Optimizing Swordplay: A More Efficient Fantasy, #3

By N E Riggs

Paka wants to be a swordsman so he can protect his sister, Yadis. That means he needs to convince either orcs or humans to teach him to fight. Since he's not sure whether he's an orc or a human, that gets complicated.

 

A More Efficient Fantasy: Book 3

• Language: English
• Publisher: N E Riggs
• Release date: Apr 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393215196

Book preview

Optimizing Acceptance

A More Efficient Fantasy

Book 2

N E Riggs

Copyright © 2021 N E Riggs

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

N E Riggs

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NERiggs.com

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Illustrator: Rebekah Smelser

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Editor: Leanore Elliott

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Paka crouched behind a bush. He balanced on the balls of his feet, poised to move but still for now. Only his eyes moved as he observed his prey. A large creature wandered into the clearing. Paka had seen some yaks two days ago, but only from a distance. He’d thought them large before. Up close, the shaggy creature was enormous. It could probably carry him with no difficulty.

The yak walked slowly, its hooves delicate on the ground. It would be able to move fast if it wanted to, Paka judged, looking at its powerful legs and haunches. Horns protruded from either side of its head, and it nosed the ground every few steps.

It was getting close. Just a few steps away, leaves lay scattered randomly across the ground. At least, Paka hoped they looked random. Surely, an animal wouldn’t know the difference.

The yak took two steps closer to the leaves, seeming oblivious.

Go on, Paka willed it silently, holding his breath. Keep going! Just a little!

Two more steps, and the leaves swept aside. The rope hidden beneath tightened, wrapping around the yak’s legs. With a distressed cry, the yak tried to get away, but it couldn’t escape. It fell on its side, where it continued to struggle uselessly.

Yes! Paka leapt out from behind the bush, punching the sky. He skipped a few steps closer to the yak but stopped a safe distance away. With all the thrashing, it could still hurt him if he got too close. I told you I could catch one!

Shalif appeared from a bush not far away from where Paka had hidden. He shook his head, never looking away from the yak. So you did. I admit it. You’re a better trapper than me or Welal.

Paka puffed out his chest. I’ve spent more of my life in the woods than anywhere else. There’s no animal in the world I can’t catch. How do you think Yadis and me kept ourselves fed? Not that many people in Sishil got injured or sick.

The more I hear about your old village, the more I don’t like it. Shalif circled the yak at a distance. Anyone who’d let a woman starve, has no redeeming qualities. And they never asked about where all her dead animals came from when she bartered them?

Paka shrugged. If anyone had, Yadis never mentioned it to him. She still missed Sishil. She didn’t talk about it, but Paka knew she did. They’d been in Last Chance for a month, and they were both happy here, but Yadis thought of Sishil as home.

Paka didn’t. He didn’t miss the village at all. How could he? He’d never been inside the village. Their small house on the outskirts was the closest he’d ever come. Maybe he missed the forest and the foothills a little. They were his home, more than anything else. They were the only place he could run, jump, and make noise. He might have loved them, if he could have spent more time there during the day. With all the lumberjacks and hunters from Sishil, he could only wander the woods at night.

Last Chance was a hundred times better than Sishil – no, a thousand. Here, he had huge, open spaces, as much as he could ever want and more. Here, he had people other than Yadis to talk to, people who smiled at him and liked him. Well, Welal mostly glared at him, but she glared at everyone else too, so Paka didn’t mind too much.

Even Fashan spoke to him now and taught him how to play cards. Even Demonians like to play, he said two nights ago, and when you’re good enough to cheat, you can get extra payment out of them. He tapped the side of his nose when he said this.

Paka didn’t want to cheat Demonians, but he didn’t tell Fashan that. The other man was just starting to like him.

When they left Sishil, Paka hadn’t believed they could ever find another place to call home. Now he wondered how he’d ever thought of Sishil as home.

None of her legs are broken, Shalif said when his finished his second trip around the yak.

Does that mean we aren’t going to eat her?

Shalif tilted his head to the side. Your sister’s been complaining again. She says we need work animals, for the fields and for milk and for that damn mill which is never going to work. Well, this lady is big and strong and healthy. Let’s bring her home and see if Yadis approves. Get ready. We’re going to have to loosen the rope and then tied it around her neck fast. He shifted his stance.

I’m ready. Paka didn’t think Shalif could move very fast, not with his wooden foot. At least, he’d never seen the man move fast. He’d have to deal with the yak himself.

Shalif grabbed the trailing edge of the rope, getting a good grip on it. Then he darted forwards.

Paka changed his opinion immediately – Shalif could move fast. The man was next to the yank in an instant, avoiding the hooves. He tugged the knot loose.

The yak grunted, tossing her head and fighting back to her feet. Paka hurried forwards. He wrapped his arms around the yak’s neck and dug his feet into the ground. The animal fought against him, trying to buck him off. She’d have won free against a human. But Paka was bigger and stronger than any human, and he had a secure grip around her neck. She shook him like a doll but didn’t win her way free.

There! Shalif tossed the rope around the yak’s neck and pulled it tight. Paka slipped away, his hand almost getting caught. The yak ran for freedom as soon as he let go. She might have escaped, since Shalif nearly got knocked off his feet. Paka grabbed the rope too, and together they held on. Eventually, the yak slowed, her sides heaving, a miserable look on her face.

You don’t have to be afraid, Paka said, patting the hairy neck. We’ll take good care of you.

The yak threw her head and snorted loudly

I don’t think that helps, Shalif said with a laugh. He got another rope out, and they tied it around the yak’s middle. With the animal secure, they each took a rope and headed back for Last Chance. At first, they walked in silence, Shalif in front. Paka watched him, observing Shalif as closely as he had the yak earlier. Even with the wooden foot, the brown-skinned man moved well. He seemed to have endless energy bottled up inside of him, ready to burst out when he needed it, just like with the yak. He didn’t trip or misstep, though how he could feel the ground with a wooden foot Paka didn’t know.

You’re a swordsman, aren’t you?

Shalif always wore a sword when they left the settlement – sometimes he wore it in the settlement, too. Worked for ten years as a mercenary. Shalif didn’t turn around. Welal, too

Were you in any wars? Have you killed people? Did you ever fight Demonians?

Shalif turned his head, wearing a smile on his face. A smart swordsman avoids Demonians. Humans, elves, and dwarfs are hard enough to fight. The heroes are the only ones who want to fight your people, and I say they’re welcome to it.

Paka nodded. He understood. He didn’t want to fight any Demonians either. Sometimes, he still had nightmares about the goblin who attacked him and Yadis. He knew how lucky they’d been to survive that. "What about