Oathbreaker, Book 1: The Knight's Tale - Colin McComb

“You were knocked unconscious by that man, there. I killed him. The other man came for
your armor. I killed them both.”
“Where’s my mount?” Pelgram struggled to his knees, bracing himself on his son’s
shoulder, panting, shaking while his head settled.
“It was destroyed. That’s why I had to defend you.”
“From two whole Glendavins?” Scorn filled Pelgram’s voice. “Find me a mount, and
give me that sword.” He pushed himself up, hard, and nearly forced Pelagir into the mud. For a
moment, Pelagir imagined his honorable father falling to the ground with his son’s twice-
bloodied blade buried in his gut, Pelagir laughing as his father’s blood spilled on his hands. But
instead, the boy passed the hilt to his father and descended the rise to seek a mount for his father,
the knight.
Fall, CY 577
Pelagir stood outside his father’s library, his back straight, listening to the murmuring from inside
the room. The messenger had ridden down from the hilltop, and Pelagir had barely had time to
announce the visitor to his father when the man swept in behind him and closed the lad out of the
library. Pelagir waited outside the door in case he was needed.
Behind the thick door, he could hear their muffled voices. The visitor’s voice was calm
and measured, his father’s tense and clipped. Pelagir strained to hear the words, but could not. He
knew that if he placed his ear to the door, all would become clear, but he had been caught at that
once before, and he was not the sort of boy who made the same mistake twice. He waited, his
body still and patient, but his mind raced as he explored the possibilities.
The man was clearly of some importance and, based on his bearing, was likely a knight.
The messenger outranked his father or represented someone who did, or else (if Pelgram’s voice
was any indicator) he would have been shown the door minutes ago. Neither had asked for
refreshment, so this was not a courtesy call. Orders, perhaps? Was his father being given
command, or was he being commanded? More likely the latter, decided Pelagir, and they were
commands Pelgram did not like.
In a short while, his father opened the door. “In, boy.” Pelagir stepped inside. The rider
stood in front of the desk, facing the door, his hands clasped behind him. He was not a tall man,
Colin McComb Oathbreaker, Book 1: The Knight's Tale
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