A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1424 - 1424: The Tournament - Part 2

Thousands of the peasantry had gathered in the days before the tournament began, and Oliver had spent his time overseeing their contests, and giving the occasional individual words of encouragement, and delivering more than a few speeches to the gathered masses.

"I am of the belief in the valiant nature of the peasantry," Oliver said. "Two hundred of you gathered gentlemen shall have the opportunity to demonstrate the strength of your class, with the hardships that you suffer daily. But first, you will have to prove that you are the strongest amongst this number."

With wooden weapons, and no armour, it had been far more like a street brawl than a true battlefield melee. The peasants had clubbed each other half to death with an impressive ferocity. The Patrick men had needed to intercede more than a few times, acting as referees, to ensure that the competition wouldn't end up in actual death, and somehow, despite it all, the peasants had managed to see their competitions concluded without injuries much more serious than a few broken bones.

Oliver found that he was pleased with the resulting number of them. Two hundred rugged men, with little technique, but an overwhelming amount of strength, and speed, and a furious will to win. He nodded to himself in satisfaction, thinking that even against the experience soldiery, they might be able to demonstrate a degree of their worth.

Amongst the number of gathered peasants, there were those from Hellen and from Forgin, who by now had received the news – quite excitedly – that it would be Captain Patrick and his men that would be seeing to their defence in the future. That news was of particular merit to Forgin, who had been struck quite harshly by Yarmdon attacks in the past, and no doubt feared the day in which it would happen again.

In those few days before the tournament began, as Solgrim was still filtering through the peasant tournaments, a distance away from the village, so as not to chew up the plains before the main tournament began, the nobility and many travelling merchants had already begun their arriving, along with those of various peasant villages that were more interested in spectating than they were fighting.

There were more than a thousand gathered two days before, and on the evening before, there were nearly three thousand, with many important men amongst them. General Karstly had come, before the evening light had faded. General Tavar too had come. Minister Hod had been left behind, after making his excuses, but Oliver didn't find himself to be too surprised by that. Minister Hod was a difficult and strange man at the best of times. He didn't seem the sort to travel so far merely for the enjoyment of festivities.

When the night had already grown dark, to the point that it would be treacherous to travel, Oliver was roused from his bed with the news that Queen Asabel Pendragon, along with her retinue, had arrived. Oliver had rushed out to greet her, and offer her better accommodations inside the village walls.

"It is wonderful to see you looking so well," Asabel had said, barely hiding her giggle, seeing the dishevelled state of Oliver's dress, which made it quite clear that he had just gotten ready again in a hurry. "But we will have to decline your offer to house ourselves inside Solgrim. We have brought tents for that purpose, and will camp outside along with the many others who are already doing so."

There had been far from enough housing inside Solgrim to receive everyone, and already, an army of different tents had been erected off to the west, away from the grounds that had been designated with the tournament.

"We shall speak tomorrow, Ser Patrick, when we are both better rested. I have no doubt that a wonderful day of festivities awaits us," Queen Asabel had said, before gently wishing him a good night, and allowing herself to be escorted away by General Blackthorn and Lancelot – apparently, they had left Lord Idris and her other pillars behind to oversee the governance of her lands in her absence.

The Gods, it seemed, had been merciful on the morning of the event. The first thing Oliver did was open his window to check the state of the sky. He'd been convinced that, with his luck, it would almost certainly have been raining. The sky had been rather cloudy the evening before, after all, with not a single star to be seen. But that morning, with a gentle breeze blowing, the sky could not have been more blue, and the golden light of the sun was already beginning to bless the land, fighting to chase away the chill of the night.

"…Praise the Gods," Oliver muttered, stating his relief. His primary worry, at the moment, was how muddy the plains were certain to become with the number of visitors that they had, and from the vigour of the tournament fighting. The wetness of the rain would only make matters in that regard all the worse, but they'd been lucky enough to be spared that, at least for the first day of the festivities.

The first person he saw that morning was Nila, practically bouncing in her excitement. Her green eyes were aglow, and her mouth was grinning from ear to ear. Oliver found himself smiling already at the sight of her. Her mood was infectious enough.

"It's happening – it's actually happening, Oliver!" She said, taking his hand. "There's so many people! It's incredible! It's all ready to start today, isn't it? I haven't missed a day, have I?"

"You haven't," Oliver promised her. "We will give the announcement for the festival's commencement midmorning, and we shall see the melees begun along with it. Though I would expect there are already more than a few people up and about. Have you seen the state of the merchants yet?"

"They're already ready!" Nila told him. "My people are ready too. Everyone is too excited to be late for it. I don't think I've ever seen so many people in one place before. It's incredible! I can't believe it."