Chapter V
'Damn!' said Isaac when he had woken up. He looked up at the sky and could see that it was almost noon. He had almost forgottten about his appointment! He skipped breakfast and rushed to the castle, where the guards were practicing their combat techniques. They all wielded their longswords and some of the higher ranked guards held vicious looking halberds. They had all stopped when they noticed Isaac standing at the main gate of the castle.
'You've finally made it,' said Perseus with a smirk on his face. 'Here's your gear.'
Perseus handed him the attire of a typical guard: a square shield, chainmail, and a medium helm. Along with that, he got a longsword, the weapon of a low ranked or normal guard. Isaac put on the gear as quick as possible, and rushed to find a place in the crowd of guards.
'Ten hut!' yelled a guard at the front of the throng. All the guards stood straight as rods.
'Draw swords!' yelled the guard again. All the guards drew their swords.
'Offensive technique number one!' barked the commanding officer. All the guards held their swords over their heads, swinging them in downward and upward arcs.
'Offensive technique number two!' he barked again. The guards all stopped and began to chop at the thin air in quick diagonal swipes.
'Offensive technique three!' ordered the officer. The guards all stabbed at the air in quick lunges.
'Rest!' commanded the officer, and then all the guards began to prepare for their defensive training.
Perseus walked over to Isaac and said, 'Are you impressed? Our guards are among the most elite in the land. We practice everyday, and wield all types of weapons, mainly halberds and longswords. Our mission is to keep the towns of Misthalin united, as well as safe.' He sighed, and continued. 'But as of late, our plans haven't gone well. Gangs and crime have been on the rise, and they have overwhelmed us. We are running out of guards and are not getting any recruits, so we train more and more each day.'
Isaac looked up at the sky and saw that it was beginning to rain. The guards rose again and began their defensive training, raising their shields over their heads as to prevent arrows from above, as well as creating a wall of shields to defend from charging shock troops and arrows from ahead. The rain dripped off their shields and helms, making their gear shine brilliantly. The halberd division of the guards were up next to train. Isaac practiced his combat manuevers, based on what he saw. He was becoming a better fighter.