Age of Kings

by A bag of plums


66 - Charting Ahead

“Ohh, I have not eaten so much since leaving Canterlot…” Spectrum Song rubbed her belly. “But that was so good…”

“Oh yes…” Guard Streak picked a piece of meat from between his teeth.

“Ah ain’t never eaten this much at a time in my life.” Honeygold’s eyes were close to closing.

It was now nearing midnight, and Emerald’s group had just polished off the last scrap of food from Pot Roast’s sumptuous feast. He had insisted on it, as there would be little to no chance of getting a decent meal before they reached the next settlement.

Emerald herself had mostly stuck to the vegetables, stewed carrots and shells of crunchy lettuce, while occasionally having some cheese and ale. And the ale was fantastic, just as good, if not better, than the drink they served back at Canterlot Castle. 

In the end, most of them had retired to the rooms for the night, leaving the three young ones to lounge near the fireplace, basically filled to the brim on beef stew.

“What kinda food do ya think we’ll find over the mountains.” Honeygold asked, waving a finger around in the air for no reason.

“I wonder what we’ll even find in Prance and Kievan Horse territory.” Spectrum burped and scratched at her cheek. “I know the Prench have fantastic bread, from what the knights told us.”

“Don’t forget about the wine!” Guard Streak mentioned. “Prench wine is meant to some of the best in the world. I’d like a taste.”

“Ah don’t think we ought to be drinkin’ any of them alcomahols yet.”

“But Sir Hors lets me have ale at dinner,” Spectrum said, nudging Guard Streak. “Or at least, he used to. It wouldn’t be too bad to try a bottle of that fancy Prench stuff, right?”

“Didn’t Sir Hors only let you eat his leftovers?” Honeygold asked.

“Nah, not since Sir Morn talked him into giving me better food,” Spectrum’s face grew sad. “Sir Morn used to be such a nice person. He helped me.”

“Knight of Kindness, after all,” Honeygold reminded them.

“Yes…” Guard Streak said quietly. He put his hands behind his head and thought. “You know, it really goes to show how little it takes for a person to change.”

“Whaddya mean?” Honeygold asked. “I mean, from what Ah heard, it took a lot to turn him, uh, evil.”

“Well that’s just the thing,” Spectrum said. “Nobody really knows what happened in the throne room that day. By the time Emerald and the other knights arrived, the king was already dead. But I do not think Sir Morn just happened to snap like that. He is not that kind of man.”

“Or,” Guard Streak said. “H-He wasn’t. I am not so sure what he is like now.”

“Well, mah great-grandpa Neighbraham Drinkin’ used to say: ‘Nearly all folk can handle ayd-vur-sity, but if you wanna test a man’s character, give ‘im power’,” Honeygold recited.

“What’s ‘ayd-vur-sity’?” Guard Streak asked curiously.

Honeygold shrugged. “Dunno. Pa says that great-grandpa Drinkin’ was a wise old feller though, so what Ah get out of that is that if you wanna see how a feller really is, power’s the way to tell.”

“So what you’re saying,” Spectrum said slowly. “Is that Sir Morn was always a power-hungry false king?” The squire shook his head. “I can’t believe that. We all knew him as the nicest knight ever, after Emerald, of course.”

“Emerald was g-given some power as a K-Knight of the R-Round Table,” Guard Streak said as he shifted in place to get more comfortable. “Does that mean she passed the test?”

“Em’s… special,” Honeygold answered, her brow furrowing in thought. “Ah mean, she was already servin’ a princess back in her world. Ain’t so much different than being a knight, right?”

“I guess not…”

Outside, an owl hooted. It sounded like laughter. The trio sat there, staring into the crackling flames of the hearth.

"I wonder how my parents are doing…" Spectrum muttered to herself. “I hope they haven’t been turned by Morn. They aren’t fighters. They would serve no use to him anyway.”

"I'm worried about my family too." The other squire nodded. "I wish I could have told them about this quest, b-but we left in such a hurry."

“That is why we must finish this quest.” Spectrum punched a fist in the air. “Once Em gets one of those artifacts, Morn won’t stand a chance!”

“But first…” Honeygold burped. “Ah think we need a rest.”

“I agree.” Spectrum grinned and ran a hand over her belly again. “First we rest.”

The three young ones left the dining area, proceeding up to the rooms. The flight of stairs seemed to be a daunting task after such good food, but they attempted the ordeal anyway; the thoughts of a nice and soft bed spurred them on.

“So, Spectrum…” Honeygold whispered to her friend as Guard Streak led the way up. “When are ya gonna do it?”

“Do what?” The squire let out a hiccup.

“Ya know…” Honeygold held back a laugh. “Tell him ya like him.”

“What? No way. No! I don’t like him!” Her cheeks glowed a bright red. “I mean… He’s my friend, yes. But I-I don’t… That. Yes. You know! You have to do these things properly! I mean, there’s a way to tell people this kind of thing. You can’t just do it out of the blue.”

Honeygold sighed. “Alright, Ah’ll let ya focus on doin’ it the ‘right way’. But given that we’re on a dangerous quest, maybe ya oughta tell him sooner rather’n later, ya get me?” She finished with a cheeky smile.

Spectrum nodded glumly and opened the door to her room. The inn was made to house dozens of soldiers at once, so their troupe each had a room each, unless they wanted to share.

“Well, a good n-night to you two,” Guard Streak bade them, taking his candle into his room with him.

Spectrum nodded. “Yes. Goodnight.”


The next morning, Emerald Edge and the other adults met up with Kite Shield and the other two captains in the war room to decide their next course of action.

The current plan was to leave by the other end of the fort and head east. Beyond the gates would be the Kingdom of Prance, and judging by the state their two kingdoms were in, they didn’t want to meet any Prench humans, especially not soldiers.

Kite Shield and the fort were going to wait for Morn’s men to arrive and see what happens. If they wanted a fight, the soldiers here were going to give it to them.

Emerald didn’t like how they were going to throw their lives away like that, but they were doing it to buy them more time before Morn could find them and get to them. For now, they needed all the time they could get.

“We have plenty of reserves of hot tar for the Prench.” Heater Shield pointed to a long building on their battle board. “We can turn it to the west side of the fort instead. That alone should buy us quite some time should they want to turn us too.”

“Assuming Morn doesn’t just decide to blast the gates open,” Light Speckle quipped. When everyone looked at her, she ducked her head. “I somehow don’t think he will be the one chasing us though. But thanks to the staff, he will know approximately where we are at all times. So he may know we have stopped at this fort.”

“Wait, you only mentioned Excalibur,” Tower Shield interjected. “He has a staff as well?”

“Sir Morn currently holds all three of the greatest magical treasures of Canterlot,” Posey said. “Excalibur, the Shield, and the Staff. We currently think he has given the Shield and Staff to two of his underlings, but that does not mean we shouldn’t be watchful for them.”

Emerald nodded. “Agreed.”

“Do you think this will mean a civil war?” Kite Shield asked nervously. “Surely not everyone will accept Morn Dread as king. Not like this.”

“You can’t think of this as just any other usurper,” Light Speckle said grimly. “Even if there’s some conflict, I doubt it will erupt into a full civil war. Not when one side has such a huge advantage over the other.”

“And he has legitimacy,” Nightfall pointed out. “He does claim to be Dawn Saber’s son.”

“The king’s son? Is that true, though,” Heater Shield said. “Anyone can make a claim like that if it suited their needs.”

There was some muttering around the table before Moon Tide cleared her throat and spoke up.

“Tis true. Morn Dread… is the king’s son. Though not conceived with the queen, but with me.”

“The king… with his own sister?” Tower Shield wiped a hand across his brow.

“Tis true. Though, the king was not in his right mind when he took me that night. I do not know if he even recalls what he had done.”

Emerald nodded. She remembered how upset Morn had been when King Dawn Saber had rejected him as his heir. For the time she had known Morn, he had always dreamed of knowing who his father was and he had been ecstatic to know his father still yet lived. It must have been a huge blow to him when the king turned him away.

“We shall still hold him back as long as we can,” Tower Shield said at last. “No treacherous king, true heir or no, shall be our monarch. We will slow them down the best we can.”

“We best be movin’ as soon as we can, then.” Golden Nugget pulled at his overalls and grunted. “We wanna put as much distance as we can between the evil army and us.”

“I agree with Golden Nugget,” Jewel Pin said as she chewed on a piece of pastry. “I do not want to see them again until we obtain our secret weapon.”

“Then we best wake the young’uns. Ah’ll go get ‘em.” Apple Bean left the planning room.

“If you need some more food for the journey, Pot Roast will be willing to provide,” Kite Shield told them and then drew a finger along a drawn path on the map. “The route you will want to take through Prance is this one. The quickest through it.”

“Will there be any villages along that path?” Posey pushed past Emerald and asked.

The spymaster knew just what she was after.

Kite Shield looked at the map. “The road through Prance will take you past two villages. According to our spies in the area, the first one is little more than a hovel, no bigger than Trottingham. The second one, near the end of the path, is a little larger, with stone walls and such. I would advise caution when moving through either village. Villagers can be wary of strangers, and it would be a poor ending to your quest if you were lynched by some overly suspicious townsfolk before you got to your goal.”

“Aye,” Heater Shield agreed. “It would be best to stay together as a trading caravan or something like that.”

“Or refugees fleeing Canterlot,” Tower Shield suggested. “The best lies usually contain some degree of truth, and if the Prench hear that you dislike Canterlot, I’m sure it will go some way to winning their goodwill.” 

“That is if you can sound like them.” Kite Shield laughed for a second. “They speak so much more barbarically than we do.”

Emerald was less amused. “Do you have any information on what kind of guards or soldiers these places might have?” she asked.

“What, are you planning to break the law there or something?” Heater Shield said quizzically. “I thought your tactic was going to be laying low.”

She looked at Posey, then back at the captains. “Just… someone we need to learn the whereabouts of.”

“And is this part of your quest for the magic item too?” Kite Shield asked. He was directing some soldiers who had come with supplies, such as more arrows for Posey and soap for Jewel Pin.

“More of a… personal matter.”

“Riiiiight,” Tower Shield nodded slowly. “Well, as long as you do not jeopardize the main mission for this matter, then I can give you our spies’ last reports on troop movements and guard postings.”

“We don’t have any of that,” Heater Shield reminded her brother. “At least, no recent ones. The latest reports we have on soldiers and guards in Prance is from fifty years ago.”

“Oh.”

“Bring them anyway,” Emerald instructed. Whatever they could learn might be of use.

Kite Shield motioned to a nearby soldier and told him to get the appropriate files. Then he returned his attention to the map.

“Our knowledge of Prance is lacking, especially at the end of the path. We know even less about Kievan Horse territory. Only what storytellers and merchants have told us.”

“This is more than enough.” Emerald eyed the map, planning a mental route in her head. “We shall make do with the information we have and learn on the way.”

“The Kievan Horse lands are cold and mountainous,” Tower Shield said. “But we only know of the main road through to the mountains. Perhaps our spies in Prance will know better than we do.”

“And where, pray tell, can we find these spies in Prance?” Nightfall asked.

“It… has been a while since we have heard from them…” Kite Shield admitted.

“We will make do.” Emerald looked to the Coltcasus mountains all the way to the east. She was a spymaster. She could figure it out. “After all, we have the rough waypoint and Moon Tide knows how to get there. You are doing enough for us as it is.”

“Then we wish you the most of luck, my lady.” Tower Shield slapped a fist to his chest and bowed. His siblings eventually did the same as well. “We know what we must do. We shall hold the line as long as we can.”

“It has been an honor to know you three.” Light Speckle gave each of them a pat. “What you are doing here for us is noble.”

“We are only doing our duty to the true king of Canterlot. We swore an oath to defend king and country, and by thunder we are going to keep it.”

“Have you seen all you need to see, Lady Emerald?” Kite Shield asked. The former pegasus nodded. “Then you had best gather your troupe. You should leave Fort Hayward as soon as you possibly can.”