The rhythmic, sharp clang of metal on metal filled the small glade in which the party had made camp. While Buck chomped away happily on the surrounding bushes and grasses, Hound had prepared a small fire and was cooking up the last of their meat. The sounds of battle emanated from Sera and Anjelica whose rapiers were clashing in the open field.

Anjelica was pushing Sera hard today. Over the past few weeks as the wounds on Sera’s back had healed their sparring sessions had become increasingly more intense. Now the gashes had faded into long, dark scars that traced their way across Sera’s ribs and spine. Sera thought that she was moving better than ever now.

The blades clashed as they entered into a lock. Anjelica smiled at her over the hilts before pushing back with her great strength. As Sera was pushed back her blade dropped and as she returned to her guard Anjelica’s blade shot out like a viper, striking her hand.

The pain caused her to drop her rapier and fall to her knees while clutching her injured right hand. Her hands had many small cuts and divots from their sparring sessions. Anjelica’s clot allowed her a finite control of herself and so she had never injured Sera more than a bad paper cut. Due to this, Anjelica had strictly forbidden the use of training foils. Over time with the live blades and Sera’s inexperience the small punishments had added up, especially when she still had to hold the rapier after.

I am not sure if knowing she meant to cut me precisely the way she did every time makes me feel better or worse, Sera thought while looking at the small stream of blood running off her top knuckle.

“Get up!” Anjelica demanded, “We are going to keep going until you can execute an offensive maneuver! We have been over this Sera.”

Gritting her teeth, Sera grasped the rapier and rose to her feet. She wagered a wiggling vertical poke to assess Anjelica’s guard which was quickly swept away. Anjelica began to tut and shake her head at Sera.

Sera then tried a quick series of strikes followed by a long thrust but Anjelica simply dodged out of the way with her boot outstretched causing Sera to go tumbling.

“Come on Sera! This is supposed to be an assessment of what you have learned before our next assignment. You do not have to worry about hurting me so just come at me with all you have!” Anjelica called down to her.

Sera was taken aback by her approach. Anjelica had been harsh but she had never goaded Sera like this. An iron ball of anger had started to grow in Sera’s chest as she worked her way back up onto her knees and picked up the sword.

“Are you ready to actually fight me?” Anjelica snapped at her.

Sera offered no response but gave a loud battle cry and ran forward. Abandoning the fancy footwork and fine technique that Anjelica had taught her, Sera began to make wide, two handed, sweeping swings with the rapier.

Anjelica, taken off guard, began to block. For the first time in the session she was forced to take a step back to dodge one of the swings.

Sera saw the brief moment of panic in Anjelica’s eyes, the defensive poster as she took a retreating step, and realized that she had actually surprised Anjelica. Hope surged inside of her.

Drawing back for another huge swing, she brought the blade towards Anjelica in a gambling horizontal swing. Just before the blades clashed Sera’s sword ignited with purple flames as if it had been covered in oil.

There was a ringing, metallic sound as Sera felt her blade slide through Anjelica’s as if it was not even there. Half the length of Anjelica’s rapier had been cleaved off and it flew, spinning into the woods behind them.

A cut began to emerge on Anjelica’s cheek as blood bubbled up out of the slice that Sera’s rapier had made.

There was a moment where they paused and looked down at their respective weapons in amazement.

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“I did not know that I could do that,” Sera uttered shakily.

“Well whatever you just did, you should learn how to do it consistently!” Anjelica exclaimed, “I think we are finally making progress!”

“I have been making progress the entire time, Anjelica. I am just not an athletically perfect monster like you,” Sera snapped back.

“Well how do you feel?” Anjelica asked excitedly.

“My hands hurt because I somehow keep ending up with small chunks of them flying off into the bushes,” Sera muttered with a dead expression.

“Oh come off it, you know what I mean!” Anjelica blustered, “Any wooziness, weakness, pain? Anything else physical?”

“I feel…” Sera began.

“Yes?” Anjelica stammered.

“I feel…” Sera began again.

“What do you feel Sera? Did the clot do something to you?” Anjelica seemed to be chasing the words as they ran from her mouth.

“I feel…exactly the same as before,” Sera said with a bemused smirk at her deadpan delivery.

Anjelica did not deign to give such a statement a response. She just soured her expression into one of disappointed silence as she set about putting the remaining foils into the carriage.

“Well if you are exactly the same then that means that you cannot have worked up an appetite right?” Hound yelled over from the fire pit. Three wooden plates were set out onto the grass nearby onto which Hound was placing eggs, the last few flanks of bacon, and toast made from their mostly dry bread.

“Oh I am starving!” Sera exclaimed as she plopped down onto one of the logs they had been using as improvised seats.

“Good!” Anjelica said as she joined them, “You should eat as much as you can. We are going out on assignment tomorrow!”

Plates and silverware were handed out as Hound placed the last piece of food and moved the pan off of the fire. There was a moment of peace as each of them chomped down the first few bites of their meal.

Sera savored the fatty flavor of the bacon. Even having lived on a farm, the sheer variety and quality of food that the Gavels had access to was insane to Sera. Pork, beef, chicken, and mutton regularly graced their plates. The apples that they bought were huge and lacked the bitter taste she had endured through with the crabapples she often ate. Each meal with the Gavels had been a feast compared to the meager soups she had subsisted on and so she ate voraciously.

“Assignment?” Sera pushed out through a full mouth.

“Well, something curious that we should investigate. We have a couple of friends in Red River that are expecting us but we are picking up cases along the way.” Anjelica stated, “This particular case is a murder investigation.”

“A murder? Like a person killing another person?” Sera inquired.

“For once we will be dealing with the evils of man, yes. A Gavel was killed and her body was left out to bake in the sun. She was found with a bullet hole in her head and her clot cut out. The Church has sent multiple Gavels to investigate and they have all wound up missing and so now it falls to us to chase the breadcrumbs. It is strange enough that the field marshall specifically asked us to look into it as he suspects demonic involvement.” Anjelica explained.

“Demonic involvement? Like a demon was influencing someone to kill people?” Sera asked, surprised.

“It is not unheard of,” Hound chimed in, “Some demons can be very intelligent or even charming, in their own way. It is possible.”

“Holy shit,” Sera mumbled under her breath. The monsters that they had met on their journey were primal, terrifying, and violent. Sera was struggling to imagine a demon that could speak and strategize as it sent a shiver of cold sweat down her back.

“Well we do not know that it is the case. It is just a possibility,” Hound continued, “Whatever it is, we will get to the root of it. We are going to have one of the greatest minds of Astria to help us!”

“Do not let Pierro hear you say that out loud,” Anjelica shot out, “It will go to his head and it is already large enough as it is.”

“I will just save it for his Fledge,” Hound said with a wink towards Sera.

“What is a Fledge?” Sera asked. She had not heard the term thrown out before.

“Normally Fledges are apprentices who travel with Gavels to hone their skills, train with their clots, and learn the ways of the order. Everyone who comes up from the academy has gone through it. Hound and I became true companions during our Fledge days,” Anjelica answered.

“Does that mean that I am your Fledge?” Sera asked expectantly.

“Under normal circumstances,” Anjelica said, “Everything has been decidedly abnormal for quite a while though. The best that we can do is try to provide some normalcy to the people of Galance. Now pack up! We have an old friend to see and a murder to solve!”

The group cleaned up what was left of their camp and began on the last leg of their journey.