The Forty Knives of Fifty Theives

Chapter 6

Chapter VI

Under a small canopy of cloth Marty sat quietly on the desert floor. His little tent didn't stop the sun from tanning his skin and it didn't help against the gusts of wind that carried sand into his face. Sun-browned skin with the texture of worn leather covered the bulging muscle. His legs were the strongest, how could they not be? Marty looked up to the clear blue sky with eyes of knowledge. His arm twitched as the leftover adrenaline fled his body. Marty again looked down on the sand shaded by the shadow of the canopy. The sand felt warm in his palm as he lifted it and then let the grains fall through the gaps between his fingers. His legs were tired after eight years of walking in this desert, sleeping on sand, and barely stopping for breaks. It was time he settled down in a town, it was time he stopped running. Marty looked at his old Camel who had been with him through the eight years, Jed was his name, named after Marty's brother. Marty lay back on the sand using his only blanket as a pillow.

To his side he felt the sharp point of his knife digging into his side. Annoyed he pulled it from its sheath and dug it into the sand. That thing was just too much of a burden. It was time he get rid of it, time he throw his shackles of this legendary nonsense and throw the damn blade into a lake or something. Ahh, but where he did find a lake? Even if he did find a lake he'd throw himself in first before the stupid knife. Long before his father passed he had been given the knife, now he resented the day he held it in his hand for the first time. What Marty should have done was give it right back, but the sheen sharp blade had some draw to him. For keeping the cursed thing he had given a high price in return. Now he just wanted to rid himself of the curse, maybe if he found Jed and coaxed him into taking the knife he would finally be free from his bondages. His little brother has bound to have found himself a wife by now and maybe even got himself a family. Marty fell asleep under the desert moon only to awake not remembering a single thought, only to wonder this desert forever going in circles with a damaged brain and a weakened soul. All Marty will ever remember is his brother and his knife. Everything else is lies told by the devil who has been whispering to Marty since the day he ended the desert.

Megan

 The next level of training wasn't hard at all. I stood in the middle of the empty training room. The floor was plain wood and there was no padding. The lighting was a little brighter with the illuminant lanterns hung from the ceiling. I wondered what would happen if one of them fell. Josh stood behind me his hands tying the leather armor pads to my shoulders. I didn't see any weapons in this room, the walls were just wood. One wall was higher than the others; it was also a bit narrower. There were a few grooves in the higher wall but it didn't seem abnormal or important. The room smelled musty like my attic back home and the air tasted stale. I was about to ask what the hell I was supposed to do but I kept quiet and studied the floor at my feet. Josh finished tying on my armor and walked around to stand in front of me.

"Training with the sword was just a basic procedure mentors need to make sure their recruits know. The first level was supposed to take longer but seeing how great you were I don't think I need to spend any more time on something I'm pretty sure you're capable of. If you do see the need to train more with the sword than we can do that in the practice arenas." Josh informed.

I just nodded letting what he said sink in. Was I really that good? So good that I didn't need to be taught the basics of the hugest army training facility besides the one in Alberlin? Hadn't Josh explained that he would train me fully? I never thought that I would ever be prepared if I ever became a recruit, but now it seems that I have a big advantage over most regular trainees.

"This room however is where most recruits linger the most. In this level of training you have to show me everything you know. Some of my recent recruits haven't had a special skill that was that as...unique as yours. In fact most recruits just know a few tricks here or there. If a mentor can't find anything useful to build off of then they teach the recruit something new. But I don't think we'll have that problem." Josh continued