Pennsic Recap, part 3

[felis_lupus]

Right, so kurlon bought a motorcycle yesterday. I knew it wouldn't be too long before we had one in the garage after we sold the ST3, and he found the newest little obsession, which really is a cute bike. In red and silver. Definitely better than the black. And he's having a fun time chasing me around on it, and I find I am riding better, for some reason, knowing he's behind me. Dunno why, it works for me.

Thursday at Pennsic, decided to wear the pretty pretty yellow kirtle and orange sleeves, since looking at Friday's rapier schedule, I was possibly going to be in fencing gear for most of it... Headed to the battlefield, to watch some of the bridge battles. I think I got there somewhere towards the end of the first one. Stopped by to say hi to Wyatt first and give a glowing report on the 5-man melee (which he was rather upset to miss), caught him as he was headed again to the archery field, and tried to figure out when, exactly, we could actually get together so he can try to re-program my brain. Noonish. Before the woods battle. Good. Could work. We stopped by Sharc to say good bye to Quinn and Serene... Quinn fell over a hay bale the afternoon before, dislocated his shoulder, and fractured his humerus. Which was really not funny at all. He seemed in decent spirits, being told where not to stand and stop lifting that, for goodness sakes, let us do the work... hoping he's healing well.

The bridge battles were typical meat-grinders, but I was able to pick out some people I knew, which was fun. Wandered over to where ICOD was set up, talked with Carolyne and Julien, took some photos of fighters and friends... headed back to camp at 12:15. Oops. But I hadn't seen Wyatt returning from archery, so figured I was OK.

Geared up, back to the fencing lists (no Wyatt...), and quickly from there to the woods. Waaaaaay up at the top of Mt. Eislinn. Quite the view, from up there. Pennsic is BIG. And the woods are full of poison ivy. 9 different subspecies, apparently. *crawling skin all over meeeeeee* I found a non-infested patch, hung my gear in a tree, and tried my best to stay the heck away from all of it all over the ground. ludicrose had made his way there as well, and as the woods battle was to be delayed, thanks to the long-running bridge battles, we fencers were treated to a few songs, per request. Which doesn't often happen. I think they were enjoyed. Other pre-woods items of note: Isabel, Xavier and I doing a kick line on a fallen tree. NOT falling in the poison ivy. Honey sticks.

Woods was FUN. Mostly stuck to the plan. Stuck with my people when I could. Stuck some people on the other side. Ended up running a bit with Guinevere from Atlantia, we made a good pair for a while. I think the East won...

Post-woods was the Ladies of the Rose tourney, which I did not fight in, but stuck around to watch and give support. Hung out with Her Highness Kenna, for whom Xavier was fighting, and got to narrate a few bouts, which she enjoyed, I think. She's a lovely, lovely lady, and will be a wonderful Queen.

Pre-tourney, or at least pre-when I was paying attention to the tourney, Wyatt and I finally got together for the 'fix Camille's parrying problems' lesson. I think some of it stuck. I have drills to do. My brain got full, though... That was my first indicator that maybe, just maybe, I was done...

Thursday night, post dinner, I wandered down around the lake and the edges of the bog, and bumped into Cynan and his friend Ethan, who were off to a camp called Serenity Stone, as Cynan had promised them a story or a song, for a drink. Sounded good to me, they didn't mind if I tagged along? Nope. Ok, great! Quick stop in Lochleven for some socialness, since they'd just been to Serenity Stone a short while ago, and there was nobody there... An enjoyable while was spent with Justin, Jane, Cassandra (name fail, I think... Edward's wife...), Xavier, and Alexandra under the dining tent. Time passed, we three headed out, down into Serenity Stone, which made the landscaper in me very, very happy. The folks who camp there only work on their camp during the two weeks of Pennsic, and it is obvious they've been in the same place for a very, very long time. A set of stone stairs led down to a clearing, lit by tealights on the cheekwalls. They ended in a stone pathway, made of irregular, but flat-set stones, leading in two directions, one passing by a small pond, one leading to a smooth patio, with (again) stone seating around, and a stone fire ring in the center. How I wish I'd gotten back in the daytime to take photos... We sat, Cynan mentioned he'd been expecting more bards... One gentleman though, stood up, and told a modified version of Max's duck joke. It was entertaining. Cynan then stood, and told a tale of battle, earlier that week, in which he was stabbed in the face by the Prince of Trimaris (who was on our side...), and then ended up being gifted with his Princess's favor, tied around the very dagger that cost him a resurrection. Very cool. Someone else stood then, told a story. Trapdoor. I don't remember what it was, at all... A gentleman stopped by, told a few jokes... Cynan then turned to me and asked if I knew 'Lifeblood'. Yes, I said, as long as you start it... So we, two who had never sung together before (I had never heard him sing at all), did a pretty good round. Thanks to ludicrose for being a bard, and singing a lot, so I at least had the tune, and he had the words, so we were all set. We got applause. And bling. We finished, went to sit down again, and a fellow across the circle called 'come here! over here!' So I went. Received a small leather Thor's hammer, and a 14th century silver coin (which I promptly dropped, panicked, and then found, gripped so tightly I'm surprised it didn't imprint into my palm. Such a lovely evening. A nice walk back to Thanet followed, under moonlight and clouds, with two most worthy companions.

Friday dawned bright and still. No breeze that day... the first all week, and the air hung. I was exhausted. Cadet tourney at 11:00, though, I was not going to skip it and disappoint my Don (though he most likely wasn't going to be there, either... planning the matchups for the Champions' tourney that afternoon). Did a few warm up bouts, tourney time, and I was out in 2 rounds, which was almost a relief. I was done. Fried. Stick-a-fork-in-me. Jean and I hung around to watch Lucien, who was doing very well, and then back to camp. Shower, change into a nice cool gown, with my hat, leisurely lunch, and then to the main event in front of the EK battlefield tent, the Rapier Champions' Tourney.

We were down 6 champions, for one reason or another (Quinn, broken... couple other guys had to leave early, Caine was sick, I think...). Xavier in a mild state of panic (all week, really), was slightly calmer when he found out he was on the alternate-alternate roster, so probably would not be fencing. Which was ok, really, since he's the one who took all the fantastic pictures of the bouts. Wyatt had me taking notes... So there we were, sitting on a hay bale, front row seats to the action. He was talking in my ear, I was watching, connecting what he was saying, and figuring out what needed to be written or not. He got up, a bit later someone (I assumed Wyatt) sat back on the hay bale, and then a gruff voice said in my ear, "So, how're we doing?" I jumped about a foot. Not Wyatt. His Highness, Gregor! Eep! Surprise Prince! I glanced at my notes... "not too well, your Highness. 2 wins, 4 losses..." He nodded. We went back to watching the fights... loss... loss... sigh. Kindof disheartening. Final score was East 13, Mid 18 (*though Malcom actually won his... 14-17, unofficial record.).

Wandered back to camp, had delicious pizza for dinner. Luci, Jean, Vey, Sylvia, and I then grabbed the ICOD sign, which had been gracing our campsite for the week, and determined (after some drinking) that NOW was the proper time to return it to its rightful owners. Luci draped it around her neck (called her 'ICOD-piece' by Jean...), and we began a merry little parade to EK Royal. There was singing, there was laughing, there was a truck, that turned and started coming down the road towards us, whose driver was giving us a glare that I would never want to see on the other side of 2 helm grills. Aaah! Surprise Prince, part 2! His Highness, Gregor, driving a truck full of household fighters, wondering who we were and why we had stolen his sign. No no no, your Highness, we said, we are Returning it! We were keeping it safe and marking your camp for you all week! Would you like it now?? It is, after all, your ICOD-piece! The joy and silliness of the entire party was too much, he cracked a smile, said some things I don't remember, and allowed us to continue to our original destination. EK Royal/ICOD proper was in varying stages of breakdown. We stayed and talked a bit, schmoozed with her Highness, told the daring tale of the Rescue and Return of the Sign, and then wandered off. I started to go back to camp, and then something told me I should head to Lochleven... I got there just in time for closing ceremonies, which were much less formal than opening, but nonetheless delightful. It was good to be there at beginning and end. Said goodbye to folks, headed back, again, to Thanet.

A quiet-ish evening in the Megolino was what I needed, and what I got. There was talk and singing and jokes, and in wandered Cynan later in the evening. He got to tell the tale of the Great Face Stabbing, was pleased to meet Aneleda, sang and listened to some more music, and then we two, Aneleda, and Drew headed up to Mt. Eislinn for the Malaweardia Meteor-Watching meetup. Alas, no meteors, as it was rather cloudy, but the beautiful full moon shone bright over Pennsic, the clouds were wispy and interesting, and it was nice to get away from camp, away from the noise, and sit in the grass with good friends under the stars. The drums of Pennsic never stop, and they could be heard in the distance, but that made it all the better. Sleep came quickly after I got back to camp. Glad I was the last couple nights that I'd brought my fur cloak... sleeping with the tent open that final night was wonderful. Thought about dragging my cot into the Meg to have a sleepover with everybody else, but it was nice to be in the pavilion, with the moon shining in the open door, all to myself (Jean had elected to sleep under the stars... my sleeping bag's not rated for that... indoors was just as nice).

Packout Saturday went quickly. We were loaded, the tent was down, breakfast was had, and the big parts of Thanet were being packed into trucks and trailers. I said good bye to those I could find, and we were on the road by 10:45. Stopped briefly for lunch, about an hour from site (I wish I could remember the name of the place, or even the exit... I thought I'd grabbed a newsletter, but it was not from the shop. It's a cider mill, delicious bakery (got a half-dozen pretzels and a few doughnuts for the road), good sandwiches. Back on the road, we passed Justin & Astrid shortly after. The hover conversion on Mingulay worked out very well, and with very few stops, just for gas, really, and snacks, we were back in Maine and home to New Gloucester by 11PM. Good time. Sleep came shortly thereafter.

Wonderful, white, fluffy Frodo snuggled at the foot of the futon with me all night long. Was so nice. About 5:45, I think, he decided he had to go Out. *scratchscratchscratch* at the door. Trottrottrot over to the bed... *whiiiine* *scratchscratchscratch* at the door. Trottrottrot over to the bed... *whiiiine* *scratchscratchscratch* at the door. Trottrottrot over to the bed... *whiiiine* "Ok, ok... I get it... you want ME to take you outside... why..? OK... let's go." My getting up, of course, alerted Callie that Something Was Happening, and she bounded into the backroom, all excited. I found shoes (for me), leashes and collars (for the dogs), and away we went, in the half-light of morning. Up the road a piece, not too far, did what needed doing, and then back to the house. Back to bed for me, dogs went to do whatever dogs do at 6AM. Didn't move again till 9:30 or so.

Still tired, but rested. Light breakfast, unpacked the Prius, re-packed Rosie, oohed and ahhed over gifts brought from the War, and I was off to home and home at 11:30. I don't remember much of Sunday...

I am happy to be home. I am missing Pennsic and all the people I saw there. Missing being within walking distance of so many of my friends. Hoping already I can go back next year (but wondering if I'm pushing my luck... 2 pretty perfect-weather Pennsics, 3 years apart... too much to hope for 2 years in a row? :) )

Photos from the main event are here. Most taken by me, several of the 5-man melee tournament taken by the lovely Lady Connie, from Atlantia.
Photos of the Rapier Champions Tourney are here. Most were taken by Xavier.

Comments

[moonandtree.livejournal.com]

Well, we'll see about Champions next year... Maybe by the Xavier won't freak out so much.