[Fighter's pit] A sharp weapon or a dull mind [Garland]

[Clemens Kos]

The 29th of Winter. Rising up early was a dream. To wake up when the sun begins to shine, and be ready for everything the day throws at someone. To be filled with energy of a good night's rest, and simply bursting with positivity. That was indeed, a dream. A dream that the man currently walking aimlessly around Syliras had. It was a funny one, that much was sure. Specially for him, who had problems waking up, because he couldn't sleep. Waking up every hour leaves a hole in someone's motivation, and that much is sure. He hated mornings. He felt like a walking corpse, that simply groaned and moaned about everything that he disliked. And he had such a good plan, as well. The day before, he was sparing. Yet the results of his fighting were not really good. After all, he's still learning to fight. The big weapon that was currently strapped to his back with two leather straps was a halberd. A polearm mixture between a spear and an axe. Capable of stabbing, and cutting. Or in his hands, a little bit of nothing. He was fit enough not to get too tired holding in in his arms, but his swings lacked the finesse of a warrior. That was something he wanted to change. He heard rummors of a place near Syliras, that was used by fighters and combatants. If not else, he wanted to go check it out. In any other day, he'd be a bit worried walking up to anyone, but he was too tired to think about getting embaressed. His dream was to be able to fight for himself, and others. A few injuries more wont change that. He was slowly getting towards his destination. The day was cold, so he had to pull up his coat. His mask was neatly locked over his face, hidding himself from sight. His long, and messy hair on the left side of his face covering his one eye, with only his right one poking out, and the green tinted little orb quickly scanned the surroundings. He expected there to be quite some people, but it was somewhat silent. With only a few people around whacking each other with weapons he didn't really look at to indentify them. He picked a place that was somewhat distanced from the rest of the people, and slowly began to remove the halberd from his straps. That was a pesky little task to do, because holding it like that wasn't the most comfortable of ideas. He simply didn't want to be bothered by a knight for holding a weapon in his hands. So he kept it sheeted, and tried to stay out of trouble. After a little bit of a hassle, his weapon finally rested on the ground, and the man decided to take off his coat as well. Revealing the metal rembrace underneath on his coat on the left side of his hand. He took a deep breath. Before he walked up to someone, he decided to warm himself up. Starting with some slow, casual motions for each of his hand, and leg, he tried to loosen his muscles up. He knew a fight was straining, so he much rather wanted to be prepared, and not tear a muscle or two with his amateur swings. As he was spinning his arm around, he started to look around. First, he tried to see if there was anyone actually interested in looking at him. Somewhere deep inside, he hoped that someone would walk up to him, because with his horrible people skills, any conversation becomes quite awkward. Then again, it was probably too late now. He was already here. And he knew people would laugh at him if he left without doing anything. His heart was beating, and he was somewhat nervous. 'Well...Too late now. Let's not get beaten up by someone.' Is what went through his head. He felt so weak all of a sudden.

[Garland]

Mornings were dreadful for almost anyone, anyone except Garland. He loved mornings, the fresh air, and the energy to start the day was something he enjoyed, life was good. He planned to train all day, but not at the knight's training grounds, he had been training there for most of the winter if he remembers correctly, he was getting tired of seeing the same old squires that were training with their patrons. His patron was on some sort of special mission for most of the winter, tracking down some dangerous bandits he heard, he wanted to go along, but she said it was too dangerous and she needed to to do whatever she was doing alone, he had taken it upon himself to train however he wished, and he had been slacking as of late, and so he needs to find someone his skill level to spar with, back at the training grounds, either the squires were far too weak for him or they were far too strong.

He wanted someone a bit below his skill level and maybe with a slightly different weapons. He needed to be able to think on his feet and quickly work out an opponent's weaknesses. Finding an advantage in a fight can turn any fight into your favor, even if you're severely at a disadvantage. A well executed plan can lead anyone to victory.

Sadly Garland wasn't so good with planning, so that's why he wants to train his mind a bit more, less acting through impulse and more into acting through a plan.

He walked through the snow caked road, the snow cracking under his boots as he made his way towards the Fighter's Pit, there were experienced fighters there, and then there were novices there, but if Garland was lucky there would be someone new there as well.

He could see that they already set up the fire pit and a few of the regulars were already sparring, and already training. He had met almost everyone here at least once, to either train his hand-to-hand or his sword, but one person had stood out among the rest, be it his hair or his strange weapon, Garland was instantly intrigued. He had seen Halberds before, but only a few, and usually people would train with easier weapons to use, like a spear or a staff. He walked over to the strange half-shaven man and greeted him. "Hello there, I haven't seen you here before, is this your first time?" He asked, he didn't know this man and maybe he wasn't so good with authorities, but he couldn't do much about it, he had his full-plate armor and was carrying his shield with him, he looked like a knight, and he was proud of it, though hopefully this man liked the knights well enough.

[Clemens Kos]

Getting warmed up seemed to be the best idea he had on this day. Slowly, the cold air and the wind didn't really seem to bother him that much, even though he was not wearing his coat. The exercies he did made his heartbeat jump, and all in all fully awakened him from his lazy state he was as he got here. With that out the way, however, he was supposed to find someone now. But there was something akin to luck smiling at him, as he caught a big, armored, shieled person walk up next to him. Luck seems quite a strong word, though, because the person didn't look all that weak. Specially not with those broad shoulders and the shield that was bigger than his own face. Where there was a fleeting thought, about this person simply walking pass Clemens and paying him no heed, much to his shock, he actually came to a halt, once he was close enough. By the looks of it, he belonged to the knights. One more, he thought to himself, as his masked demeanour offered a nod of ackowledgement. He still didn't know how to act around them, simply because of the actual power they possess. He was paranoid, that any wrong step could cause him being thrown in the jail, or executed. Then again, it did not happen so far. And he planned of not letting it happen in the future. "Good morning." Clemens replied, his voice slightly muffed by the leather he wore over his face, as his one green eye decided to look over the man infront of him. Full plate. He was so jealous of the knights and their ability to have one. One can simply look so intimidaing and powerful, without saying a thing. "I'm new here, yeah. Actually my first time here." He saw no reason to actually lie about anything, simply because one wouldn't ask that without knowing the people that usually come here. And that is simply a horrible idea. After all, he didn't want to get on any knight's bad side. Then again, he didn't know if he should act all friendly and open to this man, or stay closed. After a hum of a thought, he finally decided to extend his right arm at the man, offering a nod as he did so. "Kos. Pleasure...And you would be...ser?" He fully believed the man was a knight, and he was going to try his best not to insult the man. Even though, he was slightly uncomfortable around him, he tried his best not to show it. After all, there was a high chance that if he came to the pit, he wanted to fight. Clemens could learn a few things from him. His mind was torn, however. He heard of rummors about the sparing in this place being all not that clean, and they ending up in quite a lot of injuries. Thinking about it, he put his safety, and the ability to fight on a scale. If he isn't going to learn how to fight, he really wont be safe anywhere, he thought to himself. So this was a risk he was ready to accept. "Still learning, but I think I got the basics down nicely." He finally decided to speak out, his wrist crackling slightly as he made a handmotion towards his halberd. It seemed to be recently polished, and even though the man himself looked quite dirty and messy, the weapon seemed to be in good care. After all, it was the only object he could relly on if things went sour. In a way, the weapon was his life. And unlike his hair, he put a lot more value on his weapon.

[Garland]

The cold weather made him itchy to get started, but he knew that this guy might not actually want to fight and just train, he was fine either way. He shook the man's hand happily. "My name's Garland and I'm not a knight, just a squire. It's a pleasure to meet you, Kos." He said happily and looked over to the fighting area. "I was wondering if you wanted to train together, I'm getting a bit rusty with my sword and shield, I was wondering if you wanted to maybe spar or just train?"

He observed the man silently, he didn't exactly look like a person you would trust your child with, especially with his hair, usually tired and lethargic state, but he seemed trustworthy enough. His sword was just freshly sharpened but he knew that there were blunt swords here and there somewhere, he had seen a rather rusty and dull halberd here once as well.

The dull chill was not really bothering him too much, but the cold was just making him itchy for a fight, he had not had a good spar in quite a long time. Mostly because he was... preoccupied with a certain Sverfa for several days. He tapped his metal kite shield and made sure that it was strapped on tight. He pulled out his large bastard sword to show it off, it was clean and it was sharp. The snake motif on the hilt had gotten dull and drab. "Not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty good with a sword, I was wondering if we can spar, because we can learn a lot from each other, it's always good to learn how to fight against a new weapon." He said and pointed to the halberd that was in the ground.

He sheathed his sword and pointed to one of the weapon racks. "Though I wouldn't be using my own sword against you, it would be too dangerous and really stupid. There are blunts of any weapon you can think of over yonder somewhere, maybe some in the storage if you can't find what you're looking for." He said and cracked his knuckles. "Anyway, what do you say? Would you like to spar with me?" He asked and held out his hand for him to shake.

[Clemens Kos]

Clemens stayed silent for a moment. The man's grip was tight, as they shook hands, and it showed he wasn't all bark. The height, and the width that the armor gave him wasn't just for show. This squire, as he explained himself as, obviously seem out of his own league, but he seemed friendly enough not to fully wipe the floor with him. Or well, at least that was the hope. Trying to hone abilities against weapons one hasn't faced off yet seemed to be a leading motivation for this man infront of him. And going by theory alone, he'd be just fine staying at a range with his halberd. The man's eyes left the person in the armor, and were locked on the sword with the snake's hilt. It looked like the sword had seen some battles, but was still sharp and ready to be used. He nodded at the sight, showing clear intrigue against the weapon that was presented to him. None the less, he took a deep breath and finally spoke out, trying to sound as casual as he was, even though he wasn't exactly inspiring a childkeeping status of nice. His one revealed green eye looked back up, trying to get the man's attention. After all, he didn't feel like glaring at the ground while he was talking. "Pleasure's all mine. I'm sure." He openned up, nodding at his own words simply to add a better confirmation. "I wouldn't mind training together. Yeah, that seems like a good idea. After all, I always want to get better with what I have." He tried to sound positive, even though he was slighty worried. As their handshake ended, he nodded at the man, and walked towards the near-by weapon rack. Filled with swords of all shapes and sizes, ayes, and everything one would need to fight. He noted the distinct lack of sharpness, however. He realized that was for the best, because if an injury happened, a cut is better than a gash. Looking around for a bit, he finally found a halberd. It looked really out of shape, though. The blade was dull, and the spike wasn't a spike anymore, but more like a dull bar. He nodded, however. The weight was around the same as his weapon was, and it would cause less injury if hit, or not. Walking back to his initial position, he made sure to move his own weapon out of the way, getting it near a wall, so he wouldn't forget about it after this was done. On quite some distance, he tested the weapon out first. A slash, or two into thin air followed, before the butt of his weapon was pressed against the ground, releasing a thud as it happened. The shaft itself was somewhat thicker than the weapon he was used on wielding, but other than that it seemed similar enough for this spar to work. He nodded. "Alright, I think this will do. Found something that's fitting." He spoke out, wanting to report his findings to his new 'friend.' He was never quick to trust, but in this pit, it was either sucking it up, and accepting a stranger's help, or try and whack the air alone, and hope that it would miracolously help. Truth be told, he needed someone to train with him. So trusting or not, this squire by the name of Garland seemed like his best bet to do so. "I'm ready." Was the next thing he spoke, his right foot shifting back slightly, as both of his hands wrapped itself around the weapon at hand, and taking in a somewhat defensive stance, with the head of the weapon pointing straight at the man, with the blade aimed on the ground. He was holding his weapon like one would hold a spear, and his right hand was free enough to lead a thrust, if he needed to act quickly.

[Garland]

With a big smile, he followed Kos and picked out a used bastard sword, said sword was blunted to a point where it would be more useful to bludgeon someone rather than cut or stab someone, it had nicks and scratches, and honestly, a sharp wooden sword would be a slightly more effective weapon.

He gave it a quick test slash across the air and was happy with the weight and feel of the sword. He tapped his shield with the sword and it made a satisfying clanging sound. He went over to the pit where Kos was ready with his own weapon. With his temporary weapon and passion to spar in his heart, he was ready. "Ready, on the count of three the match will officially begin."

He said and raised his hand and one finger. "One... Two... Three!" With that he had sprung into action, Kos' most outstanding feature would either be his weapon or his hair, and Garland was sure that his hair would his downfall at this rate. He rushed to Kos' left, trying to get to his blind spot and attack.

His weapon was long and it would be difficult to get through his defenses if he wasn't fast enough to dodge Kos' halberd. His heavy metal boots clanked on the ground that was used to being trampled on by fighters, meaning there wasn't much snow or slush in the pits proper.

He raised up his shield, hoping it would deflect any incoming attacks from Kos' weapon, though Kos could easily knock him to the ground with a good sweep, since Garland was focusing more on trying to get to Kos' blind spot.

People seem to be looking at the fight, it has been a while since Garland has fought here and he has made a few friends and were impressed by Garland's quick learning and fast attacks. He was hailed as a prodigal idiot, he had the skill to learn fast and the ability to use it well, but he had an attention span of a goldfish.

[Clemens Kos]

The man's stance shifted a step back, as the last number was called out. He watched the armored man spring into action, and if he wouldn't of know any better he'd have to guess he was coming in at the left side. The side where the hair was quite thick, and his vision somewhat obscured. But was it really that much for it to be a problem, was yet to be seen. What he did, though, is simply jerk his head to the side, as the man began to move, his hair being thrown to the left by the force of the impact. The whole ordeal caused both of his eyes to be removed, if only for a split second, before gravity claimed it's toll and threw his hair back in place. But that moment was all he needed, to take in the attacker's full frame in, and simply see where he was going. His weapon was built to keep someone at bay, and that was something he was going to do. Being up close with a halberd wasn't the best thing to happen to some, so Clemens decided to use the length of the wooden shaft to his advantage. His heart smashed against the leather he wore as his heartbeat jumped a few beats, and the man finally accepted that there was a fight he was a part of. This was his time to try and learn a thing or two, and even show what he learned over the time. His left wrist holding the blade was twisted upwards, causing the blade that was aimed on the ground, to tilt itself, and now be wielded sideways. He did indeed make a step back, trying to lead the attacking man into an attack that was probably not as powerful, nor precise as the swing was made out to be, simply because the target was moving. He needed as much distance between the two as possible. So as his weight was shifted on his right leg, he tried and make a quick side step with his left foot so he wouldn't have too much of space between each foot, and as that happened, he rose his right foot up, and pushed it forward, pulling all of his weight against it, and sending the weapon loose in a crescented swing coming from the left, building up all of his momentum, and deliver a swing against the shield that was risen up to deflect him, to stop the advancements of his sparing partner. His left hand felt the impact of steel against steel, as the whole weapon resonated from the hit. It felt powerful, so if not else, at least he knew how to do that much. There was still the problem of always keeping the man at bay, though. As he knew swordsmen, they rarely stop with just one or two swings, so he needed to be prepared. No matter what his swing did to Garland, the man once again made a step backwards. Hot breath hit the insides of his mask, as he kept his mouth open during the fight. He needed all the air he could get, and breathing was one of the little things he still needed to master. What he needed to do, is take regular breaths to try and conserve energy, but what he was doing now seemed like jagged, irregular takes in, which would in the long rung tire him out, and if he made a wrong breath mid-swing, that would spell out disaster. The spear end of his weapon was pointed at the squire after the last step he made, using the reach of his weapon as a way to prevent him from advancing. Or at least, be able to react with a thrust if he did something unexpected.

[Garland]

Garland knew that his opponent's hair would only give him a minor advantage if he was lucky. This man was use to his hair covering his face like this he reckon. Now was not the time to beat himeself up for that dumb plan before, now he needed to focus on his opponent, he felt the hit through his shield, it wasn't as strong as other attacks he had received but it was note-worthy that his attack could still be strong enough to make him feel it through his shield.

Kos stepped back and tried to keep himself at a distance from Garland, he was strong, and knew that his best bet was to keep his distance. Garland gave a small grunt and tried to close in on him to attack. He noted his footing and it kept him on balance, which if he remembers his lesson correctly, was one of the things that could make or break a fight.

Kos seemed to know his stance well enough, Garland couldn't really do anything with that. He could try to move in fast and get him by surprise, but there was no way he could sneak up on him in an open field.

He decided to just rush him and try to get through his defenses quickly and fight him at close quarters. He raised up his shield to take on Kos' spear, running as fast as he can and then, at the last second, he turned, spinning to the side and dodging the spear. He hoped that he could reach him before Kos could retaliate.

If he did reach him, he would try to attack him with his shield and knock him down, and then maybe finish off the fight, but there is a good possibility that Kos could counter him where he stood.

[Clemens Kos]

Fact was, that unlike the fully armored man, Clemens himself really should avoid getting hit by all costs. Not wearing a suit of armor, or a big shield, any strike against him would be quite more impactful that simply scrapping a shield, even though he felt how the two metals connected. His eyes looked at the man, as he took a moment to apparantly think of a way to proceed. Part of him didn't like that. He was lacking in depth battle experience, and simply being quick on your feet and able to whack someone with a blade wasn't exactly the preffered method of fighting. If the squire was thinking of a way to proceed, he must have a lot more battle experience than he does, who usually follows his gut feeling. He managed to stop the other human's attack once, but Kos was worried that what was going to happen next would be even worse. If Garland ever gets close enough to him, Kos' only plan was to try and tire the man out before he was fallen. After all, a halberd on close combat is really awkward, and uncomortable to use, to the range and the length. Just sometimes, it seemed that size wasn't all of the answer in the world. Funny. Be it as it is, the squire telegraphed his next motion by running at him. The massive man began advancing, and if he didn't know any better he'd say that the ground seemed to be tremorring under every step, due to the weight. Taking something like that head on was imposible in his current state, so he should either try to dodge him, or attempt to somehow trip him before the shield connects with his face, and summons up stars to count. That was when he remembered something he saw from a while back. A bright idea just got into his head, and he couldn't help but smirk at that. Quickly, he released the weapon with his right hand, and guided the head of his weapon into the ground, a foot away from his own left foot, so that the wood of the shaft came up, and covered his body with a thin, but versitile shield. His grip changed, now no longer holding it with his knuckles pointing down on the ground, as he did until now, but rather, his left hand was wrapped around the handle much like one would be holding up a fist in a fight, with the difference of his grip also having a giant weapon. He did this, hoping to deflect a blow or two, with moving the wood in the direction of the swing. But standing like that, it caused his right hand to become free. And as the man got close enough, and the swings from his sword came down, he extended the hand sideways, to gain enough balance for his next little stunt. Sure enough it could be deflected really easily, if the man kept a guard up and his footing in place, but since he had the squire this close to him anyways, the fight would be over in a few moments, anyways. Waiting for the time it would take the man to wind up for another swing, is when his right right foot latched out. He broke his guard, and his defense for that moment, leaving him open for any counterattacks if his attack wouldn't connect. The sole of his boot was send flying, trying to kick the shield, and to an extent the wearer, hoping the move was a surprise enough to cause him to lose his balance. If he did, Kos would of rushed, and trying to tackle the man on the ground. If he didn't, however, he was without a stance, and without a guard. He was an easy target, but Kos accepted that trade. All he needed was to be faster. He was still learning, after all.

[Garland]

The man had blocked his shield bash and made himself much harder to hit, it was actually quite a smart move to use his weapon as a thin shield, it was admirable that this guy was thinking quite quickly and on his feet with his enemy right on him. He's either got good insticts or was lucky enough to think of something before Garland could end this match.

He attacked Kos again, trying to keep him on his guard, but he blocked his attack fairly well. What he didn't expect though was the sudden kick he sent his shield flying off his hand and off somewhere in the pits. It did surprise him, but he had spent a lot of time fighting with his fists and feet, and quickly recovered from the attack and countered with his now free hand. He attacked with a strong backhand that sent Kos to the ground.

It was over, Garland had won. He wasn't a sore winner though, he wasn't happy with the outcome either. He needed to work on his planning, and not just rush in and hope for the best.

He was glad he won though. He reached down his hand and helped up his opponent. "You alright?" He asked as he pulled him up. "I hope I didn't knock a few screws loose with that one." He said, trying to make light of his victory.

He went over and picked up his shield and checked if it had any damage on it. It didn't have any noticeable damage on it, and that was good, he didn't really own this shield, but the knights would have had his butt if they find out he broke one of the shields from the armory.

"You did pretty well out there. Hey, maybe I can show you a thing or two for close quarters, might come in handy. Though, I guess we should do it another time, I got to do something after this, hope that's alright?" He said and took back his real sword and strapped it on his waist.