Kobi #2

Kobi has settled into the Great Forge over the past days.

Even though the place is a massive labyrinth of caves deep into the mountain, the young would-be blacksmith is slowly mapping out the cave system between forging, reading and sleeping.

It’s the reading that surprised Kobi the most.

As a son of a poor smith, he wasn’t allowed a formal education. Before entering the forge all he could read was his name. Yet as soon as he stepped foot into the expansive library from one of the caves while mapping, that all changed.

He reasoned that the books must be enchanted somehow.

So he began reading for hours on end.

Dozens of books per day. His thirst for knowledge never quenched.

Only stopping to stoke the forge, and exhaustion have been able to tear him away from his studies.

Reading was his first shock, learning that he had broken the laws of the forge was his second.

When he forged his first weapon, he did so with iron strictly forbidden from being used in weapons. The material was blessed by one of the Grand Magi of the Forge for harvesting tools. Using it to forge a weapon would have been an automatic exile from the mountain in its prime.

The lost boy from the Gold Coast frantically worked to reforge the weapon into some sort of tool but he was unsuccessful. He would later find out through reading that once quenched, the blade can never be undone, no heat is strong enough to melt it down.

Kobi has beat himself up from being overzealous in forging a weapon so absentmindedly. But more than that; as a boy he grew up on stories of this legendary place only to desecrate it upon entering.

So he has been more careful, waiting to forge again until he knows the boundaries. Magic is a mystery to him.

He was compelled to take the illicit sword out of the forge. He propped it up against a table near the small orchard until he can find a solution in his books. Hopefully.

Kobi, learned that the type of magic determines the blades tint. Green as he learned was set aside for farming needs. Green blades could be imbued with magic to increase the harvest, but never to shed blood. It was once believed that shedding blood with a green blade would curse the person using it.

A couple of books have alluded to it, but none have explicitly said it.

He learned that red blades are for blood magic and were rarely ever forged on site. The writers of the books speaking on blood magic openly condemn the practice.

He has yet to have found all the color spectrum, but he has read that blue was typically used for sailors and fishermen, while orange was used for magic with fire. Orange is said to be magic based on the Suns.

Kobi realizes how much work needs to be done, and how much he must learn. But he has nowhere to go.

So he grabs another book.

As he opens the pages, he begins to have a craving for one of the sweet apples in the orchard. So he grabs a few more books, then stokes the forge before heading out to read until the second Sun sets over the Eastern sky.

As he exits the forge, something catches his eye to his right.

Standing on the edge of the cliff where Kobi made his climb is a man. A tall man, maybe seven and a half feet tall. With wings protruding from his shoulders.

It’s a Skyman!

Kobi had heard the legends of the great skymen who once lived in mass on the mountain range. He heard how they fought for the magicians in the Great War and were exiled to an island west of the Golden Coast. Because they could not be thrown from the cliffs as the magicians were. But Kobi only half believed them… Until now.

The tall Skyman has his back to Kobi as he looks off the cliff at the foothold ladder carved into the mountain side. Kobi soaks in his every detail from his wings to his feet. He is majestic!

Slowly the Skyman turns around and instantly freezes upon seeing the boy.

Each is locked into a staring contest that neither flinch at for minutes on end.

Kobi finally composes himself enough to say hello.

The Skyman leaps into the air yet hovers over the forge site for a few moments, enough for Kobi to yell “WAIT!” a couple of times.

The Skyman retreats into the clouds and out of Kobi’s sight.

Kobi stands in disbelief for a time.

His mind races through all the stories he heard about the flying men, and remembers that the Skymen were once known to have been fierce warriors with throwing discs that were forged on site. Surely one of his books will have the details! Kobi resolves to forge a set of disc as soon as possible to have ready to present the Skyman the next time he shows up on the mountain top.

Around the Campfire #1

The group had ridden well into the evening before setting up camp in a meadow of taraxacum flowers near a small stream for watering the horses. It was a somber ride without much conversation. The constant wails of the widow from inside the wagon was the primary sound.

David who has been her constant companion since she joined up with them, has offered her his tent. He tells her that he will bunk with one of the other guys. Stephan offers his tent as he is his sworn protector.

Once Matthew started the fire, the group gathers around it as a stew is being cooked. They sit quietly until the stew is done. Everyone eats in silence. After dinner, Aero breaks the silence.

“Roasa, we will take you wherever you need to go; if it’s not along our way, then we will get you a carriage ride… Where do you want to go?”

Roasa, sitting close to David looks at him “I am a Durrie; I don’t have a home. I’m nothing but a road rat as they say.”

“You don’t have a home?” David asks in disbelief.

“My husband was my home, and they took him from me.” Roasa replies with tears flowing down her face.

Everyone can see the heartbreak on her face, and no one knows what to do. They sit quietly for a while to respectfully allow her to continue to mourn.

“You can stay with us as long as you need, we are dropping Aero and Will off at the old Palace by the dried-up sea so he can visit Meego, the rest of us will return to the capital after that.” Says Stephan.

“What I want to do is kill every knight in the land!” Roasa shouts.

The group is shocked, they have all heard of the fiery hearts of the Durrie women but to see it manifest in the grieving widow so quickly was a shock to them all.

“Every one of them bastards that turn wives into widows, or robs from the poor, or abused children! I will dedicate my life to ensure that it doesn’t happen to the next woman! Or family, or child. I will fight them at every turn from this day until my dying day! I swear this on the oath of my ancestor’s memory. I will not be a victim again!” The passionate widow yells with a fist extended toward the heavens.

David stands up beside her, places his hand on her shoulder and speaks “Don’t you need to mourn before making any vows. You don’t have to rush into anything that has lasting effects on the rest of your life.”

“I have spoken my vow! I will mourn through my service and will rejoice with every victory. None of the royal’s care about the common people or they would have dealt with this problem already. Since you won’t I will.” She states pointing at Aero.

Aero is once again shocked by this woman’s boldness and passion. She called him out in front of everyone. In certain places in the kingdom, that would be a death warrant.

“Prince Aero has been fighting these knights, Ser Stephan as well but his Father, the King called him in from the field to do this duty. You saw when we first found you it was he that first wanted to chase down the knights that wronged you.” David replies.

“Is this true?” Rosa asks Aero.

“It is my lady, Ser Stephan first brought me into the struggle about four years ago. There is a small number of people trying to deal with the problem, but they are many. They are spread out over thousands of miles. We need more fighters.” Aero responds.

“Then train me to use a sword. You know I can use a bow.” She replies.

“How exactly did you make that shot?” Matthew blurts out between sips.

“Bloodline magic, I never miss.”

This revelation is an epiphanous moment for the soldiers. That shot had been on their minds since she hit it earlier. None of them could make that shot, yet this little woman could. The revelation of magic helps each man’s egos somewhat.

“It’s a hard task training to fight. Are you sure you can handle it? Life on the road, from skirmish to skirmish can be very difficult. I don’t want you romanticizing this new journey you want to take; it will break you if you’re not ready for it.” Aero replies.

“I am sure, my hopes and dreams died today, I will do everything I can for as long as can to save others. Train me!” Roasa demands.

Aero looks to Stephan, then Matthew looking for guidance.

Matthew speaks first. “Lady Roasa, I vow to train you to the best of my ability. I make this solemn vow before my mentors and friends, I will teach you everything I know, and I will assist you in your fight against these false knights.”

“As will I.” says Ser Stephan.

“And so will I, as long as I can.” Aero states

“Thank you. When do we begin?” Roasa asks

“Once we arrive at Bellum, we will acquire a sword that is weighted for you, until then we can train in other ways.” Aero says to Roasa.

“We begin in the morning, an hour before we leave camp.” Says Stephan “So let’s get some rest to be ready in the morning.”

“Thank you, thank you all. I look forward to the morning.” Roasa says as she turns toward David’s tent to get rest.

“I think we should all turn in soon as well, except Matt, we know that he isn’t going to sleep any time soon.” Aero says as he looks at Matt filling up his glass from the barrel of ale in the back of the wagon.

Matthew looks at Aero and raises his glass with a smile.

“He earned it today.” Stephan says. Aero nods.

“Where is what’s his name? You’re squire?” Aero asks Stephan

“He said he was going hunting.”

“In the dark?”

“Maybe he is putting traps out. I told him not to stay out too long. I’ll wait up for him, go ahead and get some rest, we have work to do.” Stephan tells Aero.

Aero agrees and heads to his tent, he pats David on the back in passing.

“Good night, brother.” Aero says

David smiles and nods at his little brother before entering Stephan’s tent.

The long day has finally come to an end.

Aero Part 2-2 And Justice for Some

The group rides through the back roads of the wilderness reflecting on the past few days. Once they were far enough away from the capital for Stephan’s comfort, they rested. Aero then convinced the group to head toward Bellum. A strategy that no one in the capital would consider an option. Stephan had Will send in his first falsified report, and Matthew found a drink. The stress of the group has been relieved.

Having refreshed their supplies from the crossroads community of Son a couple of days ago, the group meanders towards the large town of Broglin. It is about midday as they ride the road.

Rich, Stephan’s squire, comes riding back to the group from scouting ahead.

“Trouble up ahead. A woman is crying over her murdered husband!” Rich exclaims.

Immediately Aero and Matthew rush forward. Stephan must stay close to the heir. Will doesn’t care.

The woman’s screams can be heard from the distance. Those screams push Aero and Matthew forward even more. As they arrive, they dismount and approach the woman. She is young with light brown skin and dark hair. Tears flowing from her eyes.

She sees them “Stay back! You’ve already killed him; you can’t take nothing else from me!”

“Ma’am, we are not your enemy. I am Prince Aero a knight of the royal family. Are you injured?”

She looks him over, his dress is fancy. He could be a prince, but she knows not to trust knights.

“I don’t care who you are, some knights killed him for our money. Stay away from me.”

The wagon pulls up. All she sees is more knights ready to hurt her. Her fear is great; with her husband, money and carriage gone she has nothing to pacify them with, other than her body. She believes these men intend to rape her.

“Ma’am, you are safe with us, we just want to help.” Aero explains.

“So did the last group of knights, who killed Jose. They helped themselves to all of my possessions.”

“How long ago did they do this, which direction did they go?

“Less than an hour ago, they went that way.” She says as she points. “please don’t hurt me, I have nothing to give you.”

“We are not that kind of knights, ma’am. I give you my word as a knight bound by honor, we will protect you.” Stephan states as he walks up.

“Stephan, her attackers were knights. They did this less than an hour ago, we need to hunt them down quickly.” Aero states.

“No, we have the mission.” Stephan responds.

The two quietly discuss the options amongst themselves. As they do, David approaches the lady.

“May I come near?” he asks

The lady looks him up and down and doesn’t see anything threatening about him. She allows him to come closer.

“What’s your name?”

“Roasa”

“Roasa, I’m Dave, and this is your husband Jose correct?” pointing at the body she is holding.

“Yes.”

“Roasa, we would like to help you. What can we do? We can dig a grave for you, take his body wherever you need us to…”

“You can hunt down the men who did this!”

“Okay, what can you tell us about these men? How many were there? What did they look like?”

“There were six of them. The leader had black armor with a red horn on top of the helmet.”

Aero and Stephan stop arguing. They know this knight, the Red Horn they call him. He is one of the most notorious knights in all the land.

“Okay, Matt, Rich and Will you are with me…” Aero starts before being interrupted by Stephan

“No, they are with me. You will stay here and do my duties until I return. You have a mission that must be completed.”

“Fine”

“Please do me one favor!” Roasa asks.

“Name it ma’am.” Stephan responds.

“Bring back the horned one alive, so I can kill him myself.”

“We will do our best.”

Immediately, the four men charge out after the knights.

Aero looks down at Roasa and David.

“Roasa, what do you want to do with your husband? I can load him into the wagon, or I can dig a grave right here.” He asks.

“You can dig him a grave.” Roasa says as she bursts back into tears.

“Dave, why don’t you take Roasa to the wagon while I do this, I’ll come get you when I’m done.”

David and Roasa walk to the wagon and climb in the back, as Aero begins digging.

On the path racing away from them, Stephan and his group are in pursuit.

They come over a hill to see a camp at the bottom.

They ride in hard. Stephan calls out to them. As they arrive at the bottom, they are not greeted by travelers as they expected but by eight knights.

“We are looking for the Red Horn and his men.” Stephan yells as he dismounts.

“Ya, who’s asking?” comes a voice from the large tent. A man of formidable size walks out of the largest tent wearing black armor.

“The men who are going to avenge the murder from down the road.”

“You are fighting for that road rat bitch? Well dying for her…” he states as he puts on his horned helmet.

“We shall see.” Stephan responds.

“Yes, we shall. Only an insane person would attack nine knights with four men. But you are just a dumb burnt one…”

The derogatory name doesn’t faze Stephan at all, he has heard this talk all his life and he always rises above it. Instead of responding, Stephan unsheathes his sword. His party follows suit.

“It’s the broken sword!” A man on the far end screams before running away. The man next to him follows.

Matthew breaks the standoff by lunging at the man closest to him, impaling him in the chest. In one motion, he continues by spinning and cutting the next guys leg off and finally pivoting with a back-slashing motion cutting off the third. With everyone watching Matthew then returns to the second guy, and slowly stabs him in the heart putting him out of his misery.

Poetry in motion.

Stephan uses this distraction to take out the guy nearest him. One of the other knights gets scared and tries to run away but trips over the support wire to the tent and falls on his sword, injuring himself badly.

Stephan engages the Red Horn; the armor of the knight slows him down but not enough for Stephan to overwhelm him. They battle to a stalemate. Each parry is met, each counter is stopped. The battle rages.

As the two world class knights crash into each other, Ser Matthew walks over to the injured knight, and takes pity on him with an instant kill.

Just as this happens, Ser Stephan rolls his ankle over a log in the camp, the Red Horn lead him into position.

“Legends do die, dark knight!” The Red Horn yells as he raises his sword for the killing blow, He swings his sword down to end the legendary knight but is met with the steel of Ser Matthew.

“You have to kill me to kill him.” Matthew states

“Deal!” Exclaims the Red Horn.

Their swords meet in the first clash, Matthew side steps the heavy armor weighted knight throwing the point of his sword between armor joints into the back of the knee of the Horn. He collapses in pain. Matthew holds him at sword point.

Matthew had the Horn on the ground before Stephan could stand.

Rich had been sparring with the last knight, but when he saw the Red Horn on the ground he surrendered.

Stephan calls for Will to collect Roasa’s wagon, as he does so Stephan and Matthew bind the knight’s hands and feet. They throw him in the wagon.

“What about this one?” Rich asks.

“Oh, I forgot about him.” Matthew says.

Matthew walks over to the knight, pulls out a knife and cuts his throat and walks away.

Stephan, Rich and the Horn stare at Matthew in disbelief. Who knew?

“Do you want me to chase the last two?” Matthew asks Stephan who is rebinding the Horn.

“No, we need to keep moving.” Stephan replies.

“They identified you, they could report back to the capital.”

“I think they will be running from us as hard as we fled the capital. By the time they get a report back, we will be long gone and can send a report explaining the unforeseen detour we had to take.” Stephan explains.

“You killed a defenseless man.” Rich says to Matthew.

“Yes, but how many defenseless men did he kill?” Stephan responds.

Rich walks away not fully understanding why Matthew killed the knight. Stephan makes a note to speak to his squire about the mandate of hunting down these evil knights later.

“Hey Matthew, I have wondered why Aero knighted you since he did. I always saw you as a drunk and nothing more. Today, I see what Aero saw in you. You are a true knight and am honored to have fought beside you.” Stephan says as he extends his hand to Matthew.

“I’ve always been good at killing, never had to learn. I just knew. Some say that’s why I drink because it erases the faces of the men I killed… I don’t know… They tend to visit me at night.” Matthew says as he shakes Stephan’s hand.

“Then we will make sure to have something for you every night.”

“Thank you.”

The men ride back to Roasa with their prisoner. Aero is placing the final piles of dirt on top of the grave. David is standing near the bride as she pays her final respects.

“We have him!” Will shouts.

He hops off the wagon, and helps Matthew pull him out of the back.

“Tie him to the tree!” Roasa states pointing to the tree beside her husband’s grave.

They do so. All the men are standing around as Roasa spits, slaps, and curses the man.

“Do you have a bow?” She asks

“Yes. It’s in our wagon.” Matthew states as he walks to get it.

Roasa looks at the knight who has fear in his eyes and her spit running down his face.

“I’ll make a deal with you; I get one arrow. If I miss you go free.” She states.

“Wait a minute.” Stephan interjects.

“This is my kill, my decision.”

“As you wish.”

Aero leans into Stephan and whispers “just because she lets him go doesn’t mean we have to.”

Stephan nods.

Roasa walks back to Matthew who is climbing out of the wagon with the bow and quiver. She takes it from him, turns and draws.

“You’re a hundred yards away, you need to get closer.” Matthew states.

“No, here is good.”

Everyone tries to stop her; they try to explain why she will never make that shot. How they couldn’t make that shot, and how she needs to move up.

While this is going on the Red Horn Knight is hopeful that she will miss.

She finally draws back while everyone is arguing with her and lets loose her arrow.

Silence overcomes the group. All eyes on the arrow as it falls out of the sky and hits the knight in the right eye. She stands admiring her work for a moment. She tosses the bow to Matthew and says she will be in the wagon.

All the men are shocked, silent and unmoved for a minute. Finally, Matthew grabs an arrow out of the quiver and takes a shot. He misses by ten yards.

David explains that he promised her she could join them on their journey. Everyone just nods due the shock of the events.

Stephan pulls Aero to the side.

“I saw Matthew fight today; he is a knight. I was wrong, I never understood why you knighted him until now. I also promised to keep him some ale in stock. When we get some time, I would like to know more about him.” Stephan says as he mounts his horse.

Aero smiles and nods his head in agreement. The party continues on the road with their new member…

Crimson Conversation #13- Hypocrisy of Modern Knights

“So, I’ve alluded to it several times in our conversations, but I want to touch on the state of knighthood” Aero says “Most knights are not the chivalrous heroes we heard stories about in our youth.”

“I’ve wondered why you have a negative outlook on knights, but didn’t you say you are one?” Crimson asks.

“I am, and it was a huge honor to earn it. My mentor, Ser Stephan hasn’t personally knighted but a select few of his squires over the years. For him to accept me as a brother was the proudest moment of my life. But…”

“Ser Stephan, he’s the one you keep calling ‘the Broken Sword’ right?” Crimson interrupts.

“Yes. One of the honors bestowed upon a knight is they are given a title once their deeds become known. He was a squire, about fifteen years old, which was a couple years before I was born, when an assassination attempt was made on my father. He and his Knight, Ser Duran had to hold the throne room alone because of a trap laid that sent most of the castle guard to put out a fire in a row of shops in the square. Three men entered the throne room, and Duran fell. As the last line of defense, Stephan fought and defeated two of the men, delivering surgical killing blows to each. But the third man was carrying a large two-handed sword. When their swords met, the tip of Stephan’s sword broke off. Stephan was unfazed as he faced the man and used the break in his sword to slice the man’s throat.”

“So he got the name the Broken Sword.” Crimson interrupts again.

“Well yes and no. Stephan liked how much more the sword balanced in his hand with the break, so he took it to a smith who straightened the broken edge and put a slanted point at the end of his sword instead of a center point.”

“He still uses that sword?”

“Yes, so he is known by that name.”

“What’s your title.” Crimson asks.

“There have been several that were suggested but the only one that I am called by is ‘Ser Aero the Fin.’”

“Why are you called the Fin?”

Aero, clearly annoyed by the name as he said it with contempt, answers “On the Breaker Islands, they have people known as dolphin riders. When they are in the water, they grab the dorsal fin of a spear nose dolphin and swim next to them as they hunt.”

“So they call you that because of your blond hair, your islander eyes and features. It’s as if you could pop into the ocean at any time and ‘grab a fin.’” Crimson jokes.

“Exactly. Haven’t I explained this already?”

“Maybe.” Says Crimson with a grin on his face.

“What about these knights of today?”

“I’m trying to tell you, but you keep asking a lot of questions.” Aero replies.

“I’m sorry, I’ve just grown fond of these talks, and want to learn as much as I can.”

Aero smiles. He is surprised how comfortable he has gotten with the mysterious Crimson over these conversations.  “It’s fine, what else are we going to do in this cave? Today’s knights by and large don’t add up to the knights of old. A lot of knights will sell a knighthood letter to another person. This has gone on for a few generations, so basically criminals are knighting criminals for personal gain. “

“Damn.” Crimson whispers under his breath

“These knights use their titles for personal gain. Stephan and I were chasing down bounties on false knights for a while. The problem is, these knights are like a hydra; you cut off one head, and two more would pop up in its place.” Aero states

“Or the King could decree all knighthoods void, and only allow certain people to have a knighthood.”

“Maybe when David sits on the throne, my father is barely aware the problem exists.” Aero reacts. “Stephan formed a small squad to combat these knights, I was a part of it with those bounties; but the envoy to Meego takes precedence according to my father. He wants that damn sword. He doesn’t care enough about the perils of the common folk; I believe David will with Stephan as an advisor.”

“The King doesn’t care, the king wants his sword, the king is distracted by his comfort women… I can tell you where the problem lies.” Says Crimson.

“My response would be considered treason.”

Crimson laughs, Aero has grown on him in the past few days. He has found himself wondering what his reaction would be if he started sharing his history with him. But it’s worse than treason, so he knows he must keep his mouth shut… At least for now.

“The high knights of the Capital are the worst. They get their titles from other knights of highborn families and enjoy the benefits.” Aero states.

“Benefits?”

“The Royal family set aside funds for a knight fraternity house in the capital. It’s a place that was intended to allow knights to rest as they pass through, or enjoy a meal or drink while they are in. A place of honor that would report the deeds of the knights in the kingdom. A place they named after the legendary knight, Ser Patrick the Maverick. Its commonly referred to as Maverick’s. It’s devolved into a glorified bar that allows the richest, and most influential to be seated in places of honor.”

“Sounds like the world would be a better place without knights.” Crimson says.

“Maybe you’re right.” Aero responds

Have you seen Prince David?

Dusk has fallen on the Capital.

Prince Aero’s envoy has been on the road since daybreak. All is quiet in the Capital.

King William was not pleased that he missed the sendoff, incensed he retreated to his pleasure tower where he has remained the entire day.

As the day progressed, certain people began to take note of Prince David missing court. Something he rarely did. The prince was always very interested in the news of the kingdom.

Once no one had seen him in the afternoon, Marco authorized the castle guard to unlock Prince David’s room. He wasn’t in there.

With this information Marco summoned the King to his office. A bold move, but necessary. The king’s reaction will go a long way in how Marco plays his next move.

The current problem for Marco is that summoning a king isn’t like calling for a guard. As far as William is concerned, the entire kingdom runs on his time.

Marco along with his assistant Gerwin, and associate Mary have been sitting in the king’s office for well over an hour waiting.

“Should we just return tomorrow, Sir?” Gerwin asks.

“No, the king will be here soon. We will wait. We must have his answer before the gathering tonight.” Marco responds.

“Should I go? I mean, I’m not sure why you need me here anyway.” Mary comments.

Marco looks at the young beauty and takes a moment to digest her words. Mary grew up in the court. Her family has been close supporters of the crown for generations. Her father oversees Northpoint, the lavish city on the other side of Blue Water Lake where all the high-ranking people of the court live while in the Capital.

Her beauty is always a distraction that works in the favor of Marco whenever dealings with the king could be difficult. But she knows exactly why she’s there, she can’t fool Marco. He’s seen her play that naive little girl part in court many times. Marco has used her to get information out of people that he couldn’t.

Their relationship is based on mutual gain. She spies for him, and one day he will make her queen. As a child she grew up playing with Prince Aero until he began his squire duties. She loved telling everyone how she was going to marry him one day and be a princess. But that was long ago, and her goals have changed over the years. She no longer wants to be a princess, that’s just not good enough for her.

Prince David or Prince John Henry? She doesn’t care.

So she sits and waits. She pretends to not notice Gerwin sneaking glances at her.

The door slings open and finally the king walks into the room.

“Marco, I’m a very busy man. Make this quick.” The king states as he reaches his desk wiping sweat from his eyes with a towel.

Before Marco can respond the King takes note of Mary’s presence.

“Mary! What a wonderful surprise. Your beauty lights the entire room, I tell Marco this all the time when I notice you in court. You’re going to make a very lucky noble a happy man someday. I think David should pursue you at once.”

“Thank you, my King, and it would be an honor to be David’s wife.”

Mary notices as she speaks, the king fondles her with his eyes.

“How’s your father, dear?”

“Your Highness, Prince David is missing.” Marco interjects.

The king snaps his neck toward Marco coming out of the fog in his mind from speaking with Mary.

“What do you mean missing? Why are all of my son’s missing all of the sudden?”

“He wasn’t in court, and none of the castle staff had seen him today so I authorized the castle guard to unlock his door for you, and he wasn’t inside.”

The king silently collects his thoughts.

“We believe he snuck off with Prince Aero’s party, Sir.” Gerwin speaks up.

The king slumps back in his chair in silence for several minutes, his facial expression gives nothing away.

“Good!” The king exclaims as he slams his fist down on his desk.

“But you forbid him from going a few days ago…” Marco speaks before being cut off.

“He’s the next king, he is at an age that he needs to know that he answers to no one.”

“He’s your heir, it’s not safe out there for him.”

“He is accompanied by three knights, two of which I would put my on life into their hands. I know my sons. David needs this experience and Aero will protect him. No one watches him closer than the Broken Sword! He’s safe as long as he doesn’t do something stupid like enter Meego.”

The king bursts into laughter with that statement.

“I thought you may be ready to name John Henry as your heir after him disobeying a direct order from you.”

“John Henry… I know my sons, and I would name Aero my heir before him.”

As the king continues to speak, he turns towards Mary.

“I’m sure you would prefer that any way.”

Mary doesn’t respond but deep down, she doesn’t care. She just makes sure she smiles for the king.

“I got to say, I am a little concerned for that crowned prince is in danger. Could I at least send word to the knights in the area to find him and check up on him?” Marco asks.

“What do you think, Mary?” the king asks.

“I think a little information gathering could go along way in calming the council’s nerves, after all, Prince David is the future of the kingdom.”

“My dear, you are as wise as you are beautiful. Marco, send word out but I don’t want him returned, he needs this adventure. Now if you will excuse me, I need to get back to my work.”

With that, the king was out of the room.

Dumbfounded, Gerwin looks at Marco “that didn’t go as expected.”

“It’s okay, we got approval to check on them. It will give the Coven time to formulate our next move. Get a letter out through Ser Robert to every knight in our employ to locate the prince. I want information before our man on the inside sends his first letter.”

With that, the three scatters out of the room. For Marco, he knows he has his work cut out for him in naming John Henry the new heir, but it can be done.

Aero Part 2-1 On the Open Road

The group has been riding for hours. Stephan’s goal was to outride any pursuers that may come once they find that Prince David is missing. Aero voiced his concerns about David’s presence, but Stephan knew he could protect David in the wilderness better than being away from the capital.

Deep down Ser Stephan knows he made the right call; everything just adds up too well. Marco wanted David in the Capital without him. The revelations of Aero’s encounter with Marco confirms Stephan’s rash decision, but the knight is troubled that Aero refused to speak about what happened with him and Prince John Henry.

Stephan is suddenly pulled out of his deep thoughts by Aero calling out to him.

“We have to take a break; I’ve been awake for nearly two days.” Aero states.

“We do need a break… but just a break. When we start back up, I want you to be in the back of the wagon. We have to get further away from the capital than this.” Stephan responds.

Aero thinks about making a protest, but he knows Stephan is right. With David with them, they must push themselves while they have a head start. So he gives in to the order.

“Understood.”

They ride a few more miles before finding a creek to water the horses. They pull over and dismount as dusk begins to fall. The creek area is lush with green grass and wildflowers. White buds in bloom all around them. A lone willow tree marks the location near the creek.

While Will tends to the animals, Stephan calls for a meeting under the willow tree just to the side of the creek bed.

Before they reach the tree, Matthew grabs Aero’s arm pulling him aside.

“I need a drink. Where are we? Is there a tavern or inn nearby?”

“No Matt. We are in the middle of nowhere. We won’t find a town for another sixteen hours of hard riding.” Aero responds trying to hide his amusement. In truth, Prince Aero has just been following the horse in front of him. Exhaustion is setting in and he isn’t sure where he is right now. “But my friend, if you need a drink that bad, I’ve heard that if you drank the night before then you can drink your own piss and it will be even stronger than a normal cup of ale. So, if you’re desperate, you could try that.”

Matthew just stares into the honey eyes of his friend, he’s unsure if he was joking or not.

“Let’s go see what Stephan wants.” Aero says as he pats Matthew on the arm.

As Aero turns away a huge smile breaks out across his face. The way Matthew was looking at him made Aero think that he had considered doing it for a split second.

As Aero and Matthew steps up under the tree, Stephan and David are whispering to each other. Aero has seen them do this hundreds of times, so he thinks nothing of it.

“I was just telling Dave here, that we need to continue on. I want to be three times further than anyone would think to look by lunch tomorrow. Then we will find a hidden spot and rest up; until then, we are going to continue at a slower pace. We will take rotations sleeping in the wagon. Aero and Will will take the first sleep rotation. We will continue until everyone has had four hours rest. Shortly after that, we will camp. “

David raises his hand “I am pretty tired, I was hoping to sleep first.”

“No, you and I are going to be on the same rotation. It’s my job to protect you; besides, Aero has been awake twice as long as you.”

While the discussion is going on, Matthew excuses himself.

David asks a few more questions about food and shelter. The prince is not used to skipping a meal, or not having the comfort of his own bed. After each question, Stephan answers with patience. Finally, Stephan stops the Prince and tells him he can ask his questions on the road.

Will, having finished placing the horses by the creek walks up.

“So, where are we? Where are we headed?”

“There’s a small community about five hours away called Clipton, we will stop there briefly to get supplies. We won’t send a letter back to the capital just yet, we are too close. I think we should get off the main road as soon as possible. We will have to look at alternate routes tomorrow after we rest. For now, let’s give the horses a few minutes before we head out.” Stephan responds.

“Yes Sir.” Will replies.

“For the sleep rotation, Aero and Will will go first, Matthew and Rich will take second, and Dave and I will take last.” Stephan commands.

“But I am tired, I don’t want to take last.” David protests.

Stephan snaps his head around to the prince in anger, David braces for chastisement but before Stephan can speak, Matthew calls out from the wagon area where he is rummaging through the supplies.

“I’ll take last rotation; I’m used to pulling all nighters.”

“You okay with that Rich?” Stephan asks

Aero instantly catalogs his name in his mind, Rich… For the life of him, Aero could never remember it.

“A squire doesn’t get a vote.” Matthew yells.

Rich just smiles and nods his head. Knights hazing young squires is just a right of passage. The group laughs, except for Will, he doesn’t seem to have a sense of humor.

“Aero, Will as soon as you are ready head to the wagon, Matthew, Rich and I will take care of the horses and get us back on the road.”

Will nods his head and turns to the wagon. As he does so, he passes Matthew carrying a bowl he recovered from the back of the wagon.

Aero, pulls David aside to check on him, David insists he is fine. Aero doesn’t believe him. But nonetheless, Aero gives in and makes his way toward the wagon. As he approaches the rear of the wagon, he sees Matthew’s silhouette in the darkening distance. He is pissing into the bowl he was carrying. Aero laughs to himself in disbelief as he crawls into the back of the wagon. He takes a moment to adjust the supplies so he can have room to sleep. Will didn’t bother. Finally after the longest day of his life, Prince Aero is laying down. He gives little thought to the danger as he closes his eyes, ready for some rest.

“That’s disgusting!” Matthew screams!

A smile comes across the prince’s resting face…

Kobi #1

While Prince Aero is pacing his bedroom floor, a young man three thousand miles to the Northwest is beginning his day. Kobi, a nineteen-year-old squire to the knight Ser Hiroshi the Raging Tiger stands on the Lesser Heroes Peak of the Iron Mountain.

Former squire would be more accurate.

 Kobi’s father, a blacksmith for the western defense of the Golden Coast worked out a deal with the Raging Tiger to take his son as a squire in exchange for some free smith work. His father wanted him to rise above the station of a blacksmith. Being a squire to a great knight would be a huge steppingstone out of the forge.

The problem Kobi had was being a squire was not what he expected. Aside from the constant verbal abuse from the Raging Tiger, he also had to participate in the work of the knight. Ser Hiroshi’s work mainly consisted of theft, assault, rape and murder. Not exactly the knight his father expected.

After only three months on the job, Kobi ran away in the middle of the night from the Tiger Knight.

His shame prevented him from returning to his father. Kobi knew in his heart that his father wouldn’t understand.

The problem was Kobi had nowhere to go.

Afraid for his life he ran to the only other place he could think of, the Iron Mountain.

As a boy, his father would tell him stories of the Great Forge of Odimus on top of the Heroes Peak that crafted weapons for the greatest heroes in kingdom history. The place where master blacksmiths would forge weapons and turn them over to the magicians to be imbued with magic. The place where all the heroic magic laced weapons of the old age were made.

Of course, the forge was shut down near the end of the Great War. King Paul had the magicians and smiths thrown off the peak and the two hundred feet high steps were destroyed cutting off the forge from the world. It has sat dormant ever since.

Technically, the Great Forge is not a forbidden site, without access to the site no one thought to list. The place has been lost in time since the Great War.

Knights continued their pilgrimage to the mountain, nonetheless. At the highest peak reachable which became known as the Lesser Heroes Peak, knights gather material to make their own sword. The peak is littered with spots of carved out the iron mountain side.

Upon arriving on the peak, Kobi spent hours reading the names of the great knights who had collected iron as each knight scribed their own name above their collection spot. Ser Peter the Big Bear, Ser Alaric, Ser X’Ian, Ser John the Strong, Ser Vulcan, Ser Manderlin the Old Man, Prince Aero…

He stood where they stood, and he felt empty.

Kobi, the son of a blacksmith yearned to see the mystic forge. Boldly, he committed to reach the peak. So, he began carving footholds up the peak. For weeks, he has worked from dawn to dusk building a way. Just before dark the previous night, he completed his makeshift ladder.

This morning as the first sun rises from the south to meet the yellow “gold-kissed” face, Kobi begins his climb. His grip is strong, and his steps are true. He finishes his climb in under and hour.

He steps onto the real Heroes Peak, the first man to do so in around a thousand years.

The top of the peak is freezing! The blizzard conditions slow him, he isn’t sure of his footing. He takes each step gingerly. Whiteout conditions make the topside treacherous.

 Finally, he presses against a solid wall. Kobi runs his hands along it as he inches himself down it.

His fingertips run across a gap in the wall. He has found some sort of door. It’s frozen shut. He pulls out his knife and uses it as an icepick. He cuts through until he feels the door loosening. A couple strong kicks to the center of the door causes the ice to give up its grip.

Kobi pulls his torch out from his backpack, steps inside to hide from the wind and lights it.

Immediately Kobi steps into the Great Forge. He is awestruck!

He notices how massive the place is, he estimates that at least fifty smiths could work comfortably in the space. The actual forge catches his eye.

Kobi approaches the largest forge he has ever seen and is amazed. He takes a few minutes to take it all in. He estimates that the forge could heat the entire Frost Stone Castle in the heart of the harshest winter.

His fathers’ stories didn’t do the forge justice. His father underestimated by at least half the size. The problem with legends is that they typically get exaggerated greatly. Kobi is surprised to finally see something that lives up to legend, and this one exceeds by a long-shot.

Kobi sits on a nearby bench and just looks over the massive thing in disbelief. For several minutes, he takes the place in.

As Kobi scans the object, he sees a huge pile of wood piled high against the forge. The freeze must have preserved it.

Afraid of freezing, he throws logs into the forge and lights them. The forge proves large enough to light the entire room.

Looking around the well-lit room for the first time, he takes it all in. If only his father could see this. If only…

Molds to every kind of weapon imaginable line the walls.

Long swords, short swords, curved swords, battle axes, war hammers ect…

Could these molds be the ones used for the Gilbert Knight’s war hammers? Or Aaron’s axe? Could one of the sword molds be the mold for the Royal Blade?

Wonder has struck Kobi’s mind, as he surveys the molds he is like a child receiving a new toy.

He notices that he has everything he needs to forge a weapon already in place. So Kobi looks through the molds again and selects a bastard sword mold. He takes it over to the forge and prepares to put his skills to use. His apprenticeship with his father was about to pay off.

Kobi spends the next several hours heating and cooling his blade, hammering and folding steel. Every so often he would throw logs into the fire to stoke the forge. In his focus he failed to notice each time he returned to do so the logs would be replaced. Finally after several hours he does take note.

The place is magic. His father was right.

Kobi works through the night as the blizzard conditions are too harsh to descend in the dark. He completes his sword in the early morning hours.

A beautiful hand and a half!

The rumors of the iron on the Heroes Peak were true as well. The iron has different color qualities, as it is stronger steel. Kobi’s blade has a green tint to it.

Not wanting to damage anything in the ancient forge, he decides to step outside and take a few swings in the blizzard.

He is shocked to find that the snow and the frigid conditions are gone. Instead he is greeted by spring-like conditions and green grass.

A small orchard is on the peak as well.

Kobi collects a few pieces of fruit and enjoys breakfast in the morning sun.

Kobi practices swinging his new green hued sword for several minutes and collects his thoughts.

Perhaps he should stay. He has everything he needs on the Peak.

If the forge is running, then the conditions on the peak are nearly paradise a special magic he surmises. Why would he leave? Where would he go after all?

The forge is home… for now.

Kobi returns inside and selects another sword mold. If forging weapons on the peak is a must, then he will do it with pride.

Aero Part 1-7 Exit Strategy

Prince Aero beats on the inside of his door, shouting at the guards to let him out. One yells back that he still has three hours before he is to be escorted out of the castle.

Aero is ready to explode! He has not even attempted sleep at all. He has paced his floor all night. Every word spoken to him by Marco and his brother John Henry has his blood boiling still!

The mixture of rage and humiliation is too much for him to take. He needs out of this room, and the guards placed outside his door will not allow it. The fact that his weapons were confiscated while he was at the feast adds another layer of irritation. A defenseless man awaiting a death march.

Suddenly there is a commotion outside the door. The conversant rattle of the key in the door. Aero readies himself.

The door flings open.

The dark figure of Ser Stephan enters the room. Aero exhales.

“If you don’t mind, I thought we would get an early start to the day.” Stephan says with a smile on his face.

“I agree.”

“Get dressed, meet me in the hall as soon as you’re ready, I have breakfast packed for the road.” Stephan utters as he tosses Aero his sword belt.

Aero wastes little time. His bag had been packed for days, a habit from his military days. He slips into a proper outfit out of the pompous frills his father forced him to wear last night. Without hesitation, or thought to look back at his room, he exits the room.

As the two men walk down the hall accompanied by a half dozen guards, Aero stops at his adolescent sister Shoala’s room. Gently opens the door and peaks in to find her safely sleeping in her bed. He is relieved, yet terrified. He will never be able to protect her again. Her comfort or horror is now in the hands of Marco and John Henry; unless David can find strength and support to stand against them. Aero just knows he must leave at once to give them a chance.

As they exit the private hall into the public portions of the castle, the early risers of the elite of the city take note. Slowly a clap is formed that follows the men all the way out of the castle into the city square.

Why wouldn’t they clap? Publicly everyone has been told that Aero volunteered for the mission on behalf of the crown. The prevailing thought in the capital was that the catalyst for the waning of the dynasty was due to the loss of the sword to Meego. The symbol of unity and power was lost to those disgusting sand people. Never mind that it was originally lost in the first Civil War when King Paul fled the city.

As the men descend the steps from the castle into the square, Aero notices that Matthew, Will and Stephan’s squire are all waiting on them at the bottom of the steps with horses at the ready. Matthew standing by a covered wagon. A thought passes through Aero’s mind that Matthew must have prepared for the journey. It was good seeing him take something serious in life… aside from drinking.

Upon meeting up with the group at the bottom of the stairs they all greet each other, Aero appears even grumpier than Will.

Aero can’t help but notice that Will’s wife and kids aren’t here.

Will looks at Aero and speaks “Thank you for making sure my family is taken care of, it means a lot.”

Before Aero can respond, Stephan tells the group to turn back to the crowd and wave. Seemingly, David’s public relations work has rubbed off on Stephan.

The men turn and wave. Matthew more enthusiastically than the others.

Aero looks around as he waves, he first sees Marco and John Henry at the top of the stairs. Aero’s wave slows as his blood pressure rises. The look of outrage barely begins to form as Stephan reminds Aero to smile.

He does so.

He takes his eyes off Marco and John Henry, he tries to find David and to a lesser degree his father, but they aren’t around.

After a minute or so of waving, Stephan tells everyone to mount up, everyone gets on their horse, except Matthew who climbs onto the wagon. Aero can’t help but notice that the wagon has an additional horse attached to it. Aero allows a moment of levity as he imagines that Matt had been racing his wagon all night with these racing horses.

  The street exiting the square is lined with people clapping as they go by. Only the early arrivals get to see the march out of the city. Had the group waited until the scheduled time, it would have been a logistical nightmare.

Stephan leads the group off the hill and into River Bend. As they ease into the dirt town, the clapping stops. The poor don’t care what rich person does what.

However, most notice Ser Matthew. The common folk of River Bend have embraced him as their champion. It is very rare for a commoner of the dirt town to rise in the ranks, so they celebrate Matthew’s achievements.

It takes a few minutes of navigating the overrun crowded streets but finally they arrive at the bridge that exits the capital. After the group cross it, Stephan thanks the guards that were following them and sends them back to their duties.

As Stephan returns to the front of the wagon Matthew looks at Aero and speaks “That was the finest funeral procession I have ever been a part of.”

Aero is close enough to Matt to smell the ale on his breath. “Have you been drinking all night Matt?”

“Just most of the night, and you will thank me for it later.” Matthew responds.

“Okay, I want to start this trip off by making some good time. Let’s get a couple hours of hard riding in, before we take a break.” Stephan interjects as he speeds off.

Matthew and Stephan’s squire immediately follows leaving Aero and Will looking at each other for a moment. The Aero races off leaving Will to catch up.

All the men ride quietly and swiftly. Aero doesn’t understand why Stephan would want to begin the trip with such urgency, but he welcomes it. He also wonders if an inebriated Matt should be driving the carriage at such high speeds. Aero’s thoughts can’t help but return to Marco’s words and the danger he is leaving his family in but leaving was the only way he could ensure that their blood wasn’t on his hands.

Try as he might, he can’t get the John Henry conversation out of his head either. He wishes he had known how big of a snake his brother is… He hopes David will be alright without him or Stephan.

After a solid two-hour sprint, Stephan leads the caravan down a side road towards a watering hole for the horses. They worked hard and deserve refreshments.

Once the horses are led to the water, Stephan pulls the group together. “Okay, cards on the table right now. What happened? Matthew go!”

“I was in the Grove Stone late. I was about to call it a night when two castle guardsmen walked in. They were laughing and carrying on and didn’t see me in my corner spot. I sat and just listened for five minutes as they bragged to everyone about what Prince John Henry had done to his little brother. I thought they were confused about who it was, but they laughed about the dolphin rider as they reenacted their scene.” Matthew pauses and everyone turns to Aero “I don’t want to talk about it, continue Matt.”

“I slipped out as soon as I could, it took me some time to slip through the castle but finally I found Ser Stephan and told him what I had heard. He then sent me to get the wagon with the racing horses and Will.”

“I then asked some of the men that I trust if they heard anything. They had rough details but it matched Matthew’s story enough that I didn’t want to take any chances. So, I got you as soon as the horses and wagon were ready.” Stephan follows up. “What happened last night, Aero?”

Aero pauses for a moment, he hesitates as he remembers Marco’s words, but he fully trusts Stephan and Matthew and at this point is confident that he can kill Will and whatever Stephan’s squires name is to protect his family.

“During the feast Marco pulled me aside and revealed that it was his idea to send me to Meego. He said that my deeds as a knight were becoming well enough known that I posed a threat to him.  So, he convinced my father to pass over John Henry to send me so I will be eliminated. He took the dagger David gave me last night and said that if I tried anything other than going to Meego, he would have that dagger used to kill David, both of you (pointing at Stephan and Matthew) and my father. Then he would either install John Henry on the throne or arrange his son to marry Shoala to make his bloodline the new crown.”

“What about John Henry? What did he do?” Stephan asks

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s not important.” Matthew says in support.

Aero feels humiliated but grateful that Matt knows what happened between he John Henry and is willing to keep it private.

“Fine, anyone have anything to add?” Stephan asks.

A silent pause among the group for a moment, then Will raises his hand.

“Yes Will.” Stephan calls out.

“It…it’s nothing, I probably shouldn’t bother you with it.” Will responds.

“Will, I know you don’t want to be here, none of us do but have you heard what’s went down? The crown is under attack, our leaders, our friends and families are going to die if we don’t trust each other. If you know something, share it.” Stephan pleads.

“Okay…Okay… One of Marco’s men, a guard that was on watch at my home told me that my family was dead if I didn’t report back to them with updates. They want me to take you into Meego myself Prince Aero, or my family dies. So, we are in the same boat, you must to go to Meego! PLEASE!” Will shouts as he bursts into tears.

Aero realizes that everyone in the group and their loved ones is marked for death if they don’t complete their mission. Will’s breakdown is just an outward expression of the feeling in everyone’s stomach.

Matthew places his arm around Will for comfort and tells him everything will be okay. Will doesn’t buy it.

Stephan speaks up “As I said, it’s time to put all cards on the table, that includes me.” He turns toward the wagon and calls for someone to come out. The wagon begins to rock back and forth as a someone is climbing out from a hiding spot. To everyone’s amazement, Prince David steps out.

“Brother!” Aero exclaims as he rushes over to him “you can’t be here; we have to get you back immediately.”

“No!” Stephan shouts. “He’s not safe there.”

“Stephan, we have death behind us and death in front of us… nowhere is safe.” Aero retorts.

“Then we will have to be cunning in our next steps, we have to get to Meego but we have plenty of time to do it. We really left a month earlier than we needed to. So, we can take side roads to out of the way places, all the while having Will send back reports that show progress towards Meego, just not progress of where we actually are!” Stephan responds.

“Aero is the royal delegate on this march, and I will be Dave an advisor from River Bend. No one call me prince or David. As far as this journey goes, I am just another commoner helping a royal.” David explains.

“But you’re the future King!” Will responds wiping tears from his eyes “you should be the delegate.”

“No, I am not, or I won’t be as soon as Marco finds out I am missing. John Henry will be named the heir. Therefore, I am just another guy.” David answers back.

Stephan speaks up “Dave is right, Aero is the delegate, and he is in command. We will follow his lead.”

Everyone shakes their heads in agreement. Matthew speaks up “I hope he leads us by a bar soon.”

Everyone mounts up on their horses, Dave sits next to Matthew on the wagon and they begin their journey towards death in the northeast. They ride for Meego!

Aero Part 1-5 A Feast for a Dead Man

Aero has been seated at a seat of honor beside his father and both brothers for less than five minutes and he is already feeling out of place. This is his brothers’ arena; he was never brought into the pomp and circumstance routine of the capital like his older brothers.  Everything about it feels wrong to him, from the clothing his father sent to him, to being sat next to his brother, John Henry.

John Henry has always looked down on Aero, ridiculed him for his name and his islander heritage even though they have the same islander mother. John Henry seemed to have taken out his frustrations on his little brother growing up. Aero’s assessment of John Henry was that he was a bitter, vindictive and frustrated person because he was the middle of three children. He was neither next in line to be king nor allowed to be a free spirit like his younger brother. John Henry went through all the same royal academia as David, but he would not be king. No, the best he would ever have was the short time that he would be David’s heir. Just until David’s son was born then he would be cut out of the order all together.

All the years as the backup plan has worn thin on John Henry’s mind. He had all the physical appearance of a royal, very close to David, just slightly shorter with a heavier body. Recently within the past year or so, John Henry has allowed himself to indulge a little too often and it’s starting to show.

John Henry has made a name for himself from his ability to disappear from events like this. It’s one of the perks for being a scab prince. Never too many eyes on him. As the court officials continue to enthusiastically announce each new arrival, John Henry leans into Aero and whispers. “I’m about to ease out of this feast, but before you go to sleep, I would like to have a few words with you. Don’t worry, I’ll find you… I’ve got a nose for that fresh out of the ocean smell you have.”

Aero just looks at him as he stands up and simply walks out of the room. John Henry’s antisocial lean has caused him to get away from the action. John Henry is a catalyst for chaos in the middle of complete organization. So Aero was glad to see him leave.

Still, John Henry wanting to talk to Aero has never happened before, and he doesn’t like it. John Henry has never made it a point to say anything to Aero, so immediately he suspects something nefarious is at hand, or he wants a moment to gloat. It’s just John Henry’s way.

Overall the nights events go as expected, all the members of the court have a good time. The wine flowed, and laughter roared. Before the main course, Prince David presented his brother with a gold handle dagger. It contained large diamonds along the hilt, and had a matching scabbard made of gold with diamonds.

Aero accepted the gift graciously.

Many members of the court stopped by to admire the new dagger, or to wish Aero well on his journey. Each person stopped by just long enough to make things awkward. As time went on, the people kept coming until there was a small crowd around the prince. Aero was in a daze of boredom when the chief of his father’s staff, Marco interrupted.

Aero welcomed the reprieve as Marco asks for Aero to join him in a private booth in the back of the hall.

Aero sits down with Marco as they gaze across the scene in the room. Laughter roars as drinks flow. The King sits in his seat, two of his concubines attending to his every need.

Marco notices Aero watching his father. “They are new, given to him today. Makes a gold dagger seem like a cup of river water compared to the gift as fine as the best vintage from the Meadow.”

Aero feels a little uncomfortable talking about his father’s sex life but shrugs it off well.

“Actually, Prince Aero… May I call Aero? Titles just slow me down.” Marco asks and Aero agrees.

“Those aren’t new girls.” Marco pauses to look Aero in the eye “They have been in his harem for two years, he’s just too stupid to know any better.”

“What did you say?” Aero says in growing anger.

“Careful now, look to your father’s right, Prince David… Just behind him, the guy in the black hood. He’s waiting for you to make a wrong move here. If you do, then little Dave is dead on the spot. So calm yourself before you get someone killed.”

Aero continues to look at Marco in disbelief.

“One move, or one sound out of you and I have enough men in here to kill all of the royal family and supporters.” Marco states arrogantly.

“The future of the kingdom is in your hands. You’re one second away from killing the King, little Dave and yourself… so sit still and speak softly. Hard words here will have John Henry sitting on the throne by morning.”

At the sound of this Aero’s eyes grow wide. Marco notices and continues his taunt.

“Why do you think I had him miss the feast? I’m always five moves ahead of everyone else. But most people are brought down without realizing I’m the threat until it’s too late. People like you.”

Aero’s anger rises, it gets the best of him. He grabs the hilt of the golden dagger.

“No, no, no…” Marco states calmly. Aero turns toward David and sees that the hooded man has stepped closer to David, within striking distance yet no one notices. “Put the dagger on the table, NOW!” Marco demands.

Hesitantly, Aero slowly raises his hand and drives the blade down on the wooden table before him then lets go. As he does so, he does a visual sweep of the room looking for the tall dark frame of Ser Stephan. He’s not within sight.

“The Broken Sword was commanded by the King to do one last inspection of the barracks and fortress defenses before departing with you tomorrow. I told you, I’m way ahead of you.” Marco brags as he reaches out for the gold dagger.

“This is nice, I think I will keep it as a trophy of killing a prince.” Marco states as his eyes move from the blade to meet Aero’s eyes. “That’s right, it was my decision to send you to Meego. For years your father planned on sending John Henry, but I’ve heard your name and rumblings of your deeds as a Knight enough to know a threat when I see one. So I told your father to send you.”

Aero listens in disbelief.

“How did I pull that off? I don’t say this much and still only to the most important people; I run this kingdom. It’s mine! It’s easier to run it from the shadows than from the throne. It wasn’t hard consolidating all your family’s power either. A few girls here or there for your father and he was distracted enough to give me the keys to the kingdom. Look at him up there, two girls he’s had many times before but is too stupid to know better. I give him a few, take some out change their appearances and send them back to him. He never even notices.”

Marco states with a huge smile on his face and continues.

“Your brother David isn’t so easy, but John Henry is; he loves when I send him girls. He bruises them and roughs them up, but it buys me loyalty. I’m thinking if I can’t find David’s weaknesses soon, I may just have to put John Henry on the throne. If I do, Davey boy will be found with your new dagger through his heart. Not that I’m in a rush to change kings, your father is completely oblivious.”

In anger Aero looks away. He has never felt so trapped in his life.

“So, two things are going to happen. One, you are going to Meego, I want that sword, not that I think you can get it. Just because I want you out of the way, the last thing that this kingdom needs is a group of do-gooder knights walking around. Your deeds are well known, and your reputation is… well kingly. So, you will go there and allow the spell to do whatever it does to you. If you do not go, I will kill not only you, but your father, David, your mentor the Broken Sword, and that river rat knight you made Matt. Hell I may even kill John Henry and marry my son to your sister when she comes of age, and make my bloodline the new royal line. What do you think about that?” Marco asks

Aero doesn’t answer still looking away in shock.

“Look me in the eyes when I am talking to you boy!”

Aero’s head snaps back around, his eyes blazing like fire…

“The second thing that’s going to happen if you don’t want the entire royal family’s blood on your hands is you are going to go back to your room and wait on John Henry to come visit you. When he comes into your room, you will not harm him and will do whatever he wants. It means nothing to me, but your brother wanted to have this moment with you, and you are going to do it! After he leaves your room, he is going to report back to me; if he is not satisfied with the show you put on, then heads will roll. Do you understand me?”

Aero stares at Marco with the intensity of the sun but gives the only answer he can.

“yes.”

“Good boy,.. you have your instructions follow them to the letter. If you say a word to anyone, the castle will flow with royal blood tonight. I have assassins everywhere. Now, go to bed and wait on your brother, get out of my sight!” Marco demands.

Aero gets up to leave incensed but powerless to do anything. Marco had sprung his trap and the prince was not prepared for it. As Aero hurried out of the banquet headed to his quarters his mind began to spin to find a way out of the situation.

Back in the Great Hall, Marco leans back and basks in his own arrogance. He has brought the entire kingdom to heel and no one can stand against him now.

Aero & Matt #1- A Drink to End a Long Day

A couple hours after Matthew’s daily duties ended, he could always be found in his favorite bar, Grove Stone. Tonight, was like any other night for him except he was drinking with a prince.

“So, Will has to go with you to Meego? But I’m just going to the old Palace by the dried-up sea?” Matthew asks seeking clarity.

“That’s right. Your assignment was to escort, Will’s is to be a witness to my death I suppose.” Aero answers.

Matthew takes in a deep breath and exhales a sigh of relief “I thought I was being punished for my roll in Will’s stupid idea. Honestly, I was going to gut him when I saw you in the back of the carriage. I thought it would save him a lot of pain and humiliation; but I will give him credit. No one has worked the Capital into a frenzy in my lifetime like he did today.”

“That was his intent, the outcome was completely different, but the poor guy was in over his head. The problem I have is that he will be in my face for the rest of my life… I’m giving myself three months… In my head at least. It will take us two and a half to get to the Palace, and I give Meego two weeks get the job done.”

“I don’t know Prince A…”

“I’ve told you a thousand times to just call me Aero, Matt.” Aero cuts him off.

“Okay, okay… Aero, and you’re the only person I allow to call me Matt anymore. Since you knighted me, I am Matthew from Two Springs. I never dreamed I would get the honor to use the full name my mother gave me, and I don’t know when the last King Matthew reigned…” Matthew pauses to take a large drink from his glass “but I want you to know it is the greatest honor of my life. I would follow you anywhere…” another drink “…except Meego.”

Aero smiles, it’s moments like these that drew him to Matthew. Honesty, unbridled, drunken honesty. But Aero suddenly realizes that he may have been disrespecting his friend, given the honor of a royal king name upon knighthood was something that everyone should recognize. “I’ll call you Matthew from now own, you’ve earned the hono…”

“Nope! I won’t have it! You’re Aero and I’m Matt and that’s that. Do you want a refill?”

“I’m still working on this one.” Aero answers.

Matthew waves to the bar for another round which is brought out promptly. Two mugs, one for each of Matthew’s hands. He knows the bartender intended one for the prince, not that anyone in the place knew Aero was the king’s son. But Matthew knew he wasn’t going to take it, and on an even better note, that the prince would split the tab at the end of the night.

“Why do you come here, Matt? You’re an anointed knight, you should drink at Maverick’s. It’s a place for all the knights in the kingdom paid for by the Crown for nearly a thousand years. Named after the greatest knight in history, Ser Patrick the Maverick. Do you know his story?”

“All boys hear his story when they are little. Mothers tell his story to try to inspire their children to strive for greatness, I suppose.” Matt says as he takes a drink. “But Maverick’s Bar is a place for the worst kind of knight, all those high born socialites who have never seen battle; if I walked in there it would just cause trouble.”

“Maybe a little trouble could be fun.”

“Says the Prince who is above the law.”

“Not above dying in Meego.”  

 I don’t think you should count on dying, I believe in you.” Matthew states slamming a mug down from his mouth. “I’ve followed you into battle several times and never once did I believe my life was in danger. You will find a way to beat this death sentence as you call it.”

“Matt, how many have you had to drink?”

“Before I got here or after?”

“Since you’ve been here.”

“Eight.”

“How is that possible? I’m still working on my first.”

“You’re a slow drinker, besides fourteen is a slow night for me.”

“Fourteen? I thought you said eight.”

“I was counting the ones I had before I came tonight too.”

“That takes talent. That reminds me, I have a surprise for you. I have a couple of detours planned for the trip. One of them will be to the Shadow Meadow. It will be a good place to grab you a barrel of their freshest stuff.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there!” Matthew responds excitedly.

Aero knew that the dutiful knight would go on the journey because he was commanded, but he wanted him to experience something special with him beyond a battlefield, training or a bar. Sure, there would be wine to drink, and Aero knew it would be a popular destination for Matthew. However, to Aero the attraction was the three-hundred-foot-tall trees that are so vast and interlocking that the people built homes in the trees. Many tree dwellers never see the ground in their lifetime. The canopy tops are self-sustaining thanks to ancient magic.

“I just need to get through this last banquet, and we can begin the journey. Hopefully it won’t be too painful.” Aero states unexcitedly.

“You can make it through one night with your family, and the royal court. Besides, it will be a better night than Will will have, I promise. I heard he is under house arrest with guards stationed at his home.” Says Matthew.

“He’s married, isn’t he?” Aero asks

“He is, two kids… boy and girl. I think the oldest is about eight, or maybe twelve…”

“I’m sure his wife knows she is about to become a widow, probably scared for the kids. I will speak to David in the morning and see if he can work out something to keep them from starving and keep his wife off the streets.”

Matthew shivers at the thought. “Maybe it would be beneficial to the entire city to keep that from happening.”

“That bad?”

“No, not really. Will married well. As good as one can, not many beauties come from the Bend.”

“I will see what I can do then.”

Matthew waves his hand in the air, calling for another round. “Good, now that that’s settled, you can enjoy your memory dinner tomorrow night. I just want you to know, when it’s over, I’ll be right here.”

A broken grin runs across the prince’s face “I know, enjoy it while you can. Because when we leave the city, you won’t see the place for about five months. But then, you won’t have me for a drinking partner.”

Like most things in Matthew’s life, he hadn’t thought how much the absence from the city would affect him. But now having heard the truth his joyous mood is subdued.

“Five months without my bar, and then without my best friend…” Matthew takes a slow drink “do you mind if we just drink quietly for a while?” Matthew asks

“Absolutely, my friend.” Responds Aero.

For the next couple hours, the two men drink without speaking a word. Even though both men are silent, Matthew’s facial expressions tell a story of bittersweet finality. All the earlier jokes about Aero’s impending death suddenly weigh heavy on him. Aero sits with Matthew just soaking in the bond that they share, he realizes it was stronger than he had thought.

Matthew’s outward appearance and demeanor show that of a happy go lucky guy who loves his drink; but Aero knew him as a fierce warrior, full of loyalty, bravery, and tenacity. But now as they sit in a corner table in a dive of a bar between the barracks and River Bend, Matthew can’t hide his fear of losing his friend, the Prince Knight.

Even as Matthew tries to hide the tears flowing down his face and into his black beard, Aero sits with him without saying a word. Later in the evening, Aero pays the tab in full once Matt stops drinking, pats him on the shoulder and leaves to get some rest. Matthew stays behind with his heavy heart and empty glass.