Jonathan thought he sold it, his robe was dripping water and his long hair was also soaked. Jonathan walked up to the door and was met by two miserable looking guards. They did everything they were supposed to, they got off their behinds and met him before he could get up to the door. Jonathan looked at them oddly, he had figured the Earl had guards but not like this. Not even the Queen rose like this, Earl Gillespie had mage guards. They were commoners like John, at least their robes looked like commoner robes.
“Jonathan Thunder to see Earl Gillespie,” Jonathan said still confused.
“Is the Earl expecting you?” a miserable looking man with brown hair said.
“He is expecting the Archmage but has to make do with me,” Jonathan replied. “If you two don’t mind me asking, what the pit are you both doing watching the Earl?”
“He pays well,” the guard on the left said as he moved his hair out of his eyes. “Are you the Queen’s Champion, Johnny Thunder?”
“Same lad,” Jonathan said and stuck out his hand.
“Lucius,” the mage said and shook Jonathan’s hand. “I fought alongside of you against the Donalians.”
“A Mage Soldier?” Jonathan asked. “What brings you here working for the Duke?”
“Because we can’t get other jobs because of our backgrounds,” the guard to the right said. “Me and Lucius met when the Mage Commander combined his forces to fight the Donalians. We both quit at the same time when we found out about Earl Gillespie. My name is Elijah, never met you before but I am a huge fan.”
“Nice meeting you both,” Jonathan said. “Why did you leave the Corps?”
“Because the Battlemages didn’t mind throwing us at the enemy,” Lucius said. “It is miserable work but good money here for the Earl.”
“I am guessing you are both with commoners which is the reason you still have white stripes on your robes?” Jonathan asked.
“Long story,” Lucius said. “I knocked up some noble girl before I knew I had magic. I was working for her father as a farmhand and well, things happened. I got the pit out of there before he caught me and I found out I had magic later. I feel bad about leaving her to face the music, she had the babe and got rid of it immediately. My mother took my daughter in, I pay her what I can to keep him living better than I did. I tried to get my girl back and make a go of it, she was quickly married off to some lapdog so here I am. No one who pays well looks kindly on mages who stick it wherever.”
“I already had two kids when I went through the Tower,” Elijah said. “I was older than the rest of the initiates and I planned on marrying my girl when I got out. I had fun in Vashing, maybe too much fun once I found out girls were willing to lay with me because I had a bit of magic. It got back to my girl and she left me, took the kids with her too. I know her Da would try and kill me if he saw me or make me kill him. I send them money but the scandal was everywhere. Many nobles out of decency wouldn’t hire a guy like me. Earl G did and now I am here. The money is the same as his mundane guards get except we do a bit more work. We are part guard and handle most mage things.”
“I am here because there is some rogue mage he wants dealt with,” Jonathan said. “Any idea who that is or why can’t you two handle it?”
“You gonna have to talk to Earl G about that,” Elijah said. “I hate this water, why can’t we have a small guard shack or something?”
“Because His Lordship was direct and exact when he said he wanted us here,” Lucius said.” Go get his seneschal and see if he is taking visitors.”
“I hate dealing with that old man,” Elijah grumped. “Stay put Johnny, I’ll be back.”
“You really did a number on the Donalians,” Lucius said. “I was new at the time and attached to Battlemage Warrington. Many people were praising you all over the place, we attacked the Donalians almost as soon as you left. Kicked their hide good and wouldn’t let them get set again. It was a hard and tiring fight but they were shoved out. Lost some more mages getting it done but we did.”
“Glad I could help you out,” Jonathan said. Before Jonathan could speak again the door opened and Lucius came outside along with Blaine, Earl Gillsepie’s younger brother.
“Come on in Jon,” Blaine said. “You two can finish your shift inside of the house near the door.”
Jonathan’s could see the relief on the guards face as both of them went inside. Another servant ran outside to secure Jonathan’s horse as Blaine led him to a blazing hearth. Jonathan was happy to see it, the water soaking his robe was making him cold and he wanted to warm up. Jonathan had a few spells to draw the water out of his robe but admitted he wasn’t the best with it. Not for the first time, Jonathan wished he had learned more spells for everyday uses instead of focusing on how to fight.
“So I am here,” Jonathan said. “Am I staying in town?”
“Of course not Jon,” Blaine said. “You helped keep me safe during my time at the Tower. That and you beat the pit out of Tobin Mountain. I still can’t believe I was scared of the man, all I had to do was stay away from him like your apprentice did. How is he doing anyway?”
“Charles is doing well,” Jonathan said. “Married a mountain girl which is no surprise. The younger sister of Tobin’s wife Wendy.”
“You still talk?” Blaine asked.
“Normally it is just bragging about taking down robbers or rogue mages when he is lent out by the Duke,” John said.
“He beat me during our last duel,” Blaine admitted. “That spell of his was hard to get by. First few times he beat me easily but then I started to own him. Last fight we had his style changed and I had no time to adapt to it.”
“He is tricky,” Jonathan said. “I was just tailored made to fight off his spell. Now about this mage problem, why didn’t you just handle it yourself?”
“John, I know you are not that dumb,” Blaine said.
“Okay what am I missing?” John said.
“You are supposed to be guarding someone for a month to make sure she gets where she needs to be,” Blaine said. “She has been threatened and even attacked by a mage before. A mage we haven’t caught and are not really looking for. I am sure he split the Gills as fast as his feet could carry him. We could always drop the initiates from the Tower right on his head. Group them in teams of twos or threes and he wouldn’t stand a chance. You can never be so sure though that he left, that is where you come in.”
“This girl,” Jonathan asked.
“Insanely beautiful,” Blaine said. “She is a noble from one of the poorer families.”
“A poor noble?” Jonathan asked surprised. “This is a bit shocking. I expected someone insanely wealthy, from a good family, blah, blah.”
“And she was married before,” Blaine said.
“What happened to her man?” Jonathan asked.
“He loved gambling and made dumb business deals,” Blaine said. “He died fighting the Donalians in the first part of the war. Gertie had to pay off all his debts so she isn’t in best shape financially. Of course, she could have found another husband, but she didn’t. Have you noticed you rarely see single female mages?”
“I know a few,” Jonathan said.
“Monica and Farrah do not count,” Blaine said. “I mean weak female mages.”
“Come to think of it,” Jonathan said and scratched his chin. I don’t know many outside of their time in the Tower.”
“Bride kidnapping is a thing in the mage community,” Blaine said. “It is a nasty secret but it does happen.”
“I would have heard of this if it was a thing,” Jonathan said.
“Many things have to happen first,” Blaine said. “First is that the woman has to be a few years out of the Tower with no children. Second is that she cannot be anyone too important, no one from an established mage family. Gertie is the only one in her family with the gift.”
“So how does this work?” Jonathan asked.
“Pretty easily,” Blaine said. “If those things are met then it depends on who
is doing the taking.”
“You can’t just grab some woman and force her to your will,” Jonathan said.
“Sure you can,” Blaine replied. “All you need to do is marry her. Mage marriages are very clear, you can’t just divorce someone. You have to prove that you have been mistreated.”
“Forcing someone to marry you is mistreatment,” Jonathan said.
“That would have happened before the marriage,” Blaine said. “Anything that happened then does not matter. She must prove that she was mistreated during the marriage which would never happen. She would be trapped; her husband and his family would have a higher standing than her and her family so that would be that. She would be severely punished if she took a lover or tried to play house with someone so the marriages usually stick. The Kingdom does not play around when it comes to birthing the next generation of protectors. Without giving away too much, you have met at least one mage from such a union.”
“Is that why she was attacked?” John asked.
“Of course it was,” Blaine replied. “But she is also a friend of the Countess, my brother’s wife. She has people that can scare off others, you had to have noticed that we have our own mages.”
“I think I am lost,” Jonathan said. “Any mage or groups of men trying to go after me or anyone I am watching would instantly regret it but would not have long to think about what they did wrong. But you have two men right out there who would scare off anything except a group of mages.”
“Gertie has always been a rebel,” Blaine said. “Her family has wanted her to marry, during the brief time she was they received a little bit of money which helped out greatly. It was cutoff quickly, so they are desperate and so is she. Gertie receives money from the crown of course but nobles spend a lot more than commoners. If she married another mage then her pay would go up and her family would be able to breathe easier. The problem is that Gertie refuses any mage that she should go after. She is a pretty woman and is at a weird place. She is two years older than you are, she will not even consider anyone going through the Tower right now. She is adamant that her husband be a mage and she refuses to be locked in a relationship with a noble higher than she is. She could do nothing while her first husband spent frivolously.”
“Still don’t see where I come in at,” Jonathan said.
“You seriously do not see why my brother has three single commoner mages on staff and hired you for something frivolous?” Blaine asked.
“Oh now you are making sense,” Jonathan said. “Why would I go along with whatever this is? People think I am dumb but I have dodged clumsy come ons from any number of noble women, some of them were Storys.”
“Who knows?” Blaine said. “But she is going to be sent all over the Kingdom on business for my brother and will have four mage bodyguards. It is for a month and it is not like you can tell an Earl to go to the pit.”
“Thank you for being straight with me,” Jonathan said. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Still not big on commoner mages,” Blaine said. “But you are a fair man Jonathan Thunder and never brought evil to anyone who didn’t ask for it. I see no reason to lie to the man who possibly saved my life in a dragon fight.”
“Well it is appreciated,” Jonathan said. “So what now?”
“Well you are Queen’s Champion so you do not have to worry about guard duty or anything like fetching her bags or something,” Blaine began. “You will be her main protector and escort. Now before you go running off to get comfortable, don’t antagonize my wife John.”
“Your wife?” John asked confused. “Oh yeah, you married Rebecca. Never saw that coming but good on you.”
“And she is just as snobby as you remember her,” Blaine said. “Lucius, Elijah and Albie probably hate the ground she walks on. I cannot think after beating her all of those times in the Tower that she would be warm to you.”
“I didn’t hurt her in her second year,” Jonathan said. “I just let her know she was fighting way above her weight class.”
“You and my brother can go over things in the morning,” Blaine said. “I’ll show you to your room and you can get out of those wet clothes.”
Jonathan followed Blaine to a small but decent sized room. It had a hearth but it was cold, no one bothered to light a fire but Jonathan thought with his magic that he could get one going soon enough. Once Blaine left, Jonathan stripped everything off and started using his spells. It was easy to draw the moisture out of his clothing and he deposited it all in a chamber pot. Jonathan changed into the clothes he had in his traveling pack and was happy the thing was waterproof. The clothes were a bit cold but felt good since they soaked up any remaining water Jonathan had on his skin. A few moments later Jonathan had a fire going and drifted off to sleep.
A knock sounded at the door which woke Jonathan up. Jonathan wasn’t sure of time or even where he was for a moment. As it came back to Jonathan another series of knocks started. Jonathan pulled on the robe he had taken off during the night and answered the door. Standing there was a girl of maybe thirteen or fourteen. Her brown hair was still messy over her head, like she had just woken up. Jonathan thought he could still see sleep in her eyes but despite that she was wide awake. Jonathan could tell from her robes that she was a mage and a noble one at that. Jonathan thought the girl looked excited to see him.
“Are you Jonathan the Lightning?” the girl asked with all of the excitement of a child.
“You can call me Jon,” Jonathan replied. “And who might you be?”
“Ronica,” the girl said and gave him a smile. “I am Rebecca’s younger sister, she said she knows you.”
“I know your sister,” Jonathan said. “So what can I do for you at this early hour?”
“I want to fight,” Ronica said.
“You want to fight who?” Jonathan asked confused.
“I want to fight you!” Ronica said excitedly. “They said that you blew a hole straight through a dragon that made his friend dragon so scared that it flew away. Or that you blasted so many undead, there were only arms and legs left over. Or that you go from town to town beating up bad mages and that you beat back some people called the Donald or something.”
“A bit embellished, but I was there,” Jonathan said.
“I want to be like you when I grow up,” Ronica said. “I want to battle dragons and get the boy.”
“Get the boy?” Jonathan asked.
“Well it is always the boy getting the girl,” Ronica said. “I want to be the hero and I don’t want to save the girl. I want to get the boy.”
“Makes sense,” Jonathan said. “But that is a dangerous life, I am not sure if it is fit for someone like you.”
“Because I am a girl?” Ronica said as her face fell.
“Pit no,” Jonathan said. “My mother was three or four times the mage my father was. He was just a better fighter. I mean for one so young.”
“You were young when you fought off the Blood Priests,” Ronica said.
“How do you know all of this?” Jonathan asked.
“I have all of your books and have been to all of your plays,” Ronica said excitedly.
“What books?” Jonathan asked confused. “What plays?”
“There are a bunch of books and stuff written by your friends or people who say they fought alongside of you,” Ronica said. “As soon as one comes out, I buy it. Any plays that were made I beg Blaine and Rebecca to take me since my parents wouldn’t.”
“Well then I think I may have something for you,” Jonathan said. “I have been writing the book about my life story but I brushed over some things. I also made a book about fighting, I think you will find them both a good read if you are interested.”
“Where are they?” Ronica said excitedly.
“Still back in the Tower but I will make sure you get a copy,” Jonathan said.
“I wish we were there now, I want to read it!” Ronica said. “So can we go fight, I want to show you what I can do.”
&n
bsp; “Does your sister know you are up and at my door?” Jonathan asked.
“Blaine knows,” Ronica said. “He told me I could bother you anytime I wanted, only that I had to wait until morning and it is morning.”
“Where would we fight at?” Jonathan asked.
“Out back,” Ronica said. “There is an area where the guards practice their fighting at.”
“Well lead the way,” Jonathan said fighting a smile.
Ronica was one of the happiest, most excited people he ever met. She led the way outside and ran over to a gravelly area. She practically bounced as Jonathan stood across from her. Jonathan noticed this space was a bit smaller than the duel area at the Tower, someone like initiate Wallace would be tough for him to get away from, at least at first. Then again Wallace would have his own problems trying to keep Jonathan off of him. Jonathan raised his hands so Ronica would know he wasn’t ready yet.
“Okay,” Jonathan said. “Now before we start this off, how many fights have you been in before?”
“I fight everyone anytime I can,” Ronica said. “I am better than some of the other girls my age.”
“Okay well then I will count down from five and show me what you got,” Jonathan said.
As soon as the countdown was finished Jonathan was hit with a weak mage bolt. It wasn’t moving very fast and wasn’t even very strong. Jonathan could see the concentration on the girl’s face as she shot another one at him. Jonathan just moved to the side and let it pass by. Ronica looked like she was straining more than she should be, those two bolts had her sweating and she looked in deep concentration as she tossed another one. Jonathan ducked that blow and was about to move when he heard it splatter on something. Jonathan wasted no time and flew towards Ronica and then straight up in the air. Jonathan looked behind him and could see gravelly golem. Golems were not unheard of for mages to make but were rare and impractical. It normally took a mage almost an hour or so to make one and had to feed it continuous energy. Ronica had made one far quicker than she should have and that thing almost got him. The golem raised its hands as Jonathan threw on his shield. Pebbles started pelting shield, they wouldn’t kill but they would definitely hurt. Jonathan felt a mage bolt impact on his shield and Jonathan looked down to see Ronica trying to help her golem out.
The Archmage Page 22
