Disclaimer: see earlier chapters, though I added a few characters. Blah. Blah. Sorry I take so long to update. Enjoy, please R&R.

Chapter 3

Valkyn could feel the eyes of the Woads upon as he rode. He smiled to himself, they thought they were going to surprise him but it they who were in for a surprise. Valkyn slowed Arion to a walk the edge of a clearing. The forest was deathly quiet. He halted in the middle of the open space, for several moments he sat in silence. Without warning he flicked a knife from his wrist into the undergrowth, there was a gurgle and a blue painted body fell out of the bush. At once the clearing exploded into cries from furious Woads and a party of twenty emerged from the trees.

Valkyn dismounted, and waited for the attack. Five came at him at once. He drew his sword from the scabbard across his back and cut them down in a series of movements. The other Woads approached with caution, spreading out to get behind him. Those seeking to get behind him encountered the ferocious Arion. The black stallion's eyes blazed as he kicked, bit, and trampled all within his reach. Valkyn focused on the Woads in front of him, trusting Arion to guard his back.

No emotion entered into Valkyn's dance of death. He fought with a cold precision that terrified his opponents. Darting under one Woad's guard he slashed open his stomach, moving into a swift upswing to block another's sword. He dodged yet another's with a quick side step. He felt his blade catch in the body of a falling Woad. Rather than waste precious seconds pulling it out, Valkyn let the sword go. He ducked a swing at his head and grabbed the man's wrist. A quick jerk brought the man off balance and Valkyn slit his throat with his dirk as he fell. Valkyn dropped to the ground as another Woad swung at his torso. He kicked out his feet, breaking the Woads knees and sending him down onto his own sword. He parried a blow aimed for his neck while lying on his back. Then grabbing the Woad's arms, he used his feet to flip her over top of him and crashing into three of her fellows. He used the brief reprieve to leap to his feet and jerk his sword form the corpse that held it.

Valkyn danced in and out of reach, never in the place his enemy expected his to be, his blade a blur. When it was over Valkyn stood unscathed in a circle of blue painted bodies. Arion snorted from the clearings edge where he had just trampled the last Woad as he tried to escape. Valkyn stepped over the blood-soaked ground to a clean grassy area and knelt down to clean his blade. When he finished he looked up at Arion as he sheathed the blade.

"Well done, brother. Well done," Valkyn said, scratching the stallion's ears. He patted Arion on the neck and then checked him for wounds, finding none he swung into the saddle.

"Come we must hurry if we're to make the Wall before nightfall."

----

Cathaír watched from the Wall as Arthur and the caravan approached. This day brings us our freedom, he thought suddenly. For so long they had fought and died here, freedom had seemed a dream they would never reach. But now it was within their grasp, Cathaír could hardly believe it. He felt a rush of energy run through his body and on impulse he yelled out the Sarmatian battle cry.

"RUS!" His yell was answered by Bors from below. Cathaír leapt down from his perch and ran down towards the knights' barracks to tell the others that their freedom had finally arrived. He found Adrian and Balder at the practice grounds sparring, while the twins, Bran and Bres, watched.

"Arthur returns with the bishop! Our day of freedom has come at last!" Cathaír cried. Adrian and Balder stopped sparring long enough to grin at the younger knights. The twins joined Cathaír's quest to inform the rest of the knights. They found Gavin engaged in a game of dice with a Roman, and from the sour look on the Roman's face Gavin was winning.

"Have you seen Tyr, Gavin?" Bran asked.

"He's in the stable with Aeolus, I think," Gavin said without looking up from the game.

"Arthur's back," Bres said.

"That's nice," Gavin replied, still absorbed in the game.

"With the Bishop," Bran continued.

"Great, another arrogant Roman to annoy me."

"And our freedom," Cathaír added.

"Wonderful. Now will the three of you please leave me in peace. This game requires a lot of concentration, you know."

Cathaír and the twins exchanged glances and shrugs then sped off to find Tyr. They reached the stable only to find it empty; Tyr had taken Aeolus out for a ride. Since they were there however they decided to ride out to meet the returning knights. Quickly throwing the tack onto their mounts they galloped out of the barn and raced for the gate.

----

Tristan watched as three horseman exploded out of the gate and raced towards them at full gallop. He immediately recognized the three youngest knights, Cathaír and the twins. Dismissing them for the moment he returned his attention to Gawain, Galahad, and Bors.

"I don't kill for pleasure," Galahad replied to Bors scathingly. "Unlike some."

"You should try it sometime. You might develop a taste for it," Tristan said, causing Galahad to glance at him and rein his horse away in disgust.

"Yeeha!" screamed the twins as they pulled their mounts to a screeching halt, barely avoiding a collision with Gawain.

"Why don't you yahoos watch where you're going?" Gawain said with a grin.

Tristan glanced over as Cathaír turned his mare, Fionúir, and brought her alongside Passebreul.

"You all have any trouble?" he asked.

"A few Woads." Tristan replied. 'And something else,' he thought recalling the mysterious arrows.

They both looked over as Bors asked Lancelot about what he was going to do with his freedom.

"What about you, Lancelot, what are your plans for home?"

"Well, if this woman of Gawain's is as beautiful as he claims I expect I'll be spending a lot of time at Gawain's house. His wife will welcome the company."

"And what will I be doing?" Gawain asked skeptically.

"Wondering why it's your good fortune that all your children look like me," Lance replied with his trademark grin, riding forward to join Arthur.

"Is that before or after I hit you with my axe?" Gawain asked amid the laughter of the others.

Tristan lifted his arm as his hawk, Keeva, swooped down to land.

"Where you been, eh? Where you been?" he asked, tapping her under the chin. He smiled when she screeched at him.

"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to be a bird, Tristan? To be able to fly above the land and see for miles?" Cathaír asked.

"To soar above the clouds as Keeva does, that is true freedom. A freedom which men shall never know." Tristan replied as they road under the wall.

-----

Later that night they were all gathered outside the tavern celebrating their freedom. Tristan watched from a corner, silently brooding over the day's battle. Something about the arrows and the unseen archer bothered him, and it wasn't just that he remained elusive. Tristan couldn't quite put his finger on it but it was almost as if they were familiar in someway. He decided to put it aside for the moment; there was no sense in worrying over something he had no control over. He picked up his ale and settled down to watch the others enjoy themselves.

Lancelot was gambling with some Romans, while Adrian and Balder foolishly engaged Gavin in a game of dice. Cathaír was singing, the only knight with a fine voice, he loved to sing. Tristan watched with amusement as the intoxicated Bran and Bres joined Cathaír in song, effectively slaughtering his tune. Gawain and Galahad had begun a knife throwing contest. Both missed the center, though Galahad's was closer. On impulse Tristan withdrew his own knife and flicked it at the target. To the other knight's astonishment it buried itself in the hilt of Galahad's.

"Tristan," Gawain sighed with slight annoyance. "How do you do that?"

"I aim for the middle," Tristan replied, pointing at the space between the two knives.

Tristan he just sat retrieved his knife and sat down when Tyr came in.

"Tyr, where you been? Arthur asked for you earlier, he wasn't happy you weren't there for the Bishop's ceremony…even though the Bishop sent us all out," Adrian called.

"Mind your own business, Adrian," Tyr replied scathingly. Try took a seat by Tristan, his face grim.

"I took Aeolus for a short scouting trip outside the Wall. I ran into some Woads…they were all dead." Tyr said.

"Romans?" Tristan queried.

"It was one man. What's more he has a horse, a war-horse, like ours, except it fights on its own. From the tracks, it even runs enemies down as they try to retreat. I would have said a knight but it wasn't one of us. And I'm not so sure any of us could take on twenty Woads single- handed and walk away without a scratch."

Tristan received Tyr's information in silence then told him of the mysterious archer.

"Looks like we're going to have to keep an eye out for this stranger." Tyr said. Tristan nodded in agreement, watching Bors drag Vanora out into the middle of the tables and demand for her to sing. The knights all went quiet as Vanora sang of home; they listened with varying degrees of emotion on their faces. For now that they were finally free, home took on a whole new meaning.

Tristan noticed Arthur at the edge of the crowd watching the knights with a sad, conflicted look on his face. He was about to turn away when Jols spotted him.

"Arthur!"

The knights gathered around their commander, wanting him to join the celebration.

"Knights, brothers in arms, your courage has been tested beyond limits but I must ask you now for one further trial."

"Drink?" said Bors causing the others to chuckle.

"We must leave on a final mission for Rome before our freedom can be granted." The knights laughed, some started to walk away, sure that Arthur was jesting. Tristan was not so sure; he didn't like the look he had seen on Arthur's face earlier.

"Above the Wall, far in the north there is a Roman family in need of rescue. They are trapped by Saxons. Our orders are to secure their safety," Arthur continued, dispelling all thoughts of jest.

"Let the Romans take care of their own," Bors said.

"Above the wall is Woad territory," Gawain added.

"Our duty to Rome, if it ever was a duty, is done. Our pact with Rome is done!" said Galahad in anger.

"Saxons and Woads! What are the Romans trying to kill us to avoid giving us our freedom! This is crazy, it's suicide!" cried Balder.

"Every knight here has laid his life on the line for you. For you. And now instead of freedom you want more blood, our blood? You think more of Roman blood than you do of ours!" Bors exploded.

"Bors, these are our orders. We leave at first light and when we return your freedom will be waiting for you. A freedom we can embrace with honor –" Arthur began.

"I am a free man! I will choose my own fate!" Bors yelled, walking away.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all going to die sometime. If it's a death from a Saxon hand that frightens you, stay home." Tristan said.

"Well if you're so eager to die, you can die right here!" cried Galahad lunging for Tristan.

"Enough, enough!" said Lancelot as he and Cathaír intercepted Galahad.

"I for one have something to live for!" Galahad continued, raging now at Arthur.

"The Romans have broken their word. We have the word of Arthur, that is enough. I'll prepare." Dagonet said calmly, putting an end to the argument.

"Aye, Dagonet's right," Adrian said following Dag to pack.

Dag paused as he passed Bors. "Bors, you coming?"

"Of course I'm coming. Can't let you go on your own, you'll all get killed." Bors answered, and then yelled back to the others. "I'm just saying what you're all thinking!"

Arthur looked around at his remaining knights.

"Don't worry about Bors, Arthur; he'll be alright once he has a couple of ales. I'm with you." Gavin said.

"Us too," the twins chimed in drunken unison.

"And you, Gawain?" Arthur asked as Gavin and the twins left.

"I'm with you," he replied. He glanced at Galahad. "Galahad as well."

Galahad glared at his friend, then dumped out his wine and smashed the jug at Arthur's feet before stalking away.

"Balder?"

"Well, we don't have much choice do we?" Balder replied with barely controlled rage. He turned on his heel and followed Galahad and Gawain.

Tyr nodded and left, leaving only Lancelot and Cathaír.

"You know my answer, Arthur." Cathaír said, fixing Arthur with a piercing stare, his blue eyes revealing nothing. Then a slight smile broke upon his lips. "I'll be ready."