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Back to the previous chapter: Summoners
First Draft
The knights picked up the battered body of Franz Stalgraf. With one knight on each side of the unconscious prisoner, the party made their way through the quiet streets of Londoun. Sunrise was not far away, but the skies had only started to hint at graying.
Bilbus addressed his companions as they walked down the street. "Stalgraf thinks I am dead. Perhaps I should not follow you to wherever you're taking him?"
Sturm and Kasey stopped. The Sun Knight answered, "We're taking him to the Knights of Kells. They can keep him under control easier than my Order can."
"Okay. I'll catch up with you in a couple of hours."
Sturm nodded. He and Kasey started walking again. Eric and Breanna followed behind the two, and Rishala brought up the rear. Adria stopped and looked at Bilbus for a few moments.
Finally finding her voice, Adria said quietly, "Perhaps we should talk."
The rest of the party arrived at the Castle Treasa a short while later. The formidable castle was secured, with its gates closed and the portcullises down. A pair of pages assigned to the night gate duty stood outside the heavy doors, eyes open but not entirely awake.
Kasey stood quietly in front of them for several seconds before they realized he was there. They snapped to attention, quickly shaking themselves to alert consciousness in moments when they realized a Church Knight was in front of them.
"Hi!" Kasey said cheerfully. "We need in. I urgently need to see the Head Knight."
One of the pages stiffened. "Sir Kasey! This is an odd hour to want access." The other page nodded nervously.
"Why? The bars just closed."
"Oh... One moment please, Sir Knight." The page went through a small gate in the portcullis, then rapped on a small door set in the main gate. The small door opened, and the page disappeared into the Castle Treasa.
Several minutes later, the party was ushered through the dark grounds of the castle and into Sir Mikall's offices. Breanna immediately sat on the floor in a corner of the office and opened her healer's kit. She rummaged around for some particular leaves and her travel journal. By the time Sir Mikall arrived a few minutes later, she was busily scanning through her journal and muttering quietly to herself.
Still groggy, the Head Knight sat on the corner of his desk. "Kasey, this had better be good."
Kasey nodded. "I was at a bar, Sir Mikall, and I think I sinned..." Sir Mikall's eyes widened and he took a deep breath. "Kidding, sir."
Sir Mikall did not look amused.
Kasey started his story. He spoke a little faster than usual. "We followed this bad guy. He was one of the whatever-they-are people that I can't pronounce the name of. He went to his house and it was his office, too, and he summoned a demon and -- oh, this," he slammed the piece of the pentacle onto the desk, "was part of the thing he used to summon it. I broke it so he couldn't summon them again if he got away and..." He lifted one of the unconscious Stalgraf's arms. "this is the bad guy we captured who did the summoning. And there was a dark elf -- and dark elves are really dark...
"I didn't actually lie when we captured him. I told him we would take him to the man who was representing Ezeka, and I did. It was just Bilbus, not really one of the bad guys, and so it wasn't really lying... Oh, and we ran away from the demon and that was strange. And then after we talked him into making the demon go away, I heard it talking and it sounds really bad."
Sir Mikall's mouth was slightly agape during Kasey's running monologue. When Kasey stopped talking, he looked questioningly towards the rest of the party.
Eric decided to retell Kasey's story so the Head Knight could understand it. "Forgive Sir Kasey. He is very tired, and I think he may be confused about running away from the demon. What he is trying to tell you is that this man, Franz Stalgraf, summoned a demon this evening. He works for the Anlor Balsil Agralem, which is an organization that we keep running into. These people seem to be the Dark One's minions."
Sturm added, "Franz and some other agents met with a drow -- a dark elf -- last night. They were reporting to him about how well their schemes were progressing."
Sir Mikall looked at Sturm. "Perhaps you should give me the details."
Sturm and Eric took turns relating the previous night's adventures, from a summary of the information Bilbus had relayed to them through the fight at Stalgraf Imports and the demon. On occasion, Kasey would try to interject something into the dialogue, but Eric and Sturm did not allow him a chance to start rambling.
Kasey gave Sir Mikall the paper he swiped from Stalgraf's table in the secret attic. Sir Mikall read through it, brow furrowed, then handed it back to Kasey.
"I do not understand this ... poem?"
Sturm said, "It looks a lot like some poetry we've recovered from orcs. Maybe it's just a coincidence that it reads the same, but I would not bet on it."
"What does this poem mean, then?"
Eric took a deep breath. "We think it is part of a prophecy, perhaps, telling of a time when the Dark One is able to escape his imprisonment."
Sir Mikall nodded to himself, lost in thought for a minute. When he finally looked back up at the party, he said quietly, "It would explain everything that you have seen happening, wouldn't it?"
Eric nodded slowly.
Sturm raised Stalgraf up a few inches. "I really think he should be questioned. He may know some things that could help us. He knows who in the Londoun underworld to contact. He said the thieves' guilds are aligned to support the Dark One. We would like to know how they are organizing, and when their next meeting is scheduled. He also knows something about the orcs in Camelough."
Kasey brightened briefly. "Should I wake him up?"
Sturm shook his head.
Breanna put away her herbs and journal, then stood up, consciously brushing away the dust that may have been on her skirt. She took a tentative step forward. Sir Mikall looked at her.
"Sir Mikall?" She held out two pouches on an open palm. "In our travels, I learned about a tea that suppresses the ability to channel Heka." She picked up one of the pouches. "This tea will keep him from channeling Heka. It should be brewed fairly strongly. The tea is bitter. This other tea," she picked up the other pouch, "will put him to sleep."
The Head Knight took both pouches. "Thank you, m'Lady."
Breanna dipped briefly into a shallow curtsy, then shuffled back to sit in a chair.
Eric looked at Sturm. "Do you think you should be present for the interrogation?"
Sturm nodded. "It would make sense. If any of his answers bring up new information, one of us should be there to follow it."
Rishala suddenly jumped as if he were startled. "Maybe we should send an armed scout force to Camelough, to see if Stalgraf was telling the truth. We could go take a look, in case he was exaggerating for his boss."
Kasey beamed. "Hey, we could base out of my pop's place. Sulster is pretty close to Camelough. We're on the edge of the King's Land."
The ruins of Camelough and the surrounding region had been declared King's Lands, off limit to visitors, for hundreds of years. Various grave robbers and the like had tried to go onto the lands to steal artifacts from the fabled Imperial City, but few had returned. Some people suspected the ghosts of the thousands who had died the day the Silver Towers burned haunted the grounds and took vengeance on those visitors. Others believed that orcs still occupied the city, slaying anyone with the temerity to invade their territory. Regardless, one of the earlier Kings of the Kingdom of the Five Crowns declared Camelough and the lands surrounding it hallowed and off-limits.
Mikall glanced at the party assembled in his office. "We can send some Church Knights. Say, thirty of them. That way, you have some for the scouting, and a few more in Sulster in case you need the extra swords."
Rishala cleared his throat. "Sir Mikall, don't you need the King's permission to enter Camelough?"
Mikall smiled thinly. "Why do we need permission to send my men to visit Sulster, long a support of the Church of Kells and Her Shield? If some of my men are wayward and cross into King's Land, that would be a shame..."
Rishala grinned to himself.
Kasey clapped his hands. "Well, let's leave tomorrow morning. That gives us time to get ready, and for the knights who are coming with us to get provisioned for the trip."
Sir Mikall nodded. "We'll assemble in the square in front of Cathedral Treasa, at sun up."
"Great!" Kasey exclaimed. "Oh. I better get to the markets. I promised ma and sis something when I came back to visit from Londoun..."
The Church Knight muttered happily to himself as he decided which gifts to take home for his family. He left the office, followed by Rishala, Eric, and Breanna.
Sturm hung back for a moment. "Sir Fletcher."
"Yes, Sir Sunblade?" Sir Mikall glanced up at Sturm. The Sun Knight had used his last name -- usually reserved for formal greetings.
"I would like to borrow that section of pentacle Kasey gave to you. Some personnel in my Order are still unconvinced about the dangers we've encountered."
"By all means, Sir Sunblade," Sir Mikall gestured towards the block of wood.
Sturm picked it up. "Thank you, Sir Fletcher." Sturm saluted and left the office, walking with a brisk determination.
Bilbus spotted the gates of the Castle Treasa. The pages assigned to guard the door looked bored, but they were still alert.
Bilbus strolled up to one of the pages and smiled. "Have you seen a large blond guy come through these gates? About this tall?" He raised his hand as high as he could.
"Dunno," the page replied, uninterested.
"Okay. Have you seen Kasey come through here?"
The page started paying attention. "What if I have?" he asked suspiciously.
Bilbus sighed. Some people are so distrusting! "Could you please tell him Bilbus is here? He's expecting me."
The page looked menacingly at Bilbus -- or tried to, at least. He was not old enough to start shaving, let alone look menacing. "Wait here, Master Bilbus."
As the boy trotted into the Church Knight compound, Bilbus shouted after him, "That's Lord Bilbus, child!" Bilbus shook his head suddenly when he realized what he had just said.
Kasey and Eric were crossing the grounds towards the gate when the page intercepted them.
"Sir Kasey!" The boy stopped and saluted. "A 'Bilbus' is at the gates. Kinda scrawny, wearing black leather, looks kinda suspicious."
"Oh, Bilbus! I wondered when he would catch up. I'll be along in a moment, page." Kasey turned to Eric. "That wound isn't too bad. The Father in the cathedral should be able to help you. Just go in the main doors and go up to the altar. Find the priest keeping vigil near the altar and wake him up. Tell him Sir Kasey Bittrand of the Knights of Kells sent you for healing." Eric nodded. "Oh, and it is customary to leave a donation."
Kasey met Bilbus at the front gate. The Church Knight relayed the plans for the reconnaissance mission to the mountebank, then noticed Bilbus's half-open eyes. "Maybe you need to get some sleep, Bilbus."
The thief nodded slowly.
"Come on. Let's get you to my house. Everyone else will be here in a moment."
The rest of the party assembled at the front gate. Eric arrived a minute later, his wounds healed once more.
Kasey stopped and counted heads. He winced. "Bilbus, it's late enough that the flower girls should be setting up for the day. You need to get some flowers for Miss Ciara. This many guests showing up without notice might make her upset."
"Okay." Bilbus furrowed his brows. "What sort of flowers do I get her?"
"Something that would be good for a mother."
"A Church Mother? A regular mother?"
"Yeah, sure, whatever, Bilbus." The Church Knight stifled a yawn.
Bilbus wandered off down the road, trying to decide what a "regular" mother's flowers should look like. He didn't remember his own mother, and he had been raised by Church Mothers in an orphanage.
Sturm looked at Kasey. "I will meet you at your house later. I need to check in with my commander as well."
"Okay, Sturm. See ya!"
Sturm walked away quickly. Eric decided to go with the Sun Knight, curious about what the Londoun Hold was like.
Bilbus joined the rest of the party just as they arrived at Kasey's house. The Church Knight took the flowers and walked up the three steps to the door. He rapped on the door tentatively.
Ciara opened the door. She saw Kasey, then looked at the flowers. She sighed loudly, then noticed everyone behind Kasey, standing in the road.
"Let me guess, Kasey. Everyone is a guest tonight." It was a statement, not a question.
Kasey beamed. "You never cease to amaze me! I am a lucky man indeed to have a housekeeper as smart as you are!"
She took the flowers and opened the door the rest of the way. "Yes, Kasey, you are. Is this everyone?"
Kasey looked back at the party. "No. Sturm and Eric will be along later."
Ciara led everyone inside, where she directed servants to prepare rooms. At Kasey's insistence, Bilbus and Rishala were taken to Kasey's own room while the Church Knight left to finish shopping.
Rishala quickly collapsed on one side of the bed. Bilbus dropped onto the other side and noticed with delight that it dipped considerably -- a very thick, plush feather mattress that was soft enough to swallow a person. The thief started bouncing lightly on his side of the bed, giddy with exhaustion and readily amused by the springiness of the mattress.
"Stop it!" Rishala barked, far more harshly then he had intended.
The story teller started falling asleep again when the thief stopped bouncing, only to be startled awake by the loud sawing of Bilbus's snore.
Rishala groaned and pulled his large pillow over his face. Exhaustion soon overtook the Caledonian, and he no longer noticed the mountebank's snoring.
Eric rushed to keep up with Sturm. The Sun Knight had stayed behind a moment after the rest of the party left Sir Mikall Fletcher's office, then he joined the rest of them outside the gates of Castle Treasa. When Eric returned from the adjacent cathedral, healed, Sturm had growled something about needing to show his own commander the block of wood from the pentacle. When he departed, Eric decided to follow.
The Sun Knight moved quickly through the streets, weaving through the increasing traffic of the morning without slowing. Eric rattled fearsomely as he followed, his plate armor making enough noise that startled, half-conscious pedestrians leaped out of his way. Even with the more direct line of travel, the Azirian was hard pressed to keep up with Sturm.
He is wearing lighter armor, Eric told himself. As he watched the knight cut in front of a slow moving wagon piled with barrels, he admitted, I do not think it would make a difference if he were wearing my plate. He is in a hurry, and I think he is very angry.
After a few more turns, Eric realized that he saw several Sun Knights walking past him, talking amiably about the previous night's pub crawl. None of them had paid Sturm any heed.
Ahead was the Londoun Hold. It was just after the morning turn-out and inspection, and the troops had been released for breakfast. Many of them left the castle to visit one of any number of local cafes or bakeries that had just opened, but a few remained behind to visit the mess hall.
Sturm had stopped at the front gate of the castle. Eric caught up with him there as the Sun Knight commanded one of the gate guards to tell the Head Knight, Sir Gittoes, that Sturm was on his way up to meet him. When the guard failed to move immediately, Sturm snarled and walked right through the gates. Eric again rushed to keep up.
The Azirian looked around the compound. After visiting the Church Knight's castle, he was very aware of differences between the two. The knights in Londoun Hold walked casually, some slouching, whereas the Church Knights always moved briskly. The training mannequins, wooden human shapes with chains hanging from arms, were in poor condition. Although the dummies in the Castle Treasa were badly beaten and damaged, these were weather-damaged, with gray wood that had split and chains that were turning to rust from disuse.
The Azirian tried to keep his voice low, but he still had to speak loudly for Sturm to hear him over his rattling armor. "There is something different about this compound."
Without slowing or even looking over his shoulder, Sturm growled, "No kidding."
Eric pressed his luck. "I am not sure I would hide here if I were in danger..."
"No kidding." Sturm stopped and let Eric catch up. "I defeated every one of the knights in this compound using a practice spear." He realized Eric did not understand. "I am a swordsman. I skipped the training courses for spear to practice sword. I am not good at spear fighting. And I still defeated them all."
Eric's eyes widened slightly. The Sun Knight nodded, then continued into the building that housed the Head Knight's offices.
"Are we supposed to have permission first?" Eric called after the Sun Knight. Glancing around, and realizing that no one was paying any attention, the explorer followed Sturm into the building.
Up the stairs and around a corner, he found Sturm standing outside a closed door. A brass plaque on the door, slightly burnished, announced that this was the Head Knight's day offices. A wooden sign hanging from a nail below the plaque added, "Knock three times, wait for permission."
Sturm doubled his gauntleted fist and hammered the door twice. He then lifted the latch and slammed the door one more time, sending it crashing open. The wooden sign bounced against the door and fell to the ground noisily. Eric's jaw dropped at the flagrant disregard for instructions. The Sun Knight stormed into the room.
His grin was a rictus, more appropriate for a feral animal than a human. He took two large steps to cross the office and slammed the piece of the circle onto Sir Gittoes's desk. A steaming mug of tea bounced on the desk, and a small plate holding a roll rattled. The Head Knight, Sir Gittoes, sat behind the desk, his mouth agape as he stared at Sturm.
"Sir Gittoes," Sturm snarled, "you wanted proof."
Eric glanced towards his left. Another knight sat in a chair against the wall. The knight sat forward as he looked at the chunk of wood. Eric noticed that the tabard over this Sun Knight's breastplate was more elaborate and ornate than the other tabards he had seen around the compound. Instinctively feeling a threat, Eric slowly moved his hand towards the reassuring grip of his Azirian sword. Sturm had obviously not noticed this other knight.
Just as Eric started to warn Sturm, Sturm noticed Sir Gittoes glance towards his left. Sturm turned his head to his left and spotted the other knight. He recognized the markings on the tabard, as well as the face he had seen so many times at the Sunkeep near the city of Llwelyn.
Sturm straightened to attention, facing this other knight, and saluted. Fishing around behind his back on Sir Gittoes's table, he grabbed the chunk of wood.
Sturm finally found his voice. "Lord High Commander!"
Sir Cael Leith, Lord High Commander of the Sun Knights, regarded Sturm with an experienced eye. "Who are you, Sir Knight?"
Sturm remained at attention. "Sir Sturm Sunblade, originally of the Sunkeep."
Sir Leith smiled broadly. "Just the knight I wanted to see."
Sturm swallowed and looked towards Sir Leith.
"At ease, knight."
Sturm relaxed slightly and tilted his head so he could look directly at the Lord High Commander.
Sir Leith continued. "I have heard reports, from the Knights of Kells." He pointedly looked at Sir Gittoes. "These reports are interesting. They suggest that perhaps the Dark One's minions are more active and better organized than we have been led to believe. These reports have also mentioned a particular Sun Knight who had witnessed all the same things, yet I have never seen reports cross my desk from within our Order."
Sturm started to protest. "Sir Leith..."
"Sir Sunblade, I now know you have been reporting these events. I traveled here from the Sunkeep to talk to Sir Gittoes. He has told me why I never saw any reports. You do not need to defend yourself. Now... The last report from our holy brethren mentioned a trip to Caledonia. They have yet to send any results from that trip to me, but I see you are here now. Can I safely assume that you went to Caledonia as well?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, Sturm. Please, let me hear about the trip."
Sturm started to relate the story of the Caledonian trip, starting with the note they had found months earlier near Hillsdale that mentioned Ezeka's name. He described the first meeting with Seamus the Usurper, and the discovery of the rightful king in the crypts below the castle's church.
Sturm then described the treachery of Seamus, and the fight in the throne room. Sturm paid special attention to Meridaun's conduct. "Sir Leith, she acted like she had been trained to fight. She was green, but she was calling down lightning inside the throne room. She was no Church Knight. She was unleashing the wrath of the gods and doing more damage than Sir Bittrand. I suspect that the Church has more like her. We should keep this in mind if the Dark One is organizing his armies."
Sturm continued with a secondhand description of the meeting with Lord Silverthorn, with a few references to a comrade masquerading as "Ezeka's aide". The Sun Knight finally finished his report with a description of Franz Stalgraf's summoning room. He gave the section of the summoning pentacle to Sir Leith while explaining that Franz had summoned a demon.
Sir Leith looked up at Sturm. "Where is this Stalgraf?"
"We turned him over to the Church Knights. I suspect they are better equipped to keep him under control."
The Lord High Commander again glanced towards Sir Gittoes. The Head Knight of Londoun Hold seemed to be shrinking into his chair. "I think you are correct, Sir Sunblade." The Lord High Commander again met Sturm's gaze. "Do you have anything else to add?"
Sturm hesitated. "I do, but the information is something I do not want to share."
Without a pause, Sir Leith said, "Sir Gittoes, please excuse us."
The Head Knight stood and walked from his office, closing the door behind him.
Sturm lowered his voice anyway. "Sir Leith, I do not know if Sir Gittoes is entirely to blame. He may not have received my reports in the first place."
"What do you mean?"
"I have my suspicions... I think this compound may have been compromised. I can not provide proof, but I am hard pressed to believe that Sir Gittoes could have dismissed all of my reports out of hand."
"Your concerns are noted, Sturm. I do not think we should change our behavior, however. Continue to report to Sir Gittoes like you have in the past. I would like you to send me reports by courier. Directly to the Sunkeep. Do not tell anyone in Londoun Hold you are doing so. I have talked to Sir Gittoes myself, and he has assured me that he will forward your reports. I would like to have an independent verification that he has done so, and I will have that if you send me copies directly. If there are discrepancies, we will take action."
Sturm nodded.
"Now, what are you and your companions doing next?"
"I told you about the report of orcs in Camelough. The Church Knights are worried enough that they are sending knights with us for a scouting expedition."
"How soon are you leaving?"
"We meet in the square outside Cathedral Treasa tomorrow morning at sunrise."
"I will go with you. My men will be ready to leave this castle for a while."
"Yes, sir."
"Sir Sturm, thank you for your report. You have settled some of my fears -- that my men were not reporting to me events I should hear about -- even as you have raised some other fears -- that the Dark One's influence on the world has become stronger. Unless you have anything additional to report, you are dismissed."
Sturm saluted again. "Yes, sir." He walked towards the door.
Eric followed the Sun Knight into the hallway. The explorer noticed the Head Knight standing against the wall, eyes hollow with dark rings. The man looked haggard and on the verge of exhaustion.
Outside the building, as they crossed the compound towards the main gates, Eric managed to keep up with Sturm. Walking beside the Sun Knight, the Azirian said, "I take it that your report did not go as expected?"
"No. Do you know who that was? That was the Lord High Commander."
"The commander of the castle?"
"No. The Lord High Commander of the Sun Knights."
"The Sun Knights in Londoun?"
Sturm exhaled sharply with an exacerbated sigh. "Sir Cael Leith is the Lord High Commander of the Sun Knights. All Sun Knights. In Londoun, in Llwelyn, in all of the Kingdom of the Five Crowns, in all of Avillonia. For anyone who is a Sun Knight, Sir Leith is his or her commander."
Eric continued to walk with Sturm in silence. His mind wandered as he realized that he had been up for over a day without any rest. The noises of the city seemed distant, as if he were someone else hearing it remotely, somehow. From time to time, he took two or three steps with his eyes closed, as the act of blinking became increasingly a struggle to keep his eyes open.
It was with a start that Eric realized he was standing in the atrium of Kasey's townhouse. Kasey's housekeeper, Miss Ciara, repeated a question.
"Hmm? Oh, no. I am sorry. I will skip breakfast. I need sleep."
Eric followed a servant up the stairs to a back room. He noticed Sturm had collapsed onto a couch in one of the side rooms, snoring loudly and still completely dressed. That must be uncomfortable, the Azirian thought as he passed the sleeping knight.
In the room where Eric had been led was a large, plush bed. The servant bowed and left, mumbling something Eric didn't catch. Eric sat down on the bed and started to remove one of his boots. Maybe in a moment. He let go of the boot and settled back until his was lying on his back. A few moments later, he was snoring quietly.
Sturm woke up slowly. It was some time late in the afternoon, judging from the sunlight hitting the drawn curtains of the sitting room in which he had fallen asleep. He rolled over onto his back, feeling some muscles protesting the abusive position he was lying in when he fell asleep.
The Sun Knight sat up and looked around the room. There was one other couch and a couple of plush chairs in the room, all arranged in a rough semi-circle facing the fireplace in one wall. A modest bookshelf, devoid of books, was on the wall opposite the fireplace. Sturm twisted his back slowly, feeling the muscles stretch and the bones pop.
Finished with his stretching, he sat back in the couch and started to review the dream he had had while sleeping. Sir Atenburg's divination techniques had been handy on a number of occasions, but this time Sturm was less certain about it. He was convinced that someone within the Londoun Hold was an agent of the Dark One, so he had formulated the question and channeled a small focus of Heka into a net as he fell asleep.
The dream, as well as Sturm was able to interpret it, suggested that no one supporting the Dark One was actively interfering with his reports. Which means that the command staff of Londoun Hold is incompetent. I was hoping for a different answer.
Sturm caught a whiff of something tasty coming from another part of the house. His stomach growled loudly, so the Sun Knight decided to go find the meal and get a bite or two to eat.
Adria walked down one of the winding avenues in a wealthy section of Londoun. She was searching for a particular jeweler's shop, one that she had spotted a few weeks earlier while trying to find a new apartment.
She found it after an hour of searching. The shop was fairly large, and it looked well-stocked. Well, here goes nothing...
The noble assassin walked through the front door. She had taken the time to dress well -- better than the barmaid's dresses she had become accustomed to wearing lately. A common barmaid may raise too many suspicions.
The whitesmith noticed her arrival and immediately approached. "My Lady, what may I do for you today?"
Adria blushed slightly. "Good Master jeweler, I am terribly embarrassed. It would appear that, while my husband was out of town, I spent far more on some new furniture than I should have. He will arrive home today, and I need to replenish our coffers before he gets home."
The jeweler nodded slowly, still not comprehending. "How may I help you, My Lady?"
Adria reached into a large pouch on her belt. She held out the necklace Bilbus had given her months ago. "It was a present from before we were married." She looked at it, as if wistfully studying the bejeweled necklace. "I have hardly worn it in months, and I don't think he'll miss it right away." She looked demurely up towards the jeweler. "Is there anything you can offer for this necklace? I should be able to come back for it in a couple of weeks, when he is away again. He'll be none the wiser."
The whitesmith took the necklace from Adria and looked at it, scrutinizing the workmanship with a well-practiced eye. "This is a magnificent work, My Lady. The jeweler who created this necklace should be proud of himself for doing such fine work. The gems are very finely cut -- see how they catch the light? -- and the fitting looks very delicate, but it is solid." He turned the necklace over in his hands, inspecting the backs of the fittings. "I see a Londoun Whitesmiths' Guild stamp here. I don't recognize the artisan's stamp, though. It's not an artist in this section of Londoun. Hmmm. I really should look him up and meet with him. I would love to see how he made these fine chains." He lowered the necklace so he could look at Adria again. "My Lady, this is an exquisite work. As an appraiser, I would say this necklace is easily worth twenty or twenty-five Drakes. As a buyer, I can tell you that I do not keep that much coin in my shop. I hope you can understand..."
Adria looked genuinely distressed. "Oh, gods... My husband is going to be furious..."
"M'Lady," the whitesmith rushed to assure her. "I can not offer you even a just pittance for this jewelry, but I can offer something. This is just temporary, right? You can come back and repay me, and I will not even charge a usury for you. I have six Drakes right now. I can also give you some gems. I have a number of dwarven diamonds, and a couple of fine emeralds from al-Rhayidh. I can give you about eight Drakes value in gems. You could sell those elsewhere, or perhaps just keep them in case your husband needs more than the six coins. I would gladly take them back, along with six Drakes, and give the necklace back to you."
Adria sniffled. "You would do that for me?"
"Of course, m'Lady." He walked back behind his showcases, setting the necklace on top of one as he walked past it. He rummaged around behind the showcases, unlocking and opening several strongboxes before he returned to her. The jeweler counted out six of the gold coins, then handed her several small leather bags that were securely tied. He opened one and emptied several glistening clear stones onto his palm. "All of the bags have gems like these." He poured the diamonds back into the bag, then tied it off once more.
Adria felt the bags, making sure there were stones in each of them. She instinctively wanted to check each bag, but she was not skilled in appraising gems. Besides, a dainty noble woman would be far more trusting than Adria.
"Thank you, Master whitesmith. You are doing me a great service, and I will find some way to repay you when I can. Thank you!"
Pocketing the coins and the gems, Adria turned to leave the shop.
"Have a fine day, m'Lady!"
"Aye, that I will now, good master!"
She rushed away as quickly as she could without being too conspicuous.
The sun was just above the buildings along the western side of Falagos Square when Adria arrived at work. She had hurried home from the jeweler to change into one of her work dresses, then had to rush to get to the True Point Tavern before she was too late for work.
She had just made it through the front door and waved to the bartender when she noticed Sassy and his comrades at the corner table that Bilbus had occupied for too many nights over the last two weeks.
Adria unconsciously checked the soft leather bodice she wore. The laces were tight on the bottom, but loose towards the top, creating an almost revealing seam down her chest and ample cleavage along the top of the bodice. She swayed her hips as she walked across the tavern to the Company's table.
She stood behind an empty chair and smiled towards Sassy. "So nice to see you again, Sassy. Shall we get down to business?" The leader of the Company of Unusual Headgear nodded. Adria smoothly swept the empty chair aside and sat down on it, leaning forward just slightly. The motion had its desired effect: Sassy's eyes dipped briefly from hers towards her chest. Adria fought the urge to smile to viciously.
"So, Lady Adria... What may the Company do for you?" Sassy grinned wolfishly.
Adria allowed her smile to surface. "I would like to hire the Company of Unusual Headgear."
"To do what?"
"I am going to eliminate my father and get rid of Bilbus all in one fell swoop. I will also take care of your problem of transporting an angry Heka user. Here is what I want to happen:
"M'Lord and I are going to Portsdale. You will go ahead of us to meet us there. I want you to go ahead of us and find a warehouse. Perhaps one of my fathers? I will deliver m'Lord del Cartach to you, bound and disabled. You will bring my father to the warehouse -- I am sure he would want to gloat over his captive nemesis before he hauls Bilbus to the Dales Council. I will take care of my father, and you get Bilbus and the reward for yourselves."
Sassy nodded appreciatively. He mumbled something about apples falling from trees, then said, "I see two problems, m'Lady. First: Your father has become very paranoid ever since his eldest son and heir to his fortune mysteriously died. He has hired mercenaries to double the household guard, and he never leaves your house. Second: We are already working for your father. He's paying us five Dales Crowns to bring Bilbus to him."
Adria sighed, allowing some of the exasperation she felt to escape. "And if I were to hire you away from Lord Duran?"
Sassy paused for a long moment as he tried to find the right wording for a reply. "You would need to match his salary offer, all up front, and pay us a little more upon completion. So, five Kingdom Drakes, or Dalesian Crowns, if you prefer, now. Say, four more after you are done with your father."
"I am already offering you Bilbus to deliver to the Council. He's worth two Crowns, alive."
"Very true, m'Lady. So, five Crowns now, two more to complete the contract. And we keep Bilbus, whom you will deliver alive. Otherwise, we will need another Crown to compensate that loss of value."
Adria took her time replying, watching as Sassy's eyes continued to occasionally flicker downwards. "Very well. I hope you understand that I do not keep that kind of coin on me when I work in a tavern."
Sassy nodded in understanding.
The Dunce sat forward, his slack jaw opening and closing several times as if he had to prime a pump. He finally blurted, "We need new hats!"
Adria shook her head. "Keep the hats. Duran will know something is up if you arrive in town wearing new hats."
The Dunce scowled and looked at Sassy. "But it's my turn!"
Sassy nodded. He looked at Adria. "It would violate Company policy for us to keep these hats when we are on a new contract."
"Company policy?" Adria asked quietly. "Sassy, could we talk alone for a moment?" She glanced at the other three men. "Could you boys excuse us? He'll be along in a moment."
Sassy nodded to the other members of his team. They shuffled out the door, standing outside the front windows of the Tavern idly, chatting with one another.
Adria leaned farther forward, feeling the bodice shift precipitously. I'm going to fall out of this dress, if I'm not careful. She noticed Sassy was now agape, his eyes fixed well below hers. Well, there are advantages to these trollopy barmaid dresses Bilbus likes so much. Especially with the likes of Sassy.
Adria lowered her voice. When she spoke, it was more of a purr. "Now, Sassy. I would really hate for this mission to end badly." She paused, trying to decide if Sassy even heard a word she said. "If my father were to see you in town, wearing new hats, he will wonder what happened. We both know how upset he would get if you didn't finish the job for him."
Sassy nodded. Good. He is listening.
"So, what I need you and the Company to do is to keep this mission a secret. It needs to go off without a hitch. Do you understand me?"
Again, Sassy nodded.
"Good. If the mission goes off the way I want," she paused to lick her lips. Sassy's eyes met hers again. "There may be something extra in it for you." The leader of the Company of Unusual Headgear blushed, a fierce red that leaped up his neck to cover his face.
Sassy stammered as he tried to form a reply. "No... Nothing will go wr...wr...wrong, m'Lady. We... we can keep our hats until after you are done with Lord del Quintin."
Adria sat back. "Good. Now, you better go tell the rest of the Company."
Sassy stood up quickly and started to walk stiffly past Adria towards the door. He paused. "M'Lady, we still need the coins up front to change jobs."
Adria looked up at Sassy. "Of course you do. Why don't you meet me here tomorrow morning, right about sunup. I'll have the five Crowns for you then."
"Very well, m'Lady. I will see you tomorrow."
"I look forward to it." Adria watched Sassy leave the True Point, then let out a long, suffering sigh. I'll have something special for you, Sassy. You go down first.
Adria stood up and walked towards the bar. She paused to adjust her bodice, then stopped at the end of the bar. The barkeeper -- the owner of the bar, this evening -- met her.
"Adria, you have been pretty popular, lately. Did I hear him calling you 'Lady'?"
Adria sighed. "Yes."
"Was he kidding with you?"
"No."
"I guess I'm not surprised. You never did strike me as a normal barmaid. Usually, they have a few years' experience before they reach your age."
Adria shrugged. "I guess I got a late start... I guess I need to give you notice. Tonight's my last night. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to tell you sooner, but things have happened very quickly, lately."
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised about that, either. I always suspected you had your own motives for working here, and I guess those motives are fulfilled. Good luck, Adria ... Lady Adria?"
Adria nodded. "Thanks, Riommar." She glanced around the tavern. A pair of fencers from the Saviolo School had just taken the now-vacated table where she had met Sassy. Adria hurried over there to take their orders, quickly losing herself in the bustle of the bar.
The square in front of the Cathedral Treasa was a warren of activity. Over thirty mounted knights waited in the square, many with spare mounts. Wagons with teams of horses were lined up in the center of the square, carrying the provisions, men, and equipment needed to support knights in the field. The usual pre-dawn traffic of heavily-laden food wagons had to skirt around the edge of the square, avoiding the morning foot traffic and the pages rushing from the Castle Treasa to the wagons, loading last-minute supplies.
A number of people milled around the edges of the square, taking care to keep well away from the dozens of knights and their pages.
Bilbus rode Acquisition 2 into the square. He glanced around nervously at the milling crowd of knights -- far more than Bilbus would have chosen to be this close -- searching for his companions.
He spotted Adria riding into the square, approaching from a different road. Bilbus felt a brief wave of relief wash over him: he had not really expected her to show up this morning. The beautiful noblewoman wore her dark leather armor, not a riding dress. She has been wearing it more often, lately. Now she's wearing it in the open, during the day... Adria seemed unaware of Bilbus as she rode towards the near side of the square.
Bilbus looked towards where Adria was riding. Eric and Breanna were on the near side of the square. Eric was behind Breanna, adjusting one of the buckles on the back of her suit of armor. Not wearing a dress? Bilbus wondered in surprise. She's getting more cautious. Good for her.
Eric finished adjusting the buckles, then both he and Breanna started checking their saddle bags and cinching the straps on their saddles. Bilbus started riding towards the two.
A man nearby called out to Bilbus. "Excuse me!"
Bilbus reined Acquisition 2. The horse stopped. Bilbus looked down at a young nobleman standing on the front porch of a closed shop.
The man looked nervously at Bilbus, who was wearing his blackened leather armor with the adamantine sword in its back scabbard. "Are you with them?" The man pointed towards the knights.
Bilbus shook his head. "Nope."
"Do you know what's going on? Why are this many knights gathered in the square like this? It looks like they're going to war."
Bilbus laughed. "Maybe they're going to attack orcs in Camelough."
The man laughed disbelievingly. "Orcs in Camelough. That's funny. Maybe they are just going to go train or something."
Bilbus nodded as his horse walked away. "That must be it."
The mountebank stopped his horse next to Breanna. "It looks like this scouting mission is not exactly stealthy. Wouldn't you say, Bree?"
Breanna looked at the knights and wagons. "Nope. Not exactly stealthy. It is still nice to have a little more protection, anyway."
Bilbus snorted. He watched the preparations as they continued. It was then that he realized that several of the knights did not wear Church Knight tabards. Half a dozen of them wore the tabards of the Knights of the Sun. Seven, counting Sturm. Sturm was near the other Sun Knights, conferring with them as they waited to move out. Wonder who they are, and why there are so few of them? Bilbus noticed that one of the Sun Knights carried a banner with some sort of elaborate sigil on it. The knight Sturm talked to had the same sigil on his tabard.
Bilbus shrugged to himself and continued to scan the square. Rishala had just arrived. The Caledonian had already spotted his companions, and he was riding his horse slowly towards them.
An older man approached the Caledonian. He wore stained clothing, and his graying hair and beard were long and unkempt. He walked unsteadily towards Rishala's horse, shouting about "the city rising!" and "the fall of the lands!".
The madman grabbed Rishala's ankle. The Caledonian quickly jerked his reins, stopping his horse quickly. "Why do the raving lunatics always come to me?" he asked himself quietly.
The man looked up at Rishala with a wild expression. He spoke:
"None are kept
City without swords
Clouds on horizon
Storm rages near
"Fires on silver
Armies against armies
Orders twain leave
One returns struck"
The man stared at Rishala for several seconds, then released Rishala's ankle.
Rishala watched the madman stumble away through the crowd, stopping on occasion to shout "The city will rise! The lands fall!"
The storyteller continued his slow ride towards his friends.
Sturm had joined the rest of the party. He nodded towards Rishala when the Caledonian arrived, then addressed them all. "I would suggest you ride with the supply trains."
"Why?" Breanna asked.
Sturm looked at her levelly. "You will be protected that way. Anything we encounter will have to get through the knights before they can hit the trains."
Breanna nodded and shuddered. She looked around at her friends.
A loud voice somewhere in the crowd of knights called out, "Knights, forward!"
The knights quickly organized into a double column of horses, with the Sun Knights and several Church Knights riding at the front, then the majority of the Church Knights riding behind. The crowd parted way for the column of warriors, cheers rising as the knights rode towards one of the larger avenues that left the square. As the column of horses reached the avenue, the wagons creaked forward, falling in behind the horsemen in single file.
The party rode alongside the wagons. The people on the streets watched them curiously, trying to understand how the motley assortment of people riding with the column of knights fit.
The sun was well above the horizon ahead of the column when it passed the last organized section of Londoun. Ahead lay small forests and numerous farms and ranches for miles in every direction. Somewhere to the north, several miles away, was the Vasmar.
Eric rode between Breanna and Adria. He pulled a coin from his coin purse and held it out towards Breanna. She looked at the bronze coin curiously.
Eric put the coin in one hand, then fumbled his two hands together. He grinned and held both closed hands towards Breanna. "Which hand is it in?"
Breanna giggled and pointed to his left hand. Eric flipped the hand over, revealing the coin.
The explorer repeated the actions again. "Now, which hand is it in?"
Again Breanna pointed to his left hand. He flipped the hand over and opened it. Again the bronze coin was resting on the palm of his hand.
"Kuso," the Azirian muttered. Again Eric passed the coin back and forth between his hands. He turned partially to obscure Breanna's view, then held out his fists, smiling. "Which hand?"
Breanna chuckled to herself and pointed at his right hand. Eric's smile disappeared and he shifted in his saddle to face towards Adria. He shuffled the coin between his hands and held them towards Adria.
Before he opened his mouth to ask, Adria pointed at his right hand. "That one."
Eric furrowed his eyebrows and grumbled as he opened his right hand, revealing the coin. He put the coin back in his coin purse and rode on in silence.
The party and the soldiers spent the night camped in an empty pasture over half way to Sulster. The pages spent much of the evening tending to the hundred horses the knights and the support trains had. The knights congregated around a number of camp fires, leaving the party alone at their own separate fire. Eric spent the evening trying to refine his coin trick, often to the laughs of his friends.
The following morning, the column readied early and again set out at daybreak. Kasey corralled one of the pages and sent him ahead to Sulster with warning to his father that a contingent of knights approached.
Kasey rode at the head of the column next to Eric. After the quiet ride over the previous day, the party decided that Sturm's recommendation that they remain back with the supply trains was premature. Eric rode next to the blond Church Knight.
The Azirian produced a coin -- silver, this time -- and started passing it back and forth between his two hands. Kasey glanced over at him casually. Eric held his fists out towards the knight. "Which hand, Kasey?"
"Oh, are you still playing that game? That hand." Kasey pointed at Eric's left hand. The Azirian cursed under his breath as he revealed the coin in his left hand.
Behind those two riders, Bilbus held Acquisition 2 close to Sturm's horse. The con man glanced around, then leaned towards the Sun Knight.
"Sturm, I have a question for you..."
Sturm ignored Bilbus's prompt.
Undaunted, the thief continued. "We're going to the ruins of Camelough. We may actually go inside the Silver Towers..." Sturm continued to ride on. "As a strictly hypothetical questions, what would you do if we found the crowns? You know, the actual honest-to-the-gods Five Crowns of Uther Paendroeg..."
Sturm finally responded. "It depends on what you do with them, Bilbus."
Bilbus chuckled. "I just want to wear them for a while before I give them to the Tower Museum in Londoun, of course."
Sturm shook his head slowly, but did not answer.
Bilbus was distracted from watching the Sun Knight when Breanna trotted past them. She had left the top buckles of her leather armor undone, and the padded gambeson underneath was partially unlaced. It is warm out here, Bilbus conceded to himself as he watched her pass.
The healer slowed next to Eric's horse. She drew a coin from her belt pouch and mimicked Eric's coin trick. She leaned towards Eric as she held out her closed hands, and watched with glee as the explorer's eyes left her hands.
"Which hand, Eric?" she asked sweetly.
"Dahhh." Eric shook his head. He pointed at her left hand.
She opened an empty hand. Eric pointed at her right hand. She opened another empty hand, giggling mirthfully.
She slowed her horse again, letting the column pass her until she was riding next to Adria. The two noblewomen chuckled and started talking quietly to one another.
Sturm held his fists out and called out to Eric. "Hey, Eric! Guess which hand!"
Eric twisted in his saddle until he could see Sturm, who was riding right behind him. Sturm repeated Eric's hand motions, then held the fists out once more. Eric pointed at one of Sturm's hands. Sturm opened it, empty. Eric cursed to himself again and turned to face front.
Sensing an opportunity to really tease the Azirian, Rishala quickly rode up next to him. Eric looked at the Caledonian with a scowl. Rishala reached towards Eric's head.
"What's this behind your ear, Eric?" the storyteller asked as he produced a copper coin.
On the other side of Eric, Kasey said, "It's wet, whatever it is."
Eric sighed loudly and rode on, facing forward.
The column reached the village of Sulster. Kasey's home town was modest, no more than four hundred people in total. The town was clustered around a crossing of roads that were somewhat more elaborate than wagon trails. The villagers watched the column of knights, led by the party, as they passed through town. Kasey beamed and waved at a number of them, and called out greeting to others.
Past the eastern end of town was a large house on a hill. Surrounding the house was a low wall that enclosed a tremendous yard, large enough to graze a dozen or more cattle. A gate of iron bars, held open by a chain, marked the entrance to the Bittrand Estate.
At the gate, Kasey jumped down from Farran and continued towards the front door of the house, still over a hundred paces away. Farran walked along next to the Church Knight. The rest of the party followed him, as did Lord High Commander Cael Leith and the Church Knight in command of the detachment.
"Kasey?" Bilbus called out. "Are we supposed to dismount?"
Kasey stopped and turned around. "No. You don't have to." He turned and continued walking.
At the front door, Kasey called out for caretakers. Several servants rushed out the front door. They greeted Kasey warmly, commenting on the knights traveling with him and updating him on the preparations underway for feeding and housing the thirty-odd knights who had arrived in town with Kasey.
Around the corner of the house came a young woman, shorter by far than the Church Knight. She walked with a determined lean, her fists closed tightly, towards Kasey. She wore dark greens and browns, with trousers instead of a skirt, reminiscent of a forester's garb. Kasey put on a suffering smile as she approached.
She stopped right in front of Kasey. The Church Knight looked down to her. "Hi, Alyssa."
She ignored the greeting. Instead, she glared at him. "What? Do you think you can jump down off of the back of that horse and I won't notice the oppression? He's still saddled, and that inhumane 'bit' is still in his mouth!"
"It's good to see you, too, Alyssa," Kasey replied sincerely.
She continued to talk right past him. "I see there are no women in the Sun Knights still." She waved towards the group of Church Knights and the few Sun Knights outside the estate grounds.
Sturm muttered under his breath, "I'm sure Dame Edna will be glad to know she isn't really a Sun Knight."
Kasey furrowed his brow. "The Sun Knights have taken women for longer than either of us have been alive."
"Sure they have. But the women are still held back by the glass ceiling!"
Bilbus asked, "Why would anyone make a ceiling of glass?"
Alyssa glared at him.
Kasey shook his head. "Alyssa, will you please fetch father?"
"Oh, sure. Put the woman in her place and make her go run the errands." She stomped into the house.
Kasey looked at his friends. "I want to apologize for my sister's manners."
Bilbus looked at the Church Knight. "That's your sister?!?"
"Half-sister," Kasey corrected.
Rishala looked towards the door of the house. "I think I'm in love."
Bilbus nearly fell out of his saddle laughing at the Caledonian.
"What?" Rishala asked as he climbed out of his saddle.
Servants rushed around the corner to take the horses from the party. As they led the horses away, a man came out of the house. He was tall, like Kasey, but not as powerfully built. His fair hair was turning silver, and he wore the dress of a country noble, much like Kasey did when he dressed up in Londoun.
Kasey introduced him. "Everyone, this is my father, Lord Idrun Bittrand of Sulster." He turned to his father. "This is Sir Sturm Sunblade, a Sun Knight. Lady Breanna Ceiturin of Armagh. Lord Eric Ithell of Armagh. Rishala of Orkney. Bilbus the Great."
Rishala interrupted. "Perhaps you've heard of him?"
Lord Bittrand shook his head.
Bilbus put his hand on his forehead, rubbing his temples, and shook it slowly.
Kasey continued. "He's also Lord Bilbus del Cartach. Oh, and this is the Lady Adria del Cartach, his wife."
Adria curtsied slightly, then felt foolish for having done so while in her armor.
Lord Bittrand greeted everyone warmly, then invited them into the house.
At the door, Eric caught Bilbus's shoulder. "Bilbus, the same rules apply as you were under at my house."
Bilbus looked disbelievingly at Eric. "Are you kidding? You don't need to worry, Eric. This is Kasey's house!"
"Why is that different?"
"It's Kasey!" Bilbus shrugged free of the Azirian's grip and went into the house.
Inside, Lord Bittrand was explaining the arrangements for housing to Kasey. "Your friends will stay here in the guest rooms. The commanders of both groups of knights will stay here as well. I've asked a couple of the merchants in town to host the officers that are with you, and the inn can hold most of the rest of the Church Knights, as long as they can double up, two per room."
"That should be fine, father. I'll help get everyone settled."
That evening, Lord Bittrand hosted a large feast at his home. The officers of the knights and Kasey's friends were all guests.
Kasey sat next to his father. "Have you seen any signs of orcs around here?"
Idrun looked at his son in alarm. "Orcs? Here?"
Rishala cleared his throat. He told Lord Bittrand of the meeting in Londoun, and of the reports of orcs somehow getting into Camelough. The entire time, he kept glancing towards Alyssa, who was seated across the table from the Caledonian. Rishala managed to weave an elaborate tale by the time his narrative had arrived at Sulster. Alyssa was unimpressed.
Instead, Kasey's half-sister looked at Bilbus and Adria. "You're married? You know, Aunt Violet says marriage is nothing more than institutionalized rape. Just another way for men to keep women in their place.
Rishala leaned over towards Kasey. "Your sister is charming," he whispered.
Kasey looked at Rishala, confused.
Breanna noticed that Adria was staring at Alyssa. The young girl -- she could not have been older than seventeen -- had spent a lot of time before dinner preaching to Adria and Breanna about the roles of women in Kelltic society. At first, Alyssa had sounded sensible, especially when criticizing the noble daughter's role as no more than a pawn to cement an alliance.
But now... Rape? I wonder if Adria's thinking the same thing I am?
As if Adria read her mind, the younger noble muttered, "You could always do something about it yourself. You could always travel by yourself."
Breanna ignored Alyssa as the girl continued to complain. I won't be like that. I may be angry that my father plans on choosing my husband, but I will do something about it. Next time I am in Armagh, I will tell him that I will marry Eric. She felt an immense sense of relief at having reached the decision.
Alyssa excused herself with a start and left the table before anyone had responded. Lord Bittrand watched her leave, then looked at his guests, embarrassed. "I must apologize. Alyssa summered with her Aunt Violet," -- he scowled towards his wife -- "two years ago, and she has been ruined ever since. I keep hoping she will grow out of it."
The dinner conversation quickly resumed, with most of the discussion centering on the plans for the reconnaissance mission tomorrow morning.
The next morning, the party assembled in front of the Bittrand household. Everyone wore armor -- Eric wearing his full plate armor, most everyone else in studded leather armors. Ten of the thirty Church Knights had arrived as well, along with the Lord High Commander of the Sun Knights and his escorts.
Lord Bittrand stood outside his house, watching the forces as they organized.
Bilbus approached Kasey's father. "Excuse me, Lord Bittrand. Do you have a pick axe and a shovel I could borrow?"
Lord Bittrand nodded and disappeared into his house. He returned several minutes later with a worn shovel and a pick axe that had never been used. Bilbus thanked the elder Bittrand and walked over to his horse. He found that he could slide both tools between the saddle bags and straps behind his saddle.
Sturm looked at Bilbus's horse, with the digging equipment strapped to its side. "Bilbus..." he said menacingly.
Bilbus looked disparagingly at the Sun Knight. "I'll put them back..."
Sturm looked at them thoughtfully. "No, keep 'em. We may need them."
Bilbus glanced at Sturm. "I just want to wear them around, saying, 'I am KING!'"
Sturm shook his head and climbed onto his warhorse. The rest of the scouting expedition was ready, and they soon left the Bittrand Estate and Sulster behind them as they rode east towards Camelough.
It was shortly after midday when the scouting party realized they were in the ruins of Camelough. The gentle hills had flattened, and the clusters of trees were sparse. The field ahead of them stretched for miles, with clusters of trees scattered about, and partially overgrown stone building foundations littering the field. The ground underneath became rockier as the horses walked on what had once been a part of the city that had been razed over two thousand years ago by the Dark One's armies.
The air felt different, as if the ghosts of the thousands of men, women, and children who were unable to escape to sea walked the rubble, trapped on Oerth still.
Breanna looked down at the white rocks scattered in the field. In a hushed voice, she asked, "Are these bones?"
Sturm shook his head. "There was not much fighting on this end of the city. Uther's armies gave up this ground readily, to buy the civilian populace time to flee. The orcs razed this section of the city as they marched through it. The real fighting took place closer to the Silver Towers." He nodded ahead. "Up there."
Four miles ahead, on a prominent and steep hill, was the ruins of a grand castle. Even at this distance, and even with the poor condition of the walls, it was impressive. The concentric walls of the castle were still grayish-white, stout barricades on the steep rise of the hill. In the center of the hill, at its highest point, stood the Imperial Palace of the Five Crowns Alliance. The Silver Towers, a pair of tall, round, slender towers that projected above the palace, still stood, although the tops of both had crumbled from battle and the ravages of time. The towers were once a gleaming white -- hence the name -- but now they were more gray with some hints of moss on their northern sides.
The party continued to ride towards the distant castle, silent but for the steady beat of the horses' hoofs.
Kasey was scanning the ruined buildings in the field when he noticed a streak of smoke shoot quickly from a large foundation to his left several hundred paces away. The projectile on the end of the rising stream of smoke started to sputter. Kasey glanced at his companions, and noticed Rishala had met his gaze and nodded.
Just then, the projectile started to squeal and shine a brilliant white as it climbed into the sky. It flew upwards well over a hundred paces before falling back to the ground, fizzling.
Sturm shouted, "We had better find cover!"
Bilbus glanced at Adria, then kicked his horse. Acquisition 2 leaped forward, charging towards a different foundation about two hundred paces ahead. Adria charged her horse after his as the rest of the scouting party turned to flee towards a copse of trees a few hundred paces behind them.
As Sturm realized that the thief and the assassin were charging ahead, he reined his horse back about to follow them. He looked towards the foundation from where the signaling arrow had flown. Too close. He started sawing his reins back and forth at irregular intervals, making his horse run in an evasive route while trying to follow the two very fast horses ahead of him.
Too late, Sturm saw the arrows flying out of the ruined structure where the flare had launched. The arrows were split between the three charging riders: one of them hit Bilbus, while a second one bounced from the magickal armor that the first arrow activated. One nearly missed Adria, and the last hit Sturm painfully in the shoulder.
"Stop charging forward!" the wounded Sun Knight shouted.
Both Bilbus and Adria sawed their horses around to flee out of range of the longbows. The hail of arrows continued, falling around the three riders and hitting them several more times.
The two riders caught up with Sturm easily and passed his slower warhorse. Adria had a pair of arrows sticking out of her, and she was pale. Bilbus had a number of arrows in him, and he was visibly unsteady on his galloping horse. When the two fleeing riders were a few paces past Sturm, Bilbus slid to one side and fell from his horse, rolling a few times and breaking the arrow shafts that were sticking out of him. Acquisition 2 came to a sudden halt.
Sturm stopped his horse next to the thief and jumped down. He ignored the pain from his shoulder, where one of the two arrows had hit him. The wound was serious, he could tell already, but not as bad as Bilbus's three wounds -- two were through the abdomen.
Sturm picked Bilbus up from the ground, cradling him as he lifted the con man back onto his horse.
Moaning, Bilbus said, "He's trained to run from the jingle of maille armor."
After placing Bilbus squarely on the saddle, Sturm leaned towards the horse's head. "Jingle, jingle," he said.
The horse's ears swiveled back and forth, then it leaped to a gallop, throwing Bilbus from its back again. Sturm caught the critically wounded thief and decided to carry Bilbus on his own horse.
When Sturm was again underway, he noticed that Kasey had turned back and was riding next to Adria, helping her remain on her horse.
The four riders and five horses reached the large cluster of trees where the rest of the scouting expedition had taken cover. Breanna and Rishala both had poultices ready, and Breanna's healing kit was opened up and spread on a light-colored towel next to one of the trees. Several of the knights had dismounted and were watching the fields around the trees warily for signs of orcs.
Kasey had taken Adria's reins by the time they reached the tree line. Rishala rushed over to her horse and caught her as she half-fell, half-jumped from her horse. Kasey threw her horse's reins to one of the other knights nearby as he jumped down to help the Caledonian administer first aid.
Sturm jumped from his horse and carried the unconscious Bilbus to Breanna. He started breaking arrows and removing them from the thief until he could lay Bilbus on the ground safely. He then started dealing with his own injuries, amazed that they did not do more damage. Sturm could have sworn that one of them should have pierced his heart, but it must have missed by just inches.
Breanna started to hover over the Sun Knight, fretting about his injuries.
Sturm scowled at her. "I'm fine. Bilbus needs your help now."
Breanna turned to look at the critically wounded thief. She started undoing Bilbus's armored jacket. Sturm helped her remove it, then heard her gasp at the severity of the wounds. She quickly started working on the wounds, applying compresses and poultices as she did. Sturm bandaged his own wounds for the time being so he could assist the young apothecary in saving Bilbus's life.
Once Breanna was sure Bilbus's wounds were stabilized, Sturm joined the other knights keeping vigil for an attack. Eric stood near the tree line as well, scanning the horizon towards the Silver Towers with his spyglass. The two noticed motion on the fields in the distance. When Eric lowered his spyglass, Sturm took it from the explorer to study the approaching forces.
The Sun Knight called out loudly, so the others all would hear it, "It looks like a platoon-strength force of orcs. Make that about thirty-five, half with bows." He paused for a moment as he studied the approaching orcs more closely. He lowered Eric's spyglass. "There is a Shadow Kindred leading them."
The sudden chill in the trees was palpable. Several of the Church Knights fidgeted, gripping sword hilts nervously.
Sturm raised the spyglass to observe the enemy troops. "They are closing fast. I suggest we leave right now." He turned to Breanna, still tending Bilbus. "Is he stable enough to move?"
Breanna nodded uncertainly. "I've applied poultices to his wounds. Rishala and I both prayed over him for some additional healing, and I think I saw the wounds close a little. I think he'll be okay, if he doesn't fall from the horse."
Sir Cael Leith walked over to Sturm. Sturm offered him Eric's spyglass. The Lord High Commander scanned the approaching force as it ran across the plains towards the trees. "We match them in numbers, but half of them have longbows. We don't have that many archers here, and we would never survive long enough to get inside their formation to disrupt them. They also have a Shadow Kindred."
The head of the Church Knight contingent called out, "Saddle up! We move out now!"
The copse of trees became a flurry of activity as knights rushed to their mounts. Kasey lifted Bilbus onto Farran's back, then lashed Acquisition 2 to Farran's saddle. Rishala helped Adria back to her saddle after having patched her wounds with magickally-imbued poultices.
The scout expedition rode at a quick trot, with several knights holding back in a rear screening force.
They quickly left the region near Camelough. The orc platoon did not give chase; instead, it stopped in the trees that the knights had occupied and watched the retreating knights.
Rishala rode next to Farran. He glanced over at Bilbus, who Kasey had flung across the kelpie behind the saddle. "Bilbus, that was stupid. Gods! I don't know why I follow you around sometimes..."
Up ahead, Sturm held the pieces of the arrows that had pierced him. He offered them to the Lord High Commander. "Sir Leith, I believe we have proof that the enemy has occupied parts of Camelough. You recognize the fletching and head on these? Orc arrows."
Sir Leith nodded. "I see that."
The column arrived in Sulster near mid-afternoon. Kasey carried Bilbus to a room on the second floor of the house, while Rishala helped Adria to the same room -- Lord Bittrand put the husband and wife in the same room.
Breanna applied her poultices to Sturm's wounds and changed the bandages before the Sun Knight could join his fellow knights in studying the Bittrand Estate's defenses. The estate was on a high rise with a commanding view of the region around it. There were sparse trees on the grounds, but not enough to provide an attacking force cover. The walls around the estate were low -- most lower than waist height. From the second floor of the stone-walled house, an archer had a commanding view of all the approaches to the estate, and to Sulster, even though Sulster was out of range of even the best archers.
Breanna went into the del Cartach room to check on her charges. Bilbus had finally regained consciousness, even though he was pale and haggard. Adria was sitting up on her side of the bed, arms crossed.
"Lady Adria? Is something the matter?"
"He keeps trying to get on my side of the bed."
"Do not!" Bilbus protested weakly.
"What's this?" Adria asked, pointing at his arm.
Breanna rolled her eyes, then turned when someone behind her made a noise. A servant stood in the doorway.
"Is there anything m'Lady requires?"
Breanna nodded. "I would like bandages and basins to tend their wounds."
The servant bowed and left. A minute later, Alyssa poked her head into the room. She took a couple of steps in and crossed her arms, looking disdainfully at Breanna as the healer started checking Bilbus's bandages.
"So, how does it feel to be nothing more then a walking first aid box?"
Breanna turned and looked at the girl, a flash of anger in her eyes. She turned back to Bilbus and put a cool, damp cloth on his forehead. "Strangely enough, I am very gratified. I have studied and worked to do just this for the last seven years. This is what I want to be doing," Breanna turned to look at Kasey's half-sister. "At least I'm being useful."
Alyssa's arms dropped and she glared at Breanna. She turned suddenly and stomped out of the room. Breanna smiled to herself and returned to her charges.
A short while later, she left the two del Cartachs to rest. Breanna found Sturm in one of the second-floor bedrooms, watching the sparse forest to the east for signs of an orc invasion.
"Sturm? I would like to check your injuries again."
Sturm grunted in acquiescence, but continued to watch the trees.
As Breanna carefully unwound the bandage wrapped around Sturm's chest, she looked up at the stoic Sun Knight. "What's happening out there? I've been inside, taking care of Bilbus and Adria. I heard a lot of noise a while ago, but no one seemed to be panicking..."
Sturm continued his vigil. "We sent several knights back to Londoun to get reinforcements. We have a few knights riding patrol in those forests," he nodded towards the trees he watched, "in case the orcs decide to charge after us. The Lord High Commander has Sulster's carpenters working on a ballista."
"A what?"
Sturm finally glanced down at her. "It's like a gigantic crossbow. We don't have the equipment to make a modern ballista with steel tension arms, but we can make an older Italic design that uses wooden arms and rope tension. It should be good enough."
"Oh." Breanna checked the wound in Sturm's side, pushing his flesh near the wound to make sure it was staying closed. She wrapped fresh bandages around the Sun Knight's chest, then excused herself to get some rest.
The mood in Sulster was tense over the next five days. Many of the remaining knights had moved onto the Bittrand grounds, where they could assemble and react far quicker than they could at the inn in town. Sir Cael Leith continued to supervise the construction of the ballista, working from memory to give the town's carpenters and smith the information they needed to complete the siege engine.
Eric and Adria practiced archery, the explorer pushing the noble to her limits, in spite of her injury, with a fierce competition. They took turns firing at a pair of practice dummies -- dummies intended for swordplay -- placing arrows through the heads of the wood and fabric mannequins.
After the second day, Bilbus started watching the two compete. His wounds had healed enough that he was able to move without help, although Breanna remained close to him anyway.
Late on the fourth day, Sir Cael Leith tested his ballista. A large hay bale in a nearby field was selected as the target. Sir Leith loaded a wooden javelin onto the shuttle after a pair of knights wound turncranks that tensed the arms. Sir Leith pulled the release rope, and the javelin shot over two hundred paces through the air to land several paces from the bale.
"Not bad," Sir Leith observed. "It's better than I expected."
Bilbus looked at the other javelins lined next to the ballista. "Aren't they more effective with steel tips?"
Sir Leith glanced down at them. "The smith hasn't finished them. He has a couple completed in his shop, but the rest won't be ready until tomorrow."
Bilbus nodded to himself. He wandered away, looking for Sturm.
He found the Sun Knight practicing alone with his sword. Sturm noticed the mountebank and stopped, waiting for Bilbus to say something.
"Sturm, I think I can rig a couple of those ballista javelins with a little something extra."
"Do you really think it's a good idea to set off explosions when there are going to be a hundred Sun Knights in the area."
"Not that kind of extra. I know a way to weave a casting that would cause bedlam in the enemy ranks. The javelin would just have to land in the formation -- not even hitting anyone -- and it would work."
Sturm nodded thoughtfully. "That may be worthwhile. Can you prepare them and bring them to me? I will give them to Sir Leith and explain to him how they should be used."
"Can you trust him? What if he's one of them?"
Sturm growled, "He is not an Inquisitor."
Bilbus raised his hands defensively. "Okay, Sturm. Just checking. I would hate to be skewered for helping."
The army arrived late on the 11th of Ngetal. Hundreds of knights on horse led nearly five hundred men on foot, plus a few hundred more in a long column of support wagons. The population of Sulster tripled immediately when the soldiers arrived in town.
After a round of introductions -- Sir Mikall Fletcher, the Head Knight of Castle Treasa, led the Church Knights -- the commanders started planning.
Sir Leith debriefed Sir Fletcher on the scouting mission's results. He detailed the flare-arrow signal the orcs used, as well as the covered position from which the orcs had attacked Bilbus, Sturm, and Adria. He finished with a description of the platoon of orcs following the Shadow Kindred into battle.
Sir Mikall thought for a moment. "I brought most of my troops here. We have three hundred Church Knights, all mounted. Sir Gittoes from your Londoun Hold brought everything he had. That's a total of fifty mounted knights and fifty footmen. The King committed another hundred and fifty foot troops and a hundred fifty archers from his Dalesian Longbow Volunteers. Between the pages from your order and mine, we have about another hundred fifty good enough to carry pikes or spears."
Sir Leith nodded appreciatively. "Eight hundred and fifty men. There aren't really any in Sulster we can use to up that number. Sturm reported that we have two fingers in the castle, according to the report they intercepted. That would give us about a four to one advantage."
Sir Fletcher smiled grimly. "But they hold the castle, and we don't have siege engines. What if they have managed to rebuild the castle? We also have no idea how many troops they have brought in as reinforcements since that report was made."
"We do have one ballista," Cael corrected. "It's an older style, but it is better than nothing."
The two continued planning their mission, aided by Lord Bittrand's old maps of the Camelough region and input from the party.
The plan evolved into a division of the force into three groups. Two groups would be mixed forces -- cavalry, footmen, and archers -- while the third would be a pure cavalry unit. One mixed unit would approach towards Camelough following the route the scout mission had taken. The other, with the ballista, would approach the Silver Towers from due south. The cavalry unit would approach between the other two, where it could be applied decisively to either force, if needed. The force would leave in the morning -- there was no point in approaching at night when the orcs could see in the dark as readily as in the day.
Adria proposed mantlets for the foot archers. The heavy wooden shields, mounted on wheels, could be carried by the archers until they prepared to fire. The mantlets could then by set down in front of the archers, giving them a stout wooden wall they could use for cover against enemy archer fire. Sir Leith was impressed by Adria's practical knowledge of battlefield archery.
There was not enough time to prepare mantlets for the entire archer force, but, by pressing the archers and other soldiers into service, Sulster's carpenters completed over a hundred of them by the end of the day.
Breanna asked Lord Bittrand if there were other healers in town -- she would not be able to keep up with casualties in this large of a force. Lord Bittrand admitted that there was an apothecary in town. Breanna debated recruiting the apothecary to help her during the battle.
Rishala proposed to his comrades using some alchemical magicks on Farran to make him larger, so he could act as a diversion. With a good application of Heka, Rishala could enlarge the kelpie-horse to nearly eighteen feet tall at the shoulder.
The following morning was leaden with low clouds. The chill of an early winter hung in the air as well, causing the breath of both man and horse to show in the morning light.
After a light meal, the army moved out towards Camelough, over eight hundred strong. The Sun Knights led the army -- it seemed appropriate that the Order that had descended from Uther's Own Guards Army should lead another army to Camelough to expel the Dark One's forces.
The Sun Knights started singing a cadence as they rode away from Sulster. From a distance, it sounded more like a dirge.
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Original Draft 29 August 2001
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