Every so often, he would glance over at Listain, and struggled to see the connection between them. How could he be her uncle? How did she never tell him before?
There seemed so much he still didn’t know. Maybe Elizabeth was right. He didn’t know enough to face Urik.
Dendril would have known. It was even more reason to send him south and separate him from going after Urik.
Clouds marred the sky. They held the promise of rain, and the air hung with the earthy odor of a coming storm. Every so often, Endric heard a peal of thunder in the distance though storms moved no closer, almost as if they kept pace with Endric’s regiment of Denraen, who marched silently, none saying anything as they rode south from Laurent. Even Pendin had grown increasingly quiet. Endric doubted that had anything to do with Senda's presence, but he couldn't be entirely certain.
Listain had been more withdrawn. He met periodically with Senda, and the two of them would talk quietly, pouring over a collection of documents that Endric suspected carried Listain’s secrets. Endric kept expecting Listain would share with him the contents of those documents, but he never did.
When they stopped for the night, Endric took his now-usual spot with the other men, beginning his evening routine of practicing with them, taking up a stave and presenting himself for whoever wanted to challenge him. There were fewer today than there had been the last time. As had become their usual, Pendin joined him first.
Endric and Pendin worked together the better part of an hour, both men sweating profusely by the time they were finished. Pendin had improved significantly in the few days that Endric had worked with him. He still didn’t push Endric much, but it was good working with his friend, and it was heartening to see how quickly Pendin had improved. The other Denraen who worked with him improved as well, though not to the same degree Pendin did. All gained skill. They would need it if they faced the Deshmahne.
Better yet, in only the week since leaving Vasha, Endric had developed something of a rapport with these men. If nothing else, practicing with them as he had gave him a chance to be seen as a leader, even if it was only leading their sparring. It was more than he had managed while in Vasha. If nothing else, it was a minor victory.
When he had finished with the fourth Denraen soldier, Senda approached. She carried her staff, leaning on it in a way that reminded him of the historian. Could he have studied at the university as well? Was that how he had gained his ability with the weapon? Endric had never given it much thought before, but now that he did, he decided that it was possible—and even probable. If that were the case, then he would be more than simply a historian. He would be a scholar and a historian. That seemed important, though he didn’t quite know why.
“You’ve gotten good with the sword, but how about you try something a little different?” Senda asked.
Endric eyed the staff. When he and Pendin had invaded the university, he had longed to face one of the scholars practicing the staff. “I only have these practice staves. I don't have another—”
“Don’t worry. I've got two.”
She tossed him a staff, throwing it to him so that he had to catch it out of the air. Endric dropped his practice stave as he did, letting it clatter softly to the ground.
Senda smiled slightly. “Fighting with the staff is quite a bit different than with the sword. I won't take it easy on you.”
Endric chuckled. “That's usually what I tell people.”
She attacked. When she swung her staff, it happened so fast that the air whistled around her. He barely had time to react and managed to bring the other staff around in time to connect with hers.
The suddenness, and the force of her attack, startled him. It left him on the defensive, making him react rather than attack.
As she promised, the movements with the staff were different. He was familiar with the various sword forms, the catahs coming to him naturally after years spent training. Fighting with the staff was something entirely different. He reacted slowly at first as he managed to get his bearings.
Endric had always known that Senda was good. He'd seen her practicing before, but had never practiced with her. Seeing her today, having the chance to test himself against her, it reminded him of fighting Pendin. Much like with Pendin, he had superior size and strength. She had the knowledge and the skill that made him feel half a step slow.
As he brought the staff around, he deflected her attack, catching her with a sharp sweep that sent her staggering back. She grinned.
“You have to use your strength to an advantage.”
“I'm trying. I feel like Pendin when he fights me.” Endric cast a glance over to his friend, who stood off to the side, watching him. There was an almost amused expression on Pendin's face. After several nights of facing each other, he wasn't surprised to see Pendin enjoying watching Endric get beaten a little. Endric suspected that he deserved it as well.
“It's no different than you with the sword,” Senda said. “There are patterns you need to use, and those patterns give you an advantage.”
Endric laughed. “I think you mean those patterns give you the advantage.”
Senda shrugged. “You’ve never taken any time to learn the forms for the staff.”
Endric chuckled. “There aren't too many of the Denraen who focus on the staff.”
“Listain does. Your father does.”
Endric frowned. That surprised him. Not only that his father would use the staff but that Listain did as well. The spymaster never seemed like he used any weapon. Endric expected that he fought with the sword—any Denraen would have to in order to reach the level that Listain had reached—but hearing that his father also used the staff? That actually surprised Endric.
Senda spun her staff, more than a hint of a smile on her face. “Like this.”
She took a step back and swept the staff through a series of movements, spinning impossibly fast. Endric could imagine how much that would hurt if it struck him. He'd seen bones broken and heard stories of heads crushed from the speed of an attack. It was elegant, especially watching how quickly she moved, but also brutal.
“Can you repeat that?” Senda asked.
Endric tried to copy the pattern. He got about halfway through it when she stepped forward, casually grabbing his staff.
“No. Like this.”
She demonstrated the movement once more, spinning through a series of patterns. Endric watched closely, recognizing hints from the sword catahs that he could use.
When she finished, Senda attacked once more, swinging toward him rather than demonstrating the form.
Endric was forced to react. He noted how she used the pattern she had just demonstrated to him. In that way, it was much the same as when he sparred with both Pendin and the other soldiers. The first few times he took to demonstrate the pattern, then he would demonstrate the defense. He struggled to slow her attack, barely managing to block most of the blows, and realized that she held back from hitting him, so in control that she could avoid striking him, just like his father with the sword.
Were he not at such a disadvantage, he might laugh. As it were, he struggled to stay on his feet.
If Senda was this good, he could only imagine how skilled Fennah must be. The other en’raen was reputed to be even more talented with the staff, even more dangerous than Senda.
She stepped back and tipped her head toward him, encouraging him. Endric darted forward, mimicking her movements, using the form that she had demonstrated. He was slow, and he knew it.
She blocked his attack, demonstrating a defense to the series of movements that he hadn't seen before. Endric focused on the defense, thinking that she would expect him to use it when she next demonstrated the attack. When he finished the series of attacks, she leaped forward, attacking with the same movement once more. This time, Endric had the defense and used techniques she had shown him.
As he did, a strange realization came to him. There were similarities to this attack to several of the sword forms that he kne
w. They weren't the same, but close enough that he wondered if they had some applicability. Would a similar defense work as the one that was effective against the sword form? The staff required a different skill set, and required different movements than what were used with the sword, but they were not entirely dissimilar.
Senda swung, darting toward him, this time demonstrating a different form.
Endric recognized it and used the staff to defend it.
Senda danced backward and smiled slightly
“You’ve seen that one before?”
“Not that one,” he said. “But it's similar enough to one of the catahs used in advance swordwork.”
Surprisingly—or perhaps not surprisingly—it was similar to one of the movements his father showed him. What did it say that Senda’s staff attacks were similar to what his father did?
Only that his father applied everything he knew when facing Endric.
“They shouldn't be similar. The patterns are different.” Senda leaned on her staff, frowning at him as she did. “There isn't overlap with the sword and the staff.”
“And you know this with certainty?” Endric asked.
Senda shrugged. “I should. I practice both of them enough.”
Endric laughed. “I suppose you would have.” When she said nothing, he laughed again. “Is that it? Now that I've managed to discover your little secret, you’re done?”
Senda only laughed. “I don't think you've learned my secret quite yet.”
She danced forward, her staff swinging faster than he could track. She was lightning quick, a flurry of attacks coming at him in a way that made it difficult for him to follow.
It made him feel the way his father did when he faced him. With Dendril, he was always a step slow. He could keep up to a certain point, but there always came a time when his father had something to show him and was able to prove how little Endric still knew. He wondered if he ever would reach a point where he equaled—or even exceeded—his father's ability.
The pattern Senda used was not one Endric recognized. He did his best to defend against her, managing to block some of them, but not all, and could tell that she let up on him. She never hit him with the full force he suspected her capable of doing. For that, Endric was thankful. He knew all too well how painful the practice staves could be when they struck skin and he had no interest in knowing how painful the staff would be were she to catch him with the full force of it.
After she beat on him a few more times, never really doing any serious damage, he held the staff out away from him, indicating that he was ready to be done.
“I think I've had enough beating for the night,” Endric said. “Maybe tomorrow night we can work a little more.”
Senda grinned at him. “I only wanted to show you what I knew. I didn't think we needed to practice every day.”
Endric shrugged. “It might be good for me to work with you, to develop my skill.”
“Why?”
“I never know when there might be a need to fight with something other than the sword.” He grinned. “Besides, I think I might enjoy sparring with you.” He glanced over at Pendin, tipping his staff toward his friend. “Might be good to face someone who actually gave me a challenge.”
Pendin approached, took Senda's staff from her, and swung it toward Endric. He ducked, avoiding his friend’s attack.
“Next time, why don't you beat on him a little bit more than that? I think this one's getting a little cocky. Be good for his girlfriend to bring him down a few ranks,” Pendin said.
Senda grabbed her staff back, smacking Pendin across the legs with it. “I wouldn't have to if you weren't so terrible with the sword.”
Pendin turned and motioned to the men watching. “If they weren't so afraid of you, I suspect many of these men would be interested in practicing as well.”
Senda shook her head. “They aren't interested in having a woman beat them.”
Pendin shrugged. “You might be surprised. Most men wouldn't mind having a woman beat on him, at least for a little while.”
Senda swung her staff at him again, but Pendin jumped back. He moved quickly for a man his size, managing to avoid the attack.
“I said most men,” Pendin said. “Endric isn't like most men. He probably didn't enjoy anything about your little session. I have to admit that I did.” He grinned at them before leaving and heading toward the line of tents.
Senda only shook her head as Pendin disappeared back into the rest of the camp.
“Sit and talk?” Senda asked.
Endric looked past her, noting the man who seemed to be waiting on him. “Not yet. There still a few things I need to do before I can rest.”
She studied him for a moment and then nodded.
Endric grabbed a practice stave off the ground, handing Senda the other staff. His arms throbbed from where she'd struck him, and his legs ached as well. It was strange getting beaten by anyone other than his father. It would be good to work with her, learn what he could so that he didn't have to fear getting beaten by someone as simple as a scholar.
As the next Denraen approached, picking up the other practice stave, Endric glanced over at Senda briefly and noted how she disappeared into Listain’s tent.
What did the two of them talk about? He wondered what they planned. And he wondered what he still hadn't learned.
He had no answers and didn't have time to think much more about it, as he turned back to the soldier who faced him. It was time for Endric to lead, to serve as the camp commander, even if doing so made him feel like an imposter.
18
The horses followed the wide road south. They neared the border of Gom Aaldia, nearly passing into the plains of Saeline, reaching the outer borders. The longer they rode, they more monotonous the journey became. Each night passed much the same.
The last few nights, Endric had worked with Pendin before practicing with several of the Denraen soldiers. When he was done, Senda came to him and demonstrated other forms with the staff. He still hadn't challenged her, but he had a growing competence with the weapon and found an increasing correlation with the different sword techniques as well. He wondered if continuing his practice with Senda would be applicable toward fighting with the sword.
It was about midday when they encountered a band of about a hundred mounted men, breaking the monotony and jarring Endric into alertness.
Endric motioned to Listain. “You see them?”
Listain nodded slowly. “I see them.”
“That’s too many for Ravers.”
“Are you certain?” Listain asked.
He glanced over at Senda, who rode next to Listain so that the two of them could talk quietly while riding. She mostly left Endric alone, other than at night when they sparred and spoke quietly over meals. She remained holed up in Listain’s tent, serving the spymaster—her uncle. Endric could do nothing, even if he wanted to press the issue. Listain outranked him, and Senda served him, not Endric.
“If they’re Ravers, we should have heard word of this much organization,” Endric said. “This appears to be two regiments.”
Listain nodded to them. “Look at them, Endric. Do you see any real organization to them?”
Endric stared at the soldiers, noting how the lines of men were not well organized, and there didn't appear to be any sense of coordination. How had Listain managed to observe all that as quickly as he had?
“Not organized, but even disorganized troops can do damage,” Endric said.
Listain nodded. “They can do damage. And they are the reason we patrol. If they’re Ravers, the general needs to know numbers and capability.” He waited, almost expectantly, watching Endric.
It dawned on him slowly that Listain waited for him to make a decision. The spymaster had told Endric that he would lead the soldiers, which meant that he was responsible for determining the nature of their patrol.
Endric turned to Pendin. “Gather a dozen soldiers. We’ll ride down, see if we can't determine
whether these are Ravers or men from Saeline.” Endric doubted the latter. The Saeline king was better organized than this.
Listain watched him and nodded briefly after Endric had made his command. There was a hint of concern in Senda’s eyes. Had he not known her as well as he did, he might have missed it. As it was, he recognized the slight wrinkling of her nose as she clenched her jaw.
What was it that bothered her? Would she tell him were he to question her outright?
“Let me come,” she said. “Only to observe.”
Listain’s eyes narrowed. “Endric has the lead.”
Endric glanced from Senda to Listain. “She can come, as long as she doesn't get in the way.”
Senda glared at him. “If I don't get in the way? What if you don't get in the way of my staff?”
“I might have to ask your supervising officer to keep you with him so that I don't have any insubordination,” Endric said with a smile.
“Enough,” Listain said. “We will keep it professional here, will we not?”
“We’ve been professional.”
“You have been professional, but there has been no question to me, and doubtlessly to the men, about the relationship between the two of you. It would do you well to keep that better concealed.”
Endric nodded curtly to Listain.
Pendin returned with twelve men. Endric was pleased that he had chosen twelve who worked with him most nights. They were men he had come to know, if only through their regular swordwork. All were skilled, and most had grown more skilled in the last week and a half since leaving Vasha. Endric nodded, and they started off, him in the lead, with Senda riding next to him.
As they gained some distance between themselves and Listain, he said, “What is it? I see something is bothering you.”
Soldier Sword (The Teralin Sword Book 2) Page 15