Chapter 6: A conversation with Sister Emily

“When you are up to it, meet me at the training grounds.” She nodded and I went outside to ask directions. I thought that the grounds might be near the barracks and was proven correct by one of Allard’s men.

I had been resting to recover as much of my strength before I started exerting myself again and thought that enough time had passed for me to return to my normal training regimen. I began stretching and continued until I felt comfortable enough to start working hard.

Micro-focusing on a roving fly, I sped myself up, attacked and attacked again. I continued on until someone else entered the area, breaking off from the elusive fly, I identified the intruder, Sister Emily who waited patiently until I stopped and she had my full attention.

“Slowly,” she commanded. Letting the Sister lead, we evaluated each other’s form. Crisp and clean, every movement precise and economical, her skill topped any of my opponents since I arrived here. Taking turns leading, first her then me, we danced slowly around the yard just the two of us.

“Are you a Wizard Lord?”

Without breaking stride from our slow dance, I used my left hand to reveal Kassandra’s Symbol around my neck to my inquisitor. “She gave me this, after I dedicated myself to Her. She communicates with me sometimes and even answers me if I need her advice. When I said something stupid, She punished me, the second time by giving me a full body sunburn. That happened at your temple, one of your Sisters witnessed the event. I think She knew that danger threatened me and let me off easily. Not that I didn’t feel suitably punished.”

“And your Postulant, she loves you. Are you going to lead her away from Her chosen path?”

“No, I don’t think anything will prevent Chandra from determining what she wants and I will support her in whatever she chooses. She wouldn’t have gotten this far without being exceptional.”

“Is this your first student?”

“No, I have had a few others but none like her. Can Sisters even marry, and what about children?”

“We are free to choose how we serve, with guidance from Our Lady.”

“I’ll take that as a yes. I don’t know where we will go from here. I will ask her father and Mother Browynn for their permission to court her. I worry about taking her into hostile situations, but she will follow me regardless of what I want, for I can’t seem to stop going there myself.”

“You would keep her out of the conflict?” Only a hint of judgment came through her tone.

“She is just a Postulant, a skilled one yes, but still in training. As a full Sister, I might feel differently. She’s not, so I would if I could.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Of course not. I care for her and would rather have her stay in the temple and be safe.” Our conversation stayed quiet and professional. I felt, that I the person was under scrutiny, not my skill. People gathered around the yard but all kept their distance and watched our dance. None of them could have matched us and like a class of art students, they all wanted to see two masters at work. We provided them a show and gave her an opportunity to question me without being disturbed or overheard.

“Faster, now.” Sister Emily instructed.

We doubled our speed, still matching each other’s pace and precision. She matched my attacks with an ease that showed that against a single sword she had significant practice. Maybe not one like mine or a similar style, but against a single longsword she had spent many hours practicing.

“What are you going to do about the upcoming incursion?”

“Do what I can to stop it. I dislike slavery of any sort. Why did you come with me? I thought that you would support your own country.”

“Fairview will only enter into the war in a support role. There will be little actual fighting on their part. Kalabar will need provisions sent to them while the majority of men are away raiding and roving your countryside.”

“I have fought their ambassador twice. The first was a sparring match, the second I took him out of the equation. How good are most men compared to him?” She mouthed my phrase back to me trying to translate it.

“He is about the same as the rest. Did you kill the ambassador?” She changed her focus from general testing of my defenses to pointed attacks on my left probing for any weakness and kept at it for the next few minutes.

“And his whole household. I did that late in the night before we left the city. I figured if he was dead then no negotiations would happen until they sent another. His pay chest is in the carriage. Hopefully there will also be some correspondence in it too.”

“Haven’t you opened yet?

“Nope, it is a puzzle box. Chandra says that her brother loves them and he should be able to. I didn’t want to break anything by forcing it.” A sheen of sweat starting to bead on her forehead. I hadn’t started to sweat noticeably enough for it to show, yet.

“Why didn’t you kill Prince Konnor? The word in the city was that he poisoned you.”

“He’s Megan’s father,” I half shrugged and it almost cost me as I was slightly off on a parry from one of her probes.

“So, the rumors were true...”

Tired of being on the defensive for the last twenty minutes, I riposted from one of her short attacks and made her back off by my aggressiveness. Our speed stayed the same, something like the equivalent of a brisk walk.

“Nope, we never went far. Megan, well, Megan believes that she belongs to the state, and her father’s roll is to choose her life. I respected her choice. Faster,” giving her a chance to keep pace I sped up again while making predictable attacks so that she could match my pace.

Surprised, although I shouldn’t have been, she matched me strength for strength as we sparred. She started straining to keep with me at this continual rapid pace. Before I came to this world, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain this pace for very long with any precision. Our pace was just short of an all out attack by the two of us, closer to a stable run, not a sprint that an all out fight would entail.

We were moving too fast for her casual questionings to continue, first I would attack high, she would follow down and to my left. I stayed away from her lower legs, my sword was too much of an advantage there for her to effectively counter without throwing off the rhythm of the spar. The only time that I did a hard chop at her shoulder, I did come close enough to throw her off her form since my sword had too much mass and momentum for her to parry without also crouching under the attack.

That same weakness Chandra shared, between that and a hard straight thrust in her midsection, I knew how to defeat Emily or any Priestess if needed. She on the other hand had flashes of blinding speed when attacking my left pelvis area that I had trouble bringing my sword around to block. My only option for that attack had to be to dodge out of the way. I might have been able to chop off her arm after she over extended her attack to my midsection but without healing, I too would be seriously injured, if not dead.

Her movements suddenly came easier and became more precise after ten minutes of keeping that fast pace. I didn’t want to have to resort to using magic as she did. My naturally enhanced stamina would have to support me here.

After what I guessed to be a full half hour, I broke off our match to a round of applause from the assembled soldiers. I didn’t want to use magic since my natural abilities were already enhanced to close to her augmented level and this was supposed to be just a feeler between the two of us. I bowed to my opponent out of respect of her exceptional skills and then the crowd while she saluted the men. I offered my hand in friendship; she clasped my forearm with her hand, her hand felt strong and calloused. The clasp felt strange to me but I would learn to accept it. “Call me Charles.”