The Tale of Three Weapons - Part 1

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Swords

Chapter One - The Assassins

Josh and Rastlin were walking along after losing their first tournament in eight years. They were friends — best friends, in fact. They had met in a team tournament in which they had been randomly paired. They were usually hired swords, but they also battled in tournaments for extra money. Although they had lost their first tournament, they realised that they made great battle partners.

The reason they were great battle buddies was the fact that they were the classic team of brain and brawn, though this is not to say that Josh was super-intelligent or that Rastlin was stupid. Josh was a master of the magic arts and of agility (he also had some skill with money, especially memorising the values of foreign money, but that is a very minor detail). Rastlin was a master of weapons and power (he could also find the cheapest good-quality alcohol, no matter where he was, and get favors easily, but these are just coincidences). They also each had something that they did not understand or even know of yet.

'So,' Rastlin said, 'what are we going to do now?'

'I'm thinking,' said Josh.

'Okay,' said Rastlin, 'let's see what we have. All we have are the clothes that we're wearing, about enough supplies to last us a week, the twins1 and your staff2 — and don't forget, there won't be another tournament for three months.'

'I know,' said Josh, 'but it was the first round and that guy and that prize would've been enough for a long time.'

'Yes,' said Rastlin. 'Don't forget how low we are on supplies. Wait, look!' On the ground was a 75-zenoth coin that was enough for another week's supplies.

But after Rastlin dusted it off, Josh said, 'Are you forgetting that we're three weeks from a decent town, let alone a city? We're stuck in a desert: no animals, no edible plants and only recovery villages for the sick who need the restorative powers of the wilderness!' exclaimed Josh angrily.

'No, but every week helps. Besides, we might get an extra three or four days with the current prices. You said so yourself back there when you were wishing for a 75-zenoth piece.'

'Sorry,' said Josh. 'I was just thinking about that guy.'

'I know, it makes me angry thinking about him too.'

Josh and Rastlin walked in silence until they had walked the last mile to the next village.

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1This referred to Rastlin's broadswords. They were designed to be the same in strength and all natural sword qualities, except for two things: they were of the rare breed of swords that were each made for a specific hand, one for right one for left, and their colours and designs were precise mirror images of each other.2Josh's wooden quartering staff was one of three legendary weapons: the staff of magic, with unlimited magical energy to cast as many spells as the wielder desires and the power to change to any weapon; the twin blades of strength named yin and yang, with the ability to give the wielder unlimited energy to keep fighting and a great boost of strength and speed while using them for long lengths of time; and the bow of wisdom, which helps advance the bearer's skills and can in no way be destroyed or separated from its quiver of magic returning arrows of power.

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