5 Realms: Cayne Ambush

[Ravenspath]

They began trickling in as I crouched on the rafter beam. The spicy smell of the Cinir wood was a faint reminder of my youth. Two years I had spent living amongst the Cinir trees as I learned the Bow & Blade. This was a good smell, it had started me down the path I now traveled.
 
   Eight students stood in a line below me. The shadows of the beams kept me hidden. Most people donâ,¬,,¢t look up anyway, so I knew I would be safe. This was the advanced class as they were using bare steel and their practice armor was much scarred. Plus Tash always liked to make his best students suffer by being in the salle by dawn.

   Glancing across the long building I spotted Ara perched among some statuettes along the molding. Her tan draconic body blended into the wood. I smiled to myself as she stood perfectly still, imitating the lifeless art around her. It was one of the few times she did stand still.
 
   Below me the students suddenly quieted as their teacher entered. Carrying a long sword over his shoulder with an easy confidence he moved to stand before the teenagers. Giving them a quick examination he started to have them fall into a fighting stance. I gripped Winter Dark tightly, the heavy wood warming in my hand. I would get one, maybe two shots. Slowly I drew her string back, the arrow ready to fly

   I took a deep breath.
   Held it.

   And of the students raised her hand. â,¬Å"Sir. You are always telling us to observe our surroundings. I noticed that you changed something.â,¬Â

   Sundered! Had this girl noticed me? I held the arrow drawn, my arms tense from the strain.

   Ã¢,¬Å"What have you seen Lyra?â,¬Â Tashâ,¬,,¢s voice held a puzzled tone. I could tell he wasnâ,¬,,¢t sure what was going on since he had not set up a test of this type.

   Ã¢,¬Å"There is a new statue along the wall.â,¬Â Moving her hand up she pointed directly at Ara!

   Double Sundered! I stood quickly and let my arrow loose. Tash quickly turned back to the students as soon as he had spotted Ara. My arrow stuck into the wooden floor an inch from his foot. Running down the beam I quickly fired off another shot, but Tashâ,¬,,¢s long sword sliced it in two. Since my position was now known there was no reason to stay hidden. I leaped off the beam, landing quietly in front of the Weapons Master. With a quick flick of his wrist his sharp blade arced towards me. Bringing Winter Dark up quickly I was able to block the blow. The hardened wood took the blow easily, but I could feel Tashâ,¬,,¢s power behind it.

   Ã¢,¬Å"That damn bow of yours!â,¬Â He pressed the attack, hoping to catch me off guard or wanting me to not risk too much damage to my legacy item. He should have known better. Watching him closely I was able to block his next few blows, while not easily, at least effectively. I waited until he started a feint. Once he commited I spun to the left and swung Winter Dark swiftly, aiming for his hand. He hadnâ,¬,,¢t expected me to use her as a melee weapon so the blow took him by surprise. The wood cracking against his knuckles echoed throughout the salle.

   Tash took a step back to recover from the blow. It was too much to hope he would drop his sword. This momentary breather was all I needed though. Tossing Winter Dark away from the students I reached to the small of my back and pulled out my two short swords. Blade versus blade. This was much better.

   Seeing that I was now armed with swords Tash again quickly pressed forward. While I had two blades to his one, his weapon afforded him a longer reach. I blocked with my right sword as he came in high. The angle was wrong for my left blade to reach him though, so I turned, as did he, trying to neutralize my advantage. I spun quickly to the left, bringing that blade at him from an unexpected side. Blocking the blow easily we continued to battle, but now I was able to use both blades.

   Steel weaved in and out and rang with bell like tones as the blades clashed. We each would feint, withdraw and feint again, hoping to get the other to over commit to an action. Once that happened the fight would be over. A misstep allowed the longswordâ,¬,,¢s tip to slice through the cuff of my left sleeve, but it did not draw blood.

   Circling around each other I had ended up with my back to the students. Tash, for some reason, glanced over my shoulder. â,¬Å"Lyra! No!â,¬Â

   Dropping as I spun to face the children I saw the girl that had spotted Ara toss something at me. A small metal disk. So, she was rune mage. Knowing that if the token hit me it would activate the rune inscribe on it I had to make sure it didnâ,¬,,¢t. Time seemed to slow as the small disc arced towards me. Quickly turning the flat of my sword to the token I sliced down behind the missle. Once behind it I pushed the token with blade flat and spun around, flicking my wrist at the last moment to send the rune back towards the caster. Or at least close to her. The rune hit the boy next to her and shattered. The boy dropped to the ground, gently snoring. Sleep rune. That would have been very effective.

   Ã¢,¬Å"Enough!â,¬Â Tashâ,¬,,¢s voice snapped through the stunned silence as I rose from my crouch. Ara spread her wings and glided to a landing on my shoulder.

   Ã¢,¬Å"Jogan, move Kyl to the side and cover him with a blanket.â,¬Â The Weapons Master had taken command of the situation, so I slide my short swords back into their inverted sheaths. â,¬Å"Lyra, what were you thinking?â,¬Â Tashâ,¬,,¢s tone was dead calm. The students blanched at this fact. It was obvious that they had heard it before. When Tash lost his tone of good humor, you knew that he was really upset.

   The girl gulped before giving her answer. â,¬Å"I was trying to help sir.â,¬Â Her words, their cadence and tone triggered something in me. A recognition of where this girl was from. She had to be Nafreet. On her left check there was a small rune tattooed there. I had heard something about this girl, but I could not remember what it was.

   (Ara, do you remember anything about a young Nafreet sent to study magic?) Araâ,¬,,¢s memory often seemed to hold onto the most trival type of information, but she couldnâ,¬,,¢t remember what day of the week it was.
   Tilting her head the drake studied the young girl intensely. (No.) was her only answer. Oh well, Iâ,¬,,¢m sure it would come to me later.

   I focused my attention back on the student and teacher. â,¬Å"Did it look like I needed any help?â,¬Â Tashâ,¬,,¢s gaze bore into the girl.

   Ã¢,¬Å"Well, no, but we have never seen anyone battle you to a draw. And we thought he was trying to kill you!â,¬Â Lyraâ,¬,,¢s voice betrayed her feelings. I wondered if Tash knew how important he was to this young woman. It may be just friendship, or more, but I would bet gold that Tash had no clue how deep her feelings for him were.

   Sighing Tash motioned for me to come closer. I stopped to snatch Winter Dark from the floor and moved to stand next to my longtime friend and companion. â,¬Å"I appreciate that, but Cayne was not trying to kill me. It is a game we play.â,¬Â Placing his arm across my shoulders he continued. â,¬Å"I have told you about some about the training that I received when I was younger. Cayne was the other student.â,¬Â He shook me roughly and smiled at his students. â,¬Å"While I studied to become Weapons Master Cayne had a focused study. Bow & Blade. Few, if any can best him with a bow and if he has those two short swords in his hand he is a match for just about anyone. But give him anything blade longer than those and is pretty much useless.â,¬Â

   Raising an eyebrow at the last comment I had to rise to the bait. â,¬Å"Really? Do you care for a rematch, any weapon of your choice?â,¬Â It was an empty comment though. Tash was the better of the two with most weapons. And he was right, as long as I had my short swords I could hold him off as he used any other weapon that was at hand. But give me something else and he would win, though not easily.â,¬Å"

   Laughing he pulled me into a hug. â,¬Å"No, not really. I think if we started fighting again my class would attack one or both of us due to the shock we just gave them.â,¬Â Dropping Winter Dark to return the embrace I laughed at well.

   Ã¢,¬Å"It has been far too long since we last saw each other.â,¬Â Ara voiced her agreement in a mini roar. Her and Tash had quickly become friends when we trained together.

   Lyra had come forward and picked up my bow. I smiled at her as she handed it to me. My sleeve, cut by Tash, fell open as I reached for the bow. Lyraâ,¬,,¢s eyes automatically flicked to the motion and she caught sight of the tattoo the Nafreet had placed on my forearm. Her eyes met mine quickly and her mouth opened to say something. With a bare shake of my head I silenced her comment. â,¬Å"Thank you. For the bow and trying to protect your teacher.â,¬Â I could see the desire to ask me in her eyes. But she held back as I hoped she would. Her reaction also verified my first thoughts on her. Only a Nafreet would recognize the tattoo for what it was and react in that manner.

   Tash spoke up. â,¬Å"Okay, class. No direct instruction today, just sparring. Until Kyl wakes up Lyra you have two opponents. And you have Kylâ,¬,,¢s chores for the rest of the week also.â,¬Â Drawing me away from the group as the paired off I looked back. Lyra continued to watch us walk to Tashâ,¬,,¢s small office.