Rubies and Rumors

Chapter Fifteen

            The young men formed up in two different groups. Hae-sung placed In-Yeon in the middle of his group and introduced him to the very friendly Park Chenhui.

"Just follow along. Even if you are used to Temple work, the form here will be familiar once we are going," Hae-sung patted In-Yeon's shoulder and took a place on left corner of their group.

"He forgot to say remember to breathe," Chenhui winked and made a show of taking a very deep breath.

In-Yeon looked around at both groups and could see all the boys were smiling and relaxed. A couple of boys in the group being led by Junseo even looked over and waved before the opening of their set. Soon In-Yeon's attention was fully absorbed by trying to catch the flow for his own group. At one point he set the wrong foot forward and ended up turning in the opposite direction to the others. Chenhui grinned and turned to match In-Yeon then turned back to the proper strike position. They finished the set and Hae-sung called out "And Again."

This time In-Yeon felt much more in unison with the group. Or at least until he barely had time to duck when a wooden ball came straight for his head. Chenhui intercepted the ball, kicking it high into the air. As the ball came down toward the back row another boy slammed it directly at the back of one of the boys in the other group.

"Keep your senior games to yourself," he called.

"Not a chance. It's time for you to keep up," Junseo replied as he juggled the ball on the tip of his toe. In-Yeon watched as the ball being kicked back and forth between the two groups while they kept moving through their sets. It seemed a strange sort of game. Chenhui noticed In-Yeon's confusion so explained after they finished their set and the balls were stowed away.

"If you fall into too much of meditative state with the practice sets you can lose awareness of the things around you. It's the same if you are dueling and let you focus get too narrow. The balls remind us to have a sense of our environment. Besides it is always fun to bean on of the seniors."

"You have actually hit one of them?"

"Not in a long while. But a fellow has to dream." Chenhui grinned while leading In-Yeon over to pick out a staff. "Here, I think we are about the same height but check the weights. We can rebalance them for you." Chenhui then demonstrated twirling the staff in opposite directions then sweeping it side-to-side before balancing it across the back of his hand. In-Yeon mimicked the moves but found them awkward. Chenhui selected a ring out a box and tapped it down next to the roughened hand grip on In-Yeon's staff and gestured for him to try the moves again.

"Wow. I didn't know what to expect but that is amazing," In-Yeon gave his helper a shy smile.

"I learned that here. At school we always just lumber on with whatever we are handed but not at the General's yard. We are expected to check and tune any of the weapons we pick up. If nothing suits then you let Manager Doak know and he gets something out of stores and works with you until it is right." Chenhui then pointed to a pile of shin pads and wrist guards. "You'll want to be sure those fit properly too."

After Manager Doak's complaint about his size, In-Yeon was surprised how easy it was to find the rest of equipment he needed. One of the seniors sized him up and said, "Looks like you are about the same size I was when I first got here." Im Song-hee then introduced himself and explained how the partner practice worked. "I will be your coach for staff. We start with set moves," he pointed to a clear spot on the yard where they could work.

On the way there In-Yeon got distracted by a disturbance coming from the stable block. Until the loud whinnies started, he had not noticed the alleyway Hae-sung and Chenhui now raced down. "Horses? Here in the city?" he whispered.

"Not all of them but enough for training. We will probably have to take them for a run in the park later," Song-hee sounded very unimpressed by this prospect. He then gestured for In-Yeon to take up a guard position and then called for alternating high and low strikes and blocks. For a few minutes the clatter of striking staves kept to a common rhythm but then each pair shifted speeds and started to include twists and sweeps among their moves. In-Yeon did not have time to think about the other pairs as Song-hee picked up the pace and stopped calling each move.

Their practice slid into a test match as challenging as any In-Yeon had experienced with the seniors at home. The only break he got was when the wooden balls started coming for Song-hee. When one finally landed, the senior held up one hand and called "Enough."

In-Yeon had just enough time to check his swing but it left him off balance. He was still hopping a bit when he heard a smatter of applause from the seniors.

"Well done!" Junseo said as he approached. "Song-hee must have forgot you are new to our games. We can switch over to foils now."

In-Yeon used a sleeve to wipe the sweat off his face and gave Junseo a worried look. "It's alright. Go San Jin is more used to teaching," he said gesturing toward a slender young man with impossibly wide shoulders. "First let's grab some water and then I will help you get your foil balanced."

"Hae-sung says your getting ready for next week's open?" San Jin sized In-Yeon up. "I'm guessing you are more comfortable with broader swords." He then helped In-Yeon adjust his grip and walked him through some set moves. "Good," he said and then repeated the pattern a little faster. In-Yeon kept up at first but then got disarmed.

"Wait. What did I do wrong there?" In-Yeon replayed the move separately. "Ah, you came across then down the inside of my blade. Can you show me again, please?"

San Jin beamed at In-Yeon. "Remind you of anyone you know?" he asked winking at Junseo. A low chuckled came from behind them. When In-Yeon turned he was face-to-face with Knight-Master Lie. The boy blushed and tried to bow but the man told him to keep practicing.

Their session was cut short by Hae-sung and Chenhui reporting on the situation in the stables. "Your uncle's new stallion decided to challenge Rufus. We have separated them but he is not going to settle now a couple of the mares have gone into heat. He needs a good run and a separate stall from our string. Did your uncle want you to put some training on?"

San Jin shook his head and answered, "Usually, the General's groom stays here to sort things. Maybe we should just take our string out now. If the others want to stay and drill, we can pony their horses."

In-Yeon pretended to be focused on his sword but could not disguise the look of longing that came over him at the mention of a ride in the park.

"I'm sorry we need switch things up like this," Hae-sung wanted to keep his promise to the boy so suggested, "If you are up for a ride, I can still teach you more temple style mantras."

"That would be fine. Great actually." In-Yeon blushed is his voice came out louder than he intended. Chenhui just patted him on the back and led him to the stables to pick a mount.