I didn't get very many pictures becuase I was having too much fun to remember to take the camera out! No battle pictures because I was in all the war points. Event report at the bottom.
Some spiffy silk brocade tablet weaving
La Tene style animals in embroidery
The ties on the gate of House Longbow. Why is it in black and white? Dunno.
Lord Ottar, just apprenticed to Prince Tarrach, fighting in the Laurel Prize Tourney
Again
Ottar's cast bronze thing that was his donation prize to the tourney
Some spiff red embroidery
The House Varg longhouse
pm Friday, August 9th (my birthday, you remember), Gwyn appears at my door. Lee, Gwyn and I go to Subway for dinner, then G and I hop in the car (with very little tearful farewell, as we'de done it beforehand) and go. We drove to Indeanapolis, where Deitrich's (Gwyn's husband's) parents live.
Saturday we leave bright and early. The only traffic delays were two nasty accidents (no injuries readily apparent at either). We took a slightly less direct route so that I could see Pennsic from the freeway. Come up the hill, you can see the glitter of car windshields through the trees, and there's a cap of pavalions, and it goes on and on and on and on... >From the freeway you don't see the mundane tents, it's pretty neat. We pull up and there is no huge line for troll, we wait less than two minutes. They check my ID and get my folder and issue me a red oval with #2217 on it. We drop by Midland's camp (where Gwyn will be) and then take my stuff over to Northshield, where I'm going to camp. The campmaster isn't in, so they drop my gear off and I settle in to wait, just as the campmaster strolls into camp! I get put right along the freeway, crunched between an armor tent (almost as big as my tent) and someone else. Like my stakes are nestled right next to theirs. I set up and head back to Gwyn and Deitrich's camp for friends and dinner. In my dinner group are Gwyn, Deitrich, Aelf, Katy, and Katy (Keyna and Kenna). K and K are tenting together. After dark, I decide to do a reconoiter before I got to bed. I wander down the road, get to the bog where it is Very Dark, and decide that if I go any further I will likely get lost. So I tured around on a different road and eventually figured out where I was and got home.
Sunday morning the sun rose. It made my tent unbearably hot after, oh, 7am. So, after a Breakfast of Champions (Pop Tarts), I went to G&D's. I tagged along shopping with Gwyn, Aelf, and.. Cerian? G shared her chocolate milk. Pennsic chocolate milk is supposed to be the nectar of the gods, but it's about as good as Jilbert's in Houghton. I carried Gwyn's class supplis to her class and got lunch inthe food court. Then I went shopping. I did about a third of the shops on one side of the road, just glancing at what was in them. I did find a nice set of gauntlets. Then, because Gwyn's foster Larual was fighting in the Laural Prize Tourney, Gwyn, Katy and I went down to watch, and who shold I see, but Ottar, all armored up! He had apprenticed to Tarrach the night before! The prize Ottar won was a song to be written about whatever he wants. The Varg were scronful, but that just proves that they're a bunch of goobers. After dinner, Ottar came and fetched me and toured me the Bog after Dark. We went to a party in the Spanish villa, which was pretty cool, and then we wandered back to his camp and talked until very early in the morning. He walked me back to camp, staggering with fatigue, and I fell right asleep.
Monday: the sun woke me up Far Too Early. I got my armor on to be inspected. THe marshal complimented my new helm and knees (joy). In addition to the "lean into my hand, no, harder" face thrust test, the marshal also smaked me in the face. He told me to expect it, but he didn't tell me quite how hard he was going to hit me. I got a nice view of the sky. "If you didn't get hurt by that, you won't get hurt on the field," he said. Great, now we're having the marshals break our noses instead. I now utterly trust my new helm. I talked with Kenneth for a long time and got my new gauntlets strapped. My new legs are much cooler (temperature wise) than my old ones. The hot shower felt horrible, as it was quite warm outside and I was dripping sweat and just wanted to cool down. I wrote postcards to Lee, Mom, and Gram. It rained a bit, and I had left my towel and fighting shirt on top of my tent to dry. Oops! I aslo forgot my hat in some of my wanderings and made my eyes hurt. At night, I went to the Varg party briefly.
Tuesday: First war point today, the woods battle. We muster in the Midland's camp and march down to the boffer field to see Sir Ix get Pelicaned. The look on his face was priceless. The fighting was a lot of fun. Both sides had to get 1000+ guys through a six foot opening in the woods. Deitrich estimated it was about 1/3 mile from the entrance/res point to where the fighting actually was. I killed one or two people. It was apparnetly so hot that the chiurgeons should have cancelled the battle. After the first time I died, I never found anyone from my unit to group up with, so I just found a place that looked like they needed a spear. Mostly I was a speed bump, which our side didn't need, as they had all the banners. It was a lot of fun though. A lot of people hate the woods battle, but I really enjoyed it. Afternoon, I went to the bog and found Mac and Ottar and played with them some.
Wednesday: Today was the Hadrian's Wall battle. I mustered with Northshield and walked to the field with Ottar. I asked him if he was single, and if so, the women in my dinner group would like to meet him again. (I found him up there when I went back for dinner). The battle was resurection. I got hit by many many arrows, something about being out in front with no shield I suspect. I killed more than I died. Several times I died on the other side of the hay bales! For a while, I fought with Ailinor, from Ironrose. That was pretty cool. She stroked my ego on the IR list, too, saying I picked up teamwork quickly. The Midrealm won all 5 bales. I had a wonderful time. That afternoon I signed up for an Icelandic Pattern Darning class. I was nervous, as I don't embroider, but it is ver easy and looks *awesome*! After dinner was midnight madness at the merchants. It rained a lot and I almost fell asleep. I bought Signy a wax tablet, very cool.
Thursday: Bridge battle. Mustered with Midlands. 3 battles, no res. Our bridge is versus Calontir (they have a famous shield wall). First battle we give way, retreat, then start pushing so we don't lose the whole bridge. Started advancing and rolled the entire bridge! I was in the back and didn't swing my stick. Second battle there were more opponents, guess we scared 'em! I killed some, then lost my left arm. I retreated to find a better weapon, and was handed a pole. I stayed out of the way until they pushed, and I actually killed a guy! Last one, I was put in the front fairly early and knocked off by a thrust immideiatly. Three of them poking at me, I don't feel bad. Not as fun, as I only got three lives, but still enjoyable. Bought Lee a basket hilt. Midrealm court that night, two banishemnts! Two former Mistig Waetru folks were peer-ed, and my new barony presented gum coins to their majesties.
Friday: Field battle, muster with Northshield. No resurection. We line up on the far right, with the Tuchux in front. The Tuchux hit the flanking unit and stop them cold. We race in behind. I kill a couple people before being slain. I lay dead on the ground as the battle rages over me. Hold is called and I crawl out. Sitting on the sidelines after fighting resumes, we see Corydon run from the battle with a spear in one hand and his other arm behind his back. He races through the group, grabs a bastard sword, and sprints after the Easterners. He left a wide swath of destruction behind him befire he was finally killed. It was beautiful to watch. After the battle, he was given an award for that valor. After this was a "friendship battle" with the Midrealm and the East on one side, everybody else on the other. Again, we're on the right flank (severely outnumbered, I might add). Lay on is called, and we race into battle. The first hold is called, and I'm still alive! When battle resumes, my whole team runs backwards, someone stepped on me and I fell, got up and raced after my retreating teammates. Someone on my team got excited and hit me (he purposely glanced the blow once he realized who I was). I swore at him, decided it was glancy, and kept fighting. Surrounded by enemies, I died throwing blows. My part in the war was over. After showering, I returned to the field to watch the Champions Battles. Aileen grabbed me, she needed a Coke, now. As I left, the LifeFlight helicopter landed on the field. Someone in camp had a heart attack. He was OK, but it was pretty scary. During the Champions Battles, our side got trounced, as is usual (rumor is because the East really cares about winning). After that, I went back to camp to fetch my helmet from the armor cart, and the cart was nowhere to be found. I asked around camp, checked lost and found. My new helmet was GONE! I left word with the owner of the cart that I was missing stuff. When I came back to camp after dinner, I found the cart owner. Apparently, one gentle had pulled the wagon back all by himself. And had claimed all the unclaimed armor as war booty, to be ransomed back with camp chores. The guy is a friend of mine, so I felt horrible. I apoligized to him that night, though he didn't seem to feel it was nescesary. My ransom was not onerous, I had to light all the tiki torches in camp. But my new helm was safe and sound.
Saturday we packed up and left, stopping at Deiterich's parents that night. My war bruise is down the lower half of my left shin where somebody stepped on me *while I was standing up*. My boot hurts it. I caught some hard face thrusts and had my ribs rearranged fomr a thrust at a funny angle. I fought in all the warpoints. I had a hell of a good time! Signy and I are gong back year after next, fer sure.
Copyright 2002, that means don't copy it, dummy.