Completed Wham! Bam! Shang-a-lang!

[Karyk]

Spring 50, 517 It was midday, and Karyk and the caravan stopped for their normal midday rest, and a scout approached on his horse. He'd been formerly a member of the high guard, and was probably the most combat trained person in the entire caravan. He carried a long sword and a scimitar from his belt, and always wore leather armor. After the incident with Raven, this man, Farvold, approached Karyk. He knew Karyk wasn't sleeping, and he could tell that Karyk blamed himself. So he offered the shipwright some training, both to improve the man, but also to keep his mind busy during the down times. Karyk gathered up his barely used weapons, his half axe, his battle axe, and his throwing axes. Farvold dismounted, stroked his goatee a bit, "Let's go." The pair moved through the people, most of whom were resting and eating, or tending to their loved ones and animals. Karyk and Farvold slipped through the tree line, and stopped before a dead tree, devoid of green, but still standing. "You need to warm up, use your heavier axe first." Karyk slipped his half axe into his belt, and set down his throwing axes, holding his heavier battle axe in his right hand. It had a broad, limb cleaving blade on one end, a thick spike on the opposite, set in a thick, cedar handle. Karyk held it up, still not used to its weight, heavier than any of his work axes. He squared up in front of the dead tree, and held the axe at his side. He raised it up over his shoulder, then he hefted up in a sloppy, diagonal arc, and sunk the axe into the tree's bark. It didn't bite deep, not at all. Karyk pulled it free, and swung again, this time sideways, the swing sloppy, shaky, barely cutting into the tree. "Use both hands together, and separate. Keep your feet under your shoulders, and keep them moving. And breathe, through the nose, out your mouth. And never stop moving." Karyk nodded, swinging the axe to his left side, gripping it with his left hand now as well. He twisted back, swinging it into the tree, sinking the spike deep into it. He yanked it free, remembering to keep his feet moving, by shuffling around the side of the tree. He held the axe in just his left hand now, and stepped to the right as he swung the axe low, blade first, biting deep into the wood this time. He yanked it free and continued moving back and forth, chopping and stabbing, one handed, two, his breathing growing ragged. "Breathe Karyk." Karyk remembered to breath through his nose, exhaling out his mouth, and kept at it. Sideways right handed chop into the wood. Yanked free, overhead two handed chop. Pulled free, moved around the tree, left handed sideways stab. He kept at it over and over, "Enough Karyk, you're warmed up now. Switch to your other axe."

[Karyk]

Karyk nodded at Farvold, leaning his battleaxe against a tree, and pulling his half axe from his belt. He turned to face the tree, "No. Me." Karyk turned slowly, to see the man had his longsword drawn. "Do your best to try and hurt me. I promise you won't. You're nowhere near challenge enough. But it will be good for you to get some practice." The man slid his foot back, his sword pointed down and away, an arm held out, and beckoned to Karyk with his free hand. Karyk raised his half axe, left foot forward. He wasn't sure where to try and strike. He decided to go for the man's chest, maybe he could get there quicker than him. Karyk stepped forward, his legs shuffling quickly, but out of rhythm with the rest of his movements. He stepped forward with his right leg, the wrong leg, and swung his axe down toward the man. Quick as a snake, the man blocked the axe's handle with the flat of his blade, slide it along, caught the head with his hilt, and pulled it from Karyk's hand. As he pulled it away, spinning to the right, Karyk still surprised at the speed, the man's fist crashed into Karyk's jaw, sending him to the ground, hard. Karyk was stunned as he spit out dirt that had dusted up onto his face. "Get up Karyk." Karyk's jaw throbbed, shaking his head, still a bit shell shocked. He pushed himself up off the ground, to see Farvold handing him his axe. Karyk stood and snatched it from the man, shooting him a glare, "Stare at my stunning good looks all you want, until you can force me to stop, I'm going to keep putting you in the dirt. You're weak Karyk. But you don't have to stay that way." Karyk felt his temper flare, and he charged at the man, swinging wildly in a downward chop. The man skipped backward, smiling, toying with Karyk, "Oh, you're angry are you?" Karyk chopped and the man batted it away with his sword and open hand slapped Karyk on the same side of the face as he'd been punched. This further enraged the shipwright. He continued pressing forward, swinging wildly in a diagonal slash. Farvold slipped past the swing, under Karyk's arm, ending up behind him, slapping Karyk in the back of the knees with the flat of the blade. Karyk dropped to his knees in pain. For good measure, the man slapped him across the shoulder blades too. Karyk was on all fours now, breathing heavily, wincing in pain. "Get up Karyk." Karyk grunted, annoyed and hurting, rose and faced the man, "You need to tighten up your stance, keep your free arm ready and available. Your body is as much of a weapon as that axe. Try to feel the ebb and flow of the fight. And fight on your terms, not mine. Now again." Karyk squared up his feet once more, but pulled his lead foot just a bit tighter to him. Fight on his terms. He held his left hand, his free hand, raised, elbow in near his ribs. He raised his axe, keeping it in closer to himself, and he waited. To fight on his terms, he wasn't going to make the first move. Farvold smiled, recognizing the plan, and decided to play into it. He stepped forward quickly, and Karyk shuffled back, his feet kicking up dust. Farvold pressed forward once more, slower this time, and Karyk stepped back again. Farvold relaxed a bit, stepping backward and Karyk pressed forward keeping that comfortable distance. He then took a quicker step forward, and swung at Farvold, high, toward his sword shoulder. Farvold raised his sword up, batting away the axe. Karyk sent a weak, left handed jab toward Farvold's face. The man dodged, and swept his leg along the ground, kicking out Karyk's feet from under him. Karyk hit the ground, back first, hard, knocking the breath from his lungs. "Good good. Much better. Switch hands, and go again." Farvold stuck out his hand and Karyk grasped it, pulling himself to his feet. He switched the half axe to his left hand, matching Farvold's left handed hold. "Fighting against a leftie as a rightie usually makes it more difficult for the rightie. You need to learn to fight with both, and against both. You need to practice your left hand in all things, not just combat. Get more comfortable with your body. You're inexperienced enough that your left should only be a bit weaker than your right. Start early." Karyk moved forward, swinging down at the man. Farvold swung the sword up, perfectly matching Karyk's speed, having to slow down to do so. He deflected the axe, and stepped forward. Karyk stepped back and swung again, back handed, and Farvold stepped backwards to avoid. Karyk followed and swung upward, and once more, Farvold matched and parried it. He was purposefully not counterattacking, letting Karyk practice swinging and moving his feet. Forward and back, side to side, Karyk kept swinging, never finding his mark. But he was getting used to the movements. He focused on his breathing too, deep breaths through his nose, exhaling on the swings. There truly was a rhythm to combat, and it was clear the significant difference between fighting hand sides. Fighting against a same handed enemy felt, easier, or at least more natural. After many swings and movements, Karyk's swing got slower, sluggish, and when it was blocked by Farvold's blade, the reverberations shook his arm numb. He fought through it to keep from dropping his weapon, but the fight was over, as he struggled to catch his breath. "That's enough of that for now Karyk, let's take a rest."

[Karyk]

Farvold picked up Karyk's throwing axes, handing two to him, keeping two for himself. "These will probably be the most useful thing you'll learn. You can use them to hunt with, defend yourself from afar, wound an enemy before you close the gap. You should try to always keep two of these on your person, as well as your half axe. The battleaxe with you anytime heading into the wilds or any other more dangerous area. Preparation is ninety-five percent of all fights." Farvold took one of the axes and scraped away a large circle of bark at eye level on the dead tree. Then he cut a shallow 'X' into the center of it. He moved ten paces from the tree and turned to face it. "There's two ways to throw an axe, the first I'll show you lets you be more accurate, with more power, but it takes longer to set up, leaving you a bit exposed. Good to use from cover, but not while under pressure from combat." He held the axe in front of him with both hands wrapped around it, dominant hand higher up the shaft. He then quickly raised the axe up and over and behind his head, then whipped it forward. It tumbled end over end before sinking deep into the 'X' dead center. He nodded at Karyk to fetch it. Karyk lumbered over and pulled on the axe, which was embedded so deep, he had to pull twice to dislodge it. He then walked back over to where the man had thrown from. He put his feet shoulder width apart. He held the really light throwing axe as the man had. Right over left, thumbs gripping around as well, fists touching, sitting low on the shaft. He swung his arms up and over his head, then using only his arms and shoulders, pitched it forward. It spun wildly off axis, far right of the tree. Farvold fell down laughing, "Oh definitely not the worst first throw I've ever seen, but certainly top five." Karyk grunted in annoyance, and went to retrieve his axe from the bush it slid under. Getting it back, he returned to his spot, "You need to throw with your stomach and back just as much as your arms. Also make sure the axe is facing exactly where it needs to go. If its off center, it will fly off center." Karyk nodded, and planted his feet again. He tightened his stomach and back muscles, gripped the axe tight. He raised it up slower this time, tightening his muscles as he did. He then began flinging his arms forward, and let go when it felt at the right height, keeping them there as the axe flew true, and sunk into the tree's bark. But it didn't hit the mark, but rather about two feet above it. But Karyk smiled. It flew straight and sunk in. That was more than he could've hoped for previously. "Much better! Just really need to improve on your follow through. When you let go, keep your arms moving forward and down. This will let the axe release properly and fly true." Karyk nodded, and walked over to the tree. With an awkward jump up, he grabbed the axe and pulled it free. Once more, he returned to his spot, and assumed his stance. He cocked his arms back, and let loose, trying to put every bit of power into it as he could, letting his arms go with the natural downward movement as he released it. It tumbled end over end and sunk into the right side of the 'X' and Karyk pumped his fist in celebration. This was much easier than the one on one combat, as the results were easier to see. "Good good. Time to do the one handed throw, though. This one is less accurate, and with less power, but can be thrown with the least amount of preparation. It works great when in combat for hitting enemies that are out of reach, or dealing with multiple enemies. Also good for hunting if you've startled your prey." He grabbed two of Karyk's axes, bouncing them end over end as he readied himself. Rather then standing firm, he bounced on the balls of his feet, back and forth. Then he turned his body, left shoulder facing the target. He kept the axe at chest height, before he swung his arm down, back and over. His body turned with the throw and when he released it it spun end over end. But the man wasn't done, he took two more steps, and threw with the opposite arm as well. Both axes hit the X, but left and right of center. But he showed Karyk just how rapid they could be thrown. Karyk moved to the tree, pulled the three axes free, slipping two into his belt. "Just do one arm at a time for now. This style is a bit more difficult to get the proper stances right, it's really more about feeling. So just takes practice. Whenever you spar or practice, take a moment to throw your axe while in the heat of it, to practice it more often." Karyk stood there, holding the axe by his chest as Farvold had done. Then he swung it downward as he stepped forward with his left foot. As he brought it up his back, rotating his shoulder as he did, he awkwardly shifted, then stepped forward heavily with his right foot. A bit too far forward, as he lost his balance as he released his axe. It flew far left and struck a completely separate tree, and Karyk was once more picking himself up off the ground. "Not terrible, you need to practice shifting your weight around and keeping your footing. Like I said, this method requires more self practice since no form is perfectly right." A scout burst through the brush, huffing having run, "Farvold, we've found some yukmen while on patrol. Not many, we've routed them into the valley down from the road, and will be dealing with them shortly. Our other patrols have found no signs of any others." Farvold smiled, "Don't kill them just yet, just keep them contained. This is a perfect opportunity. Double up patrols, I want to be completely sure that there are no others, can never truly predict these beasts." The scout nodded, and left rapidly, to relay the man's orders. "Well Karyk, time for some practical training. Ever seen a yukman?" Karyk shook his head, "Perfect. They are a big threat in numbers, but are fairly weak by themselves. Let's go have some fun." Karyk felt a small pit of worry, but also a hint of excitement in his gut as he gathered up his axes. He kept two throwing axes and half axe in his belt, and carried his battleaxe. Farvold carried the other two throwing axes as well, and the two made way toward the Kabrin road that carried them for the most part on this journey.

[Karyk]

Farvold led Karyk through the camp, which was on defensive alert. This meant the noncombatants and scouts were within a circle of carriages and carts. The combatants that weren't part of the scouts stood at the perimeter or on the carriages. The scouts dealt with the threats and maintained perimeters at the same time. Most of the people here had never seen yukmen before, but everyone had heard of them. Karyk was reminded of a childhood story his mother used to tell him. "They say that the yukmen are born of all the worst parts of people, infecting the very ground they live upon. Their hatred, rage, greed, gluttony, all of it flows into the earth and poisons it. So the land fights back, rejecting not the poison, but the cause of the poison. It creates these yukmen, pale imitations of those that would poison the land, and send them to destroy or deter the threat. But land alone cannot make people, so they are flawed, they damaged, forged without missing the beauty in people. They lack compassion, love, creativeness, protectiveness. All the best parts are missing. So they can never be people. Only weapons against them." After his mother's confession of having traveled the world, Karyk wondered if she'd ever come across them, and how many more of her stories were born of experience rather than folk lores from the community at large. Karyk followed Farvold through the camp, where many were climbing the carriages to see these trapped creatures on the other side of the road. From afar, they seemed like clay statues come to life. The creatures were penned in, surrounded by several scouts with swords and spears, simply holding them in place. Karyk and Farvold joined the circle. "Alright Karyk, time to bring your practice to life. Show these people that you got some fight in you, however rough and untrained it may be. These ones are already a bit injured when we corralled them. But should still be taken seriously, they can and will kill you." Karyk immediately felt a bit sheepish, realizing that not only were many of the scouts watching his 'training' but many of the people he was in charge of. Karyk looked around, not seeing Salara, thankfully. She'd already seen him flail about nearly uselessly with the wolves, she didn't need to see this too. Luckily for him, he didn't see Raven's mother or he surely would've lost any confidence he had. Karyk belted his battleaxe, drawing a throwing axe, and stepped forward into the circle, swallowing despite his throat being dry from nerves. There were four of the creatures being kept at bay, trying to lunge at the scouts, but were driven back with hardly any damage. Karyk looked at them. They looked... human, but shorter, like a full head shorter than a normal man. They had skin, but it was the color of the dirt in the road. They didn't have any hair, nor clothes. Karyk was surprised at how... normal they seemed. Aside from the rocks and dirt clods sticking out of their skin. As if they weren't done being shaped. Their mouths were a far cry from humans though, and kept emitting that 'yuk' sound, like an annoying person's laugh. The first one spotted him, the remaining three were kept corralled and away for the time being, and Karyk quickly took his stance, feet spread apart. He gripped his throwing axe with both hands, trying to calm his shaking hands. In his mind, he saw that little girls broken and battered body, and he got angry. Very angry. Her killer got away. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. Karyk knew that man too, had known him for years. He put that man's face on the yukman's, in his mind. He raised his axe up over his head, taking a deep breath as he did, tightening his muscles like coiled ropes, and he roared in frustration and rage as he swung that axe forward, a bit too hard, as he released and followed through with his arms. It threw his body forward, and off balance as the axe tumbled end over end. The axe cleaved right into the first yukman's face, splitting it open, which elicited a cheer from the scouts, and some gasps from the weaker stomached watchers. Karyk fell to the ground but was quick to scramble. One down, three to go, and his blood was pumping fast, he could hear his heart in his head. He hadn't felt like this since those damned wolves, and he loved it. He quickly stood up, drawing his battleaxe, as one of the other yukmen moved toward him, having been let through by the scouts. He swung at it, with them stepping back to avoid it, a challenging yell escaping the shipwright's lips. He swung it again, both hands this time on the back swing, aiming the spike at one of the yukman's ribs. It struck deep, but lodged on something, and the yukman didn't die. It took advantage of this to step into Karyk's space, grabbing at the man. Karyk let go of his axe, grabbing the creature's earthy-fleshy arm and pulling it into a falling spin, trying to get atop of it. They both fell, grappling at one another, both scrambling for a better hold. Karyk smashed his fist downward like a hammer into the creature's face, momentarily stunning it, and hurting his fingers badly. Karyk moved away to stand up when the axe handle, spike still in the creature, cracked him hard in the ribs, taking his breath away. Karyk managed a crouch and stumbled away. Finally getting to his feet, he drew his half axe. The yukman had gotten up as well, and charged at him. Karyk held a stance with his left fist and leg in front of him. He jabbed a weak punch at the creature, who easily moved around it. Karyk came at it with an upward swing of the axe, catching it in the arm pit, but not biting enough to sever it. But the impact on his damage fingers caused him to drop the half axe, and the creature turning away from the pain, hit him once more in the ribs with his own axe handle. Karyk shoved the creature back, gasping for air and in pain, and picked up his half axe. He was clutching at his left side with his hand, moving slower. The creature charge at him, and Karyk moved into axe handle this time, gripping it into his injured side, and used it to lurch the creature back and forth. He swung down at it, the axe sinking into its skull. He pulled it free, and stuck the half axe back into his belt. He put a foot on the corpse and pulled the battleaxe free, wincing as he did so.

[Karyk]

The third yukman was allowed to be freed, but in their haste, the fourth came free too. At this, Farvold stepped forward, longsword drawn. "Gotta keep things fair mate." Farvold lured one away, while the other picked up Karyk's throwing axe earlier, still in the first yukman's skull. It charged at Karyk swinging wildly. Karyk swung hard, a sideways chop trying to use his range as an advantage. But the damage to his ribs caused him to pull up short and over swing. The yukman came in close and Karyk fell into it. They both fell to the ground, dropping their weapons. Karyk could barely breathe at this point, gasping, and he rolled away from the yukman. He kicked his battleaxe out of reach and snatched his throwing axe up. Karyk tried to crawl away a bit, then push himself up, seeing Farvold watching from the sideline once more, his yukman already easily dispatched. He felt a hand on his ankle and he kicked backward, feeling the grip break free. He pulled himself upright, hunched over in pain, his lungs burning. The creature came at him and Karyk swung his axe down, catching the creature in the shoulder. But the shock vibrated his hand off the weapon in stinging pain. The creature then cold cocked him the side of the jaw with a stony fist, and Karyk nearly toppled over, holding onto the yukman for support. He was hit again by the fist, in the same injured ribs, and he lurched hard to the right, pulling the yukman with him. He managed to roll himself on top, hammer fisting the creature in the face, trying to ignore the sharp pains in his fingers as he did so. He yanked his axe free from the shoulder, and brought it down with a thud into the creature's face. Then again, and again, and again, until he could no longer raise his arm, his vision blurry from pain and lack of breath. He just sat there, wheezing, trying to find his breath. He didn't hear the hoots and cheers from the scouts. All he felt was pain and exhaustion. He was helped to his feet, his ribs and hands and jaw, and really everything hurting in some fashion, but he was whole. He gathered up his weapons, grinning tiredly. He could go for more days like this. And for the first time since Raven's death, he slept through the entire night without being awoken by her mother's screams invading his dreams.

[Karyk]

 

Karyk

Skills
Weapon: Battle axe: 2
Weapon: Hand axe: 3
Weapon: Throwing axe: 2
Endurance: 1
Unarmed Combat: 2
Lores
Combat: Remember to keep breathing
Combat: Keep your feet moving
Throwing Axe: Two handed power throw
Throwing Axe: One handed quick throw
Yukmen: Big threat in large numbers
Yukmen: Weak as individuals
Fable: Yukmen, the ground rejecting man's poison
Miscellaneous
Severe Bruising to ribs - pain for 20 days when moving or touched
Heavy bodily and facial bruising

 

Notes and Comments

CS Checkmarked: ✓
CS Reviewed by Me: ✓
Previous Season Expenses Paid (Spring 517): ✓