Inside the Fort

“Not like that. It’s like this.” Raliz adjusted Calum’s arms slightly to where his right hand held onto the bicep of his left arm then stepped back. “Now do the incantation.”

Calum focused all his attention on the target that hung on the wall approximately fifteen meters in front of him. During his chant, a ball of light materialized and quickly increased in size and intensity. “By the grace of the Goddess, destroy the foes in my path!”

The giant orb of light, now double Calum’s height in diameter, blasted forward, incinerating the target and scorching the ground between it and him. Tilaya and Raliz clapped at his successful spellcast.

Raliz turned to Tilaya. “Now you try. Do it just as he did.” He watched her get into position and speak the incantation. An orb appeared in front of her as well, only half the size of Calum’s. It fired at another target and reduced it to ashes.

“How was that?” She looked at Raliz for approval, who in turn dipped his head.

“Splendid. How do you two feel?”

Calum rolled his shoulders. “I don’t feel any different.”

Tilaya yawned. “I’m a bit tired, but nothing too serious.”

“Seems like Calum has more mana than you, Tilaya. Not a surprise though, since he is the hero. How about we take a break for now? I’ll teach you a few more spells a bit later. I know you’ve been wanting to explore the fort.”

The two friends exchanged glances. Calum returned his attention to the high priest. “It would be nice to know the layout of this place. It would also be fun to see how Erik is holding up.”

“Once you’re ready to resume training, meet me back here. I have a few things I need to… take care of,” he studied the damage they had caused.

Tilaya followed Calum out of the room. Together, they made their way to the courtyard and saw Erik dueling a rather lanky man dressed in light metal armor. They sat down on a stone bench nearby and continued to watch the duel.

Erik swung his sword upward but was parried by his opponent. He changed directions and attacked again but was immediately parried again.

The man laughed. “There’s more to swordplay than just brute force.” He dodged Erik’s next attack gracefully.

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you tell me that when you hit me? You can’t win a fight solely by evading.” He swung again. The edge of his sword hit nothing but air.

“Sometimes, when you are at a disadvantage, you must use your opponent’s strength against them. Tiring them out is just a trick that usually doesn’t work on bigger foes.”

Erik stopped his attacks and stood straight. “If you won’t attack, then I won’t move until you do. Either you strike, or this duel ends in a draw.”

“Excellent thinking.” He dashed close enough to Erik to attack. Instead of going for him, he struck his sword, using the edge of it to guide his weapon toward Erik. The tip made contact with Erik’s armor. “I believe I have won this duel?”

An irritated click of the tongue was the response Erik gave.

He bowed. “Let this be a lesson to you. You’re an excellent fighter, but you lack finesse. You rely too much on your own strength and not enough on movement and grace.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Erik spotted his companions sitting on the bench. “I’ll have you know I am the foremost Royal Knight. I’ll admit defeat this time, but I will learn from this and will not lose our next duel.” He pivoted and made a beeline toward his companions.

“Did you have a nice duel?” Calum asked.

“That guy doesn’t like dealing the first blow. It’s frustrating.” Erik stopped and looked back at his sparring partner, who was now talking with a few other soldiers. “But he is skilled. Maybe I should learn a thing or two from him.” His eyes returned to his friends. “I thought you two were training with the priest.”

“We were,” Tilaya started before Calum could speak, “but we’re taking a break. Did you want to take a tour of the fort with us?”

“Sure, if that’s what we’re doing.”

Calum scanned the courtyard. “Where’s Kia?”

Erik copied Calum and swept his gaze across the courtyard. “I’m not sure. I saw her in one of the halls, but I didn’t see where she went.”

“She might be giving herself a tour of the place.” Tilaya rose to her feet.

“Tilaya, where’s your staff?”

“It’s in the training room. I had to put it down so I could practice the spell Raliz taught us. Since we are going to be back there anyway, I figured I could just leave it there for the time being.”

“If she’s showing herself around, we should start without her. Maybe we’ll run into her along the way.” Calum jumped up and called over the soldier that had defeated Erik in a duel.

The soldier joined them. “How can I help?”

“Sorry to bother you, but could you show us around the fort?”

“Certainly. Follow me, please.” He led the three inside. “You all know that the training room is straight ahead. If we go to the left,” he said as he turned, “you’ll find the rooms where the soldiers stay in. These rooms go all the way down to the other side, so we don’t have to check all the rooms. In fact, it would be respectful not to check any of the rooms.”

Statues of knights holding a sword pointed down in front of them lined the hall. Torches sat between each statue, illuminating the hall in an orange glow.

On the opposite side of the fort, the soldier spun around. “See those double doors on the wall?” He waited for the party to acknowledge them. “That leads to the mess hall. The doorway down there,” he pointed to a door near the end of the hall, “leads to the kitchen.”

Calum followed the soldier through the double doors and into the vast mess hall. Long tables filled the room. A wide area had been cut out of the wall to allow the cooks to place the soldiers’ meals for pickup. Through it, he could see iron pots on a steel counter.

Another soldier entered the room behind the group. “The high priest has called the hero and his companions to the training room.”

Their guide dipped his head in acknowledgment. “Very well. It seems our tour has to end here. I’ll just tell you that the side we have not covered yet contains storage rooms, including the armory and weaponry.” He took his leave, the other soldier following him out.

“He called all of us?” Calum furrowed his brow. “Even Erik and Kia?”

“It appears so,” Tilaya replied. “I’m not sure where Kia is, but I’m sure she’ll turn up.”

“Let’s go, then. The high priest is expecting us.” Erik was the first one to leave the mess hall, followed by Tilaya and finally Calum. “Let’s see what Raliz has to tell us.”