Alcohol Before Noon? (Nero, Open)

[Rhuryc]

Rhuryc took in a deep breath. In contrast to his way of unarmed combat, once he set himself up with the sword his previous stance suddenly made sense. Although he had been taught to fight in tandem with both sword and shield, he adapted his current posture for only the blade. His right foot was set out before his left, the back tilted at a slight angle as if he were already in mid-step. He brought the sword to his side and grasped the hilt with both hands, well aware that his swings would have even more power behind them. At least this would help him control the sword - the last thing he wanted was to cleave off an arm. Or two.

Finally, he exhaled. A quick twist of his torso brought the man forward, his back foot coming forward as he closed the distance between himself and Nero. His arms swung about during the movement, hefted up over his shoulder and around his head before the blade was brought down, the center of the weapon aimed directly at Nero's gauntlets. He had no intention of ducking the block. With the way he attacked, though, one would assume Rhuryc was intending to cut through Nero's neck rather than just wound him. His weight and his body was committed to the strike, the power of which would be enough to knock down a lesser man. Say anything you wanted about Rhuryc's technique, his strength was in no question.

[Nero Czan]

Nero's eyes darted between multiple aspects, whimsically observing different aspects of his movements. Footwork, Stancing, Sword-control, Momentum-loss. These things and a few others were occupying Nero's mind, all while he reacted. Needless to say, Nero would not be pulling any complex moves here. The Gods forbid if he misjudge a move in this situation. He extended his arm, his legs shifting to brace the impact, and with an audible effort, caught the blade inside the metallic teeth attached to his Gauntlet. Fighting his opponents strength, Nero was impressed. The two bodies were almost equally match, however, Nero could sustain his power indefinitely, his body trained for endurance through years of unorthodox training. As he shakily held the sword at bay, he swiftly side-stepped to his right, his arm swinging down and out, allowing the sword to slide out without too much structural strain, and to pummel into the dirt. Nero quickly back-stepped, in his guard stance, with a smirk. "Well, you're not bad Rhuryc. Your footwork could be improved, but it's dutifully effective as is." Deciding to test out this avenue, Nero casually began circling him, his feet never simultaneously touching the ground. This was the tactic he used often against the predators of the wilderness. His guard was slackened, and his arms allowed to sway a bit to improve on his light-footed maneuvering. Now it was just about waiting for his move.

[Rhuryc]

Rhuryc had to stop himself from a continued assault. He consciously made an effort to keep his back foot on the ground and gave Nero a curt nod, making note to try and determine just how he could improve a simple forward step. He discarded the information temporarily, storing it away for later review. For the time as it was he watched his opponent. The moment Nero began to move Rhuryc acted, not willing to allow the other man the time to adjust. With a step forward he released the hilt of his blade with a single hand and brought the weapon over his head once again - careful to balance the momentum and accuracy of the swing as he made a diagonal strike at Nero's right shoulder from the left side, a peculiar move if any.

Just as the slash came down, no matter the result (for he expected the broad casted attack to be parried without trouble), Rhuryc continued his onslaught, his right foot leaving the ground as he hoisted his weight forward, the knee coming forward as he attempted to use Nero's distracted guard to his advantage and score a solid strike at the man's lower abdomen.

[Nero Czan]

Nero was only half-expecting a prompt attack, and nearly missed his window-of-opportunity as he reversed his step. His stance slanted as he dodged out of the way of the strike, the sword's momentum driving it harmlessly towards the ground. As he noticed his opponent's shift in balance, his arm struck out, only gaining a target half-way through the strike, and the leather forearm slammed against his knee, enough to knock it off-course. Simultaneously, Nero's leg landing provided the support to swiftly attack at Rhu's side, his palm pounding against the exposed kidneys, before he quickly attempted a retreat to his rear. His skin becoming hot, and his grin as fierce as ever, he spoke once more, adding another piece of wisdom to the fray. "Better. But Footwork means a lot of things, one of them is watching your opponent's. Dedicated strikes should be reserved for when you know they'll connect. Quick jabs and pommel strikes are good weapons to at least momentarily stop an opponents stride. On another note, your own footwork is just as important, if not more. You seem to have that down well-enough however, so I'll leave that to you." He smirked as he cracked his knuckles, and did a few quick stretches, his muscles definitely warmed up. "Any questions?"

[Rhuryc]

Rhuryc grunted. As was his typical reaction to pain. He managed to twist his torso as he realized Nero intended to ruin his day and stayed off a direct assault to his kidney, but instead took the blow to the small of his back. Fun. Logic dictated that he turn and swing his blade across his opponent's chest, continue the assault and maybe end the entire exercise. He doubted it would in any case, so far Nero was able to respond to every one of his attacks without a great deal of trouble. In earnest, what Rhuryc really learned was to bash his enemy's head in while he slept. At least then he would not have to keep his frustration in check.

"Not really." Rhuryc said, his sword brought down to rest at his side. He wanted a shield. "Basic battlefield awareness and tricks. No offense, friend, but striking with a blade without intent to kill is a waste of energy. Pommel strikes are ineffective unless the opportunity arises." Somehow he found a reason to counter most of what Nero said, but he processed the information nevertheless, mitigating it with what he already knew about his own way of combat. "I guess the theories are the same, but I don't think our philosophies mesh. Well. At all."

He spoke as he rubbed the back of his neck, grinning. In a real fight he wondered if the sword would make any difference.

[Nero Czan]

Nero smirked. He had finally arrived at the point that he had been waiting for. The final lesson that annoyed the living Hell out of Nero when he had first undergone the training. He chuckled, his stance relaxing, and returning to a casual position. "Excellent. Very Excellent. I saw how you hesitated, and I'm sure you no doubt know that if this were a real fight, you would not have met my Palm. You're correct in that Sparring like this is not exactly productive, but nor should you completely disregard it. Regardless if you agree with my theories, my philosophies, or even my styles, you should still yearn to know everything about them, because, here, I am your enemy, and the More you know about your enemy, The more inevitable your victory." Nero sighed as he cracked his neck with his palm, before moving to unlatch the gauntlets. His hands were reddened from the sweat and effort, and the soft Forest air felt soothing to the touch. He popped a seat atop the boulder with his other possessions and smirked to his companion. "And most importantly of all. Keep this in mind. If you find contradictions in other's mindsets, always remember that there are an infinite amount of ways to view a single blade of grass, and an equal amount for everything else." His mind jumped back to the sight of the old Blacksmith, his words engraved in his mind. He was always one for complex sayings, but in the end, they always held true. It was a part of his past that he was proud of one, but not nearly the only one. Nero had an entire treasure chest of memories for that.

[Rhuryc]

"Well, it's not a waste of time." Rhuryc said, his sword scrapping against the scabbard as he sheathed it. "Live weapons and all. One mishap and one of us loses an arm. Or a leg. Or, you know. Life." Their session settled for now, Rhuryc finished his piece and surveyed the area in some form of quiet contemplation. The lesson was not something he had expected but he could respect the wisdom of it. The exposition to an entirely different form of combat would be something to consider, perhaps learn, but the lack of a shield made the real contest impossible to determine. From what he could determine and good bash would be enough to upset the balance. Maybe. Nero may have been smaller, but weak the man was not.

"There may be infinite ways to look at it, but that doesn't change the fact that it's still grass." That made sense to Rhuryc. Sort of. His logic seemed to rest on the substance of the focus, not so much the focus itself. "But, ah, we had a deal didn't we?" The man spoke as if he himself had only just remembered their exchange of ideas. A few long, quick strides brought Rhuryc toward Nero's claimed boulder and he glanced down at the discarded gauntlets, eying the various aforementioned dents. For now he kept his hands at his sides, unsure of just how comfortable his companion was with sharing his weaponry. Personally, Rhuryc rarely let others handle his sword.

From the look of it he could probably handle hammering some metal back into place. They were iron from his initial inspection. "I could get this back to the forge and have it to you by the end of the day"

[Nero Czan]

Nero gracefully motioned Rhuryc to inspect his weapons as far as he needed to. He was not overly possessive when it came to... Anything, truthfully. He felt that anyone with the skill to fix the one's whom he owed his life too was worth trusting to handle it. "That'd be appreciated mate. You have my thanks." He walked over and gave his companion a nice pat on the back, his smirk void of any of the vicious tones it had accrued during the sparring. "You were giving me a nice run for my money there. I almost had to sweat." He chuckled, his banter nothing but speaking testosterone, but something that could be related to two men, let alone two warriors. "Nice fighting regardless. I can't help noticing you were a bit awkward in your other arm however. You use a shield perhaps? Maybe a Dagger?" That was nothing more than a nagging question that had been popping up during his observations, but one worth noting. Both had fought at less than their full potential, but it still had turned out well, around Nero's expectations. He smirked as he turned to his companion, Nero's pack slung over his shoulder. "Ready to head back then?" He gazed up at the sun, it's descent beginning as the moon prepared to take over reign of the sky. "This time, Drinks are on me."

[Rhuryc]

Rhuryc noted the gesture and gave the man a curt nod. He leaned over and swiped the gauntlets from the ground, his gaze lingering over the material with a half-trained eye. They were just dented. No intense altercations were needed, perhaps some time with a hammer. He could sneak that in between the random horse shoe here and there, maybe even just go in without letting his master would know. He doubted anyone would so much as even notice, but that could wait until another day. With the lack of sleep the night previous Rhruyc could almost feel the bags under his eyes and wanted only to reach his bed before long. Working metal in a semi-hallucinatory state was not the greatest idea, even on the best days.

"I was taught to fight with a shield." The man started as he fell in step next to Nero. Strange, he thought as his eyes cast themselves upward, he did not think they had been out here for that long. "I don't like fighting without one. It tends to solve all the problems one would have with an opponent, say, like you." Rhuryc grinned, albeit he was not entirely joking. There were few better ways to distract an opponent than a giant slab of metal to the face. Or the side. Or anywhere, really, pain was pain. Put an over-sized black smith behind that assault and you've got yourself a bad day.

"Hm. Maybe tomorrow, friend. I've got a date with a bed."

OOCWant to just end the thread here?

[Leviathan]

Thread Award! Rhuryc Exp +1 Interrogation, +2 Drinking, +1 Storytelling, +2 Observation, +2 Unarmed Combat, +1 Falling, +2 Brawling, +1 Weapon (Sword) Lore Saturating Friendship with Drink, Punching into a Trap -1 gm (drinks+tip) Nero Exp +2 Drinking, +2 Storytelling, +3 Teaching, +4 Unarmed Combat, +1 Falling Lore Saturating Friendship with Drink, Having Fun with Teaching Additional Comments Hello again guys. Very interesting thread. You guys make it easy and fun to do this job. Wish all my threads were this exciting. Anyway, if you have questions, comments, or suggestions about my grading or me personally, feel free to PM me and we can find a solution.