The Knight

I said okay, feeling a little sick. Standing in back of Uns in the clear moonlight, the ogre did not look much taller than he was, but its shoulders were huge. As well as I could tell its head was twice as big as his, but on those shoulders it looked too small. I could see the arms were so long they touched the ground, but I was too dumb to realize right away that it was walking on its knuckles.

“Quick, ta, Sar Able.” Uns sounded proud. “You watch out, sar. Don’ dink he’s slaw jus’ ’cause he’s sa big. He’s fas’, ‘n he’ll hit wid his hands fas’. Slap ut ya, only dey don’ feel like no slaps.”

I said, “You sound as if you fought him too.”

“Not like Duns done, sar. He beat me easy, on’y I made him see he had ta have me. Somebody ta take care a’ him. I dink he was goin’ ta eat me, dough.”

“Well, he doesn’t have to have me.” I stepped a little closer. “He can eat me if he can.”

Org’s left hand slashed faster than any sword I have ever seen. I tried to duck, but the edge of it got the back of my head. I was half stunned, but knew I had to get inside those long arms before I was knocked out. I went in hard, slamming my shoulder against his great bow belly. It was like hitting a boulder. I drove my fists into it, short jabs with the strength of big comers behind them, right and left, and right and left, again and again. His scales were ripping the skin off my knuckles, but I did not feel it until later. What happened next was that he picked me up and threw me. I ought to remember flying through the air, but I do not.

―――

When I came to, I was lying on wet grass and feeling like I had swallowed soap. I knew I had gone to sleep when I ought to have been doing something else, something really important, but I could not think what it was. Pretty soon Bold Berthold would come and see I had not finished the job, and he would be too nice to say anything and I would feel like I ought to just kill myself and get it over.

But maybe I could see what the job was if I could just sit up, and if I could I could start doing it and be hard at work when he came and that would be better. Then I heard a dog and I thought it was sheep or something, I had promised to watch sheep for somebody and fallen asleep. Except that it was dark, just moonlight all around and probably the sheep ought to be in a pen someplace and I had not penned them, and had gone to sleep before the sun went down.

The dog sounded as big as a bear.

Bold Berthold was most likely dead. Disira was dead too, and I had given little Ossar to the Bodachan when they gave me Gylf. I got up, dizzy and near to chucking. The grass was barley, high already but nowhere near ready for harvest.

When I found Org, Gylf had him by the throat and Gylf was black and as big as a horse. He was shaking Org like a rat, and Org was trying to get loose while a two-headed snake of fire and brass struck at his face. I yelled at the snake until it quit and changed into Uri and Baki in a cloud of smoke.

I made them help me get Gylf to let go. I do not think I have ever done any work rougher than that. Baki and I kept trying to pry his jaws apart, with him throwing us around when he shook Org and the sticks Uri found for us breaking. When we finally got him off Org fell down limp, and I knew just exactly how he felt. I told him I was sorry, that I had wanted for us to have a fair fight, and he had won it and I knew it. Maybe I should have offered him my armor and the horses, but I did not think of it then and he was not a knight anyway. I said that I would never claim to have won, and whenever anybody asked I would tell the truth.

Gylf did not want to go back to dog size, but I made him, and I helped Org get up and promised Gylf would not go for him. “I’m ready to fight again if you want to,” I said. (I knew it was not true, but I thought Org probably felt worse than I did.) “If you need a few minutes to catch your breath, that’s okay. But we can’t take too long, because I’ve got to get back to Sheerwall Castle.”

I have had some big surprises in my life, and that was one of the biggest. Org got down on the ground again and crawled over to my feet on his belly.

Uri said, “He yields, Lord. That is his surrender.”

I said, “Is that right, Org? Are you saying you give up?”

He moaned, and put my foot on his head. It was colder than any rock.

Baki said, “He wishes to join us, beautiful naked Lord.” Uri laughed at that, and I wanted to run off and hide in the barley.

“These two Aelfmaidens call themselves my slaves,” I explained to Org. I had my hands over my privates, and I felt like the biggest fool in the world. “They think you want to be my slave too.” I stopped for a minute, still dizzy and wondering whether he understood any of it.

Finally I said, “That’s what they want us to think they think, anyhow. Is that what you want?”

He grunted twice.

“There!” Baki sounded like she had won the lottery. “You see, Lord? It says uh-huh.”

I got mad. “No, I don’t, and I don’t know what he said. I don’t believe you do either.”