by Scarik » Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:30 am
Hunting in the Dark
Within the hour the hounds begin to bray that their quarry is close and the path of broken foliage along the game trail suddenly opens up into a glade with a softly babbling brook.
The cause of the broken branches is clear. Beside the water lies a dying charger, its lifeblood a red pool gently flowing away downstream.
The dogs spread out, barking and growling, eager for the order to attack.
Then comes a splash and a curse, 'God's Hooks!' from past the stricken horse and a man stands up, shaking and soaked.
In the open glade he is half in shadow and his dark tabard is wet and hard to see clearly, but his shield is black as soot with a green gem set in silver on its boss glowing with its own, inner light.
Alone in the glade
Lady Ermeline doesn't wait much more than a minute after the knights give chase before she follws them in the blackness to see where events will lead. Her much-put-upon maid tries to get her to stay, saying that Lady Gisele's maid should not be left to watch over the priest alone when she needs a nurse of her own, but Ermeline is incorrigible and so her maid follows.
What happens next is anyone's guess until Leufroy finds himself away in a cave alongside Gisele's frightened maid. His only clue as to how they arrived being a dim recollection of being roughly carried through the forest and then dropped to the ground.
There is some light from the moon though it only comes about a yard into the cave itself. After that there is only the dying embers of a cooking fire with a cauldron set atop it. The pot is quite large, more than needed even for the band of knights he had been with, and it smells strongly of onions and basil.
At least he still has his staff, though he can't imagine how he managed to hold onto it.
Dinner with the Eingars
Eingar the Elder hardly talks at dinner other than to grunt dismissively at questions and leave Ulfgar to provide answers.
The older half of the knights that join them share their lord's demeanor though they do a fair bit of glaring at those who talk too much. The younger half, those closer in age to Eingar the Younger, as well as Ulfgar himself are more courteous.
"My father has lived too long in these dark woods away from court," Ulfgar says. "And he prefers it that way as it allows him to avoid guests. As for my mother, she passed on near ten years ago so I doubt you'd have met her as pages in the Duke's court."
The younger lord continues, "So feel free to remain until your duty is complete..."
His father cuts in at that point, "Three days," he grunts, "That's what hospitality buys you and not a moment more. After that you sleep in the woods if you mean to continue haunting my lands."
Something, something Kobolds
Rosamund steels her nerves and reigns in the urge to charge up the hill as Hecate would like to sink her teeth once more into the foul little fey that she smells ahead, and its a good thing as well because the path is strewn with small obstructions that could easily cause a fall.
And as the track becomes steeper and steeper such a fall would be dire indeed.
So as she picks her way up and keeps her boon companion at her side she has just barely enough time to see the small silhouettes of kobolds against the dim canopy rise up from hiding to hurl stones and logs down the hill.