As Baroness Cynuise called Court for a hearing of grievances, it appeared that dissent was in the air. She had meant for this court to be a time where others could bring their disputes for her to judge, but it quickly became apparent that many had disputes with her. Chief amongst those were Sir Peter de Brox and Sir Kendrick de Bruce.
Sir Peter and Sir Kendrick seemed to have support of many others in the Barony. Many were upset over Baroness Cynuise's handling of the tournament which had been held the previous year. Too many observers, it looked like the situations had the makings of possible Praxis Seizure, with Sir Peter and Sir Kendrick standing defiantly before Cynuise, and with their liege Morwyn standing supportively behind them. They railed against Cynuise, demanding that she answer the charges they laid against her - and she did. Many of her answers were less than fully satisfactory, but she never once denied Sir Peter and Sir Kendrick's charges, merely asking for their continued support. Adding to the confusion, half way through the confrontation Baron Nathaniel of Carlisle, Kendrick's Sire, arrived and make his presence known to Cynuise. Finally, it was decided that Kendrick would fight Cynuise's champion to settle the matter of the grievances.
Baroness Cynuise chose her Scourge, Sigurd Katlasson, to defend her honour, and Baron Nathaniel offered his services to judge and mediate the duel of honour. Both combatants moved with inhuman speed and strength, but Sigurd's superior skill with a blade and seeming invulnerability to blows won the day, and likely would have killed Kendrick had not Baron Nathaniel stepped in to declare the combat over and Sigurd the victor. Kendrick was taken off by his supporters, while Baroness Cynuise knighted Sigurd for his service. Meanwhile, Nathaniel, Morwyn, and Cynuise wandered off, presumably to discuss affairs of state.
For the rank and file, the rest of the night passed uneventfully but slowly. Sigurd ranted to many about the necessity of a crusade for purging the land of heretics, and he pledged his sword to the task. His questioning of Sir Peter de Brox's newly arrived man, Sabart, provoked a slightly hostile reaction, as apparently Sabart considered his faith to be beyond questioning by one such as Sigurd. All told, the Cainites of Yorkshire left court with the feeling that a confrontation had only been prolonged, not avoided...
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