Sorus shrugged, “I don’t know Jon; I’ve only been outside of Black Dale a few times in my life. I guess maybe a week? We should run across patrols sometime soon though, or at least a small farm where we can ask someone about the last time riders went through.” Even as the young knight said these words they came up over a small rise and spotted a group of houses in a small valley. “There you go,” said Sorus with a smile on his face. “It’s probably someone I know; the farmers come into town fairly frequently to sell their produce.”
The two spurred their horses towards the group of homes and as they approached made out more of the details of the place. A small grove of some sort of crop trees sat on the left side of the main house and beyond that a field with green plants gathered up the midday sunshine. The largest building turned out to be a sturdy wooden barn painted light yellow where an old horse nipped at the grass, and the last building was a large shed or possibly a small guest house. As they approached the buildings a young boy of nine or ten dashed out from the barn and waved a small wooden sword at them. He was immediately followed by an older boy who started to yell something but then spotted Jon and Sorus and stopped with his mouth open for a long moment. The smaller boy looked back and saw the older’s expression and quickly turned to face them. A broad smile came across his face and he waved at them and gave out a high pitched yell, “Hello!”
“Hey there,” shouted Jon back as he rode over to the boy, reached down with one massive paw, hauled him up the horse, and sat him down in the front. “What’s your name?”
“You talk funny,” said the boy as he craned his head around to see Jon.
Jon nodded his, “I’m not from around here, my name is Jon Gray, what’s yours?”
“That’s a funny name,” said the boy his face screwed up in a puzzled expression. “Aren’t you a knight?”
“I’m not from around here,” replied Jon and put his hand on top of the boy’s head and turned it around to face the front as they approached the house. “What’s your name?”
The boy squirmed around again to face Jon and looked up him with squinting eyes, “You’re taller than my dad?” he said with wide eyes.
“I believe you,” said Jon and smiled down at the boy once again. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Danus,” said the boy as he still tried to squirm around to look at Jon, although the gray knight’s huge hand kept the boy turned around to face the front. “Let me go!”
Jon put his arm around the boy, with a swing of his leg dismounted, and then set him down on the ground. “Go get your father, Danus,” he said and released his hold around the young fellow’s waist.
Meanwhile Sorus rode over to the older boy who looked to be in his early teens and dismounted from his steed. “Hi there, do I know you?”
The boy shook his head and gazed back with wide eyes.
“I’m Sorus Nightwalker but I used to be Sorus Brewer from Black Dale down the river. I bet you’ve been to town a few times, right?”
The boy nodded his head his eyes still wide.
“Have you seen any patrols come by lately? Any dragon children?” said Sorus as he led his horse over to a nearby post and tied off the reins. “Is your mom or dad home?”
The boy shook his head at the first question but then nodded it at the follow-up.
Sorus looked at him for a second, “Was that no to seeing any patrols and yes to the dragon child or yes to your mom and dad?” The young knight then laughed out loud as the boy stared at him for a moment. “Never mind, we’ll figure it out. Come on, let’s go to the house with Jon and your brother. That is your brother isn’t it?”
The boy nodded his head and smiled.
“What’s his name?” said Sorus as he motioned with his head to the younger boy who walked with Jon Gray towards the house.
“He’s Danus,” said the older boy, “and I’m Olneus.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Olneus,” said Sorus and he suddenly realized he mimicked the behavior many of the powerful knights of Elekargul used when the spoke to him back in Black Dale. “Have you seen any children of the dragons around here at all?”
The boy shook his head no again as they got to Jon and Danus. “What have you managed to get out of this one,” said Sorus to the knight of gray, just as a tall man came out of the house, a sword buckled to his side and a square jaw that looked a bit orcish, although his blonde hair and features were mostly human. “Proteus,” said Sorus with a smile. “I thought I might know who lived here. It’s me, Sorus Brewer, except I’m a knight now, Sorus Nightwalk.”
The man’s frown suddenly broke and he smiled at Sorus, “Sorus Nightwalk, it suits you, and who’s your big friend?”
“I’m Jon Gray,” said Jon and moved forward to grasp the man by the hand. “Sorus and I are looking for the First Rider. Has he been by on patrol anytime recently?”
Proteus looked to Soras for a moment and then at Jon with a glance of narrowed eyes.
“He’s ok, Proteus,” said Sorus. “He’s an ambassador from a place called Tanelorn. We were up in the Mountains of the Orc with Sir Germanius a few days back. Jon, show him that sketch you made of Sir Germanius.”
“That old man,” said Proteus with a smile. “He served with my grandfather if you can believe that and I’m old enough to be your father, Sorus. How is he?”
Jon handed over the sketch and the square-jawed man looked at it for a moment and said, “Oh, well, that puts a new light on the subject then doesn’t it? Why don’t you boys come on in and the lads and me will make up some dinner. You’re welcome to stay in the barn tonight. We can talk about the First Rider in a bit. So how did you end up with a sketch like this of Sir Germanius, Jon?”
The two boys tried to peek at the paper their father held, he looked at it one more time as a smile appeared on his face and then handed it to his oldest son. “Don’t rip that Olneus and make sure your bother doesn’t either.”
The young boy nodded his head solemnly and took the piece of paper over to a butcher block table in the kitchen. His brother climbed up on a chair next to him and they stared at the paper wide-eyed while the others walked through the kitchen and into a small dining room.
As they passed, Jon noted the kitchen looked well equipped with a fine wood stove and a number of cabinets but none of the floral curtains or vases filled with flowers that one expected to find in the domain of women. They made their way to the dining room that was also clean and orderly although lacking in the feminine touch.
Proteus motioned to the chairs and took a seat at the head of the table. “So, Jon, tell me how you ended up with this sketch.”
Jon looked at the square-jawed man and then to Sorus, who nodded his head, “I came to Elekargul on a mission from my father and we ran into some trouble in town with the mayor. He didn’t… think my story was believable and refused to send out scouts to alert the First Rider.”
“I can understand that,” said Proteus. “Who knows who you really represent and, if you wait long enough, the First Rider will find you eventually.”
“That seems reasonable,” said Jon. “It was Sorus here who I first met up with when I came out of the Mountains of the Orc and he suggested heading out to prove myself as a warrior. Sir Germanius and the mayor’s son came with us.”
“The old fellow looking to get himself killed in one last heroic stand no doubt,” said Proteus, “but why did Mikus come along?”
“I’d guess the mayor wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything to harm Elekargul,” said Jon with a shrug of his shoulders although he did raise his eyebrows.
“That’s a charitable assessment,” said Proteus as he nodded his head. “So you found a dragon up in the mountains. That’s quite an achievement.”
“I don’t think it was a coincidence,” said Jon. “The dragon recognized me as soon as it saw me and called out my name. Fortunately for me, Sir Germanius had one last good fight in him and killed the beast before it did the same to me. I’m no artist but I think the sketch is fairly accurate.”