Trance strolled on marveling at his extreme good fortune. He quickly searched out a new campsite. Once his shelter was set up he found some stones and set them up for his fire later. He went back to the lake and after fifteen minutes caught three fish. On his way back to the tent he saw something that made his heart jump. There in a line on the sand was a set of hoof prints. He dropped down, looked at them more closely and determined that they were afflor tracks. He stood up and with building excitement went and carefully put his fish away, grabbed his weapons, and went in search of the animal.
He was determined as he got down and searched the ground for more tracks to see where the animal had gone. He searched for the afflor for hours trying to find it. He kept thinking that the afflor was just ahead of him and behind some bushes or a couple of trees. He ignored his hunger and thirst. The sound of softly running water finally reached him and he stopped to get a good drink. A memory triggered as he knelt by the stream.
It was the memory of something he had read, but he couldn’t remember exactly where. It seemed to have been a memory of a Bible story. It seemed to revolve around soldiers bound for battle. The soldiers were going with Gideon and the Lord had told him that he had too many soldiers. The Lord had told Gideon to take the army to a stream to drink. Those soldiers that had brought the water to their lips would be chosen and go on to win a great victory, while those that had bent down to drink were sent home. He decided that maybe the same thing would work for him.
He knelt there, cupped his hands, and brought the water to his lips. He drank getting his fill because he did not know how long it would be before he found water again. Just then he heard a noise just ahead of him. Creeping silently along and getting an arrow ready to shoot, he scanned the trees for the animal. There it was just on the other side of a very leafy bush. He rose up where he could see the animal clearly and shot.
The afflor stumbled in an attempt to escape. Quickly he set another arrow and shot again. The animal tried to leap but landed straight down. Trance ran up swiftly and pulled out the butcher knife that he still carried and tried to take care of the animal like Chorus had shown him. With the animal taken care of he set about finding how to take the animal back to his camp.
He found two long branches, engineered a simple stretcher, and began dragging the afflor back to camp. It took him quite a while to get back, and when he got back it was starting to get very dark. Near starved from his hunt he ate a quick meal of the fish and then took the stretcher and another straight branch that he found and hung the afflor above a small fire. His sleep was easier and he rested better.
In the morning he woke and went to find some berries that he had spotted the day before while searching for the afflor. He found the berries and picked plenty to make a good breakfast. He ate the scrumptious berries and rested for a little while. He then decided to butcher part of the meat. Trance soon had a decent pile of cut meat. He hung the majority of the meat back up and saved some for lunch and dinner. He fixed a small fire and cooked the meat as well as some more vegetables for lunch. He let himself relax, rested for quite a while and daydreamed about his future.
He imagined how wonderful it would be to find his family alive and well. He then imagined what it would be like to go to school and start to learn how to be a knight. What adventures he could have as a knight. Would he be sent on missions to slay dragons or battle other nasty creatures threatening towns and villages? Yet maybe he’d have to battle the Boulthorians again. Soon he felt his eyes droop and he was asleep again.
He woke in the late afternoon, checked his surroundings and made sure that he was still alone and that there was no sign that anyone knew he was there. Feeling safe again he decided that it would be worth the effort to try and catch some more fish for supper. He took some time and fashioned himself a fishing pole and some line. He fixed himself a reasonable hook and baited it and fished for a while. After about three hours he finally managed to catch two fish and had them for supper.
For three more days he stayed there, feeling perfectly at ease and rested. There still was no sign that there were any people in the nearby area. Then as the fourth day came he decided very sadly that he would have to move on if he ever wanted to find his family. He prayed every day that he was heading in the right direction and that he’d soon find them. The next two nights passed quite peacefully and without incident, and then on the next night something quite unexpected happened.
As he lay there in his very well hidden shelter, half asleep, voices softly drifted on the breeze. “Why do you think they landed and attacked the town?” asked a fairly young male voice.
“I don’t know. They sure did a number to the town. It’s fortunate that we arrived when we did to help the local defense at the outpost. It’ll cost several thousand to rebuild what was destroyed,” answered another male voice.
“I saw what direction those scumbags were headed. It looked like they were headed toward my uncle’s farm. One of the local knights told me that my uncle and aunt were watching an Earth boy that they found in the forest by his farm. I hope they got away.”
“One of the town knights told me that he had ridden out to your uncle’s and seen him and his family and the Earth boy. He told them that the enemy was headed their way and that they should leave. The knight also indicated that it seemed that the Earth boy had been left at the house and defended it. I also heard from a couple of the other knights that the boy seemed very interested in the armed forces and had a real interest in being a knight. It seems he really asked a lot of questions about our weapons and how to become a knight.”
“Interesting, it’s disappointing the town was attacked. I might have been able to meet him and officially welcome him to Althora,” said a very sweet female voice.
“That’s true. We could have learned how he’d landed in my uncle’s field. Now we may not ever meet him. Those guys are very determined. By the way I wonder who’s been out here. We’ve come past those dead knights back by Griffin Rock. I didn’t know there was a sheriff or knight squad out here. Whoever killed them was rather skilled with a sword. That’s what killed them. And the other two were brought down with fairly good accuracy from a bow.”
“I hope that whoever slew them is on our side. We haven’t come across any campsites.”
“However I did find that vegetable a little way back that looked like it had been cooked over a fire,” replied another male voice, joining the traveling conversation. “Let’s go for another hour and then let’s stop and set up camp and stay the night. We’ll start out in the morning and get back to the city,” a male voice said with a definite note of authority.
The voices gradually faded away, along with the sound of heavy metallic hooves clopping along. The male voices continued to recount the assault at the little town. They wondered about a group of the enemy knights that had escaped. The very beautiful female voice joined in occasionally. They also continued to wonder who had slain the knights behind them. Trance smiled in his sleep wondering if the conversation was real or not. He also thought that they were talking about him. In his mind he thought that the male voices were probably knights, most likely Althorian knights. But he couldn’t figure out whom the female voice belonged to. It sounded so very beautiful and sweet. He wondered if he’d ever hear that voice again and find out who she was.
Trance fell completely asleep now and heard nothing more. As he slept his shelter was passed by another set of feet and metallic hooves. No voices were heard. It was as if this group was trying to travel in complete silence.
In the morning Trance woke and checked out the area around his shelter. It didn’t take him long to find the tracks of both groups. He had suspected that there was one group that had passed his shelter that night, but he was surprised to find a second set of tracks. Slightly puzzled, he went back to his tent and fixed himself some breakfast. He then cleared up his campsite and packed his shelter up. An idea suddenly hit h
im, and he started to follow the first set of tracks and see where they led. After a few miles along he was at the top of a small hill and looking down he saw a road. He made his way down the hill to the road and started walking. In a few minutes he came across a sign that said that the next town, Cassera, was twenty miles away. At last he was approaching a town. What adventures awaited him there?
Chapter 8
Lost and Found
Morning, bright, clear, and crisp found Trance in his shelter. He had built his shelter a few yards away from the road and hidden it as best he could. His sleep wasn’t as peaceful as it had been. He was afraid that he’d be found by another Boulthorian troop. They would probably slay him on their way to raid another town. When he did sleep, his dream was about battling the knights at the Markem’s farm. He prayed that Chorus and his family were safe and sound at Chorus’s father’s house. He determined that after he found his family he’d contact them and let them know that he was okay. Getting up he crawled out of his shelter and looked around.
He saw that he was alone and then grabbed a quick breakfast. After some reflection he determined that since he was so close to a town he didn’t need his shelter any more. With great care he took it down and cleared his campsite. He then made sure that he had the small bag of clothes that he’d been carrying on his back and all of his weapons. He started out again following the road with a sense of excitement of getting to another town and being able to search for his family.
After a few minutes of walking he came upon a sign indicating that the town, Cassera, was now only two miles ahead. Seeing this he hurried his step to get there. He walked as fast as he could for a while and focused on getting to town where he hoped he’d be able to start his search for his family.
He was still a little hungry so he reached into his pocket and pulled out the money that he still had. He had four gold coins, seven silver coins, and one bronze coin. Althorian money was fairly easy to understand. A gold coin was worth about a dollar, called a current, silver was about fifty cents, called centas, bronze was twenty-five centas, a brass coin was ten centas, a metal similar to nickel was five centas, and copper was one centa. Higher denominations were small bars slightly larger than a domino. Starting out with copper being two currents, nickel was five currents, brass was ten currents, bronze was twenty, silver was fifty, and a gold bar was worth one hundred currents. So in total he had seven currents and seventy-five centas.
As he walked along he adjusted his weapons and clothes. Trance tried to straighten his clothes out to be more presentable when he got to town. Finally the town came into view as he came around a bend in the road. His step quickened and in just a few short minutes he was in town and starting to come across more and more people, robot horses and carriages. He then started to search for a place to eat. His eye caught sight of a restaurant two blocks away and he hurried his pace more.
Outside the restaurant were quite a number of military horses. Trance went into the restaurant and saw the Althorian knights in their armor occupying several tables to the right. He also saw a few businessmen at a couple other tables, and some farmers dressed in leather at some other tables. He made his way to an empty stool at the counter.
Trance scanned the room and took everyone in. He tried not to look directly at anybody and smiled shyly to hide his nerves. As he sat there and waited patiently to be waited on he noticed that he was being watched. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that a young knight about a couple years older than him was watching him. Trance looked away and tried to relax. He glanced back and saw that the young knight was talking to a rather tall and very broad-shouldered knight. Somehow he knew that they were discussing him.
Trance froze as he noticed that the young knight had stood up and begun to approach him. He felt self-conscious and wondered if he’d done something wrong.
“Hello,” said the young knight politely.
“Hi,” responded Trance nervously.
“I’m Zak Karry,” said the young knight, introducing himself. “Sorry for staring, but you really look like a friend of mine’s lost brother. Where are you from?” he asked, curious about him.
“I’m Trance Sonderson and I’m originally from Earth,” Trance answered and quickly explained how he’d been found at the Markem’s farm. He then told about the attack on the town, how he had defended the house, and then his parting with the Markems and his flight from the farm. Trance noticed the young knight’s face as he finished his story.
“I know the town. We arrived shortly after the attack had started and helped drive the Boulthorians back. We were told about an Earth boy in town. I guess that you’re him, you were staying at my uncles farm,” said Zak.
“Yeah, that would be me,” Trance replied modestly and surprised at the connection.
“You must be a good fighter. We came across some of the knights that you slew. We debated what had happened to them. It also looks like you enjoyed Aunt Maxine’s fine cooking,” said Zak, impressed.
“Well, yes I did enjoy her cooking, and at the farm I did what I had to do. Now you said I looked familiar. Who is it I look like?” Trance asked, curious. A slight hope rose up. Maybe he knew his family.
“By the why did you separate from my uncle and his family? And I said you look like a friend of mine’s brother. In fact you have the same last name. May I ask you a question?” asked Zak. He was sure that Trance was who he had thought him to be. However, the first name wasn’t quite right.
“I thought that they would be safer if I covered them as they took off and headed to Chorus’s dad’s place till things cooled down,” Trance answered. Then he felt his pulse started to pound. Could this knight really know his brother and probably his family? “Sure, what do you need to know?”
“What are the names of your family members?” asked Zak with the hope that he had found the missing brother of his friend.
“Well my dad Evan, my mom Eileen, my brother Sammy, and my sister Heather,” Trance answered. Was this the answer to his prayers? Had the Lord led him to meet this knight to find his family?
Zak looked excited. Trance seemed to know the family and was relieved that his uncle’s family was safe at his grandfather’s place. There was one sure way to make sure Trance was the one. “You seem to know the family of my friend, but there’s one sure way to find out. Do you have a birth…?”
Trance’s eyes lit up. This knight had to know his family. “Yeah! It’s on my left ankle, shaped like a shield,” Trance replied joyfully and leaned down and uncovered the mark.
“Yep, that proves that you’re Kyle’s brother,” Zak said excitedly as he saw the mark on Trance’s ankle. “I thought your name was Terrance though.”
“It’s a very long story, in short one of my cousins mispronounced my name one day and it stuck. Now most everybody calls me Trance. By the way who’s Kyle? I’m the oldest and I have only one brother, Sammy,” explained Trance.
“Oh you’ll find out. It’s a little complicated. For now let’s just say that you have been looked for. I’m really surprised that I spotted you and that you came in here. Our troop of Golden Griffins has been escorting our princess. She went to visit her uncle in the northern kingdom of Dalvor, and we are bringing her home,” Zak explained.
Trance remembered some of the knights telling him about the Golden Griffins. They were a very elite group of knights. They were usually the first to be called for special missions, and the first to go into a battle and blaze a path for the regular knights and pawns. It was also harder to get into the Golden Griffins. Instead of specializing in two main weapons, the Golden Griffins had three or more. They also trained longer and harder than the other branches of knights.
“We’re heading back to the capital, Caldora. On our way there we can drop you off at your family’s house, I hope they’re your family,” said Zak. “They live in a small town called Shandac, just five miles away from the capital. By the
way do you have a horse? If you don’t I’ll ask the Major if you can ride the old warhorse that we have. Its owner was killed in the raid on your town, and we’re taking it back to the capital to be recycled.”
“No, I don’t have a horse,” Trance answered. “I walked all the way here from the farm through the forest to get here.”
Just then Zak realized Trance might be hungry and said invitingly, “Would you like to join us for breakfast?”
“Alright,” Trance replied, feeling rather hungry as he became aware of the wonderful smells coming from the kitchen.
Zak led Trance back to his table and introduced him to the huge knight Trance had noticed earlier. The knight’s name was Bear, and he was an ax man. Trance also met several of the other knights and as he visited with them he soon discovered that they were the ones that he had heard a few nights ago as they traveled past his shelter. He was telling his story again to the group at the table when he heard the beautiful female voice.
“Zak, who’s your friend?” asked a young lady. She was about five feet six inches with a pleasant athletic yet budding full figure with soft curly brown hair and stunning brown eyes and natural full rosebud lips. She had a rather regal bearing, yet she could also be the life of a party. She had a very genuine smile that lit up her slightly tanned face. He noticed that she was wearing a very flattering cream-colored blouse and soft looking tan riding pants and rich brown riding boots.
“Trance, I would like you to meet our distinguished princess, Corena. Princess, I’d like you to meet Trance. I think this is Dr. Sonderson’s son that has been missing,” Zak said proudly, making the introduction.
“Hello princess,” said Trance shyly.
“Hi,” she said in return, smiling.
Space Knights: The Arrival Page 10
