The doorway, or gate, was being constructed from stones, seemingly laid in some sort of pattern. The majority of the manual work was being done by soldiers wearing slightly different uniforms. Supervising the work was a group of men in white robes. Rupert guessed these robed men were priests. Suddenly he got a sick feeling in his stomach. He hoped that priest from Gizzor Del wasn’t with them. That man would recognize Rupert on the spot. Dodging up through the trees might not have been a bad idea.
Ethen led Rupert to a man in full armor. While the armor didn’t actually glow, it did seem to reflect an awful lot of torch light. The man was big, and with so much armor, Rupert doubted he could move very fast. Ethen called out, “Sir Talarius!” The big man turned and quickly strode over to them. The grace and fluidity of his movements completely reversing Rupert’s opinions.
One didn’t have to be a scholar to figure that this guy was a knight. A very impressive knight, exactly like in the stories Rupert had been told as a child. Perhaps the stories he had been told about demons had been biased and overblown; apparently, however, the stories of knights in shining armor were only too true. A strange sort of fierce calm seemed to almost radiate from the knight as he came up to Ethen and Rupert.
He looked down at the shivering Rupert and smiled a kindly, gentle smile. Rupert’s heart almost came up in his throat. The man seemed so sincere, so warm in his concern. “What have we here, Ethen, a lost young lad perhaps?” The knight asked softly. He reached down to gently lift Rupert’s chin and gaze into his eyes. It took all Rupert’s will not to break down and confess. Confess what, he wasn’t sure. Confess he was a demon spawn? It didn’t seem like a wise idea; yet even so, he felt he could trust the man with even his greatest secrets.
“We found him wandering in the forest sir, naked.” Ethen reported.
“Naked?” The man’s voice remained calm and gentle, but it did cause him to raise an eyebrow.
“Yes sir. He was shivering and,” Ethen glanced down sympathetically to Rupert, obviously hating to embarrass Rupert, “uhm, sobbing.” The young soldier was being nice about it, but Rupert would just have preferred the man to be direct and honest it would make his story so much more believable. “His name is Rupert. He says that he had been kidnapped by a demon, who was hauling him off somewhere. It was the demon you just shot down. When the demon was hurt, he dropped the boy into the trees.”
“Hmm,” Talarius mused, looking Rupert over intently. “Is this true lad?” Talarius asked, seeming to be genuinely concerned.
“Y.y.yes lord.” Rupert stuttered.
“Not lord, lad. Just Talarius. I’m a knight of Tiernon, not a lord.” The knight corrected gently with a forgiving smile. “Now why did the demon grab you and why were you naked?” The knight crouched down in his heavy armor to look Rupert head on. His hand resting gently, comfortingly on Rupert’s shoulders.
“Uhm, I.I.I don’t know.” Rupert snuffled some more. “I live on a farm.” Rupert ran the back of his wrist across his nose, as if to wipe it. “I woke up thirsty and there was no water. I went out to the well to fetch some. As I was filling it, this... this...” Rupert shuddered in what he thought was an appropriate manner. “This demon grabbed my robe. It dragged me a long ways. Finally the robe ripped off me.”
Rupert began to hyperventilate a little, for dramatic effect. Trying not to overdo it. He gulped. “I ran, ran as fast as I could back to mum and dah. I screamed for help. They couldn’t help me. They... they weren’t fast enough. The demon came back. He grabbed me with his claws.” Rupert closed his eyes, shivering again, pretending to remember the horrible moment. He’d thought this story up as they’d wandered through the camp. He hadn’t had long; he hoped it would hold up.
“It carried me. We flew a long ways, over that city.” He pointed back to Freehold. “Then we were over your lights. The demon, it circled for a little bit. Then... then some glowing man on the ground shot the demon! It screamed. Right in my ear. The next thing, the next thing I know is that I was falling through trees. Then these men found me.” He tugged on Ethen’s cloak.
He hugged himself, and looked the knight right in the eyes, trying to be as sincere as he’d ever been about anything. “Please, please, Sir Talarius. Please don’t let the nasty demon get me. I’m afraid. So afraid.” Rupert shivered some more and then bent his head, as if in shame and fright, staring at the ground.
