Book 2 Chapter 9: To step back or move forward

Vero scrubbed at the floor with the hard brush. No wonder the place was meticulously clean. Not only did you have the scrupulous cooks and chefs, but many of those who came from floor three no doubt had personal grudges with those that made this place a mess. His ray of sunshine in all this was that he hadn’t been wacked by a spoon yet.

A few had looked down on him for having a servant, but when they saw his efficiency they were impressed. But that had meant he got the hardest tasks. It wasn’t that the task was complex, more that it was so mind numbingly repetitive and seemingly endless that it often took many hands to do the job. He reached into the bucket of water and pulled out a cloth and wiped at where he had scrubbed. While the cloth hadn’t grabbed much grime, it still felt satisfying to see the lighter color on the floor. It also meant, the rest of the floor would need this level of detail.

As he looked at the large floor spreading before him, he sighed and then got to work. This job continued for days. His relief was the day off where they would oversee the ascendants who came next.

Vero wondered how it had been that long. It had been a couple months now, and the next challengers to climb to level three were being gathered. He noticed Filtiarn had also found his way over and the two sat next to one another till they saw the unmistakable hands of a human doing the silent language to call them over. Vero looked at Filtiarn but even he seemed surprised. The two rose and followed the human to where the head instructor stood. He looked at them for a breif moment before continuing his hand signals to the others who were selecting candidates for the ascension. Filtiarn folded his arms and Vero used his tail to ask what was going on. Filtiarn subtly flicked his ears saying he didn’t know.

This bothered Vero as he should know most of what could happen here. He noted that the folded arms were the Ulrika’s way of preventing himself from fidgeting. He was nervous and that spread to Vero.

They watched the selection but none were brought straight to the head instructor like they had been. Finally the instructor called over the yowlume who seemed to enjoy tormenting them. Vero gritted his teeth. After Filtiarn had brushed her off after their ascension, she had continued to put herself working next to either Vero or Filtiarn and whispering nonsense in their ears. Vero inwardly retreated from her approach but outwardly kept an uninterested expression.

“Well well, glad to see you up here,” she said softly. Vero only glanced at her and then looked out at the ascension process. “After today, we’re going to get to see each other more often,” she said and Vero fought to keep his shoulders from shivering. She really knew how to rub him wrong.

The head instructor allowed the selected canidates to come closer to him and he turned and faced Filtiarn and Vero.

“You three will be challenged. Show your worth and you can stay, otherwise, it’ll be back to the lower levels,” he said and Vero straightened. This wasn’t how Filtiarn had said things would go.

Vero looked at Filtiarn who took a deep breath.

“Very well,” the Ulrika said with a bow. Vero copied him and the girl followed. She smirked and seemed to be in the know on how this would play out.

Vero and the two were assigned guides who led them to the arena before the others.

“You three will have a handicap in the challenge,” one of the guides said and Vero gritted his teeth. All that labor had dulled his fighting senses and he wished they had some warning. Perhaps this was a lesson. A lesson on remaining sharp and prepared. They were instructed to focus on tassels if any were let loose, and to fight with the intention to disarm the opponent. Vero sighed. This was just like the previous challenge. But this time it was one on one battles. The challengers would be led here so as to not gain advantage from learning these potential weaknesses in advance. If there was a team, then they would team up to take them on.

These simple instructions were barely relayed before a human challenger was brought forward. Filtiarn went forward to take on the challenger while the girl and Vero backed off the arena.

Vero watched with mild interest as the girl started to prattle on to him. He wondered if she could keep her mouth closed sometimes instead of annoying him.

The fight was short and the human grumbled as he left with only one tassel. Filtiarn handed the collected tassels to a guide before taking on two more challengers. Then Vero swapped in.

He realized just how hard it was to focus on tassel collection while in the battle and lost to one opponent before changing his strategy on the remaining two. The girl did well, but she had experience on this matter.

They cycled through the remaining challengers and Vero was both surprised and disappointed that none had a team like him and Filtiarn had done. He wondered if they had learned that lesson or not. Then again, seeing how only a few had made it through, utilizing the weakness of the tassels, it made sense that they hadn’t learned it yet.

After dismissing the new ascensions, the head instructor turned to them with a troubled look.

“You,” he pointed to Filtiarn. “Will need to return back to level one. The rest will stay,” he said and Vero went erect.

“No!” he shouted, grabbing the attention. “I mean, have me go back, let him stay,” he said.

“Master, it’s fine-“

“No. I’m younger and can get back here again easy. You have your reasons for being here. I’ll go back,” Vero said quickly. He started to head back, but was stopped by the head instructor. Vero was about to insist, but there was a glint in the man’s eyes.

“Admirable, but the rules are the rules here.”

“Then I will go back with him,” Vero refused to be separated.

“Then she will also go with you.”

“What!” the girl shouted in disbelief. “No. NO way.”

“Either you all go together, or he goes alone,” the head instructor insisted. Vero growled. Filtiarn stopped him and looked at the girl. She folded her arms.

“You realize if we all went, they would likely send us back up here before the next selection because we would collect too many tassels,” Filtiarn said calmly. Vero paused. That sounded impossible, but also amusing. The head instructor looked a bit worried for a moment. Had what Filtiarn said struck a chord? Vero looked at the girl and she was stubbornly looking away. So she hadn’t seen that little exchange.

Vero sighed and padded over to her.

“Kylee,” he said softly and she looked at him in surprise.

“I ne’er told you my name,” she grumbled, situating herself into her pout. “How did you find out?”

“You’ve told others and answered when you were called.”

“Sly,” she hummed. He waited a few moments.

“You’ve obviously had some troubles on the lower level,” he said calmly and her ears perked.

“And?” she asked. She really wanted him to get to the point so she could shoot him down, tell him that it would be a no.

“What happened?” he asked and she growled.

“Like you would care. You just want to convince me to come with you both so you can stay with your precious servant,” she said and Vero laughed. She seemed surprised by the response.

“Sure, you could see it that way. I certainly care about him, and he is my friend and guide. But you would just say no anyway, so rather than pestering you about something you won’t do… I want to hear why?”

“What?” she asked, her arms unfolding.

“Why say no? I asked why you don’t like it down there,” he restated.

“It… Hey instructor, are you going to let him just question me like this?” she asked and Vero looked back at the instructor who had sat next to Filtiarn.

“I don’t have anything else today to oversee. The others will take care of it,” he said and she grumbled. Vero stepped back a step. He noticed how she had seemed quiet before calling for help. Something he had said wasn’t right.

“I’m wrong,” he said calmly and she looked at him confused. “Aren’t I.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement that only needed little verification. She paused and then looked down.

“Yes…” she said softly. Vero was surprised by her response. Normally she was talkative, and could be annoying, but now she was like a meek child.

“So what is your reason?” he said calmly, matching her volume.

“I just don’t want to go back. Okay,” she said, somewhat guarded. Vero could feel that she was scared. Her ears also seemed to disobey her normally composed nature and she reminded him of Ylva, albeit, Ylva never showed this.

“Okay. So you want to stay,” he said calmly, relaxing. She seemed to lower her guard and her ears were rising. Her eyes seemed to be relieved. “I’m sure the chefs will enjoy whacking our heads some more,” he teased and she drew up sharply, her normal stances coming out.

“Hey! That’s not fair. I’m the only one who gets them out of us,” she complained. Vero chuckled.

“So you’ll be the one who gets whacked,” he clarified and she harrumphed. Her pause spoke volumes. She was remembering the smacks.

“And, I’m sure you enjoy the blisters on your hands and knees,” he added. She stiffened.

“How-“

“You walk differently and shift to avoid them,” he said calmly and she blustered then calmed. He barely heard the snicker of Filtiarn, but she didn’t seem to notice.

“So what, you pay that much attention?” she said and he shrugged.

“It’s important to observe the people who stubbornly stick around you,” he said and she looked a bit embarrassed.

“I’m not annoying am I?” she asked and he sighed.

“I’m not sure… if I was left to my own conclusions, I would say that you like me and so that’s why you stick around like that,” he said and she blushed and started to tense. “So why wouldn’t I want to find a way to go back to level two, if not to avoid you,” he said pointedly. “But it seems our instructor here isn’t having that.”

“Well, that’s your own fault for breaking the token,” she said. “You could have left me and lived like a king down there.”

“So you do like me,” he said and she quickly covered her mouth. Filtiarn laughed and so did the head instructor.

“That’s not fair!” she said and Vero refused to laugh at her situation. That would only create more guarded feelings. Yes, he wanted her to come down with them. He wouldn’t know what to do on each level, and if they got separated, it would take longer to reach Ylva. He looked at the older men behind him.

“Kylee. I’m going to change the discussion if that’s alright with you.”

She looked at him in relief and nodded.

“Do you know why I am here? Or why my friend still serves me?” he asked. She paused.

“Because you want to prove yourself and because you take care of him?” she answered. Vero sighed in disappointment. How many truly payed attention and listened, rather than creating assumption.

“I said he is a guide for me. But really, why else have I done so well if not for his teaching. I may be his master, but he is my teacher. Respect goes both ways between us. As for why we are here. We need to get to the top quickly. Staying together makes more sense. Else I will be waiting for him to return and he would do the same for me.”

“Must you do it together? You could team up with someone else,” she suggested. “And so could he.” She looked a bit happy at the prospect. Perhaps she was thinking he could team up with her. “If you need speed, then do it with the best.”

Vero smiled, wanly. There were other reasons to do it together, and she totally missed his point about that he would wait for Filtiarn.

“Kylee, If I need to wait, then so be it,” he said calmly and she looked a bit sad. “So rather… why do you want to stay here? You still have your token, I assume you could also live well down there.”

“Well, yes. But, It took me so long to get here. I can’t go back. I need to go forward.”

“Hmmm. You said it took you a while to get here.”

“Right. I couldn’t get enough tassels before the selection. It’s not fair that you two got them so easily.”

Vero paused. That was something profound.

“I see. Because we have a master servant relation, it’s not fair that we could have trust down there where trust doesn’t thrive.”

“Precisely.”

“And that’s why you’ve encouraged us to separate, and pursue our own dreams here.”

“Yes!”

“Without finding out that our dream is the same, so it’s better to work together.”

“That’s…” she paused and then seemed confused and embarrassed. “It’s the same?” Vero nodded.“So that’s why…” she mumbled. He needed her to focus, so he changed the course of the conversation a bit.

“Kylee. I would gladly go back a step, because sometimes taking a step back gives you enough space to run and jump over a road block.”

“Sure…”

“And I know you’ve been on this level for a long while,” he said calmly. She nodded.

“I just haven’t had my lucky break,” she said, a tear forming in her eyes.

“What is your lucky break?”

“I… I don’t know. Perhaps it’s you guys. Perhaps a master will come along and pick me up and teach me,” she said. Vero closed his eyes. She had considered it. She also was aware of what was needed to progress.

“And how do you plan to get their attention?” He asked.

“What?”

“That’s part of the process. You know what you want. But do you know how to take the next step?” he asked.

“Ugh. That again. No. I don’t know. I work hard, and keep getting hit over the head. I’m stuck.”

“Then try something else,” he said calmly.

“Like what!” she snapped. He took a calm breath. He had said that wrong. She had clammed up a bit.

“Kylee. Why don’t you spend time around us, without having to focus on cleaning. My friend is a good teacher,” He suggested. “Perhaps you’ll figure it out.”

“Oh… Sure.”

“You do realize he is heading down a level,” Vero reminded and she bit her lip.

“Ya, but I could come too. And, maybe we will get the tassels a bit too quickly for them to keep us down there.”

There was a clapping sound and Vero and her looked back at the head instructor. Vero realized that he had ignored them so well, he nearly forgot they were listening in.

“Masterful Vero. And Kylee, you seemed to have forgotten your situation,” he said. She froze and then looked away. What situation? Had Vero missed something? He sensed a dagger and danger and ducked. A knife was thrown over his head from the direction of Kylee. The head instructor was beginning to attack him as well. Vero shifted down and noticed Filtiarn beginning to attack. He took on Kylee, while the Ulrika took on the head instructor.

What had gone wrong? Why were they fighting?

In that brief hesitation, he felt a scratch as a dagger skinned his arm. He retreated and saw Kylee coming in with another attack. This time he focused and blocked. He quickly disarmed her and she was shocked. He then peeked at Filtiarn’s situation and stopped Kylee from drawing a hidden weapon. He motioned for her to stop and she flicked her ears saying she was defeated. Vero didn’t have much time to register what she had done, and quickly felt a swipe from behind. He turned and blocked a shaft that was coming at him. The head instructor was using a long pole, his quarterstaff, and attacking him while defending against Filtiarn. Vero quickly shoved against him and was surprised to see him use that energy to attack Filtiarn.

That lever of energy struck Filtiarn back and the two quickly began to step in and out of the danger space at different times to one another. He still kept tabs on Kylee, but she didn’t make a move to join in.

Fighting two opponents at once should have worn the defendant down quicker, but his movements were precise and seemed to be about conserving energy. There was little space to intersect an attack and throw off the balance. Finally Filtiarn signaled to him and jumped in, taking an attack and grabbing the pole while Vero came in from behind and grabbed the other end. The two managed to throw him off balance, but he didn’t loose the weapon; an impressive feat. Vero then slid over and brought his weapon against the head instructors ribs while Filtiarn went for the neck. The head instructor dropped, but froze when Vero’s blade was pressed against his neck.

They knew up would be a hard way to flee, but down meant one of them had to go down in anticipation of the drop. This time, the maneuver had panned out. It wasn’t fool proof, but it had won them this time.

As they stepped back, Vero realized that they were surrounded by many instructors, some masters. Just what was going on. Kylee seemed shocked. She snaked through the throng and approached them.

“Just what are you?” she seemed to ask, but shook her head. “Satisfied instructor?” she asked and he grumbled.

“Yes. Quite. They are a good pair,” he said. “It’s just like you reported.” Vero noticed the Head instructor step over and pat her on the shoulder. “You played your part well,” he said and she looked surprised. He indicated with his head for her to leave and she quickly did so. Vero looked to Filtiarn who seemed serious.

“I will admit…” the head instructor said as he handed his staff to another Yowlume before moving his hand to signal to the others. “I hadn’t expected you to best me like that,” he said and Filtiarn bowed his head.

“A bit of luck was on our side today,” Filtiarn said and Vero bowed his head too.

“Perhaps. But when luck seems to happen repeatedly, there is competence behind it,” the head instructor said. His hands flicked a tail tassel and Vero knew it well. That was the movement for them to be grabbed. He looked to Filtiarn, tensed and ready to fight again, but the Ulrika was calm. Vero released his tension as his arms were grabbed. The Head instructor ordered with his hands for them to be brought to a location that Vero didn’t catch. They were dragged off and Vero watched Filtiarn as best he could. What was the next trial before them? And how should he behave.