Knight Rising

by Jason Hamilton

Watching carefully as he pulled a coin out of his pocket to hand to the old woman, Una quickly walked to the man and put a hand on his back, patting him in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

  “I’m sure your family loves you very much.”

  “Wha’you know,” he said, turning to face her and squinting his eyes like they were having trouble putting her into focus. “Me wife tellsss me she don’t want no more see...uh, me.”

  The barkeep was right, he was really out of it. That would only make her job easier.

  She gave him another pat on the back. “Your wife married you for a reason. You just need to remind her what that was. Pretend like you’re courting her again. Be bold. Be kind!”

  Una didn’t really know what this man’s wife would want to see in her husband. Honestly, it didn’t matter. Regardless, she typically had a knack for convincing people to do what she wanted, even if her advice was a bit off.

  “Yessright,” said the man, raising his eyebrows as if realizing this for the first time. “I’ve gotta woo her.”

  “Yes, you go right on and woo her,” said Una, continuing to pat him on the back.

  “Urr...good girl,” he said and rose to his feet, swayed slightly, before attempting to stagger out the door. Una helped to keep him from falling, letting her hand slide down to the pouch at his hip.

  When he had gone, she turned back to the barkeep. The woman had a disapproving expression on her face, her arms folded.

  “Don’t think I didn’t see that,” she said, staring down her nose at Una. “I don’t tolerate such behavior.”

  Una brandished a single gold coin in front of her. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll leave it with you when I go. I just need it for something.”

  “And what might that be?”

  Una directed her gaze to the dice game still happening in the corner. “I just needed to buy my way in.”

  Ignoring the old woman’s protests about how gambling was not for little girls, and that she could lose her buy-in, Una strode over to the table. As she approached, several of the gruff men looked at her with narrowed eyes. Una immediately put on another persona, this one with a curious, but timid face.

  She spent the first few minutes just watching, pretending to be confused by the rules. She wasn’t of course. They were clearly playing a variant on Passage, except in this case each man had their own set of three dice and a mug to hide them from the other players.

  “Can I play?” she asked after enough time had passed and the latest round had ended.

  A few of the men chuckled, and some eyed her up and down in a way that Una didn’t like. The winner of the last round was gathering his coins and smiling at her. “You know how to play?”

  “I think so,” she said, keeping her voice uncertain. “You add up the sum of the dice, and whoever has the highest wins?”

  “Two of the dice have to be the same,” clarified the man. “Only pairs matter, you don’t count the others. If those two add up to less than ten, or you don’t have two of a kind, and someone calls your bluff, then you’re out of the round. If they add up to exactly ten, you stay. You only win if your two pair are more than ten, or no one calls your bluff.”

  “And if you get three of a kind,” asked Una, though she already knew.

  “It’s more powerful than just two of that kind. Three sixes will beat a roll of two.”

  “I think I’ve got it,” said Una, letting a hint of excitement enter her voice. The men continued to smile and leer at her. She had them right where she wanted them.

  Taking a space on the bench that the others made for her, she put her gold coin down on the table. A few eyes widened at seeing such a high-value coin, but they wisely said nothing. They probably didn’t want to tell her that she had a good chance of losing that money in the first round.

  But Una knew better. Games of chance were a gamble, yes, but if you played to the odds, you would eventually always win. And besides, she had always enjoyed a healthy measure of luck with such games, even before leaving her home, back when her father had taught her everything he knew about them.

  She pressed her lips together, reveling in the memory of her father. She would make him proud today.

  The first round began. She shook the dice in her mug, then slapped it down on the table, gently lifting the mug just enough for her to see what was inside.

  Two of her three dice showed fives. Good. Her money was safe for this round. “I’m staying in,” she said, temporarily forgetting to use her more hesitant voice. The others observed her carefully, to see if she was bluffing or not. But no one called her out, probably because they didn’t think a girl like her would be a good enough liar.

  When the time came to reveal their results, Una took the cup off her dice and a few eyes widened around the circle. She’d gotten the second highest roll possible, which left her in the game, though without a share of the profits. A few of the others had been called out as liars, and when they revealed their hands, there was a chorus of laughter and groans. Some of the men had been lying, revealing hands with sets that totaled less than ten, or with no sets whatsoever. However, those who hadn’t lied laughed and pointed fingers at their accusers, who were now excused from the game unless they had three of a kind.

  Una stayed quiet for this round. She needed to give the impression that she was just trying to figure out how the game worked.

  The second round began, with only five players this time. They shook their dice and placed the cups face-down on the table. Una checked her lot. Three sixes! That was the highest possible throw in the game. With this, she could accuse anyone of lying and be perfectly safe, and she would win the round.

  “I’m in,” she said, making sure to put on a slight face of indecision as she did so, appearing uncertain as to whether she should proceed or not.

  The man across from her with an impressive black beard and eyes that seemed to disappear into their sockets, considered her for some time. “I’m calling your bluff.”

  Una stopped the corners of her mouth from rising. Instead she bit her lip, as if worried about what would happen. The man grinned, revealing a mouth full of crooked, stained teeth. Seriously, men were so gullible. If she wasn’t a small, beautiful girl in her late teens, none of them would be looking at her like that. None of them would be eyeing her up and down for one, but neither would they trust that they had their luck made for them.

  Una took the mug off her dice, revealing the three sixes. The man’s grin immediately disappeared as he realized that she had the highest possible combination.

  “Is that good?” she asked, hunching her shoulders as she looked at each of their expressions.

  “Uh, yeah, it’s good,” said the man across from her.

  “Doesn’t that mean that you’re out?” she stared him straight in the eye. “You said I was bluffing.”

  The man said nothing, only took off the mug covering his dice. Una barely hid her scowl. The man had three fives, meaning he was still in the game. He wasn’t bad compared to the usual crowd one might find in taverns like this. Maybe things had changed since she’d been imprisoned. Either that or she was going soft. She had genuinely thought he was risking his place in the game by calling her bluff. But the man had been safe the whole time.

  One by one, the others showed their hands, though there wasn’t the usual increase in laughter or groans. Another man was out, and that only left four in the circle.

  They continued for two more rounds, with Una constantly pulling either pairs of fives or pairs of sixes. Her luck was holding.

  Finally, it came down to just her and the bearded man across the table. “You’ve been holding out on us,” he said, running a finger through his beard and not taking his eyes off her. “Where did you learn to play?”

  “Beginner’s luck?” she offered.

  He gave a soft grunt. “Roll your dice.”

  She did so, shaking them inside the mug before placing it on the table, top down. Covering the edge of the mug wit
h one hand, she gently lifted it to see the results. Inside was one five and two fours.

  Careful not to express any outward motion, she inwardly cursed. It was her first losing hand should the man call her bluff. What should she do? If she passed now, the bearded man would win, and she’d lose the money she stole, not to mention her chance at the rest of the pot.

  There was no way to go but forward. But this time she needed no emotion, nothing to tip the man off either way. She looked back up at the man with a calm, controlled expression.

  “I’m in, obviously,” she said.

  “Indeed,” said the man with a sly smile. “I am also in, and I call your bluff. You have nothing.”

  Once again, he had forced her hand. “And I call your bluff,” she shot back.

  It was the expected move, but nevertheless it still caused all the onlookers to lean in closer. If they both called each other’s bluff, that meant the winner would be determined entirely by chance. If he had a pair of fives or sixes, he would win. Otherwise, the round would end in a draw, and they would start again.

  With a grin that did not bode well for Una, the bearded man lifted up his mug, showing three fives, the second-best roll of the game.

  Una didn’t bother to hide her emotion this time. With a sigh and a scowl, she took the mug off the table.

  The reaction she got was not what she expected. The entire inn had gone deathly silent. She looked at their faces to see disbelief, shock, and even a hint of anger.

  She looked back down at her dice, and almost dropped the mug.

  Her table showed three sixes, the winning role.

  For a moment, she couldn’t speak. That had definitely not been her role before, and there was no way they could have turned to the correct combination. She certainly hadn’t moved them. How had that happened?

  She raised her eyes till they met those of the bearded man, and she swallowed. The expression he gave her was one of cold anger. This wouldn’t lead to anything good.

  4

  “How come you got such luck, eh?” the man asked, his voice a low growl.

  “Um, I don’t know,” she said. And she truly didn’t. “I’ve never played the game before today.”

  “Liar,” his tone changed, raising in volume. “No one plays that well on their first attempt.”

  “But it’s gambling, right? It’s all random.”

  “Not this game,” he said, rising to his feet and leaning forward to place his hands on the table. “Where did you say you were headed...miss,” he said the last word like he was mocking her.

  “Nowhere,” she said. “Just passing through.”

  “She was going to the Forest of Arden,” called out another man behind her. “I heard her talking to the barkeep.”

  “Now ain’t that interesting,” said the bearded man, leaning closer. “Why would a little girl like yourself be going there?”

  “I’m not, just close,” she said, suddenly well aware of the number of men crowding her chair. She was boxed in.

  “Close, eh?” He leaned forward till she could feel his hot, beer-tainted breath on her skin. “They say there are sorceresses in those woods.”

  Oh gods, it was happening again.

  “I’m not a sorceress if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “I hear only women can use magic.”

  “Well then, you would be wrong.”

  “You calling me a liar?”

  “Of course not,” she was beginning to lose patience here. This conversation would not end well for her unless she changed tactics. Looking him square in the eye, she gathered her wits and added, “I’m calling you stupid.”

  His eyes widened, and with a yell, he lunged at her.

  But she was already throwing herself out of her chair and to one side, so that she fell on the wooden flooring. The bearded man now knelt with his arms around the chair where she used to be, his mildly drunk face somewhat confused by the fact that she was no longer there.

  Before he or any of the others could react, she sent her heel directly into the man’s face. He screamed and clutched at his nose which had begun spurting blood.

  “What’s all this, then?” came the voice of the old woman, but no one was listening.

  “Get her!” cried another man; as one, every man in the room darted for her.

  Una was already on her feet. With a duck and weave, she managed to avoid the first two men who came after her, before running headlong into a third. He grabbed her wrists and held her in place until she bit at one of his hands which caused him to yell and release her.

  But the damage had been done. Three more men grabbed her from behind, with one holding her by the waist, and the other by her arm.

  This wasn’t good. Not only was she unlikely to walk away with her money, chances were growing that she would not walk away at all.

  Slipping her free hand into her belt, she produced the knife that had once belonged to her jailor. With a slash, she brought it on the hand that held her other arm. He cried aloud as red blood began staining his sleeve.

  She slashed at the man behind her, but he let go before her knife could connect, having seen what had happened to his companion. Una whirled around, brandishing the knife at anyone who came close, pressing her back against the wall. A half dozen angry and leering faces greeted her, many pulling out their own knives.

  “Quiet down!” a voice yelled, and the sound of metal sliding out of a scabbard caused a hush to fall upon the men. Every head in the room turned to see who had spoken.

  Near the door stood a knight, clothed in padded armor, carrying a shield bearing a red cross, and brandishing a gleaming knight’s sword that caught the light of the fireplace and candles, sending it dancing across the room. The old woman who ran the bar had her hands to her mouth but was looking at the newcomer with the same measure of caution that the others offered.

  But Una’s eyes lit up. It was the same knight who had visited her the previous day, the tall one. The man who may or may not have been her rescuer back in Londinium.

  “What have you been doing to the poor girl?” he asked, meeting her eyes and nodding slightly, an acknowledgement.

  “She stole our money,” cried the bearded man, who was still nursing his bloody nose.

  “I won it fair and square,” protested Una, though her thoughts immediately went to the last round when the dice had mysteriously changed their faces.

  “It hardly seems fair for all of you to attempt to overpower a solitary lady, and not to mention without honor. Give this one her winnings, let her leave, and you will have no trouble from me.”

  The bearded man stood straighter and puffed out his chest, pulling a long butcher knife from his belt. “We’re not intimidated by the likes of you, Mr. Red Cross. I fought against the Saxons, I’ve seen knights die. You all bleed the same as the rest of us.” The others raised their own weapons, their eyes gleaming as though encouraged.

  The corners of the knight’s mouth twitched. “If you’ve fought the Saxons then you know the importance of not fighting your allies. But if you do want a fight, I can guarantee that you won’t live out the night.”

  The “Red Cross” knight kept his gaze fixed on the men, his eyes cold, his jaw set. For the first time, the bearded man’s expression faltered.

  “Do what he says,” said the old woman from behind the counter. “The last thing I need is to clean blood off the floor. Lord knows it. Though from what I’ve seen you deserve it, Quintus. Now calm down and leave my bar or I’ll never let you set foot in it again.”

  Quintus. That was a Roman name. Una looked at him with a changed expression. No wonder the man knew battle with the Saxons.

  Quintus stared from the old woman, to the Red Cross knight, to Una. Finally he scowled and waved a hand at Una. “Eh, you’re not worth it anyway.”

  That single line instantly diffused the tension in the room. The other men lowered their knives, and the Red Cross knight did the same with his sword. Only Una kept her weapon r
aised as Quintus and the rest of the men gathered their things and headed out the door. Many gave her a final look that made her squirm. Taking their money back had not been the only bounty on their minds that night. She was glad the knight had arrived when he did.

  “And I’m afraid I’ll have to ask the two of you to leave as well,” said the woman, placing her hands on her hips. “I don’t need trouble in this place, and you, girl, have already proven to be too much. And after I gave you a bath and everything.”

  Una didn’t much listen. Instead she walked over to the table that held all of her money. She began gathering it up in the same pouch where she had hid all the bread from the back.

  “I apologize for the inconvenience,” said the knight. “I assure you, it won’t happen again.”

  “That’s right, because I won’t see you again. Not her at any rate, where she’s going.”

  “And where would that be?”

  Una whirled and opened her mouth to tell the woman to be quiet, but the old lady was already opening her mouth. “Somewhere near the Forest of Arden she says.”

  Una’s mouth hung open. The knight gave her a knowing look with that soft gaze of his, those eyes looking almost...sad. “Is that so?”

  Una tuned out the conversation to pick up the last of the coins where one had dropped off the table to the floor. Then turning towards the door, she marched past the knight to the front entrance.

  “Here,” she said, pushing down three gold coins on top of the bar. “For all the trouble, and to repay the other guy.”

  The woman didn’t take the money, only watched as Una turned back around and strode out the door into the night beyond.

  She passed a horse tied up outside as well as a mule carrying a heavy load. They undoubtedly belonged to the knight. She ignored them and kept staring forward, continuing up the road.

  On the whole, it had been a successful stop. She’d walked out with food and enough money to get by for a few weeks. She’d even had a bath, which she hadn’t expected. Her first bath in over three years.

  Her thoughts darkened, however, when the sound of hooves heralded what could only be the Red Cross knight approaching from behind.