Vol. 1 - Another Typical Day (The Wizards of Eredwynn) Page 3

  I turned in a circle examining the clearing, came back to facing east and started walking. The new of this experience was starting wear off and I was wondering if my other life was ever going to get me back! True, there was not really much to my other life and so far this one was as good as any, but even a loner can long for a human voice after a time. Maybe if I ran into a person or two that could tell me where I was it would help. Being honest with myself, I knew that I really wouldn't mind staying here and never going back to a tiny house and cold poultry plant but without human companionship, this was getting tiresome quickly. I may not have had many friends or talked to many people but at least I saw people every day. I supposed you never missed something that was right there all the time.

  I walked, twirling my wand in my fingers, until about noon. Then I noticed that the land had started sloping down a bit. Another 30 minutes brought me to a large river. It was not a swiftly flowing stream with rapids but a wide, puttering river. I dug a hole in the gravel on the bank and let it fill with water and settle. I still had not figured out a way to haul water around and I was thirsty. When the silt had settled to the bottom, I crossed my fingers that there were no bad nasties swimming in it and drank my fill.

  My straight-line eastward travel had ended. I didn’t think that swimming the river was a good idea and northeast seemed to be almost as good as east. It just didn't have the same ring to it as eastward-ho. I could live with that small sacrifice. Rivers make horrible straight line of travel aids so it was not long before it was drifting more east than my northeast trek was taking me. Not following the river didn’t bother me much. I figured that it might be going a different place than I was anyway. I didn’t know where either place was, but…

  When the pheasant burst out from behind some bushes I don't know who was scared the worst! What I did know was what I was having for supper. My reaction with the wand and magic arrow spell was so quick it caught me off guard. I will chock up another one to gaming being good practical life experience! I walked along plucking the bird and thought of the irony of a lost poultry worker in the woods preparing poultry for food. As evening approached I looked back in the direction of the river and thought I saw mountains. From the look of things, I had been walking almost parallel to them for quite awhile. I supposed that if the river hadn’t changed my course then the mountains would have. It all seemed to have worked out for the best.

  I wandered into a rather small clearing just before dusk and began setting up camp. I was starting to get the hang of this and it took no time for me to have a small lean-to set up and a fire going. Firewood in the middle of a forest isn’t ever that hard to find. I built up a sizable stack to keep the fire going all night. I put the bird on a spit and leaned against a tree. Life could be much worse. I was getting all the fresh air that I could want and exercise without having to go to a gym. So far, the grocery store had been very prompt with deliveries and well, soap might be a problem… After about an hour of letting my thoughts wander, I got up and gathered my food. I was quite tired this evening so I ate quickly, disposed of the scraps a fair distance from the camp and prepared the lean-to to be slept in. I built up the fire and then snuggled down for the night. As I began to doze off, I swore that I heard a dog bark in the distance.

  Chapter Six

  It seems that each songbird wants to be the first to say good morning to the sun. As the eastern sky, started to lighten the false starts began. By the time that the sun was breaking the horizon, every bird in the forest was wide-awake and singing at the top of its tiny lungs. I had owned more annoying alarm clocks in my life, but I never set them so early!

  I crawled out of my lean-to, stood and stretched. It was another beautiful morning but I still had to glare around at the birds, but they really didn’t care. I checked my pockets and made sure I had everything with me. Nothing had fallen out during the night so all was well. I had slept soundly and my fire had burned out sometime in the night. I was just glad that no mean critters had taken advantage of my sleeping in the dark.

  I quickly scattered my camp as before and started back on my northeast trek. I was very happy to find water quickly because my root pools were becoming scarce. Soon I would have to find another source of water or locate the river again. That was in the future though and for now the walk was all the fun.

  I took out my wand to twirl while I walked and noticed it has begun to take on a glossy black coating. It is now very smooth and, while it is not exactly shiny, it has an odd sheen in places. I assumed that it was caused by channeling the force of the spells that I had been using but I was no expert. In fact, I didn’t even know if there was an expert on this subject!

  After a few hours of walking, I thought I heard a sound. It almost sounded like talking, but perhaps it is just my imagination. Another 20 minutes and the noise of yelling people and excited dogs couldn’t be my imagination. I put my wand away in my inside coat pocket and began to move more cautiously.

  Suddenly the woods disappeared and I was standing on the side of a well-traveled road. The road was running east and west and it seemed that all the traffic was moving to the east. People! There really were people in the world and I wasn’t the only one! I had begun to wonder if I hadn’t just dreamed of a world full of people. I looked myself over and made sure I didn’t look to odd; after all, I had just been in the woods for days. Judging by the over all dress and cleanliness of the people that I found myself traveling with, I wouldn’t stand out to much, bathed or not.

  I moved out into the road and started walking with the flow of traffic. I listened to every conversation that I could. If I could pick up any word on where I had been, where I was or where everyone was going I would have been thrilled. The thought of the old movie ‘Time Machine’ where people walked willingly to their deaths flitted through my mind. I knew that there was nothing to it, but my mind can just be morbid that way.

  “… first time the Kingdom of Eredwynn has done something like this…”

  “… The King would be thrilled to be shed of all three of them…”

  “… That is a lot of money. A man could retire happy…”

  “… The Beryglus Gwyllt Provence has been leaderless. Scary place that…”

  I heard bits and pieces of conversations drifting from the passing groups. Not a lot of it made much sense out of context as it was but at least they were human voices! I didn’t realize how much I had missed hearing that noise until I heard it again. I tried to just pace the travelers and blend in with the crowd. I had no clue where we were going but at least it seemed they did.

  It was just after noon when we crested a small hill and saw the castle ahead. A monstrous thing of stone and wood it seemed to take the place of the horizon. The main road continued to the east but another road turned to the north and went up to the castle gates. On either side of that road were colorful tents, portable shops and stalls. It looked like they had quite the fair going on up there. People now jammed the road and the countryside was becoming a scene from an Exodus movie. I steered off the road to the north side and headed toward the castle myself. I had never seen a castle and wanted a closer look if possible. I aimed myself toward the back northwest corner where the crowds seemed thinnest and took off at a brisk walk. I had never been a people person and dodging, bumping and swerving around people, made me quite edgy! When I got close, I could see a small canopy with poles on four sides and just a roof, and there were a few men standing inside. One of the men called to me and asked if I had come to be one of the contestants in the contest this afternoon. The comment from the road of the ‘large purse’ flashed through my mind. I told him if someone would be willing to show me exactly what I would be doing that I would be more than willing to give it a shot. He smirked at me and told me that the entrance fee for the contest would be two gold coins but the purse would be worth the fee, if I won. Feeling a bit irritated by his smirk I pulled the gold out of my pocket and then dropped one of the three back, and made sure he saw. I held them
up, rubbing them together, and asked if this covered his fee. Funny how money makes people change their tune. With a mumbled, ‘I’m sorry, sir.’ he took my name and gave me a tag with the number 14 painted on it. He then said, ‘Match this number to the number on the row down the way.’ He pointed back to the east.

  I looked the way he was pointing and started drifting that way. I figured that I could get some idea of this contest if I went to where I would be competing and looked around. I walked past roped off rows of targets with numbers on cut log stumps that were acting as tables. By the time I got to 14 I was sure I had the contest figured out. In each row, about 50 yards long, were four bulls-eye targets staggered at 5, 10, 20, and 30 yards. Lying on the log tables were a dagger, a throwing axe and a bow with a single arrow. There was a friendly looking guy that I took to be a scribe, because he is holding a pen and parchment. I asked him the basic rules and he confirmed what I had assumed. He said, ‘You hit the targets as close to the bulls-eye as you can. I was to throw the dagger first and then the axe. Then the arrow in the back targets depending on your choice.’ I started to ask about my ‘choice’ but he was pulled away and asked other questions by the crowd standing around.

  I hung around the area so I would be sure to be where I was supposed to be when I was supposed to be there. The crowds were thick and I kept a close watch on my pockets. I knew that thieves would love this kind of environment where I came from and I doubt they were much different here.

  Finally, after what seemed forever, cries of “three o’clock” started ringing through the crowd and that was the signal for the contestants to take their places. I was a bundle of nerves because this was almost like a sporting event and I don't do sports. Of course, I did have a bit of an advantage these days that I was going to use to the best of my ability. This was a big gamble for me because of the amount that it had cost to enter but I hoped that I could make that back and then some. That, by definition, was gambling!

  I lined up in my spot, saw that the friendly scribe also seemed to be a judge, and was standing just off my right shoulder. I asked him to just let me know before I did anything wrong, and then picked up the dagger. Someone yelled, “Begin!” and the word were carried down the line by the throng. I hefted the dagger, lowered my head and muttered telekinesis. I let the dagger fly, not surprisingly, straight and true. I hit dead in the center of the first target. I turned away and looked at the scribe who gave me a slight nod and a smile of encouragement. I turned back to my lane and picked up the axe. It was heavy and I was glad that I was not going to have to use a lot of ’real muscle’ to throw it at the next target! I looked around again and the scribe once again nodded. I stepped up a couple feet back from my throwing line. Once again, I lowered my head and cast the spell just before throwing. I actually threw this one to make it look good and that was the reason for the space from the line. I didn't want to throw myself over it. I used the spell to give the straight flight to the center of the bulls-eye and enough force to make a nice ’thud’ as it buried itself in the wood. I again turned around and actually got a grin from the scribe as he jotted his score down. He nodded at me and then to the bow as if to tell me I am cleared for that event. I picked up the bow and already was very nervous about this part of the event. I knew a little about archery, like which way the feathers went and that the point went towards the target but little else. This one might be hard to fake. I took off my jacket, laid it by the stump table, and then picked up the arrow. I nocked it onto the bowstring and caught it with a finger on my left hand. Holding the nock and string in my right it started to feel right. I planned to shoot then cast telekinesis to guide it. Better to grab it with the spell fresh and not make the flight look to fake. I drew the arrow back and sighted down it at the third target down range. I might be aiming up a bit much but I didn’t think so and I would fix it after I released it if I had to. I fired the arrow and, OUCH! The bowstring slapped my left forearm and stung! THE ARROW! I quickly cast the spell and located the arrow already half way between the third and fourth targets. It was a bit difficult to make it look like a realistic flight and arc the arrow down into the bulls-eye of the furthest target.

  The guy in the 15 lane called over to me, ‘so you’re broke and lonely too, huh?’ I had no idea what he was talking about but the scribe behind me thought it was one of the funniest things he had ever heard. I grabbed my jacket and then all 17 of the contestants were gathered up and herded up to the road entering the front of the castle. There was a large pole canopy set up there with benches so we could sit and wait for our scores to be tabulated. I had no idea how any other contestant had done but I did know how I did. I wondered if they would have a one on one contest if there was a tie. My morbid mind suggested that they would just have the two contestants fight to the death. I was glad I rarely listened to my morbid mind!

  A man carrying a piece of parchment came from the side of the castle and then slipped into a door beside the guardhouse. All was quiet for a few minutes and then there was a screech of metal on metal as the portcullis was pulled upwards. A large stage-like platform was set up in front of the open doorway. A table was set near far left side, two chairs were placed on the right rear of the stage, and the workmen withdrew back inside the courtyard. My friendly scribe friend walked out of the crowd to the left of the stage and disappeared into the courtyard for a bit.

  Chapter Seven

  Now, this was where things started to get a bit blurry in my mind. Things started happening that were completely unexpected. I expected to win or lose and collect the prize money or not. As I watched a couple of guards carried a nice sized box that appeared to be heavy, I hoped that I did win! I guessed I would have to buy a horse to carry that but lets not start counting our chickens… or gold, or whatever the case may be.

  The scribe came back out and stood on the front edge of the stage looking at the crowd and smiling. He held up his hands and there was a wave effect as silence came over the throng. He turned and nodded at the portcullis opening and five people walked out. Two from the right and three from the left, they entered into view. As they mounted the stage where most of the crowd could see them, the silence became even deeper and more respectful. All around me, people were taking a knee and kneeling before these people. When in Rome, I took a knee also while trying to figure out who these people were. The two on the right could very well be the king and queen judging by the reaction of the people, but the three on the left… They were very beautiful young ladies. Well dressed as someone would expect at a public event but why they would be present for the awarding of a sports prize was beyond me. They stood there because they had to I assumed. The oldest one looking resigned, the one in the middle looking depressed and scared, and the youngest was excited and expectant.

  As the king and queen took their seats, the people around me began to stand so I took my cue from them and stood too. The scribe cleared his throat and yelled in a voice that carried amazingly well, ‘We have come to announce the winner of today’s competition! Once the name is announced, the king will speak. I would ask that everyone remain as quiet as possible until after the king is finished.’ The hush over the crowd was complete. The tension in the competitor tent could be cut with a dagger. The scribe looked over at the tent and locked eyes with me. He smiled, pulled out the parchment and yelled while looking right at me ‘David Stephenson, would you please come forward!’

  I knew I would win. I cheated to win and so I felt surprised that I felt so surprised! Now I knew that I would have to walk forward, meet real royalty, and be looked at by about a bazillion people. That was a lot more real than I was comfortable with but I had to do it. I was sure that someone would make me move if I didn't start moving on my own very soon.

  The scribe started down off the platform and started to come in my direction. To avoid looking like to much the fool I walked briskly, but slightly wobbly out to meet him. He leaned toward me and in a hushed voice asked, ‘David, are you ok?’ ‘Yes, I am fine’, I to
ld him. ‘I’m just very nervous in front of crowds.’ He smiled, nodded and guided me with a hand on my right shoulder. As we approached the platform, the king stood and the scribe hissed that I should kneel. The scribe knelt also, but I believed that he was just doing it for support. The king signaled us to rise and come forward. I walked up to the next to the top step and stopped there at a light pressure from my scribe friend. He was still with me but just a step behind out of the lime light.

  ‘Congratulations young man!’ the king boomed in a voice that made me jump. ‘From your scores that was quite an impressive display of arms. For winning the contest this day I now, before all these witnesses, grant you the title of Lord with the holdings and land that are now assigned to Beryglus Gwyllt Province !’

  My head was reeling! What was this about a Lordship, lands and holdings? What the hell was a Beryglus Gwyllt? I tried to clear my head because the king was now speaking again…

  ‘And because your scores show that you bulls-eyed the fourth target I grant you the 500 gold coins and your choice. So please, choose now, Lord Stephenson!’

  Without even trying to hide it, I jerked my head around to the scribe behind me with question marks all over my face! Choose? What did this guy want me to choose? I didn't see anything to choose except which arm I was going to try to carry this big box of money in! I thought the scribe was actually going to start giggling! I was freaking out and he was amused tremendously!

  He leaned in close and whispered, ‘you must choose your bride, my Lord. Go over to the three girls to your left, Choose one; offer her your left arm and walk back over here.’

  I was sure I looked at him as if he was insane but he nodded reassuringly and gave me a gentle push. I nodded to the king and started walking towards the girls. The oldest was just looking down at the stage. When I did make eye contact, she nodded and went back to looking down. The next in line looked about 14. As I approached her, she appeared terrified! She was staring out at the crowd and I followed her gaze. There was a young man dressed as a woodworker staring back at her and looked almost as fearful of my approach. I had a gut feeling that there was a reason she hoped I passed her by. When I got to the youngest, she was grinning from ear to ear. She offered a ‘hello My Lord’ and a subtle wink. Considering she couldn’t have been a day over 12, her actions gave away that she had no clue what marriage was about. I walked back down the line and stopped at the first girl. She looked about 16 and seemed the most mature of the bunch. I touched her on the shoulder causing her to jump a bit and I said, ‘If you would join me miss, I would be honored.’ She looked at me with a slight smile, took my arm and we took our place back where the scribe had instructed.