"Again, Isobel. Attack him again," Beatrice said.
Eadric braced himself for the young woman's increasingly concise attack.
Isobel studied him and, for the hundredth time that afternoon, attacked Eadric. She was sweaty and bruised, her hair a messy braid tied off with leather cord, falling to the small of her back. This was hand to hand combat, no weapons but the agility of body and mind.
Isobel catapulted herself through the air, landing to the right of Eadric and, twisting her body, tripped him with a swift backward kick, landing in a crouched position as she hit the floor.
Clapping came from the doorway and Isobel looked up to find Beatrice laughing deeply, Ash by her side.
Isobel rose to her feet and smiled, bowing to the praise.
"Good! I'm impressed by your progress. And by the sound of it, I'd say not a moment too soon. I believe we are near our destination," she said, Magpie's whistle shrilling through the tunnel.
"It would seem so, Captain Audreyn," Eadric replied, wiping the blood from his lip.
Isobel ran a hand through her hair, the open sores on her palms catching on the tangled strands. Constant training had worn straight through the gloves she'd been given for protection, turning her hand raw. She pat her flushed cheeks and exhaled to slow her breathing, drying the sweat off her neck with a cloth. Slipping her sword into the scabbard at her side, she grabbed her jacket, and followed the party to the front of the Magpie.