The Stonehearted Knight

A group assembled on the castle ground. It was just after sunset and the place was lit with soft glowing moonstones.

Everyone had gathered to witness the commencement of the town's annual festivities. The group consisted of Knights, Squires and Regulars.

"Hey champ, how are you holding up?" Vitor, joined with a few other Squires, came up to Hex and asked.

Hex noticed they were dressed in clean luxurious clothes made from flax with thin fur coats.

"Well, I think I'm doing good so far," Hex shrugged a bit nonchalantly. Vitor's team seemed genuinely concerned and he could appreciate it, but he preferred to avoid talking about his feelings.

The Squires stood there a bit awkwardly after that. None of the young men knew what to talk about for a while.

"So," Vitor tried again, "I heard you will be joining the Squire Tournament." Seeing Hex nod, Vitor smiled warmly. His gorilla-like features seemed less daunting when he wasn't growling at people.

"I think we will have a blast. I heard even Squires from the Commander's camp, the Merchant Union and the Viscount's garrison will join in. In this part of the kingdom they are believed to be the best. Just imagine, if we break them in pieces, we will become the famous heroes of the north."

Vitor seemed to be already thinking about his yet-to-be-earned fame. The longer he talked, the more animated he got.

"We can have all the girls in the cities of the south," Aran, Vitor's friend, chimed in.

"You guys sure can dream," Hex couldn't help but grin hearing their vivid imagination.

The men chuckled in response. The discussion veered to which cities had the feistiest and shyest women.

Despite his worries, Hex was drawn into the discussion. He loved learning about the world he hadn't seen yet and the girls.

The thin walls of the slums did little to hide the moans and screams. He had been curious to try, but the available girls on the street asked for coins in exchange. Hex needed every coin to survive, so his curiosity remained unfulfilled.

Clap.Clap.

Hestia habitually clapped to draw everyone's attention. She stood in the middle of the ground with three others beside her.

Hex recognized the blonde haired Healer Knight, Lira.

The other two were men he had seen around, but not spoken to so far. All seemed familiar yet strange to Hex.

He was at the castle for over two weeks now. The time spent in the slums and the cloisters seemed ages ago. The past two weeks of his life had been more eventful than the first eighteen years.

"I think everyone is already here. Wallen agreed to let us use horses and goats as mounts. Remember though. We all are responsible for our own mount. If something happens be prepared to pay double or even triple the penalty."

The crowd murmured in agreement. They knew how the puppet-like butler was and knew that getting a fine would be the least of their worries.

The herders brought the mounts to the ground, where everyone took one. Hex took a black horse. He didn't enjoy riding a goat, so he wanted to try riding a horse.

"Who are those two?" Once they were on their way, he turned towards Vitor and asked. The men rode near him on their horses.

"The one at the right is Oron. He is Knight and his techniques are based on the large ax on his shoulders," Vitor explained, pointing at a bald, red-bearded guy. Oron was large, maybe over two meters, with a belly matching his height.

"The other is Adgar. He is also a Knight. He uses a spear. I heard he is the winner of one of the previous Knight tournaments." Hex looked surprised at the average looking man at the left. He was tall and lean, but otherwise really unassuming.

The group rode for some time before Hex started to notice the changes. The road lamps were shining brightly and he could hear loud music coming from the plaza.

The plaza itself was demarcated by fences and mounts were forbidden into it. They had to leave the beasts outside. Hestia knew the owner of the field and had discussed the safety of the beasts.

Hex followed the group on foot. He never had a chance to join the festivities. It was not like the people from the slums were denied entrance, but he saw it as a good chance to hunt.

The other hunters were too occupied with drinking and dancing. It was usually the best time to hunt without competition.

Usually there was a fee to enter the plaza, but Hex heard Vitor say that the fee was waived this time.

'They want people to enjoy and forget about the dangers of the mountains. The loss of so many Blessed would cause panic, but this way, their attention is diverted.'

In the past Hex had paid little attention to politics and governance, but living in the castle brushed off on him. In the castle everyone paid attention to politics, the state of the nobles and the laws made or broken.

'Wow.'

The plaza was transformed beyond anything he had ever seen. Everything looked bright and vibrant. The place was so crowded they had to squeeze between people to walk around.

There were rows of food stalls, each selling something different. The aroma was mouthwatering. Hex resolved to try as many as he could. He had lived mostly on rats, apes and snakes.

Only in the castle he had eaten things like lamb chops, goat cheese, cow cheese, yogurt and something called rice. On its own it was nothing special, but combined with meat and vegetables, it was heavenly. Especially when it was hot.

The chefs told Hex that rice was something brought from the far south. When Hex inquired about the price, he nearly flipped the table. One pack containing a handful of rice cost five hundred coins. The same price as a demon crystal!

"Are we going to register first?" Hex asked the others. They nodded. It was the last night the registration was open.

The tournament would be held in the arena outside the plaza. But the place to register was at the betting shop.

The roaming gamblers provided this service for free to the city council. After all, the tournament would help them earn even more.

Just as they approached the gamblers den, Hex noticed two other people. They noticed him at the same time he saw them.

"You are that lad from the temple, right?" The older guy with dark brown hair and beard asked with a wide grin. "How is life with the baron?"

"I am. And life at the castle is good. Better than the slums. You are Sir Ronan, right?" Hex replied politely.

He remembered the middle aged guy because he nearly became apprenticed to this man. If the baron hadn't spoken then, he would have joined Roran's team of wide robed and hooded figures, probably like his old acquaintance who stood beside Roran.

"Hey Clannad," he said, turning towards the boy with platinum colored hair. He had been his biggest rival during his time at the cloister.

After Hex was thrown out, Clannad became Grindeston's youth champion.

The boy was of similar height and build as Hex. The haughtiness on his face had diminished but Hex was too familiar with him to not notice it.

"Hex," he greeted with a nod. "I see you are joining the tournament too."

"Yes," Hex nodded.

Clannad nodded and walked close to Hex. "Shame you lost so many years if training. We might have enjoyed ourselves like old time."

"I think it's better that I lost some of those years," Hex said with a warm smile. "At least you won't shit your pants...immidiately."

Hex walked inside the tent, followed by a sniggering group of youn men.

Clannad's expression darkened. He clutched his sword.

"Relax. Don't waste your time on them."

Clannad turned towards his master.

"Sorry Lord, I will heed your words. There is indeed no point in losing my temper against people destined to die."