Dame Gwendolyn Hawkwood and her entourage arrived at Kish aboard the Hawkwood frigate _Sealion_. She and her party were met at the starport by Basker Torenson, an advisor in the employ of Countess Leanora Li Halan, at whose estate Dame Gwendolyn was to meet her fiancee, the Viscount Matsushida Li Halan. Gwendolyn's confessor, Jaana Reese, excused herself to run some lengthy errands in Kish's capital, Escoral.
Basker Torenson escorted Gwendolyn and the remainder of her companions to Leanora's estate, where they freshened up and prepared for dinner.
First impressions were made, dinner was had, and a tour of the Countess's elaborate garden was given to Gwendolyn by Matsushida (with the rest of the dinner party trailing behind at a discreet distance). Conversation between the young couple drifted to matters martial, and they decided to test their skill the next morning in a duel.
At dawn, Basker Torenson brought out blunted swords, and the young nobles began their duel, to three points. The Hawkwood knight moved swiftly, scoring a touch on Matsushida and leaving a sizable welt from the heavy blade. During the next flurry of thrusts and parries, injury occured when Gwendolyn's swordtip became entangled in Matsushida's swept hilt and gashed his knuckles. Matsushida declared it insufficient injury to end the duel, and gave her the point. He then scored a point of his own with a quick riposte to her next slash. Gwendolyn finished the duel with the forceful swing that broke through Matsushida's guard.
Halley, Dame Gwendolyn's personal machinist, and a member of the Scraver's Guild, noticed a problem with one of the Countess's three refrigeration units later that morning. A quick inspection revealed the difficulty: a fan belt had become unhooked. Falling back on her cautiousness, Halley carefully inspected the unit for tampering, but was unable to find any signs of it. After replacing the belt, she closed up the unit, making use of certain Scraver tricks to know if anyone had opened it before she returned.
[Index] The Peasants Are Revolting>>This file was last modified at 1635 on 22Jun99 by trip@idiom.com.