I find myself in the heat of a desert.  I'm standing on sand, more or less at the base of a large rock outcropping.  I decide to climb the rock outcropping, so that I'll have a good view of the surrounding area and a good, safe firing position.

The climb up the rock outcropping is a difficult one and requires a lot of care and a lot of my attention.  I do make it to the top, and then it occurs to me to check out my surroundings, to see if there's someone else lurking in the rock formation.

There's no one else currently lurking in the rock formation, but there are signs of a sort of campsite, where water seeps from a crevice in the rock.  The rock formation on which I stand is at the end of a sort of ragged line of rock outcroppings that march through the desert land, to high mountains in the distance.  Probably the water comes down from the high mountains via underground channels.

The place where the water seeps is at the bottom of a sort of cleavage in the mass of the rock formation.  There are bird droppings on the rocks and it seems likely that birds use the water seepage to refuel as they fly across the barren desert.

I have enough water, so I don't climb down to see how much water is available at the bottom of the crevice.

I do scout around the top of the rock formation, to see if I can spot any signs of life.  I carefully check all sides of the rock formation, but see only a bird flying in the distance and a couple of small lizards.

After a while, I see a horseman, riding toward my rock.  The horseman seems to be traveling at a fairly high rate of speed, which seems a bit strange.  Then, behind the first horseman appears another horseman.  From all indications, the first horseman is being pursued by the second horseman.

I scan all sides of the rock, but the two horsemen are all that I see that's of any interest to me.

The first horseman draws steadily closer to the rock.  As he gets closer, I can see that he rides a lathered horse that's apparently close to the end of its strength.  The horseman arrives at the base of the rock and looks around, apparently trying to find a way up the side of the rock.  He doesn't see what he's looking for and he then places himself against the side of the rock, draws his sword and awaits the arrival of the second horseman.

After a short wait, the second horseman rides up to the rock.  The second horseman is armed with a bow and arrows.  He dismounts and then prepares to shoot an arrow into the first rider.

I take the assault rifle and manage to fire two bullets into the ground, at the feet of the second rider.

Both of the men look up at me in surprise and shock.  They have each seen something that doesn't exist in their medieval world, something that appears to be deadly.

I motion for the bowman to lay down his weapon.

The bowman doesn't want to lay down his weapon.

This time, I manage to fire a single bullet into the ground, somewhat nearer the man's feet than I had really intended.

The bowman lays down his weapon.

I motion for the swordsman to lay down his weapon.

The swordsman has learned from the lesson that I used to get the bowman to lay down his weapon.  He lays down his sword.

I then motion for the two men to move away from the base of the rock.

They do move back away from the rock, although they maintain some distance from each other.

I scan the horizon, but I see nothing that looks like more men, savages or not.  I then very slowly and very carefully descend from the top of the rock.

When I reach the ground I walk toward the two men.  I examine them closely.

Each of the men is dressed in clothing that's too fancy for riding through a wasteland.  Each of the men had a weapon that seemed to be a professional grade weapon for the time in which they live.  The men then are at least wannabe nobility for the time.

One of the men is the king that I have been sent to rescue, the other is a man bent upon killing the king.

I think on the matter.  Obviously, I don't speak a language known to either of the men.  Just as obviously, neither of the men speaks English.  I must figure out which of the men is the king and which is the would be killer.

I examine what I can of the men.  The swordsman is a large bearded man, with a pock marked face.  The painting that I was shown didn't picture a pock marked face on the king, but maybe the painter was trying to show better than reality.  The man faces what he must think is a magician, with a searching look, probably trying to figure what he might do, to his advantage.

The bowman is a smaller man, also bearded, but with a clean face.  The bowman attempts to speak to me, but I understand nothing of what he says.  The bowman then shrugs and waits, probably trying to figure what he might do, to his advantage.

I closely examine the clothing worn by each of the men.  The clothing is probably rich looking for the age.  Each of the men wears leather boots that must have cost a pretty penny.  Each of the men wears a leather belt and a bag of some sort, suspended from the belt.  The little bag is probably what they called a purse, way back when.  The bowman has a quiver of arrows, hanging down his back, but that's what I would think that an archer would have.  Each of the men wears a broad brimmed hat, probably to shield him from the harsh rays of the wasteland sun.

The larger man wears a gold ring on one of his fingers, but no other jewelry.  The smaller man wears some sort of chain necklace, probably of silver, but no other jewelry.

I then briefly scan the two horses.  Both of the horses are near exhaustion, after a long, hard ride.   Each of the horses wears a similar leather saddle.  The horse that was ridden by the swordsman has a scabbard hanging from the saddle, but that's what I would expect.  Each of the horses also carries what appears to be a rolled up blanket, probably the travel possessions of the rider.  Each of the horses also carries a rough leather bag, probably a water bag.  Each of the water bags looks to be near empty.

I then realize that I know which of the two men is the king.