Fantasy The Cyclone - Act I: The West

[Elowyn]

Irena Rosenthal

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09​

Reluctantly, Irena nodded in agreement with Rak's statement. "Yes," she said with a small sigh. "It sounds mad, I know, but a talking wisp kept asking me strange riddles. Then a stranger appeared and helped me."

After Julia's spiel, Irena shrugged, indifferent. "Go ahead, I can wait." She was used to long days of training and was in no hurry.

Ren had been trained by the best around and she doubted the weaponsmaster could teach her any new techniques, but she was open to trying. Swordplay wasn't something she'd usually decline.

Wordlessly, she unsheathed Noble Gambit and handed it to the man with the blade pointing down for his inspection. She wasn't sure if he would recognize the old hero's sword. It certainly had seen more than its fair share of battles, but its blade still gleamed dully in the light.

Spoiler: Noble Gambit

INFORMATION

Mentions & Interactions: Gary Sue [weaponsmaster]
Location: Training Grounds, Aeredale

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Ras lifted his lance and handed it towards the weaponmaster. "It isn't much, but it served me well enough. Though I do figure it is time for an upgrade, and maybe be a bit more versatile. Thought about picking up a mace as a backup in case something needed to get its head bonked around a bit." with a cheeky little grin. The weaponmaster seemed rather confident in himself and his abilities, though Ras did wonder how much this one man could teach all of them.

Ras took a look at how the man carried himself. There was almost an aura of comfort. Something that would be very useful in the battlefield as two armies stared each other down. Often, this sort of role was filled by a sergeant, an experienced soldier who was comfortable with the ins and outs of soldiering, but not a high enough rank to be out of touch with the grunts. "Say, Mister. Have you ever been in the military?" Ras inquired. "Oh and I don't think we got your name. I am Ras. Pleasure to meet you. These are... my fellow companions who can speak for themselves." Ras figured that the others could introduce themselves if they wanted to though Julia seemed less interested in doing so and just wanted to quickly learn as fast as possible. Irena on the other hand seemed to be still processing what had happened to her.

Behind the weaponmaster, Ras saw glimpses of many different types of weapons of which several seemed pretty exotic. Was this man truly skilled in so many different forms of combat? A jack of all trades, but a master of none?

---

Mentions and Interactions: Gary Sue (Weaponmaster) Key of Stars (Julia) Elowyn (Irena)
Location: Aeredale, Training Grounds

 

[Gary Sue]

By this point, everybody had started going on their own and Rak let out a heavy sigh, sitting down on his butt and crossing his small legs as he watched the lot interact with one another. "Hooh, the smart one's woes are too many to handle... Rak tired...", he mumbled lowly to himself as he trusted as much as he could in the group to not scare off the Weaponmaster, and vice versa. Truth be told, he knew almost nobody in the hodgepodge of adventurers before him, so his faith was little. But optimism characterised this creature, for his naivety- and smarts- knew no bounds.

In a similar and at the same time much too different vain all at once, the Weaponmaster appeared to be almost offended with Julia's invitation. "I'd be wastin' your time if I did accept your offer in the crummy state you're in right now.", he said with some disappointment as he reached a hand out to lower the brawler's hand from its back down, gentle yet firm with his push. "Tell you what. I'll train you specifically for free, and once we're done, you'll pay me only if you can land a single hit. Otherwise, you keep whatever shitty training I've given ya and go off without a single penny paid out. Deal?"

Feeling the need to chime in specifically because of the blonde's grievances with Rak's promises, he piped up and raised his head some before he gave her his own two cents. "Will help with magicks! Get to Col'kirk alive and see there.", and then a few nods to himself in confirmation. "... That's a long trip.", the trainer simply noted with a shrug from the Kobold. It would appear the two weren't disagreeing on that one, at least. About time the little guy started to make some sense.

Likewise, the Weaponmaster silently nodded at Irena's story, looking somewhat skeptical still although he appeared more interest than ever, with a curious glint in his eye. Whether or not he would inquire further remained to be seen, though it was safe to assume he'd taken notice of her story and was... intrigued, if anything. A tale for a later time, it would seem as he glanced at Noble Gambit, taking it with his hand and holding it while he quietly inspected its worn blade. Some memories came to his mind as he seemed to space out momentarily, though he quickly snapped back to present day as Ras handed his own lance over too.

. . .​

Taking hold of it with his other hand, he silently inspected the weapon, worn as it was though much less so than the greatsword. With a deep and near begrudging sigh, he nodded and looked to the side at the question in regards to his status. "Mhm, something like that. Used to work with the army, as a merc. Not many people like that, but it's not like I give a damn either way. I stayed alive, got my money's worth and now I'm a free man. Though it seems I've got some responsibilities before I'm 'free again'.", he focused on the group once more, including Julia judging by that harsh glare he shot her, even if it was just for a second.

In a quick twirl, the group's weapons they'd given to him were facing the ground with their pointy ends, and they got firmly planted with a downward thrust, both the shiny greatsword and the recruit's lance. "First lesson, never give your weapons to anyone like that. I could have sliced you all up, bar the blonde. As impatient as she is, she knew better than to disarm herself... Don't prove me wrong now, lass.", his words were somewhat harsh but it would appear to be his form of 'tough love'.

"Second lesson- you'll both have to change your weapons. The lance won't last as is, but the sword's seen better days. Still... where'd you even find the damn thing?", he grumbled the last part under his breath with a sense of familiarity to his low mumbles, shaking his head and turning to look down at the Kobold. "Hey, runt. How soon do you want them ready for Col'kirk?"

That caught Rak out of surprise, as he got up and gave it a bit of thought, prior to saluting the Weaponmaster. "Err... One weeks or so? Have to get back to make book of books for self again, and some more books for other ones.", even with how stiff he looked, he appeared to be talking relaxed as ever, though his tail was swishing from left to right and even raising some dust while it was at it. "Seven days and an evening with the swordswoman... and the other two, I guess. Deal?", he asked and so he received. "Deal!"

And so, crossing his arms the Weaponmaster sighed and thought to close the encounter with some rather clear instructions and an introduction to himself, at last. "My name's Kors, so you all know what to call me. For the next seven days, I'll train each of you on your own, so get your schedule in line between yourselves and decide who wants to go in the morning, noon and evenin' respectively. Night's all to myself so it's a no-go. You all look horrible today, so go rest up and meet me here tomorrow an hour after sunrise.", leaving Julia's proposal completely unanswered past his own offer, he thought to turn around and walk away but stopped about halfway through, looking at the group again and sighing.

He took the weapons' edges back out of the ground and held them out to the two, giving them a stern look- and Julia too- before he sighed. "... Be more careful with these. And go rest. I'll be here tomorrow to get started.", he reiterated in a lower tone, not wanting to stress them out too much from now... business was still business, after all, so deterring them was the last thing he wanted at the end of the day.

---

Interactions: Heyitsjiwon (Ras), Key of Stars (Julia) & Elowyn (Irena) as Rak and the Weaponmaster
Location: Aeredale, Training Grounds

 

[Key of Stars]

Julia stiffled a yawn with one of her gauntleted hands, suckered into taking the morning time slot, just her luck. Perhaps the others thought training in the morning would make her tone down her drinking, at least slightly. Too bad for them, moderation was of the many words Julia didn't know. Or perhaps the others just wanted more sleep, that seemed more likely. Either way, she was here now, stepping onto the training grounds and raising a hand towards the weaponmaster in greeting.

"Yo, one of the extra's is here to train." She hadn't forgotten the fact that she'd been addressed as 'one of the other two... he guessed' "Rejoice, you're getting paid today, but don't think I'm stopping after a single hit." She added with a confident grin. "Name's Julia, I promise you'll never forget it once this week is over."

Almost like he hadn't moved a single inch, the Weaponmaster was exactly where the group had left him last, leaning against that godforsaken wall and shining yet another weapon, the more exotic blade with the barrel near the base. Though he looked a bit intrigued when she emerged, he lowered the weapon and hung it by the rack once again as he walked towards the center of the training area and looked back at her. "That's a big promise alright, can't wait.", he said somewhat idly, though he didn't appear to be downplaying her. It was still early in the morning, after all.

"So, 'one of the extras', tell me some stuff about how you use your fists.", he gestured towards her with a half-nod of his head, raising an eyebrow as he grabbed a flask from his worn belt and chugged down a few sips of water from it, before screwing the cap back on and holstering it by his side again. "How do you attack, punches and elbow slams or kicks 'n' actual martial arts?"

"Sure," She answered, observing the flask as he drank. "That's a bit of a boring drink though, no? Can tell its water by the way you're throwing it back, flasks ain't made for that." She commented, grabbing a freshly filled vial from her belt and throwing back the wine inside. "Mom's taught me to have fun with everything I do in life."

"Speaking of, it's also my mom who taught me how to use these," She raised her gauntlets as means of explanation. "Won't find a better fighter than her where I'm from. Fancy footwork and polished technique is nice an' all, until you kick em in the shin and punch em in the nose."

"Looks like your mom's lacked on teaching you where to draw your lines.", he groaned and shook his head dismissively as he pinched his nose, quietly observing her hand movements before she explained just how disorganized and animalistic her style most definitely was. "... Ye serious? You lot took down monsters in the jungle with that, just punching with instinct and kicking with your ragged leather boots?"

Gods, where was he to even begin with her? "Take a fightin' stance. Actually demonstrate a little bit for me, surely you've got a form or some form of opener whenever you go to fight with whatever's out there. C'mon, arms and legs ready, assume a bandit's in front of you and wants to mug you. Whatcha do? Show."

She shrugged. "That was more my dad's thing really, tended not to really listen to him unless it was about books though." She narrowed her eyes at the weaponmaster as he called her fighting style 'that'. "What do you mean, that? It is a perfectly viable way of fighting! Not everything needs to be refined." She declared.

"Fine," She dropped into a casual fighting style, bouncing on her feet lightly as she threw few punches at the air in front of her with considerable force. "You wanna know what I'd do to a bandit specifically?" She dragged her leg back, digging the toe of her boot into the sand before quickly kicking it up towards the imaginary bandit's face with a fluid movement before scattering the particles of sand with a straight punch.

"The Bog Diver that'll be chewing your arms up doesn't have to be refined either.", Kors said with some entertainment in his voice, though he did mean it. From here on out, combat was going to be more dangerous than some scrawny Crawlers in jungles that only followed orders, so she and the rest would have to learn to stick to some style one way or another. His expression did change for the better though when he saw her stance. He walked around a bit, inspecting her from various angles before he coughed with slight annoyance from the sand cloud she raised.

"Fighting dirty's fine if you don't have to break your stance for it- good work on your footing though.", he nodded to himself as a hand reached up to rub the stubble on his chin. "What if your opponent's got a weapon? You probably know this already but your gauntlets don't got any way to defend from it, so if something pierces through them or gets lodged in between the armor's gaps... you're screwed. Gotta upgrade too, for safety."

But that aside... her flexibility with her legs would definitely prove useful. Thinking to himself for a moment, he decided on his own before clapping his hands and walking towards his weaponrack again. "Ever actually kicked someone's noggin upwards? Uppercut, but with your foot. You got thick boots- though they could be thicker. Could work."

"People generally do walk away injured when they get hit by a sword or knife, yes." She remarked dryly, a bit of sarcasm in her voice. "Luckily I am hardly a stationary target, I can move, and pretty nimbly at that. One advantage my smaller body has over that of my know it all brother."

She grinned. "I usually stick to the shins and kneecaps, but I'm not against trying out new things." She answered, kicking upward with surprising flexibility just to give it a shot. "Oh yea, that'll work."

"... so her brother is the know it all, joy.", he grumbled under his breath, though it was very purposeful and almost with a small smirk on the corner of his lips. Once he was at the weaponrack, he picked up a pair of his own gauntlets, much heavier and more metallic to the look- were they just new and polished, or actually made of tougher and more expensive irons?

"I take it you're also used to hittin' one thing at a time. That's no good in a party brawl like when you're with the other two, assuming you all travel together. If you lot can get the entirety of your opponents to focus on one person, you can try adding a little spin to your kick and sweep more than one of them.", he said and demonstrated as he practiced a few punches himself, before nimbly moving his leg in an almost roundhouse fashion as he spun upwards, ending off with a surprisingly smooth flip as he landed on the ground again.

"Takes a while before you figure out how to avoid spinning out and landing flat on your ass though. I'll take care of that part by the end of the week for you. Give it a shot, let's see how 'good' you are."

"I heard that, just be glad you haven't met him." She shot back with a smile, shrugging at his next statement. "Yea I guess we're travelling together, honestly I'm just going along with the ride because it promises to bring me magic at the end of it. But yea, I'm used to hitting one thing at a time, like giving my targets that little bit of special attention, you know?" She remarked with a grin.

To her credit, she actually paid complete attention as he demonstrated his kicking move. "So you just spin and kick? I can do that." She declared with a small nod.

So she took her stance again, and honestly, the spinning and kicking part of the move actually went quite well. The landing part though, not so much. The moment she landed back on the ground she lost her balance, pulling off something in between a roll and a cartwheel that would be far from efficient in combat to barely manage to land on her feet. "Hah, didn't land on my ass."

It was a start for sure- he thought as he shrugged and adjusted his stance, repeating the movement for her once again to see. "Try it again, but this time- don't fuck up the landing. On your legs, proper.", he chuckled before holding a hand up, as if asking her to halt as he got an idea. Getting his own gears going, he opened a palm and gently placed his other fist on it as he grinned. "Oh, I know actually."

"Here, you said you'd give them an eyeful of sand first, right? Let's practice that- know how to sweep a target off their feet?", he questioned as he raised a brow, with a small expectant smile on his face. "Somethin' to expose your foes, even if it's one at a time. I assume the rest of your friends can help hull some ass for you too. You're a damn group anyways."

She sprung back to her feet with little effort, ready to try the move again only to stop as he held up his hand. "What? Afraid I'll kick you in the temple on my next attempt?"

"Off their feet huh? Well, a well placed kick to the knee cap often achieves just that, but if you want me to go for a more traditional sweeping motion I can oblige." She said, dropping down in her stance slightly and dragging her foot across the sandy surface.

"Mhm, you got it.", he said and tapped the side of his head as he showcased what he meant- a quick sweeping motion in the form of a low blow to what-would-be someone's legs, followed by the upward spinning kick that would definitely send someone flying with more than just a headache, before he landed gently on the sandy terrain once more. "Combine the two motions like this, and you've got the perfect shot to knock someone else flat on their backside. Leaves room for your pals to stab 'em dead in the meantime too, as long as you stick the landing and the poor sod on the other end doesn't."

He had refrained from commenting on her words moments earlier, but maybe now was a good time to inquire. "... You keep mentioning magic since yesterday anyways, what's the big deal? Pops never let you get a hold of any magic books and now you're living it up?"

She nodded. "Sure, I'll give it a few more tries later. Always looking for more ways to knock someone out." She said with a slight chuckle, though honestly, she was fairly serious about it.

"Eh," She waved her hand dismissively. "Not quite, my dad's always encouraged me to read as much as possible about anything at all. Didn't take much convincing mind you, I've read the entire library at this point." She tapped her chin in thought. "I'm living it up because I want to. And I'm looking for magic because I want to as well, because I want to know what sort off knowledge is hidden behind it... well and I want to look cool."

"... Is that so.", Kors muttered and shook his head in disapproval at her explanation on magic, placing both his hands on his hips and looking up at the clear sky, tainted only by a mass of clouds that was quickly blowing across the endless blue. "... Magic's nothing cool. It creates and it destroys- like fire. So don't let it get to your head, girl. Just ask your ladyfriend how her fever was, if she remembers enough 'bout it."

And as swiftly as his tone switched from the more laid-back, casual instructing to serious, it took another turn and went back to the more familiar strictness. "No time for 'later' though. You got a week, you're spending it with me. Unless you land that hit in seven days, you're not paying me so I'm not letting you slack, lass. On with it, get started."

"Counter point," She cheerfully interjected, flicking her finger in his direction. "Fire is also cool. Fire magic doubly so. Besides," She waved her hand dismissively. "Irena seems pretty stoked about her new magic abilities as well."

"Fine, fine, I'll do it, no need to get all impatient now, a lady needs her time to get ready." She dropped into her combat stance, repeating the sweep she'd performed before and linking it to the spinning kick he'd demonstrated a few times. This time around she managed to land on her feet only a little wobbly, having turned a bit to far to the right.

No matter what he said, it was certain he wasn't getting through to her on the magic front. So best just focus on teaching her and letting her find her own way. She was a whole adult anyways. "Good, now try it again- less wobbling, more steadiness. Get to it, you've got a few sets before the first break.", he instructed and clapped his own hands as he started a warm-up routine nearby, watching her the entire time.

---

Mentions: Heyitsjiwon (Ras), Elowyn (Irena)
Interactions: Gary Sue (Weaponmaster)
Location: Training Grounds

 

[Elowyn]

Irena Rosenthal

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10​

Irena entered the training grounds with little expectation. She had had a light meal and warmed up beforehand, running through a series of stretches to limber up her limbs. There had been little to do as Julia trained, so she had tidied up her quarters which was sliding towards disorganization. As she approached, she saw Julia leaving and asked, "How did it go?" with a quick smile. Once she was inside, she looked around for the weaponsmaster.

Julia smiled back. "Can't tell you all my secrets." She answered with a wink, giving Irena a quick pat on the shoulder. "Go get em."And as she arrived, Irena would find Kors just barely having taken his gauntlets off before she had stepped into the grounds herself. "Aw hells you're kidding me- what are you all on, a clock? Give me a few to compose myself again, couldn't even catch a breath with your dog-like excitement to take advantage of my oh-so-wise tutelage you're seeing.", he chuckled as he remembered just how Ras had called out to him, sitting down on a wooden stool by the weaponrack and leaning on his knees as he rested. "... I don't remember your name- speak up. I'm sure it's unique alright."

Irena shrugged, "Something like that." She let his comment go having had her fair share of this kind of talk. After all, most of the knights-in-training were men and some were lower class than others. "It's Irena. Irena Rosenthal, current knight-in-training to Lord Demitrius."

The half-hearted smirk on his face began to fade as he remained rather quiet upon hearing all those titles, looking at her silently and just raising an eyebrow after a moment's thought. "... Don't get tired of all those titles? They're making a nice name longer and fancier than it's gotta be.", but that wasn't where his complaint was, was it? "So. Irena Rosenthal, knight-in-training to Demeter-'is-name, what do you seek to gain from me? You look done already."

"This is nothing, you should hear the titles of my commander," Irena chuckled. She was used to the formalities and structure that came with the life of a soldier. "Oh? I suppose that's true, but I never turn down the opportunity to fight someone who looks like he'll put up a fight." Her attitude was easy and cheerful.

"Humble, yet all high and mighty. You'll be a fun nut to crack.", Kors laughed to himself as he patted his knees and with a push, got up on both legs. He dusted himself, and proceeded to move further into the arena with both his arms crossed. A part of him was ready to start, but another felt rather... insquisitive. Her cooperative attitude wasn't helping turn his curiosity down, either. "What's up with the sword? I've seen it before, but it looked a lot better- and it wasn't yours, that's for sure. You've... 'inherited' it, I take it?"

"In a way," Irena replied. "You've met my swordmaster then." With that evasive answer, she reached for Noble Gambit's hilt and unsheathed the weapon. It carried a great presence, one that had seen many battles, many rising and falling. Ren fell quite naturally into a fighter's stance with feet apart and her back foot angled. "Shall we start?" she asked with an eager glint in her eye. She wanted to see what he was made of.

Mirroring her more evasive attitude, he tiptoed around being demeaning by cocking an eyebrow and crossing his arms at her response. "Well, you sure as hell didn't mug him and live to tell the tale."... and then- oh, that bravado! He smirked and walked back to the weaponrack, picking up what looked to be the most counterproductive weapon of the lot he had hung up. Was that... a two handed shield..? "I gave the blondie seven days to land a hit. I'll give you a few strikes to knock me off my feet- knight's handicap, if you want to call it so."And with that, the trainer slipped into a firmer stance, holding the shield with both his hands and staying low to the ground as if to keep a steady footing. Though the greatshield blocked a fair bit of his vision, he never broke eye contact and seemed to have his eyes trained fast on her from what little field of his view remained unobscured. "No privilege of getting knocked around by me for you- so do your worst, come at me."

"Didn't have to, he gave it to me himself." A different aura was coming from the swordmaiden, one more competitive, almost wolfish. She began the dance, circling as he did. "Sounds fair to me."The shield was a two-handed weapon, heavy and defense-oriented. But it could also be used to push back an opponent and bludgeon them. It was big, so it would be difficult to get around. She'd go for a feint. With a yell, she charged feinting left and striking right.

"Sounds like he was your nan more than your mentor. Didn't know even he could grow that soft.", his words clearly aimed to provoke, but it wasn't too easy to tell with her attitude already being competitive as was. And so, it began. She walked and walked around him, coming in shouting. And when she was about to swing, rather than turning to face her he took a step back to widen the distance between the two and readjusted his shield's orientation before taking a step towards her, causing her sword to connect ever so slightly sooner than she'd have calculated and holding his ground as the loud thunk sounded when her blade got deflected. "Lots of muscle going to waste there. Try again, lass."

"Are you kidding me? He whooped me in swordplay at least five times a day, if not more." She adjusted herself and drew back for an overhead blow.

"That's sounding more like him- though you don't look like you got your ass whooped enough with that attitude.", the weaponmaster's eyes shone for a moment as he saw her winding up for an attack, grinning and taking a step closer with his shield raised slightly, getting ready to absorb the hit. "Now you're thinking proper, hit me with it!"

"He trained me to be the best," she grunted, greatsword coming down hard. "I won't let his name be tarnished!" As the sword made impact, she dropped low going for a leg sweep.

The sword and shield clashed together as he blocked the hit, shortly after bringin the shield down and lowering his whole body to plant its edge into the ground. This, of course, resulted in a very painful kick for the back of the woman's heel before he lifted the shield some again and took a small leap forwards, pushing her as gently as he could with the heaping piece of metal to knock her down. "And you lost it again, ugh. Give it up for now, you're not ready yet. I'll show you what you seem to have forgotten, cause there's no way the Bloodletter hadn't shown you this himself.", he spoke but kept his shield raised, until he was certain she'd lower her own weapon and he wouldn't get any stray cuts to his form.

Irena propped herself up after being knocked down, her heel throbbing. She sighed. "I suppose so." She drew herself up to a standing position, keeping her weight off of her aching foot, and sheathed the great blade. "Where shall we begin?"

"One thing at a time, aye.", he grumbled and planted the shield into the ground next to him, quietly leaning down against it and looking at her with a brow raised as he let out a long, tired sigh. "I'm surprised you're not shocked at the 'Bloodletter' thing, honestly. Are you always this 'wild' anyway, or just got excited to meet an equal?"

"Hadrian was known by many names. I only found out he was a hero of renown after he passed and left me his sword," Irena explained. She smiled pleasantly at his next question. "I don't get many opportunities to test out my full strength." She shook out her limbs and rotated her shoulder.

"Mhm. Bloodletter's my nickname for him 'cause of a fight we participated in. Hell, I don't know if he even remembered me, but he sure left an impression on the entire troop.", Kors laughed as he reflected back on the knight, grinning widely before he raised a brow at Irena. "Then I shouldn't tell you you're far from an equal yet, eh? That's-", he grumbled as he got up and stretched his limbs, giving her a thumbs up. "- what you're here to fix, anyways. In a week, I'll have nothing left to show you. But for now- momentum.""You wound up really nicely back there, but then you gave in to my taunts and lost your cool.", he said as he pointed at her sword, the gaze in his eyes rather conflicted. "... Let's focus on the winding up part. When you're about to hit, don't just smack wherever the weak spot might be. Make your stance stronger, 'screw yourself down' and charge up. And then- boom.", he snapped his fingers with that final word, crossing his arms after. "Make sense?"

"How so?" Irena wondered aloud. "Ah, is that so? Then you'll have to bring me up to speed." Now that he showed her what he was capable of, Irena felt more confident in him as a teacher. Irena nodded but wasn't really sure if she understood completely. "Like this?" She widened her stance a touch and tried to go for winding up her energy before slicing her sword through the air.

Seeing her not prepare for any practice swings, he grumbled and undug the greatshield from the ground, taking it back to the rack and laying it against it as he picked up his greatsword. "Here, like this.", he said and switched to a more battleready stance, moving his arms back to prepare for a swing and making his stance somewhat firmer before he swung with a fair bit of force forwards. "Prepare, charge, and then swing."

Irena replicated his movements the best she knew how. Then she did it a few more times.

With a few corrections here and there across her practice swings, she slowly course corrected and seemed to be manipulating her momentum fairly well. "Looks like you're getting the hang of things. Understand how this might be more useful than readjusting constantly and wasting yer energy to enemies that just block your every attack? It can knock most off their feet and open them up pretty nicely for a clean kill."

Irena nodded with a look of intent concentration on her face and swung a few more times, then relaxed her stance. "Yes, I see." She was eager to try it out in an actual fight.

Wanting to give her a target to try it on before he'd have her practice it for whatever was left of their session to make sure she got a proper feel for things, he picked up the shield once again and let his greatsword rest. Like so, he held it up in front of him facing her, smirking as he firmly planted himself into the ground as best as he could. "So do go on- try it. See if it works."

She fell into a ready fighting stance with greater stability than before, sword at the ready. This time, she concentrated her energy on the backswing like a coiled spring and then let it explode attempting to push back the weaponsmaster with brute force.

And even to his surprised, it worked much too well- despite being practically buried into the ground with both his soles, the man grunted at the hit and wavered, feeling his balance thrown off as he moved some to the right and ended up exposing his left side in full. From there, he had to say no other words to prove its effectiveness now, did he?

INFORMATION

Mentions & Interactions: Gary Sue [weaponsmaster]
Location: Training Grounds, Aeredale

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

Ras sat and watched the others start training for a few minutes before he started to get somewhat bored. He wasn't learning much just by watching. Fighting was something that you had to experience. So Rastook his leave from the training arena as it became clear that the weapons master would train the others first, which left Ras with quite a considerable amount of time. Rather than just sitting and waiting, Ras took the time to head over to the market to pay Carp a visit. Ras approached his stall, calling out "Hey Carp, hope you still have that armor around. It's only been two days, but if you're open to making a deal... you and I can both walk away happy."

Seeing the man with a rather familiar face approach him, Carp began almost sweating bullets when he made the connection. He looked around, but thankfully there were no signs of the Kobold. So he let out a deep sigh of relief, nodding at Ras and letting out a low chuckle. "I can walk away happy as is, lad- but if you've got coin, I've got the armor on the shelf with your name on it."

As he mentioned it, he did notice the somewhat worse condition of his lance too, flinching a little. "... I've been experimentin' a little bit with weapons too, and though it's not much, I gave the lance I showed you the other day a little glow up. Forty silvers for it at least now, but it should be on par with the armor. Can give you both for... a hundred and forty? How's that sound?", he decided to highball it, as he raised a brow and leaned forwards against the stall's counter.

"Whoa, whoa, Carp, buddy. Last we spoke you said 70 for the armor and 20 for a basic mace. Now, if you're saying you have a better lance this time around, then maybe 40 is fair, but that just means that everything should be at most 110 in total... assuming 40 is a fair price for the lance." Ras leaned unto the stall counter as well with a grin and said. "Mind if I take a look at the bad boy to make sure its up to snuff?" Ras wanted to make sure that the lance was noble grade as Carp seemed less confident in his blacksmithing abilities for weapons compared to armor just two days ago.

At the proposal for the lance test, he nodded and held onto it before he pushed it further out the stall's counter, a glint in his eyes as he opened his mouth again. "I did say at the least, as good a memory as ye got. But aye, give it a look over.", the look in his eyes got a little less intense as he laid back and let go of the lance's hilt, grinning and crossing his arms. "Got a family friend who specialises in weaponsmithing to help me add some finishing touches, cause you seemed confident in your ability to make the coins for these two days ago. He's better than me, but it remains a craft of mine so... I'm keeping it cheaper than he'd give it out, that's for sure."

Ras firmly grasped the lance in his hands and began to test the balance of it as he took some jabs at an imaginary foe. His eyes darted along the weapons to see if he could determine how good this weapon actually was and if it was comparable to the craftmanship of the armor.

A fair bit heavier than the other lance he used, probably because it was less hollow, it appeared to be more weighted near the base to give a more stable grip. The end was somewhat thicker, with a sharper edge to its tip that could puncture a fair bit more than his current lance- especially given its worn condition. Some parts of the lance did look unnecessarily decorated with carvings of sorts, though that looked to be Carp's style after a quick cross-examination with the armor set laying on the counter. Admittedly, it had all the bearings of a well crafted weapon one would personally commission rather than just buy or be handed at an army's barracks for service. "So, how's it look?"

"Not bad. Feels pretty good. I can tell you really put your personal touch on this one, but man... 110 coins in a single purchase is a bit steep..." Ras said as he carefully chose his next words. "Tell you what, Carp. I'll pay you 120 now. No IOUs, no more holding items for me or anyone else. 120 Cold, hard coins, right now. If you can throw in a basic mace I can use as a back up weapon and those wooden coins that Rak gave ya. He swears that they're worth something... though I doubt it. Still, if I ever bump into a situation where I need something from him, then I'll pull those out and give him a hard time about it. For the both of us." Ras said with a wink and a chuckle as he pictured himself grilling Rak in the future with those wood coins and asking him to do something while reminding Rak that the wood coins were worth "a lot" as Rak liked to claim.

"Hey, it's a single purchase that's gonna last you a good few years of movin' around if you remember to polish your armor and lance every now and then... and don't come into contact with acid.", he added at the end in an almost defeated tone as he coughed dryly, looking away before he turned his attention to some items he had under the counter. Much like the mace he'd shown him back then, he pulled a very basic looking one out and grumbled. "T-Tch... It's not good stuff, this one. Best I could really make though, it's good for crushing armor, though I was too proud to try it on my good ones."

Placing it by the lance and armor, he tallied up the amounts and ended up chewing on his thumb's nail a little as he gave it some time. "... Aye, 115 then. I feel bad for the mace, but... Should be good enough to last you until you reach a better weaponsmith. And the coins, urgh... Where..?", he actually had to lower himself to under the counter before he found the coin and inspected it. "... If you're sure it's worth anything, here y'go. Have it with the other three pieces.", Carp conceded and placed it on the stall. "Got a deal, you think?"

"Only one way to find out. You'll have your answer if I make it back from Col'kirk. Thanks for the new gear, Carp. Oh, speaking of which... do you happen to know anyone in town who needs something from there or maybe wants something delivered along the way? Figure I can make a few coins on the side if I'm going to be headed there anyways."

"Col'kirk?", Carp asked as he received the money from the purchase, his eyes widening when he quickly made the connection. "Good gods, you're escorting the guy back?", shivers were even sent down his spine as he remembered the hyperactive tornado of emotions Rak had been the other day. With another deep sigh that made him sound primed and ready for an early retirement, the smith shook his head in visible disapproval.

The next question was met with a rather quick response too, to Ras' probable dismay. "Mind's on the money, huh? Nah, don't know anyone. It's usually... K-Kobolds, but... Other than your guy, none other have come now lately. It's a dangerous trip and few want to make it. Take care, and prove my craftsmanship proper yeah?", he said with a chuckle as he waved at Ras and saw him off- but he quickly remembered, not too long after Ras had begun walking away. "A-Ah, actually. There's some weird travellin' bard that might need a ride over. He'll be by the inn, I think. Heads over every night or so and plays music for the locals. If you're that interested, might as well look into him."

"At night, huh? I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the tip, Carp. And heck, if this stuff is as good as you claim it is, then people will be coming from all over to get a piece of your work with all these distinct marks. Think of this as a paid advertisement, except I paid you instead of the other way around!" Ras said with a smile as he gathered his new gear and set off.

. . .​

Ras carefully packed his old gear and donned his new stuff in a quiet side street. He had killed some time, and it seemed like he should start returning to the arena soon. But, Carp's advice and... concern kept creeping into his mind. Was the journey to Col'kirk so perilous? Ras wasn't too sure... but if it was anything like what Carp thought... the group had better be in their top condition. Ras returned to the busy market and approached a spice vendor. "Hail Spice Merchant. Can you show me some of your local specialties and your prices?"

As he approached in what looked like brand new armor, the merchant even straightened her posture some, feeling an air of respect from Ras. Maybe it was his very shiny chestpiece and pads doing the trick though, seeing how casual and accustomed to things he was. "A-Ah, aye. Take your pick- how much money do you have to spare? There's some local products, some premium goods I've gone and sought for myself, and... well, there's sweeteners like the truffles, more daily ingredients like peppers, ground thyme, cloves... Tell me what you're looking for and I can point you in the right direction."

Ras was slightly caught off guard and a bit turned off as the merchant's disposition changed rather suddenly. "Err, right... well. I was looking to begin dabbling into cooking while on my travels, and figured I should buy some local ingredients that Aeredale is known for before I begin my journey. Its rumored to be a rather rough one, so I'm ooking for ingredients that would be useful to have on a tough journey where I can expect to get into a fight or two cause of the wildlife. Maybe something hearty and filling? Budget is around 50 coins. Have any suggestions... Ms...?"

That awkwardness quickly grounded the merchant back to earth, as she seemed to be slipping back to her form a fair bit faster this time around. "Fifty... Working with little, eh? There's some more expensive ingredients for sweets and desserts, but that's out of your range. If you're just starting your cooking, it's not quite spices but-", she said as she looked to the side at a few crates neatly stacked and up for display with a variety of greens and fruits collected from the Wayward Jungle.

"Husband went foraging earlier this week and we've still got a lot of fresh ingredients to sell, so have at it. It's five per piece, none of them are "premium" but they're pretty exclusive to Wayward regardless. Only Aeredale has a suitable climate for Mana Berry bushes to grow- and a suspicious amount of edible mushrooms, too. Come think of-"

Ah, where were her manners, not having introduced herself yet? She was even asked for her name, wasn't she? With a chuckle, she placed a hand on her chest and bowed slightly. "Miss Boyer- traveling merchant, though I might stick it out here for a while. The jungle's pretty fruitful for stocking up, hehe."

"Miss Boyer? Pleasure to meet you. Call me Ras, please. A travelling merchant, you say? Well perhaps I will bump into you in my journeys in the future as well. Could I get 5 bundles of those mana berries, another 5 pieces of other local fruit and veggies? That should be 50 coins worth. I would deeply appreciate if you could throw in a sample or two and some pointers as well on top." Ras then paused as he did notice the copious amounts of mushrooms and asked "How do you know that those mushrooms are edible and safe? Passed by some earlier while I was in the jungle. They don't look like any mushrooms I've eaten before."

With a quick nod, the merchant got to preparing her goods for Ras to pick up and be on his way again. "I've heard some people pulverize mana berries to turn them into alchemy reagents too- though it's a waste of perfectly fine food if you ask me.", she chuckled and moved on to some of the milder tasting ingredients that would give the adventurer the least hard time to cook.

"As for the mushrooms... it's true, they've sprung up recently and we don't know why, but alchemy, oh sweet alchemy. One of my spouse's researcher acquaintances has some concoction that reacts violently to poison- seemed to verify that they're pretty nice. Though I'd assume they need delicate handling to cook proper...", as Boyer finished preparing every bundle, she held her hand out and awaited payment, having neatly stacked all twelve of them on the stall. "All yours, Ras. It'll be fifty. Two of them are on the house.", she added with a playful wink.

Ras reached into his pouch and pulled out 50 coins. As he put the coins on the stall counter, he realized something. Weren't all those people in the mushroom settlement... former researchers? "Thanks, Miss Boyer. You said research acquaintances? Does the name Ged ring a bell by any chance? Has a son named Rel?" Ras inquired as he took the ingredients and began stashing them away in his pack.

The question caught her a bit off guard, admittedly, as she moved a hand to the back of her head and she found herself trying to scrounge up anything. "... Ged? It sounds familiar, but if I have- not anytime recently. I can ask my husband, if it's of any importance?", she offered, though the confusion was visible in her voice as she ended her question off on an uncertain high note.

Ras silently nodded before saying "If you could, then that would be appreciated. I actually bumped into Ged in the jungle just a day ago. It seemed like he needed some help... pretty urgently. He was investigating something related to all these mushrooms and it seemed pretty serious. I'm not much of a researcher, so I wasn't much help. Maybe your husband knows someone who could. Anyways, thanks for your help, Miss Boyer. I'm staying over at the tavern for a little bit longer before setting off, in case you need to find me. Fare well." Ras then began to walk back to the arena to go check on how things were going. Maybe it was finally his turn to learn from the weapon's master.

"Urgent..? If he's still alive, it can't be that bad, but... Th-Thank you for the warning, I'll let him know.", she was rather shocked at the words, though she chalked it up to her mind running to unsavoury conclusions more than anything else. And she wasn't... entirely wrong. "Take care too, Ras. And- be careful.", she bid him farewell too with a small smile, though it was curt and rather forced. She was a tad unsettled, to say the least.

. . .​

Only a few minutes after that, a fully kitted out tin can emerged in Kors' training grounds, earning a funny look from the man. "I was going to joke about 'woe is me, no rest for the wicked' but I think there's better jokes to crack when you just waltz in like that. Couldn't even wait to see if you can go for a round two with a Thorn Hound or anything else out there, eh?"

"Preparing for any mission is important. And from what I've heard. My upcoming mission isn't a cake walk. Besides, if I'm going to be using new equipment, then I better get used to it and break it in now instead of in the middle of a fight for my life. Heard some stories about soldiers sleeping in their new boots just to get them broken in before get sent out to the frontlines." Ras replied as he held his new lance in his hands, ready for anything. "So, are we having some tea and biscuits while we chat and you get some rest?" Ras replied with a slight grin.

"For one, your brain appears to be working as much as your ears. Take that as you will.", the trainer complimented with a joke as he leaned against the wall with his arms and legs crossed, raising a hand to rub his chin as he contemplated Ras' probably sarcastic offer. "Doesn't sound half bad to me. But first- say, someone gone and shoved a stick in you? Or are you not the knightly type, like blue? I can't put my finger on your role in the group."

Ras replied in an exaggerated manner "You don't say? Is that a complement? Think I heard the Thorn Hound give better compliments than that. As for me, well... let's just say I've travelled my fair share too. I wouldn't call myself a soldier by any means, but I've seen some stuff on my journeys. As for my role in the group, well. I do what I can to fill any huge gaps. Not ideal, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do. So far, I've been trying to take a lot of hits for the group, but that just buys me the opportunity to attack at opportune moments." Ras reached into his pack and pulled out a bundle of mana berries. "These aren't scones and some high tea, but I picked up some ingredients to cook with while on the road. Can't have you huffing and puffing on me just a few minutes into my training session." Ras said before he gently tossed the bundle over to Kors.

With the same rather arrogant grin on his face, he grabbed the bundle once it was thrown over and curiously, opened it enough to see what was inside. Something about the mana berries didn't sit right with him though, judging by his near distraught and intense stare at them for a few moments before he closed the bundle up again and handed it right back to Ras. "... Keep 'em for yourself. Don't need or want them.", he grumbled and let out a deep sigh, trying to refresh his mojo.

"If you take hits, I'll teach you how to take them harder and dish them out harder too.", he proclaimed, seeming like he took a complete turn the other way and decided to cut the humor short and get to the final training session for the day. "Take your pick- teach you how to use that poking stick better, or how to use that plating of yours as a shield? Thick armor's gotta be doing something too."

Ras took back the berries with a shrug. Seemed like Kors had some sort of history with the mana berries. With his pack now stowed away, Ras replied "Show me how to dish out harder than I take. I can't be on the defensive forever and hope to rely on someone else to fight for me." as he gripped his new lance, Carp's Sting.

Kors shuddered a little as he prepared himself for the third time he was going to ask this of someone, and truthfully he'd go insane at this rate. Thank the gods he only had to train these three for now. "Aye, then show me some practice... swings? Jabs? Take me through it like I'm new to this, how do you use your poking stick."

Ras nodded and lifted his lance as he approached a nearby dummy. He quickly lunged at the dummy with a quick strike to close the distance. Then Ras put up his guard ready to counter any attacks from imaginary enemies now that he drew any enemy's attention with his sudden attack. "I draw the attention of whoever I'm fighting with an aggressive lunge. Then put up my guard to try and counter any attacks... looking for openings and taking my time before either lunging again or taking a quick jab." Ras explained. "A bit cookie cutter, but its been working for me so far."

Sounding almost bored from the description, Kors nodded and quietly rubbed his chin. "... Cookie cutter's accurate, yeah. Not that that's bad, but you can fix it up a little.", he grumbled and picked up a lance from his rack, walking close to Ras where another dummy stood and poking at it from a distance in a variety of spots. "Random attacks can only get you so far, even if your technique's great."

He looked to the side, raising a brow and deciding to shoot his 'pupil' a question. "So, what do you do then? Cause clearly, you gotta keep on poking and jabbing to get them to keel over, don't you?"

"Death by a thousand cuts is the plan for now. If that doesn't work, then I have a back up weapon to hit them a bit harder. Not the most elegant solution, but even if I happen to lose my lance then at least I'm not defenseless." Ras replied as he pointed to the mace that was now sitting in his belt.

"Might as well not be death if it's a thousand papercuts.", Kors grumbled as he readjusted his position and with a much better adjusted form, struck right for the center of the dummy. And truth be told- now it made sense why there were so many holes in the dummy's chest after all. "Gotta aim it right, hit once and hit hard. Your job's to get momentum, so you gotta 'burst it out' just right. Know where to hit, or do we start with that first?"

"The head or center mass, ideally. No? At the end of the day, I won't be cleaving anyone with each strike as if I'm lugging around a giant sword or a battle axe, but I have to bide my time and make each strike count and hit hard." Ras replied.

"Yes and no.", he nodded, repeating the movement in a few practice jabs of his own, each of which made his stab reach deeper and stretch the hole out ever so slightly more. "Ye're meant to leave your opponent wounded and bleeding after a hit, give them a little 'something' to remember you by if they fell you. You said your hit is to 'take hits', not to kill, so you'll take hits and leave nasty wounds back."

As he stopped after a few strikes, he pointed at the dummy and raised a brow. "See anything? The initial damage from one jab was much more than if I just keep jabbin' at it again and again. Your goal's to know where to aim, and alternate between your hard hits until you wear them down. Then you go for the head to finish them off, or neck's even better."

Ras looked at the dummy while nodding. "Fair enough, look for an opening, and then hit him with something he won't forget anytime soon. Got it. Seems straightforward, in theory at least. Do you happen to know much about the beasts around Col'kirk? Have any advice in the event I bump into one on the way there? All I know is that the beasts are tough... probably more dangerous than the thorn hounds around here."

"They got teeth, and they leave mean bites, just like the Thorn Hounds.", Kors said as he twirled his lance in his hands before he pointed it at the ground and planted it firmly. "Downside would be that they do have twice the size of a thorn hound, and they're much more resilient to attacks by weapons. Somethin' something, they're weaker to magic instead.", he begrudgingly added, shaking his head and looking back at the dummy with an almost harsh glare.

"... That's why you wanna hit few times, but hit them really hard and open up wounds. For now, we're starting with just making them bleed, next time I'll show you how to cripple them too so you can take hits easier. Know where the vital signs are to hit harder, usually?"

"Resistant to most normal attacks, huh... maybe I should look into acids and poisons to coat the weapons with. Or maybe just cover them in oil and throw a torch." Ras commented. "Well, thanks for the advice and yes. Sounds good to me. Slowly using the time to wear down the enemy sounds perfect for using this lance. Vital signs? You don't mean their head or smack in the middle of their chest?"

"Want my opinion? Get one of your friends into alchemy and skip buying anything from here. Not bad stuff, but expensive.", the weaponmaster replied to his comment about looking into poisons and other vile concoctions. Gods knew he didn't want any of that on him, and the same could very much be said about Ras.

"Aye. Head, chest below the ribcage cause you want an easy puncture, or somewhere 'round the middle of their legs. If they got thighs visible, thighs it is. Anywhere without much resistance or with very easy spots to land clean hits on. One shot should make a visible difference, if not- try again and do better. That's what we'll be focusing on for today anyways."

"Well it's a damn shame that I don't have any friends here." Ras said with a cheeky grin. He lifted his lance and focused on the nearby dummy. With a forceful thrust, Ras began to try and emulate what Kors had just showed him.

Though he figured it was mostly a joke, he did seem somewhat surprised at that. "Ah? And what about the lovely lasses I trained the past few hours, just 'comrades in arms with common goals', are they?", he asked with what sounded like genuine curiosity, inspecting Ras' movements and groaning. "More force, move your whole arm forwards to keep the momentum, don't 'push' it ahead. Whole body moves along with it, not just the arm movement. Keep a good posture."

Ras listened to Kors as he continued to practice his thrusts with his lance. In between strikes, Ras elaborated "Just some ladies who I met just a few days ago. Though... it does feel like its been a lot longer than that. Guess that's what journeying does to you. Though the aspiring Knight did vanish for a good portion of it before we found her again."

"She was the one that got mana fever and theoretically recovered in under a day, isn't she?", a straightforward question as he turned his gaze back on one of the dummies, practicing a few swipes and jabs at it, each blow landing just as precisely as the last.

Ras grunted. "Like I said, some ladies I met just a few days ago. Quite an odd bunch, I must say. It's not every day you meet people like them." Ras kept practicing his strikes as he spoke "Say, what made you decide to settle down and hang up the hat? I can't imagine you make more here than as a travelling mercenary."

"Yeah, merc jobs pay more.", an admission he made with a heavy heart as he continued his assault on the poor dummy, trying to perfect his technique ever so slightly more. "But I just got tired. That's it.", his response was surprisingly short and concise, though he might have been omitting some details about it, considering how much he really enjoyed beating around the bush a little first.

There wasn't much time to think about that before he stopped his own practice hits and raised a brow at Ras. "Are you feeling your muscles pulled or getting 'tired' by doing that? Cause you shouldn't be."

"Fair enough, I can imagine why it can get pretty tiring." Ras replied without trying to dig in deeper into the topic. "Getting tired? It is getting later in the day, but no. Not particularly. Not more than yesterday when I had to actually fight a thorn hound." Ras replied as he continued to try and leave a lasting mark in the dummy.

"Good, cause you're gonna be spending the next few hours practicing that jab. Don't go letting up now.", he scoffed and crossed his arms after he buried his own lance into the ground, walking closer and watching Ras as the training continued until the late hours of the evening, when Kors had finally decided that his blows were good enough for him to be allowed a break for the rest of the day. But tomorrow, it'd be back to much of the same, or perhaps he'd flare up his other skills a little more...

---

Carp's 'Sting' (Lance/Noble), Carp's 'Barricade' (Armor/Noble), Initiate's Mace (Mace/Common) & x1 [Wooden Coin] have been added to Ras' inventory, in exchange for 115⋢.
Ras obtains x6 [Handpicked Mana Berries (W)], x1 [Handpicked Mana Berries (W)] HQ, x5 [Local Aeredale] Cooking Ingredients in exchange for 50⋢.

Ras gains 555 Merchanting proficiency points, gaining more confidence in his ability to trade and barter.

---
Interactions: Gary Sue as Carp, Miss Boyer & Kors, the Weaponmaster
Location: Market Street -> Training Grounds, Aeredale

 

[Key of Stars]

"Oi," Julia called out as she stepped back onto the training field. "Does this damned thing have to be this early? A lady needs her beauty sleep you know?" Especialy after a night like that. That being said, she had actually diligently trained the move Kors had taught her, well, for a little at least. But she'd put it into practice as well.

Julia had spend most of yesterday walking around town, visiting every bookstore the town had to offer as she did. She'd also had a look at potentially buying some shoes with even sturdier soles, but her nonchalance about money when the group had divided what they'd received and her other habits had left her in a rather poor financial state.

"Got some practice in." She told the weaponmaster with a smile. "Should have seen it, kicked 'em right in the shin, almost hit the ceiling. That should teach the both of 'em to keep their hands to themselves."

Now that she had returned, Kors didn't have too much to add to her bombastic entrance but a small chuckle. "Ladies don't drink, and they certainly don't kill like you're gonna.", he simply responded before she informed him of her continued training. He did listen to her, though his nodding was rather idle until she finished. "Ain't the shins in the legs..? W-Wait, you-"

... He was a bit taken aback alright. With a hand pinching his nose bridge, he shook his head and sighed. "Do keep a leash on yourself, aye? If you get anyone injured, you'll be paying for their doctor trips.", at this point, it really was just a matter of when though, not 'if'.

"Talked about folks touchin' you inappropriately, right? Sorta relevant, but what would you do if you were getting mugged, then? Just beat them to death?"

Julia huffed. "And what would you know about a lady?" She waved her hand dismissively. "Shins, chins, all the same, you kick 'em hard and they go down, no need to be a stickler over a little slip of the tongue."

"Me? Pay?" She laughed heartily. "You overestimate my financial situation severely. Besides, scum like them won't ever tell anyone what happened. Way too much pride to admit they got their ass kicked by a woman."

"And beat them to death?" Julia faked being shocked, raising a hand to her mouth. "Oh heavens no, that would be murder. But if said mugger were to slip down a few stairs and end up at the police station with a few bruises and some broken bones, well what can you do?" She answered with a sweet smile.

"I know enough about ladies to tell you you aren't one, that's for sure.", he scoffed before mumbling something along the lines of 'Oh, that one is not on the legs...' to her admission of slipping up. Despite how much he had adventured himself though, he'd never heard of that final thing she mentioned except for some more rich travellers that had made their way over from Central Cyclone. "Police..? Is that something like the wardens' outposts we have in most towns here? Central sounds like a whole other country, sheesh."

Her response though wasn't too practical. Sure, she could make funny quips about disguising murder as accidents, but good luck trying any of that on the battlefield- so he'd have to explain it outright, perhaps more practically. Moving to the rack, he quietly grabbed a straightsword, rolled his shoulders in a shrug and walked back to her before he unsheathed the blade and pointed it at her. "I'm a scummy bastard, you're being mugged- what do you do? Sword, dagger, whatever have you, it's pointed at you and ready to slice you open. Thoughts?"

"You're quite rude you know? I'm pretty popular with the guys, little too popular sometimes." She shot back. "Eh, don't worry too much about it, the police are just wardens with an extra big stick up their ass, really."

She watched quietly as he moved to the rack, grabbing a sword and pointing it at her. "Quite a big sword for a common thief." She remarked, stiffling a yawn. "Really, you ought to know better, robbing a lady like-" She didn't finish her sentence, launching a fast kick at the side of the blade to either knock it out of his hand or at least knock it to the side.

She used the momentum of her kick to pivot into a small spin, not completely unlike the one he'd taught her, carrying it's moment into a straight punch.

With his blade knocked to the side, he had to quickly take a step bak to avoid what would have been a gut-destroying punch as he raised a brow and planted his sword's blade into the dirt. "You can't just call yourself a lady and try to rapture my organs, you...", a grumble followed by a pinch of his nose, shaking his head in disapproval. At least her un-ladylike technique was fairly good.

"Gah, forget it... Let's brush up that technique of yours, make it properly *disarm* assailants... That's gonna be handy for you for humans or monsters with appendages, or so...", Kors walked back to the rack, grabbing a second straightsword to plant next to the previous one and one of his own gauntlets on the other hand. "Ever heard of the term 'swordbreaker'? There's some knives some people use to- guess what- break swords, though they're expensive. This takes a little inspiration from those, but with our gauntlets instead. Can you guess the downside?", he asked as he fitted the gauntlet onto his right hand now, stretching his fingers and giving her a curious look.

"You try saying that to my mom, see where it gets you. Won't be pleasant I can tell you that much." Julia shot back with a grin, flexing one of her gauntlets confidently.

She nodded. "Heard of em, sure. Never really been interested in knives of any kind. But breaking swords with my gauntlets, do go on..." She gestured for him to continue. "Well, getting in range of a weapon that can slice my head clean off sounds like a pretty big downside to me."

As much as he wanted to comment on her bringing up her mother's probably similar and very much same attitude, he held onto himself and sighed while shaking his head in ever so slight disapproval. Best not respond, before they get sidetracked again. "Sounds like you understand some basics, bravo.", he said and clapped his hands quietly, smirking.

"It's something I wouldn't recommend doing more than once. The first time, you can catch someone by surprise- the second, you're in a lot more danger and risk of dyin', so... don't.", his instructions were quite clear. "It's not as much a literate 'swordbreaker' as it is a hand twister, to be fair.", he grumbled under his breath as he took the sword from the ground and held it by the blade towards Julia, gesturing to her hands. "Take one of your gauntlets off and hold this for me. Try to slice at me, go on."

Julia narrowed her eyes at the weaponmaster. "You sound awfully sarcastic. Are you like this with everyone?" She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. "Or is it just because I'm your favorite?" She added with a small grin.

She nodded along with the words until he mentioned the term hand twister. "We're not calling it that." She awkwardly took the blade after having removed her right glove, twirling the handle around in her hand a little bit before pointing it towards him. "Try not to lose a hand, okay?" She said before attempting a slash from the side.

"You earned this when you doubted me on first glance, lass.", he responded to her question in regards to his attitude, grinning and stretching his fingers in the gauntlet before she decided to take the swing. When she did, he quickly moved his hand over and with his index and middle finger apart, he almost slammed his palm onto the blade, stopping it just barely by pinching it with his fingers..?

He twisted the blade and yanked it from Julia, quietly looking down at it and grabbing it with his free hand, he pulled it away from the rest of its hand. "It looks very barbaric and-", he grumbled at the new scratch across the metal plating on his palm. "... well, you'll need tough gloves to do it. You also don't wanna do it more than once on enemies because your gauntlets are gonna grow too weak eventually. Stop it with your hands- pinch with your fingers to help, and then twist to loosen their grip. Then you pull and- tadah."

Julia shrugged. "Guys like you have a tendency to overestimate themselves." She answered with a small grin. "But well, you've been holding up quite well in my estimations. At least you're nothing like the whining babies back home, if they didn't want to lose a tooth they should have actually learned to block." She said, watching him pull of the new move intently as she did.

She glanced at her gloves before she burst out laughing. "Barbaric, you say? If anyone dares to comment I'll just shut them up the old-fashioned way. A lady needs to maintain her image." She quietly repeated his movement a few times, finding herself getting the hang of it rather quickly compared to the spin kick. Then again, doing it without a blade coming towards you and with one was something else entirely. "The gloves are an issue though, these ones have seen better days. I'll hit up a blacksmith after this, see if I can use some of my abundant charm to get a nice deal."

"If they're whinin' babies, they're not like me, or like you, funny enough.", another jab at her, though it was meant as more of a compliment than anything else as he watched her practice the motions for the disarming attack. "For some reason, I can imagine you as more of the person in the bar whistling at someone than the one being whistled at.", he grumbled under his breath as he pulled his gauntlet off, hanging it by a clip on his belt and switching hands with the sword again.

"I'll consider giving you a good cut on the blacksmith when-", he thought about what he was going to say for a second before shaking his head. "Nah, *if* you land that hit on me, depending on how good it is. There's a guy 'round here that's pretty competent at making equipment, he's in charge for repairing my own. Been a couple of months since I last gave these a check.", he said as he tapped the gauntlet strapped to his hip. "So, feeling confident enough to try? Or are they *too* thin? Cause I don't want you bleeding to death because of me."

"My brother's the one who did the crying when we were children." Her childhood was filled with a fair few fights, and it wasn't usually her who ended up walking away with a bloody nose. "Oh it goes both ways," She stated matter of factly. "Only when I'm the one whistling it's usually a lot more well received than the other way around." She lightly chopped at her own hand with her other glove as means of demonstration. "Well, occasionally they walk away without injuries."

"How about I pull off this move correctly and you give me the guy's name, I'll negotiate my own deal. I barely have enough money to pay you if I land that hit, not to mention both paying you and the blacksmith." She dropped into a flexible combat stance. "You flatter me, just don't be too upset when I actually break your sword."

Was it even worth hitting her with another comment at her unladylike behavior? He felt it would fall on deaf ears, so instead of saying a thing he sighed and raised a brow at her. "If you've got that little money, the hell's up with wanting to get in some training an' getting stronger?", it was more rhetorical than anything, though.

"The point's you pull it off correctly, buffoon.", he said before he lightly swung the sword towards her, giving her a fair bit of time to adjust her posture and grab the sword before it made contact. Even if she didn't, a big part of the day would consist of them repeating this routine to get her more accustomed to it.

"I got somewhat roped into this," She shot back as she took a slight step to the side, catching the blade between her fingers just as he had done before and twisting her wrist. Perhaps she really was more gifted at this than she was at the spinning kick, then again, she'd figured the spin out fast enough when she needed it.

"You've got nothing to worry about though, the fancy guy in our group will pay for me, he owes me." She looked at her palm with a mixture of excitement and annoyance at the clearly visible new slash mark on the material. "'Sides, he pocketed all the money we earned together, so if you really think about it, half of that is mine."

"As good as you are at learning how to use your hands-", he grunted as he let go of the sword and picked up the other he'd thrust into the ground, preparing to do the same movement again and only doing so after confirming with Julia that she was, in fact, ready.

"- your numbers are all wrong. What about the knight with the blue hair? She getting thieved out of her cut as a 'fever' tax?", despite Kors' jokes he really was curious. After all, Ras had mentioned all about how they were 'just co-travellers and nothing more' the day before but he couldn't get it out of his mind that they were entrusting one another with everyone's safety, and nowhere near that close in terms of friendship. "Cause the way I saw her, she might like to have some coin too."

"Well, she didn't have to deal annoying mushroom wizards, but I digress, my future sister-in-law should also get her share. The most important thing is getting that stingy guy to pay us, and fast. He dresses like a noble, for all I know he has their tendency for wasting money as well." She answered, getting back into her combat stance, admittedly a little reluctant to get another scratch on her glove.

She caught the sword much the same as the first time, putting a little more momentum behind her wrist turn this time around. "So just put my and her payment on his tab if you will."

"Wasting money? He got some new equipment for himself, but he don't look too wasteful. How do you *propose*...", his words came to a halt as he let go of his sword when she twisted it, waiting a moment before grabbing the handle again and gently pulling it back so he could perform the same sideways slashing motion again.

And then, one more time, though now there was a bit more force and speed behind the strike. Nothing too far out of Julia's caliber, but something new for sure. "... he wastes all his coins? Not going 'round getting ladies, he would never..!", a purposefully dramatic, playful almost voice as he pretended to be ashamed at the mere thought.

Julia scoffed, studying the new scratch on her glove closely. "The fact that he even got new equipment before giving us our share is bad enough." She shot back, dropping back into her stance.

She executed the twist succesfully again, putting some more speed behind her grab of the blade this time around. "Oh I don't doubt that, he seems more interested in paperwork and payment ledgers than having some fun. But that doesn't mean he can't spend all our coin."

"Hey, never say never. Guy might be a saint and hiding some goodies for you lot too.", another joke from Kors, followed by a wince and half-glare at the second twist. "Take it easy, you're gonna tear my hand off.", he grumbled as he rubbed his wrist a little, sighing and taking it back one more time.

He quietly looked at the blade, muttering on his own about 'a job well done' or so and then glancing at Julia's gauntlets for a moment before he got ready for the next attack. "Have any idea what to look for in a gauntlet if you decide to step it up?"

"I can buy my own things, thank you very much. I don't want someone doing my shopping for me." She answered, flexing her fingers in her gauntlet. "That's the point, no? If you were an enemy injuring your hand would be an additional benefit. But fine, I'll take it easy for your poor delicate hands."

"Flexible and sturdy." She answered immediately. "I'd like the inner material to be hide of sorts. As for the outside material, I'd like it to be hard metal." She got back into her stance.

"Yeah yeah, that's the point alright, piss off 'lady'.", spoken like a true old man, he grumbled under his breath and performed the action one more time, thinking about the materials she talked about. "I don't even know whether or not I should send you to a weaponsmith or armorer now, urgh.", a low mutter that she might or might not have missed, depending on whether she could spare her focus from the technique or not.

"Just give me the name of both, I'll figure something out, I'll pay a few visits this afternoon." She answered while sidestepping his swing, grabbing the blade again and twisting it out of his hands with surprising accuracy. "I think I got it," She said, looking at the new scratches on the palm of her gauntlet. "Might wanna go easy on these for a bit, I would like them to be useable still on the off chance I fail to get a good deal for myself."

Seeing her execute it once more properly, he decided that it was pretty clear- she could pull it off alright. With a sigh, he left the sword in her hand and nodded as he started to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah yeah, I will once we're done here... Since you've already got the swordbreaker thing down proper, let's do something different. Show me your moves and I'll help you refine those a lil', yeah?"

It was a necessary step, seeing as she would want all her kicking and punching to be on the same level. "I'll adjust your stance a bit and make sure you hit all the right spots. More calculated and less of those instincts you run on more than anything else. Sound good?"

"Sure," She shot back, flipping the sword in her hand before planting it into the ground. "I'm quite fond of those instincts you know, but I'll humor you. Let's see where it leads." She dropped into her regular fighting stance, flexing her fingers in her gauntlets a few times.

She went through a small routine of moves, demonstrating some of her more common moves as well as the more complicated ones she used to expose her foes and the spinning kick she'd learned from Kors himself.

For the following few hours, Kors observed Julia like an artist would observe a landscape, trying to figure out exactly how to refine her movements just a little further. More power behind that kick, her punches being slightly closer to her center, and a more firm footing here... By the time they were done, she should probably feel a bit more comfortable performing her moves- all but the kick she'd learned his way, anyways. The right away, as he would say if asked.

By the end of their training session and before he saw her off, he made sure to give her the names she was looking for. One for the blacksmith who lived in a hut further out of Aeredale, around a day or so away, and one for the very same armorer Ras had taken advantage of for his own equipment, Carp in the Market Street.

-

Julia had decided to make her way to the armorer after a short break from training. If she couldn't get what she wanted there she would try and pay the blacksmith a visit, even if he lived about a day's travel away from the town.

She approached Carp with a smile. "Fine day today, isn't it?" She started, not giving him so much as a moment to respond before continuing. "I need a bit of a special order, I'd like to get an improved version of these." She placed her gauntlets on the table in front of Carp. "Leather or hide inside, metal outside."

He hadn't even managed to lift his head off the armor piece he was polishing to look at her before she followed up with her request. Blinking as if somewhat dumbfounded, he quietly rubbed his chin a little before he raised an eyebrow. "Do you uh... have any of the leather or hide? Or the metal?", he asked before clearing his throat some, putting the piece down and leaning against the stall with his head resting on the back of his hands. "I can give you a big discount if you do. Something like... twenty coins or so, hm?"

She smiled, hopping up a little so she sat on the table. "Not yet, I'm an expert in using these things you see. But..." She trailed off, waving her hand somewhat randomly. "I'm not exactly an expert on the crafting of weapons, I'd like some opinions on what you think would work the best." She answered, picking up her gauntlet and inspecting the new scratches on the palm. "I want it to be exceptionally scratch resistance. I'll fetch you whatever materials you need, unless you think I'm better off paying the blacksmith a visit."

"Er... These are gauntlets for use as weapons, too, correct?", he asked to confirm as he quietly picked them up and looked at them, noticing the more sturdy plating around her fingers. Comfortable enough to move her hands freely, but thick so that the top side facing outwards would always be better protected- and even capable of hitting with a fair bit of force on the blunt side.

"Scratch resistant, too? I can work with these if you want me to do a commission all for you, though I'd recommend... maybe leather inside, for comfort.", he said as he turned the gloves and looked inside, putting a finger to test. "Yup, same leather interior. And maybe a thin layer of hardened leather and some chainmail for the palm's exterior- metal on the rest. Does that sound good?", the armorer asked as he lifted his head again, looking with a raised brow.

She nodded with a bright smile. "That's right, mostly for use as weapons." She explained. "There's a reason the inside is as stained as it is, metal is fairly easy to clean. Leather, less so." She remarked, still smiling like what she had just said wasn't at the very least somewhat disturbing.

"I recently acquired a few new tricks, if they aren't scratch resistant I'll have to replace them within a few months and I would really prefer not to." She explained, crossing her legs to sit slightly more comfortably. "If that's what you think would work best," She nodded slowly. "But don't be afraid to think outside the box a little, after all, it isn't everyday someone offers to fetch all the materials you'll need, is it? Perhaps there's a metal or leather you've always hoped to work with?" She inquired, hoping off the table.

Her manner of speaking, for lack of a better word, was offputting to Carp. As much as this seemed like a chance to finally get to work with some rarer and more premium materials, he didn't want to force someone to do the heavylifting for him- and her words and nonchalance came of as rather... unreliable, to an extent. "... Are you trying to get the gauntlets for free if you get me more expensive materials, then?", he asked as he raised his hands some from under his chin to over his mouth, narrowing his eyes a little at Julia.

"Normally I don't *deal* with weapons, but these *are* armor as well, so it's easier for me to make them proper... There's a few local ingredients I could use, though you'll probably need to go punchin' a few things with your current equipment to fetch me them, I fear."

"For free?" She asked, raising a hand to her mouth in faux offense. "No, no, no such thing." She waved her hand dismissively. "It's just that I prefer having something a little more unique, something a little special. Unlike any other, you get me." She explained, rhythmically tapping her finger on the table in front of her. "Just say the word, I'll fetch whatever ingredient you need, punching things is my speciality."

Yeah, he definitely didn't trust in her too much, at this point. The fake feelings, the sucking up to him and even offering to give him 'the opportunity of a lifetime' as any craftsman would put it with materials this hard to get and expensive... but sure. He'd bite, if only to test whether or not she was saying the truth. She looked smart enough to back out if she found herself in a pickle, so with a shrug, Carp nodded and leaned back on his seat a little as he placed his hands on the stall.

"... M'kay then. Tell you what. If you've gone to the woods in Aeredale, there's a few Warthogs that have amazing leather when it comes to armors. Bring me one of them and I can process that for the interior of the gauntlet. If you can find me some good ore in one of the nearby mineral deposits, closer to the outskirts of the forests than the inside, I can probably get me some goodies from there too. But I'll need a fair bit if you don't have an eye for metals, yeah?", he proposed with a raised brow, having put the blonde under his instigative stare the entire time.

She nodded. "Warthog leather from the woods, minerals from the outskirts, got it." She spun on her heel, pointing vaguely in the direction of the forest. "Off to lunch, and after that I'm off to get those materials. Well then, see you later." She concluded, giving Carp a wave before setting off to find some cheap lunch.

"R-Right.", he mumbled as he saw her pick up her gauntlets and turn to walk the other way, quietly looking at her leave before he sighed, slumped his shoulders and picked up the armor piece again, going right back to polishing it as though nothing had happened whatsoever. "Gods, what's up with kids nowadays...", another mumble as she walked away, too far out of ear's reach.

---

Mentions: Heyitsjiwon (Ras), Elowyn (Irena)
Interactions: Gary Sue (Kors & Carp)
Location: Training Grounds > Market Street

 

[Elowyn]

Irena Rosenthal

━━━━━━⚔━━━━━━​

11​

While Julia was concluding her training session with Kors, it would appear Irena had gotten off to an early start as she began to peruse the Market Street. Just like last she'd crossed it in the town, the street was busy as ever and waited for noone and everyone all the same. The merchants were hard at work trying to push their products on the stalls, and adventurers walked left, right, front and center in an effort to look for what supplies they might need on their next journey, alongside the locals who were in search of materials for their next home meal or supplies for their own stores. The question here, though, was... what was Irena after?

Irena went to the marketplace in search of useful potions, items, and most importantly, materials for upgrading Noble Gambit. It was true that the sword had seen better days and she had been intending on taking the blade to a blacksmith soon but had never found the time to between her training regimen and guard duties.

She took out the scrap of paper on which Kors had inked directions to the smithy.

The words he'd given her yesterday while he was scribing the instructions onto the paper were fairly clear, though a bit different than the instructions he'd have given the other two. "Normally I'd send you to the Brother nearby, but he's a day away and you're not lookin' for a weapon from scratch, you want an upgrade. Next best choice would be to go to a smith more experienced in repairwork and polishing, so someone like this guy in the Market Street could work.", and so his instructions eventually led her to the same stall Julia would get her new gauntlets from, Ras got his own lance and where they'd met the Kobold in the first place, too.

Carp was standing by his stall sorting out all the equipment he had lined up nicely next to his seat, and by the time Irena had arrived he'd just picked up a new shield to get to polishing it. The next piece after that would be some nice, shiny new metal armor he made the day before, so it was presentable and ready to push out to anyone looking for heavier equipment. And as he polished, he shot a few glances up, looking at the passerby and seeing the somewhat intent look in the guard. "Aye, can I help you? You're one of the guards around town, right?"

"Hello there. Yes, I'm a knight-in-training in service to Lord Demitrius. I've come to upgrade my weapon." She pulled her greatsword out and allowed the blacksmith to inspect it.

"Knew I'd seen you around, sheesh.", he said to himself as he looked at her pull her weapon out and held it for him to look at. With a few quick glances and a brief inspection at its sharpness, its shape, the small scratches on it... he nodded quietly and kept a brow raised. "This is a pretty old sword, and you're still putting it to use?"

The question was more akin to an ice breaker than anything else as he shrugged, not expecting a real response. Scratching his stub, Carp pondered things over for a minute before giving its blade a slight tap with his finger. "I could polish it and sharpen its edges, but it'll cost a fair bit. Resource wise, prices I'm willing to lower for a guard. Town wouldn't be half as safe without you lot covering for us, yeah?"

"Then I thank you for it," Ren replied with a small smile. "Is there anything else you require besides coin?"

Carp thought it to have been obvious, but he was clearly wrong. "Well, there's the matter of material too, y'see! Bwahahah.", he said as he laughed heartily, looking down at some of his pieces and grinning as he placed a gauntlet, a straightsword and some chestpiece on the stall, leaving the piece he was polishing down next to his stool for now. "Gauntlet's made out of common iron, though a bit reinforced. It can hold for a bit, though it's going to wear out sooner or later. The sword has a special steel made using metals from a nearby cave, near the woods. Much stronger, and it slices cleaner too.", he said with a small wink.

As for the chestpiece, that's where his best work laid and it was obvious from its shine and larger weight than the rest of the pieces he put up for display. "This is the real deal- but the most expensive one I can't give for free, too. Mithril. Real sturdy, real sharp on weapons and real durable. These are your three choices, though if you want a step up above what yer sword already has, I'd say steel's your best bet. How's that sound- could ya fetch me the ores to make it?"

Irena ogled at the chestpiece, although she tried not to be too obvious about it. It appeared to be a sturdy piece with a nice gleam that caught her eye. It was clearly his most valuable creation.

"I see. Iron, steel or mithril you say. Steel sounds like the best choice for now. I'll come back with the ore, just let me know how much it will cost."

"Aye, there's much mithril only in Central Cyclone, and that's god knows how many weeks away. And also too dangerous to send even an esteemed knight over too.", he added with a cough, knowing fully well he didn't want to send anyone to an early death, certain or not. "Depends how good the ore you bring back is. If you get me some nice pieces, I'll even do it for free. Not every day that I get to work with materials like that sourced locally and from recent expeditions too, gives me good room for practice and a nice product to advertise around to boot, don't it?", he chuckled as he put a hand over his stomach for a moment.

After he settled down, he began to organize the pieces on the table again back next to him and let out a small sigh. "Mineral deposits should be pretty close to the caves, so not too far into the woods. Really close to the edges, if anything. Just further close to their east side if anything.", he added some instructions before smiling at her. "Anything else you might want, or is that all for now lass?"

"East side of the caves on the edges of the woods. Understood. Thank you..." belatedly, she realized she hadn't gotten his name. "What should I call you? My name's Irena."

She was already mapping out the areas she would scour in her mind. It sounded fairly easy provided there were no mishaps.

"Ayup, you got it right.", he said with a laugh as he clapped his hands for her, getting caught off guard by the question of his name. When asked, a glint shone in his eye as he rested his left elbow on the counter and leaned forwards, pointing a thumb towards his face in confidence. "Member of a generation old family of blacksmiths in Aeredale, Carp- or Smithy take ya pick.", and thus followed another laugh.

"I'll be waitin' here for whenever you got all the materials, so take as long as you need. Just know I'll need a day or so for the sword maintenance and upgrade, so when you do, make sure it's an off-duty day or so, aye?"

Ren grinned. "Will do. Pleased to meet you, Smithy." And with that she went back to the training grounds to meet Kors whom she had scheduled a session with. She was looking forward to improving her bladework even more.

And so as Irene walked away, Carp waved behind her watching her from afar leave the Market Street while he returned to polishing that next piece of armor on the stall. If only he knew how quickly he'd get interrupted this time...

As for Kors, he was waiting as agreed in the training grounds, though perhaps too leisurely compared to usual. With a chair nicely planted in the center of the dirt stage and his legs crossed, he appeared to be eating some fruit as he saw her and gestured with his head. "Pretty spot on, no shirkin' duties for you knights huh?", he asked with a raised brow, trying to egg her on a little before they'd begin.

Irena smiled upon seeing Kors lounging on a chair in the training grounds. "Of course not," she replied. "So what's the plan for training today?"

Upon hearing his response, she'd continue. "I'm upgrading Noble Gambit with some steel ore, which will help. Have you heard of any trouble near the caves lately?"

Kors raised his other hand to tap on the side of his head, grinning and adjusting himself some, though his stance remained relatively aloof. "Well, plans for today would be to brush up on your technique some. I feel you could use it a lil'.", he stated before hearing the knight's question. "... The caves? Nah, they've been the same as ever. A bit dangerous, but...", a chuckle escaped his mouth before he managed to take another bite out of his snack.

"Its nothing you can't handle from what I've seen-", and before he could finish, the Kobold popped up from what seemed to be thin air as he clapped his hands and walked circles around Irena, inspecting her up and down. "Even better, show pretty one how to use magicks! Survived mana fever, means you should have magic now!"

Irena was startled at Rak's sudden appearance, but did her best to hide it. "Hello Rak," she greeted him. The swordmaiden was still a bit skeptical as to this claim. She wasn't sure she wanted to use magic in the first place as she was so used to relying on her skills with a blade. But then she reminded herself that an extra ability would undoubtedly come in handy one day, say, if her weapon was broken or lost. Still... "I'm still not sure I can use magic," she said.

And that's where he remained rather quiet, Kors that is. Rak seemed to be up to something as he crossed his arms and shook his head at Irena. "You have the magicks, can use them too!", he rather confidently declared as he stopped in front of her, with the weaponmaster watching in amusement from behind. "Not feel the energies, running through you?", the Kobold asked as he placed a hand on his small, near square chin and rubbed its edges quietly. "Is called mana fever because one is overloaded with mana- you feel the rush? The mana inside you?"

"Mana..." Irena mused. Now that she thought about it, she could feel some flowing sensation beyond the blood pumping through her veins. "Yes, I think I do. This... is mana?"

"Yes, focus on your senses, you can feel it under your breath, right?", Rak asked her as he approached just a little, waiting for her to almost respond before he punched her with all the strength of a tiny Kobold. Truthfully, the punch on her knee probably hurt his fragile form much, much more than it did her. But surprisingly enough, it felt like almost her breathing was stopped short- perhaps that was the best way to put it. Mana flowed through her as naturally as she breathed, even if she were unaware of what exactly it was. But with it stopping before slowly recovering from that numbness again, maybe she got a better clue at what 'mana' is.

"That is your mana! You can feel it, correct? You can use it to use magicks, if you know how. Smart one will show you how to do that.", he huffed with crossed arms as he perked up some, grinning widely.

Irena closed her eyes, searching within. So she didn't expect the impact to her knee, which had a surprising side-effect. Ren opened her eyes. The punch wasn't strong, but it felt like the little kobold had short-circuited something inside her. She suspected that he had jammed her mana somehow. The numbness faded into a dull tingling sensation.

"I did... How did you do that? I'm interested in learning how to harness this ability." She was beginning to sense just how much of an advantage learning magic could be.

"Focus your senses on pretty one. Do you feel the mana flowing in you?", Rak asked as he put a hand to his chin again, his tail swaying left and right behind his back as he tilted his head ever so slightly. "Don't loose feeling of it, or Rak has to punch again.", he noted silently with a few nods, before raising a fist above his head. "Feel magicks gather from all around, inhale and take in. And focus slowly around fist!", though his advice seemed to make little sense to Kors, who stared with a cocked brow and some very visible doubt on his face, Ren would probably be able to make at the very least some sense of it.

"Does the tall one feel it?", he asked once again to confirm, holding his fist in front of him and giving it a quick, satisfied glance before he raised his head to stare at her again. "Mana should work like armor... but from inside! Tighter grip, firmer... f-fingers..?", as familiar with the technique as he was, Rak didn't know the first thing about martial combat and even less so about teaching others. After all, mana was something he had been born with, so it was hard to describe something as natural as breathing as though it weren't. "Under one's skin, yes. Like energy."

She listened to Rak's instructions carefully and did her best to follow them. She sensed the current running through her, a subtle sense that hadn't been there before. At his command to gather magick from around her, she was utterly at a loss, however, having not done anything like it before. When she focused on her fist, nothing seemed to happen.

"I... am not sure how to gather the mana." His directions became more confusing still. Ren's brows furrowed. "Are you sure about this?" she asked him dubiously. "I haven't tried this before..."

"R-Rak thought pretty one was prodigy... Erm...", the Kobold paced back and forth in front of her when he saw her confusion, trying to come up with something, anything to awaken her mana. And then it came to his mind. Just like he'd done moments ago, he'd punch her again. "H-Here!", he said with another punch, though even softer than the last on her thigh as he hopped up to get some extra height.

Despite the force behind his strike, the same numbing sensation under her skin took place once more. Her flow was completely blocked, and given time it would begin to return once again. "Feel blocked mana? Hold onto that feeling. Keep track and try to feel even after it returns. Then slowly feed into it, think... think of getting more. Like taking deep breaths!"

She ignored the jab, considering it unintentional. Rak punched her again, even softer this time. After his continued explanation, she understood how to gather mana better. "Hm, I think I understand now," she muttered, tuning in to the sensation of mana energy. Ren took a deep breath and thought of pulling energy from around her into her fist. "Oh, it's working."

Watching her collect mana from around her, he almost started clapping before she even announced her success. "Mana burns strong, yes! Can become stronger once you get good, keep going!", Rak almost threw a party as he hopped left and right like the happy little miscreant he was, though Kors appeared as confused as Irena must have been.

"Nothing's burning, her fist's still the same. Same as yours.", he pointed out as it really just looked like the knight was clenching her fist tightly. "O-Oh, blue can't see it either?", the demihuman responded with a curious glance sent her way. Hell, he even seemed to hold his own fist up as he waved it left and right. "Fire, see it? Blue and strong, right here.", his waving kept going and going, but whatever 'fire' he was talking about, it wasn't there in the slightest.

"You're a nutcase, little guy...", the Weaponmaster shook his head in disapproval as he leaned his head back, letting out a deep sigh of pure tiredness.

Distracted by Rak's excitement of her unexpected success, the mana flames around her fist flickered out. Apparently, Kors couldn't see the blaze of mana, which Irena noted with interest.

Even when looking at Rak, she would just barely be able to discern a spark emitting from him whenever he ended up exhibiting any of his mana prowess. It would seem that whatever affinity the lizard-folk seemed to have for magic also affected their awareness of it, and thus their ability to observe its flow freely in other beings and themselves all the same. "When hitting with mana focused in fist, magick flow gets interrupted in target. Good for disarming if close.", with crossed arms her magic teacher continued, tapping his foot on the ground with every nod of his head.

"But! Knights have swords, big ones! Never close for fist.", a quick note as he raised a hand into the sky and raised another in front of him, stretched forwards with an open palm towards Irena. "Maybe knight can't see, but Rak magick is protecting. Mana is many things- weapon and shield. Pretty one can do too, but needs training. That's why smart one is here!"

"I see," she said. That made sense. "That's true. I'll have to change my fighting style slightly to incorporate mana control." She already had a few ideas on how she could get in close while using Noble Gambit.

When he held his open palm out, she could just barely discern a flow of mana emanating from his palm. She tried to imitate him by pushing mana to the surface of her skin.

Although her effort was successful, it would appear that her mana had amounted to a small shield facing forwards. Upon closer inspection, Rak's flow extended from his palm all the way out to surrounding his entire body and behind him too, almost like a bubble had formed to keep him safe from any stray spells. That was the point of the technique after all, and provided Irena practiced she could definitely reach that level. "Blue one has small shield, but it's better than no shield. When you become better with magicks, shield can become bigger, like Rak's."

It was quite easy to see the satisfaction on his face as he practically humblebragged, bouncing on his feet from satisfaction. "Knight fighting can stay the same- mana comes from the body but can be controlled freely. Worn as weapon on sword, too! But needs lots of mastery, very taxing for human ones."

Irena laughed at Rak's self-satisfaction. "One day, I'm sure I will be able to do that," she smiled. The swordswoman greatly looked forward to that day. This should be a good advantage to have on any opponent as they wouldn't be expecting it. A mana shield allowed her not to have to carry a shield as well, which mean she could wield her greatsword with both hands.

Lowering his palm as the shield remained, slowly dissipating from around him and retreating back into the kobold's body, Rak put a hand on his chin and tapped it before he raised a brow. "Rak has watched weapon guy.", despite the nickname, the weaponmaster was almost offended at how he was called differently than the rest of the group. "Not weapon one in your eyes, just weapon guy? Yeesh.", Kors shuddered, but to the 'smart one' it mattered little.

"Now Rak know how to teach, so prepare! Pretty one learns to gather mana and use it to block opponents' magicks flow with hits. Very necessary for fighting near home, lots of monsters there!", he even lightly punched one of his open palms, though he seemed to have winced at the feeling, shaking his small hand to make the pain go away. "O-Ow... Er... Start gathering and releasing mana to get used to feeling, y-yes. Will tell when to stop.", and so the first order was given.

The exchange and Rak's subsequent mistake was so bizarre and unusual for her highly regimented life that a bubble of laughter burst from her mouth. Irena stopped herself, wiping away a tear from her eyes. "Sorry, I haven't seen something that funny in ages."

Feeling relaxed, she focused her attention on the mana gathering and releasing. She channeled mana into her hands and released it outward so it formed an arc around her. It wasn't as big as Rak's, but it was better than her first attempt.

Seeing her immediately try to turn the mana into a shield rather than just letting it dissipate away, Rak was overly enthusiastic and even cheered her efforts on, one after the other with all the same energy. Kors took the chance to get up, grab his seat and drag it far back enough that he could quietly watch them from where there was shade, crossing his arms and legs and throwing away what was left of the snack he was having as he hung his head just a little. "Gonna be a long sesh by the looks of things...", he muttered to himself as the kobold began to instruct.

"Making shield is no easy task, even if blue really is prodigy! If you can make shield here, probably can make smaller shield in battle. Gathering mana must become natural, like breathing! Creating magicks must be not hard, so knights can swing big swords. And reading scrolls must become not-first nature!", he added in the end, remembering about the tome that they'd returned, even if it was covered in fungi. "Scrolls make magicks much stronger, like Rak's!"

For the rest of the training, Rak had Irena repeat the same motion over and over again, while Kors watched with great interest from the sidelines. With very few breaks in between the session, at the very least the knight's control of her own mana improved and she learned how to use some basic techniques that any mana aware human could, although applying them in battle was a whole other odeal. Her weapons trainer had little to teach her today given all the mental strain it must have been to manage a 'second breath' as the kobold would call it, so he simply dismissed her once she was done training with her scaled friend.

And so, Irena went on to explore the forest as instructed by Carp, knowing from Kors that there wasn't any particular trouble near the metal sources... and it was true. With plentiful samples of ore to collect and monsters being few and far between, as well as too scared to approach her, in less than an hour or two she was back with enough to guarantee that the smith would have everything he required in order to give her prized blade the glow-up it deserved.

"Hello there," Irena waved to the blacksmith. "I have the ore." She laid down the bag of steel ore she had collected. "This should be plenty."

"A-Already?", that was the only greeting that awaited her as he saw the fairly large bag placed upon his stall, getting up and opening it to look inside. "Hmm... Some pieces are impure, but others... I can definitely use this to polish your sword and reinforce it at the very least.", he thought out loud as he raised his gaze from the bag to gaze at the knight, seeing the sword firmly sheathed across her back. "Still, I wasn't expectin' anyone to go and fetch me an entire bag of these things within a single day, sheesh... You lot are full o' surprises, I swear, both you and the blonde one.", a grumble escaped his breath as he pondered with both hands on the counter.

"If you drop me your sword tomorrow mornin' so I can refine the ore in the meantime, I can have it ready for you within... two days or so. Does that sound like a fair deal, knight?", a fire had ignited in Carp's eyes as he saw the challenge before him, and what was this if not a request to hone his craftsmanship on yet another prime weapon held by a knight of Aeredale too, no less!

"Oh, Julia was here as well? Alright, that sounds good to me. Thanks for this, Carp." He seemed eager to get started and so she took her sword from its scabbard and laid it on the table. "I look forward to seeing what you can do."

"Oh, you know 'er?", he asked as he took the bag behind the counter, looking at the sword and shrugging as he gave her a brief forewarning. "I won't be able to work on the sword 'till the ore's refined, so come by my smithy near the inn further up the street tomorrow morning to drop it by. Soon as I'm done breaking these down and seeing just how much steel they amount to, I can get to brushing up your blade. If that's too much- oh well, I'll take it from 'ere. Take your pick."

"Do I know her? I adventured with her. Quite the personality." Irena chuckled.

"I'm pretty beat right now. Why don't you take it from here?" She did look a bit worse for wear and was looking forward to a good night's sleep.

"Funny how small the world is, ain't it?", Carp asked as he took Irena's sword as per her command, gently laying it alongside the rest of his wears behind him. "Aye, check on me at some point tomorrow and the day after to see how the progress is going. No way for me to reach you so, if I'm not here, I'm at the smithy and vice versa. Thanks for keepin' up the good work as a knight, ma'am.", he waved her goodbye as he saluted her, marking the end of yet another rigorous day of training for the blue haired vanguard.

INFORMATION

Mentions & Interactions: Gary Sue [Kors the Weaponsmaster, Carp the Blacksmith, Rak the Kobold/Magic Trainer], Key of Stars [Julia the Feisty]
Location: Aeredale