Seven
The Message
Summer 961 MC
Dame Hayley Chambers, Knight of the Hound and former King's Ranger, threw the spade full of manure onto the ever-growing pile that sat nearby. Empty of her burden, she drove the shovel into the ground and leaned on its top, her arms crossed over its handle. It had been a busy morning, and she wondered how her uncle managed all by himself.
She looked over the modest plot of land that he called his farm. The fields were growing nicely, and she watched as her uncle hoed weeds from between the rows of grain. She walked back to the barn, content that her job was finished, only to hear the distinctive sound of a horse releasing its bowels.
"I give up," she uttered, "it can wait until tomorrow."
She made her way to the small stream that ran by the house, inte
