A Quest of Heroes (Book #1 in the Sorcerer's Ring)

chance to bathe—although he had no idea where. And he
would do anything for a pint of water. His stomach rumbled—he wanted food, too.
    It was all so new to him. He
barely knew where he was, where life would take him next, what the routines
were of the king’s Legion. But he was happy. It had been a dazzling night, one
of the finest of his life. He had found a close friend in Reece, and had caught
Gwendolyn looking at him once or twice. He had tried to speak with her, but
each time he approached, his courage failed. He felt a pang of regret as he
thought about it. There had been too many people around. If it was ever just
the two of them, he would gain the courage. But would there be a next time?
    Before Thor could finish the
thought, there was a sudden banging on the wooden doors of the barracks, and an
instant later, they crashed open, light flooding in.
    “To your feet, squires!” came a
shout.
    In marched a dozen members of the
King’s Silver, chain mail rattling, banging on the wooden walls with metal staffs.
The noise was deafening, and all around Thor, the other boys jumped to their
feet.
    Leading the group was a
particularly fierce-looking soldier, who Thor recognized from the arena the day
before, the stocky, bald one with the scar on his nose, whom Reece had told him
was named Kolk.
    He seemed to be scowling right at
Thor as he raised a finger and pointed it at him.
    “You there, boy!” he screamed. “I
said on your feet!”
    Thor was confused. He was already
standing.
    “But I’m already on my feet,
sire,” Thor answered.
    Kolk stepped forward and
backhanded Thor across the face. Thor stung with the indignation of it, as all
eyes were on him.
    “Don’t you talk back to your
superior again!” Kolk reprimanded.
    Before Thor could respond the men
moved on, roaming through the room, yanking one boy after another to his feet,
kicking some in the ribs who were too slow to get up.
    “Don’t worry,” came a reassuring
voice.
    He turned and saw Reece standing
there.
    “It is not personal to you. It is
just their way. Their way of breaking us down.”
    “But they didn’t do it to you,”
Thor said.
    “Of course, they won’t touch me,
because of my father. But they won’t exactly be polite, either. They want us in
shape, that’s all. They think this will toughen us up. Don’t pay much attention
to them.”
    The boys were all marched out of
their barracks and Thor and Reece fell in with them. As they stepped outside,
the bright sunlight struck Thor and he squinted and held up his hands.
Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with a wave of nausea, and he turned, bent over,
and threw up.
    He could hear the snicker of boys
all around him. A guard pushed him, and Thor stumbled forward, back in line
with the others, wiping his mouth. Thor had never felt more awful.
    Beside him, Reece smiled.
    “Rough night, was it?” he asked
Thor, grinning widely, elbowing him in the ribs. “I told you to stop after the
second goblet.”
    Thor felt queasy as the light
pierced his eyes; it had never felt so strong as today. It was a hot day
already, and he could feel drops of sweat forming beneath his leathermail.
    Thor tried to remember back, to
Reece’s warning of the night before—but for the life of him, he could not
remember.
    “I don’t remember any such
advice,” Thor retorted.
    Reece grinned wider. “Precisely.
That is because you did not listen.” Reece chuckled. “And those ham-handed
attempts to speak to my sister,” he added. “It was positively pathetic. I don’t
think I’ve ever seen a boy so fearful of a girl in my life.”
    Thor reddened as he tried to
remember. But he could not. It was all hazy to him.
    “I mean you no offense,” Thor
said. “With your sister.”
    “You cannot offend me. If she
should choose you, I would be thrilled.”
    The two of them marched faster,
as the group turned up a hill. The sun seemed to be getting stronger with each
step.
    “But I must warn you: every hand
in the kingdom is after her. The chances of her choosing you… Well, let’s just
say they are remote.”
    As they walked faster, marching
across the rolling green hills of King’s Court, Thor felt reassured. He felt
accepted by Reece. It was amazing, but he continued to feel Reece was more of a
brother to him than he’d ever had. As they walked, Thor noticed his three real
brothers, marching close by. One of them turned and scowled back to him, then
nudged his other brother, who looked back with a