"I'll be up until we leave. I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight." Jake made his way away from the table, pulling an old faded picture from his pocket. It was an oddity to most, except for the people at most festivals with their 'magic moment catchers' (Primitive Cameras). It was nothing special, just the two of them in the shot smiling, but it still meant a lot to him. "I will find you..", he muttered to himself.
The Blade without a Name, having had his fill of the Aqivi the man had so grasiously bought, got to his feet and made his way outside to check upon his horse. He was a large black Stud who upon seeing Blade, bent his ears back and showed his teeth. You old son of a Salset Goat. I have no time for games. He reached out to the stud who then bite at his fingers. Blade snarled and slammed a fist into the horses nose. The stud shooke its head violently and glared at him, but he submitted and calmed down. Blade nodded his head and then began to brush the thin hair of the desert born stud when a sound from behind the stud sturred his attention. He turned to see three men all dressed the same as the one he had killed earlier. You killed our comrade Sword Dancer. You have no chance against the three of us. Stated the obviouse leader of the small gang. Especially with so much drink in your belly. added the one to his left. They were right. He had drinken quite a bit and he was in no shape to be in a fight. Against three ..... one took a step to close to the stud and in return got a powerful kick to the chest...... Against two... well that seems better. He thought to himself. The one that was kicked by the stud didnt get up, his chest caved inward.
Finn had fallowed Blade outside, in hopes that he could start his lesson ,when he saw the three men approach him. Thinking he was in need of help Finn ran back inside. "Father" he yelled from the doorway "Blades got three sword dancers after him and they look pissed". Thorgrim leaped to his feet and ran towards the door. The two made it outside in time to see the one man kicked. Thorgrim, brandishing his axe, shouted at the men. "If you have a problem with my friend you'll have to go through me" "Me too" the eager youth chimed in unsheathing his Broad Sword.
Blade looked back to see Thorgrim and his son Finn come outside both brandishing weapons. He looked back to the two who did not seem at all worried, then back to Finn and chuckled. These are not sword dancer. If they were they would challenge me in a circle not attack in the middle of the night. They are simply men who are angry their friend died. He tapped his chin a little as he sized Finn up. Finn was it? You want a lesson? Alright here is one for you... Shodo. That is the name you will refer to me as. Not Blade. Shodo. Now for a Second Lesson.... Beat them. [COLOR] He nodded to the two who laughed at the idea of a boy fighting them. Blade didnt look back to the two. He kept his eyes upon Finn, right into his own eyes. [COLOR=firebrick]If you can... He arched a brow. Was this a test? If it was it seemed pretty simple.... or was it?
((Note: there is a right answer for this but it doesnt matter if you get it wrong. 😛 Ill still do the "training the boy" thing.))
Thorgrim thought to himself {I would prefer for these men to just leave knowing they cant beat us all but Finn needs some experience in combat. This is as good of time as any. At least the odds are good} No sooner then Thorgrim had decided to fight Finn,wanting Shodo's respect, charged at the men unleashing his best War cry "YYEEAAAAAHHH" Thorgrim quickly through his axe at the bigger of the two ,hitting him between the neck and shoulder practically cleaving him in half. Blood spewed like a high pressure fountain all over his partner, distracting him for a fraction of a second. Finn coming at the other with sword over head took pause at the carnage, giving the man time to compose himself. Blind with fury the adversary swung his sword at Finn. Out of instinct Finn managed to avoid the blow. Seeing the man was at a disadvantage with his missed strike, Finn awkwardly swung his sword wounding the man in the arm. This guy,although not a Sword Dancer was an experienced Warrior and was not going down easy. Thorgrim watched, wanting to help his son but knowing he had to fight his own battle if he was ever going to become a proficient fighter. The man quickly recovered and lunged at Finn. Finn,feeling confident at his wounding the man, in one motion, parried the thrust and and came up with his sword slicing the mans throat. It was a killing wound. The Fighter fell to his knees gargling blood starring at Finn in disbelief before falling over dead. Finn Stood there, chest heaving from the exertion.
Blade just stood their watching. Judging the boys technique. As Jake had said. Sloppy. If they had been true sword dancers the boy would never have won. He walked up to Finn and put a hand on his shoulder. Alright. Thats enough. Its late. Go rest. I will teach you more tomorrow. He turned and walked back to the stud. He pat the horse behind the ear, the Stud baring his teeth in satisfaction. Blade didnt look back but spoke to Finn. How did you know you could beat them? Where you unsure that you could? Was it just absence of fear that allowed you to charge in as you did? He turned around to look at him. Never... Never charge in recklessly. The first kill was simply luck. It hit him high in the neck. He could of easily ducked. If he hadent, there was a possibility his friend would not of been distracted as he had been. What then? Perhaps he had a longer reach then you do. Even though you killed them, the three of you were not trained. But he is.... was older then you and though he was not trained he had more experience. He looked away from the boy. His reaction might have seemed cold but the boy needed it. Blade walked to his horse and began to check his hooves. He might of broken the mans rib and possibly hurt himself as well. Without looking at the boy he spoke again. ...but you do show promise. I will train you to fight with a level head. But first words must be spoken before action is given. Most likely the boy was confused by that. He looked over and smiled lightly. In other words I will talk and you will listen before we go into practice combat. Go rest up. We have a long walk tomorrow.
Jake looked at Blade and smirked. "You seem pretty good at what you do. There any chance you participated in the war?" Jake went back to his old memories. Hundreds of enemies charging from all over. Death would eventually become as simple as going to sleep. It was just something that happened, and if you quit paying attention, it happened a lot. In his memories, he went back to his belt, new and perfect. Now, it had exactly three-hundred and forty three cuts along it, all made during that war.
He stopped in his tracks, eyes going distant at the thought of the War. He lost many good friends in it. He shook his head slightly to get the memories out of his mind. Yeah.. I was in it. Killed many.... Lost many. I dont like to think about it. Prior to what people may think not all Sword Dancers are blood thirsty killers. We have a code to follow. Many didnt even participate in the war....
~A figure stayed in the shadows of a nearby Alley watching the men and the fight that had just happened. Eyes watching and ears listening towards the men as they spoke. The figured stood there, Perhaps one of the men would see, but it was dark in the already narrow alley and if they saw their eyes would be very good.~
He got to his feet and looked to Jake. South of course. I was raised here. I figured it would be obviouse by my deep tan. He shrugged a bit. He had not seen to person in the alley. he made his way towards the Tavern to get a room. Maybe some company as well. I will see you all in the morning Spoken as he walked back inside.
As Thorgrim sat at the table of their room ,cleaning the blood from his axe, Finn spoke up. "I did it father. I was Victorious today, are you not proud of me." Thorgrim took long pause then looked up at his son with a grin. "Yes son, I am very proud of your courage today but, courage alone wont guarantee winning in battle." He said just feeling relief his son was still alive. "But Father you always told me FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE" Finn said proudly." "Aye and it does" Thorgrim said happy his son actually payed attention. "Today was proof of that but, there are many other factors involved in combat. Being brave is the first step and I have brought you up to be brave but being skilled is a main factor. I have taught you all I can. Shodo has promised to teach you the skills you need. Now get some rest. We have a long arduous journey ahead of us on the marrow" Thorgrim turned his attention back to his Axe, recalling the days fight and feeling fortunate his aim was good enough to dispatch the adversary or his son, with his reckless charge, might not be alive this night.
Cade and Asha sat atop the highest ridge in the village, overlooking everyone working below, having shrugged off their duties for the day in order to go goof off. Having heard they would be sent off to fight against the Northerners soon, they wanted a last chance to kill some time together before things got strict, all business and whatnot...
"So, Ash... Long time we've been here in the village, right?" Cade's voice echoed in his own mind as he said it, not 100% sure why, but knowing that the two had needed this talk for some time. "I mean, it's not like we ever got out and found another place to go or anything..."
Asha looked up at the clouds, staring into the sky as though she had not seen it in weeks. "Yeah, but I'm gonna miss it when we get gone."
"Right. So I was thinking... Since we're both about to take off to go fight... Why not agree to something?" He watched as she kept staring at the birds, not entirely sure if she was paying attention. "So... what say... I'll watch your back, and you watch mine... but if something happens to either of us, the other has to make it back home, right?"
Asha sighed a bit, rolling her eyes and smirking. "Morbid as always, Cade. But alright, you got it."