Punitive force preperations [Assignment]

Garret fell to his bed, exhausted. The events he had experienced, and the trip back to Remano had left little else other than the desire to sleep. Garret rested, allowing his energy to build back up. He didn't awaken until the next day.


The following day, Garret set himself with a strong determination. He had been lax, these past few months. There were many things that he had fallen behind on, and there was no way he would be ready to confront Azix should the worst come to pass. With the help of a flying carpet, Garret knew almost everything he could do was worth nothing. But even before that, he needed equipment. Equipment that would give him the edge in battle. Equipment that would allow him to handle even more situations.

And the beginning of all of that would be obtaining the proper tools from the markets. He still had the basic tools necessary for blacksmithing, but the forge was a separate matter entirely. Garret walked throughout the marketplace, looking about here and there before deciding that purchasing and putting together a proper forge would be more than he could afford, let alone adding the materials on afterwards. Instead, he searched the blacksmith shops for a smithy willing to rent out the use of their forge.

Finding one at last, Garret sincerely thanked the man. "I have yet to set up a forge of my own. Many thanks for the use of the forge. I'll be back in-" His words were cut short. His eyes caught a strange cloth that lay out on a shelf of materials. Approaching it as if he were in a trance, Garret's thoughts drifted. What... What is this..? I've... Never seen such a thing before...

The blacksmith noticed his reaction and laughed. "Haha! That's something special. There aren't a lot of things made from that material, partly because it is so difficult to handle but also due to its rarity. It has the properties of cloth, and steel. Are you interested..? It's expensive...." The man's smile did not fade as he teased the younger blacksmith. It was beyond Garret's wealth to afford at this time.

Garret had to refuse. "No, it's quite alright. I'll be back in a few days. There are some other things I want to look into, and it is getting late." Just as he turned around, a mysterious shadow from an individual who was peaking around the corner of the door disappeared.

Garret made it home without trouble.

OOC:

Marux's upgrade: 418/1500.

Garret arrived back at the inn. Money... I'll have to get enough to travel, won't I? But still... The magician had other circumstances as well. There wasn't a chance in hell he would leave, as things were, even after he finished making his weapons. Garret began to portion out his money. This is for travel expenses... I need to set that to the side. The Inn... I don't know how long I'll need to stay. This should be enough, for now, and I'll just look for additional work when necessary... The hours passed by, and he knew he needed to make more money. Writing down the necessary funds and figuring out a budget were all steps he took in the time that passed.

He sighed, fiddling with a letter opener while contemplating his next steps. At that moment, the door to his room opened, and Garret quickly snapped his head in the direction of the doorway, preparing to immediately respond to a combat situation. Who is it!? The figure that walked through the door surprised and shocked the magician...

---

A young man walked away from the blacksmith shop and, shortly after, the blacksmith found himself standing in front of a new customer. "Hello, hello! Welcome! Were there any wares you were looking for? Anything I can help you with?"

The customer pointed to the green cloth-like material. "I'll purchase that." The man warned the customer of the price, but that did not cause any wavering in the decision.

Following the rest of the way through the marketplace, a variety of other things were purchased before finally arriving home. As the door opened, a man suddenly stood; the air about him seemed fierce at first, but then a look of shock overtook him.

Setting the bags down to the side, a greeting was extended to the man. "Hello, Garret. I'm home."

---

Garret's heart beat loudly. "Yua..." Not paying attention to the bags she had set aside, Garret approached her and embraced her. "I've been searching for you... I'm glad to see you are still well." Holding her close, Garret lifted her off her feet and twirled her around once. Yua let out a short squeal, and Garret laughed. It was a warm moment for the blue magician, who normally did not show such a side.

"Hmmhmm... I've been busy. Some of the work was dangerous, but I got it all taken care of!" She broke from the embrace from Garret, patting her biceps as she praised her own work. The sight elicited a short laugh from Garret, who drew her close once again, drawing their lips together.

Pulling away from the kiss, Garret sighed contently. "Allow me to give you a proper welcome back..." Smiling, he pulled her towards the bed. Before they got there, however, she stopped him.

"I.. I still haven't washed up." She was embarrassed, and looked away from the magician. Even though she said that, and started walking towards the bathroom, Garret's grasp did not loosen and she paused in her place.

Tugging on her arm, Garret pulled Yua back into his and pushed her onto the bed. "I don't care. I love you, Yua... It's been too long since we've been apart. It's time to make up for it."

---

The two had not woke up until after noon had already passed. Yua snuggled into Garret's chest. "Mmm." Looking up to his sleeping face, she smiled and let her hand trail down his stomach.

Garret woke up, yawning and transferring the yawn over to Yua who playfully slapped him. "Don't be doing that. It's contagious."

Garret leaned over, kissing Yua on the forehead and patting her. "Sorry, dear." The action elicited a short but cute laugh from the woman.

"Heheh..." The two lay together for a while longer, enjoying each other's presence. They did not speak much. If they could simply spend their time like this, it would truly be a life of satisfaction.

Alas, reality wouldn't allow such a thing, and there were other actions that needed to be done. "Yua... I am glad we are together again... From now on, I would like to travel together with you. But, to be honest, there is trouble that has come up. For now, I want to prepare for tackling this problem. I have some forging I need to do..." Garret trailed off.

Midway through him talking to her, she placed a finger on his lips. "Speaking of..." She walked towards the door, Garret staring at her figure as she did so. Bending down, she picked a piece of green cloth from a bag. "Familiar?" She smiled as realization dawned upon Garret's face. "A gift. Do you like it?"

The blue magician was at a loss for words. Swallowing, he finally spoke up. "I... I can't believe it. Yes. Of course I do... I was looking at that just yester- How did you know?" He raised an eyebrow Yua's way, curious as to her answer.

Pleased with herself, she placed the object on the table and walked over to Garret. "Hmmm, now that's a secret. Come, let me wash your back..." The two washed up before she let him go back to the blacksmith shop he had been at the day before. Garret took his umbrella, Marux, along with him.

---

The blacksmith was surprised when Garret appeared with the materials he had sold just the day before. "Hoh? You know the woman who came in yesterday?"

Garret nodded, and immediately asked the man about how to handle the forging of the 'cloth.' "I'm looking to replace the canopy materials of this umbrella... How should I go about it?"

The blacksmith took a look at the umbrella and whistled. "Normally I would suggest something different... But this material is Rampaging Unicorn Horn, isn't it? Well, first, you'll want to measure out the length of the wiring here. Throw the cloth into the forge to heat it up, and chisel out the proper portions you need while making sure to leave enough behind for the canopy itself." After giving a bit more advice on how to meld it together again afterwards, he left Garret to his work.

Hours passed, Garret hammering out the materials as they were red hot. In the back of his mind, he was amused that scissors wouldn't work on the materials. Though it felt soft when it was loose, it was as hard as steel. The evening passed, and Garret was able to complete the umbrella. Smiling, Garret nodded to the blacksmith. "I'll be back tomorrow."

He left to show his workmanship to Yua.

Garret made it home without trouble.

OOC:

Marux's upgrade: 1553/1500.

Garret returned to the Inn with high spirits. The success of forging the metal onto the umbrella pleased him, but he owed having the chance to do such a thing to Yua, who had bought the materials in the first place. Hmmm. What can I do for her? The truth was, he was uncomfortable accepting the gift. It felt strange to him, to receive something from Yua. As if the role between the two had reversed. At that point, Garret realized how he desired to dote on her. For her to rely on him. He hummed as he walked up the stairs to the inn, contemplating how he felt as he opened the door.

Yua had moved the furniture to the side and was exercising. Smiling, he set his equipment down for the time and joined her. Together, they stretched and worked their core muscles, keeping their body strengthened. The subsequent washing, followed by dinner, was filled with simple chatter; Garret asking Yua of the places she had visited, and the people she had seen. When they returned to their room, Garret showed her the work he had done. Yua pressed herself into his back, leaning onto him as her head peaked from above his shoulder to view the umbrella. "Hmmm. It looks tough... So, why did you suddenly decide to improve on it? Will you be using it while traveling for mercenary work with me?" It was an idle question, filled with genuine curiosity.

The reminder of what reason Garret was working on it for reminded him of what he had wanted to tell her earlier. "Yua... Do you remember Ariella?" For a moment, he didn't really understand why he started there. Questioning himself, he sighed at the answer he received. That... Is likely the reason why this all began... Even still, what he did was not truly excusable.  Yua nodded in affirmation, and Garret continued to explain. "She... She died." He imagined the same happening to Yua, and his throat got stuck. Closing his eyes, he cleared his throat. Ariella and Garret were never truly 'close' to each other, but he was saddened for her loss. Dealing with death on a normal basis for a large part of his life, the sorrow never truly took hold of him, but as he imagined going through the same experience he felt a small portion of the sadness Azix must have felt. "I did not learn this until recently. When I learned it, it was through letter... Which also held instructions to a village. Azix, the man who loved Ariella, had sent me this letter." Garret paused.

His mind recalled the scene of the fishing village, just on the outskirts of Remano. Sensing something was wrong, Yua brought Garret to sit down on the bed, and sat next to him, her hand resting upon his back reassuringly. With a feeble smile thrown her way, Garret continued. "Thanks. When I finally arrived at the village... There was not a single living soul there. They had been killed, by a mist. I suspect it was a plague on a scale that I have only ever heard of once..." The old man, which required a sacrifice to fuel his clairvoyance magic. Garret didn't understand how it worked, when conventional knowledge taught you could only use the blood of another to look into their situation. Even so, the words of the man had rung true. Garret believed the spell was an Extreme Magic. The pinnacle of a Djinn's power. "I must find out whether or not he has lost his mind. If necessary, I will have to end him." The thought of having to kill Azix was not a pleasant one, and drew a frown to the magician's face.

"... Those villagers had no relation to you, Garret." Yua expressed confusion at the sight of how upset Garret was. "And I'm betting you brought them back, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have known about their fate." A cold disregard for another's life. Her upbringing on the streets of Balbadd taught her to look out for those closest to her. In a way, she understood the words coming from Garret; they were words similar to those spoken by the government.

"Yua... Not all of them came back. But in the first place, it's wrong to take a life that does not threaten your own in some manner." Garret was somewhat surprised, but held himself back from saying a more biting remark; he recalled how he was raised. Sato had raised him with the intention of leading a country. Were his values that much different from somebody who was raised on the streets, without knowing where her next meal would come from?

"Those morals... Can you eat with them?" Yua's harsh response was a quote from Hasan, who taught both of them many things in the mountains. Garret's stomach rolled as he questioned himself why it was Yua thought this way. She continued, however. "All I want to say is that I don't want you to put yourself in danger for others. Mmmm. I think I might be selfish, but you are mine just as much as I am yours. Don't fight, unless you must." She rest her head upon Garret's shoulder, holding his body tight with her right arm.

The words settled Garret's feelings as he looked down at her worried face. Their eyes met, and Garret sighed. Moving his left hand, he pet her hair. "Still... I must find out why. It was a promise." Garret was determined; he was supposed to be a compass that guides Azix in towards the 'correct' direction. This decision was something he had already set in place.

Pulling Garret down, Yua nestled against him once again. "I will follow you, and help you how I can..." The two, Magician and Thief, slept well that night.

---

The next day, Garret awoke and ate breakfast alongside Yua. "I'll be out at the smith shop you bought that material from. I've got two more weapons to complete, and a small amount of combat training to go through before I feel back in practice... After that, we should be ready to leave." Yua's support was more than just her presence; his lover had showed him just how much she had made, after reading Garret's budget the previous day. If they were to be traveling together from then on, she insisted on helping out when and where she could.

Garret moved onward, working diligently at the smithy's. He purchased the materials in store to create the chains he was intending on using; a rare metal found from the body of a Mine Guardian. This, too, was an expense for him... However it was one that was within his budget, as Lagi had increased the production rate of such materials. One by one, Garret formed the links. Diligently he hammered away, heating the metal and working the forge with a single mindedness. Each link was integral to the overall finished product, as any single link that broke would change the weapon's purpose entirely. Over and over he folded the metal, shaped it and forged the links shut once they were ready. his final touches to the links were to smooth them out for an aesthetic appeal.

The smith also had things of his own to work on, but he had another forge to work off of; one of the reasons he was willing to rent out the use of the second one to Garret. Both were silent in their work, giving focus to the product they were individually making.

Nearing completion, Garret began to work on the weighted ball at the end, focusing his strength in the strikes. The ball was compacted as hard as he could, removing any chance of air pockets within the material throughout his smithing of the metal. It was naturally resilient to being brittle, but there was no reason for Garret to be lax in his technique, using flux when necessary. With hard work, he was able to finish a majority of the chain before nightfall.

Garret bid farewell to the smith, only to return early the next day. This time, he was working on the spike; it could work in a multitude of ways, which was why Garret had chosen this design. Keeping these ways in mind, Garret's hammer continued to forge the weapon. It had to be comfortable to wield in the hand, and it also had to be strong enough to withstand a blow if he threw it at a person to pierce them. Lastly, it had to be sharp enough to pierce through objects, if he intended on using it to help himself climb objects... And to harm those he aimed to harm, of course. When midday came, Garret held a completed weapon in his hands.

Paying the smith for the use of the forge, and the final cost of the materials used, Garret thanked the man again. "There is still another set of objects I intend to make. Thank you, again, for the use of your forge." For now, Garret would leave for the day. His real work would continue not too long from now, after all, and he wanted to be ready for that when the time came.

OOC:

Agha, the restrictor creation word count: 1542/1500.

Garret and Yua walked through the streets as the day was coming to an end. Yua, excitedly leading Garret, wanted to watch the sun set. Indulging her desire, Garret followed her while being curious as to whether they would make it in time. Well... There is the magic carpet... But that isn't an option right now, huh? Yua hadn't allowed him to bring any of his magical gear with him, saying it would ruin the moment. Normally a person asking Garret to go somewhere without his equipment was cause for suspicion, but he did not hold such suspicions with Yua.

... Ah. What if somebody learns of us, and tries to trick me..? He was still confident that only a few knew of his relationship with Yua, and even fewer knew who they truly were. To say there were many people who held a grudge against the two individuals, without knowing who they actually were, would be an understatement. In Balbadd, Yua was wanted for thievery. In Reim, Garret had killed many citizens, politicians, military men and outlaws. I'll have to think of a countermeasure before I find myself in that situation.

As they continued walking, Garret furrowed his brow. They weren't walking towards the gate, but instead further inside the city. It wouldn't be long until they had come to the gates of the political center of the city; Emperor Lagi's castle. "Uh, Yua... I-" He had wanted to ask her what she was doing.

Before he could speak further, she shushed him and pulled him into the shadows of an alleyway. "Just follow me, and don't make a sound... Oh yea, when we get to the wall, I get to give you a piggy-back ride." Her eyes sparkled mischievously, and a sly smile covered her face.

Garret took a deep breath and closed his eyes, realizing her intentions at this point. She wanted to do something reckless. Garret's hand quickly approached her head, and she made a silent squeal as she imagined a playful strike coming towards her. "Eii... Ah. Heheh." When Garret's hand reached her forehead, instead of a chop he slid his fingers through her hair before ruffling it.

Garret took a look down the alleyway before looking back to her. "Are you sure, though? Will you be strong enough? Not to mention how awkward it would be to carry me on your back..." And embarrassing... Garret's thought to himself that he held back. She seemed taken with the idea, regardless of Garret's own thoughts on the matter.

Showing her confidence, Yua's smile widened. "Hmm? Want me to show you how I've improved since doing work as a mercenary?" She grabbed Garret's hand, leading him further through the alleyways. At the edge, she motioned him to stop while looking around the corner. Motioning Garret forward, she put a finger to her lips. She looked around the corner and came back to cover shortly after.

There, they stood waiting. After moments of time passed by, she looked again and tugged on his arm. The two immediately ran forward. Both were silent, their vocations having taught them well, and their clothing lacking noisy materials. When they got to the base of the wall, near a bush, Yua looked to Garret and smiled before placing her attention to the earth. She dug and uncovered a wooden case. Within the case was equipment she was familiar with using for scaling walls; shuko. Getting everything setup took only a moment of time, and Yua nodded Garret's way.

Looking around, they were still in the clear; nobody had yet to see them. Garret placed his hands on Yua's shoulders, reluctantly, and wrapped his legs around her waist. Yua's body immediately afterwards flowed with the force of her magoi as she used the strength to help her climb up the side of the wall. Garret recalled, in the past, when he had chased her under such conditions and she had escaped. The memory brought a smile to his face as he considered the irony of the situation.

Yua had memorized the route of the guards. With her magoi-backed speed, they were up and over the wall in a flash. Yua hit the ground running, still carrying Garret upon her back. Keeping from the front, they were in one of the gardens of the castle. A place where those who were weary could rest themselves in a place of nature. Again, Yua and Garret found them ducking in the cover of bushes while Yua watched the route for several minutes.

Garret was still finding the whole adventure they were having as silly, but Yua's face was flushed with excitement. They began climbing steadily. Soon they were about to break over the level of the walls, and Garret realized something; he had a chance to tease Yua here.

He wasn't one to tease often, but sometimes he got an interesting reaction from Yua. Garret slowly shifted the placement of his hands from an over the shoulders approach to an under the shoulders approach, brushing past her chest as he did so. "Nn..." There wasn't much sound, but it caused her to pause in order to adjust herself. Garret could hear two guards talking to each other just around the corner.

Leaning over, Garret gently bit her earlobe. "Haaahn.." This time, louder than before, one of the guards said something.

"Wait... Did you hear something?" The first guard asked, pausing their conversation. It was a tense moment for both Garret and Yua.

They waited to hear what the other guard replied with. "Huh? No, I think you're just hearing things." They then began to go back to their prior discussion.

Both Garret and Yua breathed a sigh of relief, and Yua glared towards the magician. Grinning, Garret patted her butt. "Up we go." He had to hold back the laugh at the look of indignation on her face as she scrambled to the top.

When they arrived to the top of the tower, Garret made sure to stay low so he wouldn't be seen. Yua wasted no time after removing her shuko, pinning Garret down and grasping his collar.The magician couldn't hold it in any longer, and let out a laugh which he did his best to hold back. "You did well, Yua... No distraction could stop you, huh?"

As the sense of danger from his actions faded away, Yua's glare turned into a wry smile. "Don't do that... You almost got us both caught. You have any idea how scared I was?!" They both drew up against a merlon, breathing deeply and laughing quietly.

They watched as the sun set while sitting upon one of the high points of the castle. Yua, her head resting against Garret's shoulder. Garret, his arm holding her body close to his as his hand rested upon her shoulder.

After that evening, the two had no problems returning under the cover of darkness.

---

Garret arrived at the blacksmiths two days later. He was deciding on the type of throwing weapon he wanted before deciding on a needle-like shape. They were somewhat large, making it difficult to throw multiples at once, but they would also be sturdier in use.

Working hard at the forge once again, Garret began to hammer out the objects that he would be using as weapons. The materials this time were not as expensive as the prior two weapons; something he was fine with, at the moment. Throwing weapons were to be disposable, after all, and using high quality materials was more expensive than he cared for. The magician's hammer pounded away on the steel as he drew the object towards him with the large pair of pliers. He was tapering out the metal, creating a pointed edge.

At first the object looked to be rectangular, with a taper off at the end. This was not the final product, however, and Garret continued to work away at the forge. As the heated metal cooled down, he continued to heat it up over and over. Garret made sure to hammer away the edges of the product, working towards rounding out each individual dagger. Wiping the sweat away from his head, he took a short break with the blacksmith owner of the shop.

They drank water and ate a packed meal; neither the blacksmith nor the magician wanted to leave the forge to look elsewhere for a meal. They wanted to dedicate as much time as possible to the sight of the sparks flying and the feel of shaping the metal beneath their hands.

Like a man possessed, Garret made ninety of these throwing daggers over the next three days. He could not carry all of these into battle, feasibly. But that was not the purpose of making so many. The rest would be meant to replenish his stores whenever he had a chance to. Once again, the blue magician was taking care to prepare for future encounters.

Paying the blacksmith the rest of what he owed, Garret bowed for a final time. "This will be the last I use your forge for some time, I believe. It was a pleasure working steel alongside you."

The blacksmith shook his head. "Ah. Well, same here. If you ever have need of a forge, if there's space for you I'm willing to rent it out. Farewell, then." Staying polite, the man didn't have a very heavy impression of Garret. The magician had only come to his store to forge weapons, and only for a short period of time. Neither of them had gone out of the way to befriend each other, either.

It was simply another type of customer, in the eyes of the blacksmith...

OOC:

[Exit]
Smithing Vaer Word Count: 1614/1500.