Page 7 of The Study of Poisons
Janco closed his mouth, swallowed, and said, “Yes, sir.”
“Good.” Valek pushed his shoulder-length black hair out of his face. He wished he had a leather tie to keep the annoying ringlets out of his eyes, but he hadn’t expected to spar today.
Their fight had drawn a crowd and before any others could issue challenges, Valek turned to the big man and said loud enough for everyone to hear, “I’ve time for one more match. You in?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Your name?”
“Lieutenant Ardenus, sir.”
“No one calls him that,” Janco said. “Besides, do you know how hard it is to rhyme words with Ardenus while fighting? Almost—”
“Janco.” Ardenus just about growled.
“What do people call you, then?” Valek asked.
“Ari, sir.”
“All right, Ari. Weapon of choice?”
“Swords, sir.”
Valek approved of Ari’s broadsword. The question remained if all those muscles and his extra four inches of height would slow Ari down.
“Begin,” Janco said.
Unlike his friend, Ari took a defensive stance, preferring to block and counter versus attacking right away. The answer soon became apparent that the man was also flexible and strong. Not as quick as Janco, but Valek doubted anyone was as fast as Janco.
And Ari was smart. Instead of wasting his breath singing out rhymes, he watched and waited for the perfect opportunity to strike.
When Ari went on the offensive, Valek’s arm almost went numb from the clash of their swords. Another block knocked him to the ground. The crowd cheered. Valek rolled to his feet before Ari could press his advantage.
The match lengthened. Valek kept his distance and picked up the pace, hoping Ari would tire. He didn’t. It was time for Valek to switch to a higher skill level. He liked to give the challenging soldiers a sense that they did well against him. But some people like Ari, were just too good for his more casual fighting style.
Valek drew on his years of experience and changed tactics. Instead of fighting straight on, he sidestepped and dodged. No longer blocking with his sword, he used his flexibility and speed to move in to strike and then dash out of Ari’s reach by the time the man countered. Still, it took much longer to get past Ari’s defenses than he’d expected.
Ducking under one of Ari’s powerful swings, Valek dove to the ground, rolling into a somersault, and then hopped to his feet right behind the big man. In a flash, he tapped Ari’s back with the tip of his sword.
“Concede?”
“Yes, sir,” Ari said.
The crowd grumbled with disappointment and dispersed.
Valek pulled Ari aside. “Well done, you almost had me.”
Sweat streamed down Ari’s face, but he wasn’t winded. “I don’t believe that.”
“No?”
“I think you could have ended that match a few moves after it started.”
This confirmed Ari’s intelligence. “Still, you have the skills. What’s your current position?”
“Janco and I are scouts.”
Valek’s opinion of Ari rose another notch. Big muscular men normally didn’t do well creeping through the forest. “You impressed me enough to earn an invitation to become a member of my intelligence network.”
