Norbert felt a peck on his head; he opened his eyes and saw the sun streaming down on him. Tilting his head slightly, Norbert saw Obsius standing over him. Placing his hands on the table and pushing himself to an upright position, Norbert looked around the hill.
The once picturesque table a feast orderly placed looked more like a battlefield. Nothing was where it was before; the food was all but devoured like a swarm of locusts had just gone through and had a field day.
As Norbert looked out towards the table, seeing some people sluggish around the place, Norbert looked at them, a smile on his face knowing that he wouldn't have any hangover; unlike these people, Norbert could hear groaning all around him.
Standing up, extracting himself from the bench, Norbert walked away, seeing if anyone else was up and about. Hearing a chirp from behind him, Norbert saw Obsius standing on the pommel of his new sword. Hitting his forehead for forgetting his latest gift, Norbert quickly hurried over, patting Obsius on the head and thanking him for remembering the sword. Norbert took off, wondering what his day would be.
Norbert continued looking around, trying to find someone to point him in the right direction, hearing voices from behind one of the tents. Walking around, Norbert saw Dousan talking to one of the other warriors, a tall man, one of the tallest Norbert had seen, wearing no armour and just the cloth. The only piece of weaponry on the man was a sword strapped to their waist. As Norbert waved, hearing his name but not understanding the words.
Standing between them Norbert looked at the new person, their hawkish features standing aghast with the innocent sparkle that could be seen in his eyes. The skin was tanned and tough with many hours faced under the harsh sun.
Norbert looked at the two of them, a peculiar look on his face asking, "What language are you talking in now? The pendant isn't picking it up?"
The two of them just looked at him, smiling before words were said to him. Norbert looking confused, noticed they were pointing to his chest. Fishing out the pendant from underneath his clothes, Norbert saw there was now no light from within.
Taking the necklace off, Norbert held it up, hoping one of them would be able to give it some life. Dousan shook his head before grasping it, closing his eyes, and letting the pendant go. Norbert could see that it was once more shining brightly again.
Donning it on himself and tucking it underneath his shirt Norbert spoke again, "Thanks for that, Dousan. Didn't realise it ran out of juice."
Dousan just nodded in response. "Yes well, we all came to that conclusion last night, talking about last night. I'm surprised to see you standing."
Norbert just nodded, remembering the last time he had too much to drink, though he did not remember the conversations around him making no sense; shrugging his shoulders, Norbert replied, "It's a gift, I suppose."
Just receiving a nod in return, Norbert looked at the two of them, holding his sword in his hand. "So… you said something about training?"
Dousan just nodded before pointing to the person next to him. "That's what I was just going over with Mark over here; to get you used to using that blade you have just been given. And with that, I shall leave the two of you together. Have fun; you don't need to go easy on him."
With that, Dousan just left, making his way across the path; following his eyes, Norbert looked and could not believe what he had witnessed; once again being left alone, Norbert looked towards Mark, seeing the sword on his side not being so large as Norbert own he held in his hand.
Expectantly Norbert looked at Mark, waiting for something to happen. Mark just stared at Norbert, shaking his head before momentarily tilting his head towards the sky. Mark smiles at Norbert, saying, "I can see you've at least brought your sword. Please place your pack on the side; it will just get in the way."
Norbert nodded enthusiastically before going off to the side and placing his backpack off to the side, Obsius hopping off his shoulder and resting on the backpack, looking at Mark as Norbert walked back to him.
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Standing beside him, Norbert looked, waiting for the next thing to do. Mark just stared at Norbert before speaking. "First, you can't be carrying your sword in your hand at all times, it will just get in the way, and you could drop things so…" Mark finished, slightly moving his hand to the side.
Norbert looked down at his waist, seeing the dagger sheath and money pouch on his left hip. Laying his sword on the ground, Norbert moved his items to the other side of the belt, having his two daggers, the knife and the money pouch all there, the belt feeling lopsided on him.
Holding the sword out, Norbert looked down, trying to see how the two pieces could come together, looking there were some straps around his belt, but whenever he tried to place it on, it was always in an awkward position, the handle be too much one way or another. The sword at the angle either pointed towards his outer side or way out further, if he ever wanted to draw the sword nearly impossible.
Defeated, Norbert raised his head to Mark, hoping he would be able to give some words of wisdom. Mark walked towards Norbert fiddling with the sheath until it fit on Norbert's waist; looking down, Norbert tried to see how the two were attached. For all he could work out, it looked to be wrapped around the belt; when he tried to adjust, it moved freely.
Mark standing back, Norbert spun around a bit, confirming that somehow it would move only when he wanted to and stays plastered to his side. Norbert looked at the knot again, trying to see how it was done. Wrapping it around, Norbert twisted the blade around the knot and loosened it up, allowing it to be removed from his belt.
Smiling in satisfaction, Norbert asked Mark, "How do you make this knot again?" with a sheepish look on his face. Mark forced a smile back, looked towards Norbert and undid his sword. Norbert looked and copied Mark's hand positioning, which was much easier due to his more miniature sword size.
Once Norbert did it again, testing and ensuring it was moveable when needed but still stayed there when left alone. Happy with his effort, Norbert undid it again, not even looking up to see Mark's reaction.
Wrapping the leather attached to the sheath around the belt, going over here and under there, finally, with a satisfied smile, Norbert could move the belt again. Happy for his earlier dive into rope tying he made when trying to navigate the great trees of the plateau.
As Norbert looked towards Mark, receiving a nod in return, Norbert waited for the next thing to come out of the man's mouth. Mark stared at Norbert before opening his mouth, saying, "Now that you can secure the blade properly, it is time to learn to draw and place it back. Continue to do so until it becomes second nature."
Norbert just looked shocked about what second nature would be. Shrugging his shoulders, Norbert gripped the handle of the sword in his right hand, holding the sheath with his left as Norbert tried to pull the sword out.
Sliding easily at first, it stopped momentarily, seeming not to let go of the sheath. Norbert looked down at the blade, trying to see what he had done wrong; the blade had slightly tilted in his sheath, making it harder to come out; as Norbert once more corrected, he slowly and carefully pulled the sword out.
Finally, when only the tip was in the sheath, Norbert presented it properly to the world, feeling the total weight in his over-extended right hand, the tip falling towards the ground, Norbert sliding his left foot out of the way before it was impaled.
Breathing out, Norbert stared carefully at the sword, seeing the pattern etched within the grey metal, where the pattern shimmered purple like the veins of the sword itself, the weapon itself being alive. Norbert twisted the sword, holding it above himself before twisting it around his body, trying to get slightly used to the weapon's weight.
Feeling the heft behind it was more like swinging a barbell than a light sword like he heard they usually were back home. Resting it once more pointed up in the air Norbert held it again with only his right hand, left on the blade, as he guided it towards the sheath. Successfully placing the tip back in the sheath, Norbert carried through with the rest of the sword, slowly and carefully, so it would not bite into anything not intended.
Finally, with the sword once more secured inside its sheath, Norbert took his hand off the handle and removed his glove. Wiping his exposed hand on the grass beneath his feet, the accumulated sweat marked the grass.
Placing his glove back on his hand, Norbert took his hand on the sword again, pulling it out from the sheath once more, this time without it scraping or getting stuck. Feeling it drop slightly, Norbert once more positioned it straight up before swinging it around himself, being careful not to let go, and the blade flew somewhere before placing it back in his sheath.
***
Mark watched Norbert take out and place the sword back in, time after time. Standing next to Norbert's bag, Obsius still sitting, Mark shook his head as Mark sat down next to the bag. Continuing to see Norbert spin the blade around. "I have no clue how he can still move that sword." Looking towards Obsius, Mark asked, "Do you?"
Obsius twittered a response to Mark, who nodded, unable to understand what the bird was trying to tell him. As Mark continued to sit and watch Norbert pull the blade out and put it back in time after time, each one became a bit faster, more fluid than the one before.