Ablaze

III. A Summons

  The high walls were now at plain sight, tall embrasures loomed over them with patrols of archers making their rounds. The reinforced dark stone wall stretched all the way across for miles until hitting impassible hills and mountain to the east and west.

  Collem had never seen the black gate before, it's thick ironwood high doors swung inward to allow the caravan in after a short blow of a horn.

  He felt uneasy, tightened his grip on the reins of his destrier. They've traveled for weeks, past open moors, hills and mist to get to the border town of Arleon. It was foreign to him, everything was. Before passing the ironwood doors, he took note of the large banners that flew on the embrasures; A field vertically divided in a dark red and blue, emblazoned with an open black hand raised to volunteer for duty. Their King's banner.

  The first new faces he's seen where the stern looks given to him by the gatehouse guards. Their open Sallet helms revealed dark skinned men and their investigating eyes meeting his own; brown, blue, even green. As the caravan traveled through the gate all the guards kept their hands rested on the hilt of their arming swords, Collem did the same with his.

  Lightly armored they were, but many. Enough to keep all outsiders in line. Sallet helms, gambesons or coat of plates dyed red. Logical. With so many guards why armor them all in expensive mettle? The numbers are effective on their own. They were no better armored than Collem with the exception of a longsword and arming dagger.

  The head merchant yelled orders down the line, "Time to unload! Set up the tents!" Collem dismounted, allowing a stable boy take his destrier's reins. He reached into his pocket for a coin and offered it to the boy. "I'd appreciate some feed for him, boy."

  The boy did not accept the coin, only stared in confusion. "Fucks Sake." exclaimed Collem in a whisper.

"Uhm... Horse... Eat." Collem said as he patted his horse and a eating gesture with his other hand.

  The stable boy flinched in what appeared to be disgust, Collem wasn't sure what he had done until the Ebony man behind him spoke up.

"You suggested that the boy should feed your horse shit." Collem winced, feeling slightly embarrassed but remained his posture. His accent was almost alien but clear enough for him to perfectly understand him.

  The man bent slightly to the stable boy's height, and spoke a line of a tongue Collem couldn't comprehend. The stable boy nodded, took Collem's coin and led his destrier in the stable. He heard the man chuckle and turned to him to explain his folly.

"That hand gesture for eating, It may mean something else where you're from. Here, it's a gesture to tell someone to eat shit."

"Oh.. Forgive me I-"

  While interrupting him, the ebony man waved his hand over his belly. "This is the eating gesture, boy. Best you refrain from other gestures before you start a fight for the wrong reason."

"I'll be careful..."

  Collem took note of the man's apparel, brown tunic, breeches, leather boots and his sword belt. The belt itself looked to be patterned and decorated with bits of bronze creating excellent works of art. The sword and scabbard itself, look awfully regular and dull.

"...Mister-"

"Admir" Said the man, while offering his hand in shake. "Sir Admir"

  Collem complied his hand shake, "You're a Knight?"

"Well of course I am! This is most definitely your first time in Nadar isn't it?"

  Collem was often taught to know his place, and to pay respect to all people high or low. His manners tell him to apologize but by this man's nature he was confounded and only managed to let out a stutter. Admir caught sight of this and revealed his white teeth as he loudly chuckled, with an arm wrapped around Collum's shoulder they began rejoining the caravan outside the stable.