More powerful countries than Selona had fallen to the Rambling Horde, so news of the oncoming riders terrified many in the kingdom. But for every person who quailed, another reminded listeners that Selona enjoyed protection no other country possessed. Selona had the Legender.
When an invitation to combat arrived at the royal palace, King Konrad took the message to his quarters and did not emerge. That evening, Queen Lilianna knocked on his door, and he admitted her. She had never seen her husband looking so disheveled and distraught.
His wife approached and laid a comforting hand on his arm. “Konrad, surely the warlord of the Rambling Horde is no more deadly than the phoenix, no more fearsome than the vampire, no more ferocious than the yeti, and no more dangerous than the gorgon.”
“I expect you are right,” Konrad said.
“Then you will vanquish him in combat?”
King Konrad dragged both hands through his hair, still thick, but graying. “It is my fondest wish, Lili.”
“You are still young and strong,” Lilianna said. “You slew four legends. Why not a fifth?”
“I ended four legends,” Konrad said, face contorting as if with pain. “But none know the whole tale.”
“Tell me,” she said.
“The stories about me have grown since I first told them. And they were exaggerations from the start, colored by a young man’s fantasies.”
“What do you mean?”
“I ventured into the swamp to slay the gorgon, it is true. I took the risk; I braved the leeches and the snakes, the quicksand and the spiders. I found the floating hut, empty, abandoned, adrift. Nearby I discovered the stone gorgon and a single quill. The rest of my tale was invention.”
“You never fought the gorgon?” Lilianna exclaimed.
“I never saw her alive,” Konrad said. “For all I know, it is possible she never lived. I searched the area until I felt sure there was no threat. I worried that without a fight and a victory, I would not receive my prize, so I embellished.”
“But you bested the other three foes,” Lilianna said.
“I searched those mountains for weeks,” Konrad said. “In the end, I found a cave—that much was true. The cave held a tremendous waterfall, large enough to sound like the roars of a yeti. I overcame freezing temperatures and snowy conditions. I approached that roaring, uncertain of what I would find. I came upon a rockfall and a skeleton of what might have been a yeti, from which I claimed a fang. I debunked another legend and I told another story.”
Lilianna regarded her husband, perplexed. “The vampire?”
“I saw satyrs and nymphs,” King Konrad said. “I beheld a river troll from a distance. I found the town of Tremonton and Blackthorn Manor, much as I described. The crypt as well. But instead of a vampire, I discovered a sarcophagus full of dust, with the blood-stained stake inside. Who killed the vampire and when, I have no idea. Assuming he ever existed at all.”
“And the phoenix?” Lilianna whispered.
“I found what might once have been a nest of rocks, with boiling sludge inside. My horse sampled the sludge, and the donkey tried even more, which prompted me to have a taste. The donkey died and I grew ill. The feather was uncovered beneath a rock as part of my careful search. I had courage, my love, and I was a thorough investigator, but I know little of combat. I ended four legends without fighting or killing anything.”
“I must confess, I have long wondered at the grandness of your adventures,” Lilianna said. “It comes as little surprise that there was some enhancement to the tales. They have grown on their own since you originally told them.”
“I don’t believe I ever repeated any of them,” Konrad said. “Others have aggrandized them for me, with even more flair than I initially employed.”
“You were so young,” Lilianna said. “Even with the phoenix.”
“I became an earl, a duke,” Konrad said. “I married you, gained a crown . . .”
“And you did end those legends. You returned having succeeded. The gorgon, the yetis, the vampire, and the phoenix were all no more. Because of you.”
“Perhaps your father would still have made me an earl had I conveyed the precise truth,” Konrad said. “And maybe not. Perchance others would have been emboldened as they heard one or two of the legendary enemies were less impressive than expected. We can never know. That history is written.”
“But now . . .” Lilianna said.
“Currently I face an actual threat of flesh and bones,” Konrad said. “A renowned warrior who has never lost a fight. I myself have never drawn blood and know little about the ways of warfare. If I accept this challenge, my incompetence will be exposed and the kingdom pillaged. If I refuse this duel, none will go where the Legender feared to tread. Truly, I wish I had never been born.”
“Do not speak such nonsense.”
Konrad hung his head. “I feel as if I have already failed.”
Lilianna shook her head. “The kingdom prospered because of your courage. You are a good king, beloved by your family and your people. You have governed well. Tall tales about your exploits were inevitable. You just gave them a head start.”
“And now I face the consequences of exaggeration. Any choice I make will lead to ruin.”
Lilianna folded her arms. “What chance did you have against the gorgon? If she had been real?”
“Little to none,” King Konrad confessed.
“What chance against the yetis? The vampire? The phoenix?”
“Very little.”
“And yet you ventured out to confront them,” Lilianna said. “Alone. Did you know any of them had been destroyed?”
“I expected to
