“You ready to train?” Mandy asked. Mandy was the leader of the guard and was the one with the crooked nose.
“Yes” Sawyer replied. “Have you all been practicing?”
“Of course” Mandy said.
“We feel like impostors and the other guards treat us as such” Talia said from behind him. “But I am learning a lot about the sword, more than I thought possible. I don’t think I am ready to win a fight yet but I am further along than what I was.”
“Good” Sawyer replied. “Hopefully you have been keeping up on the exercises as well.”
“They have” Mandy replied. “I think we all feel more comfortable with the thinner sword and the small morningstar. The shield helps a lot too, it’s just really heavy to hold.”
“It’s all in the grip” Sawyer replied. “Hands and forearms will keep the shield up when you need it.”
“Well we have been practicing holding it up while the others beat on it with a warhammer” Talia said. “Both jobs are tiring, banging with the hammer and keeping the shield up.”
“It should be” Sawyer replied. “In a scrap you could prevent your opponent from doing anything. Remember the morningstar is for close quarters while the sword is for out in the open. The shield you can carry across your back whenever we travel to cut down on strain.”
“Whenever we travel?” Mandy said. “We both know you are not traveling anywhere, at least not voluntarily. Not that we blame you, we have all told you our stories so you know we are speaking from experience.”
“I do want to leave this place though and go out” Talia said.
“You get days off” Sawyer replied.
“I mean go somewhere all together” Talia said. “What good is having these fancy uniforms if we never get to show them off? I have a couple of men in particular I would love to see me in this.”
“You have a boyfriend?” Sawyer asked.
“They were the men that raped me” Talia said. “Nothing ever happened to them, one is a minor noble and the other one is on the city watch. I was a whore and they figured they could just take it without paying for anything. They have done it more than once, sometimes forcefully.”
“Get dressed” Sawyer said as he turned towards the door. “Tell everyone to get dressed, I think I would like to meet these men. Bring me my stick as well, it is time we had a little fun.”
“You don’t want your staff instead?” Mandy asked. “That is the Queen’s staff, not mine. This stick though is mine and it didn’t cost a thing. Hard as hell to cast with but it is do able. Do any of you have any money? We all know I would rather be killed than use that medallion thing for anything. The cost of this trip is going to cost you some exercise and a tankard of ale”.
“I’ll get the carriage” Mandy said.
“No carriage” Sawyer replied. “It is hard enough keeping these clothes on but I don’t make any money. If I did I would have changed my clothes a long time ago instead of rewashing these everyday.”
“Well the pit with the carriage” Talia replied. “But the tavern they hang out in is two hours away by foot.”
“A little hard work has never hurt anyone” Sawyer replied.
“I just have to let one of the royal guard know we are leaving” Mandy replied. “I will get us all ready.”
~
Sawyer walked across town with his mage guard formed up surrounding him. He could tell they were excited as people moved out of their way as he walked by. There was some commotion when a driver was dispatched with a carriage, especially since Sawyer ignored Winchell and walked right through the palace and out the front door and ignored the luxury. The two hour walk had to be tiring since the women all had on armor, it was leather armor that let everyone know they were dealing with women but six of them as heavily armed as they were and holding cudgels made everyone give them a wide berth. Sawyer knew he was being followed as well, actually he had counted two people following him, one on foot and another on horseback that had changed his uniform twice. Sawyer finally found the tavern Talia was talking about just as it got dark. From outside the run down building he could hear a lot of loud laughing and swearing, when he walked inside it got louder two fold. His arrival made some people paused as Talia led him over to an unoccupied table in a corner where he sat down. His mage guard formed up around him with their backs to him ready for any threat.
“What will it be?” said a soft feminine voice. “I don’t think I have ever seen a mage in here before.”
“Save your flirting Gertie” Talia replied. “Just bring over a tankard of ale.”
“Talia?” the barmaid said. Sawyer still could not see her over the backs of the women. “I thought you were dead or something. What are you doing dressed as the mage guard? I didn’t even know they took women.”
“I am alive, I have just been in training” Talia replied and Sawyer could tell she was smiling. “Normally they don’t take women but Mage Sarlon is a special case.”
“Well does your mage want any company later on?” Gertie asked. “I can show him a real good time” she finished as she looked through the women and made eye contact with Sawyer. Sawyer recognized her immediately as the woman went white as a ghost. She stammered backwards and fell over before rushing up and running away.
“I should have known that bitch was one of them” Talia said angrily. “I am so sorry Sarlon.”
“Don’t be” Sawyer replied. “I had to face down one of them eventually. At least I know nothing came of it with her, only thirty something more women to see.”
“Still aint right” Mandy replied. “They know what women go through, why would you do something like that to a man? Some of those bitches enjoyed it too and talked shit the entire time.”
“I’ll go get that ale” Danica said as she stepped forward. “I think the rest are liable to kill the barmaid if they go.”
Sawyer kept his stick within arms length as he sat back. His stick had gone missing a few times and he had his mage guard replace it. Finally he knew they were told not to and just started hacking into trees using one of the swords they gave him. He could hear the royal guard wince to see a fine blade used as an axe and eventually his sticks stopped disappearing. Sawyer wondered what his house would look like since he was out of it, many things would probably disappear that he had taken to using instead of their finer counterparts. Sawyer noticed both of the men who were following him inside the tavern as Danica came back holding a tankard.
“There is one of them” Talia said pointing to a man who had slapped a barmaid on the bottom.
“Watch how a man deals with trash” Sawyer said as he stood up and pulled his robe over his head which left him in pants and boots. Sawyer walked over purposefully as the man looked up, Sawyer gave him a stinging slap which almost knocked him out of his chair. Sawyer then slapped his tankard of ale on the ground and turned around. Sawyer could hear a great commotion behind him followed by a pair of heavy thuds as he returned to his table. He was sure his victim had stood up to fight and received a few cudgel blows for his problems. When Sawyer sat back down with his ale he could still see three of the women raising and lowering their cudgels over the cowering man who at this point was trying to cover up. Talia hit him one last time then kicked him before she turned around, the place was silent as the women went back over to his table. A short man with a dirty shirt on and a round belly came over angrily to the table holding a big dagger and flanked by two men who were both holding clubs.
“Out of my business” the man said angrily. “Mage or not you are getting the hell out of here and take those whores with you.”
“You know he had that coming Wallace, you knew what he did to me and you still let him come inside” Talia yelled.
“You are a whore and he is a paying customer” Wallace said. “And I aint scared of any of you whores, I can kill three of you and still walk free the next day.”
“I am going to teach you a valuable lesson” Sawyer said as he got up and downed his t
ankard in one go. Sawyer moved Mandy out of his way and struck the fat man full in the face with one of his meaty fist. The fat man toppled over and Sawyer grabbed ahold of both clubs. The men tried yanking them back but soon found themselves besieged by cudgel blows, Sawyer was happy for all those times he practiced his grip as the men couldn’t yank it away fast enough and defend themselves. Finally one let go and backed up as he was smashed in the face by a cudgel, blood went everywhere as Sawyer fumbled with the club for a bit until he found the right grip. The other man then also backed away as Sawyer swung the club and hit the bar owner full in the face with it knocking him out. As soon as it happened people started running out of there, Talia grabbed one man from behind the collar and hit him a few times before he could get out the door and even stole his coin purse. Sawyer looked around and figured it was time to go, he didn’t want to be around when the watch came and grabbed his things and walked outside with the crowd. The walk back home was filled with laughter and retelling of the night’s events in the tavern. They sounded like loud drunken women although none of them had a drop. When Sawyer finally made it back home he could tell someone had been inside, his staff was there and so was his sword. Not just any staff but his bone staff that looked like it had been glued together. Sawyer smiled looking at it, he was beyond angry when the thing was snapped and wasn’t thinking clearly. He was a mage and could manipulate stone and fix any cracks he saw, he had also been able to repair some of the damage his stick received when it was beat up by the heavy blows from the morningstars. Sawyer saw someone had redone his fancy staff and picked it up and focused on his bone staff, his life magic sealed and fused everything together. The staff drank in the magic quickly and felt like it helped him put everything back together, the glue or whatever they used rose to the top and fell off as Sawyer grabbed his staff. It felt right in his hand, he cast mage light with it and it as good as it had before it was broken. His other staff was high quality and it helped cast magic insanely fast but the bone staff was still better, like running in water and being let out on dry land. Sawyer placed it next to his other staff and picked up his sword, it was kept in great shape and he saw it had a nicer edge on it than he was able to keep. Sawyer went into the room which held everyone’s storage and placed it inside his wardrobe and found his bone ring on a string hanging up. Sawyer hurriedly placed it on his hand and absently rubbed his hand across his hair. It was growing at a crazy rate and looked to be at two months growth instead of two weeks but decided to keep it. Maybe he would let it get long again now that it was already growing and no one had put together he was the same guy on the run from Sale. Sawyer looked over the outfits in his closet and saw not all of them were gaudy. Some were plain looking but were made of high quality materials, the simpleness of it appealed to him and just by looking at it he could tell someone had a good eye in taking his measurements. Sawyer thought maybe he would wear one eventually as he stripped off his robe and used a spell to clean his body then put on the sleeping clothes he had never worn. When Sawyer walked back to the room the women there looked at him oddly as he prepared to lay down.
“What?” Sawyer replied. “You all wear them too.”
“We just hardly ever see you out of your robe” Mandy said. “Tonight was the first since, well it has been a while.”
“You don’t have to keep censoring yourself Mandy” Sawyer began. “I know I am with friends.”
“We are supposed to get rid of that robe whenever we have the chance to” Talia replied. “Her Majesty is tired of seeing you inside of it and wants to force you to wear other things. She even um, gave some hints on how we can get it off you.”
“She told you to flirt and sleep with me” Sawyer began.
“She didn’t demand it” Danica said. “Only suggested that our pay might go up a lot if we made it a regular thing. She said you are not the kind of man to sleep with a woman just because and thought since you haven't outright killed any of us we might have a shot. None of us would disrespect you by doing anything like that though. But now that we know you are finally out of your robe…”
“Go ahead and bring it to whoever if you like” Sawyer replied. “What else has she said about me?”
“Mostly it is the High Mage” Mandy said. “She just wants to know what your daily routine is like and what your favorite foods are and things like that. I told her the truth, it is hard to tell since you don’t savor anything and eat only for the fuel. When you are not practicing magic you are practicing fighting. The royal guard though now has a healthy respect for you, I see them looking over here sometimes.”
“Me too and sometimes that handsome mage as well” Talia said. “He is handsome and flaunts it, the princess though is never too far away.”
“That is Samson” Sawyer replied. “I was ready to give him a good thrashing back in Maduro.”
“If we last longer than a year we are supposed to get houses there” Mandy replied. “I never even heard of the place.”
“I think all of you would like it” Sawyer replied. “Not really for me though, I do have friends there I wouldn’t mind seeing again. Maybe one day when I am out of training I will take you all there.”
“I am just excited about making good money” Talia said. “The fact we get a home as well is more than we could ask for. This has got to be the easiest job I have ever worked, it is filled with good food, my clothes are free and the pay is phenomenal. Best part about the whole thing is I don’t have to lie about anything or lie on my back to make this coin.”
“Amen to that sister” Danica said.
~
“It has been four months and I don’t think I have much anymore I can show you” Tabitha began. “We have been through my entire spell book almost three times, now you just need more practice and better technique when it comes to fighting another mage. That will come with experience though, Her Majesty has been pleased at your progress. We may be needed in the war soon, the enemy have powerful mages on their side and they almost killed Andrew during an ambush.”
“We are finished for today then” Sawyer said as he turned around to leave.
“Sawyer it has been months since you have been here and so far I have only seen you go out once and even then it was to start a fight for one of your Mage Guard instead of to have a decent time” Tabitha began.
“My business is none of your concern, you are my magic instructor, nothing more” Sawyer replied and started walking away.
“Princess Penelope is going to announce her nuptials to Samson” Tabitha replied. “Another party will be thrown and you are expected to be there and dressed nicely. The Queen wanted me to relay this to you personally and let it be known that if you do not show up then you should expect company. None of the women ended up pregnant but all have asked when they can try again. Many letters have been sent to the palace and I know the Queen has them all.”
“You can let her know her threat has been received” Sawyer replied.
“You never thanked me for the staff or the sword” Tabitha said.
“If I never met you I would have never lost them, or ended up in Maduro, or other things I rather not talk about” Sawyer replied.
“That was your fault, you were angry over a girl in your bed” Tabitha said.
“Let me pick out a man and toss him in your bed” Sawyer replied. “I doubt you would be happy waking up naked with a strange man trying to have sex with you.”
“You are a man though and she was a pretty girl” Tabitha replied.
“So because I am a man it should be different then?” Sawyer replied. “Good to know there are two sets of rules.”
“I will tell her you will be there” Tabitha replied. “Everything happens tonight, your Mage Guard already knows but were told to keep quiet on the issue. If they told then they would have been replaced with some other broken women or maybe even men like everyone else has for their mage guard although men are wary to take the position guarding you.”
Sawyer walked away wi
thout finishing the conversation and went into his home. Danica was stark naked and leaving the storage room which held the tub and shrieked when he opened the door. Sawyer shut his eyes as he heard the other door close then opened them. Talia came walking outside and Sawyer could see her hair was wet.
“No one was expecting you home so early” Talia said.
“I have to get ready for some kind of party” Sawyer replied as he took off the scarf holding his hair back. “Apparently the Princess is marrying that mage.”
“It is also the Heir’s birthday” Talia replied. “I am glad you finally know all about it, I hated keeping that secret.”
“Well now you don’t have to” Sawyer replied. “I think I should chop off all this hair, it is already in my eyes and is too short to put into a pony’s tail but too long for me to just try and slick it back.”
“Keep the curls” Talia said. “Trust me on that, you look like an entirely different person with the hair. If I didn’t think of you as my brother then you would be in trouble and I am sure I speak for everyone. I can help you get ready, it is time you put on your revenge outfit.”
“Revenge outfit?” Sawyer asked.
“It’s when you look so good the world that did you wrong can't help but get jealous” Talia replied. Especially since your eyebrows have grown back, that completely shaved look was not a good one for you. You were still cute, but in a I am ready to kill everyone in the room kind of way. Now your boyish good looks can come out and everyone can see that smile of yours, you rarely show anyone those dimples or those white teeth.”
“You are letting Talia dress you up?” Miley said as she rushed out the door to the bedroom. “I want to help, I have been dying to see you finally wear the stuff you were given, every week something new comes to fit the muscle you have been putting on since all you do is work out.”
“Well get one of them ready” Sawyer replied. “I will wear whatever you put me in but I doubt this will ever happen again.”
The Mage of Mages 2 Page 14
