“John is this true?” the Archmage asked.
“Yes, I beat that idiot and I don’t regret it” John beamed. “He is so dumb he can't even stay out the rain, he smells like a great wet dog”.
John already had a shield up when the punch came, the blow drove him back but he could see Rusty had hurt his fist and held his throbbing hand. John wasted no time as he kicked out and again found his target. Rusty was far larger than he was, standing at six and a half feet but the man began to shrink towards the floor as John backed out of his reach. Rusty would try for a spell John knew, John had to think quickly. John threw a dome shield around Rusty as he backed away, the boy slumped into it unable to fall all the way to his knees with the construct around him. John gave his father a slight grin as Sara started to break apart his shield, John knew exactly where he was going. John ran from the room and dropped his shield, he found Hale, one of the servant boys and dug out a silver coin.
“Hale I’ll give you this if you put on my robe and run as fast as you can to the Horse and Rider Tavern” John said as he waved the silver coin. The coin was about what Hale would make in a month as a palace laborer and knew the boy could use the money since his father had fallen ill.
“In this weather?” Hale asked looking at the coin as John produced another. Hale snatched up the two coins along with John’s robe and took off at a dead run for the door. Before long John could hear Rusty running towards the door and hid. When John heard the crash of lightning he smiled at how stupid his bully was and hoped the great idiot would assault Hale and get punished. The two silver coins was two weeks pay he got as a student mage but it was well worth it.
CHAPTER 2
John took a deep breath as he looked around at the other men around him. They varied in age between 17 to 30 and the only thing most of them had in common was that they were all poor. Most rich people could afford to pay for a commission and sent their sons to become officers in the army, John’s father had offered to do so once he realized John was serious but John declined. John wanted nothing to do with that life and figured he could be a soldier for a year or so. The pay was five coppers a week for a recruit, half of what he was making as a mage student. Ten coppers was equivalent to a silver and ten silver was the same amount as a gold crown. John had cut his pay in half, even if he made it through training he would only get bumped up a copper a week. Only when he reached sergeant if he stayed in that long would he reach pay equal to a mage student but that was at least two years away. A full mage if they decide to stay in the Queen’s service makes two silver week, after every five years an additional silver would be added to that unless they had a specialty post, John’s father made a gold crown a week. John put the pay out of his head as he focused on the men coming towards his group wearing the triangle hats of the Army Trainers.
The Trainers were legendary even amongst the nobility and other rich people, they were brash, angry and got results. John already knew what to expect, they would make them train until they threw up and then train some more. The trainer that stood in front of him had on the all black uniform of the Kirby army and carried a slender stick. He looked directly at John, John was not stupid enough to meet his gaze as the trainer went to the next man in line with John.
“Alright you pieces of shit” the trainer said as he walked up and down the line of men. “I am Sergeant Conn, your trainer for the next eight weeks. Do what I tell you and I won't beat the shit out you, don’t and I will. Now I am going to get things out in the open, there are 100 of you here. Five of you are damn criminals who were offered a spot instead of working off your debt to society in a quarry. One of you is a failed mage and another is a broke, penniless bastard son of a noble who was disowned by the rest of the family soon after your Da died. The rest of you are dirty commoners seeking to become something better. I don’t give a shit about any of it, the only thing I care about is that you can fight and do so willingly for your country. You will be called on to fight off bandits, handle border skirmishes and other shit. You can be called upon to fight the Dragon Knights of Downey or defend the other border against the barbarian horde. If I catch even one of you not pulling your weight you will wish you died. As of right now you don’t have any belongings, whatever you brought with you will be locked into a strong box in the building behind you until your training is over. This includes the clothes you have on, from this point you have fifteen minutes to lock your things up with the quartermaster and return in uniform”.
John froze for a second until the first man made a dead sprint for the building, holding all his belongings in his hands. John hadn’t really brought anything other than money and the clothes he had on his back. John took off running anyway and was soon shoved aside as men poured into the building. John fought his way inside and could see some men were in various states of undress trying to put on the black uniforms. John fought his way to the front where a man stood in front of a decent sized chest.
“If I were you I would hurry the hell up” the man dressed in the black uniform of the army said, his sergeant stripes proudly displayed on his sleeve.
“I need to turn in my money and I guess my clothes” John replied as he was bumped and shoved.
John took out his money and started taking off his shirt slightly embarrassed. He had never seen another naked man before and was not sure he wanted anyone to see him either. He looked around and could see most of men around had similar feelings. John shrugged it off and stripped down to his small clothes, thankful he owned them unlike the majority of the men around him. The uniform was scratchy on his skin, John could have just conjured a shield but he wanted the full experience as he put on some heavy black boots that were far from comfortable. John had just made it outside and stood back in line when Sergeant Conn blocked the door to the building.
“All of you pieces of shit inside just got all of these men outside fucking killed” Conn said screaming. “They had a battle to fight and showed up while the rest of shits hid in the back. I am going to show them what it is like when someone doesn’t have your back in the army, you all get to fucking watch since you don’t give a shit anyway”.
What happened next was an experience John would never forget, Sergeant Conn and two other Sergeants exercised them until almost everyone threw up. John was in the worst shape out of the 20 men who made it back outside, Sergeant Conn saw this immediately and went after him with a vengeance. He let it be known John was the failed mage and he would also fail as an army recruit. John wanted to punch the man in face but kept his body going as those who didn’t make it out the building had to stand and watch John and the others get destroyed. Sergeant Conn called it a smoke session, John called it the worst day of his life up until then. As it got darker Conn finally had the other two stop, John threw up again and wooden practice swords were handed out only to those who made it out of the building.
“These are your weapons” Sergeant Conn said, his voice hoarse and hardly audible from all the screaming he did during the exercises. “You have earned the right to carry it but you do not know how to fight with it. I will teach you to fight with this weapon, I will teach you to kill with this weapon without any remorse whatsoever. You will keep track of this weapon, for this weapon is the only thing that stands between you and your enemy. You will care for this weapon, you will dry this weapon off if it gets wet and you will treat it better than the best piece of pussy you have ever had. The rest of you will have to earn your weapon, you stood on the sidelines while your comrades died. Over the next two weeks you will get a chance to earn your weapon, those of you that can't will be recycled into the next class starting next month. Fail to earn your weapon twice and you will be removed from the army. Those of you with a weapon, get some sleep in the brown building a mile north of me. The rest of you will bed down here in the cold and rain and think about if you want to be here or not”.
John saw one of the men take off running and tried to stay with him but it was no use. John was the last person to enter the
building and felt as if his legs were ready to fall off. The rain started soon after he entered, the inside of the building was nothing but straw mats laid out on the floor. The other men walked around and were choosing the choicest mats stuffed full with straw and moved them to the best spots.
“You better grab yourself a mat” said a rough looking man of about 25. “The others will be here to choose their spots in the morning, grab a good mat and find a place out of the way near the back. You don’t want muddy boots trampling over your sleeping area. And you better keep that sword on you, if you lose it you are done”.
“Okay” John replied. “I am John Thunder, and you are?”
“John Thunder?” the rough man said looking John up and down. “Never heard of you”.
“How do you know so much about this place?” John asked.
“Because I been through it before” the rough man snapped. “I left the army after a few years and worked as muscle for a no good bastard who turned on me at first chance. I was offered a chance to come back in and I took it. I don’t care I have to work from the bottom, ten years of this beats twenty in the rock quarries”.
“So you are one of the criminals then?” John asked.
“You trying to make something of it?” the rough man said as he closed distance and looked down on John.
“I am the failed mage” John replied.
“You ain’t no mage” the man said as he backed away.
John conjured a shield and let its amber color glow for a second before getting rid of it. The rough man’s eyes widened at the sight.
“What the hell is a mage doing here?” The rough man said.
“All I can really do is shields” John replied. “No flying, no fire, no lightning, no healing, no anything but shields. No one really has use for a mage that can’t fight”.
“The name is Gray” the rough looking man said as he stuck his hand out. “Wallace Gray, I used to be in the army and was even a trainer before I left. If you are smart you will stick to me, if you are empty headed like most of the kids here you will do your own thing”.
“Do that little trick again” said another voice from behind John. John turned around to see a boy around his age but in much better shape. John did not like something about the boy or the group of people he walked up with.
“Why” John asked.
“Because I said so” the boy said as he got closer.
“Whatever this is you can handle it after training is over” Gray barked. “No need to play who has the biggest dick here because it don’t matter”.
“No one is talking to you old man” the boy said looking over at Gray. “Why don’t you go somewhere before you get hurt?”
John was pushed out of the way as Gray slugged the boy hard in the chin sending him flying. The other three people the boy was with jumped in the fight and started hitting and kicking Gray. John was sore and barely moving but decided to throw down as well. It was dirty fighting to be sure, but John kicked one boy so hard in the balls he thought he felt the man lift off his feet before he was hit hard from the side with one of the wooden swords. John cursed as he didn’t have his shield up and popped it in place as he fell. He could feel the shield take the thuds and blows as he tried to clear his head. It was a good strike and it looked as if his attackers wanted to do more damage. John was wondering why would they keep pounding on his shield when he realized it was invisible. He was so used to making it clear it didn’t dawn on him until he looked up into heavy boots trying to mash his face. John could see Gray bring his sword around and catch the man kicking him in the ribs. The man fell to his knees as Gray looked around for another target. John climbed to his feet once he saw no one else wanted to fight, Gray had a bloody nose and looked like he took a good blow to the eye. His opponents were all on the ground moaning, Gray gave one of them a good kick to the thigh.
“If any of you ever think about coming after me again I’ll kill you” Gray said in a cool deadly tone. “When I talk I better here a fucking yes sir or I’ll stomp your fucking teeth down your throat right now”.
“You don’t scare me” came the weak voice of the boy John had kicked. Gray kicked the boy hard in the jaw, the crunch was audible and the speaker flopped unconscious.
“Who else wants to be a fucking tough guy?” Gray said looking around.
“Can you teach me to fight?” John asked as he caught Gray’s eye.
“Conn will teach you to fight” Gray replied.
“I’ll give you two of my coppers a week for extra practice” John said quickly. “I don’t know how to use a sword or throw a proper blow”.
“Done” Gray said as he looked around.
“I want to know how to fight too” came another voice. The speaker was a thin boy around John’s age that stood on the side of the room watching the fight. “I always have been bullied and want to know how to use a sword”.
Gray looked at John and frowned, before it was all over five others had wanted to be trained in how to use their sword. Gray looked less than enthusiastic about it but must have needed the extra coin. Combined with his regular pay he stood to make 19 coppers a week, that kind of money could not be turned down. John eventually found a nice mat and settled down next to Gray, the four he had fought with settled down on the other side of the room. They would be crazy to attack Gray, the rough man already made it known that he was far from a pushover and that he was willing to scrap at any time. John thought he had handled himself as well as could be expected but knew if there was a weak link he would be it.
“Keep your sword between your legs” Gray whispered. “I know the type of men we fought with, they aren’t above being sneaky. If you lose that weapon you will have to earn it back like the other idiots outside in the rain. You have heart but I don’t think you have the body or skill to get your blade back, at least not yet”.
John nodded and put a thin shield over himself and his weapon. No one could breach it to attack him or grab any of his belongings. It never took much thought for John to hold a shield spell, he could do it in his sleep and planned on it. The night went by easily until Gray got up and started making a large ruckus, men moaned around him in the dark but Gray was adamant they all got up and started getting dressed if they were out of their uniform.
“I said get the fuck up” Gray said loudly. “The damn trainers love to barge in here and take weapons and shit. This is supposed to teach you to leave someone on guard duty, at least three of you are supposed to lose your weapons this morning but it ain’t happening while I am here. Does anyone have a light so you can see what you are doing?”
John sighed as he could not create mage light like most of the others in the tower. If he could he could make the building bright like a dozen lanterns were lit.
“Mage” came Gray’s rough voice. “Do that light thing you did yesterday before our dust up”.
“I don’t know how to make mage light” John replied.
“I don’t know what that is” Gray replied. “But whatever the fuck you did glowed yesterday, do it again”.
John thought about a regular colored shield and conjured it, the soft amber glow was just enough for people to see what they were doing. John spread it to over the entire ceiling in a flat slab and people got up and started getting dressed. John put back on his wet nasty uniform that was still soaked in sweat. Just as he finished Gray told him to kill the light, John did so as the door burst open and Conn came in with a lantern yelling at the top of his lungs as his other two sergeants came in behind him and froze.
“So I see you have a ringer in here” Conn said as he looked the recruits up and down. “It don’t matter, I’m about to smoke your asses anyway”.
The morning workout was nowhere near the harshness of the first day, it only lasted until the sun came up and Conn had one of the other sergeants, John found out his name was Matthews lead them to wash up at a place that looked like a brick lined pond. Once John saw Gray get inside the water he got undressed and followe
d suit. The wash area was too small to hold the twenty men without them touching, add to the fact that there were only five bars of soap really made things uncomfortable.
“Share the soap” came the voice of the boy who had started the whole fight earlier. “My brothers, my fathers and their fathers were all in the army. If one of us didn’t bathe the ones that did will get in trouble for leaving a soldier behind”.
“You heard the man” Gray said as he gave up his bar of soap. “Hurry this shit up, it’s a small wonder they haven’t remarked on all the black eyes and swollen jaws and lips. We don’t need to give them a reason”.
John grabbed a bar and quickly washed up and climbed out of hole and wanted to vomit as he saw how dirty the water was. He would need a proper rinse off but now probably wasn’t the time. He hurried and gotten dressed as Sergeant Matthews came back and ordered them all in a line. He looked almost shocked as he saw everyone had wet hair and smelled like the harsh soap he had provided.
“Okay this is too much of a coincidence” Matthews said looking at the 20 men. “You all look like your mother’s pussy after I got through with it, so I know you don’t like each other. But twice now you have surprised me, one of you knows too much about the training. Which one of you is it?”
No one moved as Matthews waited then shook his head as a small smile began to form.
“I won't punish you for it” Matthews replied. “It just makes my job easier to see orders being followed. Somebody is leading you the right way and although you all have your differences you are not so stupid that you can't be taught. Now who was it?”
“Me” Gray said as he stepped forward, prompting the other boy John didn’t like to do the same.
“Me as well” the other boy said. John could see Matthews wince as he looked at the boy’s blackened eye.
“How” Matthews asked.
“I was in the army before Trainer” Gray spoke as he stood at attention. “I used to be a trainer but got out and got in trouble. I have only been out for a year, I still remember a lot”.
The Knight Mage Page 2