Elrithos had been glad to see the young man eager to be up early in the morning. He bowed to the both of them as he also left the room, going to his own. He locked the door behind him and walked over to the bed to sit down… He wasn’t exactly sure what to think about everything now, as all these events led to something he wasn’t particularly pleased with. Even though he showed sympathy for the traveling company, he wasn’t sure if everything would be alright. The twins and probably Aaerynn and Vordan were attracting a lot of trouble for who they were. It was dangerous to be around them, yet they were probably the only way to get to the other continent. Did he dislike them? No, not at all. Elrithos valued his life though, and with everything that happened, was it all worth it? The question would probably linger on his mind for the whole day.
Vordan had taken the first round of the old dwarf with a smile, sharing some time with him. To say, the old man had one particularly quirky life, which was amazing to hear about. He couldn’t help but keep a nice smile and even laugh along with the ridiculous events he has lived through. What a rich life… Vordan wished he could do something like that, but he knew he couldn’t grow of his age without… That was his life’s work. The mixture that would extend his life for a couple hundred years. He wanted this to make sure the Makers would come back, to teach those with its powers to be used properly and to not harm themselves with it. If only…
Eventually, Vordan thanked the dwarf for his time and tales, but retreated to his room. He came back up the stairs and to his room, noticing that the people had moved from his room. Good. Vordan dropped all of his weapons, equipment and armor on him, setting them under the small table in the room. He proceeded to look over his scars and wounds. Everything was alright, but he kept adding on top of new scars, seemingly mutilated from everywhere. It was a bad image really, but it is why he barely ever takes off his vestments in public. He hates showing his scars… They had a certain charm and story, but he knew it wasn’t pleasing to the eye. With a light sigh, he crashed into his bed, taking the rest of the day/night off to rest completely.
Elrithos had been up quite early that day as he needed to be ready for the young man and his training. So, he actually needed to get a sword and a shield to demonstrate the fighting techniques. To say, it wasn’t very hard to do so as with how this town was made and the coliseum fights; getting access to basic weaponry wasn’t too hard. Elrithos had managed to find something for his size, being smaller than the average person here. It would be perfect as Setna was not a tall human anyway, so he would be able to teach for his body weight. Satisfied of his findings, he walked back to the Inn and waited for the young Setna, having none of his equipment other than the sword and the shield. He didn’t even bring his armor or other weapons, wanting to best replicate how Setna would combat.
It didn’t take that long for the young man to show up, Elrithos offering a kind smile as he pushed himself off the wall. He seemed ready and awake, a good sign that that he would probably learn easily and properly. “Glad to see you active Setna. There is a lot to learn before we leave this morning, so I hope you are ready.” He said in a kind tone as he strapped on the shield to his own arm and attached the scabbard of the sword to his hip. Raising his eyes back up.
“Since we do not have that much time in hand, we will be practicing right in the street.” He said, drawing forth his sword and raising his shield. “Show me your initial stance.”
-"Right!" Setna was overeager, his hyperness showing in the way his feet bounced. He jumped a few times, stretched out his neck and back, then he was ready. Slowly the eagerness faded into determination as he took a few deep breaths and calmed himself of his adrenaline. He unsheathed his blade and steadied his shield. He took the stance that he had been taught within Syndarea, shield up and sword at the ready. His knees were bent, his weight on the balls of his feet. He was sturdy and focused.The boy's ears were open though, waiting for instruction and anything that Elrithos would be willing to show or say.-
As the young man took position, Elrithos took note that at least he had the initial stance right. It meant that he could learn a lot faster than most beginners to the art of combat. He approached him and simply tapped lightly the man’s fingers with the flat of his blades. “Make sure to keep a strong grip on the handle of your blade. This will be the first area they will try to strike to disarm you. Since you are using sword and shield, you won’t have the grace of using both hands on the sword and keep it secure from being knocked out of your hands.”
He then placed himself right beside him and took the same stance. “What is important when fighting with these is to learn when and to block with the shield and attack or counter-attack with the sword. I’ve seen too many humans fall because they did not understand that you never take a blow directly to the shield.” Elrithos walked to face him, bring his sword so that it was hitting parallel to the shield. “You want to avoid taking a direct strike to the shield as much as possible. You want the blades or axes to slide on the shield and continue their motion to leave him open for a counter-attack.” He demonstrated by striking the shield directly, which would make the arm take most of the impact and stop the swing, making it easy for Elrithos to take a defensive position once more.
“Now, when you deflect…” He went on, showing him to put an angle on the shield so the blade continues its motion away from his body. He struck like before, but this time, he had to continue his motion and the impact wasn’t as harsh on the arm. “… It gives you more options and generally gives you an advantage for a moment. You have to be careful not to block your own vision with your shield. If you do not know how the weapon is striking, you are most likely in for a surprise.” So he went on to do a couple of practice swings, letting him understand the difference between the two impacts and how seeing the blade or handle makes the difference between an easy strike back and a surprise lunge for his lower body.
- Setna nodded following Elrithos' lead and taking in everything he was saying and doing. The boy repeated shifting his shield in the angle the desert elf had moved it. His dark eyes took in each time the swing of the elf's sword impacted the shield. He followed along to the way Elrithos' swing, when deflected, caused him to continue forward and the boy shifted his feet watching as he was able to turn into a counter attack almost immediately. A lot of this was the basics but that didn't deter from Setna's determination and focus. His father had always told him that the mastery of the basics were required before doing anything else.
"What happens if the deflection doesn't go as planned?" Setna asked as he continued moving with Elrithos' practice swings. "Like, if an enemy's sword catches the rim and I lose the shield...is there a way I can counter back quickly? With enough power to give me some time? I mean I know I have to master this first but..."
His curiosity was shining in his face. –
Yes, it was simple basics, but without a proper foundation, you couldn’t have any mastery of the art of combat. Setna had proved that he did indeed know the basics and didn’t need all that introduction to the art. They continued practice for a while, until Setna asked a question about if the deflection failed. Elrithos took the point of his and moved Setna’s shield aside. “A strapped shield won’t be lost very easily. But, if you ever do, the option to you. For me, if I lose my shield or hit the rim, I simply step in and push him.”
He let Setna strike normally, having the deflection fail. Elrithos took two quick steps in, coming to knock back Setna and then put his own shield back forward. “You could also step back and reconsider your options. You always want to make sure the blade never deflects towards your own self… But I figure you already know all this. What you need to do is practice.” And so, Elrithos dropped his own shield and took a few steps back. “Now, I want to see how you defend yourself.” And without another word, Elrithos came forth, thrusting his sword forward, using unusually lunge tatics and pushing aside Setn’a blade or pushing it into his own shield. He wanted to disarm him, show him how easy it is to do so when a hand is open. “Always keep both your shield and sword forward.”
- Setna nodded, taking in everything that was said and shown to him. Push in, or pull back... His brows furrowed in concentration as Elrithos stepped back and then began to lunge forward. The boy did well for awhile, using the basics to deflect and push forward. However, as the speed increased in the spar, he finally tripped up, opening himself up too much and allowing his sword to fall off to the side. The blade slid across the ground and Setna immediately jumped back, creating as much room between himself and the Desert elf as he could manage. He couldn't help shaking his hand in pain as he looked up, keeping his shield raised and ready, in case Elrithos continued to pursue. –
The young man had potential, Elrithos could clearly see it. And really, for a young human, he was doing much better than he would think. Having lasted this long with almost no experience in actual fighting was quite impressive for the desert elf’s experience. Yet, he eventually got to the boy’s weapon, knocking it aside, leaving him with nothing but his shield… Elrithos continued striking, but spoke a few words between strikes.
“Don’t panic… Losing your sword doesn’t mean you are in trouble…” He said, striking one more time before backing up, holding his weapon high. “You still have your shield that can be used as a weapon. You simply have to keep with the basics and apply in various situations.” He stopped the attacks and came forth, positioning the blade as if it was blocked. He then showed him that usually, opponents get cocky in fights when this happens. So as the demonstrated that the sword was set aside, he pulled his shield down, showing him that he could easily have the rim hit his face or neck.
“It is simply that you must no panic and your options will be clear. I do not play fair in fights. I use anything at my disposal to down my opponent, even if it means using dirty tricks.”
- Setna nodded at the explanation and watched as Elrithos went through the motions of what he could do with his shield to hit back at his opponent. He took everything in, attempting to memorize the feeling in his muscles as they were moved into the different positions. It would take awhile to master everything. He would just have to practice as much as he could.
But that was when his ears piqued at the sound of Rudolf calling out to them. "Ready to go lads?"
Setna's shoulders gently sagged to a relaxed position as he looked at Elrithos and grinned happily. "Thank you for the lessons! Can we continue later on?"-
The call of the dwarven man came to ask if they were ready to go. It would mean that it would be time to leave very soon. It was odd that he hadn’t seen Serna, Vordan, Cealis, Faith or Aaerynn. They were maybe somewhere inside still and he didn’t have time to see them. Either way, Elrithos looked at the grinning young man and smiled back with a small nod. “Of course, we will probably find time on the road to practice. I have a better idea on where your training needs to go so I will plan accordingly.”
He then let Setna go do what he needs to do, turning to speak loudly to Rudolf. “I’ll be back in moment! Just have to pick up a few things from the market and I’ll be ready to go.” He said as he then brought the shield and sword up into his room with the rest of his gear then headed off to the market.
Vordan had woken up early too that morning, that was because he went to bed quite early the other day. He didn’t have much to do really, but he did have time to go buy a few things he needed from the market. It wasn’t much, although a little costly. It was another little book he would write in, for a new subject of research. What was going to be written inside was something he didn’t want people to read. His inventions, mixtures and finalized recipes were not that much of a problem, but this one would be. So, there were two small locks on this one, which the keys were kept under a small bag under his gauntlet. Hard to get to, but worth the while.
Other than that, he had walked around a little bit before joining back with the group… Elrithos had a variety of new weapons with him too… Two axes, a spear, a halberd, four different types of swords, a shortbow with arrows, a crossbow with bolts, two different style of daggers, a mace and few other things… What in the hell was he doing with all that and putting those into the cart.
Vordan approached him and tapped his shoulder. “Hey, Elrithos… What are you doing?”
The Aavikkanian turned around with a smile on his face. “This will be for Setna’s training. I’ll prepare him for everything he needs… You alright Vordan?” He was making a reference from the day before.
Vordan nodded. “Yeah, I’ll be fine, don’t worry yourself.” He said, the two then looking over to where Rudolf was, now all ready to go.