We arrived on a small encampment near a local stream. With only two small campfires burning and the amount of tents being few short of ten, I concluded that it should only hold 20-30 people, but a nearby log house made me doubt my calculations. It might hold more people in better position than these I now see before me. 

Coming to a halt the horse's reins were handed by William to another knight that came to greet us. When William jumped down from his horse, I was genuinely surprised on how big the height difference between us was. I mean, I'm sixteen and he's somewhere in his late thirties and I'm more than head and shoulders taller than him. My bewilderment was both increased and decreased as I saw that everybody else in the camp was around the same height as he was.

After the knight who had taken the reins and guided William's horse to the resting area came back, it was time for introductions. With the horse knight starting: "I'm Sir Gareth, the second in command in this camp and currently only knight next to Sir William." Gareth wasn't wearing plate mail armor either, but he at least had coat of plates, a jerkin similar to mine, but with metal plates sewn inside of the fabric and chain mail under it. His head was covered by mail coif, the chain mail "hood" knights sometimes wore in movies. I could see that under the coif he had no hair, but the open face part showed that he had grown long, slightly graying beard to a length I think is compensating for baldness. With serious eyes and thigh pressed eyebrows he had the look of hardheaded and serious man, but his mouth slightly hanging open with chewing motion revealed that he had no enthusiasms for this at all. 

I was then greeted by the other, non-knight soldiers in the camp that after greetings stayed in general vicinity so that I could give my name for all of them at the same time to save time. With some of the soldiers showing obvious contempt towards me I decided to ignore most of them and press in my memory only the rare few that didn't. First was Sam the Giant, named so because he was head taller than the rest, so about head shorter than me. He was also wider than the rest with his stout figure and looked like a wild man with his black hair grown long and full beard hiding half of his face. Not that I'm one to talk about looking like a wild man. At the beginning he seemed really tense and looked me with eyes pressed tight, but when he started talking, in voice so high pitched that it completely dumbfounded me. I mean a high-pitch falsetto like coming out of a man taller, wider shouldered and much more stout that the rest is quite surprising, but that was cleared when he started laughing in his natural deep bass, not even baritone but actual bass voice and commented on how "That gets them every time". Were friends now, but that got me thinking that maybe William was telling the truth about knighting court jesters when they make a lucky throw.

The second man I chose to commit in memory was the only one wearing armor. It wasn't full suit of armor, but compared to the others who wore leather armors and chain mails of different designs with no unifying theme, his chest plate, open burgonet-type helmet and elbow-length  gauntlets, all made from polished steel did stand out. He had blond hair under the helmet he didn't bother removing and air of indifference, but as it wasn't directed at me and he didn't seem to have any problem talking to me he passed. Oh, his name was Alcott. 

Third was cowardly, at least towards me, squire, or the "head squire" what ever that was, who seemingly ran errands for William and an old man who didn't come to greet me. With short, light brown hair that stuck to his temple and gray eyes, he looked like me before the change, but shorter and rounder. He was surprisingly intelligent or so I gathered from what others talked about him, probably because the old man was the group's doctor, scribe and the guy in charge of counting and moving the equipment and rations. So he probably learned a lot by following him. Ralph was his name.

Others didn't really meet my quota, but I do remember a fourth person too. The man with balding head and magnificent mustache and round face and fat body, who came to me with grasping his hat. He was the chef of the group and was worried about my eating habits, with the bloody clothes and the blood dried around my mouth and jaw. He inquired whether I want my meat cooked or should he deliver it raw. Didn't bother with his name, but answered that anything is fine, for some reason I kinda wanted to eat some amount of the meat raw.

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With that over I gave everyone the name John I had used with William as the one to call me with, not that it's that far from reality, as my name is Johnny. William called me to the cabin to discuss about the forest I had been found near, so I guess the log house is the captain's quarters?

"So, is your name really John, or were you lying from the start? And what about last name?" William started as soon I sat down on the bench on the other side of the table he was sitting. "It's close enough be my real name and I don't have a legal last name, because I was never knighted." Might as well go with half-truths. "So what kinda half-breed are you then" He drops the bomb he wasn't supposed to be interested in. "Not sure, I don't know exactly what the other half is, but the other is human." I keep going with half-truths. "Reason to be in the forest or near it?" "Got lost" We keep the talk going as he pours as some mead. "Sorry about the lack of wine, but luxury is hard to come by here in the wilderness." He apologizes. "I just hope I'm not an angry drunk, never drank before." Or a hungry one I continue in my mind. "We can't afford to spend enough mead or ale to get some of your stature drunk, so don't worry." He laughs.

After the drinks are poured he starts asking more: "Where did you get those clothes, I mean I don't think any normal ones would fit you." That actually throws me out of the game for while, as I never thought how weird it was for the clothes, that were little short for me, to fit me even this well. Even the gloves are like custom made for my weird, long-fingered hands. "Just found them lying around in the wardrobe." I finally confess after minute of silence. "Where might this wardrobe be, if it holds clothes for your kind?" "It was in the place that I left when I got lost in the forest." I return to half-truths. "So what, a village of your kind? Is there more of yous?" "Well I have seen three pairs of eyes similar to mine." He looks at me for a time and nods. "Is this village near the forest or in the forest?" He then asks, putting the weight in the end of his sentence. "I would say it's on the other side of the forest." He looks at me with slight interest in his eyes and says "I know these are half-truths, but for the death of me I can't figure out what you're trying to hide." 

We decide to put the discussion to rest with me refusing to answer, so it's my turn now. I look at William, whose appearance I haven't paid much attention before and see that he's around thirty with face of man of twenty, no beard or mustache and slightly hooking nose. With light brown eyes, mild character and blonde-brown hair, which is combed in one the most hideous comb-overs I've ever seen, he kinda looks like the boss-of-small-company-type person. He did have the soldier's posture and nobleman's bearing whether he stood or sit and you could see the muscles under his woolen over shirt. 

And I begin the barrage of questions: "So how where you knighted?" He tells me story of the battle of Morrigan's  pass, where he fought on the side of now late king of this kingdom. Apparently he gained knighthood and the name William Hardhelm when he stopped an axe strike aimed at his commander... With his head. The comb-over is to hide the scar and the bald spot that came with it. He didn't even know there was someone aiming at the commander, he just happened to walk in the front while fighting completely different guy at the same time. Not that he ever told the commander. I guess those lucky throws have indeed knighted half of the kingdoms knights. "So how come someone who has saved the life of his commanding officer and fought in and got wounded in a war for the kingdom was demoted to non-official post in middle of the nowhere?" He looks down for a long time before he answers: "I worked, fought and bled... For the losing side." We finished our mead without talking.