The Imperial Border, 1092
It looked passable enough. Even though both the populations and army sizes of Europe were expanding, there were simply not enough men not to watch the entire Franco-Imperial border. This fact was something that Raynaud de Xaintrailles was counting on. Sure, he was traveling alone and had papers with him, but still: the less trouble he encountered, the better.
...
There had already been one incident in which all the preparations he had taken in order to be taken as a diplomat by the Imperials had almost cost him dearly. This was still in Northern Iberia, barely after he had begun to set out to retrieve the Princess Constance, when four bandits, taking note of his dress and fine mount, ambushed him.
He had no time to go for his sword, which was tucked deep away (again, as part of keeping up his appearance as a diplomat). Instead, he spurred his horse into action, steering it for the nearest patch of trees. Standing up, maintaining his balance, he leaped up on a sturdy branch at the last possible moment, with the four bandits in hot pursuit and closing in. A second later, he yanked down, timing his fall perfectly as the rearmost bandit passed directly underneath. Raynaud, the bandit, the unlucky bandit's horse, and the broken-off tree branch all came tumbling down as Raynaud, far better prepared and trained, wrestled and pinned the bandit to the ground as the remaining three started to veer around.
Punching the man hard and repeatedly in the stomach to ensure his staying in place, Raynaud stood up and collected his tree branch, preparing to face the other three. The bandits were now riding directly for him, in formation. Again, at the last possible moment, Raynaud dove off to one side, quickly stood up, and swung the branch hard at the leftmost horse's rider. The force of the blow was easily enough to dismount him, although this one still had his wits about him and tried to get up. A running blow to the head courtesy of Raynaud ensured he stayed on the ground.
Now there were only two left, but still they veered down on Raynaud. One of them, seeing Raynaud's obvious combat prowess, finally drew a sword. The other did not, though, and was subject to another tree branch whack. This one, though, stayed on the ground, trying to kick Raynaud away as he tried to buy time to get his own weapon. After several desperate attempts, he was finally successful, only to have it kicked away by Raynaud as soon as he drew it. He was greeted by the full force of the branch coming down directly on his head.
The final bandit, realizing what a folly it was to try and defeat Raynaud while still mounted, got off his horse at a safe distance and purposely approached his intended victim, sword in hand. Once he was close enough though, Raynaud flung his tree branch at the final bandit. It was easily parried, but in the brief period in which he had took his attention off Raynaud, the noble had rushed up and was about to tackle him to the ground.
Gaining control of the sword and throwing it away to a harmless distance, Raynaud wrapped both of his hands around the man's neck and squeezed tightly. As the man turned red, then purple, then blue, he tried to choke out a surrender, but Raynaud would hear none of it, only stopping once the man had stopped trying to wriggle free.
Walking over to the man's sword, he picked it up and summarily beheaded each of the four bandits, leaving the rest of their bodies and possessions to rot in the field. Sinners deserve no special treatment or burial upon death, he reasoned. After all, they're already in Hell. Besides, four human skulls would serve as enough of a deterrent to make sure no further incidents along the way to the Empire.
Once his bloody work was done, Raynaud whistled for his horse. It was the first sound he had uttered during the entire ordeal.
...
As he approached Imperial territory, Raynaud hid the skulls away, but did not entirely dispose of them. Appearance and decorum would now save his skin more than fear, although if things were to deteriorate then fear would have to make an appearance out of necessity.
This section of the border was a lightly-wooded area, with a vast open field just beyond. The exact point would have been in dispute, if there was anything to dispute over. It reminded Raynaud of the ancient Greek philosophical question: If you have a heap of sand and remove its grains one by one, at what point does it cease to be a heap? At what point did Imperial territory start? He wasn't sure exactly, but knew that if he kept riding he would eventually come across people that spoke German instead of French.
His ponderings of this question, as well as reassuring himself that the Greeks back then were ultimately heretical and their own selfish, opulent ways were the doom of them, got him through the wooded area. He was still deep in thought as he crossed across the wide field, when eventually his concentration was broken by a sharp German voice.
"Halt! In the name of the Kaiser!"
So that's the answer, then, Raynaud thought. Evidently Imperial territory starts once you get out of the woods.
Stopping to dismount, Raynaud addressed the still-unseen German soldier aloud. "May I go through my possessions in order to present myself?"
A pause. "You may."
Raynaud immediately rustled through his bag, careful not to let the skulls or his sword fall out, and finally grabbed a scroll. Holding it up, he spoke aloud. "This scroll I hold details my name and purpose inside the Kaiser's lands. If you can see me, you know I hold nothing other than this. If you cannot, then I swear upon my word as a good Christian that I am unarmed."
Raynaud waited a minute, and then three men in what roughly amounted to Imperial uniform stepped out of the high grass into Raynaud's line of vision. They eyed him up for a while, and then one of them grabbed the scroll, briefly going over it. After conferring in very low tones with his fellows, the lead soldier looked up at Raynaud.
"Your name and purpose."
"I am Raynaud de Xaintrailles, of France. I come alone and without ill intent for the purposes of liaising with the Imperial high command on the matter of the whereabouts of our Princess Constance. Do any of you have your letters? The papers I provide confirm all of this."
Before any of them could answer, a new voice rang out. This one carried with it the weight of command; the voice of someone who knew honor and was to be respected.
"Soldiers! What is going on?"
The soldiers instantly snapped to attention. The high grass rustled as this new figure approached. "Commander der Stolze," the lead soldier said in crisp tones, "We have apprehended a Frenchman who claims he is a diplomat who wishes to negotiate the Princess Constance's release."
The rustling stopped as the figure paused. "But we are at war with the French," he mused. "And he says nothing about offers of peace. Does he have validation?"
"He claims he does, but none of us can verify it."
The rustling resumed, and a moment later a tall, well-armored figure emerged from the high grass. He eyed Raynaud for a second before conferring with his underlings. Taking the paper to examine it, he looked over it carefully before looking back up at Raynaud.
"This man is who he says he is. He is an ambassador of King Philippe and is to be treated with all of the proper respect and decorum." Now addressing Raynaud directly, he continued. "I apologize for the conduct of mein men, sir. They were just doing their jobs. Mein name is Sigismund der Stolze, and I am in charge of monitoring this section of our borders in the name of the Kaiser."
"You do your job well, Sir Sigismund," Raynaud said, trying to put on his best diplomatic overtones. "And I do not hold your men's conduct against them, you, or anyone else, as they were doing their jobs well as well."
Sigismund nodded. "We do as we are commanded to the best of our abilities, for anything less than that would be improper. I am glad that those on the other side see merit in this as well. Tell me your name, diplomat, so that we may be formally introduced."
"I am Raynaud de Xaintrailles, Sir Sigismund."
Sigismund eyed Raynaud thoughtfully for a while before continuing. "From where in France do you hail, Raynaud?"
"Toulouse, Sir Sigismund."
"I see," said Sigismund. "Sergeant, please go through the Frenchman's bag and let me know if you find anything unusual for a diplomat." Turning his gaze back to Raynaud in time to catch him grimacing, Sigismund nodded gravely. "I thought so, when I recognized the name," he said. "Did you really think that Imperial commanders don't know the name of every single Frenchman of note?"
"Sir, I assure you that my intentions are entirely honorable."
The sergeant returned to Sigismund, bearing the results of his search. "The Frenchman is carrying four skulls and one sword, which looks to be a standard issue for someone of his station," he said. "Nothing else out of the ordinary; no poison or daggers or maps or anything of that nature."
"Thank you very much, sergeant," Sigismund said, dismissing him and turning his attention back to Raynaud. "As for your intentions, whatever they may be, they will have to be put on hold. As of this moment you are now mein prisoner. Mein custody is somewhat more generous than those of other Imperial generals, but you are still a prisoner of war and not a diplomat. Thus, do not expect the same privileges you would be accorded were your deception to pass unnoticed. As for your mission, I can tell you your eventual destination will be the same, but the manner of your visit and how you get there will be entirely different."
"I expected as much," said Raynaud. "But what is my destination?"
"Kaiser Heinrich."
Re: Stories Thread
Originally Posted by Sasaki Kojiro
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