Turn 87

    Upon hearing ibn Fadil's request, Hiro simply nods; he hasn't had a good workout in a while himself. The two men go down to the castle yard, where there is an area near the barracks set aside for just such use.
    The two begin slowly, warming up (literally) and work up to full speed. The bout soon falls into a rhythm of fast exchanges punctuated by pauses for the mock combatants to regains their breath.
    Within a very short while a dozen people have gathered. The guards and messengers hurrying this way and that as a result of the morning's events slow as they pass and linger for a moment, watching. Even Feliks spends a few moments observing.
    Clearly they appreciate Hiro's skill--and perhaps the distraction from the morning's horror--and there are occasional exclamations of surprise at ibn Fadil's quick moments. Hiro is, if anything, more stoic and silent with an audience than he is without. There is scattered applause when they finish up.
    "Full of surprises, aren't you," the guard captain comments to no one in particular, and goes on his way.
    Others of the crowd hang around for a bit, some of them asking questions, most of which are turned aside by Hiro's taciturn countenance. Some of the guards display a practical curiosity, wanting to see a particular move, others are interested in the cultures that produced ways of fighting so different from each other and from that practiced by the Rigolians, and nearly all of them want a closer look at the strangers' weapons.
    That evening after supper the visitors gather in their chamber to discuss plans and hear what their captain has to tell them.
    "Well, it wasn't easy but I got a few words out of His Lordship about what's been going on. They've had this sort of thing before, and they don't seem to suspect us of anything. I don't know that this is anything we want to get involved in, to be honest, although," he looks as Alais, "he did seem to be suggesting a few times that given our mighty magical resources, if we should stumble across anything they'd be happy to hear it.
    "In the meantime, it looks as if they're determined to keep things as normal as they can. The blacksmiths' banquet is tomorrow night, some of us ought to put in an appearance. After that," he spreads his hands questioningly, "I really don't know. We seem to be making progress, and it seems that the company can do business here, even if the people are a little... odd. But we haven't really discussed things since we landed, so I thought it might be a good idea to talk about it."
    "Ibn Fadil, would you go out to the ship and let Nyala and Inez know, and see if they have anything to add? I hate to leave them out of this, but it might look odd if all of us went out there. Only one, they'll think up their own explanation." He grimaces in some distaste.
    

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