Michael Manning - The Archmage unbound

“You always had clever hands,” Dorian remarked, “but somehow I thought you’d be doing something more productive than sitting around here creating new forms of art.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” I intoned solemnly, “that’s what this is.” I gestured at the armor still quietly gleaming on the worktable.

“Something like that would take one of the king’s finest armorers half a year to make,” Dorian stated, yet his face was full of doubt.

“I’m not going to try and convince you. Hold still for a moment.” I walked past him and picked something up from the table behind him.

Dorian’s head twisted to follow me. “Wait a minute there Mort! Don’t be doing anything strange now!”

I laughed inwardly. Have I mentioned that my friends trust me implicitly? “Relax! I’m not going to use any magic on you.” I bent over and reached for his ankle but my fearless friend sidestepped with an almost comical hop.

“What’s that?” he asked nervously.

“A tape-measure… hold very still or it might strangle you,” I remarked sarcastically. Taking another step I began measuring him carefully. After a moment he relaxed, although we did have an awkward moment with the ‘inseam’ measurement. I won’t go into that though.

“I’m still patiently awaiting your full explanation, are you planning to make another set of armor like that for me?” Dorian asked. Although he hid it well I could almost hear the secret desire in his voice. What warrior wouldn’t want a set of armor such as was lying there on the bench in front of him?

“Not exactly,” I said mysteriously. I knew the vague answer would drive him crazy but I couldn’t help but draw things out. “I copied one of the sets we stole from the king when we liberated my goods from his warehouse, but now that I’ve finished with it I think it could be improved.”

“How so?”

“Well, to begin with the enchantments I add give an exceptional amount of strength and integrity to the metal, so I think I can redesign some of the joints and remove some of the extra pieces they used to guard the underarms, the inside of the elbows et cetera.” I pointed to the wings that flared out past the piece of metal that guarded the elbow.

“You mean the couter?” Dorian asked, pointing to the articulated metal joint. I guessed that must be its proper name.

“Yes, the elbow and knee couters particularly,” I answered excitedly. I was glad to finally know the actual name for them.

“The ones at the knee are called poleyns,” he chuckled as he corrected me. It wasn’t often Dorian got the upper hand when it came to intellectual knowledge, but he knew the warrior’s craft far better than I did. Of course he was raised to it. “You shouldn’t get rid of the wings on them,” he added seriously.

“But they aren’t necessary,” I insisted. “The chainmail in those places will be strong enough to prevent any weapon from piercing the wearer there.”

Dorian sighed. “Mordecai, you are so smart that sometimes I forget how ignorant you can be. Those wings aren’t to prevent a cut or stab. What do you think a man wearing this sort of armor fears most?” He paused to give me a chance to answer but I wasn’t playing his game so I waited him out. Eventually he continued, “He fears the mace and the axe. Those wings are to keep a crushing blow from destroying his knee or elbow.”

“Oh…” I replied intelligently. “Does the same thing apply here?” I pointed to the round disks that were mounted below the pauldrons that protected the shoulders.

“Besagews,” Dorian supplied. “They’re called besagews… and yes the same reasoning holds true there, they protect the underarm.”

“You make do without them in your current armor,” I argued.

“My chain hauberk protects me from cuts and arrows; it does nothing to prevent broken bones. That’s the very reason they started designing ‘this’ sort of armor,” he replied.

Dorian’s knowledge was clearly superior to my own in this regard so I drew out my carefully done plans for the next set of armor and showed them to him. I began showing him my proposed changes to the design and after several hours he had talked me out of most of them. If my father had still been alive he would have laughed and told me that I should have consulted an expert in the beginning, but then I had always been one to make mistakes first and then learn from them.

We grew so engrossed in our discussion that the hours flew by and we were both late for dinner. As usual there never seemed to be enough hours in the day. When we entered the great hall, the conversation there dimmed for a moment as a hush fell over the assembled folk. That had bothered me at first but I had begun to get used to it. Now I merely nodded at everyone and made my way to my seat at the high table.

I stopped beside my chair and glanced at the food already set before it on the table. I could almost feel Penelope’s eyes burning a hole through me as I gave her an apologetic look. “My dear lady wife,” I said loudly, making sure my voice was loud enough to carry, “I hope I didn’t worry you.” I turned and addressed the room, “Please everyone… eat!” I tried to make my tone amiable to reassure them. It seemed to work as the conversations around the room started up and everyone relaxed and began eating again. I had learned a lot watching how James Lancaster dealt with his people, but inwardly I still felt awkward.

Penny leaned toward me after I had sat down, “You’re getting better at that but it is still embarrassing when I have to start without knowing when you’re going to show up.” Her voice was pitched low enough that no one would overhear us and I could tell by her inflection that she was only mildly annoyed.

“Sorry,” I said sincerely.

“Just send me a note if you’re going to be late so I don’t have people standing around waiting for you before we just decide to eat anyway,” she replied. Since taking on the mantle of lady of the castle she had become markedly more demure and courteous… at least in public. I let my eyes wander over her, taking in the modest dress she wore. It was complemented by the sapphire earrings and necklace that she wore. Her attire was tasteful without being extravagant and I could not help but admire her beauty. Penny’s eyes met mine and she spoke again, “Stop staring… you’ll set people to talking.”

I grinned at her, “Let them talk. I’m married to the most beautiful woman in the world. It would be more unusual if I didn’t stare now and then.” I didn’t bother to keep my voice low either.

She blushed and gave me a look that told me I’d pay for embarrassing her, but it was a pleasant look. “What were you doing that was so important it kept you and Dorian from coming to dinner on time?” she said, changing the subject deftly. “Lady Rose was most disappointed when he wasn’t here at the start.”

Rose Hightower happened to be sitting next to her when she said that and she shot Penny a warning glance. “I was merely concerned,” she said, dabbing at her lips with a hand towel.

Dorian spoke up then, “Forgive me for worrying you lady, I was merely educating my good friend the Count as to the particulars of the armorer’s craft.” As usual he seemed completely oblivious. I was beginning to doubt he would ever realize his love wasn’t unrequited… then again perhaps he kept himself in the dark on purpose. If he ever admitted to himself that she felt as he did he might be forced to do something about it. That was probably a more terrifying possibility for him than facing the army of Gododdin had been.

“Armorer’s craft?” Rose said, lifting one eyebrow in an artful expression of surprise. “Is the good Count planning another war so soon?” As she spoke I watched her carefully, despite her conversational skills her eyes lingered on Dorian much longer than they did anywhere else.