Author's Preface
The path of being a noble knight is not for the faint of heart, but for Davy, he swore an oath to protect the weak and help those in need. After his training and ceremony to become a knight, he was told to be the village protector of Bearsbury.
As Sir Davy of Bearsbury reached the town, he was greeted with the sight of mourning villagers and a building that was smoldering from a fire that started last night.
"Good people of Bearsbury, what has transpired here?" Sir Davy asked a small lady who knelt on the ground. He gave out his hand to help her to her feet.
"Sir knight, a monster has been attacking our village for the last three nights," the woman said. "It kidnapped the blacksmith's daughter."
Sir Davy held the lady till she finally calmed down. Her tears started to cease, and she looked up at the knight. She took a step from him and pointed down the road where a cold, gloomy shop sagged.
"That is where the blacksmith lives. Will you help us?" The woman asked.
"As my sworn oath states, young woman, 'I shall protect the weak and help those in need.'" Sir Davy said with his chest held high. "Now I will meet your blacksmith and see what I can do."
Sir Davy walked up to the sad-looking shop and knocked on the door.
There was no answer.
He knocked again; this time the door nudged open from the weight of his knock.
"Blacksmith, I am Sir Davy, new knight of Bearsbury, and I am here to help rescue your lost daughter," he said to an empty room.
Sir Davy walked into the shop and looked around. He saw very simple swords and spears hanging on the walls. There were farm tools on a counter across the room and a few horseshoes scattered around. A man lay slumped on a counter with a bottle in hand.
"By the gods of Alantra, good blacksmith, awaken from your despair. I, Sir Davy, new knight of Bearsbury, will help you," He rushed over to help the man up.
"What good is awaking from this sorrow when my joy has been taken from me?" the blacksmith said. "You know why you're the new knight of Bearsbury? Because the last one was too scared to face the monster and fled, abandoning his oath and us."
"By the gods!" exclaimed Sir Davy. "I have never heard of such betrayal. That knight needs to be brought to the courts and find redemption in breaking his oath."
"What good will any of that do? Once you go and face the monster, you too will run and abandon us," said the blacksmith.
"I shall not do such things!" Sir Davy said as he put his feet together and held his fist to his chest. "Now tell me, which way does the monster dwell?"
The blacksmith's eyes widened, and his sorrowful face started to fade. He put down his bottle and stood up to see the good knight's eyes. He turned and quickly grabbed a new sword off the wall behind him.
"Take this o, good sir knight," The man held out the sword to Sir Davy. "This sword was crafted with the metals of the eastern elves, and its hilt was forged by the dwarves of Herdofan, and brought to us humans to enchant it with powers of luck, sir knight. Use this to aid in your journey and rescue my daughter."
"I shall, and thank you for bestowing such a gift to my quest," Sir Davy said.
As Sir Davy, Knight of Bearsbury, headed towards the direction of the monster, he made sure he was out of sight from the village. Once he could no longer see the village, his chest and smile faltered. Giving way to the decision he made to become a knight and save the blacksmith's daughter.
"I can't do this. What was I thinking being a knight?" Sir Davy cried to himself. "I was looking to be a knight in a city where a team of us would work together, and we would have a queue of help tickets, and we would choose the easiest ones while the harder ones would fall off the queue line." He kicked the dust off to the side of the road, "but no, you had to pass every test and be the best thinking that would make you some sort of royal knight."
A moment passed before Sir Davy's head rose, and he thought of a plan.
"I will go to the monster's dwelling, at least I can do that, but I don't need to go in. I can explain that the monster left when I returned to the village and then bolt at the speed of an elf and leave before the monster comes. I just need to play up this confidence to not lose the hope of the people and maybe come back with a team?"
Sir Davy, with his new plan, strolled along the road until he could see signs of the monster. He noticed deeper into the forest that the trees towered over him and that some of the trees were snapped in places that formed a new path. He gulped as he took a slow step into the broken path. As he inched his way down, he saw footprints that could only be those of a monster of some kind.
"I should have asked what the monster looked like before even taking this quest," Sir Davy said as the path started to slide down the side of a large hill. "But no, you had to be all honorable to make the people like you and believe in you."
As Sir Davy reached the bottom of the hill, he was greeted with a clearing and a large cave on the other side. Animal bones littered the clearing, and parts of houses and pens were thrown around the place. The sun was getting closer to setting, and Sir Davy looked towards the cave.
"Well, I don't see a monster, nor signs of a human---" As Sir Davy was about to turn around heard a faint cry for help at the entrance of the cave.
Sir Davy tiptoed to the mouth of the cave. The light did not travel far, and he could only see rocks. His hands shook, and his legs could not move any further.
"psst, over here," a small voice said, having the natural acoustics of the cave carry its voice.
Sir Davy squinted his eyes to focus on where the sound was coming from. After his eyes adjusted, he could see a little girl trapped behind a rock-like cage. He straightened up his posture and forced a grin across his face.
"Do not fear, little one, I have come to rescue you!" He said with an airy breath.
"Shoosh, it might wake up," the girl said. "Please hurry."
Sir Davy slowly staggered into the cave. As he got closer, he noticed that the rock-like cage had an appendage-like look to it. His eyes traveled down the cage, and next to it were jagged rock structures. Above the jagged rocks were two little tunnels, and above the tunnels. Sir Davy gulped; he saw two eyes of stone staring right at him.
It was a troll.
Sir Davy jumped to action to free the girl; his hand reached through the finger and lifted her up over to an opening where she could squeeze through.
"Quickly, little one, out of the cave," he said with a stutter in his voice.
As they ran out of the cave, the sun began to set behind the hills. Night started its routine of casting shadows over the land, and a mighty roar rumbled out of the cave. The rocks were cracking and tumbling out of the entrance. The hand that once held the girl reached out and grabbed the ground. Green glowing eyes shone out from the void, and a sinister laugh followed. The monster has awoken from its slumber.
Sir Davy stood between the troll and the girl in the middle of the clearing. The troll's hulking appearance was at least twice the size of any man and twice as wide as any stocky dwarf. It grabbed what looked like a support beam from one of the house parts. As the troll held the beam in one hand and bounced the end in the other hand, it walked closer to Sir Davy.
"Looks like another pathetic knight has come to denounce his oath, but this time he has an audience," the troll said as he swayed the beam towards the knight.
"He isn't like the last one!" the little girl yelled. "At least he saved me."
Sir Davy looked at the girl with a face that read, 'Please stop talking.'
The troll gave a bellowing laugh.
"O, that is rich. He saved you while I was stone. Anyone could do that, but all he did was delay my lunch," the troll said.
The monster ran at Sir Davy with a club high in the air. It slammed down with a mighty thud, dividing the ground where Sir Davy stood, but the knight jumped out of the way in time. With the momentum, the troll swung his body around the club and swung at the knight. The beam made contact and sent Sir Davy flying across the clearing, landing on a pile of bones.
"Sir Knight!" The girl screamed.
"Please...run..." Sir Davy told the girl. "Make sure you make it to your father." The knight stood up, drew his new sword, and unclipped the shield from his back. "For the King and the gods of Alantra I ask for strength, speed, and courage."
A small glow began to cover his sword. The knight stood tall and smiled at the girl. He turned to the troll who was wildly running at him. He ducked the blow from the troll's weapon and, with a flash, sent the sword up into the monster's belly.
The troll let out an ugly cry and hiss. As it held his stomach, it fell to one knee. With a free hand, the troll threw a punch at Sir Davy, but the knight parried the fist with his shield and took another swipe, this time finding the monster's arm.
Another screech came out of the foe, and with the guidance of his newfound confidence, he took one final slash at the monster, and it lay there on the floor, defeated.
When Sir Davy reached the village, he saw the blacksmith and his daughter reunited. Tears of joy swept across the village, and a celebration was held for the new knight of Bearsbury.