Soth looked behind him and was surprised to find that the knights from
Palanthas had indeed closed the gap. If they were able to keep up their pace, they'd be upon them in a few short hours.
"Right!" said Soth. He urged his horse forward. It protested slightly, but then was off… On the final dash to the keep.
They were minutes away from Dargaard Keep.
Although still at a gallop, Soth's horse was slowing, holding up the mounts of the others which still had some wind left in their lungs.
He kicked at the horse's ribs. Foam was already forming at the mouth of the beast, but it valiantly tried to pick up the pace. After a few more steps it stumbled and fell forward, sending Soth hurtling hard onto the ground.
Several of the knights ahead of Soth kept riding, unaware of what was going on behind them. Those trailing stopped to help Soth to his feet.
"You can ride with me," offered Colm Farold.
"No," said Soth, looking at Farold's horse. "You'll be lucky if the creature takes you the rest of the way to the keep." "You can have my mount, milord," said Darin Valcic.
"It's as fresh as any horse in the keep and I would be honored to have it carry you to safety."
Soth was touched by the gesture, but could not accept it because it likely meant Valcic would be giving up his life in exchange for his own.
"Thank you, Knight Valcic, but I can not accept."
"I insist." "I suggest you settle the matter soon," said Caradoc.
"Or neither of you will make it to the keep alive."
Soth looked at Valcic.
Valcic nodded.
Soth mounted the knight's horse.
And was gone.
Darin Valcic turned west to face the oncoming knights.
There were ten knights abreast at the front of the pack maybe more.
Judging by the plume of dust rising up behind them they might have been six or seven deep, perhaps more than fifty knights in all.
It would be a short battle, but Valcic was determined to put up a fight worthy of a true Knight of Solamnia.
He drew his sword, held it before him with both hands.
A moment later the knights were upon him.
He held his breath… And suddenly, the knights parted, riding around him and leaving him alone on the plains to choke on their dust.
Now on a fresh horse, Soth led his knights in the final charge toward the keep.
He looked very little like the knight who had left Dargaard Keep little more than a week ago.
He had the appearance of a dirty and disheveled wild man whose clothes were little more than rags. His muscular upper body was bruised and stained by the remains of rotten fruit, eggs and dirt that had been hurled at him in Palanthas. And his long black hair flowed back from his head like wildfire, putting an air of madness about him.
But despite it all, he still rode erect and proud on his mount, and his eyes… His eyes were still as alive and piercing as ever.
Soon the knights clattered across the drawbridge and into the keep. Two of the horses who had made the trip from Palanthas stumbled their last few agonizing steps before falling in utter exhaustion.
A moment later the portcullis came crashing down and the drawbridge slowly began to rise up.
Outside, the pursuing knights brought their horses to a halt at the edge of the chasm surrounding the keep, then quickly retreated out of the range of any archers who might be waiting for them on the battlements.
"Are we going to lay siege to the keep?" asked Eiwon van Sickle, regarding the formidable structure before them.
Garrett Fenton looked to Dargaard Keep and then shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it would take far too long and require too many knights. And to what purpose?"
"So what are we going to do? Surely, High Justice Caladen isn't going to allow Soth to get away with his crimes."
"I've received instructions from the high justice. I assure you, he won't be getting away with anything," Fenton said.
"But how-" "Think about it for a moment," Fenton.
"Soth has lived his life as a revered and respected knight.
Now, news of his crimes will be all over Ansalon in a matter of weeks.
Anywhere he goes he will be called a murderer and mocked as a fallen knight. For a Knight of Solamnia, especially one of Soth's stature, such a fate is worse than death itself."
"Yes," said van Sickle. "I can see that." His body seemed to shiver at the thought. Still, he persisted. "But we can't just let him go." "No,"
Fenton said. "There will be conditions that must be met."
Hours later, he rode slowly toward the keep under the protection of a white standard. When Fenton reached the bridge, it did not come down.
He remained seated on his mount and laid forth his conditions.
"Loren Soth," he said loudly enough for all those on the west side of the keep to hear. "You are hereby dishonorably dismissed from the
Knights of Solamnia. Furthermore, if you should ever venture outside the boundaries of Knightlund it will be the duty of every Knight of Solamnia to hunt you down like a common criminal and carry out the execution order of the high justice."
Fenton paused a few moments. "If you understand these terms you may indicate so in an appropriate manner."
Several minutes passed before a column of pale white smoke rose up from the uppermost battlement of the keep.
Seeing the smoke, Fenton nodded. "Very well, then. It is done."
The Solamnic Knights turned their horses around and headed back to
Palanthas.
BOOK THREE
Dead Of Knight
Chapter 27
.
"Tell me it's not true!" cried Isolde. "Tell me Korinne died during the birth and not by your hand!" She had asked the question many times before, but never in as many words. Now, as he'd done so many times before, Soth remained silent, unwilling to face her.
"Tell me, please," repeated Isolde, this time on the verge of tears. At least if he denied it, if he adamantly claimed that some grievous mistake had been made, there might still be a chance for redemption, a chance to clear his good name.
His name and hers.
But if it were indeed true, if he had in fact killed his former wife and child, people would know that she had been carrying his child while he was still married to Korinne.
Then they would assume that because Isolde had been with child it had been that much easier for Soth to turn his back on Korinne. Nay, more than turn his back.
To… She had trouble with the word.
To kill his wife and newborn child.
If that were true, she would be an accomplice to the murders. She would be as guilty of the killings as Soth himself.
If it were true.
If Soth was indeed guilty of the crime, he would never regain his status as one of the greatest Solamnic Knights of all time. Instead he would be a disgraced knight who would be killed on sight if he ever left the keep. And she would be similarly disgraced-a subject of ridicule should she ever venture beyond Dargaard Keep's cold bloodstone walls.
After all, who could pardon such a heinous act? Even the Healing Hand,
Mishakal, would be hard-pressed to forgive such an atrocity.
If it were true.
"Tell me they made a mistake," she pleaded. "Tell me you did not kill Korinne and the child!"
Soth drew in a long breath, looked Isolde in the eye and spoke to her directly. "Lady Korinne died as a result of the severely deformed child that she bore."
Isolde listened intently to the words. They didn't sound like much of a denial, but Soth's voice was unwavering and it was edged with just a hint of conviction.
She desperately wanted to believe him. For a moment she thought to ask him again in order to cull more reassuring words from him, but decided against it. Those few words would be as much as she would get out of her husband.