The priory yard tightens around a mud-stained English herald brought from the eastern boundary. He is a middle-aged man of lean build, pale-faced beneath wet brown hair, wearing a torn white tabard marked with England’s arms; two French survivors hold his arms.
Robert’s company remains gathered beneath the orchard trees. Étienne Vaucelles, a young adult man with a lean build, olive skin, short dark hair, and a dark green cloak over a russet tunic, stands near him, while the blue-surcoated rider keeps the survivors formed and the young scout, a slight young adult man with freckled cheeks, brown hair beneath a russet cap, and a brown wool tunic, watches the gate; the horses stay secured beyond the hedges.
the English herald
I carry no weapon. Search me, if you doubt it. My tabard and this sealed writ bear the authority of Henry of Monmouth, King Henry of England.
A wax seal, cracked but recognizable, hangs from the folded parchment. Mud covers the herald’s boots to the knee, and a fresh scrape marks his cheek where the guards seized him.
the English herald
The king commands that certain French survivors be taken alive. Your company is named among them, and I was sent to offer terms before soldiers arrive.
Étienne Vaucelles
Or he was sent to make us wait while English riders close the orchard. A writ proves his message, not the truth of his warning.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
Ask him who named us, and how many men wait beyond the boundary. If he cannot answer, this smells of bait.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine whether the herald's writ is genuine
“*I take the parchment from his hands, breaking the seal* "And what terms does the bastard English king offer us?" *I scoffed*”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Robert steps to the herald, takes the folded parchment from his hands, and breaks the cracked wax seal. The French guards, two adult men in mud-stained gambesons, one broad-faced and bearded and the other lean with a narrow clean-shaven face, release it without resisting.
Robert de Fiennes
And what terms does the bastard English king offer us?
He scoffs and unfolds the writ beneath the gray morning light. The herald watches his face while damp parchment crackles between Robert’s gloved fingers.
the English herald
Those who lay down arms and submit to King Henry shall receive safe conduct under guard. Knights may ransom themselves according to their rank, and common soldiers will be sent to holding camps.
the English herald
The king demands your names, banners, and sworn assurance that you will not take arms against England while negotiations continue.
Étienne Vaucelles
Safe conduct under guard is a prison with courteous words. They want the company counted before their riders enter range.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
And if we refuse, herald? Speak plainly. How many Englishmen stand beyond the eastern boundary?
“*As my eyes can the parchment I point to the Rider* "Answer him."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Robert de Fiennes
Answer him.
Robert points to the blue-surcoated rider without lifting his eyes from the writ. The gesture makes his command plain to the English herald and the gathered survivors.
the English herald
There are perhaps thirty English riders beyond the eastern boundary, with more men following from the road. I saw their standards before I was taken.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
Thirty riders can surround this yard if the herald speaks true. Did their captain send you, or did you come seeking us on your own?
the English herald
Their captain sent me. He knows a French company occupies this priory, though not every name within it. Your lord’s order now tells me who commands these men.
A murmur passes through the survivors. The English herald has answered plainly, but Robert’s authority is no longer concealed, and the English now possess his position within the company.
Étienne Vaucelles
He has given us the number, my lord, and taken your rank in exchange. The bargain favors us only while his warning remains true.
“*I glance back up to the priory building, taking note of the stone walls and enclosed courtyard* "Thirty riders, if we take shelter within the priory we may be able to hold them off if we dispatch a rider. They would be forced to dismount to fight in such a enclosed space." *I thought aloud*”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled -1)
Robert de Fiennes
Thirty riders. If we shelter within the priory, we may hold them off while a rider seeks help. In this enclosed space, they must dismount to fight.
Robert studies the priory above the yard. Its stout stone walls, narrow upper windows, and single gate offer real cover; the enclosed courtyard would deny mounted men their advantage, though the gate remains the vulnerable point.
Robert de Fiennes
The walls can hold men, but the gate must be watched.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
You judge it rightly, my lord. Their horses would be useless within the yard, and our men could defend the entrance from the shelter of the walls.
Étienne Vaucelles
But sending a rider will cost us time. The English may reach the boundary before help is summoned, and the priory folk must choose whether to admit us.
The inspection has taken several precious moments, leaving the English herald’s warning hanging over the yard. Robert now knows the priory can be defended, but not whether its gate and inhabitants will hold under pressure.
“"Take the men and horses into the priory yard, send the injured and refugees with the dispatch to find the rest of our forces. I will address them shortly."”
FAILURE (Fair Willpower, rolled -1)
Robert directs the men through the priory gate. The blue-surcoated rider leads the horses after them, while injured survivors and refugees gather near the eastern wall, ready to depart.
Robert de Fiennes
Take them inside. Prepare the injured and refugees to carry the dispatch and seek the rest of our forces. I will address them shortly.
The order moves through the yard, but no dispatch appears among the saddlebags, writs, or survivors’ bundles. The English herald’s sealed parchment remains the only document present.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
My lord, there is no dispatch here. Without written authority, the refugees cannot prove whom they serve or where they were sent.
Étienne Vaucelles
Then they cannot safely ride seeking help. Any patrol may call them English agents, or seize them as stragglers.
The injured men and refugees remain within the priory instead of leaving. Horses crowd the yard, and the defenders look to Robert, their planned message to distant French forces now impossible.
Robert has secured the company behind stone, but the failed dispatch leaves no envoy on the roads. The gathered survivors wait in uneasy silence for his promised address.
“*I turned to the Rider, placing a gauntleted hand on his shoulder* "You will be our dispatch, I will give you a written letter with my seal to prove your identity. Take it and the refugees to find our army, the rest of us will hold the English here."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +2)
Robert de Fiennes
You will be our dispatch. I will give you a letter with my seal to prove your identity. Take it and the refugees to find our army; the rest of us will hold the English here.
Robert places his gauntleted hand upon the blue-surcoated rider’s shoulder. The rider meets his gaze as the refugees draw nearer, listening for the decision that will send them beyond the priory.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
I accept, my lord. With your seal, I can speak for this company and guide the refugees toward French forces without seeming a nameless straggler.
Robert takes parchment from a priory chest, writes the company’s need and destination, then presses his signet into softened wax. The sealed letter gives the rider both proof and authority.
Étienne Vaucelles
Then I will help prepare them. The injured can travel if we keep the pace measured, and the refugees will know which roads to avoid.
the English herald
You mean to resist, then. Your letter may carry weight among the French, but it will not soften the king’s terms.
The blue-surcoated rider receives the sealed letter and gathers the refugees beneath the eastern wall. Inside the stone priory, Robert’s remaining men take their positions, ready to hold the gate when the English arrive.
✓ Quest Accepted
Hold off the advancing English forces
“*I turned to speak to the English Herald* "Return to your King, tell the boy that we refuse his terms."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled -1)
Robert de Fiennes
Return to your king. Tell the boy that we refuse his terms.
Robert turns fully toward the English herald, his voice carrying across the priory yard. The sealed French letter remains with the blue-surcoated rider beneath the eastern wall.
the English herald
I will carry your refusal, lord. I will also report that Robert de Fiennes commands this company and rejects the king’s mercy.
The herald’s words sharpen the gathered men’s attention. His answer gives Robert’s name and defiance to the English captain, but leaves no uncertainty about the decision.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
The riders will hear of it before long. We will take the refugees east while your stand holds their eyes here.
Étienne Vaucelles
Then let him go under guard, my lord. If he reaches the English lines, they will know the priory has chosen its side.
The French guards escort the herald toward the gate. He keeps his torn tabard visible, carrying Robert’s refusal back to Henry while the priory’s defenders close ranks behind stone.
“*I turned back to the Blue-Surcoated Rider* "Go, my boy. I hope that we will hold the English long enough for you to deliver our plea for help."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +0)
Robert de Fiennes
Go, my boy. I hope we hold the English long enough for you to deliver our plea for help.
Robert turns from the departing herald to the blue-surcoated rider. His words carry across the yard, and the men hear both command and trust in them.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
We will deliver it, my lord. Your hope gives us a duty we cannot abandon.
The rider bows, then gathers the refugees and injured survivors beneath the eastern wall. The sealed letter rests inside his cloak, protected against the damp.
Étienne Vaucelles
You have made his departure a matter of honor. If the English seize him, they will know exactly whose confidence he carried.
The gate opens. The blue-surcoated rider leads the refugees and their guarded horses out toward the eastern road, while Robert’s defenders close ranks inside the priory.
The Blue-Surcoated Rider
Hold fast, my lord. I will bring French aid to these walls.
“*I watched as he followed the road out of sight before turning back to the rest of the men* "I know many of you are unlearned, common men. But, allow you to tell you a tale. Many years ago, 300 Spartans held off nearly a million Persians for three days. By the end of the third day, every Greek had fallen in battle. I ask of you something similar, I cannot guarantee your survival if you stay and fight. I will not blame you for leaving before the English arrive, but if you stay I would be honored to fight beside such brave Frenchmen."”
SUCCESS (Good Diplomacy, rolled +1)
Robert watches until the blue-surcoated rider, the refugees, and their horses vanish along the eastern road. He turns back to the men assembled beneath the priory bell tower.
Robert de Fiennes
Many of you are unlearned, common men, but allow me to tell you a tale. Three hundred Spartans held nearly a million Persians for three days, and every Greek fell by the end.
Robert de Fiennes
I ask something similar of you. I cannot guarantee your survival if you stay and fight. I will not blame any man who leaves before the English arrive, but I would be honored to fight beside those who remain.
The yard falls silent. Men glance toward the open eastern road, then at the priory walls and one another, measuring fear against the dignity of choosing their own stand.
Étienne Vaucelles
You have offered them freedom without calling their courage into question. That is a bargain honest men can understand.
A wounded survivor, a young adult man with a lean build, light skin, and short dark hair, wearing a mud-stained brown tunic and trousers tightens his grip on a spear. One man, a middle-aged man with a stocky build, weathered skin, and a graying beard, wearing a faded green tunic beneath a brown wool coat steps toward the gate, then stops; another, a young adult man with a slim build, fair skin, and tousled blond hair, wearing a dark blue padded jacket and brown trousers joins him, and soon the soldiers are securing weapons and taking positions along the stone walls.
Étienne Vaucelles
They stay, my lord. Not because you commanded them, but because you asked them to stand as Frenchmen beside you.
“"Very well, we make our final stand here. To arms mes frères." *I draw my sword as the men take their defensive positions*”
FAILURE (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Robert de Fiennes
Very well. We make our final stand here. To arms, mes frères.
Robert’s hand drops to his empty sword belt. No blade answers his grasp; the missing sword turns his rally into a visible hesitation as the men watch him beneath the bell tower.
The gathered soldiers still seize spears, bills, and bows, forming along the priory walls. Their movement is orderly, but several faces turn toward Robert, waiting for steadier direction.
Étienne Vaucelles
The stand is chosen, my lord. Take the poleaxe by the gate. It will serve better than an empty scabbard.
Beside the gate, Robert’s poleaxe lies within reach among the gathered arms. Beyond the walls, distant hoofbeats stir the morning, but no Englishman yet appears.
The Stocky Survivor
We are armed and in place. Give us the gate, and we will hold it.
The failed flourish leaves no doubt about the missing sword, yet it reveals a usable choice: Robert can take the poleaxe and command from the vulnerable gate before the riders arrive.
✓ Quest Accepted
Defend the priory gate
− Scene Quest Removed
Determine whether the herald's writ is genuine
“"Polearms, form ranks behind the gate! Archers and crossbows on the walls and in the windows." *I ordered as I took my poleaxe from the wall and stood at the head of the polearm formation*”
SUCCESS (Fair Willpower, rolled +1)
Robert de Fiennes
Polearms, form ranks behind the gate! Archers and crossbows on the walls and in the windows.
Robert takes the poleaxe from beside the gate and steps to the head of the forming ranks. Its ash haft settles firmly in his hands as the defenders close behind him.
The Stocky Survivor
Aye, my lord. Polearms to the gate, shoulder to shoulder. We will hold the passage.
Spearmen and billmen arrange themselves in ordered files behind the gate, points angled outward. Along the walls, bows are unstrung and readied, while crossbowmen climb toward the narrow windows.
Étienne Vaucelles
The walls are manned, my lord. No rider will enter the yard without drawing fire from above.
The priory changes from a gathering of frightened survivors into a defended position. Men test their footing, archers peer through the openings, and the gate defenders wait beneath the bell tower.
The Stocky Survivor
Give the word when they show themselves. We stand ready behind you.