Adventure for the Charybdis Pearl

Sir Aron adjusts himself uncomfortably in the seat holding his amulet of honor tightly in his gauntlet. Rows and rows of knights and squires all sit in the church building, waiting for the king to begin his speech. He, Aron, looks over at Ralph, his squire, who sits next to him. He wears a metal chest plate with a surcoat of orange and green, with gray clothing underneath it. Ralph looks back at Aron with a young, pale, freckled face of protest as they've been sitting here waiting for the king, who's been fidgeting with a piece of paper at the front of the church for multiple minutes now, waiting for everyone to take a seat. The king finally speaks up, the old man releasing a loud voice.


"Knights of the realm, knights of humanity!


Today, we stand on the precipice of a new chapter in our storied history. Your valor in the Third Iron Wars is etched in the annals of our kingdom, but we find ourselves facing a dire predicament. The Charybdis Pearl, a symbol of our resilience and unity, has been taken from us by the Dwelvir, the sea people who bear blue skin and spiny fins. Their cunning and treachery have delivered a blow to our honor, but we shall not let this insult go unanswered. The Charybdis Pearl is more than a mere gem; it is the heart of our kingdom's strength and the beacon of our endurance. Through this pearl's mystical power, we withstood countless sieges and emerged victorious time and again. Its loss has left a void that can only be filled by the bravery and skill of the finest knights in all the lands.


Each of you has been called here because you possess unmatched courage, unparalleled skill, and an unyielding spirit. You are the pride of our realm and the embodiment of our hopes and dreams. The task before you is daunting: to venture into the depths of the Dwelvir's domain, to face their fearsome guardians, and to reclaim what is rightfully ours. To the knight who retrieves the Charybdis Pearl intact, I offer not just the gratitude of a kingdom but a reward befitting your bravery. A lady, Lady Mason, a jewel of our royal house, is promised to the champion who succeeds." The old king says, his long gray beard and purple robes shining in the lights of the stained glass windows behind him. A woman wearing a red dress and pink hat walks into view from behind a confessional as the king announces her name as Lady Mason. The room erupts into cheers as everyone lays eyes on the beautiful woman with long black hair and eyes as brown as the bark of trees.


"Ride forth, noble warriors. Let your swords gleam with the light of justice, and let your shields stand as bastions of our might. Bring back the Charybdis Pearl, and with it, restore the glory of our kingdom. Let the Dwelvir know that we are not a people to be trifled with, that our spirit is unbroken, and that we will reclaim what has been stolen from us!


May the gods of our ancestors guide you, may your hearts remain steadfast, and may you return triumphant.


For honor, for glory, for the realm!"


The room erupts into another cheer, louder this time. As everyone begins to file out, the room is filled with the sound of clanging metal armor and shaking chainmail. Aron and Ralph follow suit with the rest of the group. Everyone in the group begins to spread out as they exit the large church, more of a cathedral; it itself is walled off with several hitching posts inside and outside the walls, with the knights and squire's horses taking up each spot. As Aron and Ralph approach their horses, Aron calls to his with a stern call, "Cataphract!" followed by a whistle. A horse wearing heraldry of orange and green perks its head up, its large brown frame bathing in the sunlight. Aron grabs the reins and lifts them above the horse's head, pulling himself onto its back as Ralph does the same with his black and white-dotted horse named Stars.


"Aron!" is heard through the area, which has now turned chaotic as all the men begin to ride out towards the west, where the Dwelvir kingdom lies, on the coastline. Aron looks to his left and sees Sir Micah, wearing his red surcoat and barbute that never seems to leave his head, hiding his scarred and burnt face. "What is it, Micah?" Aron speaks up. "Mind if I ride along with you? It'll be safer." Aron considers the proposition for a moment before sighing and slowly nodding. "Why not? Come along, but do you have a map?." Aron asks Micha, to which he shakes his head, "I would assume you have one, no?" Suddenly, Micah's squire speaks up, holding a piece of rolled paper in his gauntlet. "I have one!" the squire shouts gleefully, to which Aron replies, "Great!" As they all ride off through the western gate of the walled-off cathedral, located just out of the city, Finley, Micah's squire, hands the map to Aron, who's leading the pack, which he begins to use to guide them through the twisting paths of the green hills.


"Now, where's this pearl even being held?" Micah asks the group. "I might have a clue," Aron says briefly before speaking again. "I would assume it's being held in their largest castle, Fort Scientia, which used to belong to us before we lost it in the Iron Wars." The convoy becomes quiet again as they continue to ride down a dirt road, encountering the occasional group of knights and travelers. After riding and camping out for several days and encountering numerous other traveling knights, they come across a bridge. As Aron, the leader of the group, is nearly halfway across it, a massive, hideous troll of dark blue skin and white hair pulls itself from under the bridge onto the middle of it, blocking Aron's path.


Aron swiftly stops his horse, and the rest of the group follows suit, all backing up from the middle of the bridge where the troll now idly sits. The greenhorn squires are both drawing their swords at the sight of the huge beast. The beast itself seemingly doesn't care for them, passively sitting there staring down at them all with a grin before finally speaking in a low monstrous voice, "To pass, you first must pay the-" he swings his arms in the air to announce the name of his little passage fee, "troll-toll-toll-troll-toll of a troll toller!" Each member of the group shares a look of amusement as Aron trots back up towards the troll, about the size of a small shed, and responds to it. "And what might this troll toll be?" Aron says this with a raised eyebrow.


"Why, bring me ten stone fruits from the orchards over there, and you may pass!" The troll responds, pointing to the east, where a distant orchard is indeed seen. Aron nods and rides out with the rest of his posse over to the orchards. As they arrive at the gates to the fenced-off orchard of plumbs, they notice how the hilly area is eerily quiet, with no workers in sight. Aron dismounts his horse, and Ralph does the same. Micah and Finley stay mounted, opting to let the pair investigate and gather the fruit. Ralph grabs a random basket that's set outside the front gate and pushes it open. Walking into the orchard, the cool scent of the air is filled with the smell of foliage. Ralph and Aron wander into the orchard and look for the best plumbs that they can find, filling their hands before placing them in Ralph's basket.


Aron is busy picking the final plumb from a tree in the middle of the orchard when an arrow flies by his head with a hiss, pinning itself against a tree. Aron ducks down and unsheathes his longsword, screaming out for Ralph and Micah that there's a foe. As he says this, he catches a glimpse of someone wearing plate armor ducking out of view behind a bush in the overgrown area of the orchard. Aron crouches over to the bush, and a knight wearing the colors of the Dwelvir kingdom jumps out and tries to rush away in the other direction. Ralph shouts out to the knight to "halt!" and begins chasing them alongside Aron, eventually tackling them to the ground and hitting their helmets off as they hit the ground. They struggle with Ralph for a moment before Aron comes and assists, holding them down before Micah and Finley arrive. Micah and Finley trot over on horseback, having jumped the fence of the orchard.


The knight who attempted to take Aron's life is a Dwelvir man, with blue skin and spiny fins on the back of their ears and heads. His dark blue eyes are wide with fear as he struggles against the two men on top of him. "Why are you so far from home, fish?" Micah asks, dismounting from his horse and bending down to get a better look at the knight. "I was brought here to stop you from taking the pearl from us; it rightfully belongs to the Dwelvir people!" The group listens with skepticism to the fish's speech, not taking it seriously. Aron speaks up in a stern voice, "Where is the pearl?" The Dwelvir hesitates, his spiny fins twitching nervously. "It's stowed away in Castle Scientia by the sea, guarded by my people," he finally admits after Ralph places his sword against the fish's neck. Aron and Ralph get off of the fishman after taking his weapons and go back to their horses, with Ralph grabbing the finale plumb and placing it in the basket that he dropped to chase down the fishman.


The group returns to the bridge, where the troll is bathing in the sun, unaware of their presence. Aron shouts out for the troll, and the troll promptly sits up and takes the basket from Ralph, who hands it to the beast. The troll looks pleased as it crawls over the side of the bridge and down under it, leaving the path open. The convoy, with Aron, Ralph, Micah, and Finley, all crossed the bridge. Micah rides up the ranks of the convoy up to Aron in the front and speaks to him with a voice of concern, "How are all four of us going to take down a castle?" Aron considers the question for a moment, slowing his horse before answering, "I'm certain there will be more knights who will arrive; we will have reinforcements."


The group rides against a ridge downhill when the vast ocean finally comes into view; the castle should be somewhere along the beach. The crew rides downhill and down a stoned path, where they encounter a knight in a yellow surcoat stuck under his dead horse. The man, whose legs are pinned, shouts out for the group. "Hey, hey, hey," he says, waving his arms in the air. "My horse gave out on me; I need help!" The group (except Finley and Micah) swiftly dismounts from their steeds and rushes to the knight's aid, helping him free his legs from the dead horse. Grateful for their assistance, the knight introduces himself as Sir Salvatore and asks to join their little caravan, to which Ralph, despite not being seen as the traditional leader like Aron, gleefully agrees to let him join and says he will ride with him. Aron or anyone else in the group doesn't seem to mind the addition of this new member, Salvatore, a tall and large fat man wearing all yellow and a heavy helmet with cloth all over it.


Then, Salvatore brings up a source of tension in the group that has existed since Micah joined but has never been addressed: "Who's going to get the princess once we get the pearl?" Salvatore asks before speaking again. "I mean, I don't need her; I'm already married." Micah steps forward towards Aron, who's searching through his saddlebag, oblivious to Salvatore's remarks, and taps him on the shoulder. Aron jumps at the touch and turns to face Micah, who's glaring at him, before asking with an annoyed tone, "Yes, who is going to get the princess?" Aron takes in the intense staring of the group, and the tension is thick before he finally answers. "I think we should focus on the mission at hand and worry about the princess later," Aron suggests, trying to diffuse the situation. The group nods in agreement, shifting their attention back to the task ahead. Micah, however, clearly isn't satisfied with the answer and simply rolls his eyes as everyone goes to mount their horse, with Salvatore riding on the rear of Ralph's horse, holding onto Ralph's shoulders.


As they reach the grasslands behind the back dunes of the beach, they finally see Castle Scientia in the distance, resting in the grasslands overlooking the dunes of the beach, which is extremely disappointing. The castle's spires seem too short, the walls are mediocre, the size as a whole is embarrassing, and no self-respecting knight would ever want to be seen close to it. Micah bursts out laughing as Aron looks at the map, and then back at the castle—that's castle Scientia? "You know, the Dwelvir can keep the castle!" Micah shouts out gleefully to Finley, who's laughing alongside him. "The spires are so small!" Finley says it in his standard snobbish voice, as if his nose is constantly congested. The group all ride up to the front gates of the castle, painfully average front gates with a painfully average drawbridge surrounded by an empty moat of sand with a dead shark down in it.


The drawbridge leading to the open portcullis is guarded by two sentries stationed at the entrance. Each guard is equipped with a spear, ready to prevent anyone from crossing the drawbridge. The convoy of knights stands awkwardly far from the guards, with them shouting out for them to identify themselves as they stand on horseback out in the dunes, the knights unhearing or ignoring the sentries. "So, what's the plan?" Ralph asks the group, to which everyone looks at each other or shrugs. The group brainstorms for what feels like hours, to the point where the sky turns red and the sun falls. All this before Finley finally suggests they just ask to walk in. This is met with skepticism, but Aron, seeing how no other ideas have arrived, agrees, and they all disperse. Salvatore struggles a bit with weakened legs. They march over to the two sentries, who are shirtless and well built, and tower over the bunch, except Salvatore.


They exchange nervous glances with each other before finally speaking up. "And who might you humans all be?" Aron speaks with a sigh, embarrassed to be doing what he is. "We're envoys from the human kingdoms; may we come in?" he says plainly. The sentry rubs his eyes, leaning against his spear, before speaking with a defeated voice. "More? More envoys?" Aron looks at his group, who stand patiently with hands squeezed together, before the sentry speaks again. "You know what? I don't even care anymore; come in! Get in! C'mon now!" He guides Aron across the lowered drawbridge, and the rest of his party follows suit into the small courtyard. The portcullies are close behind them, now locking them inside the courtyard. The whole group shares looks of disbelief, and Finley's face is stuck with a grin. "I refuse to believe that worked," Ralph says, covering his face and turning red with held-back laughter.


As the group makes its way through the courtyard, they find the barracks and the entrance to the inside of the castle. Upon reaching the front gate, they push it open and step inside. The atmosphere inside the castle is stunning, with a grand hallway adorned with intricate tapestries and imposing suits of armor. Leading the way, Finley is filled with excitement as they begin to explore their new surroundings. At the end of the hallway, they are met with a magnificent sight: a throne on which a duke is seated, surrounded by formidable sentries on either side. The duke commands the knights to approach and demands that they identify themselves. They all form up in front of the duke, sentries on full alert. "What brings you to my castle, humans?" Ralph fails to hold in a short laugh as the duke mentions the word "castle."


The duke notices this and scrunches his face in anger. "Oh, what do you think this castle is small with short spires and mediocre walls? Well, I'll have you know God blessed me with length and girth in other places." Aron raises an eyebrow at this odd rebuttal. The duke himself is now throwing his arms up to the heavens and shouting out thanks to his god for his gifts. Through these shouts, he reveals his name as Bastian. The duke snaps back to reality with a sharp shake of his head. "What brings you here?" He says it assertively, his brow still furrowed. Micah speaks up, cutting off Aron, who shares a glare to show his appreciation. "We're here for the Charbyptis Pearl!" He announces it proudly. The duke, upon hearing this, leans forward toward Micah with a squint of his eyes and speaks in a low, threatening voice, "You're here for the pearl?" His voice drips with incredulity: "And you think you can just waltz into my castle and take it?" Ralph scoffs under his breath and comically whispers "Castle?" to Salvatore, who releases an inappropriately loud, hearty laugh. The duke ignores them and continues speaking. "You're no envoys; you're thieves."


Aron, upon hearing the insult and attack on his honor, steps forward with his hand on the hilt of his longsword. "We are here on a mission from our king. The pearl belongs to our kingdom, and we intend to reclaim it peacefully. It is preferable, but we won't hesitate." He lets his words hang in the air. Bastian's lips curl into a sneer. "The pearl is a symbol of our victory in the Iron Wars. Did you fight in the Iron Wars? I did, but did you?" The duke speaks to Aron, challenging him, to which Aron responds "Yes, I did fight in the Iron Wars, and I respect you as a warrior, but we're taking that pearl." Micah clearly holds back speech, as he is also a veteran of the Iron Wars, fighting alongside Aron.


Before anyone could speak further, a painfully short Dwelvir charged into the room through the front gates, shouting with a wave of his arms, "Duke, Duke!" The man rushes towards the throne, and the Duke's attention is diverted. "Speak, advisor, speak!" The advisor catches their breath, and the group of knights all exchange glances before taking a few steps away from the throne. "A huge group of knights have shown up demanding the pearl! We're doomed if we don't hand it over! They have a catapult! How do you even get that over here?" The fish says it in a panicked voice. The duke shakes his head in disbelief. "What?" he says with a confused shout. "They said they're going to launch pigs through the windows if we don't hand it over!" The advisor announces, referring to the pearl. The duke is guided off his throne, and he orders his sentries to surround the group of knights Aron is leading. The sentries surrounding his throne do so, some following him upstairs to where he presumably goes to the walls to see the presumed army. Aron and his group patiently wait, some choosing to fidget with their hands and others choosing to patiently wait.


The duke finally returns downstairs to the throne room and demands the pearl be brought out to him; it is done so by a sentry. The sentry wanders into a side room and returns holding a large black pearl in a cloth. They hand it to the duke, and Micah eyes it avariciously. "We will be taking that!" Micah shouts out, his voice dripping with greed, moving out of the group and towards the duke, but being blocked by the spears of the sentries. The duke smiles darkly before ordering the sentries to step away. "Come along outside; I have a plan on how to give it away!" The duke and the knights are led outside by the sentries, where a massive group of knights, all from the church on the same quest, have broken through the gates and are now waiting for the pearl in the courtyard. They release a cheer similar to the one in the church as the duke holds the pearl in the air, showing it off. "Silence!" He shouts with a thunderous voice, silencing the crowd. "To those who want the pearl, fight for it! In the center, two of you! Then another two fight, and then the final one standing will receive the pearl!"


The idea of trial by combat sends the crowd into a buzz, and the group begins to shift before two knights finally meet in the middle, readily flourishing their longswords. The sentries guide Aron and the rest of his group into the crowd, which is a buzz. The sentries bring the duke's throne outside to watch the little tournament. "This is not how this was supposed to go," Ralph says to Aron, concerned for the safety of his knight. "Why don't we just beat the duke to death and take the pearl? We're all here," says Salvatore, placing his hands on his hips in disappointment with the other knights. As the two knights in the middle of the courtyard begin to fight, Aron can't stand to watch how easily manipulated they all are and rushes over to stop it, despite the protests of the rest of the courtyard. "Enough!" Aron shouts, pulling one of the knights off of the other one, who hits him away in protest. "Wait your turn!"


"Do you not see how we are being so easily manipulated like pawns in a game?" Aron says, pleading with the group, that the Duke is protesting from the side. "All for what? A lady?" The crowd seems to consider Aron's words for a moment, the two fighting knights blankly staring at him with squinted eyes. Then Micah steps up. Aron expects him to join in with his pleading, but instead, Micah draws his sword to the shock of his party. "This selfish bastard just wants the pearl's glory for himself!" Micah points his sword at Aron. "Aye, is this true?" The knight who was fighting asks Aron, fists clenched. Aron tries to plead, but nothing comes out due to the shock of Micah's outburst. "That's not true, Micah, you scoundrel!" Ralph is heard charging Micah with a sword drawn, his intentions unknown.


It's like the world runs in slow motion as Aron watches as Micah swiftly adjusts his sword to stab Ralph straight in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground alongside his sword. Aron's heart stops as he watches his friend fall to the ground with red glory pooling underneath his groveling body. Aron shouts his lungs out in a primal roar, Micah's name and charges him with a drawn longsword over his shoulder, the two fighting knights backing up at the scene. Micah and Aron engage in a lengthy duel, slashing and clashing against each other's swords. Before he knows it, Aron is tackled to the ground. He twists his body to see Finley holding him down and demanding he stay away from Micah, much to Micah's humor as he laughs at Aron's struggle against the much smaller Finley. Salvatore cautiously approaches the scene, staying a good few steps back as the whole crowd erupts into cheer, apparently enjoying the fight, much to the delight of the duke. "I'm going to kill you, Finley," Aron whispers viciously through gritted teeth to Finley, who ignores him before he is finally tossed off, and Aron sits on top of him, pressing his sword against his throat.


Finley shouts out for the assistance of Micah, who doesn't respond, choosing to watch. He then calls out for Salvatore, who also ignores him, having returned to the crowd. He begs for his life with tears forming in his eyes. Aron, full of emotion, holds back and refuses to end Finley's life. Stepping up above him. He turns to face Micah, who stands there with a malicious, scarred smile on his face. "Kill him; he's clearly not strong enough to be a squire of mine." Aron charges at Micah following this comment, widely swinging his sword as he lays eyes on the body of Ralph. The duke claps and shouts for the scene to continue. Micah finally seems to tire as Aron strikes his leather glove, cutting it cleanly and causing Micah to drop his sword and fall to the ground, gripping his hand tightly. "Finish him!" The duke chants, Aron considers for a moment, looking over at Ralph, who's stopped moving, and then back at Micah before lifting his sword above his head and swinging down. Striking the stone floor next to Micah, who braces to be hit,

"I refuse!" Aron slams his fist holding his amulet against his chest multiple times, dropping his sword. Micah glares at him in disbelief as Aron picks up Ralph's body and marches out of the courtyard, forcing himself past the crowd before being trailed by Salvatore, who assists. Aron carries Ralph's limp body out of the castle, past the drawbridge, and past the catapult sitting outside. They lead themselves over to their horses, and Aron places Ralph on the back of Cataphract, and Salvatore borrows Ralph's horse. "Is he breathing?" Salvatore asks, concerned. Aron doesn't answer, already knowing the answer. They ride out, tracing their steps all the way back to the ridge of the hill, where they finally stop. They check on Ralph, who's no longer alive.


They bury Ralph out in the hills under an oak tree, overlooking the ocean covered by the red rays of the setting sun. They return all the way back to the kingdom, where they learn that the pearl and Lady Mason were given to Micah and Finley, who are being hailed as heroes back home. Aron clenches his jaw, feeling a mix of grief and anger at the injustice. As he glares at himself in his mirror, his long blonde hair being brushed by his chambermaid, he vows to honor Ralph's memory by striking down Micah, having regretted his decision to spare his life, abandoning his amulet of honor in the mud of the training yard.