Guard training included tactics, a basic understanding of Kingdom law, and extensive calisthenics.
Standard training didn’t include any armed combat as utilizing any weapon without an appropriate System skill would result in injuries at best, and death at worst.
This was because of something called System reliance. A way for the System to force people into gaining and spending points.
That being said, instructors taught the guards specialized training in weapons and unarmed combat to give them the foundation needed to use the skill once they had the necessary class or System points.
There was an important distinction between actual training with a weapon and skill foundation training.
The instructors had a set series of movements that were to be completed that didn’t utilize a target.
If the System determined that the unskilled weapon user was in combat, the same way the System helped a skilled user with their weapon would be reversed, and disaster would follow.
Daniel’s minor blessing solved this.
It didn’t act like a true skill, instead allowing him to train and use a weapon without the System actively working against him.
This gave him an edge over most others, but he would find himself at a major disadvantage against someone with a combat skill.
Daniel sat on the ground with four other guards as they listened to the instructors explain the benefits of each weapon.
Each instructor had a specific weapon skill and had trained in ways to use them both lethally and non-lethally to cover most situations.
Daniel had already sold his spear for two silver.
While fantastic when protecting livestock, the spear posed a problem when dealing with issues in the close confines of the city. It was just too long to be effective.
With that in mind, he took Club training to get an understanding of the weapon as well as have the skill available to him when he chose his class.
He had almost taken up the sword instead. The instructor had been the most impressive out of all of them, but blades were unforgiving, while a blunt weapon could more easily stop someone without doing lethal damage.
He had swung the club as the guard had instructed and had slowly gotten a feel for the weapon. Feeling more confident now, he approached one of the practice dummies.
With a nod to the instructor, he slowly swung at the various marked points on the target, slowly gaining speed as he went.
The trick was knowing when to strike quickly and rebound or strike hard, allowing the momentum of the weighted club to cross his body, setting him up for a backhand swing.
He performed a quick double strike, targeting first the thigh of the dummy, then the calf. By striking the thigh first, it would weaken the leg, allowing for the follow up strike to collapse the footing of his opponent.
“Good work, though now your body is low, and your head is unprotected. You’ll need to accommodate for that, by either knowing the positions of any other attackers, or using a buckler,” the instructor observed.
Nodding gratefully to his trainer, he moved up the threat level and aimed for the joints of the dummy. His baton struck the wood and rebounded and used the momentum to move up and strike the dummy’s elbow.
He continued to strike the marked joints on the target before getting back into his ready stance and upping the threat level again.
This was the serious one. Targeting the temple, top of the head, clavicle, and ribs, he worked through them slowly as he got a more in-depth feel for the weapon.
The instructor stopped him and pointed out on the target, unmarked areas to hit. Strikes to the nose, liver, and other areas were useful as a steppingstone to get to his actual target and down his opponent.
Breathing heavily, he stopped and placed his hands on his knees.
The instructor cleared his throat from where he watched.
“You’ve taken down your opponent. What is next, Guard Bakerson?” the instructor shouted.
Daniel stood at attention and faced the guard.
“Verify the threat is over, check on the status of all nearby guards and civilians, then call for a healer,” he stated.
“Correct! And where are the three city temples located?” the guard asked.
“The Temple of Honos at the North Wall near the gate. The Temple of Svarog at the West Wall in the Crafters Quarter, and the Temple of Mercurius at the East Wall in the Shopping District,” Daniel replied.
“That is correct! And remember, no matter which god you pledge yourself to, all temples will provide base healing and limited sanctuary as required by the accords. Going to a specific temple over a closer one is not just frowned upon, it is a direct violation of your oath to the city and will be punished as a crime. Am I understood!?” the guard shouted.
“Yes, sir!” Daniel replied.
Nodding in approval, the instructor gave him a quick smile.
“Good. Now, get to the main gate. You should have just enough time to join the convoy guard before it leaves,” the instructor ordered.
With an appreciative smile, he saluted the instructor and double-timed it to the gate.
Finally, he thought. His first assignment!
***
Daniel tried not to frown as he jogged along the carriage carrying the noble and his entourage.
His opinion of the town guard had improved exponentially, having now worked with the various instructors to learn the basics of the job.
They had trained and taught him to protect, always with the purpose of saving lives.
His issues with the corruption of the Kingdom in general and the guards in particular had fallen away during the past few days, as he had come to understand how the town guard was supposed to work.
He remembered what his father had once told him.
“People are inherently good. Given a chance, they will surprise you with their kindness.”
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However, his father hadn’t met Guard Captain Peabody.
His screaming instructions diminished his newfound appreciation for the town guard as they jogged behind the nobles in their fancy carriage.
“Keep your mouths shut and know your place! Treasurer Francis speaks for the Kingdom, and you can consider his word law!” he snarled.
Daniel had gritted his teeth and nodded along with everyone else and made sure to keep pace with the horse-drawn carriage.
It had been easy at first. Between his time on the farms and the rigorous workouts his instructors had put him through, he felt he was in pretty good shape. Four miles later, he was starting to lag.
By the time they reached their destination, a further two miles, Daniel felt like his heart was going to pound right out of his chest and had to take a knee to catch his breath.
Guard Captain Peabody walked over and looked down his nose at him.
“It looks like our little want-to-be paladin can’t handle a little run.”
Peabody turned to grin at the other senior guards.
Daniel looked around and spotted a few other guards breathing hard as well, and looked up at the gloating guard.
“Why exactly are you singling me out?” he asked.
The grin disappeared from the Guard Captain’s face, and he leaned in to put his face inches from Daniel’s own.
“Because I don’t like troublemakers,” he growled.
With a finger, he reached out and poked the Amulet of Honos Daniel wore.
“Do you think that just because you have a blessing, it makes you special? I had to get my skills the hard way. And all your so-called honor means nothing in the real world.”
The guard captain stood and spoke loud enough for his voice to carry to the other guards.
“Everyone, form into two-man teams and patrol the area in 100-yard intervals.”
Turning back to Daniel, he scowled his contempt.
“And you can take the last ring. You’ll have to do it by yourself, though, but don’t worry. Your honor can keep you company,” he stated coldly.
With that, he shared a look with a few of the other guards who laughed uproariously, before making his way over to where the two men who had driven the carriage were setting up a table and chairs for the noble.
Daniel knew enough to bite back any reply and got to his feet.
He scanned the area for a moment, curious why the noble had chosen this spot far outside of the city for whatever he had planned, but dutifully made his way towards the distant tree line.
As he walked, Daniel realized his loop would take him into the woods surrounding the area.
He turned back towards the guard captain who was chatting with Treasurer Francis and paused as he saw the pair’s intense stares directed back at him.
With a sigh, he set his sights back on the tree line of the forest and walked purposefully to where he was to patrol, keenly aware of the eyes on his back.
***
Peabody watched the new guard disappear into the forest.
“And you think this new guard is going to be a problem?” the noble asked, turning to watch his servants finish setting up the table and chairs for his meeting.
Peabody nodded.
“All the others can be trusted, but command sent this recruit over at the last minute.”
“Do you think they suspect something?” Francis inquired, turning his full attention to the guard captain.
“No. This kid is brand new, and the commander took a liking to him because he follows Honos,” he responded, his face a mask of disgust.
“Better safe than sorry then, get rid of him,” he ordered the guard captain, dismissing him with a wave.
Peabody gave the noble a wolfish grin.
“My thoughts exactly.”
***
Daniel looked around the forest as he walked. The sounds of birds and insects made their presences known as he carefully navigated the area.
He reflected on his experience with Guard Captain Peabody. The man was exactly what he had previously thought of the guards. A corrupt and petty man.
He made such a big deal about the minor blessing from the god, but Daniel didn’t walk the Path of the Divine.
Most people weren’t true followers of the gods, merely appreciative of the god’s favor that they aligned with.
And honor and justice? Any decent person could receive that blessing, which really said something about the character of Peabody if he was so averse to the god’s role in the greater pantheon.
The two other temples in the town were the domains of Svarog, God of Crafters, and Mercurius, God of Commerce. The three gods of the town were the most important gods of the pantheon, as far we he knew, anyway. But the other gods certainly had their followers.
And that wasn’t even considering the lesser known, hidden, and forgotten gods.
The snap of a twig pulled Daniel from his thoughts.
He spun to his left, placing a tree between him and whatever large animal was stalking him.
The whiz of an arrow went through the space he had been, as he flattened his body against the tree.
Pulling the baton from the brass loop on his belt, he debated his next steps.
An arrow meant bandits or one of the monster races, he thought to himself.
He crouched and attempted to peek out from around his cover, but pulled his head back immediately as another arrow went by.
He looked at where the arrow had struck low on a nearby tree.
It wasn’t an arrow, but a bolt.
Daniel felt his stomach sink. He had a fairly good idea of who was firing at him now. He had a nice view of the crossbows strung across the backs of the two guards that ran alongside Peabody as they had jogged in formation behind the carriage.
Looking down at the baton in his hand, he silently cursed his decision to choose the club over a sword. He couldn’t fight them, he realized. Even if he somehow succeeded at either fighting off or killing his attackers, the remaining guards would be loath to accept his word over the others.
No, he had to run.
Quickly determining the direction he had come from; he made a weaving dash through the trees and further into the forest, away from his would-be killers.
Daniel ran for his life, never daring to look back, and when his legs burned and his heart felt like it might beat right out of his chest, he jumped down into a small creek bed and wedged his body into the shallow depression of dirt and roots that ran the length of the slow-moving water.
Forcing himself to breathe through his nose as quietly as possible, he struggled to regain his breath.
Crouched down as he was, the cool water came up high on his chest as he tried desperately not to move.
Daniel strained his ears for any sort of noise, but only the thumping of his heart and the soft sound of the water surrounded him reached his ears.
He wasn’t sure how far he’d run, but he knew it wasn’t enough, and he needed to put more space between him and…
With a jolt, he realized he had nowhere to go. Even the small number of possessions he had were in his backpack back at the guard barracks.
He couldn’t go back, he realized. Even if he escaped these traitors, no one would believe him over the other guards, and he’d be marked as a fugitive.
With a sinking realization, he finally understood the position he was in. Not only could he not go back to Barda, the town he had called home all his life, he couldn’t go to any town or even the larger cities.
He was well and truly…
A thought occurred to him. No, this didn’t change his plans at all. While he wasn’t an expert, he knew the Adventurers Guild wiped the identity of anyone accepted into their ranks.
That was his way out of this mess.
Once again straining his ears for the sound of movement, he stayed low and crossed the ten feet of water before sliding up the bank on his stomach. With a leap to his feet, he took off again at a run to put more distance between himself and the town, heading further into the darkening woods.
***
Peabody looked on in satisfaction as the two guards he had sent to kill the troublemaker exited the forest.
They jogged eighty or so yards from the wood line and, as they got close, he immediately knew there was a problem.
Jogging over to meet them, and to put some space between himself and the Treasurer, Peabody glared at the pair, waiting for an explanation.
“He rabbited deeper into the woods,” Guard Mason said.
“Why didn’t you follow him, then?” Peabody growled.
Looking helplessly at his companion, the guard looked exasperated.
“He ran full speed into the forest when we shot at him. We followed him for a while, but he ran like a scared deer. After a few moments, we couldn’t tell where he went,” he explained.
“Did he see you?” Peabody growled.
“No, we were in hiding when we took the shots,” the guard answered.
Peabody stared at the two guards as he debated his next steps.
If that guard told the guard commanders, there would be an investigation, and that noble would hang him out to dry.
He looked past the guards into the dark woods, and an idea took hold.
The recruit knew nothing for certain. If he’d run deep into the woods, the likelihood of him being killed by a beast was likely. And even if he suspected the guards, he had no proof.
No, this was too good a chance to pass up.
Guard Captain Peabody reached out and put his hands on the two guards’ shoulders and smiled.
“Well, it looks like our little guard is a hero. Going out into the woods to ensure the safety of Treasurer Francis. Noises were heard, and you two followed him to help, but nothing was found other than where an obvious struggle had taken place,” he explained.
He held a hand to his heart.
“It was the bravest thing I have ever seen. He was truly an inspiring figure that all guards should aspire to emulate,” he finished.
The two guards nodded in agreement.
“Truly a hero,” one grinned.
“He was like a brother to me,” the other stated in mock sorrow.
“Good. Then we’re all on the same page. You two head out and start spreading the word to the other guards. We’ll have a toast to him later tonight,” Peabody stated.
The pair saluted and jogged off to rendezvous with the other patrols while Peabody made his way back to where the Treasurer was meeting with his shadowy contact.
The problematic guard was gone and there was no blood on his hands. Guard Captain Peabody looked up at the rising moon and gave a contented sigh. This couldn’t have gone better if he had planned it.