Shortly after passing through the forest, Scott, Bedevire, and Robin found
Kurt and Lancelot. There was much rejoicing all around as the party
reunited, and they set off together with a renewed spirit of enthusiasm.
Further on, they found three new knights to join their quest. Their names
were Ector, Gawain, and Bors. Ector was was the tallest of the three at
over 8 feet tall, Gawain had a love of playing cards, and Bors looked like
he was a living, breathing suit of armor.
Sadly, the happy mood did not last. As they passed through the land of Nador, a fierce winter storm bore down upon them. The harsh winds and frigid temperatures hampered their progress, and they were barely able to travel more than a few miles each day.
As the days passed, the storm showed no sign of relenting, and the party found themselves starving as their food supplies ran out. One frosty night, they sat huddled around a fire, shivering in their armor.
"What are we going to do?" Kurt asked Scott. "We're out of food, and we're lost in the middle of nowhere!" Then, he got hysterical and started crying. "Oh, I'm going to die out here! I'm going to die without ever seeing Amanda again! Without,"
"Kurt! Pull yourself together!" Scott shouted, gripping Kurt by the shoulders and shaking roughly. "I'll think of something," he said, not sure exactly what if anything he could do right now to alleviate their situation.
Just then, Robin came storming past. "I've had it with those wretched boys!" he shouted. "You should hear the things they're singing about me now! I never did any of those things!" He stomped off, complaining on to nobody in particular.
Scott rubbed his chin curiously, pondering something.
"Scott, what are you thinking?" Kurt asked him.
"I've got an idea. Wait here," Scott said, and walked over to Robin's minstrels.
"Er, boys, could you come into my tent for a minute? I'd like to have a word with you," Scott asked them.
"Of course, sire!" said the boys eagerly walked over to Scott's tent.
"I think he's going to make us knights!" James whispered to Oliver as Scott pulled back the flap and let them in. As they walked inside, Scott slowly pulled out a dagger from a sheath on his waist and entered the tent behind them.
X
A short time later.
The knights were all sitting around the fire, eating heartily. Scott's sudden announcement that they would be having a feast that evening had brightened everybody's mood considerably.
"Mmm!" said Bedevire, chewing on a chunk of fresh meat. "This is excellent, sire! Where did you ever find such splendid food, my liege?"
"Oh, I have my ways," Scott said, wiping the juices off his face. "How's yours, Robin?" he asked.
"Oh, perfect, sire! Just the way I like it!" Robin said. "Say, where did those accursed boys run off to now? They're missing the food!"
"Er, I think they went home," Scott said. "They said something about losing their voices with all this bad weather,"
"Oh," said Robin. "Oh, well, no loss. Now I can tell the story about that acid-spitting banana slug properly,"
The knights cheered, and there was much rejoicing as Robin regaled them with the tale of his exploits.
X
The next day, the weather began to clear up, and soon the knights found themselves traveling through a pleasant spring clime. After a few days of journeying, the path began to turn rocky as they headed into the mountains. The high cliffs towered over the knights' heads, casting tall shadows across the path.
"This is certainly a strange land, isn't it?" Bedevire asked.
"Reminds me of home," said Kurt. "Lots of good places to go climbing,"
"Eh, I'd rather keep my feet firmly on the ground than try to scale one of those crags," Lancelot said.
Suddenly, there was an explosion ahead of them. Robin dove for cover behind the nearest rock as the rest of the party looked up to see a man on a small cliff, shooting fire out of his hands.
Robin cowered behind the small stone, hoping that the man on the cliff wouldn't see him.
"Oh, get up," said Scott. "Everybody can see you down there," he chided.
"Sorry, my liege," Robin said, emerging from behind the fist-sized stone that he had been trying to crouch behind.
"Right, come on, then," Scott said, and the party approached the man on the cliff. The man continued to shoot off pyrotechnics as they got closer.
As they approached, Scott saw that the man had a blazing mane of red hair. Pyro, Scott thought. How appropriate.
"What manner of man are you that can summon up fire without flint or tinder?" he called up to the man on the cliff.
"I am an enchanter," Pyro said.
"And by what name are you known?"
"There are those that call me, Tim,"
Strange name for an enchanter, Scott thought. "Greetings, Tim the Enchanter!"
"Greetings, King Arthur!"
"You know my name?" Scott asked.
"I do!" Pyro said, and shot another fireball up into the air. "You seek the Holy Grail!"
This must be the enchanter the old man in Scene 24 was talking about, Scott thought.
"That is our quest! You know much that is hidden, O Tim,"
"Well, I wouldn't be a very good enchanter if I didn't, now would I?" Tim asked, and shot off several more fireballs. Scott felt his own hair beginning to stand on end at the amazing display. He would have to choose his next words carefully lest he provoke the man.
"Yes, we're, we're looking for the Holy Grail. Our quest is to find the Holy Grail," he said nervously.
"Yeah, yes, that's it!" said his fellow knights. Pyro looked at them curiously.
Uh oh, thought Scott. I think we've made him mad.
"And, um, and so we're looking for it," he said. Oh, this wasn't going very good at all, he thought. He's going to turn us into a crisp and we can't do a thing about it.
"Yes, we've been looking for it for ages!" said Robin.
"For an eternity!" said Bedevire.
Pyro said nothing, choosing instead to shoot out a long blaze of flame.
"Fine," said Scott, beginning to back away. "I don't want to waste any more of your time, but I don't suppose you could tell us where to find a., um, a um," he stuttered.
"A what?" Pyro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A gah, a gr, gr,"
"A Grail?!"
"Yes, that's it, I think," Scott said, putting his arms over his head to prepare for the incoming blast that he knew Pyro was going to shoot at them.
"Yes!" Pyro said unexpectedly.
"Oh! Well, um, thank you, thank you very much!" Scott said, relieved that he wouldn't be getting fried just yet.
Pyro shot off 8 fireballs in a row. They spiraled through the air and collided above the knights' heads, sending a cloud of sparks flying. One of them landed in Kurt's fur, and Kurt jumped in the air, frantically trying to get the spark off of him before it ignited his fur.
Scott brushed a few stray sparks aside. "Look, you're obviously a busy man, so,"
"Yes, I can help you find the Holy Grail!" Pyro interrupted.
"Ah, splendid," Bedevire said.
"Much obliged!" Kurt echoed, finally catching the rogue spark.
"To the north there lies a cave," said Pyro. "The Cave of Caerbannog, wherein, carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of Olfin Bedwere of Rhegin make plain the resting place of the most Holy Grail!" With that, he shot a large fireball toward the cliff behind the knights, blasting a large hole in the mountain and sending debris flying.
"Where might we find this cave, O Tim?" Scott asked.
"Follow!" Pyro said. "But, follow only if ye be men of valor, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived! Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair!" he warned them.
"So, brave knights, if you doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, sharp pointy teeth!" Tim finished. He curved two of his fingers into claws and began scratching at the air to show the knights just what they were in for.
"What an eccentric performance," Scott muttered, and the knights followed Pyro towards the cave.
X
Sadly, the happy mood did not last. As they passed through the land of Nador, a fierce winter storm bore down upon them. The harsh winds and frigid temperatures hampered their progress, and they were barely able to travel more than a few miles each day.
As the days passed, the storm showed no sign of relenting, and the party found themselves starving as their food supplies ran out. One frosty night, they sat huddled around a fire, shivering in their armor.
"What are we going to do?" Kurt asked Scott. "We're out of food, and we're lost in the middle of nowhere!" Then, he got hysterical and started crying. "Oh, I'm going to die out here! I'm going to die without ever seeing Amanda again! Without,"
"Kurt! Pull yourself together!" Scott shouted, gripping Kurt by the shoulders and shaking roughly. "I'll think of something," he said, not sure exactly what if anything he could do right now to alleviate their situation.
Just then, Robin came storming past. "I've had it with those wretched boys!" he shouted. "You should hear the things they're singing about me now! I never did any of those things!" He stomped off, complaining on to nobody in particular.
Scott rubbed his chin curiously, pondering something.
"Scott, what are you thinking?" Kurt asked him.
"I've got an idea. Wait here," Scott said, and walked over to Robin's minstrels.
"Er, boys, could you come into my tent for a minute? I'd like to have a word with you," Scott asked them.
"Of course, sire!" said the boys eagerly walked over to Scott's tent.
"I think he's going to make us knights!" James whispered to Oliver as Scott pulled back the flap and let them in. As they walked inside, Scott slowly pulled out a dagger from a sheath on his waist and entered the tent behind them.
X
A short time later.
The knights were all sitting around the fire, eating heartily. Scott's sudden announcement that they would be having a feast that evening had brightened everybody's mood considerably.
"Mmm!" said Bedevire, chewing on a chunk of fresh meat. "This is excellent, sire! Where did you ever find such splendid food, my liege?"
"Oh, I have my ways," Scott said, wiping the juices off his face. "How's yours, Robin?" he asked.
"Oh, perfect, sire! Just the way I like it!" Robin said. "Say, where did those accursed boys run off to now? They're missing the food!"
"Er, I think they went home," Scott said. "They said something about losing their voices with all this bad weather,"
"Oh," said Robin. "Oh, well, no loss. Now I can tell the story about that acid-spitting banana slug properly,"
The knights cheered, and there was much rejoicing as Robin regaled them with the tale of his exploits.
X
The next day, the weather began to clear up, and soon the knights found themselves traveling through a pleasant spring clime. After a few days of journeying, the path began to turn rocky as they headed into the mountains. The high cliffs towered over the knights' heads, casting tall shadows across the path.
"This is certainly a strange land, isn't it?" Bedevire asked.
"Reminds me of home," said Kurt. "Lots of good places to go climbing,"
"Eh, I'd rather keep my feet firmly on the ground than try to scale one of those crags," Lancelot said.
Suddenly, there was an explosion ahead of them. Robin dove for cover behind the nearest rock as the rest of the party looked up to see a man on a small cliff, shooting fire out of his hands.
Robin cowered behind the small stone, hoping that the man on the cliff wouldn't see him.
"Oh, get up," said Scott. "Everybody can see you down there," he chided.
"Sorry, my liege," Robin said, emerging from behind the fist-sized stone that he had been trying to crouch behind.
"Right, come on, then," Scott said, and the party approached the man on the cliff. The man continued to shoot off pyrotechnics as they got closer.
As they approached, Scott saw that the man had a blazing mane of red hair. Pyro, Scott thought. How appropriate.
"What manner of man are you that can summon up fire without flint or tinder?" he called up to the man on the cliff.
"I am an enchanter," Pyro said.
"And by what name are you known?"
"There are those that call me, Tim,"
Strange name for an enchanter, Scott thought. "Greetings, Tim the Enchanter!"
"Greetings, King Arthur!"
"You know my name?" Scott asked.
"I do!" Pyro said, and shot another fireball up into the air. "You seek the Holy Grail!"
This must be the enchanter the old man in Scene 24 was talking about, Scott thought.
"That is our quest! You know much that is hidden, O Tim,"
"Well, I wouldn't be a very good enchanter if I didn't, now would I?" Tim asked, and shot off several more fireballs. Scott felt his own hair beginning to stand on end at the amazing display. He would have to choose his next words carefully lest he provoke the man.
"Yes, we're, we're looking for the Holy Grail. Our quest is to find the Holy Grail," he said nervously.
"Yeah, yes, that's it!" said his fellow knights. Pyro looked at them curiously.
Uh oh, thought Scott. I think we've made him mad.
"And, um, and so we're looking for it," he said. Oh, this wasn't going very good at all, he thought. He's going to turn us into a crisp and we can't do a thing about it.
"Yes, we've been looking for it for ages!" said Robin.
"For an eternity!" said Bedevire.
Pyro said nothing, choosing instead to shoot out a long blaze of flame.
"Fine," said Scott, beginning to back away. "I don't want to waste any more of your time, but I don't suppose you could tell us where to find a., um, a um," he stuttered.
"A what?" Pyro asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A gah, a gr, gr,"
"A Grail?!"
"Yes, that's it, I think," Scott said, putting his arms over his head to prepare for the incoming blast that he knew Pyro was going to shoot at them.
"Yes!" Pyro said unexpectedly.
"Oh! Well, um, thank you, thank you very much!" Scott said, relieved that he wouldn't be getting fried just yet.
Pyro shot off 8 fireballs in a row. They spiraled through the air and collided above the knights' heads, sending a cloud of sparks flying. One of them landed in Kurt's fur, and Kurt jumped in the air, frantically trying to get the spark off of him before it ignited his fur.
Scott brushed a few stray sparks aside. "Look, you're obviously a busy man, so,"
"Yes, I can help you find the Holy Grail!" Pyro interrupted.
"Ah, splendid," Bedevire said.
"Much obliged!" Kurt echoed, finally catching the rogue spark.
"To the north there lies a cave," said Pyro. "The Cave of Caerbannog, wherein, carved in mystic runes upon the very living rock, the last words of Olfin Bedwere of Rhegin make plain the resting place of the most Holy Grail!" With that, he shot a large fireball toward the cliff behind the knights, blasting a large hole in the mountain and sending debris flying.
"Where might we find this cave, O Tim?" Scott asked.
"Follow!" Pyro said. "But, follow only if ye be men of valor, for the entrance to this cave is guarded by a creature so foul, so cruel that no man yet has fought with it and lived! Bones of full fifty men lie strewn about its lair!" he warned them.
"So, brave knights, if you doubt your courage or your strength, come no further, for death awaits you all with nasty, sharp pointy teeth!" Tim finished. He curved two of his fingers into claws and began scratching at the air to show the knights just what they were in for.
"What an eccentric performance," Scott muttered, and the knights followed Pyro towards the cave.
X