Book 4. Chapter 25
The next morning Brin and the rest of the Lance left the keep together to go find the Order’s stables. The stables were an oddly far distance away, nearly a quarter mile. After all, wouldn’t you want your horses to be close in case you needed to go somewhere in a hurry? But the ground near the keep was treacherous; odd stones popped up everywhere, and what looked like soft earth might have a sharp stone just under the surface.
The stable wasn’t hard to recognize, either. It was a brand new construction, made of solid timber, with walls and a roof and everything. Apparently the Order didn’t think their knights or logistics staff needed anything special, but for their horses? Only the best.
As they were approaching, they passed a group of knights leaving on horseback. They didn’t look much different than Brin’s Lance, except that they looked like real knights. It wasn’t just the fact that all of them wore powerfully enchanted armor like Cid and Hedrek. It was more the way they carried themselves. Back’s straight, confident, and synchronized in a way that was hard to put his finger on. Would Brin’s Lance look like that someday, or were these guys winners from the beginning?
Brin saw an older knight, and from the way he stood watching them expectantly, it was clear that he was waiting for them.
Name: Derec Cronby
Level: 45
Class: Horse Master
Derec wore no helmet and the bare minimum of acceptable armor. A breastplate, a strip of metal on his forearms, and an attempt at plates on the outside of his thighs. All the rest of his outfit was old, worn leather.
Brin whispered to Cid, using sound magic to make sure no one else could hear, “Who’s that? I thought Hedrek was going to show us the ropes.”