Jack lowered his wooden sword as Elaine panted, her wooden sword point first in the ground. Annie nodded with approval, both of them impressed with how quickly the elf improved. Of course, no one would become a master with a weapon after two months, but she no longer looked like a child playing at a knight, and her once slim arms were already getting toned with muscle. She could also spar for much longer than before, and while she would not beat any experienced swordsman in a one on one duel, she could hold her own against common soldiers.
Jack flipped the wooden sword in the air, catching it by the tip and handing it hilt first to Annie, done with their daily sparring for the day.
"We will continue to train while on the road, but she is ready enough to protect herself. Do you have what I asked for from the blacksmith?"
Annie nodded, smirking as Elaine looked over at them, confusion written on her face. Annie took the wooden swords back, and when she returned, she carried a curved sword in a plain leather sheath with a belt through its loops. She handed it to Jack, and as Elaine watched with her eyes sparkling, he pulled the sword out, holding it up to get a good look at it.
The sword turned out exactly as he asked, the steel reflecting the light and appearing to shine. It was around two and a half feet long, the point curving slightly upwards, a weapon made mostly for slashing. The cross guard was simple, but that was for the best; he was never fond of fancy blades, as they always seemed to fall apart too easily.
Satisfied, he sheathed the blade, walking over to Elaine and holding it out to her, the elf's eyes wide with surprise and excitement.
"I had this sword made for you. You will need to practice swinging it quite a bit, as a real sword is heavier than a wooden one, but now you can protect yourself with something besides magic if you need to."
She looked up at him as she slowly reached out and grabbed it, her emerald eyes full of gratitude and awe.
"I...thank you."
He nodded, glad to see she liked it as he showed her how to wear the sword belt, and how to take the sheath off when she wanted to. After a few minutes, she had the sword at her hip, looking at it as if it were fragile, and he looked forward to seeing how many things she hit with it before she got used to its weight at her hip.
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, guessing that this was as ready as they were going to get. Elaine had agreed to the council's plan, as he assumed she would, but asked for a month of two to rest and prepare as much as they could. He was not fond of this request, as it gave the Nation of Blood time to mobilize their forces and start marching, but they had been through a lot on their adventure here, and he could not blame her for wanting to stay in one place for a bit.
"Elaine, head back to the house and get everything ready. We said we would leave today, and I plan on covering as much ground as I can before the sun sets."
She nodded, shooting him a warm smile before leaving, walking awkwardly with the added weight to her hips. He watched her leave, surprised to find himself wanting to go with her as Annie walked to his side, smacking his shoulder and getting his attention.
"Why not walk her there? It is clear that you have feelings for her."
He raised an eyebrow at her, feeling his face get slightly hot.
"What makes you say that?"
Annie first responded by laughing loudly, causing the other warriors to glance over at them before going back to their training. He frowned, crossing his arms and waiting for her to get herself together.
"I have two eyes and two ears." she began, placing her hands on her hips and looking him in the eyes. "I trained you for nearly a year, and kept an eye on you after your family died. You are normally cold to others, and don't speak unless spoken to, giving a short response before leaving. Sure, you are different with Midnight and Drake, but not like you are with her."
Annie began walking as she talked, Jack following with a frown on his face, pretending that his face wasn't hot at her words. He needed to go to the blacksmith and retrieve his armor, as well as a new cloak, since he didn't want to carry the sigil of the Nation of Blood anymore.
"You talk all sweet to her, you always worry about her feelings, and you look at her much longer than you need to. I don't need to be as smart as Midnight to see that you see her as a woman, not a friend."
He looked ahead, not meeting the elder vampire's eyes.
"Maybe."
Annie stopped, looking completely surprised as he turned back, wondering what her problem was.
"You admit it? That is surprising; I thought you would deny it without hesitation."
He shrugged, continuing to walk as she caught up with him, turning and catching sight of the blacksmith, who was waiting at his forge and anvil.
"If it is that obvious, then there is no use in denying it."
He reached the blacksmith, the short dwarf with his long grey beard grunting and putting each piece of armor on the table, one by one. Jack picked up his breastplate, smirking at how it looked with no dents in it, or any blood or dirt smeared across it. He began equipping each piece, making sure all the straps were tight, and then he picked up his new cloak, a plain black cloak with no sigil on it, and threw it over his shoulders, clasping it and picking up his helmet. He looked into the eye sockets of the metal skull, putting it under his arm and turning to Annie, who nodded her approval.
"Say what you want about the Nation of Blood, they can make good armor. Not only that, but I am still impressed that you can put it on by yourself."
He thanked the blacksmith, telling the dwarf to give the cost of the maintenance to the council before turning and walking towards the house with Annie, glad to have his armor back.
"I asked for it this way. I did not want to constantly ask for help with it, since I had to wear it nearly all the time."
They walked until they reached the house, where the others were already gathered and ready to go. The others had taken his advice, with Midnight and Elaine wearing a new set of leather armor. Jerry was there, insisting that he come with, although he wore no armor, as it would get in the way of his transformation. Noelle was the only one who didn't listen, complaining that armor slowed her down and wearing the common garb of the sanctuary warriors.
It was Drake that looked like a new person, the tall vampire now having armor and a weapon. He had a thick breast plate, as well as wrist and leg guards, and in his hand he held the handle of an enormous great sword, the size of it alone astounding Jack as he looked at it. It was easily as tall as Elaine, and nearly a foot in width, made of a dark steel that seemed to absorb the light around it. Jack could only guess at how much it weighed, but Drake simply picked it up and threw it over his shoulder, as if it was no heavier than a broom.
"You still know how to use a sword, let alone that monster?" Annie said as they approached, Elaine shooting him a smile as he wondered the same thing. Drake gave them an evil grin, patting the large blade with pride.
"With a sword this big, does it matter? What would the enemy do, block it?"
Elaine giggled, Midnight simply shaking he head and looking overwhelmed by how simple Drake was. Noelle smirked at his side, smacking his beefy arm.
"I have seen what this vampire can do with his fist; I am very eager to see him use this on our enemies."
Drake laughed loudly, and Jack lifted his helmet over his head, sliding it down over his face, feeling the cool metal and cloth against his head. He had noticed that Noelle had been much nicer to Drake since their fight with the werewolf, but he had no idea why, as he had not been there to see it. He looked out at the group, prepped and ready to ask a empire to halt a war that has been going on for nearly a century.
He went over and joined them, glad that they all made it and wanting no one else at his side for the horrors that were most likely waiting for them in the furture.