Beaumont
----
Aleron and Natalie were up early the following day, waking up to the gentle sunlight of the morning. They ate a small breakfast before they began training, as had been customary on their adventure to Santaria.
Aleron sat on a tree stump as he watched, and judged, his daughter's footwork. He wasn't especially pleased with it, but she needed to learn the basics before anything else, all without picking up any bad habits.
"The overriding goal in any fighting situation is to avoid someone's strike. You side-step, or take a step back to avoid their weapon entirely. This gives you a small window of opportunity where your sword is the only active player on the field," Aleron explained thoroughly, Natalie listening to her father's words intently.
"But you won't always have that opportunity. And when you don't, your sword becomes your shield as well." Aleron stood up, unsheathing his sword and adopting a stance where he held the sword horizontally. Natalie immediately copied it.
"This stance would block a top-down strike. The key here is to ensure your sword is perfectly flat compared to theirs when they clash. That way, it doesn't glance off and hurt you. The downside to this over avoiding the strike entirely is that it tires you, and doing it too often means you're bound to make a mistake. It also gives you a much smaller window of opportunity than side-stepping."
Aleron stepped forward, swinging his sword slowly from the top at Natalie so she could block it.
"You see? Even my strike there could be felt in your arms, in your hands. Imagine a strike at ten times that speed. Now, what I want you to do this time is combine both styles. You keep the sword as-is, but step forward and to the right, like this," he demonstrated twice, "and then sliiide yours out from under mine. This gives you a bigger window of opportunity."
He swung slowly again, Natalie stepping and blocking his swing. She slid her sword out from under his slowly, poking his chest armor with the tip.
"Boop."
Aleron smiled. "Good. Faster this time. Slash rather than thrust at my armor so ya don't kill me, Natalie."
They performed the action a dozen more times, Natalie's motions becoming all the more fluid with his corrections and encouragement. He decided they should stop there before he could actually get bit by her blade.
"You're doing very well, honey," Aleron encouraged her, Natalie's smile beaming back. "Let's just practice your footwork for the rest of the time. Avoid my strikes, and keep your sword raised. Your goal is to keep me within reach of your own sword."
--
Natalie was exhausted by the time training was finished that day, the pair practicing for a good three hours before deciding to call it quits. She mounted the horse on her own, and navigated the beast back towards the path without any assistance from Aleron.
"Aww. They grow up so fast," Aleron teased, rolling the tent back up and strapping it onto the side of the horse.
"Soon I'll be even deadlier than you," Natalie smirked, sticking her tongue out.
"Maybe. If nothing else, you'll look better as you're doing it."
The pair departed from their campsite, the faint outline of a town atop a hill far off in the horizon. Too small to be Santaria, but anywhere with decent lodging and running water would be more than good enough for Natalie at this point.
--
Aleron and Natalie made their way down the winding trail soon after, meeting up with the main, paved road to Santaria laid easterly. Many travelers were here; merchants, musicians, patrolmen, and many more normal citizens just going about their days. Aleron didn't admit to it, but the fellow road-goers gave him calm after the couple of days in the hills. They signalled civilization, after all, and only those born in the wilds would truly feel comfortable within it for longer than a day or two.
The sun was still high in the clouded sky above when the pair reached the idyllic town of Beaumont, which straddled a lone hill surrounded by acres of vine trellises. The buildings of the town itself almost looked as if they were stacked atop one another from this vantage, producing a wonderful view for the pair of tired travelers. Aleron wanted to peruse the shops and gather supplies for the three day journey ahead towards Santaria. Natalie had other plans.
"Please Aleron, can we stay here the night? I'm
dying
for a bath," Natalie whimpered, giving her father a pout in hopes of convincing him as he looked over the food stall. Aleron turned his gaze to his daughters, immediately falling for the look she gave him. He only had a couple day's worth of fatherly experience, after all.
"Sure, Natalie. Any inn in particular you had in mind...?" he asked, Natalie immediately pointing to a tall building behind him.
Aleron turned to look in her direction, rolling his eyes once he'd spied the richly-decorated two-story inn. It appeared more of a romantic destination than a road-side inn, but he could see the appeal for Natalie at any rate. He fished a couple of gold Imperials from his pouch and placed it in her hand.
"Book us a room.
One night
, Natalie. Can you deal with Carrot?" he asked, referring to his horse.
Natalie nodded with a wide smile. "Sure!"
"Ensure she gets feed and water from the inn. Let the innkeep know my name so I can get the room number. See you there in a couple hours," Aleron explained. Natalie grabbed the reins of the horse and skipped off towards the inn.
"Thank you!" she beamed.
Aleron shook his head and sighed as soon as she were out of range to hear. He was growing too weak in her presence, growing too fond of her. He hoped he was being a decent father figure for Natalie to make up for their first meeting together. Probably not, he figured; he'd had no experience with the profession previously, and couldn't imagine a journey through the wilds and sword training meant he was doing a good job.
With a couple of hours to himself, Aleron visited several of Beaumont's taverns to ask the locals if any word had come through regarding his potential case in Santaria. He didn't learn much; most of them had less information than Emmanuel had two days ago.
He decided to retire from interrogating the locals, and instead decided on practicing his throwing arm. Before he could rise, however, an elegant woman wearing a pink and white dress sat on the barstool beside him.
"I heard you asking around about the murder," the woman beside him huskily spoke, granting Aleron a smile of pearl-white teeth, a rare sight even in Santaria.
"Yeah," Aleron admitted, nodding towards her. "Name's Aleron. Bounty hunter."
"Josephine Durant," she replied silkily, extending a dainty hand towards him. Aleron took it, pecking it briefly before she returned the hand to her wine glass. Aleron noticed she looked somewhat prestigious and haughty, but would be significantly less so if she wasn't wearing her diamond jewelry and ridiculous dress. He made her out to be in her mid-thirties.
"Do you know anything more than the fact that there
is
an unsolved murder, miss Durant?"
She paused a moment, then nodded. "Yes, Aleron. The man who was killed, Lord Montagne. He is -- was -- the owner of several expansive wineries around Santaria, registered under multiple aliases," she explained, Aleron listening seriously and intently. Josephine smiled nervously, "You must understand, Aleron, that no man obtains that manner of estate in Santaria truthfully. The taxes alone would bankrupt all but a count himself."
Aleron nodded. "So he likely had connections high within the Ducal court, clearly," he thought aloud, Josephine nodding away. "and no one gets that level of favor without making a few enemies along the way."
"My. You sure know your politics, yet your accent is... foreign? Imperial, perhaps?"
"Hayadian," Aleron corrected with a smile. "Would you be able to name any potential enemies of our dear Montagne? Someone who would want him dead?"
