Chapter Ten: The Calm before the Storm

Without Tobe there, the rest of the journey passed with ease and conversation flowed freely. Kel liked it this way; she preferred knowing the people she was fighting with. When it looked like you were facing impossible odds, knowing the particulars of the men on either side of you added an extra incentive to your own to turn the tide on adversity. Or so Kel had found.

The four Knights were keen to reach the border by the coast to see dawn greet them over the waves and so rode hard across the open countryside, fast enough for shapes to blur and colours to mix. Yet it was not a hard ride; with the light dying all the heat of the day had vanished too leaving only the faint breeze to cool the flanks of their mounts and to whip across their faces.

"So Kelhen," Turnall drawled looking at her grinning.

They had slowed the pace down to a spritely trot whilst they passed through a town and to give the horses some sort of respite. Kel scowled but raised one eyebrow for him to go on.

"How long have you and the boy been together?"

"Tobe and I have been together before even you had started page school so mind your mouth cheeky." Kel answered quickly, poking out her tongue in his direction.

Her boys were shocked.

Even after her mothering behaviour around Tobe, and to them too, it was still a shock for them to see her so playful.

"But that can't be right – he's doesn't look old enough to have done a stint as a servant. How old is he?" Iiyan enquired mildly.

"He's fourteen..." Kel answered quietly, thinking back to when she had found that small scrap of a boy in the inn.

"And five years with you, would make him nine when you found him!" Francis seemed shocked but Kel laughed bitterly.

"Orphans were so easily acquired back then – good for use as slaves, run-about's and whipping dogs. Thank the Gods that the monarchy decided enough was enough when children had been worked so hard from infancy that they were illiterate, ignorant and idle – no good for the realm at all..."

"You speak very bitterly of the King and Queen for a Knight," Iiyan remarked quietly and all three boys watched Kel's reaction furtively.

At first she smiled and then with a short, bitter laugh she answered him.

"You try being the only one in the history of the page school to have a probationary year; fifty-two weeks of not knowing whether you would return the next year; all because of my gender, Iiyan. The Queen I have no qualms with – I know she supported me from the start."

"And the King?"

"I dislike double-standards in anyone. I respect him and have pledged my sword to him till I die but I cannot forget how I was treated as a child."

"And yet you are still a Knight?" Francis asked slightly amused; the woman had fire, no-one could deny that.

"I serve the realms and its people. The King, in a way, is doing the same as me. I have no problems with working with him to keep Tortall safe."

"If it were me..." Turnall started shaking his head.

"... You'd have thrown a rage and beaten the nearest opponent to a pulp!" Iiyan finished for Turnall and her boys laughed.

"I cannot deny that it's true..." Turnall muttered then turned in his saddle to look at her. "And what did you do about it?"

"Threw a fit and pledged to be better than any of the other boys in my year... And then beat any opponents to pulp!"

The four Knights laughed together but once through the town, they began to ride harder and conversation ended. Francis had noted quietly to himself that without her son, Lady Keladry was a different woman. She seemed her age; no longer looking after a child nearly half her age, she became a young woman who joked and laughed and flirted. He thought the change a welcome one but knew from all he had seen that Kel would not give up the other part of herself for anything whilst she breathed.

And nor did he wish her too.

He thought her charming and witty, just as a young lady should. But she was also intelligent, sharp and quick; compliments he did not hand out often amongst acquaintances. He turned his head slightly and inspected a profile of her on his left. On her horse, galloping along, her eyes were bright with the joy of riding and she smiled at no-one in particular. With hair swinging out like a banner behind her as she flew, she was an awesome sight to behold. Her care-free spirit as well as her beauty was a welcome change to him who had lived too long with his two year-mates.

At last, after hours of darkness, the four topped the last hill of the horizon before the border. Below them lay a small permanent village engulfed by a tented city. A patchwork sprawled across the open country side clearly marking the seriousness and potential danger of a situation, by the sheer size and impressiveness of the force the monarchs had sent.

In the dark, the lights of numerous camp fires could be seen as well as the odd moving torchlight that swayed and flickered along the rows of the camp as men made their journeys and patrolled the huge set-up.

The riders paused at top the hill and surveyed the land below them in silence, until Iiyan glanced up grim-faced at Francis. Turnall whistled impressed by the organisation they had achieved on such a huge scale but Kel said nothing. The seriousness of this mission had been highlighted for them below and now was not the time for joking.

Kel knew this was the time for action.

Outside the commander's tent – clearly marked with the flag of Tortall flying high above it in the centre of the camp – the four Knights dismounted and handed their horses to the waiting Men at Arms. Without a backwards glance Kel entered, knowing full well who she would see before her inside.

"Kel! At last! You're back! Thank the Gods!"

Lord Raoul stood from his chair at the desk and came towards her with outstretched arms. For a moment they embraced; Kel smiling widely at the man who had been her Knight Master when she was a Squire, and who had since become a good friend of hers. Releasing her he moved back, contenting himself by grasping onto her shoulders. He looked down at her grimly.

"We live in strange times Kel, strange gruesome times..."

"Lord Raoul." Francis greeted the man as he entered the tent with his two year-mates. The three came to stand beside Keladry who shot them a thankful look when Raoul released her to shake their hands. "It's a pleasure to work with you again."

"Francis! It has been a while has it not? Good to have you aboard on this. I'm sorry sirs, but I do not know your names..."

"Turnall of Seer's Bridge my Lord. It's a pleasure to meet the legend at last! The Giantkiller!" Turnall shook Kel's old Knight Master's hand with the kind of reverie usually reserved by Knights for their King. But Raoul definitely deserved that sort of reception – as Kel knew full well – for all the things he had achieved in his years.

"I'm Iiyan of Mountain's End."

"Good to have you too Knights – we need all the help we can get on this one." Shaking his head again Raoul turned and strode back to the desk with the four Knights following behind him. At last Raoul was settled again in his seat wherefrom he gestured for the arrivals to sit on the coach at the side.

"What is going on my Lord? What can you tell us?" Kel asked anxiously; she was eager to get down to business. The quicker they had this problem dealt with, the quicker she could return to Tobe.

"Have patience my dear." Raoul said chuckling grimly. "You'll get all the details soon – when the other Knights get back I'm going to brief you all, now that you four have arrived."

"How many Knights do you have here?" Iiyan asked confused; it was very rare that more than several Knights were needed at one situation. They accompanied teams of Riders or the King's Own, who often numbered over fifty men.

"Including you?" Raoul sighed and rubbed his hands together uneasily. "There are twenty Knights."

"What on earth for?" Francis exclaimed. Kel frowned silently, knowing that Raoul would reveal all in the briefing as he had promised and asking for more details now would get them nowhere. She knew it was definitely going to be a long trip if there were twenty Knights here – Goddess only knew what was happening but it couldn't be good.

"How many men have you?" Turnall asked quietly.

"I have four squads of the Own with me and a Rider's Squad. We total over one-hundred and fifty all together."

Kel sighed and stretched as her boys grumbled amongst themselves uneasily. That scale was unheard of on situations that were handled without public awareness.

"That would explain the camp then – you've got to feed, water and house everyone and their mounts too..."

Raoul nodded.

"...I can't understand what would need that many Knights though My Lord. Are you sure that is not too many?"

"Believe me Kel. When you hear what's been happening here on the border, you may think that Twenty Knights is just about enough to cover everything."

Everyone was silent, processing what Raoul had said. Outside the wind had picked up slightly and the walls of the tent moved seemingly as restless as its inhabitants were to get to work. Suddenly the door to the tent opened and a group of tall broad-shouldered silhouettes advanced through the opening.

The rest of the Knights had arrived. Now the briefing could start...