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Danger's Calling (Charlie_Death & Bec Teri)

"A little of both. You did get me to leave and you are able to go out and do what you want." Casdon turned the bottle around so he could see the label. He almost didn't want to drink it, but since there is the potential that they will meet their end on this journey, this may be his last chance to drink it. "Don't worry, I won't make you serve me. I have a small tankard in my pack, so it will be my turn to serve you. If you want, we can have half now, and half when this journey is over."
 
Casdon opened his mouth to make a reply but then shuts it. He never thought about that. "I hope you don't drag us across the world when we are both old. Adventurers don't seem very intimidating when they brandish canes instead of swords," he joked.
 
Eidie laughed, "I don't know about that, father was still pretty intimidating into his final years." She finally found a stick she liked and tossed it to him, "Did you want to learn defensive mauvers or dueling techniques?"
 
Casdon was caught off guard when the stick was tossed in his direction, but still managed to catch it. He set the brandy back down against his bag and moved away from it. "Defensive. Maybe later we can work on dueling but for now, I think I should focus on not getting killed."
 
"Alright, what do you know about swords?" She pulled a small cauldron out of her saddlebags and carefully set it over the fire. She opened one of her canteens and poured the contents into the pot. She then began preparing a stew for their supper. It was important to use the few fresh ingredients she'd packed before they were given a chance to spoil and ruin the more hardy foodstuffs she'd brought with her.
 
Casdon gave the stick a few test swings, trying to remember what he had learned years prior. "Just the basics," he made a decent jab at the air. "I know the pointy part is sharp," he joked as he watched her fill the pot with their dinner. "It has been years. I was just a lad when my uncle was trying to teach me basic swordplay." He gave a few swings, hearing the stick whistle through the air. "What I learned then might kick back in but it may take a bit to knock it all loose."
 
"Well the most important thing to know about defensive sword play is the pointy end. The second most important thing to know is, if at all possible, running away is not a sign of cowardice unless you leave others behind to die. He who turns and runs away lives to run another day. unless it is completely unavoidable, engaging an opponent is the last option you take. If you can talk your way out of a situation, do it. This is the very first thing my father told all his students. Now, Defensive swordplay isn't elegant, it's dirty. Your attacker isn't going to aim his or her blows at your sword like those idiots in the sparing rings do, they're going to, at the very least, try to disable you so they can take everything you have, or straight up murder you and do the same." She had her father's first day speech memorized at this point. "This leave you with three options, try to run away, try to talk your way out of the mess, or if all else fails engage your attacker. The type of sword you have will determine the best way to defend yourself from attack. For instance, a cutlass is a wonderful slashing weapon, most single edge blades are. However peircing your attacker may seem like your best option, it's not usually that easy. You should also keep in mind that relying solely on your sword is one of the stupidest mistakes you can make. Use anything and everything around you to help you get away. The goal of defensive swordplay is not to kill your attacker, but to disable them enough so you can get away. Use the dirt to blind them, aim for arms and legs with your blade, it's damned difficult to attack someone if you're missing a limb. Out smart them, injure them, get away."
 
Casdon nodded as he listened, trying to put everything into memory. If anything, he was at least good at memorizing things. It was certainly different from the speech he got years back from his uncle. There it focused more on disabling but frowned on running away. His uncle had the belief that if you were a guard, you had to stand your ground. If you fled from a scene, the citizens will lose faith that you or other guardsmen are able to not only keep the peace, but protect them in their times of need. It comforted him to know that if he needs to, he can run and not look bad in front of his friend. After all, what kind of man runs from a fight that a woman can best? "Fight with your wits, then your blade. Aim to injure, not kill and by all means, live. Got it."
 
"Good, that's basically all you need to know about defensive swordplay. You could practice scenarios all night, but Father was a firm believer that someone attacking you and going for blood is a lot faster then any scenario you could play out. The person with a sword who is cocky, is usually the first to die. The real thing just doesn't compare. It's a mindset one can't just adopt during a training session. It's the major thing that father hated about working with the guardsmen. They hated when he answered their questions with you duck. Father may not have trained many guards, but all his pupils survived out in the real world longer then most ex-guardsmen do." She heard the knocking of one of her traps being sprung. "Let's hope I caught a rabbit, skunk meat is about as tasty as it sounds."
 
He had to admit that he felt a little better knowing that the training that his travelling companion had was better than what he would have gotten if he had followed the footsteps of his uncle. Not that he ever could see himself as a guard. He looked in the direction that Eidie went after the trap was sprung. 'I sincerely hope that it really is just a bunny that got caught and nothing else,' Casdon thought to himself. Luckily for them, in the trap that she had laid was a rabbit. It's legs still kicked as it struggled against the restraints hopelessly.
 
Eidie made quick work of killing, gutting, skinning the rabbit. Although greasy, rabbit meat tended to stew rather well. "Let's hope our luck holds out," she said as she began cutting chunks of meat off the carcass and tossed it into her cauldron. "You never did tell me why your uncle was so adamant about you joining the guard. Family business type deal or was he just a glutton for punishment?"
 
Casdon watched Eidie as she prepared the rabbit and added the meat to the stew. The smell alone was already making him hungry and distracted him from the inevitable fact that he was soon to sleep outside, on the cold ground, on the outside of city walls, in the wilderness. The question about his uncle caught him off guard. He scratched his chin as he thought, glancing up at the darkening sky, stars already beginning to shine. "I don't think it is a family business. He is the only relative I know of that is a guard. I think he wanted to keep an eye on me, that if I am a guard like him, he can keep watch as my superior and that I can't get into trouble. Not that the trouble I get into is with the law," he chuckled remembering the few too many slaps he had received. He grew quiet for a moment at the realization that he really didn't know much about his family. He spent most of his life with his uncle, away from his parents that lived in the capital. "I... actually don't know what the family business is." He rubbed the ring on his finger and looked at the crest on it. It bore the symbol of two snakes devouring each other around an eye. He didn't know what it meant but it was something that his uncle said belonged to his parents and that he should keep it... or was it keep it hidden? "My parents sent me to live with him as a child and I used to get letters from them on occasion but I don't really hear so much from them."
 
"Oh I see, I'm sorry. Course my family's not much better are they? I suppose I at least knew mine." She quietly stirred the stew for a few moments. "I'm glad you decided to come along Cas. I still don't entirely understand why you did, but I'm glad nontheless. I do hope word doesn't get back to my mother that you're my travelling companion though."
 
"Do I really have that bad of a reputation?" Casdon asked with a smirk. "Anyways, I consider you a friend. Maybe my only friend that isn't drinking themselves into a stupor." He peered into the fire, squinting. After a moment he smiled. "Let's blame it on your cooking until we can figure it out. Besides, she doesn't have much to worry, I got your message last time loud and clear." He held up a hand. "I am not dumb enough to try my luck a second time. I'll be as close to a gentleman as I can... with you at least. So where does she think you are, anyways?"
 
"On my way to marry some Baron's son. I hate lying to her, but she'd probably would have locked me in the cellar if she knew the truth. But I'm not the first in our family to soften the truth to Mother." She sighed, "Would have been harder if father was still alive. He could always tell when I was lying." She held out her hand, "I'll take that drink now."
 
Casdon nodded as he reached back to where he placed the brandy. After opening the brandy, he held it up as if to make a toast. "To all the luck we're going to need on this adventure." He passed it to Eidie so that she can take the first drink.
 
She smiled and took a swig from the bottle. "Not bad. How long have you been holding onto this bottle?" she asked passing it back to him.
 
He took a drink with a smile, enjoying the taste that can only be aged for years. "I have had this bottle for at least nine years. Maybe longer. It cost quite a bit, most of my savings but I gotta say, it was worth it." He passed it back.
 
"I never took you for such a patient man Cas," she laughed, "Just full of surprises aren't you? I'm going to end up saying that a lot about you this trip aren't I?"
 
"I hope so, Eidie. I don't want to bore you during the whole adventure after all," he laughed back. "Who knows, maybe I have some hidden talents?"
 
"Your not so hidden talents could come in handy too if we come to a tavern and need a distraction." She chuckled. "Know any stories Cas? Something to pass the time until the stew is ready. Maybe something lighthearted, the mood took a dark turn on us there."
 
Casdon scratched his chin again as he thought of what stories he had. Spending the better part of your adult life in a tavern drunk as a skunk does bring some stories to mind, but the real struggle was remembering one he probably didn't tell his friend before. He gave a chuckle when he remembered an incident when he was younger.

"I don't think I ever told you about how I gained my apprenticeship. It is a story of struggle, first love and heartbreak," he spoke dramatically as he took a sip from the brandy and set it aside. "I wasn't always the dashingly handsome womanizer I am today," he chuckled as he flicked his hair from the side of his face for emphasize, flashing a wide smile. "I used to be rather shy, or socially lazy as my uncle once said. Back when I was a young lad in school, and under the tutelage of my uncle to become a member of the guard, I never took much interest in the fairer sex, until I met the alluring Aloramae. She had the strangest features with dark hair as night and golden eyes like the sun. I swear, she has to have some elvish blood, after all, every boy was under her elvish magic, including myself. My uncle even tried to talk me into training harder because every lady loves a strong man in uniform."

Casdon scoffed and waved a hand as if to shoo away the image of his uncle's suggestions. "But! I overheard her talking about how she preferred the prettier things in life. So I tried my damnedest to find things that were pretty. I don't think I need to explain that young men aren't the best at knowing what counts as pretty." He laughed. "I did everything I could to get out of sword lessons, I limped, faked being ill, kept dropping the sword, purposely messing up until my uncle couldn't take it anymore and left me alone for the day. Then one day as I was wandering the market I found a stall that had all these scarves and head covers. I saw one that I thought was pretty enough to give to Aloramae. I spent all my savings from the meager allowance and a few extra that I had pilfered from my uncle's coin purse on this thin blue scarf that had these little gold stars stitched into it. I thought it was perfect because she made me think of the night sky and the scarf looked like the night sky. Surely, that would make me stand out from the other boys that just tried to flex and show off! Do you know what she said when I gave it to her?"
 
Casdon put his hands on his hips and stuck his nose in the air, speaking in a falsetto voice, "I have four of those! I don't need another one that smells like boy."

He sighed and muttered, "Fair enough. I ran all over the city to find her just to give it to her. I was drenched in sweat and I'm sure I didn't smell any better. But now I knew I had to get something unique! I don't want to give her something else that another gave her, but now I was out of money. Dejected, I walked back home and ran into a man that had this shop I hadn't passed before. Inside were all these different carvings with such fine details! There was one of an old woman and you can see every wrinkle in her face and hands! The Master carver spoke to me and I mentioned that I wanted something unique for a girl."

"Aye, why spend your money on something unique when you can make it yourself?" he spoke in a deeper tone of voice. "I won my wife over with my skills of a carver. She wore that same handcrafted flower crown made of ivory on our wedding day, as did our daughter."

"And that was it! I wanted to make something, but I didn't know how! I asked if I can be apprentice and he told me 'no.' Fine carvings weren't for everyone and a keen eye for detail wasn't something that everyone possessed. It was like everything was going wrong that day! I had no money, surely I was going to be punished for stealing from my uncle, my gift rejected and now, I can't even learn the trade that may be my only chance! But..." He paused as he leaned forward with a smirk. "On my way out, I noticed a small figurine of a fisherman carrying a crate of fish..." He demonstrated the size of it with his thumb and pointer finger. "...whose hand only had four fingers."

"Feeling angry I pointed at it and said, 'You can't even be that good. He only has four fingers, so I will just find someone better!'"

Casdon sat up and with a snap of his fingers he spoke in the deeper voice again. "Why my boy, you have a keen eye! No one ever noticed that, I'll make you my apprentice!"
 
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