The Kidnapped Prince

Cave Dwellers

"Do we enter?" Sir Percival asks, jumping off his horse to dismount.

The tall knight has never liked caves. He's promptly avoided them like the plague. In the last cave, he was in, he took a nasty tumble into a pile of shite, which was not exactly what he wanted.

The knight could have sworn while he was fading in and out of consciousness, he saw people in the cave he fell in. It was bad enough that he fell in shite, but to see people when there shouldn't have been is terrifying.

And not something anyone wants to repeat.

Plus, back in Camelot, the squires called him shite face behind his back, of course. The name-calling didn't hurt, but it would have been nice for the squires to respect him while he trained them...at least in the beginning. Sir Percival quickly sorted out the problem.

"Yes, you fool." Sir Gawain states as he slides off his horse. The older knight begins pulling his horse, Gringolet, to the cave. Unlike Sir Percival, Sir Gawain has never fallen into a pile of bat shite. To him, caves are not off-limits.

Sir Gawain pauses in the mouth of the cave and turns back to his friend. The knight gestures to the wyvern currently flying toward them. "You'd rather stay outside with that than enter a cave? What is there to fear?"

Sir Bedivere and Gaheris run past the marshal and commander. They don't stop to see what the hold-up is. They know Sirs Gawain and Percival can handle themselves.

"There could be someone in there," Sir Percival gestures to the cave.

"Only one way to find out." Lady Alys yells as she dismounts. The young lady and her brother run past Sir Percival to join Sir Gawain, Sir Bedivere and Gaheris inside.

Lady Rhoslyn quickly follows her siblings. She stops to smile at the uncertain knight. The young lady's smile seems to be enough for the knight to get his legs to work. Sir Percival enters the cave and immediately shivers.

Lady Rhoslyn mutters a spell. A second later, she swears under her breath. She tries again. And when that doesn't do it, she shakes her staff. Blinding light splashes across the cave walls. The company's eyes remain closed until Lady Rhoslyn tones down the brightness.

BOOF!

The company slowly turns to look at the growling wyvern standing at the mouth of the cave. The wyvern stares at the knights, ladies and squires. Then it opens its mouth and screeches.

Sir Percival takes a few more steps into the cave.

The wyvern doesn't set foot into the cave. It's almost as if a separate force keeps them out. A different kind of magic. The wyvern stalks back and forth as if trying to find a way in.

The company decides to take their chances inside the cave. They walk for a few minutes before stopping at a fork. Left or right.

"Lady Rhoslyn, can you tell if these lead out of the cave?" Sir Bedivere asks.

The young sorceress closes her eyes and lets her magic explore the cave for exits. For three minutes, she searches the cave. Down the left leads to a dead end. Down the right, through water and out into...Rheged?

"I've found another way, but it would require us to leave out horses," Lady Rhoslyn frowns. She would have liked to find a way that didn't involve leaving her horse. She's rather fond of him, even if he gets fat from apples. "Oh, and Sir Percival, there is no one here but us,"

"See, not so bad." Lady Alys smiles at Sir Percival. She even gives him a small nudge with her elbow.

Sir Bedivere thinks over the information Lady Rhoslyn relayed. He then decides there's no way they can make it to Rheged and back to Camelot without horses. They will have to wait out the wyvern.