Chapter 13 A school yard spar

We exited into the walled off school yard and Darisa lead us to an open area by the man made lake. Four students were standing to the side putting on armor.

Darisa pointed them out. “Those four; oh this should be interesting."

Despite trying to look casual, my eyes were peeled. For me this was a rare opportunity.

Tora smirked at my enthusiasm. “Oh Darisa, quite the show we will see isn’t it. Are those the sons of Morvul the earth shaker?”

Darisa nodded. “Yes, this should be interesting two earth warriors with a decent pedigree versus a water warrior and water mage.”

Tora chuckled. “Excellent, raw power against versatility. Pay attention Jeru, with any luck these will be your classmates soon.”

My eyes were darting back between the students, trying to take in as much detail as possible. The earth brothers looked familiar, both were fairly tall with intimidating scowls and shaved heads. The other two were far less imposing. A small girl with bright blonde hair and a lean boy with long limbs stood beside her.

Each side started preparing for battle. I snickered a bit. Edjudan would never approve of a spar with such formalities, how was this real life or death training.

The two earth warriors prepared by summoning an armor of stone. Their bodies were covered from head to toe. One earth element warrior was a mixed element type. Flecks of stone chipped apart and were blown away from him; leaving gaps in his armor that were constantly being regrown.

The other side looked ready to go. Darisa shouted. “ You may now begin, a key strike will mean elimination. Fight to the last man.”

The mixed element earth warrior made the first move. He rushed towards the long limbed boy; a stream of water coiled around his body and he used his long limbs to whip the water towards his opponent.

Ah this boy was the water warrior.

The water warrior kept whipping out stream after stream; backing up after each attack to keep his distance. The earth warrior struck out with his staff and used his immense strength to cleave the ground itself. The spray of dirt and gravel kept the whip at bay.

The other warrior and mage were involved in their own stand off. The warrior was rushing forward but kept being pushed back by large waves of water at least 3 rods high. The waves themselves were narrow but were a powerful force. Each crashing wave shook the ground and sprayed water and earth everywhere. The young girl also started summoning fist sides orbs of water, they floated around her before flying at the other earth warrior.

Tora clapped his hands. “Even being locked down she is able to offer some assistance to her teammate.”

Darisa smiled. “Of course, what else would you expect from a strong elemental mage.”

She looked at me as she made her next point. “Talent is talent, you either have it or you don’t.”

I thought better of responding. Rocks and streams of water were flying everywhere the battle reached a fever pitch.

The mage’s assistance tipped the scales of the first stand off. One of the water orbs struck the mixed element warrior off balance. This brief moment allowed the water warrior to get in repeated strikes. The water coiled and struck. Dancing as if alive. Each time peeling a layer of stone from the warrior until it struck exposed flesh on his chest. The blow knocked him to the ground and he started bleeding.

Darisa pointed. “Morgol out!”

The water warrior left Morgol to team up on the remaining earth warrior. The earth warrior turned around and rushed him. Large whips of water assaulted the warrior but could not peel apart his armor. The mage rushed to help but the earth warrior kept putting her ally between them.

Tora’s grin stretched wide. “Ah truly Morvul’s son. What superior tactics.”

The water warrior kept whipping out but unable to keep his distance he took two staff blows to the stomach then one to his head knocking him down.

Darisa yelled again. “Kril, you’re out.”

The battle was now one on one. I thought about what I would have done in the situation. I didn’t think I could break the stone armor, but the blows were something I could dodge.

The water mage scowled, her movements becoming more frantic. She looked impatient. The waves grew higher and wider, crashing down quicker with more force. The repeated waves forced back the earth warrior ,but he looked no worse for wear. Finally there was a small gap in the waves. He hurled his staff forward toward the oncoming wave. The immense force shattered the wave in front of him; the wave exploded into a massive gush of spray and mist. He rushed through the gap and grabbed the mage’s arm forced her to the ground. The little girl shrieked.

Darisa intervened. “ The spar over, earth victory.” She tried to judge my expression. “Well boy, I hope that was eye opening for you. I can’t wait to see you fight.”

I shrugged. “This has given me much to think about.” I turned to Tora. “Elder, I believe I will take my leave now. I should be back by Enla[1].”

Tora nodded and I departed. I glimpsed at Darisa and Tora chatting as I walked away.

I learned a few things from my school visit. That Tora and Darisa knew something or were suspicious of me. A few slow breaths and I refocused my priorities. I couldn’t do anything about it at the moment so I decided to prepare for life in the wilderness with Edjudan.

I gathered the tokens I had earned from chores- minus some I left behind for my mother- and headed to the village market. The smells of grilled meat, people shouting prices, a wandering caravan peddling goods all assailed my senses . Everyone in this part of the city scampered from stall to stall, like a bustling hive.

I perused goods from many stalls, my first purchase was a large sack made of beast hide. I stocked up on some dried and cured meats and a few spices. Making sure to sample a some meat and dried fruits.

I next went looking for clothes. Bright blue and red robes hung from clothes lines, woven tunics in every color imaginable were keenly displayed. Knowing Edjudan I assumed dark and unassuming colors would be best. I picked a few robes and tunics, dark green, brown and as a deep a black as I could find. I also purchased a thick leather vest I could wear beneath my clothing as some added armor.

The next cluster of stalls intrigued me the most. Placed out of the way, they belonged to one of the trading caravans. The display was intimidating with beast skulls strung up, and stacks of materials: fang, claws, cores and hides. The weapons had my attention. Flails, spears, knives, swords; rack after rack in every material I knew of. I had a fair amount of money left and wanted to buy an imposing weapon. The black iron and steel blades made my blood boil , but I settled on copper as it would be the cheapest.

The way of eternity focused on momentum and spinning maneuvers. I figured a sword or mace would be ideal for using the added force from spinning. The blunt weapons were rather limited, in lesser materials, so I started looking at racks of swords. They were all in a gladius style, about one rod in length from hilt to tip, a balanced one handed blade. I picked one up and tested its balance.

A merchant then approached me. “Ah ha, a future swordsman I see.”

I nodded. “ Just looking for something that can help me scavenge in the forest.”

He smiled. “So young and already hunting. Well, what do you think?”

The blade didn’t appear to be anything special and I began to take out some my tokens when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. There was another blade, it looked a little dull, it wasn’t polished and on display like the rest. I went to pick it up.

The merchant looked me over. “Ha Ha what a discerning eye you have.” The words dripped from his lips.

I swung the blade a few times. It was in the same gladius shape ,but seemed to be made of copper and maybe some sort of iron together. The middle part of the blade weighed much more than the previous blades.

I stared at it. “ How much for this one.”

The merchant paused. “Oh I’m not sure I can sell that one.”

That sealed it, I took out a small piece of gold the majority of my resources and tossed it to the merchant. “Here, I already redeemed some of my tokens, trade the sword for this and you won’t have to pay token redeeming taxes on it when you exchange at the village outpost.”

I beamed at my offer.

The merchant looked over the small piece of gold, he hesitated. “Hmm an interesting offer. I suppose you were destined for that sword. We have a deal.”

I left the stall with the sword hung at my waist. I couldn’t wait to show it off to Edjudan, its look, its weight there was something different about the blade.

[1] Spring season named for the goddess Enalla