5 Ash 121
“You're late,” the old woman said, looking up from her pack when she heard footsteps approaching. It was early morning, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon and giving the surrounding flora a nice orange hue.
Vanessa hocked a gob of spit on the ground a few feet from the woman. “I don't have a clock, alright? Got here as soon as I woke up.” and that looked true, for the most part. Vanessa was still rubbing sleep from her eyes, and a few of the straps fastening her leather armor down were loose and coming undone. She tightened them once she noticed.
'Here' was the ruins of what once had been a watchtower in centuries past, now left to fade to memory as new roads were built and new towers and garrisons were erected to protect them. It was an hour long ride by carriage, and even then the horses weren't able to make the entire journey, leaving Vanessa to trek on foot over upturned stones long reclaimed by vines and other flora.
The old woman shook her head, but knew better than to needle Vanessa further. It was a decent excuse, and as such would be forgiven for now. “Still protecting the brat, then?” she asked, referring to Anton.
Vanessa nodded. “Not so much of a brat now, if you can believe it. Grew up good, despite my influence.” They both laughed at that, the gray haired older woman placing a hand on her stomach while she did. Despite being Vanessa's senior by nearly three decades, she had not lost her mirth nor her skill. “It's good to see you, Aria.”
“If I'm a sight for sore eyes, you're beyond even my help.” Aria said, still recovering from her laugh and the words coming out between chuckles. Aria was short and slender, but even sitting recumbent against a ruined half-wall she had the appearance of a fighter that knew their worth. Her shoulders were relaxed, but still a hand rested reflexively on the pommel of her side sword with her fingers drumming across the cool metal. Aria continued “But that's good. Lad's gonna need all the help he can get. Shut-in like him is gonna get eaten alive out there. Best to crack a few skulls preemptively so no one gets any ideas.”
While Aria did not know that Anton was blind, Vanessa had instead informed her that he was a social recluse that was now being forced from his life of comfort. It was an easy lie to tell, and explained her involvement passably.
“That's why I'm here. Been a minute since I've practiced with a gun. People get real jumpy in the city if you go firing one off.” Vanessa could likely have found a way to gain access to the training grounds the military used, but she was trying to keep a low profile.
“Aye, bunch a' kids jumpin' at shadows. Y'hear there's talk of another witch hunt? Every bloody week, feels like.” Aria shook her head, and reached into her pouch to take out a brace of four pistols. She tossed the large belt over to Vanessa, who caught it and tossed one end over her shoulder before fastening it across her chest.
The provided pistols were little more than single shot scrap, but that suited Vanessa just fine. She didn't have the finances to procure her own yet, so this was the next best thing. She knew better than to ask where these weapons had come from, each one having entirely different and disparate designs on the grips and barrels.
Aria then took out a small pouch, and dumped out a handful of caster shells. She passed them over to Vanessa, who begun loading the weapons carefully. The dragonshards weren't all a perfect fit, but again Vanessa did not complain. The bodyguard in turn passed a small pouch of coins over to Aria as payment for the shards.
Then Aria pushed up and away from the far wall, and walked around it into the grassy plains that surrounded the ruins. She stopped about twenty-five feet away, and then drove a few long rods into the ground. Atop each rod was a flat platform made of single piece of wood. Then she tossed simple sacks stuffed with straw and painted on both sides with a bullseye onto the platforms to make a rudimentary series of three targets.
Stepping back around the wall, Aria gestured for Vanessa to approach. She did, and drew one of her weapons.
“Hitting the damn things with ramshackle gear like that ain't much the point, but all the better if you can.” Aria said. Vanessa grunted.
The bodyguard took a few moments to prepare herself, steadying her breathing and training her eyes on the targets before her. She lifted her arm, making a straight line from shoulder to wrist, and then squeezed the trigger. The hammer slammed down, and the weapon roared with fury.
The caster shard zipped from the barrel, flying true and slamming into the center target, punching clear through and burying into the ground some distance away. Vanessa didn't wait before she tossed the gun to the side and drew another from the brace. She took less time to aim with this one, doing little more than hip-firing once she had cleared leather. This shell went wild, hurtling off into the distance and only announcing its end with a distant 'thock!' when it buried into a tree trunk some indeterminable distance away.
Again the weapon was dropped to the ground with a clatter, and Vanessa drew the third with her left hand before passing it over to her right, then took a weapon in each hand. She squeezed both triggers, but the telltale kick only wracked through one arm, with the other weapon only giving a disappointing little sizzle and spitting out the caster shell only a few feet from the barrel. A misfire.
Vanessa smacked the gun on the ruined wall in frustration, and then looked up to see where the third shot had gone. It hadn't been a bullseye, but she had struck one of the targets.
“Half an' half ain't too bad” Aria said, collecting the two guns Vanessa had dropped and setting them on the waist high wall. She was right, of course, but Vanessa had no interest in being 'not too bad'. The bodyguard grunted in agreement, but already was reloading the weapons. The process was remarkably easy with Vanessa simply needing to drop the shells down into the barrels.
For the weapon that had misfired, Vanessa now inspected both the firearm and the caster shell to determine the culprit. The shell was not standard issue from the ZADC, instead being made by a runeforger at what was certainly great personal risk. This meant the shells were not uniform, and she could spot the misshapen thing as the problem from the moment she picked the shell up. It was still warm in her hands as she turned it over and spotted all of the imperfections.
Satisfied that she'd merely loaded a dud, Vanessa tossed the shell aside and loaded the weapon with a far more 'normal' looking shell, after inspecting it for any scoring or imperfections.
She fired the brace of pistols again, and this time all four shots found a target. At such a close range that wasn't unbelievably impressive, but it did swell Vanessa's confidence. She retrieved the weapons from the ground, and found she only had one caster shell remaining. The damn things were expensive, no doubt about that. She loaded the finest looking gun of the lot and prepared to take her final shot of the morning.
Then she spotted it. A great, fat turkey that had been spooked by the gunfire. Flying certainly didn't seem to suit the over sized bird, but with an admirable effort, it kept itself aloft and broke from the trees where it had likely been roosting.
Vanessa brought her gun around and leveled it. There were no sights on the smoothbore weapon, not that they would have done her any good anyway. She followed the bird's movements until it reached the height of its flight and prepared to descend.
Vanessa held her breath, envisioned the shot, and then fired.
The turkey's head disappeared in a spray of gore, and it fell gracelessly to the ground with a dull thump.
Aria whistled low and long to show her approval. “Damn, girl. I'll run out of things to teach you if you keep that up. You haven't lost your flair for the dramatic, at least.” and Aria laughed, clapping Vanessa on the back. “Popped like a fucking grape!” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Luck.” Vanessa said as she walked over to collect her prize, tossing it into one of the sacks Aria had brought. If Aria minded, she didn't say anything.
“Right, 'luck' is what got you through all these years, eh?” Aria stepped back over to her pack and retrieved two metal sparring swords from inside, tossing one to Vanessa when she returned.
She caught the weapon and dropped the turkey against the wall. The sparring sword was a standard arming sword with a wide crossguard and flattened edges. It wasn't a perfect stand-in for Vanessa's cutlass, but it did a good enough job. Speaking of the cutlass, Vanessa disarmed herself, tossing the brace of pistols away and removing her scabbard off of her belt and setting it off to the side.
Aria stepped forward, point of her own weapon already leveled at Vanessa as she kept the weapon down by her waist. She moved just like Vanessa, slow and confident like a jungle cat.
“Ready to get your backside handed to you again?” Aria said lightheartedly.
“Why else would I be here?” Vanessa replied calmly, and then lunged at her opponent.
Vanessa hocked a gob of spit on the ground a few feet from the woman. “I don't have a clock, alright? Got here as soon as I woke up.” and that looked true, for the most part. Vanessa was still rubbing sleep from her eyes, and a few of the straps fastening her leather armor down were loose and coming undone. She tightened them once she noticed.
'Here' was the ruins of what once had been a watchtower in centuries past, now left to fade to memory as new roads were built and new towers and garrisons were erected to protect them. It was an hour long ride by carriage, and even then the horses weren't able to make the entire journey, leaving Vanessa to trek on foot over upturned stones long reclaimed by vines and other flora.
The old woman shook her head, but knew better than to needle Vanessa further. It was a decent excuse, and as such would be forgiven for now. “Still protecting the brat, then?” she asked, referring to Anton.
Vanessa nodded. “Not so much of a brat now, if you can believe it. Grew up good, despite my influence.” They both laughed at that, the gray haired older woman placing a hand on her stomach while she did. Despite being Vanessa's senior by nearly three decades, she had not lost her mirth nor her skill. “It's good to see you, Aria.”
“If I'm a sight for sore eyes, you're beyond even my help.” Aria said, still recovering from her laugh and the words coming out between chuckles. Aria was short and slender, but even sitting recumbent against a ruined half-wall she had the appearance of a fighter that knew their worth. Her shoulders were relaxed, but still a hand rested reflexively on the pommel of her side sword with her fingers drumming across the cool metal. Aria continued “But that's good. Lad's gonna need all the help he can get. Shut-in like him is gonna get eaten alive out there. Best to crack a few skulls preemptively so no one gets any ideas.”
While Aria did not know that Anton was blind, Vanessa had instead informed her that he was a social recluse that was now being forced from his life of comfort. It was an easy lie to tell, and explained her involvement passably.
“That's why I'm here. Been a minute since I've practiced with a gun. People get real jumpy in the city if you go firing one off.” Vanessa could likely have found a way to gain access to the training grounds the military used, but she was trying to keep a low profile.
“Aye, bunch a' kids jumpin' at shadows. Y'hear there's talk of another witch hunt? Every bloody week, feels like.” Aria shook her head, and reached into her pouch to take out a brace of four pistols. She tossed the large belt over to Vanessa, who caught it and tossed one end over her shoulder before fastening it across her chest.
The provided pistols were little more than single shot scrap, but that suited Vanessa just fine. She didn't have the finances to procure her own yet, so this was the next best thing. She knew better than to ask where these weapons had come from, each one having entirely different and disparate designs on the grips and barrels.
Aria then took out a small pouch, and dumped out a handful of caster shells. She passed them over to Vanessa, who begun loading the weapons carefully. The dragonshards weren't all a perfect fit, but again Vanessa did not complain. The bodyguard in turn passed a small pouch of coins over to Aria as payment for the shards.
Then Aria pushed up and away from the far wall, and walked around it into the grassy plains that surrounded the ruins. She stopped about twenty-five feet away, and then drove a few long rods into the ground. Atop each rod was a flat platform made of single piece of wood. Then she tossed simple sacks stuffed with straw and painted on both sides with a bullseye onto the platforms to make a rudimentary series of three targets.
Stepping back around the wall, Aria gestured for Vanessa to approach. She did, and drew one of her weapons.
“Hitting the damn things with ramshackle gear like that ain't much the point, but all the better if you can.” Aria said. Vanessa grunted.
The bodyguard took a few moments to prepare herself, steadying her breathing and training her eyes on the targets before her. She lifted her arm, making a straight line from shoulder to wrist, and then squeezed the trigger. The hammer slammed down, and the weapon roared with fury.
The caster shard zipped from the barrel, flying true and slamming into the center target, punching clear through and burying into the ground some distance away. Vanessa didn't wait before she tossed the gun to the side and drew another from the brace. She took less time to aim with this one, doing little more than hip-firing once she had cleared leather. This shell went wild, hurtling off into the distance and only announcing its end with a distant 'thock!' when it buried into a tree trunk some indeterminable distance away.
Again the weapon was dropped to the ground with a clatter, and Vanessa drew the third with her left hand before passing it over to her right, then took a weapon in each hand. She squeezed both triggers, but the telltale kick only wracked through one arm, with the other weapon only giving a disappointing little sizzle and spitting out the caster shell only a few feet from the barrel. A misfire.
Vanessa smacked the gun on the ruined wall in frustration, and then looked up to see where the third shot had gone. It hadn't been a bullseye, but she had struck one of the targets.
“Half an' half ain't too bad” Aria said, collecting the two guns Vanessa had dropped and setting them on the waist high wall. She was right, of course, but Vanessa had no interest in being 'not too bad'. The bodyguard grunted in agreement, but already was reloading the weapons. The process was remarkably easy with Vanessa simply needing to drop the shells down into the barrels.
For the weapon that had misfired, Vanessa now inspected both the firearm and the caster shell to determine the culprit. The shell was not standard issue from the ZADC, instead being made by a runeforger at what was certainly great personal risk. This meant the shells were not uniform, and she could spot the misshapen thing as the problem from the moment she picked the shell up. It was still warm in her hands as she turned it over and spotted all of the imperfections.
Satisfied that she'd merely loaded a dud, Vanessa tossed the shell aside and loaded the weapon with a far more 'normal' looking shell, after inspecting it for any scoring or imperfections.
She fired the brace of pistols again, and this time all four shots found a target. At such a close range that wasn't unbelievably impressive, but it did swell Vanessa's confidence. She retrieved the weapons from the ground, and found she only had one caster shell remaining. The damn things were expensive, no doubt about that. She loaded the finest looking gun of the lot and prepared to take her final shot of the morning.
Then she spotted it. A great, fat turkey that had been spooked by the gunfire. Flying certainly didn't seem to suit the over sized bird, but with an admirable effort, it kept itself aloft and broke from the trees where it had likely been roosting.
Vanessa brought her gun around and leveled it. There were no sights on the smoothbore weapon, not that they would have done her any good anyway. She followed the bird's movements until it reached the height of its flight and prepared to descend.
Vanessa held her breath, envisioned the shot, and then fired.
The turkey's head disappeared in a spray of gore, and it fell gracelessly to the ground with a dull thump.
Aria whistled low and long to show her approval. “Damn, girl. I'll run out of things to teach you if you keep that up. You haven't lost your flair for the dramatic, at least.” and Aria laughed, clapping Vanessa on the back. “Popped like a fucking grape!” She shook her head in disbelief.
“Luck.” Vanessa said as she walked over to collect her prize, tossing it into one of the sacks Aria had brought. If Aria minded, she didn't say anything.
“Right, 'luck' is what got you through all these years, eh?” Aria stepped back over to her pack and retrieved two metal sparring swords from inside, tossing one to Vanessa when she returned.
She caught the weapon and dropped the turkey against the wall. The sparring sword was a standard arming sword with a wide crossguard and flattened edges. It wasn't a perfect stand-in for Vanessa's cutlass, but it did a good enough job. Speaking of the cutlass, Vanessa disarmed herself, tossing the brace of pistols away and removing her scabbard off of her belt and setting it off to the side.
Aria stepped forward, point of her own weapon already leveled at Vanessa as she kept the weapon down by her waist. She moved just like Vanessa, slow and confident like a jungle cat.
“Ready to get your backside handed to you again?” Aria said lightheartedly.
“Why else would I be here?” Vanessa replied calmly, and then lunged at her opponent.
