“I wish I had something I could give you both” the woman said as John could hear her walking behind him. “We were going to start our life over somewhere, we were thinking the capital, but we had little to begin with. I don’t even know how we are going to leave this place”.
“I can transport you” John replied. “I will see to it that your husband is taken care of as well, what type of work do you both do?”
“I am a laundress and I can cook” the lady replied. “My Howard is a handy man”.
“I may be able to find you work but no promises” John replied. “Let's gather your things and go”.
CHAPTER 10
John smiled as he heard the girls cheer, they were enjoying their flight but it was rough on his magic. John had summoned his construct simply because it looked cool and had it pull a giant construct wagon that had the traveler’s cart, all of their possessions, the father who John found out was named Howard along with Dawn and the two girl's mother. Howard and Dawn were just lying flat, John made the cart in such a way that it had a special area to keep the unconscious from flopping about. John made his way to the Tower, it was just his luck that it seemed classes were done for the day and students were outside probably getting ready to fly off until they saw him. John landed and let his constructs slowly fizzle as everything was gently lowered into the ground.
“I need whatever mage is here proficient in healing to see about the man” John barked. “I also need Lady Dawn Nettleton brought to a bed for rest, she exhausted her magic and needs a comfortable area”.
“We don’t have to take orders from knights” A boy of about sixteen said as he crossed his arms. John quickly closed the distance and was in the boy’s face causing the teen to take a step back.
“I speak with the authority of the Queen, do you deny me” John said in a low tone.
“I know who you are” the boy said. “And I am not scared of any Knight”.
John belted the boy in the stomach hard which sent him down. John could see the boy was about to cast some spell and drew him sword and pressed it to his throat.
“I don’t do mage battles” John said as he looked at everyone present. “You are going to do what I say or I will see to it that all of you present are thrown in jail for not coming to the aid of an agent of the Queen. This idiot on the ground I will run through as soon as he casts his first spell, now get to moving”.
John watched the students scramble and looked back down at the boy who had wet his pants. John looked him over disgusted then pressed the sword tip a little deeper, just enough to draw blood.
“You should be lucky I already killed five men today” John growled. “You could definitely be the sixth if you keep this up. Now while your classmates are busy go clean yourself up and see about that throat. In the future whenever I tell you to do something and invoke the name of the Queen I would do it and do it without delay”.
John removed his sword and looked towards the woman and her children who stood by shocked.
“Is this the Tower of Mages?” she asked.
“It is” John replied. “My father used to be the former Archmage and my mother is the current head of this Tower. “Let’s go meet her, I am sure she will be interested in what has happened”.
John brought the three up to the top of the tower where he knew his mother’s new office would be. John knocked on the door and heard talking coming from the room but his knock was ignored so he walked inside to find an instructor, Thurman Tatterson of all people talking to her about what had just happened in the courtyard.
“John please tell me you did not threaten the life of Wesley Morningstar” his mother said as she rubbed her temples with her fingers.
“That kid in the courtyard?” John replied. “The one with the nasty attitude and the big mouth?”
“Yes that one” Crystal sighed. Tell me you didn’t strike Wesley Morningstar and draw that little sword on him?”
“If that was the idiot's name then I did so just a few minutes ago, he was trying to get in the way of knight business” John replied. “I sent him on his way with pants full of piss mother but he doesn’t have any lasting damage”.
“John does the name Morningstar not ring a bell to you?” Crystal asked.
“Why should it?” John replied.
“Because he is the son of Gerald Morningstar otherwise known as the Defiler” Crystal replied as she looked at her son. “He made his name fighting in the same battles as your father, he got the nickname the Defiler because of what he would do to captured prisoners or enemies on the battlefield. He quit the Queen’s service and has gone into business for himself as a caravan guard whenever merchants are trying to move things across country or across the border into Foulain”.
“So why should that name mean anything to me?” John asked.
“John are you familiar with duels?” Crystal asked.
“I know the laws concerning them” John replied. “It has to be a grievable act that can't be resolved and is serious enough that the aggrieved party wants the other dead. Even then an agent of the Queen would have to allow for it to move forward”.
“Do you know the history of the last two mage duels?” Crystal asked.
“No” John replied.
“The last one was seven years ago between the Defiler and Jacob Vergas” Crystal replied. “You could guess who the winner of the match was and it was to the death. Four years before that he killed a mage that disagreed with his battlefield tactics. Do you even know why Duke Sachel has refused to kill a single prisoner no matter the crime?”
“No” John replied again.
“Because of trial by combat, Duke Sachel signed a contract with Morningstar that he would be the executioner. Morningstar killed the first woman so gruesomely it made the Duke sick enough he had to tell Morningstar to tone down his act. Morningstar did the next prisoner even worse and the Duke, being the law in the land had to sit and watch it along with five others who were scheduled to fight. Morningstar held the Duke to his contract, twenty battles he was supposed to fight. The Duke hasn’t given anyone a death sentence since then, since Morningstar was granted the right to fight and most accused would rather die with a sword in their hands”.
“I still don’t see what this has to do with me” John replied. “His son was an idiot and a hindrance to the crown”.
“The Defiler is in Dyson” Crystal explained. “Wesley was just about to take off to see his father”.
“Doesn’t matter, maybe he can tell the kid not to pick fights he can't win” John replied.
“You have to apologize John” Crystal said as she fixed her face. “He will no doubt challenge you to a duel, you have to decline”.
“I will do no such thing” John replied. “If he is dumb enough to challenge me and someone is dumb enough to sanction the challenge then he will die”.
“John this is not a game!” Crystal screamed.
“I know mother” John replied. “You thought I didn’t have a chance to shut Rusty Golad’s big mouth and you saw what I did to him. Whoever this Defiler guy is I doubt he has that power and I can use my sword in a duel. Can we please change the subject, my guests have been through enough and I have a horrible story to tell”.
John told his mother the story without pause, afterwards he had the woman who he found out was named Laurie tell her side of the story. John wrote out her statement and took her name before asking his mother if she had any work for them. John knew the Tower could always use a laundress and general laborer and the couple was soon employed, well the husband would be after he recovered. John left the tower as his magic built up a bit and flew to the Knight Commander who was not scheduled to leave the city for another week and deliver his report. John was authorized to deliver the results of any interactions to Prince Jordan or the Knight Commander, he thought this would be inconvenient for most Knights and would not be surprised if the process changed at some point. The Knight Commander looked him over and congratulated him on bei
ng the first to administer justice and would have the city watch closest to the dead bandits go collect their bodies. John left Steele and went back towards the tower, Dawn for all her downfalls reacted better than he could have imagined. The woman did more than her part and saved a man’s life, she should be commended on it and if anyone brought up the mission he would be sure to tell them Dawn’s part in the battle. John went back up to his mother’s office, most of the students had departed, it was the weekend and they would not be due back for two days and probably went to enjoy their time in Dyson where they could get cheap hotel rooms and walk around like big shots.
John walked to the infirmary and found Dawn all alone in a room, someone had changed her out of the clothes she arrived in and it looked like she was wearing a thin cotton robe and was covered by a white cotton blanket. Without her normal snarl or nasty attitude she could look pretty he supposed if a man was looking for her type. Her hair was a mess though, someone had taken the pins out of her hair but did not comb it or wash any of the makeup she had on her face off. John had nothing else to do and found a comb in one of the empty rooms and started combing her hair. Although she had it put up in an elaborate hairdo when he first saw her, John thought her hair was not that hard to comb at all and marveled at the difference between her hair texture and his. After he finished combing her hair he took a sponge and towel and began to clean the makeup off of her face. As John finished his mother came into the room along with his father, both of his parents were looking almost ill.
“Gerald Morningstar was just here” Crystal began. “Your father tried to talk to him, even volunteered to take your place if he wanted a fight. Gerald declined, even when your father picked a fight he just smiled and said he has a favor he can turn in. He doesn’t want an apology John, he wants you dead”.
“John you cannot fight this man” Jonathan began. “This is not Rusty, this is an experienced mage that would see through whatever tricks you try to throw at him. Decline the invitation son, you have nothing to prove. Just admit you were wrong and this whole thing will blow over”.
“I will do no such thing” John replied. “If that brat sees that knights are scared of his father it delegitimizes the knights and it would make that fool pick more fights. If he wants a fight and someone signs off on it then he can get what is coming to him”.
“Damn it John this is not a damn game” Jonathan screamed as he crossed the room. “Morningstar will kill you and make you suffer before you die”.
“The kingdom has bigger things to worry about Father” John replied. “With Dragon Knights confirmed on the border and colluding with the enemy happening in Maytag I doubt anyone will sanction this”.
“But if they did sanction it?” Jonathan asked.
“Then the so called Defiler will find out that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree” John replied.
“John this is madness” Crystal replied.
“How did I beat Rusty?” John asked. “Is it because I am a better mage than he is?”
“You beat Rusty because you scouted him and already knew what he was going to do” Jonathan replied. “That trick won't work again especially on Gerald Morningstar”.
“Doesn’t have to, all I need to know is how fast he can get his spells off and what spells is he most likely to use” John replied. “But in all honesty I prefer my enemies to react to me, if I can get the above information I can make my own plan for him. I am not worried and you shouldn’t be either”.
John finished with Dawn, the business with whoever Gerald Morningstar was left a bad taste in his mouth. There was a mage out there being nasty to people and genuinely loved torturing people within the confines of the law. It made John sick, whoever the man was, he was no more than a school yard bully who never ran into a bigger threat. There were records of every mage who ever went through the tower along with what spells they could cast, rumored power level and disposition. John looked through the records and found Gerald Morningstar. He was average in actual power but had a variety of spells he cast but nothing went into detail. He could cast fire, water, air and healing spells that practically told John nothing but after a bit of digging he found Morningstar was not particularly talented in using just his aura for spells. Raw aura was the reason John could make his shields, if Morningstar was bad at it then John knew he could expect an all out assault to disable him quickly before his enemy decided to torture. John looked up the magic duels but could find nothing on Morningstar. John decided he had enough and summoned his unicorn and flew back to his actual home. He had just gone inside and went to close the door when it caught on something, he turned around to see Knight Commander Steele holding the door.
“We need to talk” Steele said as he entered John’s home.
“Please tell me Commander that whatever this is, that it has nothing to do with Gerald Morningstar” John replied.
“That is exactly what I came to talk about” Steele replied. “I have been talking to Prince Jordan and I have some distressing news”.
“I am listening Commander” John replied.
“You probably already know that the Crown Prince is not big on our order” Steele replied. “Already today he has gotten complaints sent by bird of angry mages who are furious with their partnered Knights for leaving them behind or not traveling at a leisurely pace”.
“It is their own fault Commander” John replied. “They are the support element not the main element and they are definitely not equal partners in our work. They need to learn this and learn to travel more efficiently and the problems they have will vanish”.
“Prince Jordan told the Crown Prince as much when the complaints were brought to him” Steele said as he took a chair and ran his hand over the simple wooden table in John’s home. “The Crown Prince was furious, he was even angrier when he heard about you as a mere knight saving some travelers and bringing back his mage unconscious due to the strain the fight put on her”.
“That’s not how it happened” John protested.
“I know” Steele replied. “But the Queen herself came to that conclusion which left The Crown Prince furious. It was then he received a visit from this Morningstar person. The particulars are already finished, you are to be summoned tomorrow where you will hear the grievances against you. Many influential people will be there, you are supposed to admit your mistake so the Crown Prince can save face and the knights can lose face”.
“I’ll do no such thing” John replied. “The only thing I did wrong was not putting a better beating on his kid”.
“Prince Jordan seems to think you will die from this Morningstar person” Steele said as he let out a breath. “He is an established mage who has fought these sort of things before”.
~
“Your Majesty I beg of you to reconsider” Jonathan pleaded as John agreed to the fight. “We have had actual word of Dragon Knights on the border and need every man not to mention this has been blown out of proportion”.
“Perhaps if you were still the Archmage I could take your counsel” the Prince said as he looked down on Jonathan from his throne. “But Gerald feels slighted and I agree he may need some restitution”.
“Gerald Morningstar is an idiot and a bully Your Majesty” Jonathan replied.
“I will not stand for these insults” Gerald Morningstar replied. John still could not believe his opponent, they made Morningstar seem like a demon right out of nightmare and in person the man was anything but. He was on the smaller side in height and looked almost feminine, he had silky long hair and wore clothes that could be worn by either sex. His voice was light but tinged in cruelty, despite this John couldn’t ever picture himself running from such a man. John had him by almost a head and was at least 40 pounds heavier than his foe.
“You are a bully who seeks to harm my child” Jonathan growled. “You will stand for these insults or I will splatter your ass all over the wall behind you”.
“Maybe this will teach young John some manners” Russell Golad the
Archmage said as he smiled at Jonathan. “He came in here two weeks ago like he should be worshipped and picked his own fights. This is just a case of a worm being put back in his place”.
John was sure the new Archmage never saw the hit coming, despite their difference in size his father landed a solid blow which made the man stumble back. The Archmage growled and was about to fight back when he caught a glimpse of Jonathan, the fury he saw from the former Archmage made Russell and everyone else step back. Jonathan floated about a foot off the ground, his long hair stood on end and lighting crackled all around his face, his arms and his chest. A small wind could be felt in the throne room and the guards who protected the Royal family began to become nervous.
“How dare you” Jonathan said in a deep voice as lightning crackled around him. “How about me and you fight Archmage? How about we end this rivalry once and for all?”
“Enough!” the Crown Prince screamed. “Jonathan Thunder I will not support you in any mage duel with either of these men”.
“I will” Prince Jordan replied. “I heard the Archmage insult your son, so did the Knight Commander. Mr. Morningstar said he was outraged at your words and said he wouldn’t stand for it, I’ll sign off against him as well unless the both of them are too cowardly to take you on”.
“This is my mediation Jordan” the Crown Prince said as he looked at his brother.
“Of course it is Your Highness” Prince Jordan spoke. “I was speaking of future engagements”.
“I decline Jonathan Thunder” Gerald Morningstar said as he then sucked on his finger. “I am not a coward but I am not stupid and neither is the Archmage. I will be happy killing your only son and watching you suffer”.
“Your son is still at the Tower” Jonathan said looking at Gerald who laughed.
The Knight Mage Page 10
