A Two-Round Tournament
From the introduction:
“A Toast! To the guards! And they guard well, since there has been no trouble. There’s nothing I like better than being guarded. Well, most of the time. Sometimes, I like to hunt. But then, I know the guards would be there too! Do you know it’s the season for gold-feathered pheasant? You should all come hunt sometime!”
After some hesitation, polite applause fills the banquet hall. Prince Jeffrey has just given another fine speech. You smile to yourselves. His speech may not have been very well-structured... well, to be perfectly honest, it was dreadful. But the way he looked, the way he beamed with each tale of heroism, you can see how proud he was of the actions of the members of the castle guard being honored here tonight.
As the last of the dinner plates are cleared by the servants, Prince Jeffrey again stands up. He calls up each of the honored guards by name, and recites their heroic deeds. Sergeant Kallis, who snatched a small child out of the way of a runaway horse, narrowly escaping being trampled himself. Corporal Hanton, who caught an agent of Justainceria as he was passing a message to a “merchant.” Senior Scout Ranger Jerzal, who single-handedly stopped an orcish raiding party before they could steal the Whalen family’s milk cow. One by one, he gives them all a medal and a hearty handshake, and promises to spread the tales of their deeds throughout the land.
Yet another pie-in-the-sky promise. But you can tell that the prince is happy to have such noble men protecting him. If only he stayed in the castle where they could protect him! His mysterious disappearances cause quite a stir, coming as they do out of the blue! But no one has found a way to stop his wanderings. You’re glad he showed up today, at least.