“C’mon lad, is that all you got? You are hitting like a fucking girl right now boy. I thought you wanted to learn to fight, not dance like a whore at the ole tavern.” Screamed the older guard Drew at me while I attempted to block his hits. This old bastard hits like a bull. The old man was only five foot eight, a few inches shorter than me at six foot two but he packed one hell of a hit with that longsword. My arms continued to buckle under his hits, but I grabbed that rage building inside of me and pushed back with my shield as hard as I could. The shield pushed the sword back allowing some space for me to have a quick breath and then I swung my longsword to his left side to only be blocked by Drew’s shield. 

“Damn it.” I growled. 

“Ha, you think you can get this old bastard. C’mon boy, hit me!”

“I will get y…” *whack*

I fell to the ground from the hit to the left side of my helm. Lucky for me, the bastard Drew only hit me with the flat end of the longsword, otherwise I would not be on the ground with only a painful headache. I laid there panting, looking at the bright sky reliving moments of my past. I shake my head. 

“Not now, too painful and it will cause me to not learn what I need to.” I thought to myself. 

A hand comes into my vision, I grab it and it helps me up. I stand up and stare at Drew and he just smirks at me as I dust myself off. 

“You’re getting better kid,” Drew said, “I wish you would tell me what pushes you forward so hard to learn to sword fight.”

“I like you Drew, but my business is my own to keep.” I said while avoiding his curious look. I sighed to myself and retrieved my sword off the ground. The memories of the past kept me moving forward. The screams and the deaths around me as a child push me forward. The vengeance I will seek will push me forward. The loss of my childhood pushes me forward. The loss of Alice pushes me forward. The loss of my family pushes me forward. But alas I cannot tell Drew this, no matter how much I like the man. I cannot trust anyone but that old wizard or as the locals think, my grandfather. I guess that old wizard is my grandfather in a way. He was and will continue to be there for me and look after me. I owe him my life and so much more. 

“You know for a young’un you think too much, always staring off into the sky. You need to stop daydreaming so much. So, you know why you got knocked down this time boy?”

“My rage I guess.”

“Yes, your rage did help me put you down but also you are giving into my taunts. You need to ignore those when your enemy does them. You fell for the trap I set, and I knocked you on your ass.”

“I know, I know. I just can't help it, I try but that rage does not go away. My father always told me, “No time to feel emotions when in the heat of battle” but I cannot grasp that nowadays. Anything you know that may help Drew?” I asked curious about the old guard’s answer. 

“Hmmm, I guess relieving some of that stress would help. So, you have two options my boy; drink some alcohol or bed some wenches. Hell, or both at the same time. How old are you now lad?”

“Sixteen today actually.” Stated while rolling my eyes. “Why must I do those to help relieve some anger, my grandfather says you’re a bad influence when it comes to these responses.”

“Bah, your old grandfather is too old to enjoy the nectar of the gods and bodies of the goddess if you ask me, that is why he tells you not to bother. He wants the both of you to suffer.” Drew said with a smile. Drew and the old wizard were good friends since our move here and they spent a lot of time together which allowed me to know Drew and have him teach me swordsmanship. 

“Sixteen though, well congratulations are in order. You are a man now, so now that the practice is over let’s put the armor away and head to the ole Hangman’s Tavern.” Drew said while undoing his helmet to let his head breathe. On these sunny summer days, the armor just makes you sweat without even doing anything, it really amazes me on how these guards don’t just fall over from heat stroke. We head to the armory for the guards and put away the borrowed armor, shield and longsword while Drew talks with the captain of the guard. 

I look around at the armory, noting to myself how good the armor is here even though it is some backwater town called Wyvern Burial. It’s a small town of about six hundred people living here. The guard post is about twenty strong which is considerable. The reason the town has some good gear is the mining post here that produces metals like tin and iron like back home. The village uses the metals to make steel and then in turn make their own armor and weapons. They do sell the extras of course and make a pretty good profit. This allows them to afford the guards and all the luxury items that the cities have. 

I look over at Drew to see if he is finished with Captain Arthur. The captain and Drew laugh about something then look over at me and the captain nods to Drew. Drew comes back over while laughing. 

“C’mon boy, let's head over to Hangman’s Tavern, the captain and some men will meet us over there in a bit. It is time to help alleviate some of that anger you have.” Drew said with a smile. 

The Hangman’s Tavern is the only tavern in the town, but it is quite big. A three-story building with the top two floors being the sleeping quarters and the downstairs being the bar and dining area. The reason it is three stories is the fact that the adventures guild is also attached to the tavern. The large amounts of space are used up by adventures that come to town to complete quests or just passing through on other errands. The backwater towns usually get a lot of adventures passing through. 

Drew and I headed into the tavern to find a seat, lucky for us there was one in the back. It’s a good thing as I am a big people watcher, so I always put my back to the wall and watch everyone in the tavern. 

“What will it be boys?” The older waitress asked as we sat down. 

“Well Wendy, today is Samuels sixteenth birthday, so he will take a big o cup of your famous ale and I will to.” Drew said while leering at Wendy the waitress. 

Wendy smirked at Drew’s look and nodded her head before heading out. 

“Ah, to be wanted all the time by the fine ladies around here is a damn hard job boy.” Drew said while staring at Wendy’s backside. 

“Uh huh.” I said while rolling my eyes. 

“C’mon lad, get in the mood to drink and have a merry ole time. You only turn sixteen once and what I wouldn’t give to be that young again.”

Wendy came back and dropped off the ale on the table. 

“Here you go birthday boy. Anything else boys?”

“Ah a couple of the dinner specials if you don’t mind Wendy.” Drew said while looking at Wendy with a big smile on his face. 

“Of course, Drew, and how about some company for the poor lad besides you?” Wendy asked with a smirk. 

“Oh, you read my mind Wendy but not right now. Need to put the boy in the mood so to speak, always the defiant one.” Drew said while sipping his ale. 

Wendy walked away with a nod and moved on to the other patrons in the tavern. Drew continued to smirk while drinking his ale while I kept looking at him with a curious expression as to what he meant about being in the mood. Whatever, the old guard is crazy like the old wizard. Always speaking in riddles and surprising me with things. They wonder why I get so mad at them all the time. 

“Boy drink some ale while it's cold.” Drew said while pushing the ale towards me on the table. 

“Cold?” I asked while touching the cup, yep it was indeed cold. 

“Your grandfather put a spell on the pump nozzle for the barrels when pumping the ale out. So the pump instantly makes the ale ice cold when coming out according to your grandfather. It makes the ale taste so much better. Before it was like drinking warm moose piss, now it’s like drinking cold moose piss. Ha-ha.” Drew said while laughing and hitting the table.