The ground was packed hard beneath Joedan's feet. It had been three months since everything with the Count had been unraveled. He had spent a month recovering from his injuries and then quickly been brought into the academy for daily training.
Commander Griff, Caleb, Trevor and Amelia all sat off to the side. The arena they were currently in was packed with other spectators as Joedan scanned the area. Training had been brutal in the beginning. Sparring with other recruits was almost a daily occurrence. Not to mention, training with the bow, the spear and battle tactics. So much information had been crammed down Joedan's throat in such a short amount of time that he felt like his head might explode.
With his new promotion as one of Amelia's bodyguards, it had been a crash course in all the basics at an accelerated pace. Today was his final test. One of the instructors stood in the center of the arena. He lifted his hands as he tried to gain the attention of the on-looking crowd.
"Greetings everyone," the instructor spoke. "My name is Instructor Willis." The crowd began to settle as the instructor raised his voice.
"Today is a day I know many of you have been anxious for," the instructor continued, bringing his focus back to the recruits that sat across from him.
"Recruits stand to your feet." All the recruits, including Joedan, stood at attention.
"Call out your names for those in attendance." Willis instructed next. One by one the recruits shouted out their names.
"The object of today's final exam will be to capture this flag," the instructor spoke, as he pointed to the red flag at the other side of the arena.
"You will work in teams of three, so that makes four teams. This test is meant to combine all facets of your training. Each team will pick a captain. Weapons are available on the racks to my right and left," he raised his hands to indicate said racks.
"The weapons are blunted, of course. One team will defend, another team will seek to capture. The match will be timed. You have 10 minutes to either defend or capture your opponent's flag."
"Even if you lose that does not mean you will not advance as a recruit, we will move onto single-hand combat for the remaining part of your final exam. Now, let me just add this so there is no confusion," the instructor continued as he raised a finger, "your effort in this team match will, however, factor into your points at the end of this exam, which will factor into your placement for position as a soldier in the army."
With that said, the instructor clapped his hands, "Let the first two teams approach."
Joedan watched as the two first teams broke off into their respective parties. His team would be in the next round. There were obstacles strown about the arena, which would provide for good cover. The said flag also stood elevated on a makeshift castle wall, to simulate a siege.
This would not be as simple as running across a field and snatching the flag. He was almost certain the defenders would procure bows and arrows and you would have a difficult time approaching, not to mention having to find a way to climb the wall to retrieve the flag. Joedan watched on looking for any holes in the defense that he might be able to exploit. Or if he was defending, that he might need to watch for.
One of his teammates leaned over, "Whatcha thinkin' Cap?"
"I don't know, the defenders have two of the best archers in our class." Joedan answered.
"Yeah, and they've got the height advantage." Jeff added.
They continued to watch as the match started. The offensive team had chosen two spears, a sword and a bow as weapons and were currently tucked behind one of the obstacles strategizing their plan of attack. The defenders had all chosen bows and swords. They stood at the ready on top of their base.
One of the offenders came from around the stone wall he was hiding behind and lunged his spear at full speed for the top of the wall, while at the same time his teammate spun from behind the wall, bow drawn and released an arrow. The spear was dodged but the second arrow found its mark in one of the defenders.
The defense was now down to two combatants as the offense approached, hunkering down behind another rock wall. The defenders didn't just take everything lying down as they launched arrow after arrow trying to catch the offense as they sought refuge.
Joedan watched on, wondering if there was a better strategy than simply advancing. He wanted to do something unexpected. But was scratching his chin trying to come up with an original strategy.
Brad, his other teammate, leaned over," I think we could go for one of your outta the box plans, brother," and he laughed quietly with the group.
"I'm workin on it," Joedan said back, matching his smile.
Looking around the arena, he was looking for something that could give them an advantage. There was a metal lean-to pitched in the sand about half-way to the castle wall. Joedan watched as the offense made their next move. One of the defenders clipped down their teammate and they were back to being evenly matched, two vs two.
"Alright, guys, I think I've got it. It's risky, though." Joedan said to his group.
"It could backfire."