P. Power - Knight Esquire

“It doesn't take personal energy; it's just an organizing field. I'm a little uncertain why the regular ones grab from the user, to tell the truth, but this is way easier to use and you can leave it on. It's strong, but shouldn't kill the guy instantly if he has a shield or even heavy armor. On the good side, it will affect a person even through one of the shields I've made, except for the newest version, which you'll be wearing, so even if he has one of my earlier models it will be at least a little effective. That way the weapon can't be used against you even if he takes it away or something. It just tells stuff to move, kind of like the flight field, or more like the Falcon's or how a water pump works. Obviously you can't fly with the new shield on though, not yet, so wear both and only use the new one when you're on the ground.”

Taking his thumb off from the sigil Tor moved to the next one.

“Alright, this is… Well, it's not a proper military weapon at all. It just locks all the air out of an area, so that a person inside the field, about ten by ten, can't breathe. Really it doesn't even remove the air, it just doesn't let it flow, the original idea came when I was working on water sculptures that will hang in the air. Anyone want to test it?”

To his surprise Kolb volunteered with a small smile. After about half a minute he waved his hand and Tor stopped.

“That works! I could still fight, but I couldn't breathe, and it felt hard to move. Like being stuck in place. So he won't be able to fight fast, even in a combat rage. Keep this trained on a person and move back as they do and within a few minutes the fight should be over. Nice thinking Tor.” Kolb stared at him for a moment, then smiled. Really he looked proud.

Tor held up the final piece he had and took another huge breath then let it out.

“This is… Look, David, if the counts going to kill you, I mean really kill you, like you’re going to die, not just be beaten a little, then use this, but… well, I think you'll get the idea.”

Tor turned and activated the device, pointing it at the field next to the range, flat, but holding a few trees and some boulders as big as the one with the red x on it. It exploded. Huge walls of dirt and rock flew back and up, digging furrows about fifteen feet across into the ground, moving it back and forth he outlined and then dug out a rectangle with a berm at the back, since it was the only place the earth and stone could move. This took about three minutes. It was loud, like thunder the whole time. Tor was the one doing it and felt a little like soiling himself in fear, just from the sound.

When he turned around everyone stared at him. Looking odd. Well, it wasn't exactly normal was it?

“Yeah. So, not much of a toy. Still, if the guy won't back off, it gives you something to go to.”

Rolph stood breathing hard, looking at Tor and swallowing almost convulsively. “Tor…”

Kolb took it and gave it a try for about thirty seconds himself. Then handed it off to Rolph to use, each of the others going after that. Then the large bald man picked up all the weapons.

“So, Davie, these are all yours, but you can't have them at school, obviously. These are just too dangerous. I'll keep them for you until the duel, if that's acceptable?” This question was addressed to Rolph, who nodded slowly.

“Yes… Um, Tor, I'm going to have to request that you not give these out as gifts. Especially those explosives.” His hand flew up. “I know, by law you can, and I can't order you not to… but…”

Tor snorted. “No doubt. I'm not even making extras of these. I'll turn the templates over to your dad directly if you want, or whatever. These aren't something for the open market. Maybe the force lance for battlefield use, but who else would need it? I wouldn't have even made them if this Count wasn't being so insane about this. Sorry, Davie, but if he was just planning on giving you a beating, I would have just handed you the shield and flying gear and called it good, you know? As it is, if it turns out that's all he's going for, well, I think you should just take the beating and let it go. This could all go wrong in so very many ways…”

David nodded somberly.

“I know. I promise, if I can deal with this that way, I will.”

Rolph clapped him on the back and chuckled, sounding a little weak. No one said anything about it after that and Tor was able to spend the next two days making poison detectors instead of weapons prototypes. A few batches even got packaged up to go to peoples families, including Meredith Sorvee who he sent ten to, with written instructions. He'd kept up a steady flow even while working on the new fields for Davie, so a lot of people already had them, Tor had seen them at meals even. Sara passed them out for him, because she was really sweet that way, with some help from a few special school kids he didn't know, just setting up a table in the court yard and going down the list.

Wensa had at least backed off from mentioning how he didn't have anything for poisons yet, but she kept giving him sour looks every time they met. Dark things, like she felt bad about not having killed him yet. Or something at least. Tor couldn't think of what else she’d be thinking about him.

The night before Davies duel, the evening that he finally got to take the splint off, as Tor walked slowly out of the dining hall, he came under attack. A real one too, not just someone calling him names or glaring.

The person was masked, and too small to be a royal, probably at least, but wore a familiar gray skirt. Wensa.

She didn't do much, just kicked him down the stairs, a single stomp to the middle of the back which sent him flying down the first twelve feet or so, landing with a solid thud. Stone struck him over and over again as he fell. He couldn't even slap the shield on and then, as he turned to face her, he found himself all alone. Tor activated the shield and waited, then limped back to his room, his leg killing him. Rolph wasn't in, having some kind of big Prince meeting he had to attend with the Dean. His friend had just mentioned it this time, happy that he didn't have to pretend to be drinking to try and fool him this time.

Tor just sat in the room waiting to come under attack again, his shield turned on. Hastily he made a copy of the force lance he'd designed, putting it on a much shorter piece of copper tube, making a single cut in the metal for the activation sigil. Who needed a weapon like this? He asked himself sardonically…

Right, anyone that had a crazy Royal Guard after them. He built it as fast as he could, because he had to sit in the room without his shield while he worked. Then he waited.

As he really should have expected, nothing happened. Wensa was good about biding her time after all. Tor knew that already. She'd waited months just for this and probably wouldn't stop now.

About two hours later the door opened and he just managed to not hit Rolph with the force lance.

“Shut the door!” He must have looked a sight, because the Prince didn't hesitate, slamming and locking it quickly.

“What happened?”

“Wensa tried to kill me! She kicked me down the stairs outside the dining hall. Well, I don't “know” it was Wensa, right build, gray skirt, but she wore a leather mask so that I can't really lodge a complaint, after all, I can't prove it was her, right?” Tor gripped the force lance tighter, which got Rolph's attention.

“That's not… one of those explosives is it?” He said the words softly, as if he talked to a mad man. Rolling his eyes Tor snorted, a slightly more derisive sound than he'd really intended.

“Gods no. That would be moronic. I'm not that far gone yet. It's just a force lance, better that I just die myself than accidentally take half the school out. I just didn't have anything else that would work better for this, so I had to make do. What did I do to her anyway?” He touched his face, bruised in at least three places by the feel of it.