Chapter 25
The entire group set out for Athkatla the next day as planned. There were some grumbles about the lack of the travel amenities they had become accustomed to on the trip out, but most were glad just to put the terrifying experience of the brigand camp behind them. Progress was slow, at least in part due to the need to guard the prisoners as they traveled, but all were cheered by the fact that they would soon be home.
A few days later, two particularly high-spirited members of the party, Martel and Danis, were on duty riding point. Danis glanced at his friend and smiled; it was good to be once again properly attired, as squires of the Order should be, proudly displaying the Order's insignia! And not only was it extremely pleasant to be riding along in the sunshine with his best friend, but Danis had another reason to be happy. Sir Anomen had told the squires that he would recommend that they all receive extended leaves to be with their families after the report of their disappearance. Danis, unlike most of the squires, had no family living nearby, so if Sir Anomen's recommendation was honored he would to able to visit his family for the first time in over a year.
Danis rode along, in part listening to Martel's story of a girl he had met before leaving Athkatla, and in part dreaming about what it would be like to arrive home dressed proudly in his squire's armor and tabard, when something caught his attention. There was some shadow, some movement in the trees alongside the road a few paces ahead that had no reason to be there. A chill went up the back of his neck; it was surely no animal, an animal would have fled at their approach long before.
Danis reined his horse in sharply; Martel, who was riding a little way behind him, swore and reined his horse in response. Danis silenced Martel's question with a look and sidled his horse in next to Martel's. "I think someone is hidden alongside the road ahead." He said in an undertone. "I'll ride ahead to flush him out. You drop back twenty paces or so, and be ready to go for help if need be."
"Him? What if it's them? I'm not going to leave you here to face a gang of brigands alone!" Martel whispered urgently.
"I think it's only one, two at the most. If I'm wrong, well, that's why I want you to ride for help." Danis grinned at his friend. "You're a faster rider than I am. Don't worry; I'll follow if I can."
Martel gave his friend a dark look, but did not argue further. He rode back a short distance as Danis spurred his horse ahead a few paces, closer to the place he thought someone was concealed, and cried out. "You there, in the trees! We know you are there, so show yourself if you wish us no harm."
There was silence for a moment, and Danis was just about to spur his horse closer, when he heard what sounded like a dry chuckle coming from the trees. A moment later, a man emerged from the dense underbrush, pulling his horse behind him."
The man was middle-aged and of middle-height, but wiry and muscular. His eyes were dark, as was his hair, except for a touch of grey at the temples. Most surprising, his skin was also dark, much darker than that of most Amnians. Danis gave his armor and weapons a quick assessment; both were of excellent quality and well-used, though so far, the man had shown no inclination to draw his sword against them. A dangerous man. Danis thought in unconscious appraisal.
"Well met, squire! Either I am losing my touch, or you have very keen eyes, son. It is not often that I am seen when I do not wish to be." The man's tone was friendly, but he did not smile. Danis had the feeling that the stranger was a man who did not smile easily or often.
"Unless there are many more squires of the Order of the Radiant Heart wandering these woods than one would expect," the man commented dryly, watching Danis with disconcerting intensity, "you two must be among the squires that accompanied Sir Anomen Delryn and the trade delegation. If you are, I have been looking for you, though I must confess I did not expect to find you casually riding back toward Athkatla. As a matter of fact, your superiors thought you were in dire peril."
When the stranger had shown himself to be alone and apparently non-hostile, Martel had ridden back to join them. The two squires exchanged an excited glance. If this man was who he said he was…
"Sir," Danis began hesitantly, unsure how much to trust the man's word.
"Ah, I seem to have misplaced my manners. I am Valygar Corthala." The man said, holding out his hand for Danis to clasp.
Martel let out a low gasp. "Lord Corthala?" He said, surprise evident in his voice.
The man turned his dark gaze to Martel. "I can lay claim to that title, yes." The man said, in a tone even dryer than before. "And you are?"
Martel flushed. "Martel Belkind, my lord."
"Belkind?" Lord Corthala responded. "Another old Amnian name, though not, I think, quite as notorious as Corthala." He glanced at Danis once again, "And your sharp-eyed friend?"
"Danis Narinson, my lord." Danis said, quickly dismounting and shaking the man's hand.
"Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way," Lord Corthala continued, "I can tell you that I am scouting for Sir Ryan Trawl and a number of Order knights, who are some distance behind me on the road. I need you to tell me what has transpired so I can bring the news to Sir Ryan, but first I have a more urgent question — did Jaheira and Merena find you?"
The two squires glanced at each other in surprise that he evidently knew Lady Jaheira and Lady Merena had come to look for them. Danis gave his friend an inquiring look, and Martel nodded; he, like Danis, felt it was time to trust this man — at least for now. After all, it seemed very unlikely that anyone associated with the brigands would know the ladies' names or that they had been searching for the missing trade delegation.
"Yes, sir. They found us several days ago." Danis answered.
"They are well? And Anomen?" Lord Corthala asked brusquely.
"Yes sir, they are all fine. There were few casualties during the attack on the brigand camp."
"Attack?" Lord Corthala gave the squires an appraising look and the ghost of a smile crossed his face. "It seems you two have quite a story to tell. If you could give me a summary of what has happened, I'll take the news back to Sir Ryan and the rest. I think it's best we wait until we're all together for the full tale."
Martel and Danis quickly explained how Sir Anomen and the squires survived the ambush and followed the brigands to their camp, then about the arrival of Lady Jaheira and Lady Merena, and the subsequent attack on the brigand camp and the freeing of the captives.
When they were finished, Lord Corthala looked thoughtful. "Quite a story indeed. Even better, almost all of it is good news, much better than was feared when you all were reported missing. Sir Ryan will be pleased."
"I'd best be off." Lord Corthala said, and swung into his saddle. "To be honest, I find the pace the knights set to be damnably slow; but maybe this news will get them moving. Gentlemen, give my regards to the ladies and Sir Anomen." He squinted up at the sun. "Tell them I'll see them by late afternoon."
With that, he spurred his horse down the road and was soon out of sight.
Martel let out a whoop of excitement and jumped into the saddle; his friend smiled at his enthusiasm and followed eagerly. A short time later, they had reunited with their group, which had stopped by the side of the road to rest their horses. The squires immediately sought out Sir Anomen and reined their horses to a stop next to him.
"Sir Anomen, we met someone on the road who said he was a scout for Sir Ryan Trawl and the Order reinforcements you expected." Danis said, as soon as he dismounted.
Martel rolled his eyes. "Danis, don't be so modest. He was concealed by the side of the road waiting for us to ride by, but Danis spotted him first." Martel explained, with obvious pride in his friend's abilities.
"Indeed? Well done, Danis!" Sir Anomen said with a smile. "And who was this man?"
Lady Merena must have noticed their arrival — and their excitement — because she joined them as they were speaking. "He said his name was Valygar Corthala." Danis replied, giving Lady Merena a polite nod in greeting. "He knew about Lady Merena and Lady Jaheira coming to look for us, anyway."
"Said? You have doubts about his identity?" Sir Anomen asked, sending Lady Merena a questioning glance.
"He seemed honest enough, sir, but there were a couple of things about him that just didn't seem right. For instance, according to Martel, he's Amnian Lord, so why would one of them be acting as a scout? And well…" Danis hesitated.
Sir Anomen nodded. "Go on, Martel."
"Well, sir, he sat his horse less like a nobleman and more like a…a ranger." Danis finished, flushing with anxiety that Sir Anomen would think his concerns to be ridiculous.
Sir Anomen glanced at Lady Merena and barked out a laugh. Merena's eyes danced in response, and Danis began wishing he had held his tongue.
Then Sir Anomen turned to Danis with a broad smile on his face. "Very observant, Danis, but in this case, that just confirms his identity. Lord Valygar Corthala is a ranger, and I daresay he is more proud of that than of his noble birth and title. He is also an old friend, and Lady Merena asked him to aid in the search for us." Then Sir Anomen added, "Next time you see your mother you'll have quite a story to tell her about the rangers you have met on this journey, won't you, Danis?"
Before Danis could respond, Merena said, "And Valygar and I aren't even the most…interesting of Sir Anomen's ranger acquaintances." She exchanged an amused look with Sir Anomen.
"Indeed not. Perhaps some day you lads may get to meet Minsc and Boo. A truly unforgettable experience." Sir Anomen said with a smile. "Did Lord Corthala say how far away the Order reinforcements are?"
"I think he was rather far ahead of them, sir, but he said he thought we'd them meet them by late afternoon." Martel replied.
"Excellent. We will be able to camp together tonight!" Sir Anomen exclaimed.
"Sir Anomen, permission to ride ahead with the squires to meet the Order reinforcements?" Lady Merena asked, with a smile that belied her formal tone.
"Of course, my lady. However, I need to speak to the squires for a few moments, so perhaps they could catch up with you. Please give my regards to Sir Ryan and Lord Corthala when you see them." Sir Anomen replied, returning her warm smile.
Lady Merena gave Sir Anomen a brief inquiring look, but then merely waved and rode on, leaving Danis and Martel behind to exchange a puzzled and slightly worried glance.
"I won't keep you long, lads, I would prefer that Lady Merena had company on the road." He looked at each of them in turn, and when he spoke again, his tone was friendly, but perplexed. "Do either of you have any complaints about your treatment during this mission? I know that conditions have not always been the best or most comfortable, but I thought since we were all working together for a common goal…"
Danis glanced at Martel in surprise and alarm, but before either of them could formulate a response, Sir Anomen continued. "The only reason I ask is that I recently had the most extraordinary conversion with Lady Swiftnell, of all people." Sir Anomen turned his gaze to Martel; Danis cursed inwardly as a flush rose on Martel's cheeks. "She said that she is a close friend of your mother's, Martel, and said she was concerned about you and thought I was being 'too hard' on you. Since Lady Swiftnell has never previously shown an interest in the welfare of any of you squires, I wondered if you know what might have prompted her inquiry. If you do have any complaints, I think it would be best to air them, and please be assured that I will not hold them against either of you."
Danis' heart fell into his boots as he watched his friend, who by then was bright scarlet in embarrassment, grope for a response. "No, Sir Anomen! I mean, yes, sir, I…might have said something that made her think that." He gulped and stumbled on. "But I don't actually believe that, Sir! I have no complaints about our treatment, and neither does Danis, I'm sure."
Sir Anomen frowned. "Then it was by way of a joke?"
"No sir, of course not!" Martel exclaimed. "It was…I have never thought that!" Martel said plaintively. To Danis' dismay, his friend then fell silent, at a loss for words.
Danis could stand it no longer. "Tell him, Martel!" He hissed under this breath. "Tell him, you idiot!"
Martel merely shook his head, seemingly too mortified to speak. Sir Anomen glanced from one squire to the other in puzzlement, and finally said. "Well, someone certainly needs to tell me!"
Danis shot an exasperated glance at his friend, who gave him a mute plea in return; but whether Martel was encouraging him to speak or remain silent, he could not tell. He sighed and decided to trust his own judgment. "Please don't be angry with Martel, sir, he was only trying to help."
Sir Anomen, clearly still mystified, said wryly. "That is a start, at least. Please, go on."
"It was the day after the attack, sir, when you had finally gone off duty. Lady Swiftnell found us and was very upset because Lady Jaheira wouldn't let her use one of the guards to haul washing water. She wanted us to wake you up, and when we wouldn't she said she was going to do it herself. We knew you wouldn't want that, so Martel told her that…" Danis flushed and Martel looked like he wanted to sink into the earth. "that we would be blamed and that you might be so angry with us that we'd never receive our knighthoods." He ended in a whisper, anxiously scanning Sir Anomen's face for some sign of his reaction to this tale.
"And Martel thought this would stop her because she and Lady Belkind are friends?" The knight asked.
"Well, they're not exactly friends, according to Martel. But in any case, it worked." Danis amended.
Martel finally found his tongue again. "Sir Anomen, I didn't mean it, on my honor, sir. I know you always try to treat us fairly. And I never thought Lady Swiftnell would say anything to you about it!" He added, managing to look ashamed and aggrieved at the same time.
Sir Anomen listened to their explanation gravely, but by the end Danis thought he noticed a hint of amusement in the knight's eyes. "Well, Martel, your solution was certainly…novel, and perhaps not the best possible one under the circumstances, but I have learned that it is difficult to fairly judge another warrior's decisions made in the heat of battle." He said dryly. "But I do appreciate the fact that you were trying to prevent Lady Swiftnell from interrupting my rest, even if you chose a rather…unconventional means of doing so."
Sir Anomen gave them a half-smile and said heartily, "But no damage done, so we need speak no more about it, eh, lads? Now, go on and catch up with Lady Merena."
"Yes, sir, thank you, sir!" Martel cried, relief and gratitude radiating from his face.
Danis said in an undertone, "Martel, you are so lucky…" and though he could not be certain, he thought he heard a low chuckle from Sir Anomen as they rode away.