Chapter Eight

                                                                                                                         CHAPTER EIGHT


    A grand estate came into view, a massive lodge like building at the center, built of stone and wood beams, with two enormous wooden doors at the front.  Several large silos towered in the distance behind this main building and a variety of shrubbery and flowering plants landscaped the walkway and porch leading up to the doors.
It was here that we led the unconscious Karo, still flopped over on his horse and once we had pulled to a stop, Acer instructed me to carry Karo’s legs by the ankles as he hefted Karo’s top half from beneath his arms.
We got him to the doors and Acer began pounding on them as loudly as he could but after several moments of being met by silence he let out an exasperated huff and checked the door handle and found it to be unlocked.
“This situation is too serious to just wait around on the porch for someone answer our knocking - we’ll get Karo inside and then see if we can find someone.”  said Acer.
We hauled Karo inside and found a large bench in the foyer with a large painting above it of a mid-evil castle tucked between dark, looming mountains.  Next to the bench was a standing suit of armor and above the doors were two gleaming swords crossed over each other with a large gold N in the middle.  Above us was a giant, black iron chandelier with lit bulbs like candles.
We laid Karo carefully on the bench and Acer called out a loud “Hello!  Anyone?”
As we stood in the large foyer wondering how long this would take, a man in a butter colored suit opened the large front door and stepped in backwards.  His attention seemed to be on something outside.
Stepping just inside the doorway he shouted “Why is there a GIRAFFE standing by my front door?  Hattie?”
Suddenly, a woman's voice came from somewhere above us.
“Giraffe sir?  Oh you shouldn’t have!  It’s not even my birthday!”  Followed by excited giggling.
“Hattie!”  Shouted the man “NOT for you!  Just a giraffe ... actually, I don’t know for sure that it’s not for you ... why is it here?”
As I looked more closely I noticed an intercom speaker mounted in the corner near the ceiling and that the man was holding a button on the wall next to the door.
Acer, standing behind the man, peering out of the doorway over his shoulder, cleared his throat and quickly said “That’s my high horse sir.”
The man jumped almost out of his finely pressed suit, instinctively raising his fists in defense as he whirled around to face us.
Dark hair, bushy eyebrows and large mustache framed a tanned and weathered face on the tall, broad man.
“Sir! It’s me, Acer, sir and that’s my high horse outside your door.  Noble sir, and very trust worthy.  He’ll do no damage sir.”  The words sped out of Acer’s mouth assuring the man enough to lower his fists.
“It’s EATING my geraniums.”  said the man through clenched teeth.
“Oh, he’ll be fine sir, he was raised on wild flowers.”  Replied Acer.
“Make.  It.  Stop.”  Said the man sternly.
“Stop sir?  Oh.  Right.  Yes sir.”  Acer hopped out the door to lead Noble away from the entrance.
The man’s eyes fell on me.
“Mounties selling cupcakes now?”  he said eyeing my attire.  “Humph.  Business must be slow.”  Then tilting his head back to the speaker “Hattie!  I thought I sent out a memo that I didn’t want any more cupcakes.  They’re making me fat!  Oh fine.”  he said looking back to me “Stop twisting my arm, I’ll take two dozen.  But none of those carrot ones.  Can’t stand carrots.”
“I don’t sell cupcakes.”  I replied quite seriously.
He looked at me like I’d just made a joke. “Of course you do.  NO one goes out in public dressed like that on purpose!”
“No sir, I don’t.  Really.”  I argued.
“Then what do you do?  Why are you standing in my house?”  he said raising his voice.  Then, back to the speaker “Hattie!  Why is this little cupcake girl here?”
“Cupcakes sir!  Yes, I love cupcakes!  I still don’t think it’s my birthday sir but I’m ever so grateful!” came the giggling voice again through the intercom.
“Sir”  I interrupted “I don’t sell cupcakes, I own a very successful clothing shop and...”
He cut me off.  “I doubt that very much but nice try.  Besides, do I look like I need new clothes?  I don’t even like sprinkles” he said eyeing my beaded blouse.  “Okay, maybe a little bit.”
“Sir, please!  I’m not here to sell anything!  I, we, have come to help!  Karo is unconscious,”  I said waving my hands at the armored man lying on the bench, “It’s all my fault I’m afraid, I gave Acer a new telescoping lance for their Sunday joust and Karo got knocked off of his horse and must have hit his head.”  It all came out in a rush before he could interrupt me again.
He swung around and stared at Karo in shock.  Then rushing over to him, arms spread he began yelling,  “My Colonel!  What have you done to my Colonel!  We need the doctor.  HATTIE!!”  Then he stopped and turned to me just as Acer came rushing back  through the double doors.
“Wait.”  Said the man, anger turning his face red.  “Did you just admit to smuggling in weapons?”
“Of course not!  I would never!”  I stated, hands clenched at my sides.  “We brought him to you to help him!”
“Hattie.  What did the cupcake girl just say?”  The man asked the speaker.
The woman’s voice came echoing through the intercom “I don’t sell cupcakes, I own a successful clothing shop..”
“Not that part.  After that Hattie!”  shouted the man.
“Ah!  Yes, sir.  Uh, let me see here...  ‘Karo is unconscious’ oh dear!  Is he alright Sir?  Shall I bring him some tea?  How about pancakes?  Karo loves his pancakes with the blueberries?”  Replied the woman with a nervous giggle.
“Hattie!  Focus please!  No tea or pancakes.  What did the cupcake girl say?”
“Oh dear!  Yes, right.  Okay.  ‘It’s all my fault.  I gave Acer a new telescoping lance’  Oooohhh.  That sounds nice and handy!  She seems like a nice girl.  Okay, uh, ‘gave him a lance for their Sunday joust and Karo got knocked off his horse annndd..”
“That’s enough Hattie, thank you.”  Said the man cutting off the woman.
He turned to me “Weapons miss.  You gave Acer a weapon to use against my Colonel.”
I sighed.  “Yes.  I did.  I felt it unfair that Karo always challenges him to a joust but that Acer did not have a lance of his own and as both men helped me last year, I brought gifts to thank them.  I’ve brought Karo a picnic as he told me he is fond of them but he was knocked unconscious before he could eat it.  Now,” I said taking in a big breath to calm myself. “I think we really need to take care of Karo.  Are you a doctor?”  I asked the man.
“Me?  No.  Although I could have been” he said straightening and brushing his hands down his suit jacket  “If I didn’t have all of this to run!   I’m Mr. Numerouno but please, feel free to call me Sir.  I'm the owner of all of the fields and crops in Sunday.  Karo is one of my top patrol men and now with him injured, I’ll need to call in someone to take over his rounds.  Hattie!  Call Chaff into the office.  I’ll need to get him on the corn fields.”
“How about the doctor for Karo?”  Piped in Acer, looking at the speaker.
“My secretary is not yours to command, she’s far too busy.  As am I at the moment.  You will go fetch Doc Pinion and have him come to the house here.  I’ll set Karo up in a room.”  Ordered Mr. Numerouno.
“Mr. Numerouno, I’m a Mounty and I’m currently on a mission.”  Replied Acer glancing at me.
“What is this, make believe time?  We have no mounties and you have no ‘missions’,  nor do we have use for clothing sales people or cupcakes!  Okay.  I could still go for those cupcakes, but for now, you are an errand boy seeing as this is your fault!”  The man was barely holding his temper.
“Mr. Numerouno... Sir”  I began.
“ I don’t believe I got your name.”  Said the man turning to me.
“Justa Smidge Sir.  I’m just passing through and am on my way to the Monday Mountains and Acer is giving me a ride there.  But,”  I held out my hands to stop him from interrupting me “ I do see how it is our fault for this trouble and Karo’s injuries so we’ll gladly go fetch the doctor.  That is, if Acer knows where to find him?”
“Uh.  The doctor?  Pinion you said?  Oliver Pinion.  Yes, I know how to get there.  It’s in the opposite direction from the Mountains Justa so it will be awhile before I can get you there.”  Answered Acer, looking at me apologetically.
“That’s alright. I’m no rush for myself.  I’ll go with you. Let’s hurry then, enough time has been wasted.”  I looked pointedly at Mr. Numerouno.
Acer, who’d been clenching his hat in his hands this whole time, shoved it back onto his head and we rushed out the double doors and down the walk way to a large fence post where Sir Noble was tied up.
Climbing up the rope ladder as quickly as we could we set the horse off at a fast pace and were passed by another horse going just as quickly towards the house carrying a rider wearing a suit of armor much like Karo’s only bronze in color and his helmet had a thatch of straw like hairs sprouting straight out from the top.
“Chaff.”  Acer called back over his shoulder to me.  “He patrols Numerouno’s wheat fields.  Looks like he’ll have his hands full for awhile.”
“Why does Mr. Numerouno use men in armor to patrol his fields?”  I asked.
“Numerouno has always been into the mid evil era, if you couldn’t tell from the inside of his house.  He likes the look of his men wearing armor and they patrol to keep out any theft of the crops and also after the rumors of the giant moles taking down all of the Gardens of Gnome, they’re trying to make sure that doesn’t happen here.  He is the only one producing all of these grains and he’d like to keep it that way.”  Acer explained, digging his heels into Sir Noble’s sides to urge him to go faster.