Patrick let out a little, involuntary laugh. "Here??? No, not here. In Barleytown, there's this Elaine, old Fergy, and there was Malcolm. You can find them in town, or on the trail."
Kyle nodded several times, but had nothing to add this time.
Sir Shane's face reddened slightly with embarrassment as Patrick laughed at his question. The knight knew the farmer's reaction was involuntary and didn't carry any malice, but it still made him feel silly for asking the question. Enough so that Sir Shane almost didn't want to ask the next question that came to his mind. But curiosity won out in the end though. "Who is old Fergy?" Sir Shane asked.
"Well, they call him Elaine's grandfather, but of course he is not." explained the priest. "When she arrived in town, the old man took her under his wings, and taught her how to be a really good hunter. She could hunt before, no doubt, but Fergy has it in his blood. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, all hunters to the bone."
Patrick continued. "So when his son disappeared, he 'adopted' a daughter, so to say. All those ideas of adventure gotten into his head, that lad, and wanted to meet dragons and whatnot. Poor kid."
"Indeed." Sir Shane lamentingly agreed with Patrick's ending remark. There was a lull in the conversation once again, during which Sir Shane ate a little more of his meal, then the knight broke the silence with another question. "The other people who live here..." Sir Shane said. "Do either of you feel they aught to be made aware of what has transpired this day?"
"That's a wise question. I think I'm going to gather them first thing tomorrow, and tell them what happened, they should know to be very, very cautious. Also, the ..."
The farmer interrupted Kyle before he could continue his reasoning. "Kinda necessary, this. My girl knows, and she'll tell the others sooner than later. Better a priest tell them, than they rely on a kid's fertile fantasy, as Willow's got a ... vivid imagination."
The priest nodded a few times in agreement. "True enough, Patrick. Better be an adult." He then turned towards Sir Shane. "Do you have a plan now, friend?"
"I have its beginnings." Sir Shane said when Kyle asked if he had a plan. "Though uh... before I share, was there something else you wanted to say, Minister Kyle? I get the feeling you had more on your mind." Sir Shane gave Kyle the chance to continue partly because there was a chance that the knight would need to plan around what the priest had to say, but mainly because it didn't feel right to Sir Shane to move things along if there was more that the minister wanted to speak of.
"Ummm, yeah I remember now. I suppose the townsfolk also need to know about this, and you could tell them. You were there for the event, you're a knight of Stormhelm, so they should listen to you."
"Yeah, and we won't want to wander around, us farmers. Old Fergy would be really interested, too, I think. Who knows what happened to his son, maybe the same horrific thing."
Sir Shane tensed up at Kyle's suggestion that he be the one to break the news to the people of the hamlet. "I... Y-You think I should be the one to tell them?" The knight nervously asked the priest. "I mean... I-I had planned on... staying for the gathering... T-To keep the peace if panic broke out. But... you think I should announce what has happened too? I know I'm the one who saw what happened, but y-your people know you better than I. Knight of Stormhelm or not, surely they would listen to their minister more than an outsider... A-And on top of that..." Sir Shane looked away then, his face reddening once more. "Y-You... recall my moniker, yes? Public speaking... I'm not so good at that."
"Not the hamlet, I'm going to do that. I meant Barleytown. When you return there, they should know what happened. You can talk to Alderman Beaks, head of town, and he can do the rest. Still, your voice matters to them, so if you decide to tell your opinion to the elders, that should make a difference in how the town reacts."
"O-Oh! You meant in Barleytown?" Sir Shane said, face going even redder as he realized his mistake. "I... I can do that. Of course." Not wanting to dwell on this subject any longer now that he'd thoroughly embarrassed himself while speaking of it, Sir Shane quickly moved back to the topic they were discussing before. "S-So my plan..." He began. "At dawn, I'll mount up and ride for Barleytown. There, I'll return Malcolm's medallion to his order alongside news of his passing, send a messenger on to Stormhelm with a report of my quest's progress, enlist the aid of a tracker, and inform Alderman Beaks of the recent development... Once that is done, I will head west with the tracker to follow this evil to its source and see its threat brought to an end however I am able to."
The priest was glowing with hope and being glad. "Spoken like a true knight, I would say. If I or anyone here can help you in any way, please seek us out and we'll do what we can."
"Yeah, we're ready to do what we must.", added the farmer.
Sir Shane smiled and nodded in appreciation of their offer. "Thank you both." Sir Shane said gratefully. "I will happily accept any aid you can provide." Sir Shane finished the last of his dinner then, before raising what remained of his beer to his compatriots. "A toast." The knight proposed. "To the two souls laid to rest this day, and the good work that we have done." With that said, Sir Shane drank the last of his beer. Once he was done, Sir Shane looked out a nearby window to see that night had fully set in. "The day is spent." Sir Shane declared before looking back to Kyle and Patrick. "Is there a place in the hamlet where visitors can lodge for the night?"
Both man raised their mugs for the toast, and repeated it after Sir Shane.
"Please, this little church is no palace, but you can stay the night to start tomorrow refreshed. I'll have a bed ready for you in a minute." offered the priest.
"Good night to you." Patrick left for home and family.
The morning came with a bright sunshine and a little wind, which made the air crystal clear. When the young knight arrived back in town, the folks were busy with the day's work. Some of then spared a curious glance at the figure clad in armor head-to-toe, but otherwise minded their own business.
"And to you, Patrick." Sir Shane called after the farmer as he departed. "Give my regards to Willow." Sir Shane then turned his attention back to Kyle. "I appreciate the hospitality, minister." Sir Shane said with a thankful nod. "Please inform me when the bed is ready."
Once the priest was gone, Sir Shane shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and unhooked the sword sheathed at his belt. The knight spent some time then ensuring that his gear was all in good condition and ready for the trials ahead. He paid particular attention to his sword and shield as he did this. Sir Shane's wasn't sure what he would find west of the hamlet when he returned to track the evil to its source, but he knew he would be needing his sword and shield at the ready when he did. Once that was done, Kyle returned to announce the readiness of the bed shortly after.
As he settled in for the night, Sir Shane pulled a book out of his backpack. A book given to him by the one person he regretted leaving behind when he departed for his quest. He'd met her back when he was still a squire. He'd found a secluded spot in the Stormspire gardens that he could go to when dealing with people became too much. Though he didn't realize somebody else used it for that same reason. Not until the much more extroverted baroness the other person served stormed up to him during one of his visits to the quiet place and angrily demanded to know why the knight was intruding on her lady-in-waiting's place of solitude. Having been caught thoroughly off-guard, Sir Shane immediately descended into a fit of nervous babbling as the sudden and hostile social interaction overwhelmed him.
Which was when the lady-in-waiting in question came to the knight's rescue. Once the two of them realized that they shared a shy disposition, they agreed that they could also share the quiet place. And so Sir Shane and the lady-in-waiting, who the knight came to know as Lady Marin, would spend much of their free time together after that. They had started off as simple acquaintances brought together by a shared dislike of being sociable. But somewhere in the companionable silence that came about whenever they sat next to each other, something more eventually bloomed.
The book was about the natural world. Lady Marin had always been so enthusiastic on the subject. Whenever it was brought up, all shyness briefly left her as she spoke at length and with avid animation on some aspect of nature or another. And she was knowledgeable on the subject too. Enough so that she was able to write a book and get it published to no small amount of academic acclaim. Sir Shane was among the first to receive a copy. And every time he read it when he was alone, it felt faintly like he was back in the Stormspire gardens, sitting with Lady Marin in the calm and the quiet.
Sir Shane read a handful of pages, then put the book away and got some rest.
Sir Shane takes a Packing moment before setting off to Barleytown. He packs the Good Sword, Sturdy Shield, and Courtly Love Keepsake.
Sir Shane awoke the next day, said his farewells to his host, and rode back to Barleytown. The journey was uneventful and the arrival equally so. And so Sir Shane made his way to his first stop: The Barleytown barracks of the Red Marshals, where he intended to return Malcolm's medallion and deliver news of his demise.
