Men & Monsters

A Meeting of Minds

Reluctantly, Eira accepted the knight's offer. Taking her cloak with her, she closed the door and was immediately motioned toward a seat at Bernard's table as he set two glasses down. She softly accepted, all the while looking around his otherwise unorthodox bedroom.

The chamber itself was crude and cluttered, paintings of scenery and surprisingly realistic portraits of royals and knights alike were all crooked on the walls, and he had only a thin slit in the stone wall for a window. His bed was messy, and all sorts of gadgets, gizmos, and strange devices alien to Eira clumped up any available table or shelf. Even the books on his study shelves were disorganized.

The only thing that seemed sacred among the mess was a mounted suit of armor, standing tall and proud with its metal gauntlets resting on the hilt of a grand sword. Like the other knights, there was a tunic over the armored chest. Unlike the standard uniform of purple and red, however, this one was special; a red lion had been stitched onto a design of black and gold, and the dark steel plating of the armor itself had clearly seen its fair share of use. Eira couldn't help but admire the beauty in it, as well as the countless military metals hanging on the wall behind it. It didn't surprise her that this was also the tidiest part of the room.

"Wine?" Bernard offered.

"Oh, no thank you."

"Good. I don't have any." He replied when he popped the quark off a bottle of hard liquor and poured into both of their glasses. Immediately he downed his drink before filling it up again, when he set it down and looked to the girl. "Now...what was your name again?"

"Eira." She replied coldly as she took her seat. "Eira Aune. I believe you made me out to be a fool this afternoon."

"Eira...Aune...hmm." The elderly man simply scratched at his chin. "I, um, must have been under the bottle when we met."

"Quite."

"My apologies Miss Aune, you seem like a very lovely young lady."

"Thank you." She forced a polite smile as Bernard downed another drink only to refill it. "I see you are a knight." Eira looked to the suit of armor beside them. She seemed uneasy for a moment, knowing that if he was a knight, he worked with Tanner. The elder soldier stared at it for a longest time, a most concerning, glossy-eyed look over his rugged and wrinkled face.

"Aye. I once was." Swallowing the lump in her throat, Eira looked back, and smiled again, this time more sincerely.

"Yes?"

"You haven't met High General Tanner have you? The one in gold plates?"

"Yes I...have."

"That was once my position. I was great. The best. Had little kids run up to me in the streets as if they were my own, always smiling and laughing when they saw me. That was my favorite part. Not the wars, not the fighting, but coming home, seeing those children safe, seeing my friends safe. The people were like a family to me." He smiled warmly, if for but a moment, as he grew lost in thought. "But...that was long ago. I don't like to reflect much on it anymore."

"Why is that?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, it's just...the way you killed the Coffin Spawn. You did so quite well." The two of them smiled much more warmly to each other. Bernard, just before taking another drink, set the glass down.

"I suppose I did didn't I?" He chuckled. "Like I was just a young chap again eh?"

"Thank you for doing so by the way."

"Tis a knight's duty Milady." Bernard said proudly as he stood up with a drunken misstep. He walked over to the suit of armor and eyed it as if it was an old friend, and knocked on its chest plate. With its hollow clank he smiled. His knuckles rested against the tunic, and he could feel the metal continue to vibrate long after the pings dissipated. It was as if it were his way of knowing that his old suit, his old friend, was alive. "Aye, tis part of chivalry. Unfortunately we don't see much of that anymore. In my day, we were guardians, protectors of the people, no matter what their trade or economic position was. Today, these brutes do whatever they want. Food, drink, women, they'll take anything and anyone. Can take a farmer's land, life, and freedom right from under 'em if they pay enough to the right lord."