know she'd have to ask her father, the King." The Bainsworth's voice sounds calm and faintly amused as he explains this. "She may have seemed displeased... but upset? No, not really." A soft chuckle follows as he brings himself up again, straightening and looking over to Marcus. "What do you have in there...?", he inquires, pointing to the other saddlebag.
Marcus looks towards Baldwin and then to the Lord and goes and looks inside the other saddle bag. It takes him a moment and then pulls out the wolf pelt and then pulls out the teeth of what may be the wolfs that may fit the pelt. "This is all that is in there. A hunter and someone who knew what he was doing." he states. Then he looks at the woman knight. "Where did you say you found this horse again?" his curiosity peeked now.
Baldwin meanwhile has moved back to the horse that had carried those saddle bags, his grey-blue eyes scanning the animal attentively. After all he is a man of Athereyne, the duchy that is among other things known for horse breeding, and his uncle Berec is the Commander of the Royal Cavalry for a reason. "This horse," he states, "is not really of a significant breed, I'd say it's a hybrid, not a horse a noble or knight would choose. Stepping closer his eyes will narrow. The horse will give a low snort, its head bobbing in the direction of the stables. "Ah. It has been here before. It's from the castle," the knight muses next, shooting Lord Jarvis an ominous glance, before he lets his hands trail over the flank of the animal. "Hmm, it shows some minor injuries as well, shallow cuts, that need to be treated. Seems it also had its share of action."
Saide would glance to Jarvis for a moment and then gives a soft chuckle. "Well, you were not wrong with whom she should make her inquiries to. I foresee her father taming what little air of annoyance she had about her." Stating that much before watching the men gather around those saddlebags. More power to them, as she was not stepping a foot closer to the contents of those saddlebags. Though her attention goes to Marcus after a moment and she gestures in a random direction. "From the North. Though it was headed towards this castle..." She would explain that much before her gaze would shift to Baldwin, a brow raising for a moment but she actually stays silent. With the horse having been here before, she wondered then if the rider would be a known person among the castle, and a questioning gaze would find Jarvis even if the lady knight stayed silent for the time being.
Marcus puts back the fur and teeth and then brings the saddlebag back to the Lord. Hearing the woman say where the horse was he nods to her. Then he looks to Baldwin and listens to his words, obviously trusting the knight on the horses than anyone else he knows. Instinctively he reaches to his lower back and then brings his hand back to his side, nothing present to show for. Then looking at Baldwin, he nods slowly. " Well, then we best get prepared and ready to go, we must find where the horse came from and as soon as possible." then he goes silent again, his voice calm and relaxed, though the look in his face shows the excitement.
Lord Jarvis Bainsworth nods pensively to Baldwin's observation. "Indeed," he mutters, raising a brow, as his gaze rests for a moment on the animal. "A thing to investigate, truly. I am not aware of any people of the castle that may have ventured to the north. At least not further north than Granville." A glance is shot Saide's way and he nods. "Aye, so this horse lost its rider and came all the way home, where its stable is... I will look into that."
He pauses, reaching out to accept the saddlebag with the pelt and the teeth, his hand vanishing briefly in there until it comes out with a fang, of impressive size. "This wolf must have been quite a monster of an animal. Certainly larger compared to the wolves of our kingdom... But yes, Master Marcus. I agree. I was about to brief you anyway, the intention being sending you off today, if possible. So... after you've brought your horses to the stables, I'd suggest we continue our conversation inside of the castle, in my office."
He will keep the saddle bag with the wolf's pelt and teeth in his hand, whereas the other smelly one will remain on the ground. "Please, get rid of this," the Bainsworth remarks to a passing stable hand, gesturing towards the decaying meat and the bag beside it that have already managed to attract a bunch of flies.
A nod comes from Sir Baldwin, when he hears the Bainsworth's words, and he will take the reins of his own horse and those of the riderless animal and lead them over to the stables.
Saide would give everything a moment more to settle before she would turn to approach Jarvis. "Shall I return to my post in the North, my Lord?" Though she was ever so curious about the horseless rider, where it had come from, and what exactly those large beasts were. Likely the rider was dead, which is why the horse returned without him, and that made Saide all the more curious. Plus, she felt it was only diligent for them to find the rider - dead or alive - and take care of them as appropriate. "Though, if I may be bold, I am curious about where that horse came from...and with your permission...would like to sit in on this discussion at least." A glance over as she watches Baldwin lead his own horse and the riderless one to the stables. A curious thing, indeed, before her attention would go back to Jarvis - awaiting his response.
The Bainsworth has already turned to walk back towards the keep. Saide's question makes him pause for a moment, and he shoots her a glance. "Forgive me, Lady Saide Sir. I thought it was clear you were invited to join us. In fact I would think it to be a good idea to include you in this mission, so what lucky coincidence that you should feel inclined to join yourself." He smiles, gesturing towards the stables. "Go and settle your steed for a moment there. I will expect the three of you along with some others in... let's say, half an hour in my office. That will leave you enough time to get some refreshments from the kitchens."
Marcus watches the exchange of words, listens and takes in the others with a knowledge of what may be coming or what they may be looking into. Still he does smile, obviously he is finding this a little exciting and perhaps hopeful that it may be something worthwhile for his time. So as the two knights start to take the horses to the stables, Marcus watches them. There is a grin after as they have gone further and a mischievous look to his eyes. Now he starts to head to the kitchen, eating food is nice, especially if they are to travel north. At least he knows he has not gone and wasted his time gathering supplies for himself.