Completed ...Survive!

[Letixia Raigner]

Spring 35th-37th, 514 Letixia awoke on the morning of the thirty-fifth day of Spring, at the sixth bell as usual. After she got cleaned herself, got dressed, and ate a light breakfast, she moved to start putting on her gear for training, only to find a note sitting on her shield. Letixia, You are to gather up any equipment you have that you may consider important enough to take on a long journey. In addition to that, pack your full armor and weaponry. We will be performing a joint training with Ser Erik and his squire Sei Tendo. You are to meet his squire at the front gates precisely when the eighth bell tolls, for he has received a similar notification from his patron. Prepare yourself for anything you think you might face, for as long as you can. Ser Ranqor Grayne Letixia remembered meeting Sei and Ser Erik last season. She quickly began making preparations. She set her backpack on her bed, and stored at the bottom of it her fishing kit, toiletries, eating knife, her money pouch, and her flint and steel. She placed her empty water skin inside her small bait pail, and dropped them both on top of it all. She grabbed her quiver, and slipped it into the holding slot on the right side of the pack, and the bow into a similar hold on the left. Her hand net was attached to the top of her pack hanging down. Finally, she slipped her fishing rod into a slot adjacent, but further behind the slot that held her quiver. She quickly pulled on her full armor set, attached her sword and sheathe to her belt on her right hip. Satisfied, she grabbed her kite shield with her left hand, and left her dorm, everything she owned on her person. She made her way to the front gates of the city, and hadn't spotted anyone there yet. There was still about ten more chimes until the bell tolled, and Ser Ranqor didn't say if he'd be meeting them there or not. She stood there, watching people come and go, mostly leaving the city though, some travelers, others heading out to work or gather. She didn't recognize any of the guards on duty, and wasn't sure that she had time to strike up a conversation with any of them as she waited for her counterpart.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei had just finished packing, and was dressing in his studded leather armor. His leather boots were just the right size, but he still needed to choose his weaponry. He grabbed his small steel shield, slung his shortsword across his back, a longbow and quiver on his back as well, and readied to leave. Today had been planned by Ser Erik, and his opponent was going to be a last season acquaintance by the name of Letixia. Letixia was the squire of Ser Ranqor, a Knight who couldn't stop making fun of him by calling him a cat. Sei walked down the noisy, smelly, obnoxious streets of Syliras City. He was ready to fight, but Ser Erik explained in the letter that it would also be a trip of sorts. He didn't delve into details, but he did say that he hoped Sei had packed appropriately. When he arrived at the gate Letixia was already there, but there was no sign of Ser Ranqor. Hopefully he won't come. Saves me from having to hear his senseless cat jokes. The Kelvic approached slowly, and waved to Letixia. The first thing he noticed was that she too had a backpack full of things. He looked around and asked the obvious question. "Where is Ser Ranqor?"

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti saw her partner in this endeavor arrive in all of his combat gear, smiling as he waved. "I don't know, he didn't say directly that he'd be meeting us here." She looked at everything he was carrying, "I think I might have brought every item I own. Strange that it is so easy to just take it all at once." Then the eighth bell tolled. One of the guards from the entrance posts walked up to them then. He looked a little sheepish, and as if reciting from memory, stated, "Day One, a small sea is your destination, but do not look to the coast. Stay until Syna smiles once more." The Knight said nothing more, even looked a little embarrassed, and returned to his post. Leti smiled. She could tell this was a riddle from her patron. She loved when he did this sort of training. She had an idea of where to go, for she'd fished there once before, earlier in the season. But she waited to see if her partner would figure it out. Without saying anything to him, Leti started the hike northward bound, hugging the walls of the city rather than taking the road. She looked back over her shoulder at Sei, "You coming?"

[Sei Tendo]

Sei was about to say more when one of the knights posted at the city gates walked over them and spoke in riddles. What was that about? Probably something to do with Ser Erik. He looked toward Letixia who seemed to understand, and followed behind her. He didn't know exactly where they were going, only a vague guess. He looked back at the guard who had informed them, and turned back to Letixia. "I know what you mean, but I only packed what I thought was necessary." He replied casually as they hiked up the trail. He didn't relish the idea of just walking the whole way, but he doubted Letixia had any fun ideas. He would just be bored silly. He would've told her he preferred it that her Patron hadn't come, but she'd probably take offense by it. He was still trying to look around, but he managed to keep his pace steady. "You know, we should have a race or something. Oh wait, your probably to strict for that, huh?"

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti was a bit disappointed when her partner didn't offer up an answer to the riddle. It wasn't particularly difficult to anyone who'd explored the surrounding lands. She smiled at the offer of his challenge, even if running wasn't one of her strong points. "Yeah, I'm way too strict for that." And with that, she bolted forward like a crippled rabbit from a bush. Running in full armor, with a full pack on her back, and a shield in her arm was difficult no matter how you looked at it. She knew the most important thing in any form of exercise was to control your breathing. It worked when in combat, when practicing her yoga, strengthening muscles, all of it. She would breathe in through her nose, and out through her mouth. Her arms tried to pump in unison with her legs, but she could never quite get the rhythm to match. Her legs ran heavy, plodding along heavily rather than a graceful run that one might expect of her. She could instantly feel the sweat beginning to break through her skin. She ran parallel along the outer wall of the city, watching the Knights ahead of her up at their posts. She paid no mind to Sei, whether he was behind her, beside her, or ahead, she cared not. This was just more training to the young squire, and it was fun. She couldn't keep up the heavy pace she started with, and eventually resigned to a slow trot, only a bit faster than a hurried walk. She knew the nearest landmark was the hot springs, so she adjusted her course to begin heading there. By the time she'd left the comfort of the wall, and was nearing the tree line, her lungs were ablaze. It was getting more and more difficult to maintain the proper breathing, her arms were no longer pumping as actively as they had been, and her back was getting sore. She knew the hot springs were just a small ways in past the trees, so she kept on slogging through, breathing like a stuck pig now. She managed to wheeze, slump, and practically drag herself up the small slope until she was at the edge of the springs. She remembered to stand up straight, and sort her breathing out first, to speed up her recovery. She took this time to look around for her companion, not even sure if he'd come the same was as her.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei bolted after Letixia, grinning at her comment. He started to jog at first, bursting into a sprint until he was a few paces away from the other squire. He dashed next to her, and tried to even out his breathing so his pace was steady. Inhale... Exhale... And just like that he was a few paces ahead of his opponent until he slowed to get behind her. He wasn't exactly sure where they where going, so just to be sure his suspicion was correct he followed behind his new playmate. After awhile longer of running, He and Letixia began to slow as they came upon their destination. The local Hot Springs. The air was hot and humid, but he was to busy looking around to notice. This being his first time hear and all, he wasn't sure what to say. There were small pools and large ones that filled the area with steam. "Well, we might as well do something else while we wait. How about a spar?"

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti spotted Sei having come up from behind her. She listened to his idea and kept herself from chuckling. He thought this was the location in the riddle. But a spar wouldn't be a bad distraction, since they had until sunrise to be there. "Sure, but let's change it up a bit, just for fun." She searched around a bit until she found a nice even clearing overlooking the hot springs. It wasn't too large, wedged between trees and the fall into the hot water. Leti set her shield down next to a tree, then shrugged off her pack. Her eyes glanced from tree to tree for a while, until she found a suitable one. A stub of a branch that had snapped and fallen stuck out from it. She stood on her tiptoes and hooked her pack onto it, out of reach of any pestersome wildlife. She turned back and grabbed her shield with her right hand, and drew her sword with her left. Wielding them in the opposite hands of which she was used to was a strange feeling. But she'd been told that she needed to learn every aspect of fighting with her sword and shield, and this was one she had yet to explore. Cocking an eyebrow as a challenge, she glanced at Sei, wondering if he would realize what she'd done. If not, she would still fight, though certainly at a handicap. She said a quick prayer to Yahal, Wysar, and Sylir, and entered her defensive stance.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei copied Letixia, hanging his backpack on the tree, and watched her get into position. Something was different about her stance, and he soon came to the realization that she'd switched her shield arm to her sword arm. He grunted and did the same. It felt odd, but there had to be some kind of advantage. Maybe he could turn out even-handed with a sword and shield. "This'll be a challenge." He held his shortsword firmly, and steeled his grip on his shield. He was ready. He used clumsy footwork to close the gap between Letixia and himself. He drew his small shield inward, tucking his torso into the frame, and thrust forward with his sword. He withdrew the sword only to swing slightly to the left, then fully to the right for an open slash.

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti watched her opponent begin, first by making himself smaller behind his shield, then attacking at her, his blade aimed at her midsection it seemed. Her first instinct was to block with her left hand, but that had her sword, not her shield. This made her reaction quite delayed, pushing her shield to the left, but only after his sword had gotten past. The rim of her shield pushed at the sword, just as it reached her chest piece, scratching the armor. The sword was quickly withdrawn, and began to swing to her right. Leti saw this as a small opening. She attempted a short stab, aiming for the torso he left open by swinging. But being in her less dominant hand, her attack was slower, found it getting in the way of his return slash. His attack numbed her sword hand, and she nearly dropped her sword. She stepped back, to compose herself, keeping her shield held high in front of her. She found herself unable to go on the aggressive with this change of hands, so she held back, defending, just trying to get used to this foreign feeling.

[Sei Tendo]

Sei noted Letixia had started to use her sword arm as her shield arm, but she quickly realized her fault and switched. His sword cut her armor a bit, but he withdrew quickly not wanting to hurt her. When he had made his swing, the other squire clashed her sword with his as she attempted a poorly timed thrust of her own. His arm spasmed, causing him to wince. As Letixia stepped back he shook out his arm and spoke. "I see I'm not the only one struggling with this." He said as he charged. Thinking he was putting his sword first, he dashed in with his shield outstretched. Well, at least I can play it off He thought happily. When he reached Letixia, he withdrew the shield, molding it to his torso, and clumsily switched to his shortsword. He made a short thrust, but mistimed the distance. Noticing the opening, he reeled in the sword as quickly as he could.