The Thief's Crusader
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of A New Crusade IF! We'll be starting our latest short story here asking the question 'What if Ulric joined Felt's camp?' Not sure how many chapters this one will run just yet, but we seem to be off to a good start with this one. Also, feel free to take a look at my new Ebook, Plains Riders, on Amazon and Kindle. And with no review questions this week, let's dive on in!
The Capital of Lugnica: The Fountain
Once again, we find ourselves at the fountain in Lugnica where the Crusader, Ulric Arkwright, appears. As before he is a mess of confusion, having just died in defense of Jerusalem only to find himself in a completely unfamiliar land. Originally he went forward, in another story he went to the right, and in yet another story he went around the back. In this particular story, the Knight shall take the path on the upper left, venturing down the city streets in an attempt to get his bearings.
He'll marvel at the size of the city and wonder whether or not he should fear the animalistic demi-humans who walk the streets like the rest of the population. Unlike before, he'll wind up wandering down one of the less traveled sections of the city. The reason for which would be quickly discovered by the Crusader. 'This is most assuredly a strange place,' mused Ulric, 'it is alive and vibrant and greatly resembles some of the great cities of Europe, yet at the same time it has many differences.'
The only reason he hadn't drawn his sword on any of the demi-humans so far was because no one else seemed to be afraid of them. There was also no fear in the face of the large, lizard-like creatures that pulled carriages and wagons in place of horses. Though he did have to pull a young girl out of the way of one of the wagons as they were still moving fast enough to crush an unwary bystander. After being thanked by the mother of the young girl the Knight continued on into a nearby alley where there was less noise in order to think.
This would turn out to be a mistake, however, as he caught movement from the other side of the alley. Three individuals stepped out of the shadows then, all of whom looked like less than honorable folk. The first was an incredibly short individual with a bowl haircut and a brownish red cloak that covered the rest of his body. The second individual was quite a contrast to the first as he was the tallest of the three, taller even than Ulric, wearing a vest, baggy shirt and pants, an orange belt and a turban-like hat on his head.
The final individual, and apparent leader judging by how he stood in between and slightly forward of the other two, wore a plain shirt and pants with shackles on his wrists and ankles that made him look like he'd just escaped from prison. He also stood out with his white hair and metal piercings in his tongue. "Well well," said the Lead Criminal, "look what we got here."
"Uh boss," said the shortest of the three, "we may want to leave this one alone. He's dressed like a knight."
"Not like any knight I've ever seen," commented the Large Robber, "bet he's from out of town."
"I am, in fact, new to this city," said Ulric, deciding to ere on the side of caution for the moment, "would you happen to know of any vendors who sell maps around here?"
"Tell ya what," said the Leader with an evil grin, "if you fork over everything ya got, we'll tell you where to find something like that."
"It would defeat the purpose if I gave you all of my funds," replied Ulric, "and this is assuming the currency I possess is the right one. As I just mentioned, I am not from this land."
"Maybe your armor and that sword'll fetch a good price then," said the Leader as he drew a pair of daggers, "so why not make this easy on all of us and hand it over."
"I'm afraid that's quite impossible," replied the Knight, "I've little more than this armor on my back. If you point me to someone who knows the area, though, I promise to bring no harm to any of you." Before he'd wondered if he was dealing with skilled opponents. But now that he saw the sloppy way his enemy was holding their knives he was much more confident that they didn't know much about combat.
"We won't be the ones getting hurt!" Exclaimed the Leader as he lunged at the Crusader with his weapons. Ulric reacted instinctively, shifting to the left and out of the path of the blades while countering with a painful left hook that caught the robber in the side of the face. The blow had enough force behind it to send the man stumbling and colliding with the alley wall where he quickly slumped into unconsciousness.
"Boss!" Exclaimed the Larger Robber as he made to tackle the Knight. Ulric quickly shifted position again and slammed his right fist into his attacker's face before following up with another left hook and finally a kick to the stomach which knocked the man back. The Smallest Robber tried to go around and attack Ulric at his blind spot but the Crusader hadn't forgotten him as he lashed out and grabbed the thief by his bowl cut hair before slamming his face down onto the stoney ground. This turned out to be all it took to render him unconscious as the Knight returned to a regular standing position and dusted himself off.
"You should really consider getting honest work," said Ulric, "had you encountered my friend, Sir Rodrick, he would've beaten you twice as bad as this."
"I think these three have had more than enough," said a man who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere as Ulric turned to him with his hand on his sword. "Now there's no need for that. I heard a commotion and came to see what the issue was. Though it seems you have everything well in hand." The Crusader studied the newcomer, quickly taking note of his red hair and white uniform that was decorated with a large, white cape around his shoulders.
Though what was of particular interest to Ulric was the sword on his left hip which had a golden handguard that resembled a dragon's head. 'That's a fine blade,' noted the Crusader, 'he must be of a high rank to afford something like that.' "And who might you be?" Questioned Ulric, keeping his hand on his sword for the time being. It didn't seem to faze the red-haired man whose smile hadn't left his face since he'd arrived.
"I am Reinhard Van Astrea," said the Man with a slight bow, "a knight of the kingdom of Lugnica. Today is supposed to be my day off, but that doesn't mean I'll ignore trouble when it occurs."
"A knight, you say," replied Ulric, "that I am familiar with, though I am unfamiliar with the kingdom of Lugnica. Is that a place in Europe?"
"Europe?" Said Reinhard with a questioning look, "I can't say I'm familiar with a place called Europe. How did you come to be here in the capital of Lugnica without knowing what it was?"
"I'm afraid I know not," answered the Crusader, "one moment I was in battle and the next I woke up near a fountain in this city. I've been trying to find my way around for some time."
"It sounds like you were transported here by magic," said Reinhard as he rubbed his chin, "that is intriguing. Perhaps if I show you around for a bit, we might find something you recognize."
"Only if it's not imposing on your time, Sir Knight," said Ulric as he finally released his hold on his sword. The man seemed genuinely concerned. One might even say he projected an aura about himself, one that was possessed by the more upstanding of men.
"Not at all," assured Reinhard, "while it is my day off I've been finding it difficult to sit still, so this is just a continuation of the walk around the city I was already on. But first, let's see to this bunch." This would turn out to be a rather simple task as they carried the three thieves over to a nearby guard's station and handed them off before heading back towards the marketplace. As they went, though, Ulric decided to bring up something he noticed about the other knight's behavior around Reinhard when they arrived at the guard station.
"You seem to be quite well known among the rank and file soldiers," began the Crusader, "are you sure you're merely a knight?"
"I have accomplished a number of feats that gained me some recognition," explained Reinhard, "but I'm just another knight defending the kingdom. I'm little different from the others."
"Based on what I've seen so far that's hardly the case," said Ulric, "the knights at the guard station recognized you instantly and acted as if a general had just come by. If you're just a simple knight like the rest of them, then you're an exceptionally notable one."
"I merely have the advantage of coming from a family of sword masters," said Reinhard, humbly, "but even with my magic and my divine protection, my power is relatively modest."
"Magic, and divine protection," said Ulric with a raised eyebrow, "those who are blessed by the divine wouldn't need magic."
"You wouldn't think so," said Reinhard as they turned a corner into the crowded main street of the marketplace, "but there are numerous powerful forces in the world, many of which also possess magic, divine protections or other forms of dark power."
"This land is most assuredly strange," said Ulric, "the forces of God and the devil seem to move more, conspicuously here. At least based on all that you've said."
"The great deities move in strange ways as they always do," said Reinhard, "as for devils, you'll find them wherever the witches have touched."
"Witches," said Ulric, "so there are also witches in-." He was interrupted by a slight commotion as a loud voice called out.
"STOP THIEF!" Yelled a girl as the two knights looked in the direction of the apparent crime. The one who yelled appeared to be a white-haired girl wearing a strange white outfit with purple lining and robed sleeves. The one she was chasing after was a short, blond girl wearing a brown vest with a long, red scarf trailing behind her.
"Would you mind heading her off," said Reinhard as he seemed to suddenly disappear. Had this not been an unfolding situation the Crusader would've been more amazed at the feat. But he kept his focus on what he needed to do and moved in front of the running blond girl.
"Not today knight boy," quipped the Thief as she leapt up and over Ulric's head, her agility taking the Crusader by surprise as she landed behind him. Her moment of triumph was short-lived, however, as Reinhard reappeared out of nowhere and seized the blond by the wrist. "Huh, where did you come from?!"
"I was here the whole time," replied Reinhard, his apparently characteristic smile never once leaving his face, "you just underestimated the number of your opponents."
"Opponents," said the girl, "I'm running late for an appointment and you're holding me up!"
"No you're not," said the silver-haired girl who'd been chasing her, "you robbed me. If its money you need I can get you some but please give me back my insignia."
"Insignia," said Ulric as he directed his next question to Reinhard, "do you know what she's talking about?"
"I do indeed," said the Knight as he gently, but firmly opened the blond thief's hand, "and it's not something that Lady Emilia here can afford to lose." Ulric was about to ask if that was the silver-haired girl's name until Reinhard's eyes suddenly widened. "It…can't be."
"What is it?" Asked Ulric as he finally got a look at what was in Felt's hand. It was a small black badge of sorts with gold lining and a red jewel in the center. Strangely, the red jewel seemed to be glowing.
"You need to tell us who hired you to get this, right now," said the Red-haired Knight firmly, "and then you'll need to come with me."
"What's the big deal," said the Blond Girl, "it's just a piece of jewelry or something, isn't it?"
"This is no mere piece of jewelry," said Reinhard as he handed it back to the one known as Emilia, "what you were ordered to steal was in fact a symbol of royal authority, one designed to help secure the future of this nation."
"Huh, that's why she-oh," the Blond Girl clamped a hand over her mouth to stop from saying any more but it was already too late.
"As I thought," said Reinhard, "Lady Emilia isn't carrying much of anything on her yet you singled her out among everyone else. You knew what you were looking for."
"Alright fine someone paid me to do it," said the Thief, "so tell ya what, if I lead you to our meeting spot and you arrest her will you agree to let me go?"
"You won't be going to prison, that I can promise you," said Reinhard, "if there is someone going around snatching royal insignias they must be stopped immediately."
"I have your word as a knight that you won't take me to prison?" Said the Thief with a raised eyebrow.
"I swear on my honor as a knight," answered Reinhard seriously, "but you must also swear that you won't try to escape. As you've already seen, you won't get far."
"Yeah fine," she replied, "I swear I won't try to escape. Can you let go of me now?"
"Certainly," said Reinhard as he released her, "now why don't you start leading the way."
"Might I come along," said Emilia, "I'm rather curious who'd want me out of the race badly enough to have my insignia stolen."
"So long as you're careful, I don't see why not," replied Reinhard before turning to the other knight, "Sir Ulric. Why don't you accompany us too? It should prove quite informative for you."
"I do need to learn my way around the city," admitted the Crusader, "and this little incident has raised quite a few questions."
"Then let us go and we shall discuss things on the way," said Reinhard as they began their trek down to what Ulric would learn were the slums.
A While Later: The Slums
'This land is far more complicated than I ever imagined,' thought Ulric, 'magic, spirits, dragons and a royal selection where the candidates are determined by a mystical bauble. Stranger still, the magic or at least most of it is not evil in nature but rather quite neutral.' It was a lot to take in and that was before he learned that the kingdom he'd appeared in didn't currently have a ruler. It had a council of elders who were overseeing important affairs for the time being but the royal family itself had died off due to a mysterious illness.
Emilia, as it turned out, was one of five candidates who'd been selected as a potential successor to the throne and the insignia she carried was what determined her status as said candidate. Strangely, when she mentioned that only four had been found Reinhard corrected her and said the fifth had actually been determined. Before either of them could ask any further questions about that, however, the group of four, or rather five if one included Emilia's floating cat Puck, arrived in the slums. "Home sweet home," said the Thief whose name they'd come to learn was Felt, "don't worry about the prying eyes, they know to steer clear of knights."
She was referring to the numerous people who seemed to be taking fleeting glimpses of them from the broken windows of the torn up, ramshackle houses or the small alleyways that characterized the slums. Many of them seemed to be orphans or people who were down on their luck or were simply incapable of performing certain tasks. Others seemed to simply not much care about their lives and they sat around more openly, their ragged appearances matching the dilapidated area around them. "You say you grew up here," asked Emilia, "do you have any parents?"
"I did but they either died or abandoned me," said Felt as they turned a corner to see one of the houses in slightly better repair, "I survived thanks to help from old man Rom." Emilia was about to ask who that was before Felt walked up and knocked on the door to the old house.
"For a rat," said a deep voice on the other side of the door. Judging by how gravelly it sounded Ulric estimated that the man was indeed a little on the older side.
"Poison," answered Felt without any hesitation, clearly having done this before.
"For a whale," asked the man on the other side to which Felt answered 'Harpoon'. "And to the noble dragon lord."
"We're bags of shit," answered Felt, not really seeming to like that last part. The door opened then to reveal a very large, brown-skinned man with no hair and enormous, white eyebrows. Ulric estimated him to be around seven feet tall if not more.
"There ya are Felt," he said before noticing the rest of them, "and who are all these people supposed to be? At least one of them looks like a knight."
"Two knights and the mark I tried stealing from," replied Felt in slight embarrassment, "but this guy here says he's willing to let us go if we cooperate."
"A pleasure to meet you," said Reinhard with his usual friendly smile, "I take it your old man Rom?"
"What's it to ya if I am?" Questioned the large man with a raised eyebrow.
"I am Reinhard Van Astrea," he introduced, "and I'll be needing your help this evening."
"R-Reinhard Van Astrea!" Exclaimed the man with a look of terror as he actually fell backwards. "Felt, what did you do to bring him of all people here?!"
"We simply happened to be in the same location as Lady Emilia here," explained Ulric while indicating said royal candidate, "this little one didn't see us when she snatched her prize and was quickly captured. However, we've not come here to arrest you, Mr. Rom."
"Please just Rom," he said as he got back up from the floor, "and I guess you may as well come in. Whether or not you're here to arrest me I wouldn't get far if an Astrea is involved."
"As my associate mentioned, you have nothing to fear," assured Reinhard as they all went into the Loot House which they now saw looked like an abandoned bar that had been turned into a shop of sorts. Ulric very much doubted the majority of the merchandise had been acquired legally. "What we wish to do is capture the one trying to get the insignia in the first place."
"So it's the buyer for that insignia you're after," said Rom as they all sat down and he poured them each small glasses of milk. Ulric was hesitant to drink any at first but Felt took a drink without any fear and so did Reinhard, meaning it was likely safe. He finally decided to take a sip after Rom poured his own from the same container as the rest of them. "Alright, what d'ya need us to do?"
"It's actually very simple," said Reinhard as he laid out his plan. It was relatively simplistic, though there was a lot of information they didn't have. With luck, that wouldn't be too big of an issue. Or so they all hoped.
Sunset: The Loot House
The sun was descending in the western part of the sky by this point as Ulric stood by. Everyone else was also in place and waiting, poised to jump into action at a moment's notice. Everyone except for Puck, that is. It turned out the spirit feline had a time limit on how long he could be out during the day. Though despite the spirit's absence, Emilia was confident in both her and Reinhard's ability to detain the perpetrator. Ulric, on the other hand, was wondering a bit about his own role.
The reason being that Reinhard had insisted on using the Crusader's sword instead of drawing his own. According to the Red-haired Knight, his sword could only be drawn in the presence of a worthy opponent. The Crusader might've questioned him further on it but decided to let it go for the moment, figuring there was a mystical reason behind why his own personal sword would behave in such a way. The Knight instead was relying on a dagger he kept hidden in the back of his belt, though it seemed smaller than usual in comparison to Rom's enormous wooden club and even Felt's own dagger.
When he thought about it, though, it was probably most difficult for Felt who had to act as the bait in this scenario. A knock on the door broke the Crusader from his thoughts as he stood by behind some of the larger merchandise while Emilia kept to the shadows near the bar. Reinhard himself had moved to the outside of the building, saying he'd know when their guest arrived. "Come in," said Felt as she worked to keep herself calm by sipping some milk.
The door opened to reveal a dark-haired woman wearing a long, black cloak with purple fur of all things around the collar. "Good evening," said the woman with a smile that was supposed to be warm but was chilling instead, "did you happen to acquire the item I requested?"
"Got it right here," said Felt as she put the insignia down on the table. Emilia hadn't been too happy about this part of the plan, but both Ulric and Reinhard pointed out that it'd be suspicious if Felt didn't have it for the transaction. "Before I hand it over, though, can I ask a question?"
"That depends on what you want to know," said the Woman, "I am merely an envoy for my client."
"Did your client happen to tell you why he wanted this stolen and not something else?" Asked Felt, managing to keep her composure well despite her nervousness.
"I'm afraid he didn't tell me much at all," she replied, "I was merely sent here with the funds to purchase it. Everything else I know about it was already relayed to you so that you'd know what you were going after. Though it seems you've brought more company with you than was here last time. Would you mind calling them out so we can have a more direct confrontation?"
"You guys may as well come out," said Rom with a sigh as he hefted his club, "she's on to us."
"I was certain I'd concealed my presence better," said Emilia as she emerged from the shadows while Ulric stood up. "But since we've got you here, I'd like to know who you are and who your client is?"
"I can certainly tell you who I am," said the woman as she stood up, "my name is Elsa Granhiert. As for my client, I'm afraid giving out information like that would be unprofessional of me. Even if I did, however, it wouldn't make a difference."
"And why might that be?" Questioned Ulric as he adjusted the dagger in his hand.
"Because now that the true owner of that insignia is here, I'll have to go with the alternative plan," she raised her arm at incredible speed then, a strange purple kukri seeming to appear in her hand as she went for the closest person there, Felt. The surprised thief just barely leaned back in time to avoid getting her throat cut as Emilia conjured icicles in the air and fired them at the apparent assassin. Elsa reacted with blinding speed, deflecting the first few lethal shards before ducking and flipping out of the way as the barrage grew more intense. Ulric seized his moment when she did a more elaborate flip over the rain of ice shards by rushing in and attempting to stab her in the heart when she landed.
Amazingly, Elsa was able to land and parry the blow all in one smooth motion and then parried a few more with little effort before kicking Ulric backward onto the floor. "Now," she said as she readied to swing her blade, "be the first to show me your bowels!"
"Back off!" Yelled Rom as he came in swinging his large weapon. Elsa was forced to leap away but still seemed unconcerned as she flipped and dodged around the much larger fighter's blows. At one point, she actually managed to jump up and land on his club, surprising the old man more than a little.
"You must be quite strong to hold me up like this," she said evilly before readying to slice at the back of his neck. Fortunately, Felt threw her dagger at the last second which Elsa was forced to bat away before leaping off of Rom to avoid his large hand. "Very well, I'll deal with you first!" She shot towards Felt at her fastest speed yet, her bloodlust more than evident now as she aimed to slice the young girl in half.
Felt's eyes widened in fear as she turned and covered her head reflexively while screaming in terror. It was then that the front door came flying off its hinges and slammed into the assassin, knocking her into the middle of the room. "It seems you're exactly who I suspected you to be," said Reinhard as he strolled into the Loot House confidently, "Elsa Granhiert, the Bowel Hunter."
"Oh, my reputation proceeds me," said Elsa as she stood up, brushing off the debris from the door, "and yours does as well, Reinhard Van Astrea."
"What in the world took you so long?!" Exclaimed Felt, "more than one of us nearly died waiting on you!"
"My sincerest apologies, your ladyship," said Reinhard, "I wanted to be sure my intervention was absolutely necessary before I stepped in. Now that I've confirmed the identity of our enemy, it's more than obvious my skills will be needed here."
"Let us put that to the test then, shall we," said Elsa as she again rushed forward, her blade a mere blur as she swung it towards the Swordsman's stomach. Reinhard countered this by stepping forward, releasing a wave of energy that greatly slowed his opponent and created an opening for him to kick her in the side, sending her rolling on the floor and nearly into the wall. "It seems the rumors are true," she said as she got back to her feet, "you really don't draw your sword unless you're facing the most ferocious of opponents."
"I hope that won't be a problem for you," said Reinhard as he brandished Ulric's sword which he'd been keeping on his belt.
"Not at all," said Elsa as a twisted expression of excitement crossed her face, "it's wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" She shot to the side then before jumping off the wall, slashing with not one but two kukris now. Thankfully, Reinhard's reflexes were well-honed, and he deflected both blades with little seeming trouble as Elsa moved back and charged again. She assaulted the knight from multiple angles, seeming to run and crawl along the walls in between attacks as she sought an opening to exploit.
"Sir Ulric," said Reinhard as he deflected one attack after another, "I hate to ask this of you, but please protect Lady Felt and Lady Emilia. This next attack is going to make something of a mess."
"Can't you make a wall of ice to protect against whatever he's about to do?" Questioned Ulric to Emilia as Reinhard began gathering some kind of blue energy into the sword he was wielding.
"My magic requires using the mana in the atmosphere," explained Emilia, "but what he's doing right now is sucking all of it towards him!"
"Then it sounds like now's a good time to get out of here!" Exclaimed Rom. Ulric found himself agreeing with that line of thought as he rushed to the former doorway, kicking a piece of debris aside before hurrying everyone else out first before moving to go out himself. By this point, the light from Reinhard's sword had become practically blinding as he raised it above his head.
Ulric moved to run just as he swung the weapon. What followed was a powerful blast that blew off the roof and entire backside of the Loot House. Even being at the front, the Crusader and the others were still knocked off balance by the force of the impact. "God in Heaven," said Ulric as he and everyone else worked to regain their footing before looking back, "what was that?"
"That was a small sample of what the most powerful knight in all of Lugnica is capable of," said Rom, "that is also why his sword can only be drawn against worthy opponents. Reinhard Van Astrea is capable of laying waste to entire armies on his own. Makes me glad he introduced himself first before all of this."
"You're quite welcome," said Reinhard as he came walking out of the rectangular hole that used to have a door, "though I must apologize now. For your house, Rom, and for your sword as well, Sir Ulric." He held up the blade which quickly disintegrated in his hand. "I'm afraid I put in just a little too much power, though it did it's job wonderfully 'til the end."
"It kept me alive all the way through Jerusalem," said Ulric as everyone gathered around the victor of the fight, "if you're going to get me a new one, it had better be at least as good as-LOOK OUT!" He'd spotted movement from the rubble and not a moment too soon as Elsa, somehow still alive and without her cape, burst forth and came rushing at the group. Ulric moved towards her with his dagger drawn but Elsa didn't seem to think he was worth the effort and threw her kukri at him. What she hadn't expected, though, was for Ulric to move on instinct the moment he saw her cock her arm, raising his arm and dagger to bat away the thrown projectile.
"You're surprisingly persistent," she said as she switched targets to him and was about to slash his stomach before Reinhard appeared between them and stopped Elsa's blow. The surprised assassin didn't have time to react as she was again kicked across the room, losing her remaining weapon in the process.
"I don't know how you survived that," said Reinhard as he held his hands up in a fighting position, "but I'll be much more thorough this time."
"Oh, I might actually die if that's the case," said Elsa as she got to her feet and leapt up onto the rubble, "it seems we'll have to pick this up another time. So take good care of your bowels until then." She turned and leapt out the new hole in the back of the house, quickly disappearing into the night. Reinhard let out a sigh as he relaxed his stance.
"Thank you, Sir Ulric," he said, "I'm usually not that distracted. And my opponents usually don't get up after being struck by one of the Astrea family sword techniques."
"'Sword technique'," repeated Ulric, "you can actually learn how to do something like that?"
"It requires a lot of time, training and patience," replied Reinhard, "but depending on your affinity, yes, it is possible."
"I'm not sure it'd be a good idea to have someone else running around who can do something like that," said Rom as he rubbed his head, "just look at my house."
"Again I apologize for that," Reinhard said with a bow, "I'll contact my fellow knights and we'll see to it that the damage is paid for. But before that, I must be taking Lady Felt with me now."
"What," said the Blond Thief, "but you said I wouldn't go to prison if I helped you!"
"I agree," said Emilia, "you promised that you'd let her go if she helped us."
"You misunderstand," said Reinhard with a slight laugh, "I'm not taking Lady Felt to prison. I'm taking her to the castle."
"Why in the world do ya keep calling her 'Lady Felt'?" Questioned Rom, "she's a bit too young to be a lady just yet."
"To answer that, you need only look at the object in her hand," said Reinhard as he pointed to Felt's right hand. The Blond girl was clearly confused but did as requested. Once again, the red jewel in the center was glowing as she opened her hand.
"It can't be," said Emilia, "you're also a royal candidate?"
"The fifth and final one," affirmed the Red-haired Knight with a nod, "today has turned out to be a momentous day. Now that fate has brought us all together, Lady Felt, we can finally begin the Royal Selection." Felt's reaction to this was rather simple and straightforward.
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTT!" She exclaimed. Ulric wasn't sure whether or not he should laugh at this predicament, that is until his right arm suddenly started hurting. Looking down, the Knight noted he'd been cut from when he'd deflected the kukri. 'Oh no,' he thought as a sudden wave of nausea started washing over him, 'don't tell me that blade was poi-.' He wasn't able to finish the thought as he fell over, the blackness of unconsciousness quickly taking hold.
Surprise after surprise is greeting our fellow Crusader and his new compatriots as a simple encounter turns into an event that'll alter the very kingdom! Though at the moment it's a wonder if Ulric will be around long enough to witness any more of it. Alas, we'll have to wait until next time to see his fate, so until then, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters or story requests. And don't forget to check out my new Ebook, Plains Riders, on Amazon and Kindle. Be sure to stop in next time as our Crusader gets a little lesson on the daily life of a royal in Lugnica. 'til then.