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Roger h his face continued to flush

"My responsibility is to them, not to you," Elbryan cal this band, a very valuable place"

"As your lackey?"

"But know this," the ranger went on, ignoring the foolish coht for Caer Tinella at this ti from the area is the proper course for the folk, and I expect and deer eyed the er had presu less froer Lockless"

"You threaten me? As did PonJilseponie with her stupid curse?"

"I tell you the truth, and nothing less," Elbryan replied "This is too ier exploded intoa punch at his jaw Not surprised in the least, Elbryan knifed a hand up in front of his face and pushed it out slightly, just enough to deflect Roger&039;s blow harer&039;s open hand then shot forward, slapping Roger hard across the face, staggering hier and started forward, but skidded to a quick stop, facing the angry glow of Teer said "You have adrettably, I have lived by the sword for a long, long tiht!" Roger yelled at him

"I do not doubt that," Elbryan replied "But your real talents lay elsewhere, in scouting, in hindering our enemy with your wits"

"Wits you apparently do not trust with any important decision!"

Elbryan shook his head "This is battle, not thievery"

"And I a more than a coer said "If you at-tack ht be the cost to those folk who look to us two to lead theer inforer extended

Elbryan&039;s left hand slapped out right under the blade, catching Roger by the forearer whipped his free hand across in front of hier&039;s ar in his hand, and then suddenly he was free He caught his balance i strike, but no-ticed he was no longer holding the dagger, that Elbryan held it in his right hand

The ranger&039;s left shot out, slapping Roger three tiain?" Elbryan asked, flipping the knife back to Roger&039;s nier

Realizing that hethe young man, Elbryan reached back and took Pony&039;s sword froround at Roger&039;s feet "If you wish to continue this, then take up a real weapon," he said

Roger reached for the sword, then hesitated, looking up to ht," he said "But these are your weapons, and not mine You offer me Pony&039;s ordinary and sical blade - "

Before he could finish his protest, Elbryan, in one fluid round next to Pony&039;s sword, then took the other sword in hand

"This will be finished, here and now," the ranger said evenly "It should be so without a fight, but if that is what it takes

"Pick up the weapon, Roger Lockless," Elbryan said "Or do not But either way, understand that in the matter of Caer Tinella, my decision shall stand And that decision is to bypass the town, and Landsdown, as well, and get these folk to the safety of Pal beyond the ranger&039;s first sentence This was not about Caer Tinella, it was about pride It was about a position of leadership that Roger thought he deserved, and it was about a woht, not willing to go there He glanced up at Elbryan only briefly, then put his hand about the crafted hilt of Tempest, the silverel poe toin control or being controlled - and not by Elbryan, but by his oardice

He pulled the blade froround and fell back to a balanced stance, Tempest at the ready

"First blood?" he asked

"Until one yields," Juraviel explained, to Roger&039;s surprise Under the noruidelines, the sword etiquette, first blood would put an end to such a challenge, but in this instance Juraviel wanted to er Lockless learned a valuable lesson

Elbryan held his ground caler&039;s ex-pression that the i er charged, skidding up short and launching Te arc

Elbryan reached across his body with the blade of his sword in-verted, angled down As Teht" the sith his own blade and retracted his arm to somewhat absorb the shock of the strike - else, he feared, Teer s his hand as he went so that Roger&039;s at-tack sailed harh

Elbryan could have stepped ahead then, and with a short stroke ended the fight He started toand stepped back instead

On ca that he had already lost the contest The young man&039;s sork this tih, then do, then low again, and, after a feint up high, low a third time in succession

Elbryan simply moved his head to avoid the first attack, slapped at the blade once and again to defeat the next two, then hopped the last Now the ranger did counter, coht ju et Tempest in the way to parry

Elbryan worked furiously, in widely exaggerated and clearly re-vealed er easily picked off each attack, evenEl-bryan and aler recov-ered quickly, though, slapping his free hand against the flat of Teht nick on the side of his hand in the process

"In a contest of first blood, I already won," Roger bragged

The ranger sublimated his pride and let the insult pass He had no tiae of this particular fight - not concerning whether he would win or lose, but to er was injured in the process Elbryan had to choreograph this one perfectly

Another flurry ensued, the twotheir swords re-peatedly in the air between theaining an advantage, the ranger backing steadily Spurred by the gain, Roger pressed onward even s, inadvertently opening his defenses

Elbryan did not take any of those openings, just continued to back, and to bend a bit, allowing the ser yelped with satisfaction and caonalhis sword to his left hand and par-rying strong, then, in the blink of an eye, turning the blade right over Roger&039;s halted sword, then driving the tip back under, and whipping the blades out wide so forcefully that Terasp Elbryan let his own blade fall free, as well

The young ht in front of hiht back in As Roger reached for the sword, his right arht ar man could react with his free left arm, Elbryan&039;s left slipped under his arer&039;s neck At the saer and jerked him to the side, over his knee They went down hard, Elbryan on top of Roger, the young man&039;s arer instructed

"Not fair," Roger coer to his feet with hier immediately went for Tempest

Elbryan started a silent call to the sword, which would have floated it back to his hand, but decided against thehiain "This is a sword fight, not a con-test of wrestling strength"

"The hold was merely a continuation of the swordplay," Elbryan replied "Would you have preferred getting stuck with a sword?"

"You could not!" Roger argued "Your parry cost us both our weapons!"

Elbryan turned to Juraviel, and saw that the elf recognized the truth of the situation, that he had fairly won But the elf said, "The lad is correct," and Elbryan, seeing that Roger had learned no lesson here, understood and approved "Thus the fight is not ended"

"Go and retrieve your sword," Roger said to Elbryan

"No need," Juraviel interjected, and his tone was a bit too jovial for Elbryan&039;s liking "The swords were dropped and you were the first to retrieve Take the advantage, young Roger!"

Elbryan glared at Juraviel, thinking the elf er came ahead three steps, sword raised in line with Elbryan&039;s face "Yield," the young e?" Elbryan replied "As you had with the dagger?"

The poignant re out, too, soaring in a dive right past Roger, spinning up to his feet and scra ht in, though, furious at his own ainstoff every blow

Fast tiring, Roger tried one of the ranger&039;s tricks, flipping Te in

Elbryan&039;s backhand parry nearly knocked hi Teer was not there

And then he felt the tip of a sword against the back of his neck

"Yield," Elbryan instructed

Roger tensed, calculating aany such thoughts

Roger threw Telare on the ranger - a look that grew even darker when Elbryan unexpectedly started laughing

"Well fought!" the ranger congratulated "I did not think you would be so strong with the blade It seeer Lockless"

"You easily defeated"Not as easily as you ht believe," he said, and he looked to Juraviel "The shadow dive," he explained

"Indeed," replied the elf, cuing in to the ranger&039;s reference, re- field by Tallareyish Issinshine, the elf using just such a move "It is a move that ork two out of three tier "Or at least, in two out of three atte absolute disaster"

Juraviel turned back to Elbryan "It does not do htbird, e elves trained to the highest levels, forced to resort to such a desperate maneuver to save defeat at the hands of a er, both thinking they had done well here, that the issue about the towns, and the pecking order be-tween the two of theer and the elf for a few round at Elbryan&039;s feet, turned and storh "He is not an easy one to convince," he said

"Perhaps he recognized your deception as easily as did I," Juraviel reasoned

"What deception?"

"You could have beaten him at any time, in any manner," the elf stated bluntly

"Two out of three," the ranger corrected

"When you fought Tallareyish, perhaps," Juraviel was quick to answer "In that instance, however, Tallareyish&039;s ht purely of desperation, for you had clearly gained the upper hand"

"And this time?"

"This time the shadow dive was used for no better reason than to save sonity, a tactic I am not certain will prove effective"

"But - " Elbryan started to protest, for Juraviel had bade hian

"Just take care that your &039;lesson&039; doesn&039;t ier," the elf warned "If he goes into battle against a powrie, he&039;ll not likely co to the place where Roger had exited the field That seeer&039;s attitude, it seeo around the two occupied towns

"Go and give Pony back her blade," Juraviel instructed

Too caught up in the ht better correct this situation with Roger, Elbryan didn&039;t even reply, just retrieved and sheathed Teo and have a talk with Roger Lockless," Juraviel fin-ished under his breath when the ranger had walked away

The elf caught up with Roger soon after, in a root-strewn clearing beneath the heavy boughs of a wide-spreading elood ratulate the winner," Juraviel explained, lighting on a branch right above the young er replied

Juraviel hopped down to the ground right in front of the young one?" he echoed incredulously

"Now!"

"Save your threats, Roger Lockless," the elf answered calht your wonderful Nightbird to a near standstill"

"He could have beaten you at any tihtened up, and though he was not tall by huhtbird is as strong as any man alive," the elf went on "And, trained by the Touel&039;alfar, he is as nimble with the blade as any He is the complete warrior, and could have turned your own blade back in your face, had he so chosen Or he rasp"

"So says his lackey elf!" Roger cried

Juraviel scoffed at the absurdity of the stateer&039;s expression screwed up with curiosity

"What happened when you went at Nightbird with the dagger?" the elf asked "Is that not proof enough?"

A thoroughly frustrated Roger punched out at Juraviel The elf stepped inside the blow, caught Roger by the wrist, then went right behind the younghi on both ar about, and Juraviel promptly slahtbird," Juraviel warned "I am not human, and hold little coer into the tree once more, then spun the round

"You know the truth, Roger Lockless," he scolded "You know that Nightbird is your better in theseour course should be heeded Yet you are so blinded by your own foolish pride that you will dooer yelled back "Was it not Roger Lockless ent into Caer Tinella to rescue - "

"And why did Roger Lockless go into Caer Tinella?" Juraviel interrupted "On both occasions For the sake of the poor prisoners, or out of fear that he would be upstaged by this new hero?"

Roger stuttered over a response, but Juraviel wasn&039;t listening anyway "He could have beaten you at any ain, and then he turned and walked away, leaving battered Roger sitting under the elm tree