Norbert turned away from the inn door and wiped the last traces of ale from his lips. It was good to be home, and Bruna would not mind him having a quick drink to refresh himself after a hard hot day’s ride. He smiled at his brother-in-law who was already sitting astride his mount. Looking across the street, he saw Ulrich talking to that snob Mistress Joanna, the wife of the vintner and a mighty handsome golden haired wench.
The boy turned towards him but did not acknowledge his presence. Norbert saw Joanna nudge the wench who turned. Strewth, it was the woman’s daughter, has she grown up and out, he thought. The girl hurried after his son and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, but lingered just a bit longer than she should. Well-done lad and her mother obviously approved, he thought.
Ulrich totally lost in his own world walked straight past his own father, so Norbert gave him a hearty smack between the shoulder blades. ‘Well hello there son,” he said to the startled boy, ‘it’s good to see you too.’
‘Father!’ Ulrich exclaimed and threw his arms around his father. ‘Mother will be so pleased to see you.’
‘That’s what I’m looking forward to. How is she?’ he asked.
‘Fine, but missing you terribly.’
‘Good. Let’s have a look at you boy,’ Holding his son by the shoulders he looked him up and down. ‘Hm, not as tall as I would expect but you’re getting a good set of muscles, and by the looks of things you’ll have a barrel of a chest.’
To emphasise his point he thumped him with the back of hand on the chest. The boy flinched away in pain.
‘Come on I wasn’t that hard.’
Ulrich rubbed the right side of his chest.
‘I know you just caught me awkwardly’ said Ulrich, then noticing the mounted warrior, ‘greetings Uncle Dafied.’
The warrior looked down at the youth.
‘Come,’ Norbert yelled at him, ‘let us walk with the boy. I can see he has a lot to tell us.’
Dafied dismounted and the little party took the lane out of the village towards the smithy.
‘I see that the little Idela has grown up a bit,’ he chided his son and laughed as the boy turned crimson. ‘I think you found a goodun there, she’ll keep you warm at night and from what I could see there’s plenty to play with.’
To Norbert’s right, Dafied sighed uncomfortably.
‘Have you heard of Serilda?’ Dafied asked Ulrich, changing the subject.
‘Yes, she’s the woman, who escaped the Dragon because she wasn’t a virgin,’ Ulrich replied.
‘Well we met her son,’ said Dafied. ‘He’s getting quite old himself now but he told us her story.
‘When your great-grandmother was a little girl, Serilda was the wife of a great warrior and everyone said what a great beauty she was. She had a daughter who had inherited her looks, so much so it was said that they often taken for sisters.’
Norbert listened to his brother-in-law telling his son the story and conjured in his mind the image of two raven-haired beauties.
‘One day whilst her husband was away fighting,’ Dafied continued, ‘she received word that he had been killed and soon afterwards she learnt that her daughter had been selected for sacrifice to the Dragon. She didn’t tell her and sent her away on an errand. When the selector’s men came, she put some ribbons in her hair and smiled sweetly at them, presenting herself as her daughter. Taken in by her beauty they believed her and took her to the pit at Denholme.
‘Now, as it was a holy day there were to be two virgins sacrificed. At midnight, she and the other girl were chained to posts and left alone. She talked to her companion and kept her spirits up. Soon the sky grew light and they grew scared, as they knew the Dragon fed at dawn.
‘Before long they heard it screeching in the sky then high above them it came into view. It circled the pit making sure that no one was waiting in ambush then landed in front of the girls. It approached Serilda and smelt her over checking her closely. Unsure it examined her several times. Then left her alone and turned to the other girl and before Serilda could count to ten the Dragon had devoured the poor thing.
‘When it had finished its meal the Dragon turned to Serilda and lifted her chains off the post and gently carried her in its talons. Then it flew high into the sky and set her down some miles from the pit and flew back to its lair.’
Norbert looked at his son who was soaking up this tosh like an infant.
‘Then what happened?’ his son asked.
‘She fled from Runedor to Lahbland as she knew she would not be safe in this kingdom.’ Dafied concluded the story. As if remembering something he said, ‘Look what the sword you made for me did.’ He quickly grabbed the large shield strapped to his saddle and showed it to Ulrich. It was a large elongated grey lozenge almost as big as Ulrich. ‘It belonged to the Lahbland queen and is made of dragon scales so it must be worth a prince's ransom. Look at this.’
He pointed to a gash in the scales that the sword had made. This was some complement dragon scales were renowned for the strength and durability.
‘The caravan with the magic swords, did it come through?’ Ulrich asked enthusiastically.
The two men looked at each other, their expressions fallen.
‘It was looted by the time our troops reached it,’ Dafied explained.
‘So we won’t be able to kill the Dragon?’
‘Yes we will, your Uncle Dafied has come up with a plan,’ Norbert said.
‘What is it?’ Ulrich demanded.
‘All in good time,’ his father replied.
***
Soon they were approaching home and could look down on the little house and smithy. Norbert saw Bruna look up and then quickly dash into the house. With a renewed spring in their step, they walked down the track. Norbert looked round the yard. Ulrich had been a good lad and things were in excellent order.
With a yell, Bruna leapt back out into the sun. She must have been tiding herself up; she had tightened her bodice but loosened her shirt making sure that he could fully appreciate her womanly charms. She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around him but before he could speak, and kissed him deeply on the mouth. She tasted good, as good as she always had. Taking her weight, he started towards the house.
‘Oh no you don’t,’ Bruna scalded him, ‘before you get any more, bathe,’ and jumped off him. Standing before him her breasts heaving, just visible through the opening in her shirt, and holding her skirts up in her hand so that he could see her right leg from hip to toe, how could he refuse? Letting out a yelp he ran towards the river stripping his clothes off as he ran. Behind him, he could hear Bruna telling the lad to take the horses into the stable to groom and bed them down.
Norbert jumped up and tucked himself up into a ball just before he splashed down into the river followed shortly by Dafied. The two men larked about in the water whooping and splashing before they set about rinsing the dirt from their bodies. Soon he saw Bruna coming towards them carrying a flagon of ale and clean clothes for each of them. Norbert climbed out onto the bank and stood with hands on hips, but he noticed that Dafied remained in the water keeping his modesty.
Bruna put the flagons down and tossed some clothes to him, saying, ‘get those on before your son sees you.’
She then offered some clothes to her brother, but he remained in the water. With an impatient sigh, she placed the clothes on the bank and discreetly looked the other way whilst he took them and covered himself up. Without any hurry, Norbert rubbed himself dry with the clean shirt before pulling the trousers on. By the time he had downed his ale Ulrich had joined them.
‘That was quick,’ said Bruna with a frown.
‘Right. I suppose you’re dying to hear what the good news is?’ asked Norbert, pausing for effect before continuing. ‘It seems that the king was impressed with Dafied’s leadership skills. So much so, that he knighted him. Although I think it was cheaper than paying the full reward for slaying the witch queen.’
Bruna smiled and clapped her hands before going over to hug and congratulate her brother.
‘A good knight is in need of a capable squire and I could think of no one more qualified than Ulrich.’ said Norbert, giving his son another hefty thump on the back.
Ulrich’s face lit up at the prospect, but Bruna’s smile quickly disappeared.
‘I do not think it is a wise idea,’ she said; Norbert knew she would not be keen.
‘Don’t pamper the lad, it has been arranged. Besides, if he’s going to be a lord he should have some military experience behind him.’
‘You have grand ideas Norbert; do not go giving them to the child.’
Norbert smiled like a chess player about to declare mate.
‘Well your grace, he will be a lord when I am invested as the new Duke of Feghland,’ Norbert announced.
‘Wasn’t he executed?’ asked Ulrich.
Norbert smiled as he replied, ‘My predecessor did have the misfortune to think that the Lahblanders were going to be victorious and tried to help them. He was wrong and failed to escape so was hung, drawn then quartered and his estates forfeited.
‘Our armies were outnumbered by theirs but the quality of their weapons was poor. Troops armed with my weapons faired a lot better in battle. The king heard of this and gave me charge of his blacksmiths and as a result, we were able to defeat the Lahblanders. Instead of a paying me in money, which his majesty is rather short of, he gave me the Feghland title and estates. We move to Castle Peth at the end of summer.’
Bruna looked at him sceptically.
'Alright, I admit the estate does not entail a large amount of land, and is a little run down, but it is located near the old border with Lahbland, astride the main route between the two countries. Its wealth will come from the renewed commerce. Something the king doesn't understand.'
‘It’s true,’ Dafied confirmed.
‘But what about the Dragon?’ Bruna asked.
Norbert and Dafied exchanged glances.
‘It still lives,’ Dafied declared.
Bruna’s face fell and her shoulders sagged.
‘It can still be killed,’ Norbert said, ‘but I have to train a blacksmith.’
‘You just told us that you have trained a whole army of them,’ Bruna said, ‘what is the problem in training one more?’
‘She has to be a virgin,’ Norbert replied sheepishly.
‘She?’ Bruna asked, casting a worried glance at Dafied.
‘I have discovered that a sword made by the hand of a virgin maid will slay dragons,’ Dafied explained.
‘You mean we need not have gone to war.’
‘If we had known, it could have been avoided. It was the Lahbland queen who told me,’ Dafied said, ‘but we didn’t know she was telling the truth until we consulted some sorcerers other side of the Thoresen Mountains.’
‘And we are keeping it secret,’ Norbert added, ‘until we have one of these swords ready and offer it to the king.’
‘Where is this maiden to be found, and more importantly who is going to find her?’
‘I will pick a girl from the village, as long as I think she is capable of becoming a smith,’ Norbert said.
‘If you think that I am going to trust you, alone, with some innocent young girl, you have another thought coming. I know you Norbert of Twofords.’
‘Me? What about Ulrich.’
‘What about him?’
‘You don’t seem worried about his intentions towards her.’
‘I had not thought of that,’ Bruna said, a look of concern on her face, ‘I do not want some strumpet leading him astray.’
‘I’ll make sure of that, well at least until the sword is made, and as for me, well, I know a seductive and passionate woman, with an alluring body who will keep me in the bedroom for so long. I don’t know how I’ll find the time to find a virgin let alone train one,’ Norbert said. He walked seductively up to his wife and kissed her.
‘I love you,’ she said. Norbert lifted her up and carried her into the house. The younger two lay back down under late afternoon sun.
***
‘When I get married it will be to a woman like her,’ Ulrich said, meaning his mother. ‘Despite where she came from she loves the life here, the house is always tidy and the food she cooks is never left. She cares so much about us. She puts powder of dragon scales in my food at least once a day. How much must that be costing her?’
Dafied mumbled something under his breath.
‘Pardon.’
‘I think it’s overrated and I’ve heard that too much can be poisonous.’
‘Is it? I’ve tried to pick it out but it’s not easy, and I don’t want to upset mother,’ said Ulrich. ‘Then there’s her body.’ Ulrich was interrupted by Dafied’s coughing fit. ‘It’s just so.’ Ulrich could not put into words what he was feeling.
‘I don’t think you should be talking to me like that about my sister, who also just happens to be your mother. Can we change the subject please,’ demanded Dafied.
The chastised Ulrich tried to think of another subject, but just lay silent before asking, ‘What’s Lahbland like?’
‘It’s pretty much like Runedor but with more hills, especially in the north where the border lies along the Thoresen Mountains,’ said Dafied.
‘Who do mountains belong to?’ asked Ulrich.
‘No one really they’re too inhospitable to control.’
‘What are they like?’
‘Huge, they tower above you, and you think that they must be touching the sky.’
Ulrich thought on for a while trying to see the mountains in his mind’s eye. He had heard that they were so high that the snow never melted from their peaks. Ulrich continued to press Dafied for details of the defeated kingdom, and soon he was asking about the people especially the girls.
A moan came from the house, and they started to get up, but another followed. Quickly they increased in frequency as Bruna’s passion grew, to be joined by Norbert’s grunting. Suddenly she cried out, and the noises subsided. Dafied, embarrassed, stood up and wandered off in the direction of the stables. Ulrich discreetly waited for a while before entering the house and prepared an evening meal.
***
They ate alone that night, and Dafied took Ulrich’s room, the youngster bedded down in front of the fireplace in the main room. The sound of Norbert moving round awakened Ulrich, then Bruna shouted, ‘Do not go out there like that!’
‘Oh stop treating the lad like a child we’ll be marrying him off soon,’ Norbert replied.
‘That is beside the point. Members of the aristocracy do not wander about their homes naked!’ said Bruna, ‘get some clothes on.’
There was a pause before Norbert entered the main room, wearing trousers and a shirt. He strode over to the sideboard and took a ladle of water from the pail on top. Suddenly there was a loud banging at the door and a voice shouted ‘Open up in the name of the king!’ Ulrich ran over to the door and unbolted it.
Standing outside was a bedraggled rider wearing the king’s colours; he pushed passed Ulrich.
‘Stand aside boy I have an urgent message for Sir Dafied of Ricksham,’ he said.
Bruna came into the room, pulling a blanket around herself.
‘Ulrich get your uncle,’ she said, and then asked Norbert to offer the messenger some refreshments. Ulrich opened the door to the room that normally served as his bedroom. Dafied already stirring and half-dressed when the youngster entered.
‘I heard, I will be right out,’ Dafied said.
Ulrich opened the shutters and saw the first rays of the dawn sun light up the sky.
Ulrich and Dafied went into the main room. The messenger was eating some bread and was about to take a great swig of ale. Seeing Dafied enter, he stood up, reached into his tunic and brought out a leather pouch, which he handed to the knight. Inside was a letter from the king, Dafied sat down and read it. Bruna put some breakfast on the table beside him.
After a while Dafied looked up, ‘The king wants me to investigate reports of a village in Lahbland that is refusing to pay tribute,’ he said. ‘We are to go to Ricksham Garrison to collect a troop of men and then onto the village to assess the situation and if possible correct it.’
‘Who is “we”?’ Bruna interrupted.
‘Myself and my squire,’ Dafied replied.
‘You cannot take Ulrich,’ said Bruna.
‘It’ll do the lad good,’ Norbert added, ‘Dafied won’t take on odds that are against him, and he’ll make sure Ulrich won’t face any real danger. Won’t you Dafied?’
Dafied avoided eye contact with his sister.
‘It’s a royal command and two sets of colours have been sent.’ He said, ‘I promise to keep him by my side at all times.’ He turned to Ulrich, ‘Get your stuff together; we leave as soon as we have breakfasted.’
***
Norbert accompanied Ulrich as he went about collecting his gear. He admired the sword that the boy had made for himself. It was strong, light and finely balanced. Norbert had to concede that the boy’s skill might even exceed his own. Ulrich proudly displayed the set of armour he had made for himself. Norbert hefted the breastplate and was amazed at how light it was. Ulrich explained that its strength came from its shape rather than the amount of metal. The boy carefully loaded it into a sack that he took outside ready to be put onto the packhorse.
Norbert returned to the house. Inside the messenger had finished his meal and was stealing a short nap on Ulrich’s makeshift bed.
***
Ulrich led the packhorse up to the house and tightened the girths of its harness. He bent down to pick up the packs, but stopped when he heard his mother’s voice through the window of his bedroom.
‘It is just a village, why?’ she was asking.
‘There’s more to it than that,’ Dafied replied, ‘but it’s to be kept secret.’ There was a pause before Dafied continued, ‘there has been a reliable report that they have one of the stolen dragonblades. That is why I have to go, and Ulrich has been declared as my squire so he has to go as well.’
There was a further silence, apart for the sound of a pack being filled forcefully.
‘Look sister, the Lahbland queen knew I had a niece, that’s why I killed her rather than claim the reward for her capture.’
‘Oh, you did not tell me that, did anyone else hear?’
‘A couple, but we joked about how bad a witch she was.’
‘You are sure they did not take her seriously?’
‘Yes, but when I heard about the alternative way of making a dragonblade I thought of your daughter.’
‘No!’ Ulrich’s mother snapped back.
Ulrich had to put his hand over his mouth to stifle a gasp.
‘She stays hidden,’ Bruna said forcefully, ‘no one is to know about her. Can you imagine how Norbert would react if he found out that I had given birth to a daughter.’
‘That is why I have to go to Longhorn. We have to secure that dragonblade, and then you can acknowledge your daughter when the Dragon is dead.’
‘Alright, but Ulrich must not find out; promise me.’
‘Look this little expedition will give you and Norbert some time alone, and the move to Castle Peth is an ideal chance for a new start for the whole family. I promise I will try to keep Ulrich busy, but Ricksham has many distractions for a boy wanting to become a man.’
Ulrich heard his father join them in the room.
‘Nearly finished,’ said Bruna, as Ulrich heard more clothes being pushed into the bag.
‘Ulrich’s getting the horses ready,’ Norbert informed them.
Shortly the packing was done and the packhorse laden, then it was time to say goodbye.
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