Aashir was their last stop, there were to towns until the mountains and the scholars there didn't trade, so from here they would turn back. I would keep moving forward. Had I left them earlier, I would've reached the mountains a while back, but the time I spent practicing with the sword was time I deemed well spent.
Especially since Aashir had a tournament the next day. It was meant for young boys, mostly squires, to prove their worth, the sign up cost took the leftover gold I had from selling the horse, but the prize was worth it.
The next day I showed up early for the start of the tournament, they gave me a set of leather armor and a tournament sword, made to not leave injuries, and let me use their training grounds for the time being. There was one other person practicing, he was a couple years older than me, a rich kid trying to prove himself to his parents, maybe to earn a position as a squire for some knight. He seemed good, he had more practice than me, but he was way slower than me, even if I didn't channel lightning, as long as I fought carefully, I could win.
The bells rang.
My first fight was easy, my opponent was scared, he was so focused on my blade that he didn't notice my other hand until it hit him in the chest, he fell to the ground and my sword touched his chest. He walked away ashamed.
My next fight was slightly harder, this time my adversary wasn't as scared, but he didn't have much training, I managed to slip past his guard and put my sword to his ribs with relative ease.
The third fight was for a spot in the final, if I reached them, I would fight the boy I saw in the training grounds. But this fight wasn't going to be easy.
As the fight began, we started circling each other, I had to be more carefull if I wished to win this one. He tried to throw a stab at my arm, I blocked and riposted, he dodged. Back to circling. This time I moved first, I threw a cut to his left leg, then quickly redirect into his ribs, he didn't see it coming, but he was fast enough to react. I decided I would have to be more agressive, I started atacking him continuously, keeping him defending, forcing him back, with each atack he had to step back further, I cornered him to the wall and finally managed to hit him with a jab to the elbow, his arm weakened and I managed to disarm him. Only one more to go.
He had been watching, the boy from the training ground had been watching my every move. He was trying to learn my strenghts and my weaknesses.
Time for the last fight, we were allowed to use a either a small shield or a dagger for this one, I chose the dagger, a weapon I was used to, he was using a shield. He was taller and stronger than me, but I was faster, If I needed, I could move my dagger faster than he could see it.
The bells rang and the fight began.
I channeled lightining for this one, enough to give me an advantage but not enough for anyone to notice.
He striked first, with my new speed, I easily dodged and attacked his hand, he pulled it back and I hit his sword. It gave me enough time for another attack, I aimed for his neck, he jumped back at the same time as he blocked with his shield. We both retreated and turned back to face each other, I could see in his eyes he wasn't expecting the fight to be hard. I had also realised something, he had more training than me, wich meant that a longer fight would benefit him. I had to try to end this as quickly as I could.
The next time he atack I blocked with my dagger and aimed directly at his shield, I hit it a few times and managed to crack it, I circle him and divert his sword with my own before thrusting my dagger into the crack in the shield, twisting it and making him drop it.
With his now free hand, he shoved me back before holding his sword with two hands. This time I didn't let him take the initiative, I threw a flurry of blows with both my sword and dagger, forcing him to block and dodge frantically, after a particularly strong hit, he was off balance for a moment, wich was all I needed, I swept the leg and and the next moment he was in the floor with my dagger next to his throath.
The crowd seemed disapointed, a stranger, a boy no one knew, had just came into their town and won their tournament, they had all been rooting for the other boy, and he had lost. I didn't care what they tought of me.
I returned the tournament weapons and armor and retrieved my own gear, I collected the prize money and left.
I spent some of the coin on food and a room for a couple nights of rest before heading up the mountain. The hike up wouldn't be particularly easy, but I didn't mind, I was so close to my destination, but heading up the mountains without rest was a dumb thing to do, so I stayed put for the day.