Find-A-Way03

Knights at the Tourney

• House Champions: Ser Kronn Waterman, Ser Jasen Volent (for House Manderly), Benfred Tallhart, Robin Cassel (for House Stark), Ondrew Moss, Denys Ryswell, Ser Valdan Dustin, Ser Ethan Whitehill, Ser Lothyn Stout, Ser Mallory Cerwyn, Hodrick Condon, Ser Bowen Ironsmith.
• Knights: Ser Gyles Fenn, Jonothor Cassel, Petyr Moss, Robart Cerwyn, Meryn Snow, Ser Gilbern Poole, Bowal Ryswell, Ser Hogan Slate, Erryk Pyke, Ser Arnuf Grove
• Hedge Knights: Ser Branden Snow, Jaimes Wells, Torrhal O' the Gift, Ser Ardryn Lancer, Molyn Cooper, Ser Faris Roadsman, Willem Tolliver, Tojyr Pyke
• Mystery Knights: Knight of the Wolfswood

Northern Ladies of Betrothal Age at the Tourney

• Great Houses: Sansa Stark, of House Stark (10)
• Major Houses: Wynafryd Manderly, of House Manderly (14); Leona Ryswell, of House Ryswell (13); Sybelle Cerwyn, of House Cerwyn (11)
• Minor Houses: Falyse Moss, of House Moss (18); Donella Whitehill, of House Whitehill (16); Zhoe Ironsmith, of House Ironsmith (11); Ella Slate, of House Slate (14); Ahdia Tarkin, of House Tarkin (21); Myriah Stout, of House Stout (13)
• Knightly Households: Elyana Septwood (15); Jonelle Branley (18); Beth Cassel (12); Lysa Balastran (16)

Story Three: Tournament of Torrhen's Square

Scene One: Road to the Tourney

• House Wisent and House Blackhorn meet up to ride together to the Tourney at Torrhen's Square.
• Various conversations happen during the day. Ser Danyk and Ayrant get along well, while Ser Kromley strikes up a conversation with Maester Tolbric about the Stormlands. Marten asks Ser Garwyn if he can act as his squire for the tourney. His mother also strikes up conversation about the lists, and whether or not he's found someone whose favor he might wear in the lists.
• Later that night, while camping, Ser Thomas asks Maester Tolbric to help Ser Krowley, whose stubborn refusal to ride in the wagon "like some woman" has resulted in a flare-up of the old man's bone-ache.
  • Tolbric knows how to fix it, so he goes foraging and encounters the same bear from the Palewood hunting trip. After some work, he manages to shoo the bear away from trying to follow him back.

Scene Two: Torrhen's Square

• As they near Torrhen's Square, they begin to encounter others likewise traveling for the tournament, including the House Cerwyn banners. They have a chance to visit with Ser Thomas and Emma's eldest daughter, Yasmin, and her husband Ser Mallory Cerwyn.
  • Yasmin is somewhat appalled to learn that both her brothers and her husband are entering the lists, leaving a decent chance that some of them might fight one another.
• They arrive in Torrhen's Square and meet their tournament steward, Harlan Whitehill, a squire with House Tallhart. He guides them to their campsite, and tells them the schedule for the tourney events. He then guides Lord and Lady Wisent and their daughters into the castle, to the guest tower that has been made ready for them.
• At the campsite, they see other Houses present: Manderly (and his banners, Waterman, Tarkin and Carver), Condon, Cerwyn, Ironsmith, Moss, Dustin (and Stout), Ryswell and Whitehill. These areas are awhirl with activity - people putting up tents and pavilions, arriving, etc. Across the way is a somewhat larger camp site, set up for various knights and other fighters.
• Later that night, the Wisents receive an invitation from Ser Wylis Manderly and Lady Merise Waterman to dine with them at the inn called the Alabaster Maiden.
  • They have a pleasant evening with Houses Manderly and Waterman, as well as plenty of drinks bought for them by those who recognize their colors, and wish to congratulate House Wisent on the betrothal of its oldest daughter to House Tallhart.
  • Maester Tolbric is invited to a convocation of maesters upon the morrow, during the dinner.
  • Ayrant notices a balcony from which a private party seems to be going on. A man who is obviously Braavosi, with a beautiful veiled woman on his arm, glances down and raises his glass to him.
• Afterwards, as they wander home, they find Ser Ryfe slumped over, passed out, near the entry to the Houses rise. As they help him up, a couple of knights wander by and snigger something about "Ser Ryfe-in-his-Cups."

Scene Three: Opening Day

• The day begins with an Equestrian Event first, allowing everyone to get a good look at the majority of the knights who will be jousting later on, and one or two others beside.
  • Both Ayrant and Ser Garwyn enter the event, as does Ser Benfred Tallhart (Kaila's betrothed), Ser Ethan Whitehill (the first knight Garwyn ever jousted against), Ser Valdan Dustin (Ayrant's Nemesis), and a few other odd folks of note: Falyse Moss, a crannogwoman of House Moss, and Horsebrother Randall, a brown brother from the lands below the Neck who is renowned for his horsemanship. Ser Kronn Waterman and Garwyn's brother Danyk are also riding.
  • Harlan Whitehill comes over to invite Lord and Lady Wisent and their daughters to the Tallhart stand, to watch the race with them. Lord Josian notes that Kaila isn't feeling well, having had too much wine at the Tallhart dinner last night. He asks Maester Tolbric to go and check on her so that she'll be better for the jousts later.
  • As the starting horn is blown, Ayrant notices that one of the riders who leaps into the lead seems to be wearing one of his shirts. Maester Tolbric arrives at the pavilion and discovers that she ducked in and then left again, rapidly, dressed for riding.
  • When she passes Benfred, Kaila throws off her riding cap and grins at him madly.
  • Kaila comes in third, after Ser Ethan (who comes in first) and Horsebrother Randall (second). Maester Tolbric and Lady Elizabel are immediately there to whisk her away and into much more proper (and confining) clothing for the rest of the day - to her chagrin.
• In the first round of jousting, Ser Garwyn rides a tilt against some stranger named Tojyr Pyke, and dumps him in the first exchange.
  • While waiting, Ethan Whitehill comes over to find Garwyn. He asks, somewhat mockingly, if Ser Ryfe-in-His-Cups is at the lists today. He does say that he hopes he and Garwyn get the chance to face each other across the list once more. He was sloppy last time, assuming he was up against the Drunkard Knight, but won't make that mistake again.
  • While watching the jousting, Ayrant sees Merise Dustin seated next to a much older man. She is simply watching him with daggers.

Scene Four: Riddles & Feasts

• House Tallhart and House Stark host a welcoming dinner for House Wisent. House Blackhorn is invited as a Wisent bannerman, and House Manderly is invited for the distance they traveled, and as a courtesy to another Major House.
  • Lady Stark begins the meal with a toast. Conversation ranges that evening, from the mystery knight called the Knight of the Wolfswood, to the story of Jorah Mormont's recent exile (in which Kaila discovers that a woman can hold lands in her own right, with her husband as Lord Protector).
  • Lady Stark also announces her pregnancy with another child, and everyone toasts the happy news. She asks what their plans for the marriage are, and Lords Wisent and Tallhart explain that they want to give their children a chance to know one another before marrying. So, Kaila will spend half a year in Torrhen's Square, and Benfred half a year in Wisenwood, and then they'll marry.
  • At some point in the evening, House Wisent discovers that House Tallhart holds to the Seven, and expect the marriage to happen in the sept of Torrhen's Square, while Kaila insists that she must say her vows before a hearttree. Lady Stark suggests that they can do both - if Benfred spends the second half of their engagement period at Wisenwood, they can end the time with the vows before the hearttree, with House Tallhart in attendance, and then make a trip to Torrhen's Square for the wedding in the sept.
• The Maester's Convocation is an informal event, hosted by the Tallhart maester, Telben.
  • At dinner, Telben asks maesters to volunteer to tend the combatants for tomorrow's jousts and grand melee. Maester Telben makes introductions all around, and explains that they are hosting three little competitions: a code-breaking contest, a riddle contest and a debate.
  • Maester Tolbric, the young turk that he is, wins all of them! He walks away with some lovely prizes, including a set of very complete star charts, and two books: Observations of the Old Faith, a book by noted scholar Maester Ryndall, about the beliefs and traditions of the Old Religion of the North; and Leal Armsmen of Torrhen Stark, a book on the cohort of warriors who fought beside Torrhen Stark in the time of Aegon's Conquest.

Scene Five: Blood in the Dust

• Maesters Telben and Tolbric meet early the next morning to hash out the details of the marriage contract on behalf of their respective Houses. Maester Telben gets a slightly better deal for the Tallharts, but it's relatively even.
• Ser Garwyn faces one opponent early in the day: Jonothor Cassel, whom he spills in one charge.
• House Wisent forms a team of its fighters and retainers to participate in the grand melee.
  • They comport themselves fairly well - Ser Ryfe is the first one blooded and out, and then the madness of the melee takes over. Ser Garwyn and Ayrant find themselves cut off, when suddenly they are attacked from all sides.
  • One combatant forces Ser Garwyn away from Ayrant, and then three of them attack Ayrant, including an impressive and bloody charge from a knight who turns out to be Ser Valdan Dustin. Even with Ayrant fallen, he commands his men to "finish him," but Ser Garwyn comes charging back into their midst a heartbeat later, and they turn their attention to him after Ayrant leaves the field of battle.
  • In short order, Ser Valdan bloodies Ser Garwyn as well with his battleaxe, forcing him off the field as well.
• A little later, while Maester Tolbric is stitching up Ser Valdan, he overhears some young women - who clearly adore the handsome Shining Axe of Barrowton - talking about him.
  • One indicates that she's heard he has a bastard, but another corrects her: it isn't Ser Valdan Dustin who has a bastard, but his sister, Serise Dustin.
  • Moreover, the bastard is a child of rape, and the vile raper responsible was none other than Ayrant Wisent, whom Ser Valdan attacked so furiously earlier.
  • Another mentions that she's a lady's maid at Barrowton Keep, and has been for a year. Lady Serise is married to a household knight - old and unpleasant - but has no son. The other tells her friends that in order to secure even that sad marriage, they were obliged to send the bastard away four years ago.
• Later in the day, still suffering injuries from the grand melee, Ser Garwyn rides against Ser Kronn Waterman, who retains his seat until the third exchange; and finally Ser Ethan Whitehill, who manages to unhorse the gallant Breakspear Buck (as they call Ser Garwyn), but not until the fourth exchange.
  • Ser Garwyn manages to collect a fair bit of coin from ransoms that day, and Ser Ethan was so impressed with Ser Garwyn's riding that he asks only for half the customary ransom, and a bit of conversation (during which he introduces his younger sister, Donella Whitehill).
• House Stark hosts a Feast of Houses that evening, inviting all the Houses attending the tourney to celebrate the betrothal. It begins with a toast, and the signing of the betrothal contract.
  • The meal itself is captivating: it begins with a venison, barley and stout stew, served piping hot in trenchers of black bread, followed with a salad of green beans, beets and candied onions. The main course is trout from the lake, blanched in almond milk, on a bed of grains and leeks, with rosemary-roasted parsnips slathered in sweet cream butter. The dessert is a cold fruit soup, apples and strawberries in a base of honeyed almond milk, with a dollop of rich clotted cream and a dash of cinnamon atop it. Wine, malt and black beers and mead flow freely.
  • At the High Table, Benfred (somewhat drunkenly) insists that he didn't like Kaila signing up for the horsing event, and that she will no longer do such things when she is his wife. Kaila is humiliated by his outburst, and when Ayrant comes to her rescue, Benfred's Aunt Berenna chips in with her own opinions.
  • Maester Tolbric sits with the other maesters, who tease him mercilessly about his refraining from wine.
  • Ser Garwyn, on the other hand, is in good company, with Cassels and Whitehills around him. While Ethan Whitehill chats with Rodrik Cassel, Donella flirts amiably, and tells him that she intends to be a better rider than her brother someday. She also makes some unkind remarks about Ser Ryfe, whom Ser Garwyn chivalrously defends, gently chastising Donella, who is immediately embarrassed and apologetic.
• The masquerade ball is held that night in the castle. The courtyard has lots of open area for dancing, with loud music, and tables groaning with food and drink. The Great Hall sees more genteel interaction, with soft music playing and plenty of space for sitting and quiet conversation. Finally, the Gardens are also open, dimly illuminated with lanterns among the twisting and turning hedges - the perfect place for escaping for a walk with an attractive companion and perhaps a bit more...intimate socializing.
  • As a handsome, unmarried knight of some renown and chivalry, Ser Garwyn has lots of attention, including from Donella Whitehill.
    • Wynafryd Manderly dances with him as well, playfully discussing their lots in life; she reminds him that the women he weds will always be of their age, and so unless he wishes to marry someone much younger than he later in life, this is the time to think about taking a bride. She also laments her own use as nothing more than an alliance-making piece for her family.
    • At some point during the evening, Ser Wylis Manderly also finds Ser Garwyn and suggests to him that if he ever looks for a new lord, House Manderly would be happy to take him on as a retainer.
  • Ayrant finds a good deal of his time on the dance floor monopolized by Lady Merise Waterman, although Wynafryd Manderly does manage to get in a dance or two, during which she warns him that she overheard Lady Waterman talking to Lord Manderly about the possibility of his approaching Lord Wisent about a marriage between Lady Waterman and Ayrant himself. "You're being hunted!" she giggles, and then spins him back into Lady Waterman's waiting arms.
    • Ser Wylis Manderly also introduces Ayrant to Ahdia Tarkin, the daughter of Lord Tarkin, one of the Manderly bannermen. The two of them discuss being "the old folks" at the spouse-hunting game.
    • Later, the Braavosi merchant cuts in between him and Lady Waterman, and he passes his beautifully-garbed companion off into Ayrants arms - and it is revealed to be the Midnight Diamond, who teases him mercilessly about Westeros and the "milk maidens" here, suggesting that in Braavos, if any woman had glared at her the way some of them were glaring at her right now, she would have already challenged three of them to knife-duels.
    • Shortly thereafter, as he is chatting with Denys Ryswell, Lady Barbery Dustin - the aunt of Serise and Valdan - accosts him verbally, accusing him of being a rapist, and insulting all the young women who have their eyes on him. Lady Stark arrives fairly quickly while Ayrant struggles to keep from being defamed while still being respectful to a woman (and a Lady of a House, besides). She suggests to Lady Dustin's companion that she has had too much wine and should be taken back to her tents, as she's sure that Lady Barbery has no intention of commenting on Lord Stark's decision and proclamation of pardon for Ayrant.
  • Maester Tolbric, dressed as a very large raven (or, at least, clad in a black feather-collared robe with a black beaked mask) is approached by two ladies, who ask him to verify some information about ravens for them. The younger one leaves, clearly unsure why they're even there, but the older one - one Jonelle Branley - is quite obviously enamored with the intelligent maester, even going so far as to try and seduce him. When he threatens to excuse himself, offended for his oaths, she apologizes, abashed, and they have a much more respectful and friendly conversation.
    • After she leaves, a knight by the name of Ser Haight Kellington, who squired with a Dondarrion knight while Tolbric was young at Blackhaven, comes over and asks him if he's "up to his old tricks." Maester Tolbric is offended and aloof, and the knight winds the conversation around to whether Lord Wisent is looking for more swords. Tolbric offers to interview him upon the morrow, and confer with Lord Wisent.
    • Nanna Snow comes to find Maester Tolbric, and tells him that little Dania has snuck away again. She just turned her head for a moment before the little poppet was gone, and she's terribly afraid of Lord Josian's wrath - he's had plenty to drink tonight. Won't he help her find the little one? After some searching, Ayrant and Tolbric find her - she is sitting on a bench with Serise Dustin, playing with a kitten while Serise braids her hair. Tolbric leads Dania away, leaving Ayrant and Serise to talk, a conversation in which Ayrant keeps his distance. The short discussion is tense and fraught with veiled insults between the two, until Ayrant takes his leave.

Scene Six: Tourney's End

• The rest of the tourney passes by rather uneventfully, save for the final joust, in which Ser Ethan Whitehill defeats the Knight of the Wolfswood in three passes.
  • During the joust, however, Jonelle comes to find Maester Tolbric. She admits that she's one of the lady's maids of Serise Dustin. Serise was very angry yesterday about Ayrant finding out about the bastard that she bore him. Jonelle found out that the boy's name is Cormont Snow, and that he was sent elsewhere before Serise was married to Ser Obart Myrrow.
  • Amid the celebration of Ser Ethan's prowess, no one notices the Knight of the Wolfswood slip away.
• At the feast that evening, held in the honor of the Tourney Champion, Ser Ethan does not choose a Queen of Love and Beauty.
  • Ser Ethan instead indicates that he couldn't possibly manage to find a maid who is fairer than the newly betrothed Kaila Wisent. As a leal knight of House Tallhart, he instead asks her betrothed, Benfred Tallhart, to take from him the terrible struggle that comes of crowning a proper Queen of Love and Beauty who is promised to his lord's heir.
  • Benfred smiles, and does so, crowning Kaila.
  • There is an impressive collective sigh from the gathered maidens there at Ser Ethan's gallantry (and not a little envy of Kaila).
• After the feast that evening, House Wisent prepares to depart for home the next day, and the tourney ends without further ado.