Soth's horse took one step forward. 'I said step aside!'
The tallest of the three maids, a svelte, black-haired beauty with similarly dark eyes stepped forward and smiled at Soth. 'What makes you think the Kingpriest, one who is a god on Krynn, would want to speak with the likes of you… Soth?' She said his name in a long hiss, and when she was done, she looked as if the word had left a bad taste in her mouth.
Soth was surprised that the elf-maid knew his name, but made sure not to let it show on his face.
'I am Lord Loren Soth of Dargaard Keep, Knight of the Rose.'
The elf-maids laughed. 'You are nothing, Soth. You are the son of a clerk, a mock-knight. You tried to deny your ancestry, tried to hide it behind the great deeds of your uncles and cousins. But now all of Krynn knows you were never meant to be a knight because you've proven it, being too cowardly to accept your fate like a true Knight of Solamnia.'
Again Soth was shocked that these maids knew so much of his personal history. It angered him that such matters had become common knowledge across the continent of Ansalon.
The other knights came up from behind to join Soth, taking up a position on either side of him.
'My past is certainly of no concern of yours. And neither is it of any concern to the Kingpriest.'
'Oh, but you're wrong, Soth. So wrong. If a mere mortal is sent to dispose of the Kingpriest, then at the very least that mortal should be a knight of the highest honor.
Not a common criminal. Not a murderer of women and children. Not the killer of his own half-brother and sister.'
Caradoc inhaled a gasp at the mention of this. Like Soth, he had done his best to bury the despicable deed deep in his past.
'How easily we forget such trivialities as the murder of our siblings, eh Soth?'
Soth said nothing. Outwardly, he could only seethe in anger at the elf-maid's words, but inside, being so casually reminded of those earlier killings had left him thoroughly shaken.
'Pay no attention to them, milord,' said Farold. 'They have obviously been sent by the Kingpriest to stop you.
The Kingpriest knows of your quest, knows you can stop him and he is afraid of you. That much is obvious by this feeble attempt at trickery.'
'Ah, the loyal Knight Farold,' said the elf-maid to the left of the dark-haired woman. She was slightly shorter than the dark-haired elf and had a full head of long red hair that was the color of blood. 'Another disgraced knight. A traitor to the knighthood who could not abide by the decision of the high justice, who could not allow his beloved Lord Soth the chance to die with what little dignity remained.'
'Enough!' cried Soth. 'I will not have my knights spoken to in this way!'
The red-headed maid continued on as if she hadn't heard Soth's warning.
'The same is true for Knight Caradoc and Knight Kern. The Oath and the Measure suited all of you until it sought justice against the vile Soth.
Then you forgot your years of training and devotion. And for what? To save a butcherer of women, a slaughterer of innocent children?' 'Enough,
I said!' repeated Soth, his anger barely contained.
'The truth is a powerful weapon isn't it, Soth?' said the third maid, shorter and heavier than the others with bright blonde hair that hung down over her shoulders.
She was easily the least attractive of the three and spoke in a harsh voice that grated against Soth's already fatigued nerves.
'I do not fear the truth!' said Soth. But even as he spoke the words, he remembered the trial and how he feared the news of his deeds would devastate Isolde when she learned of them. But even though that was behind him now, the thought of it compelled him to add, 'At least not anymore.'
Indeed, what truths did he have to fear now?
'Perhaps you should fear the truth,' said the blonde maid. 'For the truth I know would be enough to drive any man insane.'
'Step aside and let us pass,' Caradoc interjected. 'We are wasting too much of Lord Soth's precious time.'
'Let her speak,' ordered Soth.
'Milord,' pleaded Farold, 'these maids have been sent by the Kingpriest with the sole purpose of preventing you from reaching Istar and completing your quest.
Remember the Cataclysm mentioned in the vision.
Remember what will happen to the people of Krynn.
Remember your son.' 'Ah, Soth's son, Peradur,' said the fair-haired maid.
'How sure are you that he is actually your son?'
'What?'
'Milord, we have no time for-' 'Silence!' shouted Soth. 'What of my son?' 'Your son?' she said mockingly. 'Or the son of every able-bodied man in Dargaard Keep?'
Soth gritted his teeth.
The fair-haired maid simply laughed again. 'You couldn't give Lady
Korinne a child. What makes you think you were able to give one to Isolde?'
Soth considered the question. 'Korinne was barren. She could not conceive.'
Again a laugh. 'Foolish Soth. Korinne had no difficulty conceiving after she paid a visit to the hedge witch. And even a horribly painful birth didn't stop her from producing a child.' She shook her head and pointed an accusing finger at Soth. 'You were the one unable to give her a child.'
Soth's mind was reeling. He felt dizzy with rage and heartbreak.
'But I did produce a child. Peradur is my son!'
'No, Soth. Not yours. Whose exactly, none can say. But not yours.'
'You lie,' spat Soth. 'I saved Isolde's life. She adores me. She would never be unfaithful to me. She would not dare.'
All three of the elf-maids cackled at this.
'Foolish man,' said the dark-haired elf-maid.
'Soth, the unwise,' said the redhead.
'Did it never strike you as odd that Isolde was the one to receive the vision which sent you on your quest?' 'I prayed to Paladine,' Soth said between clenched teeth. 'He showed me the destruction that would be brought on by the Cataclysm. Isolde prayed to Mishakal.
The goddess showed her how it could be prevented.' 'So gullible,' said the dark elf.
'Soth, the naive,' said the redhead.
'And did you not think it suspicious that Isolde, a woman who swore her love to you, and supposedly bore your child, would so readily be willing to send you off on a journey that could only end with your death?'
Soth had wondered about this, but was able to dismiss his concerns because of the strength of Isolde's faith. Now, suddenly, he wasn't so sure anymore.
'While you and your knights have been riding clear across Ansalon on a fool's quest, Isolde has been bedding all the knights and squires you've left behind. She's even been intimate with a few of the footmen, as well as a few others you might not want to know about.' The elf maid's eyes grew wide as she took obvious delight in striking a blow deep into
Soth's heart. 'But perhaps it's best this way,' the maid continued. 'At least now Isolde will be reunited with the father of her child-whomever he might be.'
'Silence!' Soth cried.
He wanted to shut the words from his mind but he could not. The elf-maids had known so much about him, known the truth about Lady
Korinne's death, known the truth about the murders of his half-siblings.
If they knew the truth about those matters, then why wouldn't what they said about Isolde also be true?
That meant that… Peradur was not his child, but a bastard.
And Isolde was not a loving wife and devoted mother, but a harlot seductress who cared not whom she slept
