Snippet #2670182

Sleep didn't come easily for Zhyle as he wondered about the future of their merry band, contemplating their next moves. Well, to be honest, his next moves. He hadn't voiced his concerns vehemently but the idea of proceeding to Jinera seemed less than ideal. Haarpa was not the ideal situation, and taking a boat out of there seemed foolhardy which indeed left Jinera. But some little bit of him called out to possibly sneak back into the green fields of Tyvern that had cursed them. Would it be possible to sneak back, or even ever return? He came to the sad conclusion that he could definitely not return any time soon. Which left sticking with this group to Jinera. Who knows, they might be nice... Right?

Zhyle woke early over the next couple of days, tending to their horses before finding his way around the town. Occasionally he stopped by the smithy where he had made a friend the previous day. At first he found himself wasting the day away wandering and mapping the streets of the colosseum town, which soon wore old. Finding himself with a dismaying lack of work to do he wandered his way around the central colosseum and markets for the majority of the first day, managing to enter and catch some another of Miri's victories before departing for the inn they resided in. As the days continued Zhyle found himself taking out his horse from their inn and riding around the area nearby before selecting an area off the beaten trail where he gathered he would not be bothered before settling down to train with his bow, and to his own surprise trying to remember the basics of swordplay that he learned a long time ago.

The town's hustle and bustle rose as the weekend tournament steadily approached. Zhyle found himself spending a lot of time in the city around the colosseum observing the patrons who arrived early for the weekend, as well as watching what fights he could. And then in the afternoon he would attempt to copy at least one or two things he would note from competitors, obviously failing grandly at most replications, but at least gaining insight into the combat of Haarpan swordsmanship.

And when the tournament finally arrived Zhyle counted himself as excited as any of the other watchers.