On the road, just before the wooden elevator, Sander was walking, enjoying the warm Sun of that beautiful day.

"Ah! Good morning to all of you! Did you have a good night?" he asked, smiling.

They answered affirmatively and chatted with him for a few minutes, even asking him for some information about the emissaries sent to their Clans.

"Don't worry, Dag. Some of them are on missions nearby, so it takes a few days for me to gather them and give them the official a.s.signment. Just don't feel in our way… as our guests, you can stay here as long as you want, take some time for yourself! I will call you myself when there are developments in the expedition, all right?" he asked, reaching out a hand to Dag, who squeezed it, nodding his head. 

After greeting Sander, they continued their walk to the arena, which they reached without any hurry. 

Reidar arrived a short time earlier and was already hitting targets in front of him, positioned more than a hundred yards away, while Gridd trained nimbly against a large wooden training dummy. 

"How come you chose to fight with two weapons, Dag?" Freydis asked, breaking the silence as Karl entered the enclosure to train with Gridd.

"My sister has greatly influenced my fighting style... since I was a child, after my daily workouts in the arena, I trained with her near our farm. As you can see with your own eyes, Gridd uses to fight with two swords, and her style is based a lot on speed and counter-attacks. Over the years, I understood those advantages and started fighting in the same way" he said, resting his hands on both of his weapons, hanging from his belt.

"I remember, when you were a kid, you fought with one sword. That little wooden sword... how sweet! If I think about it, my heart beats!" she replied, recalling the past.

"Yeah, I... I was a bad fighter... not that I'm experienced now, I still have a lot to learn! Anyway, thanks to my sister, I learned what I know about the fight, but Taya's hard workouts helped me to strengthen my spirit. Defeating her in an official duel was a very exciting thing, I didn't think that moment would ever come!" he continued, summarily recounting his fight for the Warchief t.i.tle in Hevnen's central square.

"You've made a lot of progress, it's amazing how strong you've become! I remember when we were kids and I could have beaten you even with my eyes closed!" she exclaimed, giving a friendly punch to his shoulder.

"What?! Hahaha... Don't make me laugh, newbie! If you want to be so smarta.s.s, bring it on! Show me what you're capable of!" he smiled, inviting Freydis into the wooden fence and challenging her to fight.

"I'm in!"

... 

The five friends spent the whole morning and the next one training in that placed, which was used by Crows of Odin warriors once a day, during the afternoon, remaining empty during daylight hours.

They spent about a week in Skjegg, in which they focused on improving their techniques and teamwork level, also studying chained moves that could benefit them during future battles, especially as they did not know what types of enemies they would face. 

If the other Masters' answer was affirmative, the trip to Krypstorm was just around the corner and they had to be ready for anything, trying to keep the spirit up as well as the body. 

Dag often trained with Freydis, who in the days leading up to her accident, did not give him a demonstration of her spear skill, which, unlike Taya, she wielded with two hands, no s.h.i.+eld.

With that kind of combat, the red-haired young s.h.i.+eldmaiden was able to take full advantage of the power of the spear and further extend its reach.

The only problems, of course, were defensive moves: not having a s.h.i.+eld in her gear, Freydis's strength was the offensive, based on multiple and fast attacks, but also heavy side swings. 

With the help of Dag, who although he had exercised his Master role for a very short time, had all the skills to teach, she managed to correct some flaws in her positioning, learning to dodge and deflect shots with skill, in perfect Gridd style.

Karl, training with Gridd, who was the most experienced warrior, also realized that having a heavy s.h.i.+eld could be a huge advantage, especially in fights against multiple enemies at the same time.

On a daily basis, she subjected him to specific training, which included the parry of many consecutive attacks, carried out from different directions.

This was very useful to Karl, who, being a bit coward during the real fights, in which there was a risk of losing his life, could use the s.h.i.+eld to gain time and better study his opponent's moves.

Reidar, on the other hand, being the only one of them specializing in ranged combat, was forced to strengthen the bases of the melee one, perfecting the switch between bow and dagger and learning to dodge by rolling on the ground and counterattacking quickly, hitting on the hips and behind the back.

Using moving targets, or dummies tied to floorboards equipped with wheels and carried in turn by Dag and Karl, the archer also learned to shoot arrows while running, a very useful technique during surprise a.s.saults, in which he would not have the opportunity to look for a hiding place from which to aim easily. 

Fighting against his new students, Master Gridd improved her counter-attacking moves, making the most of her Clan's skills, most of which consisted of enhancement of her blades and an increase in the speed of attack and movement. 

As quick as a lightning bolt, she was able to knock Karl down in seconds and dodge Reidar's long-range shots, preventing him from extracting the dagger in response to his attacks.