They both knew how much the knights liked to pick on the squires, and Burchard saw no reason to be late and encourage even more torment. Having not spent any time under Colonel Frost’s command, he wasn’t sure how much influence the colonel would have over the behavior of the knights they would be traveling with.
Burchard gathered up his two bags, bow, and quiver and followed his friend out the door and into the stable. The knights they would be joining were in various stages of readiness. A few were sitting on their horses waiting patiently; others were in the stable or heading that way. Burchard let himself into Chip’s stall and proceeded to tie his gear onto her saddle. Once everything was secured, he snagged the bridle off the hook and gently put it onto her head.
“Let’s go, Chip,” he said softly, before leading her out of the stable and toward the edge of the group of knights. Most of the knights were mounted, so Burchard checked his saddle girth strap again. Confident it was secured so his saddle wouldn’t slip, he put his foot in the stirrup iron and swung himself into the saddle.
Ruschmann followed his lead, keeping Cricket close, but not so close as to provoke Chip into doing something mean to him.
“Where’s Sir Peter?” Ruschmann asked.
Burchard peered around the group and realized Ruschmann was right. Sir Peter wasn’t here. Neither was Sir Daniel. “Are they sending us without our knight masters?”
Ruschmann frowned. “That seems like a strange thing to do.”
Just then, Sir Peter and Sir Daniel came over to them. Both were wearing heavy coats and pants but showed no signs of preparing for departure. Burchard opened his mouth, then hastily shut it when Sir Daniel began to speak. “We are not going with you. General Wolfensberger wants us to go with a single squad to the south for more scouting.” He paused. “I know it will be strange with neither one of us there, but we know that you are both capable of following orders and will do fine under Colonel Frost.”
Sir Peter nodded in agreement. “Stay together, and obey the orders you’re given. We’ll see you in a few days.”
Burchard wanted to say something to Sir Peter, but just then, Colonel Frost gave the command to depart. Burchard waved at his knight master instead and decided he would follow their instructions to stay with Ruschmann and obey orders.
That shouldn’t be too hard, right?
7
Three hours later, Burchard was barely able to contain his anger. As soon as the group had gotten out of sight of Alderth Castle, the knight closest to the two squires, Sir Victor Bushman, had ordered them to fill up his water canteen at the creek on the side of the road. Burchard had done the task without comment. However, one by one all of the knights except for Colonel Frost made their way to the two squires and gave them orders. Some of them were simple, like filling up a canteen; others did not make much sense, like tying a shirt over their eyes.
At the three-hour mark, Chip and Cricket were not only carrying the squires’ gear but that of about fifteen of the knights as well. Sweat trickled down their necks from the extra effort of carrying that much added weight for so long.
“Sir Daniel told us to follow orders,” Ruschmann gently reminded Burchard.
Burchard growled. “I am certain this is not what he meant by that.”
“What exactly do you intend to do about it? If you ride up there and tell Colonel Frost, it will just make matters worse. The knights will punish you behind his back,” Ruschmann said softly to keep the knight closest to them from overhearing them.
“I want to fight them,” Burchard declared.
Ruschmann shook his head. “Yes, I get that, but what you want is a fair fight. If the knights are stooping this low to bully us, there’s no way they will fight fair.”
Burchard opened his mouth to reply when he realized that Colonel Frost was riding at his side. He inclined his head. “Colonel, what can we do for you?” When he lifted his head up, he saw the colonel studying all the extra gear on his saddle.
“What is the meaning of this?” Colonel Frost demanded.
Burchard was about to speak when Ruschmann reached over and pinched his arm hard. “Ouch!” he yelped.
“I see,” replied Colonel Frost. “Halt!” The order was passed all the way to the front of the column. “Squires, dismount.”
Burchard exchanged a confused look with Ruschmann and dismounted. Colonel Frost also dismounted. He led his horse several paces a way, murmured something in its ear, and then walked back over to the squires. Instead of speaking to them, the colonel untied the extra bags from their saddles, which were obvious from their haphazard attachment. When he was done relieving the horses of their extra gear, there was a huge heap in the road. Still without speaking, the colonel returned to his horse and mounted.
“Let’s go!” he commanded.
Burchard exchanged a look with Ruschmann. He’s just going to leave their gear in the road?
Ruschmann shrugged, almost as though he could read Burchard’s mind. Both squires mounted up and their horses quickly fell into line at the end of the double column. Burchard could hear the knights ahead of them muttering angrily. It almost seemed as though they were going to drop back again for a confrontation, when suddenly the column veered off the road and onto a narrow deer trail, forcing them into a single-file line.
Burchard let out a breath that he hadn’t realized he was holding. He knew Colonel Frost must have a solid idea of where they were going, and the squires were content to just follow at the end of the line without drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. They slowed to a walk and continued to follow the trail, weaving in and out of trees and small rock outcroppings. He could have sworn they were also losing elevation, but without stopping, he could not be certain. When they reached a clearing, everyone halted. It was not large, and it made rather tight quarters getting all sixty horses together. Once everyone was within the bounds of the clearing, the colonel dismounted and moved around the group, giving orders softly.
“Squires, you will stay here to look after the horses while the rest of us go after the Stinyian rebels. I want to you to follow me for a moment,” the colonel explained. He led the squires to the edge of the clearing and gazed into the forest.
“If you look through the trees, you can sort of make out that there is a larger outcrop of rocks,” Colonel Frost said, and pointed to where Burchard could make out some dark gray shapes. “The rebels are supposed to be just on the other side. If things go well and they are indeed there, it should not be too difficult to dispatch them, and then I will return with the knights, and we can find a suitable campsite for tonight.”
“What if they aren’t there?” Burchard asked. He knew from tales that Sir Peter had shared that often even the best laid plans went wrong.
“As long as there are signs that we can use to track their whereabouts, my intention is to pursue them on foot. With the number of dead leaves underfoot here, it is difficult for the horses to be quiet. Much easier to minimize the noise we make if we do not have them. Now, while you are staying here, I expect you to be ready. If we do encounter the rebels, it is possible that some could sneak away and try to steal our horses,” Colonel Frost explained.
Ruschmann and Burchard nodded. They had been told to obey orders, and although Burchard knew they would both prefer to be with the knights when they found the rebels, he knew that this order they were being given was reasonable and necessary. As Colonel Frost walked away to presumably finish his preparations, Burchard could have sworn he heard mutters and curses from the knights about missing certain supplies that they needed.
I guess some of them had important items in those saddlebags they loaded us with, Burchard realized.
A few sharp words from Colonel Frost, and the knights stopped talking and formed up around him. Burchard checked his sword in the scabbard and his long knife. He was debating if he should grab his bow or not. Ruschmann hadn’t brought his bow.
“When they leave, what do you want our strategy to be? It’s us and sixty horses,” Burchard inquired.
Ruschmann took his time turning in a full circle, evaluating the clearing as well as the space just beyond it. The trees here were mostly tall pines with short, spindly branches, but there were three oaks. Burchard waited patiently, wondering if his friend would have the same idea or something else.
“Since you brought a bow, I think it would make sense for me to take your bow into that tree.” Ruschmann pointed to the tallest oak tree, which was as wide as Burchard was tall and had a large branch about ten feet off the ground that looked like it could easily hold both of their weight. “Then you would position yourself at the base of the pine tree. Those positions will allow us to maximize the amount of area we can see and provide you cover if needed.”
Burchard smiled. “I also came up with a very similar plan. Let’s get in place.” He offered Ruschmann the bow and quiver and watched as his friend slid both onto his shoulder, then headed over to the oak tree. As Ruschmann began climbing, Burchard turned away and walked to his position.
