After letting Thad draw the circle they\'d fight in, and waiting to see that Lady May was comfortable, he nodded towards the bell. Thad rung it and the two novice warriors gazed warily at each other. Neither had any confidence in their skills. Neither should.
The farmer leapt forward, bringing the broadsword down in a wide-arc that the lighter, and notably smaller accountant easily ducked under to take a swipe at the farmer\'s generous gut. Rather than doing what everyone had expected, and losing the first hit, the farmer managed to sweep the accountant\'s attack aside and counter in a completely out of the book manner. The farmer, Espen, picked the accountant up by the collar and tossed him out of the ring.
Dag considered the fight slowly. Both were novice warriors, but not necessarily inexperienced with the bases of fighting itself. The farmer was obviously a tavern brawler of some sort, or perhaps simply physically used to the abuse of weight. His usual chores in a single day probably outdid what the accountant did in a year, if even.
He decided the let the match go at that, after offering the accountant a scowl. "When they know so little about weapons, it\'s hard to expect any less from them." He said to the side, for Lady May. Then louder, "You two will do clean-up tonight, and I expect you to be first in the compound tomorrow training."
Wanting to waste as much of Lady May\'s time as possible without looking rude, he let the next pair of fighters stretch while the first pair redrew the circle. The rest of the guards were from the Zirat, professional soldiers. He was sure Weiss, or even his damnable brother could best any one of them, but their fights wouldn\'t be so laughable.
Sipping from his wine, he hid a sigh as Thad rang the next bell. Lady May seemed to be for what was going on here. That meant Weiss would be pleased, and finance would continue. Anyone who displeased Lady May, Dag would gladly kill. Perhaps even let Lady May do it herself. That would likely be pleasing.
The next pair chose weapons better suited to their needs. When the first picked a long sword and dirk, the other grabbed a spear to gain the advantage of range. They didn\'t move at first, the bell seemed unnecessary now. The fighters knew when to do their work and how to do it. All Dag had to do was keep Lady May entertained. The spearman tried the usual thrust, unsurprised when the swordsman slapped the spear blade aside with his dagger and leapt in with his own thrust.
Dag smiled as the pair moved, watching professionals at their best. They weren\'t amazing, not even graceful. But they were skilled. The spearman won the battle within ten minutes, using the butt of his spear to knock the swordsman off his feet, blade spinning around to nick his throat. Mikkel and Gabriel were among the first to abandon Magnus, and Dag hoped they would both continue to advance in skill and ambition over the next few weeks.
The third bell was the most interesting. As soon as Thad had struck it, Jerrik had leapt forward and thrust a one-two with a pair of short swords at his opponent. The latter had chosen a battle-axe, using the sweep of the blade to catch first one sword, then twist and slash to deflect the second. Jerrik had expected it though, and spun on his heel to bring both blades around in a single slash, the first blade clashing angrily against the axe as the second blow ripped it from his opponents grip. Within moments, Jerrik had his opponent on the ground and both swords at his throat.
Nothing remarkable, but it had given Thad enough time to study Lady May and analyze her movements. Even watching the fights merited some sort of movements, excitements, twitches. It showed Thad how strong her concentration was, and how surprised or familiar with the scenes she was. After the third pair of fighters had moved away, joining the others in their line, Thad picked out a single long sword and stood in the middle of the drawn arena. "It would be my pleasure, Lady May." Thad bowed to the waist, only taking his eyes off of Lady May for a moment. Not a bead of sweat disturbed his brow under the sun\'s glare, and gaze was nothing short of predatory.