Sparring at Helmer's Wall

Sparring at Helmer's Wall - (Flamerule 3rd)

Ceely and Cleo were two of the first to arrive at Helmer's Wall. The inn, a large sprawling set of building surrounding a large sandy courtyard, had many rooms, and was renowned as being a good place for fighters to come and practice. The owner, a retired adventurer of some local renown, had made it known that he was happy for people to come and practice for free here, and in winter, set up tents to cover the courtyard, so that even when the weather was poor, some of the more dedicated fighter's could still build up a sweat. The owner also provided a number of other services, for a charge of course, ranging from refreshments and food, through to baths and massages for troubled muscles.

Remembering it from when they had last visited it, just over a ten-day before, the pair made their way to the back of the inn, following the clack of wooden practice weapons. Already in the yard, were three men, two young and a third older one, all stripped to the waist in the early summer sunshine. One of the younger men was battling hard to get an attack through against the older, obviously more experienced man, whilst the other leaned against a post, watching. The battle continued for a short while longer, before the younger man in combat the two newcomers and the abruptly stopped attacking, gawping instead at Ceely and Cleo. The older man, taking advantage of the lapse of concentration, stepped forward, batting the practice sword out of the way and slapping the man hard across his fore-arm, making him drop his weapon. The other man, also having noticed the girl's entrance, laughed out loud, and the older man turned to see what had caused his pupil's distraction.

Shaking his head, he turns back to his student. "Thinking with your loins on the battle field will only get you killed. When fighting, you need a clear head and total focus..."

The man not fighting waves for Ceely and Cleo to approach. "Come join us!" he calls, much to the exasperation of their teacher. The ice is broken fairly soon however, and the pair join in, the teacher using the opportunity to explain how best the men could defend against people armed with different style weapons.

Later, when Lucretia, and then Dorn turn up, and finally Serena, the group continue to practice, breaking for lunch and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow fighters. None of the people they had met previously are there, though they do recognise the face of a couple of off-duty guard men.

In between fighting, the fighters chatted somewhat, the presence of the three female fighters attracting not insignificant attention. Most of the other fighters claimed to be adventurer's, although when pressed further, their adventures consisted mostly of guarding unexciting goods being transported from one place to another. The traditional adventurer's life was not necessarily an exciting one, but in the Savage
Frontier, always had a certain element of danger. One group had recently arrived through from Everlund, using the Everlund pass which had, until relatively recently, been blocked by heavy snow falls and unnaturally intense weather. The Wizard Weather that people had described it as. Although there was a rumour that it had been caused by "Ice Priestesses" - the faithful of Auriel - there was another rumour that claimed it had something to do with "a beast lord" - some strange creature that lived mainly in the underdark, possibly an Illithid, although that was as yet unproved.