The Wander Through Lands Unknown

by Tomas Lutwig

Chapter 12; Arming

Iron Arm's sword chopped through the air in front of me making me step back. “Come now Clay! You cannot win if you simply dodge like a coward!” The minotuar in question said, a large smile covering his face.

'Wanna bet?' I thought a smile forming on my own face. My blade shot from my shoulder striking into my opponent, the wooden blade making a sharp 'thwak' on impact. To my surprise though, my opponent simply backhanded me sending me to the ground not far away and my the sparring weapon from my hands.

The minotuar laughed walking towards me as I got back to my feet. “Now weaponless, what do you-” Iron Arm started before my foot impacted with his groin sending his free hand to his injured 'manhood' and the minotuar to his knees.

Acting quickly I took hold of the wooden blade and turned the handle away from my opponent's fingers wrenching it away before slamming it into his back, toppling him forward. I managed to utter an “A-ha!” before Strong Horn backhanded me back to the ground.

“What in Tartatus was that?” he asked as I laid on the ground before him, the anger in his voice obvious.

“That was a fight was it not?” I asked after letting go of my jaw. “In a fight you cannot let your opponent win, especially in cases of life or death”

“That may be true, but The Royal Guard of The Pony Princesses do NOT resort to such underhanded tactics” The minotuar said. “I want ten laps around the castle saying 'The Royal Guard fight fairly and fight well'. Am I understood?”

I rose to my feet a scowl on my face and a bright red mark on my cheek. “Yes Sir!” I said saluting before starting my laps.

“Well at least he did a good job of subduing me” Iron Arm said as Strong Horn helped him to his hooves still holding his injured groin. “The power of his hits could use some work though”

“He also needs to learn discipline” Strong Horn said letting go of his compatriot and grabbing the sparring swords. “I think we should teach him technique before we continue in combat training. While he says he knows an 'Itallion Long sword' I believe that our technique will help him learn control”

“The Royal Guard... Fight... Fairly and... Fight Well” I shouted making my final lap before rushing back to the sparring circle, ignoring the looks I was getting from other members of the Royal Guard.

“Took you long enough!” Iron Arm said, standing in the middle of the wooden circle as I put my hands behind my head trying to catch my breath. “Hurry up, we've got a thing or two to show you” he said, throwing the wooden training sword to the ground before me.

After a moment I picked up the mock weapon and held it at my side. “What might that be sir?” I asked approaching.

“Well, I'm going to show you how we minotuar fight with swords” Iron Arm said as another smile came to his face.

An inquisitive look came to my own face before the minotaur rushed at me. The creature brought the sword straight down in an easily seen attack causing me to step out of the way and cut towards my opponent's exposed arm.

Iron Arm's sword shot towards me making me block the attack that sent me skidding back in the dirt. The minotaur threw cut after cut keeping me on the defensive making me jump to the side before sending a stab towards his armpit as he raised the sword back into the air for another cut.

I can only assume I hit a nerve as after a second the sword fell from my opponent's hand and onto my head causing me to grit my teeth as my head ached, threatening to make me fall to my knees.

Iron Arm threw a kick to my chest that sent me to the ground once more, though this time I kept ahold of my weapon. The minotuar reached down and picked up his own just as I got back up.

“You're telling me” I sputtered, pain radiating from my chest. “That this is how minotaur fight?” I spat out on the ground a glob of blood. 'Jeeze, being thrown around made me bite my tongue' I thought before wiping my mouth.

The smile on Iron Arm's face, I noticed, had vanished replaced with a look of annoyance. Wordlessly the larger opponent approached, making me ready my weapon.

The strike came fast and unforgiving, the attempt at blocking I threw up only for my weapon's hand guard to break and for the attack to strike my arm. A loud snap echoed from the impact making my arm practically glow with pain. A scream came from my mouth as I dropped the wooden sword and fell to my knees.

“That, is for insulting those who were willing to teach you.” I barely heard as I clutched my broken left arm. A dull thud made me look up to see the other training tool laying before me and Iron Arm walking away.

I sat there for a few moments, trying to keep from passing out taking sputtering breaths from the pain. I felt a hand wrench my arm away from me making me cry out again. “Hold still” Strong Horn said feeling my arm for a moment before pushing the bone pieces back together. My stomach turned as the pain reached my head making me vomit and start coughing. “Come now you pansy, you're lucky he didn't shatter the bones. Now get up, we need to get you to the medic to get you healed up” he said grabbing my good arm.

The walk to the Royal Guard's medical facilities felt like it took hours, the pain making my head cloudy and wish that it would end. A tug on my arm tore my tear filled eyes away from the swelling appendage and to Strong Horn.

“I would advise against spitting around minotuars Pansy” He said looking to the building in front of him bearing a red cross. “It is seen as one of the worst insults possible. The only one higher in severity being cutting off a male's horns.” the creature said before pushing the door open with his empty hand.

A few shocked faces caught my attention as we went by, the minotuar heading past the different medics, aids, and patience some of whom sat on a bed. Strong Horn threw open another door revealing a unicorn mare with a greenish-blue coat and a graying mane that was up in a bun. The mare wore a very simple set of light armor that seemed to be the uniform, as the ponies outside the small office wore similar sets.

“You must quit bursting in here like that every time you or your partner...” The mare trailed off as she noticed me, the glasses she wore lowering slightly from her bright green eyes. “Oh? And who might this be? The new recruit that the Princess pushed on you?”

The minotaur sighed quietly, “Yes Healing Touch” He said. “He managed to break his arm in sparring with Iron Arm, and seems to be spitting blood, though most likely due to a bite to his tongue or something otherwise as trivial. I would appreciate it if you would heal him, as we have a bit of a schedule to get him trained”

Healing Touch rolled her eyes her horn lighting up as she levitated her glasses to the desk in front of her before making her way around it and approaching me.

A bright green light emanated from her horn, though it only seemed to fall on me as none of the rest of the room seemed any brighter. “Hmm, yes. Minor injuries here and there, besides the broken arm” The mare said before the light seemed to brighten and change to a pinkish color.

The pain all over my body seemed to heighten for a moment before vanishing completely. I looked down at the red appendage giving it a small shake and flexing my hand before turning back to the mare.
“Thank you very much” I said, to which she replied with a smile and a nod, “If yo-” I started only for Strong Horn to yank my arm and head back out the door dragging me along once more.

“Now, we're going to find Iron Arm, you're going to apologize, and then we'll get back to training.” the minotaur said.

'What is up with this guy?' I thought looking at him as I regained my footing. “Why such a huge rush? While I don't object to apologizing to Iron Arm, you seem like you want me out of here as fast as possible.”

Silence overcame the minotaur as we continued to walk at a brisk pace.

My eyes narrowed at him, but I bit my tongue, not wanting to insult the other creature in almost complete control of my life at the moment.

After a few moments of walking, the two of us arrived back at the barracks and it only took a few seconds of dragging me through the halls before Strong Horn opened a door with a picture of a bull's head on the front to a relatively large room for only two bunks.

The minotaur looked around for a moment before turning around and dragging me behind him. “If he's not here then he must be at the forge” he muttered, the only reason I heard was the fact he was dragging me.

At the word forge my brain started going again, wondering what kind of technique the minotaur race used when forging. After a moment though, my thoughts stopped, and a quiet sigh escaped me. 'Well at least I have nothing to be prideful of here' I thought looking around.

The smell of burning coal and the sound of metal being hammered. Normally the sound would've made me joyous, but the thought of seeing Iron Arm, sent a shiver down my spine. Not only did this minotaur break my arm, but he did it over an insult that I inadvertently sent his way.

As Strong Horn opened the door to the forge I silently hoped that human expressions of repentance and apology would work.

Iron Arm glanced over at us his brow furrowing only for me to hang my head. “What do you need Strong Horn?” The minotaur asked before placing the metal he was working on back into the coals before turning to us.

“We” The lighter of the two creatures started, “Need to get back to training this welp” he said before pushing me in front of him. “And he also has something to say to you”

'Getting real tired of being thrown around by these two' I thought before raising my face to the minotaur before me. “Iron Arm, I was informed that I have insulted you. I humbly apologize for my ignorance of your culture and for the insult. I assure you it will not happen again” I said before bowing.

The look on Iron Arm's face seemed to lighten slightly before he sighed. I felt a large hand placed on my shoulder as the minotaur pulled me back up to my full height and looked me in the eyes. After a few moments he patted me and stood back to his full height.

“Apology accepted Clay. Just keep to your word and make sure it doesn't happen again” He said, the normal calm smile returning to his face. “Now come, I'll show you how we forge weapons where I'm from”

I couldn't help but feel that I was being treated like a child would, but looking at the two minotaurs, I may as well be to them. It also helped that I was positively ecstatic to learn of other smiting methods. So I followed Iron Arm back to the anvil.

Comments

[Tomas Lutwig]

Due to technical issues, this story will be on hiatus until my computer manages to get it's crap together.
I apologize for any annoyances.

Tomas Lutwig

[Shadow-Dancer]

“That may be true, but The Royal Guard of The Pony Princesses do NOT resort to such underhanded tactics” The minotuar said. “I want ten laps around the castle saying 'The Royal Guard fight fairly and fight well'. Am I understood?”

wow how will Equestria ever defend itself if it still believes in the "Right way to kill a person crap that is outdated. Well our human friend will survive while the rest die.