The fortress was built on a knoll that looked over a river and extended down toward it. The river flowed around the fortress like a snake so that it provided protection on three sides. Three bridges crossed the river; one for each side. They were the only bridges across the river and allowed on the peninsula. If one was to look at a map the fortress was built in the middle of the start of a peninsula that extended to the southwest. It was a couple days walk to get from the fortress to the sea on the south side of the peninsula were the river emptied, and the same to get to the ocean on the north side. It was called the White Fortress for the pale stone used to build it. Within the fortress was a large city. The tolls for crossing the river provided the Lord of the fortress with a treasury that supported the troops needed to make sure that no additional bridges were built and that no pig lovers ever made it to the other side.
Methuselah sat on the palace steps within the fortress taking his morning repast as he looked down on the training grounds below him. He had a full white beard and a bald head with a face that showed his age. Few men lived one hundred and fifty years and Methuselah was one hundred and seventy two. Even at his age he carried a sword on his hip and a spear was resting against the wall. With him was Luke Gabriel dressed in his full armor with a green cross on the front and back that designated him as a paladin. The green of the crosses showed that he was aligned with the religious order of St. Gabriel. Only fitting since St. Gabriel was his father. Methuselah’s family and Luke’s family had been allies for centuries.
Few men had the financial backing to spend enough time training to become a knight and acquire the necessary tools. Only a knight that had earned a reputation in the science of war would be considered as a paladin and then the knight would need to have the same skill level in spiritual matters. The phrase “it takes one too know one” applies to the paladin. They find out that they have become one of the twelve paladins when they are presented with their second cross and informed that the spirit of light has chosen them to fill a vacancy in the twelve. Of all of Methuselah’s sons, grandsons and great-grandsons only one, Shem had the honor of being a Paladin, the rest were knights or knights in training. His grandson was the leader of the order of St. Michael. Methuselah prided himself with having enough common sense to pass the job onto the best man for it and obviously his grandson Shem was the best man. Shem’s duties required him to be absent from the White Fortress most of the time.
Being a paladin made it easier to recruit troops because of the definite advantage in being able to sense evil and tell how far away it was. Their virtue and goodness were unquestioned, so the troops knew that they would be well looked after and their lives would not be thrown away.
Upon hearing steps behind them, both men looked up from the table through an opening to the palace. A ruff man and a pretty young lady came out and without formalities took seats at the table. The young lady was dressed to travel with a leather jerkin showing within the opening of her cloak. She had blond hair cut short and carried a thin spear. The man was obviously an old campaigner dressed with a green cross front and back over a chain male tunic. His hands were scarred many times over and he was missing the first two fingers on his left hand.
Methuselah grimaced, looked at his granddaughter, and spoke to the old campaigner. “Silas, she looks like her brother. She dresses like her dad.” He shook his head and raised his eyebrows. He touched the small green cross on the shoulder of her cloak, “This looks new? She has a green cross on the shoulder of her cloak; tell me does she think she is Hadassah?”
The young lady smiled at her grandfather, gave Silas a look that clearly said she knew who had whom wrapped around whose delicate little finger.
Silas retorted, “First time I ever heard about a bride taking a spear to her wedding. She hasn’t seen the boy in three years. You would think she would want to see if he has grown a hump walking around with the dwarfs all that time, he might be bent over and ugly as Luke’s horse by now. Their babies will be born with beards and want to fight with axes before they learn to talk. ”
“If the stories are true, your first wife had to force you to marry your second wife with a spear and stand behind you with it pressed to your back before you would kneel down to be wed. And if my first boy has a beard when he is born we will hand him an axe and call him Silas. You will be his godfather and teach him how to use the axe and comb his beard.” She reached out and gently tugged on the end of Silas’s beard. “Besides I am sure Hezekiah is still as handsome as his brothers.” She smiled at Luke and then turned to her grandfather, “And yes, I am going to emulate Hadassah. Although, I can’t shoot a bow and expect to hit what I am aiming at, I have a solution to that little problem.” Rather smugly she said, “I will use a crossbow.” She turned back to Silas, “I will strap the little guy on my back and away we will go.” After taking a bite out of her grandfather’s breakfast she stood. “I need to make sure my troops are packed.”
Methuselah patted her arm and said, “I will come down to say goodbye in a minute, honey.” Down the stairs she went to the training ground.
Luke smiled and said quietly, “I seem to recall you saying something about how much you liked and respected Hadassah and wish more women would act like her.”
Methuselah scowled, “Shhhhhh. Watch what you say she might hear you.” He shook his head, “You look out for her, both of you, if she waits any longer to marry I won’t be around to see the bearded little devil and I am tired of waiting. Her grandmother is turning over in her grave to think that the child is twenty and not married. They should have been married before that boy went off into the desert. I seem to remember that Hadassah didn’t wait around for Elijah to be polished before they got married.”
In the courtyard below, young men, obviously going off to war, started to gather around wagons that were loaded and yoked to very large oxen. There was a disturbance at the gate as a number of knights with red crosses on their fronts entered the court yard. Behind them, pulled by a large ox, was a wagon with a driver, and four dwarfs shackled in the back. They were poor looking specimens of their race, rather small as dwarfs go, looking sickly, and they appeared to be a family, the parents with a son and daughter. All had red hair which was rare for dwarfs. The parents were lying down with their eyes closed and the two children stared out of the wagon with unfocused eyes. Each was wearing rags. The lead knight descended from his horse and started walking in the direction of the group of young ladies gathered at the bottom of the stairs. His name was Kur and he was the brother of Gadianton the self declared king of Norp.
Methuselah swore, “Pigs Blood.” The reason he never was able to become a paladin was his language. Quickly the three men at the table rose and started down to the group. They reached the bottom of the stairs in sync with the red knight as he bowed his head to the ladies. It would be a fruitless effort to try gaining their affection, so he turned and greeted Methuselah.
“I would not have you struggle your bones down those stairs for me, Sir, I would gladly have come to you.” He looked at the two paladins, “Sirs,” and again bowed his head. He then held out a letter with a red wax seal on it. “My brother sends his compliments and an offer. He says you should take your time to consider and if you desire I will wait at the chapter house on the other side of the river for your reply. As a sign of his faith in your intelligence and that you will be accepting his offer he sends you a gift,” he waved his hand toward the wagon, “these slaves. He knows you do not have as strong an aversion to their race as he has. They were caught stealing from the church. I know they don’t look like much but he is sure that you can find some way for them to work off their servitude.”
Methuselah accepted the extended letter. Rather formally he said. “Thank you, and thank your brother for me. Tell him I will consider his offer carefully before I reply. There is no need to wait for the reply. When my grandson goes east of Norp to the defenses he can bring my response.”
Kur knew that he was not well liked, so he nodded his head to the three men and then turned to his horse that was being held by one of his knights. The dwarfs had been lowered from the wagon and leaned in the shade of the wall with their shackles removed. Apparently the gift didn’t come with the shackles. The red knights all turned their horses and left through the gate with the wagon following. As it went through the gate the two paladins and the ladies all hurried over to the dwarfs. The paladins looked into the dwarfs eyes felt their pulses and Silas turned to the gathering troops and ordered a barrel of corn liquor to be brought to him from the third wagon and someone to run to the top of the stairs to get a cup.
Luke turned to Tess and Methuselah and with disgust in his voice said, “They worked them till they were useless to them, some gift. It will take weeks for them to recover. They must have been without any alcohol for a long time to be in this bad of shape.”
Tess replied with angry tears, “It seems that it was cheaper to give them away than care for them.”
Luke nodded, “I have never heard of a dwarf steeling anything except in Norp. They had to have been framed. Gadianton is a reprobate. What are you going to do with them?”
Methuselah smiled and scratched his chin, “I am going to give them to my granddaughter. I think her and her in-laws will know how to care for them, and you know how proud a dwarf is, she can deal with the cost of their freedom. Come with me Tess I have another present for you.” Methuselah turned and pulled the stunned Tess along with him toward the stables. “You will need to fix a place for them in the wagons if you are taking them with you and keep them out of the sun or they will burn.”
Methuselah thought he could be rather clever when he wanted to be. Dwarfs were very proud, if they thought someone was being demeaning they would be insulted. Tess wouldn’t be able to just tell them they were no longer slaves or there was a good chance that they would insist that they serve longer than required to work of their indenture even if they had been cheated into servitude. Tess would have to be careful how she dealt with the dwarfs and so right after he gave her the gift he had planned he would tell her just that.
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