Fantasy The Cyclone - Act I: The West

[Elowyn]

Irena Rosenthal

━━━━━━⚔━━━━━━​

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

━━━━━━⚔━━━━━━​

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

 

[Gary Sue]

Ras stretched his arms above his head as he walked out of the arena. Kors had him repeating a lot of strikes, but practice made perfect as they said. It was now getting to be rather late in the day with the sun firmly set and now he relied on any light he could from fires and moonlight. Eventually, we meandered through the streets to find his way back to the inn. It was then that Ras recalled something that Carp told him... something about a bard who performed at night at the inn who was looking for a way to get to Col'kirk. Ras wondered if he would bump into this person as Ras approached the entrance to the inn and opened it to enter.

Though nothing stuck out in particular, there was a rather characteristic and charming fellow donning an entirely red outfit, from their long coat to the hat with a black feather at its very top. With a lute in their hands, they played music that filled the corners of the inn pleasantly, having amassed a fair crowd who were cheering them on, though not all too intrusively that they'd talk over his music.

It was impressive that the bard was going all the way through the song he was playing, some personal take on one of the many ballads of the 'five heroes', with his eyes fully closed. And though he wasn't singing the lyrics out, he was humming in a manner that fit the song surprisingly well, with his soft voice and high pitch blending in just right. In the few moments he opened his eyes to marvel at the crowd that had gathered, he did take note of the adventurer who entered the inn, offering but a quick wink before closing his eyes once more- and his music hadn't stopped for a second.

Safe to say, that was most probably the bard that Carp had been talking about.

Ras looked at the bard and made eye contact with the colorful man. Ras gave a curt nod and tried to discreetly, or at least as discreetly a man in fancy armor could walked over to the bar to grab a drink, listen and wait for the bard to finish up his song. This was his livelihood after all and it didn't feel right to interrupt him in the middle of his job. So, Ras decided to wait for the bard to stop before trying to strike up a conversation with him. Ras looked to the barkeeper and said "Is the guy famous around these parts? Quite a crowd for a random night of the week, no?" as he tilted his head in the direction of the bard, trying to glean some information from the barkeeper about the man in red.

As the barkeeper shined a glass with a clean piece of cloth, he turned his attention from the cleaning and the bard to Ras, almost exclusively. "Hm? No, don't think so. The bard's fairly new around these parts, and from what little chatter I've heard, it doesn't sound like he's that keen on sticking to one place either.", a low chuckle escaped his mouth as he raised a hand to twirl his moustache a little.

"He didn't arrive any more than three or so days ago, but bar's been lovely ever since. Gods know how much money he's made playing on stage like that- means we get that much more traffic too though.", he nodded to himself before he looked at the bard once more, who strummed his guitar one last time before a round of applause followed, alongside coins getting thrown right into his red hat which he held out on one hand.

"Best talk with him once you get the chance after the crowd disperses. Ah, to think we'll have to get used to the normal hustle once more in a few days...", the bartender sighed with a shake of his head to himself, before he perked up and his eyes nearly shone. "Care to buy a drink, by the by?"

Nobody would miss a chance to make a sale like that, after all.

Ras smirked slightly and replied to the barkeep "I have to respect the hustle. Tell you what, have you seen a Kobold walking around lately? Little guy doesn't quite understand human money and pays everyone with wood coins that he probably made in the forest or something with a small knife. If you have any of those wood coins, then I'll trade you one actual coin for each wooden coin if you throw in a drink in for me too. People are very kind to him. I'm not sure if I would have accepted those wood coins if I was running a small business here, but then again the little guy hasn't caused any trouble that I know of. Who knows, maybe he would if he ever got desperate enough and no one accepted his wood coins. But, I do feel kind of bad that honest folk like Carp are willing to take payment in wooden coins out of... empathy for the kobold."

"Looks like one coin's all I'll 'squeeze' outta you.", the bartender laughed as he poured some ale in a mug for Ras, placing it on the counter and looking under it for a moment before he stood up once more, placing a wooden coin not too dissimilar to the ones that the knight had already gathered so far in town. "And I was wondering what this was. Nobody really left it here, though I've seen the short lad you're talking about."

Oh well, he shrugged as he looked at the coin curiously. "Probably gave it to some poor sod, felt too odd to turn it down and they just forgot about it here at the bar. One of the waiters must have picked it up from a table when cleaning it one of these days and dropped it to me as a 'lost and found' item, but... it's not like anyone really sought it. I doubt it has any value either, to be honest.", the truth probably hurt for the proud Kobold, but that didn't change much about it now, did it?

"I'd have probably accepted it too, honestly. If he's that undisruptive, why not let him get a drink when the inn's as busy and alive as ever, like I just did with you?", he offered another wink followed by a hearty laugh he just couldn't hold back any further. "Bless you for being good company to chat with, not the most common to come by nowadays. If I may, are you only interested in that Kobold and him?", the tender tried to confirm as he nodded in the bard's direction, who seemed to be chatting with some group of adventurers, although the conversation was more so about praise and less so about Ras' opportunity getting stolen before his eyes, by the looks of things.

Ras smiled while his eyes honed in onto the barkeep. He didn't know why the barkeep was suddenly prying into his business regarding the Kobold and the bard. The barkeep was rather friendly and chatty, but it was in places like these where one had to be the most careful or else one might carelessly mention something one should not have. Ras replied "Well, depends on who's asking, Mr... don't believe I ever caught your name. Anyways, can't say it's my first rodeo travelling around the continent, and forgive me for being a bit cautious... but information is usually worth something. Might be worth more to someone else than to me or you, and well... to be frank, it's typically people associated with places like these who also deal in information." as he then took a small sip from his drink.

"So Master Barkeeper, who am I talking with?" Ras asked with a perfectly practiced smile.

Although he had gone back to cleaning some mugs under the counter, he raised his head and came to a stop while Ras shared some of his suspicions rather openly. Honestly, he was left gawking speechless for a good moment or so before he broke into laughter, even tearing up. "I'll be honest, that is a first. Is that how Central works then?", he sounded quite amused as he wiped a tear on his wrist, giving the man a beaming smile.

"Sorry if it sounded mean or anything, we're just... not used to that competitive 'intel' or what have you, bwahah. Things are rough as is, I'm sure there's greedier people out there. Rumors are mainly just rumors here in Aeredale though, army knows more than anyone else and the locals know 'bout our clients, that's all there's to it.", he explained as he put down one clean mug and grabbed the next one up for a bit of drying with the cloth he held in his hand.

"Name's Silas though, nice to meet you, sir..?", the bartender similarly responded to the adventurer with a raised eyebrow, curious to find out Ras' own name.

"Ras, call me Ras." Ras replied as he extended his hand for a shake. "Can't be too careful now days especially in big towns and cities. Although, to be honest, I find it surprising and almost unbelievable that there is no black market around here. Even if the locals here don't care much about getting dirt... I'm sure there's people from other parts who are looking to make a coin or two."

Ras turned to look over at the bard for a moment to check if he was still chatting with other adventurers before he turned back to Silas "Anyhow, heard there's a job opportunity related to the bard over there. Going to see if the opportunity us still there with the man himself. As for the Kobold... I would call that more like babysitting. You wouldn't let a lost puppy roam around the wild all by itself."

"Well, I'm sure there's some form of black market, but most of us steer clear from them. It's not that they're shady, it's just... we don't wanna get involved in 'trade secrets' or whatever they've got going.", Silas elaborated a bit further on Ras' suspicions, shrugging as he did before he turned his attention to the bard.

"A job opportunity? Oh-", he quickly put two and two together, laughing before he gave a nod. "Travelling bards are just bards, after all. A little company won't hurt.", he said with a playful wink as he gestured towards the performer once more with his head, smiling. "Looks like your chance is up, he's on his own. I wish you the best of luck, Ras! And the same goes for your 'lost puppy' friend, too.", a final chirp as the adventurers previously talking with him moved away and he turned his attention to the knight on his own, beckoning for him to come over.

It would appear he'd taken notice a while now, too.

Ras grabbed his drink, pocketed his new wooden coin and gave Silas a nod before making his way over to the bard. "Ever the popular person." Ras remarked. "I didn't think it would be this difficult to have a word in private. Then again, the fact that Carp told me about you should have probably tipped me off about this. Any how, pleasure to meet you. Call me Ras. I heard from Carp, the local blacksmith, that you are looking to travel to Col'kirk? Is this correct?"

Once the attention was turned in full to the redclad performer, he simply responded with a smile as he took his hat off, gave a small bow and then put it right back on. "That'd be correct, dear adventurer Ras. I travelled here from Central, across the mountains at the northern parts and a few weeks later, here I am in the flesh myself!", he theatrically explained as he waved his hands around, looking around the inn that was beginning to empty now that his performance was over, smiling some. "It's nice and lively around here."

A nod to himself before he lowered his gaze down to his instrument, exhaling and shaking his head. "But I think I got what I came here for. I thought visiting the Kobolds in Col'kirk would lend me some more inspiration, so that's where I'm headed!", he hummed out, slowly drawing his more cheery attitude to a halt however. "There's only a small issue you're much too aware of though. There's a lot of monsters, and not enough 'magicians' around here in comparison to Central. And I hear the Kobolds only make it by in the swamps because everything there is almost allergic to magic..."

"So... are you the leader of the band of heroes that'll escort me safely, then?", as he asked he grinned, clapping his hands and offering a playful chuckle. "I can see the shine in your eyes already, you were looking at me intently without being all that interested in my performance since you entered. I'm an acquired taste, after all. Rove, nice to meet you too."

"Rove, huh? Pleasure to meet you." The armored noble looking man replied. "So, another guy from central? It's a small world, I guess. Any how, I heard about your predicament, and happens to be that I'm part of a group escorting a Kobold back to Col'kirk. Wouldn't call myself the leader or a hero by any stretch of the imagination, but I guess telling a good story is part of your art. If you're interested, we can escort you there as well and maybe you could gain some inspiration from the Kobold we're escorting or at least learn a bit more about Kobolds and Col'kirk before arriving. Don't think my companions will be happy to do it for charity, but I'm sure we could work out some sort of agreement or deal." As Ras began examining the Bard to see what kind of payment he could expect from such a colorful person.

Rove simply raised a brow at the man, tapping his chin and inspecting him up and down. "So what you're saying is- a bunch of nay'er-do-goods want to escort me all the way to Col'kirk with a Kobold along for the ride too?", as he summarized he got up and fixed his hat on his head, shaking it with a frown. "Nope, can't say I'm quite all that interested. After all, I look at the towns I go to, but... the 'who' matters to me too. I only travel with esteemed heroes, it's only fair if I want to be truly inspired, in awe."

And that's when he broke character and cracked a smile, putting a hand on Ras' shoulder. "A hero doesn't need to be world renowned. One person at a time gets the job done, so don't think that lowly of yourself.", the bard said with a nod before he tilted his head, rubbing his chin as he asked curiously. "And say, when are you lot taking off? It would do me good to get a look on the Kobold fellow too before we're on the road, lets me interview him and know how to set my expectations... but also what supplies I'll need with me. I'll be taking care of my own needs, even if you are the ones escorting me."

For all it mattered, money was going to be the least of either's issue for the job request as he pulled his coat to the side ever so slightly, revealing a hefty pouch that was rather full, and- was that another pouch barely peeking behind it? "Every man has his own treasure.", he said with a small wink, trying to put him at ease.

Ras chuckled before saying "Well, I appreciate someone who is well prepared. Anyways, I think the plan is to take a few days to prepare and train before setting out together. Like you said before, the creatures around the swamp are nothing to jeer at, so we need some time to get ready for the journey. That should give you some time to speak with the Kobold and get to know him before we set off. I can introduce you two tomorrow morning before I head over to train. Maybe we'll bump into the rest of my companions and we can discuss a fair price on top of all that. Though, I must warn you, some of my companions might be harder to convince and aren't so interested in working for coin." Ras headed out for a handshake "If this sounds fine with you, then we have an agreement and can meet here first thing in the morning today or the day after."

"If they aren't interested in coin, then perhaps...", he strummed the strings of his lute as he grinned and slowly stood up from his seat, at a height not too much taller than Ras'. "... a good legend or two will fit their mood. Or rumors for treasure, too. Every aspiring adventurer seems to have enjoyed hearing about treasures they would find, after all.", Rove laughed before looking at the bartender, offering him a brief salute and turning back to Ras.

"Training yourselves sounds like the way to go though. The swamp's quite perilous, so it's good to know you lot acknowledge it and are ready to counteract it before you have to experience the consequences of... well, underestimating the wilds, for a start! Means I'm in capable hands.", he confirmed the meeting for either of the next two days, humming lowly. "I'll be at this very spot too, although with a lute less, easier to move around that way."

Ras nodded and replied "Sounds like a plan. Have a great evening, Rove. See you soon." With that Ras made his way over to his room that he had rented out the night before. Once in his room, Ras took off his armor and prepared for bed as he washed himself by a water basin in the room. After freshening himself, Ras didn't immediately jump into the bed, but rather walked over to his new lance and grabbed it firmly.

Ras pictured some imaginary enemy soldier as he thrusted at the empty air, repeating the movement that he had been taught earlier in the day by the Weaponsmaster. However, instead of just pulling the lance back after stabbing the imaginary enemy right under the ribcage, Ras twisted the lance to try and inflict more damage from pulling the lance out of the enemy instead of just relying on stabbing with the lance point. Then as he pulled the blade back, he swung with the back of his lance to leave a little parting gift and buy himself some more room by bashing the imaginary enemy away from him.

Some moments passed as Ras silently fought unseen enemies in the room with his new lance as he did his best to become familiar with it and brush up on the new skills and techniques that Kors showed him. Yet, as it became later in the evening, and the settlement grew quiet, Ras decided that he should stop fighting his imaginary enemies to not disturb the rest of the tenants and guests. Satisfied for now, Ras finally went to bed feeling accomplished.

. . .​

Ras woke at the crack a dawn as he heard a rooster outside just a few buildings away. Ras took a deep breath and groaned as his body still felt the hours of training that Kors had put him through. However, he had made promises to people and had much more to learn. Thus, Ras quickly rose from the bed despite his body's protests. Ras quickly got changed and headed down to meet with Rove. He planned to go find Kors, and imagined that Rak would be somewhere nearby the arena as well.

With another visit to Kors' training grounds after they'd already gone over the first few training sessions, with Ras showing a relatively good understanding of how to use the newest offensive skills he'd picked up. His motions were well practiced and precise, and better yet the man looked like he didn't have too much trouble moving around in his armor anymore. So now, Kors wanted to shift the focus of the next course to more defensive maneuvers, something that the ironclad vanguard would definitely need just as much as the ability to poke his opponents' eyes out.

So the weaponmaster waited silently as the lancer approached, offering a wave from a distance and leaning against the lance he had stabbed into the ground like it was some form of flagpole. "And here I was, thinking you weren't even thinking of coming back for a round four. How're you feeling, soldier boy?"

"Another day in paradise, wouldn't miss this for anything in the world. Not even my own wedding to the dearest love of my life." Ras replied with a sly grin. "In all seriousness, training in a comfy major settlement is pretty low in my list of things that are miserable. I would say rucking through the jungle with no directions or a map is quite a bit higher in my list of things I would like to avoid. Anyhow, you've shown me how to send some pain, now how do I make sure that me and my companions don't get punched too hard in the face in return? I'm lucky and have a shield, which most others don't like to lug around for various reasons."

"Ah, so... your little expedition that ye did with everyone else the other day when you took down that Thorn Hound?", the weaponmaster almost made fun of the predicament the trio had found themselves in a few days ago, smirking and thinking about Ras' words as he tried to figure out how to respond best. And after a moment or two of deliberation, he started to clap his hands and gave a small chuckle.

"You catch on fast- that's what I was planning on showing you today. You've already got a good idea of how to take hits, and then dish some form of counterattack in return, right? Take the hit, move back with it and redirect all the force to the side with that hunk o' metal of yours-", he raised a hand to point it at the man's shield before he turned his hand to the side, as though deflecting an attack. "- an' then you give them a nice jab in return. Know how to do that, seeing how uninjured all three of you are?"

"My little expedition?" Ras replied with a slight smirk and a snort. "Seeing who I went on that expedition with, if I didn't know you any better then I would have said that you have one dirty mind with that kind of metaphor. Hunk o' metal... a nice jab. Oh my. How scandalous." He jabbed at the weaponsmaster with his words as he lifted his lance and shield. "Do I know? Well, I better learn quickly if I'm hoping to go to bed tonight without too many bruises. Give me your best. Let me see if I can deflect these strikes or at least figure it out quickly."

"That's a unique way to fell a woman...", Kors mumbled under his breath, clearing his throat with a cough and shaking his head. "I'll take that as a no then- very well. Let's brush up on yer basics and get you up to speed before I show you what's coming right up next.", the man said as he stood up straight and onto his feet, looking at the lance next to him and walking over to his weaponrack before he picked up a shortsword. "You're gonna be fighting monsters only, hopefully, so... I'm expecting you to get either long tendrils shot your way, or sharp claws. Not that I've been too far out in recent times, things might be different than what I remember."

And as he finished talking, he returned to Ras' front and took the spear out of the earth, waving it slightly as if that would clean it any and nodding towards Ras. "Ready to start the back 'n' forth dancin'?"

"Dancing? I thought we were fighting." Ras joked before his face turned sullen and serious. He lightly jabbed the spear at Kors to keep the man at range and start of this sparring match. If Ras was going to try and deflect an attack from Kors, then he wanted to make Kors have as much distance to cover to buy himself time to read his moves and react accordingly with his shield and lance. In Ras' head he had two options, wait for Kors to try and get close before shoving him away with his shield to force him back. Alternatively, Ras could block Kors' attack with his shield and then swing or jab at Kors once he was exposed. Until then though, Ras would make Kors stay his distance or else get constantly jabbed by his lance.

Although the weaponmaster had a general idea for what Ras was going for, it was becoming clearer and clearer to him that he wasn't fast at analyzing situations. Granted, he looked and acted more like a lax recruit than an easygoing veteran, but that was to be expected- compared to a retired swordmaster at least. "Low on time, or confidence?", the man asked as he hopped back to dodge the jab, slowly circling around him before he tried to lunge at him with the lance, having the shortsword at the ready to deflect any incoming counterattacks with his other hand.

"Would love to spend a month chatting some gossip with you over some biscuits, but I have to make my way to Col'kirk sooner rather than later." Ras retorted as he watched Kors with a watchful eye. He felt like he was being circled by a wolf or a tiger, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Ras knew that in a straight forward fight that he had little hope of besting Kors. He was a swordmaster afterall. So, Ras had to come up with something unconventional that could hopefully tilt things a bit more in his favor. When it looked like Kors was about to lunge back at Ras, Ras used his lead foot to try and kick up some dirt or sand into Kors' eyes before trying to deflect the lunge with his shield and then poking Kors with his lance to try and punish him for trying to close the distance.

The truth is, Kors had prepared for every scenario. He had enough combat experience to know most moves one would and could make, but this was far out of his skillset all things considered. With sand blinding him as he kept his eyes shut, he tried to move the shortsword towards the lance to veer the weapon's trajectory away from him and let out an annoyed 'tsk'. "I'm supposed to be a wild animal, not a bandit- good luck throwing sand in their eyes, you little cretin."

It would appear Ras had finally succeeded in striking a nerve, though it was followed by Kors taking a few steps back to rub his eyes, half glaring at him and huffing in exasparation. "If you wanna play dirty, kid gloves are coming off. By the time we're done, you're gonna be a master at counterattacking. But don't expect me to not make your life hell 'til the noon.", he warned the man before going back in to poke the vanguard using his shortsword this time, followed by a wide swipe from his lance that would most probably require his shield's intervention.

"Perfect, that's exactly what I want. When I'm out there... I won't have the luxury to take a break or pause if I get hurt. Those animals and whatever else that wants to hurt me will do everything that they can. If I don't take this chance to learn, then I would be an idiot." Ras replied as he held his stance and waited for Kors to rub his eyes. "Teach me to fight, Kors... and don't hold back so that I have a better chance out there." Ras then raised his shield and poked back at the approaching Kors with his own lance to continue to gauge the distance before he attempted to block the incoming lance with his shield and then trying to lunge at Kors with his own lance.

As his blow was blocked, Kors pulled the hand holding his shortsword back and pressed it down on the top of the man's lance, lowering it before he pushed it to the side. All that to just buy him some room to skid back, pull his lance near him and try to go for another jab from a slightly larger distance that took his blade out of commission.

"I like your grit, boy.", he said with a wide grin on his face, as if all of the annoyance had suddenly washed away. His expression very much reflected that same determination as well, as his grip felt firmer and his stance was much better grounded now. All he had to do was ask, and ask he did.

Ras continued to keep his shield high to block Kor's jabs and attempted to give jabs back though Kors seemed to comfortably dodge or parry them. However, as this little sparring match went on as seconds passed into minutes, Ras began to breath through his mouth from the physical exertion. This is where their difference in experience really began to show. Years of fighting left Kors into a seasoned fighter who can go the distance while Ras began to struggle from the continued physical demands. Slowly but surely, Ras began to get a bit sloppy as he continued to get tired. One of Kor's jabs with his lance even managed to slip past the top of Ras' shield and glance off of Ras's armored shoulder. Without his armor, that hit would have left a nasty mark.

"I yield." Ras said. "Even though that wasn't a clean hit... it was a hit nonetheless." Ras spoke while still breathing heavily. "Guess being able to fight for a long time is why you've managed to live long enough to be a swordmaster." Ras said with a strained chuckle.

Even though Kors was trying to hold back, there was the excitement that got the better of him as he saw Ras being able to hold on for a good while. A lot more of a back and forth ended up leading to the strike landing, and Ras surrendering to the weaponmaster's curiosity. As he lowered his lance and sheathed the sword back into the earth, keeping the toothpick-like blade stabbed into the ground, he huffed and shook his head. "Very well then, a ten minute break."

"I told you I was going to make you a counterattackin' champion, you're not getting off the training shift until you manage to find an opening.", he reminded the lancer as he smiled from the corner of his mouth, sighing and taking a moment of silence before he spoke once more. "... Say, do you think you could tell my 'weak spots' during that spar?"

Ras lowered his lance as he continued to take a moment to breath while he pondered a response. "Well, I wouldn't call it a weak spot. Everything in a fight is a trade off. Doing something with low risk will lead to lower rewards. Higher risk... high reward. Now, I have to admit, at a certain point, I considered trying to close the distance by favoring my shield to try and deflect your lance and then your sword to give me a chance to try and sweep your legs from right under you or at least bash you with my shield. But again, that could leave me potentially exposed since I'm not the best equipped to fight that close range nor am I a professional wrestler or grappler."

"You've got a lance and a shield, ain't got no free hands or what-have-you to wrestle with.", the man quietly dusted his clothes some, scratching the underside of his chin a little and raising his head to look at the sky, watching as a cloud flew over the two and slowly went away into the distance. "... Hmm...", he pondered quietly to himself for a bit before he lowered his head back down with an exhale.

"When I'm done with you, you'll be much better at defending. What you saw- and asked for a break from- is all there is to it. The rest is here.", as Kors finished his sentence he pointed to his head, tapping it with his index finger and raising a brow to make sure it was clear. "Do ye have anything to ask, by the way? Aeredale, lances... anything you can think of?"

"Hmm, I don't know if you know either, but do you know much about why certain monsters seem to drop artifacts and what they're used for? I know people are willing to pay a pretty penny for them. However, to the average person, they seem to be little more than trinkets." Ras asked.

"The little redball might be a better person to ask if you want to know the full details, cause I'm not that well versed in magic and all o' that.", he quickly prefaced his statement before he smirked and offered a shrug. "Word around town's the same as 'legend goes', according to bards. Monsters all came from the Eye, which means they're made by magic. They don't 'live' and 'die', they simply turn into a contained version of all they used to be... or so?"

Taking a moment to pull out what looked like a sword necklace from under his vest's collar, he held it up just slightly for Ras to see. "This is an artifact too, but I'm not feeling the 'zap' or whatever I'm supposed to.", Kors said with almost a bit of disappointment. "I wish I could entertain the idea, but it is just a neat gizmo I got from a job once. Nothing more to it for me- but that's why I'm not popular with the ladies.", he chuckled, offering a wink at the end and sighing. "Gods, I feel like a grandpa telling a story, look at what ya did to me."

"Nothing wrong being a bit sentimental about the past. Just shows that you valued the experience." Ras replied. Ras digested the information that Kors told him before he continued to speak "Huh, they don't live and die... to me it sounds like its possible to release them from that contained version given the right magic, though maybe that is the domain of the Liches... heck... the title fits them. They bring the so called 'dead' back to life."

"Oh, that reminds me. I also picked up a mace just in case I would ever have to help just bring the pain down on someone instead of being defensive. Any tips or tricks you could give me about that?"

"I told you, but if you're looking for an authority, that shortie might be a better person to ask. If you can put up with whatever he'll do in response, at least.", even the trainer appeared to know exactly how hyperactive and odd Rak could be- not that it took a genius to figure out, honestly. When he was asked about the mace though, the man looked over his shoulder and back at his weapon rack where a mace rested alongside everything rest, before turning to the knight again.

"... They're small, but they hurt like hell. Too violent for my liking 'cause the damage they do's on the inside, not the outside unless it's armor... Tell you what. Master the counterattackin' and guarding soon, and I'll teach you a thing or two about bludgeoning things, sound good?", he finished with a small grin, tilting his head some.

"All right, time to get back to it then. It seems like we'll be poking each other for a while." Ras said as he lifted his shield and lance once more to continue sparring for the rest of the day.

---
Interactions: Heyitsjiwon and Gary Sue as Ras and Silas, Rove & Kors, the Weaponmaster
Location: Tanner Inn -> Training Grounds, Aeredale

 

[Key of Stars]

After the meeting with their new client, the party split ways without too much questioning on whatever sort of tomfoolery Julia was at. It was apparent to even the bard that the wildcard amongst the group was the brawler after all, so... he left it as a surprise he'd inquire on at some point during the trip. As for the blonde, it wasn't too hard for someone like Carp- actually, specifically for Carp- to guess what she was up to. She was given some very clear instructions on the kinds of ore he would need, the leather he'd need along with it and even worse, Kors had given her instructions for a faraway blacksmith she was foolhardy enough to travel to just for the heck of it.

If only the world was as ready to receive its daily dose of Julia as she was to administer it... The Warthogs living their peaceful lives, the unlooted ore deposits, and the secluded weaponsmith too. What a long day it was going to be.

Julia didn't look back as the tavern door closed behind her, adjusting the backpack so it was properly on her back rather than hanging off a single shoulder. She'd made a deal with Carp, that much was true, but she'd had to earn the address of that blacksmith from Kors and she wasn't about to let it go to waste. Perhaps they could give her an even better deal, or perhaps they could create an alloy of sorts that would be better than what she promised Carp.

She casually strolled towards the gate leading out of town, picking up the pace a little as she got closer. She didn't really want to be in town when Ras found out he'd have to pay for her meal.

She gave a friendly wave to the guards at the gate as she passed, turning onto the path that was supposed to lead to her destination, ready for a day of good old adventuring.

The guards were confused as much as Rove was at the time, but... they simply waved back at Julia while she exited the perimeter of Aeredale. By the time the bard had gotten back to discussing things with those still left in the in the tavern, Julia was headed down the path that went around the woods rather than in them. After all, as per Carp's instructions, the ores she wanted were on the outskirts of the forest near some deposits, and coincidentally, the other blacksmith she was looking for was closer to there compared to any of the other town gates too.

The brief walk was rather uneventful, with nothing of too significant value rearing its head without getting discouraged by the size of her gauntlets and retreating back into the canopy's safety.

And compared to the rest of the journey she had ahead of her, that was but the shortest part. The deposits Carp had told her about were fairly easy to spot, having come out to the surface of a clearing in the southernmost outskirts of the woods. If it weren't for Julia's fine touch, whenever she thought to take advantage of it at least, extracting the minerals would otherwise be troublesome.

Little movement was going on around there too, so now was as good a time as ever to pack her bags with the ore she would need and get going, before another Crawler or Thorn Hound stumbled into her and made her regret coming out this far alone. Although, if Kors or Rak were there to see her, they definitely would try to discourage her from lugging around all that rock over her shoulder, if she's planning on making the following, much more taxing and time-costly part of her trip in one go.

Julia hummed a little tune as she walked. She much preferred going on an adventure like this over training or even spending her time worrying about having to escort someone somewhere. But well, she was determined to get her hands on more information about magic, and she'd go along with whatever made it easier for her to do so.

It didn't take too long for her to find the deposits Carp had mentioned. She placed her backpack against a nearby rock, grabbing one of her gauntlets off her belt and slipping it onto her right hand before approaching the mineral cluster. She swung her arm back and forth a few times before taking an actual swing, smashing into the rock with most of her strength.

And well, it was hard to argue the swing hadn't been effective, albeit a little too effective. She frowned at the shattered mineral beneath her gauntleted fist. For a material the armorer was going to make her gloves out of, the raw mineral sure was brittle.

It didn't take Julia long to get over it though. She shrugged lightly, rolling her shoulder a few times to make sure the impact hadn't messed it up. She turned back to her luggage, rummaging through her backpack until she found what she was looking for, pulling a short but solid metal rod out of her pack.

She'd taken it from a destroyed fence she'd come across a while back, one end of the rod was flattened, no doubt to discourage birds from perching on it when it had belonged to the fence. But it suited her purpose now just as well.

She walked back to the mineral, placing the flat end of the rod up against the connection between the mineral and the rock, using her gauntlet as a hammer against the back of the rod. It wasn't the most delicate method, but it got the job done. It took her a little while longer than she'd hoped to fill the compartment of her backpack she'd deliberately left empty with the ore. But, after 30 or so minutes of mining, she'd filled up her pack. Slinging it back over her shoulder to continue her journey.

The first punch was loud enough to make an audible impact, which scared a few birds away from the treetops nearby. After that, the sound of her makeshift hammering the rocks was still loud, but nowhere near as much. Hell, even so, she was left uninterrupted to collect what ore she needed, this time all in one piece rather than many by smashing it to pieces- a true display of the duality of Julia.

Just as she finished filling her backpack with what she would need, leaves rustled from further into the forest, sounding like whatever was approaching got closer and closer. And soon enough, there was the growling and crying of some large Warthogs, slightly taller than Rak and a bit shorter than the Crawlers they had faced off with, as they glared daggers towards the brawler. Not too long after they showed up, what looked like a baby ran away from the cover of some rocks close to Julia and straight to what must have been its parents, who were definitely upset about her inching (and doing manual labor) much too close to their home.

Though they didn't approach yet, they simply kept their eyes locked at the woman and contemplated whether to rush her down or not.

For just a moment, Julia stood eye in eye with the pair of Warthogs silently. She dropped the backpack back onto the dirt with a thud, her lips curling up into a smile. "Now that saves me some time." She grabbed her other gauntlet from her hip, slipping her left hand into it. Most people would have probably backed away, or at the very least have figured out some semblance of a plan before engaging two very clearly angry animals.

But Julia wasn't most people. Realistically, there were two ways Julia Rille's life would end. Either she would become strong enough to never fall, or she'd die a foolish avoidable death. She tapped her heel on the ground a few times, dropping into a loose combat stance. Fear was a foreign emotion to Julia, instead her limbs burned with excitement. Here, away from civilization and with no one else to pay attention to, she could really let herself go.

So why wait? If they weren't going to come for her, she would come for them. She pushed off the hardened dirt, launching herself towards the warthog pair.

Julia dropped into a slight crouch as she got close to the creatures, firmly planting her left foot in the rough dirt and swinging her right foot out at the legs of the closest warthog. Her boot connected with an audible crack. Though, to the creature's credit, it not only managed to stay upright but also retaliate together with its companion. She took a step back, shrugging off the attacks with a grin.

After attacking her, the warthogs were close enough together that she could finally try out what she'd been meaning to try in actual combat. She spun on her heel, swinging out her foot at the same time. It connected with the second creature first, forcing it back slightly. The other warthog wasn't nearly as lucky, her boot struck the creature right under the eye with a loud crack, ending its life.

The remaining warthog let out a furious cry at the death of its companion but Julia didn't give it time to recover, slamming a low swing with her gauntlet into the creature's side. She backpedaled as the creature started charging towards her. Most people would have tried to dodge, Julia stood her ground, slamming her gauntlets down on the creature's back the moment it made contact with her. It gave a final cry before collapsing in the dirt.

Julia stepped back with a satisfied smile. She'd get a few bruises but was otherwise unscathed. She slipped her hands back out of her gauntlets, walking over to her backpack to retrieve her knife.

From there on out, collecting the leather was no big deal for the brute, as the two Warthogs laid there lifeless and their offspring had long now fled the scene, since the first blows of combat landed. By the time she was done skinning the creatures, she had all she would need to bring back to Carp- but that wasn't the only reason she had set off. No, she wanted to check on Kors' recommendation too, even though that would cost her the training with the weaponmaster for the day. And good luck explaining all of this mess to the stubborn bastard, too.

She'd just have to hope (if she even cared enough) that she'd make up for all the gaps made from skipping today, through this one-man-one-day adventure. The path from there went back out of the woods and towards the cliffside of the Cyclone region, with the wild sea waves crashing against it. The trek all the way to there was a long way away though, and now started the battle of attrition Julia would have to fight in order to get to the other weaponsmith. As she moved on, she'd quickly realise that the landscape started to empty out, the soil dried a little and the temperature grew colder like in the Eastern parts, but without all the snow. Hell, the day even appeared to get cloudier too as she inched closer and closer to her destination, and... gods, it was all uphill too by the looks of things.

The fight itself had largely been devoid of blood, courtesy of her blunt weapons. The skinning, on the other hand, was a bloody affair. It had to be, as she had to drain the blood from the animals before actually getting to work on obtaining the leather. Eventually though, she stuffed the clean leather in her backpack separately from the ore she'd collected, picking it up and swinging it over her shoulder.

The path she was supposed to take was hardly pleasant, but adventures rarely ever really were. Just the same as she didn't expect to get to crash in a comfortable bed at the end of the day during her days on the road, she also didn't expect to walk on a perfectly paved road. Still, she would have looked odd to many, quietly but contently humming to herself as she walked through the barren landscape. She swung the large branch she'd picked up along the way to use as a walking cane with more flair than necessary as she walked, occasionally twirling it around in her hand.

As the woman's unnecessarily fancy trek up the hill continued on and on, she was quite close to her destination as a house had appeared in sight at the far end. A few hours of twists and turns on a ruthlessly steep climb had led all the way up to a structure that, the more and more she examined it, the more she'd realise it wasn't as much a house as it was a forge. Both with an interior and exterior, though not a single person was in sight.

Hell, just as its details were becoming much too apparent, in the blink of an eye a figure had appeared ahead of her and was quietly staring towards her. Though the man's ordinary clothes did little to hide his scarred body, with marks of combat all over, the same couldn't be said about his hood which was tattered and obscured the upper part of his face. Only his dry, chapped lips showed and a scar leading up to the left side of his face. With dusk coming along too, it was hard to see under the hood's shadow, only a pair of glowing blue orbs piercing the darkness.

"... Leave and go back. You stand to gain nothing of this.", the man spoke with a deep, rumbling voice as he placed a hand on his hip, huffing. All of his face wasn't visible, but it was pretty clear that he didn't think too highly of her attempt to talk to the smith up ahead. "Turn around and go back to your friends before you get hurt. It's a dangerous trip up here, and an even worse one on the way back, should you proceed."

A threat, or a warning? It was a bit hard to tell, as he firmly maintained a distance between the two of them, yet his voice was determined.

When faced with a mysterious scar-covered stranger with glowing blue eyes, those with even a modicum of self-preservation would likely turn around, no matter how close to their destination. So, Julia took a step forward, closing the distance even further by leaning forward. "Woah, where'd you get those?" She pointed from his glowing eyes to her own and back. "Are they magic? Surely they are. Do they do anything cool? And those scars..." She looked him up and down. "Did you get them from fighting magical beasts?" Her curiosity was on full display. "Oh but those lips could use some work." She added in a mutter. "I have some powder that helps with that." She continued, louder this time, reaching back into the side pocket of her backpack and pulling out a small container.

Only then did she get back to the conversation at hand. "I'm used to danger, really. And my destination is right there." She used her right hand to stretch out the container towards him. "Put this on your lips." Simultaneously using her left hand to lift her branch and point past him at the building she planned to visit. "Kors gave me the address and I was hoping to get a good deal."

Though at the start the man didn't seem to waver, as soon as she made a move to her backpack he stretched a hand to his side, and after a few intelligible mutters from him, a blade of ice appeared on his hand. He kept an alert stance as she stretched out her hand with the container, his neutral expression turning into a frown as he sighed. "... No good deals ever come out of this. I don't know of the man you're talking about, but it's pointless to even try. He'll refuse, turn you away and you'll have wasted your time."

As he realised that the woman posed little danger on her own, he twirled the blade in his hand before thrusting it into the ground, keeping it sheathed inside of the soil with the tip of its blade as he huffed. "I don't like to show myself, so please. Turn around and go back, don't you have a friend waiting for you near the town? They'll probably be taking off in due time.", as the two conversed, if one could even call it that, a soft wind blew as smoke began to come out from the smith's chimney up ahead, scattering with the wind. The man turned over his shoulder to peek for but a second, sighing and turning back to Julia.

"... Head on back before it's too dark. The nights here are tough, too. And mana fever is a very real threat at that. A knight got it only a few days ago, so don't take chances."

Instead of stepping back, Julia's eyes positively lit up as the mysterious man before her summoned a weapon out of thin air. "Woah, how'd you do that? Can you teach me?" She asked, leaning back forward slightly to inspect the weapon.

"Oh I doubt that. There haven't been many who refused me something. Even less that have refused me a second time." She shrugged at the other comment, putting the container back in the pocket of her backpack. "'Sides, I'm almost there. Going back now, now that would be a waste of time."

The information about mana fever had probably been meant to scare her off. Instead, it had quite the opposite effect. "A knight? You know Irena?" Her smile widened. "You mean this area causes the same condition that gave Rena her magic?" If the prospect of falling ill scared her even a little bit, the prospect of obtaining magic far overpowered it. "Anyway, thanks for the warning." She said after a moment, ready to continue her journey.

The way that the blonde walked forwards made the man quickly grab at the sword's hilt once again, staying alert. Despite her approaching and inspecting the weapon made of ice that was brought into existence through magic, he didn't quite unsheathe his blade. He seemed ready to strike, but... rather unwilling to. Much too unwilling to, at that. So he let out a sigh, ready to speak his mind again and try to dissuade her from moving forwards- before the moron before him practically begged to get afflicted with mana fever. "That Irena barely made it out alive, you shouldn't-"

And just like that, the woman had dismissed him. As she went on her merry way up the hill and towards the forge, he let out another disgruntled heave as he muttered some words lowly, causing the sword to melt into the ground and adjusted his cloak and hood. Hearing her walk away, he just... looked behind him one more time, seeing her more determined than ever, rather than put off any. "... Stubborn fool."

He was about to disappear the same as he had just appeared, thinking about whatever that container had inside; the one she showed him and he promptly ignored. He simply reached a hand to touch his dry lips, furrowing his brows under his hood and shaking his head. And like that, if Julia were to peek over her shoulder, he was gone once more. The only thing left ahead of her was a forge, smoke coming out in clouds from the chimney and sounds of tinkering with something echoing louder and louder as she approached. Once she got close enough, she'd notice that something about it was different. It felt kind of... lonely, all things considered. Like a sense of safety present just a bit further out from the forge had now let her go, while she was near the smithy.

The fact that Irena had barely survived her mana fever was obvious to Julia. It didn't really matter to her though, all good things came with their fair share of hardship. For once, what didn't kill you actually did make you stronger, she'd seen that with her own eyes.

She approached the forge, feeling a little on edge. She'd have to talk to Kors about the address he gave her when she got back, the weaponmaster had made this place sound like any other regular blacksmith. Instead, this place was far from normal. Then again, so was she. She knocked on the door with a few rhythmic knocks. "Anyone home?"

It didn't take too long after the first few knocks for the door to open as a burly man with a stern look on his face opened the door, standing just slightly taller than Julia as he looked down at her. "... It depends who's asking.", as he spoke, it was almost like his brows furrowed more in... well, certainly displeasure. "How did you find me and what do you want me for.", not too silver spooned, he got straight to the point and kept the door ever so slightly open, just enough for his form to show as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the floor slowly. She had been warned he'd be a tough person to talk to, but now? It was all her.

"Does it?" She asked, looking up at him through the gap in the door. "Seems to me you just confirmed you're home." She didn't linger on the joke, quickly moving on. "Kors send me. Told me you're the best blacksmith he knows." He didn't, not really, not like that, but Julia didn't think it was a harmful lie. "As for what I want you for, what I want from you. A weapon." She held up a hand to stop him from speaking. "Not just any weapon, I want a pair of gauntlets unlike anything I've ever seen before. Something that'll blow people away, maybe literally."

"It very much does.", he responded dryly as he shifted to a half-glare when Kors' name was mentioned. "If he gave you my address, you better be 'the real deal'. Speak up- what do you want the weapon for.", another instigative look up and down her, as he saw the gauntlets she had hanging by her hips and huffed. "You don't look like a veteran to me. If you're still 'rising up the ranks', forget about it. You can't handle anything close. Let alone the fact I wouldn't give someone like you such a weapon in the first place.", his words were harsh, but he seemed entirely confident in them. He emoted as much as a brick wall, and kept his eyes pinned on Julia's as he awaited her answer.

Again, she was really going to have to talk to Kors about recommendations in the future. "What I want it for? I plan to use it to become the most famous adventurer in all the lands." She stated, meeting his eyes without a hint of embarrassment. "The only thing veterans have that I don't is wasted years." She placed a hand on her hip, leaning forward. "If they're not already famous they're washed up nobodies clinging to the past who will never become a legend." She easily matched his confidence. "But I will, by the time I'm what you would call a veteran," She put extra emphasis on the word. "My name will be known in every corner of the world. Of course, I already wouldn't lose..." She flashed him a bright grin, tapping her gauntlets. "Wanna find out?"

"My weapons are means to an end, not tools for stardom.", his gaze narrowed as he opened the door slightly more and glared right into her. That confidence on her face was only all the more annoying. As he dropped one hand to his hip and rested it against it, a hammer hoisted to his belt right under his hand, he shook his head in disapproval. "Anyone looking for fights like that has no place near my smithy. I recommend you spend the night outside, and set out for wherever you came from as early as you can once the sun is up."

First ,the instant rejection. And then the dismissal. As he took a step back and begun to close the door, he uttered a "Come back once you're ready, otherwise never bother any of us three again." and there she was, standing outside of the forge now. There was something peculiar though when the door was closing. As he moved to the side, what looked like a sword at the other end of the smithy glimmered ever so slightly.

It had serrated edges connected as though each tooth of the blade was made individually and put together. Its guard had some form of complex mechanism that was covered with an ornate brass cap, and the hilt almost looked like it had a few triggers that presumably interacted with the rest of it. Hell, to the eyes it was very unusual compared to normal weapons, but it didn't feel impractical. It was almost as exotic as the technology in Central Cyclone- no... Perhaps it'd be better to say this was leaps and bounds beyond what Central's dwellers had managed to create thus far.

Once the door was shut in Julia's face, a click sounded. That was definitely the lock. It didn't take more than a few moments beyond that before noise of him hammering started to sound again, echoing through the forge's walls.

"Stardom is a perfectly viable end you know." She managed to say before he slammed the door in her face. Well, that was... an experience. "It's quite rude to slam the door in the face of a lady you know. Also, surely you at least have a spare bed in there." She called, knocking on the door. Though with the constant sound of metal on metal there was no way he would hear her. "Also also, what did you mean us three? Do you have two less grumpy brothers in there?" She shouted through the solid door. She considered taking a shot at the door with her gauntlets but ultimately decided against it, even if she did manage to break it, it likely wouldn't put the blacksmith in a better mood.

So, she sunk down against the door. She'd wait until he opened it again, whether that took an hour or a day. Though after a day of constant exercise, she was having trouble keeping her eyes open.

Whether or not he could hear the door being knocked on, the man didn't respond. Only heaves and ho's sounded from inside as he continued to hammer down his craft on the anvil, focusing on his work entirely. The night was rather uneventful aside from that. Though long now lulled to sleep from her own fatigue, Julia was stared at from animals not too far off the forge, though none seemed even the slightest willing to approach any closer. Instead, they'd just move away after a while.

And it would appear at some point through the night, the blacksmith did come out of his smithy to move her further out away from the smithy, outside of where everyone seemed to be avoiding, the blue-eyed man who had tried to stop her before included. Perhaps that's the reason why she found herself near the town's walls the next day, very close to where Irena had been found the day she got sick with- and recovered from- mana fever. Not so much as a note or really idea of all that had transpired in her sleep, she was just returned with her backpack and everything in check.

Julia slowly opened her eyes, propping herself up on an elbow and glancing at her surroundings. "Oh you have got to be kidding me!" She was fully upright in a second, staring at the town wall. "No weapon, no mana fever, nothing." She grumbled, pushing herself to her feet.

She stomped over and briefly inspected her backpack, confirming that nothing was missing from her belongings. "Bunch of brutes. Leaving a lady to sleep outside and moving her without her consent." She grumbled, picking up her backpack and heading for the gate.

She had more than a few choice words for Kors and his terrible suggestion, some of which she felt would be better expressed through her fists than her mouth. For now though, she headed towards the already bustling market. "As discussed." She said, placing the ore and leather in front of Carp.

Although the sentries nearby were keeping watch of the unconscious woman, stumped as ever to have found another person yet again simply ditched outside of Aeredale's walls, they didn't have quite a lot to say when she ended up storming back inside. "... She should really-", one of them began to mumble before getting interrupted by the other's cough, both sweating bullets. 'Let her go in first...', he mouthed silently, watching her go out of their sight before the both of them could now even comment on the event that transpired before their eyes.

And now that Julia had arrived to Carp's stall, the man raised his gaze to see an almost upset woman, if he didn't know any better. "Aye, already..? You don't seem too joyous- and isn't it a bit early? No beauty sleep yesterday?", as he grabbed the ore and inspected it, he nodded to himself and gave the leather a look over too. "... This stuff's good too- when did you get it..? And why do ye look roughed... Wait, you didn't stay up all night to get this stuff, did you?", he blinked a couple of times, looking at her in disbelief before squinting his eyes.

"... Is everything alright lassie?"

"I'm not one to sit around and wait." She stated, the armorer would have to be satisfied with that as an explanation. Her back still hurt from her less than ideal sleeping arrangement for the night. Which, really, was all the rude blacksmith's fault, and, by extension, Kors' fault.

"Yesterday." She was going to leave it at that until he asked the second question. "Ha, if only," She said with a snort. "I gathered that stuff in a few hours. No, no, if only I was gathering, that might not have been a waste of time."

"Alright? Who? Me?" She pointed at herself. "Oh I'm fine, why wouldn't I be? Just peachy really. And I'll feel so much better once I've taken care of a little errand." She balled her right hand into a fist, slapping it against her left hand and cracking her knuckles. "An errand, yes." She quietly repeated.

Although her answers created more questions than they answered, Carp thought it best to not push the seemingly agitated brawler and gave a few silent nods with a very low 'uhum' and 'huh's in reply. "Well, I have good news for you at least. I'll probably have these ready by tonight if I get to working on them right away, should be a damn fine piece for your work too. Er... Check with me around dusk, since now the sun's barely risen. I'll keep 'em all nice and shiny, ready for use as soon as you pick them up."

... He really didn't want to say anything that'd cause her to get any more upset, but with a sigh of relative concern, he furrowed his brows and picked up the materials from the counter, putting them under it. "Go get you some proper rest and don't push yourself for the day. You look like you could use some shuteye and a nice mattress. Inn's a ways down over that-a-way if you really want it. There's some fancy bard to sing ye tunes too, if that's your thing.", he said with a hearty laugh and offered a small smile. "Take it easy with the errands for today, I wanna see some excitement when I get your new gear handed right on over to ye."

She nodded slowly in response. "Alright, I'll come by later."

"I'll get some sleep, right after I take care of my errand." She said, vaguely mumbling something that sounded like 'not my dad' after. She turned to walk away, trying and miserably failing to suppress a yawn. "Okay, maybe a nap first." Kors' face would be there to punch after she had some decent rest.

Sounded like she made up her mind then, as Carp gave a final nod, lifted one of his arms and grabbed it with his other and, flexing it. "Aye, swing by 'round the evening hours and I'll have your new gear ready to take on as many errands as your body can handle. For now though, go count some sheep and get the rest you need. You know where to find me.", he said as he watched her walk away, smiling slightly and humming while he gathered everything he'd be needing to get to work and close up the stall for a little.

 

[Gary Sue]

Collab Post (#2) - Rove meets Ras, Julia and Irena

---

[Rove]
After what had to be some arrangements on Ras' end with both the new client he was scouting for and the other two members of the party, everybody was to meet up at the tavern one of these mornings. Of course, it was before Julia's training shift so that no time would go wasted, but they'd quickly find out it was hopefully worth the early wake-up. As the bard waited quietly at one of the tables, he examined his lute and strummed its strings, grinning and humming lowly to himself every now and then.

The people around the tavern were mostly grabbing some meal to get their day going, and no grog was had at this time of the day. Things were almost peaceful, few loud conversations aside, compared to how lively they used to get every single night when he performed or the local adventurers just seemed to celebrate their victories in their explorations. And with a curious look on his face, when the door opened he turned his head to look with an eyebrow raised, ever so interested in meeting his might-be escorts.

---
[Ras]

Ras woke that day with aches and sore all over. The prior day was a day of sheer attrition and beatings as Ras and Kors traded blows. He sluggishly rose from his bed as he grunted from the dull aching all over. It took him a few minutes longer to prepare for the day, but eventually he found himself gingerly walking down the stairs of the tavern. Today was a big day as he was supposed to meet up with the rest of the group and introduce them to their potential new companion and employer.

At the edge of the bar, Ras looked around. There were a few patrons eating a light meal to start the day, but at one of the tables sat a familiar sight. Ras hobbled over to Rove's table and plopped into a chair. "Mornin'" Ras grunted as he attempted to settle and get comfortable in the chair. "The rest of the group should be arriving soon." Ras assured the bard as Ras also began to look around for any sight of his companions.

---
[Julia]

Julia descended the stairs with a sizeable backpack slung over her shoulder, the same one she'd used in her travels up until now. She skipped the last few steps, her boots hitting the floorboards of the tavern with a dull thud. Julia enjoyed turning heads, even if the reason she did wasn't exactly positive most of the time. "Good morning!" She flashed everyone who had turned to look at her a radiant smile. She was far from a morning person, but dumping half her washbasin on her face and taking a swig of one of her vials worked wonders to wake her up.

She made her way over to the table she'd spotted earlier, hair still slightly wet. "Why the glum face?" She asked Ras as she spun a chair around and sat down on it the wrong way, leaning her arms on the backrest after putting the backpack down at her feet. She didn't wait for an answer, extending a hand towards the stranger at the table. "Julia Rille, you can call me a jack of all trades." She turned her head towards the bar, locking eyes with the person behind the counter while keeping her hand extended towards the bard. "Breakfast please." She mouthed, receiving a nod in return. Satisfied, she turned back to the table. To be honest, she wasn't all that excited to be playing escort, but bards were generally fun to be around and the day trip she was about to embark on did wonders for her mood.

---
[Irena]

The night had been... unpleasant for Ren. A nightmare had plagued her sleeping hours, however, when she awoke there was only a sick feeling in her stomach and an uncomfortable tingle within.

Nevertheless, Irena got up and prepared herself for the day ahead, splashing some cold water on her face and tying her azure tresses in a single braid down her back. She found herself arriving just as Julia reached the bottom of the stairs, and spotted Ras and, presumably, the client, sitting at a table. As she joined them, her stomach gave a noisome complaint, causing her face to color.

---
[Rove]
Before long, the otherwise silent and colorless morning had become quite the varied palette for the performer as the group came together. He greeted those who arrived, starting with Ras, followed by a curt nod to Julia and Irena. "I have a feeling this trip will be quite the memorable one.", the man chuckled to himself as he swiftly freed his hands once more from his lute, smiling at the group and tipping his hat as the ladies took their seats. "Well then."

With a clap of his hands, he seemed ready to introduce himself before one of the inn's waiters came over with a stew and some bread to go along with it. Even though the order was placed in front of Rove, hearing the knight's stomach growling, he pushed it towards her and offered a smile. "Get some energy for the day, from what your friend told me you've got a long day of training ahead of you, all three.", as he spoke his eyes fixed on Julia's... surprisingly thorough preparation for what he could swear was not training, but a full blown expedition.

"As I was about to say- I am Rove, the travelling bard. In case your dear comrade hadn't let you know, I'm seeking an escort to Col'kirk, where I hear you lot are headed as a group too, yes? Pay will not be a problem, I assure you, and I also heard you're training under quite the skilled weaponsmaster in town these days?", the man clad in red got up and bowed before the group, trying to get a good grasp for everyone's character.

"I take it your dear friend here, Ras, is your frontline out in the fields? Julia's quite the whirlwind emotionally and physically, and the one in blue would happen to be...", as Rove's sentence drew towards its end, he hummed and scratched his chin curiously. "... the commander among you three? Oh- and isn't there a red daredevil as well? A Kobold, even, you're also escorting to the marshlands?"

---
[Ras]
Ras nodded at the ladies as they arrived. Normally, he would stand up to greet them, but today was one of those days where he just couldn't be bothered to move too much. Even getting up took quite a bit of effort. Although, Ras did give pause to think if he should answer Julia's question, the fact that she didn't even wait for an answer made Ras believe it was a rhetorical question.

However, once everyone was settled, Ras looked to Rove as he explained his situation. "I suppose you have a rather fire grip on the situation... most of it anyways. As for the Kobold... he should be around. Honestly, he has this odd tendency to be right where you need him. Knowing him, he'll show up at the right time. Besides, Rak isn't returning to Colkirk by himself anytime soon." Ras then looked to his companions. "So, ladies. Any questions? Comments? Concerns? I'm sure Rove will be more than willing to entertain them."

---
[Julia]
Julia was in a good enough mood to ignore the fact that not only had Ras ignored her question, but the bard, who had since introduced himself as Rove, had ignored her outstretched hand. She lightly shrugged pulling it back and resting it on the edge of the back of her chair along with her other arm. Speaking of Rove, the bard seemed well-informed about their little group, almost a little too well informed. Whether that was because Ras had given him a detailed description, because the bard had done some asking around or because of one of the several far more far-fetched explanations that occupied her mind, she didn't know.

"Training, yes." She responded with a smile. "I can't wait for training today." Irena had since joined the group at the table, so Julia shot her another particularly radiant smile. "I already asked our noble over here, but you look just as bad, if not worse. Rough night? As for you," She added, turning to Rove. "Why exactly do you want to go to a place like Col'kirk?"

---
[Irena]
"Thank you, kindly." Ren smiled, still a bit pink in the face, before taking the offered food. Irena listened intently as Rove the bard introduced himself, sipping on the piping hot stew he was so kind to give her. "Then what type of creatures might we encounter on our way to Col'kirk? And what obstacles?" She wasn't particularly worried about the kobold. "It was quite awful," Ren admitted to the spunky blonde.

---
[Rove]
Without any corrections on his assessment for the group's roles, Rove assumed his guesses were dead on. Hell, Julia essentially confirmed her own role as the bard quietly looked at her and nearly raised an eyebrow in amusement from her highly suspicious 'excitement' about her own training session. And there started the interview, as both Irena and Julia shot questions his way. Ah, what order to answer them in... With a cough to clear his throat, the discussion began.

"Well, I'll do my best to marry your two questions.", he put his palms together as he glanced over at Julia and nodded. His smile softened some as he tried to take a more serious approach to the conversation. "As you've probably gathered from now, I am a bard. What I'm best at is telling stories- and as amusing as some folk are in the tavern, there's no bigger honor than singing the tales of exotic traditions and cultures. No better choice than an entire tribe of naturally adept magicians, is there? Doubly so since they're not humans."

The shine in his eyes spoke volumes about just how interested in Kobolds he appeared to be. "Think about it, with all these creatures in the swamp that most don't know of, a tribe that I've heard lives with much too little of the technology we humans have and use daily... Just thinking about the possibilities is making my hair stand, kyahaaah..!"

A cursory glance at the barkeep, who was approaching with Julia's order, was enough to inform him he might be sounding rather... odd, to the rest. So he coughed and as if he flicked a switch, he immediately reverted back to 'normal' again. "The reason why I'm only looking for an escort now, is... well, coincidence. For the most part. I'm sure you three are no strangers to it, if you've got as much experience as I'd say you do under your belts, but... Magic is growing out of control, now lately."

"I'm definitely not the first you're hearing this from if you're already sharpening your skills, but the monsters ahead have an affinity for brutish techniques and are quite weak to magic. That Kobold friend of yours will definitely be of immense assistance to you, as well as any magic you three may know. Many adventurers have tried to approach the marshes for tutoring from the Kobolds, but few have ever made it far in the swamp due to the Bog Divers and Elementals that wander around."

The man chuckled for a moment, giving a weak smile. "... I'm not entirely useless in combat, but... it's funny. Because of my asking around, I can tell you this much- whatever is making monsters this plentiful, is also making them aggressive. I fear if I can't get to Col'kirk soon, I might never be able to. The obstacles I can't specifically point out. There's the Bog Divers I mentioned a few times, Elemental Golems that rise from the marshlands, given life by the fae to attack anything that approaches their homes, and there have been a few rumors about rogue Kobolds corrupted by whatever rampage the aether has found itself in.", his monologue finally came to an end as he raised his gaze from the table again and looked at Irena.

"... I hope I helped sate your curiosity a little, miss..? I didn't catch your name."

---
[Ras]
Ras leaned back and listened to the others chat. Though, a lot of what Rove said seemed to be news. Rove certainly seemed well travelled given his familiarity with the dangers of the road to Col'kirk. Though, Ras was concerned that none of them were particularly well versed in magic... except for Rak, who didn't seem like the most reliable companion. Speaking of the devil... where was he? Ras relunctantly got out of his seat with a small grunt. "Pardon me, ladies and gentlemen. While you get better aquainted. I'm going to excuse myself. Let me ask around to see if anyone has seen the Kobold." Ras then began to walk over to the barkeep and asked "Morning. Any chance you saw the Kobold today or sometime recently?"

---
[Julia]
Julia smiled at Irena. "Should have come drinking with me, could have had a good time. Next time maybe." She offered before turning back to the bard to listen. "Right," She said after Rove had answered her question. "Bit of an odd fellow, aren't you?" She accepted her food from the barkeep with a grateful nod, immediately digging into the small meal. She only really halfway paid attention to Rove's story after that, mostly focused on her food. If it was really all that important Ras or Irena would tell her about it later.

She stood up after Ras excused himself, stuffing a final piece of bread in her mouth. "That's my cue." She slung the large backpack over her shoulder, jabbing a thumb back at Ras. "Please tell the barkeep that he'll pay for my meal." She turned to walk towards the door. "Oh, Rena, please tell Kors I'm not coming today. Okay? Bye!" She didn't wait for an answer, stepping out into the morning sun.

---
[Irena]
She nodded at the appropriate times listening to his answer. It was lucky that she had magic, then, albeit her skills weren't as good as she would have liked given the dangerous nature of the creatures they would be facing. "Ah! How rude of me. My name's Irena, or Ren for short."

Ren sighed at Julia's speedy departure. Ras had left too. She decided to try and make small talk: "So what skills do you have on the battlefield? Have you traveled far as a bard?"

---
[Rove and Rak]
"H-Huh..?", the man was dumbfounded, as... hopefully was... Irena, too..? Though judging by how she just shrugged it off... "Aha, my apologies, I was a bit... flabbergasted.", the bard said as he adjusted his hat a little and noticed that while Ras was gone, he was just at the counter. "I've had some explorations all over Cyclone, except for the tundra in the East and the marshes all the way here to the West. Of course, there's places like parts of Central that I haven't visited, but... it's all in a day's work. Such is the life of a bard.", Rove finished with a cackle as he grinned from ear to ear.

The bartender on the other hand, was rather unentertained by Ras' question, and not because he was in a bad mood or anything. But as soon as the vanguard was close enough to the counter to ask, he was probably able to hear that light snoring from just next to the bartender. "If the Kobold's yours, can you please get reddie up and awake to empty out my corner..? He snacked on some stuff, said some human would come pay up for him and fell asleep behind my counter, but... I-I have bad experiences with Kobs so I haven't moved him any.", he said with a deep, defeated sigh.

"Ahem, as for my combat skills-", the two's conversation at the counter hadn't reached all the way to either Rove or Irena's ears, so their new client continued uninterrupted. "I have some basic knowledge of how to use a sword, but nothing too fancy. If push comes to shove I can offer a hand, but I'm afraid it's far from all that's necessary to make it through in such perilous journeys on my own. I've never worked for anyone before as a bodyguard and I've only got as much knowledge as I've taught myself, but... it's the basics to get the bare minimum done."

There was a growing concern in the back of his mind that he wanted put to rest though. "... S-Say, the blonde will come back, right..? She won't go off on her own during the escort too..?", he seemed a bit uneasy, though he was trying to reserve his judgement for after he actually saw her officially hired and with a duty to look after. But going off her apparent dedication (or lack thereof) to her training... "... Right..?"

---
[Ras]
Ras pinched the bridge of his nose as he couldn't help but sigh out of defeat and exasperation. Turns out, Rak had been here, at the right place, at the right time, the entire time... except asleep. It would almost be funny if only the people here weren't actually afraid of Kobolds. "My apologies. He's my client for a job. I'll have him out of your hair soon enough." Ras replied to the bartender as he began to walk around the bar to retrieve Rak. Tucked away in the corner on the bartender's side was sure enough a familiar looking kobold. "Rak, it's morning. You're disturbing the poor bartender's business. Get up. I have someone I want you to meet right here. He's a bard who wants to join us on our journey." Ras said as he tried to wake the kobold and then introduce him to Rove. They would be all travelling to Col'kirk anyways, so now was the chance for everyone to get acquainted.

---
[Irena]
Irena smiled at him with a shrug. "She's like that." Hearing his elucidation on his combat skills, she nodded once. "Got it. There's nothing wrong with that. It's why we're here."

The bard seemed nervous about Julia's reliability. Irena merely hummed in reply. "I haven't known her for that long, but she's quite hot-headed. It's difficult to predict what she will or will not do." Catching his eye, she continued on reassuringly, "She does pack a punch, though! No matter what, we'll do our best to complete our mission." It would have to be good enough. Ren couldn't exactly vouch for Julia's sense of responsibility.

---
[Rove and Rak]
All things considered, having someone who looked a lot more responsible than the blonde and well kept together appeared to ease Rove a fair bit. Returning her query with a smile, he nodded and put a hand to the back of his neck. "... I've seen a lot of different people before, and I will be honest, she seems like she can prove her usefulness on the field... but I'm assuming as soon as scuffle's over, she's uh- well. Like that.", he offered with a kind chuckle which slowly faded, letting out a deep sigh and coughing to clear his throat.

"... Still, I think it's admirable that you're this kind even when she pulls that type of stunt to someone she doesn't know all that well. Goes to show just how you and Mister Ras are.", the bard complimented the knight with the same soft expression he wore while talking about Col'kirk and his fascination with discovery, before something grabbed his gaze's attention. "... Speak of the devil, is that our other honored guest..?", he placed his hands on the table as he stood ever so slightly, awake and present more than ever before.

And indeed he was, as Ras appeared to be returning with a grumpy Rak who tried to shoot all manners of "five more minutes" and "it wasn't the smart one's fault"s, but to no success. Almost like a scolded child, Rak had apologised to the bartender and was now shuffling to the table by the side of the gargantuan, in comparison, vanguard. Even with the long face, it wasn't too hard to tell that the red fellow had been sleeping like a bag of bricks, as he yawned and rubbed an eye every now and then.

When the two had finally returned to the table only moments after, the Kobold hopped onto the seat Julia was seated on earlier, scratching his head and turning to Ras. "... Where is the one with the big hands..? It's a friends meeting yes?", and without even waiting for an answer, he stretched a tiny hand just barely onto the table. That must have been Rove's cue to shake it, as he reached over and held onto it, shaking it as little as he could to hold back his enthusiasm.

"Gods, I can't even begin to explain how long I've waited to meet one of your kind. There's so much I want to ask, where do I even get started?", the bard was as excited as ever, though that sentiment wasn't very much returned from Rak who almost had an eyebrow raised in confusion. "... Rak can't believe the tall ones need an additional bodyguard, can protect you all on one's own.", he placed both hands on his hips, getting a confused look from their will-be escort.

"I-I'm the one that's hiring them, not the other way around. Nice to meet you though Rak, I'm known as Rove.", perhaps his enthusiasm had put the demihuman off? He tried a more friendly and casual approach, sitting back down normally and adjusting his posture. "I perform for a living, and I'm looking for new forms of inspiration. I'm headed to Col'kirk like this group is, and... well, I would like to ask you a few things about Kobolds and your traditions, if that's fine. Not now, but along the trip or one of these days?"

"Oh? Reddish one care to learn about Rak history, then?", the shortie perked up and puffed his chest forwards, with a smug look on his face. "Heh, was about time!"

This would definitely be a trip to remember, and not a quiet one at that.

---
[Ras]
Ras slide back into his seat as Rove and Rak swiftly seemed to become acquainted with each other and began chatting about Rak's past and about kobolds. It was then that a questions popped back up in his head. He had wondered this for quite a while, and now seemed like a good time as any to ask. "Hey Rak, I have a question about Rak and kobolds too. What do kobolds do with artifacts? Humans like to collect them as trinkets for the most part and are willing to pay some coins for them, but they seem to be related to magic, no? Do kobolds also collect artifacts? Do you cast magic with them?" Ras inquired as he began to dive into Rak's knowledge of magic and kobold culture along with Rove.

---
[Rove and Rak]
When Ras asked his question, Rove went somewhat quiet and leaned back, raising an eyebrow. Although tangentially related to what he sought, it wasn't his main focus. Still, he kept his ears perked to see if he could find any "fitting material" for lack of a better word.

"Artifacts? Means book of books materials?", the Kobold stated almost with a snort. Though Rove turned his head in confusion to look between Irena and Ras, he quickly went back to the demihuman and kept listening. "Gizmos that appear when wild ones die, yes? The magicked materials?", Rak repeated with an almost expectant smile. "Is nothing too hard, but most red ones are fools. Don't know or care for making the books of books, only normal 'books'.", he was almost bitter about it. "That's why Rak is the smartest one in Col'kirk, figured a smart way to be smarter. Less materials, better books."

Most of what he was saying seemed to be going over the bard's head, but he tried his best to pay some attention to the little man as he humblebragged- not too humbly at that. "Celadon Lich controls magicks, and magicks make wild ones. When wild ones die, they take form as materials. Kobolds use the materials to make books that tall ones really want. Like you.", he must have grumbled something about materials being used wrong under his breath, but it wasn't too clear. As he finished his sentence, he pointed at Ras and Irena, grinning. "And Rak will make you the book of books as thanks for getting his... u-uh... whatever thing... back. Not his book though."

He was probably still coping with the loss of his tome to magical fungus, the disgust on his face showed.

---
[Ras]
Ras took a moment to digest the information as he had to piece together what Rak tried to explain. However, it seemed as if these materials dropped by the monsters and creatures of the wild were important materials to craft spell books. With that knowledge, Ras tucked his artifacts a little closer to himself as he resolved to keep them and use them for their actual purpose rather than selling them for a pretty coin or two. "Huh, interesting... you're right that most humans probably don't know about that. Then again... most people probably don't feel comfortable around magic anyways. So, aren't Kobolds naturally attuned to magic... at least compared to humans? You said the other kobolds don't know or don't care about this? Why is that? How did you come to know about this, Rak?"

Ras paused for a second before looking towards Rove and saying "I apologize. I did not mean to interject. Please, feel free to ask Rak anything you're curious about as well. He seems to enjoy explaining things and talking... especially if its about himself."

---
[Rove and Rak]
Perhaps they should have seen it coming, but before Rove could even reply to Ras, Rak had jumped up to the table and triumphantly raised a hand to the air, pointing one of his digits to the ceiling. "Ahahem, because Rak is smart one and doesn't like tradition! Ones that stay behind are left behind, while smart ones who move ahead get a headstart! No risk, no reward, simple as!"

That burst of energy was enough to shock Rove for a second, before he realised just how unreliable of a source Rak would be for information on Kobolds' traditions and history. "We can use magic without books, of books or not, and we can avoid going through mana fever, unlike tall ones. But Kobold tradition is 'sacred' and 'safe', no fed one has ever made it without risk! Kobolds wouldn't think twice about staying in swamp, but Rak is smarter than that!"

Speaking of food, it appears the barkeep's attention was grabbed as he coughed rather loudly and glared towards the shouting red creature. "In the name of every Lich imaginable, keep it down and I'll forget the raid on the kitchen, for crying out loud!"

Even here, the Celadon gave its toughest challenges to its strongest warriors. "O-Our apologies, dear barkeep. We'll keep our voices down and I'll take care of the damages to your stock myself, by all means.", Rove quickly rose to the occasion with a smile towards the distressed man, before he gave a quick glance at Rak that seemed to calm him down oddly enough as he climbed back down to his seat and crossed his arms.

"... Hmph. Rak is smart, that's why only Rak knows. Little words necessary for smart one's brilliance."

And with that, the bard did in fact lean slightly towards Ras and whispered. "... Quite the egocentric little fellow, indeed... I've taken notes, but I'm covered if you are, for the time being. Been a rowdy morning.", he joked with a small wink, grinning at the vanguard and turning back to the Kobold who was now staring with an eyebrow raised.

---
[Ras]
Ras with a perplexed expression with his brows slightly furrowed and a slight frown turned to look at Rove and whispered back to him as Rak went on a monologue. "Admittedly, Rak does embellish quite a bit, but at the end of the day. He means well... I think." Ras then looked back at Rak and got up from his seat "Well, now that we had a chance to get acquainted. Let's start getting ready for our journey. I'm sure Julia will be back in time for us to depart. However, we are going to need supplies. Rak, will you join me in a trip to the market? If you have any suggestions as to what we should get for the journey, then that would be very helpful. You're free to join us as well, Rove."

---
[Rove and Rak]
As Ras began to talk about departing, Irena stood up and nodded, though she looked at the door in thought. Perhaps there was something she had yet to take care of, as she offered a kind smile and asked to be excused for a second, before leaving the building. That would leave the lancer with the bard and Kobold, though the party would grow even smaller yet. Rove nodded at the proposal, bowing to thank the kind offer.

"I do appreciate that- alas, I'll settle around here for a day more to collect some information about a tradition I heard of recently in Aeredale... I heard there will be ample traffic in the store for me to scout for information today, haaah~... If you need anything, you can always ask the barkeep for my whereabouts, though expect me to be here most of the time. If not, I'll be at my room- feel free to bother me all you'd like if so. If not, I'm performing for all's ears, yours included."

Rak silently stared at Rove with the same squinted stare as he grumbled something about 'ones who scheme' and 'whisperers of secrets', but he ended up nodding.

"Oh, and again, worry not for the meals or Sir Rak's damages to the stock. I'll be paying that off as a sign of good will- think of it as an additional payment to our contract.", the bard quickly chimed in before Ras had any time to worry about the Kobold's eating spree, offering another wink as he finally stood and dusted himself.

"One with big money... And good manner. Sir Rak sounds like a good name, should keep it.", the Kobold mumbled with a few more self-fulfilled nods before he turned to Ras, having jumped onto the floor and raising a brow once more before he pointed a digit in his direction. "What need help with buying? Actually- what do tall ones have already? Rak can help make trip supplies better. More knowledge, better results for the ones who escort."

---
[Ras]
Ras gave a curt wave to Rove as it seemed that Rove had other business to tend to. Once Rove had left, Ras unslung his pack and laid it on the table and began unpacking to show Rak what he had purchased so far. "I haven't bought much, mostly just some cooking supplies for the road. Though, seeing how our group seems to be getting larger by the day... this might not be enough." Ras explained as he pulled out the ingredients that he had purchased earlier. "Apparently, these mana berries are a local delicacy of sorts. Though, I'm not sure how helpful they will be to us since you're the only one who knows how to properly use magic. Do you think this is enough food for the journey, Rak? And is there anything else you think we should get before we start our journey to Col'kirk?"

---
[Rak]
Something about that comment the man made about only him being able to use magic didn't sit right with the Kobold, judging by that half-open, instigating stare at him. "... Flame in you, and in big hands- it grows. Blue berries good for everyone. Cook properly and even unmagicked ones can use, even though there will be none!", Ras hummed as he almost swayed from left to right, clapping his hands like an aloof child. "When we arrive, tall ones shall be Rak's apprentices. Same way I taught Irena, smart one will teach you too!"

It was then that he suddenly stopped, opened his eyes wide and perked up. Right, magic wasn't the topic of the discussion, was it? "For food- if it can eat, it can be eaten. Sustenance is expensive, so we find one's own. Path has many monsters; means much food.", the demihuman noted, nodding to himself before he looked up to the human. "... Have bed? Light, fire and stuff to stay out? Rak can make own, but not everyone like Rak...", did he mutter 'sadly' after that sentence, or was it just a sigh that came out odd? "Tall ones know what tall ones need. Food is on the way to Col'kirk and water... hm. Have water before the trip! Keep lots handy- marsh water is bad for thirsty ones."

---
[Ras]
Ras looked at the kobold was a confused look as he tried to digest what the kobold said about the berries. "Errm, yes. That is a good point. I should go out and buy a bedroll and some water for the journey... and a tinderbox or something to start a campfire with. Wait, if you cook the berries properly, then you can use magic or eat the berries? Speaking of eating... I suppose I should also buy a small pot or pan that I can carry with us." Ras began to pack his bag again with all his supplies as he planned to get up and head to the market once more to buy some equipment and supplies... most importantly water, or a means of obtaining clean water. "How have you kept yourself fed and hydrated on your journey, Rak? Do you use magic to get everything that you need?" Ras inquired as he packed the last of his supplies and got up from his chair.

---
[Rak]
Rak was nodding along to whatever Ras was saying, though needless to say most of it was flying right over his head. That was until he was asked about the berries, at which point he raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin. "Magicked ones can always use magic... Rak meant eating berries. Though unmagicked ones don't really get much. Nice taste maybe..?", was he pondering out loud or genuinely confused?

When he was asked though, he blinked a few times before letting out an audible "Gagh?" at the man. "Rak always has food and water on him.", as he said so, he tapped the little satchel bag hanging by his side and grinned from ear to ear. "Never leave house without supplies, simple rule. Everything is there so everything is good! But food got boring so I started eating from...", in a lapse of a lapse of judgement, he quietly stared at the bartender who very quickly averted his gaze before back at Ras. As he did, he brought the bag in front of him and opened it, only to reveal a bitten into potato and... well, nothing else really.

And yet, when Rak asked for "One blink please." and reached his hand in, it was almost like his hand sunk through the bag's bottom, moving it like he was looking for something before it emerged again with a wooden ladle filled with clean water. Hell, he even took it out of the bag and drank some, offering what must have been a few sips left to Ras with a content grin. "Smart one, remember."

---
Mentions: Heyitsjiwon (Ras), Key of Stars (Julia) & Elowyn (Irena)
Location: Tanner Inn

. . .

Act I: The West
Chapter I - Finished​