Knight Fall (The Champion Chronicles Book 1) Page 4

  A shout came up from near the river. Brace and Marik raced towards a group of knights scouring the riverside. They had found another body. This one had taken an arrow through the throat and although he had died quickly, it had not been instantly. The body was a bloody mess covered by buzzing flies. Brace stopped several feet away, unwilling to get close enough due to the horrid stench coming from the body. Marik ignored the smell and walked right up to it. The soldier was clad in similar dress to the other dead Thellians. But rather than having to pull the arrow out from the body, Marik took it from the dead man’s grasp.

  “Pulled it out himself,” Marik observed. “Same kind of arrow. Fine workmanship, but not as good as our fletchers produce.” He looked at it more closely, his fingers running through the fletching, down the shaft, and over the arrowhead. “Actually, it is very good quality for a hunter. I wouldn’t want to come across this hunter in a fight.”

  Marik looked at the body, and then towards the river. He traced what he thought was the path of the arrow and came upon a small sandy area on the bank of the river. There were clear and obvious footprints.

  “Captain, this is where the arrows were shot from.” Marik then pointed across the river. “I’d guess that our archer then fled across the river. We should check the other bank and continue our tracking there.”

  “Very well. Take three others – Paul, Dolin, and John – and continue tracking. I’ll have the rest scout this side of the river for more bodies and then collect up the Royal Guard and return them to the castle. The king will want to honor their bodies with a proper burial.”

  Marik looked down at the arrows still in his hands and then across the river. “If the princess came across a hunter, and he helped protect her, I think she will be in good hands.”

  “Why do you say that?” Brace asked.

  “Those bodies haven’t been there very long. Certainly not any longer than sometime last night. It is likely that the princess’ defender made those shots blind, in the dark. Anyone who can make those shots is very good, or very lucky.”

  “Either way, if he has saved our princess, he will be well rewarded.” Brace turned to leave, but turned back to say, “If you find her do not return her directly to the castle. I have made a promise to our king that I would return her myself. Although I would be grateful for her to be found by anyone, I would prefer the king not to know that I must disobey his commands.”

  “Sir?”

  “I have some business to the north that I must attend to.”

  Marik nodded his understanding, but his eyes betrayed his thoughts.

  “This attack, this ambush…is curious," Brace said in response to the inquisitive look Marik gave him. "I have some thoughts about who might be behind this, but it will require me to travel for a couple of days. They are questions that must be asked in person.”

  “I do not question your allegiance, sir,” Marik said, his eyes lowered from shame.

  Knight Captain Brace Hawkden put a hand on his ranger’s shoulder. “You must trust me, old friend. Find the princess and meet me at our camp in two days. If I am not there in three, then you may take her into the city.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll do as you ask.”

  Brace left the ranger to continue the search, regretting he had to leave his knights and friends under this circumstance. It took him nearly an hour to retrace his route back to their horses. His thoughts were solely on the deeds that he had done and their immediate actions. He was worried sick for Princess Elissa. Like any dangerous mission, there were always risks. He knew that, but he also regretted that he had to put the princess at such a risk. But regardless of the risks that the princess was enduring, he was placing himself at much greater risk. Like hers, his life was also in danger. But not only his, all his knights. The honor and trust that had been built up for so long now hung the balance. He was placing so many in danger, risking so much. The consolation had always been that the reward was so great. But now he doubted that there was going to be any reward in the end.

  Chapter Four

  Conner woke with a start, throwing off his blanket and jumping up from the floor. Panting and soaked with sweat, it was all he could do to keep his heart from exploding out of his chest. He still saw their eyes. He knew it was a dream, but he still saw their eyes. His hand had drawn the bow and loosed the arrows, striking those men down. He knew he killed one, and had a good sight on two others. Maybe they lived, maybe they were dead. He did not know, but his dream told him all he really needed to know. The eyes were full of life and then they were cold and dead. The faces stared up at him, ghostly and thin, eye sockets dark and sunken. It was by his hand that they were dead, and he knew that they were back to haunt him.

  He fell to his knees, trying to keep the room from spinning so fast. If he had food in his stomach, he knew he would have thrown it up. He forced himself to not think of them as men, but as animals. To think of them as men was too much. He had killed and he hated himself for it.

  He fell back onto the floor and took in his surroundings. He was in a simple room with straw on the floor for a bed, a handful of blankets on top to keep warm, and a table with two chairs. A curtain separated his room from the rest of the house. It was open, showing a shaggy bearded man stoking the fire in the fireplace and an elderly woman placing a plate of fresh bread on the table. They were dressed in drab clothes, stained and dirty.

  “You’re awake!!” The man called out. “I am glad that you are well. Welcome to our home. I am Marcus. And this is my mother Melda”.

  Conner, surprised and a bit taken aback at his surroundings barely squeaked out his name, “Conner. I’m Conner.”

  Marcus stood and asked. “Are you feeling okay? You were not doing so well yesterday.”

  “Yesterday? How much time has passed?” Conner looked around for his clothes, his bow, and his quiver. He was tired, despite having slept for almost an entire day.

  “You came upon our village yesterday afternoon,” Marcus replied. “You slept all day and through the night.”

  With a wide, nearly toothless smile, Melda said, “Your fever was strong, but it broke overnight. You look hungry and we have bread. Come, sit.” She gestured towards the bread, sitting on the table, steaming in the cool morning air.

  The house was simple, not much different than what Conner lived in. There were two rooms, one with beds for sleeping and the main room. The fireplace filled most of one wall. The fire was now small, but large enough to heat the small rooms. For a moment Conner hesitated, not sure what to make of the scene. The man and his mother seemed friendly enough. They didn’t appear to be threatening. But they were strangers. And the longer he waited, the stronger the scent of the bread became.

  “Come, sit,” Melda said. “You must be famished.”

  Conner was. He moved as quickly as his weary muscles allowed and took a seat at the table and began eating the offered bread. It was only after the third mouthful that he remembered what had brought him here. A sudden panic swept through him and he stood, knocking over his chair. “Elissa?”

  “Oh, the young girl,” Melda replied in a reassuring voice. “She is fine. Once you have broken your fast, we shall go see her.”

  Conner was suddenly no longer hungry. “Where is she?”

  The old woman’s smile widened. “She is fine, but it is you who is not. You must eat.”

  Conner looked at the man for help, but he only shrugged his shoulders. Without another word, he took more bread and ate it ravenously.

  ***

  “Sage is our village,” Marcus said. “We are about a day’s travel upstream for river cogs full of cargo coming from South Karmon. They stop at some of the other villages as well, but since we’re halfway between South Karmon and Tyre, this village makes a good place to stop, and most of them do. We have a decent enough inn near the water’s edge. And a blacksmith as well. Over there is Jessip who is one of the finest carpenters in all of the kingdom.”

  The man named Jessip was carrying
a rocking chair across the main open area between buildings. He waved when he saw Marcus. He was not the only one going about his business. There was plenty of others moving about with purpose. There were no streets, only hard-packed lanes between buildings and the one large open area. The village buildings were constructed in a circular pattern around the central open area. A few smaller buildings, houses mostly, were built outward from the center. Smoke billowed from the blacksmith shop located near the water’s edge. Nearby was the largest building of the village, an exquisite two-story building that blocked their view of the river. It was clearly labeled as the Village Inn. It seemed to be one of the central points of the village as a number of people were milling about the front entrance.

  “A cog is getting ready to leave,” Marcus explained. “Jessip, there, is trading one of his rocking chairs for a barrel of ale.” A smile crept across his face. “There will be a fine festival tonight, if you are inclined to stay.”

  “Have there been others…other strangers around?” Conner asked, ignoring the invitation.

  Marcus stopped and turned towards Conner. “Others? What do you mean?” Marcus continued cautiously when Conner did not reply, “Only the cog from South Karmon that arrived yesterday evening. Were you expecting anyone else?”

  “No…” Conner let his answer hang in the air while Marcus studied his face.

  “Your appearance yesterday was quite surprising, even more so when the young woman announced herself as Princess Elissa, the only child of our beloved King Thorndale. It is not unusual for the nobles to make their way upstream on their way to Tyre, but they usually come by boat, or at least by carriage.” He waited a moment to see if Conner would add anything. When he only received silence, Marcus continued. “It is not common to have travelers on foot come through our village from the forest. Especially tired, cold, and wet travelers.”

  “How is the princess?” Conner asked. He wasn’t sure why he was avoiding the conversation with the man. Part of him wanted to trust Marcus and the villagers, but another part of him wanted to ensure the safety of the princess, and that meant being secretive and vague. He had wished that Elissa had not let on who she was. It was going to make things more complicated.

  “Oh, she is fine. She was put up in the inn. As soon as she announced who she was, the royalty suites in the inn were cleared and she was put up there.”

  “Royalty suites?” Conner asked.

  “Well, we do not get much royalty here, but that is what Master Braggins calls them. They are just his best rooms.” His eyes twinkled. "But royalty and nobles alike seem, well, appreciative when they are treated differently.”

  Unlike the rest of the village, the inn was extravagant in design and detail. It seemed as if it should have been built on the castle grounds and not in the middle of nowhere. A short stone wall, clearly for decoration, lined the front courtyard. To the right was a thatched roof stable. Where the village’s buildings were mostly wood, the walls of the inn were stone. A balcony surrounded the entire second floor, but there seemed to be no staircase or ladder leading up to it. It appeared that it was only accessible through a room on the second floor.

  The inside was as grand as the outside. Most of the entire first floor consisted of a great room whose walls were lined with tapestries and paintings that bespoke a culture beyond the simple villager. In the center of the room was a great fire pit with a chimney leading up through the ceiling. Scattered about the room were long tables, all filled with talking and laughing patrons. A barmaid pushed her way through the crowd, delivering mugs of ale, laughing and smiling herself.

  “It seems as the arrival of the princess has caused business to pick up,” Marcus observed. “During the day, the place is usually only filled with travelers. Today, I think the entire village is here!”

  Marcus led Conner to a stairwell which was guarded by a large man, arms crossed, and a sneer painted on his face. The man stood in the middle of the stairwell, preventing anyone from going to the second level.

  “Good day, Lawry,” Marcus said, expecting to be let through. When the man did not budge, Marcus said, “Lawry, my man, stand aside. We are to see the princess.”

  Lawry shook his head. “No one sees the princess. By her order.”

  Marcus took a deep breath. “Lawry, this is the man that helped the princess. I am sure that she would like to see him.”

  Lawry’s only response was to shake his head.

  “Stand aside, man!” Marcus said in a raised voice.

  The sneer disappeared and Lawry’s eyes grew large. Conner thought he saw his lip quiver. “I was only following orders,” he said with a soft, whimpering voice.

  Marcus patted him on the shoulder. “And you are doing a fine job. Now, please let me and my friend pass.”

  Lawry turned to let Marcus and Conner climb the stairs. But as soon as they were past, Lawry returned to his position and his sneer.

  At the top of the stairs, a hallway led to the end of the building with doors on either side. Only the last door at the end of the hall was closed. Marcus led them to that door and gently knocked. After a moment, a soft patter of footsteps could be heard approaching the door, then it was opened.

  A young woman wearing a plain gray dress greeted them. She did not look up at them as she backed away from the doorway.

  “Mary, dear, who is it?” The voice came from behind a screen in the corner of the room.

  Conner stepped in at hearing Elissa’s voice, but the tone and manner of her words were clearly unlike what he had heard from her in the forest. It had a slight accent, which made it sound snotty and superior.

  “Mary, dear, come hither. The bath water is getting cool, it must be warmed up!”

  “Elissa is that you?” Conner called out.

  “Conner?” For the briefest moment, the tone and voice changed. It was the voice from the forest once again. “Oh, I am so glad that you are here! Please do come in. Mary, please see to their cloaks.”

  Conner glanced at Marcus. Neither had a cloak. Mary finally looked up at the men, and her eyes told they story. They were red and tired.

  Marcus put a gentle hand on the young woman who was trying so hard to serve the princess. “Mary, I am sure the princess can bathe herself…”

  Mary glanced back at the screen and said, “I am not so sure. She could not even undress herself.” Before another request could be made of her, she quickly left the room.

  “Mary? The water?”

  “She left,” Conner called out. “I think you’ve run her ragged!” He chuckled.

  “What!” Elissa cried out. “Who will tend my bath?”

  Conner smiled at Marcus and said, “I would be more than happy to!”

  “You will not! How dare you think of such a thing!?”

  Marcus held his laughter in and said, “Conner, you have your hands full. If you need anything, I will be downstairs.”

  Conner looked out the window to where the river cog was docked. “When is it leaving?”

  “If you’re thinking about heading back to South Karmon, she won’t take you. She is heading up river. If you want to stay a week, she’ll be back then.”

  “It’s a hefty hike back to South Karmon,” Conner observed.

  “Oh, for the princess, I think we could scrounge up a horse or two.”

  “I would be in your debt," Conner said. "I am thinking that we should be heading out as soon as possible.”

  “I will see to it. Two horses it is. I’ll get two of our besting riding horses saddled and ready as soon as I can.”

  Marcus left, leaving Conner alone to the sound of the princess getting out of her bath. While she dried and dressed, Conner walked around the room. Like the rest of the inn, this room did not seem like it should be in the middle of the forest. The furniture was finely made, carefully etched and constructed of the finest oak. A large rug lay across the floor, making the room seem cozy and comfortable. The bed was dressed with fine silk sheets and a warm wool blanket. He touched
the bed and could only imagine at the comfort of sleeping on one.

  “It is a tad bumpy, but it will do,” Elissa said, still in her snotty voice.

  Conner turned and was floored. Although she was dressed in a commoner’s wool dress, she was stunning. Gone was the dirt and matted hair. Her face was smooth and perfect, as if she were just carved from the finest mold. Her long blond hair, although still wet from washing, shimmered in the sunlight that fell through the window. Her eyes, green and bright, shone with a beauty that took his breath away. Words were stuck in his throat. This was no girl princess. She was all woman.

  She smiled, and his heart melted even more. “What is it?” She asked, her voice no longer the snotty tone. It was her forest voice again, the one that made her seem just like him.

  “You are beautiful,” Conner said, unable to say much else.

  Then his cheeks flushed and he turned a bright shade of red. He had to turn away or he was going to die, but he could not fully tear himself away from her gaze. Her rosy cheeks grew brighter, and her smiled spread to show her teeth. They stood looking at one another for what seemed an eternity. Conner knew it was an awkward moment, but he just could not help himself. He had never seen a more beautiful woman, and he was sure that he would never see one as beautiful again.

  Finally, Conner broke his gaze, and said, “We should get going. We cannot be sure that the…uh…whoever was chasing you isn’t tracking us here.”

  “Can they do that?” Elissa stepped over to the dresser and took a brush. She looked at it carefully before she began brushing her hair.

  “Of course," Conner replied. "We weren’t very careful about leaving tracks. We were in kind of a hurry.”

  “We will be safe here.”

  “Elissa, we are in a small village. You won’t be safe until you’re back at the castle.”

  She pointed her brush out the window at the river cog. “We will take the boat back.”