The Letter for the King

  “But,” said Piak, “I was going to be your squire!”

  “That was what you wanted, yes,” said Tiuri, “but I’m not angry with you for changing your mind. And I have to confess… I heard what you said to Menaures last night.”

  Piak hung his head. “Oh,” he said. “Well, now you’ve heard it all, I’ve no need to say anything else. I feel really awful about it, Tiuri, but it’s true. I’d rather stay here.”

  “Why do you feel awful?” said Tiuri calmly. “I understand.”

  “No, you don’t,” said Piak. “The thought of not going with you makes me feel terrible too. I’m sure I’ll long for the City of Dagonaut, even though I’ve never been there, and it can’t be as beautiful as the City of Unauwen. But if I were there, I’d be longing to be back in the mountains. It’s just that… I probably wouldn’t feel at home with all those knights and squires. But you do. That’s where you belong.”

  “You’d get used to it,” said Tiuri. “But of course you shouldn’t feel that you have to come with me.”

  Piak sighed. “I wish I knew what I wanted to do,” he said. Sadly, he looked around at the valleys and mountaintops.

  “You belong here,” Tiuri said firmly. “That’s all there is to it. And so you should remain here. What could be simpler?”

  Then Menaures called them for breakfast.

  “So the two of you have spoken?” he asked. “Have you made your decision, Piak?”

  “Yes,” said Tiuri, answering for his friend. “Piak’s staying here, in the mountains.”

  The hermit looked from one to the other, with an enigmatic smile on his face. “Fine,” he said, “so that’s decided. And when are you leaving, Tiuri?”

  “You could stay for another day, couldn’t you?” said Piak.

  Tiuri shook his head. “No,” he said, “I’d better not. I’ll go after breakfast.”

  The hermit nodded.

  Piak gave a sigh and said, “You don’t mind if I come a short way with you, do you?”

  “Of course not,” said Tiuri.

  Tiuri said goodbye to Menaures, who gave him his blessing. Then he left, accompanied by Piak, and took the path along the Blue River. The two friends did not speak much, as they were both feeling miserable about having to say goodbye.

  Just after the gorge that Jaro had almost fallen into, Tiuri stopped. “Piak,” he said, “isn’t it about time for us to say farewell? You need to get back before dark.”

  “Yes…” said Piak, but he didn’t sound too certain. “I could walk on with you for a bit longer,” he said, “even to the City of Dagonaut.”

  “No, you mustn’t do that.”

  “Why not?” asked Piak.

  “It’s better for us to say goodbye now than to keep putting it off. You can always visit the City of Dagonaut later, but that’s different. And I plan to come back here to visit you. You can be sure of that!”

  Piak looked a little happier. “Yes,” he said, “you must.”

  “I certainly will!”

  The two friends stood there for a moment, looking at each other, and then they both looked away, in opposite directions.

  “Well then,” said Tiuri finally. “All the best, Piak. I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”

  Piak smiled. “Oh, be quiet!” he said.

  “All the best,” Tiuri repeated. “I don’t really want to say goodbye. It sounds so final.”

  “No, please don’t,” said Piak.

  So they shook hands and said, “Until we meet again.”

  Then Tiuri turned and strode off down the hill. After a while, he looked back and saw that Piak had climbed up onto a rocky outcrop and was waving at him. Tiuri couldn’t make out his face, but he wondered if Piak had tears in his eyes as well. He waved back at his friend.

  The next time he looked over his shoulder, there was no sign of Piak.

  Now Tiuri was on his own again, and he felt lonely and downhearted. He walked on quickly, but sometimes he wondered what he was hurrying for. He wasn’t longing to see the City of Dagonaut at all now, or his home. What could be waiting for him there that was worth the effort? The king would most likely refuse to knight him and, even if he did, what then? But he had one very good reason to make haste: he had to explain everything to his king and give him the letter from King Unauwen. And that was exactly what he planned to do.

  In the afternoon he passed the crucifix, and soon after that he stopped at the spot where he had heard Ristridin’s horn for the last time. He looked down at the First Great Road, and saw two riders heading west. As he walked on, he thought about the Grey Knights. Had they caught up with the Red Riders and punished them? And what about the Black Knight with the Red Shield?

  The sky clouded over and looked as gloomy as he felt. Even the babbling of the Blue River sounded mournful. He realized just how many weeks he had been away from home. Before long, it would be autumn.

  The road beside the Blue River felt long to Tiuri, perhaps because he was travelling alone and on foot instead of on horseback. But he reached the Inn of the Setting Sun in three days. The innkeeper didn’t recognize him and he had a new manservant. Tiuri didn’t ask him what had happened to Leor. And he didn’t enquire about the Grey Knights either. He’d be sure to receive news of them when he reached Castle Mistrinaut.

  4 A WARM WELCOME

  Tiuri set off on his way before sunrise. He wanted to reach Mistrinaut that same day, and this time he was not riding the fleet-footed Ardanwen. He begged a ride on a farmer’s cart, but it was dark by the time he reached the castle. The rain was falling and he had put on his monk’s habit for protection.

  “Good evening, reverend brother,” said the guard who opened the gate. “Are you very wet?”

  Just like the last time! thought Tiuri. And it’s the same guard too.

  In the room beside the gate, the same scene awaited him: the other guard was staring at a chessboard, deep in thought.

  Tiuri forgot for a moment that he was tired, wet and gloomy, and he started to laugh.

  “Reverend brother,” said the first guard, “what has amused you so much?”

  “Is that still the same game?” asked Tiuri.

  “What do you mean?” asked the guard, as he took out the big book and gave his companion a nudge.

  “You were playing chess last time I came here, several weeks ago,” said Tiuri.

  The other guard looked up and said, “Now that you mention it, reverend brother… you do look familiar.”

  “I am Brother Tarmin,” said Tiuri.

  “Brother Tarmin,” repeated the guard. Then the first one said, “But then you’re not Brother Tarmin, are you? Brother Tarmin wasn’t a monk and his name wasn’t Tarmin.”

  “That’s right,” said Tiuri, throwing back his hood.

  “Yes, I recognize you!” cried the first guard. “Welcome to Mistrinaut. There’s been a lot of talk about you here. Actually, it was more like whispers, because we weren’t supposed to know anything about you. So what’s your real name?”

  “My real name,” said the young man, “is Tiuri, son of Tiuri.”

  “I shall write it down in a moment,” said the second guard. “I think our master will be pleased to see you.” He moved one of the pieces on the board. “My knight,” he said with some satisfaction. “That reminds me, Tiuri, son of Tiuri. You’re the one with the horse, aren’t you? The black horse that the Grey Knights brought here?”

  “Ardanwen!” Tiuri exclaimed. “Is Ardanwen here?”

  “Yes, he certainly is,” said the first guard. “What a magnificent creature! We’ve let him out to run every day, but no one could ride him. Come with me,” he continued. “I’ll take you to the lord of the castle. I’m sure you’ll want to bring him your greetings.”

  The guard took Tiuri to the great hall, where many people were still gathered, even though dinner was over. The lord was standing beside one of the tables, talking to some squires. His wife was embroidering beside the fire
. Lady Lavinia was sitting at her mother’s feet, sorting out tangled balls of coloured yarn. It was a warm and cosy scene.

  The guard announced Tiuri in a loud voice, “My lord, my lady, here is a guest you know.”

  The lord walked up to Tiuri with his hand outstretched. “Welcome back!” he said.

  They gave Tiuri a very warm welcome. Lavinia dropped all of the balls of yarn onto the floor and Tiuri knelt to pick them up.

  “Stand up, stand up!” cried the lord. “Is that any way to welcome an honoured guest?”

  Someone pulled up a chair for Tiuri. The lord invited him to sit and looked at him inquisitively. He was not the only one; all eyes in the room were on Tiuri. “It is some time since we last saw each other,” he said. “Are you on your way home? Oh, but I won’t ask you any questions if you do not wish me to.”

  Tiuri undid the rope around his waist and as he removed the habit he said, “You may ask anything you like, Lord Rafox; I have no secrets to hide now. I am indeed on my way home or, to be more accurate, on my way to see King Dagonaut.”

  “And where have you been?” asked Lavinia.

  “To see King Unauwen,” said Tiuri.

  “Oh…” she said, looking at him with wide eyes.

  “Then you have come a long way,” said the lord. “But,” he continued, “it is not polite to start by questioning you like this. Have you eaten?”

  When Tiuri shook his head, one of the servants was told to bring him a good meal as quickly as possible. Tiuri gave them a brief version of events and filled in more of the details as he ate.

  The lord also had news of the Grey Knights. “They left the horse behind and asked us to take care of him until your return,” he said. “It is a shame you did not arrive a couple of days ago. Then you could have spoken to Sir Evan and his squire.”

  “Only Sir Evan?” said Tiuri. “What about the others?”

  “The company of the Grey Knights has disbanded,” the lord told him. “Sir Evan has returned to his own kingdom. Did you not meet him on the First Great Road?”

  “I travelled by a different route, over the mountains,” said Tiuri. “But why have the knights parted company? Have they captured all of the Red Riders?”

  “Most of them, if not all,” replied the lord, “but they have not found the Black Knight with the Red Shield.”

  “Have they given up looking?” asked Tiuri.

  “They had to,” the lord told him. “But not forever. They have only interrupted their hunt. The trail of the Knight with the Red Shield led them back towards the east. They stopped on the way and left Ardanwen here. I heard the most recent news from Evan. He said they did not find the Black Knight with the Red Shield and feared that he had fled to Eviellan. They were planning to go there, but King Dagonaut gave them a new mission that meant they had to delay their search. But it is no more than a delay; the Grey Knights will come together once again to complete their revenge.”

  “But why the delay?” asked Tiuri.

  “The king had need of the most experienced of his knights-errant,” said the lord, “especially Ristridin. The king’s mission was more important than the task the knights had set for themselves. I know little else about it. Evan said that he wanted to travel to the south himself to continue the search for the Knight with the Red Shield. But on reflection he felt it was better to report to King Unauwen first. He had already stayed away longer than agreed, and a journey to Eviellan would take even more time. He needed to account for his long absence, and finally to bring his king news of Sir Edwinem’s death, as he could not be certain that you would arrive in the City of Unauwen before him. He only suspected that was your destination. And that is how he came to journey back to the west and stay here for a night as our guest.”

  “It is indeed a pity that I did not see him,” said Tiuri. “I met both his brother and his father in the Kingdom of Unauwen.”

  Tiuri had to tell his own story yet again as well; Lavinia in particular asked him lots of questions.

  “You know, a minstrel could write a song about your adventures,” she said.

  Tiuri smiled. He felt slightly embarrassed, but also a little proud. Then he told them all about Piak and the songs that he knew and how he’d made a tune for the words of the letter. Ah, Piak! Tiuri still missed him, but his gloom had vanished in the halls of this friendly castle.

  Although it was late, he still wanted to go and say hello to the horse Ardanwen. His horse! The lord agreed to take him to the stables and the black horse recognized Tiuri straightaway. It was a happy reunion. Tiuri rubbed the loyal horse’s nose and found himself looking forward to the journeys he would enjoy on Ardanwen’s back. He would be a knight-errant – yes, a knight! – and he would wander far and wide, with King Unauwen’s sword at his side.

  Tiuri already felt almost like a knight as he rode away on Ardanwen the following day. He was a little sorry that he could not stay longer at Castle Mistrinaut, as he had been invited to, but he had to return to King Dagonaut as quickly as possible. The lord and Lavinia rode with him for some of the way, to the point where the forest began. There was a small inn there, where they rested for a while and ate together before saying farewell.

  “You must promise that you will come to visit us again,” said the lord.

  Tiuri promised. Then he took his leave of Lavinia. As he held out his hand to her, she dropped her glove. He picked it up and was about to return it, but then he changed his mind and said, “May I keep your glove, Lavinia?”

  “Why?” she asked.

  “To wear on my helmet at the next tournament,” replied Tiuri. “If I ever become a knight…” Then he fell silent and felt himself blushing.

  Lavinia blushed too, but she said kindly, “Of course you will be a knight. Everything will be fine, Tiuri.”

  Then they realized that Lavinia’s father was watching them and they both blushed again. He looked at each of them in turn and smiled into his beard. “Well,” he said, “perhaps we shall make a journey to the capital in the summer when the tournaments are held. So it’s ‘until we meet again’, Tiuri, and all the best to you.”

  And soon Tiuri was riding eastwards again. As he looked at Lavinia’s glove, he could picture her standing there. He hoped she would come to the city in the summer. He knew that he wanted to see her again and he would pay another visit to Castle Mistrinaut as soon as he could. The people who lived there had become his friends – not least of all Lady Lavinia.

  I have found so much friendship on my journey, he thought a little later. Here, and in the Kingdom of Unauwen. He gave a sigh. He was alone again now; he had said goodbye to everyone. Even Piak, who had been through so much with him, was no longer by his side. Then he patted Ardanwen’s neck. “But I still have you, Night Wind,” he said, “and I’m sure I shall see the others again.”

  5 IN THE FOREST

  The road that Tiuri was now travelling along was new to him. On the journey to Unauwen, he had avoided the Great Road. With Ardanwen, he would be able to reach the city in around six days. The weather was beautiful, with a faint scent of autumn in the air and a red-golden haze already shimmering around the trees. It was very quiet; he saw hardly anyone.

  On the afternoon of the third day after his departure from Castle Mistrinaut, he came to one of the wooden shelters that stood on the roadside here and there to provide accommodation for travellers and horses. There were very few inns in that sparsely populated area. Tiuri rode up to the hut and considered whether to spend the night there or to travel on. It was still early and he could stop later to sleep in the open air. There were already travellers inside; he could hear the sound of horses in the stable, and a shield was hanging beside the front door. That meant a knight must be staying there. Tiuri was trying to remember which of Dagonaut’s knights had a shield that was silver, grey and green, but before it came to him a voice called out, “Ho, there! Is that not Tiuri, son of Tiuri?”

  He turned around and saw a knight standing on the road. When the kn
ight came closer, Tiuri recognized him as Ristridin of the South. In his light chainmail and green cloak, he looked very different from the Grey Knight he had been before. They greeted each other warmly and Tiuri decided to stay so that he could talk to Ristridin and hear his news.

  “Have you seen Evan on your travels?” asked Ristridin.

  Tiuri told him that he hadn’t.

  “You almost missed me too,” said the knight. “I’m waiting for Arwaut and his men. When they get here, we’re going to ride into the forest together. I was expecting them to arrive a while ago. I just came out to take a look and see if there was any sign of them.”

  “And where’s Sir Bendu?” asked Tiuri. “I heard from the lord of Mistrinaut that the Grey Knights had disbanded.”

  “It is true,” said Ristridin. “But we shall reunite to punish the one man who remains unpunished: the Black Knight with the Red Shield. But first you must tell me your news. Or are you still obliged to secrecy?”

  “Not any longer, Sir Ristridin,” said Tiuri. “I did as Sir Edwinem requested and took a letter to King Unauwen. And that is all.”

  “So few words to describe such a long journey,” said Ristridin with a smile. He looked intently at Tiuri. “But whatever adventures you have experienced,” he added, “have clearly done you no harm and much good, Tiuri, son of Tiuri! I spoke to your father in the City of Dagonaut. You have been on his mind a great deal, but he has complete faith in you. Your mother has been very worried, and she does not want to return home to Castle Tehuri before you are back in the city.”

  “Sir Ristridin,” said Tiuri, “you must tell me everything!”

  “Certainly. I shall answer all of your questions,” said the knight. “But let’s go inside and have something to eat. I am here with my squire and some men-at-arms. Look, here comes Ilmar now.”