“This is great news!” he exclaimed. “That means only three more rounds of victory, and you’ll win the championship!” I smiled falsely in return, not wanting Lark to know about my discomfort or worry. I wouldn’t tell him about Barrett. Not until after I had faced off against him. Lark looked at me curiously, obviously sensing something was wrong, but decided not to press me for information. Within an hour, we were packed up and ready to leave the next morning. Lark and I found a good,shaded spot to set up a tent, and we slept on makeshift mattresses. I would need the sleep this night to rest up for tomorrow. We set off the next morning soon after the sun peaked over the horizon, turning the clouds pink, orange, and yellow. After travelling for four days, we were only 5 hours away from the king’s castle when six burly men emerged from the bushes. They were all dressed in tattered clothes and four of the men had knives, while the other two had crossbows. They quickly formed an even circle and adopted a fighting stance, indicating that these men had clearly had practice with ambushing people. They were bandits and what they wanted was obvious - money. Lark and I dismounted and a bandit with an ear missing, presumably the leader, stepped forward and began to talk to Lark in a heavy foreign accent. “Okey …show more content…
He was much more skilled than I had presumed, but still could have finished him off easily. Even though, I didn’t have my sword guards on and I didn’t want to kill him - just knock him out or disarm him. I had to hold back on many of my strokes, fearing that one too powerful would end his life. So we continued to exchange blows. Then with a quick move, I punched him in the stomach, and as he doubled over, I vaulted straight over his head. As he began to rise, I turned my sabre around and slammed my hilt straight into the back of his head. The bandit immediately went limp and fell to the ground like a broken rag