I had to keep moving, if that man was a scout for a larger group I could be in danger, the horse seemed tired and hungry, my dagger wouldn't be much help against more than one or two people, and, in my untrained hands, my new sword would be as useful as a stick.
I sold the horse in the next town I reached, it was enough to restock some supplies and and have a warm place to sleep for a few nights. I found a caravan that was heading the same direction as me, so I joined them. There was a guard there that, after some insistence, agreed to teach me the basics of the sword, he gave me a practice sword and showed me how to hold it properly, then he asked me to hit him. I tried.
He dodged efortlessly, as if he saw my atack before I even moved, because he had.
"Your leg hints at where you're going to strike, try again"
I did. He blocked.
"Let me show you" He swung at me, I tried to block but suddenly his sword wasn't where I tought it was, he stopped right next to by ribs.
"You died" He said smiling.
He showed me how to properly position myself, how to atack and defend effectively. It was hard, I almost cut myself a couple times, but I persevered. After a while, I was able to hit him a couple times, far less than the times he hit me, but progress nonetheless. I learned to used what he taught me, I learned to conceal my atacks and to read his body language to see where he would strike, by the time we reached Aashir, I was close to matching his skill.