I change some things around to convert it to modern times, and omit technology that would be inexplicable.
I don't include any of my spy gear, including guns.
When it comes to the spy world, I make sure not to tell the story up to the betrayal, and instead say that we parted ways.
I openly call the lands both America, just different regions of the same country, really.
Does this suffice?
It certainly suffices, although Friar Tuck will ask whether America is anywhere near India. He's never heard of such a place, and your stories about it are so interesting.
--M. J. Young
I'll just say that it's very far away from here, and further than even India. I'll tell Tuck that I'm from a place far from anywhere he's ever heard of, as he may be able to tell by the description of it.
"So, then, this 'America' place that's so far away--has the gospel reached it? Is it a place of heathens, or is the true faith of the Holy Mother Church found even there?"
--M. J. Young
"Actually, the word of the Lord has reached America very well. His name is the highest praised by most of the people, and His word helped found the nation's ideals and many laws.
Are there people in this country that don't follow the Christianity?"
"Oh--no, or not that I know. There're some I'd say don't follow it as devotedly as they ought, but it would be wrong of me to suggest that the Normans are less faithful than the Saxons, wouldn't it? Anyway, the whole country was honored when the Pope, God rest his soul, asked our King Richard to lead the Crusade. It's a shame the new pope is not so fond of Richard, but then, it's a shame we lost the Crusade, so it's not like he's got much to claim in his favor at the moment.
"If there are any who deny the faith, they do so in secret."
--M. J. Young
"And what do you think of the Crusade? Do you know anyone who fought in the holy war? Where I come from, the religion isn't strong enough to wage a war over; however, it is more about protecting the people of the country. Christianity isn't as strong in America as it is in England."
"Really? It's not so strong in England as it is on the continent, from what I gather, although our Norman lords tend to be closer to the continent than they are to England. Robin fought in the crusade, early on, but came back to find that his father had died and the Normans had laid claim to his lands. As for what I think, well, I know that the Cardinals think it very important that the Holy Land be freed from the oppressions of the Muslim Infidels, and I haven't heard an argument to the contrary. I'm not sure what that argument might be, what with the advance of Islam into Christian lands on every side. Is there anyone in Christendom who does not think we should be fighting the infidel threat?"
--M. J. Young
"Not that I agree with their argument, but I imagine it is very similar to ours. They're fighting for their holy land as well. When it comes to Islam's expansion, I believe that every Christian's duty is simply to remain an ardent Christian. For every individual that joins Islam, it is their own loss. Perhaps if the people were more devout, there would be no need for the crusades."
Do Tuck and I have an audience right now? What's the state of Harry and the bear cub?
Some of the men are listening. Harry is curled up next to you, watching the cub warily. The cub is snuffling around nearby trying to find something that interests him, and begging scraps off the men, who are tossing him bits of breakfast.
"It's easy enough to say that, being here in England so far from the war. But when they come for you, drag you into the street, and demand that you confess Mohammed or die--I find it hard to believe that the Christians in Palestine and Constantinople and Antioch were any less devout then the men we have around us here. But then, maybe we all need to be more devout; and maybe the Islamic enemy will be forcing us to make that choice in a generation."
--M. J. Young
"No matter what we choose to do, God will always conquer. I think both of us are too far away from it to actually know what is the best course of action. For all that we know, the people may be being murdered en masse right now for believing in the Lord while there's also the possibility that the Muslims are planning on allowing Christian worship openly in the holy places."
I smile at Tuck.
"Perhaps the Lord would rather us focus on the matters at hand in our own lives, and live them to the fullest?"
He seems to think for a moment, then smiles and raises his beer. "Aye, indeed. Robin has the right thought, providing for the poor; Richard ought to be here, tending to his own flock, instead of trying to rescue others. Certainly there is a place and a time for reaching beyond the needs of your own people, but not in the place of meeting those needs first."
He downs a slug of the beer. "Now, did I hear there were eggs today?" he calls in a boisterous and jolly voice.
Someone must have heard, because a platter of eggs, over hard, comes up your direction, men grabbing samples from it with their fingers as it passes. "Oh, ho," he chuckles, "someone's been hiding these. Please, help yourself, good sir," he says as he stuffs one in his own mouth and grabs another. "We don't have them every day."
--M. J. Young
I take an egg and thank Tuck for it. For the time being, I wait patiently for Robin and others to get back, or for anyone present to say something along the lines of "we're heading out".
While at the camp, I don't attempt to do anything much. I pet the bear, and bond with Harry as well. My only real attempt is to tell Harry that the bear is safe, and to stress to the bear that Harry and people are not food. Other than that, I act as I normally would, trying to not overstep any cultural boundaries in conversation.
Shortly after breakfast one of the men announces, "I think it's my turn today. I'm off to poach one of the king's deer for our dinner tonight. Anyone wish to accompany me in this highly illegal activity?" His joking tone raises laughter from the men, a couple of whom volunteer to go with him. Another shouts, "Anton, you're just going to get out of firewood you were going to help with!"
"Aye, I am," he laughs back. "Firewood's a thankless job. You get the firewood. Carrying the deer is heavier work, but everyone's thankful for the meal." That too gets a good laugh.
"I can help with the firewood," Tuck says. "Thankless jobs are the stock in trade of my profession, and ye don't have any sick among ye for me to tend at the moment, so I've got some free time." There is again suitable laughter at his comments.
--M. J. Young
"I wouldn't mind tagging along for the hunt, if you'll give me some pointers on stalking the prey; however, if you think it's too much effort for someone so new, then I suppose I'll go help with the firewood."
"Aye, we'll take you along. If you're going to work with Robin, you'll have to learn woodcraft quickly, or you'll be caught and as like killed by some angry Norman guard. Have you got a bow yet? Can we get this man a bow and some arrows? You ever shoot, man? Sorry, what should we call you?"
--M. J. Young
"I'd appreciate it. I don't know anything about woodcraft, actually, but I'll try to pick it up. I've never owned or fired a bow in my life, but I look foreward to you teaching me about it."
I go with them wherever they lead me, but I make sure to ask them if I should bring the cub and Harry or if I should leave them behind here.
They think the bear cub is likely to be a problem during the hunt; they also think that before you join a hunt you've got to learn how to fire a bow, so they find someone who can take you to the practice range and show you how it's done.
I seem to have a dearth of tech skills on your sheet. I'm assuming you know how to operate a lightswitch; I'm not sure whether you have any other skills in electricity or electronics. Your sheet says you can operate a computer, but does not suggest that you can program/read program or do anything with the hardware. I ask because I'll need your tech bias to determine how easy it is for you to learn to use a bow and arrow.
--M. J. Young
Okay, when it comes to tech skills, here are some things I can do and how proficiently I can do them.
1. I can professionally operate a cash register. My items per minute on the slowest register I've had has been as high as fifty items, without damaging them.
2. I've used a laptop, but the most stuff I've done with hardware is burn music CDs, delete programs, and defrag/system restore. Other than that, I'm in the dark.
3. I know how to work a coffee pot (though I don't drink it often myself).
4. Oven, microwave.
5. I'm good at simple plugs and stuff, e.g. making a dvd player, playstation 3, and wii all work in a TV that has no audio-video cables.
6. I type at a professional level (I've had this tested, and I'm in the professional range at 75+ words per minute-mine was 80 wpm, I believe).
I believe that's all you should probably need to judge my tech-friendliness. I'm a little more of a bookworm myself. I have KNOWLEDGE of basic circuits, and can make a magnet, but that's about as far as my electricity knowledge goes. I hope this helps!
You pick up the bow fairly easily; your instructor is impressed with your initial efforts, and says you're better than a lot of those he's taught.
After lunch, Tuck asks if you were serious about offering to help with the firewood.
--M. J. Young
I accept the compliment, and work with him for as long as he's willing.
When we return to camp, I laugh to Tuck, when he talks about the firewood, and nod. "Of course I was serious. Let's go get some!"
I head into the forest, and bring Harry and the bear cub with me. For the time being, I believe that spending time with the both of them is important, so that they can get used to one another in my company.
I search for dried wood with Tuck, following his example while he picks certain kinds up. If I'm ever unsure about what to pick up, I take it to Tuck and ask if I should bring it back.
Your teacher says you should get in an hour of target practice at least every other day, although you can take off Sunday.
Tuck shows you how to recognize good, hard, dry wood. He also points out low dead branches on trees, but says you should note them and leave them. "When it rains," he explains, "the wood on the ground gets wet and stays wet; but those branches near the bottoms of the trees, once they've died and have no leaves, dry quickly for the hanging, and so are the best choice for firewood when it's been raining."
He also points out fallen birch trees. "These rot too fast to be much use as wood, but the bark burns nicely. It has an oil in it that keeps it dry, so you can shave tinder from it even after the rain, and use it as kindling even when wet."
He explains the concepts of tinder, kindling, and fuel--tinder, that which is so light you can ignite it with a spark, but it burns so fast the flame is gone swiftly; kindling, light wood that will catch from a flame if held in it for a moment, getting heavier but burning out swiftly; and fuel, heavy pieces that catch fire on the outside and slowly burn toward the center, giving heat for a long time as it changes to coals.
I see no fire or survival skills on your character sheet; is that because you don't have any, or because they weren't high enough to mention?
--M. J. Young
They weren't high enough to mention.
The afternoon slips by, and someone is working on dinner when you return with armloads of wood.
The big man they call John is there, and he notices you.
"So, they tell me you learned to use the bow this morning. What's your experience with the quarterstaff? Should we give you a lesson in that before dinner?"
--M. J. Young
"I used to play fight when I was a little kid, but I don't have much experience yet. I'd be ecstatic to get a proper lesson in. Let's do it!"
John finds a stick that is just a bit shorter than you are tall, and another taller than you but about the same length relative to himself. He then shows you how to hold it in "starting position" with both hands wrapped over it so it is across your body. This divides it into three segments, the middle used mostly for blocking, and the two ends used mostly for striking and parrying.
The stick moves like the axis of a sphere. To maneuver one end up, you move the opposite hand down while raising the near hand. This causes the end of the stick to move much faster than it would simply with the movement of one hand. Similarly, you pull one hand toward you and push the other away to drive the end toward your opponent. In so doing you are able to strike sideways at any part of your opponent, as well as intercept his blows.
He also takes you through something of a practice pattern, which has you hitting left high, right high, right low, left low, right middle, left middle, and repeating it, against his blows at the same levels, to build the muscles and the speed needed to control the stick well.
It proves a challenging weapon, but you manage to get the basics. He tells you to make sure you practice several days a week with one of the men, and he'll show you more when you're getting better at this.
--M. J. Young
I thank John for his help with the quarterstaff, and I carry the weapons on me as I go to find the same one who had taught me how to use the bow and arrow.
"I've learned the basics of using the weapon, but how do you make it and scavange the appropriate arrows?"
"Ah, excellent questions. It is certainly easier to understand how to make a bow when you've learned better to use it, but there's no reason ye can't start now. Let's do a bit of scavenging."
Bows are made from green wood, shaved flat and then curved and secured like barrel slats. Once they've dried they hold their spring, and then you get force from them by bending them against the curve and looping the bowstring over notches on the ends. It takes a few months to make a good bow, and those the men use are made by a couple of them that are particularly good at that.
Arrows are made from dried hardwood, stripped and carved straight then fire-hardened. Fletching is laid into the shafts with a knife and some sticky sap, then dried. They are set at a slight angle. Heads are acquired from metalworkers, and lashed to the tips with light cord. Balance is important, and the length of the arrow is best when it matches the draw of the bow, which should be matched to the arms of the archer.
You pick up the basics easily.
--M. J. Young
I decide to seek out the few who are good at making bows and the best fletchers in the group.
To the bowyers, I say, "I hear you are the best at making the bows in this camp. Can I perhaps ask you for a favor? I request that you assist me in making a bow, but let me do it so that I may learn to do it myself better."
To the fletchers, I ask who I need to talk to in the camp if I wanted some metalworked arrow heads.
One of the bowyers gives you a serious look.
"Training in this craft isn't the work of an afternoon, you know. If you want to be good at it, I can show ye; but you'll have to be here several days a week for a few months if you expect any benefit from it."
You can see that he is working on several bows, all very finely crafted and honed, in various stages of completion.
On the arrowheads, "Aye, well, the heads are the strongest part of the arrows, so usually we recover them after the hunt and put them on new shafts. Once in a while someone--someone not so well known to the shire reeve's men, you understand--drops into Nottingham and buys a few from a smithy, but it has to be done on the sly, of course. We peasants are expected to practice our archery to defend the castles, but we're not allowed to hunt in the King's forest."
--M. J. Young
"I have no skills in archery or combat, so I cannot help Robin with those; however, I want to expand my own skills to be better. Until I've gained enough mastery over the bow and quarterstaff, I wanted to be sure that I could be of some assistance, perhaps by helping you." To the bowyer.
Sorry about the gap, but I've started summer classes. I have an informative speech on Monday and I'm actually waiting to meet with my professor about my outline now, so I really am just posting at every opportunity.
I am not owed an apology when you make my workload lighter for a few days. I do appreciate even a quick note letting me know that the problem is at your end--I've had people vanish with nary a word nor a trace and wondered for years whether it was something I did, so after a few days I start wondering whether I should be concerned. (I've also had one player die, to my knowledge, but I can't expect you to let me know if that happens to you.) (Was that morbidly inappropriate?)
"Well, if ye expect to be here for a couple years I'm sure we can find time to teach what we know, if you're interested. I work on these three, sometimes four, days a week, but I have to pull my weight with the hunting and Robin's other activities as well, so you can work with me whenever I'm here."
--M. J. Young
I volunteer to work with him immediately.
"I'd be more than happy to start now, to both show you my good faith in learning as well as just assist with your workload. By the way, my name is Kurt. What may I call you?"
sorry to intrude, but I have a comment on that note, MJ. I have a list of websites I frequent, this one included, that I have asked people to inform when I die. That is, it's in my will, to let my internet friends know, by posting a short message I have already made. So that won't be a problem for me. I really think everyone should do that, but well, one can't change what other people will do very readily.
Didn't think it appropriate to open a brand new thread just to say that, and I don't remember your email.
Thanks, Brock. Unfortunately, I'm not sure who I know who could do that for me, but I suspect that Kyler or Jim or possibly Ryan would think to post here if I could not. I'm not sure about other places--my pastor is on my Bible teaching list, and a lot of people there are connected to other sites and groups, so that's probably how that information would spread. Oh, and if my wife did not post it to her Facebook account I suspect at least one of her friends would say something which would appear on her wall there.
Oh, and I have a bunch of addresses @mjyoung.net including mjyoung, referee, dragon, and teacher.
He laughs at your suggestion that you will be of help. "Lad," he says, "it will be most of a year, I expect, before you'll be more help than burden; but that's the way of learning, isn't it? I'll teach ye, because after the year you'll be good enough to make a difference, and in three years ye'll have paid back the debt."
And with that he starts showing more about how he makes a quality bow instead of just a bow.
--M. J. Young
I do my best to pay attention to him and repeat whatever he does. While he explains, I also take notes in one of my notebooks on the proper skill behind bow-making.
Over the next few days, you find yourself moving between making bows and arrows to practicing with them to practicing the quarterstaff, spending time between this caring for your animals, eating meals, washing up after some of them, and chatting with some of those you know. (Were you also doing some kind of regular exercise program? I'm afraid I don't recall if you were training or practicing in something I've missed here.)
--M. J. Young
Yes, I'm trying to help myself get into shape on top of this.
It's very simple-a basic workout combining sit-ups and push-ups, starting with 50 each. I try to work my way up to 70 each per day.
Other than what you said, that's about it-what you've laid out was the routine I wanted to do.
The weather changes this week, and a lot of your routine becomes more difficult as it rains for days--the cook fires are washed out, the roofs of the huts are leaking and men are getting soaked trying to keep them secure.
Everyone is in camp for this time, except Alain who departed before it started, but most stay to their quarters. Friar Tuck and Robin make the rounds in the rain, coming in soaked to check whether everyone is all right and to pass out the cold dried meat and raw vegetables which comprise food when there are no fires.
--M. J. Young
I choose to spend at least a small amount of time during the day crossing my legs and practicing meditation, attempting to do so while ignoring the distraction of the rain.
I'll attempt as well to practice it out in the pouring rain, to see if I can do so with the rain falling on my head.
Finally, I'll spend more time with the bowyers to learn the craft, while I spend less time practicing with my quarterstaff. I continue the daily workout, sit-ups and push-ups.