Lord Soth Read Online Free Page B

inside a burning cottage, then brought that child back toDargaard Keep where the healer was able to save its young life.”
    “Hurrah!” came the faint voice of a boy, the same boy Soth had saved from the fire.
    “I successfully defended the honor of Lady Wandra after accusations had been made against her chastity by a scorned suitor.”
    “Enough! Enough!” cried Lord Caladen sternly, raising his hands as if Soth’s deeds were a rising tide which needed to be stanched. “You know as well as anyone here that a supplicant need only offer three honorable deeds. If we were to listen to all of the deeds on your list, Knight Soth, we might all be late for the wedding.” The high justice smiled and the tension was broken by the sound of laughter.
    The tone of such council meetings was usually quite solemn, but that was usually the result of an uncertainty about a knight’s suitability for acceptance into the Order of the Rose. For Soth, however, his ascension into the highest order of the Knights of Solamnia was little more than a formality. The Knights of the Rose had been eager to bring Soth into their order for years and in fact had waived the stipulation which would have required Soth to venture on a quest to prove his loyalty to the order and its cause. Sending him on a thirty-day quest to restore something which was lost, to defeat an evil and more powerful opponent and to conduct one test of wisdom and three of generosity seemed unnecessary in Soth’s case. He had been undergoing such tests, and passing them with flying colors for years.
    “Now,” said Lord Caladen. “If anyone present has any knowledge as to why this noble knight should not ascend to the Order of the Rose, or rule over Knightlund as its lord, now is your chance to be heard.”
    Although Lord Caladen said the words jovially and as if they were little more than a mere formality, Soth’s heart leapt up into his throat as he waited for a faint voice to break the quiet stillness of the moment.
    No one said a word.
    Or perhaps dared to.
    “Very well, then, Knight Soth,” Lord Caladen said rising to his feet. “Your lineage is impeccable, your deeds most honorable, and your supplication unchallenged. However, it is the custom of the Rose Knights Council to adjourn in private to determine whether a petition should be accepted or rejected, and we shall do so now.”
    Lord Caladen moved away from the high table, stepped off the platform and was followed into a room just off the courtyard by Lord Cyril and Lord Olthar. Oren Brightblade and Dag Kurrold also followed the others off the platform, but they were helped down the steps by several eager Knights of the Crown who were more than willing to lend a hand to the gallant knights who had fought beside their fathers and grandfathers so many years ago.
    When the Knights Council had left, Soth turned around to take a look at the gathering. To his right, seated in the small gallery reserved for honored guests, was Caradoc, who as Soth’s seneschal, would also be ascending an order of the knighthood soon, becoming a Knight of the Sword. To Caradoc’s left was Korinne Gladria, waving to her shining knight with a look that was proud, loving and somehow seductive. Soth waved back at her, then stopped as he caught sight of his father. Aynkell Soth had raised his clenched fist as a sign of congratulations, but Soth quickly looked away before it became obvious that he had seen the man and was forced to acknowledge the gesture.
    Soth turned his head the other way and saw scores of his fellow knights from all three of the orders offering their congratulations and best wishes. Soth nodded to each in turn as he continued to scan the gathering. Then when he looked directly behind him, he saw a wall of bodies crammed into every available corner of the courtyard, some even sitting atop the shoulders of the more sturdy in the crowd. Even the balconies and battlements were full of onlookers and well-wishers. This was a