[Mkguild] Heraldic Beginnings (2/7)

[C. Matthias]

Part 2!

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Metamor Keep: Heraldic Beginnings
by Charles Matthias



March 21, 708 CR


Charles woke the next morning to a wonderful 
sight – Lady Kimberly laying with her snout 
pointed toward him, her paws curled up beneath 
her chin, and tail tucked up almost within reach 
of those paws. He hadn't had much sleep, but what 
time he'd spent at the altar the night before 
seemed to have made up for it. As he licked the 
cobwebs out of his mouth blinked them from his 
mind, he stretched one arm and gently stroked his wife's ear.

She flicked her ear and then blinked open her 
eyes. Irritation faded quickly into warmth and 
delight. She reached out her left arm and draped 
it over his chest, claws clutching firmly in his 
side. For a moment Charles's bleary mind feared 
she would recoil when she felt the pliant warmth 
of the vine, but when her arm met only the fur of 
his chest he recalled that he'd placed it within 
the flagstones at the side of his bed for the 
night. With a pleased sigh his paw stroked down 
her cheek and then over his shoulder. “Good morning, my lady.”

“Good morning, my man,” she replied, her voice 
the sweetest and most beautiful thing he could imagine to begin his day.

“Did you sleep well?”

“The best I have had in weeks,” she admitted, 
slipping closer to him so that her chest pressed 
against his side. He held her close, the warmth 
of their bodies making the already warm mattress 
beneath the quilts as warm as the brush of steam 
from freshly boiled tea or cider.

“Me too,” he replied, gently brushing their noses 
together. “I'm tired of waking up alone.”

“Aye.”

For several long seconds neither said anything, 
arms wrapped tight, fingers and claws gently 
searching through the fur on their backs. Then, 
filled with the rich scent of his lady, Charles 
murmured, “With what shall we break our fast?”

“Whatever we want,” Kimberly said, nuzzling her 
snout against his chest. “But not muffins. I'm a little tired of them.”

“No muffins then,” he laughed. “And then... we 
can try teaching the children some manners at table.”

It was her turn to laugh. “You can! They're not even a year old.”

“Yet they seem three,” he whispered and closed 
his eyes. “I'll have to begin teaching them their 
letters soon too. After we go home.”

“Home...” Kimberly's voice filled with yearning, 
but no trace of the weariness that had often 
marred her speech last night. “When are we going back? I miss the trees.”

“In a few days I think. Today is Wednesday and I 
have not been able to celebrate Liturgy here in a 
very long time. We can leave after that. Four 
days then. Unless you want to stay for something more...”

“Well, you missed the wedding so no, there's no 
more reason to stay. But what will we do with four days?”

Charles would have to ask her later how the 
wedding of Bernadette's son had gone in the midst 
of the plague. For now, his thoughts turned only 
on the delicate curve in her flesh, the driving 
fragrance of her fur, and the gentle tone of her 
voice. He rubbed her back firmly with one paw and 
their tails curled together beneath the quilts. 
“What will we do? Whatever we feel like, my Lady. 
Whatever we feel like. And whatever it is, we'll do it together.”

He could feel her snout stretch into a smile 
against his chest. Her satisfied sigh was sweeter than any birdsong.

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March 22, 708 CR


“You wanted to see me?” Charles asked as he 
stepped into Misha's office in Long Hall that 
morning. He'd just come from breaking his fast 
with his family in Gregor's shop where they'd 
enjoyed some of the capybara's new meat and 
cheese-filled morsels, when he'd received the 
summons from the head of the Long Scouts. They 
had returned together after Charles promised that 
he would take them to play outside in the gardens 
when he was finished. The thought of playing 
outside was more than enough to keep his children 
boisterous, and his reassurance comforted 
Kimberly who's whiskers drooped when the message came for her husband.

Misha was standing on four legs beside the oaken 
desk with a map of the valley stretched across 
the top; mugs of cider and ale held the corners 
down. The centaur-like fox looked up, one ear 
lifting and tail wagging in delight when the rat 
entered. Standing with him around the table was 
the tall red-haired Laura, the gray-furred ferret 
Finbar, and the one-handed child Lisa who had a 
step stool so she could see more easily.

“Charles! I'm glad you could make it. I promise, 
this won't be long.” A small mischievous smile 
crept over his narrow snout. “I know we all want 
to see you try swinging from the balcony by your 
tail with your child holding each of your paws again.”

Charles laughed at the memory of the craziest 
thing he'd done yesterday, well remembering how 
much his children laughed and squealed their 
delight as they spun through the air, as well as 
the expression of worry that blanketed his wife's 
face. “I think Kimberly will break my tail if I try it again.”

“She did look like she wanted a heavy skillet to swing,” Finbar said.

Both Laura and Lisa shook their heads while the 
three men laughed together. Charles closed the 
door behind him and then came to the table. “So why did you need me?”

Misha gestured at the map. “I wanted to take a 
moment to discuss some plans for the Valley's 
defense. With you at Glen Avery, there may be 
some opportunities we can follow through on to 
make sure we keep the northern lands secure.”

“There's only so much I can do myself; most of 
the time I just double as another Glen scout, either on paw or hoof.”

“I want to improve coordination between Hareford, 
the Glen, and Lake Barnhardt. There's too many 
old rivalries between them and that's making my 
job, not to mention George's harder.”

“You aren't going to solve that,” Charles pointed 
out. “And don't tell me there weren't rivalries 
between the families of Marigund.”

The fox's eyes lifted in irritation and he 
nodded. “One reason I'm glad I'm here and not 
there! Things here make much more sense than they 
did there! But that's not my point. I was hoping 
we might give them all more reason to work 
together. You live at the Glen and know her 
people. Laura has spent a good bit of time at 
Hareford these last few months; and half of those 
troops are from Metamor to begin with. If you 
have any suggestions I would like to hear them.”

Laura ran her fingers along the map near the 
Giant's Dike and the old fort of Hareford. “You 
won't have any problems with the troops at 
Hareford. They are very capable; they just need 
more time getting to know the land. Both Lord 
Nestorius and Sir Dupré seem to understand that. 
Since he's arrived there, Dupré has been getting 
the troops out into the forests and hills around 
Hareford every week; he's running patrols 
constantly. And to be honest, I've never seen a 
man pick up on the strengths of the land faster 
than he. If he's as loyal as he professes, we'll 
be very lucky to have him there.”

Misha nodded and shifted his hindquarters until 
he was sitting on his haunches. “I was going to 
ask you about him. Nestorius at first seemed very 
fond of him, but the last few times I spoke with 
the lion he was much more distant; he wouldn't say why.”

Laura frowned. “That is what worries me. Dupré 
has a vicious temper and he lost it with Lord Nestorius. They fought and...”

“And what?”

Charles's ears perked up as he and the rest 
waited for the woman who'd once been a man to 
finish her thought. “He kicked Nestorius in the... um...”

Both rat and fox widened their eyes and shifted 
about a little, while Finbar just laughed. “The 
old lion probably deserved it. I would have loved to have seen his face too.”

“That's the problem,” Laura replied with a shake 
of her head, one lock of her red hair falling 
across her shoulder only to be shoved back with 
another flick. “Nestorius didn't deserve it, he just got in Dupré's way.”

Misha stopped laughing and frowned. “We'll have 
to keep a tight leash on Dupré if he cannot put one on his temper.”

“If he could manage that, he'd be formidable.”

“George said he was when he met him many years 
ago,” Misha added as he stood back up on all 
fours and paced back and forth, eyes fixed on the 
map until he sat back down again and looked at 
his fellow Longs. “Being exiled and parted from 
his family is probably the cause. Now, before our 
rat friend decides to emulate the ram, what of 
the Glen? How can we win their trust to work with Hareford and the Lake?”

Charles waved one paw and gave the fox a sour 
look. “I'm not going to do anything like that, 
Misha. You know I don't lose my temper that way.”

“I know,” Misha said with a faint yip. “I'm sorry.”

But the rat had already forgiven his friend. “As 
for the Glen, well, if the Valley is threatened 
they'll fight alongside the Lakeland folk; 
otherwise it won't happen. They have been 
fighting over a strip of land between them for 
over a generation; we aren't going to overcome that.”

“They need their heads knocked together,” was Finbar's assessment.

“Maybe,” Charles begrudgingly admitted. “As for 
Hareford... well... they never have anything good 
to say about them; at least not after the folk at 
Hareford stayed in their castle while Nasoj was 
attacking the Keep over a year ago. And I don't 
think that's going to change unless Haerford's 
forces have some victory on their own. There's a 
lot of resentment that Hareford hid while the Glen bled.”

Lisa shook her head and drummed the fingers of 
her only hand on the map. “That's not fair. The 
blizzard kept Hareford pinned down. They spent a 
week shoveling themselves out even after Nasoj was driven back!”

“And they've been told that,” Charles said with a 
long sigh. “But when a man like Angus believes 
Hareford is full of nothing more than craven 
children, then you can imagine what the rest think.”

Lisa was about to object when Misha waved one 
paw. “Charles is right. I need to think on this. 
There may be an opportunity for Hareford to show 
her worth, but I do not see it yet. Still, it 
seems we have our work cut out for us. Finbar, I 
want your squad to be ready to head to Hareford 
tomorrow. You'll be leading them on an expedition into the Giantdowns.”

Finbar grinned. “Who are we going to kill?”

“Nobody that I know of,” Misha laughed and then 
lowered his ear, all serious. “We need to keep an 
eye on the human settlements that have broken 
free of Nasoj. And we need to keep watch over the 
Lutins. One tribe may want peace, but there are 
plenty more than that who don't. So...”

“Usual reconnaissance,” Finbar finished. “That we 
can do. Everybody's itching to get out of Metamor.”

“I am too,” Misha exclaimed with a heavy sigh. 
“I'm sure I'll come up with some excuse that will drive George crazy.”

“He can handle it,” Finbar said, his grin widening. “He's a big boy.”

“Aye. Now, Charles, I want to see if we can 
resume the lines of communication we had with you 
before this plague business. We need to know what 
the Glen Scouts know and fast. And of course, if 
we know something, they'll need to know it fast.”

“I can do more than just pass information along,” Charles pointed out.

“Aye, how well I know that! We'll need to discuss 
it with Lord Avery and Angus, but I'm sure we can 
get them to agree that you ought to have more say 
in the arrangement of their scouts and defenses.”

Charles frowned a little. “I do not think they 
appreciate meddling from Metamor either.” He held 
up a paw to forestall the fox's objection. “I am 
not saying that is what it is, only that is how 
some of the Glenners see it. They are very proud 
people, Misha. You should know this.”

“With good reason to be proud,” Laura added with 
a chuckle. “Their scouts could teach most of ours a lesson or two.”

“I know,” Misha said as his eyes trailed once 
more to the map. “They really are some of the 
best. Which is why I want to make sure we 
coordinate with them better, and that means we 
need Charles in some position to help organize 
them. But... that will have to wait until I can 
spare the time to come to the Glen. For now, 
we'll go back to passing messages and keeping each other informed.”

“Very well. What else do w have?”

“Lisa, could you go over the troop assignments 
for the next few months?” Misha smiled to the 
one-handed girl, the mischief filling his gray 
eyes. “And keep it simple. There are still some 
rafters Charles hasn't swung by is tail from yet!”

The rat shot his friend a dirty look before 
chuckling and shaking his head; it was good to be back!


Lisa did as Misha asked, and within another ten 
minutes the meeting came to an end. After wishing 
Finbar and his team a safe journey, Charles left 
to find his family, but not five steps from 
Misha's office ran into a very familiar face, one 
that was almost as familiar to him as Kimberly's. 
She brightened and jumped to her feet when she 
saw him, long monochromatic tail dancing behind her back.

“Kayla!” Charles laughed and gave her a friendly 
hug. “It's good to see you again. Were you waiting for me?”

“Aye, but not long,” she said after greeting him. 
“I wasn't sure how long you planned to stay in 
Metamor, but I had an idea and I hoped you'd be able to come.”

“To come?”

“I sent messages to Lindsey and James too, and 
Jessica's come back to Metamor already. I was 
hoping that we five could just meet and share a 
meal again together, like old times. I know you want to be with your family.”

“That's a wonderful idea,” Charles exclaimed, 
face brightening at the mere thought of seeing 
his traveling companions in one place again. I'm 
sure Kimberly and the children will love to meet 
each of you too. The children especially; I've told them stories.”

Kayla's face brightened. “Oh, I can't wait to 
meet them! But... I can't right now. I have to go 
meet Rickkter. I'll let you know when I have everything arranged.”

Charles took a deep breath and smiled to the 
skunk. “Thank you, Kayla. It won't be hard to 
find me – just look for any of my family and 
you'll find me; but James is on patrol right now. 
It might be hard for him to get away.”

“If he can't make it, we'll manage. We did want 
to keep an eye on each other,” she said with a 
slight suggestion. Charles nodded, grimly 
remembering the evil bell that had nearly 
consumed the donkey, as well as the dragon that 
had tried to subsume Kayla herself, or that thing growing in Lindsey's pouch.

“Aye, that we do,” Charles agreed. “I'm sure 
whatever it is, it isn't finished with us.”

“No, it can't be.” Kayla lowered her eyes for a 
moment, and then her expression brightened and 
she gave Charles a firm squeeze. “Oh, you go have 
a lovely day with your family. I will see you again soon, Charles!”

Charles laughed and hugged her right back. “You 
know what Rickkter will do if he sees you hugging me like that!”

“He'll keep his mouth shut if he knows what's good for him!”

Those few words kept Charles laughing and 
skipping all the way to the gardens where his family waited.

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May He bless you and keep you in His grace and love,

Charles Matthias


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