Knights: Defenders of Ollanhar

  ***

  Faindan ended up spending five days at the artist's house, during which time he healed up thanks to plenty of rest and meditation. The two became friends, and Gelarro painted a picture of the young Knight holding his Flayer in one hand and with his missing hand thrust into a cloak pocket. The painting captured a determined but uncertain face darkened by stubble, with black hair that was in need of a trim. In the background was a fiery crimson sky from the setting sun.

  "It is yours, if you want it," said Gelarro, the next morning.

  Faindan declined. "Keep it, my friend. Maybe you can sell it to someone and earn back some of your money for wasting food on this sorry excuse for a Knight. Which reminds me--you should be paid a bit of silver for this."

  "Nonsense," said Gelarro, looking offended. "I will keep the painting as payment enough and I will not sell it. It is one of my best."

  It was time for Gelarro to head to town to sell some of his art. He loaded up his small wagon and went off down the road, leaving Faindan in charge of his home. Faindan ate some bacon and eggs for breakfast, drank two cups of tea, and then wandered outside.

  It was a pleasant morning, with a bit of dew still on the grass and the air warming quickly as the sun climbed into the sky. Birds chirped from the rooftop and frogs croaked in the river. Faindan inhaled fresh air and then strode down the river bank to the water's edge. He gazed at the murky water that wound between the hills, with the broken, mossy drawbridge sticking out of it--an old and slimy castle moat from ancient times, the water too dark to peer into.

  Faindan studied the crumbing stone tower that rose from the water. If the Goblin liked to linger by the base of the tower, all Faindan would have to do is wait for it to show up and then attack. He sat down on the bank and waited, determined to slay the beast and give its body to Gelarro. He had his doubts that it would improve the artist's gloomy mood, but he felt obligated to try and help anyway.

  It troubled Faindan deeply to think of the pain Gelarro was enduring, and it fueled his anger toward Bellis. Those weren't Knights who had taken Gelarro's wife and daughter. They were heartless cowards--especially if they had harmed the two girls in any way. He wondered how people could be so wicked and selfish as to inflict such misery on others? How could they sleep at night knowing what they had done? Faindan wanted to crush Bellis and to behead King Verlamer, but he was just a lone Knight with a missing hand--seemingly powerless in the grand scheme of things. Bellis could do what it wanted, however evil.

  "Just an idiot on a river bank," he mumbled, tossing a stone into the black water. "Soon to be just another failed Knight banished from the Order." He felt even more idiotic for talking to himself, but he kept on. "Come on, you wretched Goblin! Come forth and die so I can be on my way!"

  But the Goblin didn't show, as the hours passed by. Faindan fidgeted restlessly on the bank. Finally he rose and tried stirring up the water with stones, but nothing responded. Finally he slumped back down with a sigh.

  Faindan dozed off periodically, as the day grew hotter toward noon and he began to sweat--eventually awakening to a startling sight. Something strange was floating down the river, moving toward him. At first he thought it was a dark mass of tree roots, considering how still the object was, but then he realized it was moving against the current. As it drew close, Faindan's heart raced in his chest, for he could make out warty flesh and two large round eyes.

  The creature neared the tower, and Faindan slowly drew his Flayer. The beast's tentacles writhed about and it sank below the surface. Faindan leapt up, watching the water, but it did not surface.

  "Come back up!" he yelled, throwing a stone at it. He waved his arms and yelled some more, but the river flowed on undisturbed.

  Faindan's eyes narrowed. "I'll bet you're hiding by the tower, stuck fast to the slimy stone and waiting for fish. Now you're mine, Goblin!"

  Faindan quietly slipped into the murky water next to the tower and waded around it. There was a quick drop off and the water was up to his chest. He hesitated, chills rippling over his flesh. His inability to see below the surface was quite disturbing, and for a moment he considered abandoning this idea. He assumed the fish-eating Goblin wouldn't be much of a match for a Divine Knight, one hand or not, but the thought of it snagging his legs in the dark depths made him shudder.

  Nevertheless, he moved on around the tower, determined to give Gelarro what he wanted. When he reached the area of the tower that was furthest out in the river, the water was still at chest level. His arm had grown tired, and his Flayer was resting below the surface. He decided he would begin randomly striking at the base and hope he connected with Goblin flesh. His biggest fear was that the beast would flee down the river.

  Then something struck him with a dastardly jolt--almost like an electric shock tearing through his muscles. Powerful tentacles wound around him, squeezing with such force that only his Knightly sorcery saved him by shielding his body. He could barely breathe before he was yanked below the surface.

  Faindan was stunned and horrified. He had never expected the Goblin to attack with such speed, strength, and fury. Too late he realized and this was no simple fish eater but a mighty, bone-crushing foe--probably an ancient beast that had been put in the moat when the castle was still standing.

  Faindan fought back with everything he had, but in a few moments he realized he was going to drown. He realized Gelarro would find him dead--his skeleton and his clothes, if nothing else--and the artist's despair would grow. Faindan had made the biggest error of his life, wading into the river for an easy kill and being ambushed by something he had no hope of defeating.

  His mind began to grow dim, and he stopped fighting, waiting for death to take him. It seemed his time in the world had reached an end.

  Then a bright light seemed to flood the water--a piercing light that entered his body, mind, heart, and soul and filled him with energy and strength. Suddenly a magnificent bearded Knight was standing before him, filling his vision--a huge, muscular warrior wearing the shining silver breastplate that only a Lord Knight of Dremlock wore. This great Knight had a commanding and divine presence, his flesh and armor engulfed in a radiant glow.

  It was Kuran Darkender.

  The vision was unmistakable. This was the first and greatest Lord Knight of Dremlock, his image burned deeply into the mind of every Divine Knight. For a few moments all Faindan knew was the glory and presence of this great warrior, and then he broke free of the Goblin's tentacles, tearing the slimy things apart. His Flayer drove deep into the beast, finding its heart and finishing it.

  Moments later Faindan somehow found himself on the river bank with the slain Goblin lying next to him. He was alive and unharmed.

  Kuran Darkender was gone.