12 September, 1358. Magdaline Castle, Islia
William leapt down from his stallion the minute he entered the main courtyard and handed the reins to one of the stable hands that had rushed over. Sweat stung his eyes and he pulled the gauntlet off one hand so he could swipe at his sunburned brow.
He had spent the last several weeks in the wild sun baked plains of southwestern Islia, arbitrating disputes between squabbling lords and helping clearing some of the roads between the villages of armed robbers. Last year's harvest had been poor and this year didn't hold great promise either. The instances of thievery and grain smuggling had grown alarmingly among the poorer regions of the country and the local lords had started accusing each other of unfairly hoarding grain stocks. As a precaution, King Edward had commanded Princes William and Thomas to travel to those regions with a contingent of soldiers, to pacify the people.
