I held back from answering Gaspar’s question for a few moments, I knew that depending on my answer I would either succeed or fail this great opportunity to learn a swordsmanship style which wasn’t only useful if you were always carrying around a large shield and were decked out in armor. Gaspar’s brow was raised as he stared straight at me, his eyesight carrying with it an intensity which I have not seen at any point before in my life.

“Well…uhh…the only type of swordsmanship I was taught was Ironguard…I thought it was fine for defending myself and feeling…uhh…safe for a while but the first time I encountered goblins I realized that…it had many flaws…it’s too defensive and requires you to carry a shield and wear armor…which is very limiting for me…” I trailed off.

Gaspar’s gaze softened after I began my answer, and his head was nodding along after I brought up the drawbacks of the Ironguard school of swordsmanship.

“...after I saw Gero fight…my first thought was to ask him to give me some pointers…but then he mentioned that his father taught him how to fight…so I thought to try my luck and see if you’d be willing to teach me…sir…” I meekly asked, trying to humble myself before the man.

Gaspar looked pensive, as if he was trying to digest my story and reach a conclusion in regards to its believability. My palms began sweating from my nervousness, even though I didn’t exactly feel like it was that big of a deal if Gaspar declined my request, Krilos is one of the largest cities in Euphelia after all, part of me felt a strong affinity for the aesthetically pleasing and aggressive fighting style that I saw Gero use against the Goblins a few days ago.

“Before I decide whether you are worthy of having my skills imparted onto you, I have a few questions I want honest answers to boy. If you even dare try and lie to me I’ll chase you out of the house and forbid you from ever contacting my son again” He stated, gesturing with his hand that I should take a seat at the table he was previously occupying.

I strode over to the crude wooden table, which didn’t even have an event surface with either the legs being of different lengths, or the floor being slanted, or both. I sat down on the wooden chair, after which Gaspar opted to sit across from me, which put some distance between us, making me relax slightly.

“My son called you Leon earlier, is that your true name?” He asked sternly, which confused me.

Why would this be the first thing he asked, be that? But I didn’t think it hurt to divulge that it was in fact not my real name, but a nickname.

“No sir, my real name is Lev, but Leon is the name I use the most, as it is much more common in my home country” I honestly responded.

“And that continues onto my next question, where were you born?” He asked, this time the question was much more difficult to answer.

The longer pause while I racked my brain on whether to tell the truth of the matter, or spend some time making up a believable lie did not go unnoticed by Gaspar. I sensed him pulling back, figuratively speaking. Perhaps he thought that I was trying to hide my origins for some nefarious purpose, knowing more about Gaspar’s background than I actually did, so I decided to tell the truth in a way, but mask some of the specifics of my situation.

“I apologize, but I would prefer to keep the details more private. What I can tell you is that I am not Jenusian, nor am I from any place you might have heard of before. I come from very far away, and only arrived in Jenusia a few months ago, which is why my way of speaking might seem strange to you” I answered, hoping this would be enough for him to trust me.

Gaspar did not seem surprised at my answer, so he asked his next question straight afterwards.

“Oh? And how are you so sure that I’ve never heard of your homeland? You do realize that by not disclosing your identity, you are implying that you have something to hide…” He insinuated.

“It’s not that I am hiding it because I am ashamed, or because I think that knowing where I come from would hamper my chances of you teaching me. I am certain that even if you have traveled the whole of Euphelia, you would have never heard of my homeland. It’s a long way away, and I believe I will never see it again either. If this is not enough for you, then I can only apologize…” I elaborated, and bowed my head near the end to show remorse.

Gaspar thought on my words for a few long moments, before he continued his line of questioning.

“How old are you? How long have you been learning Ironguard swordsmanship?” His questions resumed, this time being easier to answer.

“I am almost sixteen, and I’ve been learning Ironguard swordsmanship for a few months. I had no experience with the sword or any other weapon before that” I answered, trying to retain a ‘customer service’ smile throughout.

He acknowledged my response, before turning his gaze to my belt, where my sword was hanging.

“Why do you use a shortsword if you’re a practitioner of Ironguard? Doesn’t that style require an arming sword at the very least?” He questioned, trying to poke holes in my story.

“It’s the only sword I could afford with my allowance, but I have been led to believe that I was ripped off by the arms store that sold me it by others, it cost me 5 silver crowns for the belt, sword, and sheath” I explained, trying to draw out some sympathy from the grumpy man.

“That does seem excessive, if you are to learn from me you’ll have to buy another longer one” He stated, his hand on his chin.

“Does that mean you agree to teach me?” I asked hopefully.

“I have had a bit more free time on my hands recently that I am used to, it’s either that or have some delicate noble brat order me around” He answered with a grin.

“Thank you very much sir, I’ll pick up some more commissions from the guild and my next month’s allowance should be coming soon so I will make sure to buy a longer sword” I promised, while bowing my head even deeper than when I was apologizing.

“Allowance? So you are rich!” He shouted, unhappy with the mention of an ‘allowance’.

“I…I…get five silver crowns a month, but this is all the money I receive regularly, I’ll have to do some mercenary work to get enough for a longsword” I hurriedly explained, trying to clarify that I was in fact not ‘rich’.

“Oh so that’s the case…Alright, but be sure to still keep that short sword, you’ll need both for what I have in store for you…” He said mysteriously, which made me a bit confused.

“But…When I saw Gero fight he only used one sword, why would I need two?” I asked for some clarification.

“Bah! That idiot! Sylrift is a dual-wielding style, and the only reason he doesn’t use two swords is because he can’t focus on controlling both his hands at the same time. I don’t know what’s wrong with him but whenever I tried teaching him to dual-wield he would only have full control of his right hand, and the sword in his off-hand just became decoration. Since I’ve made an exception for you, you’ll have to prove yourself worthy of both swords” He explained, which intimidated me a little.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“If that’s the case, should I purchase two swords? And not just one?” I inquired, since wielding swords with two different lengths seemed to not correlate with the two even-length swords I saw above the fireplace.

“Two swords are more expensive than one, I’m sure even that idiot son of mine could tell you that. Do you want to put off learning swordsmanship from me for even longer?” He responded to my question with one of his own. To which I shook my head.

“Good, then you’ll use the longsword in your dominant hand, and the one you currently have in your off-hand” He explained, at which Gero came back into the house looking a lot more awake than he did previously.

“Huh? You giving Leon some pointers pops?” Gero asked.

“Not just pointers, Leon asked me to teach him how to fight like a man, and not one of those tin-cans you see strutting about the city, and I agreed” He answered.

“Wait… you actually agreed to take on a student? Are you feeling alright father?” He asked, not believing he would actually agree to teach anyone apart from himself.

The rest of the conversation can be summarized by Gero trying to use his palm to feel his father’s forehead, thinking he had a fever, and Gaspar getting so upset at his son’s impudence that he punched him and chased both of us out of their home.

Gero wasn’t that upset at this incident of domestic violence, and we spoke more about the fact that he would now have another person learning the same style of swordsmanship as himself, which made him quite happy. He also had a great laugh at the fact that the only way his father would teach me is that I would dual-wield, something he claimed was next-to impossible for normal people.

Gero led me to a tavern which wasn’t too far away from his home, where he ordered some beer for both of us which I wasn’t entirely comfortable drinking. There was no id check at the entrance, and the barkeep didn’t seem that surprised at my appearance, and there were some other patrons at the establishment who looked to be even younger than I was.

The beer didn’t taste very good, but at least I was sure that there was less of a chance of me getting some kind of illness, and I remembered reading that in medieval Europe it wasn’t that uncommon for people of all ages to have weaker alcohol instead of water due to the lesser risk of getting ill as a result of drinking contaminated water.

We didn’t discuss anything worth recalling, and I made sure to limit myself to just the one mug of beer, while Gero complained on and on about some of the problems he was experiencing, which were mostly related to his love life. I couldn’t offer him any advice on that particular subject and resigned to just listen to him vent, he did pay the one copper crown for my beer after all.

He didn’t get too drunk, so after an hour or so we parted ways after making a promise to meet up again in a few days and perhaps do a commission together. The days kept on flying by and before I knew it both Gero and I were back in the forests surrounding the capital, this time looking not for roots, but a particular type of moss.

We rode out on Sorok, which was strong enough to accommodate both myself and my companion without much complaining. It wasn’t exactly as comfortable as riding on my own, with Gero putting his hands around my waist, but as long as he didn’t get any funny ideas on the matter I was content to just put up with it.

Shar moss, which was a moss that supposedly had a very distinct smell, was the commission Gero convinced me to pick up. It was a moss which had certain properties which made it perfect for medicinal ointments, but had a lot of trouble growing in controlled environments. The commision only promised around 2 copper crowns for every pound of it you could find in the wild. I was inclined to take a different commission, but at Gero’s reminder that I actually had a ‘beast of burden’ that could haul tens of it back to the capital I relented and accepted his advice.

Gero seemed to know the surrounding area quite well, and this commission was a lot shorter than my previous search for Basalroots. We were back at the guild within six hours, with around 40 pounds of the stuff, but only 30 of which was deemed good enough to pay for. Splitting the earnings evenly netted me three silver crowns for the day, which according to Gero was more than the majority of Krilosians could earn in such a timeframe.

I was a lot more optimistic about purchasing a weapon now, and combined with my allowance I’d have more than a dozen silvers in the budget, and while I would have liked to end the day there, Gero invited me to the tavern again, and I reluctantly agreed.

I would have felt slightly guilty that I was using Gero’s precious time for my own purposes, so I offered to buy drinks for us this time, which he took quite literally and ended up ordering three whole mugs over a period of about 40 minutes.

My roommates were quite curious as to where I was spending my days off, and not wanting to worry them I told a ‘white lie’ and explained that I went for a ride on my horse and then spent the rest of the day reading in the library. They didn’t believe me at first but after I began spewing the words from “Farrier’s Masterpiece” they gave in and actually believed me.

My excitement at finally being able to learn swordsmanship made the days drag on for longer than I was used to, and my patience was being tested on the latter days of the month. I met up with Gero again at some point, not for a commission but just because I felt like it would be a good idea to spend some more time with the rowdy youth. He was very easy to get along with, and had good people skills in general, something I wanted to learn from. And he also spoke the commoner’s version of Rahlian, which gave me a reference point on how I should act if I wanted to fit in.

He was also not that much older than me, only 18, and speaking to him about his life and his ambitions gave me a bit of a different perspective that I was previously lacking. His father had saved up a sizable sum over his years as a mercenary, and thankfully managed to get through his younger years without suffering any heinous injuries, and all body parts intact.

At the tail-end of his mercenary days, he met a village girl in his homeland of Yas, Jenusia’s neighbor. He convinced her parents that he was someone worthy of marrying by displaying great strength and resolve, something the Yasians valued very much. He married her the day after he quit the mercenary band he was working in, and settled down in the same village as his in-laws. At some point, shortly after Gero was born, he decided to move his family to Krilos. A few years after that however, his mother had died when a plague struck the entire region, which her son and husband managed to survive through.

I got the feeling that Gero upbringing lacked a stablizing force of a woman, and was responsible for some of the more rash and arbitrary moments that I had witnessed in my short time knowing him. But the fact that he had only one parent actually allowed me to bond with him on a certain level, and after I told him that my own circumstances were not too dissimilar to his, he went back to his joking mood and even suggested I should introduce my mother to his father, and that way we’d become brothers.

I found the idea quite funny, a career-woman from the US marrying a rough mercenary like Gaspar. Gero had this uncanny ability to make me see issues which I was viewing with remorse and melancholy thus far, in a softer light. And I actually managed to think about the family I had left behind on Earth without feeling down about it thanks to him.

Gero’s life goal sounded a lot more tame than others, although the influence of his life events can be clearly seen.

“I want to be a strong and fearsome mercenary like dad. Find a cute girl to marry, Gera willing. And then retire somewhere more rural, so that I won’t have to worry about plagues as much as I do now” Gero explained with enthusiasm.

I toasted him, and earnestly wished that he would be able to accomplish exactly that, and more.

The day after getting a bit too tipsy with Gero in a tavern, the monthly allowance was handed out to the students in the compound. I immediately stashed it away in my pouch, which I stealthily hid between my clothes. My next day off wasn’t far away either, and Gero offered to accompany me on a visit to Micah’s blacksmith so that he could give some advice on what kind of blade was ideal.

He thought that a longsword, something akin to the one he was using, would be ideal for learning Sylrift, and I decided to lean on his experience in my choice. Micah surprisingly didn’t try to scam me, I assumed Gero’s presence and the fact that his own nephew told me about him played a part. I ended up buying a very normal longsword, which was almost a meter long. Compared to the short sword, which I guessed was 60-70 centimeters, it provided a much longer reach. The few practice swings and stabs I did at the blacksmiths felt very good, and Micah offered the sword, the sheath, and to modify my belt to be able to carry both for only eleven silvers.

Gero also agreed to allow me to store my shortsword at his home, as I didn’t exactly want to let any of the people at the compound know that I was dual wielding. He was also very eager to get me started with Sylrift swordsmanship, so he practically dragged me all the way to his home.

Gaspar wasn’t surprised at our appearance, as he was already informed by Gero that I would be buying the second sword today. But the nature of the training certainly surprised me, it was my day off and I wasn’t exactly certain whether I would be going to Gaspar for my first training session today, so it caught me somewhat off-guard when the first thing Gaspar wanted me to do was to have a spar with him.

He didn’t exactly have any practice swords on hand, so we had to settle for some wooden sticks which used to be broom handles as a replacement. Gaspar had mentioned that he was a ‘swordmaster’ on the first day I met him, but it didn’t exactly register with me how vast the difference was between himself and Gero.

Before the spar I assumed he would be a more refined and competent version of his errant son, who fought like a cornered beast against the goblins. But Gaspar held back, and actually turned in a completely stone-cold killer during the spar, destroying me in half a dozen moves.

The hit he landed on my shoulder hurt like hell, and my eyes actually moved to the wooden stick to verify that I wasn’t just struck with an iron bar.

My estimation of the man increased several fold, and I promised myself that I would never cross him, no matter the situation. The two sticks he wielded each played a part, and the one swing I tried to make from Gaspar’s bottom right to his top left was expertly parried by the stick in his off-hand, and it opened me up to the stab which he aimed precisely at my shoulder blade.

“You definitely need a lot of effort to become a half-decent swordsman, and your basics are severely lacking to even begin learning the forms…” Gaspar evaluated me, while I was getting up from the dirt in the backyard of their home.

Gaspar looked to be deep in thought, so I remained silent, waiting for his instructions on what I would be learning if it wasn’t the forms.

“I suppose we should start where young children in my homeland would, your footwork is shoddy, it might have cut it in the Ironguard school, but it’s too stiff and your ability to react would be severely limited if you could only respond to attacks from the front” He explained his thoughts, while Gero was stifling a giggle at the comment.

“So you want me to be able to react to attacks from the sides as well sir?” I deigned to ask.

“Not just the sides, but from behind as well my new apprentice” He answered with a toothy grin.