by 5kops
"Lord Vinion, I . . ." Areck stammered, struggling to keep his dignity. "I mean . . . this situation was caused by me. I was attempting to sleep-ride, to better fulfill my duties. I have no explanation other than I have been lacking sleep these past two nights."
Lord Vinion regarded the rest of the company then finally brought his dark eyes to meet Areck's. "There is no explanation," Lord Vinion said.
"Since you find this campaign so boring, I think it is fair to assume that you need more to do."
"I understand, my lord."
"I do not think you do, Squire. If you cannot control your mount, it is time you lost it. From here on out you will jog, setting pace for the entire company." Lord Vinion ignored Areck's attempt at some semblance of honor. "Furthermore, we are two nights' ride from Stormwind and if you cannot meditate on your shortcomings, I will make you walk the entire way!"
The thought of slowing the company horrified Areck. Lord Vinion's penalty was quite harsh given the circumstances, but even Lord Silvershield did not question it but merely called for the retrieval of Areck's mount.
As Areck dismounted, he pulled a water skin from his saddlebag and slung it around his neck. He would not be allowed to remove any armor so decided that rather than trying to keep a fast pace over a short distance, a more moderate pace would allow his company to travel longer into the coming dusk.
When Areck was finished preparing himself, he walked to the front of the column. "Squire, if you so much as mention stopping, by Starsgalt, I will strip you of rank and make you crawl, regardless of the time it takes!" Lord Vinion added, mounting his charger.
Areck lowered his eyes in shame as Lord Silvershield issued the command to move out. With a slight nod, Areck sprang away at an intermediate jog, paced by a cadence in his head. Writh dusk four hours away, Areck would be able to traverse several miles, at least until his stamina failed.
****
Although the storm was not far behind, the clouds above the company began to thin. Areck's thoughts turned from sheer embarrassment to worry about the rest of the day. His armor, a combination of chain and leather, weighed less than forty pounds but transferred the sun's heat to his body. The armor did equally well at keeping his own body heat from escaping.
Though Areck was accustomed to wearing his knighdy attire outside of batde, it was unnatural for traveling over long distances on foot. The heat of the day began to affect the young squire and sweat poured down his face, dripping off his nose and chin.
Lord Vinion was so determined to make an example of Areck that the knight did not allow the company to halt, even to rest the horses. He figured that if Lord Silvershield would not reprimand Areck for his disobedience then, as second-captain, it was his job to make sure Areck served out a series of suitable punishments. Unfortunately for the rest of the company, the ride would be carried out in utter silence, though their journey was extended by half a day.
Areck's peers had thoughts of their own, though none they could share aloud. Areck felt the weight of their angry and disgruntled stares.
They are wondering why a ninth-year squire who lost himself in the pleasures of the night has been allowed to retain his position within this campaign! Areck thought. Actually, it is more likely they are wondering why 1 am still a squire!
Areck had to admit, he did not understand why Lord Silvershield had allowed him to remain the senior squire, a junior officer.
The warmth of the waning evening soon snatched every last drop of Areck's energy. His vision blurred and the road became surreal. Areck was so distracted by the circumstances that he did not notice a divot in the road.
He fell forward, hurtling off the road into slick mud. He could only lay there, out of breath, prostrate in front of his company.
Lord Silvershield called for the men to halt while Lord Vinion rode to Areck's side.
"Get up," Lord Vinion said.
Areck's fall knocked the wind out of him. He tried to breathe, wanting to muster enough energy to push his body from the ground. Traveling by foot was one thing, but falling in mud after running for two hours in forty pounds of armor was something else. With shaking hands Areck tried to push himself up, but Lord Vinion maneuvered his horse to splash a puddle of water into the squire's face. Areck breathed in the muck and choked.
Areck's hand slid away and he landed on his chest with another thud, making his cough worse. He attempted to roll onto his back, forcing his shoulder underneath his body and swifdy jerking one leg over the other. His face and armor were barely recognizable beneath a thick layer of mud.
"I said stand up, Squire!" Lord Vinion said. "That means get your lazy carcass off the ground. Let's go, Areck, we have little time to waste!"
Areck continued to cough, attempting to sit up. Seeing that Areck was struggling with his breath, Lord Vinion led his horse in tight circles around the squire.
"If I must dismount, Squire, your penalty will get worse!"
The splashes from the horse kept Areck coughing as he placed one leg underneath himself, then the other, and finally stumbled upright, the weight of his upper body carefully balanced by an elbow on each knee. After a moment he stood straight though his breathing was still uncontrolled.
Areck glanced at his company: up at Lord Vinion, over to Lord Silver-shield, back at his fellow squires, then down at the ground. He knew Lord Vinion was ready to get the group back on track, his desire having nothing to do with wasting time and everything to do with making Areck suffer for his waywardness. A quick prayer to Starsgalt lent Areck strength to go on, allowing him to ignore his aching, exhausted body.
As Lord Vinion began to instruct the company to proceed, Areck stumbled past him and again prepared to lead the group. However, Lord Silver-shield stepped his horse forward, interrupting the knight mid-order.
"Give the boy a few moments, Galwen," Lord Silvershield boomed, and the knight stiffened with anger. "Whether you think his actions merit such punishment, you are not the commanding officer of this company! Now get back in line, you have done enough." Lord Silvershield paused. "Areck, we still have an hour before dusk. When you are ready, let's get going."
Lord Vinion turned red and looked furiously down at Areck. Compressing his mouth into an angry scowl, the knight grunted under his breath, shook his head, and moved back into position. Being overruled did not sit well with him.
****
As the sun began its final descent behind the Dragonspine Mountains, Lord Silvershield called for Areck to halt. A clearing to the north of the road, still wet from the previous night's rain, bore signs of a recent encampment; it seemed a favored spot among travelers.
"We will camp here tonight," Silvershield said. "Lord Vinion, please find us solid ground so the squires can set up our tents."
When the men had unpacked their gear for the evening, Areck took advantage of the clear skies by attending to his nighdy duty of digging. The ground was still slick, so it took him two hours to finish the task. The weather remained in his favor, and Areck gave deep sigh and looked towards Heaven, again giving thanks to Starsgalt. He found his punishment easier to appreciate when pouring rain wasn't turning everything into mud. He closed his eyes and breathed the evening air.
From across the clearing Lord Vinion glared at the squire. Areck knew that the knight thought his punishment was still insufficient in the eyes of God and that forcing the squire to lead the company down miles of un-paved road still wasn't enough.
Lord Vinion fixed his gaze on Areck and halted the first squire his outstretched arm contacted. He leaned close, whispering something into the young man's ear.
Areck felt the hair on the back of his neck raise. He pursed his lips and locked eyes with Lord Galwen Vinion. The knight released his squire upon seeing Areck's gaze and pushed the young man towards Arawnn. Shaking his head, Areck followed the squire's path, watching closely as Arawnn argued with the young man before obeying Lord Vinion's orders.
Arawnn hurried towards Areck.
When Arawnn saw Areck's "flight before fight" expression, the courier's frown turned into a forced smile. He chuckled when Areck grabbed his pick and started to dig ungracefully. He ERICFOGLE
would have to tell his unlucky friend not to look so obvious when he'd been caught eavesdropping. lie walked over to Areck.
"It seems that by order of the mighty Galwen Vinion, we are to gather wood for the campfires," Arawnn said scornfully.
Areck nodded, pulling himself out of the latrine. Lord Silvershield was nowhere in sight. Areck shifted his eyes towards the forest, indicating to Arawnn that he was ready to get started.
The trees were beautiful as the last rays of sun shone from behind them like a focused flame. The usually subtle auburn shades were bright and brilliant. The pair made their way through a lush outer ring of foliage, thick with thorns and unripe berries that protected the small clearing. A couple of feet past the underbrush, the forest opened up into a lush and healthy scene. The trees were spaced as if someone had planted them in meticulous rows.
Areck glanced about and saw plenty of twigs but nothing large enough to sustain a campfire. He wandered deeper into the forest, trying to find anything larger than brushwood. Looking back at the camp, he knew there were still other tasks to complete.
"We need to hurry, Arawnn. The company will be expecting a fire soon," Areck announced. "Plus, I still must complete the rest of my duties before sundown."
"Should we split up?" Arawnn asked.
"No, that will only take more time . . . especially if one of us gets lost," Areck replied. "Let's move deeper into the forest. It seems whoever else has made camp here has already picked the ground clean."
Arawnn nodded. "I noticed a deer trail to the east, shall we start there?" Arawnn pointed towards a group of trees on the edge of the campsite, illuminated in such a way that it distinguished a deer trail leading deeper in to the forest.
The pair made their way over to the trail. Areck hoped that no one had noticed the trail, allowing him to quickly find some larger, drier pieces of wood. He glanced back in the direction of the company, attempting to keep his bearings, although thick underbrush blocked his view. He would simply have to rely on Arawnn to find their way back to camp.
A shining object caught Areck's attention. Squinting, he decided to research the still-shimmering oddity.
"Hold, Arawnn, I see something over there," Areck called to his comrade, pointing to his right. When Arawnn stopped, Areck moved off the path and begin to search the forest floor and failed to notice a fast approaching branch.
Thwap!
A sharp sting shot through Areck's chest. He staggered backwards and fell to his knees. A sharp pain stung his kneecap and he jumped up, hopping around, trying to keep his balance. Doing his best to remain composed, Areck ran his hand upward from shin to thigh, trying to find source of the pain, and grasped a small metal object lodged in the joint of his armor.
Areck pulled a thick pin from his knee joint and inspected the object in his hand. It was a medallion in the form of a shield, with three golden stripes crisscrossing into a long braid which ended in a long thin spike used to pierce armor.
"Do you recognize this?" Areck asked, raising the medallion for Arawnn to see.
"Though I am not fluent in all noble insignias, I believe that is the crest of the Thewlis Family of Brenly," Arawnn said, indifferent to the fact that it had been found so deep in the woods. "May I see that?"
"Of course," Areck said, handing the metallic pin to his friend. "What do you suppose a coat-of-arms medallion is doing out in the middle of the forest?
Arawnn shrugged his shoulders and studied the item. "This does not belong to an important family," he announced. "You see how there are only two colors? That denotes the rank of a family—the more colorful the badge, the more powerful the family."
Areck was hardly paying attention. This item belonged to a noble from within his hometown of Brenly, how could he not recognize such a thing? He wondered why it would be out here. He knew no noble would be gathering firewood, nor would they be hunting so close to the road.
". . . probably means whoever this belonged to was out here hunting," Arawnn finished.
Areck pursed his lips in thought and thanked Arawnn for his information. He retrieved the coat-of-arms, opened a pouch, and pocketed the emblem. Still disoriented, Areck realized how stupid he had looked; raising his eyebrow at the offending branch, he readied to cut his own firewood.
As Areck readied to strike the blow, he noticed a dark shadow lying beneath a thick fern. His heart began to race and he recognized the figure as that of a man. Turning to Arawnn, Areck pointed to the body and slunk forward, holding a hand out for his comrade to stay put. Kneeling to check the man for any sign of life, Areck understood why the pendant had been so deep in the forest: The motionless form was a dead body.
Areck could only imagine what this man had been thinking when a knife was slid across his throat. The ground where the fallen noble lay was covered with the deep-brown stain of blood, his once-blond hair matted and dark.
Did he have a chance to fight hack? Areck closed his eyes for a moment and turned his face away. Did he yell for help?
Arawnn ignored Areck's gesture and approached the body, moving around his friend to get a better angle, he caught a glimpse of another body hanging in a tree. The fact that it was not more than five paces away sent him stumbling into Areck.
As Areck climbed out from underneath the courier, he saw the second corpse. He walked to where Arawnn pointed. Nausea swept over him and bile formed in the back of his throat. This corpse, another noble of Brenly, had suffered wounds far greater than his comrade. The noble's body was bent backwards over a large branch, skin peeled from the torso. Blood had dried in thick streaks down the man's extremities, pooling around a protruding root to which the body was nailed.
Areck had never seen anything like it before. From the look of his comrade, Arawnn had not either. As Areck tried to move away, Arawnn dry heaved uncontrollably.
Pale as lambs, the two men made their way back to their commander. Thorns tore at their faces as they struggled through the thick layer of brambles that surrounded the campsite. Areck paid little attention to the blood that streaked down his arms and legs as he exploded into the clearing shouting. His vision became red with blood as he crawled onto the trampled grass.
Wiping his eyes and forehead, Areck noticed that he was surrounded by several men with Arawnn prostrate at his side.
"Are you lads alright?" a familiar voice asked. "What happened?"
Lord Silvershield knelt next to Areck handed him a dry cloth. Another squire helped Arawnn to his feet, wiping blood from the courier's face.
"Here you are, lad, wipe the blood out of your eyes and tell me what happened," Lord Silvershield's voice was calm but alarmed. He had rarely seen Areck so distraught. Placing a hand on Areck's shoulder, Lord Silver-shield steadied his squire, giving the young man a moment to compose himself.
"Focus, Areck; we need to know what you saw out there," Lord Silver-shield said. When Areck was calm enough to talk, Bowon asked again, "Now, what did you see?"
"Nobles . . . dead," Areck gasped, "blood . . . everywhere." Areck sat back on his knees and reached into his pocket, pulling out the medallion. He held it out to his commander, long enough for Lord Silvershield to grasp the coat-of-arms. Areck's arm dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Tears formed in his eyes as he spoke. "We found two nobles of Brenly, my lord, both dead. One was . . . was . . . peeled like an onion and staked to a tree."
Lord Silvershield straightened and looked to the other men for confirmation that he had heard Areck's words correctly. A murder so far from the town of Brenly, especially involving their nobility, meant that the political fiasco was already beginning. It was paramount to discover what evidence he could.
"Areck, can you tell us where we can find the bodies? We will need to scout the area for anything that can lead us to the mu
rderers," Lord Silver-shield asked. When Areck pointed a trembling finger in the direction of the trampled vines, the knight-captain continued, "Get back to camp and get yourself clean, I will have food brought to your tent, where we can discuss this further."
Areck nodded and staggered off.
Lords Silvershield and Malketh and two squires followed Areck's directions to collect the bodies and wrapped them gingerly in capes. Two other squires were sent to collect wood for the fires, and Arawnn was taken to his tent by another.
Areck retreated to his tent while the others finished their duties. He felt a bit responsible for having caused such a commotion and waylaying the company's evening meal. As he sat down to collect his thoughts, exhaustion washed over him, causing Areck to rest his eyes.
Areck closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.
****
The next morning, Lord Silvershield made his way to Areck's tent with a bowl of breakfast: crushed wheat and bits of dried fruit from the Bre'Dmorian orchards. As he entered the room and saw Areck sleeping, the knight-captain lightly tapped the young man's exposed feet to awaken the slumbering squire. His first attempt was unsuccessful but his second knocked him backwards as Areck flailed and jerked his way to a sitting position. Chuckling, a calm but forced smile spread across the knight's face.
"Here you go, lad, eat this," Bowon said, offering the thick porridge to Areck. "You're doing all right after last night?"
Areck gulped the food and looked up. "It is not something I wish to remember, my lord," he said. "Were you able to deduce the culprit?"
"We found few clues, lad. That is why I am bothering you this dawn; I have several questions I need to ask."
"Of course, my lord," Areck said. "How can I be of assistance?"
For fifteen minutes Lord Silvershield questioned Areck about the circumstances behind finding the bodies. Areck retold his tale verbatim, recounting the branch, stumbling onto the pin, and finally discovering the corpses.
Lord Silvershield listened intendy to the tale. When Areck finished, the commander offered to take his bowl. "It is as I figured. This looks to be the work of scheming nobility who thought by dropping the bodies so far out, no one would stumble upon them." Bowon hesitated then patted Areck on the shoulder. As he left the tent he added, "Hurry up and get ready, squire. I have some instructions to impart to the company before we get underway."
