The village is plundered in fairly quick order. Sir Geoffrey is forced to exert his authority directly to keep the Irish knifers in line, and is forced to have a couple killed for disobeying orders. This keeps the others in line fairly well, and the looting goes on without much difficulty after that.
The goods are loaded onto soldier's backs, supported by a couple of rickety carts and oxen taken from the village, and sent to join the main column. In the manner of such things, you will likely not see these men again until evening camp.
You continue on your march then. As the hours pass, you spot a few riders out on the gently rolling plains, but they give you a wide berth. You drop into a bit of a river valley for a distance, and when you emerge you spot a manor several miles away. With the wind blowing towards you, to can hear the sound of an alarm bell from here, and peasants are scattering.
The manor is not well fortified - certainly no walls or crenellations. It is merely a medium-sized, solid stone house with arrow slits for windows, much as is common all around Salisbury. None of you recognize the livery of the standard from here.
You have enough men to take the manor - they certainly won't have the troops prepared that you command - with perhaps an hour or two work at most. You can't help but think to your own manors - the treasures, supplies, and coin housed within. Even a poor manor would yield far more plunder than you have made this far on this expedition. It makes for a tempting target, and perhaps a righteous one as well.
If this is a traitor to his rightful lord, sacking the manor would be a righteous action. But the manor is a tempting target, regardless of who holds it. But perhaps this is a noble loyal to the Praetor? Your orders were clear: you were ordered to pillage the countryside, after all, with no specifics given regarding possible friendly nobles in the area. If there were friendly manors about, surely you would have been forewarned? And even if they are loyal, is it not their duty to aid the army fighting to reclaim these lands from the rebels?
The manor is in a mildly difficult spot - a curve of the river eliminates a large swath of land as a possible escape route, should you be attacked there. The river also provides ample cover for some possible hidden force, though certainly nothing as large as what you currently command. Even should you be attacked, unless it was from a large force of knights or men-at-arms, you should be well able to secure a victory, despite the terrain. Only massed cavalry would be any real threat, as they could come from over the hills and cut off any escape, but you would be fighting with the river at your backs, and have a fairly secure position regardless.
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