A Hero's Journey: Squire

     “Cavall? I thought you had another half hour with old Sir Auxentius on the grounds!” a Green Zafara exclaimed as she saw her friend move past her decisively, mouth set in a grim line and with a sword slung over his back.

     “I’ve got clog duty in the sewers,” mumbled the Blue Cybunny as Joanna and a Brown Moehog hurried after him.

     “Clog duty? By yourself? Where’s Sir Rohane? Or Sir Auxentius?” a Shadow Grarrl pressed. He received only a shake of the head in response.

     “I’ll be fine, Mulligan. It’s just the sewers.”

     Mulligan frowned. “No, buddy, you can’t – “

     His voice trailed off when Cavall rounded on them.

     “Why not? You don’t think I’m ready, either?” Cavall groaned and balled his hands into fists. “I have to do this. I’m still not getting better. How can I call myself Sir Rohane’s squire if I can’t even clean up the sewers?”

     The Moehog opened his mouth to say something, but Joanna immediately cut him off.

     “Cavall, you don’t have to.”

     “Yes, I do,” the Cybunny insisted before breaking away from them, leaving the three other squires standing slack-jawed on the hallway. Finally, the Moehog spoke.

     “Something’s wrong with Cavall. This isn’t like him. We have to do something.”

     “Of course we do, Philip!” Joanna cried. “We have to stop him before he gets hurt!” She started toward the direction Cavall had gone but Mulligan quickly grabbed her shoulder.

     “I don’t think he’ll listen to us at this point. We need to find someone he’ll listen to.”

     * * *

     The stench nearly bowled Cavall over, but he held his ground as he reached the bottom of the ladder. His feet touched slick stone tiles, but to unclog the grated pipes pouring down through the system, he would have to walk down the half-submerged steps and wade through the pool of muck that lay before him. He could have sworn that he saw something glide through the fetid water, and a chill ran from his spine to his bobtail.

     I can do this, he thought, trying to steel himself. It’s just Slorgs and Sludgies and…d-did Guardmaster Lugh say tentacle monsters?

     Cavall tried to breathe through his mouth as he took the first few steps down into the pool of sewer water, touching the hilt of his sword strapped to his back and hoping it would bring him some reassurance. Sir Rohane has faced worse. I bet Mulligan or Joanna could do this, too…

     He winced at the gunk in his boots and the slimy feel of water lapping up against his shins. When he reached the bottom of the steps, the sewage reached just above his waist. The pipes to be unclogged were a few yards away, the grates choked with so much plant refuse, dirt, and unspeakable items Cavall didn’t want to ponder. All he had to do was clean them up –

     The Blue Cybunny gasped as his foot sank into a hole. He managed to catch himself, and immediately drew his sword. Two inquisitive, beady eyes peeked up from the water, belonging to a swimming Slorg, and he relaxed when the Slorg turned away from him.

     Cavall continued marching toward the first pipe, raising his sword to begin scraping out the mud that had built up against the grates, only to feel something wrap around his ankle and drag him down.

     * * *

     “I’m telling you, Formation E-2 is outdated,” said Jeran, shaking his head as he pointed to a diagram pinned to the board in the war room.

     “Is it?” Tormund wondered, shrugging. “Didn’t we use that to win the war games against Darigan? The ol’ pincer formation, then post the archers to make sure the formation doesn’t break…okay, so what do you propose?”

     Jeran immediately pulled the diagram off to reveal another one beneath it.

     “Formation E-3! New and improved, with a sleeker pincer formation and squadrons posted to protect the points of the pincers.”

     A speckled Gelert nudged Danner and whispered, “Try saying that three times fast.”

     “Shush, Jaco.”

     “You left the rear open in your ‘new and improved’ Formation E-3, Jeran,” said Rohane in the most deadpan tone of voice he could muster.

     “No, I didn’t!” Jeran objected. “Look, this squad here – “

     “Hmm, nah, Rohane has a point,” said Tormund, stroking his chin and squinting at Formation E-3.

     “Cavall is in trouble!”

     Philip and Joanna narrowly jumped aside as Mulligan burst through the war room door, causing a few shields to fall from their rack and the floor to rumble slightly. All the knights immediately turned toward the source of the noise while Danner hurried to keep a particularly large pike from collapsing onto the war room board.

     “What?” Rohane asked, standing up so abruptly his chair scraped the floor. “Where is he?”

     “In the sewers, Sir Rohane,” said Joanna, gasping for breath.

     “The sewers?! He’s supposed to be training with Master Auxentius!”

     “Y-Y-Yes sir, that’s what we said!” Mulligan stuttered, stepping back even though as a Shadow Grarrl, he towered over almost everyone around him.

     “What’s he doing there?” Tormund asked. He made a face. “I dunno about you guys, but I don’t think he’s ready for clog duty…”

     Philip winced. “He thought we didn’t think he was ready for clog duty, either. Said something about how he couldn’t call himself Sir Rohane’s squire until he could clean up the – “

     “I’m going after him.” Rohane belted his broadsword to his side and strode out of the war room, the knights and the three squires parting and keeping their distance. But Jeran ran after him.

     “Wait! You need backup!”

     The White Blumaroo shook his head and continued going. “I don’t have time for backup! My squire is in danger!”

     * * *

     His parents, hoping Cavall would survive long enough to inherit their fortune and protect it, had made sure he learned how to swim. Unfortunately, he sorely lacked practice, and what little practice he had was not borne from the Meridell Castle sewers.

     The Blue Cybunny instinctively stabbed at the tentacle that had his ankle. He missed, and it started pulling him again, while another tentacle slithered up to wrap around his wrist. Cavall tried to dig his free foot into the bottom to anchor himself as he lurched forward, but he fell instead, slipping on the lichen-covered stones. The creature managed to yank him into the deeper parts of the sewer, and his head dipped under.

     Spitting out filthy water, he surfaced, seriously considering crying out for help. But he had promised to perform clog duty, and he was determined to see it through. So, he gripped his sword, tried to wrench his wrist free, and brought his blade down on the tentacle wrapped around his foot with a loud cry.

     Instead, the monster grasped his arm, dragging him down again.

     “Cavall!”

     Cavall felt the creature finally relinquish its grip on him before he was hoisted up by his arm, and dimly he realized who had called him.

     “S-Sir!” the Cybunny blurted out as Rohane pulled him to his side and began wading out of the sewer. “You…”

     “Not now, this place is too dangerous!” The tentacle monster that surfaced to pursue them instead met its end by Rohane’s broadsword. Now that his master was beside him, all thoughts of gallantry or proof of courage fled him, and all Cavall could do was cling tightly to his savior as they cleaved a path back onto the platform and the ladder. The squire collapsed on solid ground, all too grateful to be out of the stinking water and the refuse, never mind that he had failed the mission he had set out to do.

     He had only a few seconds to catch his breath and realize how reckless he had been until Rohane said, “Go, Cavall!” while pointing up at the ladder.

     The Blue Cybunny did as he was told and shimmied up the ladder, slipping on some of the rungs before finally collapsing in a heap at the top, back in the relative safety of the castle and surrounded by his friends and quite a few knights and guardsmen.

     “Well, looks like he survived,” a red Scorchio noted. “I think he learned some good lessons down there.”

     “No, he didn’t!” said Auxentius, cuffing Lugh soundly on the side of his head. “Lugh, at least ask me before sending any of my squires to clog duty!”

     “I thought for sure he was gonna tell you…”

     The orange Shoyru growled before reaching out to help Rohane up out of the sewer hatch. Lugh promptly shut the hatch and locked it tightly.

     “Cavall, I thought you were with Master Aux!” Rohane winced as he wiped down his blade and tried not to look at the dirty puddle he had left on the castle floor. “Why did you go down into the sewer by yourself?”

     Cavall stared down at his soaked, filthy boots, not wanting to meet his knight-master’s eyes. Judging from his tone of voice, the White Blumaroo was both worried and extremely cross. The Cybunny wound up mumbling his answer.

     “I can’t hear you!”

     “I…I just wanted to prove I was good enough to be your squire!” Cavall’s voice broke on that last word. “I’m sorry I’m not good enough!”

     Meanwhile, a disgruntled Auxentius ushered Lugh and himself away quickly. The guardsmen followed suit, as did most of the knights, who ushered the squires away.

     “Maybe you two should…er, clean up, first,” said Jeran, clearing his throat. “My office is open, Rohane. Well, at least it will be after you’ve had a bath.”

     * * *

     As he scrubbed the muck and grime out of his fur, Cavall tried to imagine that he was also scrubbing away the stain of embarrassment and defeat. But those were proving to be quite stubborn. Hot tears poured down his face, mingling with the bathwater; not only had he failed to clean out the clogged sewers, but Rohane had to bail him out.

     Several gallons of hot water later, Cavall dried himself and put on a fresh new shirt and breeches. He glowered at his sword, which he noticed had been polished to shine as though it had not been brought into Meridell Castle’s sewers.

     A pit formed in his stomach. Please don’t tell me Sir Rohane also cleaned up my sword. Oh no, I should have cleaned his! I need to find it, quick!

     Clutching his own sword, the Cybunny dashed out of the castle baths and ran down the corridor as fast as he could in what he hoped was the direction of Rohane’s quarters. Instead, he ran into someone else, causing a cascade of books to the floor along with his (thankfully) sheathed blade.

     “I’m sorry!” Cavall said, immediately dropping to his knees to help pick up the books.

     The books belonged to a purple Bori with a tidy mane and who seemed to be only slightly older than Cavall. And judging from his frilly shirt, brocade vest, and pristine tights, he was most likely a noble. Nevertheless, the Bori bent down to immediately pick up a book that Cavall was about to reach for – and grinned brightly when he met the Blue Cybunny’s eyes.

     “Hey, you’re Cavall, right?” the Bori asked, peering at him so closely that Cavall leaned slightly away while handing him the books. “You’re Sir Rohane’s squire! You’re so lucky!”

     Cavall didn’t look lucky. The corners of his mouth turned down.

     “What’s wrong?”

     “It’s nothing,” Cavall whispered as he fastened his sword back onto his belt, his fingers fumbling the straps. “I think I better go…” But before he could go, the Bori reached out and clutched his wrist, giving him a fleeting, unpleasant flashback of the tentacle monsters in the sewers.

     “Can you tell me about what it’s like being Sir Rohane’s squire? Please? Even just for a bit.” The young noble beamed. “I’m Will, by the way.”

     To be continued…