by Sigrid Kraft
Sir Galden’s eyes hardened: “Recently, you have started to make a good impression following that... dishonorable debacle, and very slowly, you are once again rising in my estimation. Don’t destroy this delicate plant. As a soldier, you have to obey orders and not question the decisions of a superior. Do you understand?”
Eryn swallowed his anger, gave an obligatory confirmation and left the office. Having achieved absolutely nothing put him into an even worse mood than he had already been in courtesy of Halford’s food.
Enviously, Eryn watched the hunters marching off the the next morning.
I would have liked to join such a hunt. I would have liked it much more than the endless drill on the parade ground. It just doesn’t make any sense to me why you have to learn to march in different formations. I’m sure it creates a pretty pattern for someone to look at if they are standing nearby, but I don’t believe it has any real use in battle. Almost nothing of the drill will be useful in combat. On the other hand, what point is there in thinking such thoughts? Here in the garrison – absolutely none.
Eryn gathered up his notes and went over to see Master Lionas. At least I can now use my whole time for my studies – a small comfort.
It took not one but a few days until the others came back, successfully – how could it be otherwise? Ravenor couldn’t wait to boast about their hunt: “The wyvern had separated...”
Young wyvern always do so, but no one wanted me there.
“...and the Lordlings set out after one of the beasts and hunted it down. But we from the Bastards Company immediately slayed two of them and I killed one of them on my own.”
Deren put in: “You had some damned good luck. While you were involved in single combat with that wyvern, the other beast broke through the undergrowth. It came out right behind you and almost roasted you. But fortunately we covered your back. Otherwise it could have ended badly for some of us.”
Wyvern are dastardly creatures and have a certain intelligence. You have to be aware of such a trap. Have I mentioned it yet? No one wanted me to join the party.
In the end, everything had turned out fine for the hunting party, and the hunters celebrated their success in high spirits. Even Eryn with his lukewarm mood and mild attack of moaning couldn’t put them down.
The adventure was over and rather quickly normality was restored. Eryn and Ravenor were ordered to do watch duty during the night, one of the most boring and stupefying tasks expected of them. Unfortunately, that spurred Ravenor on to come up with an even more stupid idea. They were stationed at the tower above the stable gate, and Eryn was staring up into the black night – keeping watch as ordered.
“You don’t have to make such an effort. I’m sure a hostile being won’t pass by tonight. If you’re lucky, you might see a fox or a deer.”
“I thought I heard something. In the mountains you learn to listen to the language of nature.”
Ravenor knocked against the wood. “Woo, woo, the mountain madman speaks. You don’t honestly think that a fortress like Naganor, the Black Tower of the Black Mage Prince, could be approached unnoticed by something dangerous? The entire surroundings are bound to be peppered with spells. How do you call it? Eyes and bans?”
In this particular instant, the unmagical may be right, Eryn conceded: “Could be. So I’d better watch the yard in case the officer in charge appears.”
Ravenor patted his mate on the shoulder. “That, my old pal, is a much wiser activity and once the flunky is through, I’ll be off for a while.”
Eryn didn’t believe his ears. “What are you up to?”
Ravenor put on his conspirator’s face: “I have met a girl during my work on Lord Boron’s house. Well, in fact she is promised to the cobbler’s assistant, but he is a fool and she yearns for a real man. She is waiting for me behind those bushes over there and I don’t intend to disappoint her.”
Has he gone completely mad? May the Gods save me from his stratagems. “Have you forgotten what came out of your last inglorious plan? Listen, just wait till they promote you to the rank of a regular soldier. Then you can meet her without any rule-breaking. It can’t be that far off any longer.”
Eryn spoke insistently and seriously, but his words were like water off a duck’s back “Do I detect a note of fear in the speech of the great warrior?”
“Sanity,” corrected Eryn but Ravenor didn’t give up.
“It’s not as if I’m asking you to join me. This is a pleasure I’ll gladly keep for myself. Just cover my back. Listen, this is how it’ll work: I’ll feel sick. Quite badly, in fact, and I’ll have to leave urgently. After a while I’ll come back – feeling a little better. The matter is that simple. And if the officer of the watch has passed, what’s going to happen anyway? There’ll be enough time. Or have you ever seen one of them making an extra round... just for fun? They’re all too pissed off about having to walk around at night to check up on a bunch of useless guards to make sure they are staring with no purpose into the night ... like you a moment ago.”
Let him head straight for his ruin. That’s the way he wants it. “I heard something before and now I would say I know what kind of animal it is. But as you are unteachable – do as you like.” Slowly, Eryn added: “Should I warn you if someone shows up unexpectedly – or should I at once report to the officer?”
Ravenor put on his most winning smile. “My dear friend, you wouldn’t betray me, would you? But no one will show up. Believe me. Just to settle your nerves, I’ll give you an emergency plan. If you need to, cast a flashing light spell. I’ll be over there in those bushes and if I see some miracle witches work, I’ll come back at the double. Then I’lI talk my way out of it, saying I felt so very sick that I just had to go and take a shit.”
Eryn sighed and gave in. Ravenor can’t be helped. Their talk ended abruptly the moment the officer came into sight. The good thing about being on watch at the stable gate was being able to look over the whole yard, which meant you were safe from any surprise appearances by superiors. At least if you didn’t fall asleep completely.
The usual ceremony of saluting and reporting was performed and soon after, the honorable Sir left, continuing his rounds.
Ravenor waited another five minutes to be on the safe side, then he leaned his shield and spear against the wall before creeping down the stairs. Outside the garrison, he darted across the lawn, taking cover in the shadows.
He isn’t the tiniest jot better than his so well-hated father. What is he complaining about anyway? Hope this doesn’t blow up in our faces... Why did I agree to take part in such a mess again? What the heck? It’s too late now anyway.
Eryn observed the yard nervously. If an enemy approaches, then from that direction.
An hour later and Ravenor was back, causing Eryn to take a deep sigh of relief. It’s over and all went well.
But if Eryn had thought Ravenor would leave it at this one great success, he soon discovered this was merely wishful thinking. It seemed that Ravenor was even more excited by the thrill than by his amorous tête-à-tête with the lady.
To make matters worse, the construction work at Lord Boron’s new country house had come to a temporary halt. They had run out of material and the new delivery would take its time, which also meant that Ravenor was trapped in the garrison and had to do full service again, including watch duty. Whenever they were assigned night watch at the stable gate, Ravenor was as happy as a pig in clover while Eryn’s hair gradually turned gray.
Astonishing how Ravenor always manages to inform his flame of their meetings in time. To be honest, though, I’d rather not know the details. If something goes wrong... I’m in too deep anyway. Why it has to be me on watch duty with Ravenor, I don’t know. But to complain about that now to Sir Galden isn’t wise either if I don’t want to arouse any suspicion.
All kinds of news spread fast in the garrison and Eryn heard it first from Deren. A number of recruits were to be promoted to regular soldiers in five days.
The story wa
s that the Black Prince himself would attend at that occasion. Also, Sir Galden hinted that Deren, Farat and Ravenor’s names were on the list. Eryn was a little piqued that he wasn’t, but he told himself: They have served longer than me. Nevertheless, a small doubt still remained. Or am I a prisoner without rights after all?
In the end, his work didn’t leave him any time to brood, and his was soon cured of his gloomy thoughts by the irrepressibly good mood of his mates.
The big day arrived and the troops presented themselves in full splendor. The Prince did indeed attend, clad in black armor and mounted on a white stallion. At the Prince’s side rode Lord Boron, and behind them followed the staff officers. They reined in their horses and Lord Boron addressed the troops with words full of pathos. By the time he ended his speech, every soldier was proud and thankful to do service in the Black Guard of the Prince. Then it was time for the troops to parade past the Black Prince.
Eryn still had that curious sense of unease in the presence of the Lord of Naganor. As he marched by the commander, Eryn sneaked a covert glance in the direction of his torturer. For an instant, he had the impression that the Prince was examining him in return, so he quickly turned his eyes straight ahead. Hidden within the mass of armor and weapons marching in goose step, he had soon left the Prince behind.
At the swearing-in ceremony, the Lord of Naganor addressed the soldiers with a few short words:
“Soldiers, as Prince of Ardeen I serve the good of the country. You are chosen as my personal guard and therefore I now accept your oath of allegiance.” Then an officer shouted out the commands for the recruits to step forward. The words of the oath were prompted by a single speaker and repeated by the recruits: “We swear Prince Raiden of Ardeen, Protector of the North, loyalty and obedience till death.”
I wonder if Ravenor will bite his tongue at the word obedience?
“We swear to fight bravely and to act honorably in all our deeds in honor of the Guard.”
The words echoed over the square, leaving a grave silence in the air when they had been spoken.
The ceremony wasn’t completed with the swearing-in. Two elderly officers were leaving the service and Lord Boron bestowed words of praise on them, creating a sense of foreboding in Eryn. His worst fears were soon to be confirmed. The vacant posts were assigned and one of the newly-promoted officers was Sir Askir Orten.
That bitter pill tarnished the day and all the way back to their quarters Ravenor seethed with anger.
“If he keeps clawing his way up the career ladder so rapidly, then we’ll be calling him general before three years are up. What makes him a better man than me? I’ve beaten him in the swordfight several times. He needs five men to slay a wyvern. I killed one singlehandedly!”
Deren poked Ravenor in the ribs with his elbow in an attempt to attract his attention, but Ravenor spoke on regardless:
“Tell me one thing. What is so special about Sir Askir apart from the name Orten?”
The ignored punch was supposed to have been a warning that Sir Galden was standing close by, listening to all of Ravenor’s angry words. Now it was too late.
“Regular Ravenor!”
The Prince’s bastard jerked around and found himself standing directly before Sir Galden, who now gave Ravenor a tongue-lashing.
“For a soldier of the Guard, your behavior is more than unworthy. How dare you call the promotion of a superior into question!”
“Sir... “
But the troop leader nipped Ravenor’s attempt to explain in the bud, which was, it has to be said, to Ravenor’s advantage.
“Spare me your lousy words. You have already spouted enough foolishness for today. However, due to the fact that you have a tendency at times to be rather slow on the uptake and are as stubborn as a mule, I’ll explain it to you now. Sir Orten has been taught from early childhood to take a role as a military leader. Besides learning to handle all kinds of weapons, Sir Orten has also a wide knowledge of strategy, logistics, tactics, administration and several other subjects of which you are wholly ignorant. I’ll now give you some time to ponder this. You’ll have watch duty at the stable gate for the whole of next week.”
No! If he only knew! Eryn grimaced and Sir Galden misinterpreted the gesture completely.
“Because you can’t hold that loose tongue of yours, you drag your comrades into your mess, too. That is another issue you can reflect on. And now get out of my sight.”
“Yes, Sir!” Inwardly Ravenor’s blood boiled but he was at least clever enough to wait until they had reached the security of the quarters before giving vent to his ire. The second the door was shut, he railed against the world: “Great, I get a reprimand because of that coxcomb. That’s so unfair!”
Deren, Farat and Eryn joined forces to calm Ravenor down.
“Just forget about it and be happy about the new privileges,” Farat said and Deren added: “Exactly. Now we’ll have furlough. It’s been really tough to manage without the company of ladies. At the city guard we weren’t locked up so effectively.”
If they had an inkling of how Ravenor has already been getting out and about. It’s better they know nothing, and now it’s over anyway and won’t happen again. He’ll be able to leave the garrison officially through the gate.
Aloud, Eryn remarked: “Forget Askir and enjoy the day. And where has your lack of self control brought us? Extra watch duty. Thanks a lot!”
Ravenor still looked offended. “My pleasure.”
“Do I have to answer that? And you call yourself a friend.”
Farat and Deren were already on the move.
“Speaking of the watch. We are the poor devils who are on duty today. Spare us a thought when you are celebrating with the others.”
No sooner had the two mates left the room, than Ravenor returned to his own, selfish concerns:
”That matter with the watch isn’t so bad. Means I can see Elfa more often.”
Eryn was taking off his armor.
What was that? I must have misunderstood him.
“What? You have furlough now, so why take the risk?”
Ravenor leaned across the table.
“Because I don’t want to wait for another two weeks and – who knows – our small privileges could be withdrawn pretty fast. A little stain on the equipment or some other irrelevant reason and that’s it. I’ll be back to having as much furlough as you have. Unlike you, though, I value my personal freedom.”
That irked Eryn even if Ravenor didn’t mean for it to.
“Exactly, why not remind me of the fact that I’m nothing more than a simple prisoner here? I’ll probably never get promoted at all. At least I won’t have to swear loyalty and obedience to the Prince as I’ve done that twice already. But unlike you – I have to keep that oath. Every single word of it.”
Ravenor bit his lips when he saw that his words had hurt Eryn, for besides being hot headed and unrestrained, Ravenor also had a warm and caring side.
“Oh, come on. Don’t paint everything so black. I’m sure they are going to promote you during the next month. Just wait and see.”
Eryn didn’t really believe it but a small seed of hope was sown.
Hasn’t the Prince promised to treat me like any other citizen of Ardeen?
“Are you coming with us to celebrate?” Ravenor peeled out of his armor and took a fresh tunic from the cupboard. The other one landed on a chair before falling unnoticed to the ground.
I want to be alone. “No, have to read some more books. But enjoy yourself with the others.”
So Ravenor went off to celebrate, leaving Eryn by himself in the quarters.
The conversation had upset him, causing thoughts to whirl chaotically in his head.
Who am I anyway? A Fenn or a citizen of Ardeen? Does anything like a home exist for me? Since I left the burning house of my parents, there has been no place I would call by that name.
To prevent himself from becoming too deeply lost in his musing, Eryn took the Oranium fro
m the shelf and went through the spells.
The watch duty robbed them of their sleep and the following days were correspondingly hard. Eryn had started to take books with him on the watch. Four hours of useless sitting around was just too tiring otherwise.
If Ravenor is busy getting up to other things, why shouldn’t I do the same? And we’ll notice the officers in time. That is the great advantage of stable gate watch.
Exhausted by the previous days, Eryn struggled with his weariness right from the beginning of their watch. Ravenor was already gone and Eryn wondered: How can he take all this so easily? Perhaps I should just concentrate on the spells. At least that chases away the sleepiness for a while.
The subject was simple infections. A sickness had to be drawn out of the body and then dispersed. Under no circumstances was the sickness to be drawn to oneself. This was an easy thing to do and as a consequence, was quick to happen unintentionally. While such an action might help the person who was ill, it ended up making oneself sick, which was the reason why a mage should always be in attendance to disperse the illness widely. Concentrated at one spot, it could otherwise cause an infection to people passing by. There were places where illnesses incubated particularly well, such as in the dung heap in front of the stables.
Eryn could sense here the patterns of various infections. The dispersion of sicknesses only worked with light infections. For those of a more serious nature, different kinds of spells had to be used and even then the healing was uncertain. But Eryn hadn’t reached that point yet and it would certainly take time until he did. After all, the Oranium had thirty volumes and he was now studying the second. The miracles of magic were indeed effective in keeping Eryn awake and he was concentrating so deeply on the book that he completely forgot to watch the yard. He was disturbed by a loud clattering from below. Someone was downstairs at the door.
Curses! In a frenzy, Eryn jumped up and stuffed the book hastily into his belt pouch. The wooden stairs creaked at every step, and the sound of protesting timber was accompanied by the unmistakable clanking of someone wearing armor.