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Chronicle II, Chapter 7 Knight Acts By William Black The young knight left the field shaking his helmeted head. He regretted how things were turning out, but he had little choice. To defeat Gardain and the greater evil that threatened Morion's Realm, he must remain an unknown to them. He hated keeping secrets, yet it was a way of life he had grown accustom to. And what of Morgan? Did she have an idea of who he was? No, he thought to himself. She could not know. Her heart and mind were set too much on the present; she focused little on the past and future. However, the intensity of her feelings had not diminished with time. Morgan certainly still had feelings for her Druid Knight, though she tried to ignore them the best she could. She was, and he supposed always would be, the most passionate woman he had ever met. It had been a long time since he last saw her. Not long before the disappearance of the Druid, as a matter of fact. Aspen wondered what she would think of him now? Sir Robert was her love, but he had been very close to her at one point. He smiled to himself as he brought his mount to a halt at the entrance to the hospital tent. He slid down from his saddle in silence. The afternoon was changing rapidly into its eveningwear, and a slight breeze blew from the north. The young knight breathed in deeply the scents of summer. It was good to be back under any circumstances, he thought to himself as he entered the ward. He was not prepared for the scene within. Men of valor, their faces drawn in pain and despair, lay on beds of soft straw and down. Their bodies withering away as if aged by 20 years within a day. He went to Sir Gweyn to look at the once vibrant warrior, the knight's eyes were open but their once intense blue was faded to a ghastly grey. They stared into nothingness. "Sir Gweyn, can you hear me?" Aspen bent down to speak close to the man's ear. "Sir Gweyn?" Then more to himself, "My God, what has happened here?" "Sir, if you took off your helmet, it might help the patient hear you more clearly." A young physician stood opposite to where Aspen was. He looked at the young knight quizzically. "Oh, sorry. Just I am so used to it. There..." Aspen removed his helmet and set it on the ground beside the bed. "Please tell me what happened to these men? Have you determined the cause of their condition, for surely the effort of battle would not cause this damage?" Aspen looked around again, his mind reeling in disbelief. He was aware of the evil present, but was unprepared for its effects. "No, Sir. We know they have been poisoned by something, but by what we haven't a clue. Ambros, our head physician, used to be able to use a bit of magic in severe cases like this, but because of the contract with Sir Gardain and Lord Banon, we are forbidden to use that means of diagnoses." Aspen shook his head in frustration. "By whose authority are you forbidden?" The physician glanced about as if afraid of being overheard, "By Lady Morion, my Lord." "Hmmm..." Aspen wondered if Morion's honour was above saving these men's lives. He glanced down at the knight before him, then lowered the sheet that was covering man's chest. Looking closely at the left side, he noticed a bluing and roughness of the skin. It was as if a light abrasive had been used to scour away the top most layer of skin; an abrasive that left a blue tinge. But how could this be when a full breastplate of armor was worn at the time of impact? "What is your name?" Aspen looked at the fellow before him. The doctor was watching him closely. "My name is Tolin, and I would like to know why you're examining my patient? We have already determined that these men are aging rapidly and will be dead in a matter of days, if not hours. My task is to make their last few moments on earth as comfortable as possible." "So, Tolin, you're task is just to watch them die, though you comfort yourself with the knowledge that they are in no pain!" Aspen's eyes sparked with anger; "Well, my 'task' is to save any and all I can. Now go call someone who knows a little more about medicine than you. And while you're at it, bring me the lance that is right outside this tent! You'll find it by my horse." The command in Aspen's voice sent the young doctor scurrying for the front entrance of the tent. The doctor came back quickly with the lance, and left immediately to fetch his superior. As the doctor left, Aspen began his examination of the lance. It appeared to be a normal weapon made of ash, but slightly lighter than he was use to. This struck him as odd since Gardain was rather a substantial warrior who could certainly carry a heftier weapon then this. In fact, the more Aspen thought of it, the more perplexed he became. He then noticed the tip of the lance. It had tiny sharp points like little pins projecting out from it. Aspen then tried to remove the tip. He twisted it, but the tip stubbornly held firm. He would get a weapon's smith to look at it. A low moan from Sir Gweyn brought Aspen's attention back to the scene before him. He looked down at the dying man. "Old fellow, you are not through yet, nor am I." The young knight knelt down and said a silent pray, not only for Sir Gweyn but also for the other knights within the tent. His head was still bowed when Ambros entered from the back of the tent. The man looked to be the twin brother of Morion's wizard, but his eyes had the appearance of one who had seen too much death and was tiring at the sight of it. He wore the robes of a medical doctor, but with gold embroidery around the collar and sleeves marking him as the Chief Physician. His attitude was crisp, "Sir, I appreciate the prayers you are saying in behalf of these fine men, but I would appreciate if you would not intimidate my staff. Now, if you would be so kind..." the doctor motioned to the front entrance to the tent. "So kind to do what?" Aspen put on his best innocent look. "Oh, you want me to leave. Well, not until I have some answers." He could see the irritation in the older man's eyes. "I want to know your diagnosis of these men. Your young assistant was only able to tell me that these poor fellows appeared to be poisoned in some way, but he didn't know by what agent. Well, it doesn't take a genius to see that they are poisoned, but I need a better response then the fact you are just trying to keep these men comfortable until they pass away." "Sir, are you a doctor? Have you had any medical training whatsoever? Tolin voiced in exasperation, not waiting for his master to speak. "As a matter of fact, yes. I am a healer of sorts." When he saw their questioning looks, Aspen continued, "there are those of us who have taken up the sword by necessity, but would much prefer the healing arts to those of warfare." He glanced back to Gweyn, then asked, "please, I would like to know how you are treating these men." Ambros walked over to stand beside him; "We have been trying to cleanse their blood of whatever it is. I have tried a variety of mixers, some containing dandelion root, young nettle leaves, elder shoots, primrose flowers, burdock root, and other herbs, but I fear I am just forestalling the inevitable. I must confess we have also tried bleeding a few of those who appeared stronger, but this made matters worse." Aspen cringed, "I can see why!" He then walked around to each bed, placing his hand on each knight as if taking a measure of his temperature. When he finished with the last man, he looked at Ambros and the bewildered Tolin, but his sight seemed to be on something beyond them, something they could not see. Tolin turned to see what Aspen was focusing on, "Sir, what are you starring at?" Aspen smiled, "Possibilities, doctor. Possibilities." Then turning to Ambros he asked, "Is there a place I can sit for a bit? I am rather tired after the joust, and I need to think this through." "Yes, indeed. I bet you have not eaten recently either. Come. I will take you to my tent, but first attend to your hunger." Ambros turned to lead the way out the back, then looked around, "Oh, and you might want to grab your helmet. And Tolin," he turned his attention to his attendant, "Go and fetch Roland, it well be his shift soon. While you're at it, please stable Sir Aspen's horse. I am sure it is in need of food too." Tolin went out the front as Ambros led the way out the back. The old man kept quite as he led Aspen down a narrow path leading to what appeared to be a cloister. The building was illumined by torch light, which caused shadows to play across the deep green lawn surrounding the secluded house. The windows were made of fine stained glass, and candlelight could be seen flickering within. Ambros led the way to a side entrance and opened the door for the young knight. Once inside he took Aspen to the dinning hall, made his apologies for having to leave him to get the food, then disappeared down a shadowy hallway to where the kitchen was. This gave Aspen time to look about a bit. The hall was sparsely decorated, a few faded tapestries clinging to the cold stone walls. There were numerous large dark wood tables and benches made of the same, but no other furnishings were present. Aspen walked around, not feeling comfortable just sitting about, then realized that he was still wearing his armor. Feeling rather foolish, he started to remove the breastplate when he heard a soft female voice coming from the hall where Ambros had gone. He stopped what he was doing and listened. "My Lord, Morgan wants to see you immediately. Sir Robert is getting worse. He is having night chills and nothing seems to be helping." "All right, please take this to my guest in the dinning hall, and I'll go attend Sir Robert. But once our friend has eaten, please bring him to Morgan's tent. I want him to look at this patient also." Aspen heard a door shut, and then saw the figure of a woman's shadow as it came down the hall. He recognized Lady Ann as she came through the doorway. She walked with confidence over to where he sat and looked at him with large, slightly crossed blue eyes. He noticed her eyebrows were slanted upwards like an elf's, giving her a very exotic appearance. She smiled and sat a steaming plate of stew and a cup of cold ale before him. "My apologies Sir, but this is all there was in the kitchen at this hour. The cooks were not expecting guests tonight." Then she tilted her head slightly as if to consider her next remark, "Do you mind if I sit and keep you company? I mean, I don't want you to think I'm being forward, but I thought you might like some companionship." Aspen kept his face lowered, not wanting to be recognized by this councilor of Morion's. "Be my guest, but I am afraid I won't be very good company for you." He took a big bite full of the stew and started to gasp, "Hot, hot!" He took the cup before him and gulped the strong cold liquid down. "Heez, I bunt my ongue!" Ann sat there in stitches as the knight took another large draught of ale. "Sir, I... I really am sorry," she said between chuckles, "I don't mean to laugh, but... Well, let me get you some more to drink. I'll be right back." She got up and ran down the hallway from which she came. A moment later she was back with a pitcher of ale. Aspen looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. She was very beautiful, and here he was making a disastrous first impression. "I feel like such a fool, but thanks for the ale. It seems to be helping. At least it is numbing my tongue, if not my brain." He started to chuckle as he watched her. She noticed his look and he could see her blush in the candlelight. "I recognize you from when I spoke with Morion this afternoon. You are Lady..?" He hoped by pretending not to know her, she would not remember him. "I am Ann. And I, like Morion, think that we have met before. But for the life of me, I cannot say where. I certainly should remember you. You remind me of..." Her words trailed off as she stared wide-eyed in disbelief, the color of her face turning ashen. "Huh, my Lord, I again apologize, but I must be on my way. Just leave the dishes here, someone will pick them up in the morning." She rose to leave, but Aspen caught her by the arm. "Ann, sit!" She sat looking at the specter across from her, his grip like iron around her arm. "You have nothing to fear from me, Ann. Believe me, but I must remain unknown for now. This is of utmost importance, since not only your life, but also the lives of all within this realm are at risk. Ann's eyes were full of fear, "How? I mean... oh God; I don't know what I mean... I have to go, I think I am going to be sick. Please release me. PLEASE!" She yanked her arm free and half stumbled half ran out of the front entrance. Aspen could hear her being sick, and he felt tremendous guilt over being the cause, but he had to insure that no one else made the same discovery that she had. He quickly donned his helmet and breastplate, then followed her out the door. She stood bent over the garden retching terribly. When she seemed to quite down a bit, he stepped behind her and slid his hands gently around her neck. She slumped over with only a small gasp escaping from her throat. Aspen looked around to make sure his deed went unnoticed, then carried the limp form out into the darkness. William Black © Continues... Chronicle II, Main page |