Sylvia and I remained where we were as the armored knights on horseback thundered up the hill in our direction. Fade just sat on his haunches to watch as well, keen eyes fixed on the approaching group. I wasn’t actually all that afraid of these guys, personally. I’d dealt with knights in the past, and that was before I’d acquired a Skill that was all but purpose-built to grind through their armor. Well, that was if things went south in a hurry. That would be…pretty bad for our actual mission, though.

Meanwhile, Hook had done as he’d said and faded into the background behind us. Metaphorically.

Eventually, the knights reached our position, slowing to a trot before us. I was able to get a good look at them, now.

Their full-plate armor itself was fairly unremarkable from the examples I’d seen in the past, being mostly unadorned. It stopped at their waist, however, leaving them wearing hardened leather greaves instead. Belted at their waists were black and yellow tabards bearing the image of a snarling wolf, perhaps the sigil of Clan Thunderheart. I’d never thought to ask Bleddyn much about his home and people.

We’d been a bit preoccupied at the time.

Both our groups of three stood staring at each other for a moment before the lead knight broke the silence. I noticed that they never took their hands off of the pommels of their sheathed swords, however.

“Hail, travelers,” He said, in a guarded tone of voice. “What brings you to this land, in these troubled times?”

I kept silent as Sylvia stepped forward to address them, as we’d planned. We’d decided to let her be the main spokesman for us, considering she was the one who had the closest connection to Grey.

Sylvia inclined her Mithril head at the knights. “Hail and well met, Knights of Tŵr Gronn. I am Sylvia Hart, daughter of Grand Marshal Grecyton of the Order of the Eclipsed Dawn,” As she continued, I could see the back two knights jerk in surprise at her words. Meanwhile, the lead knight kept still. Sylvia gestured at the two of us. “I and my husband have been commanded to give warning and message to you and yours, by the Council of the Uprising. There is much Clan Thunderheart should be made aware of. We humbly ask to be brought before the Council of Elders, so we may deliver our messages.”

One of the knights tried to whisper something to the other, but the lead knight swiftly put a stop to that with a look. When he turned back around, I could see through the slit in his helmet that his stare was more considering than wary now. Slowly, he nodded at us. “Very well. At the very least, you can find succor within our walls as I bring your petition to the elders. I am Captain Cadoc of the Thunderheart Carregwyr. May I ask for the names of your companions, my lady?” He asked, as his gaze trailed over me and Hook. I noticed that it paused for a moment landing on Fade, almost incredulously.

That seemed to be a common reaction when people were faced with a horned wolf.

Said wolf just panted, watching the knights with curious eyes.

I stepped forward and dipped my head, drawing the Captain’s attention. “Greetings. I am Nathaniel Hart, Sylvia’s husband and Headmaster Greycton’s apprentice. With us is Grimgar Stonecloak, a soldier of the Order assigned as a guard by our superiors. And my…companion, Fade.” I nodded down at the Spirit Wolf at my feet.

‘Grimgar’ grunted a short greeting to the Thunderheart knights, in a manner that was extremely reminiscent of Azarus.

Cadoc nodded to me, his eyes lingering on the disguised Hook. “Very well. Sylvia, Nathaniel, and… Grimgar. Follow me, and I shall lead you to the safety of Tŵr Gronn’s walls. Mind your step, though. These hills are more treacherous than they appear.”

The knights reared their mounts around at that, and began to trot down the incline of the hill we were standing on, clearly expecting us to follow.

Sylvia and I exchanged a glance and did so in comfortable silence. Fade just stood up and padded after us silently.

‘Grimgar’ followed after us, just as quietly.

…………………………………………………

The trio of Carregwyrian knights led us down the hill and up to the gates of the Thunderheart settlement, apparently named Tŵr Gronn. There Captain Cadoc exchanged a few words with the two guards standing outside the main gate, both of whom were wearing much more common chain and leather armor. One of the guards saluted by raising one arm in a vertical bar, before sprinting through the open gate. It looked like he was heading straight for the large building near the center of the small town.

One thing that I noticed, though, was that the villagers had an odd reaction to Fade. Whenever they noticed the Spirit Wolf, to a one they stopped to stare at him in amazed, open-mouthed shock. To my own surprise, some of the Clan Thunderheart members outright bowed in his direction, waiting for him to pass. I could tell that Fade was puzzled by this reaction himself, from the odd look he’d give these people.

Maybe they just had an affinity for wolves? I think I remember Bleddyn swearing by one once, all those months ago. Couldn’t be sure, though.

Once he was done leading the way, the Captain stopped and turned to us, removing his helmet.

I could see a slight resemblance to Bleddyn, surprisingly. Not strong enough that I suspected he was related, but enough that I could definitely say that my old friend had come from the same group of people.

The slave turned revolutionary had some pretty distinctive features, after all.

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Cadoc was a handsome man with dark, dark brown hair and a short beard gracing his chiseled jaw. Sharp, forest-green eyes pierced from a heavy brow as the Captain nodded at our group. “I’ve sent word ahead. For now, please follow me,” He said, sliding off of his horse. He handed the reigns to a stable boy that hurried up to him, and then turned to jerk his head to the other two knights. They saluted in the same manner as the other guard had, and then trotted off, leaving us along with the Captain.

Cadoc nodded at us and gestured to follow him through the gate. When we did so, I frowned to myself at the air in the village.

There was an almost palpable sense of tension in the air of the homey little village. A surprising number of guards were visible throughout the town, with the walls being nearly adorned with them. The people were scurrying through the streets and squares with furtive eyes and nervous feet, sending each other anxious smiles as they tried to accomplish their chores.

Hmm.

Did they already know about the horde?

I met Sylvia’s eyes to find them tinted with her own suspicion and concern. However, she just shook her head.

Cadoc led us through the village and up to the large hall-like building at the back of the settlement. Once there, he turned back to us. “Wait here, please. I shall see if they are ready to receive you.” When he turned and opened the door to the hall, I jerked back in surprise at the full-on shouting that I could hear suddenly echo out. Fade’s lupine ears flattened themselves against his head at the cacophony. It was loud enough that I had to assume the hall was enchanted to block sound from exiting it in some way. I swear, it sounded like there were at least a dozen people near on screaming at each other inside. I couldn’t actually make out any of the words with how the people in the building were yelling over each other.

The Captain walked through and shut the door behind him, abruptly cutting off the shouting match.

Huh.

I was startled by the sound of ‘Grimgar’ speaking up behind us, although I was careful to hide my reaction. Sylvia likewise made sure not to turn and face the spymaster of the Nocturne Division. “Confirmed,” He said in a low voice. “They know about the horde. I managed to pick that out. I don’t think they know the extent of it, though. Proceed as planned.”

I wanted to turn and give the dwarf an incredulous look but refrained. How the hell did he manage to get that much out of that brief little window of noise?

Guess there was a reason he was the boss.

It didn’t take long for Cadoc to return, slipping out the door as quickly as he could. I noticed that the shouting had lessened a bit, only just. The Captain gave our little group a slightly strained smile. “The Council has agreed to see you. However,” His tone hardened slightly. “I must insist that you leave your weapons at the door. One of my men will watch them for you, just on the other side.”

“We have no objections, Captain Cadoc,” Sylvia said calmly before I could. She unbelted her short sword from her waist, holding the sheathed blade at her side. “We will relinquish them.” I nodded along to show my support, reaching down and removing my own Oninite blades from my belt.

Captain Cadoc nodded sharply. “Then let us proceed. The Council awaits.” Having said that, he opened the door once more, standing off to one side so we could enter. Just on the other side of it was a long wooden hall with a closed pair of double doors at the end.

Now that we were inside, the shouting seemed to have stopped. Well, mostly. I could still hear some muffled arguments just past the large doors at the end of the hall.

I counted at least six more knights standing guard in that hall, each of them standing at attention. Just to the right of the entrance was a large table, nearly sagging under the weight of…a great many weapons. Seriously, I could count over a dozen different swords, maces, and axes of all shapes and sizes. One of the knights was keeping watch on them I think, from the way he was standing next to the table. Sylvia and I set our blades on it with no more needed instruction and then followed Cadoc down the hall. The Captain didn’t break his stride, as he nearly barged through the doors. The arguing inside abruptly stopped, as Sylvia and I followed Cadoc into the main chamber.

It was surprisingly large in here. To my eyes, it almost looked like an auditorium. It was circular in shape and built entirely out of wood. There was a long, solidly built high table of some kind along the far wall of it, built in a half circle. Arranged behind it were well over a dozen men dressed in varying degrees of finery. Some were in clean-looking furs and leathers, some were dressed entirely in armor albeit with their heads exposed, and some were dressed in silks that I would ascribe to some of the Herztalian nobility that I’d met. Nearly all of them were older in some manner, with their hair and beards shot through with grey and white.

All of them looked like they’d been shouting at each other for hours, from the dirty looks some were even now shooting at each other.

But three people in particular stood out to me.

The first was an elderly man who was sitting in a higher chair than the others. This man looked to be the oldest person in the room, outshining even Grey in old man energy. His long hair and beard were entirely white, hanging over his black and yellow robes. His amber-colored eyes were keen, however. They stared at us dispassionately over a long, hooked nose.

Two men were standing in the center of the room, both looking to be related to each other in my eyes. However, more importantly to me, I could tell they were related to someone else.

That person being Bleddyn.

I swear to God, one of them looked like an older version of my old friend. He was one of the people dressed in furs and leathers, and looked to be pulled straight from a barbarian novel cover. He was huge and powerfully muscled, with long grey-shot black hair and intense stormy blue eyes, with a full beard growing from his granite like features. The other guy was one of the people in noble silks. I would guess that he was the first man’s brother, from the family resemblance. He was smaller and…a bit more weaselly looking, with shorter hair and similar coloring.

Everyone in the hall, even the two guys in the center, was looking at us in suspicion.

Tough crowd.

I put it out of my mind and followed Sylvia into the center of the room, not far from the two men.

The elderly man in the high chair spoke first, breaking the silence. “We welcome you to the halls of the Calonawr clan, of the Mynydd peoples, son and daughter of Ghrian Dorcha.” He said, in a surprisingly deep voice. “I am Elder Einion, head of this Council. What brings you to our lands this day?”

Before we could even speak, the silk-dressed man in front of us did first. “Hold,” He said in a suspicious tone of voice. “How do we even know these people are who they say they are? They have presented no form of identification, and those uniforms could have been stolen from the dead.”

Uh.

That was a good point, actually. We…didn’t have any kind of identification.

Before I could dwell on that very long, the other guy in front of us snorted. “Use your head, brother,” He said scornfully. “It is well known that Ghrian Dorcha crafted for himself a daughter made of purest Mithril. You cannot disguise that sheen, nor the presence of such purity,” He gestured to Sylvia, drawing the eyes of the rest of the Council. There were acknowledging murmurs from them, as the other man flushed slightly in humiliation. As he fumed, the man who had defended us nodded our way in a surprisingly respectful manner. “As the Elder said, be welcome in these halls. I am Gruffyd, Chief of this Clan.”

Well.

Glad we got that settled.