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GAWAIN CURRENTLY HAS 46/50 HP.


They had, essentially, trapped themselves within Camelot, she had thought fatalistically as the drawbridge cracked and crumbled and was gone. But drawbridges could be rebuilt from the inside - as long as they were alive, there was hope. Then the sky shifted; hundreds, no, more of the shadow creatures rose into the sky, shrieking out their unholy nature. Hollandaise felt some answering blood lust rise in her, turn her fear to steady hands that reached instinctively for her golden-tipped bow. Dimly, she saw Lancelot arrive - he was not her knight, but when an archer passed her a flammable arrow, she took it. Hollandaise held out her hand and each time another arrow was passed to her, then lit. Bowstrings twanged in chorus and aim did not matter beyond the concept of 'up'. And the silence that followed was near deafening as she clutched her bow in suddenly nerveless fingers. Lancelot's whisper carried over and her ears pricked.

Their time in the courtyard was brief, full of tense moments and the hint of betrayal that she didn't quite understand. What sense was there in betrayal when they must serve the Great King? Eventually, Hollandaise had simply followed Percival down, because what else was she to do? And now, this? She listened carefully, although not much of it made sense. Hollandaise knew how things worked within a certain set of rules and this was not within those rules. She hugged her arms around herself. And then Gawain spoke again, and she felt a dull roar echo in her ears.

"-who says one has to respect an absent king?"

Her face blanched. The king, the king was the entire reason Hollandaise had a place, a purpose, had anything at all that was not some sort of blankness. And she'd given up her memory for him, they all had given up their precious pasts to fight for the future. And for Gawain to just casually disrespect the man they had all pledged to... Hollandaise knew she'd pledged herself to the Great Knights as well, but it was ultimately to the king. That was where her loyalty must lay. Still, she breathed deeply as the three knights sprang at each other. Know your place, she told herself. Respect, obey, the king is your liege. The Great King. Her muscles tensed - it was too much. The knights fighting, the king nowhere to be found. Everything was unraveling and it was so, so easy to find someone to blame.

Face wan, drawn with anger and an inner war, Hollandaise brought her bow up again. An arrow sang out of it to slam into the joint of Gawain's armor where the chest-plate met his shoulder. She stared, hands shaking slightly, for just a moment. Then she bit her lip and nocked another arrow.

[ HOLLY HAS BEEN CHALLENGED ]] yes threeway challenge battle

Lock had a hard time laying down a verdict on what was happening. On the one hand, a chance at defeating evil for good was very enticing. Bringing the greatest justice to those who would do harm seemed the best option.

Then again, acting on their own volition seemed incorrect and Percival seemed more correct; waiting for the Great King was the best action, since it was within his power to lay down a decision. Following his senior knights and the chain of command seemed best fit.

But by then the shadows might overwhelm them. Lock wasn't sure they had the time to wait for the king to return and make a decision. Gawain's words echoed in his head: those who are wise. This set a fire in his chest (the king is their ruler, their purpose, their goal), but he couldn't deny the validity in Gawain's words.

A woman pointed her bow and Lock felt his lips curl into a snarl. Another girl was already going to do the same, but Lock pulled forward to slash the second arrow out of the air like a badass. "A knight should remember his place," Lock recited.

As Shayne load a bolt into his crossbow, he began to aim at the Great Knight's arms. "How could you talk badly about the king like that?" The Redhead boy asked the breaded man as he fired the bolt at him. However, at the same time Sir Gewn nail him with his weapon. Which made Shayne flew into the wall.

[SHAYNE HAS BEEN CHALLENGED ]

Given how the weird mirror thing was all spooky and shadowy, Abbi was a little worried about what would happen next. But she knew she wouldn't get any answers if the Great Knights were defeated.
It wasn't very nice of the other knights to attack either, that wasn't in the knight's code at all!
"And how could you attack a knight like this?" Abbi asked in her sternest voice as she jumped toward a knight who'd shot an arrow at Gawain. She made no move to help them off the floor, instead blocked their path as best she could with her small stature.
"I would have expected better, and you should not be so hasty!"

To further her point she angled her glaive closer to the knight and frowned.
It was challenge enough in her mind.

GAWAIN CURRENTLY HAS 35/50 HP


Horace had carefully listened to what Sir Gawain had said, notebook in hand, busily scribbling down what information could be gleaned. Was Gawain telling the truth - were the great knights immune to the mask of the Sidhe? Although, Horace thought, if he were a sidhe, that is exactly what he would tell the knight-apprentices, to seed discord and uneasiness. And it was working. He see the sudden distrust spring up in his comrades' eyes, the looks of worry. Their friends could abruptly be the enemy within. And, Horace thought with a look of narrowed suspicion, Gawain had told them to only listen to the Great Knights, further solidifying Gawain's power.

"Fight in what is right, to protect the Great King."

Horace followed Gawain down, his mind turning over each word carefully, slowly. There were things that didn't match up. And, when the knights began to argue, instead of doing anything right away, he watched. Horace watched and he waited. And suddenly, he realized something.Things were wrong, very wrong.

"-and who says one has to respect an absent king?"

Horace darted forward, sticking out his leg to trip Gawain. The chaos was overwhelming but he needed answers. Gawain's staff thudded into his shoulder and he hissed in pain.

"You said we had to protect the Great King before! Why do you discard him now? Are you a Great Knight or something weaker?"

GAWAIN CURRENTLY HAS 32/50 HP

He shook Oliver off and drew both anelaces. "No," he whispered. "What if he lied to sow discord? What if he's sidhe?" He took a deep breath. "It's too perfect - he feeds us information to make himself look trustworthy while making us distrust our fellows. Isn't it just perfect?" He raised a hand and squeezed Oliver's shoulder briefly. Then he darted forward, landing a neat blow on Gawain's knee.

GAWAIN CURRENTLY HAS 30/50 HP

"Well, I'd say he's already pretty provoked, uh..." Horace realized he had no idea who this man was. Or rather, what his name was. "-uh, I-don't-know-your-name." He tensed as the boy drew his axe, but didn't immediately attack.

"I'm not looking to kill, only to incapacitate, okay?" And he moved forward again with a lunge thrust into the gaping space on Gawain's arm where his armor did not cover. "By the time we could be absolutely sure, we'd be dead. I don't want to take any chances that I don't have to - this is a calculated risk."