THE SHIELD OF LOCKSLEY

CHPATER 34 (part 2) The Battle For Glastonbury: The First Day

Paywalled! Paywalled! Paywalled!

(Did I tell you it was paywalled?)

So if you haven’t been given a (FREE) Membership to The Portal Club, it’s because you haven’t been reading here on a regular basis. There’s no other reason, because I can see who’s reading, and who isn’t. If you do have a free Subscription, congratulations, but I want to remind you that it’s only good for three months. After that, you’ll have to sign up and pay the $30 price tag for the next year. (The idea being, by that time you’ll want to make the commitment.)

Shall I tell you about some of what you’re missing here behind the paywall? Well, Locksley’s on a quest along with Bedivere, Grummer, and Lamorak, seeking out a knight Lamorak swears he killed a long time ago. They’re undertaking the Quest at the orders of the King, who, it is well-known, offers a boon to anyone seeking aid at the end of The Tournament of Youth. And Locksley, (spoiler alert: having won the Tournament), is expected to undertake the Quest. However, Locksley’s heart is with the Lady Gwenellyn, who has fled Camelot in hopes of joining a nunnery — he just doesn't know which one. She has explained to him how she has no other choice, because Morgan LeFay (now a sworn enemy) will not rest, she feels, until she has killed both Lady Gwenellyn, and Locksley, after they discovered her at Tarquin’s Keep. Morgan LeFay has already set her plan into motion by arranging for Gwenellyn to marry her son, Uwain. Gwenellyn is able to escape undetected from Camelot in the guise of a Huntsman, who act as House Guards to King Pellinore. It’s Gwenellyn’s intent to join the convent at Glastonbury, but once they approach the convent, they find themselves under attack.

Palomides is traveling with them, along with his Saracen men-at-arms, The Immortals, as well as his wife. They’re escorting his niece to the convent at Glastonbury. They have made the journey with Bors de Ganis, and Bedivere’s brother, Lucius, whom everybody calls Lucy, for short. And, oh yeah, it looks like Lucius has dementia…

If you haven’t read any of this yet, well, that’s a real shame, isn’t it? The first part of the book is still FREE. You can get that here: 👇🏻

This is the Table of Contents

If you are looking for a great adventure story, look no further. THE SHIELD OF LOCKSLEY is unlike any other Arthur story out there. Carefully crafted and meticulously researched, this story will take you places you never imagined it to go. If you grew up reading PRINCE VALIANT, you’ll love Locksley! Now, imagine that the days of King Arthur are reaching their end. Those knights you grew up loving as a boy, have now grown old. They’re worn out and want nothing more than to rest, and maybe just have a nap. Some of them have “ailments;” Arthritis, Dementia, age related issues that plague us all. There are two distinct generations at work here. The young knights want to take the place of the older ones. The older ones are the ones who have been with Arthur from the beginning — from the moment he pulled the Sword out of the Stone. This isn’t what you were expecting from a King Arthur story. These knights visit whore houses; they’re violent; they’re womanizers, rapists, thieves, and murderers — they’re nothing like the knights you knew growing up. And yet, they do have a “Code” they try to follow.

Come on inside and take a look around. It’s cheap, and affordable, no matter what you think. $30 for the year? That works out to 8¢ a day.

When the weather clears up and we start and finish with the gardening — my wife likes to plant flowers every year — I want to take her out and explore the city with you. This is Vancouver, a “Foodie” town if ever there was one. There are so many little eateries to explore, it would be a sin not to at least try. So I’ll be taking the wife’s old i-phone (sans phone!) to make short videos of the places we visit.