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From: jj@rabbit.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.games.pbm
Subject: The Four Quarters-Celebration at Ravenwood
Message-ID: <2204@rabbit.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 15-Nov-83 18:37:20 EST
Article-I.D.: rabbit.2204
Posted: Tue Nov 15 18:37:20 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 17-Nov-83 01:00:12 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 153


The celebration at Ravenwood is much like any country fair.  
There are contests in strength, mock battles with blunted weapons,
(not quite as safe as the SCA way, for those of you who know
what I mean)  farming competitions, apple pie baking contests,
etc.  The focus of this entertaining (although somewhat
exhausting) occasion is the King's dinner.

Our not-quite-yet intrepid adventurers are, not too surprisingly,
invited.  They are led to a table on the right side of the
King's, in front of the general crowd, and next to many of
their friends from previous years' classes.  The dinner proceeds
apace, with time out from occasional pronouncements, merrymaking,
and general mayhem.

At the end of the dinner (and before desert and ale are served)
the annual Rounds of the Quarters is made. <The Rounds of the
Quarters is the state of the kingdom address, so to speak.>

First to speak is the Chancillor of the Exchequer for the 
Southern Quarter.  His report is summarized as follows:
	"It was a good year.  The weather was a bit cool, 
	and we had a bit more rain that we would prefer,
	but the harvest was good <not great, but good>, and
	the hunt was absolutely fantastic.  We're all set for
	the winter freeze."

Followed by the report by the Lord of the Western Quarter's representitive:
	"It was a reasonable year.  The southern part of
	the Quarter is in good shape, but the northern
	part had a short season, with both late and early
	frosts.  No problems, though, we can handle it.
	It was a bit chilly, though."

And likewise for the Eastern Quarter:
	"Not so hot this year, I'm afraid.   The southern
	third is in good shape, it had a bit of a warmer
	year than usual, but with a bit of weather.  Lots of
	food, relatively speaking.
	The middle third was covered by storms most of the 
	summer.  Most of the crops were washed out, but
	the southern third will keep it alive, if not
	fat. Lots of game, by the way.
	The upper third was really chilly.  It had a  bad
	growing season, with frosts well into April, and 
	starting again in early September.  It's a bit
	short of food, and we may have to ask for some help.
	Lots of game, again, at least we won't starve
	for deer.  A bit scrawny, though."

And finally, the Northern Quarter:
<By now, the crowd has quieted a bit, as the news isn't as good
as was hoped.  This is the fifth year in a row that bad weather
had been messing up the northeast part of the island.>
	"The news is NOT good.  We are planning to move some of
	our people to the Southern Quarter before the snows hit,
	otherwise, we'll have some starvation.  The weather this year was
	even MORE beastly than last year's, we had snow in April,
	frost in May, and frost again in September.  We seem
	to be doing alright on game, except for the eastern
	tip, which has been so chilly lately that the 
	folks have mostly packed up and left.	We've heard
	some odd reports from that part of the Quarter, but
	I wouldn't make much of them, uneducated superstition
	you know."

This news has quieted down the crowd quite a bit, with comments
running around the hall.  The snatches that can be heard at
the graduates' table are of the "how much can we spare?"
and "I hope this ends pretty soon" variety.

	The King rises.  Silence rings throughout the hall.
<So to speak>   The King, who has obviously heard this all
in council already, speaks:
	"We urge the people of the Northern Quarter to hold
	on for another year.  This freak of nature cannot
	continue, it's just not natural. 
<Various comments throughout the hall attest to this, 
in a manner unintended by the King>
	At least we aren't threatened seriously!  We will have
	to help out our sister kingdom once more.
<Again comments, some of them less than appreciative.>
	As we have been aware of the plight of our
	northern reaches for a considerable time, we have
	stockpiled grain, game, and other edible materials
	to send north with the Chancellor, here.  We will
	ensure the safety of the north this once more."

<At this point, the King stops for a drink of water.  
The crowd proceeds to mutter, with a few common themes:
"It's going to get all of us!",
"Why do we put up with those drones?",
"Oh well, I guess we'll just have to make do",
"There's wizardry afoot. "
	"No such thing!">

	The king speaks once more:
	"One short detail, and we can break out the desert
	and ale!" 
<The crowd cheers up again, there being
no point in worrying about something that's beyond immediate
reach.>
	"We have a small problem in the Quarter right now.
	It seems that the tournament this year has left us
	with a few more injuries than we expected, and we
	are nearly without medical supplies.  We would
	appreciate a few, say six or eight, good people
	to make a foray to the mountains to replentish our
	stocks."
<At this point, the graduates notice a few people counting 
their number, and also a goodly number of smiles on their
friends who were previous graduates. >
	"We cannot afford to use anyone for this foraging expedition
	who is productively engaged with preparations for
	winter,
<The King now looks directly at the graduates.>
	however,  I'm sure that there is some capable
	help available, especially seeing the tournament
	results. 
<Several of the graduates smile briefly, getting an out of
proportion response from the crowd and a smile from the king.>
	I'll offer the first six, errr.. no, seven, people who
	volunteer--- no, make that eight, a good fur coat, 
	full saddlebags, and a good horse.   I hope 
	that they can make it home by the time winter sets in
	for real."
<At this point, several of the more recent former graduates are
near hysterics.  One of them explains that exeptional classes,
(after all, that's how HE knows...) are often given jobs like
this by the King, as a prelude to more productive employment.
In any case, it's suggested that it wouldn't be a great
career move to refuse..   One points out:
	"How would YOU like to spend your life guarding the
north coast?">

	The crowd watches expectantly as the young graduates,
somewhat taken aback by the recent turn of events, turn
a bright red.  Several porters move to near the ale kegs, and
the kitchen help appears at the door with large, steaming
puddings.  All wait expectantly.  The King's eyes play back and 
forth expectantly over the graduates, resting for a minute with 
apparent approval on the animist among them.



To be continued.....  

First moves aren't due until the Friday after Thanksgiving,
and characters are due no later (and much earlier would be nice)
than the Monday after.    None the less, if everyone gets done sooner,
the campaign will proceed apace.
-- 
(allegra,harpo,ulysses)!rabbit!jj