The Lesson - Part 1

Having finished at the library, for the time being, Octavia headed back to the dining all to get some grub before travelling to the next event of the day.

The combat lesson.

So far she had squared off against a few different foes since she had arrived in this world, most of which she had successfully defeated. The issue is that for the most part, luck was a large factor involved in most of those victories.

That's not to downplay her own skill though. Having never been involved in a fight before on earth, she managed to beat that strange totem thing, using her mind to figure out its weak points, and while she suffered greatly during it, she came out on top. It was however for training purposes, given how the damage it did to her was disproportional to its size.

Then came the battle with the bandits. Using her skill and intelligence, she was able to deal with many of them separately, even being able to keep all of them alive at the end of it. It also ended with a full-on battle, with someone who was on the same level in terms of combat ability, of which she managed to beat.

There was also the wolves she fought when she first arrived, using her intellect to goad one of them towards her, and using her newfound strength to take them both down.

But it was the fight in the castle that really brought this need for training to her attention. As no matter how big a fish you are in a pond, there is probably always one that's bigger.

It was only through sheer luck and the strength of her new body that she was able to stand her ground against the man. But even then, she could not beat him. It could also have been a lot worse, had she not used her intellect to again divide and conquer when facing the group.

But even so, it ended with her being knocked out.

So that is why she was now on her way to the courtyard, poleaxe in hand and crossbow on her back, in order to train in the art of combat and actually be proficient in these weapons she had.

"Have you ever used that crossbow?"

With Sylvia in tow for some reason.

"Not really, I tried it out a bit, but I definitely need someone to teach me how to use it."

Having finished writing her letters, Sylvia had taken them to the couriers that delivered letters from the castle, who will start on their journey to transport them to her family. It will take some time to reach them, but without electricity, this is really the best that can be done.

She was able to attend lunch as she said and with the day being free for her, decided to tag along to watch Octavia's combat lesson.

What could go wrong?

…

Entering the courtyard of the castle, Octavia came face to face with many soldiers and knights performing training. Archery targets and training dummies were set all around the area and were constantly undergoing some form of attack from someone.

In the centre, many of the men fought with each other. Some ran combat drills, repeating the same actions over and over, ingraining them in their minds. While others were performing duals with wooden weapons, testing their abilities against each other.

As she looked around, even though this was part of the human kingdom, she could see a large variety in the people training. While it was mainly humans as she had expected, she did see several dwarves and elves, even a few beast-kin as well. What really surprised her were the two giants in the corner who were duking it out.

"Wow", was all Octavia could say as she saw the scene.

Slithering into the courtyard, a few of the soldiers and knights turned their heads having spotted the newcomer, but being the professionals they were, quickly turned back to continue their training.

"Now, how do we find Knight Commander Jeremiah?"

Thankfully she didn't have to. As she looked around, she could see several of the men standing off to the side of the training men, barking instructions and advice to them. While obvious to see that these were the men leading the training, it took a while to figure out what differentiated them from the other men. The colours of their armour.

As far as she could see, all of the run-of-the-mill soldiers had green stripes across the shoulders on their armours, but the ones giving orders had blue stripes. The same was the case for the knights as well, where the cloth on the seams of their pauldrons differed in colour between them.

Heading into the mass of troops, one such knight with blue colours started to make his way over to her. As he got closer, he suddenly froze upon seeing Octavia, but quickly sorted himself out and continued his path. Once he reached her, he stood tall and saluted.

"Knight Commander Jeremiah, at your service. Lord Desmon told me to expect you."

"Oh, err. I'm Octavia. You really don't have to salute me. I'm not that important."

"You are an honoured guest of Lord Desmon… it is only proper that I salute you." He quickly replied, "and apologies for freezing upon seeing you, I have just never seen… someone like you…before. It was a bit of a shock."

"It's fine, I've been getting that a lot". It was odd to her, but something seemed a bit off, in the way he said that. The only reason she could think was that didn't really want to have to deal with her. That might be the case, as a Knight Commander, surely, he was quite busy, and helping some random stranger probably isn't something he wants to be doing.

"So, Lord Desmon said you are looking to learn how to fight. I was told that you fought off several bandits already though."

"Yes, but I really have no experience in fighting. A lot of it was just luck I guess."

A slight smirk appeared on the man's face as she said that, probably pleased by her humility.

"I see. Anyway, come along. I'll take you to where some of the new recruits are and we can get you started on the basics. I see you have a crossbow, which we can easily teach you how to use. The pole-hammer-axe thing is a different story. I have used many weapons in my lifetime, but I have never held one of those before. Given its shape, I imagine taking similar lessons from how a halberd is used would be your best bet. I shall inform both trainers about the request and they can take you through it."

"Do you also do hand-to-hand combat as well?" While Octavia did like her poleaxe, there was always the possibility that she wouldn't have it to hand when a fight would occur.

As the Knight Commander strode through the men fighting, he started looking over their heads trying to locate the trainers in question.

"Of course, never know when you might be disarmed. Granted, the soldiers and knights are trained not to be disarmed, but anything can happen on the battlefield. The trainer who handles the halberd also deals with close-quarters hand-to-hand combat as well... ah, there they are."

Upon locating the right people he quickly veered off in their direction, where Octavia and Sylvia had to quickly follow him. Towards the back where the archery targets were, he made his way to the soldier in charge who was currently training men on how to use a crossbow. It would also seem that this was definitely for new recruits if the number of bolts in the wall was anything to go by.

"Octavia, this is Guard Captain Edwards. He trains all the new recruits in the proper use of the crossbow. Now, I have to leave you for a time, I have a lot of work to do, but you are in good hands with Guard Captain Edwards here who will take you through the basics." He then turned to the captain in question. "Once crossbow training has concluded and they move on to their drills, would you be able to send her in the direction of Knight Commander Althea for halberd and hand-to-hand training."

"Yes, Knight Commander Jeremiah." He said as he saluted.

"Good. Now I shall inform Knight Commander Althea that you will be joining her and head off to my other duties."

With that, he took his leave. As Octavia watched him head into the crowd, the sound of a bolt hitting and sinking into the straw target brought her back to the Guard Captain she had now been dumped on.

"So, how much training have you had with your crossbow." The Guard Captain asked as he stared down at her.

"Oh, err none."

The guard Captain blinked a few times at that but decided to just push on through.

"Ok, that's fine. I just assumed that since you had one, you had some experience. Anyway, head on over to the range and we can get started."

By this point, the recruits that were training had all stopped to watch the new joiner, who was making her way over to them. Of the six recruits, five were human and one was an elf, but all were flabbergasted by the snake girl that was slithering over to them.

Finding an empty spot, one that the recruits had kindly given her when they backed away with their mouths open, she took off her crossbow and pulled the string back. After loading the bolt, she held it firm and took aim at the target. It wasn't a massive distance away, but a good forty meters. There were further targets in the area, but for starting this was probably a good distance.

As she held it strong and peered down the top of it, she lined up the best she could with the target. Taking a calming breath, she got ready to make the shot.

"Don't miss!"