Rise of the Blade - Charles Moffat [46]
The Doctor fell backwards into the alley, knocking aside Khelben as he stoically ignored the pain that made his knees wobble.
Chev's blade glowed a sharp blue light as the warrior strode easily into the alley and sidekicked the archmage in the belly, interrupting Khelben's intended spell with an "Oof!"
Facing Chev now in better lighting, Pierce was amazed once more by Chev's incredibly fast working mind, which was so confusing to the seer, but he was even more amazed by the level of the warrior's physical perfection. Every muscle was toned and fluid, displaying both finesse and incredible strength.
Khelben backed away from the two warriors as they met once more with blades seeking openings that simply were not there. For the mage to stand back and watch, it told him that even he, a great and powerful wizard who could have obliterated both warriors easily, was priveleged to watch a fight such as this. No where else in the realms had anyone ever before witnessed such battle prowess in a pair of individuals.
He knew he should be helping Pierce, but had to concentrate to maintain his control over the air elemental. To let such a monster loose in the dock ward would be unforgiveable and result in many angry sailors showing up at the archmage's door.
Reflecting upon this, the archmage turned his thoughts to some of the greats that walked the realms: Arilyn Moonblade, Drizzt Do'Urden, and Martinez. Of those three, two had received formal training in elven schools whereas Martinez had actually been a dropout from a mageschool (indeed the drunk had even caused the school to be short lived due to his practical jokes that had left his instructor a babbling fool in an asylum). Even so, if rumour was paid attention to, Martinez had disguised himself as an elf and joined an elven griffon cavalry, gaining the rank of captain before his honourable discharge when his balding head revealed his true race.
Yet here before Khelben, who considered himself a fair judge of sword skill, were two fighters that surpassed all the previous. It was obvious to the archmage that Pierce had the shorter of two straws in this match for he was well past him prime whereas Chev was in his prime.
Pierce knew Khelben's thoughts before the archmage even thought them and whole heartedly agreed. Regardless of some warriors believing that two swords were better than one, the Doctor knew that the correct phrase should be two swords are more difficult than one. He knew all the combat strategies, indeed taught them to others, and yet he knew beyond a doubt that Chev knew them just a little bit better.
Pierce would have been dead long ago however were it not for his ability to anticipate attacks and angle his armour to most effectively meet them. That fact, and that alone kept Chev's single blade from ending his fighting career about once every two swings compared to that annoying buckler that seemed to absorb everything the Doctor could send at it.
Once Pierce managed to slip a blade through Chev's defenses but it only slid harmlessly off the warrior's finely crafted studded leather. It became quickly obvious that he couldn't keep up his array of attacks without some form of physical advantage. Higher ground in the dock ward? Not likely.
After three minutes of jabs, slashes and parries too quick to follow, Khelben was growing impatient. Summoning up the spell energy, he dispersed the air elemental into the wind and started on releasing a sphere of electricity that would fry Chev into "little tiny pieces" as Marque Draque had said when he returned with the new spell as commissioned by the archmage.
Being an archmage meant having very little free time, and thus Marque Draque's business of researching new spells on commission had become highly profitable, and thus the Academy's best source of income. Needless to say that it was worth it,