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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 3381979" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 116TRAININGThe distinctive clamor of combat echoed through the small courtyard of the manor house of Cattalia, a generous estate located on a beautiful hilltop less than a mile outside of the city of Camar. The morning air was cold, but the five fighters wore only light sleeveless tunics and breeches.  By the sweat covering their bodies, they had been going at it for quite some time, and more than one bore bruises where the wooden practice blades had already found their marks.  At the moment, four of the combatants were engaged in an all-out attack against the last, who was having a difficult time of it. It was immediately obvious that the lone defender was an expert swordsman.  His attackers, three men and a woman, were no novices, but he was able to block nearly-simultaneous attacks, only their numbers keeping him from taking advantage of openings to launch effective counters.  They were being cautious, however.  One of the young men was moving with an obvious limp, and the woman held her off arm close against her side, favoring bruised ribs.  On the other hand, the defender had taken several hits, including a nasty purple bruise that had swollen up around his left eye, trailing blood where the skin had been split. As the combat continued, a newcomer entered the courtyard, and frowned as she watched the display.  None of the combatants paid her any heed.  She spotted another observer standing on the covered porch on the right side of the yard, so she made her way there. “Hello, Allera,” Shay said, embracing the healer briefly before she turned back to the battle.  She grimaced as Talen—the lone defender in the melee—took a hard hit across his back, but as the others rushed in to finish the contest, he somehow twisted out of the path of two swords, kicking one of his attackers in the knee hard enough to send him sprawling to the ground.  The woman who had struck him tried to bring her sword up into his wrist, attempting to disarm him, but he caught her arm and threw her past him, tangling her up with one of the onrushing men.  The maneuver gave him time to retreat back out into the middle of the courtyard, shaking off the effects of the hit to his back.  One of his opponents tried to help up the man with the injured knee, but it buckled under him, and he fell back to the ground. “I thought these things generally just went to the first mortal strike... assuming the swords had been real, that is,” Allera said. “Normally, they do,” Shay replied.  “He’s trying something different.”  She rolled her eyes, indicating what she thought of the matter. “They fight this hard without a healer?”“Oh, we have an acolyte of the Father in the back house, within easy call.  But Talen seems to have gotten convinced that getting beaten within an inch of your life helps your body remember how not to get hit.  I’d expect something like that from the men, but it pains me to see Medelia involved in such nonsense.”  Even as she spoke, the young woman cried out as Talen smacked her hard in the bicep with his practice sword.  She nearly dropped her weapon, but only retreated from the battle long enough to switch the weapon to her other hand and come in again. “He’s pushing them hard,” Allera said. Shay nodded.  As they watched, the battle finally did come to an end.  Talen was good, but his opponents had ultimately just worn him down.  He’d dodged a feint too slowly to recover as one of the young men hit him in the thigh just above his knee, staggering him.  Medelia brought her sword around with her off hand into the base of Talen’s skull, and the fighter fell hard to the dirt, coughing.  Allera and Shay ran forward.  The healer grabbed Talen by the head, pouring healing energy into him.  Talen gasped as the pain of his wounds was purged from him in a torrent, and the bruise on his face shrank and faded.  His four young former opponents watched in surprise. “Damn it, Allera... the battle wasn’t over.  I had not yielded.”“It was over,” Shay said.  “You were out, and the best you could have done was split your fool-stubborn head open on one of their swords.  They had you cold, old man.”  Some of the warriors smiled—Talen had five years on any of them, if that—but those faded as Talen fixed his stare upon them.  Finally, though, he relented. “All right, the exercise is over,” he said.  “See Philokrates inside, make sure nothing important’s hurt... and then get cleaned up.  I’ll join you inside later.”As the warriors left, one helping the still-limping man with the damaged knee, Talen got up and brushed his hands clean.  “It’s good to see you, Allera, and I’m not just saying that because you saved me a nasty headache.”“I’d heard that you’ve accomplished a great deal already.”Talen nodded.  “This site is ideal.  It’s outside Camar, but I think that works to our advantage.  Fewer distractions, and it will ultimately be self-sustaining.  And there’s lots of space.  Grachius has already noted a few sites were we can add buildings, if we ever get that far.”“Yes, it’s a pity we never got a chance to thank Lord Sobol for the use of his estate,” Shay added dryly. “How are the recruits?” Allera asked.“They’re good,” Talen said.  “We’re still getting set up.  We’ve got a good core of people, those who helped us bring down the Duke, and some others whose help has been instrumental since then.  I’ve got a few senior drill masters coming from the legions, and  once they’re here, we’ll be able to start a regular training regiment for new recruits. The guilds and the church have helped a little, mostly with money, although each has sent us a few people with administrative experience.”“Yeah, and with good eyes and ears, too,” Shay said.  “And mouths, to pass on what they see to their masters.”Talen shrugged.  “We’re going to be in the spotlight for a while, but we still need the help.  We’re putting out contacts to draw in some more good people, but even counting the household staff, we’ve got barely fifty in all.  There’s so much to do, we have to set up a whole administrative apparatus, logistics, budget, command structure.  We haven’t even worked out all the details yet of how candidates will be chosen, tested...”“We’re not accepting all help,” Shay said.  “Talen’s already angered a few members of the nobility, when he said that they couldn’t get their scions in as knights-in-training.  He turned down some fairly... generous... offers.”Talen frowned.  “Maybe eventually we can have a corps of cadets, apprentices, or whatever, but at the moment, we have to focus on people with proven skills.  If this new order isn’t going to be the best of the best, Shay, then why bother...”The scout held up her hands.  “I agree, Talen, but we’re not getting off to the best start by pissing powerful people off.”Talen grimaced.  “I’m not a diplomat.  Allera, you understand how all this... political stuff works, maybe you could...”“I am happy to do what I can, Talen, but I don’t have any official standing in Camar.  As a healer, I cannot be partisan; my job requires that all sides be willing to accept my help.”“Perhaps, then, you can provide Talen with some suggestions and advice, on how best to navigate the complex web of Camarian politics,” Shay suggested.  “For some reason, he seems to bristle at taking sensible advice from me.”“Yes, well, from what I understand, some men find it difficult to acknowledge that they are in error, in front of a woman,” Allera said. Talen ran a hand through his hair.  “Ah... you do remember I’m standing right here, right?”Both women turned their eyes toward him with that particular expression known to men from time immemorial.  Talen was wise enough to know that it was prudent to call for a tactical retreat.  “Right... I’d better go clean up, I promised Philokrates I’d give him an hour of my time this afternoon, to go over the requirements for the dispensary.  Allera, will you join us for the noon meal?”The healer nodded, and Talen quickly—too quickly, perhaps—retreated into the manor house.“That man can be exasperating, sometimes,” Shay said, as he left. “Yes, but he does fill out those breeches fairly well, does he not?”“Allera!” Shay said in a scandalized voice.  Then she laughed.  “I guess he does, at that.”  They smiled, but then Shay grew more serious, and laid a hand on the healer’s arm.  “Have you heard anything... new?  From the mountains?”Allera shook her head.  “He didn’t see me before he left.  I think he made it quite clear that he did not want to see me again.”“He’s just being a stubborn idiot,” Shay said.  “Maybe it is for the best.”  Allera turned slightly away, pretending to be interested in a hanging plant under the porch overhang.“Talen and I were surprised that he accepted Tiros’s request in the first place.”“I don’t know that he himself knew how much he needed it,” Allera said.  “It is a frightening thing, sometimes, to be needed.  But without it, life can be bleak indeed.”Shay didn’t respond, but she turned to look at the door where Talen had disappeared, and she nodded silently to herself. Allera turned back to face the scout.  “Talen is moving very quickly.  I spoke to Tiros the other day, and he said that the Second and Fourth legions will be heading north in a few days, but that you wouldn’t be going with them.”Shay shook her head.  “No, you’re right.  The few dozen people that we are gathering here won’t make a difference in the coming fight with Delamar... and I think Talen and Tiros alike are preparing for a different threat.”Allera nodded.  She didn’t need to ask what Shay meant. “Has there been any word... from the south?” “Things have been quiet.  Tiros has added additional patrols through the region, and both the Guild and the church have agreed to use their powers to help keep an eye on things.  Assuming that Dar can get things moving quickly on his end, we should have a better idea in a month or so, of how things stand.”“Varo hinted that we would have to go back, before it is all done.”Shay’s lips tightened.  “The cleric of Dagos has his own agenda.”“I know.  But if he is right...”As if summoned by Allera’s words, a cold breeze swept through the courtyard, stirring up a plume of dried leaves and dust, and forcing both women to tug their cloaks closer around their bodies.  Shay looked up at the sky, and gestured toward the door.  “There’s another storm coming,” she said, leaving Allera’s question unanswered.  “We’d better go inside.”</blockquote>

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