similarly to them.
‘We’ll see…’
'… whether you can…'
'.… keep up with us.’ The twins laughed and ran towards the back exit of the settlement and the forest beyond.
Einar simply smiled and ran after them. He knew they wanted to show off, but it seemed they’d chosen the wrong discipline for it. Tahon matched his pace with Toinen’s, and for a moment they ran together behind their older brothers, but Einar soon grew bored of this and, with a few nimble moves, overtook the twins.
‘We’ll wait in the clearing,’ he called over his shoulder and picked up the pace.
The beastsman kept up with him, but it seemed he could have run faster without any effort, even in full armour. Consequently, Einar picked up the pace to a speed at which he knew he’d be slightly out of breath by the time he reached their destination, but would still have enough energy left for even the most demanding exercises.
They quickly left Kari and Leif far behind, taking a slightly more challenging route often chosen by Toinen. They said nothing along the way; Einar was concentrating on keeping his breathing steady, whilst Tahon was busy admiring the surroundings. And there was certainly plenty to admire. They ran amongst the sparse trees growing on the steep cliff behind the settlement and could revel in the view of the sea and the small islets scattered not far from the shores of Fiolvar.
When they finally reached the edge of the proper forest and emerged into the clearing that Einar had long ago chosen for his training, Toinen needed a moment to catch his breath. Meanwhile, the beastman took a very close look at what the boy was training with.
Ceet examined with genuine interest the training aids prepared by Einar, his father and brothers, and even the druids and the blacksmith. First, he looked at the trunks of large trees tightly coiled with thick, ship’s ropes, and several stakes driven deep into the ground close together, fitted with moving parts designed to simulate the movements of warriors. Later, he
