Knightguards

The Knightguards are a part of The Knights of Terith, the Warlands' adventurers' guild. The team was formed recently and is still fairly small, comprised of about twenty guild members, and operates in Boldershore, one of the few actual cities within the Warlands, since that is where the Knights of Terith are based out of. Boldershore is just south of Lord Arnvald's fortress and unquestionably part of his territory. Many of his soldiers are stationed there as security and enforcement, but what they actually protect is just Lord Arnvald's power over the city, and have nothing to do with the safety of the actual folk living there. In fact, they themselves are often what pose a threat to many people's safety and wellbeing, just as much as any thug or criminal in the dark alleys, except worse, because those soldiers have power over the citizens of Boldershore that they abuse constantly and without consequence. The Knightguards exist in opposition to that.

Mercenaries, adventurers, and other hired swords around the Warlands are most often employed by wealthy merchants or foreign nobility as guards when they have to venture into or cross the war-torn region. It's extremely dangerous to travel anywhere the Warlands without protection, whether one is journeying from the easternmost territory to the westernmost, from a village to the neighbouring town, or even from the town square to their own front door. Always, everywhere, there is a risk of being attacked by thieves, bandits, raiders, a warlord's soldiers (which, depending on who you ask, are all the same thing), or monsters if you're outside of a decent-sized town.

But the Warlands' most vulnerable people-- the poor, common folk who are often forgotten and ignored despite making up a vast majority of the population-- can't afford to hire guards to go anywhere. That's why it's so easy for soldiers like Lord Arnvald's to take advantage of them. That's why the Knightguards provide their services for free.

The Knightguards, also known as Nightguards, patrol Boldershore in the evenings and nights either solo or in pairs. Like typical adventurers, they're visibly armed with steel blades of many sorts, up to personal preference, and wear plain, pale tabards emblazoned with an amber lily, the symbol of the Knights of Terith. Their main function is deterrence of harm via reputation. Their presence broadcasts the message that should anyone around threaten the safety of anyone else, there will be consequence. If someone is attacked, the guard will come to the victim's defence. If they discover gangs of bandits settling down in the city, they will team up to drive them out. The Knightguards follow a strictly enforced code of conduct, do not take advantage of those who rely on them for safety, and do not take bribes. They tend to frequent the streets around taverns, inns, bars and brothels, and the poorer blocks, at nighttime providing safe escort for women and others who are common targets of violence.

They frequently clash with Lord Arnvald's own city guard, what with the soldiers more than often being the perpetrators of such violence. So far there have yet to be any conflicts on a large enough scale to catch the lord's attention, since the Knightguards are still a small band, and Lord Arnvald knows well of the Knights of Terith. As far as he's concerned, they are 'just' an adventurers' guild, a coalition of hired swords run by naive idealists who could never in any way contest his power and therefore are totally harmless. Since they never do anything noteworthy, he doesn't bother taking note of them. It's an impression the Knights of Terith consider in their best interest to maintain, so establishing and putting resources towards growing the Knightguards is one of their riskier operations. Too much attention from opposing established powers could jeopardize their future plans, but the guild leaders agree that many folks can't wait for those plans to be executed, and it's a risk worth taking.

The Knights of Terith are considering recruiting healers and medics designated to the Knightguards in addition to fighters, for the instances that a guard or a civilian is injured or otherwise in need of aid, but are hindered by a lack of resources, and for now have been making do with having the guild's general healers give the current Knightguards some basic medic training.

A pair of Knightguards

Type

Mercenary

Overall training Level

Trained

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

Used by

• The Knights of Terith