December 2019 Paul The Paladin Story Contest

[bobertini]

Dear players,

For this month's contest you will be required to submit a self written holiday themed story involving Paul the Paladin! You are then required to post the submission here, in this topic.

Please note that the forum rules still apply. Keep it to one post, per forum account, per submission.

The story should be a minimum of 500 words in length but the story has to be a holiday themed story containing Paul the Paladin as a character. What it should be is unique and creative! This is a chance for all the budding authors to show us your work.

The submission needs to be related to Paul The Paladin. Any submissions below 500 words in length, doesn't contain Paul The Paladin or breach the forum rules won't count and the post may be deleted.

Sign-ups close 31st December 2019, any entries after this date will not count. The winners will be announced after the 31st December 2019.

You can discuss entries in this topic.

Prizes:
1st place 600 pp
2nd place 400 pp
3rd place 200 pp

We are looking forward to your feedback, which you can leave in this thread.

Your Tribal Wars Team​

 

[Harry Pitz]

Paul the Paladin, by Rob Lee, The Hairy Pitz Guy

The air was bitter cold on his face, he has been traveling for hours, looking for the last Skill Book of Persuasion to use for his master. Paul was beginning to rethink his position in the village, and wondered if it was even worth trying to get the book. The Noble gets all the glory, but Paul the Paladin is the first to enter the village to persuade the townspeople that his master is better for them than their own. He has accomplished the deed many times, but he is losing his touch. This last book will make him a master.
Paul the Paladin knew he had to find the book soon though. The Holiday break is coming up fast and he could use that chance to build up his strength and prepare. Yes, he must push on, keep learning and win another village for the Nobleman. He then spots a distant light of a Christmas tree, shining through the portcullis and arrowslit of a huge stone wall. His six-hour trip to his new home is almost over. Has the village erected a statue in his honor yet? Will there be the right troops in the village for his skills? He is trained heavily in offense; his skills of motivation and instruction are second to none. One more book and he will be unstoppable.
Soon he is at the gates, the villagers welcome him, the statue is there, the Christmas tree is a warming sight. The troops have lined up for his inspection, axes are polished, the cavalry is prepared with the light armaments of battle. Four nobles approach Paul, “We have a gift of wood, iron and clay for you”, one said. “Your training is almost complete and in 48 hours, you will have mastered all”, exclaimed another. Go rest from your travels and then begin your final training.
Paul the Paladin felt like he was back home again and slept peacefully. He woke the next morning and started his training. For two days he did nothing but train. The villagers would bring him Holiday meals like platters of Barnacle Goose surrounded by oysters, mussels, clams. Carolers and minstrels performed all around and he edged even closer to his goal. As the final hours came to an end, Paul finished his training and heard the laughter of the villages. He went out to the center of the village to where the Christmas tree was standing, it was surrounded by the villagers, who all went silent as he approached. “It is Christmas morning Sir Paul the Paladin, your training is complete”, said the eldest Noble. “Under the tree you will find a gift for you, we found this in our inventory and felt it was something only a true master Paladin deserved”
Paul was handed the gift by the youngest Noble of the village, Paul unwrapped the present and was filled with joy. It was the final Skill Book he had been looking for!!! He graciously thanked all the people of the village for giving him such a wonderful gift and said, “Come two days hence, I shall ride with the Nobles, the axe men, the cavalry, the rams and cats, and we shall win another battle and add to our kingdom!" "I will return to you with bountiful resources and gold coin!” he exclaimed. “Merry Christmas to you all, thank you again for giving me the knowledge to grow and prosper”

 

[Deleted User - 11542088]

The page entered Sir Paul's chambers quietly, with a single candle in one hand and a dispatch in the other. He dreaded waking the General, and yet this matter was urgent. He need not have worried, for a voice called to him softly from the corner of the room, "I'm here and wakeful, young man. Bring me your papers and light another candle. It seems that my foreboding of trouble has not failed me."

"General, an enemy attack has been sighted, due by sunset this very day," the page answered. "Their numbers are unknown, although four separate companies are inbound. Shall I call an emergency council of war with the Nobles?"

"By the beard of the Man-Beyond-the-Screen!," Sir Paul sighed as the page prepared the lamp, "Will these bloodthirsty tribes give us no rest, even on Feast of the Nativity? Nevertheless, let the nobles sleep. If I am restless myself, there is no reason to disturb the army yet. They are well prepared, and our wall has never yet been breached. There will be plenty of time in the morning watches for the disposition of our troops."

"There is one with whom I would seek advice... Shall I assume that the Priest of the First Church is up and about?"

The page's eyes grew wide. "If His Holiness ever sleeps, I have been been unable to find out when it is. He is even now pacing in the courtyard."

"Verily," Sir Paul said, "it is a common saying amongst the infantry that the Priest receives his rest not in sleep as others do, but when the Man-Beyond is Logged Off, although it surpasses my understanding to know what that means. I suspect that he has started those rumors himself to cultivate the mystery surrounding his office. Even so, show me to him."

A short time later saw the Paladin and the Priest walking together along the outer wall, quietly talking as they made the rounds of the watch-posts. The pacing priest was so well known for his nightly visits that the scouts didn't bother to challenge him, but were ready with a hot cup of wassail and a spot close by the fire if he should desire it.

"...Truly, it is a perplexing thought," Sir Paul was saying, "that we might not all be made in the image of the Man-Beyond-the-Screen. What do the theologians say of these matters?"

The Priest spoke calmly and earnestly, as a man well used to teaching soldiers only recruited yesterday. "Is it any wonder that this should be so? Indeed, it is a palpable fact that you are the only one in the whole village with a personal name, and you alone have the power of the Resuscitation. But tell me, you did not come out here tonight to discuss this Game-of-Life. What is on your mind?"

Sir Paul answered slowly, "An attack is expected by evening tonight. I did not wish to alarm the men, but, by their banners, they are known to be of a fierce village, at least five times our size, and our nearest tribesman's village could never reach us with support in time. I do not have hope that our village will last through the night. Is it true what they say, that in death our village will be miraculously transferred to the Heaven of the Casual?"

"We will find out together, my friend," said the Priest. "Yet, we may find hope in this thought: if there are no more Worlds than this, as the unbelievers say, then we have done our duty for our people and our tribe, and will go into the void as befits men with no shame or fear, and if there are more Worlds, we will know one another again, where all villages begin equal, and our Quests are much easier to fulfill."

"Well said, Your Holiness. In the meantime, we will hold the Christmas Feast just as planned, and go to our fate with wine and song flowing, as befits free men, and when the rams break through our walls, we will sell our lives dearly, just as the Man-Beyond-the-Screen has commanded. Amen."

 

[ChipCollector]

After Paul the Paladin got a Burnout from the Daily Business at his Plunder Trips to the Barbarian Villages, he had to take his long-overdue holidays and to do an overtime reduction. So, this Holiday will be veeeery long for him. In the first Week of his Holiday, he just wandered through valleys and crossed a couple of mountains, but after a while, he was exhausted and rested in a little village named "Sao Luis Do Tapajos", a village deep in the jungle. Paul stayed because he got a really good connection to the villagers and the time was passing by. Paul the Paladin is now a peacefully Abacaxí (=pineapple) grower. He is a modest and contented journeyman who regularly takes his boat to the next town Itaituba to sell his cargo. He had a really good time with his friends and celebrated Chrismas, without any snow, without any presents, only with the Love from his Friends there. But that's the most important thing that Friends or Family Members are just together, talking and eating together, there has not to be the biggest present. The Talks meant everything to Paul and he enjoyed every moment with his friends. He was very lucky, but Christmas Time is going over so fast. But not at those villages, it seemed to be always a happy life like we have at Christmas….

But everything changes when one day the henchmen of the barbarian boss Lunatic come to his village. In Sao Luis Do Tapajos they plan to build a pineapple factory. Since Paul doesn't want any changes in the village, he chases the men away. He succeeds, but the men found out that Paul the Paladin has no license to sell pineapple. So Paul is stopped by a corrupt policeman at the next delivery in Itaituba who confiscates the boat and he cannot sell pineapple anymore.

In order to get the license, Paul the Paladin is now fighting his way through Itaituba as best he can and is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle and the progressive city life, especially at the beginning. Luckily, he gets to know the pretty musician Emily as a singer in a club, who supports him. But a mixture of missing information about himself and the bureaucracy in the city makes it impossible to get the necessary documents to finally sell pineapple again.

Paul the Paladin does everything to get the license, so he even goes into the military to get a birth certificate. But that doesn't work either. He disappears from the military and goes once more into the community hall and hopes to get closer to the license. However, hundreds of others are waiting for licenses and other permits and are also victims of bureaucracy. When the minister again does not issue him a license, he wants to obtain it himself. He stormed the corresponding office, took the necessary stamp and not only printed it on his document, but also on that of all the others present who had been fighting for their stamp for months. This action brings him to prison. There he goes to the same cell as Roger. This Roger has exploited Paul helplessness in the city at the beginning and fooled him several times. But now he has been able to get him the license because of his good relations and let him send it to him. Emily now delivers the letter with the license to him in prison but also tells him that in Sao Luis Do Tapajos Lunatic's construction work is already well advanced. Paul the Paladin manages to escape from prison and clean up his village, demolishes the plantation buildings that have now been built. Shortly afterward, Paul receives an amnesty but because Roger had good contacts with the president, whom he helped solve a problem, Paul hasn’t any worries, because of his new Friend. Also the police of Sao Luis Do Tapajos is present and arrests Lunatic because of several scams. Lunatic and his helpers are arrested and Emily opens a village school. Among the pupils of the village school is Paul the Paladin, who could neither read nor write until then. After this long journey, he returns to his Home-Village which is led by You and now he has the ability to learn skills from Books.