Chapter 49: Flight from the Knight

“Away, round to the front of the bunkhouse!” yelled Etienne, running on across the grass. “And sorry. It really wasn’t my fault!”

Alcar grabbed his staff, looking towards the murderous knight – pale, wrinkled skin on the enraged face, a scrappy dark beard and moustache, and small, dark eyes. The man was incredibly muscular, but he looked like he had only recently risen from bed; so far, he was only wearing his breeches and lower leg armor. His feet were bare, too, as was his torso other than a grimy-looking undershirt.

The knight was also not bearing a weapon as far as Alcar could see... but he looked strong enough to tear any of them limb from limb with his bare hands, all the same.

“Fuck,” murmured Alcar, reaching inside his robes. He was aware that they were in deep trouble, especially if they couldn’t find a way to delay the man while they tried to escape.

He therefore pulled out two of the empty glass jars from his pocket, rapidly wrapped them together in a sheet of parchment, smashed them down onto the adjacent rock, and then flung the shards of glass across the ground in front of the approaching knight. Then Alcar grabbed his staff and fled after his friends, Brutus surging ahead of him as he went.

Soon he heard screams of pain and anger behind him, and he smiled wickedly. The knight must have rapidly come to realize that there were shards of glass hidden in the long grass. He wouldn’t keep going surely.

Though going back the other way around the buildings wasn’t that much of a detour...

“This way,” Etienne was shouting, pointing to the road. “Before those damned soldiers figure out what just happened.” As he rounded the corner, Alcar saw that Shiela the pony was there, tethered to a post outside the military tower on the other side of the road, and harnessed up with an unfamiliar saddle. Olynka sprinted towards the pony and untied her, as Alcar raced to catch up.

“I might have slowed down that knight a little,” said Alcar as he caught up with his companions, heart thumping. He glanced around, then looked at the pair again. “But surely he’ll catch us soon enough. We can’t all ride on one pony, and the man has a warhorse.”

Etienne flashed his friend a sly grin. “Not any more. The warhorse is already halfway to Dathmir, since I sold him to a passing merchant this morning,” he said, pointing vaguely down the road. “And friend spellcaster – that’s your horse over there.” As Etienne nodded towards the bunkhouse, Alcar looked behind him and saw that a second horse, larger than Shiela, was tethered in front of the main entrance, their chest of food strapped to her flank.

“Then let’s get moving,” cried Olynka with an excited smile. She leaped onto Shiela’s back, reached down, and pulled Etienne up into the saddle in front of her.

***

Moments later, the three companions were galloping together eastwards along the Imperial road, the sound of their horses’ hooves clattering in their ears. Brutus was racing along just beside, clearly aware of what his master needed him to do.

They had heard further yells and screams echoing behind them as they had departed the scene, but it was clear enough that their military foes were more than a few steps behind then now. They had got a solid head start – and Alcar knew that they now needed to make the most of it, if they wanted to survive.

A few minutes later, the ponies slowed to a trot on the road. Alcar looked around once again, astonished that there still had been no serious pursuit, no sound of military horses galloping after them along the paved road, seeking to run them down.

“Damn! That was kind of fun, you know,” said Olynka, suppressing a laugh. “Though I wish you’d woken me when you left the bunkhouse. If I hadn’t come downstairs when I did, well...”

Etienne chuckled. “Sorry, pal. I didn’t need an audience for what I was up to. But I was sure you’d catch up.”

She chuckled dryly, and then punched him hard in the arm.

Alcar could see that his companions were satisfied with their escape. He was still worried, however. “It surely won’t be too long before that knight organizes some kind of pursuit?” he said, glancing back again.

“Perhaps,” said Etienne. ”But at least the fucker can’t come after us himself. The warhorse was the only one in the stable strong enough for a fully-armored knight. And I don’t think he’d be willing to leave his gear behind.”

“You really sold his warhorse?” said Alcar.

Etienne nodded, glancing back with a half-grin as their two steeds slowed to a walk and continued along, side by side. The new horse was a roan, a head height taller than Shiela. A fine beast, all things considered, Alcar could see.

“I sure did. What a blast! My heart was thumping. I knew the knight was still in bed, and of course, I’d seen that the soldiers were busy eating.”

“Then how did he catch you?”

“That, my friends, is a good question. I sold the horse, and then went back to the stable to get Shiela and our new companion... shall we call him Jimbo?”

“Uh, whatever...” said Alcar.

“Right. He’s a temporary fix, anyway. So there I am outside, all ready to go and fetch the pair of you from the taproom, when the damn knight comes running out of the tower in his breeches. I turned and ran for the stables, hoping that I’d lose him in there. I mean, a halfling, in the dark, and a stealthy one at that. To most people I’d have been pretty much invisible. But he saw me. His perception must be off the charts.”

Alcar nodded. “So that’s when you made for the back door?”

“Yeah, man. I’m lucky that was there – and I didn’t know that the pair of you were out there. What were you guys doing there, anyway?”

“Oh... practicing!” said Alcar, glancing at Olynka, who raised her eyebrows.

“Yep... and I had the pleasure of witnessing some of his practice,” she said, now yawning. “Damn, if the pair of you aren’t determined to get me into trouble.”

“Well, the knight was a brutal murderer,” said Etienne with a shrug. “He deserved to lose his horse.”

“I’m not saying that the Imperial scumbag didn’t deserve it,” Olynka replied, herself now glancing behind up the road as she spoke. “But Alcar’s right. We can expect to be pursued for the rest of our trip, now.”

“Ach, well. We’re fugitives anyway,” said Etienne with a shrug. “Skizol is the lieutenant of the Knights of Dawn, so while he will certainly be pissed about what happened, I doubt that he can drop everything to pursue a bunch of kids. Presumably the Emperor has other work needing done.”

“I guess,” said Alcar, wondering how much his own actions with the broken glass during their escape might have galvanized Skizol’s desire for vengeance upon them. “The other thing is, we’re not exactly difficult to find, at least until we get to Gilmour Village. I mean – we’re on the main road, and...” He looked down at his robes, and then at Olynka’s leather armor and pretty curls. “We’re quite distinctive.”

“That’s why we need to leave the horses behind, and follow a different route” said Etienne, now pointing towards the gully to their left, lined with chaotic sandstone cliffs, which was very close by now. “We hide out there for a while, and then continue on foot. Sorry guys, but we’re going to need to say goodbye to Shiela and Jimbo.”