The Lord of Harrowfield

The day of the final competition quickly arrived.

“It seems you're quite tough yourself, Sir Wallis.”

“Haha, not a candle to you, Lord Harrow.” Sir Wallis laughed. He was the knight under Lord Jayson whom Adrian had fought in the joust previously. And he had already said that he would win his emblem back from Adrian in the future. He wouldn’t buy it back.

Adrian smiled and turned to his wrist, making sure the straps were tight before looking up and to the side. There, high up on the wall, were hundreds of spectators.

Beside Adrian stood Lord Jayson himself, clad in grey and white armor with a cloak that seemed almost too pristine for the outdoors, Sir Wallis, one of his knights, and Garold, the archer who had made it to the finals of the archery competition but ultimately lost.

Adrian was surprised to learn the man was actually a commoner, though he was sponsored by a viscount. Including Adrian, their team had four members for the competition. Around them, more than a dozen other teams had formed.

Not far away, below the walls, servants and maesters stood ready to detain the captured monsters.

“Quite an interesting bow.” Adrian commented, eyeing Garold’s finely made weapon, which was covered in strange carvings.

The old man, grizzled but a man of few words, simply said, “Made it myself.”

Adrian nodded impressed, “Say, how close are you to the lord who sponsored you?”

Garold raised his thick brows at him.

“My territory needs unique people,” Adrian said unashamedly, shrugging slightly. “I could use a man of your talents…”

The man was incredibly skilled with the bow and arrow, and Adrian could use those skills to train his own men. Besides, a skilled archer was always worth having.

“Hm… I'll think about it, Lord Harrow.”

“Poaching people, eh?” Lord Jayson stepped closer to them. In his hands was a waterskin, though it undoubtedly held wine instead of water.

“My territory is small…” Adrian said simply.

Lord Jayson took a sip of his drink, swallowed, and chuckled. “A man not just of martial skill, but one who looks after his territory’s future.” He then gestured with his hand toward the other teams.

“What do you think our chances are, Lord Harrow?”

Adrian scanned the other groups. They were all great fighters. Some hadn't participated in the previous competitions. Others, like the twins, each had their own separate teams participating. Prince Bennet hadn't joined, but Lord Corvus had his own team, and the Lord of Cameron had one as well.

With such a combination of formidable teams, Adrian literally had no idea who would come out on top of this challenge.

“I’m going to be honest, I have no clue, Lord Jayson. But do you want to win?” Adrian turned to the duke's son.

“Of course, there's no point participating in a competition without thinking of winning…” Lord Jayson frowned when he saw his drink was nearly empty, before signaling a servant to refill it.

“So do your best, Lord Harrow.” The duke's son turned back to him.

Adrian's lip twitched, but he controlled his expression and bowed. From the corner of his eye, he looked at Sir Wallis, who was holding a rope and other items necessary for capturing monsters.

Did Adrian want to win?

Well, he definitely wanted the thousands of pounds of gold, so he would have to put real effort into this.

Then, he looked toward the distant forest and was reminded that the real danger didn't come from the other teams. No, it came from the monsters lurking in the woods. Immediately, his priorities shifted. The thousands of pounds of gold were no longer the most important thing, staying alive was.

What kind of monsters lay inside that forest, an area so close to Creviceton that he could see the mountains in the distance? He had fought and killed monsters before. Although he was better trained now and surrounded by skilled men, that didn't mean they were completely safe.

“We should focus more on traveling light, just in case.” Adrian commented, noticing Sir Wallis consulting Garold on what supplies to bring.

The two turned to look at him, while Lord Jayson happily grabbed his freshly refilled waterskin.

Adrian shrugged at their questioning looks. “In case there are more monsters in there than we thought, or we encounter a particularly strong one, better be light than heavy.”

“Have you encountered many, Lord Harrow? I must admit, on the way here, we didn't encounter a single monster.” Sir Wallis said.

“Some.” Adrian replied. “How about you, Garold?”

“A few.” Garold said. “They are strange, not like ordinary animals.”

“Garold is right. They are like twisted forms of animals, so we don't know what to expect. What we should prepare for…” Adrian turned to Lord Jayson, who had just rejoined them, “…is to be able to run to save our lives.”

Lord Jayson chuckled at that. “I didn't realize the tenacious Lord Harrow, who plowed his way through the jousts, would offer running as his first piece of advice.”

“Well, I don't want to die.” Adrian said simply, smiling at him.

“Are you scared of death, Lord Harrow?” Lord Jayson asked.

“I'm scared of my life being cut too short by something that could have been prepared for or avoided.” Adrian blurted out. He realized a moment too late that his words might have been too direct, casual as Lord Jayson was, he was still the son of a duke. “We, and especially you, Lord Jayson, shouldn't risk our lives for this.”

Lord Jayson nodded, face a little serious now. “I know my limits well enough.”

They exchanged a few more words, preparing themselves and discussing what to watch out for, before a horn blasted. Someone gestured for them to move closer to a platform just next to the wall.

All the teams gathered. A maester's voice rang out, giving instructions before ending with an advice and horning.

“Blow the smaller horn, if you’ve captured a monster, a group will immediately head towards the location to bring the monster back here. As for the bigger horn, if it is too dangerous or if you need help, and a squad of guards will immediately head toward your location. Remember, lords and sirs! Your lives are worth more than the competition! Do not hesitate to call for help!”

Adrian watched as two horns was handed to them. One was small, clearly built to be carried easily and to withstand the struggle of a fight without breaking, it seems it was the horn for captured of slayed monsters, the other was a bit bigger and intimidating, a horn for help. Lord Jayson inspected both before handing the smaller to their archer, Garold, who tucked it into his belt and the bigger one to Sir Wallis.

“And finally, as the God of Light watches, and the blood of the Winthrope ancestors rests on the grounds that built this keep and guarded this land, milords and sirs! May the best team win and triumph over the monsters!” the herald finished, his voice booming. The crowd atop the wall cheered and roared.

A powerful, sharp horn blast erupted, and when the last notes faded, all the teams moved immediately.

Lord Jayson’s team, with Adrian among them, picked a direction and rushed toward it. The other teams seemed to have a silent consensus not to choose the same path, although it wasn’t explicitly stated, any team was free to sabotage others or steal their captures, making everyone wary of one another.

They plunged into the forest early in the morning. The crowd watched in anticipation, curious to see which team would return first with a capture, and most importantly, what kind of monster they would bring back.

--

At the center of the wall, where there was a relatively large gap where common folk don’t dare approach, a pavilion had been raised to block the sunlight. There, the highest-ranking lords and elves sat.

“Is it in poor taste?” Princess Skyla asked the elf Sylwen, whose cloak covered his features. Beside him sat another elf, a woman, whom Skyla had watched Bennet try to converse with, only to fail miserably.

“I know elves don't view the hunting and poaching of humans well.” Princess Skyla said, turning toward the forest. Her father and the earl were engaged in a hushed conversation nearby.

“We do…” Sylwen turned slightly toward her. “We consider it, to use a human expression, in bad taste... but not when it comes to the twisted ones. Monsters.” He turned his gaze toward the forest where the teams had disappeared.

“It is for the good of the continent to be rid of them.”

Princess Skyla nodded, then brought up the matter she was most curious about. “What secret is Lord Harrow hiding?”

Sylwen smiled at that. “Oh, I thought you were a princess, higher in prestige and rank than him, he didn’t simply tell you after you asked?”

“Well, humans are… complicated.”

“Indeed they are,” Sylwen agreed wholeheartedly. “But Lord Harrow’s secret is his to tell. In fact, even I am not entirely clear on it myself.”

Princess Skyla noticed that Lord Oscar and Lord Winthrope’s conversation had halted, and they were discreetly listening in.

“Then what else can you tell us?”

Sylwen thought about it, smiling at the princess. The truth was, just as he said, he didn't know exactly what secret this strange Lord Harrow was hiding. He only knew that the man emitted a warmth of life unlike any human he had sensed before, as if the breath of life itself favored him.

Because of this, a small part of him thought the young man wasn't entirely human, and a protective instinct rose within him to shield Adrian from other humans.

“That he is very healthy.”

---

They trudged through the forest, moving slower and becoming more alert the deeper they went. It wasn’t until an hour of walking had passed that Garold noticed some tracks.

And the signs were actually on the trunks of the trees, high up.

“What is it?” Sir Wallis asked Garold, inspecting a dent on the trunk of a tree.

“I do not know.” Garold could only reply.

Adrian and Lord Jayson watched the surroundings alertly. It was then that they heard the swishing of the wind and the sound of something moving. Everyone readied their weapons. Adrian gripped his spear tightly, standing at attention and facing a specific direction.

There was a rustling of leaves before a figure shot out and hung onto a branch. It was a strange creature with a large head that almost dwarfed its body, circular yellow eyes, and long, ape-like arms. It hung from the tree, about the size of a hound, looking down at them curiously.

Then, it hissed and pounced.

Their first monster encounter had begun.