Their approach didn't seem initially hostile, but Tilly couldn’t help but notice that each rider held their weapons at the ready as their formation rode out to meet his group. Once they got within range, Tilly’s Identify pinged, and he learned several interesting things.

Nine of the ten riders had the class;

Dhampire Cavalry

with levels ranging from the low forties to the mid-fifties.

The warrior at the head of the formation was a painfully handsome vampire with long blond hair streaked grey at the temples. He was decked out in traditional plate mail and held his open helm under one arm, and his reins in the other.

Level 74 Knight of the Sanguine Order

He held the same class as Sir Michael, but his armor was much less… otherworldly. Sir Michael’s armor had no gaps and no discernable straps or joints, whereas this Knight wore something more like what Tilly would expect from the Middle Ages. It was ornate to be sure, marked along its edges with runes that glowed faintly but it didn’t hold a candle to the intricacy of Sir Michael’s. This Knight also rode out with his face uncovered, his Vampiric nature on full display.

While Tilly noticed all of these details, they fell to the background as the cavalry’s mounts came into full view. Each one seemed to be a nightmarish combination of horse, and skeletal hunger. They all varied in some way, some showing the greyish hairless skin of the Strigoi, some with a plump purplish hue. But all had an equine head with sharp fangs reaching down past their lower lip.

Vampiric Nightmare [Mount]

“Ho there! I recognize you Young Hilbert… and Sir Michael, I am surprised to see you away from your duty in the capitol… Who are these that accompany you and what is your business past our borders?” The Knight called authoritatively.

Sir Michael offered a simple salute in response, not overly enthusiastic, but probably keeping within the boundaries of decorum. Hilbert, however, threw on a huge smile at the Knight’s approach.

“Sir Cador! My, it is good to see you! We are on a very important errand and would love your assistance.” He waved warmly.

The Knight pulled up the formation and looked down on them, confusion slowly souring to suspicion, as he took in the others in the group.

“Errand you say? How is it I have heard nothing of this from the Queen? I gave her my report this morning and she spoke nought of you, or a group of foreigners passing into our lands… especially from enemy territory.”

“Report this morning… Of course, you did.” Hilbert muttered darkly through the side of his mouth before continuing in a loud voice.

“Yes well… There is a chance she doesn’t know about this particular… Errand.”

At that, the Knight’s face hardened, and the eerily silent mounts shifted foot to foot.

“You can’t expect me to allow you to pass. There is a reason I am trusted with this post. At the very least, I will need to hold you in the fort until I can get in contact with the Queen.” he said, in a weary voice.

“That is not acceptable,” Ichiro said, stepping forward to address the group.

“At this point, you don't have much of a choice traveler.” The Sir Cador said, his hand dropping to the pommel of his sword.

“Well now! Hold on a minute! Sir Cador this is not what it seems, but we really are in quite a hurry!” Hilbert said, stepping between the two groups and appealing to the commander of the fort.

The cavalry looked ready to ignore the Wizard’s Apprentice, and Tilly rested his hands on the handles of his hatchets, not willing to be intimidated. Then Gorock took it way too far and drew his weapon snarling. Ichiro turned on him making a fierce negative motion with his hand, while Hilbert stepped even closer to the Knight's group, whose mounts danced around him toward their group.

Sir Cador’s eyes were hard as his companions reached for weapons.

“Wait! We are from the newly integrated Faction currently under siege by the Horde!” Tilly shouted over the din of weapons being loosened.

“Yes! Sir Cador! If I can just have your attention for a moment more! Our business is with the Queen and it is urgent. The Horde expansion continues unchecked, and these… ambassadors, hold the key to our continued survival!” Hilbert shrilled with both his hands in the air urging calm.

Gorock reluctantly sheathed his gladius and Ichiro turned back to the group as Sir Cador’s eyes narrowed further.

“Continued survival? I never thought to hear such weak-willed mewling from one of Merllyn’s Apprentices. Since our excursion two months ago into the heart of the Deadlands, we haven’t seen a single Strigoi within ten miles of our border. They are scared, Apprentice… The border is secure, and we are under no obligation to intervene in distant conflicts!” He finished with a stubborn flintiness gleaming in his eyes.

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At those words, Hilbert completely dropped the Mr. Nice Guy act. A fierce snarl put his fangs on full display, and runic circles started to dance around his upraised hands. Which suddenly seemed much more threatening.

“You bull-headed idiot! Would you just listen for a moment!” His voice boomed, releasing a concussive blast that whipped back everyone's clothing.

“Was your son not one of the ones injured in the ‘Excursion’ as you call it? It has been painted as a victory, but half of the high table came back with that debuff, and we have yet to find a way to cleanse it. He and the others now lay entombed, perhaps never to wake, and still you cling blindly to this foolish non-interventionist idea! Just who is the mewling weakling here?”

There was a sound like a crack of thunder and before Tilly’s eye could register what had happened, Sir Michael stood before Hilbert with his mace out, catching a blow that would have cleaved the Apprentice in half. Sir Cador’s reluctant, but dutiful mask was gone, as he pushed down against Sir Michael's weapon with animalistic fury.

“Don’t you dare sully my son's sacrifice, Peasant!” The wild-eyed knight screamed, spittle flying from his fanged mouth.

Hilbert’s magics winked out, and he stepped right into the path of the blocked blade so that it was only a hair away from cutting his neck. The cavalry behind the enraged knight milled about in uncertainty, and Ichiro signaled everyone to wait, his eyes watching the conflict, seeing more than the rest of them could.

In a voice barely above a whisper, Hilbert answered, “I told you, Sir Cador… They hold the key. I have seen them clear the infection with only a breath. We need to get to Camelot, and we need to get there fast.

The wild flickering in the Knight’s eyes slowly dimmed and he looked at the group as if seeing them for the first time. “They can cure it?”

“Yes, they have even offered to help in exchange for an alliance. Something that we need desperately. It is not enough for you to let us pass… I need some of your mounts temporarily bound to this party. I have seen the Horde at their gates. They will finish the winnowing in a day, and attack in earnest soon after. If they break through, we will all be out of time.”

At that, Tilly saw Ichiro’s ears twitch, and Tilly shared his surprise at the previously unrevealed intel.

The Knight seemed to be on the brink of relenting before the emotion on his face drained away, reverting to its previous mask. Tilly watched as the commander thought through the risk, and made his conclusion, stepping away from Sir Michael and lowering his weapon.

His expression took on that reluctant, dutiful cast that Tilly had seen in leadership hundreds of times. The face of someone unwilling to stick their necks out doing the right thing. That cowardly mask had been responsible for the deaths of more than a few people in Tilly’s past life. When life-saving action butted up against protocol, professional reputations got laid on the line... and that's when you would find the coward's hiding behind rules and regulations.

That couldn’t happen here. Over one hundred thousand people were depending on them to make something happen, and Tilly wasn’t going to let their mission get caught up in stupid red tape. Every hour meant more deaths on the wall, let alone whatever Hilbert had just said about the ‘winnowing’.

Tilly stepped right into the Knight’s face as he was about to open his mouth, forcing eye contact,

“You don’t know me, Sir Cador. But I have been marked by the same force that has infected the Horde. The same thing that now has your son. The Strigoi think they have found a new form of power, but by now, they are most likely almost completely under its control. It will not stop until it consumes everything it can reach. We can and will help your son, our nation needs you as much as you seem to need us. Don’t delay us here.”

The Knight looked Tilly up and down, taking in his strange armor, and low level as he considered his words. Then a complicated series of emotions crossed his features, ending in a hard-eyed resolve. He sheathed his sword and swore softly to himself, casting an accusatory glance at Sir Michael and Hilbert.

“How is it that you two are always in the midst of trouble? If I send you on and you are unable to deliver on this promise, I will beat you to death myself... if it is the last thing I do.”

“Thank you Sir Cador! You won't regret this, we promise!” Hilbert answered exuberantly, before adding,

“Now, I know you have a command to maintain here, but we need mounts for these five if we are going to make it to Camelot at speed…”

Sir Cador looked at the Wizard Apprentice like he was pushing it, but then he looked back at Amelia and Franklin struggling to remain standing.

“Can you not leave a few behind?”

“No.” Ichiro and Tilly answered at the same time.

“We cannot risk our true objective by splitting the party,” Ichiro added.

“And what objective is that?” The Knight replied, suspicion rekindling in his tone.

“They seek the city of Requiem.” Hilbert cut in, "Sir Cador, we only need you to temporarily offer up five of your bonds for the trip to the capital, nothing more. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can make our attempt to restore Constantine and the others who slumber."

Sir Cador let out a long exasperated sigh and turned to his men.

“Oh, alright. Rich, Ed, Thaddeus, and Erec, dismount. Blood is short all across the kingdom, so your companions will be paying their own blood price. My men and I will dismiss our bonds in 6 hours. That is more than enough time for you to make it to the capital.” He said, moving toward his freakish horse creature and taking down his weapons. After he had them in his arms, and his men had reluctantly obeyed, he turned back to the group.

“Sir Michael, I do not like what you are, but I respect your place at the table. Do not give me cause to regret this.” He said, weapons in hand. Sir Michael saluted him formally and reached for something at his neck. Hilbert turned to the rest of them, as Ichiro moved closer to whisper,

“You said nothing of mounts. How far away is Camelot and why did you not speak of this Winnowing earlier?”

Hilbert had the good sense to at least look chagrined as he answered, “It will be less than the six hours they are giving us. As far as the mounts are concerned, I don’t like them any more than you, but they are necessary to complete both of our missions. The time frame does not change the fact that we still need each other.” He explained as the soldiers led their Nightmares close to the group.

“You five will need to allow them to partake of your blood. This will form a temporary bond with the Nightmare and it will let you ride it as long as the bondholders maintain the manifestation.” Sir Cador explained to the group, a pitiless smirk on his pale face.

‘Just how much else has Hilbert been holding back?” Tilly wondered to himself as his own grey-fleshed, fanged Nightmare approached, led by a sour-faced cavalryman.