• A Stranger’s Tale
    tab The pilgrims, who are once again at the Tabard Inn, begin to bicker amongst themselves over who is to win the supper the host had promised them on the first day of their journey.
    tab “Nay, the soper shall be given to me, mine own tale of lust and want beath all that came after. Telleth me who shall winne!” shouted the knight, sure of he was that his own tale had won.
    tab “Journey’s end draws nigh, ye should no truste in flaterye, knight, for al know thy tale be long but nothing is there to gain from such a thing.” said the nun’s priest and all began to bicker again.
    tab The inn grew quiet as the door slowly creaked open. All eyes turned to the cloaked figure as he stepped through the door. He stopped and returned the gaze of many of the eyes upon him. The wind, or perhaps the slight movement of his foot, slammed the door and he proceeded to an empty table situated near our own. As he passed each table started into a flurry of whispering, some tried to avert their gaze, others continued to stare, unaware that they were doing so.
    tab It was one of us to break the ominous tension first, the knight I believe. “Host telleth who had won.” he commanded the host, breaking everyone’s daze. The table shortly grew into an uproar once again as each pilgrim argued for the meal. A loud chuckle was heard from the table near our own. All turned to look at the cloaked figure, this time with annoyance.
    tab “Sorry to break up your little party. I have been overhearing what you all are talking about. I say you all seem to think that those were stories you told. From what I heard those were merely tales children tell to each other between practicing their skills.” He said as he walked over. Now closer, I could see that scars cover his once handsome face. The deepest scar ran across the side of his face, it still had a pink hue to it. I began to wonder what other mysteries were held under that cloak of his.
    tab “You thinketh a tale from thy mouth would be better.” replied on of the pilgrims
    tab “I do not think so, I know. My friends I shall tell you a tale of dishonor, betrayal, and love. What I shall tell you is truth and not a fairy tale for children to know.” He took a seat nearest me, which allowed me only to focus more on the scars before my eyes. And thus the cloaked stranger began his tale…

    tab It was near a year ago…
    tab Two men sit kneeling before a king. “Can I trust you to full fill your duties and complete this task?” asked the king to the two men before him.
    tab “Of course my liege, our swords are your arms.” replied one of the men.
    tab “Good then be off, I wish this task carried out with all haste.” The two men leave the king’s hall.
    tab “Logan can you believe the king entrusted us with this task. It is such an honor to even be considered for such a thing.”
    tab “Raul, please act more dignified. If you were to act similar to this once we reach our destination, I shall tell I all I meet that you are the entertainment and not a knight in service to our king.”
    tab “Of course. I shall follow your lead Sir Logan.” He gives Logan a small bow.
    tab “That is enough Raul, remember you are a knight as well now, so you must act the part. Now go home and say farewell to Marie, we leave tomorrow at dawn.” They exited the castle and mounted their horses, parting for the night.
    tab Raul arrived home and told his wife, Marie, the news of his task. “When are you to leave?” she asked him.
    tab “Early morrow.”
    tab “I see. So you plan to put your duty to the king before I?”
    tab “Marie, please do not…it is something I can not control. You know if I could I would stay here with you.”
    tab “As you should, you are my knight, your allegiance is to me”
    tab “But I must also serve the king, it is my duty.”
    tab “Your duty is not as important as I.”
    tab “Yes but I still must go.”
    tab “I understand, it does not sit well with me but I understand. If you were to meet a young, pretty girl and fall in love, please do not forget about me.
    tab “That would be impossible to do. You are my true love no other can take that title.”
    tab “And you are my knight, I shall wait for you to return.”
    tab The next morning the two men met at the prearranged place. “Morning Logan, how was Tess last night?” Logan continued past Raul. Through the small openings in Logan’s helmet, Raul could see the somber expression on his face. “Logan, did something happen? Did something happen to Tess?”
    tab “No longer shall that name be spoken in my presence.”
    tab “What? Why? Did you two have a fight?”
    tab “She said she had found her true love.”
    tab “That is good! It is something to be happy about.”
    tab “For whom? How could I be happy when the woman I loved wishes to leave me for another.”
    tab “It was not true love if she found another, so you too can be happy and search for your fated one.”
    tab “I am beginning to doubt if such a thing exists among other things.” He continued on ahead of Raul. For the length of the journey few words were spoken between the once good friends. During one part of the journey Logan left to find a town. When Raul had found him, Logan was in an inn drowning himself in cocktails. This was unbecoming of a knight while on a mission. When Raul asked why Logan, a once proud knight, would just leave the post and come to an inn, Logan responded: “The mission does not matter nor did it ever. If the king wants this done so badly he could do it himself.”
    tab “Logan what has gotten to you. It must be the ale talking, no knight would ever question nor disrespect the king.”
    tab “Why not? He is just another person, a person who does nothing but order others around.” Angered welled up inside of Raul. A knight would never speak ill of his king. He threw a punch at Logan. Logan retaliated by pinning him onto the ground. “You are far to inexperienced to go against me, squire. Now go back to your post and make your king proud.” Raul, frustrated, knew there was nothing more he could do and returned back to his post.
    tab More time passes, the two said nary a word to one another. Then one day, Logan broke. An enemy had spotted the two knights, a fight broke out. It was two on one, an easy victory for Logan and Raul. Normally a valiant warrior would be spared from death in battle, to be killed while disarmed is a great dishonor. Raul had been taught by Logan long ago that if an enemy fell to the ground and wished to surrender the right thing to do is allow it. But something was different, something changed in Logan. “Logan what are you going? Let him go!” He killed the knight as he pleaded surrender. Raul could not believe it, his friend, his mentor killed someone in cold blood. “Logan what did you do!?” He ran up to him, but he threw me off easily. When he turned to face me, he looked into his eyes. He no longer saw the eyes of his friend, now the eyes of madness to refuge there. He began to swing his sword at Raul.
    tab “Raul for too long have I heard your incessant voice. Always nagging, always saying something, it is time that ended. Raul just barely got to his feet with his sword in hand. The two began to fight. Raul took hits all over his body. His hands were covered in his own blood, his vision became cloudy. One moment of weakness, one moment where he stopped to look at the blood on his hands, the blood his friend had created, and Logan landed a near fatal blow. He cut the side of Raul’s face, so deep was this cut that the jawbone could be seen. Raul fell to the ground and blacked out. When he awoke he was at the town barber. Logan was nowhere to be found.
    tab After his wounds had healed he decided to go on a journey. Not a pilgrimage such as yours, no this was to find his friend and figure out what had caused him to behave in such a way. His actions were not fitting of a knight, nor even of a human, and not of a friend.

    tab The entire inn was quiet. All had ceased their conversations to listen to this stranger’s tale. The host left for a short while, nothing was said in that time. He came back carrying a plate of food and placed it in front of the stranger. “I hereby announce that a winner has been decided. It is a free supper for you sir.” said the host.
    tab “Why thank you.” Said the man as he began eating. The table launched into an uproar once again over whose story was better. I watched the stranger still, I noticed, when he lifted his hands to bring some food to his mouth, that he wore the suit that of a knight. His hands were scarred as well as his face. I bent over to ask him of his name, softly under the voices of my companions. He replied: “Raul.”