Chapter 7 – Knights ( I )

By the evening of the fifth day of their journey, the caravan had finally reached the town of Leir. The usually quiet city was brimming with activity; even hours after the sunset its narrow alleyways and wider main thoroughfares were filled with people and animals, all of them on their way to the great fair in Ebrauc.

They had spent quite some time pushing their way through the crowded streets in search of lodgings; the seamingly never-ending stream of people and livestock had made their progress glacial, and almost every tavern had already been filled to the brim.

After an excruciatingly long search, they eventually managed to find an inn with enough spare rooms and large enough a barn for their animals.

Tired from the long and exhausting journey, and drenched due to torrential rain that had started to pour just as they had reached the city, the company quickly unpacked at the inn and then hurried off to the dining area to warm themselves up with food and drink. The ground floor of the tavern was already bustling with people, and finding a couple of free tables to sit at wasn't an easy task.

They settled down in the corner of the inn, by the window and to the left of the main entrance. In spite of the crowdedness of the place the service was quick and diligent, and four pints of mulled wine were placed on the table in front of them in less than a minute.

"Well, cheers lads!" Brastias said, raising his mug, "Drink up, before it gets cold."

Kay, Brastias, and Ector all raised their drinks and then started to slowly sip their wine, while Arturia just kept staring at the steamy red liquid in front of her.

"What's the matter, Artie; why aren't you drinking?" Kay asked her after he noticed that she she hadn't raised her glass like the rest of them.

"Come on lad, drink!" Brastias encouraged her, waving his mug towards her. "Ya definitely look like yer could use a hot drink right now." he added, smirking, and then took another sip of his wine.

And he was right; while all of them got completely soaked by the rain whilst traversing the crowded streets of the city, Arturia was in a particularly miserable state, her wet bangs covering half her face, and sniffing and shaking due to the cold. She was still wrapped in her fur cloak, but not even that, nor the warm and dry air in the tavern, managed to warm her up completely.

"Come, Arthur, drink," Ector said with a concerned look in his eyes.

"But you don't let me..." she started, but was quickly cut off by her father.

"Yes, I know. However, this time I'll allow it. Go on, drink." he replied, coaxing her into drinking the wine.

He was genuinely concerned that she might catch a cold ( or even worse, a pneumonia ), and this was the best medicine they could get at the moment. However strong and energetic she was, Arturia was still just a child; a long journey and the cold rain were bound to take their toll on her health, and Ector could never forgive himself if something were to happen to her.

Since she was still hesitant to drink, Brastias joined Ector in persuading her:

"Boy, ya need to drink in order to get yer strength back. If ya don' get warm soon, ya'll catch a cold. How will ya travel in that condition?"

"I..." she mumbled, still weary of the drink; she recalled how Brastias gave her wine during one of their trainings, and her tongue still remembered the sour taste.

"Ya'll make yer father very sad if ya don't drink and go sick because of that," her teacher said slyly.

This, at last, yielded results; she raised the mug to her lips and, slowly and hesitantly, took a sip of the hot, steaming drink.

To her surprise, the taste was sweet and pleasant, unlike that of the wine which Brastias had once given her. The spices gave it a smooth and luscious taste, and the smell was nice as well.

She kept the first sip in her mouth for a while, closing her eyes and savouring the rich taste. She inhaled the vapour rising from the pint, sensing the hot steam clearing her airways, and then took another small sip.

Brastias, Ector and Kay stared at her intently to see what her reaction would be. Kay looked a bit disappointed, having expected her to find the drink unpleasant and too hot.

After she had taken a few sips, Ector asked her:

"So, how was it?"

Arturia lowered her mug, smacking her lips, and replied:

"It's... palatable."

After a few seconds, Brastias started sniggering. She looked at him with a confused expression and asked:

"What's so funny?"

"You are, lad," he said, chuckling, " 'It tastes palatable'? That's some fancy words yer throwin' around. Ya've always talked all dignified and posh, but I never expected a 10-year-old throwin' around such words, at least not in a poor and shabby place like this."

Brastias cackled and then took a large gulp from his mug. Arturia just wrinkled her nose at him, deciding to refrain from making any comments about his vocabulary and speech, and continued to slowly sip her wine.

Their food arrived shortly afterwards, and they quickly dug in, finishing their meal in only a few minutes. The mulled wine and the warm stew helped them recuperate from their journey, and the atmosphere at the table quickly warmed up, in line with the rest of the tavern.

When the servant boy arrived to clean the table, Brastias ordered another round of mulled wine for all of them. Arturia weakly protested about not being able to drink another pint, but Brastias assured her that the wine will not go to waste.

Just as their drinks had been served, a new group of guests arrived at the inn.

Arturia, who was facing towards the entrance, immediately took notice of the newcomers; there were four of them, they all wore hooded black cloaks ( which had been completely soaked by the rain ), and, what grabbed her attention the most, they seemed to be carrying swords.

'Knights?' she wondered as the four men looked around the noisy room, obviously trying to find themselves a place to sit.

It didn't surprise her when they eventually started to make their way between the crowded benches and towards the table at which they were sitting; their servants dined at the table next to them, and Ector, Brastias, Kay, and Arturia only occupied a half of their table.

The four men approached Ector and Brastias from the back and, taking off his hood, one of them asked, in a coarse but not unpleasant voice:

"Excuse me, gentlemen; may we take a seat at this table?"

The man, who seemed to be the leader of the small company, was middle-aged, likely in his late thirties. His once dark brown hair had already grown thin and somewhat grey. His beard and moustache were short but ungroomed, and his forehead wrinkled.

His manner of speech indicated that the man was, as Arturia suspected, most likely a knight.

The knight's companions followed his example and took their hoods off; two of them were young men, maybe in their early twenties, and the third appeared a bit younger than the knight, with short and thick blonde hair, and a small beard of the matching colour.

All four of them gave a small bow after the knight had made his request.

Ector and Brastias exchanged a quick glance and then Ector replied:

"Of course; you are most welcome, friends."

"Thank you," the knight in black said, and with a nod to his companions behind him, the four men seated themselves at the table.

The knight made his way around the table and sat opposite Ector and Brastias, right next to Arturia.

A servant girl appeared in an instant to take the new guests' orders.

"We'll have the same as these gentlemen here, if you please," the knight said, gesturing at the steaming pints in front of Ector and Brastias.

Then, he took out four silver coins from a purse fastened to his belt and placed them on the table.

"Here. For all the drinks."

Brastias looked at the coins with his eyes wide open for a second before the servant girl took them, and then said, raising his mug:

"A toast to ya, my good man. May God bless ya for yer generosity."

The man smiled and nodded in response to Brastias' toast.

"A token of thanks for letting us share your table," he explained.

"It's nothing," Ector replied, turning to the knight, "On the contrary; we're glad to have some company. My name is Ector, by the way."

"Ector? Sir Ector of Corin?" the knight's blonde companion asked, leaning against the table to get a better look at Ector.

"Yes, that's me." he replied, nodding.

The four men exchanged looks before the knight replied to Ector:

"It's an honour to meet you. The tales of Sir Ector's bravery are well known in the north."

"The north? Where yer from?" Brastias asked.

"Elmet," the knight replied, "I believe I should introduce myself as well; I am Sir Arthuis, or Artorius, whichever you prefer."

Ector, Brastias, and Kay exchanged looks of surprise and then locked their eyes on Arturia, who suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

The knight noticed this and asked:

"Is everything alright?"

Ector said nothing, Kay sniggered, and Brastias replied, with a healthy dose of theatrics:

"My name, good sir, is Brastias. This cheeky lad here is Kay, and the small one next to you... is Arthur."

Now the four men from Elmet were the ones exchaning looks. The knight, Arthuis, looked down at Arturia and offered her his gloved right hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Arthur. You are my first namesake I've ever met," he said shaking her hand, "I take it that the lads are your sons?" he continued turning to Ector while not letting go of Arturia's hand.

"Yes," Ector confirmed proudly.

"They seem like good boys. Will you become knights, too, someday?" he asked, turning to Kay and Arturia.

"Eh... yes, I guess. Or, at least, I hope so..." Kay stuttered, his sniggering now gone.

"Good," Arthuis said, nodding, and looked back down at Arturia, "There's always a need for more good knights. And I think you two will make splendid ones, just like your father was."

"Now, now, you flatter me too much," Ector said, taking a sip from his mug.

"Not at all. Everyone knows of your deeds at the Battle of Verlamion, and that's just one out who knows how many battles," the knight, Arthuis, replied, "And I've heard of you, too, Sir Brastias."

"Not a 'Sir'."

"Oh. Well, in any case, with you as their instructors, I'm sure that the boys will grow into fine knights."

"Yer quite a flatterer. I bet yer very popular with the ladies," Brastias said, grinning.

"Well, I wouldn't know about that," Arthuis said, looking down for a second.

"It worked on my wife, but I haven't been particularly successful with other women." he added with a small grin, "My wife probably scared every one of them away."

All the men at the table sniggered at the knight's comment, except Arturia who just took a sip of hot wine from her mug, trying not to attract any attention.

Just then the servant girl arrived with the drinks for the four men, who immediatelyraised their mugs for a toast and drank up.

"So, what bring you to Leir?" Ector inquired.

"War, I'm afraid," Arthuis replied with a gloomy expression on his face, "Haven't you heard the news? It's been spreading around the country rather fast."

"No, we haven't; we've only just arrived here a few hours ago. What is going on?"

"Saxons," the knight's blonde companion added, "A large force has been moving around the country, not far to the north of here."

"Saxons!?" Kay said, looking somewhat bewildered.

"Yes," Arthuis nodded, "Several hundred of them, if the reports are true. We think they might be planning on attacking Lindon."

"But... the road... what about the fair?"

"Well, that's why we're here," Arthuis explained, "We were sent from Lindon to negotiate with the lord of this town about protecting the road. The garrison in this city is at least fourty men strong; it's not much compared to the enemy, but with the aid of men from Lindon they could have protected the travellers on their way north."

"Wait a minute." Ector interrupted. " 'Could have'? Have your negotiations failed?"

"I'm afraid so; we negotiated for two days, but without success. The lord of Leir wouldn't lend his men to protect the caravans."

"What? Why?!"

"He says he needs them here to protect the city should the Saxons head south," the blond soldier responded, "Now the road to the north is perilous and there's little helping it."

"So he'll just let everyone go without any protection?!" Kay said, shaken by the news.

"That's..."

"That's how things are, lad."

"But... what about all the people who... what if the Saxons attack them?" Arturia suddenly asked.

"There's nothing we can do about that, unfortunately." he replied. "It's not all so hopeless, though; the word has been sent to Loidis, and hopefully our king shall come to aid. They should be able to muster a few hundred good men.

"I take it that you're also heading for Ebrauc?" Arhuis said, turning to Ector.

"Yes, we're leaving this city tomorrow morning."

"I don't suppose I can somehow persuade you to cancel your plans and head back home?"

There was no reply, as Ector and Brastias exchanged a troubled look, and Kay and Arturia just stared at the mugs of wine in front of them.

After a long and uncomfortable silence, Arthuis sighed and said:

"We'll be going with you, then; we must report back to Lindon, so we might as well protect someone along the way."

He sighed again, knowing all too well what dangers the travellers will be facing on their journey to Lindon, took a gulp of wine, and continued:

"We won't be much of an escort, I'm afraid, but it's better than nothing."

"You are most welcome," Ector replied, raising his mug for a toast to the knight, and the rest of his companions joined in.

"So...", Arthuis said, "it's settled, then. We'll meet you at the northern gates tomorrow at dawn. Don't be late."

"Don't worry, we won't. And thank you for escorting us. We really appreciate it."

"Oh, it's nothing. And I'm quite looking forward to having legendary Ector making us company," Arthuis said with a smirk, "Now I know that it won't be a boring journey."

They spent the rest of the evening making small talk and exchanging war stories, trying not to think about the grave perils of the upcoming journey north to Lindon.

Arturia and Kay stayed out of the lively conversation for the most part, quietly sipping on their wine with a disheartened look in their eyes.

(...)

The next morning they left Leir in company of Sir Arthuis and his men, and started the second leg of their journey to Ebrauc.

The first day passed without any incidents, though the atmosphere on the road was gloomy and sombre. On the second day they left the busy road and continued their journey through the forest, but while the woods promised better protection and more stealth, the muddy and poorly kept forest road slowed down their progress.

At noon on the second day the company set camp by a stream that was running through the forest and towards the river of Dubglas to the northwest. The day was cold and the ground was covered in a layer of frost, which still hadn't melted from the morning. To counter the cold and save their kidneys and lungs from the chilly wind, they started a few fires throughout the small camp and wrapped themselves tightly in their cloaks.

Ector's servants were busy tending to the animals, feeding them and leading them to the river to drink; Brastias and Arthuis' men had thrown a lamb on a spit and were having a lively conversation over a bottle of cheap Leir wine; and Ector, Arthuis and Kay sat around the second fire. Kay was doing everything he could to keep himself warm, while the two knights discussed the situation in which they had found themselves.

"Do you really think that they're going to storm the city?" Ector asked.

"I don't know, to be honest," Arthuis replied, tightening his belt, "The city is poorly guarded – there's only about fifty men garrisoning it, and the defences are in a poor condition. Should they attempt a full frontal assault, I don't think we'd be able to hold out. So the only question is whether they're bold enough to attack or not. And my experience has taught me that the Saxons are no cowards."

"Still, the river should make things a bit difficult for them."

"I wouldn't rest my hopes on that," the knight of Elmet said, "It didn't pose us much trouble when we took back the city seven years ago. The Saxons were a much bigger problem than the river."

"Hm..."

The city of Lindon was the site of much fighting between the invading Saxons and the neighbouring kingdom of Elmet; over the course of the previous fifty years, it had changed hands about a dozen times.

King Uther had retaken the city shortly after his triumph over the Saxons at Verlamion, handing it over to the king of Elmet after that. The Saxons had taken the city by surprise ten years later, but lost it within three months to the Britons again, albeit not without inflicting heavy losses on the attacking British forces.

Its position on the junction of vital roads, leading from the southern cities of London and Corin to Ebrauc in the north, made it a point of interest for both the barbarians who had occupied all the lands to the east of it, and for the Britons living to the west. The two opposing forces clashed repeatedly in and around the strategically important city, and the constant warfare reduced the once proud Roman town into little more than a collection of decrepit houses, and it now functioned primarily as a military camp and a haven for refugees. Its formidable fortifications had been thoroughly corroded by numerous sieges, with both fractions being unable to properly rebuild the defences in between the conflicts.

While Ector frowned and pondered the situation, Arthuis continued:

"Our only hope now are my king's forces. The garrison in Lindon is too weak to make a difference if the Saxons attack. Frankly, they would have been much more useful out on the road, protecting the people."

"Is the situation there really that bad?" Ector asked, losing hope that the city will be able to shelter and protect them.

"Well... the commander there, the lord of Lindon, is a capable man; I've served him for many years. But he alone can't do much, not with so few men. Now that the call for help has been sent to the king, all we can do is hurry to Lindon and wait."

The two men fell silent, both looking gloomy and frustrated by the events and the dangers still lying ahead.

After a minute Kay left to answer a call of nature, leaving the two knights alone by the fire. Not long after he had left, Arthuis suddenly spoke again:

"Good lads, your sons. You must be very proud of them."

"I am," Ector said, "A father couldn't ask for better sons."

"I can imagine. Still, do you really think it was wise continuing the journey? You know that the road is perilous. Why risk your sons' lives like this?"

Ector took some time before finally replying, in a grave voice:

"I don't really know myself. I guess you could say that we couldn't have simply turned around and went back home without accomplishing anything. Even if there's danger lying ahead, we'd all rather confront it than run away for safety."

"Still, you should have at least asked them if they're alright with it."

"I imagine they'd all give you the same answer. We're all stubborn like that," Ector said with a chuckle.

"I see... well, I guess that's admirable in its own right."

"I guess. Many people would call it foolishness, though."

"Yes, but I'm not one of those people," Arthuis replied with a ghost of a smile.

He then turned to the nearby tree, under which slept Arturia, wrapped in several blankets and her black fur coat.

"But you know, your younger lad will really get sick on this journey. It's got to be taking quite some strain on his body. How old is he anyway? Ten? Eleven?"

"Ten," Ector responded, turning towards Arturia as well, "And you're right; frankly, I'm more concerned about illnesses than the Saxons when it comes to Arthur. He's very energetic and strong, but I worry for his health."

"Well, he's young, it's understandable that such a long and exhausting journey doesn't agree with him," Arthis said, taking out his wine skin and taking a sip, "He'll grow into a fine man one day," he continued, to which Ector had to bite back a grin.

"Have you started training him already?"

"Yes; it's been three years now. Well, it's Brastias who's training him, not me; I train Kay."

"Then we should see what the boy can do, don't you think?" Arthuis said, putting his wineskin back into his bag and rising to his feet.

"No, let him rest," Ector responded in a concerned voice, "He's too tired and too cold to fight."

"Let's ask the boy about that," Arthuis replied with a small grin, "Hey, boy, wake up!"

He crouched next to Arturia and started to shake her gently. It didn't take her long to wake from her sleep:

"Awww... huh, what is it?" she said, confused.

"Come on, get up. Let's see what you're made of."

The knight gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder and rose to his feet.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Just then Kay returned, still buckling his belts.

"Perfect timing lad!" Arthuis exclaimed, turning to him.

"Ha?"

"Time for some exercise. You and your brother both look quite frozen; a bit of fighting shall get your blood running through your veins again."

"Fight? Whom?" Arturia asked, rising to her feet and putting her cloak on.

Arthuis didn't reply, but instead said to Kay:

"Go and get your sword lad. And bring your brother his, as well."

"Arthur doesn't have a sword..." Kay said, still somewhat confused.

"In that case we shall get one for him. Bellinus!" he shouted towards his men. The blond soldier from his company raised his head and answered:

"Yessir, what is it?"

"Fetch a shortword for me, if you please. And quickly."

"Certainly, sir," Bellinus replied and brought a sword in no time.

"There you go, lad," Arthuis said, taking the sword from his companion and handing it to Arturia.

She hesitantly accepted the weapon, thanked the knight, and inspected it closely.

It was a single-handed sword, but, being short and petite, she could grasp it with both her hands. The hilt was simple but elegant, just like the short and sturdy blade, and the tip of the sword was still sharp, indicating that the blade was new and unused.

For a small girl like her, it was a perfect weapon.

"It's a fine sword," she observed, "Thank you."

"No problem. And, I'll tell you what; whoever wins gets to keep the sword," Arthuis replied with a faint smirk and sat himself by the fire again.

The mention of the prize energized both Arturia and Kay; they fixed their gazes for a few seconds, narrowing their eyes, and then took their stances a few yards away from the fire.

Kay was the first to strike; he swung his sword from above his head, aiming at Arturia's left hip. Having read his move before his sword started its descent, she parried; she was holding her sword horizontally to the left of her head, and simply lowered its tip downwards and to her right, while taking a step back. Kay's strike missed its target, and she used the opportunity to then take a leap forward and get behind his back. She lowered her sword to her left hip and lunged forward to stab Kay in the back. Her plan failed, though, as her brother turned around quickly enough to parry her incoming strike to his left. As she passed by him, taken by the momentum of her thrust, he gave her a light slap on the back of her head:

"Too eager, Arty. Slow down a bit."

She quickly stopped herself and turned towards Kay again. Fixing her emotionless eyes on him, she attacked again, swinging her sword from behind her right hip and towards Kay's left arm. He parried that strike too, so she attacked again, this time from her other side. He parried once more, grinning, and the process was repeated two more times until Arturia finally seemed exhausted.

Ector and Arthuis kept watching the duel in silence, assessing the skills of the two combatants.

"My turn," Kay said with a smirk once Arturia stopped her series of attacks, and then started a counteroffensive.

He swung his sword from above, aiming at her head. Being some twenty inches taller than her, and much stronger, he enjoyed an obvious advantage over her. And yet, Arturia managed to block, albeit she was still forced to retreat a step.

Kay attacked again, aiming at her right hip, and she barely managed to parry it. She retreated a step to increase the distance between them a bit more, but tripped over a rock and fell on her back.

"Come on, get up, Arthur!" her father encouraged her.

Kay chuckled a bit at his sister's fall, allowing her to get back on her feet, which she did with all haste, her cheeks flushing a little with embarassment at her clumsiness.

Arthuis said nothing and just kept following the duel intently, studying the moves and skills of both Kay and Arturia, but feeling much more interest in the younger swordsman.

Just as Arturia picked herself up Kay continued his assault; he attacked from above a few times, and each time Arturia defended from a low guard, parrying or blocking his strikes to the sides of her hips or arms. She was now almost completely exhausted, and Kay was confident that he'd finish her with the next two or three attacks.

He took a stance, raising his sword above his head, and just when he was about to strike Arthuis shouted to Arturia:

"Use the high guard, boy!"

She obeyed instinctively, raising her sword up high to mirror Kay's stance.

As his sword descended diagonally towards her neck, she made a counterattack and made a vertical slash forward, hitting his left forearm. Luckily for Kay, her strike wasn't strong enough to cut through his clothes ( whether it was because she was exhausted, simply too weak even in a peak condition, or if she held back, he couldn't tell, though he sincerely hoped that it was the last option ), but the impact was still strong enough to make him drop his sword due to the pain, and the strike was sure to leave a large bruise on his arm.

As Kay let go of his sword and yelped in pain, Arturia stood up straight and pointed her sword at his chest.

"I win."

Her declaration of victory was met with a small applause from Arthuis:

"Well done, boy."

Ector congratulated her, as well, albeit with just a nod and a "Well done". He also seemed concerned about Kay, who was squeezing his bruised left arm.

"You certainly didn't hold back," Arthuis observed, "You better go ask Bellinus to take a look at it. I doubt there's more to it than some bruised flesh, but it's better to take care of it just in case," he said, turning to Kay.

"Sorry about that." Arturia apologised to her brother.

"It's okay."

"So... I guess that means the little one gets your sword, sir," one of Arthuis' men, a raven-haired young man named Lugus, said.

Arturia and Kay both turned around, only now seeing that their duel attracted a fair bit of attention and interest; Brastias, Sir Arthuis' three companions, as well as several servants had gathered behind the fire and some of the trees to watch the fight. Judging by the expressions on their faces, Arturia concluded that they had all been impressed by her performance.

"You're right. I did promise the sword to the one who wins. It's all yours, boy."

"Thank you, sir."

"Don't mention it," the knight replied with a smile.

Arturia turned to Kay and offered him her right hand:

"You fought well. I was certain you were going to win."

"What the hell are you talking about? I did win."

"Ha?" she replied, dumbstruck.

"You cheated – you only won thanks to Sir Arthuis helping you. You cheated, so I win," he said, and no one present was quite sure whether the boy was being serious or just teasing his little brother.

"What are you...?"

"It's okay; I'll let you keep the sword because I'm so generous. Or consider it a consolation price, since you obviously can't win in a fair fight," he continued, keeping a straight face but laughing madly on the inside at the sight of Arturia's face.

"What the hell are you talking about?! I won that fight, fair and square! And besides; you're twice my height and age! Getting some 'help' like that doesn't even come close to putting us on the same level!"

"Just you keep justifying yourself, Arty. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me that you're acting like this - Brastias already told me that you're a sore loser."

"Hey! Leave me out of this, kid!" Brastias shouted, barely suppressing a chuckle.

"That's it! You...!"

Arturia suddenly lunged forward with a fiery look in her eyes, and determined to get back at her brother for teasing her like that. She wasn't fast enough, though, and Kay easily dodged her attack, now no longer suppressing his laughter.

"Oh, my, you want to fight again? I wonder how you're going to cheat this time."

Some of the spectators started laughing as well, eager to see how this quarell between siblings will end.

Just when Ector had risen to his feet, intending to seperate the two, one of Arthuis' men suddenly fell to the ground with an arrow stuck in his neck.

His friend, Lugus, who was standing right next to the man, immediately ran to him, his eyes widened in terror.

"Taranis!"

He shook the man a few times, called his name, pressed his fingers against the wounds in an attempt to stop the bleeding, but it was all for naught; Taranis was already dead. There wasn't enough time for the shock to settle in properly, though, as suddenly all hell broke lose; the company was showered with a rain of arrows from afar, and one of Ector's servants fell victim to the surprise attack.

"Take cover!" Ector and Arthuis shouted in unison, the old knight grabbing his sons by the hands and pulling them back towards the fire.

They threw themselves on the ground and took shelter behind the log on which Ector had been sitting until recently. At the same time Arthuis pulled the bewildered Lugus back to his feet and towards a nearby tree. Brastias and Bellinus took cover behind another tree, poking their heads from the safety of the sprawling roots and trying to pinpoint the location of the attackers.

"Right there, behind those rocks!" Brastias said, pointing his finger into the distance.

"Aye! Sir...!" Bellinus shouted to his captain.

Arthuis responded with a simple nod, and was just about to move from his cover with the intention of coming to the enemy from the flank when he suddenly saw another group of attackers coming from their right flank.

These weren't archers, but a band of riders galloping towards their camp at full speed.

"Sir Ector! We've got to make a stand!"

Ector, who had noticed the fresh wave of attackers as well, creased his brows while quickly assessing the situation. There seemed to be at least a dozen riders making their way through the woods, and they were all well armed with spears, shields, and swords.

Ector nodded and ordered one of his servants, who had taken refuge just behind them, to take Kay and Arturia to safety.

"No, father – please let me fight!" Kay suddenly cried out.

"Absoultely not!"

"Please, father, please! We can help!" Arturia joined in pleaing along with her brother.

"I won't let you fight and get killed! Go and run to safety!"

"Father, there's too many of them! You know you need my help or they're gonna kill us all!"

"What difference could two boys like you possibly make?! Stop arguing and run away!" Ector shouted, now really upset and angry.

"They're almost here, Sir Ector," Arthuis said in a calm voice.

"Please father!" Kay continued to beg, "I can take out those archers. I'll sneak up on them and take them by surprise."

"The boy's words are sensible enough to me," Arthuis said, "and God knows we could use some good swords right now."

"I said 'no'!"

"Ector!" Brastias suddenly shouted; he and Bellinus were the closest to the incoming enemy, and the distance had decreased to only a few dozen yards – the fight was starting in a few seconds one way or the other.

Ector stared at his older son with a bewildered look on his face, his mind going into overdrive. After one long second of weighing the arguments, he finally gave in:

"Fine! Go! Go and get them!"

With a quick nod and a ghost of a smile, Kay grabbed his father's shield, and leaped forward into the open, where he and Arturia had their duel just a minute ago.

Sweat soaked his body as he strained his muscles to breaking point to get the sword as quickly as possible, while at the same time dodging a hail of projectiles coming his way. His hair got into his eyes, and all his joints felt like they might burst at any second, such was the speed at which he dashed for his sword.

Ector felt like he had aged a decade just seeing his son risking his life that way, and breathed a loud sigh of relief when the boy finally took cover behind some rocks after successfully retreiving his sword.

'Thank God' he thought to himself and then, as Kay and disappeared into the thick foliage, turned his attention to he enemy coming from the right.

The first four riders had already reached them, but they hurried past Brastias and Bellinus, who formed the first line of defence, and proceeded towards Ector, Arthuis and Lugus.

The three men readied their swords and once the enemies were only a few yards away, they left their covers and took a defensive stance, forming a triangle with Arthuis at the front and Ector and Lugus at the back.

Just as their comrades had reached the camp, the enemy archers lessened the intensity and frequency of their volleys, which meant that the defenders had to worry about that threat a little.

"Here they come!" Arthuis shouted, aiming the tip of his sword at the chest of the nearest appraching enemy.

Ector, who was carefully eying the remaining riders, turned behind him to check on Arturia.

"Arthur, run back to the serv-"

He stopped in the middle of his sentence, his eyes widening in terror.

For Arturia was nowhere to be seen.

(...)

Author's notes:
- So you thought this fic was dead? Well, ha! - you were wrong!
- Index of geographical terms:
Leir = Leicester
Verlamion = St Albans; north of London, allegedly site of the battle where King Uther won his great victory against the Saxons
Loidis = modern day Leeds; in the Dark Ages there was apparently a large Brythonic for there, and it probably served as the centre of rule over the kingdom of Elmet
Dubglas = a river mentioned in Historia Brittonum, on which Arthur fought several of his 12 legendary battles. In my story it corresponds to river Trent
- Sir Arthuis is not entirely fictional ( well, he pretty much is since basically all people from the Arthurian legend(s) are fictional ). He's mentioned in some genealogies of Dark Age Brythonic kingdoms, where he is associated with both kingdom of Elmet and kingdom of Ebrauc ( York ). I pretty much came across him by accident and thought he'd be neat to use due to being Arturia's namesake.