Chapter 3 - Test of the Sword

Chapter 3

Test of the Sword

The next morning Tel awoke to the sun streaming in through his windows straight into his eyes. He covered his eyes with his forearm and blinked furiously to get rid of the little yellow specks that filled his view as he got up to close the curtains. He had forgotten to close them the previous night when he had come back up from his late dinner. Marie had really made a wonderful meal for him he remembered as he stood in front of the window. He looked out at the clean streets below and the people passing on horse or by cart. There was very little pedestrian travel on these commercial roads, though that would likely change when lunch time rolled around. He did see one rather pretty young girl passing just across the street from him and when she looked up at his room she stopped dead in her tracks. Tel furrowed his brow then put on his best charming smile, should she be able to see it through the glass. As she began to giggle he finally realized that wasnt all she could see through the windows glass. He quickly shut the curtains and resolved to get dressed before standing in front of the window from now on.

He mumbled to himself as he got cleaned up and then dressed. He took the jeweled dagger out from its hiding place under his pillow and belted it on, sliding it around to the small of his back where it would be less noticable. He donned his cloak and left the room, locking the door in his own special way. Even though all of his valuables were in the magic bag he kept constantly at his wasit, he didnt want people poking around his room anyway. Rarely did he ever take that bag off, even when he slept he kept it close by him. He didnt think of himself as greedy, he just figured it wasnt worth the risk. It was only a small obsession.

The hall was a dull red in the morning light, something Tel hadnt noticed the night before in the lamp light. The flickering light had made everything a mass of dancing shadows and colours were undefinable. Today he could see the colour of the hall, and although it didnt interest him much, he took note of it. He went down the stairs into the common room of the inn and saw Angus standing behind the bar once again dry washing a glass while surveying his territory. When the innkeeper saw Tel come down the stairs he shook his head slightly as he smiled.

“If youre looking for breakfast Master Tel, im afraid that youve missed it. We serve it at morning bell and for an hour after.” He glanced out the window at the street, ” By the looks of it we are coming up on mid bell, you surely are a late sleeper.”

“Thats ok Angus, I wasnt too hungry anyway. Im gonna head over to the Knight’s compound and hopefully catch up with my friend on his lunch break…assuming he has one.” Tel’s brow furrowed at the thought “Er, do you know IF they get a lunch break?”

“Oh they must, a few of them come in here for lunch occasionally, usually officers though. Im not sure if the recruits get the same freedom. Speaking of which, lunch is from mid bell to an hour after that, so if you plan on eating….” he let his words trail off, but the meaning remained.

Tel put both hands on his stomach and smiled “Oh i assure you, after the wonderful meal Marie made for me last night, i dont plan on missing much more of her cooking!”

He smiled his charming smile as he headed out the front door onto the commercial street, hearing but not really listening to the good-bye’s from the innkeeper. Being friendly with the innkeeper was always good business Tel thought. If something goes wrong, it helps to have allies, even if its only to stall the local authorities for a few seconds to crawl out the window. Tel chuckled at the memory of one particularly long night where just that had happened.

The road was quite busy with traffic going in both directions as mid bell approached. Workers going from their jobs to lunch, or last minute errands that needed running, made a brisk pace for the people on the street. With a quick look down the street Tel headed off towards the Dragon Knight compound.

As he walked down the street, Tel took note of various things; from the obvious weight of one man’s coin purse to the way another kept uncounciously rubbing his hand over the left breast of his jacket. In a time not so long ago those would have been the signs that would set a young entrepreneur like Tel in motion to score some easy money. Those days were gone though, petty theft was no longer his cup of tea, there just wasn’t any challenge in it. So he continued down the street, smiling at the pretty girls who passed his way and enjoying the warm day. As he turned one last corner the Dragon Knight compound came into view and the clanging of sword on shield could be heard faintly.

The collection of buildings that made up the compound were all heavy and imposing, military buldings off of a commercial district in the city. Few people wandered around these parts though they would be by far the safest for a hundred miles in every direction. The lack of public merchants made for a corner of town that wasn’t frequented often by common civilians.

The main doors to the compound stood open with two guards standing out front watching Tel as he walked down the street. He was alone in coming towards the building so he knew it wasn’t anything suspicious they were watching. From what he understood, people were welcome to come and view the Knight’s training. Often the viewers would be prospective Knights or even just citizens who liked reminding themselves that a well trained force was watching over them.

As far as he could tell, the two guards were more for show then to try and stop him. As he walked between he nodded to each then continued his way into the building. It certainly wasn’t the most tactically sound set up, enemies could come and go as they pleased. Well, assuming there were any enemies in this day and age. Tel chuckled, he was probably the biggest threat that had even tried to enter this compound in a hundred years, and he was nothing more then a young man with a curiousity that tended to get him into trouble.

The courtyard he stood in was alive with activity. Sword clashed on sword or shield as Knights and Knights in training sparred in the warm sunshine. Most wore only light leggings and boots, their chests and arms bare as they worked. The women ofcourse were also allowed a light shirt to cover themselves if they so desired. Some did not.

The swordplay seemed very involved to Tel as he watched. It didn’t seem to be a drill so much as a mass sparring match. Chaos reigned as somebody once an ally turned on their compatriot of a moment before and engaged them in fierce combat. A few people had thin lines of blood from light wounds as the dance of blades continued. Suprisingly Tel could see no serious wounds, and as one woman took a light wound she stepped off to the side with a watching crowd.

All of the men and women in the sparring match had expressions of concentration and focus on their faces as they sparred; all but one. That one was, unsuprisingly to Tel, his friend Anad. On his face was a huge grin as he flowed from one opponent to the next, dispatching them seemlessly. The smile was not only on his mouth but carried to his eyes and his every movement. He was truly enjoying himself.

“You be looking to join the Knights there sonny? The recruiting process is almost over, you’re a tad bit late.” A voice off to Tel’s left asked him.

Tel had known the man was there when he entered, though he had not expected him to actually speak up.

“No sir I’m not. I’m just coming over to visit a friend of mine who is actually a recruit. I fear the Knights aren’t for me.”

“That so huh? Which one of those is your friend? They are all quite skilled. This is the last sparring match before the powers that be decide who will go where for their next stage of training.”, the man answered in a strong but soft voice. Tel got the impression he was more then what he seemed at first glance. Tel had assumed by his dress that he was another local come in to watch the spectacle. As the man stood up straighter and walked over to Tel though, he saw in his movements an easy grace and silent strength. Perhaps this man isn’t the farmer that I had orignally thought.

Tel pointed to Anad, “The big guy there with the huge grin on his face is somebody i’ve known for a long long time”.

A short whistle came from the man as he moved up to stand beside Tel, “That boy is incredibly skilled with a sword. I don’t think i’ve seen his like since i’ve been here. He’s also quick minded and good natured, all important factors to the Knights”.

“All facts I know only too well. It’s hard to play pranks on a fellow like that, and i’ve been trying for years!”, Tel mused.

“I can imagine. Now tell me, why arent the Knights for you? I admit you’re kind of small, but that shouldnt dissuade you.”

Tel finally turned away from the melee to address the man more directly, “Well you see, its kind of odd. I dont really like swords…and they dont really like me. I have the worst luck with them.

The man raised an eyebrow at the statement. “Swords dont like you? Thats a rather strange comment. If you mean that youre just not profecient with them ill understand, but there is no reason to make up such tales to cover yourself.”

“No really, they dont like me. Everytime i pick up a sword something bad happens. It usually involves the sword breaking or bending in some way. I dont think that ive actually ever hurt myself with one. Just the swords, i dont know, they give up and die.” Tel shrugged his shoulders at the oddness of his own statement. It really was like that, swords and he didnt get along. He much prefered a good knife, and this one he had at his belt know was one of the finest he had seen. He made a mental note to inspect it some more when he returned to the inn, he really hadnt done enough of that.

As the older man appraised him, he noticed that the sounds of the melee behind him had stopped. He turned to look at the outcome and wasnt surprised in the least to see Anad standing alone in the field, barely even breathing heavily, the huge grin ever present. He sheathed his sword on his hip, bowed to his previous opponents and started walking over towards Tel.

Tel waved at his big friend and expected him to come over and talk to him about the fight. Instead though, Anad came over to stand in front of the man Tel was talking with only a moment before. He got only a brief nod before Anad dropped to one knee a few steps in front of the older man.

“Sir, Apprentice Knight Malhuun reporting.”

The older man gave him an appraising look, watching the slight rise and fall of Anad’s shoulders as he knelt. “At ease Malhuun. That was an impressive display today as usual, but you still favour your sword side. Against stronger opponents you would have been exposed without a shield, though i know you prefer to go without.”

Anad stood easily and stretched slightly, ” I did that on purpose Sir. All of my class mates were there when you pointed that out so i knew that they would be looking for it. I used it to draw them in and counter when they were over confident.”

The older man raised an eyebrow, much as he had earlier when Tel had told him about the swords. “Did you now?” He smiled and chuckled lightly.

“You still telegraph your thrusts with a slight toe tap though.”, Tel piped in sardonically. As Anad looked over with a friendly scowl Tel grinned broadly and added “Only a slight toe tap! Hardly noticable!”

“Im surpised to see you here Tel, i didnt expect you to come back for another week yet. What brings you back so soon?”

“Well I figured i needed to come back and make sure you werent getting into any trouble here without me! Besides, i was bored on my own. Farm country just isnt for me.”

“But neither was this city, or so you said. My training still has another week left to it before i find out how im doing, what will you do with yourself in that time?”

“Oh…im sure i can come up with something to keep myself occupied.” Tel said with a wink and a nod.

The older man stepped up beside the two of them, “You say you notice a toe tap that telegraphs Malhuun’s thrusts, that none of the trainers have noticed, and you say swords dont like you? I dont see how youre a very good influence on him, i think you should leave. Your lies wont be appreciated here.”

Tel was truly taken aback by the unexpected and bold comment. As he looked at the older man he saw something else in his eyes, something more then what was just said. This was a challange, a test. He was being asked to prove himself or leave. How strange! Why would this man want me to prove my claims, it just seems stupid.

He had never been one to back down from so silly a challenge though, especially not one so simple. If they wanted to see what happened to swords he handled, then so be it. He set his jaw, rolled his shoulders and reached out and put his hand on the pommel of Anad’s sword. Anad’s hand quickly closed over his and he shook his head.

Tel scowled at his friend, “I wont be called a liar over something so trivial as this. He wants to see how swords dislike me, so ill show him. I can’t believe you of all people would try to prevent that.”

Anad laughed gently, “It’s not that Tel,” he said in a calming voice ” but i just got this sword balanced the way i like it! I would really rather not have it broken.”

The scowl eased off of Tel’s face and changed into a smile, “I see your point. Well then,” he said turning to the older man, ” Ill need a sword if you want to see this so badly. Why though, i still dont know.”

“Apprentice Hendrickson,” the man shouted in a strong voice ” bring your sword over here immediatly.”

One of the women, a pretty girl actually, Tel thought, came trotting over and drew her sword, offering it pommel first to the man. Tel gave her his charming smile and reached over for the sword and grasped the pommel. The older man nodded to her and she gave Tel the darkest look he had ever seen on a woman’s face, but released the sword.

Stepping back from the scowling woman, Tel felt the weight of the sword. Aside from the fact that swords didnt like him, he wasnt too fond of how they felt either. They were heavy and tired him out. He much preferred his new knife.

Taking a few steps away from the trio he was aware that everybody in the courtyard was watching him. Great, watch me fall on my face and embarrass myself now. To the older man he said “As you can see, this sword is in fine shape now, though i assure you it wont be when im finished. Are you sure you want me to go through with this?”

The man smirked, “Get on with it, and try not to cut your own leg off.”

Tel bristled at the thinly veiled insult. His martial skills had just been insulted! He wasnt the best swordsman in the land, he knew that all to well, but he wouldnt hurt himself.

He lowered the sword tip to the ground then brought it quickly up, spinning to his left in a diagonal cut. Landing with his back to the trio in a crouched position he considered what to do next. Swivelling his hip he brought his right leg snapping around along the ground, a tripping maneuver, though this one had the sword blade following a second behind it. From there he rose up and entered a complicated dance. Left and right he spun, bringing the sword blade up and down, back and forth. He restricted his movements to a small circle about fifteen paces wide but made full use of the space. Faster and faster he spun and the blade whistled through the air, the sun reflecting around the courtyard as he whirled. His body and the sword were one. He was the master of this weapon. He brought the blade up violently, using its momentum to carry him into a backflip. Landing on his feet he brought the sword up in both hands beside his face, the blade parallel to the ground. In a real fight, that move would have been completely useless, but it was kind of flashy. As his muscled screamed from the effort of wielding a weapon many times heavier then his usual knife he held his pose unmoving. His eyes met the older man’s and just as he was about to speak, the blade of the sword split mid way up and fell to the ground.

With a clink the blade fell to the dusty stone floor, everybody’s eyes falling with it. Tel’s eyes remained locked on the older man as he held his stance. “I told you swords didnt like me.”

He noticed movement off to the left of the man and saw the swords owner turn her eyes on him. The look she had given him before was nothing compared to what he got now. As she took a step forward he thought that he may have to drop the sword hilt and draw his knife.