To Save a Maiden

       
        Sir Calvin walked through the door to the pub and was greeted with a glorious uproar welcoming his triumphant return. His favorite table was soon cleared out for him and Sir Calvin laid down his sword and shield, the tools for rescuing a maiden. He was very quickly brought his usual choice of drink and soon he was surrounded by people that adored him

        A small child approached Sir Calvin and asked, “Did you kill the monsters Sir Calvin?”

        Sir Calvin looked up from over his mug, wiped off the moisture from his face, and gave a wide grin, “Well of course, those beasts were no match for the great Sir Calvin. I was able to vanquish them with a single stroke of my magnificent blade of heroes!” The crowd gave loud applause and Sir Calvin basked in the glory.

        “If you were able to defeat those fearsome creatures,” began a man standing amongst the crowd, “then you should hear about this one country they’ve been talking about called Gyra. Apparently every ten years they sacrifice the most beautiful women they can find to appease their heathen god. Are you up to the challenge Sir Calvin?”

        Sir Calvin stood up from his seat and hoisted his sword high into the air. “This evil will not go unpunished. I shall infiltrate this dark place known as Gyra and rescue the fair maiden from her horrible fate.” The crowd roared, yet again, in approval of Sir Calvin’s declaration.

        With that, Sir Calvin spent the next few days in preparation for his upcoming quest training and gathering supplies. Many of the villagers gave him the best supplies they could find, let him take refuge in their homes, and would eagerly help him in combat practice. On the morning of the seventh day Sir Calvin left on horseback from the village with a crowd of people to wish him luck.

        Sir Calvin’s journey to Gyra was a long one that took him through many countries. As he got closer and closer to his destination, Sir Calvin noticed that the surrounding countries were building massive armies. A day would not go by without seeing catapults being test fired, soldiers sparring with each other, and large numbers of weapon merchants wandering the land.

        “Surely this heathen country must be up to worse deeds than just taking the lives of maidens,” Sir Calvin said to himself. “By defeating these villains I shall not only gain the gratitude of the maiden but also that of entire countries. With that gratitude will surely come many rewards and adoration from their people. By the time I’m done with this adventure, all shall know and adore the courageous Sir Calvin!”

        After weeks of travel Sir Calvin arrived at the borders of Gyra and set up camp in a secluded part of the country. For another few days Sir Calvin spent surveyed the land finding out as much as he could while remaining hidden from the people of Gyra. After three days of gathering information, Sir Calvin spotted a city surrounded by massive stone walls that no mortal could climb and, in the center of the city, a very large castle with four tall spires surrounding a tower that seemed to stretch to the heavens. The tower had a large window and from it Sir Calvin caught a glimpse of his prize. She was a maiden with raven-black hair and pure white skin. Even from a distance he could tell she was the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen.

        His hopes raised, Sir Calvin ventured closer to the city walls. It was then he noticed that he wouldn’t be fighting normal soldiers. They appeared to be living stone statues that looked to be about nine feet tall with two stone legs resembling a knight’s boots and arms that looked large enough to crush boulders. On each hand they had four fingers, gripping swords that almost stood as tall as the creatures. The creatures had no heads. In the center of their torsos were stone masks that mimicked the face of a
human with glowing blue eyes that gave off an unsettling stare.

        Confident in his knowledge and skill, Sir Calvin returned to his camp to prepare but not before taking a last glimpse at the tower’s window. By nightfall of the next day, Sir Calvin stood before the massive gates and stone monsters of the city. The creatures began to approach Sir Calvin and in return Sir Calvin unsheathed his sword and began his attack.

        With little effort Sir Calvin stabbed the statues in their faces, causing them to crumble. With the enemies dispatched, Sir Calvin entered the city, charging at full speed towards the castle. As he charged down the street, Sir Calvin encountered many more of the living statues and dispatched with them accordingly. Oddly, there were no townspeople among the streets and none came out to see what was happening when Sir Calvin began to valiantly slay the beasts.

        The large castle doors pushed open after a mighty kick from Sir Calvin and he entered the castle’s interior to find more of the supernatural guards. The castle interior had very little in the way of decoration. It was bare bones and lacked the same glorious paintings and sculptures that Sir Calvin had seen in other castles.

        Sir Calvin entered the center of the castle to find a spiraling staircase with two guards that were easily taken care of. Sir Calvin began to ascend the staircase, certain that it would lead to the tallest tower and his prize. As he approached the apex he heard a male voice from the door at the top, “That fool is going to ruin everything! The ritual must be done now, before the statues lose their power!”

        Sir Calvin burst through the door to find the beautiful maiden standing in the center of the room with a flickering blue fire behind her. Standing close to the door was a man in long robes, wearing a silver crown, and wielding a knife in his hand. With a quick slice, Sir Calvin removed both the knife and hand from the man’s possession and, with a second slice, decapitated the man before there was a chance to retaliate.

        Sir Calvin wiped off the blood from his sword onto the man’s robes before sheathing it and approaching the maiden. Sir Calvin walked toward the maiden, who appeared to be paralyzed in fear, and got on one knee, stretching a smile across his face. “Fear not dear maiden! I, Sir Calvin, have vanquished the evil king and his minions. You have been freed!”

        The maiden stared at Sir Calvin for a minute and then looked at the dead man on the floor. She opened her mouth and with a loud voice screamed, “What have you done, you monster!?”

        Calvin looked stunned as he kneeled there wondering if he had maybe misheard. “I’ve saved you and the people of this country from this evil threat. And you have to thank the great Sir Cal-“

        “What you’ve done is doomed our entire country!” responded the woman.

        Calvin paused for a second before speaking. “But that man was going to kill you,” he said, losing some of the volume in his voice.

        “To save our country! Didn’t you notice how there were no human guards? We are a peaceful country and none of our people know how to fight. Instead, the stone guardians protect us. But in order for them to work, they require someone’s life energy to power them.”

        Calvin fell silent yet again, trying to rationalize the situation. “But what about those countries outside of your borders that were readying for war? If you are a peaceful people then why would those countries have to mount such a large offensive?”

        “The rulers of those countries have had their eyes on Gyra for centuries; all of them ruled by greedy monarchs who always try to attack us right before we are able to restore the guardians. In fact, the only reason you made it this far is that the guardians were running low on energy. If you had come any earlier, the only catastrophe that would have occurred would have been trying to find a suitable hole for your corpse.”

        “But you were going to die! Don’t you have any sense of self-preservation?”

        “I volunteered for it. It was supposed to be one life lost every ten years. Now, thanks to you, it will be thousands lost within a few weeks, if we’re lucky.”

        Calvin stood up from where he kneeled, his former glorious smile now nothing more than a fairy tale. “Maybe I could stay behind and fend off the armies or maybe we can still do the ritual?”

        “It won’t matter,” the woman said as she walked away from Calvin and looked out toward the window where smoke from a distant fire could be seen. “The king avoided telling anyone the ritual, fearing it would be used against our country and I doubt you would be able to fend off the combined force of five armies. Just leave!”

        Calvin remained silent as he began to walk towards the staircase. At one point he thought to try to give some kind of comfort to the woman, but by her face he could tell it would mean nothing to her. Calvin returned to his camp, gathered up his belongings, and mounted his horse. From a distance could see a fire coming from a nearby village and an army moving towards the city.

        Calvin turned away from the country of Gyra, not wanting to face what his actions had created, and headed south towards the barbarian lands. Calvin had succeeded at rescuing the maiden from her sacrifice and for it he will always be remembered. As his horse trotted along, Calvin secured his sword and shield, the tools for rescuing a maiden.