Flashback Going Through the Motions

[Samuel Longwell]

Going Through The Motions Date: 4th day of Spring, year 499 Location: Training Grounds Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel stood in the training grounds, already starting to sweat in the heavy armour he was wearing. Lifting his shield and sword he settled into a defensive stance, left foot slightly forward and shield held in front of his body. Taking a deep breath, Samuel started to move through some simple exercises. He stepped forward with his left foot, shoving his shield forward, and then stepped back into his starting position. Next he stepped to his right, slashing with his sword and sliding his left foot so he again stood at guard. Again he stepped forward, striking an imaginary opponent with his shield, and stepping back to defend against a counter attack. Finally he stepped left, striking with his sword, and moved back to where he started. Samuel repeated this sequence; shield bash, slash right, shield bash, slash left, and started to settle into a rhythm. After his eighth repetition his arms started to ache from the movements, and his last few strikes were slow and painful. Samuel completed his tenth set then sheathed his sword, placed his shield on the ground, and sat down next to it. As he rested he let his eyes wander over the activity close by in the training grounds. He looked over to a group of older squires, who were practising archery not too far away. He noticed most were using shortbows, preferred by the knights due to being usable on horseback, but a couple had longbows. Samuel considered the larger weapons, the arrows were released with much more power however the squires using them had to pull back the drawstring further than the shortbow. Samuel wandered over to them and asked if he could join them. Several squires nodded and Samuel was pointed towards a spare bow. Samuel nocked an arrow and looked at the target. He knew that he usually shot at targets twenty five paces away, and these targets were significantly further away. Turning to the squire on his right he asked, “How far are these targets?”. “Sixty paces” came the reply. Samuel did the calculation. “A little over double what I'm used to then”, he thought to himself, “It'll be a tough shot!” Samuel lifted his bow, lining up his shot as he pulled back on the drawstring. Taking a deep breath, he released the string and the arrow flew forwards. There was a gentle chuckle from the squire next to him as the arrow just missed the bottom of the target. “You need to account for the drop of the arrow over these distances”, the squire suggested. Samuel, feeling slightly embarrassed, nocked another arrow and drew the drawstring back. This time he aimed slightly above the target, and as he released the arrow it struck the target. It wasn't a perfect shot but much better than his last attempt. “Thanks for the tip” Samuel said, turning back to the helpful squire. “No problem, I'm Dan by the way”, the squire said as he reached out to shake Samuel's hand. “Nice to meet you, I'm Samuel”, the younger boy said as he took his hand. “I think we're about to go do some sparring if you fancy joining us?”, Dan asked. Samuel smiled, “Sounds great”.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others “We'll take a few more shots then head to the rocks” said Dan. Samuel nodded and nocked another arrow. Pulling the drawstring back he again aimed above the target, but as he released the arrow his left arm shook slightly and the arrow flew slightly wide of the target. Samuel's brow furrowed, archery did not come naturally to him and much more practise was required. He took a few more shots, focusing on keeping his arm steady and nearly all of them struck the target. Dan tapped Samuel on the shoulder and gestured over to where they were going to spar “Collect your arrows and then we can start the sparring”. “Thanks” replied Samuel as he put his bow down and copied the other squires removing the arrows from the targets. With the archery range cleaned up, the group of squires walked over to the area that Dan had referred to as the rocks. The ground was covered in large boulders and other obstacles. Samuel looked over the uneven ground with some trepidation, he was used to fighting in areas with more secure footing. “Perhaps I can use the terrain to my advantage, forcing my opponent to move in a way that makes them lose balance” Samuel thought to himself. The squires quickly paired up and Samuel found himself facing a boy several inches shorter than him. However, Samuel noticed a quick smile of confidence on the boy's face that suggested he was Samuel's senior by a couple of years. “No doubt he is more practised than me in combat”, Samuel mused. The boy's hand shot forward in greeting “I'm Zach. Don't worry, I'll be gentle with you” he smirked. Samuel shook the offered hand and, feeling slightly intimidated, replied “Samuel, nice to meet you”. There was a shout from Samuel's left as a pair of squires started their sparring, and Samuel noticed a couple of knights watching the group of squires from the side. “At least there'll be people to jump in if Zach gets out of hand” Samuel reassured himself. Samuel lifted his sword and shield and nodded, letting his opponent know he was ready. Zach lifted his own shield and blade, which Samuel noticed was shorter than his own by several inches. At that moment Zach leapt lightly over the uneven ground towards Samuel, and swung at him with his shield. Samuel instinctively flinched backwards and nearly tripped over a small rock. Barely keeping his footing, Samuel's shield came up just in time to deflect a powerful slash from the short sword. Samuel tried to find more stable footing and tentatively thrust forward with his blade but Zach parried the thrust easily. Samuel brought his shield up as Zach again bashed with his shield. Samuel felt the vibrations spread through his arm as the shield absorbed the blow and he stumbled backwards. Zach stepped inside Samuel's guard, hooked his leg and flipped him onto his back. Samuel hit the ground hard, his breath knocked out of him. Zach sheathed his blade, and reached down to help the younger squire up. After pulling Samuel to his feet, Zach stepped back and asked “Ready to go again?”

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel brushed himself off with a slight frown, he disliked being beaten. However Zach was a talented fighter and Samuel admitted to himself that he was outmatched. Not wanting to appear weak, Samuel moved back into a fighting position. “I'm tired and hurting, but I have to keep practising. It's the only way I'll get better” Samuel thought to himself. Samuel gave a nod to show that he was ready and watched Zach for the offensive that was to follow. Zach smiled and inched forwards slowly. Samuel cautiously circled round the shorter boy, carefully placing his feet to avoid stumbling. “When he attacks this time, I must not rush my footing” Samuel thought “It put me at a disadvantage straight away in the last fight.” At that moment, Samuel noticed a rock slip under Zach's foot and Samuel realised that now would be the perfect time to attack. The older squire was slightly off balance and Samuel tried to capitalise on the weakness. Stepping forward he swung his shield, hoping to knock his opponent off balance. Samuel's shield crashed against Zach's armour, a great clanging noise ringing out as his opponent was forced backwards. Zach quickly recovered, taking several quick steps back. A grin lit up Samuel's face and the same expression was mirrored by his opponent. “That was nice,” said Zach, “let's go again.” Samuel's confidence was buoyed by the successful shield bash, and leapt back into the fight. “He'll expect me to try that again, so maybe a feint would work here” Samuel plotted. He pretended to strike with his shield, but instead stepped round and slashed with his sword. Zach seemed to fall for the feint, but his superior speed meant that Samuel's blade struck nothing but air. Samuel lifted his shield and managed to deflect the counter attack as Zach blade swung, but Zach's shield smacked into him. Samuel fell backwards, and tried to do a backwards roll into a standing position. However his armour made the movement clumsy and he ended the move on his knees with Zach's blade at his throat. Zach again reached down and pulled Samuel to his feet. Samuel's body was now covered in bruises, and he could barely lift his arms from exhaustion. He realised this and sheathed his sword, saying “I'm done, I have to take a break”. Zach smiled, “Fair enough, I'll find someone else to spar with” Samuel watched the older squire wander off and noticed how confidently his opponent walked across the unstable terrain. “I need to practise on terrain like this more often, his familiarity with it surely helped him beat me”, Samuel thought to himself as he moved out of the way of the sparring squires and sat down on the ground with a thump. “I'll just rest here for a bit” he said quietly, closing his eyes and considering the sparring and how he could have done better.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel focused on keeping his breathing steady as he considered the fighting he'd just taken part in. He tried to keep his mind focused on how he could improve, but his attention regularly slipped and he didn't find the experience particularly helpful. Already his memory of the exact sequence of the sparring was fading. Samuel exhaled loudly, and opened his eyes. “Apparently self reflection isn't the way forward for me” Samuel thought, smiling wryly to himself. He struggled to his feet and made his way over to where Dan was watching a few other squires fight. “Thanks for inviting me to spar, I found it very helpful” Samuel said. “No problem,” came the reply, “You're welcome to join us again too.” Samuel smiled, that's exactly what he'd wanted Dan to say. Saying goodbye, the young squire walked away towards the archery targets. “Training while being tired is sure to help me, so I'll shoot a few arrows and see what happens” Samuel decided as he grabbed a bow. As soon as he drew back his first arrow he could feel the strain across his shoulders and the ache in his arms. When released, the arrow sprung forward and flew over the top of the target. Samuel's face creased into a confused frown. Then he noticed that he was standing much closer to the target than he had been earlier. Due to his tiredness, Samuel had been aiming as if the target was much further away. Samuel tried to work out how far the targets were now. “Perhaps 25 paces”, he guessed. He made sure no one else was firing arrows nearby, then paced towards the target. “Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen. Right, nineteen paces” he counted out loud. After measuring the distance he went back to where he'd been standing before. He again nocked and drew, feeling the burn in his muscles as he lined up the shot. This time the arrow flew true, and struck the target near the middle. Samuel gave a weary smile. For the next few minutes, Samuel took a few more shots. By the end his arms could no longer fully draw the bow and he decided he'd had enough. After collecting his arrows, Samuel started to head back towards the dormitories. Samuel was pleased with the training he'd done. Exhausted, hurting, and ready to collapse, but overall he was pleased. Samuel knew that the best way he could serve his order was to make sure he was well equipped to preserve peace. “Today has been a good step towards that” Samuel thought as he limped into the place he called home. Samuel's belly rumbled as he breathed in the scent of food wafting from the dining halls, “I wonder what's for dinner” was the thought that crossed his mind as he pushed open the door to his room.

[Garland]

Grades are incoming.

Samuel

Skills :

3exp longsword

3exp shortbow

3exp shield

2exp tactics

3exp endurance

Lores :

Shortbow: Accounting range and drop

Simple excercise: shield bash, slash right, shield bash, slash left

Tactics: Use the terrain to your advantage

Equipment acquired/lost :

N/A

Injuries :

N/A

Shield Points :

+1 for training