The wagon hit a nasty hole that jarred the cabin's interior. A small box fell on my head, and I nearly crushed the thing before I calmed down.

"This sucks!" I shouted.

Devon looked up from beneath his hood. Crimson eyes glared into mine and I shrunk back.

"Sorry."

He lowered his head and returned to napping.

Do you even need to sleep?

Sighing and digging through the sack by my side, I pulled out three thick jerky strips and tore off a piece.

Alice exhaled and lowered her hand; the building strands of light poofed away, and she leaned her head back while massaging her temple. I waved the jerky, and she looked over with narrowed eyes before nodding. I tossed the two strips, and she caught one with her mouth, the other in her hand.

After swallowing, she drank from a flask. "The nobles have weird spices. The jerky tastes sweet."

"A little," I admitted. "In my old world, the jerky I'd buy usually had this flavor called barbecue. I'm used to the sweet. I'm just glad it's not a tough piece of leather. Some gas stations had the worst jerky imaginable."

"Barbecue? Gas station? Why would a place that has gas sell jerky?"

"Right, no context. Uhm, instead of horses or animals, many of our modern vehicles use oil, like a lamp, to power it: technology and all that. Think of it as a roadside store that sold food for both the horses and the people as they continued on their way to wherever they went. And yeah, barbecue. I don't know what it's made of, but it is like a tangy sweetness and goes great on a lot of food. I wish we had some."

She chewed on another chunk of jerky. "I'd like to try it."

I watched her; she seemed alright. But something felt off. She washed the last of the jerky strips down with a large gulp.

"Hey, ar-"

"Do you want to spar during the next stop?"

Not even a moment's hesitation.

"Sure."

Anything to get away from this boredom.

She nodded and bunched up the hood of her cloak as a pillow to lie down. The lack of follow-up made me bite my tongue.

I guess I'll take another crack at this damn incantation.

Right before I could sink into my meditation, another bump rocked me backward, smashing the back of my head on the edge of another crate.

"Sorry! The road is pretty bad up ahead!" Yadalee called out.

The next groan was cathartic.

----------------------------------------

I hopped out of the wagon and watched Yadalee begin to untether the horses. She watched me warily but still smiled when I helped lead one of them to where she had set up a small trough.

"Thank you, uh, Cain," she said.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

I patted the tall beast's rear. "No problem. I'll leave you to it."

Ignoring the smell of fear coming off her, I walked away. The sweat running down her brow had filled my nose with enough revulsion that I wanted nothing more than to be separated as soon as possible.

Once the wind picked up and brought forth the smell of piss coming from the wagons to the right, I covered my nose and headed deeper into the trees. It took a bit of walking, but I finally escaped the irritants in the air and leaned against a sturdy trunk. While killing time, I ran through a series of stretches to work out the discomfort from having sat for so long. After limbering up, I turned and walked back now that I could smell woodsmoke blanketing the area.

Alice waved me over near a freshly cleared space away from the horses. Once I stood within earshot, she tossed something my way.

"Here, put it on your axe. It's not perfect, but it'll do," she instructed.

I flipped the object over and found a thin sheet of iron embedded into a long strip of leather connected with straps.

"What's this?" I asked as I unsheathed my axe. "And where did you get this?"

"It'll blunt our weapons. Align the metal part with your blade, and use the strap to secure it in place," she responded.

She had her axe out, and I noticed its two blades had similar-looking straps, albeit not perfectly fitting, with the metal being shorter than the actual edge of the weapon.

It took some finagling, but I figured it out and raised my axe. It now sported a very pathetic-looking sheath, and I tested it by lightly smacking my hand. The dull smacks didn't cut into my palm.

Success.

"Alright, how are we doing this?" I asked hesitantly.

Maybe I was a little too hasty agreeing to this.

She easily held up her axe and gave it a few test swings. The edges may have been covered, but the air whistled with each casual swing, the force behind them easily capable of crushing someone's skull.

"We'll start simple. You attack, I defend."

There wasn't a speck of hesitancy in her voice.

"This feels weird."

"Why?"

I shrugged. "You're not a monster; randomly coming at you just feels strange."

She nodded and moved her axe onto her shoulder. "Treat me like an opponent. Attack. Whatever breaks, we heal. Your constitution should be high enough to handle anything short of a missing limb."

This is crazy.

I bent my legs and slightly lowered my hips with my feet apart. She also got into a stance, widening her legs and holding the axe out with both hands gripped on the shaft. Yet, the look she gave me was one of utter calm.

Screw it.

I pushed off the ground, applying pressure to the balls of my feet. Dirt kicked up, and I came in at an angle. She stood still and rotated her body to follow me. I swung, my axe chopping through the air from her bottom right.

She stepped to the side, and my blade cleanly carved the dirt. Out of everything, I expected her to deflect or parry, so the lack of resistance threw me off balance. With a snap, she smacked my arm with the shaft of her weapon and caused me to drop my axe.

Oh cra-

Her hand was around my throat, and my cloak began to stir.

Sharp nails pushed into my neck.

"I may be a monster, but I'm not a beast. Remember that when you fight humanoid opponents," she said before releasing her grip around my neck.

I rubbed at my throat. "Point taken."

She stepped away. "Again."

After moving a few paces to the left, I launched into another explosive sprint and swung. She went to move, and I followed the momentum of the swing, adjusting. She spread her hands and blocked the hit on the shaft. Her face erupted into a savage grin, and her foot came flying upwards. Instinctually, I jumped away.

Moving apart was a mistake.

While positioning myself, she moved forward and swung wide. The her axe rushed from the side, and I raised my axe in time, but the force of her swing pressed my wrist against my shoulder, and I went tumbling backward. My rear end hit the ground, and I grunted as the impact sent a jolt up my spine.

"Ow," I groaned.

Alice held out her hand, and I accepted it begrudgingly. "Good that you adapted. But your goal is to get within range, not away from it. My axe has reach; yours does not."

I didn't think the difference would be this much. I fought the kobolds with her; she shouldn't be trouncing me this easily, right?

Letting out a sigh, I rubbed my tailbone and dusted myself off. "Got it. Round three?"

In response, she began to back away, but some clapping from the side made us pause. I turned and found the captain crossing his arms while Devon led an excited-looking Krenlow with Haldeena walking beside him. Devon kept his face blank as they approached.

"It's always a treat to see young warriors honing themselves," the captain remarked.

"Devon?" Alice asked carefully.

"Krenlow and his daughter saw you spar; they asked if they could watch," he responded.

His voice had a strange undertone, and I searched his face but found nothing obvious.

"You mean watch me get soundly beat?" I tried to joke.

The others smiled; Alice didn't. Devon certainly didn't.

"We train for more than a simple beating."

Again, another strange tone to his voice, and I swear I saw a flicker of red flash across his eyes.

I turned to Alice, and she looked away from Haldeena and faced me. "Want to continue?"