The Knight twk-1

by Gene Wolfe

  I was not feeling any too sure myself, and while I was talking to him I said, “I wish you’d paw the ground a little like Blackmane.” Talking to a horse like that, a horse that did not understand me or care what I said, made me think of Gylf and how much I missed him. He had never come back to the Western Trader, and nobody seemed to know where he was. I would have liked to go back to Aelfrice to look for him and Disiri, but I did not know how to get there.

  There was a boy with a trumpet pretty close to the place where we would hit. He blew on it, my horse trotted for a minute, then cantered, and Master Thope’s lance hit my shield hard and drove it back into me. I remember turning over in the air and hitting the ground really hard.

  I also remember lying there hurting, and all the other knights yelling, “Try again!”

  So I jumped up, even though I did not feel like jumping, and I found my lance and picked it up, and caught my horse, and got back in the saddle.

  That was when Master Agr came to talk to me. Up until then, I had not known that he had come down to watch. Quiet, so the others would not hear, he said, “You don’t have to go again. You’re no knight.”

  I had been spitting blood because I had hurt my lip, but I grinned at him anyway. (I am still proud of it.) I said, “I am a knight, just one who’s not real good with a lance. I want to.”

  Master Thope did not have on a helm or helmet any more than I did, but he must have heard us. He made a motion like pushing up a visor and sort of smiled.

  We did it again, and it went exactly like the first one. I had thought that I would at least hit his shield with my lance, but I did not. That really bothered me, and when I got up, I was yelling at myself inside. Only I tried not to let it show, and thanked Master Agr for helping me up.

  “I would do the same for anyone.” He had one of those hard, cold faces, and it did not look any different when he said, “It’s good training, I know. But I’m sorry I got you into this.”

  I said, “Well, I’ve got to learn.”

  That was when one of the other knights called, “You’re no knight, boy!”

  I looked at him for a minute. Then I said, “I am a knight, but you aren’t.” It sort of shut him up.

  I had been watching Master Thope when he rode at me, so that third time I bent down in the saddle the way he did, and I concentrated on hitting his shield with my lance. Before I had been worrying about his lance hitting me. Now I put that clear out of my mind. I had to hit that shield. It was the only thing that counted.

  I did, too. I hit it and my lance broke. And his lance hit my shield the way it had before, and knocked me right out of my saddle like I was a doll or something, and down I went. Hard. Only this time it was one of the knights who had been laughing that helped me up, and when I was on my feet again he hit me in the mouth.

  Up until then I had not been able to feel the sea in me. It rose all at once, as fast as the fastest storm, breaking bones like spars and tossing men around like the timbers from wrecks. That first one I hit may have been the one whose jaw I broke. I do not know. I think I hit him more on the side of the neck, but wherever it was it knocked him kicking and the whole bunch jumped on me. Fights usually do not take as long as it takes to tell about them, but it seemed like they always had four or five new men.

  Chapter 33. Drink! Drink!

  I thought I was in the cable locker. Not that I had been put back in there, really, but that I had never left it. It was dark and I hurt bad, and I was not really thinking at all.

  After a while it got through to me that I was in a bed instead of lying on rope, but for a while I thought the bed was in a hospital. The moonlight came through the window, and I saw it was a window shaped like the point of a sword, and it seemed like I was not in the cable locker or the hospital at all, but I did not know where I was, or care.

  A long time after that I tried to get out of bed. I was going to look out and see whatever there was to see, I think. But I fell down.

  * * *

  Then I was back in the bed, and it seemed like the room was full of sunshine. It was really a pretty dark room, like all of them were, but the sun was coming in right through the window and it seemed bright to me. There was a little table next to the bed and a goblet on it, and I remembered the one I found on the Isle of Glas. It had been poisoned once, and I was afraid to drink out of this one.

  After a while I could smell the ale, but it was a long time yet before I sat up and drank it. It was not cold or even cool, but I liked it, and there was a trencher there, too (it means a wooden plate), with bread and meat and cheese. I could not even think about eating, but I drank the rest of the ale and lay back down and went to sleep.

  When I woke up I felt like I had been sleeping a long time, but I did not know how long. It was pretty dark again. By-and-by a woman in an apron came in and talked. I could not understand her, or even pay attention. She got to taking bandages off me and putting new ones on, and she said, “I’ve got food for you too, sir, if you want it. Think you might eat a little now?”

  I said there was some there already. Really I whispered it. I had not meant to whisper, but I did.

  “That? Oh, that’s all dried up now, sir. I’ll give it to the dogs. I brought you some fresh, some nice hot broth.”

  She wanted to sit me up, but I would not let her. I got myself up instead, and it hurt. I took the spoon away from her too, but I let her hold the bowl while I ate.

  “Well, you’re doing wonderful, sir. Poor Sir Hermad’s like to die, they say, with every rib broke. An’ Sir Lud’s puking blood.” She tittered. “He’ll die, too, some says. They’re taking wagers in the kitchen, sir.”

  “Sir Able’s my name. If you really care about me, call me Sir Able.”

  She stood up fast and bent her knee the way women do here. “Yes, Sir Able. I didn’t mean no harm, Sir Able.”

  Just hearing the words made me feel better. I said, “Of course you didn’t. Sit down again. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Modguda, Sir Able.”

  “Am I still in Duke Marder’s castle, Modguda?”

  “Yes, sir. In Sheerwall, Sir Able. ‘Cept you’re in Master Agr’s tower of it. Master Agr’s the only one has a whole tower of it, ‘cept Her Grace. She’s got one, too, the Duchess’s Tower is what we call it, Sir Able. ‘Cept that’s not where you are, you can’t even see it from your window. This’s the Marshal’s Tower we’re in, ’cause Master Agr had his men take you ’cause they’d beat you with the lance you broke is how I heard it. So this’s where you are.”

  I nodded and found out that my head did not want me to do that. “If we’re in Master Agr’s tower, he must be your boss.”

  She did not understand, and I had to explain. Then she said, “That’s right, Sir Able ... sir.”

  I smiled, and that did not hurt at all. “Hey, out with it. What are you scared to say?”

  “Well, you’re a knight, sir.”

  “Right,” I told her.

  “And you knights don’t much care for my master, sir, ’cause you’ve to do what he says, ‘cept he’s not one of you, like. Or not a baron or something neither, Sir Able. ‘Cept the duke, he’s behind him. He’s the duke’s man, sir, so you knights got to.”

  “You’re dead wrong about that,” I told her. “I’m not down on Master Agr. Not a bit.”

  “Well anyhow, that’s what I was getting myself set to say, sir. You shouldn’t be, ’cause they had knocked you flat and their swords was out ready to kill you. ‘Cept Sir Woddet didn’t want to, sir. And Squire Yond—he’s Sir Woddet’s squire, sir—Squire Yond, he throwed himself right down over you, sir, and that’s when my master’s guards come that he’d called when him and Master Thope couldn’t stop the fight and they stabbed Master Thope, sir. That’s when his guards come. And then—”

  “Wait a minute. Did you say Master Thope got stabbed? By Master Agr’s guards?”

  “Oh, no, Sir Able!” She looked shocked. “Master Agr wouldn’t never tell them to do that,
sir. It was one of the knights, maybe, or one of those squires. Then some varlets come to fight too, so it could of been one of them. Anyway Master Agr and Master Thope were trying to get between you and the knights sort of like what Squire Yond did. That’s when Master Thope got stabbed, Sir Able, trying to help you like Master Agr. The guards finally got you out, sir.”

  My head was whirling. “Is Master Thope dead?”

  “No, sir. Only he’s hurt bad, Sir Able. That’s what they say.”

  “I ought to go see him, Modguda, since he got hurt trying to help me.”

  “Yes, sir. Only you’re not going to do much walking for a while, Sir Able.” She got up and bent her knee as before. “He’ll be pleasured to see your face, sir, I’m sure, and I’ll show you where when you’re ready, sir.”

  I was thinking, and one thing I was thinking about was what she had said, that it might be a while before I was up and around. “Can you take a message into town?”

  “I’ll try, sir, or send a boy.”

  “Good. I’ve got a servant named Pouk. We were staying at an inn in Forcetti. It had a bottle and seashell on the sign. Do you know where that is?”

  “Yes, sir, Sir Able. That’s the Dollop and Scallop, sir.”

  “Thanks. Tell Pouk I’ve been hurt, please, and where I am.”

  “Yes, sir. Is that all, Sir Able? They’ll be wondering where I’ve got to.”

  I waved my hand, and she hurried out.

  After that I ate some bread and a bite of cheese, not sure whether eating was a big mistake or not. I drank all the ale and lay down to sleep again, pretty dizzy.

  * * *

  In my dream Garsecg and I were in the throne room in the Tower of Glas. There was a big blue dragon on the throne, and it hissed at us and opened its mouth just like Setr had down in Muspel, and Garsecg’s face was in the dragon’s mouth. So I looked over at Garsecg to see if he had seen it too, and it was not Garsecg at all. It was Bold Berthold.

  * * *

  I woke up feeling cold, and this time I was able to get to the window. There was no way to close it, it was just a hole in the wall, really. Bats were flying around outside, bigger ones than we have at home. They were after bugs, the way bats do, diving and zooming and all that, and yelling and yelping so high you could only just hear it. Way up toward the moon I thought I saw Khimairas, just for a minute.

  On the other side of my bed was a little fireplace, only there was no wood and I did not have any way to start a fire anyhow. I decided I would have to ask Modguda about that, or get Pouk to get me something when he came. After that I got back into bed and hunkered down under the blankets, hoping I would not have any more dreams like that last one.

  * * *

  “Lord? Lord?”

  This time I was back on the Isle. I looked around and saw a lot of trees and flowers and birds.

  “Lord?”

  There were no spiny oranges, though. I wanted to find one and let it thank me for planting it, but I knew it could not hear me, and there were not any anyway What there was, was big red snakes. They were wrapping themselves around my legs, but that was good because my legs were cold and they felt hot.

  * * *

  “Bite me, Lord. Bite me and kiss the bite, and your kiss will make you strong again.”

  That woke me up fast. The room was as dark as it could be. There was a really skinny woman in bed with me, sort of tangled up with me and holding on to a part of me that other people were not even supposed to see. Her hands were holding my head, too, and pushing my mouth against her neck. “Drink! Drink!”

  “Drink! Drink!” The other hand sort of squeezed and slid around. That was when I caught on that there were two of them.

  I really did not mean to bite her. That is the truth, and I will swear to it any time. Only something way down deep inside me took over and I did.

  It was like I was starving hungry and here was a roast about one minute out of the oven. What I got in my mouth was steaming hot and sizzling. Greasy and dirty and hot as hell. It tasted wonderful.

  “Enough.” One was pulling and one pushing to get my mouth away. Pretty soon they did it, and I just lay there panting and thinking how good it had tasted.

  When I got my breath, I hit the blankets with my hand and said, “Stop that, you!” What she had been doing felt wonderful, but it felt too wonderful, if you know what I mean.

  Under my blankets where I had hit her there was somebody a lot warmer than I was. She said, “I am Uri, Lord. I meant no harm.”

  It was dark in there like I said, so that when the other one stuck her head up beside mine and kissed my cheek I could not even see her face. She said, “You have drunk of Baki, Lord.” And like she had just won the game “Who can take you from me now?”

  “Drink of me, too!” Uri came up then, squirming in between us. “I have found you at last!”

  I said, “Ash Aelf in the dark. Bold Berthold talked about this sometimes.”

  “Fire Aelf!” One laughed. “Did he tell you how lovely we are? Or how lovely you are? Your skin has taken on all sorts of beautiful colors.”

  “Those are bruises,” I said. “If there’s some way you can see them down there in the dark, isn’t there some way I can see you?”

  They glowed then. It was like they were copper or maybe brass, with a fire inside. They were not hot enough to burn me, but they were plenty hot. Uri jumped out of bed and sort of posed. “Look at me! Am I not beautiful?”

  “He prefers me,” Baki told her. Baki still had me wrapped up.

  I guess I did, because I went to touch her face and she licked the tips of my fingers.

  “I have sacrificed myself to you,” she explained when she was through licking, “to make you stronger, and my lord forever. Sit up and you’ll see.”

  “I will too,” Uri told me. “Bite me. Anywhere!”

  I sat up and found out Baki was right. I also found out I was sweating and the room was freezing. Or anyway it felt like it was freezing. It was still spring, and pretty early spring, too, and the nights were cold. So I asked them to bring some firewood and tinder, and when they said they would I said to bring my clothes, and Sword Breaker, and my bow and quiver too. After I told them what Sword Breaker was, they promised to look.

  For just a minute it seemed like the room was full of bats. Then the door opened. I saw a little red light out there, and the door closed again pretty hard, and I got up out of bed and wrapped a blanket around me. I did not feel good, but I did not feel that bad, either, except that I sort of felt like I had gone crazy. I opened the door, and the red light that I had seen had come from what they call a cresset. I did not know the word then, but it means an iron basket you can burn whatever you have in for light. There was one next to my door, and I found out later that they were all over the castle. I was glad to see it, because it meant I could light my wood there if I got any. So I went looking and found a room that had a woodbox next to the fireplace. I picked up the whole thing and carried it back to my room, and by the time Uri and Baki got back I had a nice fire going.

  Chapter 34 Being A Knight

  W hen I woke up next morning, Uri and Baki had gone. That was generally the way it was any time that they were with me, so I might as well explain it now, and later I will not say much about it. They did not like our sun. Sunlight hurt them, and if they stood in it you could hardly see them. So they went back to Aelfrice, mostly, when it got light, unless it was a dark day with lots of clouds. If they had to stay, they stood in the shadows or tried to. I did not understand that then, and thought I might have dreamed them.

  I was going to get out of bed to see if Sword Breaker and my bow were really under it, when there was a knock at the door. I said, “Come in!”

  He was bigger than I am, really huge, and blond, with a thick mustache that was not a lot darker than his hair. I liked him right away, because I could see he wanted to be friends but he was not too sure how to go about it. (I am like that pretty often myself.) He said, “I didn’
t wake you, I hope.”

  I was not sure whether he had or not, because he might have knocked before, but I said no. Looking at how bright my room was and sort of smelling the air, I decided it was the middle of the morning.

  “I’m Sir Woddet of East Hall.” He held out his hand.

  I sat up and took it. “Sir Able.”

  “I’m not supposed to be here.” He looked around and found a little stool. “All right if I sit?”

  I said sure.

  “No visitors by order of His Hungryhunks, but that’s because he’s afraid somebody will kill you.” Woddet shoved out his lower lip and pulled his mustache, something I saw a lot of afterward. “Someone might, too. Not me, someone else.”

  About then I woke up enough to remember what Modguda had said. “You saved me.”

  “I tried to. So did some others.”

  “Your squire threw himself on top of me so they wouldn’t hit me. That’s what somebody said. I don’t remember it.”

  “You were down by that time.” Woddet pulled at his mustache some more. “That’s the trouble with a fight like that. No gentle right. Not that they’d have accorded it to you, I’m afraid.”

  I did not know what he was talking about, but I said, “I guess not.”

  “I was fighting you, too. You got me right here.” He pointed. “Knocked the wind out. By the time I could stand straight again, they were going for you with swords. I shouted stop, and that’s when Yond threw himself on you.”

  I said, “I owe you. I owe my life.”

  “No, you don’t.” He shook his head. He was really big, and all that tow-colored hair made his head look about a size eleven. “Master Thope and Master Agr were trying to protect you, too. Some wretch put his blade into Thope’s back for striving to preserve the honor of His Grace’s household.”

  “Yeah, I heard about that. I’m going to pay him a visit today.”