Terian must have looked a little worse for wear when he walked, as composed
as he could be, back into camp, because Sir Michael immediately noticed his
dirty and sweat-soaked clothes and his dirt-caked fingers. This was nowhere
near normal, as the knight pointed out to his prince. Terian could do
nothing but agree, and insist that he could not tell his story until all of
the companions were assembled. The older man grudgingly agreed and then
escorted the prince back to camp, where the group was quickly gathered.
Terian, nervous to tell something that perhaps he should have kept quiet about, unfolded his tale hesitatingly but with detail as to all that had happened. He left nothing out-what use would it be to lie to his friends? He described in full the man's clothes and peculiar behavior, adding that he had been armed with a bow and arrows. When he finished with his own arrival back to camp, there was a moment's quiet as the knights digested this strange tale. A moment, and then there was a storm of questions, all at the same time.
"A man, you said?"
"Dressed in all black."
"You drank from his flask?"
"He would not show you his face, then?"
"So he saved you but would not identify himself?"
"But he save you from falling off the cliff. Isn't that worth some trust?"
"Were you hurt when you almost fell off the cliff?"
"Maybe he spoke a different language."
"Not to be trusted, if you ask me."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
They all looked at each other, bewildered for a minute at the simultaneous questions. Then Terian, who could see the humor of the situation, gave voice to a bubbling chuckle, which soon turned into an all-out, mirthful laugh. It wasn't long until all the knights but one were laughing with him- the Prince's laugh was contagious.
But Sir William, apparently, found no humor in the situation that accosted them. He stared out in front of him pensively, his face clouded and troubled. Luke, his best friend, was the first to notice.
"What's the matter, Willi?" he asked carefully, wondering at his friend's uncharacteristic silence.
"I've been thinking," came the answer. Addressing the prince informally, as was the habit, he continued, "Terian, you said he was armed with a bow and arrows. Did you, by any chance, note how they were fletched?" The prince stared at him unbelievingly. Surely that couldn't be. He pictured the man sitting before him-mysterious and silent. Mentally he checked over the appearance. Black cloak, black hood, and.
"Black," Terian croaked, mouth dry with apprehension and a twinge of fear for the unknown. William nodded, as if that confirmed what he had been thinking, and, while the astonished and wondering knights looked on, went to his horse and busied himself with pulling something out of his saddlebags. He returned with something long and thin wrapped in a scrap of cloth.
"He can't have kept it?" Terian heard Sir Bertram murmur unbelievingly to his neighbor. But, as they soon saw, he had kept it, for reasons that he alone must know. He kneeled down and laid his package on the ground. Slowly, the cloth was folded away, to reveal the bloodstained shaft that had killed Terian's would-be assassin. Straight and long, the shaft was made out of good wood, with a sharp, stained metal point at one end and smooth black feathers at the other. It was a fearful sight.
William looked Terian straight in the eye, his gaze earnest and troubled. "Did they look like this?" he asked gravely into the hush that had come over the whole party. Mirth had made way for danger. The sight of the arrow struck a chord in Terian's memory, and he saw the black man's arrows vividly before him. They looked exactly alike. Slowly, the youth nodded.
"I can't tell the difference," was his reply. Now William, who kept everything that might be of use, once again produced one of the black feathers that they had found in the cave they had slept in their first night out of Bast. He placed it next to the first one. Though slightly crumpled, it still struck Terian as very similar.
"We have here three incidences," Sir Michael said gravely, leaning back on his heels. "We can choose to believe that it is coincidence, or we can think that we're being followed, for danger or for good. It's up to you." The knights looked at each other in the hush that followed, and then each rose, as if on signal, went to their horses with a grim determination that slightly awed Terian, and strapped on shining, little used swords, and, in a few cases, arrows. They were preparing themselves for what might happen.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
The knights rode out at noon, and their heightened awareness convinced Tayli that they knew at least a little of her presence. She followed at a farther distance now and tried to hide herself by keeping to the shade of trees, and hills, but she knew that they saw her. The day was bright and clear, with a slight breeze making the air seem light, and if she had to be able to see them, it meant that they could also see her. Still, she could keep away, and give them no more of a clue to her presence than they already had.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
A/N: It'll be a while till I write again-have patience!
Terian, nervous to tell something that perhaps he should have kept quiet about, unfolded his tale hesitatingly but with detail as to all that had happened. He left nothing out-what use would it be to lie to his friends? He described in full the man's clothes and peculiar behavior, adding that he had been armed with a bow and arrows. When he finished with his own arrival back to camp, there was a moment's quiet as the knights digested this strange tale. A moment, and then there was a storm of questions, all at the same time.
"A man, you said?"
"Dressed in all black."
"You drank from his flask?"
"He would not show you his face, then?"
"So he saved you but would not identify himself?"
"But he save you from falling off the cliff. Isn't that worth some trust?"
"Were you hurt when you almost fell off the cliff?"
"Maybe he spoke a different language."
"Not to be trusted, if you ask me."
"Are you sure you're alright?"
They all looked at each other, bewildered for a minute at the simultaneous questions. Then Terian, who could see the humor of the situation, gave voice to a bubbling chuckle, which soon turned into an all-out, mirthful laugh. It wasn't long until all the knights but one were laughing with him- the Prince's laugh was contagious.
But Sir William, apparently, found no humor in the situation that accosted them. He stared out in front of him pensively, his face clouded and troubled. Luke, his best friend, was the first to notice.
"What's the matter, Willi?" he asked carefully, wondering at his friend's uncharacteristic silence.
"I've been thinking," came the answer. Addressing the prince informally, as was the habit, he continued, "Terian, you said he was armed with a bow and arrows. Did you, by any chance, note how they were fletched?" The prince stared at him unbelievingly. Surely that couldn't be. He pictured the man sitting before him-mysterious and silent. Mentally he checked over the appearance. Black cloak, black hood, and.
"Black," Terian croaked, mouth dry with apprehension and a twinge of fear for the unknown. William nodded, as if that confirmed what he had been thinking, and, while the astonished and wondering knights looked on, went to his horse and busied himself with pulling something out of his saddlebags. He returned with something long and thin wrapped in a scrap of cloth.
"He can't have kept it?" Terian heard Sir Bertram murmur unbelievingly to his neighbor. But, as they soon saw, he had kept it, for reasons that he alone must know. He kneeled down and laid his package on the ground. Slowly, the cloth was folded away, to reveal the bloodstained shaft that had killed Terian's would-be assassin. Straight and long, the shaft was made out of good wood, with a sharp, stained metal point at one end and smooth black feathers at the other. It was a fearful sight.
William looked Terian straight in the eye, his gaze earnest and troubled. "Did they look like this?" he asked gravely into the hush that had come over the whole party. Mirth had made way for danger. The sight of the arrow struck a chord in Terian's memory, and he saw the black man's arrows vividly before him. They looked exactly alike. Slowly, the youth nodded.
"I can't tell the difference," was his reply. Now William, who kept everything that might be of use, once again produced one of the black feathers that they had found in the cave they had slept in their first night out of Bast. He placed it next to the first one. Though slightly crumpled, it still struck Terian as very similar.
"We have here three incidences," Sir Michael said gravely, leaning back on his heels. "We can choose to believe that it is coincidence, or we can think that we're being followed, for danger or for good. It's up to you." The knights looked at each other in the hush that followed, and then each rose, as if on signal, went to their horses with a grim determination that slightly awed Terian, and strapped on shining, little used swords, and, in a few cases, arrows. They were preparing themselves for what might happen.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
The knights rode out at noon, and their heightened awareness convinced Tayli that they knew at least a little of her presence. She followed at a farther distance now and tried to hide herself by keeping to the shade of trees, and hills, but she knew that they saw her. The day was bright and clear, with a slight breeze making the air seem light, and if she had to be able to see them, it meant that they could also see her. Still, she could keep away, and give them no more of a clue to her presence than they already had.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
A/N: It'll be a while till I write again-have patience!