"Sir Chad, please join us!" the King exclaimed as Chad slowly entered the throne room, stood before the king and bowed.
"Sir Gawain, fetch Sir Chad a seat!"
Gawain moved quickly to fetch a settee and placed it before the throne behind where Chad stood.
Chad cleared his throat, "Sire, that will not be necessary, I am happy to stand in your presence."
"No, sit, Sir Knight, I insist!"
Sir Gawain pressed one of the smaller knight's shoulders down, encouraging him to sit before the king. At the same time, he gave Chad's buttocks a pat with his other hand, eliciting a painful moan as the young knight sat, clearly uncomfortable.
Everyone at the court was fully aware that Sir Chad had just been disciplined down in the dungeon and his discomfort was a delight to some and a point of sadness for others.
"So Sire," the young man asked between clenched teeth, "what would you have of me?"
"...other than further humiliation and pain," he thought to himself.
"Yes, my boy, exactly! What WOULD I have of you? The answer is: a quest! I have a quest for you if you will just but accept it."
"Of course, my liege, I could not refuse a quest. What would you have me do?"
The king grew solemn as he stared down at his young knight, at once the best swordsman of his order and at the same time his most miscreant. The king wanted to make sure that he understood his place and the gravity of the quest.
"A dragon, Sir Chad, is ravaging the barony of Brun, or should I say has ravaged. The Baron will be here on the morrow and I wish you to return with him to the north and slay the beast. It has already wasted a conroi that I sent there a month ago, so now my thought is that a single, accomplished knight may fare better against the cunning of this monster than a contingent and you have slain dragons before. What say you?"
"Sire," Chad replied, still wincing from the pain in his bottom and shifting uneasily in his seat, "your wish is but my command."
"Excellent! Now go with Gawain to the infirmary, I think a rubdown might ease your pain."
Chad stood stiffly, bowed, and followed Gawain once again out of the throne room, but this time he was led to the training enclave of the castle and the infirmary there.
"Up on the table Chad, but first remove your leggings."
Chad complied, pulling off his boots and leggings once again and climbing up on the padded table as Gawain had instructed.
"Whew," he heard Gawain exclaim behind him, "this is far worse than I thought, no wonder you were limping about."
The back of Chads thighs and 'tocks were heavily bruised, mottled with deep black and purple-blue patterns and a few cracks in the skin that oozed blood. Gawain regretted slapping his arse earlier in the throne room and admired his fellow knight's fortitude.
"I think I may be able to help with this," both men turned at the sound of the voice to see a well-dressed nobleman standing in the doorway of the room. He was tall, much taller than either Chad or Gawain, and clearly of the nobility.
"Allow me to introduce myself, good knights, I am Baron Brun. I was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but the trip took less time than I expected and the king told me I would find you here."
Gawain had moved to a position of attention and respect while Chad was trying to stand as well.
"No, stop," the Baron chided him, "stay where you are and allow Gawain to apply this salve to your wounds."
Gawain was handed a small, iridescent glass jar that seemed self-luminescent as an internal light pulsed from within.
"This ointment is enchanted," the Baron explained, "but I suppose you could tell that from just looking at it. Rub the balm all over his wounded areas and just beware of the side effect, all magic comes with a price you know."
Gawain had been staring at the jar in his hand, weirdly pulsing with light from within, the large man transfixed as if hypnotized.
He snapped out of it when Chad said loudly "Are you going to put it on me or what?"
"What side effect?" the large knight asked, but the Baron had already left the room.
The glass lid of the jar came off with a pop as he opened it and the salve inside moved!
It was like the ocean, with a wavy dynamic that both mystified and frightened the superstitious Gawain, who in spite of his bruin-esque nature, mistrusted magic and sorcery. He hesitantly dipped a few fingers of his massive hand into the salve and it quickly flowed up and into his palm on its own as if it were alive.
"Damn sorcery!" Gawain exclaimed under his breath and then quickly began rubbing the salve on Chad's bruised skin.
As Gawain applied the balm it seemed to move on its own, flowing across the tissue and then retreating back to where his hands happened to be. As he rubbed it in, the bruises faded, but in patterns, fading away and then returning, almost as if they were trying to escape his hands.
"Oh my god that feels good," Chad moaned as Gawains hands chased the magic balm across tight buttocks, legs and thighs. Increasingly, Gawain watched as the glowing ointment moved up under Chad's tunic, wanting to go further on his body and not just his injured areas.