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Author's Note: Comments and feedback are appreciated. I have edited and slightly changed some of the first 10 chapters, if you want a copy of the slightly revised first ten chapters send me an email requesting them. I apologize for the long delay between chapters 10 and 11, sometimes real life sucks. While there will be sex in some chapters, I'm a slave to the story and sometimes there will be long stretches where sex isn't the focus. - Robert - robertx5sf@yahoo.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters portrayed in this story are fictional and not representative of anyone living or dead. (c) 2012 by robertx5sf@yahoo.com, all rights reserved, may not be reproduced in any form without the author's consent, with exception of the license granted to Nifty.org per Nifty's terms of use.
The Squires of Telisan Keep - 11
MIKEL
Mikel felt someone's thoughts touch his mind and instantly came awake. After a brief second of confusion he realized it must have been his Master. A second later he heard his Master's voice in his mind, "Dress quickly and come to the top of the stairs that lead up to the second floor of the tower." Mikel could sense the urgency in his Master's request, so he quickly threw on his clothes, dragged the brush through his hair a couple times, and ran up to the main floor then up the flight of stairs that ended in the door to second floor.
The door opened as he reached the top and his Master was there waiting. He reached out grabbing Mikel by the arm and led him down across the room through a doorway into another room. Mikel found his vision was blurred and he couldn't make out any of the details of the rooms as he passed through them. He did notice that they were approaching what looked like a large mirror built into the wall of the room but, he could not make out what was reflected in the surface of the mirror. When they reached the mirror his Master spoke a word of magic and then stepped into the mirror dragging Mikel along behind him.
Mikel felt the strange sensation of teleporting and felt as if he was about to vomit. They were now standing in a small unlit alcove in the back of a larger room. From the large ornate chair on a raised platform in front of them that was surrounded by Sir Balren, the Chamberlain, Sir Galreth, the Lord's Chamberlain, Sir Luken, and several Pages and Squires, including Mekrin, he guessed that they were in Lord Velarik's throne room. His Master lead him around the throne and stopped on the right side of Lord Velarik, he drew back his hood and bowed briefly before saying, "I have come with my Squire as requested my Lord. What has happened that requires such urgency." Mikel not sure of exactly what to do, imitated his Master's bow and remained silent.
"Thank you Sir Valen. It seems Squire Rynil has left the castle with a very valuable heirloom that belonged to Sir Alred. Sir Balren, please repeat what you have learned so far for Sir Valen's benefit."
"Yes my Lord. Early this morning Sir Alred sent Page Telgan to fetch Squire Rynil. The two were alone together in his chambers when Sir Alred passed away. Squire Rynil ordered Page Telgan to bring a Priest. When Page Telgan returned with the Priest, Squire Rynil was gone. A few moments later he was sighted down at the stables carrying a large sword case. He saddled up his horse and fled south. When I was informed of Sir Alred's death I immediately went to Sir Alred's chambers to search for his family's sword for it would now pass to my Lord along with the rest of his belongings since he had no immediate family. I believe Squire Rynil has stolen the sword." Mikel had to literally bite his tongue to avoid interrupting the Chamberlain and defend Rynil, but he knew that if he forget his place and spoke out of turn it would do more harm than good.
Lord Velarik raised a hand, motioning for Sir Balren to stop, "Please Sir, I am not as inclined to jump to the conclusion that the Squire has stolen it as you seem to be. It is possible that Sir Alred gave the sword to the boy. I know from my visits with Sir Alred that he cared deeply for the boy. Still, it will not do to have young Rynil out riding about the countryside with such a valuable sword." The Lord then looked directly at Mikel, "Squire, I understand you have been on work duty with Squire Rynil lately, is there perhaps anything you might know that could aid us in finding him?"
Mikel thought for a second and remembered something from one of times he had been sitting up in the old watch post talking with Rynil. "Yes m' Lord, at least I think so. He mentioned once that he liked to go riding whenever he needed to think and clear his head. He said there was a spot up on the southern ridge where he could look down over the valley and somehow all his problems would seem smaller."
"Sir Balren, did the stable hand say which direction Squire Rynil went when he left?" asked Lord Velarik.
"Yes my Lord, he did. It was south," replied Sir Balren.
"Very well then. Sir Luken, you will head south in search of your missing Squire," commanded Lord Velarik.
"As you wish my Lord," replied Sir Luken.
"My Lord, he will need a Squire to accompany him. Sir Luken, may I offer the service of my nephew, Squire Mekrin?" offered Sir Galreth.
"Assuming that is acceptable to his Knight," said Sir Luken looking towards Sir Balren.
"Oh yes, certainly," replied Sir Balren.
Mikel grew concerned as he watched and listened to this exchange. It seemed obvious to him that Sir Galreth and Sir Balren had planned this in advance. He knew Sir Galreth and his nephew Squire Mekrin did not like Rynil. That Mekrin was Sir Balren's Squire was not likely a coincidence.
"My Lord, may I also suggest that Squire Mikel accompany the search party. He seems to have some insight into Squire Rynil's thinking and might prove useful," suggested Sir Valen. Mikel was a bit shocked at his Master volunteering him to go along, particularly since he knew Squire Mekrin had sought to hurt him once before.
"Very well. Sir Luken, you will take Squires Mekrin and Mikel with you to find your Squire. Sir Valen, please see if your magic can help locate the boy. If you discover anything, I am sure you can send word to the search party. Now I have spent enough time on this already, it is likely that the boy will return to the castle on his own according while you are out searching for him," said Lord Velarik in what was clearly a dismissal.
"Yes my Lord," said Sir Luken as he gave a quick bow. Then he turned to the boys that where standing next to him, "Karl, take a couple of servants and bring my chain mail and weapons to the stables. Mekrin go to the Quartermaster's and have them send three traveling packs to the stables. Tell them we will need supplies for two days. If it looks like we will be traveling further then that I will stop by one of the guard stations for additional provisions."
"Yes Sir!" replied the boys in unison then turned and ran from the room to carry out the Knight's order.
The rest of the men turned to leave and Mikel was about to follow them when Sir Valen put his hand on his shoulder. "You can catch up with them in a moment, I wish to have a word with you before you leave." After everyone had left the room, Sir Valen reached into his robe and pulled out a long silver chain necklace. He placed it over Mikel's head, "if you are in serious danger, touch the necklace with your hand and call for me. It will offer you some protection and alert me."
"Master, what's going on? I'm sure Rynil just went for a ride to work through dealing with Sir Alred's death. He was really fond of the old Knight," said Mikel.
"I hope you are right Mikel, but this is not just about your friend. Not many besides the Lord's closest circle of advisers knows this but Sir Alred was in possession of a very rare sword that has been in his family for many generations. There have been some heated discussions about this sword over the years. It is important that we find Rynil and determine if Sir Alred gave him the sword before he died or if Rynil took it without permission. That is all you need to know for now, I promise you I will tell you more when you return. Now go find your friend," said Sir Valen as he pushed Mikel towards the door.
By the time Mikel reached the stables, Sir Luken was supervising the stable hands as they saddled up his horse plus Squire Mekrin's and one of the trainers for Squire Mikel. By the time the horses were ready to go the travel packs and Sir Luken's gear had arrived. Sir Luken quickly donned the suit of chainmail and strapped on his sword belt. After that, the Knight led the two Squires south out of the castle in search of Rynil.
An hour later as the trio was starting up the incline of the southern ridge, they spotted a pair of riders racing up the road behind them. "Hold up," commanded Sir Luken as he reigned in his horse and took up position between the Squires and the approaching rider. As the riders got closer, Sir Luken relaxed his grip on his sword as he recognized that one of them was his former Squire. Scowling he yelled out to him, "Alek what are you doing out here?"
Sir Alek, dressed in his full suit of plate over chain, pulled up along side Sir Luken, "Brother Yoris heard about your expedition and requested that I escort him out here to join you." Mikel recognized Brother Yoris as the young priest that had tended to him after his beating during the Squire's Tournament, except now instead of wearing robes, the priest was outfitted in leather armor, an open-faced metal helm and had a large mace strapped to his belt. This time Mikel was able to clearly make out the sign of The Warrior embroidered on the chest piece of his leather armor. Brother Yoris appeared to be in his early twenties. He had brown hair and eyes, was of average height with a lean slightly muscular build.
Brother Yoris gave a quick bow as he addressed Sir Luken, "Sir, I have come to offer my aid in your search for your missing Squire." The priest gestured to a large sack tied to his saddle behind him, "I have also brought you the rest of your armor."
"Squire Mekrin, get the armor down," ordered Sir Luken. He had a scowl on his face has he looked at Sir Alek and the priest. "What has prompted this?"
Sir Alek and Brother Yoris exchanged a quick glance then Sir Alek spoke, "After you left, Karl came to me and let me know of this morning's events. He was worried about you and Rynil so I suggested we go down to the Chapel and offer a prayer to The Warrior for your safety. When we got there we ran into Brother Yoris and I explained what had happened. He immediately requested that I have Karl get your armor and that I should get mine because I was escorting him out here to join you."
Brother Yoris had a troubled look on his face as he interrupted Sir Alek and addressed Sir Luken, "Sir, this morning one of our acolytes came to me and told me that he had had a premonition that...there would be...trouble to the south today. This acolyte has had several similar premonitions in the past that came true. I was praying for guidance when Sir Alek and Page Karl entered the Chapel. When I heard you had ridden south this morning I knew I had to come to warn you and give you what aid I can."
Mikel could sense that there was something more the Priest knew but was unwilling to say. It seemed as if Sir Luken also sensed it but after a long pause he thanked Brother Yoris. He then dismounted and started putting on the plate portion of his armor with Mekrin's aid. Once the Knight was in his armor, it took the aid of both Squires and Brother Yoris to help him remount his horse. Then the now larger search party resumed riding up the southern ridge of the valley.
Their progress was slow as Sir Luken set a cautious pace through the hills. He was constantly scanning the sides of the road, looking for any signs. Squire Mekrin road next to him and occasionally Sir Luken would instruct him as to what exactly he was looking at, the main one Mikel overheard had to do with horse droppings and how to judge their age. They were near the point where Rynil would have turned off the main road to reach the overlook Mikel had mentioned when Sir Luken called a halt. "Something is wrong here," he declared. He dismounted and crouched down. He ran his hand along the dirt road and under a light layer of dry dirt was a large area of moister dirt. The Knight examined it for a couple seconds then stood up. "Someone has tried to cover up some blood, and its recent. Dismount and spread out, see if we can find anything else," ordered the Knight.
Mikel did the best he could to suppress the rising fear that was pressing in against his chest. They each headed off the road a bit to search and a minute later Mekrin called out, "Sir Luken, over hear, it's his horse!" Mikel rushed over and saw that behind an area of rocks was a dead horse, two crossbow bolts stuck out of the corpse. It had been stripped of its saddle and tackle.
Sir Luken examined the horse for a minute then turned to Brother Yoris. "I believe your acolyte is correct once again. There is trouble here today."
RYNIL
Rynil woke completely disoriented. It was dark and difficult to breath, his mouth was full of cloth and his head covered with a sack tied uncomfortably about his neck. His hands and feet were bound and he was lying on his side. He also had a pounding headache. The headache could be explained by falling off his horse when it reared up and Rynil landing head first when he tumbled off. Being bound and gagged was likely related to the crossbow bolt that had suddenly sprung from his horse's neck right before it threw him. His waking had not gone unnoticed as a raspy almost inhuman voice growled at him from above, "Tell me how to open the sssword case or I will hurt you." When Rynil did not immediately answer his ribcage exploded with pain as the owner of the voice kicked him.
"M' Lord, 'e can't answer, I gagged him before putting the hood on," said a second voice with a tinge of fear in it.
Rynil's head was jostled as the hood was removed and briefly the darkness was replaced with blinding light. As his eyes were adjusting, the silhouette kneeling over him pulled the cloth from his mouth. When the cloth came out Rynil screamed, for looking down upon him was a horned demon head with burning red eyes. The creature clamped a hand down over his mouth to try to quiet the terrified young squire. "Sssilence!" It hissed.
Rynil stopped trying to scream and instead tried to calm himself. He started to notice there were some differences between this demon creature kneeling next to him and the one from his dream. First, it was smaller, this one had the body of a muscular boy, probably about the same age as Rynil. Instead of being dressed in robes, this one was bare of chest and feet, wearing just a pair of leather riding pants. Instead of speaking directly into his mind, this one had spoken aloud. Rynil also took a quick glance around at his surroundings. He was lying in a small clearing in a lightly wooded section of the southern ridge. Judging from the terrain he was not too far from where he had been ambushed. He could see two young men standing about ten feet behind the demon boy. One had a crossbow drawn and pointed towards Rynil. Both were wearing thick leather jerkins, leather riding pants, hard leather boots, and had swords and daggers on their belts. One of them must have been the one that had mentioned he gagged Rynil. There were also four horses tethered to trees on the opposite side of the clearing. The other thing that grabbed the captive squire's attention was the sword case that Sir Alred had given him was lying at the feet of the demon boy.
The demon boy saw Rynil look towards the sword case, "Yesss, now tell me how to open it and I will let you live. Refussse and I will make you wisssh you were dead." He extended his hand out towards Rynil and with a quick twitch the hand was wreathed in flame. "Sssuch a pretty boy, you won't be ssso pretty after the fire issss done with you."
At the sight of the summoned flames slowly approaching his face, Rynil was thrown into a flashback from The Dream. He could hear the voice in his mind, "...your struggle has been wasted. Your love will be mine!" Unaware of his surroundings the squire strained against his bonds trying to escape the flame shrouded hand before him and the echos of his nightmare in his mind.
"M' Lord, knights!" called a voice from a short distance outside the clearing. The flames went out as the demon turned away from Rynil and started towards where the guard had sighted the approaching knights.
"Gag him, or kill him if he calls out to his companions," order the demon. The henchman with the crossbow followed his boss out of the clearing while the other immediately ran over to Rynil and shoved the gag back into the boy's mouth. He then went over to the horses to get out his own crossbow.
Rynil looked over at the sword case that was lying a few feet away. Remembering how Mikel had told him about controlling many of the magical objects in the wizard's tower by thinking at them, Rynil tried to focus his thoughts on the case. He repeated in his mind the words Sir Alred had used, 'Honor and Devotion'. The box responded and the runes on the box began to glow. He rolled himself over towards the box as the top was opening. Rynil quickly shoved his bound hands inside the box and started dragging the rope across the blade of the sword.
The remaining henchman looked up and saw what Rynil was doing. He drew his sword as he rushed across the clearing. He lunged towards the prone boy and at the last second Rynil rolled away from the thrust, the sword from the box grasped in his bloody but now free hands. The henchman spun around tracking his prey but Rynil was already swinging his sword and it sliced through his leg just below the knee. The henchman crumpled to the ground while Rynil started cutting through the ropes that still bound his feet and took out the gag.
Rynil could hear the sounds of fighting coming from a short distance away. He ran towards them. As the path rounded a small rock outcropping the battle came into view. The demon stood in the middle of the path laughing as Sir Luken repeatedly swung his sword, raining down blow after blow upon the demon's naked chest and head. Even though the sword was striking true, the blade found no purchase. It bounced harmlessly off his skin leaving no marks. The demon's two henchmen were taking cover behind rocks and sniping with their crossbows at anyone that came up the path to try to aid Sir Luken. Further, down the path Rynil could see the prone form of a Knight in full armor, kneeling above the Knight, positioned with some cover between himself and the crossbowmen was a priest slowly dragging the downed Knight off the path. Seeing a crossbow bolt strike the rock next to the priest Rynil reacted and rushed over and slashed with his sword at the nearest henchmen, slicing through his back just below the rib cage. The tip of the sword easily cut through the crossbowman's leather jerkin severing his spine.
The demon glanced back at the commotion and his laughter stopped, replaced by a growl as he scowled at Rynil. It turned back towards Sir Luken and raised its hands, fire poured out engulfing Sir Luken in flames. It then turned and started back up the path towards Rynil as Sir Luken fell to the ground aflame. As the demon approached, Rynil saw Mekrin and Mikel rush out from behind some rocks and charge towards the remaining crossbowman. Mikel seemed to have a faint shimmer surrounding him. Time seemed to slow as Rynil heard the crossbow release its bolt and he saw it headed towards the two Squires. The bolt struck Mekrin in the knee and the boy crumpled to the ground. Mikel kept charging as the crossbowman quickly tried to reload.
Rynil's focus shifted back to the demon as it closed with him and hissed. It raised its hand in a motion identical to that of the older demon from his dream. Then, just as in the dream, flames rushed towards the young Squire. This was the point at which Rynil would wake up. Part of him now wished that this was all a dream and he would wake, but he knew in his heart that this was real. As the flames reached the sword, which Rynil was holding out in front of him, they vanished. Rynil and the demon both froze in shock as the sword seemed to absorb the fire. Time again seemed to slow. Rynil glanced over towards Mikel. The henchman, unable to reload the crossbow in time had cast it aside and was drawing his sword. But, before he could draw it Mikel was lunging with his dagger and struck his foe in the stomach.
Again Rynil's attention was drawn away from Mikel and back to the demon in front of him as it reached out towards him. Rynil stepped back then lunged forward with his sword. Unlike Sir Luken's blows, which had not been able to scratch the creature, Rynil's sword struck true and pierced its skin, sinking into its chest near the left shoulder. After that everything seemed to happen at once. Mikel called out Rynil's name while the demon's once life like head morphed into what looked like a demon shaped leather hood which turned towards Mikel. "Mikel?" the creature called out in a feeble but boyish voice before it crumpled to the ground, Rynil's sword still embedded in its shoulder as the confused Squire let the sword slip from his bloody hands. Standing above the fallen creature facing Rynil was Brother Yoris with mace in hand. Brother Yoris then quickly went to check on Squire Mekrin and Sir Luken.
Mikel slowly approached the unconscious demon boy. He looked down at the boy with the demon shaped leather hood, "Wilrik?".
Just then there was a bright flash and the robed form of Sir Valen appeared a few feet away, his hands raised ready to cast a spell. He slowly relaxed as he surveyed the scene. He then approached the prone form of the demon hooded boy. "Ah, no wonder I could not locate you when you activated the necklace. The demon was blocking my scrying. No one touch the sword," he commanded. The wizard then glanced over at the priest, "Brother Yoris, how are the fallen?"
"Sir Luken has severe burns and needs immediate attention back at the Temple, Squire Mekrin is stable and survive, although he will likely have a limp for the rest of his life. Sir Alek is dead," replied Brother Yoris, his grief evident in his voice.
"Very well, I will take Sir Luken to the Temple, as well as the demon. I will get word to Lord Velarik about what has happened. I will send some Knights to meet you," said Sir Valen as he picked up the boy, being careful to not dislodge the sword and carried him over to where Sir Luken was lying unconscious. He laid the boy down next to the burnt Knight, then with a hand on both of them, he spoke a word of power and the three of them vanished.