The Letter for the King

by Tonke Dragt

  “It is strange how little most people here know about the Kingdom of Unauwen,” he said, “even though that country borders on our own. Perhaps it is because the Great Mountains are so high and forbidding. I am a knight-errant and so have travelled a great deal. And yet I have been to the Kingdom of Unauwen only once, even though my ancestral castle is not far from that land.”

  “You are from the south,” said Tiuri.

  “Yes, as you can tell from my name. I come from Castle Ristridin, on the Grey River, close to the border.”

  “Castle Ristridin,” repeated Tiuri. “How is it that you are a knight-errant when you own a castle and estates?”

  “I chose instead to wander,” Ristridin replied. “And so I renounced my possessions. My brother, Arturin, is now lord of those lands in my stead. I have travelled the realm for many years, and I shall continue to travel, even though I am no longer a young man. That is what I am best suited for. But I was going to tell you how I met Sir Edwinem. Of course you have heard of the land of Eviellan. It lies to the south, on the other side of the Grey River. It is an inhospitable land, with wild forests and barren plains. There are many stone castles throughout the land, inhabited by lords who would constantly do battle with one another or go on raids across the border. We often had to fight them back.

  “Seven years ago, the younger son of King Unauwen went to Eviellan, conquered the country, and declared himself king. Since then he has ruled with an iron fist, putting an end to feuds and pillaging.

  “However, there has still been much fighting because of a rift between Eviellan and the Kingdom of Unauwen. Soldiers passed along our Third Great Road from both directions, Eviellan and Unauwen. They often came to blows, destroying our property and setting fire to our villages. And, of course, we inhabitants of the Kingdom of Dagonaut could not accept such behaviour. Knights rode out to make it clear to these disturbers of the peace that they must resolve their feuds on their own soil.

  “And that is how I and a handful of stalwart men came to be pursuing a troop of warriors from Eviellan along the Third Great Road into the Kingdom of Unauwen. There they fled into the Forest of Vorgóta. I went after them, but I lost their trail. For a long time, I wandered through that forest with my men, until we encountered an enemy troop, which attacked us. We defended ourselves as well as we could, but we knew we were lost, as we were few against many, and we were in unfamiliar territory.

  “But lo and behold, a knight came riding up, followed by many men on white horses. He was on a black horse himself and his chainmail was silvery white. The shield on his arm was also white. And he raised his flashing sword and let his battle cry ring throughout the forest. That is how Edwinem, the lord of Forèstèrra, came to our aid.”

  “And did he win?” asked Tiuri.

  “There is a reason why his nickname was the Invincible,” said Ristridin.

  “You said his armour was white,” said Tiuri. “So he did not wear a black suit of armour at that time?”

  “The knights of King Unauwen wear every colour, but they never wore black… until recently, when Sir Edwinem donned his black armour,” replied Ristridin. “The white shield is the sign of all of the knights of Unauwen. The heraldic colours of the kingdom are white and the many-coloured rainbow. Sir Edwinem had been sent by Unauwen to drive bands of wicked men from the Forest of Vorgóta. Those men came from Eviellan.”

  “Why is Eviellan the enemy of Unauwen?” asked Tiuri. “The King of Eviellan is the son of the King of Unauwen, is he not?”

  “That is a long story,” said Ristridin. “Perhaps Evan had better tell you that tale. The Kingdom of Unauwen is his homeland, as you know. Evan served as one of Edwinem’s companions before he became a knight.”

  “Was he Sir Edwinem’s squire?” asked Tiuri.

  “No. There are many young men who would have liked to be Edwinem’s squire but, strangely enough, the man who served him as squire was an old fellow, who was lean and weather-beaten.”

  Tiuri thought back to the stranger who had called him out of the chapel. The man must, of course, have been Sir Edwinem’s squire. And he asked, “What was his name?”

  “The squire? His name was Vokia,” answered Ristridin. Then he stood up and said it was time to move on.

  “It is strange to see you on that horse,” he said, when Tiuri had climbed up onto Ardanwen. “Edwinem never rode another. The horse is worthy of its name: Ardanwen means Night Wind in the old tongue of the Kingdom of Unauwen. I have seldom met a faster horse.”

  Soon they were back on the road. Ristridin and his squire led the way, while Tiuri rode beside one of the men from Mistrinaut. Sometimes they stopped at a village or a house to ask if anyone had seen the Red Riders. But they found no leads.

  “Not a single sighting,” said Bendu. “And that wretched rain we had yesterday has wiped out any traces.”

  Ristridin looked at the opposite bank of the river. “They may have ridden along the other side of the river,” he commented.

  “That is true,” said Bendu. “We will cross as soon as possible and see if we can discover anything over there.”

  Later that afternoon, they came to a ford. Ristridin and Bendu crossed the river, while the rest of the company waited for them. They returned after half an hour. They had found no traces, but a shepherd had told them that he had seen riders go by two nights ago, heading westwards. However, he had not been able to see if they were dressed in red.

  “He says it was no more than a dozen,” said Bendu. “There’s a forest nearby, where they could be hiding.”

  They continued their journey. When they slowed for a while to rest the horses, Ristridin came to ride with Tiuri again and told him the tale of how he and Sir Edwinem had secured the Forest of Vorgóta and routed the bands of wicked men. For a long time, they shared dangers, joys and sorrows, and they became great friends.

  “We were both sorry when the day came for us to say farewell,” said Ristridin, “but I had to go back to my own land, because King Dagonaut was awaiting my return. Edwinem gave me a silver horn as a parting gift, the horn I always carry with me. That was four years ago now.”

  “Did you see him again?” asked Tiuri.

  “Yes, I did,” said Ristridin.

  “And what about Sir Bendu,” asked Tiuri. “Was he also a friend of Edwinem’s?”

  “Did I hear my name?” said Sir Bendu. He caught up with Ristridin and Tiuri and rode between them. “Of course I was his friend,” he said. “What have you been telling him, Ristridin?” He turned to Tiuri and added, “I could tell you a thing or two as well, if you tell me a few things in exchange.”

  “What do you want to know?” asked Tiuri.

  “A great deal! I know nothing about you.”

  “I have told you all I can,” said Tiuri.

  “Well, that was precious little!” said Bendu. “You do not happen to know the name of the Knight with the Red Shield, do you?”

  “I am sorry, Sir Bendu,” Tiuri replied. “I really have no idea.”

  Bendu grunted something into his beard. Then he turned to Ristridin. “We’ll be coming to a village soon,” he said, “but I would suggest we do not spend the night there. We would do better to keep on riding as long as it is still light, and then sleep in the open air.”

  “That is not necessary,” said Ristridin. “I know an inn not too far from here with the illustrious name of the Setting Sun. I am certain we can reach it before dark.”

  “Fine, let us make that our aim for today,” said Bendu. “We can ask again in the village about the Red Riders and then ride on at a gallop.”

  He urged on his horse and rode ahead; he seemed keen to resume his questioning.

  Tiuri watched him go and thought to himself: I believe, even now, Sir Bendu still does not trust me.

  2 THE INN OF THE SETTING SUN

  The sun was just above the mountains to the west when they reached the inn. The four Grey Knights lowered their visors before going inside.

 
“We wish to remain anonymous,” said Bendu to Tiuri. “Our identity does not matter. We are simply avengers, servants of justice.”

  The innkeeper was most impressed by his fine guests. When Ristridin asked if the company could dine privately, he said there were no other guests at the inn, so they were welcome to use the main room. It was small and poorly furnished, but it had one special attraction: all of the windows, with their small leaded panes, faced westwards, and they gleamed with a beautiful, rich light as the setting sun illuminated them. That was how the inn had earned its name.

  Bendu asked the innkeeper about the Red Riders, but he had seen no sign of them. “But,” he said, “perhaps my manservant can tell you something. He always knows what’s going on.” He raised his voice and called, “Leor!”

  A door opened at the back of the room and a gaunt-looking man entered. When he saw the Grey Knights, he seemed taken aback. The innkeeper beckoned him over and he shuffled closer and stood before the knights, his head bowed. But his eyes were wandering around and he took a good look at every member of the party. Tiuri noticed his piercing gaze and thought to himself, I have never met a man who looked quite so unpleasant and deceitful. He wondered if the others were thinking the same.

  “Leor,” said the innkeeper, “these knights would like to know if you’ve seen some riders dressed in red pass through. Wait a second… Now that I’m thinking about it… Didn’t you mention something about horsemen earlier?”

  “Horsemen?” said the man slowly. “Horsemen? No, not I! I’ve not seen any riders, not a red one, nor a black one. I saw a few fellows riding along in grey and blue, but that was these gentlemen here.” He grinned at the company and then looked down at the floor again. Perhaps he was afraid that he had said too much. But Tiuri could see that his eyes were still spying at them.

  “Are you certain you have seen no other riders?” asked Ristridin.

  “No,” mumbled the man. “I mean yes. Yes, I’m certain.”

  “Look at me,” Ristridin commanded, “and answer me truthfully. Have you seen any men on horseback around here, riders in red, perhaps at night?”

  The manservant stared at him, with a mixture of fear and defiance on his face.

  “No,” he said, “I’ve not seen them. And if they’d been here, I’d know about it.”

  “Fine,” said Ristridin. “You may go. And would you ensure that our horses are fed?”

  “He will,” said the innkeeper. “Go on, Leor, off you go.” Then he turned to his guests and asked what they would like to eat.

  “We do not mind,” said Bendu, “as long as it is cooked well and there is enough for all of us. And we do not wish to be disturbed while we are eating.”

  The innkeeper gave them a bow and left the room. Tiuri went with one of the men from Mistrinaut to make sure that the horses were being taken care of. The manservant Leor was already getting down to work. He seemed more at ease in the stable than he had been inside the inn.

  “Such fine horses,” he said. “I’m sure they can gallop for a while without tiring. You’ve come from Castle Mistrinaut, haven’t you?”

  “We have indeed,” said the man from Mistrinaut.

  “When did you set off?”

  “This morning.”

  “Then you’ve ridden quickly. Riders in grey and blue. Those men in grey, the knights, who are they?”

  “No idea,” said Tiuri and the man-at-arms at the same time.

  “We’re just servants,” added Tiuri. It had been agreed that he would pass himself off as one of Mistrinaut’s men.

  “Oh yes, I know all about that,” said Leor, emptying a sack of oats into one of the troughs. “The fine gentlemen don’t tell us much, do they? They think their affairs are beyond our understanding.” He turned his attention to the horses. “This black beast is the finest of the lot,” he said, “and yet it’s not ridden by one of the knights, is it?” He looked at Tiuri, but did not ask him a direct question.

  The horse Ardanwen stamped his hoof on the ground and shook his mane.

  “He’s a wild one,” said Leor and then he looked at Tiuri again, with a sly grin on his face.

  The more Tiuri saw of the man, the less he liked him. He was glad to leave the stable.

  Back inside the inn, the candles had been lit and the innkeeper had laid the table. He and Leor soon brought in the food. Ristridin thanked him and said he would call if they needed anything else. Then he and the other knights made themselves comfortable, removing their helmets and gorgets and unbuckling their weapons.

  Bendu slid the bolt on the door and said, “There. Now we are alone.”

  As they were eating, Tiuri said, “Perhaps I am being overly suspicious, but I do not trust that Leor.”

  “You don’t? Well, neither do I,” said Bendu. “But we shall keep an eye on him. We will find the Red Riders in any case, whether he wishes to tell us the truth or not.”

  Sir Ristridin looked thoughtfully at Tiuri. “Would everyone please remember,” he said, “that Tiuri is supposed to be passing as a man from Castle Mistrinaut?” He did not explain why he was reminding them, but Tiuri understood very well. The Red Riders would surely want to know where he was; Tiuri himself was the only member of the company who knew exactly why. With a shock, he realized that the Grey Knights might not even need to go in search of the Red Riders. If I stay with them, they’ll come to us, he thought. They’ll try to take the letter from me. As long as the knights were with him, he was relatively safe, even if his enemies did find out who he was. They would probably know soon enough; he was disguised as a man-at-arms, but he was once again riding the horse that had belonged to Sir Edwinem, the Black Knight with the White Shield.

  He did not speak his thoughts aloud; there was no point. Instead, he turned to Evan.

  “Sir Evan,” he said, “would you tell me why the King of Eviellan is the enemy of King Unauwen?”

  “That is a long story,” Evan replied. “But I would be happy to tell you.”

  “Just as long as you remember that we should not be too late to bed,” said Bendu. “We shall be up with the sun tomorrow.”

  “Where can a man find better rest than sitting with his companions, drinking wine and listening to stories?” said Ristridin. And he ordered his squire to go in search of the innkeeper and ask for more bottles of wine.

  After they had finished their meal, they filled their glasses again, pushed back their chairs and sat comfortably to listen with Tiuri to the tale that Evan told.

  *

  “The land I come from,” spoke Evan, “is said to be the most beautiful in the world. Our king, Unauwen, has ruled for many, many years, and he is wise and just. For century after century, peace has reigned in our land. Only in recent years have we come to know war and discord. But that discord was born in the heart of the kingdom itself.

  “King Unauwen has two sons. As is customary, the elder son is the crown prince and since his eighteenth year he has served as vice-regent and governor of the realm. But the two princes were born on the same day, and the younger son was never content with his position. He found it unfair that his brother, who was only minutes older, was the heir to the throne. You need to know that the two princes are each other’s double in terms of appearance and intellect. This made the difference in their position even more unacceptable to the younger son. And yet their characters are very different, and that became more and more obvious as they grew older. The crown prince is like his father; he cares deeply about the welfare of the kingdom and of his future subjects. His brother, however, is domineering, and longs for power.

  “The contrast between the two brothers grew with the years. The younger brother began to hate the elder brother, and so a rift developed between the two. King Unauwen tried in many different ways to reconcile the two brothers and to help his younger son accept his place. But he was unrelenting on one point: he would never split his kingdom in two. It had to remain intact as a single whole, under the rule of the rightful heir.

&n
bsp; “The king did, however, appoint his younger son the governor of the Province of the Rushing Rivers in the south of the realm. At first it seemed to be a good move, but the prince became increasingly headstrong, sometimes even acting directly against his father’s will. Finally he did something King Unauwen would never have done: he headed south and invaded the land of Eviellan. He conquered the country and made it a province of the Kingdom of Unauwen. The king, however, revoked this move, ordering his son to withdraw from Eviellan immediately. The prince responded by declaring himself King of Eviellan, and said that now he was a ruler and his father’s equal he no longer owed him allegiance!

  “This pained the king greatly and he removed his son from the position of governor. But the foolhardy prince refused to accept his dismissal. Sadly, many people in the Province of the Rushing Rivers were devoted to him and supported his rebellion. The crown prince took an army to reclaim the province, and there was a battle. Brother fought against brother! Unauwen, represented by his elder son, was the victor. But since then, something has gone from our kingdom; peace and friendship no longer rule throughout the land.

  “The younger prince, the King of Eviellan, sent bands of wild warriors to his father’s land to cause turmoil. And although war was not officially declared, there was constant fighting on the border and in the south of our land.”

  “One of those bands of men,” said Ristridin, “had hidden in the Forest of Vorgóta. King Unauwen sent Sir Edwinem to drive them out.”

  “I was there too,” said Sir Evan, “as part of Edwinem’s company. I was not yet a knight myself. Ristridin will have told you that we succeeded in routing that wicked crew. But still the evil had not been banished from our land. The crown prince tried a few times to make peace, but he did not succeed. It is said that he still loves his brother. The King of Eviellan, however, refused all such approaches and so, with heavy hearts, the knights of Unauwen took up their white shields, buckled on their swords and prepared themselves for more fighting.