Chương 119: Practice Tilts

Every morning for the next week, I trained with Lord Ceonwin and his two other squires. The training course was simple. Ceonwin mounted his horse, galloped a lap through the woods, striking various targets with a fake lance or aiming to poke through hoops, then returned. We swapped his horse for a different one, then gave him a chance to try again. But that wasn't the only task for him. While he waited, we set up a pseudo battering ram between a quad of trees with another log, then pulled it back.

Every lap, he would simulate getting struck by a lance.

"Sir, are you sure this is the best training for you?" I asked one day when he was down on the ground, after one of our strikes knocked him off his horse.

"A jouster needs to know how to take a hit."

"You took one hit on your first match and needed a healing potion," I replied.

"Yes, it was an unfortunate hit," he replied.

"But alas, I am growing more accustomed to it again—with your help." I sighed, realizing that was probably something I would say in his position, then worked with Willaf and Foal to reset the battering ram. Training with Lord Ceonwin lasted for about three hours, before I then returned to Castle Urcia for breakfast and another round of regular training. Mornings with conditioning, afternoons with sparring.

Evenings spent practicing with my own squads in gravity wells, then another half-hour spent with Habit and Yesman, working on our squad formations to take out the top golems. There was barely time throughout the day to catch my breath, and I always looked forward to evening baths.

As I left for my bath, I always spotted Brawl and Sage going off on their own—Brawl was helping her get more comfortable using her new legs again, and as the week went on, she managed to walk between the barracks and the bathhouse without Morph. The first night of my new schedule, I stopped by the blacksmith shop afterward and met with Shatter. I asked him, "How much scrap do I have?"

"Enough to make a whole set of armour twice over, now," Shatter said.

"It's just sitting in your allowance."

"Good," I said.

"How quickly do you think you could make me a new set of armour? Preferably, not standard issue. It will need ornaments and such. Nothing functional. But something that won't look like it belongs to a Dupe, and something that covers my face well enough."

"Give me three weeks," Shatter said.

"Why do you need a whole new set of armour?"

"Do you watch the jousts?"

"I watched from the field, yeah."

"You'll see, then." Shatter shook his head.

"I'll make you more armour, but if anyone asks, you didn't tell me why you needed it, and I'll say you modified it afterward. To a point that it was unrecognizable."

"That's if I get caught," I countered.

"Which I won't."

"No one plans on getting caught."

"I'll get away with it," I said.

"I'll figure it out."

"Then I'll get to work," Shatter said hesitantly.

"Come back in two weeks, and it'll be waiting for you." Halfway through the first week, during our morning training sessions, Lord Ceonwin said, "Levi. Bring Burr with you today."

"Sir?"

"I need an opponent to practice tilting against. And neither Willaf nor Foal are Path-walkers. Neither of them can take a hit like you can."

"I'm still only a Steel, sir."

"Almost a Titanium, and I hear your Vitality is almost thirty points."

"Twenty-six, sir. Last I checked. Who told you?"

"Sage." I raised my eyebrows.

"You two are speaking more openly again?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"Yes," Lord Ceonwin said.

"I wished to congratulate her on her successful body enhancement." He clicked his tongue.

"It's no concern. I will take care, and I won't strike nearly as hard." I nodded shakily.

"If you say so, sir." He looked at me knowingly, and said, "We have to know if you're ready to take a hit like that. Besides, with the amount of infused food you have been consuming, this will only help your Vitality increase at a faster rate." I narrowed my eyes. He'd probably guessed part of my plan, which was why he wanted me to do this. I shouldn't complain, not when I needed the training just as much as he did—if not more. Willaf passed me a training lance and said, "Best of luck, Levi.

Do your best to stay on horseback." I donned my chainmail and scale mail for extra protection, then my helmet. I would need a modification to cover my mouth soon, but for now, it would do. Then I braced for impact. Lord Ceonwin ran a lap of the course, striking targets with his lance, before aiming it at my shoulder. I'd seen how Brawl took hits, and I tried to copy it. I leaned back, angling my shoulder away, and using my combat training to my advantage. The lance struck, bouncing off my chainmail.

The tip broke, and the impact was how I imagined getting shot with a bullet proof vest on would feel. I clenched my knees tight against Burr's flank, and squinting instinctively as sawdust pelted my face. If I'd been an average human, that lance would've gone right through my shoulder, and I probably would've gone flying. Nevermind that my collarbone would've been in hundreds of pieces. Don't get me wrong, it stung, and I was going to have a horrible bruise, but at least I wasn't dead.

I could thank my Vitality for that. Lord Ceonwin trotted his horse to a halt, then turned to me and said, "A good first try. But if a thegn hit you with his full strength, he would've flung you from the back of your horse." I dipped my head.

"Do you need to practice again, sir?"

"Indeed, and so do you." I gulped. He probably had an idea of what I was planning. After taking five more hits, he said, "You're becoming a better target. After all, there's nothing like the real thing. I highly suggest, however, that you practice related skills while in the Labyrinth this week. And perhaps bring a lance with you. You'll need the practice." Again, he gave me a knowing glance.

"Yes, sir. I will." ~ ~ ~ On our weekly Labyrinth run, I had a few ideas. Having practiced with Lord Ceonwin all throughout the last week, I had gotten a feel for how heavy a jousting lance was. Although I couldn't bring one into the Labyrinth with me, I could simulate it by tying riftrocks to the tip of my spear. And although I couldn't simulate jousting properly, I could use the quarter golem to help me practice taking hits—especially when I brought the right equipment with me.

I took a training spear from the sparring pits, blunted it, and carried an extra cloak. When we arrived at the intersection and met up with Yesman and Habit, I said, "Business as usual. Keep trying to earn Skills, and keep pushing for your next merge. Let's not waste any more time." Without further ado, we rushed into the plaza. I goaded the golem to slam its arm down toward me, dodged a puff of steam, then jumped on its arm.

Instead of just practicing my balance, as its arm swayed, and I shifted precariously, I leaned forward and attached my training spear to its arm with my spare cloak. Wrapping my spare cloak around its arm, I attached the spear with its point outward. Then I jumped off and landed on the ground, back in front of the golem. My squad knew what I was planning, but Yesman and Habit's squads looked at me with confusion— what was that for?

"Come on, golem," I hissed.

"Punch me. You know you can do it." Eventually, I goaded the golem into throwing a punch at me, and it did. The training spear was hardier than a lance, and although the shaft splintered, it didn't quite break when it hit me. But it hit just as hard as Lord Ceonwin, if not harder.

"That'll work just fine," I said. Of course, all throughout the fight, I let others have their turns aiming for skills. My second trouble was charging and getting used to holding something with the weight of a jousting lance. It wasn't as long and unwieldy, but it was heavy enough to help me practice.

In the end, I was hoping to gain Skills regarding managing a lance's weight, around taking hits, and hopefully, something about jousting—it wasn't terribly useful in battle, but after this tournament, I could merge it into my spear Skill, or I could use some of them for my gravity Art. They were related to weight, shifting it, and managing it, after all. After the Labyrinth run, we rushed up to the surface as quickly as we could, then ran to the lists to check on the tournament.

Throughout the week, the initial matches had chewed through the first round of the tournament, and now, the second round began. And as a squire, Lord Ceonwin would need me to help him. I ran ahead of my squad, who promised they'd watch from the edge. Along the way, I passed by the Byrnwold Performance Company wagons. A few of them, dressed like jesters, rushed out of their wagons, and I nearly crashed into Alis, who lagged behind. She exclaimed, "Levi?"

"You recognize me?"

"For a Dupe, you have a…slightly more unique face," she said.

"What's the rush?"

"Lord Ceonwin's courses are up first, and I'll need to be there. You coming?"

"I'm…not the world's biggest enjoyer of jousting," she replied.

"I came here to see the sights. But…if you're going to be squiring…I'll come watch, I guess."

"I'll see you in the crowd, then!" I said, then took off again, racing toward the lists. Nothing about this was ideal. But at least now, there was something I could do to help, no matter how minor it was. I wasn't going to forsake my duties as a squire, not even while I worked on my own plans behind the scenes. Squiring for Lord Ceonwin was what it took to learn to joust. So that was what I'd do.