Completed Learning from Anthonius [Fighter's Pit]

[Reworking account]

33rd of Winter, 515 AV ------------------------- Roueru, still groggy from not getting a decent rest last night, was lying face-down on his small, wooden bed. Since all the snow was starting to fall more frequently and more quickly, the bed probably wouldn't help much when the time came, but it was definitely better than sleeping on concrete or outside. After a few chimes, he struggled to stand up and walked slowly over to his chest, repeatedly rubbing his eyes. He had always put his coat inside whenever he wasn't inside, but the cold was a special occasion. He opened the chest and it creaked a bit, searching for only a second before snatching the coat. As he put it on, the black cloth seemed to make him even colder at first, but warmed up as he wore it for a while. About to close the chest, he noticed the hilt of his broadsword, tucked neatly in its scabbard. An idea came to Roueru. He hadn't as much touched the broadsword for a long while now, and now that winter was starting, he probably wouldn't have much, if at all, adequate time to improve in swordplay. However, he had forgot if there was a place for combat in Syliras - or if a place even existed like that in Syliras. Luckily for him, he did remember that he had a map of the city in his backpack - conveniently placed right beside his broadsword. He zipped open the brown backpack, and a little dust bunny flew into his face, disturbing him for a quick moment. He reached into the backpack, hoping he'll find it quickly. "Let's see..." he mumbled, while moving his hand around. He finally grasped a sleek, thin paper. He took it out and spun it around for a bit until the map was facing the right way. He knew he was in Traveler’s Row, beside the Main Gates and Welcome Center. There were other 'districts' like the Bittern District and the Maiden District. He could also see some other things on the map, like Winthrop Alley and the Docks. He was about to put the map back in its place before he remembered again. The Anthonius Fighter's Pit was located in the Winthrop Alley. Although he had found what he was looking for, Winthrop was still about half a bell's walk away. He zipped up his backpack, brought his broadsword and adjusted it onto his belt. He brought his backpack and buckler (just in case), and closed the creaky chest as he walked out of his small, homey room. As he walked towards the 'office' of Traveler’s Row, he noticed it was silent. A bit eerie, but nothing startling. He found that Matilda wasn't there, and smelled a fresh batch of cookies on a side table, along with some tea, and a little sign saying 'Take your pick.' Roueru stopped for a moment. "It wouldn't hurt to take just one, would it...?" he whispered to himself. His thoughts were battling in his mind. Yes, take one! There's plenty more for others. No, don't be selfish! Pretend that it's not there... He decided that one couldn't hurt - and grabbed one on the way out.

[Reworking account]

As he stepped outside, Roueru was just getting used to the minor cold in Traveler’s Row before being almost overwhelmed by the outside. He was literally shivering, and his broadsword almost fell out of the scabbard. The only thing that felt kind of warm was the cookie in his hands, and gobbled it down in hopes that it would help him withstand the cold; maybe not completely, but somewhat. As he walked towards the Winthrop Alley there were several Sylirian Knights Among the walls and buildings of the city. One even gave a salute to Roueru, and he smiled and saluted back, almost as if they were close friends. But Roueru didn't know anything about the Knight other than that he seemed friendly. They all seemed friendly to Roueru, but he usually was too shy to respond. But just then... That shyness disappeared. Momentarily, but it was gone. Roueru kept on thinking about it, sometimes almost bumping into civilians on the way. Thirty Chimes Later Winthrop Alley was in sight. Roueru felt a bit excited, and it helped him cope with the frigid snow and ice. He walked at first then started to run to it. He started to see various buildings and shops; he saw a store called An Elegant Weave, and another called All Things Leather. It didn't take longer than a few chimes until what looked like the Fighter's Pit was in front of him. He spotted two weaponry racks leaning towards the right-hand side and another opposite the two. The ground seemed to be lined with fresh snow - not too much to affect battle, it looked like. But Roueru had never battled before in a snowy terrain, so he didn't know how to fight that much, assuming that there would be little to no difference. He was about to unsheath his sword when he heard a voice come from behind him. "Hey there!" It was a man's voice, and Roueru turned, a bit shocked. The man was wearing armor, and didn't seem to be armed. "I haven't seen you here before," he continued. "Who are you?" he asked, sounding a bit stern. Roueru gulped. He felt as if he wanted to dissapear into the snow, but he replied, as loud as he could. "I'm... I'm Roueru..." he said, trying to sound louder, but failed miserably. He was probably still audible, because he continued. "You lookin' for a lesson?" he proceeded to ask. Roueru was surprised. They tought lessons here? "You teach lessons? Like, swordplay lessons?" he asked, not feeling shy anymore. "Yup. I'm Gerard Anthonius, the owner of the Fighter's Pit. To get a lesson from me costs Mizas though. 5 gold ones." he replied, holding his hand out. Roueru rolled his eyes, but still reached into his backpack pocket and pulled out some Mizas, popping them into Gerard's hand. He didn't-- No, he couldn't miss a chance for an actual lesson. From the owner of the Pits, no. Gerard smirked, and put the Mizas into his pocket. He rubbed his hands together. "So, let's begin." Receipt : Lesson From Gerard - 5 GM

[Reworking account]

Gerard walked over to the weapon rack and picked up a buckler, then proceeded in front of Roueru. "I'm gonna guess you know the basics of swordplay, right?" he asked, adjusting the buckler on his arm. Roueru nodded slightly. "Y-yes... I think. Most of them, at least," he said, unsheathing his blade. For a few moments he let his hand rest on the mid-section steel part of the blade. To Roueru, it felt... Cool. Not cold, not warm. Cool. It was almost refreshing, in a way. Gerard took a defensive stance, seeming content with the buckler's location on his arm. "Good. Consider this warming up. You'll try and hit me, not on the buckler, on my armor. Got it?" he continued. Roueru was frozen for a few seconds. Gerard seemed like a nice man, Roueru didn't want to hurt him. Or anybody, really. The broadsword in his hands was clearly shaking, but Roueru didn't notice. "O-ok," he replied, with a tone of hesitation in voice. He was trembling, hoping that Gerard wouldn't be injured. He tried to stall for at least a few seconds, by purposefully taking too long to get into a battle position. Unfortunately, it wasn't hard at all for Gerard to catch on. "Hmph, what's the matter? Scared or something?" he said, trying to coax Roueru into confessing. Roueru knew he couldn't hide it, but tried to explain in a passive way to state his point. "I... I'm..." He stopped for a moment. How could he say this? "...I'm concerned for your well-being, Mr. Anthonius." he continued. Roueru felt relieved to let that out, and a bit proud as well. Only for a split second though, because Gerard couldn't seem to stop himself from laughing. "Ha ha ha! Oh, that's funny!" he cackled. "Don't worry about me, I'd bet that you couldn't even scratch me." Roueru was surprised. He really could not tell if he was serious, or being completely sarcastic. Roueru believed that he was partly serious. But mostly sarcastic, surely. Around this time Gerard's laughter had diminished to a tee. "All right, all right. Go ahead. I'm serious this time." he said, smirking again. Roueru felt more assured. Gerard definitely wasn't going to get hurt easily, but he seemed a bit too cocky, proving difficult for him to clarify whether or not he should hold back or not. On the inside though, Roueru knew. Gerard was definitely tough. A slash from a sword shouldn't severely injure him. Roueru smiled, and planted his feet in the ground. "All right..." he mumbled, inaudible to Gerard. Roueru grasped his sword with one hand, using his other hand to steady it. He leaped forward and tried to slash at Gerard, but Gerard dodged to the right, making Roueru stumble and almost face-plant into the ground. Roueru was somewhat peeved at this point. "Hey!" he said, clearly annoyed. He didn't seem shy anymore, just a bit mad. Gerard smirked, for a third time. "At that speed, there's no way you'll hit anything! You've gotta be quicker on your feet!" Gerard shouted, moving away from Roueru. Now Roueru was almost certain that Gerard wasn't taking this seriously. But he decided to play along. Who knows? This could benefit Roueru. Somehow. Maybe. He wasn't sure.

[Reworking account]

Roueru kept on repeating the same process of jumping ahead and striking, but it proved useless quickly, since Gerard somehow seemed to easily move away. Roueru sighed, tired, and rested his hands on his knees, staring at Gerard from a distance away. But then, he realized something. Every time Gerard would move away, he'd move to Roueru's right almost always when he struck. Roueru knew he should expect him to move right - but there still was a possibility of him moving left. Who knew, Gerard could throw a curveball and move left. But either way, Roueru had a fifty-fifty chance if he faked his first move into another follow-up attack. This was, however, still a fairly new technique to Roueru, learning it only about a month ago, and he hadn't enough time to perfect it It was a good thing this wasn't an actual match. He'd have to be light on his feet and plan carefully. "Maybe you should hit me this time, hm?" Gerard taunted, taking a defensive stance. Roueru completely ignored him, trying to focus on his next move. Carefully, but as quickly as Roueru could, he ran towards Gerard, balancing his sword with his left hand. He slashed forward with his sword, hesitantly in order to be able to see Gerard's move. Gerard dodged right, as Roueru expected, and tried his best to steady the broadsword back into a standard position. He barely managed to do so, and swung again at Gerard, skimming the bottom edge of his buckler, hitting Gerard in the stomach for a lucky strike. Gerard seemed satisfied, a bit fazed and shocked when Roueru managed to pull off what happened just moments ago. "I'm impressed. How'd you do that?" Gerard said, interested in Roueru's technique. "I... Learned it about a month ago... I didn't really have time to perfect it..." he replied, scratching his head. "I'm sure it was just lucky," he quickly followed up. Roueru felt that he was being honest; he wasn't completely confident that that would actually work. Gerard grinned, and was silent for a second. "You should consider practicing that technique in battle. It'd be useful." he recommended. Roueru nodded in response. But something came across his mind. If Gerard was competent in swordplay, wouldn't he have come across that same technique? Just to be sure, he decided to ask. "Are you confident in your swordplay skills? If you are, wouldn't you have crossed roads with the same technique?" Gerard stood silent for a bit. "I did come across that, but I never got around to learning it because I was having trouble balancing my blade." he replied, eying Roueru. "Somehow, I guess you learned to balance it." Roueru still had his broadsword in hand, and slid it into its scabbard. He was trembling a bit, feeling embarrassed. He didn't feel it was or should be a great deal. "I think that should be enough for today." he continued, walking over to the weapon rack. Roueru was surprised. Didn't he say that that was only warmup? "Wait... I thought you said that was warming up, right?" he asked. Gerard looked back. "Hm? Do you want to continue?" he asked in return. Roueru had realized that he was almost out of breath to respond. It must have been the running around when I was trying to hit him, he thought. "...No, never mind. I'm too tired from the warm up anyways..." he replied, stretching. Gerard didn't say a thing, and Roueru walked back to the Traveler’s Row, thinking about his training today. Note : If the sword technique Roueru used above is considered powergaming/godmodding, please intervene and tell me how I can fix it. The Weaponry Skills Lore is a stub, so I did my best to fit his skill level.

[Yisanareysin]

The ssssssnake hassss your gradesssss...

Roueru

Skills

‡Observation +3
‡Weapon (Broadsword) +2
‡Planning +1
‡Tactics +1
‡Endurance +1

Lores

‡Location - Fighter's Pit
‡Shops on Winthrop Alley
‡Gerard Anthonius - Owner of the Fighter's Pit
‡Anthonius - Good at evasion
‡Anthonius - Dodges to the right
‡Broadsword - Feint Attack

Rewards & Retribution

‡ -5 gm for training

Comments
This was a nice training thread. I'm not certain that Gerard, with 46 in sword skills, would have trouble with a technique that Roueru managed to do without having drilled it. The same effect could be achieved by Gerard saying something like "Didn't care for it" or "Not my style" or something like that. Don't worry about it this time, but keep it in mind in future threads :3

Don't forget to delete your post in the grading queue, and if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me about your grade!