Before sunup the next morning, Aidan, Gwenne, and the other Alleb Knights packed and saddled up for their journey. Each knight had a unicorn to ride. And there were seven more to help spread out their load of supplies. The pack-laden steeds meandered slowly, grazing on the dew-drenched grass on the southern side of the castle. With all living beings sound asleep, it was as quiet as The Realm could get— at least it was until Captain Valithor rode out of the castle to lead them.
“Look alive, thou lumpish, beetle-headed canker-blossoms!” he bellowed, the thrill of adventure filling his already powerful voice. “We must ride hard to reach the Cold River by nightfall. There we’ll camp, for no one travels the Grimwalk at night! Then, we make haste for Mithegard to do great service for the King!”
One by one, they spurred their unicorns forward past the seven fountains, up the stone thoroughfare, out the main Gates, and into the predawn twilight.
They rode at full gallop. Even without much training on riding unicorns, Aidan kept up. But Aidan knew that was only because Captain Valithor had given Aidan the calmest, most surefooted unicorn in all of Alleble’s stables. Still, it felt pretty good, thundering across the countryside, Sil Furyn at his side.
The warmth and peace of the King of Alleble coursed through each of them as they put leagues far behind. They kept on until just after the sun had risen. They stopped then, but only for a brief respite and a light meal.
As the sun began to climb, they were off again. The unicorns seemed tireless and raced at great speed for long spans of time. Even the stocky beast that bore Mallik had little trouble bearing his prodigious weight on pace with the other steeds.
Other than the heavy armor bouncing up and down while he rode, Aidan was having a splendid time. Of course, he knew danger lay ahead, but so far it had been like an incredible field trip with more breathtaking sights than he could count. Occasionally, friendly dragons of many colors circled above them, and huge oxenlike beasts called blackhorne herded in the tall grasses.
They traversed bridges of ancient stonework and heard the friendly brooks trickling beneath. Here and there they passed through bands of forest, some with the massive towering trees and others with thickets of thin willowy trees and carpets of fern. It was an altogether wondrous land, though unfortunately for Aidan, most of it went by in a blur.
They rode for hours, and Aidan’s mind focused on very little. But as the sun began to set, their pace slowed considerably, allowing Aidan and Gwenne to talk.
“We shall be breaking for camp soon,” Gwenne advised. “I see a branch of the Cold River up ahead.”
“I’m ready to camp too,” Aidan groaned. “But why camp at the Cold River? It doesn’t sound all that comfortable.”
“It is not comfortable at all,” she explained. “But it is the last decent place for making a camp. And there is at least some tree cover. To go past that point would mean camping on the Grimwalk at night.”
“Oh,” said Aidan. “No thanks.”
Gwenne grinned. “Just remember, you were the one who wanted to know so much about the dangers on the Grimwalk.”
“I know,” Aidan grumbled.
Finally, they reached the edge of the river. The sun slid down in the distance, an angry red mass between the distant peaks of the Prince’s Crown. Captain Valithor held up a hand and commanded, “Halt, thou reeking, fly-bitten bootlickers! Unburden your unicorns and pitch camp!”
By the time they had their tents set up and sleeping blankets unfurled, the sun was gone, leaving nothing more than a faint glow on the western horizon. After sharing a small but tasty meal, the Twelve Knights of Alleble gathered around a pleasant fire. The Captain spoke quietly with Kaliam, Matthias, and Tal. Gwenne seemed to be recounting some humorous story with Mallik and the twins. In fact, everyone seemed to have someone to talk to . . . except Aidan.
He watched them, the eleven Glimpses, their cloaks swept back and armor gleaming with firelight. They all look so heroic, Aidan thought. What am I doing here? I’m not even a Glimpse!
Aidan turned from the fire and wandered over to sit on a fallen tree. Even though he had been dubbed a knight and encouraged by everyone, he could not shake the feeling that he did not belong. And even though he had been trained well and had worked harder at swordcraft than anything he had ever done, he still was terrified by the idea of fighting someone to the death.
“Hail, Twelfth Knight!” came the deep, gravelly voice of Mallik. He strode up, hefting his great hammer, and stood before Aidan. “I could not help noticing that you left our little fireside gathering.”
“I, um, was getting a little too hot,” Aidan lied. “Being so close to the fire with all this stuff on, y’know.”
Mallik’s eyes narrowed under his coppery brows.
“I grow weary of the twins—all their talk of shaft and bow! Care you for company, or . . . do you wish to be alone?”
“No, I don’t want—I mean, I’d like your company. Would you like to sit down?”
“I don’t sit,” Mallik replied with a wink.
Aidan laughed. “Seems to me you sat fine in the saddle! Better than I did.”
“Riding a unicorn is different,” replied the Glimpse. “I need not bend very much in the saddle. It is getting on and off that truly tries my patience.”
They shared a laugh, but it became silent and awkward for a few moments afterward. Mallik twisted one of the braids of his mustache. Aidan fingered the hilt of his sword. The stars began to poke out in the darkening sky.
“You must be feeling somewhat homesick,” said Mallik. “Being so far from your home will stretch you like nothing else can.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Aidan replied. “I do miss my mom and dad. And I miss my friend Robby. But I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t belong.”
Mallik nodded. The light of the fire flickered in his eyes. “Lad, I think I know a bit of what that feels like. Swearing allegiance to King Eliam didn’t exactly make me the most popular Glimpse in the Blue Mountain Provinces.”
“What do you mean?” said Aidan, leaning forward.
“Well, nowadays, most of my people are followers of King Eliam, and we fly the banner of Alleble. But many years ago, forty years as you would reckon it, the Blue Mountain Provinces were governed by its own Glimpses. We had our own king too, King Brower—a decent Glimpse really, but stubborn and proud like the rest of us. We didn’t want Paragory or Alleble to rule over us—though we traded goods with both kingdoms. So when I came back from Alleble with eyes glinting blue, nobody wanted to have anything to do with me.”
“Blue eyes?” Aidan said. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Why, the eyes gave it away!” Mallik replied. “It was a sign that I had chosen. What are you, blind, Sir Aidan? Or have you not noticed that no matter what the base color of anyone’s eyes, they all glint blue if you’ve chosen to side with King Eliam?”
Aidan almost fell off the log, the knowledge hit him so hard. “So that’s why everyone in our team, everyone in Alleble . . . yes, now I understand.”
“Blue is a color of purity,” Mallik explained. “And ever since the Prince; nay, he is no prince! Ever since that traitor Paragor was thrown down, the eyes of every Glimpse tell the tale of whom they serve. But when we get to Mithegard, you will see their eyes shine out green, for that is the color for the undecided—for those who are their own masters. And if we meet the enemy, Aidan, the foul Glimpses who follow Paragor, their eyes will glint red—red for the innocent blood they spilled in the rebellion.”
An image of blood-red eyes flashed into Aidan’s mind, and he pulled his cloak tighter around him.
“I wonder that you had not already learned this,” Mallik said. “But it is good that you know. So you can understand how my people reacted to a ‘blue eye’ in a sea of green. They shunned me, made me feel like an outsider in my own land. I, uh . . . hope we haven’t treated you so poorly?”
“No, not at all,” Aidan replied. “The Captain’s been a little harsh, but he treats everyone that way. Even so, I know he cares. Everyone seems to care. Oh, I don’t know what my problem is.”
“Problem, eh?” Mallik grinned. “I have found that there are very few problems in life that cannot be solved with a great big hammer!”
This time Aidan did fall off the log. He lay on the ground and laughed so hard it hurt! With a hand from Mallik, he finally got up.
“Thanks, Mallik,” Aidan said, “for everything.”
“We’re together in this, lad,” he said. “Remember that.”
Weariness from the journey caught up with them all, and each retired to his or her tent for the night. Aidan was about to snuff the candle in his lantern, but the urge hit him to use the bathroom. Of course, they had no portable toilets in the wilderness of Alleble, so Aidan wandered off to find a private place. He walked away from the tents and toward the edge of the Cold River. It was just a narrow branch of the river—barely a running leap to the other side, if one was interested. Aidan had no interest in leaping across, for, somehow, the other side of the river seemed spookier. There were tall, leafless trees with gnarled branches swimming in a sea of waist-high dead grass that brushed this way and that in the chilling breeze. No, Aidan would wait until he had the other eleven Knights of Alleble with him before he crossed to that side of the Cold River!
It did look cold too. Aidan looked down from the edge into the inky black water that was far too still for a river. Aidan imagined what dark things could inhabit such water—long, segmented gray worms, slimy black fish with bulging eyes, sleek lizards, or snakes! Blech! Aidan shivered and stepped back from the edge.
It was not easy undoing his breeches, but he managed. He stood there, taking care of business, when he saw a flicker of light on the other side of the river. He looked up and squinted, but it was too far away to identify. Only seconds later, another light flashed on— bright yellow, a little closer. Then, two or three more lights. Suddenly, lots of them, maybe twenty or so—in the tall grass, near the trees, some only thirty yards away! Aidan’s mind whirled in a frantic attempt to think. There were more now, perhaps a hundred, but what could—Oh no! TORCHES!
Aidan stood paralyzed. Torches could mean only one thing: The wicked Knights of Paragory had somehow found them!
Aidan thought about the others—he had to warn them! If more than a hundred Paragor Knights attacked their little band of twelve with no warning, they would all be slaughtered! That thought urged Aidan to move. He yanked up his breeches, secured them as best he could, and raced back for camp. He began screaming urgently, “The Paragor Knights! They’ve found us! Wake up! They’re here! Captain Valithor, the Paragor Knights are here!”
Aidan expected to feel an arrow stab into his back as he ran closer to camp, but somehow he was able to keep running and screaming. In a matter of seconds, Captain Valithor and the others burst forth from the camp. Nock and Bolt, arrows fit to their bowstrings, were up in the crooks of a tree. Mallik, his hammer at the ready, bounded to Aidan’s side.
“Where, Sir Aidan? Where are they?” bellowed Captain Valithor, scanning for the enemy.
“Across the river . . . there, you can see their torches!” Aidan shouted back.
The knights ran fiercely to the river’s edge and looked across, but then, something peculiar happened. The intensity of battle vanished from their faces, and to Aidan’s complete surprise, they all started laughing.
“What . . . what’s going on?” Aidan asked, feeling frustrated.
That seemed to make things worse, for several of the knights were holding their sides from the pain of laughter. Kaliam and Acsriot actually fell to the ground and heaved in hysterical fits!
“Hey!” Aidan screamed. “Why are you all laughing? Huh? Aren’t you worried about the Paragor Knights?”
Finally, after the roar simmered down to small bursts of snickers and giggles, Captain Valithor came over and put a hand on Aidan’s shoulder.
“Come, Sir Aidan,” he said tenderly, while obviously trying not to break into fresh laughter. “Come, let us go look at your Knights of Paragor!”
With that, the powerful Captain took Aidan by the hand and led him over to the river’s edge. Then, to Aidan’s horror, the Captain took Aidan under one arm like a sack of potatoes and jumped across the river to the other bank. He carried Aidan over to the closest light and put him down. When Aidan looked closely at the light, he saw that it wasn’t a torch after all. It was a web nestled between the stalks of grass. And in the web was a spider with a glowing rear end that lit up all the web around it.
“They’re called lantern spiders, Sir Aidan,” explained the Captain to Aidan’s complete embarrassment. “Their abdomens light up to attract moths and other insects into their webs.”
The other knights stood watching from the other bank and burst into a new round of laughs. Gwenne did her best to shush them, but a moment later, something else happened and even Gwenne could not restrain herself.
As Captain Valithor again picked up Aidan and leaped across the Cold River, Aidan’s breeches, which he had not yet secured properly, slid right off his legs and fell into the murky water.
Aidan landed on the other bank wearing nothing but a nightshirt and long underwear.
Kaliam used his broadsword to fish Aidan’s sodden breeches from the water. He handed them to Aidan, grinned, and walked back to his tent. Aidan had never felt so mortified in his entire life. First, he had scared everyone half to death because of some stupid glowing spiders! Then he had pretty much flashed all of his companions! At least no one teased him about it as they walked back to camp—except, of course, Gwenne, who couldn’t resist.
“Well, Sir Aidan,” she said, biting her tongue to keep from laughing, “I guess those spiders just scared the pants off of you, eh?”
Aidan just gritted his teeth and ignored her. Some courageous knight I am! he thought, flopping down on his fur-lined bedroll. What good could I possibly be on this adventure? Maybe I could be the Royal Jester, and when the knights become sad, I could do something stupid to make everyone laugh!
Thoughts like those picked at Aidan until he fell into a light sleep. A few hours later, in the darkest, quietest part of the night, a small sound awoke Aidan.
Nothing alarming, just a sound that broke the silence of the sleeping world in the wee hours. Instead of going out, Aidan lifted up one corner of his tent to see what had made the sound. He was thinking that perhaps a moonrascal was crawling around out there looking for leftovers from their dinner.
It wasn’t a moonrascal at all. It was Acsriot, and he appeared to be leaving the camp. Curious, Aidan crept out of his tent to see where Acsriot was going. Aidan was just in time to see Acsriot leap over the Cold River and disappear into the dead grass and the darkness beyond.
Humph, Aidan thought, scratching his head and going back into his tent. I guess Glimpses need to go sometimes too!
Aidan went quickly back to sleep, laughing quietly to himself as he imagined Acsriot being frightened by a bunch of lantern spiders.
