Chapter 2
The next morning, even before they could see the sun, the sisters got up and got ready to return on the road. They rolled their bedrolls and put on their backpacks in silence, both of them still sleepy. Loyia found a clear stream close to their makeshift camp and they both filled their water skins. In a silent accord, they decided to eat breakfast on the road while walking. Speed was important now. They had to catch the Ogres before they got to a big city. Gab's life might depend on it.
Following the tracks was, as always, very easy. Both of them could clearly see the tracks left in the road's mud by the wheels of the huge cage.
Myrra was chatting a lot, trying to keep Loyia in good spirit. It was her main mission on this adventure, her self- made responsibility. She could see how her sister was affected by the kidnapping of the young Gab. Myrra was also worried for him but she was seeing the kidnapping more like an adventure then her older sister was. And besides, as she told herself often, being in a bad mood would not help them get to the Ogres faster; so better make it an enjoyable experience.
Suddenly, Loyia stopped in mid stride, putting a hand on Myrra's forearm, an alarmed look on her face. Looking confused, Myrra looked at her sister and whispered: "What's up?"
With a finger on her lips, Loyia asked for silence. She then put her hands in a cup fashion next to her ears. The natural sign for: listen up.
Myrra slowly turned her head around and listened carefully. She could hear sounds coming from further down the road. It reminded her of a metal worker she saw once at a town fare: metal hammer beating on metal anvil.
"Battle!" said Loyia, while removing her bow from behind her back and notching an arrow.
Both sisters heard a muffled cry, short, as if somebody lifted something heavy, coming from the same direction.
"Follow me and be silent, sis," ordered Loyia while moving sideways toward the woods. Leaving the road, Loyia moved about twenty paces away from the road and resumed the same direction they were traveling in the morning, toward the fight. Myrra, hoopak in hand, silently followed her sister.
It took them a couple of minutes before they could find out what was happening. The road they were following met another one going south. The junction of the roads made a crude T shape and a small clearing enveloped the T. Inside the clearing, on the road, a battle was being fought. A Kender male, in his mid twenties, was fighting with two Goblins. A third one was already dead on the ground. The Kender was using a shield and a sword to fight his opponents. Tall, for his specie and well muscled, the Kender-warrior looked like he was having fun while fighting his opponents. His forearms and tibia were covered with miss-matched armour while on his much battered shield, a big green apple had been painted.
Loyia was impressed by the way this newcomer used his shield with such an effectiveness she rarely saw. Every attack the Goblins made was either blocked, deflected or parried.
Loyia didn't waste time. This was a Kender and she had to help him out! Raising her bow, she took aim and let an arrow go. Her aim was true and she hit one of the Goblins right in the neck. The ugly creature immediately dropped on the ground making gurgling sounds trying to remove the wooden shaft.
Both the warrior and the other Goblin jumped by surprise at this unexpected intervention. However, the Kender reacted quickly, seeing the opportunity and made a thrust at his opponent with his short sword. Unfortunately for him, the cuirass of the Goblin's armour deflected the hit without causing any harm to the evil creature.
The remaining Goblin was then aware that a new enemy was close by. He slowly retreated and raised his shield, looking around without losing the Kender male out of sight. The fight had been fun at the beginning when the odds were three against one but now he was alone against at least two enemies. It did not represent the way Goblins normally fight. Not a Goblin's odd anyway. So the creature was now looking for a way out of this situation, and with all its skin if possible.
The warrior was slowly advancing toward the Goblin. It was plainly evident that the Kender warrior was having fun in all this. He was also very curious about his new found invisible ally but he had enough experience to not get distracted by that fact. He won't let any advantage to the Goblin. He saw the nervousness of his opponent and waited patiently for him to make a fatal mistake. He didn't have to wait long.
Desperation getting the better of it, the Goblin decided to try to knock down the shield wearing Kender and run for it. With a mighty yell, the greenish fiend rushed, shield raised, toward his smaller adversary.
The Kender was ready and standing in a solid position, legs spread apart for better stability, and ready to receive the charge. As both shields clashed, the Kender used the Goblin's momentum against him by diverting its attack sideway. The Goblin was expecting a resistance but instead was directed sideway. He clumsily started to fall forward by this unexpected lack of resistance. The warrior gave him a backward push with his shield just to be sure the green fiend had enough momentum to fall.
Flat on his face, the Goblin was now an easy target for Loyia. She let free her second arrow to finish off the creature.
The newcomer was breathing heavily even thought he was all smiles. Taking a quick look around to make sure no more assailants would come.
Loyia waited a couple of heartbeats also to make sure the danger was passed. But before she could reveal herself, Myrra came rushing pass her, running into the clearing.
"Oh my, oh my! Hello there!" yelled an over enthusiastic Myrra.
"Hello my lady," said the Kender-warrior while doing a courteous bow for the younger girl. "Let me introduce myself. I'm Lord Kenero; but you can call me Skwejee. Let's drop the formalities since I now owe you my life."
And with that, Skwejee took Myrra's hand and tried to raise it to his mouth for a formal kiss but Loyia, just arriving from the woods, gave the newcomer a slap on his hand. "Hey you, nobody kisses my sister. Come sis, let's go, we are losing precious time." Taking a giggling Myrra by the arm, Loyia lead her back toward the road.
Skwejee was taken aback. His formal tone gone, he replied, while catching up on the girls: "but, but, where are you going? Wait! We can travel together if you want?"
"Thank you but no thank you. Lord Kenero."
"But Sister," said Myrra, stopping to walk, "we might need his help. He looks like a good fighter to me and we will need all the help we can get when we catch the Ogre party."
Loyia stopped walking also. She looked at Skwejee up and down, a disapproving look on her face.
"What are you doing here in the first place?" suddenly asked Loyia to the would-be companion.
"Well, I am looking for a group of Ogres who are kidnapping Kenders."
Loyia was shocked: "Where have you heard about them?"
"I was in Kendermore a couple of days ago and heard about the rumour that a rampaging Ogre party was causing trouble on every small village they crossed. So I decided, since it is my duty, to find the Ogres, kill them and save those captives." Skwejee looked at Myrra with an air of self importance, inflating his chest for effect. Seeing it worked on the young girl, he then dropped on the ground and looked carefully at the tracks of the wheel cage for a second. Nodding to himself, satisfied, he pointed eastward and proclaimed: "So I'm going east to catch them."
Both sisters were speechless. Myrra was impressed by the newcomer and Loyia was about to kill him for wasting her time.
"They are traveling that way!" Loyia pointed westward.
"Are you sure Honey?" asked back a very sceptical warrior whose chest went back to normal proportions before he could even blink.
"Of course I'm sure! Look at the footprints. Toes normally point forward, not backward!" Loyia was about to lose it and add some juicy insults at this poor excuse of a Kender.
"Oh… yeah… you are right. You must be a good hunter then!" Skwejee was very proud at his logical deduction.
"That and I do have a brain!" Loyia could not believe this was really happening to her.
"Why would you care about those Ogres, anyway?" Loyia pressed on the warrior. "And can you talk and walk at the same time? We are in a hurry here; let's not waste more time."
Feeling he was now officially admitted into the group, Skwejee was all smiles again. He resumed his march and his formal tone: "Well, it is my Knightly duty to help the weak and the poor. So I took upon myself to rescue them from those ugly creatures!"
Myrra was very impressed by both Skwejee and his story. "So you are some sort of Knight then? How very… noble of you!"
Skwejee was about to say yes but, catching the stone-cold look of Loyia, he replied instead: "Well, not exactly… not yet I mean. Let's say I'm working toward that goal! That is why I must do Knightly stuff so I can prove my valour, or something like that."
"Where did you take such a stupid idea?" asked Loyia, shaking her head. She accelerated her pace in a not-so-subtle attempt to lose the would-be Knight behind in his heavy armour. But it proved out that Skwejee had more stamina then Loyia gave him credit for.
"Stop that sister!" Myrra gave an elbow hit in the ribs of Loyia.
"Stop what?"
"Stop that! Skwejee would like to help us out! Can you at least show him some respect?"
A heavy silence fell on the small group. Skwejee wished he was a mage so he could have disappeared right at that moment. However, taking no chances, he kept his shield between the older sister and himself; it was the best he could do right now.
Letting out a deep sigh, Loyia apologised to the would-be Knight: "Sorry Skwejee. What I meant to say was: where did you get that interesting idea?"
Myrra gently patted Loyia on the shoulder with an approving smile.
It was all Skwejee needed to get him started on his Knightly quests and tales. For the better part of the morning, he told the sisters about his adventures and incredible deeds on his trek for achievement; how he had met a Solamnic Knight and how he learned about the life as a Knight and so he decided to be one someday.
Far to the west, in Solamnia, an order of Knights maintained peace. The order was founded a long time ago by Vinas Solamnus after a rebellion against his tyrannical Lord. Since then, the order was a bastion of virtue and rightfulness. The Knights were following a strict code of conduct, both in normal life and on the battlefield. A Knight was given a land to manage and was responsible to the well being of the people living on it. Only a human male could be named Solamnic Knight and through a very hard and difficult process. The would-be Knight had to prove his worth in combat, bravery and nobility. After that, he had to be presented to one of the three Gods overseeing the Knightly order, to be finally admitted.
Since the start of the war of the lance, those Knights were often seen leading footmen armies against the Dark Queen's forces. Sitting on their dragons, they were a beacon of hope in those troubled times.
"So I've been the squire of Sir Longbow," finished the young male. Myrra was listening intently to every word he was saying. The sun was warming her back and, walking beside Skwejee, she was having the best time of her life. It was what she always dreamed of. Adventures, meeting new friends; all this was very exiting so far.
"How long have you been Sir Longbow's Knight?" asked Loyia in a casual conversational way. She was walking just in front of the group, taking upon her the responsibility of the group's safety. She would have preferred to leave the would-be Knight behind. She preferred to rely on her own and on those she trusted, like Myrra. The newcomer was a good fighter but she knew that to free the kids, they would need to rely much more on stealth then strength. It would be a suicide to openly confront the Ogres. So she doubted that the warrior would be useful in this adventure. Besides, she thought that Skwejee must have fallen from a tree, hitting every branch with his head on his way down, leaving permanent brain damage. But Myrra seemed to like him and there was plenty of time and opportunities to lose him on the way.
"Well… almost an evening in fact. But I didn't need more time to convince me it would be the way I wanted the rest of my life to be!" Skwejee was always having his shield and sword in his hands while walking. He made practice moves in the air, more for a show to Myrra then for any form of physical improvements. He was also enjoying himself very much.
"So, you have seen a lot of fights and combats I presume?" asked Myrra with genuine interest. She would never be tired of tales and stories and the warrior was an endless source of tales and stories; some of them even true!
"I just came back from a campaign against the Black Dragon army! I was with our great leader Kronin Thirsthywhistle."
"You know Kronin?" asked a suddenly interested Loyia. Myrra was happy to see them make peace finally.
"Yup! Been with him for a couple of months now. We went all the way to SancristIsland for an important meeting with real Knights and members of all the races of Ansalon. After that we even killed a dragon High Lord!" Skwejee was obviously very proud of his achievements.
Loyia stopped walking.
"You killed a dragon High Lord? Here in Goodlund? Who?"
"Oh yes, honey; dragon High Lord Toede of the white dragon army! Kronin killed him by himself! In a single combat! We even heard rumours that after his death, the leader of all the five dragon armies, Ariakas himself had called a meeting at Neraka to elect a new High Lord to replace Toede."
Loyia resumed her walking. She was shocked by this news of great importance. The white and the black dragon armies where both very present in Goodlund. So anything that affects those armies, affects the people of Goodlund.
"I don't know if this is good or bad news for us," said thoughtfully Loyia.
"An evil leader's death sounds like good news to me!" replied Myrra.
"Depends who replaces him. Anyway, like Myrra said, this is a good achievement!"
Skwejee was in a very good mood. Inflating his chest again, he looked very proud.
"After I rescue the kids from the Ogres, who by the way are part of the Black Dragon army, I will go to Neraka to gather information about this new High Lord," announced Skwejee.
"Sister! Maybe we can go with him after we get Gab back?" Myrra was over excited.
Loyia looked at Myrra, thinking hard.
"We will see. We will need to get the kids back first. Maybe after that we could," suggested Loyia.
"Oh yes! It will be great!"
"Who is Gab?" asked Skwejee.
Myrra was very happy to tell the newcomer about the attack in Hidden Pond and the kidnapping of Gab. She also told him about their own quest for rescuing the kids. They also talked about Myrra's future adventures, and Skwejee's passed one.
Loyia stayed vigilant in this now hostile countryside, listening to the youngsters babbling with only one ear. She gave Skwejee a hard look once in a while to help him keep his story at least to a somewhat believable level. The would-be Knight got the hint and kept his kill record in the five to one ratio instead of the initial twenty to one range.
During a brief pause, while Loyia was scouting alone on a hill overlooking the Kender village of Twin Oaks, the new youngsters had finally a private talk.
"Your sister is… different. Not like any Kender women I've ever met. And I've met quite a few!" Skwejee was all smiles.
"Really? Exactly how many women have you met?" asked a frowning Myrra.
"Not that many. And more like friends, you know; but what about your sister?" Skwejee tried to redirect the conversation in a not so subtle way.
With a disapproving look on her face, Myrra decided to go on anyway: "well, she is very much affected by the kidnapping of her son. That is why she is always on the edge. She also doesn't trust strangers easily; but that, I can't say why."
"Oh, I see. That could explain why she is not much smiling and enjoying this trip! Losing a child must not be easy."
Myrra looked at her older sister in the distance, coming back from the top of that hill, a look full of affection.
"She is a very good person you know. And Gab is everything for her, for us."
Myrra looked Skwejee straight in the eyes and asked: "Can you promise me, on your Knightly code, to help us get Gab back?"
Skwejee was touched by the bound between the sisters. Kneeling, he answered: "I promise on my shield that I will get no pause until Gab is back with his mother."
Before Myrra could reply, Loyia came back from her scouting: "Already proposing? That was quick." Without waiting for a reply she continued: "I had a good view of the town from the top of the hill. No more Ogres in Twin Oaks for sure."
Skwejee raised, open mouthed; he tried to babble an excuse to explain that he was not proposing. When he realised Loyia was not listening to him anyway, he just shut his mouth and made a side glance at Myrra who was having a really hard time not laughing.