War For The Kingdom (Part 9)

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Sir Gavin and his two companions sauntered back through the streets of Lothington towards the inn after their disastrous audience with Sir Rodney. Sir William would be disappointed to hear of the lack of cooperation, but it would have to be overlooked. The fate of the kingdom rested on the next few days, and an incompetent, lazy commander could not hold up the progress necessary to quell as great a threat as they were facing.

"What are you going to do, Sir Gavin?" asked the field officer.

"I'll start by letting Sir William know what happened. If he gives me the permission, I'll take command of the Lothington force myself. Sir Rodney is obviously not fit for such a position." he replied.

"Ye can say that again," commented Bartholomew. "I never see'd no one so erragant in me life." After another quick walk, the three men arrived back at Lothington tavern, and Sir Gavin broke the news of Sir Rodney's response.

"Well, it would appear that sergeant Watts was right," said the Crimson Knight after hearing the entire proceedings from the military headquarters. The sergeant gave a wry laugh.

"I told ye he was no good. Don't count on 'im to do nothin in yer faver," he said. Sir Gavin posed the question he had been considering on the walk back home.

"Sir William, I do not mean to be presumptuous, but do you think we should proceed with mobilization of the Lothington force regardless of the wishes of Sir Rodney?"

"Yes," Sir William replied without hesitation. "Our full army will be here in two days, but you have authority to take command of the force and use them as you best see fit. I trust your judgment."

"Thank you, Sir. I will begin movements immediately, starting with another scouting attempt on the enemy positions," replied Sir Gavin.

"Good plan, Gavin," said Sir William. The sergeant propped himself up on an arm and addressed Sir Gavin once again before he left the room.

"If ye don't mind me sayin so, I can recommend a man to ye that'll be a great 'elp to yer actions. Ask fer a major Wilkins. He be my commandin off'cer, and a good man too. Ye can trust him. He be more knowledgeable o tactics than Sir Rodney anyway, an I think Sir William could make quite a bit o progress with 'im s'far as a plan goes." Sir Gavin smiled. Sergeant Watts seemed to know more about the details of the Lothington force than anyone in the city.

"Well, you were right last time, Sir, so I'll heed your advice and find major Wilkins immediately," he replied.

Sir Gavin, the field officer, and Bartholomew exited the tavern once again for the second time that day, hoping that their task would be more successful this time.

"We need to go to the barracks first and organize a scouting party so we can get a proper look at the enemy force. I also want to find major Wilkinson and notify him of the situation," Sir Gavin told his two companions.

The barracks were on the opposite side of the city from the Lothington tavern, so the three men stopped at a local stable to rent horses. After they mounted on their animals, the trip went quickly. Soon, the stately barracks building came into view. Sir Gavin addressed the guard, identifying himself with the Crimson Knight's medallion and stating his intentions to begin the deployment of Lothington's local force. The guard was in hearty agreement and eagerly began directing Sir Gavin and his companions to the main room of the barracks so he could gather men for a scouting party.

"Say, ye wouldn't have met Sir Rodney, would ye?" questioned the guard as he led Sir Gavin into the building.

"Well, as a matter of fact, we have," replied Sir Gavin. "It was quite an . . uhhm. . interesting experience." The guard chuckled briefly.

"How badly was he laid over when ye see'd him?" he asked.

"He couldn't even stand," Sir Gavin remarked. The guard seemed unsurprised.

"If ya knew Sir Rodney, Sir, ye'd know that that's 'im in his best condition. He nearly keeps the pubs and mead shops open single 'andedly. The man's a glutton, and that's be'in nice." Sir Gavin was not as surprised at this remark as he might have been before meeting Sir Rodney. He was quickly realizing that the local commander's popularity was very low amongst those under him.

The guard with Sir Gavin and his companions presently entered the main room of the barracks, which was filled with soldiers, some dressed for battle and some donning their armor. Despite Sir Rodney's sluggish reaction to the enemy threat, it appeared that the local force was responding without orders from their lazy leader.

Sir Gavin announced who he was and his purpose in being there to the assembled soldiers, and they responded with enthusiasm for his plan of action against the enemy. It was undoubtedly the first call to action that they had had since the dark forces had swept down to snatch Lothington castle from the kingdom's grasp.

"I need a party of twenty to thirty armed men to compose a scouting party, due to leave from the city immediately. All will be mounted and the outer guard will need to carry pikes to defend if we are attacked," Sir Gavin announced. He briefly related the events of the previous night, excluding Sir William's involvement in order to keep his identity secret. Of the 50 or so men in the room, nearly all of them raised their hands. One man worked his way to the front of the rest and approached Sir Gavin. He was a short, barrel-chested man with a red beard and a confident face.

"Major Wilkins, Sir. Thomas Wilkins at your service." The major put forth a sturdy hand, which Sir Gavin shook earnestly.

"Glad to meet you, Sir," he replied. "Sergeant Watts put in a good word for you, and I trust that he will be right." The major gave a slight smile.

"Well, I can not promise anything, but you can be sure I will do all in my power to fight back against the invaders," Major Wilkins replied.

"I do not doubt your solid character," said Sir Gavin, "And you can help me select men for the scouting mission that we plan to execute." The major was more than happy to help and immediately began recommending soldiers for the task. Before long, a new scouting party - much better armed than the previous one - was assembled at the edge of the city walls. They cautiously began the advance into the same field that Sir William and the others had taken just the previous night, leaving the protection afforded by the wall. Sir Gavin was glad that they had the sunlight of the afternoon to guide them through the blowing fields and thick woods, for the party could move faster with less risk of an unexpected attack.

The countryside, now illuminated by a blazing midday sun, appeared ten times less foreboding than it had been the previous night. A cool wind whipped softly juggled the tall prairie grass against itself, and a deer grazed serenely in the center of it, very much unaware of that this peaceful meadow as if pulled from a storybook, may soon be running with the blood of friend and foe.

The scouting party quickly reached the edge of the thick forest that bordered Lothington valley and entered it, slowing their pace somewhat, but not to the extent that they did the previous night. Sir Gavin was thankful for the increased light. No enemy could sneak upon them now and no shadowy figure would furtively slip by, unnoticed by the party: the security afforded by the sun was just as great as that provided by well-armed men.

They dismounted once again when they reached the area where the woods thinned out and walked carefully towards the ledge that had almost been their death the previous night. Sir Gavin quietly instructed the cavalry to remain mounted and create a perimeter around the rest of them while forming a hedgehog defense with their lances. An enemy force would be unable to surprise them now, but in addition that force would be at a grave disadvantage if combat were to break out.

Sir Gavin crouched to the ground and began to crawl towards the edge of the cliff, followed by Major Wilkins, Bartholomew, and the field officer. Now, with the fear of imminent danger minimized, Sir Gavin had to carry out the task that Sir William had been prevented from completing. He eased his body the last few inches, peered over the edge, and was shocked by what he saw. The castle was standing starkly against the rest of the valley, but no enemy army was camped outside.

"There is no way they could all fit inside the castle walls," thought Sir Gavin to himself, "Which means-" 

A sudden thought occurred to him, causing him to shudder in terror if it were to be true. He slowly turned to one of his companions:

"Bartholomew, I need you to tell me more about those caves in the forest that you were asked to look out for by the Dark Lord."

[Person_Random 4,991]

Approved.

So well written. The plot is easily carried along around the dialogue, informing readers about the current situation in the story as well as providing some hilarious comic relief - something I really enjoy about your stories. Everything around the plot quietly adds more detail while subtly moving along to a strong ending. Lots of quality content here in this chapter - great work!

Edits: minor grammar fixes

Spoiler

Wow, almost perfect on the grammar here; I'm glad to see so much improvement in just the time period of a few chapters. I just added some hyphens between some words like "barrel-chested" over "barrel chested". These are compound words, so they'll need a hyphen as they can't be connected. Otherwise, excellent progress on the grammar!

 

[dupuy 318]

2 hours ago, Person_Random said:

Approved.

So well written. The plot is easily carried along around the dialogue, informing readers about the current situation in the story as well as providing some hilarious comic relief - something I really enjoy about your stories. Everything around the plot quietly adds more detail while subtly moving along to a strong ending. Lots of quality content here in this chapter - great work!

Edits: minor grammar fixes

  Hide contents

Wow, almost perfect on the grammar here; I'm glad to see so much improvement in just the time period of a few chapters. I just added some hyphens between some words like "barrel-chested" over "barrel chested". These are compound words, so they'll need a hyphen as they can't be connected. Otherwise, excellent progress on the grammar!

 

Thanks once again for the compliments! I have made a strong note to myself to consider my commas more carefully when used around conjunctions and it looks like I'm finally making a habit of getting them in the right place! Comic relief is something I think belongs in any good story, unless of course it is a short work that focuses exclusively on one or two topics. I will look out for hyphens in the future as well. 

[Iron_Man 2,376]

In one word- EXCELLENT