The Knight of Chivalry

Chapter 21

The king took over residence of the keep of the castle and the army spent the next few days repairing the damage in the city caused by captain Rodgers and his men, it was no easy task as some buildings would need to be rebuilt and getting food to feed both the populous and the army was difficult but somehow it was done. Simon had a lot of work to do for the lord as he settled into the castle, running errands all over the city, making sure the horses were settled and countless over tasks to make sure the lord had everything he needed and that his troops were settled in and looked after as well. This kept him really busy so he didn’t have much time to spend with his friends both old and new but from time to time he would see them around the castle and nod at them when he passed the squires in the corridor, they were equally as rushed off their feet as they served their lords or knights. This activity remained the same for about a week or so and then it settled down as everyone had settled in to this new place, the lord and told Simon that the king had planned to spend another week at the castle as he was sending and receiving messages from his other army’s in the north and coordinating with them the next step to quell this rebellion. It seemed that many other northern towns and cities had started coming back over to the king when they heard about the many crushing defeats that their armies had had and they didn’t want the same happening to them. The king planned to deal with them in time but the main players of this rebellion needed sorting first of all before he would wreak justice upon the rest of the north. So he sent out scouts to find the last of the northern strongholds that was still against him, they were gone for a few days but when they returned they had good news. It seemed the last of the north had gathered in the city of Kyngjal and the fortress of Opnitwal, which was where the kings other army was heading for, so he gave the orders for his to march on the city. The city was around a week’s ride from the castle for a fast lone rider so it might take his army two or more to get there. Preparations for the march took a few days to complete and they left a force at the castle to keep it under control and help with the rebuilding effort but the main army left for the city.

            The journey to the city was not a hard one, they didn’t get attacked along the road and the marched at a good pace and so reached it just after two weeks of marching from the castle and the king was happy with this. They set up their main camp a few miles away from the city so that they could not be reached by the catapults from the city wall. Simon saw to the lord’s tent as always and had it set up in a matter of hours as he was very used to putting it up now. He then sorted out the horses and saw that they were fed and watered before sorting to feeding the lord with a good meat stew and tankards of ale. The next day Simon sorted out the lord’s armour and weapons, making sure they were ready for the coming battle. The lord himself went to a meeting of other lords to discuss the strategy for besieging the city. Once Simon had sorted out his own weapons and armour to and made sure all his tasks were completed he found that he had some free time and he wondered around the camp. It was busy with activity as some worked on siege weapons to attack the city with, whilst others sat around cook fires and were talking and drinking ale. Others were heading to or from armourers to collect or show some weapon or armour to them that needed seeing to for the coming battle, some headed to the training field to practice their skills, whilst others sort the solace of prayer or the companionship of the camp followers. Simon saw all this as he went unnoticed around the camp until he found what he was looking for, his squire mates were all gathered round a fire, talking and boasting of the battle to come.

            “Looks like you guys are real busy other here” he said and they all shouted his name when they saw him and slapped him friendly on the back and made room for him around the fire. They asked him about Captain Rodgers and the time he spent with him in the castle and he readily gave them the tale of his time in the castle. They all were very impressed by his tale, saying that he deserved to become a knight for all that he had done. He waved off such compliments saying that he still had a lot to learn and that though yes he was an able fighter there was a lot more to being a knight than that, he then enquired how they had been fairing since it was a while since they last had gathered as such. They told him of what had been happening to them, not quite as exciting as his tale that’s for sure but they still did what was needed of them and had had an adventure to a brothel in the castle before they left for this march which was a funny tale. Soon enough it was time for them to go back to their masters and serve them again, Simon hoped they would be able to meet again soon and they agreed before they parted ways once more. The lord was going over some papers when Simon returned to him, he made no comment as to where Simon had been but asked for a meal to be prepared for him and that he needed a fresh draught of ale. Simon obliged and was kept busy the rest of that evening looking after the lord and talking to him. The next few days saw them be very busy with preparations for the siege, this time it was going to be a straight forward one as there was no secret way into the city as far as they knew and the walls weren’t as tall and think as those on the castle nor its gate as strong. The generals thought it best to launch the attack at night to catch the defenders unawares and sow chaos within the city with fires and to make sure he was well rested, Simon would sleep during the day before the attack was launched.