I am continuing to post the first few chapters of The Aos Si’s Gift on Substack. If you’ve missed the prologue or the first two chapters, then you can find them as follows:
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Erik slept fitfully and woke up in a foul mood. He washed his face, shaved, and polished his boots before dressing in gray hose and a linen shirt. He went to the cabinet where his armor was stacked and removed the coat that he wore as a Captain of the Hunters on the occasions where armor was not generally acceptable. The coat was made of lightweight, rough-out leather with a hip-length maille vest sandwiched between the layers. It was worked up the sleeves and along the stiff collar with silver scrollwork.
Erik fixed the silver pin of the rampant wolf of his house to the right side of the collar, and the diving falcon that marked him as a Hunter to the left. He belted the garter about his right leg that now marked him the Lord-Captain of the Hunters and pulled the coat over his head. It was a bit more snug across the shoulders than he remembered. He belted his sword around his waist, slung his shield over his shoulder, and grabbed his hood and cloak.
Alwin stopped Erik as he was leaving. “Her majesty had a courier deliver something for you last night, my lord,” the old steward told him.
“That being?”
Alwin handed Erik a cap. It was a round, flat-topped cap with a layer of crenellations surrounding it. A badge bearing the Vespin coat of arms fixed a feather vertically to the front. Erik sighed and put it on. Alwin smiled. “Perfect, my lord,” Alwin said and held up a small hand mirror for Erik.
Erik grunted. “I look like one of the dandies that infect the palace,” he grumbled.
“You look like a high lord,” Alwin corrected.
Erik sighed and took off the cap. He removed the badge, repositioned the feather so it was laying along the left side of the cap, and reattached the pin. He put it back on and looked in the mirror again. Alwin gave him a disapproving look but said nothing. He just shook his head as Erik stepped out and closed the door.
Manfred joined in Alwin’s disapproving glance at Erik. The big knight stood with Rolph and Bernhard by the four men’s horses. Rolph shifted uneasily. “Are we overdressed,” Rolph asked.
“No, we’re not,” Bernhard assured the young knight.
Manfred shook his head. “You’re wearing it wrong, my lord,” he told Erik. “The feather’s supposed to be up front, pointed upwards.”
Rolph laughed. “No, this is better,” he told Manfred. “He’d look silly if a doorframe knocked his hat off.”
Erik swung into his saddle. “Let’s get this over with,” he said.
The men mounted their horses as a woman entered the gate astride a lean, gray courser. She rode to Erik and bowed in the saddle. “Now there’s a change,” she remarked in a lilting accent.
“You have news for me, Marie,” Erik asked the woman.
Marie pushed back her hood. She was a slim elven woman with blue eyes and black hair in a loose bun. “I do, my lord, but it’s hard to deliver if the door stays locked,” she replied as she dismounted. “Would you mind having Alwin talk to the new night porter about me?”
“I’ll deal with it,” Erik replied flatly.
“Someone’s in a cheery mood,” Marie remarked sarcastically. “You should know that someone is hiring mercenaries in the city, but I can’t seem to find out where they’re going.”
Erik shook his head. “There’s trouble in Landshut and Ravensburg,” he informed Marie. “I’d start there.”
Marie grimaced. “No, I don’t think so,” she sighed. “They usually make a big deal about bandit hunts like that, but nobody’s making much of it this time. I’ll see what I can dig up.”
Erik nodded. “Thank you, Marie,” he told her. “Get some food, and then see what you can find out.”
Marie frowned at Erik and shook her head, resting her hands on her hips. “Are you going to tell me how to string my lute while you’re at it,” she asked.
Erik pinched the bridge of his nose with a weary sigh. “Not right now, Marie,” he told her, then gathered his reins and nudged Anfa forward.
“He found out Ileana’s back in the city, didn’t he,” Marie asked the other three men.
“Yes,” Manfred replied. “Yes, he did.”
The four men rode away from the manor and through the city. They crossed the ancient Rose Bridge over the Erlenz River and made better time than they expected. They stopped at the entrance to the square across from a squat building, surrounded by a low wall, and decorated with large, stained-glass windows. A number of banners streamed out on stout poles built into the roof of the building. One banner was missing.
Erik glowered at the building. “Bernhard,” he called back. “I don’t see House Vespin’s banner represented. I suggest that we remedy that as soon as possible.”
Bernhard nodded. “Yes, my lord,” he replied and rode ahead.
Erik led the other two across the square toward the Edelhaus at a leisurely walk. Many of the lords were assembled outside, speaking in groups. Some of them went quiet while Erik and his men silently dismounted in the courtyard. Erik stood with his fists on his hips as he watched the Vespin banner finally rise over the Edelhaus. “That’s much better,” he murmured, then looked around the crowd for Wilhelm Keller and Elina vonEisenheim.
Erik saw Elina and Wilhelm watching him. Elina’s face was a serene mask, but Wilhelm was making some effort to conceal a wide grin. Wilhelm was a heavily muscled man of medium height. He kept his auburn hair close-cropped, and there was a dangerous twinkle in his gray eyes. “They’re up to something,” Manfred noted quietly as Erik and his retainers crossed the yard to them.
“I noticed,” Erik replied dryly.
“So good to see you here,” Wilhelm greeted Erik warmly, extending his hand.
Erik clasped the man’s hand. “It’s good to see you, too, old friend,” Erik replied.
“Don’t bow,” Elina warned quietly without seeming to move her lips as she extended her hand. Then she spoke more loudly. “How went the Hold?”
Erik inclined his head over Elina’s hand. “We held the pass,” Erik replied. “How are Ideslef and young Frederick?”
“They are well,” Elina replied.
Erik nodded and turned back to Wilhelm. “I trust Kaia is well,” he said.
Wilhelm sighed sadly. “She is,” he replied. “She’s holding things down while I’m here.”
Elina smiled at Erik, and he knew at least a few of the lords would be wondering if the expression would break her face. “Would you mind escorting me inside,” she asked Erik.
Erik extended his elbow out to Elina. She laid her hand over his forearm and allowed him to lead the way. Wilhelm followed slightly to Erik’s right with their retainers trailing along behind. “Are things going well in Ravensburg,” Erik asked Wilhelm.
“Calm before the storm,” Wilhelm grumbled in reply. “I’ve come to petition the crown for more men, but I intend to be on a boat back upriver in the morning.”
Erik grimaced at that. Wilhelm frequently had a sense for such things and was rarely wrong. “I’ll talk to the queen,” he promised.
Wilhelm breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you for that, Erik,” he replied. “I owe you one.”
Erik shook his head. “I have an interest in keeping the kingdom from flying apart at the moment,” he replied.
Elina grimaced. “I’m tired of this. Every time I’m packing my things to leave, some fool seems dead set on nailing my feet to the ground,” she remarked peevishly in a voice intended to carry and looked at one particular group of lesser lords and bannerets. “I’m seriously considering cutting them off.”
Erik grinned wolfishly. “I’d just like to know who wasn’t keen on inviting me to this little circus,” he remarked.
Feel free to ask questions or make comments below…