I Will Be the Greatest Knight

The sun was setting and the bonfire the knights lit looked beautiful against the dark expanse on the eastern side of the valley. The further the sun sank, the darker purple the distant sky looked. Orange flames stood against it nicely.

As long as Irene didn't think about the fact that the fire was created using dry sticks and the bodies of goblins, it was beautiful. There were six piled in total. If she got too close, she could certainly smell the haunting scent of burning flesh.

Just as the other apprentices, she opted to stand further off.

Since the threat of monsters had been taken care of, people were starting to appear once more. A farmer who had a house a short distance away even saw the flames and joined the knights in burning the carcasses.

The farmer was fetching water on Sir Gunnar's request. It wouldn't be wise to leave a fire burning during a dry season and near crops.

However, once the farmer appeared again with a couple of wooden buckets full of water from his well, he placed them down and wiped his forehead.

"You ought to take the kids to the tavern and grab something to eat," the old man suggested. "You can trust me to watch the fire. It's near my land, after all."

Sir Gunnar and Sir Phillip both looked over their shoulders at the apprentices standing in a group. They were looking a bit worse for wear despite trying to stand tall.

After the knights briefly discussed what the next few hours would contain, they walked towards the apprentices who were none the wiser to what the knights had just discussed.

"We will head to a tavern and have a proper meal," Sir Phillip explained. "Best to feed ourselves after a strenuous day."

In front of the knights, the apprentices usually did their best to try and act more mature than what they truly were, but they couldn't help their visible excitement at the mere prospect of eating.

Irene was the youngest at eleven while the others were older and had the appetites of true teenagers. Whoever cooked that night was going to have their work cut out for them.

The knights bid the farmer goodbye and went back into the township.

Surprisingly, things were starting to liven up as cookshops opened their doors to passersby, offering convenient foods to eat like meat on a stick or cobs of corn. With each step forward, a new scent struck the kids' noses and by the time they found a tavern to eat at, their stomachs were growling audibly.

The knights had chosen a tavern connected to an inn where their horses were being kept in the stable. The perk of being a knight was that, even if the stables were often full, knights still had priority and that went for the apprentices traveling with them as well.

Shortly, the apprentices were sitting in a line at one of the long tables in the tavern's dining hall and they were downing their stew and loaves of bread as if they had been starved their entire lives.

In the meantime, the knights enjoyed golden ale and allowed themselves a few moments to relax. Their wins that day called for it—anyone nearby would think so.

As the apprentices began to finish their meals, they pushed their empty bowls away and a barmaid came by to clear the table of things.

Irene leaned into the table and couldn't help resting her chin against her arms for a moment.

"Tired?" Felix asked her. "Must be burdensome hiding from everyone that you're quite the archer."

Irene sat up straight before he could even finish his sentence, thinking he was going to reveal something that was a far bigger secret.

"Why does it matter when everyone uses swords anyway?" she asked nervously.

She couldn't voice that it was common for Sȕnsto women to learn archery. It was lucky for her that her traveling party didn't know this fact.

"I am personally more curious about how little you know about goblins," Leif interjected before Felix could press further about the archery. "I thought Sir Arthur would have taught you more about the most common monster in all of Hydrogia."

Felix let out an explosive laugh. Usually it was him giving the others trouble but it seemed Leif could deal it sometimes as well.

"Sir Arthur didn't even allow us to know anything about his kids until now," the older apprentice reminded Leif. "It's why he lives in the middle of the duchy where he can keep all of them away from the monsters coming from the mountain."

Another apprentice took note of the lively conversation.

"You know what?" Louis joined in. "I always heard that Sir Arthur had a daughter as well."

"Do you have a sister?" Felix asked, suddenly more interested. "She must be prettier than you because you're kind of soft looking for a boy."

Irene's face turned what felt ten shades darker and she stammered an intelligible response in return.

"I don't have a sister!"

However, as her eyes drifted to Sir Gunnar as she silently begged for help, the knight seemed to have a glint in his eye and Irene suddenly felt as if the ground was crumbling beneath her feet.

Luckily, the knight could read a room and changed the subject.

"Now, now," Sir Gunnar began. "Quiet down and listen up."

As expected, the apprentices became much more serious at his words.

"I said before we ought to camp but with the goblin situation today, it's best we sleep somewhere a bit safer tonight," the knight admitted. "We'll sleep here for the night. While you apprentices get ready for bed, Sir Phillip and I will see if there are more goblins out there being stirred up by nightfall. Samson agreed to wait in the tavern. If he reports anything back to us upon our return, you can be there will be hell to pay at the Duke's Tower during morning practices. In the morning, Iro will also return the bow and apologize to the blacksmith."

The girl looked shocked but didn't miss a beat responding with the other apprentices.

"Yes, sir!"

Even though the apprentices answered seriously, grins took over their faces. Earlier that day, they were promised sleeping outdoors on the ground, but staying at an inn was fun for any child or teenager.

Soon they were led to the higher levels and eagerly rid themselves of their armor. They were even allowed privacy to take a bath supplied by maids working in the inn that night.

When Irene was finished bathing, she entered the large room where rows of beds were set up for the travelers. She hadn't considered it before but it made her somewhat nervous.