Denizens: Prologue - 1

Part 1 of ? Clippety, cloppety, clippety, cloppety All the king’s horses and all the king’s men mounted for battle in all of their armor; they rode off so gallantly through moors and fens. How could they possibly know what awaited them?  Would it have mattered, or turned them around?  Six days out, there has been nary a sign of them,  and not a hint of a trail to be found. Two hundred horses do not up and vanish, and neither do two hundred knights and their squires. Gaining the high ground, they scan the horizon, but naught can be seen of a help signal fire. Clearly, they passed through this meadow some days ago; grass is all trampled and easy to read. There, at the edge of the forest, the trail dries up. Here, they make camp and start looking for leads. Scouts have been sent out, but none are returning; it’s harder to justify as the days pass. Finally, they find a knight barely breathing; he’s whimpering, muttering, eyes are like glass. There at the campfire, they bind up his wounds and they spoon him some broth and a shot of strong ale. When he awakens, and once he stops screaming, he gains his composure and tells them his tale. ————— (To be continued) Quatrains written as dactyls in 12/10/12/10 with xAxA rhyme: 3:3:3:3x, 3:3:3:1A, 3:3:3:3x, 3:3:3:1A