ORDER OF HAVEN’S HOPE
Sloane woke to the sound of multiple people laughing. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes and looked around. Maud’s cot was gone, likely packed up for the day. With a groan, Sloane sat up and searched for her phone to see what time it was—only to notice it was gone. She tried to remember if she had it when she arrived but came up blank. She started taking inventory of what she had.
Nothing.
She had her clothes and shoes.
Her watch was there…
Everything else was simply gone. Her phone, belt, earrings, purse, wallet, and even her buds were all gone. She would have noticed a pile of accessories around where she arrived. It was as if they had just vanished.
That may very well be likely.
So, that left her watch and her clothes as the only possessions she owned. No money. Nothing. Not that euros would be accepted here…
Looking at the watch, she noticed it wasn’t working and the screen was swirling with a dark blue nebulous material. She took it off and tried examining it but she couldn’t figure out what it was, it was as if the screen had been damaged in the transition but was still somehow doing something.
“That’s strange. I don’t really have time for this right now. But…wait…” She tapped her head with her fist—thinking for a moment—then continued talking it through to herself, “Why would the watch make it if everything else didn’t?”
She racked her brain for a reason.
Any reason.
Such thoughts kept her sane. When overwhelming problems arose in her life, Sloane knew she could count on tinkering. Whether it was engineering a random contraption or designing a new robot–a hobby she enjoyed, there was something calming to focusing on the logical.
And of course, the universe had to throw magical teleportation into the mix. That's not logical at all!
…Unless I make it logical.
She shook her head and returned to the problem at hand.
“Okay, so, metal. Sure. Let's go with that… The watch has minuscule amounts of it in this version. Mainly just the solder and battery. That’s the only reason I can think of. Everything else had metal in larger quantities.” At least it’s a theory.
Sloane cursed. That is such a stupid theory…
"Why would that be it… Magically flung to another world and all I got to keep was this damn watch."
She blinked. “Actually, why am I even talking to myself right now?”
There I go again.
She looked around again and groaned. The inside of the tent was lit by the sunlight creeping through in small rays of light. The bedroll would need to be put up, along with the wool blanket Maud had provided her. The tent itself, she had no idea how to take down. It seemed deceptively easy. She’d need Maud’s help.
What Sloane needed to do was get up and make a plan of action. The watch and all that entailed could come later. She needed to find Gwyn. She needed money. There was no way she could rely on the knights for everything, they’d done a lot already. Not to mention, they’d pledged to do more. Sloane wasn’t one to take advantage of those that provided assistance.
Never mind that they can't provide their help indefinitely.
The tent flaps shifted causing Sloane to look up as Maud stuck her head in.
“Good morning, Sloane! I hope you don’t mind. I heard you talking. So, I wanted to see if you’d like to get something to eat before leaving. There won’t be many more stops until we get to Valesbeck, so now’s the best time. Just some bread and cheese, I’m afraid.”
Putting on her best approximation of confidence, Sloane smiled. “Thank you, Maud. That would be lovely. I’m going to freshen up and I’ll be right over.”
The woman nodded and her head retreated from the tent.
After using the water left behind by Maud to clean up, Sloane headed to the woods to relieve herself. She still felt pretty gross by the time she got back to the camp, but at least she was ready to go.
Surprisingly, the knights were nearly packed up and ready to go as well. She looked back to where she came from wondering just how long she was gone. She didn’t think she had been gone long enough for almost the entire camp to be cleaned up and stowed.
Shaking her head, she mumbled, “Knights, got it.”
As she walked up, Ser Gisele turned and lifted her hand in a wave. “Sloane! Good morning, we are about ready to start traveling to Valesbeck. Are you ready? We can ask around there if anyone has seen or heard anything about your daughter, Gwyn. We should arrive by tonight, and we can stay in the inn there.”
Looking at the orc-like woman with green skin and short tusks, Sloane realized that she didn’t look quite like the orcs she knew of from stories, but more like some type of half-orc. She was actually quite pretty even with her more muscular physique. However, that didn’t detract from her looks at all. If anything, it made her even prettier with the way she carried herself with such surety.
Sloane nodded; it was good that they had decided on a plan.
I would wander aimlessly if I had to do it alone. At least until I can learn more about this world.
“I’m ready, Ser Gisele, may I ask if we can get together after we arrive to determine a course of action from there? I am one who likes to have a clear plan of action for a task. Also, if there’s anything I can do to help, please let me know. I may not be a knight, but I like to think I can pull my weight. At least until I can find a way to earn some funds.”
Gisele smiled. “Glad to hear it! Of course, we will discuss how we go forward. Here, I have a spare sword. You may hold onto it until you can acquire your own.” Gisele handed her a sheathed short sword, which for them would probably be a backup blade compared to the longswords of various looks that they all seemed to prefer except Maud and Ernald. “You can use the straps to attach it to your back, as I see you don’t have a belt to attach it to. I know it’s a bit awkward, but I’m sure you’ll be able to get used to it pretty quickly. There will be shops where we can find you some clothes in Valesbeck. Anything more and we will need to wait until we arrive in the city of Thirdghyll.”
Sloane slung the straps over her shoulders and tightened the sheath to her so that it didn’t shift too much with movement. It was angled so that she could grab it over her right shoulder. A bit of an awkward angle but she would get used to it for now. Her eyes fell on the six knights, feeling her eyes tear up a little. “Thank you, all of you. I will repay you for your kindness, and I will strive to not be an undue burden.”
Gisele straightened a bit and the knights all looked at each other. Gisele had a look of… pride? Sloane wasn’t entirely sure, perhaps it was something between all of them that she missed. Whatever it was, the orkun woman clearly cared about every one of the others. It wasn’t quite motherly, but it was a level of familiarity that Sloane had never known with someone who wasn’t family.
The only other orkun in the group, Ser Deryk, stood straight. “The honor is ours, Lady Sloane. You have given us a worthy cause,” he said.
Nodding, Gisele walked forward and then turned to address the group. “Haven’s Hope, let’s get going. Ser Maud, Ser Ernald, you two are on the wagon first. Take turns driving and let Sloane sit up front. The rest of you, let’s mount up and head out. Ser Cristole, I want you riding scout. Be on the lookout for any bandits or undesirables. Frankly, be on the lookout for anything strange. Sloane is proof enough that strange times are afoot. Ser Ismeld, you’ll be riding rear-guard. Let’s move, people.”
Sloane, once again, appreciated the efficiency of the Knights of Haven’s Hope. She got up on the bench at the front of the wagon, and Ser Ernald, who was driving first, sat beside her. He looked her way as he grabbed the bridle. “Ready, Lady Reinhart?”
She tilted her head. “I am, Ser Ernald, however, you can just call me Sloane. No Lady or last name necessary.”
Ernald chuckled. “It’s only proper milady. You are clearly from a privileged household. Perhaps we can discuss the intricacies of your society and etiquette as we travel?”
Sloane let herself show a small smile. “Of course, Ser Ernald, don’t think I don't know what you’re doing though.” She gently reproached him.
Ernald held a hand over his heart. “Why, me milady? I would never dare attempt to keep your mind off of any past or present events that may burden your heart and soul.”
Overplaying the theatrics, his face alight with mirth, he continued. “Why, I am but a simple scholar, ever in pursuit of knowledge.” He finished with a melodramatic flourish.
Seeing her raised eyebrow, he chuckled and took on a more serious tone. “Perhaps as a first topic, you could explain what it is that you wear upon your wrist?” inclining his head toward her watch as he spoke.
Sloane smiled, letting him distract her from her thoughts as the wagon started to move down the road. “Of course, Ser Ernald, this…” She held up her wrist so he could look at the watch. “...is a watch, that is, it is a device that allows me to track the time of day, check the weather forecast, track my heart rate and distance traveled, maintain a schedule of appointments, make payments, and many other useful functions.”
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Ser Ernald’s brows scrunched up in thought. “You can do all of those things, in that little piece of glass and strap? How?”
Sloane frowned a bit. “Well, for now, the watch is currently not working. Something to do with how I arrived here I suspect.” She perked up a bit, thinking about the difference in technology in their respective societies. “But, Ser Ernald, let me tell you all about the wonders of electricity and silicon. I do believe we have plenty of time.”
She took a deep breath, centering herself. Luckily the sun elf knight did not press.
Keep strong, Sloane. Distract yourself. Ignore the thoughts of all that could have gone wrong. Maintain the facade. Fake it, til you make it.
She proceeded to regale the dark-skinned elf over the next few hours with the history of electricity and various inventions and uses for it. He was highly inquisitive and insatiable in his desire for more knowledge. He asked so many questions, things she took for granted. She chuckled thinking about it, like how do you catch the lightning to use it for all of the devices? She enjoyed the conversation, and she would admit that it did distract her.
Sloane looked around at the knights that she could see. They were good people, it didn’t matter that they weren’t human. They dropped everything to help her. She wasn’t sure how long they would remain with her, but she knew that she had gotten lucky.
She had zero knowledge of this world; she needed allies. Learning about it and how to navigate it would be paramount.
An Order of Knights would be a great first choice, even if they were, as she suspected, either exiled or running from something. Their past didn’t matter, she would work with them if they helped her find Gwyn. Any knowledge exchange she could facilitate would be extremely beneficial to her.
Eventually, Maud traded spots with Ernald. The kind half-elf, or telv as they were called, was happy to sit and talk to her about her chosen profession of healing. Taking in her appearance as she started talking, Ser Maud was about a head shorter than Sloane and had long curly, red hair. One look into her vibrant green eyes, coupled with Maud’s excitement and sunny demeanor was enough to take one in completely.
Maud’s green eyes shone in the midday light and seemed to almost sparkle as the woman spoke of her profession. There was something about the woman. She had this approachable demeanor and way of speaking that was endearing. Maud seemed to genuinely care and Sloane was taken aback by the level of empathy in the woman expressed.
Sloane wasn’t extremely knowledgeable in medical sciences or biology, but she had a basic understanding that she believed far surpassed a medieval society. She sat patiently, listening to Maud’s interesting personal story.
“So, once I completed my surgeon apprenticeship, I joined the Knight Order of Havensway in a support role. However, as time went on, I joined my fellow knights more and more in their martial training. Eventually, Knight-Captain Gisele sponsored me before the Order Commander. It took another two years of training and schooling, but eventually, I was dubbed a knight by the local lord at the behest of the Commander. I have been a Knight-Surgeon for eight years now.”
Havensway? An older name, maybe? There seems to be more to that…
“Wow. The process to join a knight order is a lot more in-depth than I had imagined…” Although, she’d only done cursory research into knights in the past. Nothing crazy, it could have been the same in her world. She tilted her head. “So, the six of you are far from home now?”
Maud got a far-off look in her eye and gave a slow nod. “Yes, we hail from the island Kingdom of Blightwych. We were a small order of knights, and we had a compound that acted as our headquarters near the coast. Our–” she paused, composing herself, before continuing, “Our order was called upon to defend our port town of Havensway from a large group of Ve’rokan Raiders from the southeast. From a nation whose ambition should have been checked by our kingdom’s pact with the Lymtoria Republic.”
Sloane noticed Maud’s fists clenched so hard her knuckles started turning white. Sloane waited, not wanting to interrupt her thoughts and what was undoubtedly a difficult topic for the woman.
Maud briefly closed her eyes and then reopened them. “The raiders were well informed. Havensway was never meant to stop a coastal raid that may as well have been an invasion. The raiders numbered nearly two thousand. Our order had less than two hundred, including support personnel. The town guard combined with the small guard the local lord kept for his own manor as we attempted to hold off the raiders. Our order made a stand to hold a breach at the eastern wall of the palisade. We fought over three times our number in just that part of the fight and, in the end, we successfully managed to force them back to their boats and retreat. But not without cost. Our Knight-Commander, dead, felled while personally holding off ten men. Our order was shattered. Of the seventy knights there, less than twenty survived. The others wanted to stay and join the lord as they had families they did not wish to leave behind. The support personnel either moved on or joined the town as well.”
Sloane listened with a heavy heart as Maud recounted the tragic events that led to her and her fellow knights being far from home. She couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain and loss they must have felt.
“That’s… that’s terrible,” she whispered.
Maud nodded somberly before continuing, “The six of us formed the Order of Haven’s Hope in remembrance of our fallen brothers and sisters. We have been traveling–looking for causes to not just help others, but to help ourselves. To regain our honor and pride. While it may not seem like a cause that requires six knights to any outsiders, we understand your search for your daughter is everything to you. This resonates with us. Family. We all lost people that day. People we knew for years, that we grew up with. We will help you find Gwyn, Sloane, and maybe… maybe somewhere along the journey, we will find ourselves again too.”
Sloane knew it wasn’t the time to ask, but she couldn’t help but wonder how and why they thought that they lost their honor. And what exactly do they believe they need to accomplish in order to regain it?
She started tearing up, taking slow, deep breaths; Sloane reached over and put her hand on Maud’s shoulder. “Thank you, Maud. I know we have barely known each other for a day, but I think you and your fellow Knights are some of the most honorable people I have ever met. I’m sorry that I brought up such traumatic thoughts for you.”
Maud nodded. “It felt good to say it aloud.”
They fell into a contemplative silence. Eventually, Maud thanked Sloane for the discussion and switched places with Ser Ernald.
✦ ✦ ✦
Hours had gone by and Sloane found herself talking to Ernald again.
As they continued onwards, Sloane got to know the sun elf more. The man was filled with curiosity and loved to read. He was the man in charge of the ledgers and all the documentation of the small order. In fact, he had been the one who maintained the records and library for their former order as well. His own recollection of the event that saw their former order's demise came out as a more morbid surprise that he'd even survived.
She changed subjects quickly after that.
He spoke of all the various things they had to keep track of, especially as they crossed borders. Inside the wagon was a bookshelf and chest dedicated just to his function.
The more they discussed it, the more interested she got. She spoke of ways they tracked information and found that her reliance on digitalization ran more deeply than she could have imagined.
He mentioned how he had to juggle all of the education he had to go through with his martial training to be a knight.
She got the hint that the man was not really a fighter but maintained proficiency since traveling with the others.
It made Sloane hum in thought.
"So, you're a combat administrator, essentially. I feel like that could be the name of a military job back home," she said with a chuckle.
He laughed. "Combat administrator? That sounds like I'll be sitting at a desk with a stack of paperwork before I have to grab my sword and rush the field! Actually… huh, I don't suppose that would be much different than a planner or general."
Sloane raised a brow. She had forgotten that officers in militaries were more directly involved in combat during the middle ages.
"How are you at strategy?" she asked.
He lifted a hand to his chin. "You know… I don't think I'm too bad. Maybe you are on to something–"
"No, Ernald, she is not. Do not let him fool you, Lady Reinhart."
A horse strode forward until Sloane saw the blonde high elf woman, Ser Ismeld, pull alongside the wagon.
"We learned long ago to not let Ernald come up with any of our plans. Lest we die," she deadpanned.
Ernald put a hand over his heart as if holding onto the shaft of an arrow. "You wound me, Issy. Here I thought you were my closest friend," he replied.
The serious woman rolled her eyes.
Sloane laughed.
The two bickered back and forth for a bit. Ismeld clearly had a close relationship with the rest of the knights, but she seemed a bit standoffish with anyone not from their group.
Ernald on the other hand was clearly an extrovert. The man was fun and well-intentioned, and all of the little jokes he said were clearly meant playfully rather than anything more biting.
Their fun was interrupted by Ser Cristole calling out from ahead. Gisele rode forward to meet him. Ernald called out to the horses and slowed the wagon. Ismeld glanced back and waved–presumably to Ser Deryk.
The wagon came to a stop and Ernald set the brake before getting down. Maud appeared from inside and Sloane hopped down to follow everyone.
The knight-captain and the high elf man were standing over something in the middle of the road.
Sloane's eyes went wide. Is that…
It was.
A horse lay dead, a saddle still strapped to it.
She immediately started looking around but saw nothing else. No indication of what could have done it.
"What did that?" Sloane asked, causing the knights to pause and look at her.
Gisele exhaled. "It looks like an attack by some animal–"
Ernald shook his head. "Look at the bite marks… that is no normal-sized animal."
Cristole nodded his agreement. The high elf got up and moved toward the brush, moving it aside and looking for something Sloane couldn't see.
Ismeld and Gisele spoke quietly as they walked ahead along the road. Deryk stood away with his back to them, keeping watch.
Cristole stepped out of the brush and shrugged. "Nothing here. Anything over there Maud?"
Sloane turned her head and saw that the red-headed telv was on the opposite side of the road looking around. Her curly hair was pulled up into a ponytail, and her lips were pursed as she turned and shook her head.
"No. There are no tracks either…" she said with confusion.
Cristole looked back at the ground near the carcass. "Strange. There aren't any tracks other than a horse's here, but that doesn't mean anything. Based on the tracks it seems it walked back here, turned around, and then fell."
"There's some here," Gisele called out. "More horse tracks. Something else. Looks like a bear in size, but similar to a wolf?"
Ernald jogged over and knelt down. He shrugged. "I'd say it is a wolf's paw but it's easily two or three times the size it should be."
Maud sucked in a breath as she and Sloane approached. Something Sloane could relate to.
“That doesn’t seem right… Let me see?” Maud asked.
Sloane peeked around the telv as she looked down. After a moment the redhead stood up. “I am not sure either. It is definitely something large. It’s not a reptile. Perhaps one of the northern wolves somehow made it down here? A poacher lost their catch, maybe?” she posited.
Wait… Did she say reptile?
Cristole shook his head. “It’s still bigger than even those. I can’t think of anything regional that could have done this. Perhaps you are right and something got loose,” he said with a shrug.
What kind of animals do they have here? And why aren't they more surprised at the size?
Gisele glanced around before settling her gaze on the scattered group. "Back to the wagon. Let's move, and keep an eye out for anything strange or out of place. There are enough other tracks here for three horses, but there are no signs of struggle. Maybe it is just a single wolf or some other predator in the area. Hopefully, it has moved on."
Everyone agreed and they were soon back on the road.
Sloane was worried.
But wolves are pack animals…