Quincy, Grald and I were seated around a round wooden table with intricate motifs carved on the sides. The glossy tabletop was reflecting the yellow chandelier light. A mouth-watering aroma waft around the room. The fragrance entered my nostrils and filled my lungs. My mouth immediately began watering.
"Jasper makes some of the best meals that I've ever had," Grald said.
The anticipation was building up. I was starving after not having eaten the whole day. After what felt like an eternity, Jasper brought out a giant pot which was giving off smoke. The sound of boiling liquid was coming from the pot. The orc placed it in the middle of the table.
"Serve yourselves. I made pork stew today," Jasper said.
"And Luke, make sure that you eat five plates," he added.
"What? But I'll feel nauseous."
"Trust me you'll need the energy tomorrow, so bear with the discomfort and eat."
Without wasting anymore time, I served myself a big plate and dug right in. The tender chunks of meat melted as soon as they hit the roof of my mouth while transferring all the complex notes and flavors. The vegetables were perfectly harmonized with the meat and absorbed all of the juices. The tasty broth which has been simmering for hours was an orchestra of flavors. My eyes lit up with every bite and I started eating faster. I was devouring the food like a wild animal.
"It seems like my cooking is to your liking," Jasper said.
I only looked up to give him a nod before lowering my head and continued eating. Soon enough, I had finished five plated and let out a heavy sigh. My stomach was full and my body felt heavy. Unsurprisingly, he orcs had eaten twenty plates each.
"No wonder they're all so big."
After this hearty meal, lethargy took over me and I was drowsy. Step by step, I left the dining room. I was practically dragging my body.
"Tomorrow, I'll wake you up at four," Grald said.
I gave him a simple thumbs up and went to my room. I threw myself on the bed and gently closed my eyes.
--------------
A splash of cold jolted me up abruptly, my body along with my bedsheets were soaked. Grald was standing next to the bed with a bucket in hand. His face wore a sinister grin.
"Did you have to throw a bucket of water on me? You couldn't wake me up in any other way?" I asked.
"I could. But this was just more fun to do."
"You should be grateful you know. I could have used ice cold water," he said while laughing.
I lifted my half asleep body up slowly with my wet hair covering my eyes.
"Follow me, we will be going into the forest," he said.
After getting myself ready and most importantly, dry, we left the tribe and ventured into the forest. The moist wood aroma permeated the air. The wet grass crumpled under our feet with every step. We walked forward until we reached a small clearing. The rays of sunlight illuminated this clearing, causing the tiny droplets of water on the ground to shine brilliantly. We stood face to face in the middle of the space.
"Luke, today's training will be divided into two sections. In the morning, you will train your physique and in the afternoon, we will train martial arts."
"Something has been on my mind since yesterday," he added.
"What is it?"
"When we fetched you, you adopted a stance. Even though it looked crude because of your lack of practice, the roots of it looked high-level. Where did you learn that?"
My mind immediately went blank trying to think of what to tell him.
"Do I lie and tell him that I learnt it from some knight or do I tell Grald the truth?" I thought to myself.
"Uhm..."
"You can tell him, he's trustworthy," a familiar voice said in my head. It was Drago!
"To be honest with you, this is the Draconic martial arts. There was a skeleton near my village. I went to sleep there and the dragon spirit showed me some basics," I said.
His eyes widened in shock and he was left speechless. It took him a while to compose his thoughts. This was the first time that I saw Grald in such a state of shock. It was probably a lot to take in all at once.
"W-What?"
"You-You have inherited Draconic martial arts?"
"Yes," I replied.
"That's awesome! You're bound for greatness. That has gotten me even more pumped to train you," he said.
"Show me what you have learnt," he added.
Without wasting time, I dropped into my stance and began striking like I had practiced. The movements felt better than yesterday. Overall, it was less awkward. Grald observed every minute detail of my techniques. I continued striking the air until he held his hand up.
"Do you know why the movements feel weird?" he asked.
"I guessed that it was because I am missing an arm."
"That's correct. Striking utilizes the rotation of your whole body, from your legs to your hips and finally to your torso. However, in your case, your body is asymmetric as it weighs more on one side, so the rotation is off. I'm guessing that in the beginning, you fell a lot."
"That's right. How do I fix that?"
"Didn't you hear what I said earlier? Martial arts training will be in the afternoon. You have bigger issues to worry about now."
"Run around the clearing," he added.
Following his instruction, I began running. At first it was quite easy, but soon enough, I was gasping for air and sweat dripped down my forehead. With every lap, my mouth got more and more parched. My posture worsened and I began slouching and dragging my legs.
"You look pathetic you know."
I was too tired to even bother replying to him. I just wanted this to be over.
"How do you plan on taking revenge if you cannot even jog? Do you think that those knights would be afraid of someone who can't even chase after them?"