An archery event in a new state for my challenge?! Yes, please! Wearing my spiffy new hood--a gift from Anna Leigh, recent Queen of Aethelmearc!--I packed up my bow and quiver and drove for three and a half hours into the heart of the Vermont mountains. The weather was in the sixties and the sun was shining brightly as I traveled--it promised to be a beautiful day!
I arrived on-site just after noon and immediately met Alex, who was working Troll. He was very friendly, and upon learning that I am a recent transplant to the East and know no one, he took it upon himself to begin introducing me to people. I met Siobhan, recently raised to the Order of the Laurel and working in the kitchen. I met several others whose name escape me, who graciously allowed me to sit with them for lunch.
After eating, I retrieved my gear from my truck and headed over to the Royal Round range, where I met Estefania (mka Shannon! We became "Shannon Squared" for the rest of the day) and Corwin. I shot a 41 RR (hooray! my official average will go up!) and we took a couple of turns at the Advancing Warrior. I scored 11 points on her. Then she fell from her harness--whoops! So we turned her into a clout shoot. Kill 'em dead, then kill 'em some more!
From there we went to the Roving Range, which turned out to be a series of eight clout shoots. It was different from any shoot I've done so far, and it was immensely fun! I scored 18 out of a possible 40 points. I was pretty proud of that!
It was on this Roving Range that I also witnessed a fine act of chivalry, which bears retelling here. The rules of the range were such that each archer was allowed three arrows per target ... but if you lost one, you could not replenish it and were thusly disadvantaged for the rest of the course. A member of our group lost all three of her arrows by the halfway point and would have had to sit out the rest of the course, but then Corwin, who still had all three of his own arrows, offered to her two of his so that she might continue shooting. He did so freely, despite the disadvantage to his own score *and* the potential loss of his expensive, new ammunition. His actions touched me, and I wanted to be sure to record them.
By the time we finished the Roving Range, it was pretty late in the day and we were all tired, so we didn't do the woods walk-through.
The event was hosted by the Shire of Panther Vale, which meant there was no Baron and Baroness and no court. I therefore didn't bring any largesse--I didn't know who I would even present it to.
There was an awards ceremony at the end of the day, though, and I was surprised to learn that I came in second for RR scores, second in the Roving Range, and tied for third for overall highest score (despite having no score at all for the woods walk-through)! I received a lovely pewter arrow head token as a prize. Now I know what a gift of largesse could be used for!
The people of Panther Vale were very friendly, and the event had a relaxed, homey feel. I am very glad I made the trip--I hope to see them all again soon!
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