Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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...there were other tables, some almost as lofty, some not so much. Among those in the not-so-lofty category, the Table of Less Valued Knights was far and away the unloftiest. The Knights of Less Valued Table were the workhorses of the court, performing the inglorious duties that are nevertheless essential to a realm's operation and taking care of any requests that the other orders found... uninteresting.

SIR THOMAS THE HESITANT AND THE TABLE OF LESS VALUED KNIGHTS

SIR THOMAS THE HESITANT AND THE TABLE OF LESS VALUED KNIGHTS

You want a hard slog like that to end with the bad guy losing. Through some last minute opportunity, or some deep fault of the villain, or even just sheer stubborn grit on the part of the hero, you want the good guy to stand alone in the end, battered but victorious.

[This fight] didn't end like that.