Chapter Three-The knights.
Various knights are scattered around the large courtyard area, knights of all shapes and sizes, all wielding many different weapons, all wearing different types of armour. I notice a leader type man, wearing polished knight's armour, carrying a large silver great sword and a blood red kite shaped shield. I walk up to him, but as I go to speak, he interrupt's me.
"I'm sorry love, the lad's aren't look for any entertainment tonight." He says with a grin.
"I'm not here for your entertainment, I'm here to join" I say feeling offended.
"You, here to join? You couldn't do battle with a slime" he says while laughing, causing the surrounding knights to also laugh.
"So you make knights out of people who look the part?" I say with a questionable voice.
"No, of course not, but a woman wanting to be a knight is a rarity. However if you're really ready to be made a fool of" he says readying his silver sword. Is this a test? Or does he think I will cower away from a fight?
I stand still and make no move to grab a weapon. He comes at me like a bull, slow and heavy, his silver sword high in the air ready to swing; he was very slow, probably weighed down by his armour and heavy weapon choice. I dodge the attack simply, rolling away to the right, his sword cutting through the air. I now stand behind him, one of my concealed daggers wedged in the small gap between his helmet and armour, the cold metal pressed against his neck. The surrounding knights look over in shock, if I had intended to kill, he would have been dead.
"A quick death for a slow man" I say from behind him.
"Ah, yes but there was no death?" he says as I remove the dagger from his armour.
"I only kill those who deserve it, and killing you wouldn't help me achieve my goals" I says he turns to face me.
"Maybe you've got what it takes. I'm Sir Tywin of Astora; I deal with all the new comers and lower ranks. I suggest you go see the blacksmith, he needs help retrieving something, if your successful return to me and gain your first rank" he says, pointing to a small tower across from the courtyard. I could see the embarrassment in his eyes.
"Very well then, I'll be seeing you" I say before walking off heading towards a small tower and heading up the stairs.
As I get higher up the small tower, the sound of a hammer hitting metal echoes through the air. Someone was tinkering away. I get to the large arch way and peer inside. To my shock there's a giant sitting at the far end of the stone room hunched over an anvil, he's holding a blacksmiths hammer between his thumb and first finger, hammering away at a piece of metal. I walk inside with caution.
"H-hello there" I say to him. He stops hammering the piece of metal and takes a look at me.
"You new here, never seen you before, what d'you want?" he says, his voice is loud and low.
"Well, I've actually been sent to assist you" I say looking up at him.
"Oh, yes, need divine ember, so I can smith more weapons, it in dark woods" he says.
"A divine ember, okay" I say.
"Also, you find hawk ring, bring to me? Thief stole it while I sleeping." He says in slightly kind way.
"Yes of course" I say with a smile.
"Thank you" he says and continues hammering the metal again.
I leave the small tower and look for somewhere safe and away from the knights to rest up for the night. I was sore from the hit the iron golem had landed on me and tired from my constant encounters with monsters and undead. I find a lonely bonfire surrounded by grass and large rocks, near an old church and sit near it; I stare into the flame as it dances in the wind. The area is completely silent, only the sound of crackling and snapping coming from the bonfire. I hope this place is safe, I may not sleep tonight but at least I get to sit down for a while.
The silence was soon broken by the sound of lone armoured footsteps getting closer. I get up off the floor, looking to where the footsteps are coming from, gripping hold of my axe tightly. I wait for the owner of the footsteps to walk around the corner, hoping for someone friendly or an easy foe. From around the corner appears Dragon Slayer Ornstein, who instantly stops walking and looks over to me, to determine if I was friend or foe. Maybe he's out on a routine scan of the area?
With I sigh of relief I place my axe on the floor and sit down next to it, hopefully that was enough to show I'm friendly so he can continue on his way. However he did not, he began to walk towards me, his spear in hand. Was he going to kill me? Or am I sat near his bonfire or something? Or was he simply going to sit with me? I didn't want the company. He continues walking until he is opposite me, the bonfire between us, he sits down on a large rock, he still appears to be watching me but it's hard to tell due to his helmet. We sit in an awkward silence for a long while, I feel uncomfortable. I decide to try and make thing less awkward for me.
"Good evening" I say trying to sound welcoming.
He doesn't reply…
"Do you come here often; is it safe to sleep here?" I ask him.
He nods in reply saying nothing again.
"Ah, not much of a talker" I say while leaning myself against a rock. Might have been a bold statement but at least I felt more at ease.
Again he does not reply, he just sits there watching, as though he was waiting for something. Although I find his presence uncomfortable I trust him, it must be that odd aura of his. I decide to try and sleep, I've got to get some rest for tomorrow. And soon enough I had fallen into a deep dreamless sleep.