The six knights spent the next three hours riding in silence. Each one of them lost in thought. Though not paying total attention, they were not inattentive to their surroundings. Each listened to the sounds around them, each saw the area around them, and each let the environment sink into them.
"You know that your wife is going to kill you, right?" Samael stated as the Keep came into sight. But then, so will mine. As far back as he could remember, he and his family had always lived in the Keep. He had played in the hallways, climbed the trees in the courtyard, run miles around the outside of the keep, and had stared out of the windows in the towers, wondering what lay beyond. Now, I guess we'll find out.
Patryg shrugged, lost in thought as well. "I know." He finally admitted. "But, we always knew that this day would come." He was silent for a moment. "We always knew that eventually someone would create a kingdom around us, even though we built the keep out in the middle of unclaimed territory."
The Keep had been built three hundred years prior, out in what had been completely untamed land. The small group of Knights had cleared the forest, built the keep, and planted crops and had left everything else alone. They had only ventured out of their small keep to hunt down holy relics and bring them to the keep. For two hundred years, they had been left alone, then suddenly, almost overnight, they found a small village growing up about 10 leagues away from them.
Within twenty years, that small village had grown into a larger village, then had grown into a walled city, complete with other villages around it. Gone was the forest around the keep, and in it's place were farms, ranches, roads, and irrigation plains.
Still, they had kept to themselves, until one day, the newly appointed King: Pydor, the father of Olwen, the ruler of a place he called Tarnen. As was their wont, they invited the stranger into the keep and offered him refreshments. Pydor had refused, but had told the Knights that they could stay, and had made no demands upon them.
Patryg's father had been the Grand Master then, and when he had replied that they had the rights of previous dominance, Pydor ha reluctantly agreed, and had asked only that the Knights not attack the people in the newly founded kingdom. The Grand Master had agreed and thus started a cordial friendship. The Knights had occasionally provided the King, both Pydor, and later Olwen with escorts when they had left the kingdom on official business.
Samael sighed and looked in the direction of the keep. "Do you remember when we climbed to the top of the North Tower and tried to peek into Alyce's chamber?"
Patryg chuckled, "Of course I do. We got caught and almost fell off of the tower." He reached out and clapped Samael on the shoulder. "We were lucky that she liked you, and that her father liked me." He shook his head. "We could have been thrown out for that little stunt."
Samael sighed again, "She loves it here, and she's not going to want to leave." He took a deep breath. "She's going to be disappointed and heartbroken." He looked at Patryg. "I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed." He searched the Grand Master's face for concern, and found it. "Do you have any idea where we are going to go?"
The Grand Master looked to the West. "Believe it or not, old friend, I may know of such a place."
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