“Phew, that was close.” Ben exhaled in relief.
The last thing he wanted was to accidentally create more enemies, as he had done with the scorpion riders. Wanting to know more about the knights, he looked at them better.
Their heater shields had an elongated point at the bottom, nearly touching the ground. Ben thought they looked very similar to the ones the Templar knights had used towards the end of their last Crusade. They had been painted white with a black coat of arms, which consisted of a white sword pointing down on a shield, surrounded by two crescent moons meeting in the middle.
Behind the dozens of knights, one was mounted on an armored horse. His armor appeared more extravagant and in better condition than the others. His head panned around the area where the van was parked as if he were scanning the situation; pointing at various areas around the van, he appeared to shout muffled orders.
Within an instant, the standing knights huddled together and created a shield wall. They then raised their swords and pointed the ends at the van. Taking short steps, the ends of the wall started to surround the van like a pincer.
Just as Ben raised his hands and said, “Take it easy, guys.” A blue light flashed behind the van, reflecting off the knight's helmets and the white parts of their shields.
The mounted knight raised his hand and shouted something. His subordinates ceased their movements, put down their shields, and put their weapons into their sheaths. They returned to their original positions and appeared to wait for further orders.
Ben glanced through the side mirror and noticed the portal guy standing there with his arms crossed. The portal flashed twice before the watery surface in the middle dispersed towards the ring, and it all vanished.
The mounted knight got off his horse and started making his way through a path that had been created for him.
Ben pulled on the door latch. When it opened, a cool breeze brushed across his entire body, causing him to shiver slightly. Even though clouds covered the entire sky, it appeared to be much brighter than the evening sky in the desert area moments before he drove through the portal. He felt they had traveled a considerable distance away from that part of the world.
Turning his attention back to the knights, he wasn’t sure if they would be making more hostile moves. He hopped over to his safety net, the portal guy. He figured he was either an important person or just so powerful they all feared him. Nevertheless, he instantly felt the tension melt when standing beside him and sucked in a breath of fresh air.
Looking around, he noticed they had landed in the courtyard of a medieval castle. Even though it did have similarities with the ones he had seen in the history books, it looked more like something out of a fantasy movie.
The courtyard was a giant square surrounded by three-story ramparts. Occasional guard towers rose above them at the corners and gates. The small bodies of archers stood at their tops, looking down at the situation, holding on to their bows. Ben saw that the entire outside of the castle had been constructed from thick mortar and stones that appeared larger than a person.
Behind the towers, he could see an entire backdrop of mountains, which looked similar to the Himalayas. Cloud cover obscured their peaks, so he couldn’t tell if they were snow-tipped, but he figured if they were that high up, they would have to be.
When he looked at the castle itself, his mouth dropped open.
What the heck! How did they do that?
Most of the castle's interior looked like it had been built into the side of a mountain. These people had chiseled out a whole section of it so that it was perfectly flat, and there were even small slits in straight lines that went across it at various intervals. He counted twelve floors and wondered if more were in its interior.
Impressive!
The portal guy cleared his throat.
When Ben glanced down, the mounted knight stood before them.
“Sir Alfred of Wesport, a warm welcome as usual.” The hooded guy stated.
Alfred removed his helmet, which caused his long brown hair to fall on either side of his shoulders behind his thick beard. He grinned and nodded, “Welcome to the Hollow Keep, Master Blue. I should’ve known all this was you. Well, you are the only one who uses portals to travel here.” He glanced at his men, “I apologize for the hostile response upon your arrival.” He turned to the van, “It’s not every day when a large box on wheels arrives in your courtyard and nearly crashes into your men.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
A large box on the wheels?
A little annoyed that Alfred had labeled his van in such a way, Ben sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. That was until he realized that was what it would look like to someone from a medieval setting.
I’ll let you off the hook for that one. Besides, I wonder if Blue is his actual name or just an alias due to the color of both his eyes and magic.
“There’s no need to apologize. I always say that it’s better to be safe than sorry. At least I know I can count on you to get things done. Anyway, there is much to do. We need to speak with Le’Vieux. I figured portalling directly into his office would have caused no small damage to your castle.” Blue motioned towards the van.
“It’s understandable. Grand Marshall Le’Vieux would have sure been annoyed about that.” Alfred nodded, “Alright, let’s not waste any time then. If the two of you kindly follow me, I’ll take you there.” He glanced at Ben, “Don’t worry about your...” then shifted his focus to the van with a frown and shrugged, “What is that thing, anyway?”
“It’s a van,” Ben replied. He noticed Alfred’s blank expression and rephrased it in medieval terms. “It’s a storage cart that runs without horses.”
“So, a magic cart, then?” Alfred asked with a raised eyebrow.
Ben sighed before nodding. “Alright, you can call it that.”
“Great… My men will guard your magic cart. It looks more like a caravan if you ask me.” Alfred finished before heading towards the large iron gate before the castle.
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Ben raised his eyebrows.
When they passed the gate, he saw that the workstations filled the area. The clanking of tools rang throughout the area as countless smithies, carpenters, and various other artisans were hard at work. There also appeared to be a few production lines where arrows and other projectiles were being made. It looked almost like a Victorian factory, except for the lack of industrial machinery.
Ben wanted to look at the craftsmanship of the items and learn more about how they worked but was forced to hurry as Alfred was power-walking to their intended destination.
At the end of that area, another massive gate had to be opened before they entered the castle. A large communal area met Ben’s gaze. Many candles, hearths, and chandeliers provided enough light to give the place a welcoming glow. It was filled with hundreds of knights and thousands of soldiers. Even some castle staff appeared in that area, rushing around performing their various tasks.
Given the castle's sheer scale, Ben knew it must have taken many decades to cut and move the stone required to carve such a structure. Though there was magic in this world, he presumed it could have been built in a weekend for all he knew.
At the end of that area, a corridor led to a large set of stairs that went up multiple floors.
When they reached the eighth floor, Ben was out of breath. His legs were sore and seemed to wobble like jelly a little. He wasn’t sure if that was due to being tired from the nightmare he had experienced earlier or if it was due to his legs being worn out from delivering parcels.
Leaning on the railing, he looked up and noticed the floors above were not lit. The way the staircase entered the darkness made it look like it went on forever. Glancing at Alfred, he felt a little sorry for the knight, who had walked all that way wearing a full suit of armor, but realized the man had made it all that way without breaking a sweat.
Multiple knights guarded a door there and saluted Alfred when he approached them. They promptly opened the door and cleared the way.
When Ben entered the room, he noticed it was dark. Some of the candles had burned out, and the hearth looked like it needed a top-up from the pile of coal near it. Still, it was enough for him to see the various weapons, armor, and tapestries along the walls. There were some fine leather furniture pieces and even a hand-drawn map. Apart from those few things, the room was mostly empty.
An old man sat at a large desk at the far end where the slits in the wall were located. He had snow-white hair that fell to his shoulders and a short, precise beard. His armor was immaculate, gleaming with a mirror finish as if made from chrome and trimmed in a shimmering gold. It made Alfred’s set look mediocre in comparison.
The old man put down the piece of vellum in his hands before standing up and giving everyone in the room an intense look.
Ben held back a chuckle as he thought the man looked like a medieval version of Santa Claus.
Alfred saluted, “Grand Marshall Le’Vieux, my apologies for the abrupt interruption. May I present to you Blue and his companion…” he turned to Ben as if he was waiting for a name.
Ben saw the awkward look, “It’s Benjamin, but everyone just calls me Ben.”
“…Ben. Master Blue wishes to convene with you about an important matter.” Alfred finished after turning back to the old man. He then moved to the side and stood at attention.
Le’Vieux stared at Ben with a raised eyebrow before shifting his attention to Blue, “As always, it’s great to see you, old friend. I assume that stir in my courtyard was your doing.”
Blue shrugged, “You get a commotion when you don’t want your castle damaged. You’ll see with your own eyes later why I didn’t come directly here.”
“Sir,” Alfred interrupted with a cough, “There is much work for me to finish. May I leave?”
“One day, you may take my place here and must attend meetings like this with Blue. I think it’s time for you to start getting comfortable with all this. Besides, once we are done here, I may have an important task for you.”
“Yes, sir.” Alfred nodded, taking a place beside him.
“Alright,” Le’Vieux started, turning back to Blue, “It’s been almost half a decade since you were last here, and there are a few things that I also need to discuss with you. So, I will let you get things started.”