by Kris Hiatt
“I know I can,” Treace said confidently. He had seen several openings in Primain’s defenses and his attacks were quite predictable.
“That’s it,” the guard nearest to him said. “Get over here!”
Treace felt several hands grab his clothing and he was pulled over the fence.
“Hey, let him go,” Moff said.
“Oh no, this one’s been running his mouth the whole time about how he could beat Primain,” the guard said loud enough to draw everyone’s attention. “It’s time this big mouth either proves it or is proven to be the fool I know he is.”
Treace was shoved repeatedly until he stood in the center of the circle and was only a few paces from Primain.
“You think you can beat me, boy?” Primain mocked.
Treace didn’t like the way he was being treated and remembered what he promised himself; no more bullies. He decided the time for being bullied was over.
“You are capable, but yes, I know I can,” Treace said with as much confidence as he could muster.
The crowd sucked in their breath and eyes widened at his response. Many laughed, some pointed, but those closest to where Treace previously stood were nodding their heads.
“A jin on the boy,” Treace heard the smith say from behind him.
“I’ll take that bet,” a guard close by said.
“A kaden,” Treace heard Moff pronounce.
The crowd went crazy with wagers then and Treace knew there was no backing out of this now. He knew he would be a bit rusty; it had been two years since he had fought a real opponent. Although he only managed to practice his routines a few times a week, he was still quite confident that he could beat Primain. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what he just got himself into.
Primain looked over his shoulder to the man that used to be near the entrance who had called the men to attention. He had moved closer to the festivities now, and he nodded his head to Primain, apparently giving him permission, because Primain tossed him a wooden sword and shield. Treace picked up the sword but kicked away the shield.
“Another sword,” Treace said, looking around for one in the crowd.
“That one not good enough for ya?” Primain said. Several people laughed.
“It’ll work, but I use two,” Treace said, walking up to a guard and pulling the short wooden sword from his hands.
Many in the crowd scrunched up their faces, not understanding why Treace would fight with two swords and forgo the use of the shield. He would show them soon enough.
Primain walked in, apparently confident that he could overwhelm Treace by simply walking in and looking menacing. Treace slashed twice across the shield Primain held, getting the man’s attention.
Treace set himself and decided that he would go slowly since he knew he was rusty and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself with his boasts. He waited for Primain to stalk back in. Judging by the confident smile on his face, Primain was happy to do so.
Primain drove his sword ahead, a quick thrust with most of his weight behind it. Treace knew the man wanted to end this quickly to show the crowd that he was the fighter, not this little man in front of him. Treace knew he could use that to his advantage.
Treace used his left to parry the sword, deflecting it enough to slide by without brushing his side, and slashed in with his right; striking the shield once again. That first strike was much quicker than anything Primain had demonstrated before and Treace reminded himself to pay attention.
Primain backed up and Treace could tell the man was surprised by Treace’s quick movements. Treace doubted many people deflected that attack wide.
Primain stepped in quickly but Treace never moved, knowing it was a feint. The second move wasn’t, and Treace batted another attack aside.
He feinted right and drove left, thrusting his left sword in, but Primain got his shield up just in time to deflect it high and wide.
Primain countered with another quick thrust that Treace pushed aside, then drove his shield in which Treace ducked back to avoid.
Treace knew where Primain’s weakness was, but the man was so eager to be done with this quickly that he wasn’t using set routines, just one hard slash or quick thrust, which Treace easily defeated. He didn’t feel rusty like he thought he would; he felt focused and very aware of his surroundings. It was odd, but he felt more in tune with his fighting prowess now than he did when the moves were still fresh in his mind. He knew he could have countered and possibly scored a hit on at least one of those blows, but he wanted to prove his point. He wanted to wait for Primain to lead with his shield so he could exploit that weakness just as he explained to Moff that he could.
Treace darted in and executed two quick thrusts with his right sword while bringing his left sword overtop of Primain’s and slapping it close to the ground.
A few of the guardsmen gasped, knowing Treace could have ended it, but he didn’t.
Primain must have known it too, because Treace could see the anger in the man’s face; just as he hoped for.
Primain slashed in hard and Treace deflected it wide. He used only his right sword for a few routines and playfully slapped at Primain’s sword and shield, all the while never allowing his opponent to get close.
Finally, Primain, apparently tired of having his attacks deflected wide and knowing he was being mocked, raised his shield ever so slightly and rushed in; leading with it. Treace knew that Primain’s vision to his lower body was obscured.
Treace ducked low, stepped to his right, and came up quickly to the side of Primain and slashed in with his right sword, tearing the shield from his opponent’s hand, and bringing his left sword over his right arm, driving into Primain’s ribs.
Primain grimaced in pain as Treace’s sword bit deeply into his flank. Even though the sword was made of wood, Treace knew it still hurt quite a bit, and Primain went to his knees.
The crowd was silent for just a moment before erupting into cheers, Moff leading the way. Moff jumped the fence and came running up to Treace screaming, bending low and picking him up so that Treace was above everyone else. The crowd joined them and Treace felt many hands clapping him in congratulations. Treace looked down and saw that Primain was still kneeling.
“Let me down,” Treace commanded Moff.
He had to say it three times, but the crowd lessened their cheering and Moff finally set him down. Treace tossed down his swords and extended his hand to Primain.
“Well, fought, sir,” Treace said.
Primain didn’t look like he wanted to take his hand at first, but Treace was glad when he finally did. Treace helped the man to his feet then stood there shaking his hand.
“You’re damned good for one so young,” Primain said.
“You’re very capable,” Treace said, tucking in his wolf charm that had popped out of his shirt sometime during the fight.
The crowd cheered again, though Treace didn’t know why, and the few winners collected their earnings from the very deflated losers.
“That was amazing!” Moff said excitedly as the two walked back to the fence and hopped back over to the other side.
“I did alright,” Treace admitted. He knew he wasn’t perfect and could have done better in the very beginning of the match, but he had won so he wasn’t that tough on himself. He understood that he mocked the man by only using one sword for a short while, and the last move was a bit of showboating. He could have simply stabbed him in the ribs with his right sword, but Treace wanted to make an impression.
“That was better than alright,” the smith said, smiling broadly.
“Nothing short of amazing,” Moff said.
“Then if I’m so amazing, you’re buying the drinks,” Treace told Moff.
“Gladly,” Moff said, holding his hand out and opening it enough for Treace to see that there were two kadens in his palm. Treace couldn’t believe someone accepted a bet of a full kaden. He thought about it for a second and realized that to most people, it would have been a sure bet
. Who in their right mind would have bet a kaden on young man that no one had ever seen fight to win against a proven soldier? Treace looked at Moff and knew his answer.
Over his shoulder, Treace noticed the older man who gave Primain permission looking his way. He must not have been overly pleased or impressed with what he saw, because he gave Treace an unblinking, hard look.
Moff shoved him along, and Treace lost sight of the older man, but he pushed it from his thoughts and concentrated on the celebration that was about to happen.
#
“I still can’t believe you did that,” Moff said a short while later, sitting on the stool of a nearby bar.
Treace didn’t even bother to read the name, he was too excited from what had just happened. “Just order my drinks or I’ll do the same to you,” Treace said, pointing his finger at Moff.
“Yes, sir,” Moff said. “Sheesh.”
They laughed and Moff ordered drinks as soon as the waitress stopped by. In fact, he ordered two for each of them.
“Plan on drinking to excess tonight?” Treace asked Moff.
“Is there any other way to drink?”
“Socially,” Treace said.
“That’s exactly what I do.”
“Drink to excess socially?”
“Exactly,” Moff said, seemingly happy that Treace finally understood.
“You do realize that those two terms are usually not together?”
“Maybe for you.”
Treace gave up, he should have known better than to get into that conversation with Moff. He had done so on a few other occasions and the outcome was pretty much the same.
“Fine, have it your way,” Treace conceded.
“I usually do,” Moff said, smiling.
It occurred to Treace that Moffred usually did get what he wanted. Even when the three wolves stalked the night together, as he called it, Moff got his way. They went to the bar Moff wanted to and they drank the wine Moff wanted to drink. Treace supposed the latter was simply because Moff usually bought the drinks, but that wasn’t all of it. His friend had gotten his way in nearly everything he did. Except when it came to his father, Treace reminded himself.
“Fine, I’ll join you,” Treace said.
“Waitress!” Moff yelled. “Two more glasses please.”
“It might be easier for her to just bring the bottle,” Treace said.
“It would, but then I couldn’t watch her walk away every time she brought us a glass now could I?”
Treace couldn’t argue the point; he knew Moff enjoyed the ladies and for the most part, they enjoyed him. Treace knew that there were quite a few people that were married by the time they were sixteen, but he also knew a lot of those were arranged marriages. He guessed people that weren’t in an arrangement wanted to have fun and test the waters before making a commitment. Moff seemed to embody that philosophy.
“To my friend, the expert swordsman!” Moff said loudly.
A few cheers rang out from the small bar, but Treace did notice a few of the guardsmen had also found a seat in the back of the room, and they weren’t cheering.
“I wouldn’t call myself an expert,” Treace said, playing it off.
“You don’t have to, I’ll do it for you,” Moff said with a wink before downing the rest of the wine in his glass.
“Thanks Moff,” Treace said, although he wasn’t sure he meant it.
“What are you celebrating?” the waitress asked when she came back with the recent two-glass order. Treace thought she was quite attractive and guessed her to be only a year or two older than he was.
“My friend, the expert swordsman,” Moff said, clasping Treace on the shoulder and giving him a quick shake.
“A lot of men come in here claiming that,” she said, seemingly unimpressed.
“Oh, you can ask them,” Moff said, pointing to the guards in the back of the room. “They saw my young friend here easily defeat one of their better fighters.”
“I don’t know that he was one of their better fighters,” Treace explained.
“He beat three other people in a row,” Moff said. “He had to be one of their better fighters.”
“Regardless, we can’t simply assume he’s one of their best,” Treace said.
The waitress simply smiled and gave a slight shrug that Treace couldn’t tell if it meant she didn’t care or if she were at least a little impressed. She walked away and Treace couldn’t help but watch.
“You talk about me,” Moff said. “But you’ve got the eye for our waitress.”
“Many other men in here do, no doubt,” Treace said.
“You’re deflecting, that means I’m right,” Moff said smiling. “You like the way it wiggles when she walks.”
“Oh shut up,” Treace said, unable to think of a decent thing to say. He won every verbal battle he ever had with Exodin, but Moff’s lack of typical manners left him speechless at times.
“Take it as a compliment. Sometimes I wonder if you even like women,” Moff said.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Treace said.
“What’s ridiculous,” Moff asked rhetorically. “The fact that my best friend can’t admit that he’s attracted to members of the opposite sex when he clearly is, or the fact that I sometimes question him for not doing so?”
“Just because I find someone attractive doesn’t mean I need to tell you,” Treace pointed out.
“No, but perhaps you should tell them,” Moff said, throwing his head in the direction of the waitress.
“Virtually every man that comes in here flirts with her,” he told Moff.
“Probably, but she doesn’t look at every man the way she just looked at you.”
“You’re seeing things,” Treace said. He didn’t know why Moff always pressed him on the subject of talking to ladies. He told Moff more than once that he found certain women attractive, but it didn’t mean he needed to act on it like Moff always did.
“You’re deflecting again,” Moff said.
“Which should be a clear indication that I don’t want to talk about the subject at hand.”
“Then say so,” Moff said.
“Fine. I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Treace said.
“Good, now act on it instead,” Moff said, a large smile on his face.
Treace had a feeling that went precisely how Moff wanted it to. He thought back to his battles with Exodin again and knew how Exodin felt going against him. Moff was surely a talented speaker, he would give him that much.
“From the man near the door,” the waitress said a short time later, bringing two more drinks to their small table. “He said thanks for winning.”
Treace looked over his shoulder to find the smith seated with a few guards by the door. He was smiling profoundly and he wondered how many drinks the smith had already consumed.
“Thank you,” Treace said, trying not to look at the waitress, as if the idea of not looking at her would change the way his heart was beating faster now.
“So your friend wasn’t just full of it. Hmm,” she said, then walked away, a quick smile before she did.
“What did the old Moff tell you,” Moff stated when she was gone.
“Shut up,” Treace said again. Moff apparently didn’t know what that meant because he kept talking.
“Stick with Moff, he won’t lead you astray,” Moff said.
“Referring to yourself in third person makes you sound like an egomaniacal jerk,” Treace told him.
“Good, then the Moff’s plan has finally worked.”
Treace shook his head but couldn’t help but smile back at Moff, who wore one of the broadest smiles he had ever seen on his friend’s face.
“You’re quite happy tonight,” Treace pointed out.
“I’m drinking in a real city with one of my best friends.” Moff said matter-of-factly. “Only having Heral here would make it any better.”
“What about the ladies?” Treace asked. He couldn’t help but to think of Heral then. He
agreed with Moff; it would be nice to have Heral here.
“Oh, they’ll come along shortly, they always do,” Moff said confidently.
“To the three wolves,” Treace toasted.
“To the three wolves,” Moff repeated, raised his glass and drank deeply.
“And to the greatest wolf of us all,” Moff said, raising his glass to Treace.
“Hardly,” Treace said, not meeting his friend’s gaze.
“You are the smartest, kindest, and by far the better warrior. It’s time people knew it,” Moff said.
Treace knew it meant a lot for Moff to say those words. He didn’t know why Moff held him in such high regard, but he liked that he did. “And you’re inebriated,” Treace said.
“To Treace! To The Wolf!” Moff said loudly, standing up and toasting Treace.
“Here, here,” many others joined in.
Treace doubted they knew what exactly they were toasting, but figured any excuse to have another drink was good enough for them. Little did he know that he would hear that toast an innumerable amount of times in the coming years.
Treace looked around and saw many people looking his way. He felt uncomfortable, as he always did under the eyes of many. He knew that wasn’t true, not completely anyway. He knew that when he fought, he liked the idea of people watching. But he liked to think of it as them watching him fight, not watching him.
“Why does your friend call you The Wolf?” the waitress asked a short time later, bringing another round.
“I made this silly charm that I gave to my friends,” Treace said, pulling forth his charm and showing her.
“Liar!” Moff said. “Tell her the truth.”
“I did make them,” Treace protested.
“Fine, I’ll tell her,” Moff said to Treace. He took her hand and led her to the seat next to Treace and indicated for her to sit down.
Treace couldn’t believe she let Moff take her hand, and believed it less when she sat next to him.
“My friend here made two swords with these emblems and gave them to two people in his home town. Although you may not find that a keen explanation, so let me elaborate. One of them taught young Treace here how to use a sword to defend himself. The other taught him how to use a forge and make fine weapons and armor,” Moff said. She pouted her lips slightly but she didn’t show much more interest than that.
