It had all been so simple. Keep the King safe from himself, make sure the Queen was happy and avoid the machinations of the court. It had almost become routine when Sir Derek found the King in the arms of the Queen’s various Ladies-in-waiting.
Now banished to the furthest corner of the kingdom, Sir Derek’s only chance at returning to his old life is to fulfill a quest given to him by the King: Create a permanent peace treaty between their kingdom and the fickle leader of the faeries, the mysterious Lady of the Woods.
This will prove to be more than his match as he faces off against pixies, satyrs, dryads and the dreaded Fafnir, a faerie so mysterious and deadly that he is only spoken of in whispered tones by those who know of his existence. On a quest deemed impossible by all who hear of it, Sir Derek will be pushed to the very limits of his cunning and strength in a land where survival can be the greatest victory of all.
Now completed, it can be read here
This work includes examples of:
- Alliterative Family: Baldric has five children; Victoria, Veronica, Vernon, Valerie and Vincent.
- The Blacksmith: Baldric is one of the best blacksmiths in the kingdom according to his brother Sir Derek
- Chekhov's Gun: Chekhov's Questions: The questions that Baldric's kids ask Sir Derek clearly don't have anything with what's to come, such as:
- Victoria: Did you go to any balls, feasts or dances?
- Valerie: Have you saved any damsels while you were away?
- And later: ... Have you met a fairy princess?
- Vincent: "Did you slay any dragons?" This doubles as a Brick Joke
- Decadent Court: The King's court. Not helped by the fact that the King himself is something of an idiot, as he sleeps with the Queen's Ladies-In-Waiting despite knowing what a terrible idea that is then banishes the only person who could get him out of his bind.
- The Hero's Journey:
Word of God says that this started life as a short story which expanded into a novel once he fully began to incorporate The Hero's Journey into it - King in the Mountain: King Ulric and his Knights are this to the folks in the area. They're also the ones who trained Sir Derek on how to be a knight
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Baldric has five children; Victoria, Veronica, Vernon, Valerie and Vincent.
- Missing Mom: Baldric's wife died sometime before the story began and he's been trying to manage ever since.
- The Quest: Sir Derek's quest to create a peace treaty with the faeries. However, quests are seen as a form of Banishment for those too politically difficult to kill outright so no on expects him to really succeed.
- Replacement Goldfish: Step Mom: Baldric's children hope that Miss Fletcher will marry their dad. In the last chapter it's revealed that she does.
- Shout-Out
- They're celebrating the feast of Saint Gygax when Sir Derek is made the heir of an old Baron
- Supernatural Elite: The Lady of the Woods is the ruler of the local faeries
