[Mkguild] First Steps (5/?)

[Nathan Pfaunmiller]

Here's a bit of a longer part for this evening.

-LurkingWolf

_________________________

	“All right, take a moment.  I have one last thing for you this
evening, and then we’ll be finished.”  Lois had just finished putting
Paula through her paces, and, although he would not admit it to her,
he felt almost as tired as she looked.  He wasn’t sure if it was just
the residual exhaustion from his extended patrol, or if age was
finally beginning to catch him, but he didn’t want to admit any
weakness to his student.

	He breathed as evenly as he could as he recovered, considering how
the training had gone so far.  Her ability to sense things before they
happened had already shown a good deal in her reactions, but she was
clearly much more used to heavy-weapons fighting.  What hand to hand
she knew basically consisted of strength-based attacks, and she
reacted to him as though he would bring the same style against her.
He quickly defeated her in any sparring session, and she only rarely
made contact.  Even those times, he was able to shrug off the damage
without too much trouble.

	Her basics were good, though.  Her fighting stance was solid, and she
had managed to break several of his joint locks without instruction.
She also managed to avoid making the same mistake twice most of the
time, but Lois would only be convinced of her ability to adapt if she
remembered her mistakes tomorrow night.  He would start moving her
towards a more flexible style of hand-to-hand combat then, but there
was one more thing he wanted to do first.

	He turned to see her standing behind him, eyes examining the cracks
of the wall, left hand flexing slowly.  He had performed a nerve pinch
in the area a few sparring sessions before, and her reaction had done
more harm than good.  Lois had managed to let go before too much
damage was done, but she would still be feeling that for a few days.
If he didn’t want her to work on flexibility, he would have considered
investing in a wrist brace.

	“Last thing for tonight,” he announced.  He pulled out one of his
daggers in his right paw and spun it so the hilt was facing her.
“Come, take the weapon.”

	She looked at him questioningly for a moment, and then reached out to
grasp the handle of weapon.  She pulled it off and help it in front of
her.

	“It’s so light!” she commented.

	“That’s partially your experience with heavy weapons talking, but you
are correct.  These daggers were made to be light, quiet, and
compact.”  He pulled out the matching pair and assumed a fighting
grip.  “I used a variety of weapons before I purchased these, but I
never found something that really worked.  Other daggers were either
too heavy or horribly unsuited to combatting heavier weapons.  Few
were well made, and several times I had a blade give out at a bad
time.  I purchased these from a smith who owed me a favor.  They still
cost me more than anything else I’ve ever purchased, but I have never
regretted them.  There is no enchantment on them, and yet it would
puzzle a master mage if they were tasked with destroying them.”

	“Couldn’t they just use fire?”

	“Perhaps, but it would frustrate them for several minutes before
giving way.  The man would never tell me what he did to it to give it
the strength it has, but he did tell me that there was no magic in it.
 I was… rather specific on that point.  During that time of my life, I
was rather hostile towards the idea of letting magic save my life, but
I’ve grown out of that.”  He shook his head, realizing that he was
waxing eloquent about nothing particularly interesting.  “Be that as
it may, what I really want to know is how you will react to using one
of them.  So, come at me.”  He took up a defensive posture, relaxed
and ready to move at a moment’s notice.

	She looked at the weapon and then at him.  “I have no experience
using a dagger as a primary weapon!  The only time I was ever advised
to use a dagger was when I lost my main sword.”

	“Well, I don’t see you sword around anywhere, so as far as I’m
concerned, you have lost it.  As for your lack of training, that is
what I seek to remedy, but I need to know where we stand first.”

	She still looked uncertain, but still set up to attack.  She waited a
few moments, but Lois didn’t even move as she feinted towards him.  He
finally took a few steps so that his back was not to the edge of the
balcony, but he didn’t change his posture aside from moving his feet.

	Normally, Paula would assume she had several openings, but she knew
it could be as easy as that.  He left several holes, but he was the
one in charge of training.  There was simply no way that he would
actually let her win that easily.

	Her suspicions were confirmed when she finally decided to exploit one
of them.  Lois hardly flinched, but what little movement he gave was
enough to get him out of her strike zone.  He gave a step, but didn’t
change his posture.  “Again.”

	She tried another perceived hole, and he stepped back again, turning
slightly and taking a step to the side.  She didn’t stop, slicing
again, and once more, just trying to catch him off guard.  He turned
and took a few steps back again.  Paula watched him closer, beginning
to try several new grips to see if he responded.  She finally got a
reaction, but it was little more than a change in his blade’s
position.  Still, it was different, and she stepped forward and tried
again, this time faking one way and then going another.  She finally
had the satisfaction of feeling his blade against hers, but he simply
turned her blade and forced it back a little before sidestepping
around her a few steps.  She reset her posture and waited a few more
seconds.

	“Is this even getting me anywhere?” she asked.

	“That’s something you need to know without consulting me.  In battle,
no one is going to tell you if you’re doing well.”

	As he spoke, she lunged for another opening, but he simply finished
his sentence while knocking her blade to the side with his and pushing
her hard enough to make her stumble back a few paces.  She cleared her
throat reflexively, but made no other motion for a few moments.

	And then Lois finally moved.

	He took a step forward, angling his blade one way and then turning it
again, but never striking.  She stepped back and matched his
positioning, and then gave another step as he stepped up again.  She
hardly had time to realize what had happened before she slipped, her
leg caught something, and she pitched over backwards, crying out in
shock.

	She looked around wildly, trying to figure out where she was, until
finally looking back up and seeing Lois grabbing her arm.  She looked
back, and realized that he had pushed her back over the railing.  She
felt absolutely stupid, but said nothing as he pulled her back up.

	“You did rather well, actually,” he commented.  “I was looking for
openings in your defense for most of the fight, and saw none that I
was willing to risk.  If I had struck out a few times I likely would
have found something, but since that was not part of this test, I will
simply say that you handled it well.”

	She sighed shakily, still getting over the shock of nearly falling
over the railing.  The praise was appreciated, however, and she nodded
slowly.  Still, she had her doubt.  “I’m nowhere near where I should
be, though.  I should have been able to make you work at the very
least.”

	“If you didn’t have some progress to make, we wouldn’t be here, would
we?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm.  It got her to smile at least.

	“I don’t know, I just want to learn fast!  So many times I am
completely outmaneuvered by my sparring partners before I can even
make a decent attempt at defending.  I want that to change.”

	“Well, you do know a little now that you didn’t before.  I have a
suggestion; now that you know that you can feel some things before
they happen, move your weapon as little as possible.  The weight of
holding the weapon is enough as it is, and moving your body will be
far easier.  Don’t let your opponents tax you by testing you.  Use
your abilities to figure out when they are coming at you in force.”

	To punctuate this statement, he dove forward and raised his dagger
high and to the side, coming across her body but stopping just short
of her shoulder.  She first moved to block the attack, but then
applied his advice, stepping back so the attack would miss her just
wide.  She maneuvered her own dagger into the hole he had left, and
held it just short of his throat.

	“Perfect.  If you can do this with your heavy weapon, you should have
much better success.  Applying it here is not a bad idea either, but
since we’re finishing for the night, I’ll leave the application for
another time.”  He held out his left hand, and she handed him his
dagger again, and he slid both into their sheathes.  “We will continue
tomorrow; since I’m sure you could use as much time as possible to
rest between your training sessions, I would suggest you meet me here
slightly after sunset.  That should give you a few more minutes.”

	She nodded and began to collect her things.  Once she was ready, she
turned and smiled.  “Thank you for this,” she said quietly.  “I don’t
know how long I can keep this secret from my father, but I hope we
have the opportunity to learn some other things.  Maybe… run the roofs
sometime.”

	Lois grinned, showing off his impressively sharp teeth.  “I’m certain
we could work that into our schedule.  It will be an interesting
diversion between our sessions.”

	Paula nodded.  She turned as though to say something else, but
stopped herself and walked away through the door.  Lois remained
behind, fingers playing with the hilt of one of his daggers.  She was
enthusiastic, a fast study, and very flexible.  She would certainly
make an interesting first student.

*	*	*

	The next morning dawned bright and clear, and Lois had to drag
himself out of bed in order to greet it.  He had determined the night
before that he would not allow himself to remain in bed after the
previous night’s training, but it was simply far easier to sleep late
and wake early on patrol when your only bed was the forest floor.
When there was an actual bed in the equation, he had to fight the urge
to remain in it.

	Still, he managed to get himself up and ready before too very long.
His fur was a mess; he realized now that he had not given thought to
getting anything that would help him with that new feature.  The last
time he had gone to the baths in the keep, he had fallen asleep at his
desk and his fur had remained pretty much in order.  It seemed to
react differently to sleeping on a bed.

	There was nothing for it now.  He could spend an hour trying to pull
the knots from his fur with his fingers, but that would still leave
him looking like a wreck and it would probably put him in a bad mood.
It wasn’t as though every keeper had immaculately arranged fur, after
all.

	By the time the sun began to burn the early morning fog from the
valley, Lois was standing high atop one of the buildings just beyond
the upper keep, watching the orb increase in definition as the fog
began to fade.  Often, he would use this sort of time to simply think,
but he had learned his lesson about thinking too hard the day before
he was Cursed.  He was content to leave his past where it belonged for
now.

	By the time the sun was readily visible over the walls from street
level, Lois had made use of his improvised highway to reach one of the
lower Keep’s training grounds.  He was disappointed that he was not
quite able to reach it completely while treating the shingles like his
own personal pathway.  Still, dropping a stone’s throw from the fields
was acceptable.

	He settled in to warm up, and was through several of his early forms
when he noticed a familiar lynx practicing to the side.  He looked
worse than Lois did himself, and by the looks of it had been at his
drills for several hours already.  He had somehow managed to sweat
through his leather armor in a few places, even though the weather was
mild and Lois had not been aware that furred Keepers could still
sweat.  Whatever the case, the training dummy he was working on was
lucky to still be able to stand with as many hacks as it had taken.

	Lois walked over to him, calling ahead to get his attention.  He was
glad he did a moment later, as Alex whirled around with his sword at
the ready.  When he saw Lois, he relaxed a bit, but he still held his
sword in a fighting position instead of angling it down.

	“Hello, Lois.”

	“Hello, Alex.  I see you’ve been working hard?”  Something was going
on, but Lois felt pretty well assured that asking about it was not the
best idea at this point.

	The lynx nodded, looking at the dummy for a few moments before
turning back to look at Lois.  “I don’t suppose you were looking for a
sparring partner?” he asked.

	“I wouldn’t mind a match, no.  We might be able to see how I perform
against you after the Curse.”  Alex nodded absently, but his eyes were
distant for a moment.  “Very well, let’s do it then.”  He stepped over
to a sparring ring, and Lois met him in the center, separated just
enough so that both of them would have to work to get into striking
position.  Alex raised his sword in a brief salute, and Lois mimicked
the gesture as well as his significantly shorter weapons would allow.

	The fight started much faster than usual.  Alex didn’t waste time on
formalities, and the abruptness of the attack had Lois on his heals
for a few moments.  He finally did meet him halfway, and pushed a
little bit to give himself a bit of breathing room.  Alex was on him
in a moment, however, and Lois grunted as he alternately turned the
blows and danced out of the way.  He managed to maneuver Alex until
the lynx was a few inches from the line, but his opponent’s aggressive
style would not allow Lois to push him over.  Before long, the lynx
had pushed the fight out again, and the two paused to circle each
other.

	Lois took the opportunity to change grips.  If Alex was going to be
aggressive, he was going to invest a little bit more effort in
defense, and his grip would reflect that.  The next attack was not
long in coming, and Lois made use of his revised strategy to easily
work around the lynx’s blade.  He went on the attack for a moment, but
was forced to abandon that idea as Alex adjusted and turned him aside.

	The lynx was laboring, but he was not becoming sloppy as most would
in that situation.  Instead, he was fighting with a fury that was
entirely unlike him, and it made him hard to predict.  Even when Lois
could expect his next move, Alex would counter any counterattack that
Lois used.

	Lois finally had his opening a few attack later, and after a furious
exchange of blows, managed to get his blade inside far enough to place
it against the lynx’s throat.  The two eyed each other while Lois
tried to catch his breath enough to declare his victory, but Alex
pushed him off before he could, spinning his sword back into a ready
position.

	“Come.  Again.”

	The two engaged in several more sparring sessions, never stopping for
rests in between.  In the exchange, Lois only lost once, but he still
felt that Alex had shown more than he had ever seen from the lynx in
the past.  It took until Lois literally collapsed in the middle of the
ring before Alex stopped demanding another match.  He still stood at
ready, though, his heavy breathing the only visible sign of fatigue.

	“Something’s… on your mind…” Lois managed to gasp out.

	Alex looked at his blade for a moment, finally sliding it home in its
sheath before sitting beside Lois.  “Aye.  I suppose that mean that
Lucy did not find you last night?”

	Lois shrugged.  He was unaware that she had been trying to find him.

	“Right…  Well, healer Coe apparently checked on Gerard’s leg two days
ago.  He had before seemed optimistic, but he revealed in that meeting
that the best options were a costly, taxing blend of medicine and
magic, or amputation.”  The lynx’s gaze was hard and distant, and he
shook his head.  “By the time I heard about it, Gerard had already
convinced himself that it was the will of his god to let Coe take his
leg.  I offered him financial help, but he turned me down flat.”

	Lois nodded.  He had known that the infection was extensive, but he
had not anticipated that amputation would have to be discussed,
especially in a place like Metamor.  “I don’t suppose he might listen
to me if I tried to talk him out of it?”

	Alex shook his head bitterly.  “Coe didn’t want to waste time.  He
came by yesterday evening to seek out Gerard’s decision, and once the
fool made it clear what he wanted to do, the healer insisted on an
immediate procedure to guard against any further spread.”  Alex
sighed.  “Despite my best efforts, my closest brother in arms is now a
one-legged man.”

	Lois grimaced.  He had often considered what he would do if an injury
cost him an arm or a leg, but life had never given him a cause to do
so seriously.  He reached for his side, where he had suffered a wound
himself during the previous patrol, but it had fortunately healed
fully without a major infection.  Coe had wanted to make certain
regardless, but nothing had shown up.  It was a shock to hear about
Gerard, though.  He had been present for the first time Coe had
checked on it, and while the infection had elicited a nasty look or
two from the raccoon, he had been convinced that they would find a way
to save the leg.  Now, it was already too late.

	“What are his options for returning to the battlefield?”

	“Coe says that he will have to wait a few weeks for the wound to heal
before we can even think in that direction.  From there, it’s a matter
of what he can afford.  I would be willing to help, of course, but
there’s a limited number of things you can do for less than a
fortune,” Alex responded.

	“What would you be looking at for a fortune?” Lois asked.

	“Essentially?  A leg made of something a little more durable than
wood, enchanted so that the ghost pains are applied to the artificial
limb, and thus disappear when the limb is taken off, protection
against wear, and for the fighter, sound muffling so it doesn’t give
them away in a tight spot.  I did some browsing last night on the
subject.  Hopefully, if Lucy and I pitch together, we can get him
something better than a stick.”

	“You can count me in on this project as well,” Lois replied.  Before
Alex could respond, he continued.  “Regardless, I can’t help but think
that there has to be some better option out there.”

	Alex shrugged, choosing for the moment to ignore Lois’ commitment to
help.  “Royals who are missing a leg add a few gems here and there, or
have it shaped in some facsimile of the missing limb, but it does
nothing more than give them the appearance of still having their legs.
 In the end, it simply does not work as well as the real article.”

	“Never mind working as well as the real leg, I doubt that that is
possible.  Still, an immobile rod is hardly an adequate stand-in for a
real leg.  Even if you still have the knee, you still have to reflect
the flexibility of the ankle, the muscles of the lower leg, the motion
of the foot – or I suppose hoof in this instance.  A piece of wood is
nearly unmoving.  A fighter would have to work for years to adjust to
that loss.”

	“Don’t think I don’t realize that,” Alex sighed.  “I just can’t find
anything better anywhere.  I thought for sure that some mage somewhere
would have found a better alternative, but the problem is always
sustaining a spell that flexible.  The silence and pain-reducing
spells are hard enough to sustain, magically creating a working leg,
even based on an existing model, simply cannot be done in a
self-sustaining fashion.”

	“What about mechanical models?” Lois asked.

	Alex shrugged.  “I could not find any mention of anything beyond what
I already mentioned.  Mechanical legs have been attempted, but they’re
always intended to be attached to a machine, and would be too heavy to
realistically mimic a leg.  At any rate, information on those concepts
is rare.”

	Lois sighed.  “I still think that there has to be a better way.  At
any rate, I’m sure both of us could probably stand a meal.  I’ll buy
if you know a place.”

	Alex nodded, but didn’t let a smile break his muzzle.  “Aye, I know a
place where we can eat.  Good food, and fast, both things I am
certainly in favor of at present.  Just give me a moment to get my
things together, and we’ll be off.”

	Lois stayed on the ground while Alex gathered his equipment,
thinking.  He could certainly help Gerard to get whatever he needed to
be able to get back into the field, but he didn’t feel satisfied with
the thought of a simple peg leg, however enchanted it might be.  There
had to be a better way.

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