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The Trees of Autumn

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Alien Space Bat
Sep 9, 2002
3.493
11
THE TREES OF AUTUMN​



Overture
Peter Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 3, Fourth Movement

"Woe unto them who have gone in the way of Cain... they are trees of autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots."
--Jude 1:11-12

Realm: County of Shrewsbury
Scenario: 1066

CHARACTERS (Subject to change as the AAR goes on)

Roger de Montgomery (Count of Shrewsbury 1066- )
Mabel de Belesme, his wife (Chancellor 1066-1069)
Ivo de Belesme, her father
Rainuld de Baliol, a courtier (Steward 1066- )
Judith, his mother (Spy Master 1066-1071)
Ralph Mortimer, a courtier (Marshal 1066- )
More Saxon thanes than you could shake Grendel's arm at.
Ethelred, a Saxon soldier
Iorweth ap Owain, a Welsh servant
Dyddgu, his daughter (Chancellor 1069-
Geoffroy de Montgomery, Roger's son.
William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy 1035- , King of England 1066- )
John, commander of the garrison at Montgomery fort.
A huge Welsh army. I mean huge.
Roger and Dyddgu's children:
Geoffroy, Emma, Robert, and Matilda.

Shrewsbury2.jpg

Map of Shrewsbury​
 
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PART ONE


CHAPTER ONE​

"And Samuel took a little vial of oil, and poured it upon [Saul's] head, and kissed him, and said: Behold, the Lord hath anointed thee to be prince over his inheritance, and thou shalt deliver his people out of the hands of their enemies, that are round about them."*
--1 Kings [or Samuel] 10:1

Roger1.gif

Roger de Montgomery​

25 December 1066
London, England

Earl of Shrewsbury. Imagine! One of William's best knights, and he had become, of all things, lord of some wilderness far too close to the Welsh for comfort. To be fair, Roger de Montgomery hadn't taken part in William's invasion,** but he was one of William's most important vassals back in Normandy. It had been some of his cavalry who had died at the hand of the Saxon shield wall! It might have been one of his archers who drove an arrow through Harold's eye! It was certainly his support which made this invasion work.

William could have rewarded him with many more important things. The Rape of Arundel,*** lucarative lands in Sussex. A dukedom. Control of a fertile river valley. Power in William's English court. But instead, Roger had been given a half-Welsh borderland.

William had said that it was because he needed someone good to secure the center of his Welsh border. That was a lie, and William probably knew Roger was aware of that fact. But Roger wasn't the one William had to fool, it was the other nobles. The true reason was, Roger would be too powerful if he was given any lands of importance. William claimed that he had the right of inheritance to England, but he was in a very precarious position and couldn't afford to make any one man that powerful.

Roger shrugged. He was ready to go where William said, no matter what he thought of it. To Shrewsbury, then. Perhaps he could expand at the expense of the Welsh. Or just settle down for a while and make a move for power later. Either way, he knew he deserved more, and would take it when the opportunity presented itself.
__________
*All (English) biblical quotes in this AAR are from the Douay-Rheims version, as revised by Bishop Challoner in 1752.
**In fact, having Roger in England at all at this point is anachronistic.
***Which the real Roger had. In fact, he was given it in 1067, while he recieved Shrewsbury only in 1071.
 
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Mmmmm... Good start!:D I like the tensions you reveal, very good.:)
 
Good set up, JM. Good to see you writing again. Does this mean that your EU2 tales will get some love, or has CK taken over for the moment? If so, I know how easily that can happen. ;) Looking forward to see where you take this.
 
Oh! Some more story-based competition pops up! I will be watching this intently.

"Woe unto them who have gone in the way of Cain... they are trees of autumn, unfruitful, twice dead, plucked up by the roots."

You sure know how to get the atention...you got mine. ;)
 
This one seems to be promising. I'll closely follow it. Good work.
 
[Nikolai: This AAR, I hope, will involve more tension than a drawn bowstring.
coz1: Unfortunately, my long absence involved getting a new computer. So no reviving old AARs. :(
Shaytana: Wish I had time to read all of your AAR. As it is, I'm slowly working my way through it.
O. Guinnes: Make sure to keep a safe braking distance. :D
Sedita: Soon? How about right now?]

Roger rose from his knees. All those thoughts had gone through his head while he was pretending to pray. At first, he wanted God to show him the path he should take. But Roger had heard nothing from above, and made his own judgement on what to do.

Today had been quite busy. Not only had Roger attended William's coronation, but it was also the celebration of the Nativity. While the mass was no different than ususal, the coronation was quite eventful.

It had been a rather nervous affair for all involved; to many of the Saxons, William was a usurper. At one point, there were loud noises coming from the street. A group of the guards ran out and tried to quiet them--but they were reined in when it was discovered that rather than rioting, they were actually praising William. Roger couldn't help but have some amusement at that scene, although there were a few injuries, and perhaps some dead--nobody was sure yet.

Roger was leaving the chapel when he heard someone behind him say, "Good evening."

"To you as well, father." Ivo de Belesme wasn't his actual father, but his wife's.

Ivo1.gif

Ivo de Belesme​

"If it is not intruding, may I ask what you were praying for?"

"Guidance in governing my new lands."

"And what did He say?"

"That there are no special rules to this, but that I should act as a good Christian should should in any situation." It was a lie. Roger had heard nothing and made his own, human decision, rather different than what he had just said.

"Very good. God be with you, Roger."

"And with you also."

Roger shook his head as he left Ivo behind. Perhaps Roger fooled him then, but Ivo was too intelligent to always be led astray. Ivo could see through any plans Roger made, and that mean Ivo would remain in London, if Roger had anything to say about it.

Quickly, Roger made a list of who to bring along. Mabel, his wife, of course. There was Rainauld de Baliol, who had fought at Hastings and was one of Roger's closest friends; Rainuld's mother, Judith; Ralph Mortimer (son of William Mortimer who paid for 60 of William's ships), another veteran of Hastings and Roger's sword arm; and likely many other good knights, as the current Saxon nobility certainly couldn't be trusted. Roger would leave as soon as everyone was ready--or perhaps even before. There were many changes to be done in Shropshire.
 
Promising read so far, and I await the tension. I hope that there will be an answer from the gods sooner or later, considering we will have Bible quotes. But, I guess the answer will come through deeds. ;)
 
[Shaytana: Maybe, maybe not.
Zeno: Like this one?
Oh, and Roger will forget his problems for a while. Believe me, once we really get into the story, he'll be glad he had a bit of rest.]

Music
Ludwig van Beethoven: Country Dance no. 1

CHAPTER TWO​

"Thou hast prepared a table before me against them that afflict me. Thou hast anointed my head with oil; and my chalice which inebreateth me, how goodly is it!"
--Pslams 22:5

15 January 1067
Shrewsbury

Rainuld de Baliol stood outside the small fort overlooking the town of Shrewsbury, scanning the horizon. Having been appointed steward, he had been sent ahead to put finances in order in preperation for Earl Roger's arrival. But said arrival was now two days late, and Rainuld was getting worried. How lawless were the roads in the aftermath of conquest? What better prize for a Saxon bandit than a Norman lord, his enemy?

Finally, he saw dust coming from the horizon. It was Roger, and, Rainuld could see as they drew closer, in very good spirits, too. They were far more laden down than Rainuld had expected, carrying large amounts of choice game. Roger led the riders to the fort, and jumped off. After helping his wife Mabel off her horse, he ran over to Rainuld, laughing.

"My God, what a treasure we have in our lands!"

"What treasure, lord?"

"Animals! Deer, boars, hares... I no longer think William miserly with land. He has given me Eden! This is a hunting paradise, Rainuld."

"Was that the reason for your delay?"

"It was." Roger led everyone inside, where they gathered around the fire servants had quickly set up for the Earl. "We spent two days hunting in the forests along the Severn, and, I imagine, barely found the slightest amount of the animals. Even then, look how much we have! Enough to feed us for a year!"

"If we keep it from spoiling."

"Yes, certainly, we will need to be liberal with our salt."

"Which isn't cheap."

"We'll be able to pay for it. Don't get too sober on me, Rainuld! This is a time for celebration! Expense can be excused."

"You have somewhat of a point, lord. Our finances are in good condition."

"For which I thank you. Ralph!"

Ralph Mortimer came up to Roger and bowed. "Yes, lord?"

"Find the best men among the Saxons and organize a guard for the fort and town. Ensure that they are loyal, or at least scared. That is a vital point, Ralph! I do not want my guard to turn against me. We have several Normans, but I'm not in the mood for a bloodbath."

"Is it wise to put arms in the hands of any Saxon?"

"How else shall I show that I trust them? And how much more loyal will they be if I show that?"

"Wise, as always."

"I am glad you understand. Now, enough of business. To pleasure. Tell the servants to prepare a feast!"

The servants prepared the meat for that night. Roger knew that he was going to enjoy his time here.
 
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Well, it's good to know that your time off did not harm your writing talent. I am already enjoying the Norman/Saxon issues you are laying out, and I have always enjoyed the music you place with each post. So, how long before Roger becomes Count of Baden? ;)
 
I wonder how many people will die during hunting... Will it be boars? Stray arrows? Not so stray arrows? Surely there must be some hunting "accidents" in the future. ;)
 
What will you do with the new patch, Judas? Since it's so early in the game, are you going to apply it? I mean, so far it seems to me like we're at the very start of the campaign.:)
 
If you ever need to kill off a woman, the title quote could be Exudos 22:18 "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" KJV

Good update.
 
[I'd intended to update yesterday, but I can't stay online for anything when it rains.
coz: Probably helped, since it gave me a bit of a rest.
Shaytana: Certainly a possibility.
Nikolai: Well, I've already played the part I'm doing in this AAR. But if I decide to continue on, it'll be under 1.03. I may be a Catholic, but I'm not too big a fan of Papal Europe. ;)
Zeno: Unfortunately, the version I'm using has "Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live" instead.
frogbeastegg: Alright, I will.]

Once the feast ended, Roger gathered all his men around the fire. Roger had a map out in front of him and was showing which lands he had decided to give, and to whom. After showing Rainuld what he had been granted, the steward replied, "A good area, lord. I shall govern it with wisdom."

Roger gave a bit of a chuckle. "Not so ridiculously formal, Rainuld! You sound like you've ran that through your head ten thousand times. Which I wouldn't be surprised you did."

"I apologize."

"Eh, it's not so big a deal. Mortimer..." Ralph suddenly jumped up; he had eaten quite a bit at the feast and was quickly becoming sleepy. "Mortimer, if you can stay awake through this, I'm giving you this area here." Roger went through all the major towns, showing them on the map. Mortimer yawned, bowed (nearly falling over in the process), then slid over to the fire, hoping to stay awake in case Roger called on him again.

Just as Roger finished, one of the guarding soldiers walked in. "Lord, a group of Saxon thanes are here to see you."

Rainuld growled. "Roger, don't give them anything. I'd bet my sword that they'd be back within a month asking for more, and more, and more..."

Roger waved his left hand in a dismissing motion, and lightly shook his head. "I will listen to what they have to say, first. If it is reasonable, I will accept. I would accept a request from a pagan if it was reasonable."

Rainuld sighed and sat down while three Saxons entered. "I am Ealdred," said the leader, "thane of Acton. This is Siward of Frodesley and Widard of Farlow. We request, if you deem it right, that we remain in our positions."

"I accept. Providing, of course, that you govern well, and in consideration that I am your master."

"Of course."

Rainuld shot up again. "Lord, Farlow is in my--"

"Not anymore." Roger waved at the Saxons, who bowed and half-ran out. "I must show fairness to the Saxon populace, or I face revolt. Which reminds me. Mortimer..." Snoring could be heard from the curled-up Ralph. Roger walked over and nudged him with his boots. Ralph started and looked up, barely fighting a yawn. "Yes, lord?"

"Tomorrow, I want you to start organizing a small militia of Saxons. We don't have enough Normans to defend our land. Make sure--and this is absolutely vital--make sure that they are loyal, or can be made so. The last thing I want is a rebellious militia."

This time, Rainuld was more cool-headed. "With all respect, lord, I don't think it wise to arm Saxons, no matter how loyal they seem."

"Can we afford it?"

"Yes, but--"

"That's all I want to know from you. If I arm them, they know I trust them." Rainuld opened his mouth again. "That is the end of the matter, Rainuld."
 
Ok, so Roger is arguably a wise ruler... and he has two servants one is apparently lazy (Mortimer), while the other seems ambitious, and...focused (Rainuld). One can already see a hint of rebellion in Rainuld, so that would be too obvious...maybe it is Mortimer who will be the one to strike Roger down in the end. ;) (or help along - if that ever happens...I hope so at least, Rainuld has rebel/lord slayer written all over him, would be a pitty for him to be the one).
 
So Roger's arming the Saxons, I wonder if he'll have cause to regret that later? The Normans might take offense, the Saxons may remember Hastings, and it could all get very interesting.

Then again the Saxons could decide buttering up a Norman is a good idea, because it pays their wages and keeps them safe.

BUT maybe some of the other Saxons would consider then traitors, working with the enemy? That could start a bit of a rift.

So many possibilities :D
 
Got to love descrepencies in bible translations! Well that section of Ex has some real odd stuff like in mine (King James)

CH 22
18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

and if your looking to kill a few pagans

20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed.

show hospitality

21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.

Well regaurdless of that, it was a good update and I want to see the armed saxons!
 
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