A Tale of Two Knights

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The night was extremely tough. Obviously expected, if you are carrying a sleeping child over a large forest in pouring rain. Ludo's back ached quite a bit, but he had done so much weight exercises, it wasn't that big of a deal. Surprisingly, the boy slept through the rain like a baby.

Ludo grew tired, he was awake for many hours and the trip to the village didn't seem to get any less difficult as he walked. On the way, he had also spotted multiple venomous spiders, and other bugs and dangerous insects. There was no way to create a fire, and finding a way to sleep would be insane. A branch twisted back into position as Ludo moved it, and it came hurtling back at a ferocious speed. Ludo ducked, and when he did, he saw a pair of gleaming white eyes. He heard a snarl or two as well. Could this be a tiger or a jaguar? He thought, contemplating what to do. After a brief moment of thought, He placed the boy down on his shield, and took guard. The feline lept out and revealed itself to be a panther. Its teeth were yellow, and by the sight of it, it seemed to have not eaten since weeks, maybe even months. The rib cage was clearly visible, and the panther's eyes symbolized a sense of kill or die. Ludo stayed his distance, and was tempted to attack first, but he knew if he did, he would surely die. If only he had his shield. Ludo looked back at the shield. He had made a mistake. Why would he care about the boy? He didn't know him, in any way, shape or form. Why am I protecting him? Ludo thought. He grabbed the shield from underneath the boy, and attempted a thrust at the panther. The panther leapt on to the boy and decided that it was better to kill a weakling than someone who could defend itself. At this moment, Ludo wasn't sure what to do. I don't know the boy. He thought, while at the same time thinking this is why Alfonse died. Because I didn't care. Memories flushed back into his mind, as he remembered the cause of Alfonse's death.

It was before Aestainia fell, and Ludo was dressed in ceremonial white armor, an armet for a helmet, asymmetrical pauldrons, and a cape that extended down to his knees. He wrote a letter to Alfonse telling him to meet him at this exact spot. 5 PM sharp. Alfonse, confused as he was, decided to meet with him. Alfonse was the one worthy of the blade. He was destined to free everyone from Dravens terror. In a swampy territory, he had met a witch, who had shown his future.

Free the man, slay the ogre

Beware of the mysterious soldier,

He will attempt to swish and slash,

If he succeeds we are doomed alas...

Alfonse remembered the poem she read to him. Beware of the mysterious soldier he thought. Who could he possibly be? Alfonse didn't think much of it. It was probably Draven anyway, he would be surprised if it was anyone else. When Alfonse received the letter from Ludovicus, he thought hmm, probably wants a duel, so he wore his armour, and equipped his shield and sword.

When he had arrived. Ludo didn't say anything. "So this is it" He replied in a serious tone. He was obviously sniffling for some reason. "Wha, what are you talking about?" Alfonse asked, confused as to what he was referring to. "The sword, the power, I can't help myself. I must take it." Exactly when Ludo stated that, Alfonse knew what was happening. This entire week he had been wondering who the mysterious soldier was, but he had no idea that it was his best companion. Frozen in a state of shock, Ludovicus took the chance to bludgeon the poor man by half-swording. I thought I trusted you. Alfonse's last thoughts were. You were the only one I trusted. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid you are too weak to take the mantle of the worthy..." Ludo pushed the body over and took Alfonse's sword with him. He plunged it into his own chest, and blood spurted everywhere. Expecting to regain the powers of the worthy, when the light faded and the wind stopped howling, all that had changed was a large white scar on Ludo's chest. He was confused on how it didn't kill him. But he didn't feel any new sort of power, could it be... he wasn't worthy? Shaking his head, Ludo couldn't bring himself to believe that the worst case scenario happened. He wasn't worthy, and he had killed the one worthy of it... Ludo's head sprung back in nausea, and he erupted into regret and sorrow. The worthy was no more. The worthy was no more.

Ludo plunged his sword into the foul beast, and the damascus steel cut into the flesh like a sharp knife cuts steak. The panther howled in pain as the blade sunk deeper and deeper in its flesh. The blade was lodged in, but Ludo had no intention of killing the poor thing. He let the panther go, but at least the boy was safe. He lifted the boy onto his arms and carried him the rest of the way.

It was extremely late once he finally arrived. As he had expected, The town was extremely small. There was a tavern and inn, but Ludo had no money. Walking inside the tavern with the boy, he turned his sights on the bartender. The bartender was a jolly man in his late 40s, and was currently cleaning the glasses while chatting with the customers. Ludo waited until their conversation was over, and then headed to the barkeep, however, the barkeep looked in shock at the boy. His face turned pale white, and his mustache drooped. "Golly, what happened to my nephew?" He exclaimed. He grabbed the boy from Ludo's arms, and woke the boy up. "Uncle, is that you?" The boy said groggily. Suddenly after regaining his memories, the boy exclaimed "Unc, my family is gone!They've been taken by mysterious men, and I was saved by the armored knight in the cloak!"

Concerned for his nephew, The bartender turned pale white. He knew what was going on. He knows why they were taken.

The bartender and nephew went on their knees and cried, and everyone in the tavern stood in silence. After a while of this, The barkeeper then kicked everyone out of the tavern. Everyone then went into the inn, as it also had a tavern. Inside the inn's tavern, most people were gambling. Ludo knew he had no money, so gambling was his only chance to get some. He went over to a table and saw a fat man chuckling after winning a game against a skinny man who had run out of money. "What did I say? I always win my gambles." Ludo approached the man.

"I would like to gamble against you." He stated. The man chuckled, and said "I'm Devon, the best gambler in the town. What makes you think that I would gamble against someone like you?" "I take my chances' ' Ludo said, with Devon snorting at his response, with everyone else in the tavern snickering. "Whatever you say pal. What about a game of dice. Just try to guess what number it's gonna land on. How about that?" Ludo agreed, and they chose a number beforehand.

Ludo chose the six, and Devon chose 2. The dice man rolled the die inside a glass bowl. It took a while for the result to settle, and Ludo was correct. The die landed on six dots. Devon, extremely infuriated, yelled at Ludo various curses. "Idiot, who the hell do you think you are? You come in here dressed in full armor, with an Escalion coat of arms, and expect to come out here unscathed? GET HIM!" Suddenly, all the people inside the tavern surrounded Ludo.

The bartender stood in silence, sweating hardly, unsure of what to do. Clearing his throat, he said " Everyone remember, no brawls or fights inside the taver-" a knife was suddenly stuck in the man's throat before he could even complete the sentence. Now with no one to stop them, they began advancing. "We can turn you in, and lord Draven would give us a huge reward" One person stated. "The armor must have at least cost a couple thousand medallions. That's enough for my entire family to sustain for a year!" another voice shouted. It was clear that this town, and this Inn in particular, was a Volnairian establishment. The Volnairian kingdom became so powerful, it was practically the entire world. The kingdom of Fabril was practically nothing compared to it. The people grabbed pitchforks, spoons, butter knives, stools, anything that could do damage. Devon had an evil smirk on his face, and Ludo knew that smirk would be wiped off in an instant, and that Devon would regret ever cheating the deal.