Saul sat on the ground, his chest heaving mightily as he tried to recover from the fierce combat he’d been engaged in. Bardal had pushed him in every which way, the dwarf’s mastery of the spear making Saul’s paltry skills look even worse in comparison. No matter what Saul tried, he couldn’t get through the dwarf’s defenses. Every stab he attempted was skillfully parried away. Every sweeping blow he attempted was deflected harmlessly aside.

Bardal didn’t let him off easily, either. With each and every failed attack that Saul launched, he received a solid thump from the dwarfs spear. The weapon master had an amazing ability to move between defense and offense without any wasted movement.

Their first hour of sparring had been all offense on Saul’s part, and all defense and counter attacks from Bardal. The second hour, their roles were switched. Bardal would attack relentlessly, and Saul would scramble to block. The dwarf was aggressive and supremely skilled, but Saul thought him fair. He could tell the dwarf was holding back when he attacked, keeping his attacks at a speed that Saul would have some hope of blocking.

It wasn’t just the speed or force behind those blows that made them difficult to deal with, though. Bardal didn’t just rely on his physical gifts, which Saul could tell were substantial. The man was a true master. He created openings in Saul’s defense with crafty feints, sometimes even double feints, and simple perfect form. If Saul’s block was less than perfect, the dwarf could change his angle of attack and land a blow over or under the guard.

They’d been at it for two hours straight when Saul had collapsed.

“I… I just need a… Minute..” He managed to pant out. “Too fast… He’s the fastest man alive…” The dwarf grumbled in response to that, “Take yer time, but I’m no man - I’m a dwarf, which makes me better in some ways. Smaller target, more strength and all that.”

How am I going to land a blow on him? Not that I’d want to, without a blunted weapon… Saul looked over at his teacher as he tried to catch his breath. He knows what he’s doing, though. If I got a lucky blow in, he probably has some armor on or something that I can’t see under his clothes. He stopped thinking about it for the time, trying to just concentrate on breathing deeply. Within a few moments he had his breath back under control and was climbing back to his feet. He bent down to grab his spear, bowing to Bardal, “I would appreciate it if you would offer further instruction.”

The Master nodded and moved to stand a few paces away from Saul, his spear held at the ready. “I want ye to be able to switch from offense to defense at a moment’s notice, so we’ll be sparrin’ for real this time. Are yeh ready?”

He wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to get any more ready tonight. Saul bowed once more to his master before sinking into a deep stance, his weapon held comfortably out in front of him, point angled slightly down to put pressure on his diminutive opponent. “Begin!” Bardal shouted. Saul leaped at the dwarf, his body sideways to offer the smallest target. He yelled as he pushed his spear at Bardal in a powerful thrust, the move one of the fastest he could manage so far.

Bardal laughed in the face of his attack and grabbed his spear point, yanking it down towards the ground and stepping to the side. Saul landed, his balance thrown off by that redirection, but he was still aware enough of Bardal’s counter to lean back as the blunted spear point pierced the space his head was just occupying.

Saul lashed out with his spear even as he leaned backwards, swinging it in a wide arc in an attempt to clear some space for him to gather himself. His gaze never left Bardal’s spear point, watching it carefully to see what the dwarf would do next. When the point retreated from his vision, he leaned forward again and then leapt backwards, creating more space between the two of them. He’s so fast! This isn’t fair. I can’t worry about hitting him, I’m not even able to get close to him...

He sank low again, this time taking measured steps just as Bardal had taught him, closing the distance slowly. How can I close this gap? I have to take a chance… Maybe I can… Hm. ’He watched the dwarf warily, bringing the shaft of his spear against Bardal’s to deflect a jab. If I let him hit me while I’m charging, I can try and take the spear from him… Then… Let’s see.

He rushed forward suddenly, the movement awkward as he maintained a side-on stance to Bardal, his spear leveled at the dwarf’s chest. He saw Bardal’s response clearly. It was what he’d expected. The man intended to hit him with a punishing stab in the side. Saul tossed his weapon away, reaching out to grab the dwarf’s spear with both hands as the point found his side. Digging in with both feet, he leaned back and pulled with all of his might. To his surprise, the spear came loose from Bardal’s hands, and he fell backwards against the ground. He rolled to his feet quickly, bringing the stolen spear up to bear… Only to see the main leveling his own spear at him. Damn! I was so sure that would work. Of course he’d just… I mean… Duh!

“Did ye want to try my spear to see if it worked better, or did you think that plan would work in combat? If I didn’t have a blunted spear yer guts would be spillin’ out all over the ring. I’ll be takin’ that back now.” He tossed Saul’s spear at his feet and held out his hands until Saul offered his weapon back.

Grumbling to himself, Saul grabbed his weapon and stood back up. He resumed his stance and readied himself for more pain and suffering.

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As he lay down in one of the barracks, the bed provided to him by Bardal, he tried to reflect on what exactly had gone wrong. It was true that he simply wasn’t good enough compared to Bardal. He was a total amateur, and the dwarf was a veritable expert. He was also significantly more powerful than Saul, but he had been limiting himself.

Saul had noticed that at times he was actually moving faster than the dwarf. Speed and strength were important in combat, to be sure, but Bardal had spent quite some time demonstrating to Saul how important technique was in everything. It was extremely apparent to Saul that if he wanted to truly master the Way of the Spear, he’d have to continue working on his technique.

That would mean practicing his thrusts and blocks in mornings, working through the forms that Bardal had shown him… Hopefully, he’d be able to find other spear masters in the Dungeon that could continue his education. He had a feeling that he’d do better in the long run by continuing to push himself to his limits, moving onto the most difficult levels he could handle, rather than spending too long in a low-leveled area.

He’d spend the next morning working with Bardal, hopefully improving further. He felt like he was already leaps and bounds better than he had been, and that was something he’d continue to work on. ‘I seem more physically gifted than most of the enemies I’ve encountered so far, except for that Darkforged Commander. Hopefully I can survive long enough to get competent with this thing.’ He let out a sigh, ‘No use worrying about it now. I’ll try to get some sleep and figure things out after my morning session with Bardal.’

With that, he rolled over and pulled the covers up until he was practically cocooned in the soft fabric. He shut his eyes and before long he was snoring the night away.

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When it was all said and done, he hadn’t been able to hit Bardal once. He could see a massive improvement in his skills - His attacks were crisp and well aimed, his defense was strong and usually left him an opportunity to counterattack. His feints were fairly good, to his own eye, and he was able to move with the weapon without getting his balance thrown off. He felt like he’d grown by leaps and bounds. Bardal was a wonderful teacher.

The dwarf was also a weapon master for a very good reason, and compared to him Saul looked like an oaf who’d never even seen a spear before. As their session came to an end, Bardal growled out, “Ye’ve come a long way. You’re still worse than some of the kids that I train, but I don’t think you’ll get yerself killed if you start usin’ a spear for your close range attacks.”

Saul appreciated the honesty. He nodded and bowed to the master. “You have been a great teacher. I will continue to work hard and practice my techniques in the hopes that I can challenge you one day.”

Bardal couldn’t help but laugh at that. Jerk… It wasn’t a joke…’ Saul thought, though he could understand why he was getting laughed at. Saul had every intention of becoming better with the spear one day. Bardal spoke up, “Well, lad, ye’ve got spirit. I’ve been at this for… Well, let’s say longer than ye could imagine. If yeh can ever challenge me, I’ll be impressed. That said, I wish yeh luck on your quest. Now, for my time, that’ll be six gold pieces.”

Saul paid him, bowed one last time, then withdrew his spear to his inventory. “Basi!” He called out to the lizard who’d been lounging at the side of the ring for most of the morning. “Time to go.” He turned and walked out of the compound, sore in places he didn’t even know he had. A quick glance at the status bar indicated that his health was full, so there was no easy fix for that pain.

Might as well stop by the tavern and see if Liza and Edwin are heading out today. It’d be nice to find some permanent teammates to help me figure things out here. He moved through the streets, noticing how much quieter the town was due to the relatively early hour. Opening the door to the building, he moved in and stepped to the side expertly in case anyone was looking to exit.

When his eyes were adjusted, he looked around and found the room all but empty. There were a few dwarves sitting at the bar nursing drinks - No doubt breakfast beer - But no sign of his one time party members. Shrugging, he exited the building headed for the gate. Thanks to the empty streets, he was able to get there quickly.

The guards pulled a lever upon his approach, opening the gate for him to leave. He gave his thanks, and farewells, to the guards and set off down the road at a quick pace. If he made good enough time he might be able to get to, and through, the mountain pass in one day!