[Flashback] 'Bob'bing for Apples (Bob)

[Xalet]

35th day of Summer 505 AV

The Summer was moving by, and Bob Barton and Xalet had many training instances together. Recently due to some ill-prepared boar handling Xalet found himself with a few injuries that had to be tended to now and again. Nothing too severe, but enough to make the Akalak realize that there were days when the training had to be a bit lighter than normal. That wasn't so much a problem for the Akalak, he always had ideas for training, and when he didn't his Sergeant could dispense some of her wisdom, much as she did most recently.

Swimming was never to be underestimated in the ways of physical fitness. The natural resistance that water created against the body made for a soothing (compared to the summer heat) yet exhausting total body workout that had a low impact on the joints as well as Xalet's injuries. The Sergeant had recommended to use the Sacred Arch that rested nearby Syliras to their advantage, especially with the recent cold spell of weather putting a slight chill in the air.

The Sacred Arch was well known to those in Syliras for being a popular place to sooth the muscles and mend injuries. A natural hot springs carried with it warm waters thick with minerals for the skin and body. Not only that it was well patrolled by the Knights as a specific stop in their rounds, and was quite safe compared to aimless training in the woods. Only being a short walk from the walls, it was easy to access and provided an excellent environment for not only exercising, but also enjoying the Summer, something Xalet didn't get to do often with all of his training.

Xalet waited by the main gate just like he had discussed with Bob, a pack across his back. The moment Bob arrived he would know that the pack Xalet wore would contain whatever materials they would need to train, although this time just the single pack alone it didn't seem like there was a great deal they were going to need. Xalet was also dressed unusually lightly, not even wearing his gambeson. Instead his large purple body was dressed in a simple tunic and a pair of pants, his armor no where in sight. A white wrapping made it's way around his forearm from his previous scrap with the boar, mostly to just keep the wound clean while it finished healing.

[Bob Barton]

For some reason or another, Bob had put his safety and his free time in the hands of Xalet during the summer. Has that been a good idea so far? No, but since when did Bob have any good ideas? At least leaving a big purple akalak who was not all there in the head especially when it came to the topics of knights and goddesses in charge was not the worst of them. The worst that had happened to them so far was being attacked by a boar in the forest but look at Bob! He is totally and completely safe and unharmed. Of course that was because Xalet was the one fighting the boar all that time but who was the one who took the boar down, and with rocks? That will go into the long line of epics, Bob & the boar along with very similar story about a boy who took down a giant.

Maybe one day it will upgrade into something like Bob & Xalet because Xalet was a giant in his own right. Bob still did not pay the akalak back for his manipulation with his light powers to force Bob to stay and fight the boar risking his life. Not yet because he knew he was weaker. Once Xalet had trained Bob to become strong enough, Bob will get back at the akalak. Maybe another waterball letter like the first time they met? Only a bigger one this time. In the Winter! That would be very, very evil. It will freeze up Xalet's face and turn it into a dark shade of anger once he found out what was going on. Unfortunately Bob won't be there to see it happen. He would be working on his legwork but there won't be much to see because Xalet was already purple enough.

As always, Bob met up with Xalet at the gate. This time bringing along his weapon what he will be keeping with him at all times. He did not want to get caught off guard by another wild animal. Looking at Xalet, he will raise an eyebrow in a questioning look. It looked like the akalak did not learn his lesson from the last time if "that is all you are going to bring along today?" Bob rubbed his eyes and took another look at the akalak but no, "there is no armour on you. What if another boar attacks?" At least if Xalet had his armour on, Bob could toss him his weapon and run away without feeling bad if anything happened this time.

What else did Xalet bring as far as Bob could see? "Only one pack?" He was going to work with Bob wasn't he? Then there should be one more unless they are doing another Sandy training. Thinking it was a joke, Bob leaned to the left and to the right trying to look beyond Xalet to see if he had anything else hidden. "Did you forget about me?" he would ask again before turning his head around the gate once to see whether there was anything out of the place. Unless Xalet had one of his knight friends keeping the goods or that merchant was holding on to something for him in the cart, then Bob had nothing.

[Xalet]

Xalet saw Bob approaching, his weapon at his side. Fair enough, the last time they had gone on without being adequately prepared there was a price to be paid in blood. The squire was determined not to allow that to happen today. "This is it." he replied to Bob's query. Today, after all, would be almost like a vacation compared to all the other bouts of training they had. It was almost like a way to mix training and fun, all in to one lumpy, ill concocted formula of character building greatness. This was how heroes were made. At least that's what Xalet believed, this being the time of his youth.

"We're not going to be going very far, and we'll be staying inside of the sphere of patrol for the Knights. Have you heard of the Sacred Arch? We're heading there today. It's only a short walk, or jog for us lets move." he seemed quite decided upon this course. It was a good chance to practice swimming, that which Xalet had very little skill in. It seemed like an opportunity to remedy that while getting in a few great muscle building and toning exercises. All under the sanctity of a beautiful, well protected surrounding. Hopefully by going earlier in the day it wouldn't be too crowded, as it had a tendency to get in the summers.

The squire turned and began to jog out of the gate, leading Bob onward. A small path that appeared well traveled was the way they followed, a few birds and butterflies being the only creatures that fluttered around them for the time being. Thoughts of angry boars were replaced with more passive creatures, like bees pollinating flowers. It seemed serene enough. The pack that rested upon Xalet's back jostled slightly with each step he took, trying to ensure that Bob kept up with his shorter stride. After less than a quarter of a bell the two would arrive at the training grounds of the day, the Sacred Arch hotsprings.



"This is where we'll be working today." Xalet said as they came upon the clearing that led to the springs, the crystalline water flowing across the stones that led up toward the large naturally occurring arch that had formed in the middle of the place, giving it the name it held today amongst the locals. "We'll need to climb to the top of that arch." spoke the Akalak as he pointed to the stony structure before them, "That's where we're going to start. Hope you don't mind getting wet."

[Bob Barton]

"Are you serious?" Of course he was. This was Xalet! It was the attitude that he always had except for that time he maliciously dumped Bob into a trough full of water. It was actually like a different person when he had that smirk of satisfaction since Xalet to Bob was always Mr. Nice but Serious. That brief moment was the only time Bob saw Mr. Mean and Wicked but everyone has that sort of period. Even Bob who was always good for fun and games will change once someone suggests that they do something stupid and dangerous. Then he will turn into a serious and gloomy person, the type of person that people do not like to stay around with but if he was dead there will be no more fun and games. If Xalet was going to suggest a vacation he should be excited for once. At least that will hint to Bob that today was finally going to be full of fun and games instead of making him become more and more suspicious that Xalet had another strange and torturous idea for how they were going to train.

Xalet's reassurances were more or less the same as what he had told Bob last time when they went into the woods. Mockingly he tried to repeat what the akalak tried to tell him at that time. "Ooooooo, the sphere of patrol of the knights? The Bronze Woods were the same too right? A place that children can play in without any worries of the monsters under their bed? I wonder where the knights were then. Did they think we were old enough and allowed us to have the luxury to protect ourselves, without weapons?" Bob made no effort to hide any feelings of disdain to the knights of Syliras. Xalet might get a little annoyed with what he just said since the squire was trying to be a knight as well unfortunately Bob knew a little about the akalak through their time together. While he loved the knights, there was nothing he loved more than his goddess. If by chance Xalet took offence about the knights, Bob would try to redirect it by talking about "Priskil..." but leave it at that so that the akalak would actually think for once the midget respected his goddess.

But Bob did not actually. She was the one who gave the akalak the power to manipulate Bob back into the dangerous situation with the boar. "Do you think we will meet one on the way to the Sacred Arch?" Boar or knight it will not matter much. Bob just wanted to know how sure Xalet was that there will not be a repeat of last time. Jogging along out of the gate, Bob asked about "how long will it take us to get there?" Like always, the sooner they were done, the sooner Bob could go back. "Right. If its only a short walk..." Without completing the sentence, Bob switched from a slow job and ran forward down the path that they were on. He only had his cane sword on him whereas Xalet had whatever it was in that bag of his. Maybe it was rocks like the last time. If so Bob had the advantage. He never looked back as he ran forward thinking that the akalak would follow suit and raced all the way until the end unless they reached a fork.

"Keep up. Where is that spirit you had last time. You don't even have that heavy armour on you this time." Xalet could take that as a motivational character building contribution from Bob if he wanted to but everyone would know what he actually meant. They made pretty good time even if Bob had to stop a little down the path everytime he knew that the akalak was not going to follow him. Xalet was just too intent in enjoying all the nature instead. Bob actually had enough of nature to last him a season. Still trying to taunt Xalet to follow, Bob kept moving his feet in place only because "you're too slow" before continuing on everytime the akalak came close.

When finally they reached the Sacred Arch hot springs Bob will just stare at it for a while. Enough time for that since always keeping ahead of Xalet would mean that he would reach there first unless the akalak suddenly felt competitive and took a quick sprint at the last second. That could end up as anyone's win. The midget who runs at any sign of danger or the akalak who has been training his body for so long. Once Xalet spoke, Bob would confirm if "you want to work...in a place like this?" and forcing eye contact he will ask one more time "are you serious?"

That was the Xalet that Bob knew. Hearing the answer he gave a sigh of relief that Xalet was being himself and then he realized what the akalak was trying to suggest this time asking "are you crazy?" Its above the steaming water. It might be slippery over there. "What if we slip and plummet on our way up?" falling into the water might be alright. It was only hot, in the summer but what happened if they fell on the rocks? The springs could very well be all red by the day was done.

[Xalet]

When Bob had asked 'where were the Knights' on that fateful day, Xalet was about to draw him a diagram. Literally draw him a diagram. If the Bronze Woods were a large spherical region the patrols of the Knights went through and around it, but only specifically stopped at various locations. The locations that the Knights stopped at specifically were the most safe of all. The Sacred Arch doubly so because it was so well known. Having a multitude of people around meant enough action and noise to scare away most wildlife before it came too close. Perhaps aside from a bird or a bunny frolicking through the area. Of course Xalet couldn't promise a 'no boar' incident, thing seemed to rarely go as planned.

The Akalak was impressed with the speed at which Barton ran. Those short legs carried the man rather swiftly, of course he had a lot less weight to move around then Xalet. And he wasn't carrying that pack, somethings inside of which Xalet seemed to be babying a bit, as if to make sure they were not broken or damaged. When they finally reached that serene looking place Xalet heard the sounds of discontent from Bob, only to recognize, "Not straight up." his brow creased. They weren't going to climb up the face of the rocks, that was crazy! "We'll use the path." he pointed off to the side, where the brush and grass was worn away by the feet of many a child that ran off to the sides, climbing up the steep but manageable stone and grass covered slopes up to the top of the arch, either to watch the view or to jump into the waters below.

Xalet showed Bob the way, of which there seemed to almost be stony steps that led up toward the top. Really though it was just the structure of the plate like rocks jutting outward to the side creating an incline upward, good enough to work the legs a bit, but not so much so that the typical willing child couldn't make the ascent. Once they arrived at the top, Xalet walked over toward a grassy area and removed the pack from his back. The very first thing he removed was a large crossbow, of which he laid carefully on the ground. The second was a pouch, most likely for the bolts that went along with the big wooden contraption. Beneath that was a two thick towels, perhaps to be used to dry off after the training.

More likely though they were made to protect the crossbow from the large, albeit colorful rocks that were below. 'Rocks' were something of an understatement, the smallest one was the size of Bob's fist, the largest was almost the size of Bob's head. They were colored with what looked like paint, and there were six. In the order of size they went with white, which was the smallest, then green, yellow, black, purple, and finally blue which was the largest. "The exercise is going to be to drop a rock in, swim down, grab it, and bring it to the surface and then to the shore and back up here. It will increase muscular endurance and overall conditioning. Once you get the hang of it, we can race a bit." he mentioned at the end. Of course he meant 'once I get the hang of it' as well, since this was the first time Xalet would be attempting such a thing.

[Bob Barton]

A diagram would be pretty nice. Not to know where the knights would be in case he ever needed to run to them when he was in trouble but so that he will know a little bit on how to avoid knights. They did not really like the way he did things so he would have to do them where they cannot find him. Oh well. If as Xalet thought that the knights like to stop by the well known places with a lot of people, they would be able to fish Bob and Xalet out when the slipped and fall into the water. Why fishing instead of diving in and pulling them out? Knights have armour on them and armour is heavy. If they did it would come to Bob and Xalet pathetically trying to save themselves and the knights instead. Bob was sure that the knights there would have enough experience. He would not want to be known as one of the firsts who were stupid enough to plummet into the water just because he was stupid enough to join Xalet and his stupid ideas of climbing up the slippery rocks of the Arch.

His concerns would be misplaced because Xalet told him instead of climbing they were going to use the path. With a look of disbelief Bob would ask "why did you say climbing then?" There was one very good explanation that he could think of. Xalet changed his mind right after Bob called him crazy. That was something he was going to remember for next time when Xalet wanted to do something he wanted to avoid. All he had to do was to say the word crazy and be done with it. At the foot of the path Bob would ask again if Xalet would "want to race up again or admit defeat?" Bob could never beat the akalak in terms of physical strength but now that Xalet was weighted down with what he would soon expose as rocks again, Bob can beat him in running. Rocks. Really? It must be an akalak thing.

Xalet can keep his akalak things then and Bob will do his thing. Winning, or trying to win anyway. Without waiting for an answer he started running up like one of those children shouting "you looooooooseeeeee!" which as long as it was, only lingered for a little part of the path. Bob underestimated the path. He did not even pass the halfway point when he started to feel out of breath from its incline but If he had this much trouble, Xalet would be worst off with his load. Bob took his time trying to recover until he saw the big purple one coming up. Xalet did not even look winded since he was better trained. Forcing himself on, Bob took one more step to continue on.

Alternating between quick bursts and moments of rest, Bob finally reached to the top. He had just foolishly ran from Syliras and up the Arch. On the top, he leaned on one of the trees for support to take a rest as he waited for Xalet. "What-took-you?" Bob asked in between breaths. Winning should feel a lot more better than the torturous experience of gasping for breath. Watching Xalet empty the bag of the crossbow and the pouch which may contain the bolts, Bob could only think for what reason. Are they going to run with the threat of a crossbow from behind like their first meeting or "just how many boars are you expecting this time?"

More questions came into his head while he saw the coloured rocks and the answers made him regret running so much because he just found out that "I am going to have to throw a rock in, dive along to retrieve it and bring it back up?!" Bob could barely even breath properly right now let alone hold his breath to go under the water. Sighing he asked that Xalet "give me a few moments before we begin" so he could try and recover enough and attempt this, and no "I don't think I am up for anymore races today" Xalet, that sly akalak knowingly let Bob exhaust himself because he knew that he wanted a race of his own. If only his goddess could see him now.

[Xalet]

"Why climbing? That's what you do when you move upward. Do you walk a flight of stairs, or climb them?" Xalet turned to Bob, his brow a bit twisted. Bob always had a lot of questions, and Xalet mostly assumed that was because he was young, just like him. From what Xalet knew of Humans they seemed to mature a bit quicker than Akalak's though. Xalet still had some growing to do, as young as he was. He had a lot of discipline to learn as well. A lot of techniques, a lot of understanding of the language. Certain things still evaded him to this day, lost in translation due to his difference in understanding compared to a Human's.

As Bob raced up the side of the hill, Xalet found himself caught up in Bob's childish showing of contesting dominance. The squire knew there was no real winners or losers in this, but something about his competitive nature had him chasing after the Human. Just like Bob had assumed, the extra weight really made the climb a bit more difficult for Xalet. He certainly didn't move as fast as he could have, especially considering he was trying not to damage the contents of his pack. Not the rocks of course, the crossbow. It was the policy of the Knights, if you break it, you bought it. Squires didn't make any money, so that usually meant working for free in some laborious task. Although, when Xalet thought about what being a squire really was, wasn't he already doing something similar?

Xalet didn't exactly alternate from sprinting to taking a break. The Akalak was much more like a tortoise, taking the slower, steady approach up to the arch. A few bits of sweat trailed down Xalet's face as he finally reached the top, standing silent for a moment as Bob proclaimed his victory. Was Xalet brooding? It was difficult to tell, he didn't really show all that much overt emotion. It didn't last long though as he started to remove the items from his pack and had Bob asking further questions. "You brought your weapon as well. Learn from mistakes, right?" he said in kind.

"That's right." Bob had the right idea now. The depth of the water they were working with wasn't too deep, just enough to require enough potent strokes to get down to the bottom, and enough treading to keep oneself afloat in order to bring the rock back to the shore. As Bob rested Xalet removed his shirt and tossed it down by his things. More likely than not it would end up getting in the way while swimming downward, and once filled with water would create more of a burden than it was worth. That and he wanted to have at least one piece of dry clothing to come back to. Similarly Xalet removed his boots and socks, tucking them together neatly while Bob got the chance to regain any breath he had lost.

Without his shirt, Bob could see for the first time the size of Xalet's body, some of it simply being the natural physical bulk of an Akalak, but some of it also coming from his constant work in strength training. Xalet was a large man, there was no doubt about it, but there was still room for improvement in his own mind. Picking up the green rock he held it in his hand for a moment, tossing it up to get a feel for the weight. The water below was so crystalline in nature that finding the colorful rocks wouldn't be the problem, it was simply making the ascent back to the surface while trying to keep your breath. "Ready?" he asked Bob, although before waiting for an answer Xalet followed up with, "Go." Tossing his rock into the water it landed with a soft splash, followed up by a much larger displacement of water as Xalet followed suit. There was plenty of room to toss a rock, so all the squire could think of was to have enough faith in Bob not to drop whichever one he chose directly on top of the Akalak.

[Bob Barton]

"No" Bob corrected. "You climb up ropes, rocks and trees but you walk up a flight of stairs." Bob had no choice but to point this out because if he had to climb up the stairs it was like admitting he was working to get to the top everyday. Bob did not like work especially hard ones but that sentiment will be lost on Xalet. In fact, maybe the akalak would be very happy if he broke his crossbow and had to work it off with free labour. Xalet admitted that he did not mind being a squire even if he did not get much out of it. Very different from Bob whose reasons of why he does what he does is because he was a very competitive person having no better joy than winning, But with his deficiencies, it would be hard to win most of the time so he had to take his victories where he could. Even if one of them meant correcting some trivial use of words and another was going up a path the fastest. This was not because he was a young child like his size would suggest. Bob would actually be twenty years at this time.

And all men like to contest to show their dominance. The akalaks were the manliest of men since their species had no women so Xalet should at least on a subconscious level understand that especially since he too is always caught up in a never ending battle of dominance for his body. Just hope that Bob is never around to see that or he will think that Xalet is really a crazy person besides being a pumped up maniac. But how can you call a person crazy when they are capable of "learning from your mistakes? Sure. The odds of another boar would be rare but there is no telling what other wild animals can appear." But shouldn't Xalet be having a close ranged weapon instead of a crossbow? Even if he should be given some consideration because of his injury, did he expect Bob to be in the front holding a wild animal off while he took his shot? That was not going to happen. Bob will go through with his own plan which is tossing the sword at the akalak and running away.

Then Xalet had to show off as well. Yes Xalet, everyone knows you are well trained. Bob too or he would not even bother following the akalak around like this. Well, Bob could be said to only be slightly below Xalet so...he took out his own shirt too. Yes he did but he was not going to hint that he was jealous. Waving it around to air it off he told Xalet that "its drenched with sweat." Maybe things would work out for the best for once. Maybe nothing will come out and Bob can cool himself off while wading in a pool of...hot water... Remembering that, Bob asked Xalet another question. "Why are we using the hot springs in the middle of Summer? It is already so...hot..." Bob thought that the akalak would have known better. Now instead of a refreshing dip he was going to go into hot water while he was still all sweaty.

Following suit Bob also took off all the rest. "Why didn't you tell me to bring a change of clothes?" They were going to get wet and his uncle told him before that sudden changes in temperature can easily make him sick...or was that for making medicine? Either way Bob was not too keen on the idea of diving into the water just to retrieve rocks. "I think I am going to be sick" he mumbled softly but since it was only them around the place Xalet should be able to pick up what he said no problem but whether as an excuse or a statement of fact it was up to him. Taking off the clothes was the only thing that Xalet did so far that Bob followed because unlike the disciplined akalak who folded and arranged all his belongings neatly, Bob just took them out in order and tossed them into a pile at the base of the tree one after another. It was just clothes and however he kept them would not change the fact that he was going to wear them again later.

Bob just watched while Xalet showed him what they were supposed to do and once the akalak dived in he inched closer to the edge of the water and tried to stare down into it. Maybe if he was lucky this foolish exercise would just hurt Xalet enough and they could end it for the day. Not too bad and not too life threatening because he knew in the end they would find some way to blame him or maybe if Xalet did die he can loot the akalak's belongings. No it would not seem as an issue because he could see Xalet having no troubles. Leaving the akalak to play with himself since everyone knows that akalaks do that in their free time having no women of their own kind, Bob went to the rocks. "Does he really have to make things so hard...?" he asked himself after seeing the selection of rocks he had to choose from. Finally he chose the black one even if white was the smallest because everyone knew that bright colors always looks bigger compared to the dark ones. Was that Xalet's intentions in using these rocks?

If Xalet thought that using that trick was very smart of him, he had another thing coming. Bob lifted the rock and looked at the water again. Wow, that was far. Lazy to just carry it there since he only needed it in the water Bob started swinging the rock from side to side until it built up enough momentum for the release. Not knowing where to throw it he chose the exact same spot that Xalet did and threw it there where it landed with a "PLOP!" While it probably won't hit Xalet since Bob was not a good shot and it was still only a rock which Bob chose based on its apparent small size, Bob jumped and dived in right after it and he was a lot more bigger than the rock.

[Xalet]

Argue argue argue, that was what Bob certainly liked to do. Despite his many arguments for basically everything Xalet asked of him, the Akalak had to admit that the short stature Human kept coming back for the training. Sometimes Xalet wondered if it was because he felt honor bound, or because he was simply stubborn. Quite a few people would have given up by now, but Bob seemed determined to train until the end. Although the squire never came out and said it directly, it was good to have someone to train with, rather than having to do everything alone. Most of the Knights were quite busy these days, and it was rare that Xalet got to see his Patron outside of a few chimes in the evening. By then there was mostly mental studying to do. The life of a Knight was a busy one, but Xalet couldn't imagine simply lounging around doing nothing otherwise.

Beneath the water Xalet opened his eyes and looked through the placid, crystal clear springs that surrounded him. The water was warm, but Syliras was a modest temperate place to live. It didn't get too hot in the summer, at least not like it could in the tropic part of Mizahar like the jungles and islands to the far southwest. The reason Xalet found himself sweating most often was due to physical exertion and wearing all that heavy armor. It wasn't just the armor either, each Knight and squire had to wear a heavy cloth undergarment in order to keep the skin from blistering and becoming irritated against the metal of the plate. Those in simple leather or chainmail could get away with wearing a typical tunic or shirt, but the sheer weight and bulk of full plate made it necessary to wear the heavier protection.

It was then that the man's vision was obscured by another rock coming down nearly on top of him. A few bubbles escaped Xalet's mouth as he pushed his hands and legs toward the dropping stone, trying to propel himself away. Luckily for him, he was successful enough to not get nailed with a stone. Swimming was never one of Xalet's strong skills, and thus being at the springs on that day had a second reason besides simply strength training. The Akalak knew how to not drown, but he never got much further than that. Working on his swimming out in the ocean with the chop of the waves and the movement of the water would have been difficult. The simple, clear, warm, calm waters of the springs made for a much better place for someone with no real skill in swimming to practice safely.

Losing some of his breath, Xalet found himself coming up for air, "A little closer next time Bob?!" he grunted as beads of water flew from his mouth, although he wasn't even sure the man could hear him as he made his own way into the waters below. Bringing a hand up to wipe the stray droplets from his eyes as well as to brush back his black hair, Xalet kicked his feet up and tilted his body down, zeroing back in on the green rock he had chosen. That was when he noticed that Bob himself had chosen the black rock. Xalet couldn't help but wonder, he was going for one of the heavier ones so quickly?

The black rock was close to twenty or twenty five pounds, which didn't sound like much. In the water though, those rocks had no buoyancy, and thus made it very difficult to keep the body afloat. Pulling a man from the water was different, as a man, even a heavy one, had some buoyancy and would float with some assistance. The rocks were just pure, head weight, and you had to push your body hard to keep it above the surface with that kind of extra mass. Finally Xalet reached the bottom and gripped his rock, tucking it up under his left arm as he rose back upward to the surface. Even with his own rock, weighing perhaps ten or so pounds, Xalet could feel the additional strain upon his body, hopefully Bob wouldn't have too much trouble.

[Bob Barton]

Bob would argue somemore if Xalet had voiced that opinion out about him that arguing was the only thing he did. This was because it was a fact that arguing was the only thing he could really do here. The only other way to make others see things his way if he failed to talk them into it is through violence. If Xalet really took a good look at Bob for once instead of stupid ideas such as potential he would know that it would be hard for the short man to do because of his size at least initially. Which was why he felt rather motivated, or stubborn to continue joining Xalet in all of this. Honor bound? That was a stupid notion. Had Xalet forgotten the last time about how Bob tried to ditch him with the boar? Bob unlike Xalet was no knight or want to be a knight so honor had no place in him but if Xalet would ever tell that Bob was kind of his only friend, even a substitute for a real one comprised of the knights and squires he knew, Bob will feel very nice and maybe even act that way if only for a short part of the season.

If that happened, Xalet might attribute that to being a good influence or a good teacher, maybe even thank it all to his beloved Priskil but if he was really that good, why was it that the rock was going right on top of him? He could pin the blame on Bob true but then Bob will just pin the blame right back saying that Xalet did not teach him properly where he was supposed to drop the rock and or the correct technique of doing it. Did he expect Bob to be paying attention during the demonstration? Maybe, but he should not have. Bob was just too tired running up that while he was looking right at Xalet all he could see was summed up into Xalet picked up rock, Xalet tossed rock up, and Xalet tossed rock into the water. So all he did was the same thing. Bob chose a rock, tossed it up and sent it flying into the water in one quick move.

The akalak would miss not one but two sinking objects. He dodged the stone easily enough and quickly came up for air. It was around the same moment that Bob leaped into the water beside Xalet completely missing what Xalet said. Xalet would still get Bob's answer that he did not care how close it is when the water splashed up and out towards the akalak's face when Bob got in. As clear as the water was, Bob actually thought it was dirty because...he could see nothing but the colored rocks and that was only after he searched around for it in the water. If he could see those, he should be able to spot a big purple akalak no problem but he did not. So he blamed that on possible dirty spring water even if it was so nice and clear instead on himself for not looking up.

He knew Xalet could not have possibly drowned since he was the one who suggested this in the first place so Bob focused on getting to the rock. Spinning around his outstretched arms in circles, Bob tried to angle his body downwards but all it accomplished was nothing but making him more tired and then he started to sink. Well, that was good since Bob would not have to work on getting down but it was a slow descent and Xalet was soon speeding past him. A little while longer and Bob reached the base of the hot springs and tried to carry the rock up. Xalet just made it look so easy doing it with one hand and as Bob believed he had a smaller and lighter rock, he did the same. He dug his fingers underneath the rock so that he could try and lift it up and tuck it under his arm like he saw but he could not. The rock did not even budge.

Unwilling to give up, Bob tried again with...both hands! Keeping one under the rock, the other soon followed to dig under it and he strained himself to lift it up until he realized what he thought was the problem. He had been floating all along! Without a proper foothold how could he get enough support? Bob dug his feet down and tried one last time, doing it so hard that bubbles started escaping from his mouth floating all to the top in a line. If Xalet was watching, he would know that Bob was in a lot of trouble and he was too caught up in not wanting to fail in lifting the smallest rock to realize it.

When Bob finally felt the air draining from his chest it would be too late, even if he quickly let go off the rock and jumped with his feet upwards to propel him to the top. While Bob might have grown up in Zeltiva he never exactly learned to swim properly. Maybe enough to enjoy a dip in the ocean a little off the beach but not enough to swim fast. Frantically Bob kicked with his legs in the water and clawed at the water with his arms to continue on upwards. While he might get there eventually, would it be fast enough? Of course if Xalet did not know what was going on he could leave Bob to his training but it would be better if the midget had some help right about now.