Oathbound Chronicles IV
Detained
Bankin found himself in a small storage room stacked with barrels and crates. Most were empty, or smelled of stale beer and rotted fruit. It was, Bankin quickly realized, also serving the looters as a holding cell. In the back corner, he spotted a dirty, bruised, and bloodied young man in a tattered robe tied securely with a hempen rope and gagged with a dirty cloth. The knight ignored the fear in the young man’s eyes and stepped close to remove the gag.
“How come you to be here, friend?” he asked, concerned.
“I am Brother Ethphere, attendant of Mother Ashwin of Meadowgate Priory. I was taken on the road from the Chain by those looters.”
“And Mother Ashwin? Is she here as well?”
“No, sir knight, I came alone.”
“Very well,” Bankin set to sawing through the ropes with his knife. “Do you know anything about these looters?”
“No sir. They didn’t say much to me, just that ‘I’d do for her.’ But know not of whom they speak.”
“Consider yourself blessed by the Moon, Brother Ethphere. In this case, ignorance is bliss. Do you think you can walk? There’s a farm not far from here, tell them the Sir Bankin sent you. They’ll let you stay there until I’m finished here.”
“Thank you, sir knight. I shall spread word of your benevolence to all who I meet.”
“That is not necessary, brother,” Bankin’s voice was kind but firm. “I do not do this for glory. Go now, I have much to do.”
Oathbound Chronicles is a series of short fiction inspired by my current in-development solo TTRPG, Oathbound and Kate Korsaro’s “The League.”
A knight indeed!