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Snorri took his neord in his uninjured hand and jabbed at ain We traded thrusts and parries for a fewour way Usually strength, while important, is not the prime factor in sork, even with heavier blades of the type we esword isit, than it is about excess strength Properly trained, a swordsman will benefit e increase in strength The sword is, after all, a lever With Snorri, however, strength was a factor He used basic enoughthem made my hand hurt, and the first blow he put any real effort into nearly took the blade frorasp Even so, it was clear quite early on that I had ht hand than the Norseman had in his left

“Good!” Snorri lowered his weapon “You’re very good”

I tried not to simper under his praise “Grandmother requires that all her family be well versed in the arts of war” Whether they want to be or notI recalled endless training as a young prince, gripping a wooden blade until I got blisters, and being beaten mercilessly by Martus and Darin, who saw it as part of their duties as elder brothers

“Keep the sword,” Snorri said to me “You’ll make better use of it than me”

I pursedthe sword didn’t esword atit At one point the metal had taken on a dark stain Perhaps where it had bit into the unborn when Snorri swung at its body I pushed the memory away

“What about you?” I asked, concerned with my safety rather than his

“I’ll buy a replacement” He turned to the smith, who iant Viking squash me

“You can’t afford another sword!” He couldn’t afford anything—he’d been a prisoner for months until his recent escape Not the most lucrative of occupations

“You’re right” Snorri handed the smith’s sword back “It’s not for sale in any case” He nodded into the forge “Do you have a good axe? A war-axe, not so wood”

As the sh his stock, Snorri pulled a pouch on a string from about his neck I crowded over to see what he had Silvers! At least five of them

“Who’d you ht of Snorri being richer than ht of robbery with violence