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Adventure Fantasy Fiction

* = Frost Thaw is capitalised as it is the name of the third month in the calendar of The Three Kingdoms, equivalent to March in the Gregorian calendar.

***

Luthar followed Lady Akindra, Ezekiel, Chadwick and Flint into the great entrance hall of the guild. Garrett brought up the rear, as was the order of seniority. The most experienced members should receive bread and ale first, squires second. Only now did Luthar outrank Garrett from Chadwick’s promise of promotion upon their return.

The entrance hall was a vast open space, broken only by a small table and chairs set upon a thick woollen rug in front of the fireplace. It was pleasantly warm inside, the dark grey stone walls brought them shelter from the growing wind outside, and a roaring fire burned merrily in the hearth. Torches burned in sconces on the walls, casting flickering shadows over each man’s face.

To their left, behind a polished wooden desk sat Terence, the guild’s oldest member. White of hair and beard now, but still stern of face, he could frighten pages and squires with just a hard stare. Struggling to stand on his one leg and crutch, he wavered briefly before leaning on his desk and turning to Lady Akindra.

‘Welcome to the guild m’lady. Myself and the men are at your service. If there is anything we can do for you, please make it known.’ He said in his softest voice, which was still rough enough to cut steel.

‘Most gracious Sir, thank you.’

‘If I may be so bold, please may I know who sponsors your visit? Just so I can mark on the paper here.’

‘Leyton, I believe I am expected?’

‘Of course. He will be informed of your arrival.’ Said Terence before making a quick scribble in a tattered leather-bound book he retrieved from a drawer. ‘Boy!’ He roared to a door to his left. 

Out ran a young boy in a red and blue page’s uniform, no older than eight or nine. ‘Yes sir?’

‘Escort the lady to the guest quarters and see she has everything she needs.’ 

‘Of course.’ He turned to Lady Akindra. ‘Follow me m’lady.’ He said with a bow, before picking up her bags and heading for the staircase in the hall’s far corner.

Terence turned to the five of them, scanning each of them with his one blue eye. ‘How fares the ragged band? One less I see.’

‘Aye, Eric turned tail and ran at the mill. I’d like to catch up with him again sometime.’ Said Flint through gritted teeth. He had not been fond of the subject of his ex-squire on their journey back.

‘Don’t you worry, a rotten egg is a rotten egg, no matter how much you beat it.’ He eased himself back down into his seat and pulled his book closer to him, seemingly scanning the columns of roughly written fixtures. ‘To business then.’ He ran a gnarled old finger down the yellowing page. ‘Ezekiel, owing six shillings. Chadwick, paid up until next moon, good man. Flint, I need two shillings from you to keep you until first of Frost Thaw.’*

Silver changed hands quickly, Terence marked each man’s contribution in his book with a scratching of his quill. ‘Now that’s all sorted out let’s get you all fed, shall we?’ He turned to his left and whistled loudly through his fingers, Luthar jumped slightly at the sudden sound. Three more red and blue clad pages appeared through the side door, almost falling over each other to attend Terence first.

‘You and you get the bags upstairs.’ He ordered, gesturing quickly with his hand. ‘And you, get to the kitchens and have some supper ready for them all. Go on, hop it!’ The speed in which Terence could command the young boys was frightening. Luthar recalled his own stint under Terence as a page, he’d been terrified of the old man. Once, a fresh-faced young lad had raised his ire too much and received a belt across his backside for his trouble. He’d limped for weeks.

The two boys collected bags and cloaks from the five of them, then made for the staircase leading to the living quarters. How they carried travelling gear, arms, and armour of three men and two squires between them was beyond Luthar. The last lad headed into the great hall and disappeared, hopefully making for the kitchens as Luthar’s belly was already growling.

Now business was done, Terence turned his one-eyed stare on Luthar. Luthar held his gaze, if he was going to become a full member then he couldn’t be seen to tremble every time someone stared at him.

‘I hear I’ll be soon collecting your coin. Make sure you earn me plenty won’t you? 

‘Aye, Chadwick promised my promotion before the moon turns.’

‘Well, you’ve made an impression, that’s plain to see. Now off with you and get a drink!’ He dismissed them all with a wave of his arm.

They headed past the fireplace to the rear of the entrance hall where a huge oak door led into the great hall of the guild. Above it, the coat of arms was proudly displayed, a red and blue shield, behind a crossed sword and axe. Below, their motto “Honour in Steel” was inlaid into the grey stone with golden letters. The door creaked on its black iron hinges as Ezekiel pushed it open and walked through, as eager of any of them to fill his belly.

The great hall was a vast, wooden panelled room, fifty feet wide and more than double that long, with four great fireplaces on each side. A gallery ran around it’s perimeter, some twenty feet above their heads. Here they could seat every member, squire and page plus guests should the need arise. Its walls were adorned with banners, shields, and weapons all gifted by members, or won from battles long past. Luthar couldn’t name most of them, although on his first visit Chadwick had pointed to the banner he had gifted, the red tower of House Dayton. Hung from the rafters were three giant chandeliers suspended on thick chains, Luthar couldn’t begin to guess how many candles they held, or how they were lit at night. On a dais to his right stood the high table, at its centre, a mighty chair belonging to Leyton, the guild’s leader. Ezekiel, with his long service, would soon find himself with a spot at Leyton’s table. Running the length of the hall were three long benches where the members would eat their meals and share their ale. 

Ezekiel, Chadwick, and Flint made for the closest bench to join a dozen men who were already half drunk, laughing loudly and beating the table with their fists.

Luthar paused for a moment to watch them take their seat. Soon, he thought. He made for the apprentice’s tables at the farthest end from Leyton’s place of honour. The tables here were a mismatched jumble, in contrast to the great banquet tables further up. He and Garrett took a seat close to the hearth where a small fire sat burning, giving out a meagre warmth. 

Pages came to fill their cups with fine brown ale, and their talk turned to Luthar’s looming promotion.

‘When do you think the ceremony will take place?’ asked Garrett, wide eyed and bouncing in his seat.

‘Soon, hopefully. I can’t stand waiting around when there’s work to be had and coin to be earned.’

‘Will you take a squire of your own?’

‘Not straight away, no. Chadwick says I’ll be learning for years after promotion. I’d like to focus on myself for a time, build my own skills. Back at the inn Chadwick got me thinking about the blade classes. Think I might chance my arm at them.’

No sooner had Luthar finished speaking than the door opened, and Leyton strode in, flanked by Ladies Luella and Akindra. Lady Akindra looked slightly less than her usual radiant self, Luthar reckoned had declined the offer of a bath and gone straight to meet Leyton. Bringing up the rear was a man and woman Luthar had never seen at the guild before, a short, rotund man, completely bald on the top of his head. The girl he suspected was his own age, pretty, with long blond hair flowing to her waist and dressed in a silk gown much like Lady Luella often wore.

The five of them took seats at the top table, Leyton in his customary central position. Akindra and Luella to his right, the two strangers to his left. Pages scampered to serve them bread and wine, whilst Leyton was deep in conversation with this new man, brow furrowed.

Eventually Luthar and Garrett’s food arrived, since always squires were served last, and the numbers in the hall had swollen to near thirty. The fish stew and potatoes were nearly cold but restored their strength all the same. They were just starting their third mug of ale when Leyton stood up to speak, silencing the hall.

‘Brothers, now we have all had our bread and ale I have news of a promotion to give you.’ A few mutters broke out among the gathered members. ‘Chadwick has vouched for Luthar Shoresmith to join our ranks. I plan to make haste and perform the ceremony at first light tomorrow. Please raise your cups in toast to Luthar!’ With that every man in the hall stood and toasted him, some spilling ale over their neighbour.

‘To Luthar!’ Came the cry, making the hair on Luthar’s arms prickle and stand on end. 

Garrett clapped him on the back. ‘Tomorrow! Try and look happy, won’t you?’

When the noise had subsided, Leyton continued. ‘I also bring sad news my friends. One of our number has been taken from us too early. Brother Jacob of the guild was killed along with his squire, five nights ago.’ Mutters amongst the tables broke out, losing one of their brothers reminded them of their mortality. ‘But this was no death in the line of duty. He was ambushed and outnumbered whilst he took his bread and ale at the inn of a friend. This cannot stand. So, I ask all of you here now, march with me to demand the price for the unlawful killing of a man of the guild. The men who did this are now marked; they will pay with their blood, as will any who try to defend them! Who of you stands with me?’ 

As Leyton roared the last sentence, he looked around the hall, taking in every face as if challenging them to defy him. Not one of the thirty-odd members in the hall remained seated; each man cheered and raised his cup, baying for blood. Some banged the table and stamped their feet, the noise assaulted Luthar’s ears like a besieging army. Adrenalin surged through him, tomorrow he would ride to battle as a full member of the guild.

January 27, 2022 18:00

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6 comments

Graham Kinross
22:17 Feb 01, 2022

It’s good to get the consequences of the raid on the inn. Layton’s rise to prominence is underway.

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James Grasham
22:30 Feb 01, 2022

I think the consequences could be described as dire for those standing in the way of the men of the guild! Hopefully I'm not introducing too many characters at once at the moment? Kind of difficult not to when there is such a big event for the guild going on.

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Cindy Calder
21:43 Feb 02, 2022

I enjoyed your story immensely, and it is well written. My only commentary is that I did get a bit confused by the vast number of characters. Perhaps there could be a bit more of a distinction amongst them to help the reader keep count. Otherwise, you have a wonderful writing ability. Thank you!

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James Grasham
09:31 Feb 04, 2022

Thanks Cindy, I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! As the story is part of a series I'm writing I guess starting with later story would feel a bit like you're bombarded with names, but I'll take it on board and see if I can work on ways to keep reinforcing the different characters as I go. I have a lot more stories in the series on my profile if you'd like to read them too?

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Cindy Calder
10:06 Feb 04, 2022

Yes, I would love to read more of your stores and will definitely check them out. I love stories like this one.

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James Grasham
10:55 Feb 04, 2022

Thank you, Cindy. I write new entries like this pretty much every week so keep checking back :)

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