The Patchwork Knight (Chapter 60)

     I rode for three days straight, only resting long enough for the horse to rebuild it's strength. I stopped by streams as often as I could so that it could water while it rested. I rode at a good pace but not a full gallop, I wanted to gain ground and I wouldn't have done that in a full out run. It would have tired the horse too much.

     My hope was to reach the Kingdom by the nightfall. I would see for myself what the Mudwood looked like in all of it's glory. I would see the enemy for what it is, before I would slowly take it down, one piece at a time.

     ***

     The walls of the Kingdom weren't as I remembered them. Bright and alive with color. These walls were dark and charred by burning and death. People were hustling around from one place to another like in the days that I visited, but most of them hung their heads low to avoid eye contact with any of the Raiders that paroled the streets. The streets were full of mud and filth, the once clean and beautiful city that surrounded the castle was a cesspool of waste. The arena where I myself once fought to gain a spot in the Knights Academy had fallen to ruins. I sat in what was left of the old waiting area under the seats of the arena until nearly sunrise.

     I snuck out of the Kingdom the same way I had gotten in, through a drainage sewer on the eastern side of the walls. I slowly made my way back to the thicket where I had left my horse and supplies. I was distraught by what I had seen inside the walls, but my fire was renewed. I would see the Mudwood fall. I stayed in that thicket for the remainder of the day, and rode out at sunset. I simply chose a direction and went straight. I would start in the outlands and fight my way back to the Kingdom. I would thin the hourde as I went.

***

     It was a matter of days before I came across the first destroyed village. It had been burnt to the ground as so many others had. This would be the starting point for my war on the Mudwood. It was near the Western desert, and more than likely one of the first villages attacked by the Mudwood. They  had not returned to this area for a very long time. It was evident in the dust and sand that had built up on the remains of the huts. A small stream ran past the village. It had fresh water, and plentiful vegetation along its bank. I would not need for food. 

     Every day, I would ride out in the morning and search for villagers or Raiders along the trails near by. When I would come across villagers, I would tell them of the Crystal palace and how to get near it. I wouldn't give them the exact location for fear that if they were captured they would give the information to the Raiders. When I found Raiders, I would follow them to their camps, where I would wait just out of sight of them until night fall. When the sky was full of black I would walk into the camp and began my path of destruction. I cut down every man that tried to stand before me. When their camps were destroyed, I would gather all their horses and supplies and train them behind me. I would never have to go to far before I would find more villagers in hiding and give the horses and food to them and tell them the direction they should go. I gave the men that vowed that they could fight any weapons I had scavenged from the camps. so that they would have a chance if they came across any Raiders along the way. 

     I never heard if they had made it or not, but I would get whispers along my travels. I would hear from other villagers that would say they have heard of The Patchwork Knight, and how he was guiding villagers to safety. I would tell them all the same thing. I was only giving them a chance to make it there. I was no guide, my purpose was to destroy the Mudwood, and I would stop at nothing less. I would ask them from time to time, to take a message to Rolf and the other Targen Knights. I would tell them to let them now that I am doing well, and that I hope to see them when this is all over. The looks would always be strange from those who I would ask to relay this message, but they all said they would get the message to it's destination. 

     After a few years, I would come across fewer and fewer villagers, and see more and more Raiders. My objectives change appropriately, and I began focusing on scouting battalions and war bands, and then wiping them from the dirt they stood on.

     I became more bold in attacking the Raiders. I would no longer wait until late in the night when they were all asleep. I would stroll into their camp as soon as they had finished lighting their campfires. I need more of a challenge each time I engaged them. It had become to easy to finish them off each time. 

    I would walk in, announce who I was, and then let my swords slash through the air until they tasted blood. I would no longer gather their supplies. I would burn it all in the fires they had made, and release all the horses to run free across the land. 

     It was time to begin my march back to the Kingdom.