CHAPTER 3: Getting off on the right foot?
Eldar left the Academy and made his way to the market district wearing the mithril chain under a red silk shirt, a gray cloak with the Silvertree pin, black leather pants, and soft leather boots. He had a black belt with pouches for quick access to spell components. On his weapons belt, he had a steel dagger and his red crystal long sword set for a left-hand draw.
The sheath for the sword was solid black to hide its unusual qualities and embossed with a Silvertree seal. To complete his weapon set, he had a boot dagger and was carrying an elm longbow with a black leather grip modified to shoot from either hand. His back carried a quiver of arrows sticking up next to his backpack. The backpack held a couple of extra shirts, another set of leather pants, a spellbook, and half of his meager saving of 80 gold pieces.
He split the funds between his backpack and a hidden belt-pouch. This belt-pouch was concealed inside of his belt; a hidden pocket that only held a few coins or gems. He placed four platinum pieces inside instead of gold. He looked to follow the last pieces of advice he got from Grand Master Yetto, "Try not to travel alone, and look for people with complementary skills if you take on any task as a mercenary."
Eldar headed to the market district to look for outgoing caravans when he spotted a set of wagons packing up with supplies. "Who is in charge?" He asked a 6-foot tall lanky-looking Moon Elf wearing a merchant's apron who was loading the wagon.
He looked at Eldar, "I am Gramon, you want to talk with Charlemagne at the corner post if you are looking for work."
He points out a 5-foot 7-inches tall Half-Elf with a brown wide-brim hat folded up on the left side with red and white feathers stuck out in the fold and pinned on the side as decoration. She had gorgeous light brown hair that hung halfway down to her shapely ass. She wore brown leather armor, a couple of rapiers, and a dozen throwing daggers. She probably weighs 90lbs soaking wet in all her gear.
He walked over to the lady, "Name is Eldar. I am looking for work."
She spun on her heels and stared, "Call me Charlie, short for Charlemagne. Let me look you over. Hmm, either fresh out of school or leaving the nest. You come from money given the silk shirt and fancy cloak pin, you are holding your bow in the wrong hand and your sword is on the wrong side. I'm guessing running away from home in a hurry."
She pauses. "How did I do?"
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She knew his story. She had been looking for him to arrive at the gate. Other agents had informed her he was en route to her location and she knew it was time to get loaded as she had a secondary mission which was even more important. Given the information she had, he would be looking to head away from the Elven Kingdom and this was the gate he would use to do that.
They had spent the week in town and she had caught part of his match at the Academy, the final battle. She stayed way back in the crowd as they spared and the kid was extremely good with a sword. He toyed with the woman and she could tell he could have ended the match with her at any point. She felt very proud of his accomplishment. He was extremely talented. She knew his father wanted him to undergo this evaluation and she agreed to take on this task.
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Eldar gave her a cocky grin, "My 'family' might have money, but it is not mine. My sword is right where it should be as I am ambidextrous. I prefer to fight with my left hand and cast with my right though I can switch hands as I practice with both hands. That throws off a lot of right-handed sword fighters. My bow is in my right hand for the same reason and it gives some the sense that I don't know what I am doing.
They can find it disarming. I have practiced with the bow at least twice a week in each hand for the last 75 years. As to running away from home, I have not had one in almost 50 years but I did do some training at the Academy during that time."
Charlie looked back at him, "I've got an extra seat in the first wagon passage and food...no pay until I know you can survive. Where are you headed?"
He extended his hand, "Wherever this wagon happens to lead us, pretty lady."
Charlie fired back, "You are some kind of charmer are you huh." Her cheeks took on a bit of crimson as she thought of what to say next. "Well, don't go and get any ideas because this body is built for sin, but I choose who gets to ride!"
She chuckled at her joke. Eldar only smiled at her.
Charlie led him around and introduced him to the rest of her crew, Balkus "Hunter" Dogwood, a big fellow with really dark brown hair who would be riding in the left seat on the first wagon.
Hunter looked over and gave a short little 'uhhn' in his direction.
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Hunter was aware of the evaluation of him and had watched the kid fight in a few earlier matches. He knew Eldar was deadly with a sword and he carried a bow. He wanted to see if he knew how to use that at the same level. Hunter would evaluate his ranged skills.
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Eldar leaned into Charlie and whispered, "He'll be a great conversationalist on this trip."
Charlie just chuckled. The driver of the second wagon was Sharlo "Doc" Stormcloud, a very rare sight as he was a Snow Elf who just gave me an icy stare with his cold blue eyes. The white hair made him look like an albino Drow.
The left and right seats were taken by two more Wood Elves, a couple named Darnus "Skinner" and Vellia "Cook" Dogwood. Both had green hair but she seems to have a nice firm pair of C-cup tits as she was not wearing armor or any underclothes--the shirt was sheer enough that her nipples danced across the fabric and that kept them hard. They kind of looked him up and down and then Cook spoke, "Hello, welcome aboard!"
One by one it was repeated by the other 2. Eldar had extended his hand and shook all of their hands one after the other. So far, the warmest greetings other than Charlie's smile.
The third wagon was all Moon Elves, Malium'cora "Fireball" Silver Sword, Tranosa "Strong-arm" Dusk Moon, and Sharia "Eagle-eye" Moonbow the last of the three females of the group. Who seemed to drool as she looked at Eldar. He got a short, "Greetings" from all of them, more sexually charged from Eagle-eye. He got a different response from Tranosa.
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Tranosa had watched every match Eldar had during this last tournament, as he had for the last 3 tournaments from back in the crowd. He searched all the skill appropriate tournaments they had for fresh talent. Giving names to Jarron when someone new popped up for him to investigate.
He would come off the road for a week here and there and watch the various contests for fighters and Blade Singers. Hunter did the same for archers and arcane archers. The kid kept advancing his talent even more and his speed with a sword out shown all of his competition. The closest being the one woman who he beat in all three final matches he witnessed. He caught the switch in his hands. He noted he was even better right-handed than left-handed.
Yet, every match he did until that point was left-handed. He held that back and he shocked the crowd. Those who had followed his progress were all in shock he could fight right-handed. The woman he faced left him chuckling inside.
Eldar kept it defensive, parried, and blocked her attacks as they came in so nothing got through for 30 minutes. The kid had stamina and he told Charlie that as she stood in front of Tranosa during that last match and watched him go.
He told Charlie, "He can fight with either hand. All of his other matches were left-handed. He is just toying with her and pissing her off. She is no match for him."
The match ended with a spectacular display of a feint with the acrobatic spin to show him standing on her hand and his sword across the back of the neck as she was laid out on the ground. Charlie smiled and nodded, "The kid is a rare talent. He is way better than my late husband and my step-son. That is shocking as my step-son was the best Blade Singer I had ever seen before this. Thanks for insisting I check this out myself. A four-time champion now."
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Tranosa gave him a closer look and noted the cloak pin. Tranosa grinned, "Your Heliar'vasius's son?"
Eldar looked at him, "Yes I am. I doubt you will hear much about me in that household."
Tranosa laughed. Eagle-eye had second thoughts about pursuing him after hearing Eldar's father's name. If they were picking him up then this could be an evaluation run, on top of the mission. She did not want to get on Heliar'vasius's bad side. He was a pain in the ass on a good day.
Fireball did not make the connection as he had only been with the team for a year. He had heard Eldar's name in passing from lower classmen from his time in the Academy but he had been 22 years ahead of him and never encountered him personally. Fireball had been an adventure for 20 years before joining this group.
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Tranosa smiled, "Maybe not in the household but your name has been circulating in the pubs and inns for the last week that I have been here. Served with your father and your mother, good people. I cannot say much for his so-called wife. She would rather piss herself than talk to me. You are the new hotshot Blade Singer, what was it 3 straight evaluation tournament wins?"
Eldar corrected him, "No it was 4, but who counts except for the lady who finished second the last 3 times."
Tranosa pointed to his blade, "Pull that back a couple of inches it looks familiar."
He turned toward him and pulled it back about 4 inches from the sheath and sheathed it again. "Do not go losing that blade, it probably has more stories than I do. Your father used that throughout the Hordda War. It was a gift from his father to him."
Tranosa shouted to Charlie, "Good find with this one. You will have him on the payroll in no time. If he is half as good as his father, and his reputation at the Academy carries into the field."
Charlie gave him a wondering look. Wondering what Tranosa just did as she had moved away during that last conversation. She had walked off to check on the supplies. She walked up to him and whispered, "What are you talking about?"
Tranosa pointed back at him, "Remember the bar talk about the new Blade Singer, I served with his parents."
Charlie looked at Eldar and asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Eldar looked at her with as stern of an expression as he could muster, "My Grand Master instructed me to never let your ego go to your head. It is not what I do in an Academy or my parents' family names that will mean anything in a fight. Just what skills I bring to the battle without dying in the process."
Charlie smiled, "I like this one!"
She would let Tranosa off the hook as she found out more about him because of the exchange and he did not give anything away. Eldar held out hope to get to know Charlie better after that comment. They then set to work to tie down the loads. He looked over the long wagons that had to be close to 20-feet long.
They had 9 of them to look after this massive cargo? Something did not add up. That was right up until they reached the main gate and had half a dozen Royal guards dressed as city guards took up positions around the wagons.
He leaned into Charlie and whispered, "Royal guards?"
She glared at him, "How do you know?" She wondered how much this kid knew now. The first concern with him she had noted. Now she needed some answers.
He looked down and as quietly as before, "Blade Singer, remember? I know swords."
She looked over to the guard. She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, "You might want to get your guys to cover their weapons!"
The guard looked at Eldar, "I know you, nice fight last week! Why did it take so long?"
Eldar chuckled, "She really wanted to beat me. She was desperate. I worked to frustrate her for a while before making my move."
He laughed, "Thirty minutes of frustration for a sparring match, first I have seen someone do that."
Eldar nodded, "Was also the first time I sparred anyone right-handed during a match. It is another problem with the Academy training, they don't teach or prepare them to have the stamina for long fights. I spent hundreds of hours practicing on my own."
He responded, "Yeah I saw that hand change before your match began and wondered what that was about. You have the stamina, I will give you that."
The guard then fell back and one by one the guards used their cloaks to cover the swords. Then he took up his previous post near Eldar. "Thanks for the heads-up."
About that time a pheasant flew from a bush and across the road. As Eldar already had his bow out with an arrow nocked he let one fly and shot it in the middle. A split second behind his was Hunter's arrow which not only hit the mark but shattered the shaft of Eldar's arrow. Eldar was surprised as he did not even have an arrow ready at the time. Hunter dropped down and picked up the pheasant and threw it over to Eldar.
Hunter smiled, "Your kill, you can start cleaning it. Keep my arrow, I have plenty more."
Eldar looked back at him, "Just don't expect me to hit them like that every time, swords are still my preferred weapon."
Hunter smiled inside and thought, "The kid can use a bow. That was still a good shot. Left-handed even."
Hunter just grinned back, "Everyone starts somewhere."
Along the way, Hunter managed to nail a good size elk. He hooked a rope up to the second wagon while we kept on moving at our slow pace. He dropped the second arrow into it. Then he ran the rope between all four legs and around the head and tied it off.
The elk slid out of the woods on its back tail first, while he guided it by the antlers until it cleared the tree line. The third wagon swung wide as the elk went out past it. Skinner jumped down and the 2 of them went to work on field-stripping the elk while being towed on a rope until it was time to finish removing the skin. Then Tranosa, Skinner, and Eagle-eye move to pick up the elk.
They took it to the back of the wagon where Cook was waiting. Charlie nudged Eldar, "Take the pheasant back."
He saw Eagle-eye has two more of the birds and a rabbit already cleaned and strung over her shoulder. As they got closer to their first stop for the night, Eldar was sent off to start collecting firewood. He put it into the back of the first and third wagons; each wagon had about 6-feet of empty space in the tail section for doing these kinds of activities.
Cook peeled veggies and seasoned meat as he took another load of wood back to the third wagon. They stopped a couple of hours before nightfall and bedrolls were laid out. The guards set up in 2 groups of 3 under the first and third wagon. Eldar was instructed to set up next to Hunter. It was near the fire on the far side. While each of the drivers slept in the back of the wagons.
Dinner was spectacular but it was just enough for the 15 of them, with a little leftover for a bit of stew for the morning meal. Eldar was put on the second watch with Charlie. Two of the guards posted up on the other side of the wagon and watched the road and they rotated out during the night. Charlie and Eldar sat about 20 feet into the woods and she wanted them back-to-back with the fire off to his left. Apparently, she wanted to talk. She whispers, "What is your story kid?"
He thought for a minute, He did not like being called 'kid' by someone who was at least 30-40 years younger than him. He told her, "Well I am all elf but half-wood and half-moon. Add illegitimate to that. When my mother died my father got saddled with me but he sent me straight to the Academy without even ever visiting until I finished.
His new wife and family wanted nothing to do with me. I am on my own. As you have heard, I did well. Now I am off to make a living. I don't know where I will end up but away from here is a good start. At least for a century or two."
She chuckled and sighed. She could tell this kid was hurting...even if he would never admit it, "Check in every quarter of an hour. Tap me on the side facing the fire if something pops up. I will alert the others if it is found to be an issue." At the end of the shift, Charlie took Hunter's bedroll next to Eldar, instead of going back to the wagon.
He caught some more sleep. He awoke to find his pack disturbed but nothing was missing. He got in an hour of sword practice before eating. Switching hands every 5-10 minutes and they were once again back on the road. The guards were impressed. The team watched him in fascination but said nothing to him or each other.
Charlie sighed as he got in the wagon, "Trip should take 6 days to get through the woods and another 7 across the country until we hit our first stop, a small little human village called Junction if the weather holds." They broke camp and got back onto the road again.
He looked at Charlie, "Someone went through my pack last night."
She didn't say anything immediately. She let another hour go before she spoke as she thought about how observant the kid was, "I went through your pack. You were a last-minute addition, too observant right off in regards to our guards. That was one hell of a bow shot yesterday as your arrow beat Hunter to the bird. I had questions, I found answers in your journal."
She smiled broadly for the first time this trip. He spotted a deer on the other side of the road and Hunter's view was blocked by a tree at this point. Eldar brought his bow to bear right in front of Charlie. He held for a second and released. He hit the dear but it was not a straight kill shot. The deer jumped into view of Hunter and he brought it to the ground. Eldar turned back to Charlie, "See anything good in my journal?"
She laughed, "Came close to pissing myself at one point. But you had a great Grand Master. I have worked with Yetto before, we are from the same village. Go and help Hunter with the deer then come back and we will talk."
Eldar dropped from the wagon and rolled under the wheels to the other side just as Hunter came forward with the rope. He piped up, "Let's see what you did wrong on that shot and I will show you how I tie them off."
They got to the deer and the first thing Eldar did was put another arrow into it. It kicked and died. Tranosa smiled, "You learn fast. Your first arrow deflected off of a rib and hit one of the lungs. Mine went through the same lung and only nicked the heart. Your last shot went through both lungs and the heart; that is why you got the kick like that."