“Ready?” Captain Helios queried, moving into a defensive stance.
“You
bet I am! And this time I’m going to win!” Prince Argos the 6th
eagerly shouted, a grin spreading across his face.
“Maybe,”
the captain of the guard cautioned with a smirk.
With
that, the prince lunged forward swinging his wooden practice sword at the
captain’s side. Before the weapon could make contact, it was easily flicked
aside by Helios’ wooden spear. The captain followed up with a quick shield bash,
which Argos barely managed to avoid. The prince charged, launching into a
flurry of blows that fell upon Captain Helios’ shield. Helios allowed himself
to be pushed back for a few moments before capitalizing on a gap in his
opponent’s defenses with a spear thrust. The prince conjured a magical barrier
to block the attack in the nick of time before kicking his adversary in the
chest and sending him stumbling back.
“I
see your studies with your mother are going well,” Helios commented as he
caught his breath.
“Yes,
I have been training harder than ever so that I can finally beat you!” Argos
the 6th shouted between gulps of air.
The
guard captain feinted his spear to the side before thrusting rapidly to the
other, a move the prince barely managed to block with his shield. Argos swept
his dull oaken blade down at his foe’s legs. The captain leapt out of the way
and slammed the side of his weapon into Argos’ arm, knocking the sword from his
grasp.
The
prince retreated several steps and assumed a defensive posture with his shield
in front of him. Helios hurled a blunt-tipped wooden javelin across the
practice arena hoping to end the match quickly, as he was an older man and
didn’t have the energy to keep up with the youngster for much longer. Remembering
when he used to play with a discus when he was younger, the prince threw his
shield like a frisbee, deflecting the missile from the air. Then, reaching out
his hand, he formed a small orb of electricity and yeeted it toward his mentor.
Having
no time to dodge, and knowing his metal shield would only conduct the energy,
the captain of the guard thrust his practice weapon into the orb’s path. With a
loud Boom!, the spear was shattered into kindling and Helios was thrown
from his feet. Prince Argos dashed forward triumphantly, picking up his sword
as he ran. The captain rolled out of the way of the incoming downward swing and
got to his feet, picking up his shield in the process. Before the younger man
could turn around, he was stuck hard in the back by his mentor’s shield and
sent sprawling to the floor, the wind knocked out of him.
“I
think that is enough sparing for today,” Helios affirmed between heavy breaths.
“As I have said before, and will probably say again, only when you learn to
overcome your overconfidence will you be able to best me, or any other skilled
duelist for that matter,” the captain finished, grabbing the prince’s hand and
pulling him to his feet.
“Bet,”
Argos the 6th mockingly responded as he stomped out of the room.
“Captain
Helios, your presence is required in the throne room,” a servant called.
“Ill
be right there,” Helios responded as he finished catching his breath.
--------------------
Captain Helios Strode into the throne room with slightly
worried look on his face as he pondered what he had been called for. Upon the
throne sat King Argos the 5th. He was wearing a suit of ornate
bronze armor with gold patterns on it. On his head rested a Golden crown set
with several emeralds. His face was angled slightly down as he contemplatively
stroked his short, brown beard. Beside him stood Queen Argossa the 4th.
She wore a purple dress with silver patterns and a silver crown set with
rubies. In her hand was a royal scepter made from polished, dark wood with a
silver top crowned by a large ruby.
“Sire, I have arrived,” Helios formally stated.
The
King lifted his head and stared at the captain of the guard for a few moments
before he finally spoke. “Good, I’m glad you’re here. My apologies for sending
for you so urgently, but problems have arisen lately that I need to discuss
with you,” the King began.
“I understand completely. How can I be of service, your
majesty?”
“Well, that thievery problem we have spoken of previously
has continued to grow. Several of our vaults holding gold and magical items
have been robbed. The few surviving witnesses have reported seeing a shadowy
figure that seemed to have the ability to camouflage against its surroundings.
The figure was also reported to have the ability to teleport and to be
extremely proficient with a blowgun and magical throwing knives that disappear
without a trace on impact. Whoever — or whatever — it is, this being has been
able to easily sneak past or dispatch any guards in its way and break into vault
after vault, clearing them of their most valuable contents. If this continues,”
King Argos gravely continued, a worried scowl crossing his face, “we will lose
all hope of being able to fund another war with the Empire of Undeath!”
“That is very concerning indeed, my lord,” Captain Helios
agreed.
“Judging
by the pattern of the robberies thus far, I think that the royal treasury may
soon be a target for this mysterious burglar. This is an eventuality we cannot
allow!” Argos explained.
“I
imagine that if this thief is as good as the reports say, simply increasing the
number of guards at the treasury will do no good. And furthermore, I have my
doubts that I could stop the intruder either. Therefore, I propose we find a
powerful wizard to magically ward the vault against intruders. Then, once the
wards are in place, we can station a squad of our finest guards at the door to
be sure it is safe.”
“A
fine idea… but where will we find such a mage?” the king pondered. He turned to
Argossa. “As the royal magician, do you think you are up to this task?”
“My
apologies, Argos, but although I do dabble in abjuration magic, I do not think
myself capable of protecting the royal vault against so skilled a foe.”
“I
understand, my dear. Perhaps we can put posters up across the kingdom offering
a handsome reward for the services of a wizard skilled in abjuration magic,”
King Argos the 5th contemplated.
Suddenly
there was a flash of light in the center of the room. As the light faded, out
stepped a lizardman wearing a simple, but finely crafted, brown and green robe
with a deep hood hiding most of his facial features, save for his piercing
yellow eyes. Around his neck was a necklace made from fine thread from which hung
gems and small bones. In his hand was a staff made from the branch of a swamp
tree with a sapphire affixed to its top.
“I
believe I may be of assistance here… for the right price, that is,” the
lizardman explained in a genteel tone.
“How
did you know we were looking for a mage?” the king suspiciously questioned. “We
haven’t even put out flyers yet!”
“Like
many powerful practitioners of magic, I have my ways,” the entrepreneurial
wizard vaguely explained. “So, do we have a deal?” he pressed, getting straight
to the point.
“How
dare you barge in here like this! Begone at once or I will show you out myself”
Queen Argossa angrily threatened.
“I
will not leave until the king answers my question,” the stranger firmly
insisted, standing his ground.
“So
be it!” the queen proclaimed, pointing her staff at the lizardfolk mage. Before
she could cast her spell, the lizardman uttered a string of arcane words and
the queen collapsed to the ground, fast asleep.
“Worry
not. She is merely asleep and will wake up soon enough… and hopefully less
angry,” the spellcaster explained with a chuckle.
“Well,
you clearly must be a powerful wizard,” the king nervously stated. Then he
straightened his posture and cleared his throat. “We have a deal.”
“Very well then,” the strange lizardman smirked. “Show me this vault of yours and we can discuss my fee.”
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