It appeared to be a glorious spring day in Alleble. The sun was climbing, and a gentle breeze stirred the great banners hung outside the main gatehouse of the castle. Still, Kaliam felt uneasy that the dragon riders had not returned from their mission in the Blue Mountains, especially now that Robby was in Alleble.
Kindle, the armory keeper, had procured fitting armor for Robby, and Kaliam helped Robby put it on. “So Aidan really defeated an army all by himself?” Robby asked as Kaliam slid the breastplate harness over Robby’s head. Kaliam nodded.
“Not exactly by himself,” Kindle said with a wink. “Or are you forgetting how Sir Aidan managed to navigate Lady Gwenne and the others through the stampede without getting stomped?”
Kaliam frowned with mock anger. “Yes, well, of course King Eliam was with Aidan in that battle.”
“I should say!” Kindle exclaimed with a laugh that made his ample belly shake. He turned back to Robby. “So, why do you ask, lad?”
“I dunno,” Robby replied, running his fingers over his new gleaming silver armor. “I guess it’s just that things are so different now. Back in my world, when Aidan and I first met, well . . . Aidan wasn’t good at much.”
“Ah! I see now,” said Kindle. “You used to be top knight, eh? And you are worried that Sir Aidan has passed you by? Is that it?”
Robby shrugged. Kindle went on to say more, but Kaliam held up his hand. “To serve in The Realm of Alleble,” Kaliam said, “you must put aside all such jealousies.”
Each busy with his own thoughts, Kaliam and Robby left the armory en route to the training yards behind the main keep. Kaliam wondered why he had such a nagging uneasy feeling about Robby; Robby wondered if Kaliam held something against him.
The few citizens of Alleble who were out on the avenues nodded respectfully to their Sentinel and his companion. But some of them did more than nod. Three elderly Glimpse women walked by, staring and whispering. Robby heard one of them say, “Is he one of them?” But then the other two ladies shushed her and whisked her away.
“What was that all about?” Robby asked.
“Oh, well . . . they do not often see beings from the Mirror Realm,” Kaliam replied. “Especially one so handsome and knightly as yourself.” Robby laughed, but he wondered if that was all there was to it.
After many winding passages and several flights of stairs, they turned a corner and Robby gasped. “I have never seen anything like that before!” he said, staring up at the great white stone faces of mountains.
“Pennath Ador!” Kaliam exclaimed. “The Mountains of Glory! It is said that when the first rays of the dawn sun shine between those snowy peaks that great glory will be won by those who are pure of heart!”
“Righ-ight,” was Robby’s only response. The mountains were dizzying in their immense grandeur, and somewhere in the back of Robby’s heart he wondered what it might be like to find some winding path and attempt to scale them.
“Here we are!” Kaliam announced. Robby beheld a network of wooden fences, several archery ranges, and a large field and pavilion that reminded him of a racetrack.
“These are the private training yards of the Elder Guard, the most highly skilled warriors in all of Alleble. Most of them,” Kaliam said, glancing northward, “are on a very important mission in the Blue Mountain Provinces. So we ought to have the yard pretty much to ourselves.”
“Will you tell me what my mission is now?” Robby asked.
“In time,” Kaliam said as they entered a fenced-in ring. “I would test you first on the training urchin, but alas, it is under repair. So we will just have to give it a go the old-fashioned way. King Eliam told me that you have considerable skill with a blade. Is this so?”
“I guess I’m pretty good,” Robby replied. “But I don’t really know how I compare to the other Knights of Alleble. I was trained—”
“By your father,” Kaliam finished the sentence. “He is the human twin of Lord Rucifel, Paragor’s right hand. Yes, I know. Rucifel’s swordcraft is lethal, but we shall see.”
Robby twisted and leaned to test the limits of his armor. “My father said I was a little better than a beginner, but Count Eogan said that I am a gifted swordsman. I think he was just tryin’ to flatter me.”
“Did you say Eogan?” Kaliam asked.
Robby nodded. “Did you know him?” Robby asked, looking afraid. “He said he was a former ambassador from Alleble.”
“I did not know him,” Kaliam said. “We have had dealings with Count Eogan, and he certainly was no ambassador of ours. Masquerading as one of us, Eogan stirred up quite a bit of trouble with our allies. If only I could get my hands on that scoundrel.”
Robby looked downward. “You won’t see him again.”
“How can you be so sure?” Kaliam asked.
“I . . . I killed him.”
“Why?” Kaliam asked.
“He tried to stop Aidan from entering The Realm. I had no choice. He would have killed Aidan.”
“Oh,” Kaliam replied. “Well, I am glad Eogan’s treachery has come to an end, but I am sorry for the ordeal you have been through. Just remember, we are at war with Paragor and his allies. What you did was just.”
“I know,” Robby said, and he turned back to his Sentinel. “But I don’t like to kill.”
“Neither do I, Robby, neither do I,” said Kaliam.
“Sir Kaliam, don’t you get used to killing?” Robby asked.
“No. No true servant of Alleble does. We fight to defend our land and our allies. We slay when we have no other choice,” Kaliam said.
Robby stared at the mountains. Kaliam’s uneasy feeling around Robby had strengthened. Can I really trust a former servant of the enemy? The thought just imposed itself in Kaliam’s mind. But he immediately shook it away. After all, he mused, I did propose marriage to a former servant of the enemy! And Robby had shown no signs of duplicity or hidden evil—just the opposite, actually. Still, I will feel much better when Robby has made the good confession.
At last, Kaliam dragged a barrel out of the center of the ring. “These are not the finest swords in the land,” he said to Robby with a wink. “But they are far better than the first weapon Aidan ever used. Now, choose a blade.”
Robby went to the barrel and sorted through the weapons. He took out several—all broadswords—but one at a time he put them back. Growing frustrated, he finally settled on one. He carved a swift two-fisted C-shape in the air and frowned. “Don’t you have anything heavier?”
“Heavier than that?” Kaliam asked. “That is a claymore!”
Robby smiled apologetically. “I like the length,” he said. “But it just doesn’t seem like it’ll pack the punch I’m used to.”
“What is wrong with the sword?” came a gruff voice from behind the fence, and presently Kindle, the armory keeper, and Lady Merewen appeared.
“The lad has a claymore,” Kaliam replied. “And he says it is not heavy enough for him.”
“Really?” Kindle whistled. “You must be a mighty lad to wield a heavier weapon than that.”
“M’lord,” Lady Merewen said, “why not let Robby try your sword? It should be heavy enough.”
“It would indeed!” Kindle hacked a laugh. “Last time I tried to handle that, I thought my shoulders would pop from their sockets!”
Reluctantly, Kaliam drew his grand broadsword. He presented it to Robby grip-first and said, “If it is too heavy for you, I will search the other barrels in the yard. I am sure we can find—”
“No, this is great!” Robby said, and he turned and whipped Kaliam’s blade toward the fence, stopping within an inch of striking it. “I like this, Sir Kaliam!”
“Yes, I see,” muttered the Sentinel. Lady Merewen stifled a laugh, and she and Kindle left the ring, choosing to watch from the safer side of the fence.
Still grumbling, Kaliam chose the claymore and moved to the opposite side of the ring. “Stand you ready?” Kaliam asked.
“I guess so,” Robby replied.
The word “Begin!” was barely out of Kaliam’s mouth when Robby bolted toward him. He slammed a high stroke against Kaliam’s claymore, so hard that the sound made both combatants’ ears ring. But with their blades locked at eye level, Robby shoved with all his might and Kaliam lost his balance. He stumbled backward, and when he looked up, he found the tip of his own broadsword level with his throat. Lady Merewen and Kindle were speechless.
“You cannot fight like that,” Kaliam protested. “A knight with a lighter blade would cut you to ribbons!”
Robby considered Kaliam’s point. “I guess he could try,” Robby replied.
Kaliam gestured and Robby returned to his spot. “Again!” Kaliam yelled.
And again Robby bull-rushed. This time Kaliam was ready. He absorbed Robby’s first blow and used it to spin around. The next thing Robby knew, Kaliam had the claymore suspended three inches from the back of Robby’s neck. “That was cool!” Robby said. “Can you teach me that?”
Kaliam smiled, pleased to have evened the score in front of his bride-to-be. “There is much I can teach you,” Kaliam said. “In time. Let us tilt again!”
On the third duel Kaliam rushed out to meet Robby’s charge, and their blades met with a tremendous crash. Kaliam tried to roll off the blow and spin like before, but Robby ducked it and slapped away Kaliam’s attack. Their weapons struck again and again, long, sweeping, heavy blows—always followed by grunts from the two fighters. Sweat poured off of them both and the straining muscles of each glistened.
Kaliam began at last to wear Robby down. He backed him into a corner, but Robby did something Kaliam did not expect. He turned the broadsword so that when he struck again, it would not be with the sharp blade, but rather the full flat of the blade. Robby chopped down with all his might on Kaliam’s claymore near the hilt. The force of the blow was such that it knocked the blade from Kaliam’s hand. Robby thought he had won, but before he could deliver the final shot, Kaliam grabbed the claymore and in one motion rolled and brought the blade point to Robby’s back.
“Uh, okay, I give!” Robby said.
Kaliam lowered the sword. “How did I beat you?” he asked.
“I didn’t think someone as big as you could move that fast,” Robby replied, shaking his head.
“Most cannot,” Kaliam said. “Still, you acquitted yourself well with my broadsword. I will see if something like it can be found for you to use more permanently.”
“You mean I passed the test?” Robby asked. “I’m a knight now?”
“You have more than enough skill with a sword to be a knight,” Kaliam said. “But there is more to it than that. Go now with Kindle. He will take you to Guard’s Keep for the midday meal. Afterward, we will meet again, and I will show you your chores.” He winked at Lady Merewen. “One of them in particular was Aidan’s favorite!”
“Well?” Lady Merewen asked after Kindle and Robby left the training compound.
“Robby has no classical technique,” Kaliam replied, absently massaging his forearms. “But what he lacks in style, he makes up for in brutality! He is reckless, almost maniacal with that broadsword. Why, his initial charge is an onslaught of one person! I would gladly have him guarding the walls of our city, and I pity any enemy knight who scales a ladder only to meet Robby and his heavy blade.”
“Why do you still have hesitation in your manner, m’lord?” Lady Merewen asked.
“I wish I knew . . . for certain,” Kaliam replied, staring into the skies to the north.
“Is there something you guess, then?”
“Tonight, after Robby’s Confession Ceremony, I need to speak to him and ask him a question. Then I will have some wisdom and not just a hunch.”
“You speak in riddles, m’lord,” Lady Merewen said.
He turned to face her and said, “Perhaps it is one of many things I have learned from our King.”
She laughed but then pointed over Kaliam’s shoulder. “Kaliam, look!”
And there in the skies to the north were hundreds of gray winged shapes. A horn call came on the wind, and it was answered as the trumpets of the city rang out.
Kaliam sighed with great relief. “The dragon riders have returned!”
