The Knight twk-1

by Gene Wolfe

  Pouk cleared his throat. “I’d main like to watch, sir. With your permission?”

  I was soaking bread in the soup for Gylf; it gave me an excuse to think things over before I answered. Finally I said, “You’ve got work to do. Uns and I will be going out into the fields to look for the ogre. Maybe into the woods. You’d probably get lost trying to find us. I think you’d better stay here.”

  Duns said, “Be dark soon, Sar Able.”

  I told him I was pretty sure the ogre would not show himself by daylight, so we had plenty of time to sit and talk and blow our soup. “When it’s over,” I said, “Pouk and I can ride home by moonlight. There’ll be a good big moon tonight, and when we get there the sentries will let down the bridge for us.” I kept waiting for Uns to say something, but he never did.

  * * *

  I left the house with Gylf trotting beside me and Uns lagging behind us. Knowing nothing better, I followed the narrow path that had taken me between fields and into the wood, the path Duns and Uns must have used when they cut firewood. When we came to the first trees, we stopped. I remember that the moon was just clearing the eastern peaks then. When Uns caught up, I told him, “I didn’t come out here to hunt your ogre, and I know as well as you do that he’s not here. I came so you and I could have a private talk.”

  I waited for him to speak, but he did not.

  “I’m pressed for time. You know about that. It’ll save some if you tell me everything now. I don’t want to hurt you and I’ll take it as a favor.”

  He opened his mouth, hesitated, and shut it. After a moment he shook his head.

  “Whatever you want. After this, you’re to ask nothing from me. I gave you fair warning, so you get no favors.”

  Gylf growled low in his throat.

  “Before I came here,” I said, “a couple of friends of mine came to wait for me. They call themselves my slaves, but they’re really friends.”

  With his crippled back, it was hard for Uns to look up, but easy for him to look down. He took the easy way now, staring at his muddy feet.

  “Gylf couldn’t find a trace of your ogre in these woods. Gylf’s my hound. I think I told you. He has a fine nose.”

  Uns nodded.

  “But there really is an ogre. Your brother wrestled it and was laid up for a year. I don’t know if I believe in ghosts, but I sure don’t believe in ghosts that act exactly like they were alive. I got one of my friends to watch in your house while I was away. Do I have to tell you what she saw? This is your last chance, Uns.”

  Uns turned and ran. I nodded to Gylf, and he brought him down before he had gone ten yards.

  “She saw you go into the cellar and talk to the ogre,” I said while Gylf crouched over Uns snarling. “That’s where it hides, I guess. I suppose it steals food from your mother’s kitchen. You wanted me to sleep there. Was it so your ogre could kill me while I was asleep? Or was it to stop it from stealing for one night?”

  Uns said, “Git him off!”

  “In a minute. It’s a live ogre, it has to be, if it’s an ogre at all. Is it?”

  “I dunno. Guess sa.”

  That was the first time he had admitted anything, and I thought it would be better to pretend I had not noticed. I pulled my chin and asked what it said about that.

  “Don’t talk much.”

  “But it does talk?”

  “A lil. I learnt him.”

  I smiled, although I certainly did not feel like it. “I guess you caught him young. What’s his name?”

  “Org. Git him off or I won’t talk no more.”

  I told Gylf to let him go, and Gylf backed away, still growling.

  Uns waited a minute, not sure Gylf would not take off an arm if he got up. Finally he did. It was not easy for him, because his bad back made it hard to keep his weight over his feet.

  I said, “Maybe I sound like I know everything. I don’t. What’s important to me is that I don’t know if I could beat your ogre in a fair fight. You can’t tell me that, even if you think you could. Did you catch him young?”

  “Din’t ketch him a-tall,” Uns muttered. “Da ma was dead, layin’ inna woods wid arrows all over in her ‘n Org starvin’. I ought ta let him. I knew. On’y I’se a mop ta ‘n wanted him ‘n I tooked him hum.”

  “You hid him in your mother’s cellar?”

  “Yessar, dere’s a ol’ storeroom ma’s forgot, ‘n dat’s Org’s place.”

  “I see.”

  Uns craned his neck to look up, seeking understanding. “He stinks, he do, from sleepin’ in his shit, ‘n sumptimes I wants ta turn him out. On’y he’d git stock. Dat got his ma kilt. Sa I don’. On’y I want ta, ‘n I will, ta, ’un day.”

  I waited, pretty sure that he would keep talking if I gave him a chance to think about things.

  “Learnt him ta talk a li’l, sar. Tried ta teach him ta say ogre ’cause he is.

  On’y he says org. Sa Org’s wat I calls him, sar. He says yes ‘n no ‘n Uns. Li’l words like dat.”

  I nodded. “I suppose knowing you had him—a monster in the house that nobody knew about—made you feel like you were better than your brother. Maybe better than your mother, too.”

  “Made me good as dem, dat’s aw, sar. Ma ...”

  “Go on.”

  “She’s my ma, dat’s aw, ‘n sumptimes it’s like I’se still a mop. ‘N it’s her farm, ‘n she’ll give it ta Duns when she passes.”

  I nodded to myself.

  “Sa Org means I count ta.”

  “Can you get him from the cellar and bring him here without being seen?”

  Uns hesitated, gnawing his lip. “Ya goin’ ta kill him, Sar Able?”

  “I’m going to wrestle him, if he’ll wrestle me. Maybe he’ll kill me, breaking my back or my neck. If he does—”

  Gylf growled; you have heard the same noise, but you thought it was distant thunder.

  “You and Gylf and Pouk will have to sort things out. Or I may kill Org, the same way. We’ll see.”

  “Ya goin’ ta wresde him fair, sar?”

  “Yes. Without weapons, if that’s what you mean. Can you bring him? Don’t let anybody see you.”

  Uns bobbed his head. “Yessar. Outta da cellar door, sar. Dey won’t know.”

  “Then bring him. Bring him now, and I’ll do my best to see that no serious harm comes to him.”

  Gylf wanted to go with Uns, but I would not let him. When Uns had gone, I took off my boots and my sword belt and laid them aside, with Sword Breaker and my dagger still in their scabbards. After that, I took off my clothes. They were still pretty wet, but I found I was a lot colder without them than I had been with them on. I had put my sword belt on my boots to keep it off the wet ground, sticking Sword Breaker and my dagger into the boots. Now I piled my clothes on top of everything, trying not to get them any wetter than they were already.

  When I had stripped, I stretched the way they teach you to in gym, leaning right and left as I touched my toes. The swing of the sea was strong in me, and I called upon it as I loosened up my muscles. I was a big man, thanks to Disiri, a head taller than almost everybody, with big shoulders and arms thicker than most men’s legs. I knew I was going to need all that, and the sea-surge most of all. The big waves pound, and drain away. They are strong, not stiff, and they swallow everything you throw at them and throw it back at you harder.

  Gylf snarled, and from the sound of it I knew Org was coming. I took a good deep breath and let it trickle away.

  Then I folded my arms and waited. This would be the test, and I had no idea how it would come out.

  Chapter 41. Org

  H e bites, sar. I oughta tell you dot. ‘Nhe’s bigger now dan when Duns catched him.”

  I said okay, feeling a little sick. Standing in back of Uns in the clear moonlight, the ogre did not look much taller than he was, but its shoulders were huge. As well as I could tell its head was twice as big as his, but on those shoulders it looked too small. I could see the arms were so long they touche
d the ground, but I was too dumb to realize right away that it was walking on its knuckles.

  “Quick, ta, Sar Able.” Uns sounded proud. “You watch out, sar. Don’ dink he’s slaw jus’

  ’cause he’s sa big. He’s fas’, ‘n he’ll hit wid his hands fas’. Slap ut ya, only dey don’ feel like no slaps.”

  I said, “You sound as if you fought him too.”

  “Not like Duns done, sar. He beat me easy, on’y I made him see he had ta have me. Somebody ta take care a’ him. I dink he was goin’ ta eat me, dough.”

  “Well, he doesn’t have to have me.” I stepped a little closer. “He can eat me if he can.”

  Org’s left hand slashed faster than any sword I have ever seen. I tried to duck, but the edge of it got the back of my head. I was half stunned, but knew I had to get inside those long arms before I was knocked out. I went in hard, slamming my shoulder against his great bow belly. It was like hitting a boulder. I drove my fists into it, short jabs with the strength of big comers behind them, right and left, and right and left, again and again. His scales were ripping the skin off my knuckles, but I did not feel it until later. What happened next was that he picked me up and threw me. I ought to remember flying through the air, but I do not.

  * * *

  When I came to, I was lying on wet grass and feeling like I had swallowed soap. I knew I had gone to sleep when I ought to have been doing something else, something really important, but I could not think what it was. Pretty soon Bold Berthold would come and see I had not finished the job, and he would be too nice to say anything and I would feel like I ought to just kill myself and get it over.

  But maybe I could see what the job was if I could just sit up, and if I could I could start doing it and be hard at work when he came and that would be better. Then I heard a dog and I thought it was sheep or something, I had promised to watch sheep for somebody and fallen asleep. Except that it was dark, just moonlight all around and probably the sheep ought to be in a pen someplace and I had not penned them, and had gone to sleep before the sun went down.

  The dog sounded as big as a bear.

  Bold Berthold was most likely dead. Disira was dead too, and I had given little Ossar to the Bodachan when they gave me Gylf. I got up, dizzy and near to chucking. The grass was barley, high already but nowhere near ready for harvest.

  When I found Org, Gylf had him by the throat and Gylf was black and as big as a horse. He was shaking Org like a rat, and Org was trying to get loose while a two-headed snake of fire and brass struck at his face. I yelled at the snake until it quit and changed into Uri and Baki in a cloud of smoke.

  I made them help me get Gylf to let go. I do not think I have ever done any work rougher than that. Baki and I kept trying to pry his jaws apart, with him throwing us around when he shook Org and the sticks Uri found for us breaking. When we finally got him off Org fell down limp, and I knew just exactly how he felt. I told him I was sorry, that I had wanted for us to have a fair fight, and he had won it and I knew it. Maybe I should have offered him my armor and the horses, but I did not think of it then and he was not a knight anyway. I said that I would never claim to have won, and whenever anybody asked I would tell the truth.

  Gylf did not want to go back to dog size, but I made him, and I helped Org get up and promised Gylf would not go for him. “I’m ready to fight again if you want to,” I said. (I knew it was not true, but I thought Org probably felt worse than I did.) “If you need a few minutes to catch your breath, that’s okay. But we can’t take too long, because I’ve got to get back to Sheerwall Castle.”

  I have had some big surprises in my life, and that was one of the biggest. Org got down on the ground again and crawled over to my feet on his belly.

  Uri said, “He yields, Lord. That is his surrender.”

  I said, “Is that right, Org? Are you saying you give up?”

  He moaned, and put my foot on his head. It was colder than any rock.

  Baki said, “He wishes to join us, beautiful naked Lord.” Uri laughed at that, and I wanted to run off and hide in the barley.

  “These two Aelfmaidens call themselves my slaves,” I explained to Org. I had my hands over my privates, and I felt like the biggest fool in the world. “They think you want to be my slave too.” I stopped for a minute, still dizzy and wondering whether he understood any of it.

  Finally I said, “That’s what they want us to think they think, anyhow. Is that what you want?”

  He grunted twice.

  “There!” Baki sounded like she had won the lottery. “You see, Lord? It says uh-huh.”

  I got mad. “No, I don’t, and I don’t know what he said. I don’t believe you do either.”

  I found my sword belt and put it on; I was not sure I could crack that skull with Sword Breaker, but I was willing to try and I could not stop thinking about what the people back at Sheerwall would say if I killed the last ogre. With him lying on the ground the way he was, it was a terrific temptation; so I made him stand up.

  He did, sort of crouching.

  Uri ran her fingers up and down my back. “You have not accepted him, Lord. He fears that if he stands you will take it as a gage of battle.”

  I had my hand on Sword Breaker’s hilt. “If you’re my slave, Org, I can sell you. Do you understand that? I can, and I probably will. Is that what you want?”

  He shook his head. The motion was not really right, but close enough that I knew what he meant. I said, “What do you want, then? I can’t let you go back to Nukara’s house. I promised her I’d get rid of you if I could. If I let you go free—well, Uns was afraid you’d kill cattle and sheep, but I’m afraid you’d kill people.”

  “Wi’ you,” he muttered.

  I did not know what to say, so I got Baki to hold my sword belt while I pulled on my wet clothes again. When I had my cloak back on, I said, “You mean like Pouk? It’s going to be really hard for me to keep people from killing you.”

  Org dropped down again and crawled over to the new place where I was standing. “Wi’ you, Master.”

  “Okay, you can be my servant.” I said that before I really thought about it, and there were times afterward when I wished I had thought it over more. “Only listen here. If you’re going to serve me, you’ve got to promise you won’t kill anybody unless I say it’s all right. You mustn’t kill livestock either, unless I say you can.” I was not sure he understood livestock, so I said, “No horses or cattle or sheep or donkeys. No dogs and no cats. No fowls.”

  He looked up (I saw his eyes glow in the moonlight), and I think he was deciding whether I meant it. After a moment or two, he nodded.

  “You’ll get hungry, but your hunger isn’t going to get you off the hook if you disobey me. Understand?”

  Uri said, “I suppose you will want us to carry him off to Aelfrice and nursemaid him for you whenever he is in your way. Well, you can whistle for it.”

  “No shit?” I hitched my sword belt around so I could get at Sword Breaker quick if I wanted her. “I guess you’re not my slaves after all.”

  Baki tried to look humble. “We will do whatever you ask, Lord. We must. But I doubt that we could take him to Aelfrice with us. He is too big—”

  Uri nodded, putting a lot of energy into it.

  “Besides, he is too stupid. Once we had him there, we could not control him. We could not do it here even with Gylf helping.”

  I said okay.

  “You have not asked my advice,” Uri said, “but I will offer it just the same. I knew some of these creatures when they were common. They are stupid, lazy, and treacherous. But they are very good at hiding themselves and sneaking up on people, because they are of whatever color they wish to be. If you order this one to follow you without letting himself be seen, few would catch even a glimpse of him. I will not say no one would, because much would depend on where you went and how good the light was. Just the same, I think you might be surprised at how few did.”

  I shrugged, wishing I could ask Gylf�
��s advice. “All right, we’ll try it. But first, I want to take him back to the house and show him to Duns and Nukara, and find out what’s become of Uns. After that I’ll introduce him to Pouk, I suppose. Pouk will have to do most of the watching and feeding. I only hope Pouk doesn’t become ogre-food himself.”

  Uri smiled. “He did not eat Uns.”

  “No, but it might be better if he had. Go back to Aelfr—”

  “What is it?” Baki asked.

  “Go back, and tell Queen Disiri, if you should see her—if you can find her, I mean—how much I’d like to be with her. How much I love her, and how grateful I am for all the favor she’s shown me.”

  They said they would, and disappeared into the shadows.

  I turned to Gylf. “If you’re not an Aelfdog, and I have to admit you don’t act like one, exactly what are you?”

  Gylf only looked doleful, lying down and resting his muzzle between his paws.

  “Can’t you tell me? Come on, Gylf! Are you really one of the Valfather’s dogs? That was what they said.”

  He looked at Org significantly.

  “He counts. Is that what you’re saying? You won’t talk while he’s around?”

  Gylf nodded the way he had when I had first gotten him.

  “Another disadvantage. Well, maybe there are advantages to having you, too, Org, but I haven’t found out about them yet. I hope so.” I started back to the house, motioning for them to follow me, and they both did.

  Disiri was watching us then. I know that because of something that she gave me when we got here, not a drawing (although I thought it was a drawing at first) but a cutout of black paper glued to blue paper: a knight swaggering along with his hand on the hilt of a short sword; a monstrous thing behind him taller than he is, shambling on bowed legs with one scaly hand upon the knight’s shoulder; and a big dog that looks small because it is following the monster. I have put it where I see it every day. It has not made me wish to go back to Mythgarthr, but I know it will someday.