Ulric rode steadily toward the south quarter through the streets, dressed warmly in his winter clothes. His horse was steady as she walked along the cobbles, and he kept the warm blanket that would be put on her when they arrived at the docks, rolled up behind the military saddle. He was relaxed as he rode, looking around calmly for potential trouble, though he expected none. He had, after all, delivered the message that he would not be bullied or intimidated into his choice. Now it was up to them how they would react.

He continued riding at a modest past through the streets, seeing the streets narrow slightly as he crossed the bridge into the Southern Quarter. He checked the saddlebag that carried a bottle of wine and some beef and chicken sandwiches made up by the cook, and wondered idly where they would or could enjoy a quiet meal.

Now that Beth was his chosen, he fully expected a chaperone to accompany them to ensure that nothing untoward would happen to either of them. After all, the Elven House Merout was noted for taking a very long view indeed of plans and of the world in general. To them, this would probably feel like a very rushed decision and courtship. But in any case, Ulric was prepared to ensure that he upheld his end by staying true to Beth until his dying day.

He rode toward the docks and dismounted smoothly, pulling the blanket over the horse, even though she was still saddled - he decided he would personally ensure she was given a good brushing down in reward for her service. He walked the horse along the docks until they arrived at the Silver Seal, and he tied his horse up at the hitching post. He removed the sack with the wine and food, then walked to the gangplank where one of the sailors nodded to him.

“Afternoon, Sir Ulric,” the sailor said formally. “Come to see Beth have you?” Ulric chuckled.

“One letter to her and already I am that obvious am I?” he said. “Yes, I am here to see Lady Beth, if she is free and available, thank you.” The sailor nodded and moved to one side, allowing Ulric to walk to the gangplank. Ulric looked up at the ship and cleared his throat. “Ulric Treny requests permission to come aboard?” he called clearly. Beth’s head appeared over the rail at the stern of the ship and she grinned widely.

“Permission Granted,” she called. “Come aboard Ulric!” Ulric smiled and walked easily up the gangplank, not even slightly worried about his footing. He stepped aboard the Silver Seal and looked around at the quiet activity that was going about the ship. Beth smiled at Ulric’s inspection.

“She’s not as powerful as the Atianna or Kraken, and not as large as some of our others, but she’s fast and she’s home.” Beth looked around at the ship then back to Ulric who smiled warmly.

“Beth, I am no sailor, but the crew look efficient, the deck is immaculate and everything seems to me extremely well ordered,” Ulric said genuinely. Beth’s smile widened and she looked pleased as punch.

“That means a lot coming from you, Ulric,” she replied, then pointed to the sack. “So…. what’s in the bag?” Ulric grinned and removed the linen wrapped sandwiches and the bottle of wine.

“A light lunch, if you are interested? I figured we could eat here so that your chaperone did not have to track you down.” Beth rolled her eyes at that statement.

“Ugh, don’t remind me. Brethren is like a shadow at present. He needs to get better at subtlety. Or sneaking. Or shadowing. But yeah, lunch would be wonderful. Wait here, I’ll see if we can use the mate’s cabin to eat as long as we respect it.” Ulric nodded and Beth strode to the Captains cabin, coming back a couple of minutes later with a smile.

“He has given permission for privacy,” she said, "as long as we keep the door open.” Taking Ulric by the arm, she led him to the door leading to the captain's cabin and turned to one of the doors on the side and opened it. Inside was a small cabin with a table and three chairs. Beth took one of the chairs and sat down as Ulric set the sandwiches and wine on the table, along with two steel goblets.

“Ulric, I’m going to have to get you used to rum one of these days,” Beth said with a grin. “Wine is well and good, but I’m a sailor at heart. Rum for the ship, wine for the land.” Ulric nodded with a laugh.

“Very well, challenge accepted,” he said. He let Beth choose whether she wanted the chicken or beef, and when she made her choice, he selected the other and poured her a goblet of wine, before pouring his own. The two settled down to eat, Beth sighing contentedly over the roast beef sandwich.

“You really know a way to a sailing girl's heart, Ulric,” she said. “Good meat is so hard to come by when at sea.” Ulric nodded with a smile and the two continued to eat, drinking their wine as they ate. Finally their meal was done and Ulric looked at Beth with a concerned expression.

“I need to let you know, Beth, that our courting is already under threat by denizens from the Maze,” he said. Beth raised an eyebrow, holding her goblet in one hand. Ulric continued. “There is apparently a group of elven refugees who have taken insult to me looking to potentially court you. They may attack me, they may attack you. I felt that you should be forewarned.” Beth nodded in understanding.

“Thanks for the heads up Ulric,” she said. “I’ll be careful, you have my promise. And I’ll make sure that Brethren is armed as well in case I need backup.” Ulric nodded and stood, clearing the linen and recorking the now empty wine bottle. Beth finished her wine and handed Ulric her goblet.

“Well then, I had best head back to the estate,” he said. “I have left word that should you wish, you are to be welcomed as you have been chosen as the lady I will court.” Beth grinned widely.

“I’m not going to tire of hearing that for a long time,” she said cheerfully. Ulric smiled.

“I expect that your family will prefer a long courtship?” he asked seriously. Beth rolled her eyes again and nodded.

“For a non-elf, you’ve a good read on the house frame of mind when it comes to time,” she replied. Ulric laughed warmly.

“No, I just studied the houses that were vying for me lightly then in more detail…” he said with a grin. Beth reached up and stroked his cheek gently.

“You’ll have to take that in lieu of a kiss,” she said with regret. Ulric touched her hand, then pulled his gloves back on and headed back out to the deck, and back to the dock. He removed the blanket from his horse and rolled it up, storing it behind the saddle. He unhitched his hose, mounted and looked back to the Silver Seal. Beth was there, waving over the railing and he waved back, before riding back toward the East Quarter.

His days had become routine once more, and the knowledge of what was going to happen in each day was like a comforting balm to Ulric. Patrolling, paperwork, training with Alin Bardye, more patrolling of the house, then time to head to the Lion or the Silver Seal depending on the day of the week. Lala might consider it dull and boring, but the man had a wild streak that was only barely tamed. Ulric did not think it ever would or could be.

He walked out of his small office, paperwork finished for the time being, , pulling on his fencing gloves, and made his way with an even stride to the training hall where he knew Alin Bardye would be waiting in a few minutes. Her regime was more chaotic, less regimented, always designed to keep him on his toes, and he was able to counter with his own prior training more and more, to help keep things on a semi even ground. Her skill was still far greater than his, but he was learning slowly and steadily, with regular improvement.

And so, when he arrived at the training hall, he was a little surprised to see Beth there squaring off against Alin Bardye, with Brethren watching in the background as always. Ulric watched his fiancée cross blades with his trainer time and time again, only for Alin Bardye to barry, block and riposte with graceful ease. Beth on the other hand, was clearly enjoying herself, pushing her own respectable skills to the limit, as he knew Alin Bardye to be the far superior of the two. Alin Bardye stepped back from their exchange and smiled at Ulric.

“You’re late,” she said with a grin, despite this being almost exactly the time he would arrive anyway. “I had to amuse myself with the woman who said she is to be engaged to you. What do you have to say for your tardiness?” Ulric grinned.

“Nice try Alin Bardye, you know this is the time I am scheduled for training,” he replied, ”if anything I’m early.”

“Well look alive,” she countered. “Battles never go to a schedule and plans rarely survive contact with the enemy. Your elven lady knows more about that than you do, it seems. Now, I want to see how well you fare against her. She’s quite good, better than I expected.” Ulric nodded and drew his rapier as Beth grinned and squared off against him. Ulric slipped the safety ball on the tip and readied himself. Their blades flicked back and forth as each sought to open an opening in the defence of the other. Ulric immediately could see that Beth, while not as accurate as he was, was more skilled at locating vital spots with her blade. It was something he knew he would have to see to, if he was to truly master his weapon. Finally Beth lightly tagged him, only for Ulric to tag her a moment later and Alin Bardye clapped her hands for their attention.

“Alright you two,” she said with amusement “I’ll break up this little bout for now, just to make sure that you don’t get too hot and bothered. Save that for when you really need it.” Beth and Ulric parted and saluted each other, then Beth removed the safety ball from the tip of her own rapier and sheathed it. Ulric then turned to face Alin BArdye who had already drawn her rapier and was coming at Ulric with a lightning quick lunge. Ulric parried it swiftly, but before he could counter attack, Alin was attacking yet again and again. Ulric was kept on the defensive for a few minutes, then finally found his breath to counter attack only for Alin to parry his blow and riposte, a riposte Ulric was able to block himself. Alin Bardye smiled and nodded, a high compliment in the middle of combat.

Finally, the Great Clock in the town square could be heard chiming the hour and Alin Bardye broke off her attack, stepping back and saluting Ulric with her blade. She had scored several little blows on Ulric, not enough to puncture skin, but enough to leave a few bruises. Ulric, for his part, had managed to tag Alin Bardye a few times as well, and her impressed demeanour showed.

“Well done Ulric,” she said sheathing her blade. “You’re improving steadily but I wouldn’t become too confident yet. You’ve still a ways to go yet.” Ulric nodded as he removed the safety ball from the tip of his rapier and sheathed the blade. “Now, go and talk to your elven lady and see what she thought of you.” Alin Bardye grinned and walked out into the cold weather. Ulrioc for his part walked over to Beth who had been watching with a wide grin.

“So?” Ulric asked as he walked up to Beth and faced her. “What did you think?” Beth touched her finger to her chin and smiled.

“I think you’re amazing to watch when you’re really cutting loose,” she replied, “and you’ll be amazing when you complete your training under Alin Bardye. Even now, you’re pretty amazing.”

“Which tells me it is time for another spar with Lala,” Ulric says with a smile. “If I start thinking I’m too good, I need to be brought down a few pegs, and he is the best man to do it.” Beth looked a little puzzled.

“Why'd you want to do that?” she asked. “I thought he was your friend…”

“He is,” Ulric replied. “And because he’s my friend, I know he will push me only as far as needed and not gloat over any victory.” Beth nodded slowly.

“I don’t quite understand, but I trust you, Ulric, to do the right thing,” she said, before placing her hand on his cheek. Ulric rested his hand against her cheek in reply and the two touched forehead to forehead for a few moments, breaking only when Brethren walked over and cleared his throat.

“Alright, that’s enough. Bethany, time to return to the ship,” Brethren said briskly. Beth rolled her eyes but nodded. She smiled to Ulric.

“See you soon, Ulric,” she said softly, before walking out, followed by Brethren. Ulric watched them leave with a smile.

Not soon enough for me he thought, before walking to start his afternoon patrol.

The words bounced around in Ulric’s head as he walked slowly toward the South Quarter. Learn the ropes. He smiled slightly as he walked, knowing that Beth would be surprised indeed that he had taken the time to learn the basics of her own craft. It was by no means a sure thing that he would become a sailor overnight, but the least he could do was put something back into what his fiancée was preparing for him. He continued to walk steadily, unaware of the figure shadowing him, with a blade at the ready.

Like a striking snake, the figure leapt out of the shadows, catching Ulric completely off guard, and stabbed him in the side, before turning to try and run off. Ulric’s rapier was in his hand in an instant and he was after the assailant in a flash, one hand pressed against the searing pain in his side. The assailant tried to lose Ulric by jumping over fences and running down alleys, but the noble duelist remained on their heels. Finally, they made what seemed to be a wrong turn and they came to a dead end alleyway, looking at Ulric with a smirk, keeping their blade out.

“No place to run now, Noble Boy,” the assailant, an Elf Ulric saw, “we warned you to stay away from the elf… now you’re gonna pay the price. In Blood.” Ulric looked quickly behind him to see four other assailants approaching him, all masked, all with short swords. Ulric exhaled and lunged at the one that had been taunting him, shifting his fighting to a more defensive posture. The blows struck true and the elf desperately tried slashing at Ulric, only for the blade to be parried. The other three advanced confidently, but when they attacked, their blows were countered either by Ulric’s armor or his blade - they were unable to find purchase through the steel and mithral of the nobleman.

One, then another fell, whimpering in pain until there were just two left. Ulric’s blade continued it’s dance of steel slowly giving himself more and more breathing room. Finally there was only one left, the other three groaning from the puncture wounds from his rapier. Ulric paused and looked at the last one, his eyes cold.

“I told you not to bother me,” Ulric said calmly. “And yet you and your fellows chose this path. Go and get them healing... and remember that next time, I might not be so merciful.” The last rogue turned and ran and Ulric walked out of the alleyway, calmly retracing his steps heading east now. The wound was painful, and was matted against his clothes so it was no longer bleeding, but it would still need healing. And walking wounded was an invitation to others that might take him for an easy mark. He cleaned his rapier with a cloth as he walked then sheathed it once more and made his way back to the Trey estate. It seemed that his sailing lessons would have to wait for the present.