In the end I took my darkelf captain of scouts up on his offer to spar. We didn't stay alone for long though. As we sparred a small crowd gathered around the fighting pit. People from my banner as well as people from town. Thus what started as a simple sparring match quickly turned into a spectacle. Both Tortho and I tried to impress the crowd with our abilities. And the experienced elf put me on the defense with his two weapon fighting style more than once. That I didn't have a shield with me didn't exactly help in that regard. Still, I made sure not to embarrass myself.

It didn't exactly end there either. After a little while my other officers found their way here as well. And as Tortho left the sand of the pit Arngard entered it in his stead. He wasn't the last either, although he probably was the easier match I had to face. I even got to find out what a harpy's sparring weapons looked like as Quu'za went a few rounds against me. As I found out, the metal claws she wore were pretty much the same she would wear in actual battle, except they weren't sharpened. They still hurt though.

Thus I spent the better part of the morning sparring with my officers. Yath'zur was the last one to face me and, in a way, it was a curious repeat of my fight with Quu'za, except now I was the one dancing around a larger, more powerful opponent. There was no other way for me to properly face the young giant though. He was not that much larger than me and our reach was similar but the heavy, two handed club he used was not a weapon anyone could just block or parry. Evasion was my only option.

I liked this turn of events though. It gave me a chance to push myself and my Cat's Grace spell to the limits. I was weaving around massive blows that probably could turn half a dozen human sized foes into pulp each and I felt good. No, that was an understatement. The whole experience was exhilarating. I was breathing hard but I wasn't out of breath. I was sweating but my grip on my weapon was firm. I was drawing in Mana to sustain the spell granting supernatural speed and grace, like I never had before and I was not feeling any signs of the headache usually associated with channeling too much Mana.

It was glorious! Although I had a dozen more aches than I had in the morning, and the bruises to match them, the pain was easy to forget. I slipped past Yath'zur once more, striking at his knees as I did so. Usually I would have gone for the heels but he wore thick armor that covered them. I barely took any notice of the cheers erupting from the crowd, as my practice weapon smacked into the back of his left knee.

Instead I was already dodging his counter attack and preparing my own follow up. The heavy club came crashing down next to me once more, sending sand flying everywhere. I was already moving again though. I jumped atop of the heavy weapon, moving up its shaft without stopping for even a moment. It was Quu'za who had given me the idea as she had done something quite similar to me only a little while ago.

Within the blink of an eye I was within striking distance. Again I ignored the various cheers from the excited crowd. I could have just struck at my opponents neck now, ending the practice fight, but I didn't. Instead I decided to do something a little reckless again. I mentally constructed a second spell matrix, one quite similar to the one of the Cat's Grace spell. There was one important difference though.

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This one would not enhance my speed or my reflexes. This one would enhance my strength. And as I triggered the spell, pouring enough Mana into it to match my already ongoing spell, I struck. I struck with the but of my weapon, hitting Yath'zur's armor right above the solar plexus with a brutal two handed jab. I used part of the momentum to launch myself backwards and away from him just as he was sent staggering backwards.

Where I somersaulted gracefully and landed on my feet ready to get going again, thanks to my Cat's Grace spell, he landed in the sand, gasping for breath as he lay there, sprawled out. I slowly let go of the spells I was still maintaining, as a final cheer erupted from the crowd surrounding us. The fight was over and it didn't look like anyone else wanted to enter the ring with me. Just as well.

I took a moment to calm my breathing before moving over to help the young giant back onto his feet. Out of the corner of my eyes I noted that Kaele was here as well, as was Tero'thaa. And while the latter seemed quite impressed, there was no ignoring the deep frown marring my sister's face. Of course, she of all people would be able to tell that I had made a reckless spur of the moment modification of a spell matrix again … and of course I had totally forgotten about waking her for breakfast.

I patted Yath'zur on the back and turned to face her, as he walked off to disappear in the crowd, still rubbing the sore spot where I had hit him. As I moved over to Kaele, her frown deepened even further and I winced. I almost missed a step as her anger just sputtered and dissipated as Tero put an arm around her waist. I didn't get away without a scolding though, even if it did not come from the source I had expected.

Tero wagged a finger at me. “You should listen to Kaele, sister dear. Modifying spell matrices on the fly, especially in the heat of battle, is more than just a little dangerous.”

Kaele regained her composure as well and nodded for emphasis. “Listen to him, if you won't listen to me.” As she said that she leaned a little more into him. Well, these two certainly looked and sounded like a match made by the Maidens. Well, at least she did not sound as exasperated as I had feared she would be.

I could only shrug apologetically. “Sorry, but I think my brain just works best when my blood is already pumping. Inspiration just strikes me at moments like these. I can't help it.”

I sniffed the air as a delicious aroma assaulted my senses. A number of small stalls had sprung up all around the sand pit, catering to the needs of the crowd. They were not camp followers, which we didn't really have so far, but small business owners from the town who had seen and immediately seized an opportunity. Well, I couldn't fault them for that. As a matter of fact, I could really do with a little something to eat right now.

Just then Kaele's stomach grumbled audibly. She blushed and pouted, as I looked over at her. “What?” She crossed her arms. “It's not my fault that someone forgot to wake me in time for our morning meal, you know.”