Tournament (1080)

[TheFlax]

As Gaspard acknowledged his lord's word, looking forward to a duel, Hermant de Mauvoisin took charge. With a confident smile he shouted to the closest knights on his team.

"I think they have made the same opening move as us - now it gets tactical!"

"Chevaliers! Those from Duke de Champagne rightwards, form up on Alphonse. Close ranks!"

"Gaspard, your Duke wishes to meet you - it would be rude to keep him waiting! Loup and Eloi - wake up! Follow Gaspard!"

"Strike high, medium or low, but strike hard!"

With a battle cry, "Pour Bourgogne and honneur." Gaspard immediately joined Hermant and Loup in surrounding Raymond the Provence who was unable to defend himself from this coordinated attack. Desperately, he weaved his sword in a defensive pattern while retreating, but each of his opponents managed to land a solid blow. Weary from this encounter, Raymond unfortunately found himself still locked in combat with Hermant. (Both Cecil XIX and econ21 cannot move this round)

Further to the right, Alain de Rohan, following the example of his fellow Duke, charged headlong into the red line. Unfortunately for the bold Alain, Raoul de Chatillon was instantly joined by Hugues de Champagne. The Duke of Bretagne put up a valiant struggle, but in the end both knights of the red teams managed to land a few solid blow, pushing him back. Nevertheless, both the Duke of Bretagne and the Duke of Lorraine remained locked in combat. (Both AussieGiant and OverKnight cannot move this round)

Next to Alain the Rohan, Simon de Montpierre also charged the red team, but found himself only opposed by one red knight, Thomas de Saint-Armand. The young man was apparently unprepared for the brutal attack as Simon nearly dismounted him with his lance in his ferocious charge. Thomas, overwhelmed, fell back without pursuit.


(I did not receive orders for: Christophe de Perronne (TinCow), Prince Louis (Ramses II CP) and Gontran de Linars (Vladimir)

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Stances of Combatants:

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Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(Medium) vs Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21)(Low)
Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(Medium) vs Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)(Medium)
Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(Medium) vs Loup de Gisors (Beskar)(High)

Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(Medium) vs Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight)(High)
Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(Medium) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)

Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)(Low) vs Thomas de Saint-Armand (KnightnDay)(High)

ORDERS FOR ROUND 3 ARE DUE BY TUESDAY 28th OF JULY, 22:00 EST.

[TheFlax]

Hermant de Mauvoisin kept pressing the retreating Duke of Bourgogne when the latter addressed him.

"Tell me, Sir Hermant. How does three against one in a mere tournament fit into your idea of chivalry?"

Hermant tried to talk while dodging Raymond's blows: "I am sorry, my Duke, but this tournament is a battle not a series of duels. And in battle, concentration of force is a virtue not a misdeed. If I have wronged you, I apologise and you may seek satisfaction after the tournament."

The Duke was about to reply, but at that very moment Gaspard de Neufville and Loup de Gisors caught up to him. Meanwhile, Hermant has to turn to face Gaeten de Rethel, who had just arrived to reinforce Raymond de Provence. While both of them exchanged a series of blows, which left the newcomer reeling, Raymond fought his two opponents with renewed vigor. In an incredible display of martial prowess, Raymond not only managed to beat back his two foes but also scored a telling blow on his vassal. With only time to take a short breath, the Duke of Bourgogne turned to face Hermant de Mauvoisin once more and continued their conversation, while exchanging a few a strikes.

"A battle? It seems everyone's minds here went to porridge as soon as they heard the word 'team' in the rules, neglecting everything else. If I had thought this was going to be a battle, I would have stayed home and prepared for the countless others to come!"

Hermant smiled. "My Lord, a general melee is as good a training for war as a duel - nay better, as one must test ones wits and team work as well as one's sword arm. And even in play, we may find out the measure of those who will stand alongside us. You fight bravely and now your team mates approach."

Indeed not far away from them, Alexandre le Sueur was closing in and Bertin de Montsault likewise. Unfortunately for the latter, he was cut off by Eloi de Montferrat who drove him back with a battle cry "Saint Denis m'garde! À nous deux, chevalier!" and a furious assault of his lance.

On the other side of the field, the fight between Alain de Rohan and Hugues de Champagne was interrupted by the timely arrival of Prince Louis. While Hugues turned to face this newest arrival, Alain was met by Raoul de Chatillon. Further to the right, Simon de Monpierre was about to move in pursuit of Thomas de Saint-Armand, but Christophe de Perronne cut him off, also bypassing Alphonse La Hire who was calling upon him to back him up.

A frantic melee erupted and for a time, it was hard to tell which of the combatants was winning his respective fight. The first to make headway was the Duke of Bretagne, who with a well placed strike of lance drove off Raoul de Chatillon. Soon after, it was Hugues of Champagne's turn to strike a blow, turning back Prince Louis. Yet, both combatants knew that it could have gone either way and only Hugue's slight edge in experience managed to break their deadlock. There was no such edge to be found in the battle between Christophe de Perronne and Simon de Montpierre; both men finally withdrew as their fight became obviously inconclusive.

(Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21) is locked in combat with Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)
Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight) is locked in combat with Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant).)

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Stances of Combatants:

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Gaeten de Rethel (YLC)(High) vs Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21)(Low)

Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(High) vs Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)(Low)
Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(High) vs Loup de Gisors (Beskar)(High)

Bertin de Montsault (woad&fangs)(High) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)

Prince Louis (Ramses II CP)(High) vs Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight)(Low)

Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(Low) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)

Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)(High) vs Christophe de Perronne (TinCow)(Low)

ORDERS FOR ROUND 4 ARE DUE BY WEDNESDAY 29th OF JULY, 22:00 EST.

[TheFlax]

The melee heated up as everyone save Gaeten de Rethel was now engaged in combat.

Raymond de Provence and Hermant de Mauvoisin were finally left alone long enough to exchange significant blows. Surprisingly, the wounded Duke, having faced two other opponents twice, still managed to drive off the relatively fresh Hermant, scoring a few glancing hits.

Not far from there, Gaspard de Neufville, Loup de Gisors and Eloi de Montferrat were battling Bertin de Montsault and Alexandre le Sueur. Gaspard and Loup ganged up on Bertin, attempting to end the fight quickly. Bertin, unlike previously, was ready for them and they were greeted by his lance. Gaspard and Loup has to withdraw before being overwhelmed, but not before Bertin managed to score a nasty hit on Loup's chest, leaving him breathless. Meanwhile, the duel between Eloi and Alexandre proved inconclusive and both men withdrew to, presumably, go at it again. Instead, they found themselves locked in combat with other members of the opposing team.

On the other side of the field there was another general melee, with each side having an equal number of knights. Gontran de Linars squared off against the older Raoul de Chatillon, who despite his wounds managed to land a series of devastating attacks on poor Gontran. Next to them, Prince Louis fought Hugues de Champagne once more, but this time he managed to gain the upper hand and drove back the duke with solid blows. The final pair facing off in this localized melee was Alain de Rohan and Christophe de Perronne. Christophe charged the wounded Duke thinking to score an easy capture, but instead found himself in a heated fight. The Duke of Bretagne seemed determined to stay in the fight and drove off Christophe de Perronne with a solid blow of his lance.

Further along, Simon de Montpierre moved to engage Alphonse la Hire, but soon found himself pushed back by Alphonse's rapid sword strikes which ended with a telling blow to Simon's head, leaving the knight dazed as his horse carried him away.

Finally, the youngest knight of the tournament, Thomas de Saint-Armand, moved to attack Thierry de Rochefort, who had advanced cautiously so far. Perhaps it was because of his wounds, but Thomas struck with such fury, that Thierry had no choice to pull back, but not before Thomas managed to land a solid blow.

I did not receive any orders for: Gaeten de Rethel (YLC)

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Stances of Combatants:

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Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(High) vs Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21)(Medium)

Bertin de Montsault (woad&fangs)(Medium) vs Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)(Low)
Bertin de Montsault (woad&fangs)(Medium) vs Loup de Gisors (Beskar)(High)

Alexandre le Sueur (Marcus Agrippa)(Low) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)

Gontran de Linars (Valdimir)(Low) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)

Prince Louis (Ramses II CP)(High) vs Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight)(Low)

Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(Low) vs Christophe de Perronne (TinCow)(Low)

Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)(High) vs Alphonse la Hire (Rowan)(High)

Thierry de Rochefort (Andres)(High) vs Thomas de Saint-Armand (KnightnDay)(High)

ORDERS FOR ROUND 5 ARE DUE BY THURSDAY 30th OF JULY, 22:00 EST.

[TheFlax]

The melee raged on.

Hermant and Gaspard charged Alexandre le Sueur, but the latter proved too strong for them and managed to dismount Gaspard, capturing him while Hermant withdrew.

Nearby, Eloi de Montferrat was overwhelmed by the combined assault of Bertin and Gontran, but nevertheless succeeded in moving away from the flanking knights.

Further along, the battle between Alain de Rohan and Hugues de Champagne finally came to a close as Prince Louis bloodied Raoul de Chatillon, the blue team finally making headway in this part of the field.

Yet, the red team overtook their flank with Alphonse la Hire capturing Simon de Montpierre and Christophe de Perronne capturing Thierry de Rochefort.

It seemed very well that the next moments would decide which team would triumph.

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Capture Rankings:

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Alexandre le Sueurs (Marcus Agrippa): 1
Alain de Rohan (Aussie Giant): 1

Alphonse la Hire (Rowan): 1
Christophe de Perronne (TinCow): 1

Eliminated Participants:

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Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)
Thierry de Rochefort (Andres)

Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)
Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight)

Stances of Combatants:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Alexandre le Sueur (Marcus Agrippa)(Medium) vs Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21)(Medium)
Alexandre le Sueur (Marcus Agrippa)(Medium) vs Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)(Low)

Bertin de Monsault (woad&fangs)(High) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)
Gontran de Linars (Vladimir)(Medium) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)

Prince Louis (Ramses II CP)(High) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)

Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(Low) vs Hugues de Champagne (Overknight)(Medium)

Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)(Medium) vs Alphonse la Hire (Rowan)(High)

Thierry de Rochefort (Andres)(Medium) vs Christophe de Perronne (Tincow)(Medium)

ORDERS FOR ROUND 6 ARE DUE BY SATURDAY 1st OF AUGUST, 12:00 EST. (NOON)

[TheFlax]

Both Raymond de Provence and Hermant de Mauvoisin met again, in a head to head confrontation. They were both wounded and tiring from the melee. This would be the fight that would end with one of them as a capture. Hermant met Raymond's high sword with a low blow of him mace that collided in a solid hit to the Duke's abdomen. Raymond was thrown out of his saddle and moments later it was over, as Hermant captured him.

Not far from there, Hermant's comrades for the tournament were in dire straits. Loup de Gisors faced off Gaeten de Rethel and was promptly dispatched by a devastating blow. Meanwhile, Eloi de Montferrat was surrounded by no less then four knights of the blue team. Already weakened by his injury, he fought desperately and for a moment the fight appeared at a standstill. Nevertheless, the inevitable happened and Gontran de Linars managed to slip a blow past Eloi's guard, distracting the knight enough for Alexandre le Sueur to capitalize on another opening and dismount Eloi. The four knights of the blue team then promptly captured him.

On the right hand side of the field, Alain de Rohan was left alone by his team, but that did not deter him. Spotting Alphonse la Hire and Christophe de Perronne next to each other, he charged at them, confident that after his codpiece display, he'd have no trouble handling them. For, Alphonse and Christophe, he seemed an easy enough capture, but they were soon proven wrong by the fury of his assault which left both men reeling. Alphonse was pushed back while a withdrawing Christophe was dismounted by a lucky blow, netting Alain his second capture of the tournament.

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Capture Rankings:

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Alain de Rohan (Aussie Giant): 2
Alexandre le Sueurs (Marcus Agrippa): 1 1/4
Gaeten de Rethel (YLC): 1
Prince Louis (Ramses II CP): 1/4
Bertin de Montsault (woad&fangs): 1/4
Gontran de Linars (Vladimir): 1/4


Alphonse la Hire (Rowan): 1
Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21): 1
Christophe de Perronne (TinCow): 1

Eliminated Participants:

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Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)
Thierry de Rochefort (Andres)
Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)

Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)
Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight)
Loup de Gisors (Beskar)
Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)
Christophe de Perronne (TinCow)

Stances of Combatants:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)(High) vs Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21)(Low)

Gaeten de Rethel (YLC)(High) vs Loup de Gisors (Beskar)(Medium)

Alexandre le Sueur (Marcus Agrippa)(High) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)
Bertin de Montsault (woads&fangs)(High) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)
Prince Louis (Ramses II CP)(Medium) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)
Gontran de Linars (Vladimir)(High) vs Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)(High)

Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(High) vs Alphonse la Hire (Rowan)(Medium)
Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(High) vs Christophe de Perronne (TinCow)(Low)

ORDERS FOR ROUND 7 ARE DUE BY MONDAY 3rd OF AUGUST, 20:00 EST.

[TheFlax]

Hermant de Mauvoisin continued on the offensive after felling Duke Raymond de Provence and found himself facing Gaeten de Rethel. Both men were wounded, but Hermand's momentum and his weapon choice gave him the edge he needed to defeat the knight opposing him, netting him his second capture.

Alexandre le Sueur had left the side of Gaeten a moment earlier to charge at Thomas de Saint-Armand, who was alone in the middle of the field and wounded. Yet, Thomas proved himself a more difficult quarry than expected and with powerful swings of his mace, sent Alexandre retreating with a few bruises.

Like vultures, the reminder of the blue team converged on Raoul de Chatillon, with Bertin de Montsault even cutting off Prince Louis from his intended victim. He was joined by Gontran de Linars and Alain de Rohan. They were met by a veritable tempest. Raoul had watch his teammates fall one by one, and he would not go down so easily. Swinging his lance left and right, he maneuvered his mount to jab at each of his attackers, forcing back Gontran and Bertin, while dismounting the Duke of Bretagne and getting a capture in the process.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Capture Rankings:

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Alain de Rohan (Aussie Giant): 2
Alexandre le Sueurs (Marcus Agrippa): 1 1/4
Gaeten de Rethel (YLC): 1
Prince Louis (Ramses II CP): 1/4
Bertin de Montsault (woad&fangs): 1/4
Gontran de Linars (Vladimir): 1/4


Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21): 2
Alphonse la Hire (Rowan): 1
Christophe de Perronne (TinCow): 1
Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra): 1

Eliminated Participants:

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Simon de Montpierre (Itulrade)
Thierry de Rochefort (Andres)
Raymond de Provence (Cecil XIX)
Gaeten de Rethel (YLC)
Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)

Gaspard de Neufville (Ignoramus)
Hugues de Champagne (OverKnight)
Loup de Gisors (Beskar)
Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate)
Christophe de Perronne (TinCow)

Stances of Combatants:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Gaeten de Rethel (YLC)(Medium) vs Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21)(Medium)

Alexandre le Sueur (Marcus Agrippa)(Low) vs Thomas de Saint-Armand (KnightnDay)(Medium)

Gontran de Linars (Vladimir)(Medium) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)
Bertin de Montsault (woad&fangs)(High) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)
Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant)(High) vs Raoul de Chatillon (deguerra)(High)

[TheFlax]

(To anyone who read this before my edit, I made a mistake in determining the winner. This should be the final results. Terribly sorry. )

Prizes:

1st place: Alain de Rohan (AussieGiant), receives the ancillary Black Stallion.

2nd place: Hermant de Mauvoisin (econ21), receives the ancillary Trusty Steed.

3rd place: Alexandre le Sueur (Marcus Agrippa), receives the ancillary Trusty Steed.


Honorary Prizes:

Loup de Gisors (Beskar) and Eloi de Montferrat (The Lemongate) receive the trait Marks of War.

Everyone who participated in the tournament receives the trait Tourney Entrant.


Note: If anyone wishes to refuse his ancillary and/or trait(s) gained, please PM Zim saying so. Thank you all for you participation.