23. Stories For Another Ti
“To think I have to share camp with a leaf ear,” the boy said, grumbling to himself as he stared at the half elf, who was staring at him in return.
Magpie placed a hand on the boy’s head, rubbing it gently. “Are you planning on cutting his throat?”
“No,” the boy said, shaking his head. He lted against her head, feeling the warmth of her touch. “If I did that, I’d be shaming you.”
“That’s right. If you end up shaming , I’d never hear the end of it from Sparrow.” Magpie narrowed her eyes. “If he ends up teasing because of you, I’ll have you run ten laps around capital.”
The boy frowned, knowing that she’d be true to her word. “I won’t slit his throat.”
“Good.” Magpie looked back towards the other three for a mont. “None of you are from Rock Hill, so I can trust that you won’t do anything.”
“I might,” the young man said. “He talks a lot of nonsense. The madman should be put out of his misery.”
“You’re free to try and take a swing at soone surrounded by six Iyrn,” Magpie said.
“One of them is a boy, still. Besides, can’t you handle them?”
“One of them, I’m sure. One with the boy who has just co out of his nest? Maybe. There are six Iyrn I count, and five of us.”
“We’d be slain before we draw our blades,” the oldest of the young won said. “Especially you.” She looked at the young man beside her who might be stupid enough to start a fight with the Iyrn.
“Shut up, Jane.” The young man frowned. “No one asked you. Why do you always have to sour my mood?”
“Why do you have to say stupid shit?” Jane asked, raising her brow. She looked to Magpie, shaking her head. “Do you really want little Jon to be guided by soone like Rick?”
“Who else am I ant to ask?” Magpie asked. “I’ve spent years training the three of you to look after him, so don’t start any trouble, especially not with the Iyrn.”
“You always treat the Iyrn with respect,” Rick said, leaning back against the wall. “Why?”
“They always treat us with respect,” Magpie said. “If it’s one force you can rely on, it’s the Iyr. If anything were to happen in the future where you need help, retreat to the Iyr. They’ll take good care of you, and will make sure Magpie won’t end up like Starling and Blackbird.”
Rick shook his head, recalling their tale. “A hundred more years and the Order will be nine again,” Rick said.
“One hundred and ten,” Jane said.
“Not that it matters. I don’t think nine would be that much more powerful than seven, considering how rarely we et.” Rick was sick of all the rules and traditions, but he wasn’t despicable enough to spit on Magpie’s efforts.
“That’s only if the world will still be well in a hundred years,” Magpie said. “There’s a reason why the Order of Wings was ford.” Magpie sighed, recalling how many tis she had to warn them all. “Should I bring you tall to Robin? She’ll make sure you never forget.”
“No!” Jane and Rick sat up quickly, recalling the last ti they had t Robin. She had seed like a sweet aunt, but when Magpie had asked the woman to teach them…
“That’s what I thought.” Magpie smiled, seeing the look of fear in their eyes. It did annoy her slightly, since they didn’t fear her in the sa way. “Anyway, we’ll take watches as normal tonight.”
“Do we even need to take watch when we have the Iy-“ Rick was cut off by a flick against his forehead, which he nursed by rubbing it gently.
“What did I just say?” Magpie narrowed her eyes.
Rick glanced aside.
Adam looked at the group, which was sitting not so far from he and the Iyrn. “Naming your mbers after a bunch of birds is a little too corny, don’t you think?” Adam threw a glance to Jurot, who was still carving his block of wood.
“Do you not know the tales of the Order of Wings?” Jurot asked, stopping his woodcarving to look at Adam.
“No,” Adam said, narrowing his eyes. “Didn’t you hear tell you I’m not from around here?”
Jurot sat up straighter. “I will orate the tales.” He grinned wide, quickly putting his wooden block away.
“Are they really that amazing?” Adam hadn’t heard of them until they had t with a short while ago, though he realised that would be the case for the vast majority of things.
“All who take the Oaths are powerful,” Jurot said. “They gain strength from their conviction. Very few Iyrn have clashed with any of the Order of Wings during their journeys, but they are so of the most powerful. Even the most experienced in the other Orders could barely match any of them. What the Order of Wings lacks in numbers, they make up for with their great strength.”
“How many are typically in each Order?” Adam tilted his head, wondering how many Orders there were.
“A hundred warriors, but there are many more servants. Almost every Order has a castle, with nearby villages taking care of their food needs. There are a few orders which are like the Order of Wings, those without a place to call their own. Few Orders are near any of the towns or cities, but there’s the Order of the King, which is housed within the capital. They are a hundred strong, and only ever a hundred strong, though each are powerful.”
“How powerful?”
“At least Silver Rank if they were adventurers.”
Adam whistled. “That ain’t too shabby.”
“They ford from the Swordbearers, swearing their Oaths to the King, to beco their sword.
“Like King’s Sword?” Adam asked.
Jurot nodded his head.
“A smart enough idea.”
“The leaders of the Orders are powerful.” Jurot grinned wide, thinking about the stories he heard. “They say so are as powerful as our Great Elders.” Jurot couldn’t help but hope that he’d get to see them fight one day. Such a clash would be legendary.
“You two should go to sleep soon,” Tazwyn said, checking on the boys. “We have an early morning tomorrow.”
“You don’t have to tell twice,” Adam said, pulling up his bedroll. “I suppose I’ll have to hear more stories from you, Jurot.”
Jurot smiled. “I’ll tell you as many stories as you like.” As an Iyrman, he knew at least a thousand by heart, and several thousand summaries for other stories.
Adam rolled over to face Jurot, smirking at him. “So about the Blackwater Crisis.”
The next day towards the village had been full of stories, though the continuation of the Blackwater Crisis had eluded Adam still.
“Sir Jamie the Gold Hand wasn’t able to defeat the forces of Big Timber, but he allowed the King to retreat,” Jurot said, as they trekked through the forest, the evening sun filling the forest with light. “There is a statue of him in Gold Hill to honour him. They title the greatest Knight in the city Gold Hand after him too, so his story will never be forgotten. They crafted a new longsword for the Gold Hand since the original Golden Blade was lost since that day.”
“Lost? Does Big Timber still have it?” Adam asked, thinking about how amazing the sword sounded. To think that it could cut through giants like they were made of butter, it must have been a great loss to Gold Hill.
“They say it is within the lair of one of her descendants, since she was later slain by Gold Hand Elaine. Gold Hand Elaine had tried to retrieve the original blade, but she did not find it in the end.”
“What kind of enchantnts did it have?” Adam asked, rubbing his chin. Hearing about the various weapons of heroes and their enchantnts always filled him with boyish excitent.
“We’re almost there,” Tazwyn said, interrupting the pair, motioning her head up ahead.
‘Damn, I wanted to hear more about the sword...’ Adam frowned. “First Blackwater Crisis, and now this…”
The village was much larger than Adam expected. When he had heard he was heading to a village, he imagined a small place with a few hundred people, but with the size of the wooden fence around the village, there were many thousands who were housed within it.
A wooden fence ford around the periter, with a large pit dug around it. There was a sturdy wooden gate and bridge at the entrance, which was currently being worked to allow them in. There were a few guards manning the small towers around the fence, with relief and hope painted on their faces.
As they approached the bridge, Adam spotted so bones stuck in the pit, evenly spaced about ten paces apart.
An older woman ca rushing up towards the gate, adorned in thick clothes, with a shield at her side, and a staff on her back. “Iyrn!” she said, before looking towards the heavily armoured warriors. “Magpie, isn’t it?” Her dark eyes were wide with surprise.
“That’s ,” Magpie said, chuckling. “We were around nearby, so thought we might co and assist in your trouble.”
“Welco, welco,” the older woman said, motioning with a hand to invite them into their village. “You don’t have to worry about the gate fee.”
“Oh, how nice,” Adam said, having reached into his pouch, but withdrew his hand.
“Had I known we’d get a visit from a mber of an Order, I would have kicked my nephew out of his room.” The older woman glanced towards a nearby guard, who nodded his head and quickly went to do just that.
“There’s no need for that,” Magpie said. “Though we’d appreciate so accommodation.”
“Of course, you don’t have to worry about that,” she said, bringing them towards the centre of town, where there were a few stone buildings and a small crowd forming like pigeons ready for bread. There were many grateful eyes peering at the group, though Adam could see a young woman with dark hair glaring at the group. She had a small bow at her side, as well as two clubs.
He continued to glance around and noticed just how many people were ard. So held spears, though most had blunt objects of so kind, even those who were in their early teens.
“Chief Herida,” the woman finally said, shaking their hands eagerly.
“Adam, son of Fate,” Adam said, shaking her hand. He could see the calluses on her veiny hands.
“Jurot, son of Surot.” Jurot bowed his head towards her, shaking her hands respectfully. He could sense her strength in comparison to the other villagers.
The Chief looked to Adam for a long mont, words glued to her throat, but she swallowed them down.
“Careful,” Jon said. “He’s a-“
Magpie slapped the boy across the back of his head. “Go get situated with the Wings,” she said, shaking her head. She threw a glance towards Adam, nodding her head slowly.
Adam nodded his head in return, glad that soone she was quick with her hands. ‘She must be used to disciplining idiots.’ He admired the form she had used when slapping the boy’s head.
The Chief glanced between them, but remained silent. She understood that there were so things which needed to remain a secret. “I have emptied rooms for the Iyrn and the Adventurers here,” she said, motioning with a hand to a large building, though there was a man stepping out from the building opposite it, grumbling at the guard from before. “Please make yourselves at ho.” The Chief smiled politely.
Adam and Jurot made their way inside the building, finding a small room which they could sleep in. There were a pair of beds, with enough space between them for one to stand comfortably, but not for the two of them to do so side by side.
Adam dropped his back and stretched his back. “Oh man. It’s good to be in a proper house.”
“It dulls the sounds of nature,” Jurot said, though Adam wasn’t sure if he ant that positively or negatively.
Adam was about to remove his helt, before freezing. “I should probably keep my helt on.” He didn’t want to worry the villagers, considering that they were one of the closer villages towards White Forest.
“No,” Jurot said. “There is no need. You are here with we Iyrn.”
Adam looked to Jurot, seeing the look of confidence on his face. “Alright.” Adam took off his helt and stretched his neck from side to side. He stepped out with Jurot, though kept his shield and weapons at his side.
“Elf!” a guard exclaid, readying his spear. His eyes were full of shock and confusion, seeing the half elf beside the Iyrman.
“Only half,” Adam replied back, shaking his head.
Several horns began to reverberate through the village. “Undead!” called several people, with the villagers growing into a greater panic, heading towards the walls.
Adam raised his brow at the guard, who was staring at the half elf suspiciously still. “Well,” Adam said. “Who do you hate more?”
Click banner for Patreon and co join my too!
Adam will one day hear the end of the tale.
I've been wanting to doodle the map so more. I should be writing more, but I can't help it.
User Comments
0 comments from readers