"Hail friends!" came a voice.
"Hail, good sirs!" replied Odo. "Keep behind me," he advised Charlotte as he nudged Amica a little closer to better see the two men.
As they approached, it was clear to Odo one man was a knight. The other man was immense, a brute, and towered over the knight but wore the livery of a sergeant. A single horse was hobbled and ate grass a short distance away. Odo cautiously kept himself between Charlotte and the two strangers.
"Is a lovely day to be out," greeted Odo.
"This day could have fared better," replied the knight while looking at Amica. "Misfortune has struck a cruel blow and my horse suffered a broken leg ... she lies yonder past the corner in the road."
Odo grimaced. A broken leg on a horse was irreparable, and the knight would have had to put the
