Gernot's first commando

[Gernot de Sennis]

A small groups of boys headed out for the stream where the willows stood thick along the banks. The young Frank had been given the task of collecting large quantities of mint and carmomile for Lady Sofia. He had recruited the help of several of the stable lads and of Isaiah, a boy who helped Lady Sofia with the infirmary. Supposedly the boy had knowledge of how the healer liked her herbs to be collected, and for that knowledge Gernot was grateful.

The four of them strode alongside a cart driven by a ox, on which Gernot had placed the large baskets for collecting the herbs. As he was leading the ox along, small isaiah walked beside gernot, not speaking much but eager to keep the pace the young Frank set.

He had suggested that maybe he could become friends with the young boy, as he was coming from destitute origins .... like Gernot had come also. Now, being the son of a noble, he felt it his duty to help those less fortunate than him. It was a trait his father Rainald had imbued to him from ever since he was living with the Lord, something Gernotunderstood to be one of his duties now.

On the other hand, his new station meant he would be leading this small herb collecting troupe and he let the other boys know that such would indeed be the case!

Eventually they reached the small fort where they crossed the stream to get to the other side where the herbs stood dense and fleshy. It took only about half an hour before two of the four baskets were filled to the rim with greeneries, Isaiah showing them the best plants to pick and how to properly layer them into the baskets. gernot worked as hard as the others, but also kept an eye out for any trouble which may befall them. These boys were his repsonsibility, he felt, nothing would happen on his watch!

Soon the thrid basket was filled, and the boys eagerly scurried alonmg the meadow to select the final herbs to complete their task. at one point Isaiah got too near the edge of the river bank and fell face first into the cold water. he shrieked and waved his arms, the splashing sound irritating the ox who turned and tried to run back across the fort, the waggon with the three filled baskets rumbling along behind the franzied animal. The beast was heading straight towards where Isaiah had fallen....


(tbc)

[sofia]

~~Storytelling~~

Though it seemed a silly and quite frankly embarrassing task for a boy of fourteen, in truth the Moorish Healer had given the young Frankian boy a serious and deeply necessary task to fulfill. The village and countryside were in dire need of certain herbs and medicines after a long winter. There were the inevitable sniffles and snuffles, burns and bruises and other occupational hazards of surviving winter in a cold wet climate. Poor nutrition had chipped away at the peasants' reserves of health, only making things worse. Many had died of the coughing sickness this winter, including nearly Sofia herself. The mint and chamomile would be used to ease many troubled by upset stomachs, and not a few sufferers of nightmares would see better rest as well. If Gernot and Isaiah did well in this initial task, she would have a good deal more work for them over the summer.
Having Isaiah along proved helpful, as he did indeed know how the Moroccan woman preferred things done. He showed the other lads how to select the clean and healthy plants, where to cut and how to make the angle just so, how to shake off any dust or insects and lay them carefully into the baskets without damage. Near the end when the last basketfull was being gathered, his mind was off in the infirmary...Master Sergent Gerben had spoken with him just before this little adventure, saying the Lady Moor had hired him to do certain light chores in the infirmary regularly. His mind was thus busy imagining all the wonderful amazing discoveries he was going to make when the bank's wet clay mud gave way under his foot just as his old worn shoe slipped and then he was in the water with a SPLASH!!!! flapping desperately in blind choking panic hearing as if from far away a great roaring and rumbling.......

[Gernot de Sennis]

"Isaiah, watch out!"

Gernot had turned in time to watch the younger boy fall into the stream, screaming his lungs out. Immediately he dropped the bushel of herbs he had in his hands, and rushed towards the stream.

Jonah, one of the stables boys Gernot had become friendly with, also looked on in horror at first but then decided to act. he grabbed a fallen branch and threw it in the direction of the raging ox, hitting the animal on its rump.

"Come, come, you stupid beast! I'm here, come to papa!" Jonah evidently tried to distract the ox from its path towards where Isaiah lay sprawled in the water, but being hit by a branch only made the animal even more furious!

"NO Jonah, stop that!" Gernot yelled but not before the animal already had been hit. He looked at the ox still firm on its path ... he looked at Isaiah, the boy he felt was his special responsibility ...."What to do? What to do?" ... He knew diverting an animal of such size and mass would be impossible unless one had a spear or sword to slay it in its tracks .... There was only one possibility left ...

Without concern for his own safety, Gernot made a rush towards Isaiah, outsprintring the ox and cart just in time to reach the boy in the water. He firmly grabbed the boy under both his arms and began to drag Isaiah out of the oncoming ox. They barely made it, Gernot now laying on his back in the shallow fort with Isaiah on top of him. The animal and cart roared past the two, onto the other side of the stream and further towards the forest.

"So much for our work, darn!" This was Jonah who angrily kicked the dirt at his feet.

"Well, go after the ox then, Joanah!" Gernot's voice sounded a bit indignant as he now tried to get Isaiah and himself up and out of the water. "Don't just stand tehre or we'll be picking herbs till our fingers will be green, I swear!"

A soft whimping disrupted his little tirade and he rolled isaiah off his belly and onto his feet. The boy was crying, his forehead red with blood.

"Oh no, Isaiah? Are you ok? Isaiah?" Gernot took his sleeve and wiped away the blood, only to see it start flowing from a nasty gnash on Isaiah's head again.

"I wanna ... I wanna ... wannagohoooome!" Isaiah positively whailed right now and tried to stem the flood of blood with his right hand, only to wince some more. "AUA! It hurts!"

As fast as he could Gernot picked up the boy and brought him out of the stream, laying him down onto the grass, wondering how in Gods name they should bring Isaiah home quickly without the cart!

[sofia]

Storytelling

"Gernot, what shall we do?" Someone asked, even as Jonah splashed across the stream dashing off to holler and whistle for the Ox.

And there it was, quite literally right in Gernot's lap, his first taste of being a grown man and a sworn protector of the helpless and innocent. Adult responsibility had come in the person of a terrified sobbing bleeding child in icy soaking wet clothes and the wind and rain threatening. This time it fell to Gernot's shoulders to become the guardian....he must use his mind and training to take charge, to assess the true situation, to bring his young charges safely through this very real and potentially dangerous situation.

[Gernot de sennis]

Gernot rubbed his eyes and then glared at the boy who had innocently asked the question about what to do. he wanted to snap at his companion as he had no immediate answer to their dilemma, but just in time restrained his own frustrations and calmed himself.

"I will think of something, Puck, alright? Just ... gimme a minute ... no, give me my cloak over there!"

While Puck went to fetch the dry cloak, Gernot began to rip a long strip of cloth from the hem of his shirt and used that to bind around Isaiah's head to stop the wound from bleeding. Still, the blood came soaking through, so Gernot used another strip and repeated the procedure.

"Now, Isaiah, I want you to take your hand press onto the wound, it will help stop the bleeding, alright?" He brushed a hand over the young boy's hair. "I know it will hurt a bit but you're a big boy, right? You wanna tell your father and the older boys how you bested a wild ox, right?"

Sniffling, Isaiah silently began to nod his head. "Very good, little warrior! Now, let me get you out of these wet clothes." Carefully Gernot peeled the soaking clothes off the boy's shivering body, by now Puck had brought over his cloak. Before draping the woolen mantle around the little boy, Gernot took bushels of grass and rubbed off some of the water from Isaiah's skin.

"We should try and get help, Gernot! I can run back to the castle and call Sergeant Gerben and..."

"And waste time covering the way back to the castle and here thrice? No. The storm will catch up with us by then, just look at these clouds!"

Indeed the sky was beginning to darken at a threatening pace, in the distance rumbling from a thunder storm already was audible.

"If God wills it, Jonah and that stupid ox will get back to the castle to tell about our predicament. In the meantime, we should try and cover as much ground back to the castle as we can!"

While he spoke, Gernot was rubbing Isaiah's arms to produce some warmth, but in between also rubbed his own arms and sides. He was also wet and cold to the bones, although apparently uninjured. Carrying the boy back home would get him dry, Gernot figured.

"That last basket, it's large enough for Isaiah. Come, help me place him into it. We can carry him back the same way we came, maybe, someone from the Castle will meet us half way."

Gernot got up and helped Isaiah into the half filled basket with herbs. At least the boy would be laying comfortably. As he took a step forward, Gernot felt a distinct stabbing pain in his left foot. He bit his lips, not making a sound to alarm the other boys. He tried his foot again, it hurt but he could still walk. Maybe it's just strained, he thought. He would not let that hinder him to get them all back to the castle, though.

"Puck, help me carry the basket, we will switch carrying Isaiah along the way. Walt, you have that whistle of yours with you? Sure you do, you never leave home without it!" He grinned at the thrid boy of 13 and continued. "Blow that whistle overy 100 paces, so if they come looking for us, they will find us easier. Let's go!"

Gernot and Puck picked up the basket, it now was quite heavy and took effort to carry, Gernot's foot aching with each step, but slowly the company of four crossed the fort and headed back in the direction of the castle.

Behind them, as if in hot pursuit, a thunderbolt streaked across the sky and incinerated a tree maybe a mile and a half away from the group.

[sofia]

~By now it was getting far too late, and after a hurried conference Sofia and Master Sergent Gerben had sent Alfric and another man on horses to check for the boys. As the party made their way toward the castle the two riders appeared in the distance, then suddenly Alfric's large mount is urged into a trot, and soon both riders are coming toward the boys full speed. As they come up, Alfric looks to Gernot to explain what happened, even as his burly arms gather up Isaiah and pass the boy to the other man. Predictably shaken, gernot stammeringly explains what he had seen, and what he had done, clearly he was deeply upset and distressed at the younger boy's condition and felt responsible.
"Ahhh Gernot, any accident in life may throw ye into bad spot, it's 'ow ye 'andle it what makes th' man. ye done good an' ye done right. Joseph and I will take the boys back to the castle safely, but we still need you to bring back that ox and cart ye borrowed.
With that Alfric handed gernot a change of clothes and a dry cloak, then he and the other man took off taking the small boys back to the castle. Nearby, the ox munched placidly, the baskets of herbs tossed...scattered....haf empty...though the clumps of cut herbs could be seen.

[sofia]

(20:57:20)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
: She was relaxing in her chambers when a sudden BAM BAM BAM of fist pounding on her door made the small woman jusp about a foot and a half. Please M'Lady, come quick. One of the pageboys 'as had a bad fall an' 'urt 'is 'ead......

(20:59:51)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
: coming! She calls out, then shrugs out of her thick robe and into an older but comfortable wool dress, swiftly tying tumbling mahogany curls up in a sloppy bath-knot and wriggling petite feet into soft slippers. Then wasting no more time, she hurries out and down the hall, through the maze of corridors until she reaches the infirmary where Alfric has already got the child laid into bed and covered

(21:09:14)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **Being a head wound of course there's blood everywhere, but she knows and expects this. Dark eyes look over Gernot's improvised bandage, noting it was neatly tied and two of them. Isaiah's skin is still icy-cold from falling in the water and the long ride home, but his eyes are open and following her actively, and she sees that his pupils are normal in every way....Isaiah, tell me what happened, lad.... Spoken softly as she moves the improvised bandages aside and examines the gash. It's funky-looking allright, long and curved and red and all bruised around the edges with blood everywhere...but thankfully not still actively bleeding, much to her relief.

(21:16:02)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **meanwhile Alfric had been holding a blanket up near the fire, and now tha tit was toasty-warm he hurried over and tucked it around the shivering pageboy then laid more blankets over him to help keep him warm. With a soft thanks Sofia lets Alfric get back to his task of dealing with the other pageboys....who were probably already recanting every detail to their avid audience of juvenile listeners. Taking a bunch of rags and two buckets, one with hot water the other empty, she begins to clean up the blood. When a cloth is soiled, she drops it intothe empty bucket and takes up the next one with clean water. With the warm blankets coccooning him, the boy soon stops shivering and relaxes, though he winces as the healer gently tends to removing the mess. It takes him a while, but eventually he tells his whole story, growing red faced when admitting he'd been dreaming of making great discoveries. Much to his surprise, the exotic woman smiles..that is a wonderful dream, you should observe much and study much, and perhaps you will make such a fine discovering some day

(21:23:20)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **by now all the extra blood is gone, and she can get a better look at the injury. She frowns a little, and goes to ladle up a small bowl of strong willowbark tea froma vessel on the hearth. This was not for drinking, but washing wounds, and contained other potent yet simple herbs as well. Taking the cloth, she slowly and carefully washes the entire gash. After drying, she takes some wilted plantain leaves and smashes them toa pulp in the mortar and pestle, then mixes a small scoop of honey and a few lavendar blossoms in, then mashes it all up again. Shmearing this to a clean square of folded linen she covers the gash, then gently and securely wraps a binding cloth to keep it in place. All teh while, Isaiah winces from time to time, but bravely does not cry out, trying to be strong and brave like the knights.

(21:27:52)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **The Moroccan woman would ask Gernot later for his version of events.....but just as Isaiah relaxes and fades off to sleep Alfric can be seen gesturing to her from the doorway. Taking the buckets up and setting them outside where they would be put with the other bandages to wash and boil, she listens as he relates what the Frankian boy had told him, and what Gernot had done as well. She raises her eyebrows and smiles a bit, pleased that some of his training had stuck.

[Gernot de Sennis]

Gernot released a brief sigh of relief when he saw the riders appraoching from afar. Isaiah would be home safe and quickly now, he knew and set the basket with the small boy onto the ground.

One of the riders, Alfric, quicly inquired as to what had happend and then he picked up the injured boy and handed him to the other rider, Joseph.

After he had been given some dry clothes and a new cloak, Gernot was left standing alone in the meadown, the other boys were following Alfric and Joseph back to the castle while it would befall unto him to bring back the ox and the herbs.

He felt quite despondant despite the fact that Isaiah was now out of danger. The ox now grazed peacefully on some grass and then turned its head to start picking up the bushels of herbs that had fallen out of the tumbled baskets.

Gernot felt anger rising in him, his hands became fists of rage. "Oh no you don't, you stupid beast!" As fast as his injured foot allowed Gernot was by the oxen's side, giving it a knock onto its thick head with his fist.

"You will not eat these herbs, these are MY herbs and you will not get them!"

By now his fists were pummeling the oxen's head which stopped the naimal from munching on for a bit, blankly starring at the frustrated boy.

"You stupid beast, you ....you..." A swall of frankian explicits came from his mouth now before he let himself drop onto the grass, crying tears of frustration.

His first task of leading others, and he had failed so miserably. It took a while for the boy to let his frustrations out, another loud thunder then reminding Gernot that soon all their efforts with the herbs would be totally ruined if he would not make speed collecting the scattered herbs and bringing them and the ox and cart back to the castle before the impending rain would set in.

Wiping away his tear with the sleeve of his tunic, gernot finally got up on his feet again, limping towards the first fallen basket and gathering the scattered herbs as best as he could.

The first drops of rain were already falling when he had finished with collecting the herbs. Gernot climbed onto the cart and took the reins to direct the ox back to the castle.

When he arrived back in Windstorm, Puck, Jonah and Walt already were back home. he told them to take the baskets and bring them to Lady Sofia. When he climbed off the cart, the gave the ox another knuff before letting the older stable boys take care of the animal and the cart.

The rain was now puring down like a curtain of water upon the young Franks head, running down his face, starting to soak his clothes through again.

Gernot felt only numb. he had failed, at his first opportunity to show how much he had already learned. how could he let his father set eyes upon him like this? After a long moment he turned towards the stables, his foot hurting worse now, but right now Gernot didn't want to see anyone. he wanted to be alone with his shame. When he made it to the boy where Mirage stood, he opened the gate and approached the horse Lord rainald rode. Petting the animal was soothing, after a while he made a small bed of hay for himself in the box and covered his body with the damp cloak. Tonight he would spend here.

Tomorrow would be in God's hands!

[Rainald de Sennis]

Rainald de Sennis strode down the long corridors of the castle proper in search of his son, gernot. Word had reached him that the boy had been given an important task for Lady Sofia which had gone not quite according to plan. Ever since the return of the herb collecting party Rainald had not seen or heard from gernot, which he found unsusual.

Was the boy hiding? And if so - why? From what the Frank Ambassador had heard of this little adventure what had happend to the boy Isaiah had been nothinbg but an accident, and Gernot had acted quite admirably. So, where was the boy?

None of the servants he'd asked knew of the whereabouts of the boy, not even his friends amongst the other squires and stable boys knew where to find Gernot. This was not right! Rainald decided to consult with lady Sofia about what exactly had happened on that trip that might have caused Gernot to be so elusive.

[avid reader]

((enjoying this very much *SS* thank you to the writers of this adventure!))

[Gernot de Sennis]

In the middle of the night, Gernot was woken up by another loud thunder clap from nearby. The thunderstorm that had brewed the entire day and was finally relasing its power during the evening had now come to its climax, almost directly over the castle of Windstorm. The lad rubbed his eyes and sat up. He had planned on spending the night in the stables by Mirage's side ... to sulk and wallow in self-pity. "Yes,that's what I'm doing, isn't it?" he thought aloud. His left ankle was hurting, he tried to get the boot off his left foot but couldn't as the ankle was swollen. Taking a few deep breaths, he eventually got up onto his feet carefully, his left foot hurting when he put weight onto it.

"Dang, I guess Lady Sofia will have to have a look at that" he said without much enthusiasm, talking to Mirage who, despite the loud thundering outside, stood quietly in his box chewing on a bit of hay. "I hope Isaiah is ok, if he hadn't bled to death...oh God!" There suddenly was some panic in Gernot's voice. he had to find out, he couldn't hide in here and pretend nothing had happened.

Again he tested his foot and found it difficult to suppress a yelp at first. Slowly, step by step, he covered the distance to the box's gate, opening it and stepping outside, then closing it carefully, giving Mirage a final pat onto his head. With a distinct limp Gernot covered the distance from the stable across the courtyard to one of the back entrances of the castle, careful not to be detected by any of the guards.

Silently Gernot made his way through the corridors and backways of the castle to the infirmary. The door was closed and when he pressed his ear against the door he could perceive no sound inside. At least Lady Sofia wouldn't be in, he figured, and quietly opened the door. Despite his care the old hinges creaked a little, making Gernot enter the infirmary as quickly as he could. He looked around ... indeed Lady Sofia wasn't inside, but he also couldn't see Isaiah in any of the beds. Not sure how to proceed, the young Frank took one of the nearby chairs and sat down, waiting.

[sofia]

Edited for OOC

(17:01:04)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **She wanders into the infirmary, seeing the great huge baskets of mint and chamomile have been brought in. After hearing of the accident and all the relevant details the boys could recall, she's pleased to see so many, having fully expected to lose everything.**

(17:14:26)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **After the rain the wilted herbs are of course wet through and through, so her first order of business is hauling the huge baskets out into the sunshine one by one. Then she takes broad clean sheets and lays them out flat on the grass, weighting the corners with rocks. After this the petite woman proceeds to unceremoniously dump the contents out onto the sheets then spread them out evenly to start drying in this afternoon's warm sunshine**

(17:28:13)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
: Enters the room...

(17:28:53)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: OW! *Yelps as she hits the floor after slipping on a wet spot, wincing as she picks herself up again*

(17:32:18)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **After rubbing the smarting hip for a minute, the petite healer slowly makes herself get back to work. The baskets still need cleaned, dried, and re-stacked, and the mint and chamomile all need shaking off and turning during the process of drying out**

(17:38:31)

Sofia bint Nasrullah
Windstorm, CS
is in the Infirmary, and says to ALL: **Working slowly, with care, she turns all the baskets upside-down in a neat row on the grass, rapping them soundly to knock out as much plant fleckage and water as possible the easy way. Then she turns them all upright, and faces them into the sunshine to dry out. She had sent Isaiah back to his duties as a page fairly soon, and now kind of glances over as he hurries past on some errend or other. He's unaware of the scrutiny, but she sees that he's doing just fine, so leaves the boy in peace. Having not heard otherwise, she assumes that Gernot had made it back and returned to his duties....having no clue of what was really happening with the Frankian lad....**

[Gernot de Sennis]

All day after the great herb expedition Gernot tried to burry himself in his duties, cleaning the stables, polishing the guards' weapons, learning his Latin and numbers. All to no avail, as nothing he did made him forget the deplorable outcome of the little patrole.

He still had not spoken to Lady Sofia, but the longer he waited, the more he felt guilty of negelgence.

So, in the afternoon, he finally made up his mind to speak to the healer lady. He found her in the garden, drying the herbs he and the other boys had collected. Watching from afar for a while, he finally stepped closer and bowed to the Lady.

"Lady Sofia .... I'm sorry .... that you have so much work with the herbs. I didn't plan it like that, ya know? I ... I ..."

And then all came pouring out of his mouth - how they had gone to the small river to collect the herbs; how Isaiah had fallen into the stream; how alfric had come and rescued them while Gernot had been left to collect the herbs and ox. all came out, hi voice finally a miserable tiny whisper.

"Is Isaih ... is he ok? Is he well again, Lady Sofia? I swear, next time I will watch more carefull and doing my task more ... better!"

His grammar was a bit garbled, so upset was the boy still.

[sofia]

(edited heavily for typos and a couple things I missed in the first typing)

**She had just about finished when Gernot appeared, and it took her a moment to understand through his tears and accent that he was apologizing. At the end she smiled a little* Hmmmm...let me see how things stand....I sent you out with baskets and small boys, and the need of herbs being spoken. A mishap occurred, as so often does in life....what did you do? The accident was managed, the children and yourself safely home, the ox and cart back into the barn, and the herbs safe and drying. **She pauses a little* The care of children is not an easy task. I asked you, because I knew you could be trusted to complete the task and bring the children safely home, young man. **At this point he was old enough to be wed if his father so ordered, she was done granting him a child's indulgences in some areas. Late though he had come to his training, the Frankian lad must now swiftly step into his responsibilities he could no longer be indulged as a child. So now in a spirit of friendship she had spoken directly and gently, trying to get him to see that he had in fact done well, not indulging his pity party or tears in the slightest. **She continues in her gentle tones, a hand warm pon the boy's shoulder** When the weather clears, you are much needed to once more take baskets and Isaiah and some other boys, and gather again of the mint and chamomile, in the same quantities **She deliberately chose the same task, not only because it would all get used eventually and was really needed, but because she knows that to do this he must master his fears and "Man Up", a deep lesson the boy direly needed, and one she knew he must learn to become a strong knight. Most boys discovered Their Manly Dignity (mamma's, you know that moment I mean!) all on their own at the tender age of three or four summers; others took longer, and different circumstances, but she knows Gernot will be a strong man someday, and that few things would bring that separation from "childhood" better than giving him adult responsibilities, including the subtly stated yet clear inferrence that he was not only not a child, but the responsible adult to be trusted to watch over children. It was no accident that she specifically names the younger redheaded boy, either. Softly she repeats...Accidents may happen to any, my young friend, it is how one handles mishaps that defines a man.

[Gernot de Sennis]

This time, Gernot would do things differently. On this second herb collecting trip, he would use a horse cart instead of an oxen one. He would be more watchful and vigilant looking after the boys.

So again the troupe of four pageboys (Isaiah, Tobin, Jonah and Walt) and the young Frankian squire set out on their way to the stream with the willows where the herbs grew in abundance. This time, Gernot took the reins of the horse and tethered it firmly around the trunk of a nearby tree so the horse couldn't get away with the cart should something unexpected startle it.

As they already knew their individual tasks, the boys set about cutting and selecting the proper herbs in no time, knowing already how to layer them properly thanks to Isaiah's repeat instructions. Gernot had Isaiah work away from the stream this time, and insisted that the other boys who were a bit older than Lady Sofia's young help, would also stay clear off the edge of the water banks.

While they were collecting the herbs, the boys exchanged the latest gossip to be heard around the castle: about Hugh the butcher who had almost severed his thumb with his knife being too eager to please one of the wealthier clients of his; about Maude whose skirt had caught on some briar without her knowing, ripping her skirt off and making her run home screaming like the virgin she still was; and also about Nicholas, one of the Queen's rangers who surely had killed a wild boar as big as a house with his bare hands while one of his legs were broken! Just marvellous! Instantly, three of the boys woved to some day become rangers and be as brave as Ranger Nicholas!

The sun was still up in the sky, the afternoon not so old yet, when all four baskets were filled with herbs and placed upon the horse cart. Shielding his eyes with his right hand, Gernot looked at the sun, it was much too early to return to the castle yet.

"I think, after all this work, which we did well again, and I'm very proud of you, I believe we have deserved a little ... extra? Look, what do you see in that stream, eh?"

A small swarm of fish were untireringly swimming against the flow of the water, virtually standing still in one spot.

"Trouts! Great, lets get some for supper" Tobin looked at Gernot, his eyes begging him to give his ok.

Gernot pondered the situation - he knew a bit about the law already. His father and he were guests in Windstorm, and while Lord Rainald had been hunting on Windstorm grounds several times, Gernot knew the catch always landed in the castle kitchen, so neither the hunting nor any fishing he and the boy would do could be construed as poaching.

"Who gets the largest trout gets a ride on the cart home!"

"YAY!" The boys immediately set about finding branches and sharpening their tips to use as spears. Then, carefully they all started to wade into the water, gernot close by Isaiah's side. It didn't take very long before the first fish was caught, and then three more. Only Isaiah was out of luck, needing to refine his fishing skills still.

Happily the boys, with Walt on the cart, returned home after a most successful outing. Lady Sofia would get new fresh herbs and Cook would get five fresh fish for the kitchen.

This time, Gernot was very pleased with himself and his boys, and took little Isaiah onto his shoulders while they began their trek home to the castle.