The Quilted Steppe

Rudiger agreed with both assessments about the branch and leaving early the next day, patting her gently on the shoulder as she bowed to the destrier. She was a wise one yet he considered, no shrinking damsel that would have been a burden to protect however long the journey. Nope, she was nothing but an asset it seemed as Bob trotted over to him and rested his chin over the knight's shoulder to receive some much deserved nose rubs.

Luckily for Rudiger the river remained mostly placid, seeing as how he had rarely traveled by boat he knew he was liable to end up on the underside of the water sooner rather than later. That only occurred twice within the first four days, the first due to clumsiness and the second on purpose to catch a particularly tasty looking fish. Though by day seven the amount of salmon in his diet was growing slightly tiresome.

The knight was laying back on a fallen log, thoughtfully chewing on his fish in silence when Nina broke the stillness that lingered. Bob, though fairly annoyed at being a plow horse at the earlier rapids, still reveled in being proven right. Which he used against the knight errant whenever they had disagreements on the road, and as Nina was finding out that Bob did not deign to spare strangers humiliation.

Rudiger and Bob both snorted at the question, "You could say that. The legends state that the Duchy of Voruta was founded by the Heavenly Horsemen, angelic riders for the herds of the Gods who caused too much mischief and were banished to realm of mortals as a result. They warred each other and anyone who was unfortunate enough to cross their paths and established the Greater Duchy of Voruta before they all killed each other, though they say their descendants from mortals became the nobility of the Duchy afterwards. And the same for their steeds," he nodded towards Bob, who continued munching in that moment on a particularly tasty clump of grass.

A chortle erupted from the prostrate knight at her comment at his survival instinct, which was accompanied by one from Bob as well. Tapping a finger gently to the eyepatch he mused, "Not much better Miss. Not by a far sight." There were other scars on his body, memories of fights that he was caught unprepared and out of armor in that resulted in a few close calls. Not to mention that Bob had once been charmed by Khepri and had fallen on top of the leg of the knight, breaking it under his weight. 

His ears pricked up at the mention of teaching her something. It was a rare thing for him to teach, the life of a knight errant was often without a squire (the closest thing he could consider imparting any worthwhile knowledge to) due to limited career prospects compared to being a squire for landed nobility. Usually he was the student, learning skills and tricks that would have been out of the education he was granted as a knight. He grimaced at the memory of all those bad meals he had choked down during his first years on the road before he learned the value of seasoning and patience. 

Bob raised his head and knickered as the vibrations passed through the camp, his ears flicking back and forth. That was another thing Rudiger had learned too. Animals had a preternatural ability to recognize disasters and would respond thusly. Bob had not attempted to run to higher ground and now was raising his nose to the wind and stomping. Not the stomp of warning that the hyenas had generated, when he could smell the rotten flesh and stench of death, but one of recognition. 

The knight straightened, stretching his back almost lazily as he ambled towards the destrier, "I would not worry about earthquake. But...," he grinned towards her as he checked the girth strap on the saddle before mounting, "I think we may have a change in diet soon. Care to join me on a hunt," he offered her his hand and kicked a foot out of the stirrup to ease her way up if she would accept his invitation.

Rudiger chuckled softly at her question as he gently tapped the sides of Bob to push him into a gentle trot. "That's how you do it," he grinned to her over his shoulder, his mood lifted. There were few things in his mind that were better than being on the back of a good horse, and Bob spoiled him aplenty for that for years so the bar was very high. As a matter of fact Bob was the horse he had ridden for the vast majority of his life, with the destrier being only a few years younger than himself.

It was a sign of something higher than good breeding that Bob was still rideable, let alone in his prime years, when most horses bred outside the Duchy of Voruta would have made their way to the heavenly pastures a decade ago. It was a given fact that most nobles would retire from fighting when their warhorses would finally be turned to pasture due to age and weathering, the bond from training and decades together proving too strong to replace by any other horse. And Rudiger knew in his heart that there would be no replacing the cantankerous, arrogant, haughty, and often sarcastic creature that he called his closest friend. Truly half of himself was missing when Bob was not under or alongside him.

While he kept the pace to a trot for the most part that would prove to Nina to be no smooth ride as she gripped tight onto his waist. It wasn't nearly as smooth as a walk or a gallop, where the horse would be afloat save for one hoof on the ground at a time, but it would be more manageable to a new rider. And though he had not traveled much in his career with another person riding behind him it was pure common sense to keep a slower pace to avoid throwing the other person off. Besides, Bob would tire easier from carrying two people instead of just one even if he was in full plate.

As they breached the top of the rolling hill the knight pulled the destrier to a stop with the reins, giving him an unappreciative snort from Bob. He stood in the stirrups to try and gain a headcount of the herd in front of them, but that proved impossible. As well as the realization that there would be no way to truly hunt any of these creatures as well. A lance would have been most useful to take one down from the side of the herd, a spear less so due to its lower reach and... well he had little depth perception to be able to accurately throw much of anything, let alone at a creature on the move. He would have been content to sit for a while and watch the herd graze and move around, remembering other such herds of sheep or cattle he had passed in days long since drowned.

... His reveries were quickly shattered when the herd turned its presumably thirsty direction towards the pair. Wasting no time, he pulled hard on the reins and spurred Bob on a Ninety degree direction away from the herd. There would be no use in trying to outrun them directly, the best they could hope for would be to simply get out of their way as quick as they could. "Hold tight Miss Nina," he Rudiger warned her as he bent low over the neck of the horse as Bob broke into a gallop.

Rudiger admired the scene of anarchy that swarmed around the shore as he brought Bob to a slower walk now that they were out of the danger of being trampled. Her being scared of falling into their horns was certainly not shared by him or the destrier, both feeling exhilaration from coming so close to a threat and coming out completely unscathed yet again. Though it went without saying that if anything had happened to Nina they would have saved her from the onrushing hooves and horns.

There was a full bellied laugh from the knight at Nina's observation at the disappearance of the trade salt. Not at her expense of course, no it was a glorious moment when the arrogant Bob was dealt a bad hand (that often get dealt to the knight). Rudiger had spotted the destrier sniffing at the bags when he thought no one was paying attention at night, and knew that he was simply waiting for the right moment to canter off with the sack in between his teeth and the salt lost forever to Nina. Still chortling he began to unclasp his gambeson, feeling the beginnings of a sweat from the ride and the day and wanting some fresh air.

His good humor was shattered at the realization that Wing was indeed free, and even more so very swift. Shaking his head to his poor passenger he answered as he kicked Bob forward into a gallop, "No time for that." Being a skilled rider he was able to finish unclasping his gambeson while keeping control of Bob, though now it was to try and avoid having too much on for this unexpected bath he was planning.

Guiding the horse to follow the boat along the shore he waited until the current brought the craft close and then, "JUMP!" He cried to Nina as he kicked his feet clear of the stirrups and threw himself from the saddle, losing the gambeson behind him as he splashed into the water alongside Wing. One hand managed to clasp onto the side, being drug along with the current of the river and the boat.

Luckily for the hapless knight errant he did know how to swim- though most of his experiences of it thus far had been in ponds or slowly meandering rivers, not being drug by a rather swift current by a swifter boat. His head bobbed up and down with the babbling of the waves, one moment having his sinuses cleaned out by the water and the next gasping for air while still holding onto the boat for dear life. It was a rather similar experience to his arrival on the shores of this Horsemen accursed land which was not a fond memory.

Bob, for his part, flicked an unhappy ear towards Nina as she lay on the ground. He had taken note on what she was trying to accomplish and a snort of disapproval greeted her efforts. He was not some herder's pony to be used to stop a wayward member of the flock. And even if he was he could quite clearly not feel her wrap the end of the rope around the saddle horn to let the horse take all the weight of resistance. A nicker of disappointment to the painter who had sung his praises earlier was all she received though in reproach as he stepped carefully to the side to let her get off the gambeson.

As the knight sputtered back from underneath the water again his hand reached out as he attempted to gain some buoyancy, and fell onto Nina's lasso. The section of the river he had been getting waterboarded by had transitioned from mud to rocks and boulders, and a rare moment of brilliance fell onto Rudiger. Letting go of Wing he grabbed onto the rope with both hands, kicking his feet out firmly in front of him and prayed that they would find something large enough to anchor him onto. And with any luck, one close enough to the water line to allow him to breath.

The heels on his riding boots caught the edge of a large stone, dragging that forward which slowed his momentum greatly. Which was appreciated in a few moments more when he was suddenly ceased in his movement entirely. And with him Wing as well. He whistled loudly, which Bob came trotting over to in no great hurry. When the grey destrier had entered into the water next to his rider, the knight pulled back on the boat and tied the rope to a stirrup (the preferred saddle horn being too high up). With nary a struggle the large horse pulled the boat to shore with the knight also hanging onto the same stirrup. As he felt semi dry land under him the knight finally gave into a long coughing fit, hacking up a rather appreciable amount of water out of his lungs as the boat settled onto the stones next to him.

Bob and Rudiger both nodded in agreement with Nina's assertion that they should have kept to their roles, with an added nicker of chiding aimed at the knight for so recklessly risking his life for the unknowable time. Raggedly he answered her, "But that would have been... unbecoming to push you in... when I am a far better... anchor." Before another coughing fit took hold of him.

When he had regained enough breath he took the gambeson from Nina and wrapped it around himself as a blanket of sort. He was wearing his one set of clothes, and it looked like there would be little time to dry them, so it was the best way he could keep warm in the meanwhile as he untied the rope from Bob's stirrup and allowed the destrier to graze as the herd drew closer. Though much more peacefully this time and without knocking the boat into the water.

The knight greeted the herder with a bow, and took him for a similar sort he had grown up with back in the Duchy of Voruta. A good, caring tender of his flock that would lay down his life for a single member. And had grown attached to each of them as if they were a beloved family member. A soft hand on the back offered his silence condolences to the young man for losing one he cared for deeply.

He nodded in agreement with the lad's concerns, countering gently, "I believe that with Miss Nina's skills we shall be able to avoid the Mists. And there must be some understanding of where we have landed, and the ability of perhaps rebuilding in some small part of what was lost."

The journey was something of a paradise for the Knight Errant. Not that he had minded overmuch to travel by boat before, but having a near drowning always made one a bit more cautious to go back to the water. So the longer rides whether alone or with Nina, under bright blue skies flecked with puffs of cloud that would darken a small sliver of the world at a time, restored some peace to his soul. At times he would make for higher ground, finding a ridge or bluff that overlooked the waves of grass cut by the meandering river, watching the flock turn into a snaking cloud on the ground and Wing become a black speck and let his memory flow along the current of his memories of yesteryear.

It was not healthy to dwell on what had come before he had learned, but at these times it became impossible to not let the scent of wild roses prick the memory the stone walls of the manor house he had grown up in. The roses had long claimed the outer walls as their own many generations before he had come along, giving the manor and the family its name: Dornmauer. It also was seated in the grasslands, ones that he imagined looked similar to the one he now rode through before they had been put under the plow. He wondered if the Heavenly Horsemen, if they had indeed existed, would recognize some small part of this world and connect it to the old. That this was perhaps a continuation and not a replacement that he had grown to fear.

Why fear the change he would ponder. It did undo the shackles that had bound him into his role in life, forever tasked to roam the roads so his elder brother could inherit without issue. In the old he was a part of that larger caste of chivalry, and given many obligations but few privileges. Care and protect for the many, receive no reward more than reasonable, and go quietly into that good night. It was small wonder that many knight errants chose to turn mercenary and rebuke the task that was chosen for them that they had no say in.

But as he lay in his bed roll at night, with Bob laying near him after receiving his salt ration, he realized that while some may consider them shackles they were liberating to him. Court life held no attraction to him, with its pomp and ceremonies and rituals of bowing at certain steps each lower than the last to an empty throne. He hated to be a party to the plotting held behind closed doors that tangled the fates of families and communities into an unbreakable tangle that would break at the first opportunity. He was too simple to be a political animal, preferring to be a free one on the road.

He had finally reached his answer as she asked her question, polishing the steel helm with sand held in a cloth to get rid of specks of rust. He paused in his movements and looked up at her, a small look of questioning on his face. Bob answered with a snort of humor at the idea the knight could teach anyone anything, though he stopped with a glance from Rudiger.

"Miss Nina, firstly you do not need to call me Sir. Though I am not sure I could teach you properly with the tools we have. You see, I am trained mostly with sword and shield, with secondary in hammers and daggers and unless kind Master Jungsai has a sword I would be of little service."

Not wanting to leave it on a sour note he asked, "You handled yourself remarkably in the fight with the hyenas. You showed quite the aptitude for tactics by climbing into the tree."