Runaway squires making mischief on K24

One summer day, in a Kingdom far away, the sun was shining scorchingly and it seemed most of the inhabitants of the land were tucked away in their castles or under tents seeking some relief from the heavy heat. A young squire, called Pirate Panda, however was out in the open toiling ceaselessly, if not very enthusiastically, trying to get every single bit of iron from the mine in front of him. He was so absorbed in the task he did not notice the raven that approached him with a message tied to its leg, till the bird hit him slightly in the back with his beak to get his attention. He petted the raven apologetically and fed it a bit of corn from his pocket while he was untying the message. 

• Panda, I need help in k24. I have a target to rally and cannot do it alone. Come over and help, there is a good fellow, and do not say about your duties to your lady again, i will kill you myself. Look at the scout report, you cannot miss out. Come fast, PinkVader.

Pirate Panda groaned out loud. PinkVader was a legend amongst the squires. Well known hellraiser, he never did the classic work of a squire, such as mining nodes for their lord’s service, or killing rebel leaders. He was always off on his own, battling in far away lands and getting merit and renown, but it was known that the Lord he served, Pinky, was indulging him and was proud of his adventures. Panda felt torn. He had fought very little, always together with the Lady he served, but PinkVader was a friend and he needed him. He looked down at his feet at the iron he had gathered and suddenly he gave a kick to the bucket in disgust. He was training to be a knight, he ought to get a little adventure and maybe some prizes also, like the fabled Sabrina medals. He wrote hastily a barely legible apologetic note to his Lady and jumped in haste in k24, where PinkVader was waiting impatiently.

• Finally you are here, he said hurriedly. I do not want this guy to bubble up. I got two little fellas over from MB2 to help out also.
• Hey, Vader, are you sure you can take him? he looks spear, like you, and i think he is stronger than you, Panda spoke hesitantly.
• Duh, that is why I am rallying, and not soloing him. And he is in rebel gear. Will be a piece of cake. Look here Panda, which of the two of us is an expert in combat? if you do not want to be a part, feel free. But you will miss out, I guarantee you that. And they have phase 6 right here, a good hit could get you in the rankings, he said with a sly look, he knew well Panda’s weakness for the Sabrina medal prizes.

Pirate Panda was still unconvinced, but he told himself that indeed PinkVader knew a lot about battle, while all he knew, he knew from books. And it would be nice to help his friend and get some experience. What could possibly go wrong? Besides the rally was open, the die was cast. Noone would call Pirate Panda a coward, cowering behind his bubble while others were fighting.

He tried to remember all he had read and what he had heard from his Lady ChristianOr. “Never leave troops at home unless you intend to tank” she had drilled into his mind. Quickly he grabbed a 75% buff to make his armies bigger (is not like he was using them anyway) and started a hiding camp for his own troops, which immediately had to disband as he realised he had sent his good dragon in that camp, leaving no dragon for Vader’s rally.

“Dammit I am a disaster” he thought to himself, but was determined to do this. New camp from him, and he finally joined PinkVader’s open rally. The rest of his troops, he hid in the MB2 squires camps, and some left overs he sent to a faraway node, praying noone was watching him. Finally empty, all he had to do was wait and taste the glory from PinkVader’s triumph when his rally would hit. “Ouch, what on earth was that?” as he saw suddenly his hospital fill with troops, while many more perished. First rally had hit and it was not pretty.

Guvide had a very big meatshield, and even though Vader won, it was Vader’s and Panda’s T3s and T4s that died a tragic death while guvide lost very little.

Panda looked at Vader in trepidation. Vader looked at his companions and said simply.

• We go again.
• Again??
• Yes, a few more rallies and we will finish his T2s

Panda was really not sure if that was a good plan, but did not want to spoil the party. Maybe PinkVader was right. Maybe.

Even though Panda was braced for the hit, the second rally hurt as bad as the first one.

And while Panda was healing his troops, disaster struck. Guvide came online and was hungry for blood. He donned his war gear and bellowed a great cry of rage. Immediately he looked at his attacker and without hesitation, he viciously attacked Pirate Panda twice. 

Pirate Panda said a silent thanks to his Lady that had spent so much time repeating the importance of having an empty city. He turned to PinkVader to discuss how they would retreat from the battlefield, surely he would not insist to rally again now, that guvide was in his battle gear and awake, but PinkVader had a mischievous glint in his eye. 

• I sent a raven to PAO, he forestalled Panda. And since he attacked you, he cannot truce soon.

PAO was a retired infantry knight who had a soft spot for Vader. He immediately heeded Vader’s call to come and help the youngsters out of their spot of trouble. Guvide for the first time started to worry and run away as soon as the rally on him started. But everyone pulled out their few coppers and bought as many rally fasteners as they could find. They would only have one chance.

All the T2s were finally dead, but sadly no cause to rejoice as Guvide immediately closed down his castle. The young squires, after they thanked PAO for his help, did the same. Panda took a quick look in the rankings of the kingdom. He still needed a few points to qualify for the LOL tournament. 

A few hours later, Panda was taking a stroll in his castle perimeter. His great adventure was not a big success. He had abandoned his duty and had nothing to show for it. He sighed sadly, and then he heard a low whistle.

• Sir PAO?
• Cannot stay long. But I have some scout reports from small keeps from around here. It would not be sporting for a knight, like me, to hit them, but it is fair practice for a young squire like yourself. You need the experience and who knows, you may even get some fame in the LOL tournament as Warrior.

Panda took the parchments with trembling hands and stammered his thanks to the kind knight. He lost no time in donning his armour again. This time he would need to be very cunning and stay on the move, to avoid being detected from the local knights. 

They were not the greatest battles the world had ever seen but were enough to ensure him the second place in the Lord of War tournament, and the 77th overall

Panda could not believe it!! He even ended up with more points than PinkVader, who was a legend for him. He closed his eyes, and as he was about to drift to sleep, he realised that being a ru*** squire was not always a bad thing.