Bloodless Knights (16 page)

I
shook my head and put my hand up, “No, Patrious. No need. I will take Asher and
Jadorion with me and ride away from here as fast as we can go. This is not
negotiable! We’re leaving.”

“I
understand, Tristen…but…” Patrious stopped when we heard a shrill screech from
the trees overhead. All heads in the grove looked upward at once. I took the
chance to hurry over to Flash. Asher and Jadorion had been approaching me
before the noise and kept right on toward me. We had the experience of knowing
what the sound was; therefore we knew we wanted to be on our way.  The rude
interruption was our best distraction for getting away unnoticed.

Keeping
under the cover of the trees, the three of us rode over rocks and debris to the
edge of the forest. I had been in Bendixon enough to know that the forest was
close to underground tunnels that lead out to Dale Castle ruins. Brendan and I
would often travel to Bendixon to pick up fish for Chef Morgan. If the fish
boats hadn’t docked, we would play hide-and-seek in the creepy tunnels.
Apparently from the racks and other equipment in the tunnels, they had been
torture chambers of the castle. As children, we had never seen a dungeon and
the tunnels weren’t long before they came up through the other side of the
castle wall.

Brendan
once said he saw a ghost of a queen, dragging her oddly dislocated leg, but we
had not heard any stories of what happened to Dale Castle, as it was before our
time. At this moment, as an adult, I felt a creepiness that I hadn’t
experienced in my teen years. I felt like avoiding the tunnel altogether, but
if we wanted to escape Gittins we were going to have to go through it.

Unfortunately,
we cleared the trees just as Gittins swooped above. When he spied our horses
running toward the tunnel he dived toward us. My chest grew tight as I pushed
Flash harder to get to the passage. Through the years, full armored soldiers
and arrows had pounded down on me but for some reason the fear had never been
like it was now. I felt confident against weapons I could understand; this
beast was beyond anything I knew.

I
quietly prayed, “Dear lord, get us into that tunnel!”

I
didn’t look behind me but I could hear the hooves of two horses so I knew we
were all still safe. I hoped the men kept close and we could all get through
the open hole before the dragon pounced.

Nearing
the doorway, I saw something that paralyzed me. The passage had been closed
with large boulders. I raised my sword above my head, preparing for Gittins to
get us. A defeated scream broke from my throat.

#
# #

Flash
veered left to avoid the closed tunnel. Unfortunately the horse turned the
direction the dragon was speedily headed from. My breathing was so shallow I
wondered if, in fact, I was actually breathing at all.

My
vision locked on the dragon’s eyes. One thing I knew was to keep the enemy in
site; even one as frightful and disgusting as this overgrown lizard. I watched
the green, giant beast coming closer to us and I heard the men behind me still.
I knew they were probably more frightened than I; however, they both remained
quiet and followed me closely.

We
returned to the safety of the pines. A deep ravine stood in our way, making it
impossible to return the way we came. To get back to any safe place, it seemed
we would have to follow the path we had just come from. The dragon’s view from
the sky gave him a definite advantage over us. I felt scared, like for the
first time in my life I would not be getting out of this one.

A
shrill, deafening shriek tore from the beast’s throat. He was getting too
close. Returning to where we came from was going to put him behind us. I didn’t
like the thought of being chased like a rodent.

While
I debated the various routes of escape in my mind, a loud shout pierced the
chilly air, “Sun Da La Ra!” The syllables were pronounced clearly by a harsh
female voice. All heads, including the floating monster’s, turned her
direction.

A
totally odd, and unexpected rider, came from around a hill that sheltered the
ruins of Dale. The rider wore a burgundy dress, tied with a brown belt,
carrying a short golden dagger. Her hair was covered with a white hood. A few
slight wisps of brown hair escaped the confinement of the bonnet and caressed
her pale, round face.

The
mare she rode was a shiny brown. The daylight bounced off her coat and the
horse appeared to glow. The woman was close enough to us that we could see the
wrinkles on her brow and the lines pillaring from her eyes. The homely rider
squinted her grey eyes at us then turned her attention to the dragon.

The
lady’s voice broke our astonishment for the second time, this time in a song,
“Sun Da La Ra, mon cheri, venez a moi, s’il vous plait!” The voice was
hypnotically soothing. She scowled at us and continued singing in a magical
tone, “Go thy way!
Now,
fools!”

Oddly,
the dragon slowly came down from the sky. We watched in horror. However, his
wrath appeared to be tamed, as he laid his large body down on the rocky ground
near us. The woman rode toward him and continued singing. The dragon’s face
appeared to be almost smiling as he stared straight ahead.

As
the shock wore off, we gathered our wits and rode away quickly toward our
original destination. I didn’t know who the woman was or why she had power over
the beast, but I knew I was still running from a beast named Ladislas. I was
not going to waste any more time.

Suddenly
the woman shouted in song, “Rentrez chez vous!” I looked back from my galloping
horse in time to see the giant raise from the ground. I felt stabbing go
through me; she had sent us running to our death’s. I panicked as I searched
the vacant grassy area for a place to hide; there was nowhere to go.

Asher
looked at my face and with a betrayed growl, turned his head to watch the
woman. The monster flew toward us. I could tell a difference in the way he was
flying though; it seemed peaceful instead of angry. His wings dipped down and
he slowly glided over the bay toward Montour Mountain.

My
heart started beating again under my clothes. Air rushed back in my lungs. I
realized I had been holding my breath. I had never felt so lucky in my life.
After checking Asher and Jadorion’s faces, I knew they shared my sentiment.

Relieved,
we sheathed our swords and continued riding over the grassy valley. I saw
Castle Dale coming up fast. We were making excellent time. Our horses were
terrified enough that they moved at epic speed.

As
we got a bit closer to the ruins I saw something that didn’t seem right at all.
Asher slowed on his horse, “Tristen, dost thou see that?”

I
stopped Flash. In the distance, hidden under what was left of the castle, was a
camp of army tents. I recognized the colors displayed as coming from the army
of Denoi. The first thing that struck me as odd was that the tents were still
pitched at this time of day. Another was that there were no soldiers to be
seen. As peculiar as that was, it was not what concerned me most. A large, dark
circle encompassed the tan-colored dirt. The stones that remained from the
castles downfall were also colored the same dark stain.

“Let’s
see what we can find out.” I bravely stated.

Jadorion
shook his head, “We don’t need to go that way, my Lord. We can go ‘round.”

I
kindly looked at the lad, “Jad, this is how ye learn to be a knight. Thou must
face thy fears and meet the unknown head-on!”

“Methinks
ye mean that’s the way to gettin’ yerself kilt.” Jadorion twisted his gloved
hands around the reins of the horse he fondly called, Bolt.

Asher
cut in, “I agree with thee, sir, we need to see what has happened there.
Perchance someone needs help. As thou knowest, Denoi is an ally of thy
kingdom.”

“Aye,”
I nodded and pressed forward with two brave men at my heels.

The
closer we got to the campsite the more disgusted and alarmed I became. The dark
stain smelled of irony, tinny blood. There were pieces of brown bits all over,
which appeared to be skin of some kind. Whatever it was appeared to be fresh.
The skin stuck to rocks, clung to grass and hung from a few trees in the area.
Rocks, sticks, and grass were covered with drying blood.

It
hit me, too late, that we were walking through a blood bath of some kind. But
there were no bodies at all. No bones. No armor. We continued to ride toward
the tents.

I
stopped Flash to pull my tunic over my nose. The stench of death was thick.
Asher and Jadorion followed suit, and Jadorion seemed to gag. After trying to
hinder the stinking odor, I gave up, and signaled my horse to move forward.
Vomit threatened the back of my throat. I did my best to keep a lid on it.

When
we were approximately fifty hands from the tents, the blood ceased. There was
not a drop on anything, nor were there pieces of anything. The camp was set up
as if people were planning to return. A large pile of ash in a circle indicted
a powerful fire had been going. Cooking pans and utensils scattered the area as
if left to be visited again. Supply carts were undisturbed and stocked. Weapons
leaned against the former walls of the castle. The area did not appear to be
molested in any way.

I
cautiously left Flash’s back, being sure my swords were in easy reach. Asher
and Jadorion stayed atop their horses but checked their swords as well.

I
looked at the ashes in the fire, there was a beacon still burning under the
pile; the fire had not died out long before we arrived. All of the tent flaps
were pulled closed; I slowly ventured toward the tent closest to me. My heart
quickened. I suddenly wondered if perhaps people were waiting inside to ambush.
I decided to crawl under the side of the tent, instead of going through the
door like attackers would expect.

As
silent as I could, I lowered myself to the ground and lifted the side of the
tent. What I could see was bothersome indeed. Six men laid in their bed sacks.
After I saw this, I stood up and went properly through the front of the tent.

When
I entered the tent, not one man looked up or even moved. I approached the
closest man. His open eyes stared at the top of the tent. His face was sunken
and the skin stuck to his skeleton in a grotesque way. Even if I had known the
man, I wouldn’t know it. The lack of fullness in his body was gone. He was
clearly dead.

One-by-one
I looked at each man; not one was breathing and they all seemed the same. I
pulled back the covers to see what injury inflicted them. All men seemed to be
as whole as I was, minus the fact that they had no breath. The thing that
struck me hardest was the paleness of their skin. They were sallow and ghostly
and literally appeared like a bag of bones. The skin was thin and seemed it
would tear if I touched it. It was clear from the lack of rotting that the
soldiers had not passed away that long ago.

“Sir?”
Asher called from the outside. “Everything alright?”

I
slowly backed out of the tent and looked directly at Ash. “No. It is quite
wrong! Some type of a plague or disease has taken the lives of all who are
inside that tent.”

I
didn’t stop walking, but moved on to the next tent. I found eight men in
exactly the same condition as the others: peacefully lying on their bed sacks
with not a mark on their body. Asher and Jadorion came into the tent. They
examined the bodies as well. We were all used to death and dead bodies;
however, this was a type of death I had never seen. My comrades unanimously
agreed that they had never seen it either.

“They’re
like bloodless ghosts lying here, and their blood is all on the groun’
outside.” Jadorion astutely advised. Asher and I looked inquisitively at each
other.

“Hm.
That’s not possible. These men don’t have suspicious wounds on their bodies, at
least none that are similar to any others. However, my mind would tend to agree
with thee. That’s what this
appears
to be. But it’s simply impossible!
Say they were bloodletted, or something similar; we would see it all over! And
I would argue that the bloodletting would show extensive wounds to remove all
the blood from the bodies. This is witchery. There is no other explanation!”

After
checking all the tents and counting one-hundred twenty-one dead men, we agreed
to light the tents on fire and let the place burn. If the camp was inflicted,
we surely didn’t want what they had to be spread by wild animals or others who
would disturb the resting place.

Each
of us grabbed torches and lit them in the embers of the campfire. The tents
alit in an instant, and after the last one glowed, we mounted our horses to
hurry on to St. Anthony. Smoke billowed over the tents like a black, gloomy
raincloud. We stopped to watch for a few moments, and then continued on our
way.

I
stopped Flash near the bloody mess, and got down to better examine it. Handing
Flashes reins to Asher, I walked toward the muck. I squatted down, picking up a
stick to stir the gunk. Pressing the stick into the goo, I lifted and twirled
it around on a nearby rock. The rock turned a dark brown; my actions didn’t
help identify the glop.

I
found a bit that looked like skin and picked it up with the stick. I plopped it
onto the rock. It made a “slap” sound as it landed. Using the stick, I poked
the membrane-looking thing and studied it. From what I could tell, it seemed to
be an exploded worm or snake of some kind. I asked Asher and Jadorion to check
it. After a brief moment they agreed with me. It seemed they always agreed with
me.  The flattery led me to believe that either I was simply smart, or they
were simply agreeable.