The Men at My Side

If Only It Were A Dragon [Chapter 12]

When I came down from the top of the gatehouse, Sacher offered me a near-silent clap of his hands. “Good show, Sir Gladius.”

I took a bow, arm stretched across my stomach like the actors in one of those boring plays at the theater. “Yeah, well, something about these last couple of days has given me a lot of confidence in dealing with people.”

The wise man nodded. “Amazed how easily you can craft such lies to keep our people in line. If you survive this dragon creature, you could one day rise to replace me as Adviser.”

“You doubt that I would survive?” I said, proudly sticking out my chest. “I am certain this campaign against the dragon will go well. I have gathered much knowledge and aid these past couple of days.”

“I have no doubts, just concerns, of course,” Sacher said, wagging a finger. “For I too have done my fair bit of research to know what we would be up against, this dragon.”

“What kind of wise man would you be if not aware?”

He nodded. “Yes. This flying beast, breathing fire.”

“Quite dangerous.”

“And its hard scales.”

“I’m sure they are not as impenetrable as they are said to be,” I insisted.

“There is some truth to it being intelligent, you know.”

“More intelligent than man?”

Sacher flared his hands out in uncertainty. “That will be seen, won’t it? But you must not forget about its dragon magic, to hypnotize and beguile your men.”

“Yes, well… wait, what now?”

The wise man chuckled a few times. “A joke. To make sure you have been paying attention.”

I puffed myself up. “I see. Well, even if that were the truth, there’s no way it would affect every member of my legion here. Speaking of which, Eriques?”

My squire retreated from the gate where he was watching the last few stubborn people being escorted away. “Baptize me in fire, great dragon!” I heard the distant forlorn calls.

Eriques presented himself before me, hand to his chest in a salute. “Yes, Glad… Sir Gladius.”

“The chaos of this morning… I have completely forgotten to ask. The supplies, the men— are they in order?”

Erique rubbed his hands together. “Yes. Aye. Of course.”

“Is there a problem in addressing your master, squire?” Sacher leaned in.

“No problem,” Eriques said, turning to shake his head violently. “No, just this morning, the ministry steward passed me the list of names of those who will accompany us.”

“Perfect, my squire. Gather them up so that I may get to know their faces over a feast and drinks this evening.”

“A grand fete before a perilous quest?” Sacher hummed. “Well, I shall not hold you back, then. Of course, you must have already filled out all the requisite forms for all of them.”

I smacked the wise man on the arm playfully. “Enough jokes, my good man.”

“No joke, Sir Gladius,” Sacher said more seriously, fixing his posture. “You must fill out the forms for the Ministry of Assurance and the Ministry of Estates for each of those departing on this quest. It must have skipped your mind, not a problem.”

I nodded slowly. “Ah, yes. The other ministries.”

“Simply to make sure everything is taken care of if one of your men is injured or, gods forbid, meet their end. But again, with all the preparation, none shall find a… baptism in fire and… meet their end against this dragon.”

I clapped my hands together. “Tell me, Squire. How many are joining us? To, uhm, make sure I filled out enough forms already.”

“Seven, sir,” Erique said hesitantly, glancing between me and the wise man. “Plus me, of course.”

“Overall not an unreasonable legion,” Sacher proposed.

I leaned in close to my squire and engaged with him in a low voice. “You must enunciate, my little friend, for I believe I heard seven and not seventy.”

“No, uh, you heard right.”

“Surely only the best of the best,” Sacher butted in. “And a boon, as Sir Gladius will not have to fill out quite as much paperwork.”

“No, of course not,” I said with a shake of my head. “Well, I mean, the paperwork is done. But perhaps, Squire, we change tonight’s fete to tomorrow morning, a light breakfast before we depart. Can you see to that?”

“You can rely on me.”

---

With all the paperwork at the end of my plume, I feared that my sword arm would go dead before it was to deliver even a single strike to the dragon. Nevertheless, I filled out the stack of parchment and got perhaps a couple of hours of restless sleep before the sun rose that following morning.

I traveled on foot to our departure point, the royal stables, where our mounts had been requisitioned. The horses had been saddled and geared with bags for everyone’s personal affairs. Further supplies had come down on the back of a covered cart drawn by a pair of mules, the lot of it to accompany us. The men were already dividing up their rations and gear; food, bedding supplies, the alchemical potions, not to mention swords and bows and arrows for our inevitable battle.

I counted the heads about the stables to make sure that there would be no stragglers. Apart from Eriques and Farvin acquainting themselves with the supply cart’s mules, there were seven knights ready to depart. It was far from the number I had originally desired, but at the very least I wouldn’t have to spend too much time learning names.

“Sir Gladius is before you!” Eriques called out suddenly, some haughty power in his voice. I assumed his role of command over others was getting to him.

The men suddenly ceased their actions and turned my way, their bodies shifting into stiff salutes. I realized at that moment that my time had come. All my study and preparation under the Ministry of Arms had led up to this moment, perhaps one of the most important ventures of my career and my life. What came out of my mouth next would set the tone among these men throughout our adventures together.

“Hi, y’all.”

Everyone looked my way, hardly blinking. I may have even forgotten to blink for a moment. I cleared my throat.

“You all, I mean. Everyone, you guys. Well, gather about.”

I felt myself being surrounded there by those loyal to me and me alone. Any words that I had prepared in my mind suddenly fled like the locals fearing baptism by fire. I had to rely simply on my mouth to create the correct words that were to follow.

“Well, as you probably know by now, I’m Sir Gladius. I do spend a lot of time in the castle, but I’ve had my own learning experiences these past couple of days. But… maybe I can learn about you a lot. How about… some icebreakers? Tell us… your name and… your post in the city. You there, first.”

The young man on my far left had fair skin and thin light hair, like a very tall, stretched-out version of a newborn baby. “I’m… uh… Richard. I work the docks.”

“And what sort of trouble do you face out there at the docks?” I asked, hoping to suss out the latent strengths of these unassuming fellows.

The question seemed to take him by surprise. “Well, uh, the fishermen usually keep to themselves and don’t cause much trouble. But oh, the gulls! What a horrible creature. The other week, they snatched a perfect bass that had just been sold.”

“Indeed. How terrible, gulls,” I commiserated. “Do you know of another horrible, flying beast, though?”

The blank stares from the others told me that many explanations would be needed over the course of our journey east. “A dragon,” I said. “That is my example of a horrible flying beast. But I suppose you will soon see first hand. Next person?”

There was an older man beside Richard, one who I fathomed from the start would have piles of experience. “Yeah, I’m Henrik. I work on the university campus, mostly near the women’s dorms.”

“The university,” I noted. “To help those whose knowledge will lead us in the future. But the women’s dorms, you say?”

Henrik crossed his arms and jutted his head back to the city. “Cause of the lads in the men’s dorms. Always wanting to sneak in and cause trouble there.”

“I… can see how that would interrupt the learning process,” I said with a nod. “Uh, next?”

“Aye, Jennifer here,” said the next knight with a husky voice. The owner of that voice was brawny, with light hair tied up at the back of their head. “I work at—“

“One moment, Jennifer,” I held my hand up. “Excuse my rudeness. Is that a woman’s name?”

“A woman’s name, belonging to a woman,” She said with a hefty nod.

“Of course,” I nodded furiously. “And not that I have any worries about having a woman in our midst. But I have this terrible habit of uttering the phrase, ‘you guys,’ without end. And so you’ll have to excuse me if I continue to do so.”

“I’ve always said ‘you guys’ without any worry of a person’s parts,” said Eriques.

“Is that so?” I said with a sigh of relief. “Well, you know what, nice to meet you Jennifer, all of you… guys. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time to learn about each other, so, uh, icebreakers over. For now. Gear up, and we shall be off.”

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