110 Lioness Knigh
Ery arrived in the grand hall of the Quintins' Mansion and stood on the opposite side of Kastan, Luna in the middle, while the knights wearing several red robes held by a standing golden lion crest stood in front.
There were five of them and once Ery got himself settled; Luna gave him a nod, waved her arm to Ery and said, "Honorable knights of the Lioness Kingdom. Let introduce my friend, rlin, the wizard."
Ery gave a bow but once he had raised his head, he received a slight shock after seeing who they were eting.
Luna smiled and said in her elegant voice, "rlin, let introduce to you Sir Bagdemagus. He is—"
Ery blurted out unconsciously. "Knight of the Anvil, one of the three Guardians of the Lioness Kingdom...," realizing he had spoken out of turn, he quickly added, "My apologies, Luna."
Luna didn't mind and simply said, "No need for apologies. The tales of Sir Bagdemagus are tall and wide, which speaks of his magnificent achievents and wonderful personality."
"Ahh, you flatter , Lady Luna," said Bagdemagus, humbly. "rlin, the Wizard, I am pleased to make you my acquaintance. Can't say I wasn't surprised to know that the wizard is young."
The old knight stared at Morgana and asked "And this is?"
"My companion, Morgana," said Ery.
"Ahh I see, pleasure to et you then," greeted the old knight with a smile but Morgana didn't say anything.
Ery waited for a mont but looked like none of the knights recognized him or cared much about the identity of the girl beside him.
The Knight of the Anvil, the old knight's title ca from the awe-inspiring tenacity this man had when holding the battleline. Tales of him inspiring his hundred n to hold against five hundred enemy soldiers and coming out of top spoke of his effective leadership in commanding people, also making him a hero in the Lioness Kingdom, and even despite his bones being old, his might in the battlefield was still to be feared.
In fact, the na Sir Bagdemagus, held a certain significance in Ery's mory. This man was also one of the reasons why Ery wanted to be a knight. His late father used to tell him stories of how he beca an esquire for this knight along with Yvain, the Knight of the Lion. And whenever his late father talked about this man, Ery rembered how beaming his father's face was all the ti.
"...news about the Crimson Fang," said Luna.
"Crimson Fang?" Ery repeated unconsciously.
"Yes, this band of marauders has to be annihilated. They have raided several settlents already and even dare to attack noble's estate…" Sir Bagdemagus vehently said but his voice weakened at the last part of his sentence.
"The kingdom's forces are spread too thin at the mont but when I heard Kastan searching information for these marauders, we talked to him and it felt like the goddess of fortune had finally blessed us."
"What can a simple rchant do compared to the force of the kingdom?" asked Luna, playing innocent.
"Lady Luna, I am sure you have heard about the recent draft. Lord Fantumar has levied thousands of peasants and is preparing them on the far west along with hundreds of knights. Because of this, a great disparity in the patrols had occurred and many garrisons were left half-empty in many of the kingdom's settlents, causing cri to be at an all ti high, even higher than the yearly tributes. The desperate peasants then joined the Crimson Fang under the leadership of Padraig. According to my scouts, the damned criminals dared make a ruined fort as their base!"
"Do you have an estimate of how many there are? And where's the location?" quickly asked Ery.
"At least… a hundred n, about half of them, I think, were peasants turned into marauders due to desperation…?The ruined fort is a day's journey from here," answered Sir Bagdemagus. He then looked at Luna and said, "Will you help the kingdom in its ti of need, Lady Luna?"
Luna seed to think for a mont before turning to Ery and saying, "What are your thoughts, rlin?"
He had put off this goal for too long now. If he didn't take this opportunity, Ery wasn't sure when the next opportunity would rise, and whatever evidence from the perpetrator of his family's demise would probably be cold by the ti of his return. He smiled underneath his scarf and said, "I'll join Sir Bagdemagus' party."
Luna nodded. "I understand." She looked at the old knight and added, "Sir Bagdemagus, this ans that the Quintin Family will also join in your upcoming operation in eliminating the scourge of us rchants. We are also suffering from them attacking rchant carts on the road, wanting to pass through here. Unfortunately I can only lend a few of our guards at the mont, however, I'll put in a request for rcenaries to be hired as well as Kastan. He is reliable and can lead the rcenaries."
"Haha! Great! Truly, I appreciate whatever n you can lend , Lady Luna," shouted the old knight in joy. He then placed his hand on his crest and bowed, the rest of the knights with him followed suit.
After so discussion, Sir Bagdemagus decided they would be executing the attack on the Crimson Fang marauders in two days. For Ery, that would an he would have one day left before the recall spell initiated. Ery thought he'd been blessed for such a coincidence; finally he would be getting closer to the perpetrator of his family's demise.
When the eting finished and the old knight left, Luna walked close to Ery and said, "rlin, I hope I was able to help you with your request. I have an inkling of why you are wanting to know about these marauders, but since you don't want to talk about it, I understand…"
"Thank you, Luna," Ery said. He then noticed Luna's a bit distressed. "Are you okay? What's the matter?"
"I…" Luna at first looked reluctant to share but then she leaned closer to him and said, "It's about the toxin. After interrogating so people involved with the dicine pot, they dropped the na of a powerful noble from the Lioness Kingdom, but testimony is usually not enough. I need evidence."
"What? Tell , who is it?" Ery had thought of a na.
"Lord Fantumar but don't tell anyone I've told you this! I've heard that his influence in the Lioness Kingdom is second to none aside that of King Richard. And because of that, terrible rumors are starting to co abound. But then again, there is no evidence. Anyway, enough of that," she pulled back herself and added, "rlin, I'm hoping for your safety in the upcoming battle. Please be careful. Kastan, you as well."
"I will Luna," said Ery. "Yes, Lady Luna," answered Kastan.
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