Though the blob of water retained a steady height, Marius couldn’t help but wince at the kid’s words. All too true, all of it – yet he dismissed the accusation with a shrug. “They came at me first,” he told the kid, “and as I said: You caught me in a bad mood, darling, and ‘honorable’ ain’t really my thing to begin with.” Not much of an excuse, that, but at the moment Marius didn’t care much – he’d worry about his conscience when the kid was gone and the people in the camp had made it back home safe. No use crying over spilt milk if it was already staining the ground, and all.
The kid’s demand that he leave, though – he deserved points for sheer moxie, this one. Didn’t seem as if a bit of posturing was going to get him to turn around, either, not if the rapidly-sprouting grass bushels around the Knight were any indication. Tough luck, however, because Marius was going to have a go at his best imitation of a rock and not budge an inch. The tyrants of the deep themselves wouldn’t have been able to make him move – this little sprout convince him to leave? As if!
Lazily twirling his sword in his hand, he decided that acting unflappable and asi f didn’t care whether the Knight decided to have a go at him would be his best bet. “Ah, I think you got the wrong idea – I sure as all shores ain’t leaving, no way. But if you want to turn tail and run, Sunflower? Go on, run! I ain’t stopping you; gods, be my guest and take your buddies back with you, if you can carry them. But I’ll be staying right here,” he said resolutely.
Miero weighed his options. He could attack, or run. If he attacked at this moment, the Mancer would have the advantage---he still had some of his water left, and he was more mobile. From the way he flourished his sword, it looked like he might have an idea how to use it, too. If Miero ran, though, he would be leaving behind the bodies of the fallen, and that wasn’t something he was willing to do if he could help it. Since neither of those felt like a good option, he ignored them both and did what he believed in his heart was best.
Taking his hand from the pommel of his sword, he walked straight up to the nearest soldier, ignoring the Mancer entirely. If he chose to kill him at that moment, he could. Oda and Reed would hate him for taking such a risk, but Miero would rather die than dishonour those who had fought by his side, and if a Mancer couldn’t understand that, then he had faith that the gods would doom the bastard’s sorry life anyway.
Miero knelt, closed the soldier’s eyes with a hand and said a short prayer in Elvish. Then he heaved the man’s body over his shoulder, stood with an effort, and hauled him back to the path they’d been on. He placed the soldier’s body there, where he could be better reached by their people, and returned for a proper burial. Still not speaking, he did the same for the other soldier, though his legs were beginning to ache with the effort of it by the time he was through.
Once both men’s bodies were safely by the path, Miero turned back to the Mancer. The whole ordeal had taken less than ten minutes, but the enemy Magician hadn’t left, true to his word. Now, with that out of the way, Miero went to the spot he’d been in before, stood in the small patch of green life, and drew his sword, entering a ready stance.
