The Worlds of Kaomaris

Location:
The Harvest Mouse Palace in the City of Zendor, Main hall

People present:
Duke
Thor, Army Commander
Lucinda, Minister of agriculture etc.
Veer the snake, Head magician
Cobbs, Spokesman for the Peoples Union

Duke
Well I for one think that we should try and talk the Artificers over on our side instead of attacking them.

Thor
The ONLY way to defend ourselves here is to strike before they do. We need total control of our island before we can take over the bordering ones.

Lucinda
Why on earth do we want to attack our neigbours? We should instead start trading with them.

Veer
Sssire. We will be considered weak if we dont attack.

Duke
What do the people think, Cobbs?

Cobbs
What do you think? We get ripped off by cheap foreign farmers if you start to trade and if we go to war you will hand us a sword and ship us off to die!

Duke
Thanks, that is really positive and constructive. *sigh* You dont happend to have a suggestion?

Cobbs
Actually yes. If we re-do the system so that it benifits the ones with poor harvests then we will soon have a larger middle class and close to no poverty. Next thing we
do is to raise the taxes on the ones with large harvests so that the outcome for the ones with good harvests becomes the same as for the poor farmers.

Thor
Then what is the point of trying? The outcome is the same. I say we forget about the domestic harvests and train the farmers into troops. Then we can get crop in our bordering countries.

Lucinda
Always this war propaganda. I think Cobbs has a point in what he is saying but in order for it to work politically then I think we should alter it somewhat. Maybe if we use the current system as a base and after a trial period of 6 months we evaluate it and go from there.

Duke
So we simply do nothing is what you are saying. What if we......

A pigeon comes flying in through a glass window. Crashes into the table and wipes it clean from all the papers.

Veer
Sssire, we have mail.

Duke
Really? You think? Man, we really need to get a better mailsystem.

Philemon slowly remove the last brick below the bars in his prison cell. The moon shines on him from outside and it almost looks like it is watching his actions, following his every move.

“Soon I will be free again” Philemon whispers to himself. “They have kept me in this cell for all to long. As soon as I am on a safe distance from the Palace guard I will plan my return.”

Philemon used to be the leader of the largest opposition party in the city of Zendor. But when the Duke hired Veer he immediately planted some evidence in Philemons house. Plans of a rebellion. The result was inevitable. The Duke sentenced him to 10 years in prison. This was over a year ago. Over a year has Philemon been chipping on the concrete and bricks below his window bars. Carefully removing small pieces and hiding it with a solid front part of a brick.

The last bar is removed and Philemon peeks out to see if it is clear. “Good. No one in site. All I need to do is to sneak over the courtyard without the guards in the watchtowers discovering me. If I move silent and swift they will never have a chance.”

He jumps out and moves fast over the gravel. His bare feet makes almost no sound at all against the ground. As he approaches the front gate he hears a strange sound. Sort of like when a strong wind blows in through a small window. He looks around, desperately trying to locate the sound. Is it the guards? No, it can’t be. He stands up straight, stretching his body trying to look above a small stable nearby. Could it be the horses? Maybe they have..

THUMP!!!

Philemon screams out in agony! Someone has attacked him from behind. The pain is making him numb and he has trouble turning around. He expects to see one of the guards with a sword ready instead he finds…nothing. He gets nervous since his previous yell has alerted the ones in the watchtowers. It must be an arrow then, he thinks and starts feeling his back expecting to find a wooden arrow, latched deep into his flesh. Another surprice. He feels something warm and soft. What the..? It is moving! Terrified he pulls it out and throws it on the ground in front of him. A pigeon? Is that a letter tied around its leg? Philemon is so startled by this that he almost forgets his problematic situation. The guards! He turns against the nearest watchtower.

THUMP!!!

Now that was an arrow.

The two guards in the main watchtower were discussing who they thought would win the jousting match over a glass of mead.

Guard 1 (Lorcan), " I KNOW that Flaming Arrow is the best horse in this competition, which is why I think that Galahad will take this tournement.

guard 2 (Faelan), " Well, Flaming Arrow may be a wonderful stead, but Galahad is the king of fools. I have seen court jesters who are smarter than he."

1, "Galahad may not be the brightest competitor in the competition, but he is definatly the strongest. Who do you think will be abel to beat him?"
2, "Adamnan will win this trounement without a doubt." " he combines intelligence and strength with a horse that could pull a castle."
1, "Adamnan has been ailed with a shoulder injury recently, and that is a major overstatement about his horse."
2, " I can see that you do not pay any attention to the game, you are more of a fool than Galahad."
1, "Cormac was right, you are worth no more than dung."

As Faelan throws a fist at Lorcan's face, a pigeon flys past his face at an immense speed.
Lorcan ducks the punch, and his fist finds it's home in Faelan's stomach, sending him sprawling along the floor.
Lorcan stands up, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees a man laying on the ground outside of the prison.
Lorcan recognizes the man, and quickly pulls an arrow from his quiver and fires one into the man's back. He turns to see Faelan with with an arrow pointing at him...

The moon shines on him from outside and it almost looks like it is watching his actions, following his every move.

The two guards in the main watchtower were discussing who they thought would win the jousting match over a glass of mead.

For some reason I always thought the jousts were during daylight hours??????


edited to add
Nick can I get credit for this?

They were discussing it, not watching it. There isn't a law against talking about jousting at night...