Tunnel Rat

The fighting arena was filling up as Milo arrived. Like the day before, some of the students seemed to be players just starting up new characters. Several were sparring in the center area, punching and slapping with their tails. One of these approached Milo as he put his pack down. "Hey, want to get in a round before the drill sergeant guy shows up? I'm Blackwhisker."

Milo wondered if most players didn't start with an Identify or Appraise skill? He had known already known the player’s name. This was probably another one of the social rituals he needed to learn. He was always confused about whether he was supposed to shake hands, fist bump, or touch elbows. He preferred the small bow of the head that many rat-kin used. He'd go with that. "I'm Tallsqueak. You want to spar with tails?"

Blackwhisker was tall and muscular, wearing a set of stiff, boiled leather armor. "Yep, let's get in some friendly practice." Milo nodded and moved to the center of the arena. Some of the other fighters backed off to the perimeter. Even before Milo got to his side of the arena Blackwhisker was rushing at him, hitting his shoulder into Milo and knocking him to the ground. Milo rolled to his feet. Blackwhisker had a sly smile on his face. "I'll give you a pointer: Always keep your guard up in the ring."

Milo reevaluated his knowledge of 'friendly sparring' to not include the word friendly. He heard a few cheers for Blackwhisker from a group sitting together. "Thank you. I will remember that from now on."

Blackwhisker came at him again. Milo sidestepped when he tried to knock him down, and slashed his claws across the larger rat-kins chest, and tripped him with his tail. Blackwhisker went down in a pile of dust and Milo backed off, but stayed focused. His opponent was not happy with him. "What's this bullshit? You cut my armor? Are you using weapons?! This cost me all my starting money!" The leather chest piece hung loose, with four long cuts into it.

Milo wondered why Blackwhisker was upset. They were sparring. Claws and tails were part of sparring. He shrugged and got ready for the next round. It wasn't long in coming as Blackwhisker advanced on him again. Milo noticed he wasn't using his tail, letting it just swish back and forth with anger. He also wasn't preparing his claws, keeping his fists balled up like he intended to punch Milo.

A right hook from Blackwhisker was dodged, as was a left jab, and then two more punches. He had strength and weight, but Milo found it easy to dodge his blows. Acrobatics and Fleet of Foot skills worked well with Master Gilad's style of fighting and moving. The Sense Danger skill, along with his perks of Acrobat and Uncanny Dodge made it trivial for him to avoid the clumsy punches. His opponent was getting angry and breathing hard, trying to keep up with him. "Stand and fight! You keep running away like a coward."

Milo shrugged. "Ok." As his opponent tried to hit him again, Milo grabbed his arm and pulled, tossing him off balance. Mining had made him strong, and his STR of 9 proved to be stronger than his larger opponent. As Blackwhisker turned, Milo's tail slapped him hard in his snout, breaking something and causing blood to spurt. Following up while his opponent was stunned, Milo’s claws tore the rest of Blackwhisker’s leather armor to shreds, and left light scratches all over his chest. Milo didn't give him a chance to react, slapping him again in the head, and then kicking his legs out from under him. Blackwhisker lay on the ground and didn't get up.

The group that had been cheering for Blackwhisker were all standing, and two were about to rush into the ring. Milo flexed his hands, showing his claws to them. They reconsidered and sat back down. Blackwhisker crawled out of the ring and sat with them, trying to staunch his bloody snout.

Gilad stepped into the ring. Milo hadn’t been aware that he was even there. "I see that you are all on time. Wonderful. Please line up around the edge of the ring, giving yourselves space to move and tumble. We begin with the forward roll/tail slap combination. This fast attack can often take your opponent by surprise." For the next half hour, the Tail-Master led his students through the elementary move, making them perform it over and over until it was ingrained in them. One hundred repetitions had most of them performing adequately. Then they moved on to side-rolls, back-flips, and full disengagements. In every move, he emphasized the use of the tail.

"Your opponents will often forget about your tail, giving you openings with what can become a strong weapon. This is our natural advantage, as orcs have durability and spiders have poison and webs. Not using your advantages to the fullest is lazy and stupid. You will die and waste my training."

Gilad had been observing the silly 'sparring' that these whelps had been doing before his class started. It was the same with every new batch: too much energy that led to fighting and a few trying to exert dominance through strength or size. The fight between his two strongest students had been interesting. Blackwhisker forgot everything he knew as soon as he took a blow, while Tallsqueak became quiet and focused. Blackwhisker should have backed off when he saw how sharp the other's claws were! Instead, he forced the fight to continue, letting Tallsqueak stay in control and prove himself stronger in every way.

He was pleased. He had made Tallsqueak his assistant to put pressure on him. He had known that the other whelps would challenge him for his position. It was good to sort out the pecking order early. No one would doubt who was the dominant whelp in this class. It was one less thing filling their small brains and getting in the way of his teaching.

Two bells of drills and constant movement left every whelp tired and panting. Tallsqueak was doing better, but was also breathing hard and sweating. Half the class had collapsed exhausted partway through. Blackwhisker still stood, but he was swaying back and forth, about to pass out.

"Very well, we are done for the day. I'm not sure how much more of this I could take. You and you..." he pointed to two of Blackwhisker’s nest mates. "...take that one to the healer, he seems unwell. Tomorrow, drills will begin at half bell past two. Tallsqueak will be leading you in them. Sparring and lessons will begin at three bells. Hopefully, I will not be so disappointed tomorrow."

Milo looked around. Some of the players were talking about quitting, not seeing the point of lessons if you could just go and fight monsters. Others seemed to be greatly enjoying the classes and wondering what came next. The rat-kin of the hollow were all excited. Just being in the Tail-Master's class meant they had a chance to become warriors with enough training.

Milo himself enjoyed the class. It made sense to him. There was a purpose to each drill and exercise. Up until now he had improvised his fighting and let the game influence and help him. Now he felt like he was exceeding the game's bonuses and gaining control. As the fifth bell of the day sounded, it was a relaxed and happy Tallsqueak who walked to the mess hall. That lasted until Brutus saw him. The big guard walked over with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey! Justin told me about you beating the crap out of that crazy little gal that keeps surprising us. Great job!! I'm looking forward to letting you dodge her tender embrace while I get to sleep in peace instead of in pieces." He laughed at his own joke and put an arm around Milo. "Come on, let's get double bowls of whatever Bleusnout has for lunch to celebrate you catching her eye."