Swan Knight's Sword (Moth & Cobweb Book 3) by John C. Wright

Author:John C. Wright [Wright, John C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Castalia House
Published: 2016-11-28T23:00:00+00:00

7. Being Led

The girls tried to gently press him back into his seat, but Gil merely set his feet, stood his ground, and looked stubborn, and the six or eight cooing young women pushing and pulling on him had as much chance to move him as to move a boulder of granite.

Gil said, “I seek the Green Knight! Where is he?”

Bredbeddle said, “Ah! You are in luck. He comes here every few days. This is the only place you can find him! He wanders. We have beds in the back, plenty to eat, and plenty to drink. Games. Do you gamble? So you have to stay here to see him.”

Gil said, “I must find him before tomorrow. That was the date set.”

Bredbeddle spread his hands. “But listen! You looked, didn’t you? You must have already come a far way, right? What more can he expect you to do? If he did not tell you where to go, you have to stay here. There is a dance contest later. And a hot tub. Mandatory for all guests. Health regulations, you know. Nothing we can do. But unfortunately, we are overcrowded right now, so you have to…”

Gil said, “I have to do nothing but keep my word. The Green Knight said that if I sought him, I would be led.”

Bredbeddle smashed his fist on the table so that all the silverware jumped. “But why do you trust him? How do you know you are not led here, to have a comfortable night in a comfy bed, a filling and rich steak dinner, spirits as fine as what Mahound quaffs in paradise, and the fairest of companions to warm your loneliness? Maybe you were led here! Don’t you want to live?”

Gil gritted his teeth. “I want to live….”

“Aha!” Bredbeddle smiled.

“…I want to live like a knight!”

“Oh.” Bredbeddle scowled.

“The Green Knight said that if I gave up or tarried while seeking him, I was foresworn. I lost two or three days when I went ashore and hid from hunters who drove me into the mountains, but that was not my doing, so it is not on me. But if I stay here even another moment, it will be lingering, it will be my doing, and I will have broken my word. So I thank you for your hospitality, which has been remarkable and generous. Too generous. But I must be on my way.”

Bredbeddle said, “I tell you, in this house alone will you see the Green Knight! He wanders whither he will, and his steed, Vertifran, is swifter than the sound of the shockwave he sheds as he passes and can put a girdle round the globe in forty minutes. No one can say where the Green Knight goes one hour to the next!”

Gil said, “And the Green Chapel? Unless it is on legs, you can tell me where it is.”

Bredbeddle said, “Its portals are locked and guarded by the three-headed hound of Hell itself. No mortal man enters or departs save he that

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