PreCursive

  Sylvia and I remained where we were as the armored knights on horseback thundered up the hill in our dire. Fade just sat on his haunches in order to watch as well, keen eyes fixed on the approag group. I wasn’t actually all that afraid of these, personally. I’d dealt with knights in the past, and that was before I’d acquired a Skill that was all but purpose built to grind through their armor. Well, that was if things went south in a hurry. That would be…pretty bad for our actual mission, though.

  Meanwhile, Hook had done as he’d said and all but faded into the background behind us.

  Eventually, the knights reached our position, slowing to a trot before us. I was able to get a good look at them, now.

  Their full-pte armor itself was fairly unremarkable from the examples I’d seen in the past, being mostly unadorned. It stopped at their waist, however, leaving them wearing hardened leather greaves instead. Belted at their waists were bd yellow tabards bearing the image of a snarling wolf. Perhaps it was the sigil of Thunderheart. I’d hought to ask Bleddyn much about his home and people.

  We’d been a bit preoccupied at the time.

  Both roups of three stood staring at each other for a moment before the lead knight broke the silence. I noticed that they ook their hands off of the pommels of their sheathed swords, however.

  “Hail, travelers,” He said, in a guarded tone of voice. “What brings you to this nd, iroubled times?”

  I kept silent as Sylvia stepped forward to address them, as we’d pnned. We’d decided to let her be the main spokesman for us, sidering she was the one who had the closest e to Grey.

  Sylvia ined her Mithril head at the knights. “Hail, and well met, Knights of T?r Gronn. I am Sylvia Hart, daughter of Grand Marshal Gre of the Order of the Eclipsed Dawn,” As she tinued, I could see the back two knights jerk in surprise at her words. Meanwhile, the lead knight kept still. Sylvia gestured at the two of us. “I and my husband have been ao give warning and message to you and yours, by the cil of the Uprising. There is mu Thunderheart should be made aware of. We humbly ask to be brought before the cil of Elders, so we may deliver our messages.”

  One of the knights tried to whisper something to the other, but the lead knight swiftly put a stop to that with a look. Wheurned back around, I could see through the slit in his helmet that his stare was more sidering than wary now. Slowly, he us. “Very well. At the very least, you find succor within our walls as I bring your petition to the elders. I am Captain Cadoc of the Thunderheart Carregwyr. May I ask for the names of your panions, my dy?” He asked, as his gaze trailed over me and Hook. I noticed that it paused for a moment nding on Fade, almost incredulously.

  That seemed to be a oion when people were faced with a horned wolf.

  Said wolf just panted, watg the knights with curious eyes.

  I stepped forward and dipped my head, drawing the Captain’s attention. “Greetings. I am Nathaniel Hart, Sylvia’s husband and Headmaster Grey’s apprentice. With us is Grimgar Stonecloak, a soldier of the Order assigned as a guard by our superiors. And my…panion, Fade.” I nodded down at the Spirit Wolf at my feet.

  ‘Grimgar’ grunted a shreeting to the Thunderheart knights, in a mahat was extremely remi of Azarus.

  Cadoodded to me, his eyes lingering on the disguised Hook. “Very well. Sylvia, Nathaniel, and… Grimgar. Follow me, and I shall lead you to the safety of T?r Gronn’s walls. Mind your step, though. These hills are more treacherous than they appear.”

  The knights reared their mounts around at that, and began to trot down the ine of the hill we were standing on, clearly expeg us to follow.

  Sylvia and I exged a gnd did so in fortable silence. Fade just stood up and padded after us silently.

  ‘Grimgar’ followed after us, just as quietly.

  …………………………………………………

  The trio of Carregwyrian knights led us down the hill and up to the gates of the Thunderheart settlement, apparently ?r Gronn. There Captain Cadoc exged a few words with the two guards standing outside the main gate, both of whom were wearing much more on aher armor. One of the guards saluted by raising one arm in a vertical bar, before sprinting through the open gate. It looked like he was heading straight for the rge buildihe near of the small town.

  Ohing that I noticed, though, was that the vilgers had an odd rea to Fade. Whehey noticed the Spirit Wolf, to a ohey stopped to stare at him in amazed, open-mouthed shock. To my own surprise, some of the Thunderheart members ht bowed in his dire, waiting for him to pass. I could tell that Fade uzzled by this rea himself, from the odd look he’d give these people.

  Maybe they just had an affinity for wolves? I think I remember Bleddyn swearing by one once, all those months ago. Couldn’t be sure, though.

  Once he was done leading the way, the Captain stopped and turo us, removing his helmet.

  I could see a slight resembo Bleddyn, surprisingly. Not strong enough that I suspected he was reted, but enough that I could definitely say that my old friend had e from the same group of people.

  The sve turned revolutionary had some pretty distinctive features, after all.

  Cadoc was a handsome man with dark, dark brown hair and a short beard grag his chiseled jaw. Sharp, forest-green eyes pierced from a heavy brow as the Captain roup. “I’ve sent word ahead. For now, please follow me,” He said, sliding off of his horse. He hahe reigns to a stable boy that hurried up to him, and then turo jerk his head to the other two knights. They saluted in the same manner as the uard had, and then trotted off, leaving us along with the Captain.

  Cadoodded at us aured to follow him through the gate. When we did so, I frowo myself at the air in the vilge.

  There was an almost palpable sense of tension in the air of the homey little vilge. There were a surprising amount of guards visible throughout the town, with the walls being nearly festooned with them. The people were scurrying through the streets and squares with furtive eyes and nervous feet, sending each other anxious smiles as they tried to aplish their chores.

  Hmm.

  Did they already know about the horde?

  I met Sylvia’s eyes to find them tinted with her own suspi and . However, she just shook her head.

  Cadoc led us through the vilge and up to the rge hall-like building at the back of the settlement. Ohere, he turned back to us. “Wait here, please. I shall see if they are ready to receive you.” Wheurned and opehe door to the hall, I jerked ba surprise at the full-on shouting that I could hear suddenly echo out. Fade’s lupine ears fttehemselves against his head at the cacophony. It was loud enough that I had to assume the hall was ented to block sound from exiting it in some way. I swear, it sounded like there were at least a dozen people near on screaming at each other inside. I couldn’t actually make out any of the words with how the people in the building were yelling over each other.

  The Captain walked through and shut the door behind him, abruptly cutting off the shouting match.

  Huh.

  I was startled by the sound of ‘Grimgar’ speaking up behind us, although I was careful to hide my rea. Sylvia likewise made sure not to turn and face the spymaster of the Noe Division. “firmed,” He said in a low voice. “They know about the horde. I mao pick that out. I don’t think they know the extent of it, though. Proceed as pnned.”

  I wao turn and give the dwarf an incredulous look but refrained. How the hell did he mao get that much out of that brief little window of noise?

  Guess there was a reason he was the boss.

  It didn’t take long for Cadoc to return, slipping out the door as quickly as he could. I noticed that the shouting had lessened a bit, only just. The Captain gave our little group a slightly strained smile. “The cil has agreed to see you. However,” His tone hardened slightly. “I must insist that you leave your ons at the door. One of my men will watch them for you, just oher side.”

  “We have no objes, Captain Cadoc,” Sylvia said calmly, before I could. She ued her short sword from her waist, holding the sheathed bde at her side. “We will relinquish them.” I nodded along to show my support, reag down and removing my own Oninite bdes from my belt.

  Captain Cadoodded sharply. “The us proceed. The cil awaits.” Having said that, he opehe door once more, standing off to one side so we could enter. Just oher side of it was a long wooden hall with a closed pair of double doors at the end.

  Now that we were ihe shouting seemed to have stopped. Well, mostly. I could still hear some muffled arguments just passed the rge doors at the end of the hall.

  I ted at least six more knights standing guard in that hall, each of them standing at attention. Just to the right of the entrance was a rge table, nearly sagging uhe weight of…a great many ons. Seriously, I could t over a dozen different swords, maces, and axes of all shapes and sizes. One of the knights was keeping wat them I think, from the way he was standio the table. Sylvia and I set our bdes on it with no more needed instru and then followed Cadoc down the hall. The Captain didn’t break his stride, as he nearly barged through the doors. The arguing inside abruptly stopped, as Sylvia and I followed Cadoto the main chamber.

  It was surprisingly rge in here. To my eyes, it almost looked like an auditorium. It was circur in shape and built entirely out of wood. There was a long, solidly built high table of some kind along the far wall of it, built in a half circle. Arranged behind it were well over a dozen men in dressed in varying degrees of finery. Some were in -looking furs ahers, some were dressed entirely in armor albeit with their heads exposed, and some were dressed in silks that I would ascribe to some of the Herztalian nobility that I’d met. Nearly all of them were older in some manner, with their hair and beards shot through with grey and white.

  All of them looked like they’d been shouting at each other for hours, from the dirty looks some were even now shooting at each other.

  But three people in particur stood out to me.

  The first was an elderly man who was sitting in a higher chair thahers. This man looked to be the oldest person in the room, outshining even Grey in old man energy. His long hair and beard were entirely white, hanging over his bd yellow robes. His amber-colored eyes were keen, however. They stared at us dispassionately over a long, hooked nose.

  Two men were standing in the ter of the room, both lookied to each other to my eyes. However, more importantly to me, I could tell they were reted to someone else.

  That person being Bleddyn.

  I swear to God, one of them looked like an older version of my old friend. He was one of the people dressed in furs ahers, and looked to be pulled straight from a barbarian novel cover. He was huge and powerfully muscled, with long grey-shot bck hair and inteormy blue eyes, with a full beard growing from his granite features. The uy was one of the people in noble silks. I would guess that he was the first man’s brother, from the family resembnce. He was smaller and…a bit more weaselly looking, with shorter hair and simir c.

  Everyone in the hall, evewo guys in the ter, were looking at us in suspi.

  Tough crowd.

  I put it out of my mind and followed Sylvia into the ter of the room, not far from the two men.

  The elderly man in the high chair spoke first, breaking the silence. “We wele you to the halls of the awr , of the Mynydd peoples, son and daughter of Ghrian Dorcha.” He said, in a surprisingly deep voice. “I am Elder Einion, head of this cil. What brings you to our nds this day?”

  Before we could even speak, the silk-dressed man in front of us did first. “Hold,” He said in a suspicious tone of voice. “How do we even know these people are who they say they are? They have presented no form of identification, and those uniforms could have been stolen from the dead.”

  Uh.

  That was a good point, actually. We…didn’t have any kind of identification.

  Before I could dwell on that very long, the uy in front of us snorted. “Use your head, brother,” He said sfully. “It is well known that Ghrian Dorcha crafted for himself a daughter made of purest Mithril. You ot disguise that sheen, nor the presence of such purity,” He gestured to Sylvia, drawing the eyes of the rest of the cil. There were aowledging murmurs from them, as the other man flushed slightly in humiliation. As he fumed, the man who had defended us nodded our way in a surprisingly respectful manner. “As the Elder said, be wele in these halls. I am Gruffyd, Chief of this .”

  Well.

  Gd we got that settled.