The Hunting Party

The horses were breathing hard on the steep slope. The path was narrow with a vertical wall on the right and a deep ravine on the left. The raiding party advanced slowly, in a single file.

Niklaus looked towards the man at the front of the line. He seemed tense and focused on maintaining control on his horse. Niklaus sighed and rolled his shoulders to relieve some of the tension and maybe frustration.

Niklaus tightened the cloak around him. It was unusually cold, even for a mountain pass. Last year, on a different  pass but almost to the day, he couldn't see his breath. Now the steam was rising from horse and man alike and the knights were hunched, trying to keep warm. The full suit armor wasn't helping either.

A screech and and a loud noise startled him and his horse reared. Struggling to maintain control of his own horse, he watched helplessly as Peter's horse skidded on the unstable rubble.

'Jump!' Niklaus yelled and looked horrified at man and horse sliding down in the deep ravine.

Niklaus dismounted and looked down the crevasse. The horse lay broken in a pool of blood on a ledge about 20 feet below.

'Peter ! he yelled
At his feet, clinging for dear life Peter gripped tight at a rock sliding down from the narrow path.
'Fast, bring me a rope!' yelled Niklaus
A tall, long faced knight dismounted and took the rope out of his saddle bag. He handed it to Niklaus and shouted to the fallen knight :
'Hold tight ! Help is on the way."
Niklaus threw the rope in Peter's direction and grunted :
'Tie this around your waist if you can.  At your signal I will pull you up."
Niklaus wound the rope against a sturdy looking stone near the edge of the path and looked meaningfully to the long faced knight.
'Ianos, I will need all the help I can get.'
Ianos shoot a furtive glance towards Miklos and nodded. He took hold of the rope and looked down to Peter. At his slight nod Ianos looked for Niklaus  signal and pulled. Niklaus and Ianos drew ragged breaths when  they finally dragged Peter up on the confined path. Niklaus pulled Peter's helmet and looked at his closed eyes and the trickle of blood oozing from his mouth.
'Peter, wake up! Niklaus called. He shook gently his face when he received no answer. He tried again, so absorbed he didn't notice Miklos approaching.

Niklaus startled when Miklos kicked Peter with a loud thud.
'You are delaying us. He's dead. Let's go. His horse is gone and this one... " Miklos underlined with another loud kick in Peter's armor "...is useless". He motioned both Niklaus and Ianos to mount their horses and follow him.
Both knights nodded curtly and were grateful for their helmets hiding the scowl on their faces.

Niklaus waited for Miklos to turn around and dropped fast on his knees near Peter.
'God be with you, Peter." He slid the wine skin in the crook of Peter's arm and put a couple of coins in his hand , closing his gloved hand around it. He mounted his horse in one single fluid motion and with a last glance towards his friend he spurred his horse forward.

Niklaus looked up at the sky. Big snowflakes were falling, dancing in the sharp wind. He glanced furtively at Miklos riding in front of him and then turned and looked back with a sigh. His eyes tried to pierce through the dense streams of snoflakes falling all around. Helpless, he tightened the cloak around his body with a barely visible shiver. He looked in Miklos' direction and met his eyes.
Miklos motioned him to approach and Niklaus  could barely hide his surprise. He rode his horse near Miklos and stayed behind because of the narrow path.
'You grew up on these lands. Does it always snow in october ?'
'I don't remember, my lord, to have ever snowed at this time of the year.'
Niklaus stopped but the cold sipping through his armor gave him an unusual boldness.
'If i might suggest, my lord, let's stop and weather the snow storm in a covered place. The knights need to remove their armors to avoid frostbite."

Miklos' steel countenance didn't falter.
'We ride!' gritted Miklos under almost chattering teeth.

'My lord, there is a cave, not a mile from here. It is a small cave , we could fit all the knights in the party and tie the horses behind a ledge for the night." added Niklaus.

Miklos turned to the white bearded man riding to his left and slightly in front of him. The man turned slightly and nodded.
'We will stop and remove the armors. The padded gambeson and the thick cloaks will protect you enough.... ladies' he grunted.
'You can return to your place, Niklaus , Miklos continued, emphasizing 'your place' ever so slightly. Niklaus frowned and gripped his sword.
'I mean... Sir Niklaus,' Miklos added with a smirk and turned to the white bearded man.