He rode as fast as his horse could take him. Anger boiled through his veins. How could the once kind King slay his people for dropping a few rocks on the road?
These thoughts were still running through his mind when he arrived home. He rode into the stables. Once again, the stable boys looked up at their master, wondering why he seemed to be in such a hurry. Quickly, he dismounted his horse and stormed into his house.
“Belle!” he called.
There was no answer.
A servant called out to him:
“Sir, I think she’s upstairs.”
“Belle! I have something to tell you!” he called again, ignoring the reply.
“I’m coming Darious!” she called from the second floor.
Moments later she was running down the steps. Her face was a twist of confusion and fear.
“What is the matter Darious,” she asked.
Darious waited a few moments, collecting his thoughts.
“Belle,” he said calmly, “they destroyed the town. Everything is burning. Human bodies are littering the street! It’s as if the Orcs had destroyed the town!”
Belle gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. She was obviously shaken.
“How could they do that Darious? Those women and children…dead…” she said quietly. She seemed ready to cry.
“I know it’s terrible Belle. I’m going to see the King immediately. I want you to send a message to our parents in Goldstone.
Tell them to come and get you. I don’t want you to stay here. I fear the worst. Who knows what those men will do next.”
Belle looked up at him.
“I’m afraid Darious, what if they come to Goldstone?”
“Don’t worry about such things now,” he said, holding her tightly, “We are lucky they didn’t decide to kill us on their way to Grand Hamlet. Hurry now, attach a message to one of the carrier pigeons and send it on its way. Then get your belongings, take a few servants with you. I’m going to get my weapons and armor.”
Darious walked quickly to his armor, which hung above the fireplace of in his home. It was merely a breastplate, used by Knights that lived a good distance from Stormwind Keep. Since it would be senseless wearing full armor for a trip to the castle, the King issued all Knights the armor for protection should they end up in a fight. During peacetime, Knights were allowed to stay in their estates to live, during war they were summoned to the castle and given orders on where they were to go. Taking his sword, he placed it in its hilt, and then he put on the armor. Next, he grabbed his helmet, which hung on a hook next to the armor.
Darious went down to the stables. He walked in slowly; trying not to startle the stable boys, since one time he had scared them and the horses at the same time. The result was something close to total chaos. He did not want this to be repeated.
As he came farther into the stables, not much could be heard other than the crunching straw under his feet and an occasional whinny from one of the horses. Darious had not seen any sign of the boys. He walked to the end of stables, past all of his horses. He did not have many horses. He had five horses to be exact. And they were there in case of an emergency. Much like the one now.
The boys lived near Darious’ estate, so they could escape danger on foot, with out much danger of being followed through the woods. As for his servants, they could take the other horses. The two strongest horses were reserved for his wife and himself. This would be the first time he would ride to Stormwind Keep in three years, and he hoped his horse would be up to the journey.
He came to the end of the stables. He saw the boys.
They were, sitting in a corner, playing a game with a few stones.
One of them looked up and gasped. The rest looked up their eyes wide with fear. In seconds they were standing, looking at each other nervously.
“Get to work you blokes,” Darious commanded,” my horses are suppose to be tended to. I guess I’ll have to assign one of my servants to watch you from now on, eh? Be quick! I have to leave for Stormwind Keep before the day is done!”
Some of the boys nodded slowly at Darious and quickly scrambled away to do work. The other boys busied themselves with picking up rocks.
Silly children playing with rocks... He thought to himself.
Suddenly, he had the image of the burning town in his mind and the elite Knights berating him with insults. Those people killed because of some rocks. Anger renewed within his heart, he punched one of the stables. One of the boys yelped in terror, dropping a pail of water that wet the hay on the ground. Poor child. They would not be so afraid of him if it weren’t for the fact that he was a Knight. Most people didn’t realize that most of the Knights of Azeroth were good people. Except for a few who abused their high positions and stole money for the sake of stealing. Unfortunately this was truer of nations such as Lorderon and Alterac. This was what gave a poor reputation to all Knights.
Darious smiled to himself, amusing himself with the thought of some over-weight Knight stealing from a peasant, only to be knocked flat by a well placed punch. He stood there for a while, watching the boys as they cleaned the horses. They moved quickly and efficiently for once. He couldn’t tell if they were working quickly to please him, or if the horses had not been cleaned in a while due to their laziness.
Finally one of the boys brought him Atlas, the strongest of the horses, and of course the one he owned.
“Good boy,” Darious said, patting the horse on its muscled neck,” we’re going on a long journey. I hope you’re more ready for it than I am.”
The horse looked back at him, its eyes emotionless.
He suddenly realized how frightened he was of going to Stormwind Keep. What if he was killed going to the Keep? Or what if he was killed when he arrived in the city? What would become of his wife?
Darious cursed himself for worrying about things like that. It would not do him a bit of good if he worried now. He brought his horse to the front of the stables were his pack of provisions lay. He tied it down to the horse. He was ready. Darious turned to the boys and said:
“See to it that my wife leaves before the sun sets.”
“Why’s that sir?” one of the boys asked.
Darious realized that he had not explained to the boys why he was leaving. Nor had he told them what dangers could be in store. He decided to lie to them.
“She wishes to see my parents in Goldstone before the week is done. I’m going on a trip to see the king, if you wish to know. As for my servants, they will be leaving too. They deserve a holiday of some sorts while my wife and I are gone. And you children do to. Go home after the servants have taken the last of the horses. Be sure to stay off the path. I’ve heard rumors that a procession of Knights will be coming this way soon.”
The children looked around nervously. When they went home, they would not go outside for some time. There was a good chance that the Elite Warriors were well on their way to the castle. He had no idea how long they would stay at Grand Hamlet. They could have taken food from the village and then decided stay a while to eat and rest. Not that it took much to destroy a town full of defenseless people, but the elite Knights trained hard everyday. It was like being a squire again, as one Knight had put it. So an extended break from the training could be won by staying behind. The Knight’s would probably give some wild tale as to how they took so long to return, and they would be believed. Darious had seen it happen before. After all, he was a Knight and he had seen some of his friends become the elite. He had stood there in amazement as they lied to their superiors. If the elite had a story for something, they were believed. They were the elite after all. Why should they not be trusted?
“Do you think they’ll kill us?” one of the boys whispered to the boy standing next to him.
Darious heard this. He shook his head.
“They will kill no one, child. Just do not get in their way. I’m leaving now, I can’t spend anymore time here. Tell my wife I love her and that I will see her soon.”
Darious tied his food and spare clothes to his horse. He was hoping that the weight would not be too much for the horse, or else he would have to stop every so often to let the beast rest. After mounting his horse, he gave it a soft kick on its side. The horse started at a walk and then he gave it another kick and then it started to gallop.
Several minutes later his house was out of view. Trees gave way to large fields. The farmland of tall brown wheat greeted him as he left the little forest that surrounded his estate. He was taken aback; it had been so long since he had been out this way. Darious had all but forgotten that there was a long stretch of farmland between his estate and Stormwind Keep. A few small houses dotted the countryside. They seemed to be the usual one-story houses for farmers (however some were two story, indicating that the farmer had a prosperous business), and the houses were constructed out of logs with straw and mud caulking to seal out cold air in the winter. Near the little houses stood tall silos, which could hold hundreds of pounds of grain or other produce. Somewhere on the farms, men and women were working, but at the moment they could not be seen from the path where Darious rode. He wondered if he would encounter any farmers on the way, and if they could provide him with information on the elite Knights. If he encountered a farmer he would question him, but if he did not, then he could not stop to ride up to one of the houses. He had to get to the Keep as soon as he could, which currently looked like it was going to be a few days ride.
The path that he was going to see for the next day or two was, as usual, pitted with hoof prints. Once he got near to the city, perhaps twenty miles or so, cobblestone roads would take place of dirt paths and this would make riding much easier. For now, he would really have to watch the path so he and his horse did not fall.
As he rode along passing up field after field, he encountered no farmers. No carriages or buggies. No one. It’s as if no one was along the path today. They all seemed to be…somewhere else, but surely they were not on the path. Darious began to think. What if they had known about the knights? Did they know that they were on their way to destroy a helpless town? Could they be involved in some plot to disrupt the kingdom, to take the king from his throne?
Darious kicked himself mentally. Such idiotic thoughts, he was being childish and he knew it. There was a reason for the knight’s extreme prejudice against the town.
