A Knight's Quest

I could see that my honor guard was smitten, so I brought him over to my charges and introduced him.

"Ladies, this is Lieutenant Morrow. He will escort us to Prince Jerican's estate, where my father will decide what we should do with you." I explained, but none understood beyond the name.

"Lootentant Moro, is married?," one of the ladies asked and they all giggled when he was shocked by the question.

"Wait until they meet the Prince," he finally muttered with a half smile.

The stable area of Father's estate is quite large, but the Lieutenant did not bring his troops onto the grounds, sending them back to the barracks groaning and complaining that they didn't help the ladies get comfortable.

Pitman stood at the barn door, with Pinkee under one arm.

She still wore drab dark clothing in a male fashion, suggesting that she did not want to be seen as a woman.

After the 8 exotic ladies climbed out of their converted prisons, they gathered together in the yard and Pitman stepped in front of them.

She spoke clearly and loudly, but it was in a tongue that was baffling to me. The women all perked up, and they paid careful attention to the Royal Valet.

Women from the cleaning staff took them for a wash in the servants quarters. Two nurses would assess them for injuries and they would be looking for signs of pregnancy. I doubted that any of them would see their homeland again.

"It's unfortunate that no one was left alive to figure out who is behind these raids," Pitman suggested, but it is good that we saved these women, Sir Corzian.

Prince Jerican was receiving my report on the conflict and rescue, and he was not in a good mood.

"How could you kill them all, son? Was there no other way?", he paced as he scolded me.

"I certainly could have asked my men to be less ruthless Sire, but we were fighting a far superior force and I wasn't willing to risk the life of any of my men, by ordering them to fight with restraint."

Pitman came to my defense.

"There might have been a larger force, on their way to support them, My Prince, so the decision to act with such recklessness might have saved the women from a short life as a sex slave," Pitman analyzed the situation just as I had.

"I do know who their Master was though, Father," I quietly relayed. "One man indicated that they were under the protection of the Commander of Norfolk," I reported. That one died of his wounds, so I can't very well accuse the Grand Duke, but I believe it to be true."

"Hmm, It was wise to leave that out of the report," His Royal Highness, King Corican the Joyful stepped out from behind the curtain to Father's private office.

I fell to my knee and cast my eyes down, as did Pitman, but Uncle Cari came right over and coxed us both up to our feet.

"My favorite nephew! Please don't bother with that in private," he bellowed with his deep theatrical voice. "...and you dear, come on! I have known that you are a female from the moment I saw how my brother defers to your judgement so easily!" King Corican was often called 'the fat' but he was not a fool. He was 49 years old and twice the weight he should have been. It was no wonder why the kingdom was on edge. If there was no clear Heir to the Throne there could be civil war if he followed his father's lead into an early grave.

"We had a good harvest for the last two years, and this one looks to be even better!" the King lamented. "Now we make peace on our Southern border and the North has been Reunified to make North Cumberland the richest and best defended nation in the world! Yet, without an Heir we will be reduced to a nation divided. Catanaland will absorb a good piece, and I pray that Gaspe will be a part of it, but I fear that this Guardian of Norfolk will prevail as far as the Capital."

The King was not joyous today as he had been into some strange liquor from a far off land. One royal glass gave him the effect of a dozen mugs of beer or a jug of wine.

"What say you? My Noble Knight Warrior! I hear you killed a dozen that night Sir! On your honor, could it be true?" my Royal Uncle slapped me on the shoulder and smiled at me.

"No, Sire, it was only five, while my Horseman took out 9, my King," I haltingly reported. I have seldom talked with my uncle since he became King.

"Ah, but did you kill three with one swing? Tell me that's true man and I will bow to you!" he expanded as he became more demonstrative.

"I do believe that my swing severed the throats of the first two, but though I ran the third one through, Gimballed my Horseman did stab them seven or eight times, so I give him credit for one." I was feeling the excitement that my uncle's charisma brings out in any room he finds himself in.

"Damn! Jeri, those were the days were they not?" the King asked his brother.

"Yes Cori," father returned, casually giving his wineglass a small sip.

After a short pause the King resumed his musings.

"We must find out more about the kidnapping of our women, Jeri, Coz," the King ordered, then he turned back to father's office and disappeared inside.

"Of course he is right Coz, and I know of no other that is better equipped to tackle the problem," Father stated with certainty.

We prepared for the mission immediately. Gimpy found me a Footman finally, but I wondered if he would be a good fit.

"He picked my pocket so cleanly that I didn't know until I reached for my right hip blade, and it was gone," he explained.

"So I went back to the eatery and Jon watched from the distance as I enjoyed a lengthy lunch," Gimpy retold the story. "An hour later Jon brought him over, cursing and trying hard to get out of his grasp."

"So, how did you know it was him?" I wondered.

"He had three coin purses, a silver pick-knife and two of my best throwing knives on him," Gimpy revealed with a toothy grin. "He didn't know the inscription on the pick either."

"So why would I want to hire a thief Gimpy?" I was surprised with most of his ideas, but I always listened.

"Well, sir, he is fast with his hands, and cool with his mind, like me," Gimpy explained, "...and we need someone who can find things and steal them for us. He is brave and brazen, much like you Sir, and his mother makes a roasted veal dish with coriander, that the King himself would enjoy!

"Does she share her bed with you Gimpy?" I was astonished at how low he would go.

"Humph, you insult me Sir!" Featherby acted wounded by my slight, but his smile revealed the truth. "She doesn't need a bed Coz! But don't tell the boy!" he begged.

I found the lad playing dice with the twins.

"So you would teach them to gamble," I asked my new attendant.

"They have money Sir, so they need to learn it's value. I've found that the best lessons involve losing it, so here I am!" he smugly replied.

"Well, you can play after you shine my armor and that of my horse," I instructed my new footman. "They are your responsibility now William Cord, so Jon will give you detailed instructions on how to maintain them," I ordered.

"You will also take instruction from my Horseman on knife fighting and throwing, while Jon will teach you basic swordsmanship," I completed his orders.

"Will I have time for a big shit?" he impudently asked.

"You will have time for me to beat your ass until you can not sit! You insufferable bastard," I shouted and went to grab him, but he was very elusive. He ran like a rabbit, and me the wolf. Around the barn, then up into the loft where he grabbed a rope to swing back down, but I dove and caught him by the foot.

I held him there, by one foot, hanging upside down. I had to squeeze hard to keep him from kicking out of my grasp. He didn't scream though, like most people would. Instead, he pulled himself up to his foot, and tried to pry my hand off. I squeezed harder.

"I give sir! I yield!" he whimpered when he could find no other avenue to freedom.

I let him fall to the floor 10 feet below, and it knocked the air from his lungs.

I took my time, coming down the ladder, as he sat there, trying to get his breath.

"I have never seen such strength! Are you a Knight or a Demon?" he speculated, while rubbing his foot.

"I did not even break anything boy, so count yourself lucky, and learn not to agitate me, and then we will get along just fine," I told him. "You can continue with your dice games, cause the twins need to learn to be careful around rouges like you, but you will make time to better yourself, or go home to your cock sucking mother!" I yelled.

Seeing a tear in his eye, I turned and left him on the floor.

It was two hours before I realized that my purse was missing.

"Gimpy!"

Two hours later, I was pretty drunk, so when Pitman sat down across from me, it wasn't surprising that I didn't smell her.

"I hear you were bested by a boy today! Ha! I found it hilarious!" Pitman laughed in my face. "So what do you do?" she asked sarcastically.

"I would rather that he work for me," I answered.

My purse was dropped on the table, and William plopped himself into the chair to my right.

"Sorry my Liege, I didn't know that you are a friend of Pitman," he offered. "If the opportunity to better myself is still there, I would be willing to serve under you."

I turned to the valet. "So you need a spy on my staff?" I asked her.

"I have released him to you, Sir!" she exclaimed as if that was the end of the matter.

"I have already decided that I have to trust you Pitman, so you don't need a spy. I will only take him if you think he will serve me well, and not steal from anyone on my team. If he does, he is done." I set the standard, and I would follow through on my honor!

"I will follow your rules Sir. Pitman has released me to you, and I doubt that you are harder to please than him, so I will do your bidding," he confirmed.

He wasn't aware of Pitman's sexuality! It didn't take a look from her to keep my confidence.

Pitman had another message, though it was a strange one.

"Your mother says that you don't need to go to any more New Woman Ceremonies," she reported, but had no more to add to it.

I was too busy with my mission to even consider a festival, but the message did make me think about Jenny again.

"We leave tomorrow, so put your affairs in order William," I commanded.

"Call me Pincher please Sir. Everyone does."

Pincher was now part of the team.

On the day of departure Prince Jerican paid us a visit.

"The King has decided that your mission is critical," he informed Gimpy and I together. "If you get proof that the Commander of Norfolk is stealing our women, the entire country will rise up and remove him from that post," my father extolled.

"Can't the King just bring him in for a little chat?" Gimpy wondered, probably thinking about putting him on the rack or peeling some skin off his face.

"If he or his cousin comes to the Capital again, I'm sure that my brother would have a real heart to heart with the scoundrels, but Mortack is now safely in his Keep with a very large force at his command. Short of having significant proof, the King would rather keep this quiet." Prince Jerican agreed with his brother, and felt that the missing witches might also be found in his control.

"The King wants Pitman to go with you," Father finally provided the reason for his visit. "I don't like it, but I couldn't stop it, especially after Pitman agreed with him! Then your mother did too."

"The last thing we need is that shrimp of a man!" Gimpy boldly declared.

I was astounded with his brazen language regarding my Father's Adjutant, but then I realized that I hadn't told him about the Woman that was Pitman.

"I think that you will find Pitman to be surprisingly useful on this trip, Featherby," Prince Jerican reasoned with my Horseman, when he could have had him flogged for his questioning of a Royal's judgement.

Pincher was the new wagon master. He had no idea how to ride a horse! He was not great with a wagon either, but he had to start somewhere.

Pitman showed up on a mighty steed, much bigger than her small frame required, but she had spectacular control over the mighty stallion.

The twins were thrilled to have their own horses, and Gimpy was training them to be Horsemen since they were always asking him how to do this or that around their small mares.

"The first things you need to know is how to stay in the saddle, and how to fall without killing yourself," he counseled his eager students. "You will fall, so you should train yourself to roll without breaking an arm or a leg, by keeping everything tight to your body, hands around your head.

He demonstrated at slow speed in a soft meadow. Then he did it much faster, rolling up on his feet with his axe in the right hand and a dagger in his left.

During our passage north they had lots of time in the saddle, and they did come up hobbling a few times, but their young bones responded well to the hard exercises. Soon they would trot by my steed completely invisible, clinging to the far side of their mares!

Pincher was getting better at controlling the wagon, but he complained about his sore ass at every opportunity.

"If I were King I would fix these roads!" he would moan. "It's called the Kings Road, Is it not?"

He learned his job though, and more, as I taught him how to read and write.

The twins joined in sometimes, but they already knew the basics, they just needed practice. Pitman kept to herself.

We made the outskirts of Norfolk in less than a week. Although we were hustling, we did not want to appear as if we were on a mission. We asked about their New Women, at a tavern a half day out, and they claimed that there had not been such a festival in the last 6 years. The Inn was run by a young man, but the few women were old. It seems that it was not healthy to be a young woman near Norfolk.

We skirted the city to come in from the West.

Their wall was not a continuous one, so it was no problem getting into the city without going through a gate, but we had to believe that there would be eyes on every approach.

It's hard to hide a man like me, but I made myself up like a free warrior, with the rough and heavy armor that such a man would have. My hair was much shorter now, and I didn't bathe as often, nor as thoroughly.

On the day that we would enter the city, Pitman joined our breakfast in the attire of a woman. Her narrow waist and loose clothing had hidden the fact that she had breasts!

"Blazes! Gimpy roared, then I roared with laughter as I watched him think of all the things he had said and done in front of this fine looking woman.

The rest of the crew acted just as surprised but I learned that the twins had known since Pinkee had delivered the message from me. While playing with a little girl, he had been told the secret. Pinkee told his brother, then his father.

Pitman rode next to Pincher in the wagon for our entry to the city proper. There were a few women in the streets, but they were always accompanied by a few men. Though they didn't wear chains, they didn't look joyful, even in the market, where women are always happy and talkative.

Pitman was getting noticed though. Teenage boys were following us, and they seemed most interested in her.

When we got to the Boar's Head Hotel, I jumped down to make arrangements for a couple of rooms and a safe place for our horses.

"Gimpy, keep everyone close, I don't like the attention that our Lass is getting," I instructed him, then stepped through the door to the Boar.

"Can I help you sir," an older woman asked. "My name is Kora and I am the proprietor."

"Two rooms for eight weary travelers and a place for a wagon and 12 horses?" I inquired.

She tried to get me to take four rooms, which told me that they were empty.

I pulled out my purse and found three silver coins that I set on the counter.

"I like my privacy, so I'll pay for 3 and take all four rooms for 3 days, paid in advance." The coins disappeared.

When Pitman walked into the front room, the owner's mouth dropped.

"No Slavers will be bedding at my Inn!" She replied and shakily returned the coins to the counter.

"I am no slave," Pitman told our Proprietor, and the coins were gone again.

"You had better keep a close eye on your woman sir, or she will be taken as easily as a pickpocket takes your purse," she warned.

"Does this happen often, woman? Is there not a Sheriff?" I asked.

"Ha! You can find him in the back rooms, buried in the slave trade, cock deep," she implored while thrusting with her hips to emphasize what the Sheriff was doing in those rooms.

"Is the Mayor okay with that? Madam, that does not sound like something the Commander of Norfolk would allow," I asked with wonder.

"Humph, I can't answer to that, as there are people that would ruin me," the woman responded, but she carried on in a hushed voice.

"What he says and what he does are two completely different things, sir." She set four keys on the counter and went to the back to get the stables squared away.

"We will have to set a guard for the stable Gimpy," I told him when he finally came in from his horses.

"Jon is there now Coz and I got him a pot to hammer if he needs us," Featherby reported.

Mrs. McFarland could feed us if we bought the food from the market, so I gave her a dozen copper pieces so that she wouldn't be robbed when they saw silver. Then I decided to send Herold and Pincher with her, asking the thief to pay close attention to what the young lads are doing, perhaps learning why they have a special interest in us. The old women looked quite relieved to have the company.

"I was going to have to get my nephew, and he isn't any help if there's 3 or 4 of them, and there often is," she explained.

I gave her another copper.

"Have your nephew accompany you, and my men will watch. They will not allow you to be harmed," I vowed.

I had Pitman stay with Gimpy, Jon and the boys while I went on a walk. Gimpy was not happy with that, but I needed his skills to guard our most precious cargo, which right now was our lady, and our horses.

Many men had swords on their belts and some had fine scabbards like mine, so I didn't feel conspicuous. I nipped into the first beer-house that I came to, but looking up the road, I saw there were four others within sight.

I found a stool against a wall, and an easy view of the front door and the back.

There were only 8 or 9 stools about 3 small tables, and the two lanterns overhead did little to help illuminate the room. Two men looked away as I looked at them, but they certainly had a few moments to study me, while my eyes adjusted to the gloom.

A head came through the curtain.

"Mead is all we have today Sir!" he hollered my way.

"Is it any good?" I asked the bald man.

"No. But it's clean and strong," he admitted.

"That sounds perfect my good man," I replied and sat back to study the others without peering straight at them.

The man was about my height, but much thinner. He looked a bit sickly, but he held two large tankards in one hand, so he wasn't going to drop dead today I reasoned.

"Two for a penny special sir, so..." he trailed off while I considered the bargain.

I dropped a copper and he set them both down.

The taste was better than I'd had at many better looking Inns, but I barely touched it to my lips.

When I set the mug down, I thought that the three men were watching me a little too closely.

Then my lips felt numb.

I put the tankard back up to my lips and tipped it back, but didn't drink any more. I held it there for a while, like a thirsty traveler might.

I set it back down and turned to the curtain at the back.

"Not bad man, do you have any meat?" I yelled.

My face was turned to the back, but my eyes were watching for the attack that was sure to come.

When I heard the drawing of a blade, I already had both hands on the table that held my "special" two for one drinks. The shadows told me where the closest one was, so I smashed him in the head with the table as I swung it about.