Bonelore

IRIS

The moon smiles down at the corpses count Acherman counts. The stench is vile.

A large horse-drawn wooden cart carries the bodies down the remaining strip of cobblestone village street. The knights collecting the corpses belong to His majesty, king Midas.

The count possesses a couple neighboring estates and many acres where poor farmers manicure and harvest his land for him. If I knew any better, I'd say his wealth surpasses our king's own.

"Garner!" the count calls sharply. The old aristocrat happily comes to his assistance. "Did you send for the stableman? How many horses is he providing us?"

"Seven of my horses, Acherman. One for each knight, including you! He will meet us over the bridge. We should be coming up on it soon."

"Good, put your helmet back on, Iris. It will help with the smell...and that ugly smile of yours. Don't act so miserable - it's an honor to serve His majesty. At least, think of it this way, you could be one of those souls we're hauling off now."

"That's true," I mutter, obeying. "It's just, well, I'm not used to walking around in armor, sir. It's heavy and I cannot keep up well."

"Not to worry Iris," lord Garner says lightly, "We'll be on horseback soon. The count will assign one to each knight. Believe it or not, I'm not so used to this weight either!" the old man says with a loud chuckle.

The rest of the king's knights are ahead of the horse-drawn cart. I'm not sure why count Acherman and lord Garner are walking behind the party. They are in charge of the others, after all. Why wouldn't they be leading the front? I suppose I am only just beginning to understand the ways of knighthood.

The wheels of the cart squeak against the stone path as we make our way over the bridge. It leads to the village gate and out into the woods outside.

Just as lord Garner said, seven horses crowd around the village entrance. A man in a long black hooded robe waits nearby holding a torch.

One of the knights in the front, nearest to the stableman, begins speaking and pointing at the horses while calling out names.

We join the group. The knights light their own torches using the stableman's. It is very dark now and we will definitely need that light to see.

"Where's the gypsy girl? I want her up here in the front with the count!" the stableman announces.

My face reddens. It's not exactly a compliment to be called a gypsy in this village. I don't want to ride with the count, or any of the men, for that matter.

Count Acherman nods and pets a nearby brown horse.

"Gentlemen, this here is Iris!" he calls while stepping up clumsily onto the horse. One of the knights has to help him to avoid falling down. "Thank you, sir Croste. Now, then, as I was saying...His majesty has bestowed upon us the guidance of a gypsy! You will call her Iris and myself Acher. I understand we don't know each other very well, but you can be certain, we will all be getting to know each other well enough soon. The moment we step through this gate, we are no longer under His majesty's land. His majesty's protection cannot serve us. There is no help, other than our own, to assist us! So, stay together."

A white horse stands beside our own. The same knight, Croste, helps lord Garner up onto it. I'm surprised lord Garner is able to ride at all. He is very old.

I watch as he picks up the reigns with shaky hands.

"Am I holding it right?" he asks down to Croste.

Croste is the tallest of the knights. His armor is mostly chainmail and his helmet is spiked at the top. Not many of the other knights have spiked helmets. It's hard to tell them apart otherwise beyond height and what they are wearing.

"Yes," Croste assures him in a deep voice. The other knights are laughing as he instructs the old man. "Just hold it a little tighter, my lord. When we take off, you may fall, otherwise."

"Ah, yes, thank you."

Another knight joins sir Croste's side and sets a leather bag on the back of lord Garner's horse. He too is very tall. He turns away from Garner and faces the waiting count.

"Who is Iris to ride with?" the knight asks sharply.

"Help her up here, please, Muller. Let's get a move on then! The bodies aren't going to smell any better the longer we stand around."

Without warning, Muller scoops me up by the bottom like a parent does an unruly child.

"H-hey!" I huff. His armor clinks uncomfortably against my own, he lifts me up rapidly, and the next moment, I am seated behind the count.

"Permission to mount our own rides now, Acher?" Muller asks.

I can hear the smile in his voice. Acher eyes the knight, he gives him a nod and then hands the stableman a small velvet bag of coins.

Count Acher turns his horse to face the party of knights.

Besides lord Garner, there are five other knights joining our mission. Acher kicks the side of the horse and it trots forward. I recognize Croste again by his helmet. His horse is a sandy blonde color and he takes the lead of our group with it.

Another large knight silently passes us riding a gray horse and joins Croste riding their horses side by side. The trees are silent and droopy with long branches touching the ground. It is the time of year where leaves curl up and begin to crisp.

"Where are we taking the bodies?" I ask the count.

I'm not sure if he heard or is just ignoring me. The wind has picked up a little bringing the smell of the decaying flesh behind us to our senses. My stomach forms a tight knot. Some villagers believe the disease travels by air, but no one really knows.

Young and old have died.

"Listen closely, Iris. I am a well-travelled man. The knights will not be so polite if you ask them questions directly. Gypsies are common thieves, so, unfortunately, they will not trust you enough to provide answers. You are here to take us to the caravan-"

"I don't know where the caravan is. It is always moving, as I told king Midas. They aren't my family, count. I told His majesty so. I do not know what use I will be. Even though they collect strange things, I do not know if they have any cure," I admit.

"We understand you have no ties or knowledge of their current location. You know what they look like though, and you will be rewarded, along with my men, when we find them. Here we are," the count says suddenly.

We are still nearby the outside of the stone village wall.

The count raises his arm, a silent order for the knights to dismount their horses and the horse-drawn cart to halt. There is a large pit here. I wrinkle my nose seeing the amount of bodies already filled in it.

"This is wrong!" I whisper-shout.

"What else are we to do?" lord Garner asks quietly, "We don't have time on our hands for funerals or proper burials...or bigger holes for the dead."

"They are not buried," I mutter in disgust while watching one of the knights toss a dead baby onto the top of the pile. It's obvious they have no empathy. No remorse for just piling these dead bodies up like yesterday's garbage. "Was this truly His majesty's orders? Our luck will be tarnished if we leave-"

"There's no such thing as luck where we're going. King Midas wanted them buried outside the village as quickly as possible," Acher declares loudly, earning the attention of the other knights. He holds his head high speaking with authority, "We will now find a place to camp. If you want to sleep somewhere soundly, and not smelly, I suggest we get a move on! Leave the cart here. The stableman will fetch it."

I narrow my eyes at the count's back when he takes off again without warning. I nearly fall off, but luckily, grab his fat waist in time. With a grimace, I watch the ground his horse races over. Branches and rocks crunch under us loudly.

The fire from his torch makes strange shadows appear between the crooked tree branches overhead as we pass.

No longer do I smell the wreak of the dead. We come to a slow, and then a full stop, near two large boulders in the woods. Acher jumps down landing gracefully on his feet. He strides over to the gap between the boulders as the other knights catch up behind us. Quickly, I follow after him not wanting to get left behind in the dark.

Not all the knights are here yet. My heart clenches with new anxiety as I begin to understand our leader's impatience and the threat of the unknown acreage around us.

"You should have waited for our men!" Croste calls, annoyed. With a grunt, he hops off his horse. "There could have been an ambush or a fall. A number of things could go wrong out here, you said yourself we should stay together! Do not dismount without us all present, Acher. It is unwise, especially, at night."

"Maybe, you all shouldn't be so slow. His majesty would be embarrassed if he witnessed your delay. Where are the others?" Acher replies calmly.

"Assisting lord Garner. He cannot keep up so well. Here they are now."

Sure enough, lord Garner, along with the remaining knights, emerges from the woods and join us by the boulders. The mood among the men has changed drastically. Nobody has said anything, and they begin unpacking their horses whispering sharply amongst themselves, so as to avoid Acher's attention.

The count removes his helmet revealing an aged complexion and steely eyes. He digs around in his bag on the ground until he pulls out a map and compass.

"We made a lot of noise getting here. I travel quickly, and I expect you all to keep up! No campfire tonight, only torches. Croste...go find someone to keep watch with. Let two old men catch a wink of sleep, will you?"

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