Chapter 12: Blue Swords

Zack

16 years ago

Year: 857

Perhaps it was due to how quiet he was or how he had been raised to not speak without permission, but he found it difficult to speak with Matthew and the four other soldiers in a casual setting. If it wasn’t related to fighting or a command, Zack was unsure what to say. They walked through a thin forest filled with lush foliage and running rivers, They even passed a waterfall on the way. The forest, thankfully, only had the regular amount of mana distributed through it so the risk of beasts would be low. The six of them reached a small fort guarded by a small garrison of Matthews men. It was small for a fort but did Matthew really own this site? How would a fourteen-year-old even get his hands on the coin to pay for this? Zack quickly caught up to Matthew.

“Is this your camp?” Zack asked to confirm his thoughts.

“That’s right.”

“You built all of this? Zack asked dumbfounded. The group laughed as well as Matthew

“Not at all, we believe it to be an abandoned Atlus fort. Maybe it was too small to function out of and outgrew its use but it serves us perfectly.” So they stole it…that makes more sense “Still, when we found it. It was covered in moss and had supplies thrown all around so they most likely weren't coming back for it. That's why we decided to use it for our base.”

“How hasn’t a bandit faction taken it?”

“Bandits er too scared of actual soldiers.” Said one of the soldiers behind Zack and Matthew who decided to chip in to the conversation. “They take one look at an Atlus fort, wet themselves, and hightail it.” This sent him and the rest of the men into a roar of laughter.

“Quite so, if not very well put,” Matthew said wincing slightly. “Yes, the bandits really are cowards, and soldiers with real training are something they do everything they can to avoid unless they have an advantage.” They passed through the stone gates of the fort. Two spearmen stood at either side and gave Matthew a nod when approached, they were similar in age to the rest of them. Each one of them seemed to wear different garbs and weren't identically dressed like the Atlus military. Most likely they weren't capable of producing their own garbs or didn't know how to and just used what they found. The fort gate led to a large open training field with a few men already training with swords and spears. To the right were a few tanning racks and even an anvil with a pit of fire next to it. Seeing as the fire was lit perhaps Matthew had actual tradesmen among them.

“Make yourself at home Zack. This is just as much of your home as it is ours.” Matthew walked off into the fort and closed the wooden door behind him. The other men scattered and did their own thing. Zack felt a bit aimless and decided to climb the stairs that led to the walls of the fort that looked over the surrounding forest they lied in. He walked up the cobble stone stairs that were lightly worn and had clumps of moss still stuck in the grooves. Despite the wear, they were still sturdy. He reached the top and looked out. The fort stood in an open grass land that was surrounded by a sparse forest. Not thick enough to block the view of the outside but still enough to hold further wildlife. He was able to see running water that flowed from a river in between the trees. It was serene and calming, It felt much different from the endless fields of The Weeping Crucible.

“Oi, new boy!” Zack turned quickly to hear someone shouting at him from down in the training grounds. He saw a group of six men looking up at him. “Get down here, let’s see what you're made of.” said the tall and lanky one wielding a polearm in his right hand. The man’s voice was far less refined than Matthews's in comparison Zack went back down to the training ground and approached the man. He had an ugly face and shaved black hair. Despite being lanky he did have some muscle on him. He and the others wore tunics and common linen pants with their pieces of armor sat to the side.

“What do you mean?” Asked Zack as he craned his head up to the man. He was much taller than Zack, maybe a foot or so. He had a slimy grin on his face as Zack asked that. The man quickly braced into a guarded stance, dropping his knees. He held his wooden pole arm with two hands and shoved it into Zack. His large stature and weight broke Zack’s unready posture and sent him to the ground, landing on his back and winding him as his body impacted. The men around laughed and mocked Zack. This was mostly taken as friendly banter but Zack didn't interpret it that way and saw it as a way to show who ran this place. Not unlike how he got thrown around in the bandit camps when he was younger. The staff user chucked a sturdy wooden stick to Zack, most likely meant to resemble a sword.

“That’s what I mean, Bring it, see what Matthew was thinking in letting you come ere.” He said returning to his defensive position with his pole staff held towards Zack to keep him at bay. Zack quickly regained his breath and clambered to his feet. Picking up the stick with his battle reflexes kicking in. Zack said nothing but furrowed his brow and narrowed his eyes at the greasy man. That smile pisses me off. The group circled around the the two of them with a few others joining from the site to watch. Zack ignored their comments and conversations they had commenting on him. Too busy thinking of how best to approach this. With taller targets, his strategy was to wound them in the leg and strike with a mortal blow, but with a blunt weapon, this would be difficult. Zack slowly stepped around the tall man as he thought of an approach while the latter held firm. However, the tall man acted quickly and struck out his pole staff toward Zack in a thrusting motion before he had time to react. Zack awkwardly tried to push it away but the lanky man used this to get in close while Zack was occupied and shoved him to the ground. Again, using his higher weight and height to break his poise. Knocking Zack off his feet and to the ground with an audible smack. The men around them cheered for the taller man and laughed alongside each other. As Zack tried to get up, the tall man stopped him and held his pole to Zack’s head, only inches away from his forehead.

“That’s you lost now. What? Never fought someone taller half pint” The rest of the men laughed along with him. This only further annoyed Zack. He came here to be part of something bigger, not treated like a toy or a laughing stock again. He quickly got to his feet and held the stick with both hands like he would his with his sword. The stick was far lighter so his natural instincts to swing an oversized sword would betray him and he would need to be careful as there would not be nearly as much momentum to carry. Zack took the opportunity of laughter to get in close and strike. The taller man quickly recognized this and pushed him back with the staff, this time, Zack was able to stay on his feet by mimicking the man’s posture of slumped knees while keeping one foot in front of the other. He struck wildly at the pole user but made sure to aim his strikes and not tire himself out, the taller man was able to bat away the strikes, however, Zack was able to push him back slightly Damn. I can’t put this guy off balance. The men around stood cheering on each side, perhaps they had placed bets already. Zack ignored it all Even if I could knock him off balance, I can't reach his head. One good smack and he would be out. They clashed sword and pole together in an arm wrestle-like fashion of strength. The man gave Zack a smug smile as he pushed him back. Zack continued to push but was overwhelmed and losing his posture. Through a split decision, Zack decided to let his stick go and duck under the pole staff. He did this only just in time as his sword dropped to the ground. The faint surprised the slimy man, he ended up exerting too much power in his swing which led him to lean forward overly and nearly end up tripping. Zack took the opportunity to rise slightly and deliver a low kick to the man's right leg. They were long and fully exposed, He remained relaxed and struck the inside of the man's thigh causing him to scream out in pain. Zack remembered getting struck this way when he was younger. It was one of the worst pains he had felt. Zack quickly followed up by quickstepping back and restoring his own posture. Before his opponent could recover, he quickly threw out a front kick with his right leg, this time aimed toward the man’s stomach. With his previous hit to the thigh, this knocked the man down to the ground with a much louder slam despite his lankiness. Zack quickly grabbed his stick off the ground and mounted the man. Holding the stick to his throat. The man lay there with a surprised and angry expression.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“I…win,” Zack said in between huffing for breath. The situation made him forget to take breaths in between his strikes which only further added to tire him out. The surprised man’s face turned to a creepy smile, that was somehow missing a few teeth.

“So ya do” The man got out under Zack and stood up. Zack quickly got up and readied his stick once again. Instead of another bout the man instead extended his hand.

“Good fighting there pal” Zack faltered for a moment as he was a bit confused as to what just happened but raised his hand up and took his handshake. He didn't seem to be hostile to him anymore. The man quickly pulled Zack in and put him into a headlock. Zack wasn’t sure which was worse, Being tricked or the smell no definitely the smell.

“Sorry bout all that, jus had ta make sure you wasn’t a wet wipe” He then let Zack go and patted him on the back. “Welcome to tha navy swords half pint”

“The navy swords?”

“Yep, thas what we call ourselves ere” The rest of the men around them joined in and patted Zack on the back and congratulated him on his win, some even asking to spar a few rounds with him, with Zack almost being forced to accept, though, he wasn't against training under some less suspicious circumstances. From a distance Matthew stood against the fort wall, back against it with his arm crossed. He only smiled at the group and continued to watch as Zack and the men got along and began another round of sparring.

A while later, the boys had been training for what must have been hours now. They approached sparring with a “king of the hill” rule. Whoever won the spar would have to face the next opponent in line right after. If his opponent failed, he would face the next person in line immediately. However, if the previous winner lost, he would lose his place and the winner would take his place as “king”. Zack sat on the grassy soil with his legs spread out, exhausted by the previous bouts he had done. He breathed in heavy as if he was high on a mountain and he had taken his shirt off to avoid soiling it with sweat. He looked on as two other boys his age fought with polearms. Even despite sparring for hours, they still gave it their all. The boys around them watched with interest to see who would come out on top, cheering them on as they traded blows. Despite only meeting these men at the start of the day, he felt like he had known them his whole life. He loved this feeling, he had never smiled so much from simply sparring and talking with people his age. The lanky soldier he sparred at the beginning approached Zack and slumped down next to him, chucking his polearm to the floor.

“Forgot to say earlier, I’m Rhys,” the taller said to him as he extended a hand out to him. Zack shifted his weight to meet this hand with his.

“I’m Zack” They shook hands and continued to watch the sparring in front of them. “Do you do this every day?”

“What? The sparring? When we got nothing better to do yeah.” Clashes of the wooden polearms intersplied their conversation. “It’s either that or raiding bandits once Matthew makes a decision or we get the lads who’re handy to build something.”

“How long have you been here?” Asked Zack

“Bout a year I think. Use to be a real piece of work I was, got in lotsa trouble in my home town. Then I met Matthew, Smug bastard beat some sense into me and gave me something to work for. I've done what he’s asked me since.” Rhys told Zack, slightly embarrassed.

“What made you want to work for him?” Zack followed up

“I wouldn't say it's working for him but it's how hard he works. His goal is so high but he never gives up and stuff, I just have ta respect that.”

“What is his goal, I know he wants to eliminate bandits but what's his end goal?”

“Well it's a goal for us all really not jus him, he wants to reform the Atlus empire.”

“What?” Rhys laughed at Zack’s reaction

“Yeah I know, he wants to train us all to be the best. Then, once were of age, we join the Atlus army, but Matthew wants us to join to change the system inside.”

“What do you mean the system” Zack asked confused

“Well, I don't fully get it either. But he wants to change the hate that people with no magic get. He thinks that will make the world a better place.” Rhys explained as if he was talking religiously

“Do you think it will work?” Zack asked, slightly curious

“Who knows, but that boy has given me a purpose in life, and for that I'm grateful. So I'll help with his goal.” Rhys began to stand up. “That's enough yapping…I'm beat, see you tomorrow half pint.” Rhys walked off back to the small barracks they used for sleep, taking his polearm and armor with him. Cheers and elation could be heard fro, the crowd surrounding the two currently sparring. Reforming the Atlus army Zack thought about Matthews's goal but he had to admit, he wasn't sure if he shared it. He never held disdain for the magicless but he knew his ambition only extended to eliminating bandits. Reforming the Atlus army didn't motivate him in the same way that did. Could he follow Matthew all the way, Could he follow him to forging a new empire? It was a giant goal to accomplish, perhaps he needed more time to think about it and let it sink in. He knew however at the very least, He would follow Matthew in battle if it meant it was a war against the bandit factions. Zack decided to retire and sleep in the barracks as well, before he ended up passing out on the training ground.