6/19/09 - Defend or Attack?

Enter Delasia: 11:48PM

It was the glimmer of sunlight off his shiny helmet that first caught my eye. I was off for a stroll in the village marketplace---for watching over the peasants was my primary duty as knight of the castle. The marketplace was quite the sight to behold today; all the peasants wore purple tunics and sat at their booths, which were all full of freshly picked produce. Turning quickly, my eyes sought out the source of brightness and my gaze fell upon a young knight who was rapidly approaching me. “The castle is completely surrounded by enemies on all sides” he wearily reported. By no means was I the strongest or most capable knight in all the land, yet this young one (of about 15) found me worthy of taking authority in such a task as this. “I was riding my horse and found many enemy encampments not to far from here, should we build the castle defenses stronger, or go out to attack them? The decision is yours, a direct order from the king” he said. Although I was confident that even our most valiant effort would probably not overcome the enemy, I mustered what army the castle had and immediately went out the gate. Anything was better than letting them come to us.

The portcullis shut with an iron bang as I found myself alone on a forest path just outside the castle walls. My comrades had deserted me! “There are 24 knights in the castle, and even the youngest is better equipped than me. Yet somehow you think I can challenge the enemy alone!?” I shouted at them, but no response---so I went along my way. The forest was thick and nearly cut out any sunlight that would’ve naturally illuminated the path before me. Unsheathing my sword, I took swipes at nearby branches as I walked down the road. I walked for quite some time and upon nearing the enemy encampment, I noticed signs which solicited danger and misfortune to whoever would go any closer. Drawing a deep breath, I crossed the red line which was drawn on the path and was now officially in danger.

A young woman dressed in black leather approached me on the path; this was the first sign of life I’d seen since my unfortunate turn of events at the castle. Although we spoke different languages, it was quite obvious that she was trying to seduce me, with her promiscuous gestures and speech smooth as honey. I may not have been a skilled warrior, but I could infer that this was indeed a dangerous situation, so I quickly ran past her. Before I could get far, I heard the whoosh of a throwing star fly past my head. She was an assassin, looking for an easy kill! I quickly unbuckled my shield, which was strapped to my back, and turned toward her to better block the projectiles while proceeding to walk backwards to increase the distance between us. The next star hit my shield with a thud… Being quite alarmed by her accuracy, I charged forward with my sword drawn. She blew a small horn she strapped to her belt and drew her sword as well, ready to meet mine in clashing frenzy. Others began to appear and I was grieved to strike them all down. (Why was I a knight in the first place?!)

After killing about 40 assassins, I was shot in the back by a group of archers. They took great pride in hitting me and repeatedly showed me an “instant replay video” while I was in my dying moments. What a sad ending to life! The grief was soon over, and I appeared back in the castle---observing the ceremony of blessing a new statue in the city square. It was a statue of me, dying---and was a little weird…? I gave a speech at the ceremony, which was even weirder. The castle was saved, and it was my doing? How could this be, for I was the weakest knight.

Termination: Sudden Awakening 7:30AM
W: 4.5 X: 1 Y:1 Z:1