Night 3

After setting up camp, Flora and Sofia got to work making dinner. Meanwhile, Lucille and I began training again off in a corner of the camp.

“When wielding a sword, do not think of it as a tool,” she said. “Think of it as merely an extension of your arm. It should flow as easily as if you were holding a mere stick. For that to be feasible, you’re going to have to build up some more arm strength. So, drop and give me a hundred push-ups!”

“Eh?” I said.

“Now!” She shouted. Complying, I set my sword aside and got to doing the pushups. After the first few dozen, my arms were already burning. “Don’t stop! Hey, that one didn’t count! All the way down!”

“I’m...gonna die...” I wheezed. After the hundred was over, I collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

“Good. You’re already in position. A hundred sit ups! Go!” She said.

“Huh!? How are sit-ups supposed to increase my arm strength?” I asked.

“It’s important to keep a balanced exercise routine. Focusing on a single set of muscles will cause more harm than good!” She said.

“What did I get myself into...?” I muttered, beginning my sit-ups. “Do *huff* you do all this *huff* everyday?”

“Hm? Oh, no, not at all,” she said.

“Wha!?” I exclaimed. “Then why do I have to?”

“I just wanted to see if you would,” she laughed.

“God dammit.” I sighed, shakily standing back up.

“To be honest, I have no clue how to teach anyone. It’s not something I have any experience with, but if you really want to learn from me, I’ll try my best,” she said.

“Yeah, just, don’t pull that again, please.” I said, picking my sword back up. “Hmm...do you know any like, special moves or something?”

“Special moves? Like a skill?” She asked. “I can’t teach you a skill.”

“No, nothing like that. Just some sort of sword technique that I can learn that’d help me out in battle,” I said.

“Sounds like the same thing to me...” she sighed. “But, how about...I show you how to disarm someone. It’s a useful thing to know when you’re up against a skilled swordsman.”

“Exactly! Like that!” I said, excited.

“Here, put your sword up and pay attention,” she said, unsheathing her own blade. I did as she said, holding my blade out in front of me. We crossed blades. In a single motion, she twisted her wrist, wrenching the blade out of my hand before pressing the tip of her sword to my neck.

“How the hell?” I muttered. “Again! I just wasn’t ready yet!” I picked up my blade, gripping onto it with all my might this time. We crossed blades. Sure enough, she did the maneuver again, my grip crumbled, and my enchanted sword was flung into the dirt.

“Your turn,” she said. Grumbling, I picked my sword up. We crossed blades. I fumbled around, trying to copy what I saw, but failed. She brought her sword around and smacked me in the shoulder with the flat of the blade. “Again.”

On my second attempt, I failed again, receiving another smack to the shoulder. The third time, I did the motion correctly, but didn’t have the **** to disarm her. With one last attempt, I finally managed it, her sword getting flung to the side.

“Yes! I did-” I started, getting punched directly in the face, falling on my ass. “What the hell!?”

“Never let your guard down in battle. If you hesitate to go for the kill, your foe will not hesitate to end you. Remember that. In combat, a moment’s hesitation could cost the lives of you and your friends.” Lucille said, offering me a hand to get back up.

“You’re right. Thanks,” I said, taking her hand. “I won’t hesitate. I know I’ve got people I need to protect.”

“Good. Come on, let’s get back,” she said, picking her sword off the ground. We headed back into camp where the four of us had a fish dinner.

“I think we should set up a watch rotation,” said Lucille.

“Huh? What’s that?” asked Flora.

“With those bandits still out there, I think it would be wise to have someone awake to ensure we are not ambushed as we sleep,” said Lucille. “Setting up a rotation would ensure everyone gets some decent sleep.”

“That makes sense,” said Sofia. “What should the order be?”

“I’ll take first watch,” said Lucille. “After that, I believe we should have Sofia, then Flora, and have Flynn take the last watch.”

“Any particular reason?” I asked.

“If I were to ambush a group of travelers, I would do it either when they first go to sleep, or at first light before they awaken, to ensure visibility for the attacking party while maintaining the element of surprise,” she said. “Having the less physically capable taking the middle watches would increase our likelihood of being safe during an ambush.”

“That’s...surprisingly well thought out,” I said. “Sounds like a plan.”

I settled down in a tent by myself, and soon enough, sleep came.