The Border Keep

The Never Ending Quest - Episode 13099

As the stableboy put the horses in for the night, Fred and Rowena were taken to their rooms. Fred was annoyed and frustrated. Having finally reached Allaria he had hoped to return to his father with all haste, but Capt.Locke was making that quite impossible. They could have traveled twice as far today as they had, but the captain claimed that his horses needed rest after a long and arduous journey. And so here they were at this border keep.

That the horses were but a pretext for Locke's delay Fred was only too aware. The captain had no intention of letting Fred anywhere near his father until the matter of his identity had been proven one way or the other. And Fred had a very good idea of how the captain intended to get his proof. Locke was after all a member of the Guard D'Honaire and their Lord Captain was a trusted advisor to the Duke and had tutored Fred in the art of war. Fred had trained with these men, had spent weeks out in the field with them. He knew how they thought. And he couldn't blame them one whit for their mistrust. But that didn't mean he liked it.


"Flynt," Jeth spoke, "what if he resists?" Jeth had almost said 'it'. Locke turned to his second-in-command and replied, "Then we do as we've been trained." The other guardsmen mumbled at this. "We haven't been trained to fight monsters," one of them said. Locke stood up, the look on his face bringing the room to a full quiet. "Settle your fears. All of you. The monsters of old were driven out of Havnheim long ago by the strength of men and cold steel. If he is a monster then we shall kill him and be done with it. But he has made no move against us or attempted an escape. Keep your eyes open, your wits sharp, but don't be jumpin at shadows. I have sent Ben ahead of us, he will speak with the White Hand and once we have rejoined him the matter will be quickly settled. So quit your idle talk for it does you no good." And then Locke sat down and his men immediately turned to other topics.

But just how would it be settled, Locke wondered. Could the man in the strange red armor really be Frederigo D'Honaire? Oh how he wished it were so. But Fred had died at the Southern Caves, they had been so sure of it. When the great smoke had appeared over the sharp peaks of the Shreken the men of Allaria had rushed to the scene. The bravest of them ascended to the Dragon's Caves and found an ash filled tomb. Since that time the Dragon had not been seen nor heard. And neither had Fred. But of one fact there was no doubt in anyone's mind, that in the wake of the Dragon's death foul things, masterless minions, had poured out of the caves like a swarm of maggots.

And who could say if one such creature was not even now among their company? He himself could not. He had to admit that under all that dirt and grime and that mangy beard the man called Denom certainly looked like Frederigo. But Locke had not seen Fred since he had gone to Caemlyn to train for the Dragon Quest. And that had been over two years ago. And if they were dealing with a doppleganger or some such then looks were not the issue anyway. What was underneath the skin was what mattered.

Locke rubbed his weary brow. Was there anything he could be sure of? Only one thing, he decided. That his men would do as he bid them. Of that he could always rely on. When he had demanded that they be silent about Denom and the claims he had made, all worry that their tongues would wag left his mind. No rumors or dark gossip would be started by his men. If only it could have been so simple with the bard and the merchant. But he could not trust them to obey so readily and so he had posted guards with them and had explained what would happen if they did not comply with his wishes.

He sighed. He did not enjoy making threats, but the situation demanded that he take all necessary steps. He would be glad when this was over though. And to think, this had all started with the foolish actions of a bereaved young woman. But how would it come to an end? Locke did not know, but he did know when. Tomorrow they would continue up the Longspeer and in four days they would reach the nearest ducal estate. Ben would be there waiting for them, along with the resident whitecloak. And then it would be up to the White Hand to judge just who this man who claimed to be Lord Fred really was.

  1. Sometime later, the Lord of the Keep summoned everyone to the banquet hall.

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WolfRun

9/20/2000 5:00:08 PM

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