94 lines
2.1 KiB
TeX
94 lines
2.1 KiB
TeX
% 2026.01.14-TheBoyAtTheBellows\\
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\herosection{The Boy at the Bellows}{chapters/2026.01.14-TheBoyAtTheBellows/image/the-boy-at-the-bellows.jpg}
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\DROPCAP{../../dropcap_c/dropT.png}he knight had spent most of his life \\
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searching for the Grail King.
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Not recklessly.\\
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He had done it properly — \\
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consulting the learned, \\
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studying old accounts, \\
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ferreting out which rumors carried weight \\
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and which were smoke.\\
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He knew the signs.\\
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He knew what to ignore.
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And he knew the Grail King would not be found \\
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on some lofty throne.\\
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On that the old stories agreed.
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Late one winter afternoon, \\
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on a narrow road he would rather forget, \\
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his horse stumbled.\\
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The iron rang wrong.\\
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A shoe had loosed.
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Just down the road, \\
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at the edge of a small village, \\
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stood a dreary blacksmith's hut.
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``Wait a bit,'' said the blacksmith. \\
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``I've a tricky piece on the forge.\\
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Won't take long.''
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At the bellows worked a young apprentice — \\
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sleeves rolled, \\
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face smudged with soot.\\
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He worked the leather handles with a steady, \\
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unhurried rhythm.\\
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The fire breathed when he breathed.\\
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The heat neither flared nor faltered.
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The knight watched.
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When the work was finished, \\
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the blacksmith examined the shoe \\
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and shook his head.
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``Size eight.\\
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I'm out.\\
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Have to make one.''
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He glanced toward the darkening sky. \\
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``Too late for tonight.''
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The knight nodded.\\
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Nothing to be done.
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``We're headed to the inn,'' said the blacksmith. \\
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``Join us.''
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The inn was rustic but warm.\\
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They broke coarse bread.\\
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They shared a bowl of thin stew.\\
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They poured cheap ale.
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The knight found himself lingering over the meal.\\
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There was something about the boy at the bellows —
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— wait —
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Could it be HE?
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But, but — \\
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Why would the Grail King be \textit{here},\\
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in a village like \textit{this}?
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That night he slept fitfully, \\
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the question churning in his dreams.
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Next morning, \\
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the new shoe was made and fitted.
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As he mounted, \\
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the apprentice glanced up.\\
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Their eyes met.\\
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The boy smiled knowingly.
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The knight rode on.
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For years afterward — \\
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long after his search was spent — \\
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he still found himself wondering \\
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about the boy at the bellows.
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