Tunnel Rat

Milo collected himself and stood up. The older rat-kin had said that they would go a few rounds? But his stance was neutral and non-threatening. Was he in a fight? Looking around he saw that he was in a small dirt sided arena and he had rolled down one of the sides into the middle. A dozen or so rat-kin stood or sat around the sides. Some were standing at attention, while others were joking and talking to each other. Based on names and their gear, or lack of it, Milo made a guess that some of them were new players.

He tossed his pack to the side, and put his spanner and pick on top of the pack. Noticing that the older rat-kin wasn't equipped with weapons he took off his belt with his daggers and left them there as well. Considerably lighter, he stepped back into the ring.

"It is nice to meet you, Tallsqueak. My name is Tail-Master Gilad. I instruct young warriors in the ancient fighting techniques of our people. I always need someone to help me demonstrate techniques, and today that will be you, since you were anxious to get into my ring. Please take your stance and we will begin."

Milo had questions. "Are we fighting? For real? Or is this just a 'pissing contest'?"

Milo had never really seen a pissing contest, but that had been Butch's term for the little challenges all the gang liked to engage in. No one really got hurt. After Milo beat three people in challenges, people quit trying to fight with him. Butch had laughed at him. "It's like you have an on/off switch. When you fight it's for real. Try to develop a slider instead, it lets you tone things down a notch."

Master Gilad sighed. The new ones always tested him. "No, Tallsqueak, we aren't fighting for real. If we were, I'd be obligated to rip your head off and give you so many bruises you'd be limping sideways for a month. This is called 'sparring'. No special abilities or magic should be used. You should focus on dodging, and using your tail. I'm not going to try to hurt you, but you should try and hurt me. Can you do that for me Tallsqueak?"

Milo nodded yes.

Gilad smiled. "I'm so happy we understand each other. Now get into your fighting stance and we'll start."

Milo wasn't sure what a fighting stance was, so he simply stood there. Gilad sighed, took a step forward and his tail slashed across Milo's ankles. Or would have if Milo hadn't hopped upwards enough to dodge. He tried to hit the Tail-Master but his own tail slid through air, and the older rat-kin was suddenly next to him. Milo felt a heavy tail hit him in the head, knocking him down.

Tail-Master turned and walked away. "If you are too injured to continue, leave the ring." His ears didn't hear the sound of Tallsqueak walking dejectedly out of the ring. Instead, he heard several students make soft exclamations or suck in their breath. He dropped flat on the ground as Tallsqueaks tail went through the spot his head had been. Tailmaster spun to his back and flipped forward.

He'd expected the brave little youngling to follow up with that attack. If they were foolhardy to try a sneak attack, they would try to rush and put themselves off balance. But instead, Tallsqueak had backed off, putting distance between the two of them.

Tailmaster yelled at him. "Attacking from behind?"

Tallsqueak looked puzzled. "You didn't say the fight was over. Was it?"

Tail-Master's tone was gruff, but his eyes were bright. "Oh no, this fight is a long way from over."

The two engaged again, and again Tallsqueak went down. Tailmaster didn't turn his back this time. Seeing how this one fought, he thought that the youngling must be some type of rogue. He had a poor fighting stance, but good stealth, and he dodged like he had just eaten a pound of parmesan. Gilad decided this youngling needed further testing.

The fight went on. Each time the Tail Master dodged Tallsqueaks attacks, but the young one was learning. He was adjusting his stance, and gaining more balance. Several times he had outright dodged Gilad's attacks. When he did, Gilad sped up his offense another notch, pushing his opponent to be even faster. Time after time Tallsqueak took heavy blows from his teacher’s tail. Tailmaster expected him to quit each time and go tend to his bruises. But the little whelp just kept coming back for more.

Three more times they engaged, dodged, and threw tail at each other. Tail-Master had grown accustomed to his opponents fighting style, when suddenly it changed. After the second engagement, Tallsqueak charged him, then leaped straight up into the air. Tailmaster was off balance, moving forward, for just a fraction of a second. That was when Tallsqueak’s tail slapped him hard between the eyes, knocking him down. He rolled back up immediately, to dead silence.

Everyone waited. Tallsqueak wondered if the fight was still going on. He was just starting to get the hang of this game. He mimicked the stance that his opponent was using, keeping his weight balanced on only two of feet or tail at a time. Move and dodge. Dodge and move. Hit dodge and move. Always moving. He'd taken a chance by leaping up and forward like that. It left him horribly exposed if his opponent was expecting it, but it had worked. Probably just this once. Next time he'd do something else. But was the fight over? Tail-Master was looking at him oddly.

"Good job, Tall-Squeak. I under estimated you. Do you know the reward for a good job?"

Tallsqueak gulped. He knew. "Another job?"

Tail-Master nodded. Then he laughed. "Yes, that's right. You have the honor of assisting me in the early class from now on. I've been needing someone to help spar with these whelps. You seem to enjoy fighting and are hard to break." He tossed Milo a wooden coin. "Go give that to the Chef and get settled in. Be back here at 3 bells tomorrow."

Milo caught the wooden coin, then looked around, wondering where the Chef was. Tail-Master shook his head, remembering that Tallsqueak had just rolled into town. "Follow Brutus, the big guard. He'll be making tracks for dinner as fast as he can." The guard in question waved to Tallsqueak and after grabbing his pack and pick, the two walked in the direction of the largest building. Milo looked up at him. "You were at the tunnel! How did you see me?"

Brutus chuckled. "Don't take it hard. Guard duty is boring and we stay alert. Guards have to have great perception otherwise sneaky gits like you get past us. That was great the way you came across the ceiling. I was about to piss my pantaloons I was giggling so hard, waiting for you get to us."

Milo wasn't used to people seeing him. "How did you get your perception so high?"

Brutus visibly winced. "Special guard training. When the Deathmaster sneaks up on us, or sends one of his best students, you’d better be alert. When they yell 'surprise', it means there are already a couple of daggers sticking out of your back. Perception goes up really fast when you play with those guys."