The road that Tiuri was now travelling along was new to him. On the journey to Unauwen, he had avoided the Great Road. With Ardanwen, he would be able to reach the city in around six days. The weather was beautiful, with a faint scent of autumn in the air and a red-golden haze already shimmering around the trees. It was very quiet; he saw hardly anyone.
On the afternoon of the third day after his departure from Castle Mistrinaut, he came to one of the wooden shelters that stood on the roadside here and there to provide accommodation for travellers and horses. There were very few inns in that sparsely populated area. Tiuri rode up to the hut and considered whether to spend the night there or to travel on. It was still early and he could stop later to sleep in the open air. There were already travellers inside; he could hear the sound of horses in the stable, and a shield was hanging beside the front door. That meant a knight must be staying there. Tiuri was trying to remember which of Dagonaut’s knights had a shield that was silver, grey and green, but before it came to him a voice called out, “Ho, there! Is that not Tiuri, son of Tiuri?”
He turned around and saw a knight standing on the road. When the knight came closer, Tiuri recognized him as Ristridin of the South. In his light chainmail and green cloak, he looked very different from the Grey Knight he had been before. They greeted each other warmly and Tiuri decided to stay so that he could talk to Ristridin and hear his news.
“Have you seen Evan on your travels?” asked Ristridin.
Tiuri told him that he hadn’t.
“You almost missed me too,” said the knight. “I’m waiting for Arwaut and his men. When they get here, we’re going to ride into the forest together. I was expecting them to arrive a while ago. I just came out to take a look and see if there was any sign of them.”
“And where’s Sir Bendu?” asked Tiuri. “I heard from the lord of Mistrinaut that the Grey Knights had disbanded.”
“It is true,” said Ristridin. “But we shall reunite to punish the one man who remains unpunished: the Black Knight with the Red Shield. But first you must tell me your news. Or are you still obliged to secrecy?”
“Not any longer, Sir Ristridin,” said Tiuri. “I did as Sir Edwinem requested and took a letter to King Unauwen. And that is all.”
“So few words to describe such a long journey,” said Ristridin with a smile. He looked intently at Tiuri. “But whatever adventures you have experienced,” he added, “have clearly done you no harm and much good, Tiuri, son of Tiuri! I spoke to your father in the City of Dagonaut. You have been on his mind a great deal, but he has complete faith in you. Your mother has been very worried, and she does not want to return home to Castle Tehuri before you are back in the city.”
“Sir Ristridin,” said Tiuri, “you must tell me everything!”
“Certainly. I shall answer all of your questions,” said the knight. “But let’s go inside and have something to eat. I am here with my squire and some men-at-arms. Look, here comes Ilmar now.”
Ilmar too was surprised to see Tiuri. “I see you have Ardanwen again,” he said.
“Yes, he is my horse now,” said Tiuri proudly.
“And did our trick help?”
“Yes and no,” replied Tiuri. “Not entirely. But it all ended well.”
“I had gathered as much,” said Ristridin. “But you must tell me more! I want to hear what news there is from the Kingdom of Unauwen, and about the land of Eviellan.”
Sir Ristridin also had stories to tell Tiuri. Tiuri heard that the Grey Knights had caught up with the Red Riders and punished them, and that they had followed the trail of the Knight with the Red Shield to the east, close to the City of Dagonaut. When the king heard that the Grey Knights were in the area, he had called for them, as he had need of his knights-errant.
“Bendu and myself, in particular,” Ristridin told Tiuri. “We are older and experienced and we were already planning to go to the Wild Wood anyway.”
“To the Wild Wood?” asked Tiuri.
“Yes,” said Ristridin. “King Dagonaut said he had heard strange rumours about the Wild Wood, about robbers who shun the daylight, about wild hunters and Men in Green. And he wants us to investigate and find out which of those rumours are true. He is concerned about dangers lurking in the Wild Wood that might threaten the kingdom, so we need to head there immediately. After that, we may continue our quest for vengeance. As the king said, the interests of our kingdom must take priority. I cannot help but admit that the king is right, even though I am sorry that we have not yet found the Knight with the Red Shield. The king said one of our number could continue the hunt. So Bendu has headed south, as we believe the Knight with the Red Shield has now fled to Eviellan. And I am on my way to the Wild Wood. Arwaut will be here soon, with his men, to accompany me. We are to travel through the Robbers’ Wood and across the Green River to our goal.”
“Did you choose to go to the Wild Wood yourself?” asked Tiuri.
Ristridin nodded. “Yes,” he said. “I remembered something Edwinem once said to me: ‘You must do as you have planned: head into the Wild Wood. A knight should know his own land.’” Ristridin paused for a moment and then added, “We have built a mound upon Edwinem’s grave, close to the Yikarvara Inn, with a cross on it, and his white shield. Another grave lies beside it, that of Vokia, his squire. We saw him again in the City of Dagonaut, but he died shortly afterwards. The shock of his master’s death proved too much for him.”
“The stranger outside the chapel…” said Tiuri. After a moment’s silence, he asked, “When do you think you will see the others again?”
“The four of us have agreed to meet at Castle Ristridin in the spring. Bendu may have news from Eviellan. The plan was initially for Evan to go with Bendu, but he decided it would be better to go to his own country first and to report to his king.”
“And so you parted company,” said Tiuri.
“Yes, Bendu went to the south, Evan to the west, and Arwaut and I to the Wild Wood. It is a shame you have to go to King Dagonaut or you could have accompanied us.”
“I should have liked that,” said Tiuri.
“Then join us at Castle Ristridin in the spring… or sooner, if the weather allows.”
“With great pleasure,” said Tiuri. “If I am able.”
“Of course, it is possible that King Dagonaut might give you another task,” said Ristridin. “He’ll be sure to reinforce the patrols on the southern border when he hears your news. The attention of the King of Eviellan is now focused on the Kingdom of Unauwen alone, a country whose king and crown prince he detests, and which is perhaps a worthier conquest than our own land. But the Grey River is all that separates our land from Eviellan, and that makes us an easier target.”
Then he raised his head. “Listen,” he said. “I hear hoofs in the distance. That will be Arwaut and his men.”
It was indeed Arwaut, and so Tiuri was able to greet him too. Tiuri had to take his leave of the knights the next day, but he hoped to see them again, the following year, at Ristridin’s brother’s castle.
Tiuri continued his journey without any further incidents or encounters, but as he was approaching the City of Dagonaut, he remembered a promise he had made. A promise to Marius, the Fool in the Forest, the first person who had helped him on his journey. He had promised the Fool that he would visit him on his way home to tell him about his adventures on his journey to the place “where the sun goes down”. He obviously could not disappoint him.
Tiuri left the road when he spotted a side path, but he could not find the place where he had first met the Fool. He wandered around for a while and was starting to think he might not be looking in the right area when he heard a shout, “Ho, there, fine horse and rider! What are you looking for?”
It was the Fool. He emerged from the bushes, twirling the curls of his beard, and looked very pleased to see Tiuri. “Rider, traveller and fine black horse,” he said. “Who are you seeking and where are you going? Do you remember me?”
“I am looking for you, Marius,” said Tiuri, climbing down from his horse. “I promised I would return and talk with you about where I’d been, didn’t I?”
“I know where you have been,” said the Fool. “To where the sun goes down. But I told no one. Not a soul. It was a secret. Riders in red came and so did knights in grey and they all asked about the secret. But I didn’t tell them. And I didn’t tell my mother either, or my brothers.”
“I thank you, Marius,” said Tiuri with a smile.
“And now you have returned, traveller, and you are different and yet you are the same. Will you come with me to the cabin now and talk with me?”
“Of course,” Tiuri replied.
The Fool stroked Ardanwen’s nose and looked happily at Tiuri. “And you have come to visit me!” he said. “You are my guest! My mother will cook food for you. And I shall say to my father and my brothers, ‘He’s here to visit me. He’s a stranger to you, but he’s my friend. He has been to where the sun goes down.’ Tell me, friend, where does the sun go down?”
“I didn’t travel that far,” Tiuri said. “But I’ve heard it goes down in the sea.”
“The sea? What’s that?”
“It’s made of water.”
“Like a stream, or a spring?”
“No, much bigger.”
“Like a river? Like a lake?”
“Much bigger even than that,” said Tiuri. “The sea is so big that there’s nothing but water, as far as the eye can see. Water and more water, all the way to the end of the world.”
“And that’s where the sun goes down?”
“Yes.”
The Fool thought for a moment. “That’s good,” he said. “Then the sun can cool down, after shining so brightly all day long. The sun goes down in the sea, in the water. I shall tell my brothers, because they don’t know. Or is it a secret?”
“There are no more secrets now,” said Tiuri, as he walked to the cabin with the Fool.
The Fool stopped and wrinkled his brow. “No more secrets?” he said. “They call me the Fool, but I don’t believe that there are no more secrets left.”
Tiuri looked at him with new respect.
“Yes,” he said. “You’re right. I am free to tell my secret now, but of course there are still lots of other secrets. The secrets of the Wild Wood, for instance, and all kinds of other mysteries. Some of them we have never even heard about. And others we shall never understand.”
“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” said the Fool.
Tiuri smiled at him. “Take me to your cabin,” he said, “and I shall talk to you for as long as you want.”
“We shall talk together,” said the Fool. “I waited for you every day. I knew you would return. And now you are travelling to where the sun comes up. Do you know where the sun comes up?”
“No,” said Tiuri, “I don’t know that. So you see that you’re right, and that there are still more secrets out there.”