Forest Troll
The schools had all gone their separate ways. Hours had passed by, now, and Arthur was getting impatient with the pace of things. He knew they were going slow because of concern over trolls, but seriously? The other houses had to be leaving them in the dust by now! He looked ahead at Sir Meliot and King Pellinore with an annoyed expression. "That's it, I've had it," he muttered to Kay, Yvain, and Ywain, who rode nearby.
"Arthur, don't…" Kay began, but Arthur had already harried his horse to catch up to the principal and the keeper of the courtyard. Ywain watched curiously and followed his Uncle. Arthur looked back with a raised eyebrow but said nothing. Yvain exchanged uneasy looks with Kay.
"Excuse me, King Pellinore," Arthur said in a forced firm tone. Pellinore turned curiously.
"Arthur?" he asked.
"It's been a long time since we entered this forest, and so far nothing. I'm not entirely convinced this troll theory you, Ector, and Meliot have is on the level. We're falling behind because of your paranoia over it. We can't let IAK win," Arthur declared.
"Oh no?" Pellinore asked, raising an eyebrow.
Arthur hadn't expected that, and his bravery fled. "Uh, n-no. I-I mean come on, what are the chances of trolls, really?"
"I suppose you'd like to find out?" Sir Meliot questioned, glaring warningly at Arthur.
"No sir," Arthur admitted meekly. He let the horse fall back.
"That's telling them, Arthur," Lancelot remarked.
"Shut up, Lance," Arthur growled.
"Arthur at least tried," Bedivere defended.
"For all the good it did us," Breunor said.
"Hey, no one asked you!" Arthur barked. All at once, though, they heard a roar and the caravan froze, horses whinnying in fear and trying to turn back.
KAK
"Easy, easy," Ector said, he, Pellinore, Galehaut, and Meliot gaining control of their horses and making sure none of the others bolted with any students.
"Holy crap, what was that!?" Safir demanded to know.
"Troll," Meliot casually answered.
"Troll?! How can you be so calm?!" Safir demanded.
"Alack, we are undone," Palamedes worriedly said.
"For whom the bell tolls," Lamorak sang in agreement.
"Shut up!" Kay barked, annoyed.
"Hey, easy," Tristan warned Kay, glaring warningly at him before riding ahead to join the teachers.
"Don't worry, boys, it's nothing," Pellinore quickly assured, sensing panic building up in the group.
"Yeah, seriously. Trolls prefer goats to humans, people, calm down," Lancelot said, vaguely annoyed with the cowardice of the others. Slowly they began to calm.
"Now, stay here while Sir Ector, King Pellinore, and I go to check it out," Meliot stated.
"Wait, you're going alone to face a troll?!" Arthur demanded.
"Dad…" Kay began, looking worriedly at Ector.
"We'll be fine," Ector assured.
"And your certainty comes from where?" Lucan questioned.
"Trust us boys, we can handle it," Galehaut assured.
"Permission to speak, sirs!" Degore said.
"Permission granted," Ector replied.
"Sirs, if you four aren't back in O one-hundred, are we to assume the worst?" Degore asked.
The teachers looked at each other, silently conveying messages. Soon they turned back. "Try two hours. If we're not back by then, you can assume the worst," Ector said.
"What do we do if you don't come back?" Gawain questioned.
"Head back to the clearing, sound the warning horn, and tell anyone you see on your way what the situation is," Galehaut replied, "But don't come after us."
"It won't come to that, though, will it," Dagonet more stated than asked.
"Hopefully not," Ector replied. "Arthur… your highness… you are to lead them out if the worst happens." Arthur beamed at the title Ector had used. And the responsibility that had been given him.
"What?!" all the boys exclaimed in disbelief. Even Galehaut grimaced at this statement. Arthur's proud smile became a wince.
"You're asking him to lead us out?!" Mordred demanded.
"What are you, crazy?" Gareth supported.
"He'll probably lead us right into their lair," Breunor said.
"No questions. It's what's going to happen," Meliot firmly stated.
"Yeah, no, I don't think so, Sir Meliot," Arthur said.
"Hey, you can do it man," Dagonet said to him with certainty. Arthur looked uncertainly at him, then back.
"Saying you can't without even trying isn't the mark of a king, Arthur. Assuming you really are one," Tristan said.
"Hey, shut up. You know I'm a king, dammit! Look, I already got that spiel from Gawain," Arthur said.
"You're telling us to shut up?" Gareth scoffed.
"The more we argue, the closer the trolls potentially come to devouring all of us," Lucan intervened.
"I don't wanna get de-do-eaten," Bleoberis fearfully said.
"Why are you all so scared? We have swords," Hector declared bluntly. They all looked at him blankly, then at their weapons as if just remembering.
"Oh yeah. We knew that," Pelleas said lamely after a beat.
"Yeah right," Bohort remarked.
"Great, the only competent ones here are me, Bohort, and Hector," Arthur grumbled.
"You? Competent? Since when?!" Lancelot said. The others laughed, or most of them did at least.
"Lancelot, guys," Brunor suddenly intervened. They all looked up. Brunor was pointing. They looked in the direction he was gesturing only to see the four teachers fading away. The atmosphere became grave as they evaporated into the woods.
"Congratulations Arthur, you're our way out of this place," Gawain said. The others looked dubiously at Arthur, making him swallow. Oh, he did not want to be here right now.
KAK
The group sat on logs, grass, stones, wherever they could. The horses were grazing off to the side. The boys had separated themselves each in their own little groups. Dagonet and Alymere were sitting on rocks, glaring across at Bleoberis and Breunor who were muttering something and continuously looking over at them. It didn't take a genius to know they wanted victims to beat up, and Dagonet and Astomar were high on the list of potentials. Arthur was just glad it wasn't him. He looked to each side of himself, taking in his own companions who were sitting with him on a log. Lancelot and Gawain. He had been lucky so far. Lancelot hadn't made a move yet. Maybe it had something to do with the sepulchral mood or the fact Gawain was here too.
Lamorak and Palamedes were perched in a tree, Lamorak strumming a lute and Palamedes reciting poetic words which Lamorak would then write down and sing. They were composing a song, Arthur could tell. Safir was moving worriedly around the horses, making sure everything was secured onto them and making sure they wouldn't stampede. Pelleas followed, once in a while going to tighten a saddle bag or saddle that Safir deemed unsafe. Arthur let his eyes wander on. Hector, Bors, and Lionel were playing a game from their places sitting cross-legged on the grass. Lucan was writing equations in the dirt while Degore stood at attention, ready to call out a warning in case Brunor and Bleoberis, who were picking out potential targets they could lash out at if they got bored enough, chose them. Degore didn't have to wait long. Shortly Brunor's eyes were on him and Lucan. Brunor nuged Bleoberis, who followed his gaze and smirked smugly on spotting them.
Degore met their eyes calmly, challengingly, before looking over at Astomar and Dagonet to see why the two B's had chosen to swich targets. He saw instantly why. Dagonet and Alymere's gazes were intense, challenging. Bleoberis and Brunor didn't want a fight, just a scapegoat. Degore nudged Lucan, who looked up in annoyance at him. Degore pointed at the two bullies. Lucan took a glance and straightened up instantly, becoming nervous. Mistake one. He showed fear. Bleoberis and Brunor smirked then rose, preparing to go over to them. Tristan, Gareth, Ywain, Yvain, Loholt, and Mordred, from their place sitting on a fallen tree, perked up on seeing this. Mordred and Gareth were hoping to see some action finally. The rest of them were more concerned than eager, ready to step in if need be.
Kay, who was standing to the side talking to Bedivere, caught sight of the situation from the corner of his eyes and pointed it out to his friend. Bedivere looked over and frowned protectively. He obviously didn't approve of the malicious advance on his sibling. He nodded to Kay, and the duo made their way towards Degore and a now standing Lucan, trying to put themselves between the two pairs. "Party poopers," Arthur heard Gareth mutter.
"We can fix that," Mordred hinted.
"Let's go help out then," Gareth said, smirking. Mordred and Gareth rose to move to the aid of the B's. Ywain, Yvain, Loholt, and Tristan stayed put, glaring after the two.
"That's enough!" Lancelot suddenly ordered them all, before things got ugly. The duo froze. Bleoberis and Brunor looked back at Lance. Kay and Bedivere stopped, and Lucan and Degore relaxed. From the branches, just alerted to the situation, Palamedes and Lamorak looked curiously down. Astomar and Dagonet were watching the near fight bitterly. The tension was gone, though, and sulkily Bleoberis and Brunor returned to their spot. Until then oblivious, Lionel, Hector, and Bors watched, quickly catching onto what almost happened. Safir and Pelleas were looking on coldly.
"About time someone spoke up," Gawain remarked with a smile at Lancelot. Arthur caught the hidden message and looked coldly at Gawain. Lancelot, apparently, had been waiting for him to react. When he hadn't, Lancelot had done it. Great, now Arthur felt worse. He couldn't possibly be this incompetent as a king. He needed to get over his bitterness and fear and stand up for himself and his subjects! …But he didn't know how to do that… Gawain shrugged at Arthur's cold look and went back to watching the others. The atmosphere became more neutral, once again.
Suddenly Brunor, who'd only just returned to sitting, sat up straight. The others looked quickly over at him. After a moment, Safir called, "What is it?"
"Shh, can you hear that?" Brunor quickly said as he shot up, drawing his blade.
The worry was back. Arthur rose, followed by Lancelot and Gawain. The others fell silent. There were only leaves rustling. After a bit, Arthur said, "I don't hear anything."
Brunor seemed to relax slightly, but he was still tense. "Maybe it was nothing…" Pelleas began, but all at once they heard a vicious roar! Pelleas whirled with a gasp only to be hit by a club that sent him flying into a tree with a sickening thud and a cry of agony!
"Pelleas!" Safir cried. The horses panicked and broke free, shrieking and whinnying. They charged into the woods full tilt away from their riders and the troll.
"Oh my god!" Gareth exclaimed. "Troll!" The horses were shrieking in terror. Safir looked around worriedly at them.
"Safir, get thee away!" Palamedes cried out to his brother. Lancelot drew his blade and ran towards Safir.
All at once Safir snapped out of the shock and cried out. He ran as the troll lunged at him. Suddenly, though, it changed its path and ran towards the motionless Pelleas. "Pelleas!" Kay shouted.
"No!" Hector exclaimed, drawing his sword and running at the troll as it bore down on their unconscious comrade.
"Hector, don't!" Lancelot cried in terror.
Too late. Hector was fast. He leapt up onto the troll's back and plunged his blade into it! Lionel and Bors were quick to follow. It roared in agony and swept at Hector, the easiest to reach of the three. "Drop!" Lucan called. Hector obeyed, pulling out his sword and hitting the ground running, Lionel and Bors split up to try and confuse the troll.
Bleoberis raced towards Pelleas, who was just beginning to rise with a groan. The troll roared angrily at Hector, Bohort, and Lionel's distraction, then ran towards its injured prey once more, determined to drag it, at least, away. Pelleas gasped and tried to get up. He cried out in pain, though, as an ache shot through his ribs. The troll was preparing to strike down at him! "Help!" he called.
"Oh crap!" Arthur exclaimed, instantly pulling out a set of arrows and a bow he had been carrying. He drew back the string and let an arrow fly. He sucked at archery, it was no secret, but he hoped that by some miracle it would help. In a way it did. The arrow tripped Bleoberis, who rolled right into Pelleas, knocking the both of them out of the way of the club.
"Do not try to help, soldier!" Degore ordered Arthur, running towards the troll with Lucan.
"We have to get them away from there! We can't fight that thing!" Arthur called. "Guys, listen to me!" They didn't.
Degore and Lucan jumped the beast, but in seconds they were sent flying. "Lo, the troll attacks! Make haste, Lamorak, we must give aid!" Palamedes declared, leaping from the branch.
"We can't take it!" Lamorak sang.
"He's right, we can't. We're completely unprepared! Get Pelleas, Bleoberis, Degore, and Lucan out of there!" Tristan ordered. Then maybe they could regroup and figure out a plan.
"I just said that!" Arthur heatedly shot.
"Now's not the time for nit picking, pal," Dagonet declared, running towards the troll.
"What are you doing, Dagonet?!" Loholt called. Dagonet never answered.
"The dummy is going to be a distraction!" Gareth exclaimed, catching on.
"Damn it, Dagonet!" Gawain called, racing to help Dagonet.
"Gawain, don't!" Ywain cried out after him. Gawain, of course, paid him no heeed.
Dagonet slid in front of the troll as it was charging Bleoberis—who was now helping Pelleas up—waving his arms. The troll, distracted, turned and ran at him. Dagonet fled towards the woods. "Oh no you don't!" Gawain shouted from behind. He picked up a rock, throwing it at the troll. The troll turned with a roar.
"Gawain, are you insane!?" Dagonet asked.
"I'm not about to let you sacrifice yourself to save us," Gawain replied as the troll ran at him. He rolled to the side, slicing at it. The blade barely cut it. Breunor had made his way to Safir, seizing him and dragging him towards safety. Bleoberis ran, carrying Pelleas. Lamorak and Palamedes reached Degore and Lucan, dragging them up and pulling them towards the group.
Seeing that the ones who'd been in the most danger were safe, Dagonet ran back towards the group as well. The troll was still focused on Gawain. Gawain ran towards the others, but all at once he felt a crushing weight strike his back and knock him down. The troll had tossed a boulder! "Gawain!" Lancelot cried, running towards his friend.
"Come on, Kay," Bedivere said, motioning for Kay to follow.
"Gawain, hold on!" Gareth freaked, following and passing Kay and Bedivere in his desperation to reach his brother.
"Get away from our brother!" Mordred screamed at the troll in fear, for all the good it would do. Arthur knew those who were racing to Gawain's aid wouldn't make it in time. He could see that all too well. An arrow could make it, maybe, but he was the only one with a bow handy right now, and he couldn't shoot to save his life! Then again, it wasn't his life he would shoot to save. He swallowed and drew another arrow.
"Arthur, are you insane? With your aim you'll finish Gawain off!" Bedivere yelled, catching the motion.
Arthur ignored him. "Come on Arthur, hurry!" Lionel begged, prompting Arthur to pick up the pace.
"Keep your shirt on," Arthur retorted. He summoned all the knowledge he had on archery—disturbingly little for what a king should have, let alone a king whose foster father was a combat teacher—took a deep breath, and hoped luck was on his side. He let it fly. The troll was almost on top of Gawain. Gawain closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, waiting for it to finish him.
"No, Gawain!" Gareth, Mordred, Loholt, Yvain, and Ywain cried. All at once the troll reared back with a roar of pain!
KAK
Arthur, who had closed his eyes, reopened them and gasped in relief on seeing that the arrow had hit the troll in the stomach! Lancelot was suddenly there, stabbing its chest. Astomar, Gareth, Kay, and Bedivere reached the boulder, and together lifted it enough so Gawain could get out. Gareth hurried to drag his sibling free and retreat. The troll fell at Lancelot's feet with a groan.
Kay came up next to him, looking down at it. Lancelot, panting, swallowed and faced Kay, nodding shakily. Kay smiled tentatively. Bohort raced up, looking at the troll with wide eyes. "Wow," he said.
"Tell me about it," Kay agreed.
Lancelot looked back. He saw the others' hopeful faces. He caught Arthur's relieved expression. He finally headed back to the group with Bedivere and Kay, leaving Bohort to look over the troll.
"I never thought I'd say this, but good shot," Lancelot dryly remarked to Arthur.
"You really think so?" Arthur hopefully asked.
"Don't push it," Lancelot warned.
Bors turned, calling, "There's no way it's getting back up!"
"Tell that to him!" Loholt exclaimed suddenly, paling and pointing behind Bors.
"Huh?" Bors asked, turning. He gasped and cried out in alarm as the troll was bringing down its club!
"Bors!" Lionel cried.
"Bohort!" another voice, frantic, echoed.
All at once Bors felt himself tackled out of the way with a grunt. He looked up at the person and gasped. "Dad!" he exclaimed. Sir Bors the Elder leapt back up, pale and shaken. He frantically scanned his son to make sure he was alright, then spun on the troll furiously, enraged at it for almost killing his child. He lunged, stabbing with all his might. It pulled back and roared, swinging a massive hand at its attacker. Before it could land a hit, an arrow flew from the side, piercing the hand. "Bagdemagus, about time!" Bors the Elder called as King Bagdemagus galloped onto the scene along with Petipace. This troll was unnaturally strong, it appeared. That didn't bode well.
"It should have fallen by now! Why won't this thing die?!" Petipace demanded, throwing a javelin at it and striking its side.
"It will!" Morholt's voice said. A second later the man leapt from the trees above, plunging his sword into the troll's back.
"Excellent, Morholt," Carados complimented, riding up and circling the troll to try and confuse it, striking whenever an opening presented itself.
"Bagdemagus, go!" Morholt called. Bagdemagus surged forward, driving his blade into the beast. Petipace lunged as well, driving a spear into its throat. Finally, it succumbed to the attacks, collapsing with a final roar.
"Rule one, kids, always have a plan for any situation," Bors called, stepping back from the troll.
"And then some," Petipace added, withdrawing his spear and wiping it on the grass. Just then Pellinore, Meliot, Galehaut, and Ector galloped onto the scene and gasped, staring at the sight in shocked disbelief.
KAK
The nine adults stood over the troll. Morholt, Bagdemagus, Petipace, Carados, and Bors the Elder lightly panting. The boys stared at them in shock, Bors the Younger was still on the ground. Finally, they replaced their blades, adrenaline rush ending. Bors the Elder looked tiredly down at his son and offered his hand. Bohort swallowed nervously and took it, rising with his father's help and looking uneasy. "Da…" he began. Bors simply pulled Bohort against him, hugging the boy. "Papa, not in front of the guys!" Bohort whined, embarrassed.
"Bors!" Lionel exclaimed, running up to his brother. He grabbed him in a tight hug.
"Lionel, come on, this isn't helping either of us," Bohort stated, pushing both Lionel and Bors the Elder away.
"Well forgive us for caring!" Lionel bit.
"I'm fine," Bohort assured.
"Get back to the others!" Ector veritably roared. Startled, Bohort and Lionel looked at him with wide eyes. That tone was not to be taken lightly. The way the other boys reacted, Arthur guessed they'd all heard it before.
"Get moving," Pellinore icily backed, in stark contrast to his jovial personality. Bohort and Lionel exchanged nervous glances then returned to the other students.
"You idiot! The blood of my sons will be on your hands if anything like this happens again!" Bors shrieked at Pellinore, outraged.
"You aren't pinning this on me!" Pellinore furiously shot back. "We left to try and protect your boys."
"For all the good that did them! I pity your sons their father!" Bors shot.
"You are not pulling the bad parenting card on me, Bors! I've had more than three times as many children as you have!"
"That doesn't mean squat!" Bors freaked.
The boys all looked uncertain. Safir was holding Pelleas—the latter still in pain—up. Gawain was sitting down catching his breath, his brothers and cousins glancing at him constantly in concern. As the nine teachers finished with their bickering and closed in on them, however, Lancelot offered his hand. Gawain took it and rose to face them.
"Let me guess. Big trouble, right?" Astomar nervously questioned. Gareth nudged him hard. The question was stupid. Even Bleoberis knew that, as evidenced by his dubious look. Alymere shrugged lamely.
"What was that?" Petipace asked.
"Uh, a-a troll, sir," Lucan nervously replied.
"Not that!" Petipace snapped. Lucan pulled back with a gasp.
"Twenty-four," Sir Ector began. They were confused until he clarified. "There are twenty-four of you. There was one troll. How did you not defeat it?" They exchanged nervous glances. "How is it that twenty-four perfectly capable boys couldn't defeat one troll?"
"We were taken by surprise," Safir tried to defend.
"That's no excuse!" Meliot shot, silencing him. Safir looked down ashamedly, as did the others. "Have we really taught you all so little?" Meliot questioned.
"N-no sir. It wouldn't die, though," Yvain timidly said.
"It's a good thing we've brought you on this trip," Caradoc grimly said. "Consider it a kind of test."
"I knew there was more to this than just a mere competition," Dagonet grumbled.
"And not a moment too soon either, after that sad display," Bagdemagus sharply said. "Now, who was hurt?"
Gawain was first to step forward. "It threw a boulder at me and pinned me, sir," he admitted.
Pelleas followed Gawain's lead, adding, "I got clubbed into a tree. I'm sorry, sirs; we'll do better next time."
"Hopefully there won't be a next time," Morholt replied.
"Anyone else?" Galehaut questioned, eyeing Lancelot and Hector with concern.
"Sir, Lucan and I were thrown, sir," Degore said.
"We only got a few bruises," Lucan quickly added.
"Where are the horses?" Sir Morholt asked.
"They ran away, sir," Tristan replied bitterly.
"Wonderful," Pellinore bitterly said.
"These boys are so lacking in teamwork it's not even funny," Sir Caradoc muttered to the others. The boys exchanged glances then looked ashamedly down once more.
"Oh, don't worry. We intend to fix that," Pellinore assured.
"Arthur, are you all right?" Ector questioned.
"Yes dad," Arthur replied. Turning to the teachers who'd come to their aid, he added, "And may I say you five did an awesome job killing that troll."
"Suck up," Gareth bit.
"You know, it's technically Arthur's fault. Since you put him in charge," Mordred remarked.
"What?! It is not! If you'd listened to me, Lucan and Degore wouldn't have even been hurt!" Arthur shot back.
"Oh no? I doubt they'd agree!" Gareth shot. "Right Lucan?" Lucan remained silent. "Right?" Gareth growled.
"Did he try to warn you or not?" Bors asked.
"No, he didn't," Brunor lied.
"He did too," Lucan finally said. Bleoberis hit him in the back of the head. Brunor face-palmed. He'd known that would happen if Lucan stuck to facts. Lucan needed to start letting people lie for him.
"Now the truth comes out. I'd advise you stop trying to get Arthur in trouble," Pellinore said. The boys stayed quiet. "Let's get moving. Horses or no horses, we're not going back."
"The clearing we've chosen to camp in is only a few more hours away," Meliot added.
"Bors, Lionel, are you two certain you're alright?" Bors questioned.
"Yes sir," the two brothers said together.
"Lancelot, Hector, Bleoberis, you too?" Bors the Elder asked of his nephews.
"We're fine, sir," Lancelot replied.
"The troll was nothing," Hector waved off.
"Humph. Then we'll get back to our own students," Bors said. "Pellinore, if this happens again expect trouble. A lot of it."
"I expect no less from you regarding my children," Pellinore warned as the IAK staff left with Petipace and Carados.
KAK
After a few minutes of recovery, WA started on their way again. Pelleas, though, quickly fell to the rear, wincing in pain and holding his ribs. Finally he stopped, gasping and leaning against a tree. Safir froze, worried, and called, "Sirs, I think Pelleas is really hurt!"
The others all looked back. "Leave the sick, the lame, and the weak. They can lure the monsters away," Mordred remarked coldly.
"Shut up, Mordred," Loholt bit, frowning at him. Mordred glared icily back.
Meliot returned to Pelleas. He looked the boy over then tried a few tests. Pelleas cried out in pain. Gawain approached to observe. "Your deductions, Gawain?" Meliot asked. He knew that Carados had been tutoring Gawain in first aid for a while now. Right up until he'd left to join the rebel kings, in fact. As a result, Gawain was well on his way to maybe one day even surpassing his mentor.
Gawain looked uncertain, then worried. "It's broken, isn't it?" he asked.
"It's very possible," Meliot confirmed. He looked to the other three faculty. "I think he has a broken or cracked rib," he called to them.
"Perfect," Ector muttered, annoyed.
Pellinore rode back and leapt from his steed. "Get on the horse, Pelleas. You shouldn't move too much. Bleoberis, put him on," he said.
Pelleas almost laughed to himself. Bleoberis wouldn't help. The guy had only just been looking to beat him up before the troll confrontation. Imagine the young squire's surprise, then, when the giant came to him and did, indeed, help him. Gently at that. Pelleas blinked in shock. "Dere ya go, Pelleas. Don't expect it again," Bleoberis warned.
"Yeah, sure, whatever you say," Pelleas replied through teeth that were gritted in pain, happy to be riding instead of walking.
KAK
They reached a clearing where they could camp, soon enough. It was a fair-size. They'd been impressed. There wasn't a lot of time to admire it right now, though. It was late. Quickly the boys lined up to get their tent assignments. "Tent one: Brunor, Bleoberis, Kay, and Bedivere. Tent two: Safir, Pelleas, Degore, and Lucan. Boys, watch Pelleas carefully," Ector stated.
"I feel better sir, really," Pelleas insisted. "I'm pretty sure it was only a bruised bone."
"I don't care. We'll observe you tonight. We'll see how you are tomorrow. Tent three: Hector, Lionel, and Bors. Tent four: Lamorak, Palamedes, Ywain, and Yvain. Tent five: Gareth, Loholt, and Mordred. Tent six: Me, King Galehaut, Sir Meliot, and King Pellinore. Tent seven: Tristan, Dagonet, and Alymere. Tent eight…" At this point Arthur began to pray his luck didn't give out on him. Like he'd ever had any to begin with. "Arthur, Lancelot, and Gawain," Ector finished.
"No!" Arthur cried, drawing it out. Lancelot and Gawain looked at each other hopelessly. Lancelot then struck the back of Arthur's head, knocking him down and silencing him.
"About time. If you hadn't silenced him, I would have," Bedivere stated, rolling his eyes.
"Go to bed, boys. Tomorrow we begin the appraisal and training," Sir Meliot declared. The group grumbled goodnights and retired to their tents, Arthur whimpering.
"Oh will you man up? We're not going to do anything to you. At least not tonight. I'm too tired to be bothered," Lancelot declared.
"Yeah right. And the world is round," Arthur growled.
"Let's not get ridiculous," Gawain said.
"Actually, it is," Lancelot stated. Arthur and Gawain exchanged glances. The other boys froze and looked at Lancelot in shock. All at once they all burst into laughter. The only ones able to keep their cool were the teachers and Tristan. Pellinore kept his cool because he kind of owed Lancelot the benefit of the doubt. After all, Lance was the only one who believed him whenever he told people that he believed one day men would fly in metal birds in the sky. It was possible, he knew it was, and he'd stick by that statement to his dying day!
"I guess that's what you get from a knowledge of mythology unsurpassed by any," Alymere said, wiping at his eyes.
"He knows things about mythology that not even books and scholars do," Dagonet said, grinning.
Lancelot scowled. "You'll see, you'll all see!" he shouted. With that he threw open the tent flap, marching in. They laughed even more.
KAK
"Rise and shine boys!" Sir Ector's voice bellowed as soon as dawn broke.
Seconds later Degore stumbled from his tent, saying, "Sir, yes sir!" He stood rigid as if waiting for roll call. He looked back at his tent, frowned, then raced back. The teachers heard cries of alarm, then Degore dragged Safir, Lucan, and Pelleas out.
"Hey, let go!" Safir shot, pulling free and scowling at him.
"Ten hup! Roll call is to commence in mere moments!" Degore ordered.
"Why so early?" Lucan whined.
"Who cares? Do you want me to hunt for breakfast? Make it? Supervise? Get the others out? Name it and it's done," Pelleas eagerly said. He winced in pain and groaned, holding his ribs. Quickly, though, he shook it off.
"No. You're hurt," Pellinore declared.
"They're just bruises, sir, nothing else," Pelleas insisted. "I'm ready to help in any way you need."
"Save your strength for the skills appraisal after breakfast," Pellinore said with a sigh.
"Here come the others, finally," Ector remarked, pointing at the other tents.
Brunor and Bleoberis emerged from their own tent, Bedivere and Kay following, each one of the four obviously tired, rubbing their eyes, or yawning. "Who's de dumb jerk who woke us?" Bleoberis asked.
"That would be me," Sir Ector replied, frowning at him.
"Did I say dumb? I meant smart," Bleoberis quickly covered.
"One of your brighter moments, I'm sad to say," Brunor said with a sigh, rolling his eyes hopelessly.
Kay glared at the teachers coldly. "Don't get worked up, Kay, you know what happens," Ector said.
"What happens?" Bedivere asked.
"Nothing," Kay quickly replied.
"Ah how beautifully the day's dawn maketh the dewy drops shine upon the grass," Palamedes said, emerging from a tent.
In a singsong voice—to the surprise of the others he wasn't ripping words off some song this round—Lamorak said, "Hey that's good, I'll write that down." Ywain and Yvain followed him out of the tent.
"About time you spoke normally," Tristan good naturedly said as he, Alymere, and Dagonet emerged.
"If you call his tone normal," Kay grumbled.
"Rough night, Kay?" Dagonet asked.
"He's always like this when he wakes up. He turns into a total jerk," Bedivere explained.
"Oh great," Safir complained. "The last thing we need is another danger to our camping expedition."
"Hey, shut it Safir!" Kay barked.
Gareth emerged from his tent with Mordred, who looked grumpy, and Loholt. "What a great start to the day," he sarcastically said.
Alymere, the most awake of them all next to Pelleas and Degore, stretched and said, "Man, that was the best sleep I've had for weeks."
"What was your worst?" Gareth grumbled.
"His worst was when we dumped dirt and worms into his bed," Bohort replied, emerging from his tent with Lionel and Hector. Lionel snickered at the memory of the worm prank.
"I can't believe you two got passed him without his waking up," Hector remarked as he emerged last, smiling.
"Astomar freaked out," Lionel declared.
"I did not!" Alymere shot.
"Oh please, we could hear you scream across the campus," Lancelot said as he emerged from the tent. His voice sounded strained, though. They turned to see him alongside Gawain, trying to drag something out.
"Arthur, come on! You're an embarrassment to your foster family and blood family both," Gawain said in the first annoyed tone they'd heard from him in a while.
"Are you crazy? It's the crack of dawn! At the castle I don't even get up until noon!" Arthur retorted.
"And you expect us to believe you're a king?!" Lancelot demanded. He and Gawain pulled one last time, dragging Arthur out and holding him by his ankles.
"Let me go! I order you to release me!" Arthur protested. The whole group, except the more serious ones, burst into laughter. "It's not funny!" Arthur yelled.
"Put him down," Galehaut warned, frowning. Not for any love of Arthur, but because they had no time for this nonsense. Lancelot and Gawain dropped him none too gracefully. Arthur rose, muttering under his breath.
"You're usually not so... ornery or contrary to getting up when it's expected of you, son," Ector said, raising an eyebrow.
"He barely got any sleep. Lancelot was being a total creep," Gawain said, glaring darkly at Lancelot. "He was tormenting the poor sap. By the time Arthur got to sleep, the sun was starting to rise and I was just waking up. Figured out the rest from Lancelot's self-satisfied smirk while he was sleeping."
"Hey, not my fault he couldn't take a little ribbing," Lancelot said with a scoff.
"Or a threat of something unpleasant slipped into my bedroll!" Arthur shouted.
"Suck it up. Now, what's this about a skills appraisal?" Lancelot asked the teachers as Arthur fumed.
"We'll fill you in after breakfast," Meliot replied as Ector glared foully at Lancelot.
"Is it even ready?" Kay grumpily asked.
"Oh great, it's morning Kay," Arthur complained.
"Shut the heck up, Arthur!" Kay yelled.
"Whoa, easy dude," Astomar said, slightly uncertain about how to react to this new side of Kay.
"Breakfast is ready," Sir Ector quickly interrupted, pointing to the layout of fruit and cooked strips of meat.
"Yes!" Brunor said.
"Food!" Bleoberis said, racing towards it. The other boys, upon seeing Brunor and Bleoberis running for the meal, quickly followed, not wanting to miss out.
KAK
The group dutifully ate. The adults had taken their fill and stood to the side watching them, talking quietly amongst themselves and once in a while pointing at a few of them. Sometimes one teacher would shake his head in disagreement or nod, assenting to something. "What are they doing?" Arthur asked quietly, watching them warily.
"Who knows what deeds they speak of?" Palamedes replied. Arthur looked dubiously at him but shrugged it off.
"I believe they are deciding the guidelines of some sort of examination," Lucan said.
"Great," Arthur groaned.
"Let's get down to business," Lamorak sang, strumming his lute.
"Don't worry, according to school safety standards they're prohibited from putting us in any really dangerous situation just for a test," Safir assured.
"Yeah, sure," Brunor scoffed.
"Cynical, aren't we?" Lucan asked.
"Shut it, geek," Brunor warned.
"Finish up boys, we need to start," Sir Meliot declared as the four teachers returned to them. Quickly the boys finished and lined up in front of them.
"Here's how this is going to go. We're going to divide you into two teams," Sir Ector said. "The two teams will start on opposite sides of the clearing. When you hear me whistle, you're to attack each other as if you were fighting a battle. We'll be watching and appraising you, so it doesn't really matter which side wins or loses. However, when we confront other dorm houses it will matter. You boys need to be prepared. What better way to prepare than to fight each other?"
"There will be two rounds," Galehaut added.
"So divide already," Bedivere eagerly said, growing excited.
The teachers looked at each other, then back. "I must admit, it might seem unfair to some of you," Sir Ector warned.
"Try us," Tristan replied.
"If you insist," Sir Meliot said.
"Team one: Bleoberis, Brunor Le Noir, Lancelot Du Lac, Gareth, Mordred, Alymere, Tristan De Lyones, Kay, Bedivere, Ywain, Loholt, and Degore. Team two: Arthur Pendragon, Lionel, Lamorak, Palamedes, Safir, Lucan, Dagonet, Pelleas, Gawain, Hector, Yvain, and Bors De Ganis," Sir Meliot stated, watching for reactions and not being let down.
"What?! Why do I get stuck on the weak team?" Arthur demanded sharply, obviously in an incredibly ill-temper given his hellish night and the passed few hellish days he'd been dragged through.
"Hey, who are you to call us weak? You've never even seen us fight!" Bohort shot. Well, once or twice he had but still!
"We may have the weaker-built team, but we have speed working for us, Arthur," Gawain pointed out.
"Speed? Who cares? They have all the power and skill," Arthur said.
"What do you know about their skill or ours?" Safir asked.
Arthur winced a bit sheepishly. He guessed Saf kind of had a point. He should stop taking out his bad mood on the others. That wasn't a mature thing to do and it definitely wasn't a kingly thing to do... It wasn't going to be easy... Especially not when people seemed to be goading him left, right, and center, throwing him under the carriage for the troll, threatening him with things slipped into his bedroll, putting him down... Ugh, he was hating this more and more. Maybe he should try and see the positives... He just couldn't think of any off hand right now.
"We may not win, but thou shalt not leave off unimpressed, mine king," Palamedes said to Arthur.
"Anything you can do I can do better," Lamorak sang. In his singsong voice, without using lyrics, he added, "At least, that's the vibe we're getting from you, Artie. You couldn't even shoot an arrow right."
"We'll see about that," Arthur grumbled, heading towards their side of the clearing.
"Lamorak is second in skill to no one but Lancelot and me, and Palamedes matches him," Tristan stated, walking away to join his own team. Arthur's started as he looked at the singer and the poet. Lamorak winked, smirking. Palamedes was sharpening his scimitar. Okay, colour him intrigued. It was then that Ector whistled.