Free Song of the Gargoyle by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

closer than brothers, Lonfar and I, until...
    Tymmon stopped, and Troff, who had been thoughtfully licking one of his great front paws, looked up quickly.
    Tymmon shrugged. “Well, until after Lonfar became a page and started his training for knighthood. Oh, he swore it would make no difference, and right at first it did not. When his training in horsemanship and fencing began, I would meet him afterwards and he would teach me what he had learned. And sometimes I was even allowed to go with him to the archery master and practice with bow and arrow. But then—well, then—only last year a new knight came to Austerneve. The baronet Quantor, son of Lord Krodon, baron of Unterrike.”
    Tymmon pronounced the names with a flourish, indicating how important they were, but Troff took little notice. “Surely you have heard of Unterrike?” Tymmon asked.
    Troff looked away and stared thoughtfully into space before his great round eyes returned questioningly to Tymmon. “Unterrike?”
    “It is a large fief, a dominion. Bordering Austerneve to the southwest. And the baron is a highborn lord—one of the richest and most powerful in all the North Countries. So, as I was saying, the baron’s son, Baronet Quantor of Unterrike, came to do service in King Austern’s court. And soon after, Lonfar learned that when he reached the age of fourteen he would be pledged to Quantor as squire. And that made all the difference in the world.”
    Troff looked puzzled.
    “Well, I should think it would be very clear. Unterrike is one of the greatest kingdoms in all the North Countries, and Baron Krodon the most powerful lord. Of course he is not from an ancient and honored line as is King Austern, but Unterrike barons have always supported a large number of knights who were unlanded but known for their skill in warfare. And of course, in the days before the High King united all the North Countries, Unterrike was Austerneve’s greatest enemy. The barons’ armies often attacked Austerneve Castle and laid waste the countryside. The village of Qweasle, at the foot of the tor, was burned and sacked more than once by the forces of Unterrike. But now Baron Krodon has become King Austern’s honored friend, and his son, the baronet Quantor, has come to serve in King Austern’s court.”
    Troff was listening attentively now, his head tipped to one side, which always tended to give him a reasonable and intelligent air.
    “So you can understand why Sir Hildar was greatly pleased and honored when the baronet agreed to take his son, Lonfar, as squire. And Lonfar was also. He began to spend much of his time serving the baronet, even though he will not be old enough to pledge as his squire for more than a year.”
    Tymmon stopped and shrugged and then sighed and shrugged again. “So that was it. It seemed the baronet felt it was not suitable for his future squire to spend so much of his time with a commoner—the son of a jester. And, it seems, Lonfar agreed with him. We have not so much as spoken together in more than a year.”
    Troff growled softly and said he did not like that part of the story. Then he rolled over on his side and closed his eyes.
    “A song then,” Tymmon said quickly. “I shall sing another song. A lively one. Shall I sing ‘The Knight of the Honorable Name’?”
    Troff thumped his tail and opened one eye, so Tymmon jumped to his feet and built up the fire. And when the flames were again leaping as high and bright as did the torches in the great hall when Komus was performing, he began. Just as Komus had always done, he entered with an acrobatic caper that carried him onto the stage in a series of spins and twirls and tumbles and ended with a grand gesture.
    “If I may have your attention, most excellent and exquisite lords and ladies, I will now entertain you with a sweet ballad composed by that widely renowned troubadour, Hulf of Mundgross.”
    Still holding the pose, he stopped to explain, in case Troff had forgotten. Actually