Hammer couldn’t have been greater. He now understood why the 5th were regarded as the worst of the best, and how the Hammer had earned their fearsome reputation. Their loyalty and dedication bordered on the fanatical.
Lacgarde pointed to a speck of dust on one of the gleaming stirrups. “I’d wipe that off, if I was you, Highness. The Company comes back dirty—it never leaves that way.”
Talin brushed it off, doubtful that anyone else would have even noticed it. “How long have you been with the Company, Rann?”
“Over ten years this summer, Highness. I made Standard Bearer less than two years ago.” The big man beamed proudly, displaying the many gaps in his smile. “I came to the First from the army, chosen from a half dozen squires out of the Eighteenth, my mother’s regiment. It was a proud day for my family.”
Talin nodded thoughtfully. “So you’ve known the Captain for some time?”
“Aye. She was nineteen when she joined the Hammer, but she won her spurs a couple o’ years earlier, fighting with her father’s Free Company.”
“She is young though, to be a Captain in the Guards.”
Talin wasn’t trying to be contentious; he was genuinely fascinated by Alyda who, at only 25, commanded not only the Company, but also the loyalty and respect of veterans like Lacgarde. The Standard Bearer stiffened.
“The Captain’s earned her commission and her command many times over with finer deeds than most who’ve climbed as high in the ranks. You should know that, if you don’t mind me sayin’, Highness.”
Talin shook his head; not even he was thoughtless enough to forget that she’d saved his father’s life. “Forgive me, I’m not being clear. I’m not questioning her ability, or her right to command. I meant, what is she like as a person?”
Lacgarde looked less than convinced by his assurances. It was going to take longer than a week for him to win the trust of such a close knit band of warriors.
The knight leaned heavily on the stable door and scratched one of the jagged scars that creased his jaw. “She’s quicker to smile than she is to frown, but Twins help you if you cross her. She’s cocky, but in a way that lifts you up, an’ makes you feel you can do anything, not the way that makes you want to punch someone in the mouth, if you know what I mean, Highness?”
“Aye, I think I do, remind me to introduce you to my friend Bear…or perhaps not, now that I think about it.”
Lacgarde patted the grey’s neck. “It goes without saying she’s a fine horsewoman, nigh-on born in the saddle. You know her mother’s a Shemisana headwoman? That’s their version of royalty, so it is.” The Standard Bearer grinned crookedly. “She has a calm head and a cold heart in a fight. I’d not like to go against her.”
Talin couldn’t imagine Lacgarde being wary of anyone. The man looked like a rough-hewn statue of a human, only on a much larger scale.
“Don’t mistake me—she’s not the strongest knight in the Hammer. That’s me, despite what that pup Lorhine would have ye believe. Neither is she the weakest by a similar margin. She is one of the quickest and can see an opening and attack it faster than anyone I know. She never hesitates.” Lacgarde leaned in close. “And that’s a thing you’d do well to learn, Highness: see, think, and strike, all in a breath. If you can master that you’ll not go far wrong.”
“Thank you Rann, I’ll try to remember.” Talin was about to lead his horse out of the stable when he noticed Lacgarde was scowling. “What is it?”
“Begging your pardon, Highness, but where’s your sword?”
“In my quarters—why?”
The knight frowned. “You should have been told. All knights must go about armed, even within the Arth. It’s been so since the attack on your father, when Captain Aysgarthe was killed.”
“I didn’t know. I’ll go get it now.”
“You don’t have time. ‘Captain said she’d be here on the hour and she’s