 A bright, crisp Autumn morning in Listibaldia. the sun rises, banishing the night's mist and heralding a promising new day. As Lord Paul breaks his fast with bread and cheese at his modest manor house, a servant scurries in to announce that a messenger has arrived. Lord Paul sits up straight in his chair and bids them enter. A herald treads nervously into the chamber and hands Paul a sealed parchment, then withdraws a few steps with a curtsey. Paul breaks the seal and unrolls the letter to read it…it is a request to escort Cardinal Wrule on a secret mission.
Submitted by the Quest Authors
The adventure begins with a few days’ training – Lord Paul figured new recruits and veterans alike would benefit from sharpening up their skills.
After an eventful few days of training, the Honour Guard ride to the Capital to meet the Cardinal who states that his mission involves a voyage to Constantinople - he will divulge no more. With no delay, the Lords escort him to the ship he has booked, [The Shield of Acre.
During a dangerous voyage Squire Terence becomes berserk and he comes close to attacking a fellow Lord. Lord Paul confronts him and orders him to halt; and a fight breaks out - Terence manages to slip away and tries to attack the Cardinal, but in an act of bravery, a sailor pulls the clergyman to the floor, and Avo hurls a poisoned knife at Terence, striking his shoulder. The antidote is administered, Terence is bound and attached to the mast. But the Lords forget to tie him up, as other urgent matters draw their attention – the ship is taking water!
After the Lords fixed the problems in the hull they return to the deck, only to find out that Squire Terence has escaped. He climbed all the way up to the top of the highest mast, but is still under influence of the poison and could fall unconscious any moment. In a deed of bravery, RS Crossbowman and Lord Särkyä climb up the mast as well, trying to take him to the ground safely. In a life-risking manoeuvre Lord Särkyä gets Squire Terence off the mast, but he needs a 30 meter drop attached to a rope for it, snapping Squire Terence’s ankle at the landing. This renders him unable to walk, providing them with a solution for their problem, it seemed.
But other problems arise, and after a chase throughout the boat, the Lords finally catch the culprit – a priest, a close guardian of Cardinal Wrule. Not wanting to reveal any secret, he hangs himself as soon as he gets the chance. No possibility for the Lords to retrieve information from him anymore, except from a cross they find on his body – a cross from the Knights Templar. Meanwhile Squire Terence manages to escape once again. Limping, but still dangerous, he heads towards the room of the Cardinal but is stopped by several of the Lords. Lord Särkyä manages to allow Squire Terence to get himself trapped in the door with his sword-hand and finally renders him unconscious through striking him against the head.
With the personal troubles finally out of the way, the Lords arrive at Malta for some necessary repairs to the ship. They decide to entertain themselves for the evening in Malta, as well as restocking the necessary supplies. When they are out on the seas again, pirates attack them. A short but heavy fight emerges and, led by a fascinatingly fanatic Squire Terence, the pirates are slaughtered. There is not much time to celebrate though, because soon after that their vessel, the [i]Shield of Acre[/i], gets trapped in a storm. The Lords are forced to leave ship and row the last part to Constantinople themselves.
When they are close to the shore, it appears that the emergency boats have been sabotaged. With a series of explosions, the boats are shattered. All Lords and the Cardinal make it to the shore safely, but five Lords get separated from the others: Sir Avo, King Ed, Lord Särkyä, Ltn. Alex Thomas and General Matthew lost contact with the Cardinal’s group.
Lord Paul gets fed up and he forces Cardinal Wrule to come clean. It appears that he has undertaken this quest to return the jewels of the Grail to the Templars, thus trying to end a long-lasting feud. The mission had to be kept secret, because the Templars are widely considered heretical and their headquarters are in Constantinople. It was of the utmost importance that no-one would see the Cardinal here, and therefore he asked the most reliable guardians he could think of to protect him.
The five lost ones meanwhile try to find the route to Constantinople, but get trapped in a Turkish town asking for the route. The normally friendly inhabitants have been drugged – the same drug that was used to make Squire Terence insane. The same substance had been found in a jar on the body of the traitor priest earlier, and the priest had been caught administering it to the poor Squire. Knowing this, the Lords decide they must try to escape without harming the villagers, for they simply do not know what they are doing. They eventually escape over the roofs and accidentally run into the others.
The Honour Guard finally ends up in Constantinople. The next day, they meet with the Cardinal in the market square. There, Brother Sebastien of the Templars tells them that it is no longer safe for the Templars to stay in Constantinople. They must flee at once to Cyprus, the last Templar bastion, for a powerful renegade faction of the Templars, the Salds, has taken control in Constantinople. They restock for some new weapons in Constantinople – they still might need them!
And indeed, as they intend to leave the next morning, a regiment of twenty Sald warriors awaits them. A short but fierce battle is fought, and it is ended by the Listibaldians as they set foot on their warship to Cyprus. The last arrows of the Salds fly after them, but to no avail – the Listibaldians, the Cardinal and the Grail jewels have slipped from their hands. Their mission is completed.
Medals Awarded for this Quest 
Quest Author:
LordPaultheDubious
This medal was awarded to LordPaultheDubious for authoring the this quest
Medal of Valour:
Lord Särkyä
Grand Marshal Award:
LordPaultheDubious
This medal was awarded to the Grand Marshal of each batallion
Marshal at Arms Award:
Nigel
This medal was awarded to the Marshal at Arms of each batallion
  
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