The Spirit Wilds: Magic of the Green Sage (Fall of the Sages Book 1), стр. 35

Dorrick agreed. He could survive a week staying in waystations. That wouldn’t be so terrible, though he was sure the day or two it would take to cross the Lazendires wouldn’t be too pleasant. Still, he’d always wanted to see the giant mushrooms that those wilds derived their namesake from, no matter how dangerous the place was.

As for the rock spirit, they had plenty of appropriate potions and enchantments they could use to take it down. It was a common thing, rock spirits. They had them in the Yellowridge Mountains along the western coast. They sometimes caused a problem, but they weren’t too big and usually stayed in their caves.

So if this was the mission they were given, this was the mission Dorrick would fulfill. He was a Knight of the Red Flame now, and spirits would fall before him.

Sir Terlen stood and clapped his hands. “Well, now that that is settled, you two should go meet your new squires. Afterward, you should head out as soon as you get supplied.”

“Yes, sir,” they said.

He and Marcella were dismissed. They first stopped by the quartermaster so they could get their requisitions for the journey. It was a lot, but they needed a lot for they had a long way to go. Once they had that all squared away and the quartermaster and his assistants were outfitting their horses, they made their way back to the dorms where their new squires were waiting in one of the recreation rooms.

The four of them straightened as the two new knights entered the room. All four were younger than Dorrick and Marcella, which wasn’t surprising, though there were plenty of squires far older than them too. One could join the order at almost any age, though growing up within the ranks was probably the best way to go in his opinion. But I’m a bit biased, he thought with an inward smirk.

There were three men. One was short and wide as a boulder with a long black beard, but he smiled wide when he saw Dorrick and Marcella. The other two were both taller than Dorrick, though both seemed rather lanky. Then there was a woman with a dismissive scowl that sent a shiver down his back. She did not look like she approved of either him or Marcella. Not that her opinion mattered in the situation.

Dorrick crossed his arms and inclined his head. “Greetings to all of you. For those of you who don’t know who we are, I am Sir Dorrick, and this is Dame Bather.”

“Hi,” said Marcella with a chipper smile.

The stubby-bearded squire raised his hand. “Shouldn’t we call you Sir Vane?”

Dorrick cleared his throat. “N-no. Please for the love of Flames, don’t call me that. My father, your lord commander, is Sir Vane. I don’t need that. Sir Dorrick is fine. And you are?”

He straightened. “I’m Payne, sir. Payne Nebits. Used to be a blacksmith, but joined up when the spirits destroyed the little hamlet where I grew up.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, Payne.”

“Don’t worry yourself, sir. It was a long time ago.”

Marcella’s eyes were wide at this wild conversation. She tried to wrangle control of it. “How about you?” she asked, indicating to the girl.

The girl’s dismissive demeanor improved a bit now that she was being addressed by a superior officer. “Nessa, sir. And I’d rather not give my life story, if that’s okay with you.”

Marcella smiled. “That’s perfectly fine.”

“I’m Tomys Carrell,” said the third boy, with golden skin and an intensely-freckled complexion.

“And I’m Borner, Borner deDevaran.” That was all the last one offered up.

Dorrick clapped his hands together and gave them all an encouraging smile. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you all. Ideally, I’d have liked to assess your strengths and get to know you first, but unfortunately, we’re on a tight schedule, as it seems everyone is, so we’ll have to get more acquainted with one another on the road. We have a long journey ahead.”

“We look forward to learning from you, sir,” said Tomys.

“Glad to hear it.” Dorrick nodded to the door. “Now, let’s get on down to the stables and saddle up. The quartermaster is outfitting our mounts as we speak.”

“Yeah, no time for a delay,” Marcella agreed.

And with that, the two young knights and their four new squires set off on their first journey together. Dorrick could only hope that this would be the first of many.