The House of Yeel (15 page)

“I see.”

“Now, I really have other
things to attend to. So. It is my understanding that Master Kasil
will be here in mere hours. Let me show you the room where you’ll
be training with her. So that you may place it in that incredible
memory of yours, which will no doubt lead you there time and time
again so you may continue to train with Master Kasil in the future,
eventually reaching our goal of maturing you into a very deadly
fighting machine capable of leading your people to victory against
the invasion of countless library burners.”

“Sure.”

“Okay. Fine. Good. It’s all
good.”

“Go ahead.”

“Oh. Yes. Soon…I need
to…”

“Yes. That’s what I thought.
You have no idea where the room is, do you?”

“Well, the training rooms
would be somewhere on the main level, since space is most plentiful
there…and training requires a bit of space to maneuver.”

“Yes, of course. Very
logical.”

“Thank you! Now, shall we find it?”

“By all means. Maybe we can find it by the
time my training begins!”

The two wandered through the
vast house looking for the training room. They proceeded clockwise
from the central fountain room, first wandering outward to the
perimeter and then making their way back inward again.

Jymoor saw a dozen chambers.
Some were filled with vats, others baskets, while still others held
scores of fine paintings, sculptures, and intricate machines. All
the rooms were well lit by glowing bars, spheres, or panels fit
into the ceiling. It made Jymoor feel very safe, without a single
shadow in the entire house. When they finally found a wide-open
room with racks of weapons arrayed around the perimeter, Yeel
stopped.

“Ah. This is the place, I think.”

“It certainly looks usable. Your arsenal is
very impressive,” Jymoor said.

“Arsenal? Oh dear, no. This
is merely the training room. These are weapons suitable for
practice only. The arsenal, well, that’s a much scarier place. I
have a memory of part of it.”

“Oh.”

“Before I leave, one last
thing. I’ve been working on a gift for you, and it’s
done.”

“A gift? For me?” Jymoor sounded timid.

“I’ve noticed your need for
sleep is slowing you down. I’ve prepared this cerebral nutrient
replenisher for you.”

Yeel handed Jymoor a wooden bottle with a
cork cap. Jymoor took it and rattled it.

“Pills?”

“I’ve formulated the
replenisher for your…for you. Take one of these tiny chemical
packets each day, and you should find sleep unnecessary. I was
thinking that—”

“Wait. I take this, and I
won’t need to sleep?”

Yeel smiled.

“Ah, that time I was able to
anticipate exactly how you would echo my statement! I think I’m
beginning to see the pattern here. I tell you a new piece of
information, then you repeat it yourself, and that triggers your
memory creation chemical. You can tell me, that’s the secret to
your kind’s terrific memory, isn’t it? This repetition of what you
hear?”

Jymoor stood with her mouth open, but could
not quite figure out what to say.

“So anyway, right, the
cerebral replenisher. You take one, and it rejuvenates your mind,
replacing the mental supplies necessary for sustained cognition! I
was thinking this would give you the chance to do some night
scouting. You know, under the light of the moon? You could patrol
the camp around the people we rescued from the garden at night, and
get used to using your armor at its full potential. Surely you’ll
encounter some nasty or two out there, but I assume that with the
extra lunar power, you’ll have no problem handling it. Then, you
can return through the portal to train during the day. It should
keep your armor healthy, too, being regularly exposed to
moonlight.”

Jymoor jumped forward embraced Yeel.

“Thank you, thank you, thank
you!”

“Whaaaa?” Yeel foundered in
Jymoor’s embrace.

“You feel so big and strong for a wizard,”
Jymoor commented.

“Oh, well, I…oh. Just take
one of the replenishers whenever you would seek sleep. You’ll be
very productive.”

“That’s wonderful! Thank you
so much. I owe you so much, Yeel.”

Jymoor almost
added,
why are you doing so much for
me?

“Do you mind waiting alone?
I have to check back with the others,” Yeel said. “And don’t tell
anyone else about the replenishers. I haven’t the raw ingredients
to supply anyone but the Crescent Knight.”

“I understand. I’ll wait
here.”

Yeel slid off in his strange walking motion
that looked suspiciously like gliding.

Jymoor waited. She walked
along the wall, looking through the weapons rack. Yeel’s training
room had a dazzling array. She tried out at few of the weapons,
just to get their feel. Some of them were very heavy. She could
barely pick up the maces without the moon armor on. After a while,
she thought about going to find the arsenal Yeel had mentioned, but
she didn’t want to get lost or end up doing anything
dangerous.

Finally, Master Kasil walked
into the chamber. Jymoor saw a fit woman with an air of confidence,
almost arrogance. Streaks of silver ran through her otherwise dark
hair.

She looked at Jymoor and smiled.

“Hello again,
beautiful.”

“An honor, master,” Jymoor
said.

“Tell me about yourself.”

“I’m a scout. I know the
bow. I have the moon armor in my possession, but only because Yeel
gave it to me, really.”

“What do you know of the sword?”

“Not much. I’ve had a short
sword for years, but as a scout, I’ve only used it to cut through
underbrush or fend off wild animals.”

“You used a sword to cut
through underbrush? Wait, don’t answer that. Never mind. What do
you want in life?”

“Well…I want…to protect my
homeland. I must train to fulfill the role of the Crescent Knight,
or else find someone else who can.”

“Oh dear. So serious. What of
companionship?”

“I don’t
understand.”

“You like men? Women? Do you seek one? Do you
have one?”

“I…I’m just a scout. I’ve
been looking for Yeel for a long time. I don’t know many men. But
what does this have to do with—”

“You’re strong. Got some
sinew there. I can’t tell you how many princesses I’ve been asked
to teach. Wimpy girls who could hardly pick up a fork!”

“Thank you, Master Kasil. I think.”

“You want to know a secret?
The real men don’t want a soft woman anyway. Well, maybe a few
court dandies here and there, but the real men—the warriors—they
like a strong, capable woman.”

Kasil winked at her.

“What about Yeel?” Kasil asked.

“What of him?” Jymoor said in a small
voice.

“What is your relationship to him?”

“I am…his companion…his
guide…”

“Girl, speak more plainly. I heard you were
sent as a sacrifice to him. Did he drink from your cup?”

Jymoor stared at Kasil.

“We’re close friends,”
Jymoor explained. “We’ve been through a lot together!” she added
quickly.

“You’re not romantically
involved?”

“We aren’t…I thought you
were here to teach me the sword? You’re not here to go after Yeel,
are you?” Jymoor asked. Dismay leaked into her voice.

“Ah, so you’re sweet on
him?”

“What? Well…”

“Of course you are! Such a powerful man. A
legend. And you discovered him!”

Jymoor swallowed. It seemed
that women everywhere were constantly assailing Yeel. How could she
compete with so many women for his attention?

Master Kasil rolled her eyes.

“Please, dear, stay focused.
I promise I won’t snatch him away from you. I prefer the knights
myself…and the occasional princess…but I’m not one to go after
wizards. They’re too complicated. Have you heard Yeel rattle on?
Oh, well, of course you have.”

Jymoor’s world
stabilized.

“But to capture a man like
that, you have to stand out! We’ll forge you into someone
exceptional. How does that sound?”

Jymoor blinked. “Why, it sounds
wonderful!”

“Good. Then let’s
work.”

Master Kasil handed Jymoor a light sword. It
was thinner than the sword she usually wore, but a bit longer. The
sword master held a duplicate weapon.

“I thought one usually practiced with wooden
weapons,” Jymoor said.

“Yes, if you’re a dullard
ape with too many muscles and not enough brains, training to be a
footman in the infantry, ready to march into the meat grinder at
the front of an attack. Thrust, chop, hack, slash. But we’re here
to
master
the
sword. Don’t worry, mine’s quite dull.”

Jymoor accepted the tirade in silence.

“Hold the sword like this,”
Kasil said. She held the sword for Jymoor to see. “The grip should
be light. It can’t be too tight, and it can’t be too loose. Over
time, you’ll learn what that means, exactly.”

Jymoor mimicked the Master’s
hold with her own weapon.

“Point it at me. Always point it at me,”
Kasil said. “Here, at my heart.”

They stood with their weapons pointed at each
other.

“In a nutshell, dear, the
sword is most effective when thrust.”

“And if the enemy is armored?”

“Then you have to know where
to thrust. Or use a mace. I’m sorry, I don’t teach the mace. A
bludgeoning match is hardly ideal for the fairer sex.”

“The moon armor makes me stronger. Did Yeel
mention that?”

“Yes, he did. And that’s
good. But, as I said, I don’t teach the mace. And I’m not fond of
it, either. Look, the sword is a fine weapon, and even if your
intention is to bruise a man to death and break his bones inside
heavy metal armor, knowing a thing or two about the finesse of a
sword isn’t going to hurt you any.”

“Of course, Master Kasil.”

Master Kasil’s voice
softened a bit. “I’ve helped knights as well, mind you, not only
princesses. Learning some basics with a fast weapon will still
prove helpful. Then we can pull out the greatswords and we can
practice swinging the ridiculous things about for a while if you
want.”

“I want to learn whatever
you have to teach me,” Jymoor said. “My other training…it isn’t
going well. Maybe I haven’t the knack for it.”

“Dung! Now to work! We’re
going to concentrate on defense first. You have to be able to
survive, after all.”

“That’s the exact opposite
of what my other teacher, Legrach, says. He told me to focus on
killing the enemy at any cost, before he kills you.”

“He sounds like an idiot.
How many fights could you expect to live through with that kind of
attitude? Go for all-out offense if all you seek is an honorable
death.”

“He’s been teaching me to
wield a weapon in each hand,” Jymoor said.

“Dung. Dung. Dung. Now, here
is the basic concept. I want to thrust you straight through and
through. That’s why my sword is pointed at your heart.”

Kasil thrust for Jymoor’s
heart. Jymoor jumped back, a bit too late. The dull sword poked
her.

“You see it is difficult to
stop. This is why the thrust is the best technique. First, it’s
very sudden and direct: you can’t see it coming like a big swing.
Second, it’s harder to block than a swing. Finally, once driven
home, it inflicts lethal damage. A hack or a swing may only wound
an arm, but a thrust to throat or chest is often immediately
fatal.”

Jymoor nodded.

“A thrust is clean and
efficient,” Kasil continued. The master stepped forward suddenly,
thrusting her sword forward. “I can thrust all day long. A wild
swing, a desperate series of hacks, will tire a woman out on the
field. Then she’ll be easy prey.”

Jymoor imitated Kasil’s
thrust. It felt clumsy.

“Step forward with it for
now,” Kasil said. “Then later, we’ll skip forward. You can cover a
surprising distance forward very quickly when you get good at it.
But today I want to start on defense. Your mission: to deflect an
opponent’s thrust with minimal movement, leaving your own weapon in
line for a counter.”

Kasil started attacking. She
tapped the leather over Jymoor’s chest over and over. Jymoor was
stunned at the speed of her instructor. She managed to bat Kasil’s
sword aside from time to time when she got lucky, but her weapon
was never in line for a counterthrust.

Kasil showed her several
different defensive positions and exposed Jymoor to many different
kinds of attacks. Eventually, Jymoor’s sword arm tired. Kasil had
her switch hands. Of course, Jymoor was even worse with her off
hand.

When Jymoor was exhausted, Kasil backed off
and let her don the moon armor. Jymoor felt strength return to her
tired muscles. A wave of confidence joined it.

Jymoor stepped out wearing greaves,
breastplate, and gauntlets.

“The helmet as well, if you please,” Kasil
said.

Jymoor donned the helmet. Kasil walked to the
weapons racks and selected two greatswords. She gave one to Jymoor.
The weapon was heavy, but the moon armor lent her its strength.
Master Kasil was dwarfed by her greatsword, yet she somehow managed
to carry it gracefully in both hands.