"Focus!" the mercenary shouted to Ryder, swinging for him and knocking the sword out of his hand, before placing his own blade against Ryder's neck. He kept his eyes focused on Ryder for a trill, before lowering the sword with a small sigh. He picked up Ryder's sword and handed it to him with a small smile, trying to keep him reassured.
"Your issue is you don't defend enough. You can swing enough to make Raskalarn shit in her plate mail, but you ain't gonna be of any use if you get struck down because you didn't block" he told Ryder, with a clear certainty. Truth be told, Ryder had no idea what the ability of this man was, but he knew that he had a point. Ryder had trained with swinging swords, disarming his enemy and taking them down with strikes. But he hadn't ever trained with defending, or blocking, or any of the techniques that might one day save his life.
Ryder took the sword and took a step back, watching the man intently. Immediately, the man lowered his weapon and shook his head, walking to Ryder. Ryder paused, confused.
Coming beside him, the man entered a stance, slightly different from Ryder's. His sword was held in front of him, slightly tilted to the side, instead of Ryder's being straight forward and much more targeted. Ryder glanced over and altered his stance slightly, the man looking and nodding, before walking over and helping Ryder alter his stance. It felt much more stable than his usual stance, which offered more in the way of speed.
Ryder watched as the man stood opposite him, readying his sword in an offensive stance. "I'm gonna swing in a few directions. When I do, raise your sword to meet it, tilting it a little diagonally. If ya do it right, it should block my sword perfectly" he reassured Ryder. Ryder replied with a small nod, his eyes too focused to give a worded response.
With a quick burst, Ryder raised his sword to a high right, blocking the blow with a second to spare. Then another came to his left, which he managed to block. He was quickly thrown off guard, however, by a thrust that stopped directly at his chest. Ryder gave a frustrated look to the mercenary opposite him, growing tired quickly of this surprise bullshit he was trying.
"When someone strikes in a way you can't block, that's where your footwork comes in. You keep it simple, take a step back with your front foot, so your other foot is now leading, and once their shot has missed you go for an attack" he explained, demonstrating the footwork with his own feet. Ryder watched and nodded, trying not to let his frustration get the better of him. He knew this would help him, as much as he didn't want to do it.
"If you're feeling real complex, that's when you faint an attack. Look like you'll swing one way, then change and go for another" the man nodded to Ryder. Ryder gave a moment to think, before smiling. He thought he understood it, but he had to be sure. He entered the stance and imagined being thrust at, before trying to mimic the footwork and stumbling. A few more attempts, failed, before he finally started to get it. Patiently, the man watched and waited, until Ryder had the footwork done.
Ryder then gave a nod to the man to show he was ready, facing him in the defensive stance. As the man lunged forward, Ryder stepped back to avoid it, before going for an overhead strike. As it was about to land, however, the strike changed direction to strike the man from the left side of his neck. Suddenly, Ryder stopped the sword before it impacted his neck.
Both Ryder and the mercenary had a smile on their face. It had worked beyond what he thought it would - but his training was far from over. Although he had some basic defenses ready to use in combat, that wasn't enough. Basic defense wasn't what he was looking for. He wanted to be able to face ten men and live, take on small armies and come out on top. He had to be the best he could possibly be.
Ryder looked to the man training him, expectantly. The man took a step back, keeping his sword low, eyes meeting Ryders. "One thing to note, and consider, is how an enemy reacts. You can parry and block, but the thing better than analyzing the fight is controlling it. Bait out an enemies attack, try and make them lash out, and then react accordingly" he explained, Ryder listening intently.
"Make them think you're not prepared, or taunt them. Anything to get them to lash out. Back up so they come forward, and as soon as they strike, push back with a solid blow" he smiled. Ryder nodded, understanding fully. He kept the advice in mind, though he knew there was no way to practice it. He would have to learn that skill in combat.
"What now?" Ryder asked, looking as the man readied his sword. In front of him, the man smiled. "Now? This is the part where we fight and you kick my ass with the stuff I taught you. You think you can handle that?" he teased, almost taunting Ryder. Ryder smirked and raised his sword in a defensive stance, nodding to the man.
A few trills of waiting came, before the man lunged forward with a sharp thrust. As taught, Ryder stepped back, before swinging overhead. His strike was parried, then countered with a small swing. Ryder managed to successfully block it, before stepping back and fully disengaging, giving himself time to breathe. He did as he had been told, watching the movement of his opponent to see what they would do next. Sure enough, he saw an overhead swing coming his way. But Ryder wasn't a fool. Chances were, this would be a good time to bait an attack.
As Ryder sidestepped instead of blocked, the man's attempt at a bait failed, the thrust of his sword hitting nothing but air as Ryder swung his sword and and stopped it firmly on the back of his neck. It was over. Had it been a real fight, the mercenary would have had no head left, and Ryder would have won.
As the two lowered their swords, the silence was broken by two chuckles, followed by a shaking of hands between the mercenaries. Ryder gave the man a friendly smile. He'd been frustrated, granted, but this training had been worth it. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing to take it slow and play it safe sometimes, Ryder thought to himself. He glanced to the man with a small smile and reached in to his pocket, taking out a gold nel.
"'Ere, take this. As a thank you" Ryder nodded, dropping the nel in the man's hand. Glancing to Ryder in disbelief, the man shook his head, but before he could open his mouth to question Ryder had turned his back, smirking as he did. Behind him the man chuckled, putting the coin away and rolling his eyes, before rushing Ryder.
"Is that how it's gonna be?" he laughed, swinging his training sword overhead at Ryder, causing Ryder to sidestep and barely dodge it before raising his own sword in his defensive stance. He took a step forward and swung, the two exchanging blows and blocks, both evidently enjoying themselves.
As the day went on, the two sparred for near to a break, before they were both exhausted and couldn't carry on. Afterwards, they sat down and talked, the man finally introducing himself as Jax. Ryder extended his hand and shook the mans with a smile.
"Ryder, it's a pleasure" he smiled with a friendly, genuine smile. He took a sip of the water skin he had on him, before offering some to Jax. Jax politely nodded, taking it from him with thanks and having some as well. Both men were covered in sweat and looked messy, but neither cared much.
"Well, Ryder, it's been fun training. Maybe we can train again some time, though next time I won't hold back" he teased. Ryder chuckled, giving a raised eyebrow. "You were holding back? Explains why you were so easy to beat. Here I was thinking you weren't qualified to teach me" he winked.
After a long talk, the two made their separate ways, Ryder heading to a quiet area to relax. He assumed Will and the others were at the tavern, but it was fair to say he was in no condition to be out and about as he was. So instead, Ryder enjoyed his own company, thinking of different items he wanted to buy when he finally got paid enough to get them. He eventually made his mind up on a new longsword, something special, but he had no idea what.
Smiling happily at the thought of money, Ryder sat for hours, before eventually returning to his bed and resting - his body still in agony from the training.
