The two figures laid on the floor for a moment, after a while, Maru stood up from the floor, he looked at Cord with a worried expression as he said:
[Hope I didn't kill you.]
A faint light entered Cord's eye socket as he said:
[Just trying to get my old bones in order my friend.]
Maru's face lightened up, a moment later, Cord was struggling to stretch forward his hand to Maru, Maru caught his hand while he gradually lifted the gargantuan figure of Cord up.
The two figures stumbled a few times partly because of the sheer size of Cord and the little figure of Maru and also because they were both extremely weak after the battle but, a while later they were standing side by side fully supporting their own weight with their body.
Cord had long dismissed his heavy armor and was walking around with a thin linen of red cloth that was strung around his torso while Maru skin tight suit had a few scrapes and tears but the cloth had not torn to the level of the tattered garment he once wore when he returned from visiting his "father".
Noticing the armor laying on the floor, the soul beings that gathered to watch the fight woke up from the daze they felt when they saw the scrawny looking figure defeat their master, making his gigantic figure fall, watching this happen with their eyes they were unable to display the right reaction at the moment.
So they started to gather around the armor plates lying on the floor, like a flock of ants, groups of fives and sevens were formed to carry parts of the heavy plates of armor.
They also used that moment to replay how the battle had played out, wondering how a single move made by the vampire lead to the downfall of their master. Whether their master won or not, they had learnt a valuable lesson here today in the art of combat and the knowledge they gained made them giddy with excitement.
A few short skirmishes began, they practiced different combat skills and tried to recreate various moves they witnessed when watching the two transendents battle, sadly although they could figure out what those moves were intended to do or did, they were not able to replicate them.
They transcendents they watched were moving so fast that the eyes of the audience couldn't see what was going on, hence, causing the essence of the moves they were trying to replicate to be lost in the battle.
The copied moves were sloppy, lame, ineffectual, haphazard and scrappy but they gave a hint of promise, when these young soul beings practice this skills for a long time, they would finally learn it and make it their own moves while using it to counter those who even thought them the moves.
They finished clearing the remainder of the armor leaving only the breastplate on the floor in the middle of the boxing ring, even the strongest of the soul beings gathered there weren't able to lift it up, they gathered around the breastplate to try to lift it up but they were not even able to lift up to an inch.
A few soul beings went to meet their master, asking what should be done to the breastplate, their master then instructed them to leave it there as he would return to pick it up. Relieved the officials returned to their post while the servants returned to their training or other chores they were instructed to do.
Meanwhile, when all this was going on, Cord and Maru were discussing heartily about the duel they had just concluded.
Cord said:
[I knew you were the "Son of the Air" but "lighting"]
[That was unexpected ...]
Maru was amused at what he heard Cord say before he said:
[Lightning is just a spark born from the friction of my breath, and thunder? That is merely the air rushing back to fill the void I left behind.]
[That wasn't lighting my friend, just "Echoes of a Storm..."]
Cord was terrified by what he heard but he still managed to control his expression, betraying no emotion. Assuming a poker-face to hide his expression he said:
[Need I remind you that you are still an apprentice soul vampire, even our elders know better than to experiment with...]
He gasped shortly as he said:
[...forces unknown.]
Maru glanced at Cord smiling before saying:
[I had to think of something to win this latest fight or I might have never being worthy enough to enlist your help]
Cord lightened up a little as he said:
[If it was so urgent I would have still helped you, moreover if you wanted my help you could have used the power of a prince, or had you forgotten you are one.]
[I also know you to be a very crafty individual and I suspect you might bend the "strings of fate" to enlist my aid]
Hearing those words, Maru laughed softly before saying:
[Talk about "Forces unknown" and am I that childish.]
Cord turned to face Maru as he said:
[Not childish, just ignorant of forbidden knowledge.]
[I sometimes wonder who among you is worse, you or that bastard Floki]
[Speaking of him, are we also going to get him?]
[God help me your brother was the only one decent in our group, it's such a shame he died.]
Maru's face stiffened a little as he said:
[I just thought we might swing by to say Hello to Floki or would you rather go meet "weeping Angrboda"]
Cord had a grim expression as he said:
[If we are to go to war we might need Angroboda's help after all but I wager we are just going to observe a possible threat and might have a few skirmishes along the way so, Floki it is]
[Let Angroboda weep in peace...]
Cord and Maru were silent for a while until they arrived at Cord's office, there he grabbed a huge bag made with sack and a bunch of carved woods to seal the top, he strung it to his back while carrying two large silver double headed axes on his hands, unable to hide his confusion Maru asked:
[What are you carrying in that backpack of your's.]
Cord sighed and said:
[Tools, a tent, and a few things we might need.]
Maru looked at Cord for a moment before saying:
[You mean, you might need, aren't those double headed axes enough load for you]
Cord looked at Maru amused before saying:
[If only I knew what we were going to do I would have packed what I need precisely for the occasion.]
Maru looked silently at Cord saying:
[I know what you are trying to do but it wouldn't work.]
[Drop that sack bag. We're going to need stealth and a bit of speed. You're already moving so slowly I might have to drag your ass to where we're going.]
Hearing this, Cord smiled before saying:
[Just give me an hint, you are killing me with the suspense.]
Maru just looked at him unrelentingly as the two figures stepped out of the office.