A storm was rolling in, catching King Gerard and his men by surprise. They had been pursuing the Princess using a strange spell only Gerard seemed to understand, far north and east, until they had come to edge of the marshes and entered the land of Lord Fulk. Dark clouds loomed in the west, and the wind picked up considerably. Not wanting to risk camping in this flood-prone region, they searched frantically until they came upon a half-completed castle.
The castle sat on a high hill overlooking the countryside. A small work village surrounded it. It was a very new castle, built for heavy defense, judging by the looming, monolithic appearance of it. Gerard sent a page to inform the lord of the castle that he sought shelter from the storm. The page soon returned with greetings from the Lord, a knight by the name of Sir Gerlach.
As the king and his men approached, they were struck by the craftsmen who were working on the castle. All had a ragged, lean look to them, and there seemed to be a disproportionate number of adult men. Shouldn't a new town like this be attracting families of servants, merchants and craftsmen, not to mention peasant families, or at least camp followers if this was a military installation? Gerard held the pink ribbon up for one last look at the direction his cousin had gone. It fluttered against the storm's increasing winds.
"We'll go in that direction as soon as we've waited out the storm," he told his men as they entered the gate. The walls were massively thick, bristling with guards, and beyond the first gate lay four more, along with portcullis, murder holes, and other signs that this was a castle built in anticipation of some conflict. Sir Gerlach was not available to greet them, but instead, his seneschal met them at the final gate. Welcoming them and explaining that his lord had just returned from a small skirmish, but was very excited to have a royal guest in his home.
That evening, as the rain fell, Gerlach held a feast for Gerard and his men. The great hall of the castle was conspicuously empty, with only Gerlach and a few other knights in attendance besides the servants serving the food.
"What brings you to our home, your highness? It's not often that we have such esteemed travelers in these parts."
"I'm searching for my cousin, the Princess Savina, if you must know. She was kidnapped from my castle some weeks ago, just as we were making preparations for her wedding. I've been searching for her ever since."
"Kidnapped before her wedding? How terrible! Do you have any idea who would do such a thing? Perhaps a jealous suitor?"
"I have no idea, and that's what's so troubling. The only person unaccounted for on the night she vanished was a young man named Dennis, who no one has seen or heard of before or since."
"And you think this Dennis brought her here? But why?"
"I don't know. I've got some…special tracking techniques, and those have led me here. One of my Uncle's knights came this way a month or so ago. Sir Johan is his name. I don't know if he knows this Dennis person, but I was hoping to have him join my search."
Gerlach's eyebrows went up at the name. That was the same lad with the wolves who had humiliated them in the marshes. And he was indeed with a young man he called Dennis. Very interesting!
"I think I may be able to help you in your search, your majesty. Do you know why we are building fortifications here, at the edge of civilization?" Gerlach asked, helping himself to another whole roast duck.
"Why no, but I am impressed by how…dense it is."
"This castle is part of a system of defense my Lord Fulk has implemented to control the people in these swamps. There are whole villages of criminal scum hidden away in the marshes. They harbor fugitives, engage in piracy, steal everything they can get their hands on, including serfs. They've been getting away with it for years, too."
"Hmmm. Sir Johan was in search of some pirates in these parts...They kidnapped his father."
"With military outposts on the border, we can finally flush them out of their nests and bring them to justice. I suspect this Dennis may be hiding with Sir Johan among these people. Your cousin the princess may be there, too, if Dennis did indeed steal her."
"That's impossible. Johan is one of the most honest, loyal people I've ever met. He's the last person I would suspect of sheltering Savina's kidnapper and associating with criminals. Unless there was some other explanation!"
"I'm afraid I have seen Sir Johan and Dennis together in the swamps. They were with a dark-haired village girl, and not your cousin, but they were fighting my men together when we tried to approach them. Sir Johan wore the black and white chevron of the Good King, and Dennis was dressed in blue. Both are beardless youths not much older than yourself. As I recall there was a blonde dwarf there as well.
"Are you positive this boy in blue was named Dennis?"
"I heard Johan call Dennis by name. Which is why I thought it best to warn you. I do not mean to offend you or speak ill of a trusted knight, of course."
"No…of course not. No offense has been taken. But there must be some other explanation…"
"I certainly hope so, Highness."
"You say this outpost is made to defend the border, is that why there are not many women or children here, because it's intended for soldiers and not settlers?"
"Soldiers? Oh, we will have those soon enough. The men you see are conscripts. My Lord Fulk requires they leave their families in his villages and sends them marching here to build the border castles when he doesn't need them to be doing other work. Fortifications go up so much faster this way. Would you believe that where you sit is the fruit on only five years' labor?"
Conscripts. Forced labor; that explained it. No wonder the workers looked so lean and ragged, and had no families with them. It was a common practice, to be sure, but not one Gerard liked or used. He preferred to earn his peoples' loyalty by treating them fairly. All for fortifying a countryside against hidden villages where Johan, Peewit, Maenad and possibly Savina were hiding, or being held. Something didn't make sense.
Gerard excused himself from the table after the feast was over and went to the chambers prepared for him. Judging by the luxurious yet unfinished nature of them, they seem to be built for the Lady of the castle, when and if she arrived. Clockwork Smurf, his mate Clockwork Smurfette, Papa Smurf and Handy Smurf were waiting for him. The storm was blowing at full force outside, rattling the lead and glass of the windows. Lightning flashed, briefly blinding them.
"Did you learn anything from the humans here, King Gerard?" Papa asked.
"I have, but what I've learned troubles me. The Knight who rules this castle says he saw Johan, Peewit and Dennis in the marshes with some fugitives, fighting side by side with one of them. But he didn't see Savina."
"Johan left with Peewit and Maenad to find the pirates who kidnapped his father. You're not suggesting he joined them for some reason?"
"I don't know. That's what it sounds like, but I don't know. This Sir Gerlach seems to be telling the truth, but I don't entirely trust him. I don't like how he treats his people like slaves, whether they're on loan from his Lord or not."
Clockwork made a series of gestures and whirring sounds.
"Exactly," Gerard said, "Why would Johan be in on Savina's kidnapping; he's risked his life to protect her; Peewit too."
"But the ribbon spell has led us to exactly where Johan, Peewit and Maenad went. Maybe Savina escaped, and sought them out. Maybe they all ended up getting kidnapped. It is very troubling. Very, very troubling." added Papa.
"Something about this whole thing doesn't add up. If only I knew who to trust in this place."
Gerlach went to the servants' rooms, where Lothar hid to avoid being recognized by King Gerard.
"So he's looking for his cousin, the lovely princess," Lothar said, half to himself. "That certainly sweetens the deal when we find that village of swamp rats and my Lord's…whatever it is."
"So long as we don't get a repeat performance of last time…" Gerlach added. He blamed Lothar's terror of the wolf pack for their embarrassing defeat at the hands of children.
Lothar put more oil on his mechanical arm and shifted painfully. Gerlach's verbal jabs were nothing compared to the searing pain that shot from the magical gauntlet as soon as the presence with it informed Balthazar of his failure to retrieve the object when they had gotten so close. That it had gotten wet and pitted with rust only made if feel more like the prisoner's shackle it truly was.
"That won't happen again, because I have a plan. We know Johan and Peewit and their pet are with the marsh fugitives. We now know the princess was kidnapped by a youth named Dennis, who is with them. What we need to do is convince King Gerard that Johan and Peewit were in on the kidnapping. That going to the marsh pirates was all in the plan to take her, before she could be married to Prince What's-his-name. He's young and naïve; he's been fooled several times by his relatives trying to usurp his throne." Lothar flexed the metal glove, the leather and iron creaking. Thunder rumbled in the background.
"I see! And as soon as we have convinced him to go into the marshes after his cousin, he will lead us right into the pirates' den, where the object is!"
"If the princess is there, she'll welcome her cousin, they won't suspect a thing. And if not, well, we still will have the object, and the criminals."