05-17-2014, 05:17 PM
Before Nicholas even realized what was happening, he was on his back on the other side of a locked door. Sheer surprised slammed the power away from him. The feeling left him stunned. Before he managed to get up on his own, one of the Knights hauled him to his feet. He thanked the man, then turned to the sergeant. "We need to go after her."
The more time they wasted, the farther she'd get. He had no doubts about her abilities, but she was running around in the middle of a war zone while they sat on their hands in a darkened staircase.
The sergeant just shook his head. "She isn't our mission, you are."
Reed would've said the same thing about him. The way he said it and the way he was standing implied that he'd have no qualms against dragging Nicholas back to the Fortress by his ears. He'd probably enjoy it, too - it's not every day you get to manhandle a wizard, and Nicholas suspected the sergeant doubted he'd actually fight back. Nicholas didn't know if he would - saving Reed was all well and good, but killing the man who arguably saved your life a few hours ago wasn't exactly good for karma.
So he figured he might as well try appealing to the man's better nature. "Remember what you said earlier about leaving people to those psychopaths?"
Granted, Reed was a bit different from--
"She's a trained killer, not a civvie,"
the sergeant replied gruffly. "She can take care of herself."
The other Knights remained quiet. It made Nicholas glad his stay in the military had been short - he much preferred democracy. That way you could whittle your opponent down brick by brick, instead of taking the whole wall at once.
"She ran off because the power is still working. We only took out the primary grid, not the backups."
They were really going to resent him for this one, but convincing wasn't working. Sometimes a vote didn't go in your favor, but you desperately needed to get your way. "I'm your mission, right? Well, I'm going after her. I'll probably get shot before I get anywhere near her. Unless you follow me, that is."
The prospect didn't seem to bother the sergeant overmuch. "Or I could just drag you back to the Captain with a nice big lump on your head before you get all of us killed."
It wasn't exactly an argument Nicholas was going to win. "We were sent to dismantle the main grid. That's what we did."
Nicholas couldn't just threaten them into compliance - and if he had to defend himself with the power it wouldn't do him any good. The fact was he needed these four men in order to get anywhere. So he did something that was a bit immoral. More than a bit.
Seizing the power - Nicholas was getting pretty good at doing that without changing facial expressions - he began constructing the oldest weave he knew. The strange thing about magic was that complexity didn't necessarily require skill. It was less of an exact science, more instinctive. He was controlling minds unconsciously before he'd been able to figure out how to let a person's arm free from bindings of air. Sending out glowing silvery wires of spirit, with a minuscule amount of each of the other four, he touched the sergeant's mind. It was like riding a bike. Now the sergeant just needed some 'convincing.'
"Look,"
Nicholas said, getting an involuntary jerk of the head in response. The sergeant was only now staring directly at him, behind that faceless helmet of his. He didn't think anybody else noticed, but he wouldn't forget just how literally the spell worked. "I told you, the reason she ran off was because the power grid isn't completely taken down yet."
It was working, he thought. "We need to go after her because if she fails, nothing we did down here matters. The lights will stay on, and the captain doesn't get the advantage he needs. You know I'm right."
He released the spell. God have mercy on his soul, but it was the right thing to do. It was a lot easier before he'd thought of the moral implications. The sergeant's pose implied thought, although that was more likely his mind trying to come to terms with what had just happened rather than any deep consideration. Nicholas had to prod him, though, before the others became suspicious. "Well?"
"You're right."
The sergeant admitted, rather grudgingly. He must have thought he came to that conclusion by himself. "We'll go after your woman. But I take the lead."
The other Knights, who had been making themselves comfortable and watching the battle from the sidelines, stood up straighter and got ready to move. "No more arguments, no more questions. You stay behind me and be ready to do that fire thing if I need it."
It wasn't a question - he expected obedience. If what he'd done wasn't so horrible, Nicholas would have laughed at the irony of being ordered around by the man who's mind he had just manipulated.
"You have a deal, sergeant. Now would you like me to open this door?"
Edited by Nick Trano, May 17 2014, 05:52 PM.
The more time they wasted, the farther she'd get. He had no doubts about her abilities, but she was running around in the middle of a war zone while they sat on their hands in a darkened staircase.
The sergeant just shook his head. "She isn't our mission, you are."
Reed would've said the same thing about him. The way he said it and the way he was standing implied that he'd have no qualms against dragging Nicholas back to the Fortress by his ears. He'd probably enjoy it, too - it's not every day you get to manhandle a wizard, and Nicholas suspected the sergeant doubted he'd actually fight back. Nicholas didn't know if he would - saving Reed was all well and good, but killing the man who arguably saved your life a few hours ago wasn't exactly good for karma.
So he figured he might as well try appealing to the man's better nature. "Remember what you said earlier about leaving people to those psychopaths?"
Granted, Reed was a bit different from--
"She's a trained killer, not a civvie,"
the sergeant replied gruffly. "She can take care of herself."
The other Knights remained quiet. It made Nicholas glad his stay in the military had been short - he much preferred democracy. That way you could whittle your opponent down brick by brick, instead of taking the whole wall at once.
"She ran off because the power is still working. We only took out the primary grid, not the backups."
They were really going to resent him for this one, but convincing wasn't working. Sometimes a vote didn't go in your favor, but you desperately needed to get your way. "I'm your mission, right? Well, I'm going after her. I'll probably get shot before I get anywhere near her. Unless you follow me, that is."
The prospect didn't seem to bother the sergeant overmuch. "Or I could just drag you back to the Captain with a nice big lump on your head before you get all of us killed."
It wasn't exactly an argument Nicholas was going to win. "We were sent to dismantle the main grid. That's what we did."
Nicholas couldn't just threaten them into compliance - and if he had to defend himself with the power it wouldn't do him any good. The fact was he needed these four men in order to get anywhere. So he did something that was a bit immoral. More than a bit.
Seizing the power - Nicholas was getting pretty good at doing that without changing facial expressions - he began constructing the oldest weave he knew. The strange thing about magic was that complexity didn't necessarily require skill. It was less of an exact science, more instinctive. He was controlling minds unconsciously before he'd been able to figure out how to let a person's arm free from bindings of air. Sending out glowing silvery wires of spirit, with a minuscule amount of each of the other four, he touched the sergeant's mind. It was like riding a bike. Now the sergeant just needed some 'convincing.'
"Look,"
Nicholas said, getting an involuntary jerk of the head in response. The sergeant was only now staring directly at him, behind that faceless helmet of his. He didn't think anybody else noticed, but he wouldn't forget just how literally the spell worked. "I told you, the reason she ran off was because the power grid isn't completely taken down yet."
It was working, he thought. "We need to go after her because if she fails, nothing we did down here matters. The lights will stay on, and the captain doesn't get the advantage he needs. You know I'm right."
He released the spell. God have mercy on his soul, but it was the right thing to do. It was a lot easier before he'd thought of the moral implications. The sergeant's pose implied thought, although that was more likely his mind trying to come to terms with what had just happened rather than any deep consideration. Nicholas had to prod him, though, before the others became suspicious. "Well?"
"You're right."
The sergeant admitted, rather grudgingly. He must have thought he came to that conclusion by himself. "We'll go after your woman. But I take the lead."
The other Knights, who had been making themselves comfortable and watching the battle from the sidelines, stood up straighter and got ready to move. "No more arguments, no more questions. You stay behind me and be ready to do that fire thing if I need it."
It wasn't a question - he expected obedience. If what he'd done wasn't so horrible, Nicholas would have laughed at the irony of being ordered around by the man who's mind he had just manipulated.
"You have a deal, sergeant. Now would you like me to open this door?"
Edited by Nick Trano, May 17 2014, 05:52 PM.