The Shadow Companion - Laura Anne Gilman [4]
The abbot left the hallway, and Sir Matthias indicated to his men that they, too, should depart. As they walked through the great stone doors of the monastery, Sir Matthias gazed up at the pale blue autumn sky and shook his head.
“Sir?” Gerard stood by the knight, looking into the sky for whatever had caught the older man’s attention. A midday storm would delay their departure and make the men even more unhappy, but it certainly wasn’t cause enough to make Sir Matthias appear that troubled.
“Nothing, lad. Nothing. Come, I’ll need you to help me prepare.”
That was Gerard’s job on this Quest. Since his master, Sir Rheynold, was not on the journey, he had been assigned to Sir Matthias by the king himself. He was to be a sort of aide to him, assisting in the running and organizing of the Quest.
Gerard had assumed at first that the new title was just a fancy, courtesy term for squire, and that he would, in fact, be shining armor and cleaning boots, among other familiar chores. But Sir Matthias had a squire already who did those things, a young boy named Jon, who was bright and eager and very green.
Instead, once Sir Matthias discovered Gerard could write, he found himself oft as not with quill in hand, taking notes while the knight paced and spoke, or carrying highly sensitive messages to and from the other knights, or—as was the case this day with the abbot—asking to arrange a meeting.
In the weeks since the Quest had ridden out of Camelot, Gerard thought that he had learned more of how to manage men than he had in all his years with Sir Rheynold. Not to dismiss his master’s talents, but Sir Matthias was a leader, rather than a warrior. His way involved not the swing of a sword, or even the rallying of men to his side, but the more subtle coaxing and chivvying of men to propel them the way he wanted them to go.
And, when that failed, he had a strong sword-arm as well.
The walk back to the encampment was a quiet one. The first thing a squire learned was to speak only when there was need, and to never, ever interrupt a knight while he was thinking. Sir Matthias was clearly thinking, and thinking hard.
“The trouble is,” the gray-haired knight said finally, as they were climbing the last yards of rock-lined path to the meadow where their encampment had been settled, “the trouble is that our Quest, our journey, is too vague. ‘Find the Grail,’ we were told. As though the very virtue of our noses might direct us to it. It led the men to believe that the task would be simple, as though they were on one of the queen’s May Day jaunts to fetch flowers, not a long-lost holy artifact!”
Gerard hesitated, his need to show himself worldly warring with his promise not to divulge anything of what Merlin had said before sending the three young friends to join the Quest. The desire to impress Sir Matthias won. “Merlin said that magic might be—”
Sir Matthias rested a heavy hand on Gerard’s shoulder, cutting off his words. “I will speak no word against Merlin, who has proven himself in service to our king. But magic has no place on a Holy Quest. It profanes the search, and I am ever thankful that Arthur understood this and did not allow his enchanter to interfere in our search.”
Gerard wasn’t sure Merlin could have done anything that directly, even if he were asked. He had seen enough to know that magic, while fabulous and a little frightening, also had limits. If Merlin could whistle up the Grail, Arthur would already know of its location. Suddenly, Gerard wondered how much of Arthur’s original dream of the Grail and his decision to send knights in search of it was of his own inspiration—and how much was he influenced by advice from Merlin.
“I don’t know how he does it, Gerard,” the knight said. “I don’t know how the king keeps us all in line.”
They passed by a number of other pavilions. Squires were seated outside working on equipment, walking horses to the stream, or running various errands, waiting for new orders. In the distance, toward the center of the encampment, four or five of the twelve knights