The Fall of Arnon

Chapter 17

The green grass silhouetted against a full moon stood statuesque in the windless night. Hooves pounded dirt sending it flying into the night sky. An owl hooted off in the distance unaware of the horse and rider flying across the field, the horse straining with every inch of his well-muscled body. White foam spewed from his mouth as he threw his pitch black head forward pulling the bit between his staunch jaw begging to be let go to his full potential.

But, the man on his back still held him back from his full fury. Although he too felt anxious to let out the feelings that were building up inside of him, he knew he had to hold back both his and his stallion's. He patted the horse's pulsing neck, whispering encouragements into the rushing wind. 

Before the horse had come to a full stop, he was off the horse's back and inside the warm cottage. 

Lerendo shot up, hearing the door slam loudly, shattering the peaceful sleep he had just been enjoying. "Who's there?" he demanded, scrunching his eyes against the dim room. 

"Sir Ryan," Sir Ryan said shortly. In one motion, he lit a lamp and grabbed Lerendo's cloak from a hook on the wall. "Put this on. We have to go." 

"But... but, what about Televtale?" he asked, looking back at his sleeping friend. He looked peaceful in the glimmering light cast by the lamp. 

"He'll be fine until we get back. Just put a few more blankets on him, so he doesn't freeze and meet me outside." With that, he swung around leaving behind the burning lamp.

Lerendo looked around, surmising the whereabouts of said blankets. He saw nothing there, so he rushed into the next room. There, in the corner, lay a sizable trunk, gathering its fair share of dust. He knelt down and threw the top open scattering a large cloud of dust. He coughed as it filled his lungs. When he could finally see through the tears that had clouded his eyesight, he caught a glimpse of an intricately designed wad of material. He drew it out of the trunk and shook it out. It fell, a beautiful work of stitching from the top to the bottom. 

Picking it up, he turned to close the lid, but something caught his eye. It glimmered in the faint light of the moon. He pulled a woolen blanket from atop of it and stood, speechless. A necklace of the most wondrous material ever made, it shone like diamonds at the bottom of the chest. Hearing a wild whinny from outside, he quickly threw the lid shut and rushed out into the room where Televtale still lay unaware of the world around him. 

He tucked the blankets around him with as much care as he could, and as if by a second thought he bent his head and folded his hands. His lips moved in silent prayer for only a moment then he cast a glance at the innocent sleeping face of his friend. Kissing him on the brow, he murmured a last goodbye and flew out into the quiet night.

Harsh white lines cut through the darkness in the shape of the most beautiful thing Lerendo had ever seen. She reared, screaming into the night sky, her mane whipping against her head. She came down to the ground with the grace of a deer and nickered happily.

Lerendo walked towards her as if he was under a spell. She drew him like a moth to a flame. He took the reigns from Sir Ryan's outstretched hand, but he heard nothing of the murmured words he spoke as he stared into her fiery eyes.

"Come on, Your Highness!" He heard a horse snort from behind him and the muffled cry of the knight. "We must go now! Every moment we waste is a moment we could spend looking for him."

"Looking for who?" He asked quietly, but when he had turned around, all he could see was the backside of a dark shape galloping into the distance. 

"Wait!" He cried out into the night, but now there was no-one to hear him. He whirled around, throwing his body full force over the back of the horse and kicked her sides with the skill of which only a true horseman may boast. The quiet night air screamed through his ears as the horse below him ran with the speed of its ancestor's racing through its blood. His heart beat in rhythm with the steady pounding of her hooves. 

It was not long before, like a hill jutting up from the earth, the city rose to meet him. Sir Ryan swerved just as he came inches from the city wall. The gate of the city was to the left of them, but Lerendo knew they would find no safe entrance at this time of night whoever they may be. Having learned from experience, he followed the knight, knowing he would not lead him astray. They trotted along the side of the wall for a few miles before Sir Ryan raised his hand beckoning him to stop.

He slid off his horse and gestured for Lerendo to do the same. The dust flew up into his face as his feet hit the ground and he coughed, quickly shoving his coat sleeve over his mouth to dim the noise. Around Arnon, there was a trail created by the city guard as they paced the outskirts of the city, paved by the hooves of horses and feet of men, it had grown hard, so hard that not even the spring rains cold divulge the hardened ground of the secrets that lay beneath it.

They walked for a couple hundred feet until they came to a place where the ground became soggy and began to suck at Lerendo's shiny black boots. The horse nickered quietly when he got his foot stuck deep within the brown mire. He grunted, pulling against the slimy tentacles that threatened to consume the entire shoe.

Finally, when it seemed there would soon be no more wall to follow, Sir Ryan paused. He looked to either side of him.

"Here." Sir Ryan cried in hushed tones. "Here it is." Lerendo slogged over to him, his horse following him, her head hung low. 

"What is it?" he questioned.

"Our way in."