[Bordermarch] Trip to Stonekeep

[Lathrop, Dave]

A recent visit to Stonekeep Armory, located in a lovely quaint little
spot in the road known as Ratcliff, was enjoyed by Count Sir Simonn,
Countess Mistress Tessa, and me. Its sole proprietor, Lord Rienholt von
Kroner, armorer extraordinaire, greeted us with smiles and warm
handshakes. He led us on a tour of his armory, explaining in detail the
processes involved in making armor. He has a helper, Fabio or Fazio, who
does some of the preliminary work for him. When we entered Stonekeep
Armory's showroom we realized just how prolific an armorer Lord Rienholt
really is. The showroom was overflowing with stock ready for sale. There
was armor everywhere of different sizes that one could try-out for the
proper fit. I picked out a two piece gorget for HE Elisabeth and
received some good advice from Lord Rienholt about the armor she decided
to wear while manning the ballista. I also grabbed two really nice
straight pieces of rattan that will be transformed into swords in the
near future. He helped me decide on a proper helm that was more
historically correct for my 14th century Spanish persona. If I sell my
15 year old son I should be able to get the helm by Autumn Melees.
Countess Mistress Tessa was fitted for some new arms and legs and
brought her helm so Lord Rienholt could criticize it. I will not go into
detail as to what he said about her helm other than he said it looked
cute. We also left with a helm to be modified for Lady Bianca Mondragon,
another of our Ballista Babes. Her persona is Japanese and since she is
our treasurer she should be able to tally the deaths caused by the
Ballista Babes.
Count Sir Simonn, veteran of many battles, asked Lord Reinholt to make
his precious Countess Mistress Tessa's armor strong enough to protect
her from the most savage blows one might encounter on the field. Lord
Rienholt assured Sir Simonn that his lady would not only be able to
fight the good fight on the battle field and not get injured, but would
be able to return to his side in the evening and serve him his warm milk
and cookies before bedtime. All the while we were visiting with Lord
Rienholt, Fabio was busy polishing some of Sir Simonn's hand crafted
fighting gear. When Sir Simonn asked what the bill was for Fabio's work,
Lord Rienholt made an explosive gesture with his hand and said "Sir
Simonn, your money is no good here". With an astonished look on his face
Sir Simonn thanked Lord Rienholt for his generosity. Lord Rienholt then
said "Sir Simonn, you owe me nothing, but you do owe Fabio something for
his labor". Sir Simonn responded with "Anything he needs I will gladly
pay. Fabio saved me countless hours of hard labor, so I really do owe
him something". Lord Rienholt brought his hand to his chin and thought
about it for a moment then declared, "Sir Simonn, I think Fabio would
like you to give him a sponge bath". Sir Simonn was speechless!! His
only response after several seconds of silence was, "take my car, take
my money, but do not ask me to give Fabio a sponge bath". We left before
Fabio could collect the dept owed to him, but I fear he will never
forget Count Sir Simonn of Amber Isle.
 
HE Santiago