Rules of Conquest
[WP] The knight closed in on the mage, his victory all but assured, as in the time it would take him to cast another spell he would already... !!!BONK!!! "Seriously, how you knights don't notice the 2m long stick in my hand is beyond me…"
*****
“Stop that.” The knight staggered back, receiving another bonk on the head. His helmet swinging around, causing him to stumble around blindly until he adjusted it. As he shifted the helmet toward the mage, he only glimpsed their face for a second before another bonk collided with their helmet, sending an ungodly rattle of metallic squeaks through their ears.
“Stop approaching me and I’ll stop hitting you.” The mage waved their bonking stick toward the knight, watching as they cautiously stepped back, creating some distance between the two fighters.
“But I can’t pierce you with my holy blade without getting closer. This isn’t allowed. You’re a spell caster. You aren’t meant to wield a weapon.”
“A weapon? It’s a stick. A stick is hardly a weapon. Maybe a thousand years ago this was considered a weapon, but we have moved past that. Now, are you going to stop charging at me?”
The knight considered his options before kicking the dirt in frustration. He could draw his sword and charge, but that stick had incredible reach, able to jab him before he even got into range. The two engaged in a standoff before the knight spoke.
“How would you feel if I started casting spells? You wouldn’t like it, right?” That’s how I feel. Have you considered trying to understand my feelings in this situation?”
“You tried to stab me. Unprovoked, might I add. So, no. I have not taken your feelings on the matter into consideration. Why are you even bothering me? I haven’t killed anyone. The worst thing I did was take a couple of corpses to test my magic on. Corpses are fair game.” The mage explained, feeling the need to back up her corpse snatching.
“You were dragging a corpse around. How was I meant to interpret that? What would you do if you saw someone dragging a corpse?”
“I would mind my business, so I don’t end up getting dragged myself. If you had any sense, you would do the same.” She sighed, slipping off the hood of her cloak before leaning against her stick. “Are we done here, sir knight?”
“That’s the difference between us. You have no honor. What if that person was a murderer? Would you not feel guilty about letting them get away?”
The knight attempted to explain justice to her, but the mage only gave a bored yawn, looking at the dead body behind her. It was already gathering flies. If this conversation kept up much longer, the body might not even be worth taking.
“If they aren’t trying to murder me, I care little about what they are doing. This is why mages live for hundreds of years and knights barely get enough time to pop out a descendant. Heroics is nice in theory, but it is the ideology of idiots.” She gave a small chuckle at her comment, wishing she could see the knight’s face when he heard that.
“An ideology? Why are you bringing astrology into this? You aren’t one of those mages that read fortunes, are you?”
“That would be a fortune teller and I assure you; they are not magical. Well, at least the ones that call themselves fortune tellers aren’t.” At his comment on astrology, she only shook her head. Wishing he was close enough that she could give him another bonk. ”Wow, the knights really accept anyone in their ranks. Let me guess, son of a noble?”
“How did you know? You must be psychic. Did you read my palm when I attacked you?” He glanced at his gloved palm, then back at the mage. She couldn’t see the astonishment under his helmet, amazed by her abilities.
“Yes, if that will end the conversation, I am psychic. Now, are we done here? I have a body I need to get home.” She turned to grab her corpse only to hear the knight let out a small.
“Oh.”
She glanced back, seeing him holding up his hand, waving it in the air like a child desperate to get their teacher’s attention.
“Ok, one more question. What is it?” The mage indulged the knight. It was best, in her opinion, to build a good rapport with the knights after all, even the dimwitted ones.
“Since I learned mages use weapons, can you teach me a spell? That should even up the odds.”
“A stick isn’t a weapon. We went over that.” She went to reject his offer, only to look at the corpse laying behind her. It was a long trip home. “Fine, carry the corpse to my home, and I’ll teach you a basic fireball spell.”
“A fireball? I want to shoot lightning or something. Can I learn something more powerful?” The knight hurried towards her, staying out of stick range for his safety. He grabbed the corpse, throwing it over his shoulder.
“A fireball is powerful. It might seem weak, but I assure you. If it is mastered, it can be one of the deadliest weapons in a mage’s spell book. Think about it this way: who wants to get set on fire? I could cook you in your armor with a well-placed fireball if I wished.” She taunted, holding up a finger that produced a small orange flame. The flame held for a moment before vanishing.
“You could cook me in my armor? Is that true?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. I have some pieces of armor at home. Maybe I could test that on our dead friend. Hurry along now. I want to get home before it gets dark.”
“Are you certain you aren’t a witch? Are all mages like this?” The knight hadn’t encountered many mages in his life, and maybe that was for the better. They certainly weren’t as good-natured as his king loving friends.
“To you knights, all of us mages are witches, wizards, or some other fantastical name. I consider myself a mage. A witch is a horrid creature that eats people. I may be horrid, but I don’t eat people.” She joked, though the knight didn’t find the joke as funny, only shifting a little further away, walking a few meters behind her as they headed to her home.
*****
THE END.
