Black Moon Draw

"Yes. It said something like, there's an attack at shadow moon, and capturing someone's heart."

The Shadow Knight's hand tightens into a fist, drawing my attention to my leg. Wolfie growls.

"Is shadow moon a place?" I ask at the tense quiet.

"'Tis the last day before the end of this era," Wolfie answers.

"The Heart of Black Moon Draw will protect us," the Shadow Knight adds. His hand moves to the medallion around my neck, and he taps it. "'Tis carved from a black gem from the depths of the mines of Black Moon Draw, the only of its kind."

Heart of Black Moon Draw. "What a beautiful name," I murmur. "But why is it called a heart when it's round?" I lift the medallion and study it once more.

"'Tis not known," the Shadow Knight's answer is clipped.

Capture the Heart. I get it now. The Red Knight was being paid off to grab the medallion. Interesting.

Both men are edgy once more after a relatively relaxed start to our journey. Comfortably settled against the Shadow Knight's frame, I grow drowsy at the rhythmic hoof beats and sway of the horse's back. Exhausted after a horrible night of sleep, I close my eyes and start to drift off, hoping we keep to this slow pace all day and not the awful trotting that makes my ass hurt.

I'm sick of riding horses by the time we reach an impressive stone fortress straight out of the Middle Ages. It's been hours and should be midnight, but in another of LF's time glitches, it's barely late afternoon. I think I prefer days that end too soon to days that don't seem to end at all. I'm starving, thirsty, cranky, and need a bath.

There are warriors from different armies stationed outside the fortress, their tunic colors helping me identify the lines between the different kingdoms, of which there seem to be ten. We ride straight through the gathered troops, while all but Wolfie stay behind.

The castle walls are thicker than I imagined, a full twenty feet wide, massive stone blocks that make me wonder how they were dragged here to build a castle.

Aliens? I'm too tired to laugh at my own joke.

Inside the walls is a wide, open space, with stables along one wall and what looks like a small farmer's market along the other. We continue onward towards the castle proper and ride through a second wall, this one leading to a cobblestone courtyard lined by trimmed green bushes.

"Whose castle is this?" I ask, amazed by the size and solidness of the structure around me.