~The Great Challenge~

A number of years ago at Pennsic war, during the reign of Artan I & Tara (blessed be their memory), I was a brash young member of the Queen's guard. Seems Duke Kane was a bit deep in his cups, and happened to spot Queen Tara. The queen was just coming out of the shrine to St. John of the stagnant waters, and as she did so she was assaulted by His Grace, Duke Kane with a cloven orange. I and another guardsmen came to her majesty's rescue, then pointed him in another direction and he staggered off.

Later however, the forces of Calontir were demonstrating for her Majesty their custom of shield rides for nobility. Basically put 6 to 10 people around the edge of a war shield, put a stool for the Noble on it, and off you go. As we were careening about the Pennsic campsite, luck was with us! In more or less a straight line ahead, stood Duke Kane, right in the middle of the road. Tara yelled "charge!" someone else called "ramming speed" (might have been Paval...), and we proceeded to run over his Grace like a crazed centipede. Immediately after, the queen came down from her perch, and as his Grace was dusting himself off (and trying to figure out what happened), she challenged him to face her guard with an equal number of his supporters on the next morn before the regular battles. The challenge was accepted, and the time of the meeting set for the next morning well before the regular battles... read "early".

Well, the early morning came and went, and I and my fellow guardsmen stood around armored and ready. Only one thing was lacking - Duke Kane and his host. Finally, cup in hand, he wandered into the Outlands encampment, and said to the Queen: (Kane drawl implied) "Your Majesty, seems I've got all these funny foot-shaped bruises all over my body... and I can't quite figure how they got there. Every time I ask someone to explain them, they say I should come talk to you?"

The Queen, doing her best to try and sound angry (and not laugh) replied "Well, maybe if you'd met my _guard_ on the field this morning like you said you would, you'd also know why you've got the bruises!"

His Grace thought on that a moment, then said "Ah... I take it I committed a social faux pas last night?"

Thus ended the Great Challenge.

Sir Robert (that's my story, and I'm sticking to it...): )