Flames and Stillness [training/solo]

Lexiara smiled warmly as she approached the forge. She was hoping Ishaq could at least point her in the right direction. When the older man saw the young girl, he gave a warm, welcoming smile and wave, finishing up his task before approaching her. He wiped the soot and dirt from his hands before reaching out to shake hers and then ruffle her ears. He seemed fond of touching the soft fur when his hands were clean, but she did not mind.

“What can I do ya for, Miss Lexi?”

She grinned and cocked her head to the side. “Well, Mr. Ishaq, I could use some help. I know you run the forge, so I was hoping you could direct me to someone that can assist me. I need to improve my current fire arrows but I am at a loss of how to do so!”

He hummed for a moment then his face brightened. “Aha! I will introduce you to Benny! Benny is working on a new type of arrowhead, so he should be able to help you out, I think.”

He waved for her to follow him, leading her through to the forge to a workshop in the back where a man was bent over a wooden bench, working on something. “Hey Benny! Can you help out Miss Lexi? She wants to see your fire arrowheads!”

[228/1000]

The elderly man lifted his head from the project in front of him and smiled at her, nodding brusquely. Ishaq ushered her into the workshop before returning to the front of the forge to continue his work. Lexi walked up to the older man and held out her hand.

“Hi, I am Lexiara. Ishaq said you were working on a new type of arrowhead?”

The man nodded enthusiastically, waving a hand at the bench he had scattered with a variety of objects. She noticed different types of metals and stone on the bench along with carving tools and tools for shaping and cutting metals. A notebook was open with sketches in it next to the tools and several different arrowheads were also lying about.

“Lexiara, I am Benny. And these are a new project I am working on. Do you mind if I see the arrow tips that you currently are using?”

She shrugged and tugged a fire arrow free of the quiver across her back and handed it to him. The tips were blunt and relatively large for an arrowhead, small bits of flammable cloth wrapping the tip. Benny examined the arrowhead and hummed softly.

“Well, Miss Lexi, you see here?” he pointed to wear the cloth was wrapped around the head, “This is great for flames, but it will not do much damage. Plus, it makes the arrowhead ineffective by blunting it. I am guessing you want something with more effective fire and more ‘oomph’ to your attacks?”

She nodded in agreement. “Yes, plus these take so long to light. I have to fumble for my flint and hope the sparks catch. These are dangerous times, I need a weapon and ammunition that can help protect me when I am alone.”

[521/1000]

He hummed and nodded in agreement before handing her one of the arrowheads lying on the bench. The head was not the typical metal she was used to but it felt familiar and then her eyes brightened. “Flint!”

He chuckled and nodded before showing her one of the pieces still in progress and she grinned to see a tiny piece of steel along with the flint. Threaded inside of the head were the familiar flammable cloth, but it was tightly twisted. She also noted that the edges were quite sharp.

Benny seemed overjoyed that someone was interested in his work and excitedly continued his explanation. “The way the flint and steel are fitted together, all you need to do to light the tip is to drag it along a hard surface or strike it against one. And the way the cloth is twisted means it catches quickly but burns hotter for a bit longer. It won’t cause an explosion, but it will definitely hurt. Plus, the edge is actually sharp, so you also be able to deal more than just a bruise or scratch them. This head will allow you to lodge an arrow straight to the bone. Once I have this mounted on an arrow, the cloth will also be around the arrow itself, beyond just the arrowhead!”

Lexi clapped happily and nodded. “Would you mind if I tested these out? I’m very anxious to see how well they work!”

[762/1000]

After Benny agreed, she pulled out several of her regular arrows and carefully removed the arrowheads, handing the headless arrows to the smithy to fit his creations to the tips. After making sure they were properly attached, he led her behind the forge where there was a storage area and pointed to a pile of scraps. She nodded and picked up one of the new arrows, dragging it along a large stone and frowning when it failed to produce a spark. She tried again, her brow furrowed when it again failed to spark. Benny simply watched from behind her, giving her the chance to figure out the appropriate way to ignite the tip.

She rested a finger on one side of the head and tried again, applying pressure down like she was trying to flatten the tip and instantly regretted the decision. The tip gave several sparks and the head lit with flame and she dropped the arrow as she burned her fingers. She heard a chuckle from Benny and gave him a playful glare before picking up the arrow and blowing out the tip. The exposure to the flames made her more cautious with her next attempt. She opted to hold the arrow just under the tip and tried again, keeping the same angle and pressure as before and smiled happily when the spark was produced. The cloth had been singed from her previous attempt and so there was nothing to catch the spark, but at least she had the angle correct that time. She opted to keep practicing with that head so she did not waste the others he had prepared until she intended to shoot them.

Several minutes later, she was able to spark the arrowhead by dragging it along the stone and she handed the arrow back to Benny before picking up an undamaged one. She stood and drew her bow, leaning over to strike the arrowhead along the stone and notching the arrow as the tip caught flame. She tugged the string back to her cheek and released it with a breath, the fire arrow moving with great speed across to the scrap pile and lodged deeply in a broken crate. The fire left a char mark on the wooden surface and she clapped happily.

[1142/1000]

The rest of the afternoon was spent practicing shooting with the unique arrowheads and she was ecstatic with the results. Wanting to add extra oomph, she worked on her speed with lighting the arrows, trying to light and launch two in quick succession. It was tricky, as she had to hit the heads just right on the stone, but with more and more practice, she found that she could manage to light and launch two, one after the other, in a fast manner. As the sun began to set, she was still working on her aim with the second arrow, the speed of her actions affecting her aim just slightly. Benny had long ago returned to his workshop while she practiced and the moon was high in the sky before she was able to hit her second scrap pile accurately.

Exhausted but happy with her newest technique, she wandered back into the workshop after gathering all of the arrows and heads for Benny. He was falling asleep over his work when she set the heads down on the bench with a grin. He sat up with a start, rubbing his eyes.

“I love them. How many can I buy?”

Benny chuckled and shook his head. “I have a better idea. I will keep you in the arrowheads if you will let anyone you know with an interest in arrows know where to find me!”

She agreed happily before tilting her to the side. “Done deal, Benny. Now… I don’t suppose you know of anyone that can help me with something else?”

Ability Learned:

[1403/1000 Rapid Flames Ability]

Lexi checked the address Benny had given her before knocking timidly on the door. When she received no response, she tried again. This time, she heard a shuffle on the other side and the door creaked open, a woman peering out at her. She handed the woman the note Benny had given her, her voice cheerful. “Hello. Benny said you may be able to help me out!”

The woman skimmed the letter, giving a grunt at what the man had written before looking at the girl with an arched brow. She seemed dubious but opened the door wider to allow Lexi into the butcher shop. Lexi nodded her thanks and entered, waiting for the woman to lock the door and then following her to the back of the shop. At the back, there was a set of stairs dug into the ground, leading down into a room lined with stones, animal corpses hanging from large hooks in the ceiling. She noticed the room was quite cool compared to the upstairs and she frowned in confusion.

“There is a natural cold spring that runs near the stones, keeping the room cool. It keeps the meat from spoiling when I cut it up. My name is Shelby.”
[205/1000]

The woman’s voice was quiet in the chilled room, her frame lined with muscles cut into the flesh. It was obvious the butcher was strong and her line of work showed why. Shelby lifted a skinned animal corpse from a hook and moved it towards the open area in the center of the room, the action seeming to take very little effort.

“Benny said you wanted to learn anatomy, right?”

Lexi nodded and offered an explanation. “I want to know better points to aim for, to try and paralyze an opponent. But an overall anatomy lesson would be okay, too.”

“Alright. I can do that. In return, once I finish training you, you have to make a delivery for me. Sound acceptable?”

Lexi gave an enthusiastic nod of agreement, eager to begin her training. She was not yet strong enough to free her family once she found them. The woman led her back up the stairs and showed her to a tiny room with a bedroll and a candle for her to stay in during the training. After being told the training would start in the morning so the butcher could finish up her work, Lexi settled in for the night.

[406/1000]

The next morning found Lexi back in the cool cellar with Shelby, staring at the skinned corpse in the center of the room. On the corpse, Shelby began explaining each general area before beginning to describe each of the muscle groups. Along with the names of the groups, she explained which areas each group was in control of and what other areas they were connected to. Next came the tendons, where they were attached and how they influenced movement. It was a lot of information for Lexi to absorb but Shelby was patient. When it came time to explain the bones, Shelby craftily slivered the muscles away, leaving as much intact as possible but making sure she had a clear view of the bones themselves. She pointed out how some bones were more solid while others were thinner and more fragile.

The next day was a quick overview of the basic skeleton and muscle structures and then Shelby tested Lexi on them. She would point out a muscle or a tendon and wait for Lexi to give the name and function of each. When she was satisfied that Lexi had a fairly basic grasp on the muscles, she moved at last on to the nerves. There were far more of them to make note of, but Shelby started from the top and worked her way day, at first only giving a basic overview of the nerves and where they were located. By the end of the basic lesson on nerves, Lexi’s mind was spinning with all of the new information and she was very glad to have the day draw to a close so she could reflect on the new knowledge.

[687/1000]

The next morning, Shelby repeated the brief overview and then quizzed Lexi again, making sure to include not just nerves, but the muscles and tendons as well. When she was satisfied with the amount of knowledge displayed, she began the next part of the lesson. As each nerve bundle was pointed out, Shelby explained how a creature or person might react to having the area struck and what different types of forces could be applied. The lessons went on and on, the butcher woman seeming to be an endless fount of knowledge about the way a body worked.

“Alright, now that you have seen it on a skinned animal, tomorrow we are going to focus on where the same or similar point would be on a human body. And remember, every creature has a different body. Some points will be the same, others will be vastly different. But there are a few areas that are almost universal in their effect.”

Lexi nodded in understanding before retiring for the night, her dreams filled with skinless corpses and pressure points.

[865/1000]

The next morning was another review and quiz session for the young woman, and she found it easier to recite the things she had learned, the knowledge finally seeming to absorb in her mind instead of just float around in a cluttered mess. When the quiz was done, Shelby had her stand in front of the skinned animal again, but this time, when she identified a nerve group on the corpse, she made Lexi also find the same point on her body, letting the girl get a feel for how skin and posture changed the way the nerves felt. She started with the neck and moved slowly down the body, pointing out nerves in the shoulder and arm, along the ribs, across the joint of groin and leg and then down to the legs. Each area was given thorough examination and she often changed her posture so Lexi could identify the best means of access for each.

When Lexi had successfully identified several of the nerve areas, Shelby gave a nod of approval before leading Lexi back up the stairs and into the back yard. She had strung out a gazelle, trying to mimic the natural posture of the creature, Lexi’s bow and quiver resting against the building.

“Now shoot. After every few arrows, I want you to go check and see if you managed to hit the nerves you were hoping to.”

[1098/1000]

Lexi spent the next few hours doing as instructed, shooting off five or six arrows and then checking the “target” for accuracy and then gathering the arrows up. She set any damaged arrows to the side and reused the ones that were still in good condition. When Shelby came to check her progress she offered a grunt of approval and the brought out a larger corpse. She tied this one up so that it looked like a standing person and Lexi shuddered slightly but nodded when Shelby waved at her to continue.

She aimed for this corpse like it were a human she were trying to take down, aiming for the easier to access areas first and then practicing on some of the harder to hit locations, her efforts requiring her to circle around the “person” to find nerves at the back of the neck or shoulders. While the shots from the back were more difficult to aim, when she struck something other than bone, she could see the sheer amount of damage she could do with such shots.

By the time the sun was gone from the sky, she was feeling confident in her abilities. Shelby came back out and gave her standard grunt of approval before shaking Lexi’s hand.

“You did well, girl. Come back in a couple of days to see about the delivery, and if you ever need help in close combat situations, you come on back here. I will help you out.”

Lexi nodded happily, gave profuse thanks for the butcher woman’s assistance and then headed to her room to pack her belonging up.

Paralyzing Shot-retrained:

[1367/1000]
[exit]