The House of Yeel - By Michael McCloskey Page 0,39

hand through the water. It looked clear. She brought a handful to her mouth and tasted it.

“It is drinkable!”

“How could it be otherwise? If the water is poisoned on your world, how do you survive?”

“The sea is undrinkable, but we have rain, and water flows down from mountains…maybe someday I can show you.”

“Perhaps.” Legrach’s voice was doubtful.

Legrach led Jymoor into a room full of large clay vats. Each vat held a different substance important to Vot. There were containers full of milled grain, fish, berries, chips of flint, poison harvested from sea predators, and many other things Jymoor couldn’t identify.

They ascended to the top of the keep, under the wide-open green sky. Legrach showed her the four huge ballistae used to defend against attack from land, sea, and air. Jymoor stared down from the highest tower across the ocean. Way below, she saw a massive sea creature stir across the surface. It looked like a gigantic serpent with four long paddle-arms.

“I see something. It must be even larger than I think. What is that thing?”

“That’s Tuluk. We live in his territory. The creature is dangerous, and we give it wide berth. But Vot forbids us to try and kill it. She says someday, the Meridalae will besiege us. Then Tuluk may become their problem. As it is, we’re safe enough here, inside the fortress.”

“And outside?”

“He usually leaves us alone. We often feed him. But every now and then…he snatches someone up for a snack.”

“You jest?”

“No.”

“Can he go onto the land?”

“Perhaps a short distance. But he doesn’t like to. I don’t think he would, unless provoked.”

Jymoor just nodded.

Legrach led Jymoor down a winding staircase, out an archway, and into a large courtyard.

“We can train here?”

“Best to find a more solitary place,” Legrach said. He led her out the gate of the fortress. They crossed the massive stone bridge Jymoor had used when she arrived at this place. Another ten minutes of walking and they found themselves alone among the lizards and rocks.

Legrach looked around, seeking something. He led her on a slight tangent, until they came to a wide shelf of stone. The flat rock was at least a hundred paces across in any direction.

“We can train here,” Legrach said. “You won’t need the armor. At least not for training.”

“The armor…gives me strength!” Jymoor admitted.

“Fair enough, though the fenlar is a light weapon of speed. Try first without the armor. Then, when you tire, put it on. I’d like to see the armor’s effect.”

“Well…that sounds reasonable. I’ve never used a spear. I don’t have any skill at swordplay, either. I do know the bow, though. Hardly a knight’s weapon!”

“I don’t know the bow.”

“Well, it’s a way to launch a kind of small spear very quickly. It can travel farther than a hand-thrown spear.”

“Strange. Small spears don’t go far, here.”

Jymoor took a fenlar from Legrach. She gave it a few experimental swings.

“When going into battle the tip holds a deadly poison,” Legrach said. “But I’ve filled these with a substance less deadly. They may sting, but not kill.”

They squared off against each other. Jymoor took a few swings with her fenlar. Legrach calmly blocked or retreated as necessary. Jymoor tried to thrust the fenlar at his legs. Legrach hit her in the center of her chest. She felt the sharp sting of its venom.

She kept attacking. Legrach calmly defended for a while, stinging her every now and then. She started trying to defend herself when the stings became too painful.

“Stop defending yourself. Better to sting me, and be first. When the stings are deadly, you have to hit me first at all costs.”

Jymoor nodded.

“Here, I’ll give you two. Distract me with one and sting with the other. Concentrate only on offense.”

Jymoor tried very hard, but she still couldn’t sting Legrach. As she tired, Legrach stopped to assess her abilities.

“You’re quick on your feet though your strikes aren’t practiced. We’ll keep trying.”

Jymoor detected disappointment in Legrach’s voice. She put on the moon armor, hoping it would give her the energy she needed to impress Legrach.

“Dip your helm if I go for the throat,” Legrach said. “If you must wear armor, then it must be used to your advantage.”

“I’ll try,” Jymoor said.

They worked for two more hours. The moon armor gave Jymoor energy, allowing her to spar for a long time. She seemed to improve a bit, but she never matched the speed of Legrach’s attacks.

Finally her mentor called a stop to the practice.

“You have great stamina. But it is only the armor. It