Cedric's Success

This was once a time of swords and armor, of kings and castles, of knights and monsters.

My name is Gustav, Gus for short. I am the son of a mere farmer and as such, I have no family name. My lord and I are from the duchy of Cagliostro. It is a small country, barely enough land or subjects to qualify as a kingdom. For years on end, my father would work from dawn until dusk to make sure that we grew enough crops to earn our keep.

Cedric Silva is in an entirely different class than I am.

The son of the ruling Count of Cagliostro, Cedric still seemed to find his way out of the family’s auspicious castle and into our modest little farm house. My father was at first terrified when he first found young master Cedric eating in our kitchen. He thought he would be executed for kidnapping the son of the Count. However, when the royal guard eventually did show up; Cedric ordered them to leave my father and I alone. A couple of days later; Cedric returned saying that his father, the count, was allowing him to come over to our house every once in a while. Every once in a while turned out to be every day. Cedric knew exactly how to get what he wanted from his father.

Cedric and I played for hours in our farm. We pretended the large barn was an enemy castle and we would storm it, beset at all sides by angry geese and terrified chickens. We would mount my father’s old plow horse and pretend he was our war steed. We charged at the scarecrow leaning in the field and whacked it with our swords. One time we tried to use the hoe as our lance so we could joust with him. Unfortunately, this knocked him off his perch completely. Cedric thought that we should tell my father what had happened while I said we should just saw a crow did it. Father made us fix it while he watched. He was frustrated, but I could tell that he was smiling a little. My father must have been happy that I had found such an honest friend.

One day we decided to face our worst foe yet; a fire-breathing dragon. Cedric and I made one out of twigs and dried paper. We would take turns shooting arrows and battering it with sticks as it flew through the sky. We both climbed a tall oak tree that grew next to the farmhouse. We were going to tie it to a branch so it would appear to be flying. I reached high to tie it up, but I lost my footing. I began to tumble with the paper dragon, but it was the only thing that broke on the ground. If it were not for Cedric grabbing my arm, I could have been gravely injured, or worse. After pulling me up, he smiled through his panting.

“I couldn’t let my best friend get hurt, could I?”

We grew up together, but that age soon prepared to drive a wedge through us. Cedric had to choose what he was going to do with his life. As a count, he could chose any sort of scholarly or military pursuits. He decided on the dream we both had; to become a knight errant. As a Knight, it would be Cedric’s sworn duty to defend the realms and combat any and all threats to its citizens.

Of course, Cedric’s father approved of it because it was his privilege. He could play any role he desired in the surrounding kingdoms. The same could not be said of me. I was born a farmer and I would surely die a farmer.

One of the first things Cedric had to do before he trained as a knight was to choose a squire. A squire would become Cedric’s servant; he would follow around and do minimal tasks and personal labor in order to make his job as a knight easier. The count decided to turn this into a big event. He invited the entire duchy and surrounding kingdom to see his son choose a squire for himself. Nobles of lower stature than the count came as candidates, many of them having trained to become a squire their whole lives. Cedric could have chosen any of the well trained and well bred citizens to be his knight’s squire, but he chose me. I was right there in the crowd and he pointed out to me, I could not believe it. The Count was outraged; he dragged both Cedric and me into his chambers to browbeat us. He went on and on about how much trouble he had gone through to arrange every favor and debts from the other counts, lords and dukes. His father said that he was debasing himself but choosing a ‘manure-shoveling, chaff-for-brains farmboy’ over one of the nobles.

“I would rather have my best friend by my side than some glory-hungry, back-stabbing, fair-weather sham friend of a noble.”

Since then; I have never left my best friend’s side throughout his knight training and it was more than just a duty, it was an obligation.

He was an accomplished swordsman, horseback rider and a cunning warrior.

I was left to tend to his equipment. I polished and maintained the weapons, I strengthened his armor, and I tended to the horses.

A knight’s duty is always to govern justly and to defend those weaker than himself. As his squire; I was obligated to follow him wherever that calling took him. We went on many adventures together; all of them more dangerous and thrilling than we ever could have imagined as children. We exterminated ghouls that had taken over a cemetery beyond Cagliostro. The ghouls were devouring the dead and even attacked the gravedigger. I was lucky enough to realize that salt could drive them back. While they were writhing from the seasoning; Cedric cut them down and hewed their dead flesh in twain. In another land, giants were roaming the countryside and smashing farm houses. Cedric charged at the giants and stuck them in the ankles with his lance. They bellowed in agony and swung to attack Cedric, but my lord skillfully dodged and delivered the killing blow with his sword to their vital areas. Manticores were roaming the forest and striking down unsuspecting travelers. Cedric readied his bow and aimed skillfully for their hearts. Despite the fact their stripes made them invisible in the dense undergrowth and their spines were as deadly as any crossbow bolt; my lord made short work of them.

Soon, the name of Sir Cedric the Brave was known far and wide as the knight who could slay any beast that terrorized any kingdom.

But the worst beast of them all was terrorizing the Teutonic Kingdom; a fire-breathing dragon.

This seemed to light a fire in my lord. He bade we ride to the Teutonic kingdom. His signet ring granted him an audience with King Gruber.

The King was a shadow of his former self. His peasants and land was ravaged by the beast. Their crops were burnt beyond consumption. The people were clamoring at him to solve this problem that plagued the entire kingdom. That was when the end of their calamities strode into his court with his faithful squire by his side.

My lord bowed before the king, his polished armor creaking and groaning. His golden hair cascading like a shower from heaven next to his alabaster skin. I gripped his sword as he makes his proud proclamation before the entire court.

“I, Sir Cedric Silva of Cagliostro, will vanquish this vile beast that threatens your beloved kingdom!”

King Gruber had no other choice but to appoint us the kingdom’s dragonslayers. He warned us of the many dangers that surrounded the dragon. It was able to fly through the air, breathe fire and most deadly of all; a poisonous spine housed in the tail. My lord was still adamant in his defense of the kingdom. King Gruber promised us land, titles, and the hand of his only daughter, the Princess Greta, if we slew the dragon and returned with its teeth.

We were told by the peasants that lived on the outskirts of the kingdom that the dragon flew in from a western marsh. We rode our horses for nearly a dozen leagues. It was at that point the horses began to buck and neigh. It was as if they had been terrified by the very presence of the dragon. We could not see the beast, but our horses would not go a step further. The horses were walked ten paces back and tied to the trees on the edge of the marsh.

A fetid stew of dark water and sodden earth lay before us; as far as the eye could see. It was as if the dragon’s greed and corruption had brought rot and stagnation to the very land. I almost did not want to set foot in there, especially while carrying my master’s arms and armor. But, if we did not slay this beast, it could mean the end for the kingdom. The two of us marched into the marsh without any more hesitation. The armor did indeed weigh me down while we trudged through the bog. I almost lost my boot once or twice. It was at that point Cedric had offered to carry his shield and his lance along with his sword. I told him it was not fair that his hands should be full in case he stumbled upon the dragon. His response was; “If I face the dragon on our trek; you’ll need both hands free to armor myself while I shield us both.” Immediately; I turned over the shield and lance and took comfort in the fact that we would not meet our end in dragonfire.

After a day of travel, we set up camp on a dry patch of ground deep in the marsh. We had not seen teeth or scale of the beast, so we decided to wait until the morrow. I took the time to set a fire, cook a filling stew with the provisions given to us by the king, and began to dry off Sir Cedric’s armor. That was when he came to me with his personal weapons and protection. He told me to sharpen them and refortify his tower shield. As I did his bidding, he ate his second helping of stew and stared into the fire.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep, milord?” I asked him as I sharpened his sword.

“I can’t sleep, Gus,” he said with a boyish grin. “I’m too excited to sleep.”

I nearly sliced my hand when he said that.

“Excited?! Why are you excited?”

His eyes looked at me. They seemed to shimmer regardless of the flames between us.

“I am facing the age-old enemy of knights and lords. Few people are lucky to face down a dragon, much less slay it. Whether I win or lose, my name will go down in history as the first Knight of Cagliostro to face a dragon.”

I could feel my face grow pale with his fatalist words.

“You’ll surely defeat this dragon, just like you said you would! Then you can take his head back to Cagliostro and hold your head up high as a mighty knight!”

Cedric smiled wearily, but appreciatively.

“You’ve always believed in me, Gus,” he said. “Even when we were children. I won’t let you or the realm down.”

And with that, he finished his second helping and laid down to sleep.

Once dawn broke, we armed ourselves for the final hunt. We carried on deeper into the foggy marsh until we could smell it. The stench of sulfur was powerful in the air; the dragon should be near.

Cedric held his shield and lance close and guarded one side while readied the bow from the other. I would have his back now as I always did.

With a cry of thunder and the blast of a furnace, the dragon leapt from the bog. It showered us with bit of peat and brackish water as it took to the sky. The beast would have the advantage in the sky, but that was where I came in. While a dragon’s hide is nigh-impenetrable; its wings and underbelly are made of a softer material. I took aim with Cedric’s bow and let an arrow fly straight through its batlike wing. The dragon bellowed before arching a circle in the air. I pulled another arrow from the quiver, planning to put another hole in its wing. That was when light began to grow in its mouth. Cedric and I broke our bond and ran as quickly as we could. A searing gout of fire flashed across the sodden earth and kicked up steam.

There was so much of the steam that I lost track of Cedric. I could hear the wings beating in the air; causing the beast to rise higher and higher into the sky. I knocked my next arrow and tried to retreat from the mist. I left the cloud just in time to see the beast readying for another swoop. I took aim at the same wing. If we were able to maim at least one of its wings, it could barely get off the ground. I loosed my arrow and saw it pierce its mark once more. But this time; the dragon had his fire ready for me. The belch of burning miasma was right before me as I dodged out of the way. It seared my hand and my face like a hot iron. I collapsed down into the musty bog and held myself down to soothe the burns. The wind was cut by the dragon’s wings as it soared up into the sky. I brought my bow up only to find that I possessed half of the weapon. The other half had been seared off by the fire breath. Chucking an arrow did not seem like the best choice, especially since the dragon was swooping down. Its reptilian jaw unhinged in an attempt to swallow me whole. I thought it was the end.

That was when Cedric reappeared.

He leapt between myself and the dragon. Holding his sword aloft; he drove the honed tip deep into the dragon’s wing. The soft flesh of the wing tore open like a linen sheet against a pair of shears. Sir Cedric sliced through the dragons wing and it flapped uselessly in the wind. The dragon spun off course and missed swallowing me by only a few paces. It crashed into the boggy earth and tumbled tail over head. Cedric spun around to face me; swiping black ichor from his dirty blade. He ran over and helped me to my feet.

I was about to look up at him when the tail struck him in the armor. The blow was so fierce that he released his sword and was sent flying back. He splashed deep into the dark marsh. As the tail drew back; I saw the pointed spine and the blood caking its surface. Enraged, I grabbed my master’s sword and turned to face this beast only to have it swipe me with its claw. I nearly swallowed a handful of dirt as the sword fell from my grasp and I tumbled through the expanse.

The dragon’s mouth was beginning to glow as I faced my end.

But the end did not come.

Out of the corner of my eye, I once more saw the glint of shining armor. I heard the battle cry of my master as he drove the discarded sword deep into the throat of the great beast. With another grunt of strength, Cedric rent the fleshy throat asunder with its blade. Gouts of flame gushed forth with the beast’s lifeblood. It was bleeding, choking, and burning to death all at the same time. The head swayed back and forth like a severed branch before it toppled into the marsh; extinguishing the flame with a sharp hiss.

Cedric’s smile was that of pure childhood bliss. He had vanquished his mortal foe, but at a terrible cost. He toppled into the marsh as I ran over to him. I dragged his heavy, limp being from the fetid water and inspected his wound.

It was too grave. The spine had driven his own armor into his chest and his pallid complexion showed that the poison was working its way through his body.

“Cedric...I’m so sorry,” I gasped out. “You shouldn’t have saved me…”

Cedric had the countenance of a saint as he placed a gauntlet in mine.

“If I could not save my best friend, what would an entire kingdom be worth?”

He was already growing cold to my touch.

“Take the beast’s teeth…” he said weakly. “Give them to King Gruber...claim your reward….I have already won mine….”

And with that, my best friend was gone.

I accompanied Cedric’s body on its return to Cagliostro. His father was inconsolable; he blamed me for his beloved son’s death. He almost banished me if it were not for the decree of King Gruber explaining my involvement in the slaying of the dragon.

King Gruber could not grant me the princess’ hand in marriage, she was too bereft at the death of her gallant knight. However, he did permit me to marry the castle’s scullery maid. She was a modest woman with rough hands, but a good person. She bore me a son, whom I named after my only friend.

I believed in Cedric until the very end.

He may have failed to survive, but he succeeded in protecting us all.