"How do you know this."
"I caught a scout ahead on the trail. He told me of the scout we caught earlier and a squad that is waiting along the trail to the Kingdom. He was told to watch for travelers, follow and report their location. The squad would then march and attack."
"Did he say anything about the infantry we encountered yesterday?"
"No, he didn't speak of them at all."
"He may not have been telling you everything then Pitre. We should still remain cautious. How far did you make it on the trail."
"I went five miles before I found the scout hiding amongst the trees."
"We will make Sir Jacob aware of this, but I feel he won't be happy about how we found out."
"I think that knowledge is more important than orders."
"Pitre, you have clearly never fought with an army. Orders are always more important than knowledge. We were only meant to know our orders and follow them or be punished."
"It's not quite like that with us Rolf, but in is true. Orders are based on what command knows, and are meant to keep us safe."
"Know we know more, so we have better knowledge."
"This is true Pitre, but we gained that knowledge by disobeying orders. I don't think Sir Jacob will punish you, but he will be disapproving of your actions. Let's stick to our orders from now on. We wait her for the caravan and then advance in front of them as planned. I'm sure Sir Jacob will leave a couple of scouts behind to trail the caravan to be aware of any trouble coming from the rear. The knowledge is useful Pitre, but you could have been hurt getting it. What did you do with the scout?"
"He tried to attack me, so I took his head."
"Hmmm, that isn't good Pitre. If he was daring enough to attack you, then he probably had help closer than he told you. We will have to be extra vigilant as we scout ahead, we could run into that squad he was talking about."
"But he told me they were on the trail to the Kingdom."
"Yes, Pitre, but that could be misdirection. If they were along this trail then that would explain why he didn't tell you about the infantry. They could have come from the Kingdom."
"That makes sense. Several war bands, squads and attack forces were sent out to patrol the countryside. I was part of the largest one. I have no knowledge of the others orders, but I would assume that they were similar to our own."
"That is it then. We wait for the caravan, tell Sir Jacob what we have learned, and then proceed with great caution."
***
The caravan arrived an hour after the sun had broken the ground. We gave Sir Jacob our report and he was as Sir Paljin said, full of disapproval. He also ordered trailing scouts to watch the rear, and had us advance ahead, but to stick to our orders this time and not go traipsing off on our own to find more information. We would fight as a unit.
The trail was long and didn't fork until it met with foothills. That was our stopping point. The trail had remained clear and there was no sign that anyone had traveled this way in some time. It seems our headless scout had been telling the truth.
The fork once again had a sign pointing to the Kingdom, but that was it. There was nothing telling the way to the Crystal Palace.
"Paljin, why is there nothing telling of where the Crystal Palace is?"
"The Crystal Palace is in a secret location."
"How can it be secret, everyone knows of the Crystal Palace?"
"True, but does everyone know where it is? The Crystal Palace seems like only a legend. People have heard tales of it, but they have never gone to it."
"The Palace is in the south right?"
"Indeed it is."
"My village is in the south, was I near the Palace?"
"What village are you from Pitre?"
"I'm from the Colsteen village at the base of the mountains."
"We will arrive at the Palace before the Colsteen village. Your village was just beyond where the palace rests."
"I was that close to the Crystal Palace and never knew it."
"Not many would. It is high on a plateau in the mountains. It is fortified by natural canyon walls around it, with only one trail to access it. The trail is also guarded with hidden outposts. If anyone were to venture along the trail they would be questioned and then turned around before they were near the palace."
"How many people can stay at the palace?"
"The Palace is nearly as large as the Kingdom. There is a small lake on the plateau that is fed by a natural stream the flows through the mountain. I'm not sure of exactly how many people can live there, but I would say that it is close to the number that were in the Kingdom."
A tree branch cracked behind us along the trail to the Kingdom, and we all sprang to action. I opened up my sight to see what made the noise, while Sir Paljin and Rolf stood behind me with swords drawn. I could see a feint gold outline surrounding a body again, but it wasn't on the ground it was in the trees. It was another tree lion, lounging in the sunlight high in a tree.
"You are in luck Sir Paljin, you are going to get your chance to see a tree lion. Enter the Swordsman's Euphoria and look to the large tree ten yards into the forest along the trail to the Kingdom."
"Are you serious Pitre? A tree lion? That is two that you have seen. You are going to be full of luck."
"I can see it Pitre. Its remarkable. I can't believe something so large can balance on a limb so small."
"Rolf, when you were in your village did the tree lions ever attack people?"
"No, the tree lions are very peaceful, they would just stay away from people for the most, but if one did cross your path, they would look at you, and then proudly walk away. It was as if they knew you had no chance against them. I dare say, that they are kind of like you."
"It's a shame that you can't see it Rolf, they are quite beautiful."
"I've seen one up close. When I was a child, I was playing in the forest, and one came walking along. I stopped in terror, I had not known what it was. I had only heard stories about the tree lions at that point. It wan't until the shock wore off that I noticed it's brindle coat. It looked at me, and even walked closer to me. I slowly reached my hand forward and it sniffed my hand, then licked it. I felt good fortune wash over me. He then turned, flicked it's tail, and walked away in the direction it was going."
"If it's good fortune to see one, what is it if it licks your hand?"
"I don't know the answer to that Pitre but I do know that luck has been on my side ever since. It may not seem like it at times, but I always find my way on the better side of things. That is how I knew staying with you was the right thing to do."
"Well then, this tree lion is a sign of our good fortune then. We have along wait ahead of us gents, so I believe that we are in the right location for just that.
It was indeed a long wait, the caravan didn't arrive until the sun was nearly at rest. Sir Jacob led the caravan a few hundred yards along the trail to the palace and circle the carts and wagons for the night. Sir Jacob wouldn't allow me to take first watch this night, so I got rest until I was awoken for the last watch of the night.
No comments:
Post a Comment