Chapter 14
A Different Kind of Battle
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Disclaimer: This story is not meant as 'erotica', but dark adventure-fantasy. It may contain material that sensitive readers might find uncomfortable. Please be advised.
With a quick and deft turn to her left, her opponent's thrust was left to meet only empty air and he was left overextended forward. Not unprepared for this, he was quick to shift his own stance, bringing his shield in place to deflect the expected counter: a full rotation out of the dodge to strike at his retreating flank. His sword arm also lifted and rotated, letting his weapon drop in preparation for the possibility that she would instead reverse into a backswing. The block wouldn't have much strength, but neither would the attack due to having to fight her own inertia.
Of course, neither attempted defense did anything to protect him from Leita dropping to a crouch as she let her evasive turn become a full pivot, bringing her weapon low and into his calves. The wooden shaft of the practice weapon was more than solid enough to buckle his legs completely out from under him and send him sprawling backwards, his own practice weapon flying out of his hand. As gracefully as she'd dipped, Leita straightened back up and had the blunted tip of her sword against his chest.
"That was clumsy and stupid, Huelin." Kalder growled, stepping over to pick up the lost weapon. "I'm shocked you've managed to ever survive a fight."
Leita knew that his defense had actually been pretty good. Had she not been more than a full foot shorter than him, she'd had less luck managing to land the blow, as he had almost managed get his shield dropped in time. Huelin was a good combatant, but Kalder absolutely refused to ever give any sort of praise to her. Instead, he just berated her opponents if she managed to get the upper hand. Of course, let them land the blow on her and he gave her ten times worse bluster.
"Yeah, well, most of the people I've had ta fight ain't as good as her." Huelin sighed as he rubbed at his calf a moment. He shot an amicable smirk her way. "I keep fergettin' she's better'n she looks." He gave her a wink.
"Well, a move like that is all pretty when you don't have forty pounds of steel armor on." Kalder sneered. "If she tried something like that in the arena, weighed down and restricted, she'd be a sitting duck if her opponent doesn't actually fall."
Huelin's grin drooped a bit, obviously more intimated by the massive stone-like man than willing to press a defense for Leita. "I guess." He muttered as began picking himself up. "Still a slick move."
Her win against Delso had earned her a good measure of respect among the rest of the stable, as well as a place in the training yard. Winning against someone who'd been employing magic to enhance themselves was seen as a feat that even Kalder had been hard pressed not to acknowledge. Colja's pride in her effort was beyond question, the usually reserved aljin receiving her, animatedly, upon her return to the house. He'd given her a kiss on each side of her temples, a gesture in his culture showing that he honored her ability.
He'd also identified the nature of the small crystal she'd picked up from the arena floor. It was an item used in the casting of spells, though really little more than just a common piece of polished quartz. However, properly prepared and attuned, it could act as a focus for the weaving of magic. Out of the hands of a practitioner of mysticism, it was completely useless and materially worthless, however. For that reason, when Leita asked to keep the stone as a trophy when offered a request for a reward on her victory, the Mistress granted the wish without reservation.
It now sat on a slender leather thong around her neck, tucked away beneath the collar of her tunic. At times, she would sit and just look at the crystal, marveling at it. It was the first thing she'd ever truly owned, even if it was basically just a shiny rock. To Leita, it represented something that she'd found within herself, a strength that she'd never known.
"Alright, go again." Kalder announced, snapping Leita out of her momentary reverie. "And this time, little girl, no moves you couldn't execute in the arena."
She wanted to say that she felt certain she could have easily performed the move in the arena, given that she was only given lightweight armor. However, she knew that her right to train with the rest of the stable could easily be taken away again if she tested Kalder too far. Instead, she merely nodded her obedience.
For several minutes, she and Huelin exchanged attacks and defenses, sticking mostly to standard moves and tactics. After a while, Kalder moved away to begin barking at another pair of fighters who he could find more fault with. Once he was out of earshot, Huelin gave her a wily smile. "Ya can stop holdin' back now." He chuckled.
"You first." Leita countered, returning the smile.
Instead, he took a step back and crossed his shield and weapon to signal a need for a pause. "First, water. Though I'd rather it were whiskey."
Leita gave him an uncertain look. "Whiskey?"
"I fight best when I've a pint of sour mash in me." He said, giving her a wink. "Makes me bold."
"I'd think it would make you drunk." Leita countered.
"Tha's the idea, kid." He laughed. "The trick is jus' knowin' how drunk ta be. Enough so there's no fear, but little enough that ya ain't trippin' over your own feet."
Leita peered at the man a moment before shrugging and giving him a smile. Before being sentenced to enslavement as a gladiator, Huelin had been a thug and a thief. Despite his criminal background, he was rather personable, if rough-hewn. She found that she rather liked the man, even found him a little ruggedly handsome. While she had her doubts about being drunk in the middle of a fight, she wasn't all that opposed to the notion of sharing a drink with the man in a more private setting.
Following him over to the water barrel, she waited as he drew up the ladle to his lips, sipping almost daintily at it. Once he'd drained it, he refilled it and handed it to her. The cool water felt good going down, not even aware how thirsty she'd been until she'd begun to drink. Passing back the empty instrument, she turned to survey the rest of the yard while he took another draw from the water.
The dozens of fighters littering the yard were all going through their motions, most paired off one-on-one, though a foursome were also practicing against one another, overseen by the blue-lipped Myrinus, his similarly shaded hair drawn back into a short tail. Kalder, Colja, and Sasinel were walking among the various pairs, correcting stances, giving criticisms, and, in Kalder's case, occasionally dispensing harsh lessons.
The Four Elements, being far better in skill than the others, only seriously trained with each other, otherwise sparring with the rest of the stable only to teach them something, usually in painful ways. She'd come to understand Colja's warning that her victory over Kalder on her first day shouldn't be taken as insight into his real skill. Since then, she'd seen that he was indeed far more formidable of an opponent than she'd thought.
While it was hard to tell which of the other three Elements was more skilled than another, Kalder easily stood out among the four as the superior combatant. So good, in fact, that most of the stable believed he was enchanted in more ways than just his stone-like body. His talents and ability were enough to make even the cockiest member of the stable fear him and follow his lead on most everything. That he wasn't afraid to enforce his will with brutality only increased that obedience.
Only the Elements really dared to contradict or deny him, though in their case, he seemed willing to negotiate and respect their places as fellow leaders of the stable. In the case of Sasinel, she'd noticed, that respect was somewhat lesser than the other two, but there was still some measure of respect. As a sidil, only a few in the stable seemed to consider her worthy of the same respect as they gave the other Elements, though all knew better than to disrespect her in general. Even Kalder, possibly her biggest critic, was quick to punish anyone who did not obey her command over them.
As she watched the pale, lithe, figure appear to glide along amid the various sparring partners, the sidil's eyes met hers. She stopped and returned Leita's stare for a few moments, as though trying to silently cow her into looking away. When Leita did not, Sasinel's face shifted to something a little more curious and she started their way.
Leita quickly looked over to Huelin, in an attempt to warn him to look presentable, but he'd already spotted the approaching Element and was already stepping up to stand next to her. "Guess we took too long ta wet our throats." He muttered under his breath.
"I think this one is my fault." Leita admitted in a whisper.
"You've been lingering too long, return to practice." Sasinel said as soon as she reached them. "Or maybe you think this is your personal water well, hei?"
"Told ya." Huelin coughed as he started back to the spot where they'd been sparring.
Leita, however, remained in place. This was actually the first time that the sidil had directly spoken to her and she'd been wanting to ask a question. "Mistress Element, would you be willing to teach me how you fight?"