A Knight's Journey: Tales from Outside the Great Hall

The Commander -
The Commander lounged back in an overstuffed, yet somehow regal-looking armchair, and beckoned one of the Office Squires to fetch another mug of Root Beer. Commander had looked forward to this evening for many months. A night to stop worrying about the howling beasts of the Green Room from Review Months or Review Days, and to enjoy the company of the Knights, doing what Knights do best of course... telling tales of the Green Battle Field.

Commander hiccuped on another gulp of the soda, put both hands on their knees, and looked around the familiar faces illuminated by the Library's fireplace. "Well Knights, if you're feeling weary it's time for you to head to bed. I have a story I've been wanting to share, and it's not one I'll be taking interruptions for."

The fire crackled, and the wind howled, but the knights were silent. There had always been a sense of mystery around who The Commander was, they were like a Knight who never removed their helmet, there was always this hedge of guardedness in their speech, an air of formality that came without cracks.

The Commander, internally steadying themselves with a last look around the room, began their tale.



"It's time you knew how this order came about, how the knights were formed, how the knights came to be. I won't be around forever, so someone ought to know the history. Commander took a quick look at Scribe Kale to make sure they were jotting down notes.

Well, the Green Room had been around for many years as a holding place for author's making their way through editing mountain; the problem was the place was littered with all sorts of foes and beasts and monsters. Understandably, one didn't want to delay in a place like that. Authors would have some reprieve during review days, but besides that it was a cold and desolate place. This is where I come in.

As a young, perhaps overly confident apprentice at a chicken hatchery, I had long dreamed of adventure beyond the walls of the barn where I worked, but for a poor apprentice like myself a chance at adventure was not common. Still it set my mind to day-dreaming of epic battles and journeys. My adventures were limited to my dreams, that is until one day something peculiar happened in the hatchery. I spied a golden egg. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the glint of gold from a dusty corner of the hatchery floor; but truly as legend had told - it was a golden egg - the type that could produce a golden fowl.

These types of birds were so rare and treasured, as I held the egg in my palm I felt fate had put us together, and that this surely would be my one chance to escape the hatchery. So under the cover of night, I ran away with my few possessions and the stolen egg in my satchel. I could not sell such a good in my own hometown near the lakes of Randomosity and the Knowledge Base - no, people in the Trading Post would know immediately that someone like me must have stolen the treasure. The only place lawless enough to trade the stolen good would be the Green Room - a place filled with monsters, beasts, and unrest.

I planned to sell the egg to Spamerous, a giant Green Room ogre who traded in fine weaponry. I dreamed that with a fine weapon - a spear or sword perhaps, I could begin my life of adventures I'd always desired. The journey to Spamerous was not easy, but within a week's time I had made it to his current whereabouts. He was a fierce beast to look at knights, I'll spare you some of the finer details of his appearance, but his scent I shall never forget; a heavy mixture of snot and swamp. Spamerous agreed, amicably to the terms of trading the stolen egg for a fine sword. However when the time came to trade the goods arrived, the giant ogre cheated me by giving me a false weapon made of nothing more than shined cardboard.

Once I had found out I'd been hoodwinked, Spamerous was long gone. As I sorrowed after my loss of the golden egg, I realized I had been quite a fool to have stolen it in the first place. It hadn't been honorable and now I was left with no job, no sword, no egg, and no chance of returning home. As I continued wallowing I was met by a traveling bard who looked as miserable as I felt. I asked what was the trouble, and the bard said they had been attacked by a giant ogre. When I asked what the ogre looked and smelled of, the bard described the same ogre, Spamerous, who had cheated me out of my golden egg! It turned out as I moved from village to village in the Green Room that many folks had similar tales of woe and sadness being attacked and cheated by the giant ogre. I knew what I had to do. I had to stop this ogre, not just for myself, but for all those who had fallen prey to his terrors.

Equipped with only a flimsy cardboard sword, I knew I couldn't defeat this foe on my own so I sought out other brave souls. It didn't take long to find a good group of fellow adventurers who like myself, wanted to see the Green Room defended. Our only problem was we had no way of reaching the lair the ogre Spamerous lived in. We tried and failed to cross the Roleplay River, and then attempted to reach the end of the People Tab, but none of those methods worked. Just as we began to give up hope, a unicorn approached us! I know what you're thinking, how could a person get lucky enough to encounter both a unicorn and golden egg in the same life-time right? Well the unicorns have long watched over the land of YWS and knew of the struggles of the Green Room, when they heard someone intended to bring some justice to the Green Room they sent some recruits to help, with a promise that as long as we defended the Green Room they would send some of their kind for the purposes of assisting our missions.

Spoiler

Once we reached the lair of the ogre, Spamerous was quite surprised to see the force that had amassed. Never before had a group stood up to a foe in the Green Room. We were small, we were largely unarmed, but we were brave and determined. In my old life I might have believed power was only in the individual, but in that battle I truly saw the power of numbers, a lesson I would never forget. After the ogre was surrounded he asked just one question, "What do you call yourselves?" With a moment's pause I thought about our mission; our journey, and responded with a name that felt true as I said it, "We are the Knights of the Green Room". The ogre's eye widened and with a great sigh he actually gave up willingly. We subsequently made him promise to leave the Green Room once and for all.

With an eager heart, I searched his lair (a very stinky place indeed!) but could not seem to find the golden egg. Suddenly one of my comrades called out - she brought attention to what I had feared - there lay the golden egg's shell broken in pieces. As I swept up the broken shards of the crushed golden egg in my hand, I felt for a moment that the whole mission had still been in some part a failure. Then I heard the glorious sound that one can only hears to this day when the Green Room is nearly empty, when the wind has stopped, when all the other creatures of the forest stop their rustling. It was indeed the glorious honking of a Golden Goose! In a rafter hidden above our heads a golden gleam revealed the glistening feathers of the tiny golden gosling. The egg had not been smashed, it had hatched!

The goose lept from the rafter on to my shoulder and I peered at it for a minute, before it hopped back to the ground to search for stray bugs to munch on. I knew watching the creature waddle around the room, that this was where it belonged, for the Golden Goose had never been fairly mine to begin with. I would leave that Golden Goose in the Green Room, and as you know she has hatched many Golden Goslings since that day, and in fact though they are rare, their populations are replenishing and they are not so rare as they once were.

Initially we thought to disband the group of the Knights of the Green Room, but we were met with a call for an author in need, and then another helpless author, and then called to defeat another foe, and before we knew it, we had committed to serving the Green Room permanently. Of course our order soon became more formalized as more Knights, supplies, and armor were needed for the task of defending the Green Room. And of course the castle was built as well! But that is a story for another day, for now I think the story of my humble beginnings is enough talking from me for the evening."



The room that had stayed silent during The Commander's speech, became filled with whispers. Whether the whispers were of admiration, gossip, or doubt, The Commander didn't care to surmise.

"Well my story shouldn't be the only one of the evening!" The Commander continued, "The Great Hall only captures a glimpse of each of your journeys. The Root Beer is on me this evening, let's all have another round, and hear from someone else."

To the left of The Commander, sat the members of The Court known by most knights by their official titles, but on a first name basis to the Commander; Jack, Alliyah, Perks, and tonight even Kale and BluesClues had joined them. Amongst the members of the Court there was some sort of visually apparent dispute, a few of them elbowing each other in the ribs.

Knight Hardy of the Underworld

Knight Hardy stood up. "I'll give it a shot then."

"Very, well continue," said the Commander.

"I shall recount how I came to be a knight," began Knight Hardy," It all began like this."

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Harrison Hardy, Head of Border Patrol in the Underworld, was looking for a place to get away from the underworld for a while. While newcomers to the Underworld often marveled at it's beauty and splendor, for someone who had live there for over 15 years, the black and bronze was just too boring. So, taking on the simple name of Harry Hardy he opened up a portal of darkness and traveled to a planet known simply as The Internet. It was a vast planet containing many oceans and continents. Vast Kingdoms were sprawled across its continents and Harry felt that he could maybe find a second home in one of them.

He first stumbled into Fanfictionville. Despite the name it was far from a village and inhabited by many hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. He tried to blend in, claiming himself a spot among Harry Potter State. Unfortunately they did not take much notice of his efforts often ignoring him entirely. After several months of trying, a disheartened Harry set out to find another place to call home.

He heard rumors of a similarly vast kingdom, the Archive O3 Lands. However, he wasn't going to be one to make the same mistake twice. He knew that in a land as overpopulate as AO3 was he would only face the same responses as he had back in Fanfictionville. He set out to search for a smaller kingdom. One where the people all knew each other and helped each other. One where he could find a home and perhaps a few friends along the way.

His quest took him Wattpadd Nation. There he face perhaps the worst few days of his life. He attempted to gain entry but the guards refused him access. No amount of pleading would allow him to set foot in the Nation. Apparently he was not of the right type to be allowed entry. Saddened once again, Harry took to the road. He was now fast running out of land to cover. It appeared as if he might have to return back home. Back to the boring old life he lead. At least there they respected him.

Despite these wayward thoughts he eventually found his way to a kingdom that appeared promising. A community that was accommodating and a small population that would allow him to integrate himself with much more ease. It was the Scribophile Tribe. For his first week he thrived.He met knew people, even spotted the beginnings of a friendship. However, the fates appeared to be determined to get back on him for all the times he had pranked them. He learned a very important lesson in Scribophile Tribe. Looks can be deceiving. Underneath those that commented on his work, he saw people desperate for karma, people writing things for the rewards they received from the king. And to top it all off he was required to pay taxes even for the simple privilege of using italics. Harry, who lived a simple life, had no way of supporting the paying of so many taxes. A disappointing and almost ready to give up Harry headed out once more, vowing that if he did not find a suitable home in the next place that he found, he would return home.

The next land he stumbled upon was yet another mega empire. The Empire of Reddit. He had learned his lesson last time with mega empires but he wanted to give them another shot. He had heard many good things from his fellow Underworld patrol officers, Vankous Frostification and Raymond Sanders. He set foot into the empire, full of renewed hope. Once more he had success in his first month. He gained some popularity as a man of many vibrant ideas and received much acclaim from the community. He even received tokens of appreciation including a sack of gold that was his most prized possession at the time. But once more fate was determined to punish him. Happiness was not in his future apparently. When he tried to build on his ideas and ask for feedback he was met with..nothing. It was like Fanfictionville all over again expect much worse because he had made the same mistake twice. A Harry that was now ready to throw in the towel, left the kingdom a disappointed man. He left his treasures behind. He had no need of them anymore. He would return to the Underworld. It was his first home after all.

He returned to the road, preparing for the long journey back. That was when he saw it. After several days on the road, needing a rest, he ran into a signpost. Deciding that he's stop for the night, he entered entered the small kingdom. It was called YWS Kingdom. He stayed the night. It seemed to be a fairly busy kingdom for one of its size. They were lively towns spread throughout the land. What sold it for him was the vast green forest that stretched across the entire length of the kingdom on the east side. It was inhabited with creatures of all shapes and sizes. And it appeared that they needed to be kept under control lest the kingdom be overrun. He dived in with gusto, fighting the beasts with his bare hands. He made many a friend on his adventures until he was noticed by a noble figure. Knight Kumar. He spoke a group that had pledged themselves to fight for the YWS Kingdom and keep the green forests clear of the beasts. The legendary and noble Knights of the Green Room. Harry couldn't resist. It was the opportunity of a lifetime. And he may just get himself a new home along the way. He was officially recognized as Squire Harry on the 173rd day of 2020. He would then go on to receive his knighthood on the 180th day of 2020. After receiving his knighthood he knew then that this was it. After wondering about for nearly an year he had found himself a home, a place where he felt that he could reside. As a bonus he had found himself a loyal band of friends: The Knights of the Green Room.

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Knight Hardy finished his tale with a bow. He retook his seat on the floor amidst a round of applause.

"Well. Well. That was quite the tale, Knight Hardy," said the Commander,"now who else shall regale us with a tale?"

Castle Grounds Consultant Perks

"Thank you, Knight Harry for your very exciting tale."

Knight Perks cheered along with the rest of the gathered Knights.

They then stood up and shrugged before speaking. "I might as well say my own story, although it may prove to be a bit more boring than the ones before me."


Two years ago stood a curious, young Perks, with some experience of entering the Green Room as a wanderer. They hadn't known too much about the Knights Order, mostly that a few people they had met along the way, across fields, or mountains, or in the middle of rivers, which had been rather random, had been among its ranks, and had spoken about great achievements.

As thus, they finally arrived to the Great Hall and asked to be a Squire. They methodically worked their way through the Green Room a month later to receive a Sword, their first weapon besides the Training Knives.

From there, they made their way through the ranks, retrieving many a different weapons that they eventually discarded to be replaced by their simple sword, and a horse companion that they dutifully brushed down every night, named after a beloved character Flynn.

Perks often forgot about what they actually had, giving the high majority of their silver and gold to local towns that had housed them in their time as a Knight, but they made it through and arrived somewhat safely at the Hall every so often.

One day, which had felt quite out of the blue but also very exciting, they were appointed to the Commander's Court as the Castle Grounds Consultant which was a fancy way of declaring Perks to be in charge of granting mighty horses to those that earn their great steeds. And make sure that that the Hall did not fall to rubble once again.

Since then, Perks lived a decent life, one with plenty of animals that often distracted them from their official Knight duties by fighting in the Green Room, but they made sure to at least keep any waiting Knights stocked with all the supplies they needed to keep their horses happy.

Along with the rest of the Court, Perks gladly helped with Knight duties and new challenges, and had been looking forward to listening to other Knights speak of their stories.
"Hopefully that wasn't as boring of a story as I feared, but thank you all for listening!" They said, smiling.

"Thank you for that fine tale, Perks! There are quite a few soldiers here, so let us hear more!" The Commander exclaimed.

With that, Perks sat down once more, nearly grabbing a book from a close shelf.

The room grew quiet, waiting to hear next from another Knight.

Knight Harry, who had been away for several weeks on a quest, staggered into the Great Hall. He took a seat, gasping for breath. He took a few minutes to catch his breath before he stood up.

"I have a mission that I wish to talk about," he said, bowing low.

"Go ahead," said the commander.

Harry straightened up and cleared his throat.'

"Recently, I decide to embark on a mission, nothing new by any means but a worthy cause nonethelss." He paused for effect. Everyone slowly creeped to the edges of their seats with anticipation.

"Have you heard of the shrubbery...the very edges of the realm where long forgotten beasts live in exile?"

There was a chorus of "YES"

"Well in those lands lie a great many forgotten beasts, ancient creatures long forgotten and I believe that they deserve attention."

He waited while some of them cheered and clapped.

"So, I have made it my personal mission to be the knight that shall travel far and wide into the very corners of All Literary and...slay them all. I plan to ensure that all forgotten authors shall get what every author since 2012 has been given: at least two reviews. And that is what I wanted to talk about today."

"Quite a noble cause, Knight Hardy," said Court Magician alliyah," but a tiring one."

"Indeed....it was a very tiring journey but I believe it was worth every second. The chance to see the beasts of old is definitely a priviledge."

"So...how has the mission gone so far," asked Grounds Consultant Perks.

"Well...it began a little something like this..."

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Knight Hardy had just stopped by a camp by the name of NaNo being conducted by Chief Battle Advisor Blue. He had been coming off an exhausting campaign to earn his lance. There he had a question. There was a badge in the notice posted in the hall that was somewhat confusing. He could not fathom how someone could win a badge for slaying a beast born before October 2012 when the oldest beasts in the land were only a few weeks old.

So he sought out the ever helpful Court Magician alliyah. She explained it all to him. He found out about a history that he had never known before. This wondrous order had apparently been formed years after the establishing of the YWS Kingdom. This mean that before then there had been many beasts that had fled into the outskirts to live among the shrubbery. The badge was awarded to those knights that were brave enough to venture into these forgotten lands to claim the heads of these elusive beasts.

That day he was intrigued. He was always one for an adventure. He liked doing things that many said were impossible. In fact it was one of his flaws, always wanting to do things that others cautioned were things no sane human would attempt.

So, saddling Scipio, his newly acquired horse, he left for the shrubbery, seeking to fight the beasts of old and collect their heads.

For days he journeyed into the unknown depths of All Literary, marching towards the its very borders. Eventually he reached them, the very edge of YWS Kingdom. A place that no one has walked through for 16 long years. He began his search.

After a week of adventuring he had managed to slay a considerable number of beasts, enough to claim his coat of arms and so he made the long journey back to this hall.

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"...and that is how am I am now here narrating this story," finished Knight Hardy with a small bow.

He sat back down to thunderous applause.

The Commander invited the other knights to continue with their own tales.

One day, just a few days ago, I was walking down a winding cobbled path amidst a few of my friends and admirers, telling them the tales of lands far off that I had seen in my travels. One day, I came upon a simple farmer and his family, who told me of the Green Knights that heroically fought the Green Monsters.
"Ye might like joinin' up wit 'em, Mister Vilnius, sir," the old farmer said.
And so, I did.
However, it was not an easy journey-- every great knight needed a sidekick. And so, I looked to the farmer's daughter and cried, "Onward! You shall come with me, after you tell me your name!"
She was kneeling in a bean patch picking bush beans. "Oh no, papa's trying to marry me off isn't he?" she said to herself, looking wide eyed.
"I-- um, no," I answered, losing mysef for just a moment. "You are to be my--" I paused for dramatic effect-- "sidekick! My trusty sidekick at that!"
She stared at me a second. "Sidekick?"
"Yes!" I said excitedly. "As my trusty sidekick, you will go everywhere with me and my raven, Guthrag the One-eyed, just as soon as you tell me your name!"
She looked at the bean plants. "Aaand, I don't have to sit here and pick beans?"
"Nope!"
"...Alright then!" She stood up and clapped the dirt from her hands, sticking one out for him. "Jannet. It's nice to meet you--"
-----
"Um, Vil?"
"Yes?" I say, turning, unhappy that my story is being interrupted.
"That wasn't me. That-- that's the wrong story."
"It-- is?" I pause. "No, she was my first sidekick. She was eaten by wolves the next day."
"Well, that's encouraging," Stringbean mutters under her breath. Then aloud she says, "You've got to skip to the day after that. Remember? The well?"
-----
After Jannet had been swallowed whole, I was chased into the next town by her very angry family. After some time of wandering there, I came to a well and heard a splash-- someone was drowning inside! And so, I dived in, yelling, "Onward!"
I pushed some sopping wet thing out and then struggled to pull myself out. A hand pulled me up, and a voice said, "What the heck are you doing?"
"I saved you!" I cried. "Be my sidekick... whoever you are!"
The lass looked down at a dripping bucket that was still rolling on the ground, then at me. "...Yeah. Um... saved-- me."
"Ahh!" I cried. "You are dry! Are you some kind of witch?"
"..."
Then, in the house behind her, a burly man came storming out the door, red in the face. "Git back in 'ere with that water, an' hurry it up ya little w--"
"Witch! Yeah, witch. Um. But since you saved me, I won't-- witch you."
"Then you shall be my trusty sidekick!" I cried happily, water dripping from my clothes. "Onward! To our first adventure... whatever your name is!"

Alliyah, the Court Magician strolls into the Library and sits down to listen to more tales, holding a torn map that was supposed to lead to unicorns, but unfortunately seemed to have gotten mixed up with some other mythological creatures because it continually led in circles without any trace of the unicorn she had spent months, no years, searching for.

She looked around the Library and saw the great number of Knights gathered Knight @Vil, Knight @LZPianoGirl, Knight @EditorAndPerks, Knight @HarryHardy, Knight @Stellarjay, Knight @starlitmind,
and even some Squires waiting on the Commander to have their prizes rewarded.

Knight Alliyah looked around a bit sheepishly, she'd been so busy searching for the Unicorn she had forgotten that someone needed to check up on the Great Hall "Has anyone seen the Commander since the RevMo battles? I hope he didn't get lost in the Green Room!"

Just then a raccoon @ReviewBuddy hopped from off of a chandelier and stole the map right from Knight Alliyah's hands!

I'll be back to search for the Commander in a moment friends, but right now I need to catch that Raccoon! If anyone has seen the Commander or has an idea where he might have gone, please let us know, we may need to call in an all-out Knight Search Party at this point!


Feel free to participate in either of these informal challenges below

Challenge 1: Help find the Commander
1) Go to the Green Room to look for clues on where the Commander might have gone! (Review one Green Room work)
2) Return and post your clue here! (have your knight share a clue of where the commander might be)
Reward: 25 points
Deadline: December 1

Court Challenge 2: Help find Review Buddy
1) Share your #ReviewGoals on your wall to draw out Review Buddy from hiding
2) Return to the Library and post your clue below! (have your knight share a clue of where Review Buddy might be, or if you're feeling especially ambitious try to grab that Racoon and bring him over to the library!)
Reward: 25 points, add "Racoon Wrangler" to your official name/titles if desired
Deadline: December 1

I pushed my finger through the hole in my boot, sadly whining as I stared at it. "How could this have happened, noble sidekick?" I asked.
I looked at Stringbean, bewildered, as my good raven Guthrag the One-eyed sadly croaked, "I told you not to let that rabid dog sleep in our camp. But nooo, you just had to have a heart..."
I glared at him and dared throw my boot, luckily missing the well-groomed, one-eyed raven. Stringbean and I stood in a small clearing where we had made camp the night before. The rabid dog had already run off, having taken the last of our meat with it.
"What say you, dear sidekick?"
Stringbean looked at the mouthy raven with a half smile and shrugged. "Well, that dog did look pretty sad, but-- he also did rob us blind, so..."
Frowning, I looked down at my feet. "Dear sidekick, 'tis not possible for I to carry out my knightly duties without my beloved boots! I lose all of my abilities and talents without my boots-- my charisma, my strength, my charm! Oh, woe is me!"
Stringbean cough and glanced away, hiding a smile behind her fist. "Right. Well. Either we fix those or get you some new ones."
I looked up at her, an idea formulating inside my head. "No, those are awful ideas, sidekick! We must find new boots! It shall be a quest!"
Without a second thought, I drew my sword, tripped over a log, and yelled, "Onward! On a quest we dare go!"
Still standing a few steps behind me, Stringbean opened her mouth to say something-- then closed it dumbly and followed, struggling to pull me up under my shoulder. "Right... Onward..."
After some time, we were marching (or, in Guthrag's case, flying). As we marched, I saved my trusty sidekick from being eaten by an ogre, though she claims she saved me to this day. Continuing on, I also saved her from drowning in a small, muddy puddle, though she claims to save saved me there, too. I know not where she received these odd ideas-- mayhaps she is touched in the head?
At long last, we came to our destination-- Shadow's Shoe Shope, Esq.
"My trusty sidekick," said I, "this shall be our most ferocious enemy of all that we have yet faced. Inside lies a monstrous beast by the name..." I paused for dramatic effect. "the Shadow!"
When my trusty sidekick did not reply, I poked her.
"Trusty sidekick!" I said. "You are supposed to gasp whenever you hear another mention... The Shadow!"
"Le gasp," Stringbean said in annoyance as she rubbed her shoulder where I'd poked her. She tipped her head back a bit to regard the storefront. "It looks like a normal shoe shop to me."
"Yes!" I said. "Precisely why it is not a normal shoe shop! Onward!"
Again, I tripped over my bootless feet, tumbling to the ground. Guthrag landed on the back of my head and stared at my ignoble sidekick.
She bent down and hauled me up again, scooping Guthrag up onto her shoulder until I was on my feet again. "Here." She reached up above her head and sat the raven on my shoulder.
"You are welcome, trusty sidekick!" I cried. "You could not have stood up on your own without my help."
"Nope. I would have laid there and died." She gave me a little push from behind towards the door. "Onward. Boots."
"Boots!" Guthrag repeated cheerfully.
I opened the door, the aroma of pine and needle filling my nose. I drew my sword and cried, "Surrender, knaves!"
The patrons all turned and gazed upon me in all of my knightly wonder. One scoffed, "It's Vilnius the Booted, though he seems to have lost them."
Growling I marched towards the patron, but my trusty sidekick stopped me, pulling me to the counter, where a demon awaited us.
"Size and kind?" she asked.
Stringbean looked down at my feet. "Size th-- better make that fourteen. Black--"
"With a heel!" I added.
She nodded "--with a heel."
The demon wandered away, looking at me skeptically. She returned a few minutes later with a box. Excitedly, I opened it and gazed upon my new boots.
"Hurrah!" I cried. "I have vanquished the mighty beasts of the shop and saved my trusty sidekick from harm with no help!"
Meanwhile, Stringbean had produced a pouch of coins and was drawing a few out. "How much?" she asked the demon quietly.
"How soon can you get him out of here?" the demon replied. "He's helpless."
"Forty-seven seconds if we don't have to pay," she answered with a smirk.
"Done," the demon replied quickly.
With a satisfied grin and a nod, Stringbean closed her pouch and pocketed it, then turned to me and put the box into my hands. "Alright, now let's get out of this evil lair before some other monster shows up."
"Yes!" I cried, stumbling with my new boots half-on. "Onward, and away!"

Knight Hardy stumbled into the hall, looking nowhere near as majestic as the creature that walked beside him, Elysium the unicorn.

"Sorry," he apologized quickly as he took a seat. "I look like a total mess at the moment. Capturing 500 more of the beasts is proving to be just as difficult as I thought...which is to say there was no time to freshen up. In fact I believe I only have a few minutes to drop by here but I thought I might as well do it seeing as how I haven't been to this hall in quite a while. Oh the earlier months when you're popping in every other day it seems but then the missions just keep on getting longer and longer. The price you pay for the loot you gain I suppose. If things got easier the more we did, things wouldn't be as exciting."

After that rather long monologue, the weary knight plopped himself down. He seemed so depleted in fact, that the usual chill and dimming of the lights that tended to accompany him all around did not seem to be present that day.

He watched the proceedings unfold for a minute. So many new knights seemed to be joining, all very good signs for their little band...well...not so little band any more it appeared...but good signs for the knights in general. The more their numbers increases the more they would be able to keep the green beasts at bay and the new recruits all seemed promising.

After a while his communicator beeped once, indicating that it was time to go slay a few more of the green beasts. He took a deep breath. The past few weeks he had laid waste to over a hundred and fifty of the things but of course that did not cover even half of what he wished to accomplish with that mission. Getting lost in that dimension known as Minecraft he had run into a few weeks ago certainly hadn't helped matters. That had been a month with a truly low yield for his collecting of the green beasts. He really should learn how to manage his time better.

He staggered to his feet and went forward. He wished he'd had time to deliver some kind of motivational speech to the new knights gathered there but he was having a particularly difficult time finding the world that day. He decided something small and concise would be the best he could muster for the moment.

"Little bit of advice to all our newest recruits...and in fact this piece of advice was a gem delivered to me personally by the commander himself so treat this information with the highest regard. Never use your shield as a dinner plate, for that is when the enemy is most likely to attack. And with that I believe I will take my leave. I shall be back someday, hopefully with a dragon in tow...but that of course will mean, y'all may not see may for the next few months. Until then..I wish you all the best of luck."

Knight Hardy proceeded to leave the hole, Elysium just behind him. With one final wave, the door shut behind him.

Knight Shady was in The Great Hall dancing excitedly next to Knight Momo's (@LordMomo) horse. She of course enjoyed assisting The Commander in passing out all rewards, but she got a special kind of joy when it involved animals. Except for the Golden Goose. Too much hissing to suit her.

She proudly strode forward to give Knight Momo their horse, then gave two huge thumbs up to Knights Alice and LUNAR (@ImaginativeAlice, @LUNARGIRL), whispering loudly, "Great job you guys!!! You're gonna be such good knights! Can't wait for you to get swords, omg, they grow up so quick."

Shady wiped away a single tear then excitedly waved to the new Squire @Spearmint, "I'm so excited you're joining us! We have so much fun!" She cleared her throat. "I mean. We do very official business. Officially. Serious work." She leaned closer and winked. "And by that, I mean fun!"

Shady squinted at the Knights still trickling out of The Great Hall after their last rewards, then shouted, "Wait! Knight Chris! Knight Stormblessed! Knight Spunky! Knight Spirit! Knight Loonzy! Knight Stellarjay! Don't you all want to hear the brand new Court Challenge?" (@ChrisCalaid @Stormblessed242 @SpunkyKitty @SpiritedWolfe @whatchamacallit @Stellarjay)

Court Challenge 3: Vanquish Old Foes
1) Venture deep into the archives of the Green Room and find a work that was posted before March 2021 and leave a review
2) Return here and update us all on your daring quest
Reward: 25 points, bragging rights
Deadline: April 15th

The Commander

The Commander had received an odd missive this morning. A message from @Big Brother which was not to be ignored. Trouble was brewing and it involved dragons. Nate the Dragon to be precise. The Commander had seen a fair share of dragons in the Green Room during his time leading the Knights, but they were rare, in fact none outside of Knight @BluesClues' dragon had been seen for many moons. The Commander wasn't sure what the YWSers were getting into in this mission, but they hoped the knights would be at the ready, and fight bravely if called.

The last month had involved much animal wrangling, tortoises, hares, cheetahs, and elephants, and even one peregrine falcon from the Green Room. The Commander was very thankful that Knight @ShadowVyper had been brought in to assist with some of these missions, especially with their wide knowledge of YWS creatures and critters. But now was a chance to rest and listen to whatever stories the knights would bring from their journeys. The Commander shuffled over to their chair next to the tea kettle and settled in for whatever stories would be told next. The Commander had sent a missive to Knights @MayCupcake, @LittleLee, @AshlynPhoenix, @Rosewood, @Spearmint, @ImaginativeAlice, @MomoMajesty, @TheScribe, @Stellarjay, @looseleaf, @starlitmind, @MailicedeNamedy, @Spunkykitty, @LUNARGIRL, and @HarryHardy inviting them to tea, in case they had any tales to tell, but it was always an open invitation.

Commander Challenge

KotGRCommander wrote: Huzzah Knights! You have fought bravely in these last months and I wish you the best luck as you journey onward in this month's missions! If you must rest on your journey to find the dragon I ask that you all consider joining A Knight's Journey - if you make your profile and an intro post (ie. tell a tale in this thread from your knighthood) during RP Month (July) you shall earn a silver duck feather and 100 points for your efforts! Huzzah!

Fight bravely. And do not use your shield's as dinner plates.

- The Commander