“I thought we weren’t going to have our meeting with the dwarfs until after morning tea?” he asked, pulling the shirt over his head and crossing the small room to look out the window at the dimly lit city. “I can’t tell if it’s daytime or nighttime down here,” he said over his shoulder.
“It’s just before sunrise,” she informed him casually.
Anders raised an eyebrow, “And Ivan wants to meet now?”
“Five, no six minutes ago,” she smirked.
Anders gave her a half-cocked smile as he pulled his boots on, “What’s he want to do before our meeting?”
“Training. Come on, you’re late,” she said as she opened the door and stood expectantly.
“One second,” Anders reached down under the bed, his hand wrapping around the prized sword that Nadir had given him. He hadn’t worn it to their dinner party with the dwarfs the night before. Ivan had made sure they all knew the proper attire.
Anders sprang to his feet and jogged to the doorway to accompany Maija, blade in hand. As he reached back to close the door he recalled the diagram he’d copied from Merglan’s journal.
“One second, I forgot to grab something. I’ll meet you down there,” he called to Maija who was already on her way down to the lobby. He turned and rushed back to the saddlebags, quickly swiping the journal from inside. As he placed his hand on the leather-bound book, he thought he heard someone mumble at him from the hallway. Gripping the journal in one hand and his elven sword in the other, Anders rushed into the hall expecting to see Maija, Natalia or Ivan waiting for him, but no one was there. He glanced left, then right to be sure, but the hallway was empty.
That’s weird, he thought. I could’ve sworn I heard someone say something to me. He popped his head back into his room to make sure no one had entered while his back was turned in rummaging through the saddlebags.
Nope, no one here. Weird, he tucked the journal into the waist of his pants and closed the door, rushing down to meet Ivan and Maija.
Ivan, Maija and Natalia were waiting impatiently as he scuttled down the stairs and into the lobby. Both Natalia and Ivan had their sword belts on, blades hanging at their sides. Stepping away from the front desk as Anders jogged across the room, they exited the inn. Anders thought about mentioning what he’d found in the journal to Ivan, but based on Ivan’s silence and stern expression, he decided it best to wait until they’d had more time to wake up.
When they reached the top of the stairs leading into the entrance hall, they found Zahara waiting for them.
Ivan must have already informed her of our training, Anders thought to himself.
Yes, he did, Zahara’s voice came into his thoughts. And you’re late.
Was I the only one who didn’t know about this morning’s plan? he asked.
Yes, Zahara said shortly as she pulled open the stone door for them.
Together they exited the city and stepped out into the fresh Eastland Mountain air. The breeze rushed up the mountainside as the early morning sun warmed the ground. Settling near the center of the large stone patio they’d landed on when approaching the mountain the day before, Ivan and Natalia drew their swords and crouched into fighting stances as they faced Anders. Slightly taken by surprise, Anders hesitated, then drew his sword. He spoke the words to create a barrier around the edge of the blade, then placed his right foot behind him at a slight angle, bent his knees and held the sword at the ready.
Ivan and Natalia simultaneously rushed at Anders. He blocked and dodged their attacks, avoiding the painful blows from their guarded blades. Anders felt at peace with Lazuran in his hands. Over the course of their training, it had become a part of him, so much so that Anders often thought he could feel the sword guiding him through the sparring matches.
As Anders blocked a set of Ivan’s powerful swings, the mental connection he felt with the sword suddenly disappeared. He glanced at the blade. Somehow it felt different, just folded steel, cold and hollow. Brushing off the sudden change in how he felt about the sword, he attacked Ivan and drove him back using the speed of the light sword to his advantage.
Maybe that chill I felt was from the cool morning breeze, he thought. The sword seems to be working fine.
Natalia came in from the side, sweeping in broad strokes, while Anders continued to strike quickly at Ivan, keeping him pinned in the corner. Amid the distraction of Natalia’s movement, Anders saw an opening on Ivan and took it. He was able to claim a crippling blow on Ivan, stabbing him in the kidney; yet he had let down his guard to Natalia, who took full advantage of the opportunity. Bringing her sword down in an arcing motion, she struck Anders between the neck and shoulder. His arm hummed with pain. His lack of anticipation of her attack infuriated Anders and he whipped his blade in a backhanded slash against Natalia. She dodged his retaliation and met him in kind, winding up as she bent away from his sword. As he slashed at her, Anders exposed himself, completely opening his front. Again, she took advantage, punching him squarely in the nose. He dropped his sword as he rocked back. His hand shot up to his face, feeling for his nose. Natalia held her sword at his throat, making sure he didn’t continue his attack.
“You should’ve known better than to retaliate after a killing blow,” she scolded.
Anders let his hand down and examined the blood covering his face, “I think you broke my nose,” he said with a nasal whine.
“Why did you expose yourself in such a reckless way?” she asked, still holding her sword to Anders’ throat.
He pinched his nostrils, blood dripping steadily from his hand, “I didn’t let you do that. You got lucky while I was busy killing Ivan.”
“No,” she said adamantly. “We’ve done this exercise time and time again. Every time I’ve had the opportunity to strike you in that blind position, you’ve been able to block it. What was different this time?”
Anders continued to pinch his nose trying to get the blood to clot. He answered reluctantly, “I don’t know. The sword, it felt different somehow, almost like it was empty.”
“What do you mean?” Natalia lowered her sword, concern on her face.
Anders shrugged, “Just a few moments ago. The blade felt like it changed somehow. It usually feels a part of me, guiding me, but all of a sudden that connection broke,” he glanced at the sword as it lay on the stone slab. “I suddenly realized it’s just a piece of steel.”
Natalia’s expression changed to anger and she said, “You should be able to defend yourself during any distraction, emotional or physical.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll try harder,” Anders said still holding his nostrils together. He glanced over to where Maija had been watching and noticed she was no longer sitting there.
He turned to Ivan, preparing to ask if he or Zahara knew where she’d gone when he noticed Ivan crouching low and slowly walking to the edge of a large boulder rising above the half-wall at the entrance to Hardstone. Zahara crawled, wings tucked tightly to her sides as she and Ivan stalked to the edge of the entryway.
Anders formed his connection with Zahara’s mind, What are you two doing?
“You need to see this for yourself,” she replied. “But move slowly and remain hidden.”
Concerned, his heart suddenly raced, Has Merglan left Southland and returned to Eastland? He hoped he wasn’t about to see Merglan and his dragon searching for them.
Anders dropped low and worked his way over to the others along the edge of the half wall behind the large rock. They peered over the ledge and down the slope. There he saw Maija walking down the boulder-strewn slope. Her hands splayed wide; she held them away from her body, seeming to display that she wasn’t armed.
Maija had watched intently as Anders battled with Ivan and her sister. The twang of steel hitting against steel was somewhat muffled by the protective barriers they placed on the edges of their blades. She enjoyed watching them spar. She paid close attention to the forms, stances and body language of swordplay.
Back in the Everlight Kingdom, Ivan would often watch with her, explaining what her sister was doing when instructing Anders with his sword. Maija asked questions, trying to absorb as much of what they were teaching Anders as possible. She’d even talked Ivan into showing her how to create mental barriers, preventing sorcerers from invading her mind. In the dwarf kingdom, however, she didn’t want to bother them with her questions, not until they returned from this trip and everyone was a little less on edge.
