The Tattered Banner (Society of the Sword Volume 1) by Duncan M. Hamilton Page A

thought ridiculous. Now however, he was in more comfortable territory. He could directly influence the events that would follow, one way or the other.
    Ranph nodded to Jost, who acknowledged the signal.
    ‘Time to go,’ said Jost. ‘Remember, just like duelling class. Good luck.’
    Soren walked forward to meet dal Dardi, but the two exchanged no words. Jost and Ranph stood to the side with the physician behind them. Part of Soren hoped that the physician’s services would not be needed, but he was confident that they would.
    ‘As agreed, the duel is to first blood,’ said Ranph. ‘Both combatants are duty bound by honour to cease fencing as soon as they become aware of a wound to either party drawing blood. I will call out the presence of a wound drawing blood as soon as I become aware of it, and if combat has not ceased already by that point, it is to cease instantly on my word. Are the rules understood?’
    Soren said that he understood, dal Dardi did likewise.
    ‘Very good,’ said Ranph. ‘Begin.’
    Dal Dardi came at Soren right away. His attack indicated the complete contempt with which he considered Soren. He was a little better than Soren remembered, but perhaps he had unintentionally been playing down dal Dardi’s ability in his own mind in order to boost his confidence. He settled into a nice flow of defensive strokes, alternating between rapier and dagger smoothly and Soren was content to continue defending until he had a better measure of him.
    He had always been taken by flights of imaginative fancy and he found himself wondering what the scene must have looked like, the clashing of blades in a tree lined field before the morning haze had fully lifted. His wandering imagination nearly cost him as dal Dardi’s dagger passed perilously close to his midsection.
    He focussed and took the initiative. He directed most of his attacks through his rapier, as he was not confident enough with the dagger to use it for anything other than defence. He forced dal Dardi back several paces before dal Dardi countered back hard, cutting low at Soren with his dagger and forcing him to jump back out of the way. It put him off balance, which was not something that had been done to him often. He recovered his balance quickly but his legs and arms felt heavy and slow.
    Dal Dardi came at him again, and for the first time Soren began to feel unsettled. He did not seem to have his usual speed and the loss of that edge rapidly exposed his less polished technique. Soren allowed himself to be driven back as he attempted to rally.
    He focussed hard and gradually it felt as though his body was coming back to life. His reactions seemed a little quicker and his body responded to his commands at the speed he expected of it. Dal Dardi had grown more confident as a result of his promising start and continued to come at Soren, seeking out a gap in his defence. It took Soren several counters before he regained the initiative, but he was beginning to feel back to normal. As the ease with which he usually moved returned, it seemed as though it had just required a little more concentration than was ordinarily needed. He did not want for the duel to go on any longer than necessary and risk another slump into weakness and possibly even the headache and nausea he had suffered two nights before, which still played on his mind.
    Soren pushed in with a fast thrust that he followed up with his dagger. He had expected the dagger to strike dal Dardi on his right shoulder and put an end to the duel, but somehow he parried the secondary strike and countered. Soren’s surprise at the failure of the attack must have shown on his face as dal Dardi sneered and pressed forward with his own attack.
    The sneer infuriated Soren and with a sudden burst of effort he deflected dal Dardi’s rapier with his dagger and thrust forward with his own sword, directly at dal Dardi’s sneering face. The sneer quickly changed to apprehension, and Soren’s heart leapt, as