Petra watched Zeek on his forty second day of training. Zeek had doubled the number of stones embedded within the pockets of his weighted training suit. He held a double bladed dagger in his left hand. The dagger length put it near the smallest of Shortswords roughly 30 cm long with a gap between the two blades wide enough to fit an enemy's sword between. Old Man Thane had spent the past twelve days and nights swinging a dull blade at Zeek until the boy could swiftly guide it down the gap and then twist the blade applying enough resistance to slow the extraction of the caught blade.
“Boy, I have said repeatedly the goal is not to stop the blade. You want to slow it, to open your enemy for a swift response with the blade you have in your right hand. If you continue to put all your strength and attention on that dagger, what good is the blade in your right hand?” Thane sternly spoke to the boy as Zeek wobbled his head in a manner that signaled acceptance of his mistake. “Again boy catch my blade, apply pressure and when I pivot footing and strength to extract my blade take aim at my open wrist or slice along the length of my exposed rib cage. If possible jab your blade towards my exposed thigh or calf. You have chosen the path of the Edge and if you wish to unlock it you must use your offense as your defense and your defense as your offense. Now tell me what is your weakness?”
In response to Thane’s question Zeek lifted his left arm and dagger, he then used his right hand and saber sword to pat his left rib cage.
“Yes, very good. Your enemy will learn quickly that you will move with your left foot and move your left arm to counter their advance. A smart foe will faint attacks in ways that leave you exposed. That, my boy, is why the dagger is never pulled until you intend to use it. You will spend the majority of your fights with only the saber in hand. But when you pull your dagger you strike and never let them regain their battle momentum. Now again catch my blade.” Thane and Zeek kept this routine up for another eight days.
Thane only allowed Zeek four hours of rest during the highest point of the sun. Thane had suggested that many members of the Order of the Edge had gained a nocturnal ability allowing them to see better in the dark. Petra had found one of the Orders training manuals and it suggested this was obtained by members who spent a majority of their training at night.
Even with the training suit weight increasing Petra could see that her brother was no slower. Zeek moved more fluidly as he had adapted well.
Petra had found that her right leg, although healed, would never be the same. She no longer walked with a crutch but maintained a slight limp in her stride. She spent the majority of her time in the dojo or courtyard reading the Order's books and often watching the Keeper of Time train her younger brother. On the fiftieth day of this routine a sensation rolled over Petra’s mind and she heard her inner voice as the ancient characters formed words before.
[Passive] Watchful Intuition - Step 1 of 10 [Novice]
Ability: Your perception has gained an unnatural intuition to focus your attention in directions moments before critical events occur. Marked allies within sight of you may willingly have their attention pulled towards the same direction.
At that very moment, as Petra finished reading the newly unlocked ability she felt the pull of her attention. Her eyes darted up and she saw her brother catch Old Man Thane’s dull blade between the gap in the dual blade dagger. Zeek lunged with his right hand, his Sabre slicing into Thane’s exposed left side as time slowed and Old Man Thane twirled away like a festival dancer darting away from the arms of drunkards.
“Congratulations! To you both, well done Zeek my boy you now owe me a new leather jacket. Great strength to cut through two layers. And my dear Petra, I sense you unlocked something. Would you be willing to share any details with an old man such as myself?” Thane said the moment time unfroze.
“I’ll share if you plan to continue sticking around. You still haven't taught us how to make the stew. All we get to do is set snares for rabbits and squirrels. I want to know how you make so much with so little.” Petra said.
“Yes, yes I don’t plan to leave. Yet come to think of it, coming here was never marked on my schedule either. Seems I may have lapsed in my domain for far too long. Yes, Petra my dear I will stay if nothing more then to torture your brother.” Thane said as he patted Zeek far too hard on his back causing the boy to stumble a bit forward. Zeek caught himself and looked back towards Thane with eyes narrowed.
While Petra shared the name and details of her new ability, Zeek continued his training swinging saber and moving his footing to position his dagger to counter his imaginary foe. Thane listened to Petra before sighing “Well, that too borders on my domain. I really have let myself go. Some upstart is pushing into my domain. What shall I do?”
“Who?” Petra asked
“Some country girl who was willing to give her own life to save her brother’s. It’s just not fair is it.” Thane said as he smiled gently at her “I feel the presence of no other tweaking on my domain. You did something that had merit and I don’t really see why I should snuff your little flame out. If anything your abilities only touch upon my domain, we will see about existing together but know that time as you know it should not have two keepers. Meddle only a little in what has yet to pass and let me keep my records and perhaps we can coexist.”
Petra stood quite for a moment before asking “Would you really kill us?”
“If you meddle with the past I would do so in an instant, but the future is yet unwritten. Perhaps I left that part of my domain undefended. Now here we are, the young and the old standing in the present. But my dear Petra you could just as easily die tomorrow in the maw of a lythan. No, do not worry, as I said before, perhaps we can coexist.” Thane said as he patted her back and walked towards Zeek.
“Zeek my boy, you have done well. Let us place you in harm's way and see if this spurs your core class unlocking.” Thane bellowed out as he neared the boy.
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Petra did not enjoy the proposal set forth by Thane. Not the coexisting part, but what he had just outlined to unlock Zeeks core class. Thane had proposed sending her brother off alone towards the nearest village and to return within three days. Along the way Zeek was to wear his weighted training suit at triple the weight and he would be tasked with killing at least one predator type creature during the night. Thane had suggested that the shadow lythan had likely long left the Arzick foothills but said knowing the truth of this would do more harm for the boy. Zeek agreed to the plan and prepared to set off after a full day's rest, he intended to start his journey at night in the hopes of securing the nocturnal ability.
Zeek packed a small sack with dried rabbit meat, a few lengths of twined rope, and full waterskin. On Zeeks hip he attached his dual bladed dagger and saber. Before he left, Petra reapplied her mark and asked Zeek to mentally accept its resetting each day unless he was severely injured. This would be the only way Petra would know if he was well.
“Zeek, don’t die. Don’t get distracted. Come back to me. I know we need this but I just can’t have someone else leave me.” Petra said as a tear rolled down her left eye as it slanted along the scar left by the lythan, the night their mother died.
Zeek walked up to his older sister and lowered his head as he breathed in the fresh scent of her hair. He stepped back and used his right hand to signal “I return. Three nights. No failure.”
Petra signaled “Go. Hurry.”
Zeek ran for half an hour through the night before slowing to a stalking pace. The blue glow had long faded behind him as the forest undergrowth scratched along any of his exposed skin. The thick forest treetops let only the barest of moonlight shine down to the forest floor. Zeek was now wearing three times the initial weight in his training suit. Yet he felt as if he could keep a pace similar to the night he and his older sister had run from the shadow lythan.
Nearing the hour of twilight Zeek’s ears twitched at the sound of voices coming from over a small hill. Zeek slowed as he used tree trunks and the undergrowth to hide him as he neared the voices. At first the voices seemed strange, the speed of the words was fast like city folks but different like they had bit their tongue. After a moment Zeek realized one of the two voices was coming from a young girl dangling upside down. As twilight hour lit the forest with a few stray rays Zeek could see that the girl was hanging from makeshift rope, her hair the color purple dangled two feet beyond her head. A few more minutes and Zeek could finally make out the conversation.
“NO! Why human poison?” said one bony green-skinned creature as it looked up with its enlarged eyes at the dangling girl.
The girl giggled “Oh no, I’m not poisonous. Your friends are just sleeping. Here, take a bite of my arm, my mother always said I was the sweetest thing.”
The creature approached but before taking a bite of the offered arm he looked to the ground and kicked what Zeek could now see was another green-skinned creature. Possibly dead or incapacitated, thought Zeek.
“NO! Human not trick.” the creature said as it raised a wooden spear towards the girl.
Zeek leaped forward pulling his saber free and swinging in a wild arc towards the creature's back. Zeek had misjudged the distance and the creature had time to spin around as his blade sliced across its face. Then as his momentum pushed him still forward the creature dropped its spear, one hand going to its face while the other reached out to stop Zeek’s approach. As Zeek reached the creature his right sword arm was grabbed and together they fell. Losing his grip on his saber as they hit the ground.
Zeek rolled to get on top but the creature had widened its legs and had leverage that Zeek could not overpower.
“Oh shit, the day is full of surprises” Zeek heard the girl say more in a sing-song voice then actual surprise as he continued to tussle with the creature.
After a few minutes the creature's strength and leverage began to waver. Zeek felt the moment come and he let go of the creature with his left hand as he reached down and grabbed his dagger and thrust it upwards beneath the creature's chin.
The creature stopped resisting as blood poured down the blade and onto Zeek's face. Zeek pushed the creature off and slowly began to stand. The weighted training suit likely did more harm than good in this situation and it was now drenched in thick blood.
“Excuse me, wonderful child of the forest. Would you cut me down before more come? I’ve already been bitten by the three you see beneath me. It was not a great experience. But now a forest child has come to my rescue.” The girl again said in a sing-song voice that made each sentence flow in a rhythm that made it hard to see the girl as a threat. Yet as Zeek took stock of the situation she was not lying. Three dead goblins lay in the now morning light.
Zeek walked around the dangling girl until he found the drawstring of the trap. Zeek began to lower the girl. Once she was untied and given time to acclimate to standing upright again she lunged at Zeek, wrapping her arms around him and bending her right knee with her foot extended out behind her. The girl hung on Zeek and looked up at him with a smile. Her scent was enticing.
“Pingle Poison Berries are the best to dye hair purple. I also just found out it is very poisonous to goblins. Did you know that?” the girl said “I’ve been chased by these guys for a few days and thought I had lost them. So with everyone I know dead and nobody to stop me I decided to dye my hair. It's really hard to squish the berries without getting it all over yourself. I really did try to get it only on my hair but look at me. I have purple smears all over me. Stuff is hard to wash off as well. Makes sense, I was trying to dye my hair. I say fate was on my side. Or it's like I’m in a story and I’m the main character. Do you have any food, I don’t eat the berries?” the girl said a blazing rush that clearly was city folk talk. She kicked one of the goblins and spat on it as she rubbed a bite mark on her left arm.
Zeek nodded his head at the girl and tossed her some dried rabbit meat as he re-equipped his saber and dagger.
The girl bit into the dried meat and with a mouth full mumbled “Water?” Zeek handed her his water skin and watched her drain the entire thing.
“Ugh, so good!” the girl said as she sat down in the middle of the three goblins she had poisoned. “So what's your name?” Zeek just shrugged
“Can’t talk to girls. I have a cousin like that. It’s okay, I’ll call you Knighty seeing as you came to my rescue there. But honestly I did most of the work. Three for me, one for you. But don't worry there is nobody around to tell of my superior heroics.” The girl said as Zeek rolled his eyes, but he had to admit she did stumble upon a winning strategy up until it was not so winning.
“Call me Anders, not that you will speak to me. But if you need a name, that's mine.” The girl said as she slowly got to her feet. “Well, we should leave. If one goblin then there are two and if two then there are more. That's what my Pa always said. So where are you headed, I’m a bit lost. Been lost for about two months but could be more. I didn't have time to keep track of time while I was being hunted.”
Zeek got to his feet and after hesitating to take her back to the monastery decided he should continue on and complete his mission. Old Man Thane said it was important to accomplish one's mission in the face of unforeseen obstacles.
As Zeek stepped in the direction of the nearest village the girl fell in alongside him. Zeek was surprised he could not make out her footsteps, but, as he thought about it, his steps were incredibly loud. Yet another issue with wearing the weighted training suit.