The next day, Vale woke to low voices inside the tent. He turned and saw the two who looked so unlike the others, Syla and Tiber.
They were fully clothed and hurried out of the room.
Vale debated with himself for a moment, then hurled himself upright to follow them. It was still dark, and the cold curled around his limbs, but he shrugged it away, scanning for his targets.
They were easy to pick out. Although they weren't the only ones up and about, they moved with a sense of purpose. Tiber was a tall, big man, rolling forward with quick, decisive steps. Vale could see that he hadn't been an ordinary man before he was sent here.
Rubbing his hands together, Vale weaved between tents, keeping the two in sight as they spoke with ease. They were odd in the midst of the other dejected workers. How had they ended up in the labor camp?
Finally, they slowed, and the tents thinned as they reached the edge of the Steelclaw camp. Vale saw where they were heading: a small, murky pool set right on the ground.
The two stopped at the edge, and instead of going in as he expected, they spread out and began bending their limbs. Were… they exercising? Vale was baffled and stood awkwardly in the open space, watching.
Syla seemed the only one doing it correctly. With her slim body, she sat and began bending her legs at impossible angles, flexing in ways Vale had never seen. He remained transfixed.
"Do you just come to stare?" Tiber's voice was gruff. The man was older, probably in his forties, but his body was still formidable, and he carried himself as if he could explode into action at any time.
He reminded Vale of his former sword trainer—forever stuck at the Squire rank but a master with the sword. They shared the same look, always searching for the perfect way to strike.
"I… what are you doing?" Vale finally asked, stepping closer.
Syla shot him a look but said nothing.
"Getting our bodies ready for the day. The work is hard and draining, and you'd want to use all your free time to sleep, but preparing yourself like this helps like magic," Tiber explained, beginning a set of sit-ups.
Vale hesitated. His body wasn't in the best condition, and he was hungry. Should he push himself into more training that might sap his energy? But then, Tiber and Syla seemed the only ones alive among the workers. Maybe they were doing something right.
He sat down slowly, wincing, and began sit-ups. It was one of the easiest exercises to build core strength, especially while standing and moving, so he started there.
He used the method taught by his former trainer: clear the mind, think of nothing but darkness. Imagine the body as nothing but flesh and bones that could not feel pain. To do nothing but move.
It came easier than he thought. Soon, his mind was fully claimed by emptiness and darkness, and his body moved without conscious thought.
He kept going until a hand shook him roughly. "Hey! Scrawny! Stop that! Hey!"
The hand gripped him tightly. Vale blinked, senses reluctantly pulling away from the darkness. "What?" he said, looking around in confusion.
Tiber loomed over him with a frown, while Syla crouched beside him, her hand digging into his shoulder. Vale was still sitting on the ground.
"What?" he repeated, alarmed. Had he done something wrong? His right hand shot to his chest in panic, heart racing. Did they see his mark?
He calmed when he realized they weren't looking at his hand but at his face. "What?" he said for the third time.
Syla snatched her hand away, glaring. "Are you trying to kill yourself before you even work and make the quota today? Much lower, and we'll all get punished," she accused.
Vale could only stare, baffled.
She gestured at him, and he finally looked at himself. He was sweating hard, his body feeling like soft leather. His stomach twitched and spasmed, but he felt… good, as if all the tension he'd carried for years had finally found a way out.
Tiber grunted. "Interesting. You've been doing that for close to an hour and would have continued if she hadn't stopped you. I've never seen anyone go at it like that without stopping."
His eyes sharpened on Vale, and Vale almost flinched, heart racing even faster. Does he know I'm a Squire? He didn't want others to know until he was ready. If they knew, they'd want to see his mark… not yet. He wasn't ready.
Ready for what? He couldn't answer that either.
Syla looked at him with suspicion. "It's light out. You'd better strip and get into the water before others come here."
Taking her advice, she stripped and followed Tiber into the pool. Vale stood, threw his wet clothes into a pile on the ground, and entered the cold water with little hesitation.
Rough stones lined the edge of the pool for scrubbing, and Vale gladly used them. He felt far more relaxed than he had in a long time.
Maybe that was why he didn't notice Tiber and Syla staring at him so intently.