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Post by Duma on Jun 25, 2015 8:33:10 GMT -6
Duma took note of Donovan's run as he charged forward to close the gap between them. He could tell that the young mercenary had improved greatly over the last week they had been training. The way the sword cut through the air was testament to it. Donovan was coming at him with a downwards strike to try and disable his sword arm. Duma raised his sword up and blocked it then quickly pushed it down to block against the follow up strike to his legs. Donovan's blade work was quieter then how it was a week ago. Although his strike had improved the young mercenary still had some flaws with his form. Those would be corrected with more training. But as for right now he was happy with the result. Duma had to swallow down the small bit of pride he felt welling up within him. Focus. He had to fight the urge to strike at Donovan. If this had been a fight against a bandit he would have killed the man by taking advantage of his crouched position and slashed at his head.
"Good." He spoke. Then jumped a to his side giving them more distance. He returned to his defensive stance.
"Keep going." He commanded. He wanted to see more of Donovan's improved skill. He needed to see more of it so he could better plan his next few lessons. So far the young man's strikes were swift, strong, and precise. Off in the distance he could hear the children cheering. He would block against the next few sets of strike then ask Donovan to switch arms.
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Post by Donovan on Jun 25, 2015 10:31:44 GMT -6
The green clad mercenary’s fencing instructor expertly diverted the attacks before leaping away and giving some more distance. Duma’s swordplay was remarkable. It almost felt like Donovan was seeing the world at a slower pace, with how easily his teacher could discern and deflect the mercenary’s attacks. Donovan was glad that they weren’t enemies. He wouldn’t last 30 seconds in a real fight — and that’s after training under him. So a more forward attack won’t work. Maybe I should try a feint to lower his guard a little. Donovan heard Owain and Amelia cheering loudly while they watched the sword master bat away the mercenary’s attacks like he was play fighting with Kitchi.
Donovan cracked his neck and rotated his shoulder. His right hand gripping his sword, he stepped forward with his left foot, entering the cautious, defensive stance he would have fought with if he had his shield. Realizing that he was falling into a detrimental stance without his shield, he altered his footwork and let his right foot take the lead. His body now more of a profile, the mercenary feinted a straight jab toward his teacher’s chest. Then, stepping left, he rotated his hand and swung to his right. Pushing his right foot forward, he jabbed once. Twice. On the third jab, he dragged his back foot a little farther forward, feinted the strike, and pushed off with the back leg to attempt a pommel strike. The mercenary's form was far from his master's, but it had definitely improved a decent amount from where he started.
In the background, Donovan could hear that Perun had joined the cheering children in their enthusiastic attendence. The Giant was cheering as loudly and orangely as a a volcano.
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Post by Duma on Jun 25, 2015 14:23:12 GMT -6
Duma could see by the way Donny shifted his feet he was going to do something complex. He readied himself and tried to read the young mercenary.He shifted his position when he realized he wasn't with his shield. Good. He's acknowledging his errors and correcting them. Duma saw the feint blocked the right wards strike, then the other two hits. Pommel! His eyes narrowed slightly. He moved out of instinct. He lowered his arms and struck hard at Donny's gut with his knee. Normally he would have struck with the blade but Donny was too close for him to actually swing. He then raised his arms up so the blunt edge of the blade struck under his chin. That would be enough to knock him flat onto his back.
"Damn it!" He yelled. That was all his fault he said he wasn't doing to hit back but ended up doing it anyway. He was at least fortunate the blade end didn't strike him under the chin otherwise this would have been a very grim outcome. The swordsman tossed his sword aside. Then crouched over to Donny and quickly assessed him for injuries. He found none.
"Sorry Donny. Old habits." He then offered the young mercenary his arm to help him back up. One they were both back on their feet, Duma waved over to the group.There was a hushed silence among them.
"He's fine! He's fine!" He assured them. Then sighed. He decided that was enough training for now. He waited for Donny to recover more before speaking.
"Very good. You realized you didn't have your shield and took advantage of the other leg. Tonight we shall take a break. You have been working hard and it shows. Your swing has improved since we first started." He gave Donny an affectionate pat on the shoulders.
"Tomorrow we will focus on working with your weaker arm and side. I think the next set of lessons will be working with your foot work. Your sudden shift in legs was what gave you away with the feint." He wiped the sweat off his brow.
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Post by Donovan on Jun 25, 2015 16:16:53 GMT -6
Duma had done an excellent job of blocking and parrying Don’s attacks. And then he did an equally excellent job of knocking Donovan off his feet. The world went a dark for a sec, and his head was spinning, but his instructor must have caught himself before using full power, since he’d struck with the blunt side of his blade, and hadn’t hit hard enough to draw blood. Still, getting a rod of metal slammed under your chin wasn’t a picnic.
His head was spinning as Duma crouched over the young mercenary. He tried to think of a witty comeback, but all that came to mind was a simple, “Ow.” The sword master offered him a hand up and Donovan got to his feet. Perun and the children were deathly quite, but seemed to breath a sigh of relief when Don had gotten back on his feet. “We might need to let someone else to the sweet talking next time we stop in a town!” He called out to the trio, “I’m probably gonna need to take the week or so off from the whole being charming thing.” He started to chuckle before grabbing his chin. “Ow. Okay, laughing hurts.”
Turning back to Duma, he joked, “You know, if you wanted me to stop trying to give you a nickname, you could’ve just asked. I know Mullet Master was pretty bad, but I didn’t realize you hated it so much.”
The sword master complimented him on his form and gave him an affectionate pat on his shoulder, before detailing how they’ll be training the next few days. “You got it boss. If it was my footwork that led to me getting a sword to the face, I’d like to fix that little problem as quickly as possible. I’d rather not have that happen for — at least — another couple months.” He clapped Duma’s back and started to chuckle. “Ow. Dang. I gotta stop laughing.”
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Post by Duma on Jun 25, 2015 17:11:54 GMT -6
He had a small smile. He was glad that Donny didn't seem to take the accidental hit too hard. Physically yes the hit was pretty bad but mentally things seemed to be okay with Donny. Duma grabbed his sword and sheathed it. He was well enough to make jokes. Donny reassured teh group he was fine. The pair slowly made there way back over to the wagon.
"Again. Sorry about that. It seems I need further training in self control. Thank you for helping me realize that." He half joked. But he was going to have to improve on his own in training on not attacking. This could have been a disaster if his sword wasn't held in it's reverse position.
"Your nicknames are amusing. Though I trust when we are in a dire situation or in actual combat you use my real name. I'd hate for the enemy to think of me as Master Mullet. It doesn't exactly strike fear into their hearts. Which is useful as fear leads to mistakes." He didn't realize Donny was joking about that and responded in a casual tone. He kept his walking on par with Donovan.
"Let's go see if Remus can fix your jaw. I'm sure I didn't hit you too hard but your lack of laughter is making me a little nervous. Can you imagine Perun trying to sweet talk the inn's mistress?" He fake shuddered trying to emphasize the joke. As the pair was seen by Remus, and Donovan was healed of his injuries. He had given Donny the night off to rest. The young mercenary's snoring was music to his ears. It meant he knew he was giving him a good work out. With more time and training Donny would be a true force to recon with out in the battle field. He spent the night on watch and doing reps with his sword.
[End thread]
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