by V F Sharp
Layton held up the sword again. “See you on the other side, brother!” he yelled to the skies, sword in the air. He lowered the sword back down and touched the edge with his finger as he observed it intensely. “But not until I’ve used this to avenge your death.”
Pallu looked at Layton’s determined face, which was illuminated by the morning sun. Layton’s spirit must’ve been catching, because even Pallu felt a little of the knight’s courage enter his body. As he looked around at the others, it may have been his imagination, but they, too, seemed to be standing just a little bit taller. It appeared they were all ready to battle against this mysterious, rising evil.
* * * *
It hadn’t taken long for Pallu to pack up the rest of his belongings, or so he thought. Still, the others were on their rabbits and waiting for him when he finished loading everything onto Thump’s saddlebag for the journey.
As soon as he was ready, they headed off on the long trail that led back to Old Vynterra. They traveled north for a while, first through the tree-lined valley and then down a narrow, rocky path that led to a spacious expanse of green hills Pallu had remembered from the way up. The majestic mountain ranges could once again be seen in the distance on both sides, leading him to wonder what deep mysteries may lie hidden in them.
After a break, Sir Layton led them west, bypassing the Cottages, and, more importantly, the forest. All the while, Pallu kept looking out for Diamondwolves—or any other unexpected creatures, for that matter. As the trip went on and they finally made their way onto the north road to Old Vynterra, he became less and less concerned—though his mind kept returning to the others who were headed to Rhyceton. He wondered how they were faring.
Before long, the Western Gates of Old Vynterra were at last within their sights. As he squinted to see the ancient kingdom that somehow felt like home, Pallu noticed something peculiar. Hundreds—perhaps thousands—of knights were surrounding the entire kingdom, holding their bows. The army of knights extended out along the path leading toward the entrance to the gates.
He quickly rode up to Sir Layton.
“Is that normal?” he asked.
Layton shook his head. “They’re on high alert. I’ve never seen it like that.”
“It’s a little intimidating,” said Zander. “They’re not going to mistake us and shoot their arrows at us, are they?”
“I hope not,” said Layton.
“You hope not!?” said Zander. “That doesn’t make me feel any safer.”
They continued over a steep hill and then through the tree-lined tunnel formed by the upper branches on both sides. As the road curved, the path ahead was also filled with knights, bows in hand.
Pallu felt his stomach tighten with the thought of hundreds of arrows coming their way.
Just as Pallu and the group approached, the knights made a path for the arriving party. Slowly, the enormous iron gates opened and a decorated knight stepped forward from inside.
“Eliezer is on his way,” he said to Sir Layton. “He has been notified of your return.”
Sir Layton led the group further in and just as they got near the Black Castle, an old wooden carriage arrived. Two knights exited the carriage and helped Eliezer step out.
“We were expecting more of you,” said Eliezer as he approached the group. “Have you any news of the prince?”
“We believe he and the others are in Rhyceton,” said Layton as he dismounted, a servant rushing to grab the horse’s reins. “But their path is a dangerous one, as was ours. My brother is dead.”
“Oh, Sir Layton, I am so terribly sorry,” said Eliezer. A look of deep pain lingered on his face. “Was his life taken by the wolves?”
“It was,” said Layton.
“I have always respected and admired your brother,” said Eliezer. “I’ll light a candle for him this evening. It was Sir Ulric who told us of the dreadful attack on your camp.”
“He’s alive?”
“Yes, yes. A bit worse for wear, but he’ll recover. As you can see, we’ve engaged the entire Vynterran Guard to protect the kingdom.”
“A wise move.”
“Tell me, Sir Layton. Is it true that these may be the Diamondwolves of old, as Sir Ulric and his companions have reported?”
“I can assure you it is, Archminister. But my brother’s sword shall put an end to whoever is behind this barbarism once and for all.” He raised the sword’s black leather hilt slightly from its scabbard to show Eliezer.
“A worthy and justifiable quest,” said Eliezer. “But I fear this is a far different enemy than we’ve faced before. The wolves are just the beginning.” He nodded for the carriage to leave and waved for the group to join him on the path that would take them to Valorian’s Castle. “Come,” he said. “We have much to discuss.”
Pallu and the others dismounted their rabbits and handed their reins to a waiting stable keeper. They followed Eliezer and the two knights on the path toward the prince’s castle. It wasn’t long before villagers gathered around them, shouting questions from both sides.
“Where is the prince?” said a bearded man on their right.
“Is everyone else dead?!” shouted an old lady.
“Why isn’t the prince with you?” said a man standing next to her.
Within seconds, the guards rushed in and pushed all the villagers back.
“The prince is in Rhyceton!” shouted Sir Layton. “Now, please, go back to your homes.”
During their walk along the path and through the Western Village, Layton relayed the story of their misadventures to Eliezer. Pallu and the others followed closely behind. Most of the villagers were now respectfully keeping their distance, except for a small group of young children who were following behind them, giggling.
“With all due respect, Archminister,” said Layton, “I think we need to send a party to Rhyceton to escort the prince home. He’ll need all the help he can get if he’s to make it back safely.”
“First and foremost,” said Eliezer, “we are duty bound to guard our kingdom against great threat, as written in the archives and signed by the prince himself. He is a man who looks out for his people before his own well-being. The threats from our neighboring forest are not ones to be ignored, but therein lies our dilemma. If we send a small party, they’ll fare no better against the Diamondwolves than you did.”
“Then let’s send a large party,” said Layton. “There will still be more than enough men to guard the kingdom. Fifty men are all I ask for. I’ll lead them myself.”
“Make that fifty-one,” said Pallu, loud enough for Layton and Eliezer to hear. “I want to go, too.”
Zander elbowed him. “Are you crazy?” he whispered.
“We’ll have fifty other knights around us,” Pallu whispered back. “They’ll keep us safe.”
“I think this is just your leftover guilt speaking,” whispered Zander to Pallu. “You know, for not going to Rhyceton.”
Layton turned his head and smiled. “I admire your spirit, my friend, but I meant fifty trained men.”
They descended the hill that marked the end of the Western Village, and the group of children following behind them ran off after shouting and waving goodbye.
“The thought of sending our precious knights into harm’s way against an unknown enemy gives me pause,” said Eliezer. “There is no historic precedent that favors a clear decision. But your point is noted, Sir Layton. The prince is indeed in need of our help.”
Eliezer paused in thought as they proceeded through the Road of Sorrow. After they were about halfway through, he stopped and looked at Layton. “I’ll grant you your fifty men, but I have one stipulation,” he said.
“Of course. What is it?”
Eliezer rested his hand on Layton’s shoulder. “You must wait till morning.”
“Morning!? But time is of the essence.”
“Oh yes, time is of the essence,” said Eliezer, agreeing. “But so is the safety of our men. I won’t have all of you wanderi
ng in the dark at the mercy of those beasts.”
“We’ll have enough to fight them.”
“I admire your spirit, my friend,” said Eliezer, echoing Layton’s own words to Pallu, “but you must be careful that the anger from your brother’s death is not clouding the wiser decision. The prince may already be in Rhyceton, perfectly safe within the kingdom’s walls and under the protection of his father’s knights. I cannot risk a slaughter of fifty men. You’ll leave in the morning. As regent in the prince’s absence, that is my decision.”
Layton averted his eyes, clearly unhappy, but conceded to Eliezer’s authority. “As you wish, Archminister,” he said.
The two men resumed walking while Pallu and the others followed quietly.
“One other thing,” said Eliezer as they approached the Eastern Village. “There are different paths to Rhyceton. One is lesser-known and far more rugged, but it will save you time, which I know is of great concern to all of us. Perhaps a bit more relevant, you will not find any trees along that path.”
“Fewer shadows,” said Layton. “I’ll take it.”
“Good. If you will be so gracious as to join me this evening at dinner, I will have a map prepared; drawn and ready.”
Layton smiled. “Excellent. I’ll gather the knights immediately and tell them the plan.”
With that, Layton departed the group as Pallu, Jezreel, Ithron, and Zander followed Eliezer to the castle.
* * * *
After a comfortable night’s sleep in the castle, Pallu was up bright and early. On one hand, he was excited to see Sir Layton and the fifty knights ride off to Rhyceton, even though it looked like a stormy day. But on the other, he was worried to death about how Ezstasia and the others were doing. He wanted to be a part of their rescue, but he knew there was no way he could go without getting in the way. Still, as he walked down the palace corridor, he couldn’t help but dream. He turned around and headed into the armory, attempting to be quiet so as not to attract anyone’s attention.
He picked up a large sword that had a white dragon’s head on the pommel and branches with leaves carved into the black wooden handle. He realized that it was much heavier than it looked as he carefully waved it around. He tried on an armor breastplate, but he couldn’t fit the straps around his large waist. Frustrated, he hung it back on the wall. Next to it, he noticed a collection of dark gray masked helmets. They were all lined up on a mahogany shelf, each with different designs. He selected one of them and put it over his head, lowering the mask with a squeaky thud. It restricted his peripheral vision to the point where he could only see straight ahead. How could knights even fight like this?
Just as he turned to fetch the sword, he bumped into something to his right. He panicked and moved backward, hitting an even larger object. Within seconds, a deafening crash made him nearly jump out of his skin. His stomach in knots, Pallu turned to see what kind of damage he had done. He lifted the metal eye cover and gasped when he saw that he had knocked over an entire suit of armor that had been on display. The pieces were scattered across the entire floor. He quickly went to pull the helmet off his head, but it was stuck.
Before he could even think, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hall. Just then, Zander came skidding into the doorway.
“Zander, I’m so glad it’s you!”
“Pallu?” said Zander. “What in Izhar’s ghost are you doing? I heard a—”
Zander stopped mid-sentence when he saw the suit of armor sprawled out on the floor. “Oh!”
“Never mind that,” said Pallu. “Help me get this helmet off my head.”
“Are you serious!?” said Zander. “Is it really stuck? Or is it your brain that’s stuck?” he added, laughing at his own cheesy joke.
“Hurry up and help me!” said Pallu. “Stop fooling around.”
“Uh… with the looks of this room and your stuck head, I’d say you were the one fooling around.”
Zander grabbed the helmet with both hands and tried to help Pallu get it off, but it was hurting too much.
“It’s not budging!” said Zander.
“Maybe go get some butter,” said Pallu.
“You’re thinking of food at this moment?”
“Yes, it will help it slide off.”
They heard a loud horn blaring from one of the open, arched windows.
“What’s that?” said Pallu.
“It came from outside. I think the knights are leaving.”
Before he could respond, Zander was off and running toward a large window in an alcove opposite the armory. Pallu followed him. He was still wearing the clunky helmet and trying to pull it off his head as he ran; the metal mask clinking with each step.
Pallu couldn’t believe how beautiful the view was, even though storm clouds threatened in the distance and a thick fog was setting in—not to mention he also had to turn his head in all directions to see anything through the helmet. Beyond the gardens, throngs of people crowded around as the double row of fifty knights on horseback followed Sir Layton. The rider next to him was carrying a gold and blue flag with the symbol of a tree stitched into it. As Layton rode to the front gates and stopped, the knights on the outside perimeter parted to clear a path.
“Hey, what’s that?” said Zander.
“What’s what?” said Pallu, lifting the metal face cover again on his helmet.
“Way out there in the distance.”
Pallu turned his head toward where Zander was pointing just as the helmet’s face cover dropped shut again. Frustrated, he tried to pull the helmet off his head again, but to no avail. Zander pointed him in the right direction. Through the eye slits, he could see what looked like thousands of figures coming toward the castle on the winding road in the distance.
“Is that an army?” he said, trying to make out what they looked like in the fog.
“I can’t tell,” said Zander.
They continued to watch as the horde came closer.
“Are those even people?” said Zander.
Pallu stared intently through the helmet’s opening. It was difficult to see them through the dense mist, staggering as they marched forward. The line seemed to go on forever. Further past the horde, in the distant sky, came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.
“Could this get any creepier?” said Zander.
“Zander, I don’t know what that is,” said Pallu. “There are thousands upon thousands of them. Do you think the knights even know they’re approaching?”
Zander held his head against the large window and looked down.
“It doesn’t look like they do,” he said. “People aren’t even looking in that direction.”
“We have to go warn them,” said Pallu. “Now!”
Just as they were about to run out of the alcove, Miss Tee entered.
“What was that loud ruckus I hea… oh dear,” she said, noticing Pallu’s helmet.
“We have to go warn the knights,” said Pallu. “There’s something coming.”
“Something?” said Miss Tee, alarmed. “Well, you should take that helmet off or you won’t see a thing.”
“Um… about that,” he said. “I can’t.”
She reached over and flipped a lever on the right side of his helmet, loosening the helmet’s front and back halves as she removed them both from his head.
“I’ll return this to its rightful spot,” she said.
“Thanks, Miss Tee. Oh, and somebody also knocked over a suit of armor.”
“Something is coming,” she said, still dwelling on that. “And somebody knocked over the armor? You’re a bit of an ambiguous fellow, aren’t you?”
“Please tell Eliezer about the something that’s coming!” he yelled as he ran past her and into the hall with Zander.
As soon as they got outside in the threatening skies, Pallu and Zander were forced to pummel through hundreds of villagers.
“Pallu!” yelled Jezreel. She was standing in the crowd with Ithron just where he and Zander were
passing.
“There’s an army or something, coming,” said Pallu. “We’re headed to warn Sir Layton.”
Jezreel’s eyes widened as she tugged at Ithron’s arm.
“Ithron, we need to get inside the castle,” she said, frantically pulling him. “I don’t want to be out here.”
As Jezreel dragged a confused Ithron back toward the castle, Pallu raced forward though the crowd, Zander at his side. Finally, they had the knights in their sight.
“They haven’t left yet,” said Pallu, half out of breath.
He approached the two rows of knights, running between the horses, just as they started moving forward.
“Wait!” he yelled. “Don’t go yet!”
Sir Layton stopped his horse and turned it around.
“Pallu?” said Layton, looking slightly annoyed. “I thought I told you we can only use trained knights.”
“No, it… isn’t… that,” said Pallu, trying to catch his breath. “There’s something coming toward us. We saw it from the castle.”
“What is it?”
“That’s the thing,” said Zander. “We aren’t sure. But there are thousands of them.”
“What are you talking about?” said Layton. “Thousands of them?”
“I’m telling you,” said Zander. “It was at least fifty times the men you have.”
“I saw it, too,” said Pallu, stepping outside the castle’s open gates. “Coming from that direction.” He pointed northeast.
Layton addressed his men. “Knights, advance behind me!”
Pallu and Zander walked between the horses as the knights slowly pushed forward past the gates.
“Shouldn’t we be leaving this to them?” said Zander, looking worried.
“Definitely,” said Pallu. “I don’t want to be anywhere near whatever’s coming.”
“So, let’s get out of here,” said Zander.
“Wait, I just want to see if anyone needs our help,” said Pallu.
“You confuse me. One minute you’re a chicken and the next you want to be a knight.”
“What’s wrong with that?” said Pallu.