MailingListInformation| Game Rules | Mailing List Information All the mailing lists use something called plaintext. That means that if you write a message with a fancy font, or bold, or italics, it will strip it back to boring ol' plain text. There's a reason for this - adding any kind of formatting usually makes file sizes at lot bigger (and that's what your messages are - each one is a file). And the bigger the file, the more storage it needs, and the more processing it needs. So, by making messages plaintext we keep messages as small as possible, which is a Good Thing. You can put a word or phrase in bold for emphasis by using asterisks ( * ) either side of the word or phrase. When you post to the mailing list, add your message BELOW the one that the last person posted. Delete as much text as you can from their message, but leave enough so that your response makes sense. Here's an example: You are sent this post: For the smallfolk of Castle Holdfast, it was the most important three days of the year. And for the small folk of Castle Holdfast, the children who bore the name Hardy, it was the most exciting three days of the year. For seven days, every carpenter and joiner in the castle had been employed, setting up the stalls in the great courtyard of the Castle. The beasts had been turned out to pasture - even the Holdfast horses were out in the paddocks so that their stables could be cleaned out - nay, scrubbed to within an inch of their lives, for here would be the displays of ploughshares and billhooks, axes and saws that had been loving crafted in the quiet months of the year for sale at the great annual Fair. The stables might hold the implements of farming and forestry, but in the courtyard itself were myriad stalls and booths. Some sold the standard fare that one could purchase on any weekly market day, but a far wider selection than usual, with peddlers and farmers travelling in from miles around. Others, however, displayed the produce and wares that had been produced over long months - the wood-whittled toys, the smocks with delicate embroidery, the painted boxes and decorated looking glasses, their frames studied with artful patterns of seeds and grasses, the gleaming glass bottles and stout ceramic jars filled with the relishes and jams that were prepared according to jealously guarded recipes passed down from generation to generation. In short, this was the occasion when the smallfolk had the chance to parade the finest of their produce and their skilled labour, and to sell it to their neighbours from far and wide - and even to the inhabitants of the Castle itself. But there was more ... The paddocks outside the Castle - that small area of cleared forest used for crops and grassland, had been converted too. Here were the rings were livestock could be displayed, and bought and sold. Displays of skill and speed were also on offer - trials of obedience for dogs; races and jumping competitions for horses. Even the chickens were on display in a tent of their own - and the cockpit had been prepared for fights. There was talk that a merchant had brought along a great brown bear and was offering formidable odds to have him baited against any dogs any farmers could produce. Nor were animals the only living creatures to be sold - or, at least, put out for service. For this was also the hiring fair, and those desirous of seeking new employment might appear in the uniform of their trade, seeking new employers - while new employers would walk up and down the serried ranks of the hopeful, looking for likely lads and lasses to work on their farms or in their houses. Giggling servant girls with their mops, shepherds in their smocks with their crooks and their dogs, cooks with their checked aprons, foresters with their axes (and often their bows), and even clerks with their sheaves of pens - all waited to be chosen. But at night they would put care aside, and dance in the ring with light heels. There was even, on the last day, to be a small tournament where the men at arms and their masters could show their skills. And all around, stall and booths had been set up to sell sweetmeats and hot meats, wine, beer, cider and even fresh milk. Every day would be given over to the displays, and the buying and selling. And every night would be given over to dancing in the open area in the centre of the courtyard for the smallfolk, and in the great banqueting Hall of the castle for their betters. But on the last night of all, there would be a huge feast in the largest of the open rings, and the fun and feasting, the dancing, singing and telling of tales, would go on until dawn. The first day dawned bright and fresh and clear ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This was the answer: > For the smallfolk of Castle Holdfast, it was the most important three > days of the year. > > And for the small folk of Castle Holdfast, the children who bore the > name Hardy, it was the most exciting three days of the year. > > [excellent description snipped] > > The first day dawned bright and fresh and clear ... > Rhys woke up before dawn, excited by the possibilities that lay ahead for him that day, and way too excited to go back to sleep. After trying for a brief time--maybe all of ten minutes--he gave up and jumped out of bed. He made an effort to stop his teeth chattering in the frigid air as to not wake his great-uncle and donned his clothing as quickly as possible in the dark. It wasn't hard--he wore the same thing each day and by now was intimately familiar with all the layers. Dressing accomplished, Rhys pulled on his boots and slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind him. There was activity in the castle, even at this early hour. Servants were carrying things and walking to and fro and from somewhere he caught a whiff of roasting ham. Rhys paused outside his great-uncle's door, wondering if Kenrith and Godwyn were having as many problems sleeping as he was. He decided to go find out. He turned and strode down the hallway, settling on a speed that was more than a walk but not quite a run. It wouldn't do to be caught at fifteen years running inside the castle like he was five or six. When he reached Kenrith's door (OOC: Do you suppose Kenrith and Godwyn shared a bedroom?), Rhys didn't knock but opened the door quietly and slipped inside. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust and listened for the slow, even breathing that would tell him whether or not his friend was still in bed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And then this answer came ... > Rhys woke up before dawn, excited by the possibilities that lay ahead > for him that day, and way too excited to go back to sleep. > > After trying for a brief time--maybe all of ten minutes--he gave up > and jumped out of bed. He made an effort to stop his teeth chattering > in the frigid air as to not wake his great-uncle and donned his > clothing as quickly as possible in the dark. It wasn't hard--he wore > the same thing each day and by now was intimately familiar with all > the layers. > > Dressing accomplished, Rhys pulled on his boots and slipped out the > door, closing it quietly behind him. > > There was activity in the castle, even at this early hour. Servants > were carrying things and walking to and fro and from somewhere he > caught a whiff of roasting ham. > > Rhys paused outside his great-uncle's door, wondering if Kenrith and > Godwyn were having as many problems sleeping as he was. He decided to > go find out. > > He turned and strode down the hallway, settling on a speed that was > more than a walk but not quite a run. It wouldn't do to be caught at > fifteen years running inside the castle like he was five or six. > > When he reached Kenrith's door (OOC: Do you suppose Kenrith and Godwyn > shared a bedroom?), Rhys didn't knock but opened the door quietly and > slipped inside. He waited a moment for his eyes to adjust and listened > for the slow, even breathing that would tell him whether or not his > friend was still in bed. (OOC: I think it almost certain that they shared a bedroom, private sleeping chambers are a rarity in medieval societies, especially in cold climates). As his eyes adjusted Rhys saw two large hounds lying on the bed, their heads raised and staring at him. He was positive that he remembered hearing Kenrith and Godwyn being told that they were to stop allowing the dogs to sleep on their bed with them, but there they were. A lump under the heavy covers was almost certainly at least one of the two brothers, if not both. |
