Re: [D2, EM] Divine Retribution II (Closed)

[Benedict Marsten]

Ben is glad his face is covered by his helm. Firstly to not show his smirk at Nathan's dramatic speech. Then to not show his surprise at the swiftness of Nathan's kill.

He pulls his helm off placing it on his saddle pommel. His Cheshire grin striking a far contrast to Nathan's cold calculated smile. It was a fine morning. Up early. Enemy crushed. All his men going home. And now watching a master at work.

[url=Survival roll Her Lady's Lance][/url]: 1d6 3 Intact
[url=Survival Roll Golden Arrows][/url]: 1d6 5 +1 training
[url=Survival Roll Roxton Cav][/url]: 1d6 3 Intact

[url=Survival roll Bandit Infantry][/url]: 1d6 1 Destroyed
[url=Survival roll Bandit Archers][/url]: 1d6 1 -3 training = destroyed

[Nathaniel Mason]

After the duel, most of Randolf's men were far more co-operative. Nathan began the rather exhaustive task of questioning as many as he could. Uppermost in his mind was determining if the men had acted on their own initiative or as agents for someone else. Had the use of Blackwood shields simply been to divert suspicion, or was there a more sinister political reason. Randolf's second, Pate was most likely to have the answers, but Nathan sought to gather as much information as he could before he spoke to the man. Occasionally he had to deal with the belligerent (ie stupid), once being spat in the face, but for the most part the heat of battle was cooled... and death by impalement was even worse than burning.

He came to a good looking young man his own age, perhaps a couple years younger. Athletic and agile of build, he waited patiently for his turn. "
So, do you seek the Seven's mercy?"


He looked up with clear green eyes. "
No millord. I worship the old Gods, and I was not at the attack on the Septry."


"
Oh?"
replied Nathan with a slightly bored expression. "
Why is that?"


The boy kept his gaze level. "
I know other 'ave said the same."
he continued. "
You 'ave no reason to believe me, and that is what it is, but it's true, and true for the younger ones and for a couple of the others. Some of us stayed back to guard the camp, and the young boys do'na fight. I 'ave no proof to give ya, nor secrets you 'ave not heard already, so you can do as ya wish with me, but they should be spared as they 'ave done nothing against your Gods."


Nathan's eyes narrowed. His gaze penetrating. Of the many men he'd questioned, this was the first who had argued for others rather than trying to save his own skin. "
What is your name?"


"
Taron"


"
Tell me, Taron. Would you be willing to betray your fellow men? Point out the ones who have lied to me?"


Taron thought for a moment. "
I will point out the ones who did'na go. If there are others who 'ave lied about goin' or not, that is between you an' them an' no concern of mine."


A good answer. Nathan liked the young man, and more importantly believed him.

Nathan turned to Benedict.

"
Lord Marsten. I am a man who believes that justice should be tailored to the individual, and no-one should bear the burden of crime simply by association. If there are those here that played no part in this vile attack, I would see them spared, and I do not think the Gods would want to see their justice fall on those not guilty. You are the ranking peacekeeper here, what are your thoughts?"

[Benedict Marsten]

"
They may not be guilty of the attack on the sept, but they are guilty."
Ben, thumbs hooked in his sword belt, walks a slow circle around Taron.

"
However I do agree a punishment should be tailored to the individuals crimes at times. Perhaps these men, not directly involved, wish to help rebuild the sept and lend there service for an extended time? It may help cleanse their souls of taint by association."

[Nathaniel Mason]

"
Lord Marsten speaks wisely, and perhaps protects me from my weaknesses. Since most of those who were not present are young, they will benefit from a period of proper spiritual guidance. While you may not be guilty of the Septry attack, would you say that you are innocent, Taron?"


The young man lowers his gaze. "
There is a small 'andfull I would say that of."
he replies. "
I am not one of 'em."


"
Very well."
continues Nathan. "
Once I finish my questioning, you will point out those who stayed behind that day. We will make allowances for them... and hang the ones who have lied."


Nathan gave a small flicker of a smile as those who had been listening to this conversation quickly recalculated what they were going to say.

"
You understand what I will do if I find you have been false with me."


Taron nodded. "
Yes, millord. I think I understand completely."



They moved on, quickly finishing the questioning of each man. In the end they were divided into three groups. Most would eventually find their way to the Wall. A handful, mostly boys, would lend their hands in service to the Sept, and a small remaining group would end their miserable lives on spikes in front of it.

The sun hand climbed to it's highest point before they finally turned their attention to Randolf's second, Pate.

[Reader]

Time would tell as to how the rest of the force under the royal flag would regard proceedings, and how the charges levelled in the King's original summons would be answered in the final judgement.

This was far from Pate's mind however, having observed Nathaniel and Lord Marsten's brand of justice at first hand.

Pate seemed a chastened, his tongue loosened by what had gone before, and further still by being made to wait.

He covered his eyes from the sun as he looked up.

[OOC:
I've got some mechanics for handling weeding out degrees of guilt but we can get to that post "
Words with Pate"
]

[Nathaniel Mason]

Nathan strode toward Pate purposefully, pulling his sword out with a ring.

The man winced in fear, but Nathan simply cradled the blade across his arm. "
Pate, I want you to look at this sword. I think Valyrian steel weapons are some of the greatest works of art men have ever made. Would you not agree?"


Pate nodded nervously. "
It is a remarkable weapon, millord."


Nathan smiled. "
I agree. I think this is one of the most beautiful swords I have ever seen, however this is NOT a Valyrian steel sword. I call it Deception, because it is a lie. This is what a Valyrian steel sword looks like."


Nodding to Ser Jon, the Knight unsheathes Orphan-maker.

"
That is the problem with a lie."
continued Nathan. "
As convincing or well-crafted it may be, it always pales in comparison to the truth. As beautiful as I think Deception may be, it appears cheap and gaudy next to the genuine article. So you are welcome to lie to me if you think you can do it as well as this sword."


Nathan sheathed his sword, as did Ser Jon, much to Pate's relief. "
What do you want to know?"


"
Much."
replied Nathan, "
but the most pressing question is: Who hired you to attack the Septry and attempt to incriminate the Blackwoods with those shields?"

[Reader]

"
Randolf hired us,"
he says pathetically, eyes downcast but gesturing toward his former employer's corpse, spitted by Lord Marsten's righteous lance.

"
Shields came in a wagon one night, Randolf would have known more, begging your pardon master."


"
Weren't a Bracken wagon neither, weren't one from round here. They were tryin' to conceal their colours, but some of them done a poor job of it. I saw stashed pennants and hints of red on grey or a blue black."


The man will not be displacing the heralds at King's Landing any time soon, it's fair to say.

He pauses, growing more agitated with his own short-comings.

"
It were dark my lords..."


The man desperately wants to offer something useful, but lacks the education and wit to be of much use.

[OOC: Knowledge: heraldry from either of you to guess at the house he's describing]

[Benedict Marsten]

[url=Knowledge(heraldry)][/url]: 2d6 5

As was to be expected Ben would have needed much more information to go on to determine what the man was babbling on about. He just shakes his head in annoyance.

Leaning in close to Nathan he raises his mouth to the young man's ear. He then speaks softly. "
Perhaps he can verify it if seen. Sorry about the Randolf thing."


Stepping back he crosses his arms over his chest and returns to his annoyed appearance.

[Reader]

[OOC: Not even going to bother with a PM, Benedict has guessed the result. Ladies and Sers, this is what happens if you spend your youth carelessly getting kidnapped by pirates instead of safely studying heraldry books indoors.]

[Nathaniel Mason]

Nathan gave a snort. A sort of miffed, frustrated expulsion of air.

"
Give me a second."
he growls to no-one in particular.

He closes his eyes, cocking his head to one side, squinting now and then, mumbling to himself occasionally. It took much more than a second. The minutes seemed to drag on with Nathan talking to himself and shaking his head, uttering things like 'too far away', 'too weasely' and 'too honorable'. Benedict looked confused, Pate looked at him like he had gone off his head, but Ser Jon, used to Nathan's eccentricities, simply waited patiently.

[url=Cunning (Memory) Time Taken][/url]: 9d6k8 26

After what seemed an eternity of this strange behaviour, Nathan opened his eyes and stocked off to his horse, retrieving paper, quill and Ink and returning. He sat down in a chair and began to sketch.

"
Sorry about that. There are approximately seventy-six Houses and organizations in Westeros that use Black and Red as their primary colours. It's very popular. It would be much easier if it had been pink and green. I also had to include all Houses that use black and orange, since orange could look red at that time of night, probably another twenty of those. Add in the ones that use red on blue, orange on blue, and red or orange on grey, another thirty or so.

Pate, I am going to ask you questions and we are going to draw this crest. First, was it a dark symbol on a light background or a light symbol on a dark background? Was the symbol an animal, a plant, a weapon, or something else?"


[url=Knowledge (Heraldry)][/url]: 4d6 15

[Plus whatever bonus I gain from Cunning and the interrogation of Pate.]

[Nathaniel Mason]

For half an hour, Nathan and Pate worked together on the crest. When it was done Nathan looked at the picture with a broad smile. Then his smile began to slowly fade. He seemed to stare off into space for some time.

Suddenly he stood up angrily. "
No!"
He began tearing up the paper. "
No. No. No. NO. NO!"


Nathan began to pace back and forth.

"
Millord, I promise I have done my best."
said Pate fearfully.

"
Oh, be quiet. I am not angry with you."
Nathan waved his hand angrily in Pate's general direction. "
I am angry with me."


"
Problem?"
asked Ser Jon calmly. "
I gather you know the House?"


"
I do,"
replied Nathan irritably, "
but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whose colours were worn that night."


"
How so?"


"
Jon, if you were meeting with bandits to arrange this terrible act, would you wear House Roxton colours? Even under a disguise? Why wear any colours at all?"
Nathan continued to pace. "
I can't believe I nearly fell for it. I must be getting soft. Jon, I was THIS close to falling for it."


Ser Jon's head turned back and forth watching Nathan wear a grove in the dirt. His face mild.

"
Is he like this a lot?"
asked Ben.

"
He can be extremely passionate."
replied Jon with a slight smirk. Suddenly Nathan stopped dead. His head cocked to one side again and seemed to stare off into the sky. "
Ah. I see you have come up with a plan."


Nathan smiled at Ser Jon, then took his seat again in front of Pate. He put his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together. "
Pate. I am going to need your help."
Nathan's smile only made the man more nervous. "
I cannot prevent you from going to the Wall. Your actions have made that impossible, but I can send you to the Wall with enough money, equipment, food and supplies to ensure your stay there is less arduous."


"
This is going to be dangerous, isn't it."
said Pate slowly.

"
Extremely,"
replied Nathan. "
but that should be no problem. It's not like you chose a low-risk profession."

[Reader]

[OOC: previous two posts were handled via PM earlier, bravo to Nathaniel for fleshing out the characterful narrative.

Will try to add some finishing IC touches at some point.]

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