(Holden d’Alnharte, Fort Paline, Praelium)

[color=f26522]“I was worried that you would turn down my invitation,”[/color] Holden remarked with a grin. He raised [i]Yusil[/i], but its shining glory was stifled by the leather guard around its edge. He set the leather pouch on the ground, stepped away from it. He would have time to fix it to his belt after a bit of fun. [color=f26522]“Would it make the match fair if I used my offhand?”[/color] the Exile mused. Of course, he was not planning on doing any such thing. The Sergeant deserved a fair shot at him without a handicap. 

[color=f26522]“Tell me, Sergeant; would you rather bash heads in a courtyard, or see me in [i] real [/i] combat?”[/color] Chuckling, he offered his hand. [color=f26522]“I feel like I cheated you out of an interesting afternoon, earlier. I wouldn’t think of it as anything more than what you deserve if we hunt for trouble.”[/color] It would give Holden the chance to observe the caliber of soldier that Claudius suggested he would lead, after all. [color=f26522]“It’s your call. Should you choose to duel…”[/color] Holden patted his own chest with a smirk.