Chapter 9

“Tell me again, oh fearless leader, why we have been banished to the out and beyond by our beloved monarch?” Asked Sir Martin, as the company of knights of the King’s Guard rode out of the edge of one forest and up the ridge to the edge of another.

“Ahh, Martin, my old friend, it is the life of a soldier. It’s the smell of the great outdoors, the closeness of nature, a return to simpler times without a load of politics.” Sir Roland looked as if he wanted to spit on the last word, but instead drew reign and sat on the ridge of the hill, while his troop pulled up in line of march.

“Right, oh mighty warrior, I had forgotten how much my backside enjoys these little outings of yours.” Martin said as he shifted again in his saddle. “I am sure that in no time you will give new meaning to the phrase ‘back in the saddle again... ’.

“Tsk, Martin. You’ve grown as soft as the rest of the fine gentlemen at court. It is good to get outdoors and lose that sweet feminine smell you all acquired while at court. Too much consorting with women and other soft things makes a warrior rusty. The King was more than happy to grant my request for a little seasoning of his troops.”

“Well, you old war horse, my backside is just about tenderized now.” Martin laughed as the two broke into a slow walk back into the forest cover.

Later, after camp had been made and the sentry set, Roland and Martin walked along the picket lines among the mounts.

“Okay, honest answer time, Roland. Why the hell are we out here in the middle of nowhere? No more bullshit about the virtues of the rough life, either!” Martin said as they walked beside their mounts.

“You sure you want honest? Because between you, me and this horse, I don’t know if I know the whole deal myself” Roland said, coming to a stop and staring into the distance. At Martin’s nod, Roland sighed and then said, “Okay, here is what I know and what I suspect to be pretty true. First, Erin and her party are to head down to the standing stones for the Beltane feast in a couple of weeks. Since the stones are only about fifty miles from where we are now, I think you can put one and one together? Second, Emory and I had a long chat about the future, and this is where things get a little fuzzy, and by fuzzy I mean that even Emory cannot see any details.” Martin jerked up short, and whistled, but said nothing more. “So, assuming that you are at least half as smart as I think you are.” Again, Martin smiled and nodded for him to go on. “Then you can see why we are stumbling around in the wilderness with a bunch of wide-eyed innocents and a handful of old war horses like the two of us. Emory has a bad feeling about all this, and his bad feelings usually mean someone is going to get hurt, or worse.”

“Okay, now my head hurts as much as my backside!” said Martin. “So, in a nutshell, we are riding around the edge of the known world, as a rapid reaction force for something even Emory cannot see, just in case ‘something bad’ just happens to happen? Gods, I need a drink!”

“You and me both, old friend, you and me both!”