Bloodless Knights (14 page)

Another
silence hung over the table, stating that not one of us was looking forward to
the leg of the trek that was still ahead.

“Well,
anyhow, the men will be glad yourn here. In fact, I will announce that ye’ve
come.” Patrious put his hands on the table in preparation to stand when Asher
grabbed his wrist.

“No,
your majesty!” The tone of Asher’s voice stopped Patrious with an odd look on his
face.

“Why
ever not?” He leaned toward Asher with a dark, questioning look behind his
eyes.

I
spoke up, “Your majesty, we have escaped from jail. We have men looking for us.
For the purposes of this trip, I am Vivicus Rudd and this,” I pointed at Asher,
“Is Donovan Wood. Jadorion is still this lad’s name,” I placed my hand on Jad’s
shoulder.

Patrious
looked around the table at each of us, “Thou art correct. It’s smart for ye to
use different names, but many of these men knoweth ye already. What say ye to
them? It seems we should be putting a plan in place.”

“Well,
methinks we have a plan in place your majesty. Simply call us by the names we
have given and there should be no problem. Anyone here whom we knoweth will
understand why we are doing what we have to.” I lifted a cloth napkin from my
lap and wiped my mouth.

Patrious
cleared his throat, “Tristen, these men need thy leadership. They need to
knowest thou art present to drive their motivation to win this.”

“No
disrespect, King Patrious, but these men will be fine with ye at the helm. As
I’ve said before, I am no matter one way or other.” I stood to leave. “Excuse
me.”

Patrious
stood as well. “Dear, Vivicus, please accept my apology. I will respect what ye
and yourn men have decided. We will manage with ye merely being present. I will
not bid thee give up thy identity.”

“Grammarcy.
I promise it is for the best of this crew to keep our identity secret. Now I
will turn in for the night, as it has been a long and horrible day.” Asher and
Jadorion stood to follow. I crossed the room to the lovely Jean.

I
bowed to the woman. “Madam, grammarcy for a delicious meal. Thou hast made my
belly large.”

The
woman’s small lips turned up to a bright smile and her pale cheeks filled with
a bright pink. She curtsied toward me, “I’m flattered ye enjoyed it, sir. Good
night.”

“Good
night.” I grinned at her, sensing my charm had lit her soul. Asher followed my
lead, then Jadorion. We began a procession of men who thanked the woman. By her
reaction it was obvious she typically didn’t receive such attention.

The
men cleared the room and headed in separate directions to other quarters of the
inn. We went to our room where a few others who we didn’t know followed us. I
thought to introduce myself to them but decided I was too tired for small talk
with anyone. I barely looked at the men, simply removed my shoes and climbed
onto the soft bed. I was asleep before one thought could cross my mind.

#
# #

Sunshine
glowed through the window, giving the room a happy yellow haze. I stayed in the
bed and glared at the ceiling. I did not feel happy. Thinking that we would be
spending the day participating in construction made my head feel like it would
explode. Thoughts of Vivian wandering somewhere alone and that she was perhaps
cross with me, upset me to the deepest part of my soul. I didn’t want to waste
one more minute away from her. The helplessness I felt was new to me. I had
always been a man who went right after what I wanted and fixed or eliminated
problems in my way. Right now I could do nothing but participate with my
soldiers and hope for the best. The thought frustrated me to the point that I
sat up abruptly and growled.

A
bald man in the bed next to me opened his eyes, “E’rything alright, mate?”

I
stared at him a moment before I answered, “Aw, sorry sir, I didn’t mean to wake
ye; just much on my mind.” I placed my feet on the chilly floor and after
standing, offered my hand to him.

“The
name’s Vivicus,” I mumbled, as the man took my hand with his thick, wide
fingers. He nearly crushed my hand with his strength.

The
man sat up in his bed. His shirtless body exposed a large man with broad
shoulders. “My name is Valen. I needed to rise up anyhow.”

“Where
are ye from, Valen?” I inquired, reaching for my boots from the floor where I
had tossed them before passing peacefully to sleep land.

Valen
stood from his bed. He was roughly a head taller than me. His biceps were as
thick as my thighs and his sinewy body warned my eyes that he was not a man I
would like to cross. He wore long wool trousers on his solid legs. He wiped his
eyes and cleared his throat, “I come from a place in the south called
Netherfeld. Have ye heard of it?”

I
thought about that for a moment, as I pulled up my woolen stockings and hitched
my boots, “Is that near Hammsted?”

“Aye,
it is. Not many people have heard of my city. Thou knowest thy geography. Where
‘bouts ye from, Vivicus?” The strong man pulled a large woolen cap over his
head then covered his chest with a fur shirt that he cinched a large gold belt
around. I eyed the belt for a moment. By the way the man dressed, it occurred
to me that he was hiding his true identity as well; only lords and nobles wore
gold belts. I assumed by the girth of his waist he was unable to find a belt of
lesser quality. I wondered what he was hiding and if he would tell me.

Valen
seemed to notice me staring at his belt, “I apologize, sir, I was simply
noticing the craftsmanship of yourn fine belt. No harm intended. I am from the
Wheeler clan, on my way to slay the dragon.” I brought a rope-belt around my
waist and slid my money pouch and dagger on the end before I tied it. I wasn’t
about to present any of my fine clothes on this adventure, especially not while
I was hiding from the king’s “lawmen”.

“I
knoweth the Wheeler clan. I don’t want to appear rude, but ye are not familiar
to me.” Valen slid his large feet into a proper pair of leather boots.

After
seeing his footwear, I knew he was someone I should be wary of; the man was
definitely too well-off to be bunking in the “pauper” part of the inn. I
answered the best way I could think to at the time, “Sir, Marius Portman may
not forgive ye for not knowing me. But as a man who appears to be more
well-to-do than a commoner, I would hope ye will have class enough not to pass
on our conversation to others.”

Valen
smiled, exposing a superior set of amazing yellow teeth. Then he laughed, “Aye,
dear Marius would probably not forgive me for my part in this conversation
either. I understand what ye mean, mate. I will not push and I respect ye will
not.” He reached out his hand to me. I took it and as we shook, we looked into
each other’s eyes in a sort of agreement. We both knew the other was lying, and
we silently agreed to leave it at that.

Everyone
else in the room stirred from their beds. Asher arose from his bed and stared
out the grime covered window. The glass was the first dirty thing I noticed in
the place. He noticed the film as well and tried to clear it away with the
cloth tunic covering his elbow. The window remained dirty; the crud was on the
outside. Ash tried to see what he could through the thick glass and ran his
fingers through his beard in contemplative thought. His eyes, studying
something on the ground, narrowed in what I interpreted as concern.

“Tr…er,
Vivicus?” Asher almost called me by my real name but caught himself. His eyes
seemed frantic as he snapped his head toward me.

“Aye,
Don? What is it?” The look on his face begged me see the picture in the window.
I peered through a semi-clean spot and felt my heartbeat increase. I tried to
remain calm, but the scene below unsettled me in ways that got my primal
instincts flowing. At least two dozen riders, donned in my kings-uniforms, were
marching through the city, pausing to peer in each building. They were probably
ten minutes from bearing down on the inn.

I
exhaled slowly trying not to appear alarmed. Valen drifted toward us and
glanced through the window. He placed his hand on my back and spoke softly near
my ear, “Cloak thyselves and hurry to the stable. I will meet ye there. Bid no
questions, ye can trust me.” Before I could reply, he hoisted his heavy pack
onto his back and disappeared through the door. Trust him? He had just fed me
falsehoods all over and now he wanted trust?

Jadorion
had joined us at the window. When he saw the soldiers he became visibly scared.
I calmed him, glancing around the room at the other men who were waking,
keeping my voice low enough that only he and Ash could hear. “Gather yourn
things, cloak up with thy hoods over thy faces and follow me.”

The
men did as they were asked. We received odd looks from a few of the men in the
room but it wasn’t our concern. Appearing as monks, we carefully made our way
down the stairs. Darwin looked up from his post then busied himself with
polishing the wood on his table. I could tell that Darwin had seen many
oddities in his days and never pried in business that wasn’t his.

I
waved my hand his direction without waiting for a gesture back and we calmly
but hastily went through the door that we knew would lead us to the stable.
Lucky for us, the path was the opposite direction in which the soldiers were
making their way through the village.

My
adrenaline heightened as we pressed toward the barn. A feeling I lived for
pushed me forward but always kept me cautious. Being on the edge of panic was a
driving force in my life and remarkably, I did my best thinking when eminent
disaster was about to strike. I knew that’s what made me a successful knight;
when many panicked, I excelled.

My
senses were heightened, and although Valen had said to trust him, I had learned
in my life that lying was a consistent pattern of many. I never trusted a soul,
until they had proven I could. I didn’t know Valen at all and he had already
lied to me. I wasn’t going to simply waltz into the barn without a plan. Asher,
who was a great soldier, thought the same as I did and grabbed my arm.

“I’m
going in the stable first, that way if he’s recognized ye and going to try
funny shite I will stop him in his tracks.” Ash’s words made me laugh. It was
going to take a great deal of force to put down Valen if we needed to.

“I
appreciate that offer, sir, but we are all going in at the same time – swords
up!” Agreement was sounded by all and we blazed into the stable with our swords
in the air.

We
quickly dropped our swords to a welcome sight. Not only were our horses ready
to go, Patrious was mounted upon a white mare dressed and ready to go. He was
dressed in his king’s attire and had placed crowned jewels atop his braided
head. His elegant, jewel-encrusted sword hung at his side. The man looked every
bit his birthright.

Valen
towered over us on a large brown stallion. His face seemed amused knowing that
I had not placed full trust in him. At least one dozen men were also mounted on
horses ready to ride. All of the men wore cloaks, and one by one they pulled
them over their faces.

“Mount
thy horses, men. Ye shall ride in the center of our group. Keep thy hoods on
and thy heads down. I will not let anyone question ye or bid for information
about thee. Do not speak, simply ride with us.” Patrious spoke with an
authority I had not heard from him thus far. He reminded me of what a kind and
caring king should be; my father would be right to take lessons from him.

We
did as we were told and the group of riders disappeared from the stinky, dreary
stable. The horse’s hooves were loud and slammed powerfully on the hard ground
as they stomped from the village. Patrious wasn’t going to lead a chase; he
guided his assembly of men directly toward the searching soldiers. I knew his
tactic. If he took control before they did then things were more likely to go
his way. The more I watched him, the more I admired him.

I
was happy to be riding Flash again. He was a solid, strong horse. I patted his
neck to express my appreciation to him. He whinnied as if returning the
affection. His fur was chilled. It was even colder today than it was the
previous day. I decided my nose would crack if I touched it and I had only been
outdoors briefly.

As
we closed in on the men wearing the uniform of my family, I searched the faces
for a glimpse of recognition. I did not know one man in the bunch. Where was my
father getting these men from and why didn’t they appear before this mess?
Every passing day I was finding only more questions and no answers. I needed to
wake up from the nightmare I was living.

The
horses slowed. Patrious bellowed, “What is yourn business in this village?” I
kept my eyes on the ground. The controlling leader in my nature wanted to watch
the interaction unfold but I knew I must keep my head lowered just in case
someone knew me. I perked up my ears and forced myself to merely listen.

“Your
majesty, we are hunting two escapees from the Tirrus Dow crown. We have
witnesses who say they have seen the men in this village. Per chance hast thou
seen or knowest Sir Tristen Dow or Sir Asher Funder?” A deep but nasally voice
cracked my head. I didn’t like hearing my name pass his lips.

A
brief silence indicated the king seemed to mull the names over, “No, I knoweth
them not nor do I knoweth of anybody here being an escapee from Dow. On a more
important level, there is much work to be done in this village. We are trying
to defeat the dragon that I’m sure yourn aware of, so unless ye want to be
brave enough to hunt that beast, I suggest ye be movin’ along.”