"I was just being friendly" Dawn replied. "You take everything I say and either twist it or dismiss it. We are both different people than we were back in school, can we just go forward as the people we are now?"
"Why?" John asked. "Why is this so important to you?"
"Because you are the best prospect I can expect to land" Dawn replied with a sigh. "You are not rich or a noble but you come from a powerful magical family. You have started to become famous, with or without money people have taken notice of you. The barbarian thing was nice but you being knighted made a little more families notice you. When you beat my cousin in battle my father took notice of you, luck or not you had plenty of magic and you knew how to use it. Beating the Defiler and being named elevated you far beyond what you were. You were seen as a safe bet, most other men are either non magical or not powerful enough to gain my attention. Everyone thought you would be happy to gain favor from me. I thought you would be happy to gain favor from me. The other mages would leave you alone and you would be accepted into the community you wanted to be a part of".
"Do I look like I care what a bunch of mages think?" John asked. "After I slapped around the so called Defiler I sent out an open challenge that no one answered. I am not the most handsome man around but I have real muscles from real hard work. I am a hero of battles with the barbarians and I was named the Queen's champion. Do you really think I would have a hard time finding a woman? I have my own estate now thanks to the title bestowed upon me with my own money. The prince even gifted me with a sword worth more than the home you live in. Why would I be happy to gain the favor of someone that tormented me when I had none of my accolades? I can get virtually any single woman I want and I don't think that is bragging at all".
"I know" Dawn admitted. "I started out this trip thinking you would have to do for a husband but when you showed you were not interested it hurt my pride a little. When you started getting all of this exposure then I really started thinking this was a good idea. Already people know we are working together and my family has talked to yours. Everyone figures we are the next mage couple, I don't mean to talk down on you but it seems that is the only way I can get you to talk at all".
"You don’t want to marry someone that you actually like" John asked. "Not just someone who has the right magical talent or the right amount of money?"
"That is foolish" Dawn replied. "We owe it to ourselves to birth the next defenders of Kirby. I am not talking down on you or the knights but a mage can do things a knight never can. You are proof that it is possible for a mage to become a knight, a knight can never become a mage. Marrying another mage is not something mages do to keep power, they do it so Kirby can always keep power. There is a reason Downey has not attacked us despite having Dragon Knights at their disposal".
"Well then why not marry a mage you actually like" John replied.
"Because I am supposed to marry someone that fits all of those requirements" Dawn replied. "That is difficult to do, not many people want to be under my father's or my uncle's thumb".
"Under their thumb?" John asked confused.
"My father may be a poor mage but he is a powerful noble" Dawn began. "My uncle is the new Archmage, anyone who marries me would be expected to back them. They would want to back them, my father has the Queen's ear and my uncle is the personal friend of the Crown Prince".
"And what makes you think I would like being under their thumb?" John asked. "My father threatened your uncle plenty of times and they hate each other. After that nonsense with Gerald Morningstar I do not think much of the man either. I could be on fire and he could be trying to direct me to a lake and I would burn to death out of spite. I have no reason to hate your father but it is doubtful he could make me do anything I didn’t want to do already. I don’t care about your money or any prestige".
"Which would make you the perfect person" Dawn replied. "Most men care about what they could get out of me, they know my father and uncle would protect them so they have tried for my hand. You don’t care about any of that, your family does. Well your mother and sister do but you don’t. You would of course have my family’s favor and I would never have to worry about whether or not you married me for the money".
"You are making no sense" John replied. "You talk to me as if I should want all of that and be happy".
"I just thought you would be amazed that I was interested" Dawn replied. "I thought you would throw yourself at me, not because of what I can give you".
"And you thought this could happen by telling me what a shitty mage I am?" John asked. "Up until I spared Morningstar everyone was talking to me like I was just incredibly lucky and against a real mage I would perish".
"I thought you were lucky" Dawn admitted. "Your father is a larger than life hero straight from a Bard's tale. Hating you is easy, anyone jealous of your father finds insulting you relaxing. Anyone who can beat you in a mage duel feels a little better about themselves. It is almost like beating Jonathan the Lightning himself".
"But why?" John asked. "My father has only insulted a few people in his lifetime, Russell Golad being one of them. "Why would anyone want to hurt the son of Kirby's greatest hero?"
"Because my uncle doesn’t like him and Rusty is very popular" Dawn replied. "And your father jilted my mother, she would never tell my father about it but she has always loved and hated your father".
"If my old man is so horrible then why would your mother try and make a match between us?" John asked.
"Because my father wanted it" Dawn admitted. "And my mother whether she wants to admit it or not still has a crush on your father. You have not accomplished all he has but you were a decorated military man who fought the barbarians".
"Everyone made it sound like I did nothing special" John replied.
"Because no one wants to lose face" Dawn replied. "You were the failed mage, Jonathan the Lightning's biggest and only failure. When news came back of you killing a bunch of barbarians it made a lot of people nervous. People wrote you off to make themselves feel better. Just like when you fought and beat Rusty. I wasn’t conscious for you facing Gerald Morningstar but after you defeated him no one could doubt you".
"I don’t give two shits if anyone doubts me or not" John replied.
"I know you don’t" Dawn replied. "If you are not interested can we at least be friends?"
"I don't know" John admitted. "I don’t like the way you talk down on people, like every commoner we have come across. In every inn you are as rude as someone farting in a room full of people. Before you talk about how well you tip, you could do that without being an ass to people. You don't know them to hate them, you just happened to be born lucky. If you were born a non-magical peasant girl you would have a different view of people like you".
"But they are commoners" Dawn replied then caught herself. "Perhaps you are right. Maybe I do need to be friendlier and stop looking at you like someone who should be praising the gods I find you interesting".
"If you can do that then maybe we can be friends" John replied. "I still think however you should not be my partner".
"Why not?" Dawn replied. "We worked well together".
"Because I don’t care for my sister and she favors you" John replied.
"Well of course she favors me, I am one of her closest friends" Dawn replied.
"Which is the exact reason this cannot happen" John replied. "I don’t like my sister and doubt I ever will. The less time I spend with her the better, I don’t want to be constantly fielding questions about you or having her pretend we are really brother and sister when in reality we are just two people who share parents".
"I like your sister" Dawn replied. "But I always wondered why she never stuck up for you more".
"Because she has been constantly worried about how to lift her station" John replied. "Being with that oaf Rusty meant she would have to think like him. He has more aura than anyone around and is a noble. Sara has visions of being some great Lady with a bunch of powerful little mage child
ren rushing around her house. To do that, she thought she needed to be horrible to me".
"So your anger runs a lot deeper than just me" Dawn replied. "I don’t think anyone really knew or cared what you were going through. It is like making fun of a skinny girl, everyone figures she can take it because ultimately, she is the one the rich men would go for. I won’t try to change your mind, just know if you need a friend I will try to be here for you and only as a friend if that is what you are looking for. As for the place we are going, what is your plan?"
"To administer the Queen's justice" John replied. "I don’t know how successful I will be with you in robes".
"I think you will be very successful" Dawn replied. "I am wearing peasant clothes underneath this robe. They are horrible and itchy and I don’t want you to see me in them until absolutely necessary".
~
John could not believe his luck as he went into town, he first wondered how he would find out the criminals but they were brazen. The prostitution house was easy to find, as was the little illegal market place they had set up. Dawn would be riding in with her horse in about ten minutes, John decided to ride in alone to see if he could find anything. John found the tavern he was looking for and placed his medallion on full display on his chest. John was amazed no one really gave him a second look as he walked through the door. John pulled out his sword and banged loudly on the wall with his gauntleted fist, men started turning around to look at him.
"I am John the Relentless, Knight of Kirby" John said hoping his full title along with his last name would make people pause. "I have been sent here by Her Majesty to stop the law breaking that has been happening and have her full authority. Gambling in this institution needs to stop as well as everything else. This is your only warning".
"I am having a pint, why don’t you move your ass along" a man in a black hat laughed. "Besides everyone knows there aren't any knights in Kirby. You don’t even have a damn dragon!"
The place burst into laughter as John walked over to the laughing man and placed the royal steel sword against his neck. The room quieted down instantly as John raised the sword upward until it was just under the man's chin. The man slowly got out of his chair as John raised the blade until the loud mouth was standing straight up.
"I am not a dragon knight nor do I wish to be" John began. "Mock the Queen in my presence again and I will have you hauled away for obstruction of justice. As for the rest of you, you heard my earlier decree. If I come back in here and see any gambling or anything else illegal, I will haul in all guilty people".
"I think you should leave my bar, knight whoever you are" a burly man said wearing an apron. The man was at least as tall as John and was broad across the shoulders but also had a sizable belly. In the bar owner's hand was a wooden club.
John removed his sword from the man’s neck and pointed it towards the man who was rushing him. The man stopped dead in his tracks as John produced a scroll.
"Here is my official orders placing me in command of law enforcement anywhere in the kingdom" John began as he tossed over the scroll. The man just looked at the scroll and let it bounce off his chest.
"I said get out of my damn bar, I won’t ask again" the bar keeper replied. "The Queen aint out here, it is just you and us".
"Make a move on me and your head will decorate the outside of this place" John threatened. "You are right, the Queen aint out here and neither is her mercy. I am out here and I bring justice with me".
John felt movement behind him, John turned around to see two men who both had their swords out. John waited for them to close the distance and completely turned his back to the club wielding bar keeper. John had his shield on, it was invisible and tightly wrapped around his armor. Regular blows and hits could damage a magic shield and cause it to fail, John doubted anyone in the building though could accomplish that feat. It would have taken nearly all of them working together and going all out trying to smash his shield while avoiding any of his counter attacks, even then it wouldn’t be too hard to throw another shield over himself. The man on the left with the green pants lunged then pulled back short, he was just trying to make John commit himself.
“For that display citizen you will work either twenty years in the rock quarries or ten years in the army” John said as he looked at the man with the green pants. “Do so again and you are looking at twenty years in the army or forty years in the rock quarries”.
“I aint going to no rock quarry or no army” the man said as he lunged again.
John felt a blow on his shield directed towards the back of his head. It was the bar keeper and the force behind it made John fall forward. John rolled around and could see swords start striking him aiming for his face. John watched them bounce off him as he expanded the shield around him suddenly, causing the men to stagger back as he got to his feet and gripped his sword.
“I, John the Relentless, Knight of Kirby find you three guilty of colluding and attempted murder of the Queen’s agent” John began. “The sentence is death and will be executed immediately”.
John let the shield contract and charged, it wasn’t a fair fight and John didn’t intend it to be. The enemy could not get through his shield while John could definitely reach them with his sword. John struck out faster than the man with the green pants thought possible and batted his enemy’s sword away before reversing his swing and bringing the royal steel blade across the man’s chest. John thought the sword went at least two inches deep inside of his enemy’s torso with the swing and was unsure if that was a killing blow or not. What John did know was that the man in the green pants wouldn’t be fighting anyone anytime soon. John turned to face the bar keeper, the bar keeper looked at the other attacker, getting a good look at the man John saw his foe couldn’t have been more than sixteen. The boy took off out of the bar running at full speed, probably going to get some more help.
“Looks like it is just you and me” John said as he turned his face into a snarl. “You are an arrogant fool who attacked a named warrior”.
“I aint never heard of you” the bar keeper replied. “Won't make no difference, you aint the first mage we ran out of here. Just didn’t know your type carried steel, if I had you would have already been on your way”.
“Well your people may run me off” John replied. “But you won't be around to tell the story either way”.
John lunged and plunged his sword into the man’s chest before his enemy could block him and turned towards the door. Men tried to come storming inside but John had a barrier up and they ran right into it.
“Turn around and walk away” John said as he picked his scroll up off the floor. “I am a knight of Kirby and was attacked by the dead men you see here. No more of you need to die this day”.
“You aren’t getting off that easy mage” a man said with a mace. It struck John as odd the man would have such a weapon, normally anyone who used blunt weapons were husky men who could take full advantage of bludgeoning weapons by using their strength. The man before him looked like he would be more at home wielding daggers or perhaps even a rapier. “I know how mage shields work, you can't keep this thing up forever”.
“You are picking a fight you cannot win” John replied. “Leave now citizen or face the Queen’s wrath. I am a named warrior”.
“Alright men, give it all you got” the man with the mace said as he started banging on the shield to get into the building.
John thought this was a stupid technique, he was sure the place had a back exit and even if it didn’t he could see at least two windows. Instead of using any of those they wanted to break down his shield, John shook his head as he held the royal steel sword up for all to see. John opened up a hole in the middle of the shield and started plunging his sword in and out of it, the royal steel blade struck flesh on every attempt and John felt a little sorry for those he was attacking. They couldn’t press forward because of the shield, behind them were more men trying to push forward so they couldn’t retreat. The only thing the
enemies in front of him could do was scream in fright and in pain as John cut them down. John had killed four more men before people started backing up off of him, John pressed forward as he got rid of the barrier across the door. John made eye contact with the kid from earlier and wrapped a shield around him and slowly walked towards him. Men were angry but they parted to get away from armored knight, he had proved he was a tougher fight than they had thought.
“You are a prisoner of the crown” John began. “I can execute you right now or you can take my earlier offer, what will it be?”
“I don’t want to die” the youth said shaking.
“You have half a day to get your affairs in order” John began. “Meet me back here just before dark, I will take you to either join the army or spend time in the rock quarries”.
“Leave that boy alone” an old man with a gray beard said as he stepped forward. “You have already proven your power mage. None of us are stupid enough to attack you, what do you want? Why are you here? I doubt it is just to menace a boy”.
“I doubt anyone in this town or the next couple over are stupid” John replied. “In the last two years four men and a woman have been sent here on the behalf of the crown. One of them, a mage was killed. I do not believe the story about bandits and I cannot be bought off. Me taking this boy is the least of this town’s problems. You have been trading with the enemy and will either cease or die. I came here thinking I would take prisoners to bolster the army. I think everyone here now sees I will not hesitate to take a life instead”.
“Still can't let you take the Vlotman boy” the old man said. “Maybe we can come to an agreement”.
“There is no agreement to be discussed” John said. “I am going to take apart the crime in this town”.
“You won't find any while you are here” the old man said as he looked around at the men surrounding him. “Go back to what you were doing”.
The Knight Mage Page 12
