Interlude: The Friar's Tale

Friar Tub sat in the main hall of Bouldergold Castle enjoying his favorite food in all the world: Chicken Legs.

Across the round table from the fat friar, sat a friendly looking fellow with a smile on his face framed by a curly red beard and mustache. The dwarf was dressed in fancy purple clothes from head to foot complete with leather gloves up to his shoulders, and boots up to his thighs, and a huge purple hat topped with a humongous fluffy feather. This was Gules LeRouge, Royal Coachman and Stable Master of Bouldergold castle as well as the Kings personal vizier and bodyguard. Gules unique position in the castle required him to be an expert of whip, wit, and wine and he loved nothing better than a good tale over a tall tankard, especially before bed.

“So your tellin’ me, my good friar” he said with a chuckle as he sipped from his goblet, “that you single handedly defeated the wandering Cyclops all by your lonesome with nothing but a chicken bone and a fork, heh?”

“Well, I don’t know if I would put it quite like that.” Replied the friar with his mouth full. His eyes never left the bone as he rotated it in his fingers, searching for the last few scraps of meat to be devoured and continued. “I had some help from Tut Tut Hickupin, Pharoah of the distant land of Jipptme.”

“Oh yes, that’s right. You said that this desert king owed you a favor for answering the ancient riddle of some finks, and putting his mommy to bed, or some such thing.”

“It was the riddle of a nasty ‘sphinx’ and they were ‘mummies’ that I laid to rest, not his ‘mommy’.”

“That was it; mummies.” The purple-clad listener poured himself another mug of sparkling juice and swirled it with his finger delicately as he continued to question the tale-telling friar. “So now, where does the wyvern come in? As I recall, you retrieved the chicken bone from the lair of the wiley wyvern of windy warren in the first place which is what attracted the attention of the wandering cyclops, was it not?”

Wiping the back of his mouth with his habit and struggling to swallow his latest oversized mouthful of chicken, Friar Tub lost his chance to reply for at that moment, Tiny Bud entered the hall and interrupted with news.

“Gules, the King requests your presence at the front gate. We have strange visitors who have just arrived and he wishes to get your advice concerning them. Come quickly.”

With that, Tiny Bud turned and led the Coachmen and Friar Tub (still licking his fingers) out of the hall.