I know roughly where I am
But I have no idea when I am
The knight's surcoat is quartered red and blue, which probably means something to someone who knows about heraldry. His shield has a red background with a golden… Snake? Embossed on it. I can't see any sort of retinue which suggests 'Bretonnia' rather than 'The Empire'… I think? I would expect a knight to at least have a
small retinue. I could ask the ring what language he's speaking, but without a record to compare it to it wouldn't mean all that much.
I take the sorceress's delight in petty cruelties and replace it with one for petty kindnesses.
Why isn't he advancing? Is it because I'm not threatening one of the locals? Or-. Ah. There's no
obvious way for him to actually
get to the boat. He could probably wade to the boat in full plate if he
wanted, but the tide is turning and his footing would be uncertain. Plus he'd be completely open to any crossbow bolts fired by the crew. He could grab one of the small fishing boats, but that would involve even more difficulty. I doubt that he knows how to use one.
"Might I ask your name, sir knight?"
"I am Mallobaude du Carcassonne, Questing Knight sworn to the Lady!"
That clears
that up. I'm in Bret-. No… Wait.
"I realise that you are obliged to follow the Lady's signs wherever the quest takes you, but are we actually
in Bretonnia?"
"Are you a
fool as well as a
Hellspawn?"
"More
ignorant than foolish, though I'm sure I have my moments. And if I could beg you for the
date?"
"The year is fifteen thirty one, it is the thirteenth day of the month of Vendémiaire, we are in the Duchy of Mousillon and
I will have your head!"
"
Thank you! Though I'm not clear
why you want my head?"
"You are a daemon!"
"No I'm not." I point to the elves-. I
reinforce the bonds which were starting to fade a little. "They just
assumed I was because it was the only point of reference they had."
"Come over here and say that!"
"I don't think that would be a good idea."
The sorceress
shakes her head as she tries to make sense of her own partially-rewritten motivations.
I can see that her desires are not meshing at all, and that's probably making her
profoundly conflicted.
"If you are not a daemon, then what are you?"
"Oh, just some random mon-keigh-"
The captain isn't
quite able to prevent himself from letting out an exhalation of shocked amusement.
"-with a potent artefact."
"A mon-keigh!" Seeing that I've already noticed he doesn't bother concealing his delight at the idea. "At least you know your place!"
"A
what?"
Right, the translation isn't mutual. "Mon-keigh. It's an elven word meaning 'lesser intelligent species'. Basically anything that isn't an Old One, a slann or an elf."
"You are a man."
"Yes. I spotted this reaver ship as it came in and decided to stop it."
The knight's eyes dim a little. "Very well. Bring the picaroon here, that I may slay them as the Lady commands."
"You are.. lawfully able to sentence and execute criminals?"
"Verily."
"Okay,
slight problem there. I've already offered them parole."
"You have no authority to do so!"
"I didn't think there was any authority in the area! Look, I offered them a choice between death at my hand, death at-" I gesture to him with my right arm. "-
your hand, as it turns out, and my altering their minds in order to make them less evil."
"It matters little whose hand wields the blade, but how can their misdeeds and crimes be paid for if not with their deaths?!"
"Is that an actual question, or are you stating that they can't be?"
He hefts his sword in the half-handing hold.
"I will
slay you for your impudence, cur!"
"That seems unlikely. Ah, one moment." I turn back to the corsairs. "Did anyone actually want to be handed over to the local authorities?"
No one moves.
"Just to be clear, you're choosing between annihilation at my hand and…" I look at the sorceress, then turn back to Mallobaude. "Could you possibly wait until I've finished one as an example?"
"One
what?!"
"The way I see it, killing a slaver doesn't free those they abducted or resurrect those they slew. In the same way that if you put a debtor in prison they're never going to be able to earn enough money to pay off their debt. A
better approach would be one in which they were able to pay off their debt to society through productive work."
"You would commute their death sentence to one of
labour!?"
"I would effectively be-. Look. Could you wait until after I've finished? Nothing I'm doing would make it impossible for you to kill them
afterwards, and you'll be able to get a better idea of the result of what I'm doing."
"
You invade the lands of Bretonnia, steal my rightful quarry and ask that I await your pleasure?! Nay, churl, you shall satisfy me
now!"
He thrusts the point of his sword into the ground.
"
I challenge you to single combat!"
The sword glows and
whow. It's like.. I'm in a tunnel, the edge distorting the rest of the universe like a… Concave lens. I lose contact with my constructs immediately,
and… No, can't get through.
"You shall not escape me now!"
And the 'back' of the tunnel is being pulled in, forcing me to come closer to him.
"True, but the corsairs almost certainly
will." I
focus, and orange plate armour appears around me. "Because you have no way to catch them."
"It matters not! The Lady is with me! I shall never back down! I shall never falter in my devotion!"
"Okay,
no." I stop being pushed towards him when I'm about five metres away, and he draws his sword from the ground and takes a stance. "Is there any way I could persuade you into not doing this?"
"Insult has been given and insult will be answered! Draw your weapon!"
I land and
send bands of orange light into the ground. They surround a column under the ground just in front of him and send it into subspace, a construct arch being the only thing supporting the topsoil. And then I
hold out my right hand and create sword and shield constructs.
"Alright. If you insist. Come at me, Sir Mallobaude."
Eyes fixed on mine he advances, and then disappears straight down. I take the excavated soil out of subspace and pour it into the hole, burying him up to his neck in loose soil.
"Craven coward!"
"It's hardly my fault that you didn't check your footing." I look around and the 'challenge arena' fades away, and the corsairs are hurriedly making sail. "If you'll excuse me, I've got a sentence to carry out. I'll come back to free you once I've finished."
