Lair of the Bandit Knight
An 'Inquisitor's Promise' prequel story.
In the 74th century of The Year of Our Lord, the San Felipe Fiefdoms was one of the major powers of the fractured Holy League. The Knights of San Felipe, feared wyvern riders of the Aseania Region, seek to unite a divided Christendom. Yet San Felipe struggled to maintain unity amongst themselves. The Bandit Knight Sir Raul de Cambrai had declared independence, seceding his own fiefdom from the rest of San Felipe.
For the sake of the Christendom and the Holy League, the Grand Knight of San Felipe, Sir Juan Carlos de la Mancha must put an end to this rebellion.
***
“How fares thou, Young Inquisitor? And please, be honest.”
“Scared out of my life, Sir,” responded Aeneas Aquilanus, shame evident in his voice.
Juan Carlos chuckled, then tapped the young man’s shoulder. “It is to be expected. This is your first real mission as Inquisitor. And His Holiness saw fit to throw you into full-on combat. Goes to show you how much trust he has in you. And your father too.”
Aeneas nodded. He acknowledged the older man and accepted his words. Even so, he couldn’t help but shudder. “I won’t let them down, Sir!”
The Grand Knight shook his head, then smiled. From his armor, he took out a pocketbook filled with photos. “Here, young Aeneas. Take a look at this.”
Aeneas saw the photo that was handed to him; it was that of a young girl, her fair skin contrasted her dark hair. The young Inquisitor must have stared at the photo for some time, his fingers were unconsciously tracing the girl’s face.
“Clearly, you like what you’re seeing,” said Juan Carlos.
Aeneas’ face turned red. “M-my apologies, Sir. If I may ask, who is this young lady?”
“She’s my niece, Galatea. We can arrange the wedding if you so wish.”
“Please, Sir!” cried Aeneas. He desperately thought to find a way to get out of the situation. “Lady Galatea’s a beautiful one, but she looks barely into her womanhood.”
Juan Carlos shrugged. “Indeed, she is not yet of marriageable age. But you’re a young pup yourself, Sir Inquisitor. Perhaps you already have a wife-to-be, hmm?”
Aeneas thought deeply. There was someone close to him, a girl he knew from childhood, a playmate of his. Their respective fathers both wanted them to wed. The girl himself was head over heels for him but said object of affection wanted none of that. “No,” he said. “I’ll think about it, Sir Juan Carlos.”
“Glad to hear it,” said the Grand Knight. “Once we’ve taken care of Sir Raul, I’ll be sure to introduce the two of you. She can be quite the handful, but you’ll love her.”
“Yes sir,” responded Aeneas.
The Grand Knight smirked; his gambit had paid off. Whatever anxiety the young Inquisitor once carried had all but disappeared.
***
As the passenger of Juan Carlos’ brown wyvern, Aeneas could see from above the pathetic state of the Cambrai fief. San Felipe was a famously beautiful country; its lush jungles and beautiful hills were a clear contrast to the heavy urbanized cityscapes that defined much of 74th century Earth. But not so with Sir Raul’s lands. Much of the jungles were torn down as deforestation defined the landscape, the mountains were balder than aging men.
Aeneas had heard of Sir Raul’s program of heavy industrialization, but this was still a surprise to the young Inquisitor. “I had no idea it was this bad.”
“The fault lies with me,” responded the Grand Knight. “For the sake of unity, I looked the other way as Sir Raul was abusing his subjects and destroying his lands. Miguel would never let it come to this.”
“Miguel? You mean Galatea’s father?”
Juan Carlos nodded. “And my late brother. His vision was for a true unity amongst the Holy League. I tried to carry on his work after his death, yet I didn’t have his strength.”
“I understand. My father’s quite the man. I don’t think I can ever live up to his example.”
After a brief silence, both Aeneas and Juan Carlos laughed heartily. Despite the difference in age, the two men had a meeting of the minds. It did not take long before Castle Cambrai was clear to see for the Grand Knight’s army.
“Look alive now, young Aeneas.”
***
The initial battle plan of Juan Carlos was fairly simple, throw his own wyvern knights against Raul’s wyvern knights and count on the prowess of his knights to win the day. It was straight-forward, it was honorable… and it was absolutely stupid.
Despite its name, Castle Cambrai was not a regular castle. Rather, it was an underground complex, and it had earned the name Lair of the Bandit Knight. Truly a veritable fortress, and Aeneas knew that Sir Raul would not construct such a thing only to leave it behind and engage the enemy in a straightforward fight. It was clear that the bandit knight would be up to some tricks.
But this was why the Inquisition sent Aeneas to help Juan Carlos. It was not battle prowess but tactical advice that the Grand Knight needed to defeat this rebellion.
Thankfully for San Felipe, the young Inquisitor was more than up for the task despite his inexperience.
Aeneas knew that he was coming into Castle Cambrai blind. But he knew that the underground environment would not lend itself well to wyverns, as they would be unable to fly and would have trouble maneuvering. Having been aware of this issue beforehand, Aeneas made sure to recruit foot soldiers for the Grand Knight’s army. While San Felipe depended on their noble wyvern knights for defense, peasant brigades also existed as auxiliaries. These Aeneas recruited in huge numbers, even making sure that they made up the majority of the Grand Knight’s army. Unprecedented.
They would be needed.
Sir Juan Carlos was used to headlong charges upon his wyvern with his fellow knights of San Felipe. This time, however, the Grand Knight would have to wait at the back.
When Juan Carlos finally gave the order for the attack, he had little idea how chaotic the battle would be. Neither would Aeneas. Commanding the infantrymen, Aeneas went straight into the jaws of death.
Improvised explosive devices rocked the first men who stepped foot into the cave. In the dark, damp atmosphere, Aeneas could barely see what was going on. The young Inquisitor kept his tactical shield up, and his sword down. What really kept him alive throughout the ordeal was his energy shield.
With the night vision of his helmet, he saw the figures of the enemies. But they were not wyverns, not knights of San Felipe. But rather mercenaries, hired guns from the Eurasia Region up north. The Zaibatsu would have much explaining to do, but the Bandit Knight needed to be taken care of first.
In between the armies of the Grand Knight and that of the bandit knight was a spacious flat terrain, a no man’s land.
Aeneas gritted his teeth. His men didn’t have much in the way of ranged weaponry, as most of his soldiers were spearmen, fit only to hold the line. Charging into the no man’s land would mean certain death for much of his men, but he really had no choice.
So he charged.
The heroic peasants of San Felipe fell like flies. The rookie Inquisitor from the west could have easily been amongst the fallen, but the Hand of Providence kept his life. Aeneas’ group got through the kill zone battered and bruised, his own energy shield depleted - just in time for a countercharge from Sir Raul’s mercenaries.
Despite being outnumbered, the young Inquisitor’s group was able to hold their own. Aeneas was right in front as the enemy charged. Protecting himself with his shield, he cut down a mercenary with his sword. Another enemy was closing his own sword on Aeneas, only to be killed by a peasant spearman. But Aeneas soon saw his savior killed by a rocket explosion.
The young Inquisitor was thrown into the ground, bloodied. He looked up and saw a mercenary ready to kill. Once more, he was saved. This time by Juan Carlos who rammed the enemy with his wyvern, sending the mercenary to death by momentum.
The Grand Knight dismounted himself and rushed to the younger man.
Aeneas’ vision was darkening as he was bleeding out. “Sir Juan Carlos, how goes the battle?”
“Oh, never mind that!” responded Juan Carlos. “Medic!”
***
Aeneas opened his eyes and saw the medicine man. Their surroundings were quiet, but even in the dim lights the carnage of battle was clear to see.
“Have we won?”
The medicine man shook his head. “Not yet. As we speak, the Grand Knight and his forces are in battle against Sir Raul.”
Aeneas stood back up.
“Wait,” cried the medic. “The Grand Knight has a message for you.”
The young Inquisitor halted. “Go on.”
“He said that he is proud of you, and that you have your father’s courage…. He also said that you had done your part and gave you permission to retreat.”
“I see.” Aeneas put his hand to his chin. “Was that an order from Sir Juan Carlos?”
“No, sir.”
“Then take me to him.”
“But…”
“Am I wounded still?”
“No, sir. The medi-gel have closed your wounds. You’re as good as new.”
“Then take me to him,” Aeneas repeated. “We cannot take the Grand Knight’s victory for granted.”
***
Juan Carlos coughed, having taken another lance blow to his side. His energy shield had blunted the impact, but it hurt, nonetheless. His wyvern, on the other hand, was not so lucky. With its energy shield depleted, it had sustained wounds and burns. The Grand Knight was now outnumbered; many of his companion knights had fallen.
The Grand Knight’s counterpart, Sir Raul de Cambrai laughed. “Is this truly the best that the Grand Knight of San Felipe can muster? I would say I am disappointed, but I would be lying.”
Juan Carlos swung his lance, but Raul parried with his own. Then, Raul’s wyvern bit Juan Carlos’ mount on its neck, holding the beast in place.
“You should have brought your son. I have heard his prowess is unmatched despite his young age. Or perhaps that silver wyvern who is now reduced to being your niece’s house dog.” Raul held his lance to Juan Carlos’ throat. “Any last words?”
“Wait.”
Raul rolled his eyes. “But of course. Say your piece.”
Juan Carlos nodded. “Now! Then get to the ground!”
“What…,” was all Raul said before he saw a blade protruding from his chest.
Behind the bandit knight was Aeneas, who pulled his blood-stained sword. But the young Inquisitor paid that no mind as he jumped off the wyvern. Juan Carlos swung his lance at the neck of the enemy wyvern, causing the creature to shriek. Then, the Grand Knight’s mount broke free from the enemy’s hold.
Down on the ground, Aeneas felt only pain all over his joints. He struggled to pick himself up, only to fall back down when the earth shook; the carcass of a wyvern dropped to his right. The young Inquisitor felt fear as he saw the imposing form of another wyvern over him, only to sigh in relief when he finally ascertained the identity of the rider.
“Sir Juan Carlos,” said Aeneas. “Glad you’re fine.”
The Grand Knight smiled. “You have my gratitude for the rescue. But you are now out of your element,” he said, pointing to the wyvern battle still ongoing. “Retreat, that’s an order!”
Aeneas saluted. “Yes, sir.”
***
After Sir Raul de Cambrai was slain, the battle was as good as won; Juan Carlos and his knights easily overpowered the remaining enemy knights. The survivors surrendered and were taken prisoner.
With the battle won, the Grand Knight’s army were now securing Castle Cambrai from enemy stragglers. Juan Carlos took this opportunity to have a chat with Aeneas, who was resting at the entrance of the cave:
“Young Aeneas,” the Grand Knight greeted. “I trust you are recovering well.”
Aeneas nodded. “Yes sir. What is our next move?”
Juan Carlos put his hand on the young Inquisitor’s shoulder. “Back to Castle La Mancha. Time for us to throw a feast. And you have a girl to meet.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick little story. I wrote this story a while ago but kept it in my hard drive for a while now. If you’ve bought Inquisitor’s Promise, consider this story an appetizer.
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