of orders." Norlan replied, a warm smile on his face.
"So, now you remember your orders, do you?" Dominic said to the guard, voice hard. "It would have been better if you remembered them earlier." The guard stood rigidly, his face flushing bright red at the comment.
Dominic stared at the young man for a moment longer, then turned to Norlan. "I didn't expect to see you this afternoon, Norlan. Is something amiss?"
"Actually, may I speak with you privately?" Norlan asked. "It should only take a minute or two."
"Of course, Norlan." Dominic replied, leading him a few paces away.
Jake watched as the two quietly spoke, quiet enough that Jake could not hear. Norlan suddenly smiled and shook his head. After Dominic said something else, he let out a laugh. After a few more words, they shook hands and came back over to Jake, Norlan still smiling. He reached out to Jake, putting his hand on Jake's shoulder.
"Listen to Dominic, lad, and follow his instructions. I know that you will do well." Norlan said. "I will see you tonight for the evening meal. Train hard." With a nod to Dominic, Norlan strode off, seemingly content, heading back to the smithy.
"Let's go, boy. Daylight is wasting." Dominic said as he headed back into the training ground, giving Hadar another hard look as he passed, Jake hurrying to catch up. They made their way down the fence line, into an area that Jake had not been.
"Dominic? What was that all about at the gate? I know what Norlan was going to ask you, but why did he laugh?" Jake asked as they walked.
Dominic snorted. "Norlan was amused because his wife already cornered me this morning about you wearing your armor and sword at their house, as well as your training in general." He gave his head a short shake. "I will say that you have made quite an impression on that woman. You would have thought I was having you kicking children the way she came at me. The end result is that you can take off your armor and sword at the house, as long as you are not leaving for anything other than the baths."
"What about the stuff with the guard?" Jake asked, relieved to know that he can relax at Norlan's.
"Apparently, he lived down the street from Norlan's." Dominic replied. "Madalin has known him all of his life and used to watch him when he was young. Because of his familiarity with her, the young idiot allowed her in to harangue me." His face creased into a small smile. "I made it clear to him what I thought of that."
Dominic led him past a couple of small buildings to a small open area near the fence, covered by short cut grass. The area had a couple of trees nearby for shade and a small wooden rail on the far edge, set up with pegs, clearly to hang equipment on. Dominic took Jake to the center of the grassy area.
"I want to make a few things clear before we start." Dominic said, turning to face Jake. His blue eyes, staring intently from that scarred face, seemed made of sapphires, bright and hard. "First, I plan to be hard on you, harder than most trainees. We do not know how much time you have to train or where your fate will take you. So, I assume that we have to maximize the training time we do have. I can't make you a master with the blade in a week, but I hope to get you to the point where you can at least defend yourself." He let the words sink in for a moment. "Do you understand what I am saying?"
Jake nodded. "I understand."
"Will you agree to follow my instructions, even if you don't understand the purpose?" Dominic asked.
"Yes."
"Good. Let me see your blade." Jake reached over and drew his sword. Dominic stepped close and inspected the blade, nodding his approval of its condition. He had Jake sheathe it again and inspected his armor, pulling on the straps and checking the fit. Satisfied, he stepped back.
"Remember that you must find time to maintain your equipment. I will not tolerate anything less." Dominic said. "Now, the first thing I want to work on is your stance."
Following Dominic's instructions, Jake set himself in a stance, with his right leg slightly forward, body slightly turned. Using his feet to make small corrections to Jake's stance, Dominic finally seemed satisfied.
"This is the basic stance for learning the sword."