Timestamp: 5th of Summer, 518 AV
The Jeweler been so busy setting up her inventory and basically turning raw gemstones into something she could actually use, that Kelski had no time to think of anything else. And that sort of lack of thought process was stupid at best and life threatening at worse. Darvin had told her he was going to find her, and most likely what he implied was kill her when he had the chance. Kelski knew what she’d been to him and that was a convenient distraction and a bit of entertainment. But now that she was no longer that to him, she represented a threat. Someone was walking around with his teachings and his knowledge, intimate knowledge of his business practices, and that could seriously damage him.
Darvin had stupidly dragged her everywhere with him, parading her around like some ornament on his arm. When he’d been forced to let her go by the Warmarshal, it had been infuriating to him because now she was a liability. Kelski could go to the Daggerhands, the Night Eyes, or almost anyone had ruin his business.
She knew he knew it too. The only way to remotely keep that from happening was to be diligent, train, and eliminate him before he could eliminate her. Besides, she owed him a death or ten, the Sea Eagle figured. And the sooner she eliminated him from the breathing living humans of Sunberth, the sooner the city was a better place. To that end, she’d have to find somewhere to train that wasn’t out in the open and wasn’t vulnerable.
The basement was the best source. For one it was full of comforting Shadows, all of whom seemed more than glad a Nightstalker had moved into the building. Even though Kelski lived alone, she was never really alone. Her home was full of Shadows that brought her comfort, especially after the sun went down. Some of them had even granted her their names. Zavath, one of the more forward and seemingly more powerful ones had whispered of her to come to the basement. It wasn’t a large area, being only four hundreds square feet, but it had a high ceiling and could be easily expanded.
The floor was stone and the walls were the same brick and beam as the walls of The Midnight Gem itself. Kelski crept down the stairs, gave the whole place a look around, and nodded. “You’re right, Zavath. This is an excellent choice. No one will see me working out down here, throwing daggers, or even training dummies to stab. I can get candle holders and light the whole place…” Kelski said, wandering the basement, her sharp gaze not lacking much in the dim light. “It just needs a thorough cleaning and some lighting, and we should be good to go.” She told Zavath, who hissed his approval and made additional suggestions… a weapons rack, a few targets to throw daggers and other weapons at….
Kelski noted the whole thing and knew she’d also need to buy a few more daggers now that she was on her own. A brace of them, like Darvin had hung on her, would be about perfect. That meant a trip to the market perhaps in the early morning when most of the night owls of Sunberth were sleeping, and some dagger throwing practice tonight punctuated by cleaning and a decent bedtime.
Practice first, Kelski decided, using the basement even though it really wasn’t set up correctly yet. The beams that punctuated the brickwork in the wall would hold a dagger very very well if one was thrown at it. So Kelski decided those were her targets. She gave herself ten feet and marked off the increments on the floor by counting the steps and making a chalk mark on the stone. She had to fetch the chalk from her workshop.
Fifteen feet out she made another mark, and all the way to forty (which was the opposite wall) in five foot increments. She wanted to know her range and how accurate she could get the further away she got. Noting these things would give her a very good idea in a fight if she could hit someone and thus if loosing her dagger was worth it.
When she was done, she turned, studied the big X’s she’d made on the beams and started at the ten foot mark. Her goal was to throw over and over and over again until her body knew the motion by heart and she didn’t have to think about what she was doing to get the job done. Kelski discovered, as soon as the first dagger flew and she missed, that her accuracy was poor at best. Snapping out her wrist, she got force into the throw, but she lacked something in the follow through. She actually wasn’t sure what that was. Kelski brought down her technique, paid attention to her steps, and couldn’t find where she was lacking.
The shadows laughed. Zavath had obviously spotted something she hadn’t.
The Jeweler been so busy setting up her inventory and basically turning raw gemstones into something she could actually use, that Kelski had no time to think of anything else. And that sort of lack of thought process was stupid at best and life threatening at worse. Darvin had told her he was going to find her, and most likely what he implied was kill her when he had the chance. Kelski knew what she’d been to him and that was a convenient distraction and a bit of entertainment. But now that she was no longer that to him, she represented a threat. Someone was walking around with his teachings and his knowledge, intimate knowledge of his business practices, and that could seriously damage him.
Darvin had stupidly dragged her everywhere with him, parading her around like some ornament on his arm. When he’d been forced to let her go by the Warmarshal, it had been infuriating to him because now she was a liability. Kelski could go to the Daggerhands, the Night Eyes, or almost anyone had ruin his business.
She knew he knew it too. The only way to remotely keep that from happening was to be diligent, train, and eliminate him before he could eliminate her. Besides, she owed him a death or ten, the Sea Eagle figured. And the sooner she eliminated him from the breathing living humans of Sunberth, the sooner the city was a better place. To that end, she’d have to find somewhere to train that wasn’t out in the open and wasn’t vulnerable.
The basement was the best source. For one it was full of comforting Shadows, all of whom seemed more than glad a Nightstalker had moved into the building. Even though Kelski lived alone, she was never really alone. Her home was full of Shadows that brought her comfort, especially after the sun went down. Some of them had even granted her their names. Zavath, one of the more forward and seemingly more powerful ones had whispered of her to come to the basement. It wasn’t a large area, being only four hundreds square feet, but it had a high ceiling and could be easily expanded.
The floor was stone and the walls were the same brick and beam as the walls of The Midnight Gem itself. Kelski crept down the stairs, gave the whole place a look around, and nodded. “You’re right, Zavath. This is an excellent choice. No one will see me working out down here, throwing daggers, or even training dummies to stab. I can get candle holders and light the whole place…” Kelski said, wandering the basement, her sharp gaze not lacking much in the dim light. “It just needs a thorough cleaning and some lighting, and we should be good to go.” She told Zavath, who hissed his approval and made additional suggestions… a weapons rack, a few targets to throw daggers and other weapons at….
Kelski noted the whole thing and knew she’d also need to buy a few more daggers now that she was on her own. A brace of them, like Darvin had hung on her, would be about perfect. That meant a trip to the market perhaps in the early morning when most of the night owls of Sunberth were sleeping, and some dagger throwing practice tonight punctuated by cleaning and a decent bedtime.
Practice first, Kelski decided, using the basement even though it really wasn’t set up correctly yet. The beams that punctuated the brickwork in the wall would hold a dagger very very well if one was thrown at it. So Kelski decided those were her targets. She gave herself ten feet and marked off the increments on the floor by counting the steps and making a chalk mark on the stone. She had to fetch the chalk from her workshop.
Fifteen feet out she made another mark, and all the way to forty (which was the opposite wall) in five foot increments. She wanted to know her range and how accurate she could get the further away she got. Noting these things would give her a very good idea in a fight if she could hit someone and thus if loosing her dagger was worth it.
When she was done, she turned, studied the big X’s she’d made on the beams and started at the ten foot mark. Her goal was to throw over and over and over again until her body knew the motion by heart and she didn’t have to think about what she was doing to get the job done. Kelski discovered, as soon as the first dagger flew and she missed, that her accuracy was poor at best. Snapping out her wrist, she got force into the throw, but she lacked something in the follow through. She actually wasn’t sure what that was. Kelski brought down her technique, paid attention to her steps, and couldn’t find where she was lacking.
The shadows laughed. Zavath had obviously spotted something she hadn’t.
