#sir david

[markscherz]

frogs be upon ye

and upon ye, @revcleo

[ranger-melany]

Day 8 - Resolve

The night was quiet, but not like he was used to them. It wasn’t like the calmness that he felt when he was at home. There was a certain tension in the air, that had spread around in the camp. He could also see it by the amount of guards that were walking around.

King Duncan was standing in front of his pavilion, watching over the rows of tents in front of him. He had once counted them, multiplying by a number to see how many soldiers were staying in there.

“Is everything alright, Your Majesty?”

Sir David approached him, standing still next to him. Just a few minutes before, they had been discussing their next move in the war against the fallen Baron. After sharing the tactics with the generals – who on their turn would inform their lieutenants – they were dismissed.

He and the Battlemaster had stayed behind to discuss the follow up steps, always wanting to be one step ahead.

“Times could be better,” King Duncan replied.

Sir David remained silent. Like any men present, he too wished for better times. But, maybe once they had defeated the former Baron, those times would come.

“How’s your boy doing?”

The question surprised Sir David. It wasn’t uncommon for him to ask about Gilan when the two of them were talking.

“Gilan is doing alright, Your Majesty. Halt’s been keeping a close eye on him these past days. Although he has recovered his lack of sleep, Gilan is restless. Halt sometimes has to do his best to prevent him from running off on Blaze.”

The King turned to face him, a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth.

“You really think he would do that?”

Sir David shook his head, staring in the direction where the Rangers had set up their tents. Crowley’s pavilion was standing in the middle, surrounded by the sleeping tents of his men.

“No, he respects Halt too much to do such a thing. His loyalty to him, his Commandant and the Corps is too deep to even think about ignoring them.” He fell silent for a moment, then added, “But it doesn’t mean he’s worried.”

King Duncan followed his gaze and saw a few persons walking around the pavilion. Crowley was still awake, talking with the Ranger Council; a small group of Senior Rangers who advised him and acted as helping hand while making decisions.

“One would sometimes wish to take away our children’s worries, no matter their age.”

There was a subtle undertone in his words that made Sir David aware that the question about his son wasn’t out of the blue.

“I agree, Your Majesty. However, we as parents can’t, and shouldn’t, always want to resolve every issue or problem for them.”

Next to him, the King took a shaking, deep breath. He knew the Battlemaster was right. Even he shouldn’t want to fix every problem that the Princess would face, or even take care of it before it arose.

“David,” he spoke, his tone changing to that of a father rather than that of a King. “Have you ever regretted letting Gilan go to Halt?”

The Battlemaster opened his mouth to deny it, but closed it again. He thought for a time, his heart and mind fighting each other. One wanted to be honest, knowing what the King was actually asking him. The other wanted to speak the words that the King wanted to hear.

“Your Majesty?” he asked instead, trying to see which way the King wanted the conversation to go.

King Duncan turned his face to him to look him in the eyes.

“Leave formality for once. I’m asking you as a friend, as a fellow brother and as a worried father.”

Sir David nodded once that he understood.

“More than once have I done so, Duncan. Gilan wrote to me every month, telling me about all the things he had learnt. Whenever he was training with MacNeill at Castle Caraway, I would hear about the times he had gone outside on a patrol round with Halt. The people he had encountered, the criminals that had injured him. Each time he returned home, he would have new scars that reminded him about those moments.” He waited a moment, memories of those evenings near the fireplace crossing his mind.

“But you never once called him back, nor had him stay with you,” Duncan pointed out.

The knight smiled.

“The thought did cross my mind, multiple times. Yet, whenever I saw his face, the excitement that come from him as he spoke, I couldn’t bring myself to give that order. He had finally found what made him happy. Yes, his apprenticeship wasn’t always easy and I have had a couple of serious talks with Halt regarding that. In the end, it did help him to grow into the man he is now. He learnt some valuable lessons throughout those five years, some of which I’m sure he wouldn’t have learnt had either Halt or I interfered. We had made sure that Gilan knew we were there for him if he needed us. We offered him a place of safety and guidance, and let him find his own path. So yes, although I wish I could take hardships away from him, I am aware that he has to go through them.”

They stood there, silently, without speaking.

Duncan let the words of his friend sunk down in his mind, pondering over them.

“I sometimes worry that I didn’t do enough to prepare her, yet at the same time I want to protect her at all costs,” Duncan said after some time. “Sending her off to Celtica all on her own is the hardest thing I’ve done.”

“It was a brave decision to do, Duncan. And while it might has had its downsides, it also brought us important knowledge. We know what Morgarath is up to, that Celtica has fallen. Hadn’t Gilan, Will and Horac gone there, we wouldn’t have known it. And by what Gilan has told, I think your daughter is doing well for someone who has lived in a castle all her life.”

Duncan couldn’t help but to agree.

“Back then, I had cursed her for sneaking away during the nights, hunting and using that sling of hers. But now, seeing all circumstances, I’m glad, yes, grateful, for the times she ignored my orders and did as she pleased.” Then, he become more serious once again. “I am aware that, had she been a boy, she would have gotten way more experience with warfare already. She would have been in the army, leading a group and learn how to be a good leader. It’s odd that, for a woman, we have such different ideas.”

Sir David silently listened to him. It was true, boys and men were raised to protect, while girls and women were raised to listen.

“Perhaps I should change that,” Duncan spoke rather to himself. “Not too much, of course. Something with ‘traditions’, I believe so.”

“Be it positive or negative, it will shape the Princess and help her grow into a strong leader,” Sir David said. “And I have no doubt that she will return. She is a strong lady, with a fierce heart and a good set of brains. If she can cross Celtica for weeks without any trouble, then there’s no question that she will make it back home.”

King Duncan placed a hand on the knight’s shoulder, a silent way of thanking him.

“I want to have one last look over the plans,” he suddenly said, turning back to his role as King. “We must ensure that we haven’t overlooked anything.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Sir David replied, then followed the King inside the pavilion.

[ppickles4]

New chapter of trash gremlin halt is out. Prophetic infant gilan.

[freshthoughts2020]

[rangerangel]

RA Characters as teams I've seen in the escape room I work at (inspired by @redrose-arrow 's restaurant post):

Will, Horace, Gilan

They struggle to understand that the room is a collaborative effort and want everything to be a competition. This is their first escape room, and they have booked our hardest one. They agree that they will not ask for any hints--they end up asking for 15 hints. Horace accidentally breaks a prop and is overly apologetic. We give them free drinks because they're so nice. They manage to get out with 5 minutes left and are incredibly excited about it. They huddle up in our lobby and do a chant before AND after the room. We're impressed they managed to turn an escape room into a sporting event.

Alyss, Cassandra, Jenny

They have a team name picked out and are ready to set the store record. They have dressed up in theme with the room, and have brought their own props to make the experience immersive. Halfway through the room, they get distracted and start dancing with each other to music from their phones . They cheer SO loudly every time they solve a puzzle. We know from the second they walk in the door that it's going to take them the full hour to solve the room. When they radio in, they trade bad jokes for hints. We're pretty sure they might be a little drunk, but they're a good time.

Halt and Pauline

They book our cowboy room, and are extremely quiet with the staff. We're all afraid that they are going to hate the room because they aren't interacting with our introduction at all. To our surprise, they put on cowboy hats as soon as they get in and pretend to shoot each other with the prop guns. They only ask for a few hints, but every time they get the answer to a puzzle we see Pauline throw her arms up on camera because she's been telling Halt how to solve it correctly for 15 minutes. They manage to translate the braille puzzle entirely without using the translation sheet, but get stuck on how to input three numbers into a cash register. Every time they radio in, Halt ends his sentence with "over." They tip $20 on the way out.

Duncan, David, Arald, Maddie

They come in for Maddie's birthday, and she's the only one who's done an escape room before. They choose one of our horror rooms, and we're pretty sure they have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Despite showing Duncan how to use a walkie talkie, we absolutely cannot get them to hold onto the button long enough to understand what they're saying. David and Arald are having the most fun in trying to scare Maddie, but they're really just scaring each other. Duncan ends up sitting on the couch for most of the game watching everyone else and shouting encouragement. When we drop the final jumpscare, David and Arald scream so loudly we can hear them in the lobby. Maddie solves 90% of the puzzles, but they all have a great time. They decide to book another room on the way out, and Duncan pays in full. We adore them and talk about how sweet they were all day.

Morgarath

He books our paint splatter/escape room hybrid. He comes alone, and argues about signing our waiver (he doesn't want to put his name down). When he is led to the room, he is shocked that there is paint everywhere. We explain the concept of the room again and show him the ponchos to protect his clothes. He solves the puzzles quickly and gets to the paint. He radios in and asks what he's supposed to do with it. We explain the idea of a splatter room for the 4th time. He leaves without touching the paint. A day later, he leaves a one-star Google review complaining that he didn't know there would be paint. In order to buy the tickets he had to navigate a page full of pictures of people covered in paint. We pray he doesn't come back.

[fixomnia-scribble]

Prehistoric Planet, in addition to being many wonderful things, is also an excellent candidate for the David Attenborough Drinking Game.

1. Every time Sir David utters a superlative, drink*.

2. Every time a creature gets eaten, drink.

3. Every time Sir David appears on screen, stand up and toast: “SIR DAVID!” and drink.

* Tea is an entirely valid choice of beverage. And take water breaks between episodes.

[araluenrangerdanger]

headcannon for Ulf and Wulf from Brotherband, or Gilan from RA

Ulf and Wulf - during long days on the Heron's board, Jasper taught the twins how to pick locks. At first Hal strongly disapproved with it, but after several cases where Jasper wasn't available and the twins were there, he reluctantly agreed to let Jasper teach them more stuff.

Gilan - every year around the same time, Gilan and David get a week off and they spend time together, catching up, sharing stuff that happened. At the end of the week, they go pay respects to Gilan's mother who had passed away from an illness

[itstheroyals]