The Return of the Knights (The Dance of Light Book 1) by Gregory Kontaxis

Author:Gregory Kontaxis [Kontaxis, Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GK publishing
Published: 2023-05-08T16:00:00+00:00

Walter was surprised. Reynald hadn’t sent a messenger for a long time. It had only been a few days since he had sent a handful of men to Stonegate to reinforce its guard. He hadn’t expected to hear from Reynald unless Elmor attacked, as Iovbridge had no men for such a thing. Nevertheless, the information he had received indicated Syrella Endor had decided to stay out of the battle for the throne.

“Bring him to me,” Walter ordered.

Anrai and Brian shared a glance, and Walter stood up. After a few moments, Short Death returned with a flush-faced man. The sun with the spears was sewn into the Guardian’s white cloak.

“What’s your name, Guardian?” asked Walter.

“Aron,” replied the newcomer.

“What news does Reynald send me?”

“Certain things have changed in Stonegate,” the Guardian muttered.

Walter’s patience was running out. “What news does Reynald send me?” he roared.

“Reynald Karford is no longer the Guardian Commander of Stonegate.”

His words froze the room. Brian looked at him in disbelief as Walter felt anger rising in his chest. He tried to restrain himself, if only for a little while longer. “Did Reynald concede the command of the castle?”

Aron avoided looking into Walter’s eyes. “Reynald fell in a duel and thus lost command of the castle.”

Anrai almost choked, while Brian burst from his seat, enraged. “Who dared challenge Reynald to a duel? Tell us exactly what happened, otherwise I will rip out your tongue,” he yelled at the emissary.

The Guardian looked at Brian but didn’t seem scared. “A boy from Iovbridge arrived at the castle with four companions and challenged the Guardian Commander to a duel,” he began. “He accepted and was defeated. Then the boy appointed a new Guardian Commander in Stonegate and headed south to Wirskworth along with his companions, holding Reynald captive.”

Walter’s sword flashed, slicing into Aron’s leg, and the Guardian fell onto the floor, eyes wide, mouth open in a silent scream.

“Some boy from Iovbridge defeated Reynald and took him captive to Wirskworth? I think it’d be wise to tell the truth if you want to leave here, even if only with half your limbs,” Walter said.

“I’m not lying,” Aron spoke.

Walter stepped on wound, and now Aron screamed out loud. “Who was this boy?”

“I don’t know.” The man writhed in pain. “He was unknown to Stonegate. His name was Elliot.”

Walter took a step back.

“And he imposed a new Guardian Commander?” Anrai now spoke.

“He let us choose the most capable soldier and gave that man the castle on oath that he would guard it on the queen’s behalf. Even so, he didn’t ask us to defend Iovbridge.”

Walter started pacing slowly, carefully mulling over what he had just heard. His scouts had informed him of a man with the Stonegate emblem on his cloak having entered Iovbridge from the South Gate the previous night. This hadn’t concerned him. A villager with ancestry from Stonegate may have inherited the habiliment. There were more than a few who had hurried to leave their villages for Iovbridge, fearing looting and enslavement.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.