When Tiuri had calmed down a little, he took the ring from his finger and hung it around his neck again. Then he stood up and walked on, feeling his way through the dark forest. He had wandered away from the path and the land had become hilly and scattered with rocks and stones. Finally, he could go no further. He sank to the ground and fell into a sleep so deep that it was like being unconscious.
Early the next morning, he awoke and realized he was lying close to a path, probably the same path where he had encountered the robbers. He followed it for some way. On his left, the hills were becoming steeper and steeper and were sprinkled with spindly pine trees. The sun shone down on the path.
After a while, he heard a babbling brook and spotted the dark opening to a small cave halfway up one of the hills. It would be a good place to rest. But first, he needed water. Tiuri walked to the stream, which crossed the path, and after he had drunk his fill, he spotted the same kind of plant that the Fool had pulled out of the ground. With a few big black roots in his hands, Tiuri retraced his footsteps, climbed the hill and went into the cave. The cave was small and snug, but no animals appeared to have made it their home. Tiuri sat down, with his back against the wall of rock, and ate one of the roots. Then, in spite of his uncomfortable position, he fell asleep for a while.
The sound of voices startled him awake. Cautiously, he peered outside. Three men were talking on the path at the foot of the hill. With a shock, he recognized them as three of the robbers!
“Where’s the boss got to?” one of them grumbled.
“He’s trying to ride that new horse of his,” another sneered. “He’s already fallen off twice.”
“Fallen off? More like thrown off,” said the third one, clearly enjoying the thought.
All three of them laughed, but then one of them hissed, “Hush!”
Two more men were approaching. One was the leader of the robbers.
“You lot keep your mouths shut and take cover,” he told the three men. “He’ll be here any minute.”
They followed his orders. The robbers and their leader left the path and hid behind the rocks and in the bushes. Tiuri was sure they were up to no good. Who was going to be here soon? He picked up some stones from the cave floor and piled them by the entrance. Then he lay on his stomach beside the stones, looking down the path and waiting to see what would happen.
He did not have to wait for long.
In the distance, he heard the sound of hoofs approaching – clip-clop, clip-clop – and then a knight appeared, coming from the east on a dapple-grey horse. He was riding very slowly, so Tiuri was able to take a good look at him. The knight was dressed in dark-grey chainmail and had a grey shield on his arm. His helmet with its lowered visor was grey, as was the cloak he wore. But around his neck something hung glinting in the sunlight: a large horn that seemed to be made of silver.
Tiuri saw the bushes moving and he held his breath. The robbers were planning to attack this lonely knight! He looked like a warrior, but it was unlikely that he would be able to take on five men. I must help the knight, thought Tiuri, and warn him somehow…
At that moment, the robbers yelled and leapt out from their hiding places. “Stop!” they shouted at the knight. “Your money or your life!”
The knight reined in his horse. Tiuri stood up and armed himself with a stone. The knight lifted his visor, put the horn to his lips and gave it a mighty blow. Then he dropped his visor and drew his sword.
The sound of the horn seemed to startle the robbers for a moment. Then they repeated their command: “Your money or your life!”
“You shall have neither,” said the knight, raising his sword, as the sound of more voices and hoofs came from along the path.
The robbers looked at one another and it seemed that they were about to make a run for it. The knight urged on his horse and rode past them a little way, but then he turned and stopped. “Do not flee, you cowards!” he cried. “Come on! Attack, as you were planning to!”
“Attack him, you cowards!” cried the leader of the robbers, rushing towards the knight with his sword in his hand.
But the four other men yelled out in fear as seven riders came charging down the path, all of them on grey horses and dressed in grey. There were three knights, with helmets and swords, and four younger men, probably their squires.
Tiuri was still hidden inside his cave. His help was no longer needed, so he contented himself with watching the scene unfold. In an instant, four of the robbers, including their leader, were disarmed and tied up. The fifth fled and was pursued by two of the knights. The other knights gathered at the foot of Tiuri’s hill and the knight with the silver horn spoke to the captives.
Those are the men I heard in the forest the day before yesterday, thought Tiuri. I saw one of their squires. But who are they?
None of the knights had raised their visors and they had no crests on their shields. The one with the horn, who seemed to be their leader, spoke sternly, “You shall pay for your misdeeds! Highway robbery is forbidden in the Kingdom of Dagonaut, as it is in every realm where order reigns.”
“Have mercy!” begged one of the robbers.
“And you are cowards too! You dare to attack lonely travellers, but you flee from larger companies. You shall hang from a tree before the sun goes down.”
“Sir knight,” said the leader, “I am a thief. I cannot deny that. But I have never killed any man. So why should you wish to kill me?”
Tiuri felt a little sympathy for him. After all, the man had let him keep his ring.
Now the two knights returned. One of them held the robber who had tried to escape, and the other was leading two horses: his own, and one that Tiuri would have recognized among hundreds of other horses. It was the black horse that had belonged to the Knight with the White Shield.
When the Grey Knight with the horn saw them approaching, he dismounted and walked to meet them. They stood for a while, talking quietly and studying the black horse. Then they went to join the others.
The knight with the horn turned to the robbers and barked, “Whose is this horse?”
“His,” answered one of the robbers, nodding in the leader’s direction.
“I see,” said the knight. “And how did you come to have this horse? From whom did you steal it?”
“That horse belongs to me,” said the leader gruffly.
“That is a lie! You stole it. I know this horse, you scoundrel!”
“There are plenty of black horses in the world,” said the leader.
“You know nothing about horses,” said the Grey Knight. “No horse is like another. I would recognize this horse anywhere and I know its name too. Ardanwen is his name, or Night Wind, and it is shameful that a man like you would dare to ride upon his back!”
Tiuri listened to all of this with increasing amazement. These knights knew the horse, so they must also know the Black Knight with the White Shield! He thought about stepping out of the cave and speaking to them, but something was stopping him, even though he could not have explained what it was. He stayed silent and kept listening.
The leader bowed his head and said nothing.
“From whom did you steal this horse?” the Grey Knight repeated.
“From a young man who passed through here last night,” one of the robbers replied.
“And that’s the truth,” muttered the leader.
The knight stood right in front of the man, staring at him. “A young man who passed through last night? What did he look like? No older than seventeen? With dark hair and blue-grey eyes and dressed in a white robe?”
“His clothes didn’t look very white,” replied the leader, “but the rest sounds right enough. I reckon his eyes could have been blue-grey…”
“And his hair was dark,” interjected one of the other men. “And on his finger he was wearing a…”
“A ring,” said the Grey Knight, “that gleamed like a star!”
“That’s right, sir knight,” said the leader. “It was a very fine ring and it was shining away on his left hand.”
This news clearly meant something to the Grey Knights.
“Where is he?” one of them cried.
“Where is the ring?” cried another.
“I did him no harm, knights!” said the leader. “And I let him keep the ring.”
“Another lie,” barked the knight with the horn. “Why would you steal the horse and neglect to take such a valuable jewel? Give it to me!”
“I don’t have it!” cried the leader. “I swear it to you. He seemed very attached to it, so I let him keep the thing and go on his way in peace.”
“It’s true,” said the other robbers, backing him up.
The Grey Knights conferred. Tiuri could not hear what they were saying.
“It would have been better if you had not let him go,” the knight with the horn finally announced.
“You are a thief and a scoundrel, but I think that young man is an even worse villain than you. If you had killed him, it would have been his just deserts.”
The leader seemed surprised to hear this. But Tiuri was even more surprised. In fact, he was stunned!
“Where did he go?” barked one of the other knights. “Quick, tell us which way he went!”
“Into the forest, in that direction,” said the leader, with a nod. “But I didn’t watch to see where he was heading.”
“He can’t have gone very far,” said another of the robbers. “He was on foot.”
“Why are you looking for him?” asked the leader.
“That is none of your business,” said the knight with the silver horn. “But I am so grateful to you for this news that I am inclined to allow you your life and your freedom. On one condition: you must look out for this young man and bring him to us if you find him. Dead or alive, but preferably alive. And be aware that he is dangerous!”
“I’m not at all surprised,” said one of the robbers. It was the one who had wanted to chop off Tiuri’s finger.
“Untie them,” the knight ordered the squires. “I will grant them mercy. But,” he continued, “I will return to this place and hunt down and hang any of you who remain robbers! Order and security must be maintained in this kingdom.”
“One day we will rid this forest of every criminal,” said the knight who stood beside him. “But now we have a more important task to perform. Find that boy for us, robbers!”
Then all of the men moved on, one group following the other: first the Grey Knights and their retinue, taking the black horse with them, and then the robbers, quietly talking among themselves. Both groups headed towards the west.
*
Tiuri sat in his cave, still stunned. He was the one the Grey Knights were seeking. And they wanted him dead or alive! Why? They weren’t with the Red Riders, were they? Whatever the case, they were enemies – and formidable ones. He thanked his lucky stars that he had not left his hiding place.
But then he was overcome by a feeling of despair. He needed to travel on to the west, but the Grey Knights were after him and now the robbers were keeping an eye out for him too. The Red Riders were most probably still following him or lying in wait. And maybe other things were after him too, creatures that creep, as the Fool had said. How was he ever going to carry out his mission, alone, on foot and unarmed?
Tiuri took out the letter and turned it over and over in his hands. Such a small thing, but such an important message… What could be in the letter that mattered enough to risk his life for? Should he open it and read it? “Do so only as a final resort,” the Knight with the White Shield had said. A final resort? Had that time come? The time to read the letter, commit its message to memory and then destroy it? Why should he risk his life when he had no idea what was in the letter and how important it was? That surely made no sense at all…
With trembling fingers, he stroked the seals on the letter. “If you fear that you will lose the letter, then, and only then…” There were no enemies nearby now. And the Grey Knights had not mentioned the letter. No, of course they hadn’t. They knew better than that.
The Black Knight with the White Shield had surely not anticipated so many dangers. Or had he?
I can’t do it, thought Tiuri. This is impossible.
Then, in his mind, he heard the words he had spoken when he had promised to deliver the letter: “I swear on my honour as a knight.”
Tiuri’s doubts evaporated. He hid the letter again. This was not yet the moment to open it. And he said to himself, “I must travel on and attempt to deliver the letter, as that is the promise I made. Onwards, to King Unauwen in the land to the west of the Great Mountains!”