Nicolas' eyes were used to the darkness, so when the door to the bar was unlocked, he could hardly open his eyes. "Why did you lock me in here?"
"Nicolas, tell me this. Why did you get punched by Alex back there?"
"What, why did I get punched, the punch was pretty fast. It hit me in the face."
"No, you got punched 2 milliseconds after it hit your face. Something happened during those 2 milliseconds and apparently you don't know what happened."
"I didn't feel anything and I don't know."
"Hmm. Maybe Alex hesitated. Who knows?"
"Why did you lock me in here? Even if I ran away, you would have found me. Where would I go anyway?"
"It's not important that you go anywhere, Nicolas. I just wanted you to be alone here and think about things. You only think when you're alone."
"Of course I thought about things, but what did you want me to think about?"
Culad sat down at one of the empty tables. He gestured for Nicolas to sit down too. Nicolas sat down.
"How do you think fight is won, Nicolas?" He clasped his hands in the middle.
"Physical strength, sword skill, of course."
"Your first mistake is here. Fight is won by strategy."
"I'm not good with strategy, Culad."
"You're not good with strategy, but you're not good with swordfighting."
"Then let's have a sword fight here."
"Of course, anytime."
They were both on their feet. They pushed chairs and tables aside. There was a space in the middle. They faced each other. Both had their hands in their sheaths.
Both drew their swords. They clashed in the center. Culad seemed superior in every way, but when it came to the sword duel, he was only slightly superior to Nicolas.
Nicolas and Culad's swords clashed in the center. Up to this point, they were equal. Nicolas felt he had found a gap. He thrust his sword into Culad's stomach. Culad immediately stepped to the side and avoided the move. This Culad's side step was so quick and swift that Nicolas could not even see it. Nicolas' face was completely exposed as Nicolas reached forward. Culad aimed the sword at Nicolas' eye. He stopped 1 cm away.
"Don't forget this wound, Nicolas." Culad slashed Nicolas horizontally across the nose and kicked Nicolas to the ground. "We're here every night at two o'clock."
Culad tidied up the bar, changed his clothes and switched the sign from closed to open. There was a line in front of the bar. A big man was waiting at the front of the line. "Come on Yari, we're waiting for you, all these guys, give us ten Oskor beers."
"Aye aye, gentlemen, sit down and I'll get it for you." Culad, or Yari as he called him at the bar, started pouring the beers into the beer glasses.
Nicolas sat on a chair at the bar. He was doing nothing but thinking.
"Should I leave this city? Where no one will recognize me?"