After several more minutes of silent mourning for the fallen Vindazi man, Sabez had spoken with other members of the community about the arrangements.

“Why would they have an embassy in a random place like this?” Hector asked. “It’s out of the way, it doesn't look like much business passes by here-”

“There’s other reasons for embassies outside of spying, dumbhead,” Tallow said. The group stood by the crashing waves, watching Sabez conduct business.

“Yeah, but still... “ Hector looked out onto the sea.

“...I’m sure we’ll be back home sooner than you know it,” Mallory said.

“If I really wanted to…” Hector muttered. He turned to the others.

“What? Why do you guys keep staring at me?”

“No reason, Hector,” Mercy said.

“You should be thinking about any enemies you have,” Hector said. “Do any of the other clans have something that they would need you for?”

“I… that’s not something the clans do,” Mercy said. “If it was something they’d wanted, they’d get themselves. Me included.”

“Even if it was to get all political and dicey?” Mallory asked.

“...Especially. They’d want to do it themselves to get the message across.” Mercy grimaced.

“Why would they do something so brazen?” Hector said. “Do they want to start a war?”

“No wonder I’m stuck having to help clean up your mess!” Tallow yelled, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“You don’t know what the hell you’re doing, do you?” She asked Hector.

“I’m bringing her back home… because… it’s important… she’s a political...” Hector stumbled on his words.

“‘Cause your sister asked you too, and cause it’s important,” Malloy whispered, patting Hector on the back.

“I just know that it’s causing a lot of trouble.” Hector sounded more resolute again. “If my sister-”

“Sister, sister, sister, wah, wah, wah, it’s all you ever talk about.” Tallow cut Hector off. “What are you, like her errand boy?”

Hector tried to jab Tallow in the chest with his finger, but she swiftly stepped to the side.

“I’m not her errand boy! I’m-”

Mallory put his hand on Hector’s chest, stopping him.

Hector took a deep breath and composed himself.

“His sister’s the one that sent you here,” Mallory said. “I’m sure you’ve met her. Hector has a lot of stress on him.”

“We all have a lot of stress on us.” Tallow said. She pointed to Mercy. “Trying to make sure she-”

“Talk about me like I’m not here one more time,” Mercy said, stepping up to her and pushing her finger away.

Tallow gave a smug smile. She was about to respond when Sabez made his presence known.

“I am going to use a shovel to dig into the sand.” The spat stopped and everyone turned to him.

“Because of the waves, I have to dig extra deep into the sand.”

“Why don’t you just bury him inland?” Hector asked.

“...It is part of the Vindazi way to follow the customs of the lands we stay in. It allows us… to remain more invisible than most. “Now, excuse me.”

He walked away to a spot on the beach away from the water.

Shovel already in hand, he started to dig the dirt away.

“We’re gonna be here all day,” Hector said after he watched for a few minutes.

“I dunno, Hector, he’s doing pretty good…” Hector didn’t seem to hear the rest of Mallory’s response as he had already gone to the group of natives who were watching the burial.

After some deliberation, one of them handed a shovel to Hector. He joined Sabez in the digging.

Sabez had only regarded him curiously for a moment, before continuing to dig.

“...Should we help?” Mercy asked.

“...Nah. I think he needs this,” Mallory said.

Jon looked at Tallow, wondering if she would step in, but she didn’t. She just seemed to frown as she watched the scene.

Once she noticed Jon, staring, he turned away, remembering her displeasure about it earlier. He expected another tirade, but it didn’t happen.

It was nearing sunset when they finished. Now, they sat at an outside tavern. They sat on round stools made of clay, as opposed to the wooden chairs Jon was used to. Larges leaves were arranged to cover the area above the seats, providing cool shade for them to eat under.

“Are we going tonight?” Hector asked.

“Well, well, well, I thought we were in a rush,” Tallow said.

Sabez answered before Hector could respond.

“Well, about that. I think we will have to suggest a change in plans.”

“Change?” Mallory asked. “What change?”

“I will be departing soon,” Sabez said. “I will not be able to accompany you to the end of your journey. Too much has happened, so I will have to go back and make sure all is well on this end. My pupil Tallow, will-”

A potato suddenly hit Sabez in the side of the head.

“...Tallow… that’s not very mature-”

He received another potato to the side of the head. He begrudgingly turned around to Tallow.

“You… bastard...this was planned, wasn’t it?”

“I-” Another potato. This time, Sabez caught it.

“No more of your wise platitudes! I was tired of them before! And I’m tired of them now!”

“Shouldn’t you hear him out?” Hector asked. He suddenly received a potato, which he tried to block out with his arms.

“Oh, now you’re on his side?” Tallow yelled.

“I don’t like the idea of having to be a babysitter for a drama queen,” Hector said. “Especially without being notified. I’m just saying you should hear him out.”

He held his hands up to block another potato, but it never came.

Tallow was still holding on to the projectile.

“...I don’t think I can stand any of this anymore.” She walked away.

“At least she stopped wasting potatoes,” Sabez muttered.

The last potato was caught out of the air by Mercy. She gave Tallow a glare, but Tallow had already made her way down the coast.

“How do you get stuck with a student like that?” Hector asked. Jon noticed that his question was delivered with its usual indignant tone.

“Ohh… I can answer that!” Mallory said. “Most of the occupations in the Vindazi culture are passed down by apprenticeship, rather than a full scholarly… I’ll let him explain..”

He covered his face in embarrassment.

Sabez, however, nodded in approval.

“What your friend says is true. The Vindazi take on apprentices and teach them the ways of their craft. In an intimate setting. The pupil can often become like family to the teacher, and some are even adopted into families at certain points.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Why don’t people just pass skills like that to their kids?” Hector asked.

“What we find,” Sabez answered, “is that many times, the kids do not show as much of an affinity, or even a liking to the trades of their parents.”

Hector snorted.

Mercy hummed low enough so that only Jon could hear it.

He wondered if they felt the same way as he did. That he could adhere to that sentiment.

Sabez continued. “This way, it is much simpler to find something that everyone at least partially enjoys.”

“How do you choose an apprentice?” Mallory asked.

“...It’s not exact every time. There are-”

“I think what he means is how did you end up with a hot head like Tallow?” Hector asked.

“...I think I agree with Hector on this one,” Mercy said, “...respectfully.”

“Tallow… may not seem like much now, but she is in fact, very insightful.”

“And very loud,” Hector said.

“Pot calls the kettle black…” Mercy said.

Hector gave her a dirty stare.

“...What does that mean?” he asked. “Does it have to do with why you always wear black?”

Mercy could only stare in disbelief.

Sabez gave the slightest chuckle, one that Jon wondered if only he noticed.

“Tallow has been by my side for a long time.” He said. “She is, if anything, loyal, caring, and able to act in moments I find myself to be at my wit's end.”

“You’re good with people, aren’t you?” Hector asked.

“...I command the respect of people,” Saebz said. “But… without that… I can seem very… aloof. And that can be hard for a developing spirit like Tallow.”

“Well, you obviously care for her,” Hector said. “She should at least be appreciative of that.”

“What I’ve learned,” Sabez explained, “is that part of caring about someone means, learning how to communicate that care to that person in a way they can understand it. It may seem frivolous at first… but I am not one to dictate how life should be lived.”

He turned to the others. “I must explain the second part of our stall for time.”

“Why’s that?” Mercy asked.

“You all must be trained,” he said simply. “By me.”

“Trained? That’s a bit…” Hector’s voice trailed away as he continued to speak.

“Tonight?” Mallory asked.

Savez nodded. “Yes. But first… let me find my pupil. I should bring her-”

“I’ll do it,” Hector said. He stood up.

Everyone waited for him to leave.

“...What do I say?” he asked.

“...I’ll go,” Mallory stood as well.

“How about you two stay behind,” Sabez said. He then looked at Jon and Mercy.

“I will work with these two,” he said. “How about you go and find Tallow? Maybe… calm her down?”

“I’d rather just leave her,” Mercy said. “Right Jon?”

“...Can we get her?” he asked. He didn’t want to leave her alone.

Mercy sighed. “Fine. Just like you to be everyone’s friend, right Jon?”

She stood up and started to walk away.

“Mercy…” Sabez said.

Mercy turned to him.

“...Never mind.”

Mercy was confused. She shrugged and walked away.

“Jon!”

Jon stopped. Mercy had kept going ahead of him.

“...Don’t be afraid to let things play out.”

Jon nodded. He followed after Mercy.

Tallow had walked off the beach and into the mass of trees further inland, so that’s where Jon and Mercy went.

“I can’t believe her,” Mercy said. “I would have wished to have someone as nice as Sabez to be my teacher. He’s cool… and strong... and a little charming... And…”

She stopped herself.

“Sorry, Jon. I got carried away.”

Jon didn’t mind. He thought that Sabez was kind of charming himself. Another trait shared with his brother Jason.

“I just wish she didn’t treat me like everything was my fault, you know?” Mercy shook her head in disbelief. “I don’t want to be… important. I like doing things for myself.”

“You’re important to me,” Jon said.

Mercy really blushed.

“Jon… that’s..” she slapped him on the arm lightly. “That’s different. What I mean is…”

They stopped when they heard the sound of grunts and the sound of scraping wood.

“What the…” Mercy and Jon walked into the small clearing of trees. There were a bunch of tree stumps laid over a large clearing. At the end of the trail of stumps was Tallow was striking at a tree.

“What is she… Hey!” Mercy called.

“No!” Tallow called back. She continued to strike at the tree.

“You don’t even know what I have to say!” Mercy said.

“I’m not interested,” she continued to strike at the tree.

“Why must you be so bullheaded!” Mercy yelled back.

Tallow stopped striking at the tree. She looked at Mercy.

“I’m not bullheaded. Tell me, did you have a nice day of having to cut down your own clansmen, or learning that your whole life just got-”

“I strike at my own clansman all the time,” Mercy said. “We are born and bred to kill each other. You think I want that?”

“Boo-hoo-hoo.” Tallow faked, wiping tears off of her face. “Cry me a river. I don’t feel bad for you.”

“I will cry you a whole fucking mountain!” Jon was stunned by Mercy’s use of harsh language. She drew her black tool from her hips.

“Yeah, go ahead. You fell into privilege, you know that?” Tallow asked. Her own hand floated around her blade, but she didn’t draw it yet.

“What type of privilege means I get to be hunted down by bounty hunters, enemy assassins, and members of my own clan?”

“The privilege that you get to fight them all off,” Tallow said. “I know your types. You like it, don’t you?”

“Take that back,” Mercy said through her teeth. “I don’t want my friends in danger!”

“Yeah, but you want to protect them, don’t you?” Tallow drew her sword. “Makes you feel good, doesn’t it?”

“Take it back!” Mercy yelled. She dashed towards Tallow with incredible speeds.

“Nah.” Tallow drew her blade back in preparation.

Jon didn’t know what to do. He could probably use his gun to stop the fighting, but he remembered Sabez’s words.

Let things play out.

Both Tallow and Mercy seemed to believe in Sabez’s words, and Sabez probably wouldn’t have told him to do it if it would be easy.

So, he decided to stay back and watch.

Mercy swung as soon as she got close. She made large swings, staying close to Tallow.

Tallow, much like she did the day before, stepped back with each strike. Unlike that day, she seemed incredibly confident this time, mostly moving her head side to side until finally stopping a strong strike with her blade.

“I was hoping you weren’t all talk!” Mercy said. “But if you’re gonna talk like that to me, why don’t you swing back?”

“Well…” Tallow suddenly headbutted Mercy past the two blades. Mercy covered her face with her free hand as she stumbled backward.

“My turn, princess!” Tallow ran forward.

Mercy tried to ready her blade, but Tallow quickly ducked as she got near and spun her leg around, tripping Mercy on the floor.

Mercy, for her part, quickly caught herself with her free hand and pushed herself back up.

“You fight dirty,” Mercy said.

“Like it?” Tallow asked.

“I do!” Mercy went back on the aggressive, making several more consecutive strikes. This time, Tallow deflected most of them with her blade. Jon noticed that like Hector, Tallow mostly swung her sword around with one hand, using her free hand to balance herself and her wide movements. She would still make time to sidestep attacks when she could.

Mercy switched between making one hand and two hand strikes. They moved until they both ended up in the forest of trees outside the clearing.

Jon stepped forward after them, but he did so slowly, as too not wanting to end up too close to the fight.

Further ahead, he could see Mercy and Tallow still fighting amongst themselves through the trees.

Eventually, Mercy grabbed one of the skinny trees, spun around, and kicked Tallow in the arm, knocking her back.

“Whoa! Using what’s around you?” Tallow said. Jon didn’t know if she was being sarcastic or impressed. “Guess your head isn’t always in the clouds.”

“You just don’t stop talking!” Mercy said. Despite her choice of words, she didn’t seem as annoyed.

“Babe, if I’m gonna die in a fight, might as well get my piece out now, right?” Before Mercy could answer, Tallow ran up to her again.

Mercy braced herself in response, but Tallow quickly veered off to a tree and ran up the trunk.

Mercy dropped her guard to watch Tallow run up the tree, but Tallow didn’t get very far. She jumped off to a tree opposite of her, then pushed herself off in Mercy’s direction.

Mercy swung in response, but a gust of wind blew lifted Tallow upwards, forcible sending her above Mercy's head.

Tallow came down behind Mercy before kicking her in the back and landing on the floor.

“You can use mana?” Mercy asked. “Like… you can cast spells?”

“Eh.” Tallow shrugged.

They approached each other again. This time, Tallow took the straight forward approach, standing her ground, deflecting just as many swings as Mercy would when she was defending. Jon was dazzled by the amount of sword swinging and weaving on display. He was almost amazed that Tallow's white cape hadn't been cut up in any way while the girls moved around the flurry of attacks. He almost wished he could have been able to move like that, but he also decided that he would probably hurt himself, so it was better to not move too much.

Finally, Tallow ducked down under one of Mercy’s swings. Mercy turned and tried to strike her, but Tallow grabbed the Vindazi sword from Mercy's waist and spun away with her prize.

“What are you doing?” Mercy asked. Jon saw that she was breathing hard.

“I’m taking this back in the name of my people… I’m joking.”

Jon thought Tallow would drop her original sword, but she flipped both swords into a reverse grip and lowered her position.

“You obviously don’t understand how this works. It controls the wind, sort of.” Tallow began a series of movements, swinging the sword around. The wind started to blow harshly in the area. Even Jon had to hold on to his blunderbuss to keep himself from blowing away.

“Don't the serrated edges make it harder to swing around?” Mercy asked, holding her ground.

“Are you talking about wind resistance, you know? When you feel the wind?” Tallow held the sword up before swinging it down towards Mercy.

Mercy was blown backward into a tree, just managing to keep on her feet.

“There.” Tallow said. “You can’t do anything like that.”

Mercy stood up. She took a deep breath and folded her hands in front of her body.

“What are you doing?” Tallow asked.

Mercy suddenly punched forward. A gust of wind hit Tallow and pushed her into a nearby tree, causing her to drop one of her swords.

“...I can cast spells too…” Mercy said.

“Wind ones too, I see,” Tallow responded, from her position on the floor. “That’s what I get for being curious. Next time I’ll just cut your fingers off…”

She groaned as she stood up. Mercy walked up to her.

“You can dual wield,” Mercy noted.

“Ehh. Working on it.” Tallow held the Vindazi sword up to Mercy.

“You should keep it,” Mercy said. “You obviously know how to use it more than me, and like you said, it belongs to your people-”

“Ah, don’t be a pickle!” Tallos interrupted. “You won it fair and square! I know how the rules work!”

Mercy smiled and took the sword back. “Maybe you can fight me for it one day.”

“Maybe,” Tallow said. She didn’t smile, but she didn’t frown. It was now that Jon noticed that while Sabez had put his face mask back on a while ago, Tallow hadn't put it back since the night she was hurt.

“Are they done squabbling yet?” Jon turned in the direction of Hector’s voice to see him, Mallory, and Sabez approaches them.

Jon looked back to the girls. They were talking calmly.

“Yeah,” Jon said. They seemed to get along well enough now.

“Well, looks like we can get to training,” Sabez said.

Mercy and Tallow finally made their way back.

“You didn’t start already?” Mercy asked.

“No, we talked out battle plans and strategies while you two were working out your differences.”

Tallow looked at Sabez.

“You planned this, didn’t you?”

Sabez shrugged. “I cannot say I didn’t plan for the alternatives, but-”

“Whatever. I’m hungry again!” She walked past him back to the beach. “Then we’ll do your dumb training.”

“You’re always doing my dumb training… never mind…” Sabez realized that she wasn’t listening anymore.

She then kicked Hector in the shin. He hopped in pain.

“I heard you!” she said, walking away.

He saw Mercy approaching him.

“Hey, wait!” Mercy kicked him in the other shin, causing him to fall over.

“Training will resume after Tallow eats… and Hector recovers…” Sabez said.