by Chuck Black
“Once again they were deceived by those who did not abide within the truth of the Code and were carried off into captivity by Lord Kergon and the Kessons. But our great and mighty King did not abandon them, and He brought them out of the land of the Kessons and back to the Chessington Valley to prepare the way of the Chosen One. Today the words of Sir Leinad that foretold of the King’s promise have quickly been forgotten. We have once again fallen under the deception of those who do not understand the true meaning of the Code, for they have both betrayed the King … and murdered His Son!”
Severin pointed his sword toward the Noble Knights, and Gavin felt as though his heart had been pierced by the words of this peasant. The fury of the Noble Knights was unstoppable, and they rushed upon the man with swords drawn. Gavin stood back and felt vindicated as he watched a dozen swords pierce the man at once. But there was no anguish on the young man’s face, just a disturbing peaceful countenance.
“The King reigns … and His Son!” he whispered, before falling from the table to the ground dead.
The disorder that followed was more than Gavin or any of the knights could stop. To avoid further incident, they retreated to their mounts and left the square. Gavin feared that the influence of the imposter would soon overwhelm them if they did not act fast.
Such skill and boldness from a peasant! Gavin thought. And the city is full of peasants. How far will this treachery reach? He set his course for the home of Lord Kifus.
A KNIGHT’S CRUSADE
“They may be peasants, but they do not fight as such,” Gavin said after telling Kifus about the incident in the square. “They even call themselves Knights of the Prince.”
Kifus appeared concerned and angry. “They are not knights. They are followers of a fool! They will no doubt be more wary of us since we have raised our swords against them, but now they also have a martyr to rally them. We must waste no time in crushing them!”
Gavin leaned forward in his chair. The zeal he felt to rid the city of these traitors was powerful. Their opposition to the Noble Knights, the King, and the Code appalled him, and each action he took toward eliminating the Followers confirmed this conviction in his mind.
“Issue an edict against these Followers, and grant me the authority to search out and eliminate them by whatever means necessary,” Gavin said.
Kifus seemed taken with Gavin’s aggressive attitude. “So be it! Do not stop until there is no place in all of Chessington for the traitors to hide.”
Gavin leaned back in his chair and watched Kifus write a short declaration granting him new powers. Kifus put his seal on the paper and handed it to Gavin.
“Sir Jayden will assist you,” Kifus said and dismissed him.
Gavin decided that his raid on the shop near the river would not be a simple warning, for he knew that would be a waste of time. The prison cells of the palace had ample room for the rogue Followers. He selected twenty knights, and Jayden enlisted Bremrick, which did not please Gavin. Bremrick was difficult to control, but considering the recent developments, Gavin decided it was not such a bad choice after all.
At dusk they assembled in the great hall before mounting and riding toward the south bridge. Gavin halted them shy of the bridge, where they secured their steeds before traveling the remaining distance on foot. The sun was now set, and they were able to move through the city streets less noticeably. The smell from burning stoves mixed with the cool air of the approaching night. Gavin heard the ripple of the river’s water beneath the bridge.
“There is a large barn behind the shop,” Gavin said in a hushed tone. “That is where they gather. Six of you will make your way to the rear of the barn, and the rest of us will enter the front. We will converge together.”
Gavin looked into the faces of his men. They were all brave, experienced knights who had committed their lives to defending Chessington. Since their first encounter with the stranger many months ago, they had remained patient and endured humiliation that Noble Knights of the past had never dealt with. Gavin saw the wound of this humiliation in their eyes.
“Tonight we reclaim our honor as Noble Knights,” Gavin said. “I want to take them as prisoners, but if they resist, kill them. Our time of mercy is over!”
He led them across the bridge, where six knights separated and maneuvered down an alley to the rear of the barn. Gavin felt the tension in his muscles. He was not used to sneaking up on an enemy. He preferred a straight assault, but that was not an option considering the situation they were facing. He could hear the voices of men and the clashing of swords in training behind the large doors of the barn. It only heightened his apprehension.
Once he had given the six knights time to position themselves, Gavin quietly drew his sword and gripped the handle firmly. The others followed suit and poised themselves for the attack.
Gavin motioned for two knights to open the large doors before them. The doors creaked as they parted, and the sound of clashing swords and accompanying voices hushed to silence. The yellow light from the barn spilled out into the yard and reflected off the gleaming armor of the Noble Knights. Six knights entered through the rear. Gavin quickly counted ten armed Followers standing in the barn and another six standing off to the side with swords still in their scabbards. He had expected many more. A moment of inaction escalated the existing tension.
“You are in violation of Lord Kifus’s edict. Drop your swords!” Gavin commanded.
The six men on the side drew their swords, the catalyst that initiated an explosion of sword fighting. Bremrick was the first to attack from the rear, and within a moment the barn and the outer yard were filled with flashing swords, each one bearing the mark of the King.
Gavin brought his sword to bear on what looked like the leader. He did not underestimate the skill of his opponent, and with good reason. Though clearly inexperienced, his opponent’s moves were masterful. A slice swished close to Gavin’s chest, and he countered with a moulinet that brought his sword through a powerful full-circle attack upon the man. To Gavin’s surprise, the man was able to recover from his slice and meet the sword with the flat of his blade. Gavin stepped back and glanced at the other fights. The calm of the city night had been broken by the clash of swords and the grunts of desperate men. He saw one of his knights inflict a deadly thrust on his opponent, and the man fell to the straw floor of the barn. The Noble Knights were overwhelming the Followers, and the man facing Gavin lowered his sword as he too saw the inevitable.
“We yield!” he shouted for all to hear.
Slowly the fighting diminished. Gavin saw Bremrick’s opponent lower his weapon, but Bremrick plunged his sword into the man’s chest anyway. As the man fell, Gavin saw much more than disdain on Bremrick’s face; he saw hatred. Even in battle, Gavin had never seen Bremrick’s countenance so contorted with loathing.
Gavin looked directly at Bremrick. “Cease and desist!” he shouted to stop any more needless killing. The Followers lowered their swords, and the knights disarmed them all.
Gavin and his men escorted the Followers and their wounded back to the palace, where they were thrown into cells with common criminals. Jayden assigned extra guards to watch the cells. After meeting with Kifus and relaying the account of the attack, Gavin called for two guards to take the man he had fought into a cell reserved for questioning prisoners.
Gavin entered the cell and looked at the man. His hands were bound behind him, and they had placed him on a wooden stool. There was a large red mark on the man’s cheek that hadn’t been there earlier.
“What is your name?” Gavin asked.
The man’s head was lowered, and his gaze was on the stone floor. “I am William.”
“I am sure you have a family … maybe a wife and children? You look to be an intelligent man, William. Denounce your foolishness and your belief in this dead imposter, and I will set you free this very hour,” Gavin said. “Lay down your sword, and you can return home to your family. Life will be as it once was.”
The man looked up at Gavin. There was a gleam in his eye despite his obvious mistreatment. “The freedom you offer is not freedom at all. Try as you may, you cannot silence the voice of truth. The words of the Prince set men free from the bondage you and the Noble Knights bring.”
Gavin was surprised and curious. “How have the Noble Knights brought bondage to the people?”
The man looked into Gavin’s eyes as if to discern the sincerity of the question. “True nobility does not come from a man’s family name; it is born in his heart. You have created an elite order to keep the Code, yet you isolate the people from it. You train with the sword yet deny the common man the same. The people are kept in poverty so that you may rule over them. This is bondage. You are fearful to lose your power over the people when the real enemy prepares to overtake us. Our only threat to you is the loss of your prestige, and here I sit in fetters to prove it.”
“The Noble Knights are the King’s guardians of Chessington and His people,” Gavin replied. “The people are ignorant of the Code and of the responsibilities of such a duty. Without the Noble Knights they would perish in a day. You were born a peasant, and a peasant you shall die. No teaching of a dead fanatic will ever change that!”
William raised his head. “You are wrong on two counts, sir,” he said confidently. “First, truly I was born a peasant, but the Prince has made a knight of me. Second, you do not fight against the teaching of a dead man; you fight against the power of the Prince, who is alive and will return for all of those who choose His path!”
Gavin could not stifle the laugh that echoed throughout the cell. “One thing I am wrong about,” he said shaking his head. “You are not as intelligent as I took you to be. You are simply another lunatic with delusions of knighthood. Guards! Take this idiot back to his cell!”
The guards lifted him from the stool, and as they walked past Gavin toward the cell door, William looked at Gavin with friendship. “The ways of the Prince are for everyone, even for one such as you.”
Gavin grabbed the man’s arm. “Why were there only sixteen of you in the barn tonight?”
“We have dispersed, sir. Your murder of Sir Severin was heard of by all … including the Prince.”
“Away with him!” Gavin said in disgust. It is pointless to talk with a crazy man, he thought.
After that night, Gavin set his mind to eliminating the Followers as quickly and forcefully as possible. He immersed himself in the task, but as the days and weeks passed, he discovered that this challenge was much greater than he had anticipated. He was fighting an elusive enemy who never attacked the Noble Knights in retaliation. With every haven of Followers he routed out, two more would take its place. Eventually the prison cells were full, and the knights had to release some of their captives. Simple management of the prisoners had become an overwhelming task for Kifus and his men. It seemed as though no matter what action Gavin took, the influence and number of the imposter’s Followers continued to grow.
Kifus came to rely heavily on Gavin during these dark days. Within a short time, Gavin’s skill with the sword and his keen ability to lead the men provided him with the opportunity to rise in position until he was second only to Kifus. Gavin was not arrogant about his position, as other knights often were. In fact, at times he questioned the sincerity of many fellow knights’ loyalty to the King and Code. Having been frustrated by the hypocrisy he frequently saw brought a certain measure of disdain for their behavior.
Regardless of how his subordinate knights felt, his heart was set to use all means available to eradicate the kingdom of the blasphemous teachings of this new order of knights begun by the stranger. He did not deny their expertise with the sword, for many a Noble Knight had been defeated by the blade of such traitors, and this was quite a mystery to Gavin. What he did deny was their right to any part of the kingdom under the name of this stranger. He would subdue and kill them all if necessary.
“What action are you taking now, Sir Gavin?” Kifus asked before the assembly of Noble Knights. They had gathered once again in the great hall. Their meetings had become focused entirely on the process of eliminating the Followers. The once important affairs of knighthood had been overshadowed by the eminent threat before them.
Gavin sensed the frustration in Kifus’s tone. He stood and addressed the knights. “I have learned that some of the Followers have established training havens outside of Chessington.”
“And why is this a threat?” one of the knights asked. “Let the Outdwellers and the rest of the kingdom deal with their foolish lies. It is no concern of ours.”
Gavin shook his head. “It is of great concern to us, for the Followers’ focus is still the people of Chessington. If we do not eliminate these new training havens, they will feed those within the city with supplies, people, and weapons,” Gavin said. “Lord Kifus, it is paramount that we attack immediately. Grant me men to search out and eliminate these havens. Sir Jayden can continue the work here in the city in my absence.”
“Very well, Sir Gavin, you have your men,” Kifus said. “A word of warning—remember that your duty is to the citizens of Chessington and no one else. The Outdwellers are not the King’s people and therefore no concern of ours. Keep your focus on eliminating this threat to Chessington and to the King’s Code. Do not waste your time or resources on anything else. Is that clear?”
“I understand. We will leave in the morning.”
As the meeting adjourned, Gavin selected fifteen of the best knights. He visited the garden before retiring to his home. Under the branches of a sprawling shade tree, he sat upon a stone bench and thought about his actions in the past month. He was a different man today. The “messy” work Kifus had assigned to Jayden and Bremrick during the capture of the stranger had now become second nature to Gavin. Somewhere deep in his heart, he regretted having taken up this crusade, for he was becoming what he had once detested.
Is the peace of my heart the price I must pay to restore the order of the Noble Knights and the Code to their rightful place in Chessington? Gavin suddenly realized that his question might reveal a contradiction he had never considered before. Why should a peaceful heart be the price of restoring the Code? He quickly repressed the doubt that was inevitable if he followed such a line of thought. He shook his head as if to clear his mind, then pressed toward home.
DESPERATE
The village of Cartelbrook was Gavin’s first target. He had received information that the haven there was the first and largest of the outlying sites the Followers were operating from. He knew of two others, but Cartelbrook was the closest. It was also said that the blacksmith there was one of the Followers, and shutting down the supply of swords from his shop was a primary focus for this mission.
The morning light was late to come, for the gray clouds above were thick, which prevented the warmth of the sun from welcoming the day. As Gavin and his knights rode, the dark clouds began to spit droplets of rain. By late morning, he halted his men just prior to a rise in the terrain leading into the village.
Triumph once again seemed agitated and difficult to control. Gavin yanked hard on the reins and the steed settled, but he felt the animal’s resistance continually. For years Triumph had been a faithful horse. In battle Gavin had come to rely heavily on the steed, for the horse seemed to know exactly what Gavin required of him in each encounter. In recent months, however, there was no unity or coordination in their actions, and Gavin had begun to consider doing away with Triumph.
“There is no sneaking about today, men,” Gavin said, drawing his sword. The sound of fifteen other swords sliding from their scabbards joined his own. “For King and Code!”
“For King and Code!” they echoed.
Gavin and his knights stormed into the village on thundering steeds. The horses’ hooves pounded into the wet earthen streets and sprayed a wake of mud in their path. He tried to ignore the terror on the children’s faces as the people frantically gathered their young ones to safety. For a moment he felt like they
were the marauders he had fought against in years past that had terrorized the citizens of Chessington. He discarded these disturbing thoughts as they descended on the blacksmith’s shop and took its owner captive.
Two knights brought him into the street before Gavin.
“Are you a Follower of the imposter of Chessington?” Gavin asked brusquely.
The man was held in the grip of two knights.
“I am a Follower of the Prince,” the slender man said. Dark streaks of sweat and rain mixed with soot ran down his cheeks.
“Are you supplying the Followers with swords?” Gavin asked.
The man was silent. One of the knights restraining him hit the man with the back side of his gauntlet, and the man recoiled and winced. Just then, another knight emerged from the shop with a dozen swords bearing the mark of the King. Even though Gavin had expected this, he couldn’t control the anger that rose within him. Those swords symbolized the months of turmoil Chessington was now enduring.
“Where are the other Followers?”
The man looked up at Gavin but remained silent.
Gavin’s anger deepened. “Destroy the forge and the tools; then burn the shop,” he commanded. “Search the other shops and homes. These people are not loyal to Chessington or to the Code. To hide a Follower would be foolish for them. Find them and bring them to me!”