A Dagger in and a Dagger out - Lance

by **Evalynn Frostfawn** on November 2nd, 2023, 5:50 pm

Fall 17, 523 AV

Eva was hard at work in the back of the house, pulling together another training dummy for her to practice on and get fresh air at the same time. Her recent run-in a couple of days ago had scared her enough to get back into training with her dagger. Whether it was with Moritz, a stranger, or even her remaking a training dummy, she needed to practice. She had acquired some materials around the house and was tying them onto two boards that she also secured together for a sturdier foundation. It didn't look like it was going to last very long, however, she just needed something temporary until she was able to gain the confidence to go to the market and get proper supplies.

After a few short moments, Eva had grabbed a burlap sack that she had laying around and pulled it over the dummy, tying the bottom to secure everything inside. It looked nowhere as good as the one she made in Syka, but this was all she had on hand inside her house. A dummy made of old cloth, rope, and burlap had to be useful for something in the training. Eva looked over at her babe and smiled as they slept before getting up and making her way to the back of the house to set up the dummy. Eva had yet to get a chance to dig into the soil of Sunberth, so making a hole for the post was going to be a first. After she leaned the dummy up on the side of the house, she wanted to find her spade to start digging.

The ground was tough, but luckily it was dry and crumbly. If she would pour water over the soil and turn it to mud, it may cement the pole into place a bit more. She was thinking about how to make the pole more sturdy so she almost missed the sounds of someone coming up from behind her. Eva shot up and spun around, snatching her dagger from her waist and pointing it at the approaching body.

“Who are you! State your business!” Eva shouted angrily and glared daggers at the person. If the stare she was giving wouldn't cause the individual to stop, then the one she was holding would make them stop permanently.

WC: 387

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by **Lance Windhelm** on November 2nd, 2023, 6:47 pm

Lance spent the day about the market. He was looking for a wooden dagger to practice with, something like the ones he used at the training grounds. He had been using his actual blade in his room at The Drunken Fish. Swinging the blade around and stabbing the air just seemed dangerous. He didn't want to risk it any more. Luckily it was only three places he had to stop at, two shops and the millers yard. The millers were able to make two daggers of wood for a cheap price.

"They are a bit rough looking, but I think they will do the job." The miller said.

Lance examined them, they weren't polished, and the weight seemed off, but the shape was about right. Ten inches or so long, rough handle, but he was able to hang onto it. He thought it was a good start, maybe he would try and smooth its edges and get the weight perfect later. It would be something to work on during his off time. Something to sing about. He was always looking for a new hole a muse could poke it's head through.

"Yes, I think they will be just fine." Lance said as he paid the man.

He gathered the knives and placed them in his backpack. As he went back home he noticed something unusual. A woman digging a hole behind her house. He wasn't sure what she was doing, and he really didn't want to ask. There was a lot of odd things, and dangerous things that happened in the city. Lance tried to walk past quietly, but the lady had noticed him.

"My name is Lance." He raised his hand. This is the second time he had been put to a knife in Sunberth. "I don't want to hurt anyone. Just heading home." He said. Lance had his sword and dagger wrapped around his waste. His hand couldn't help but fall on the daggers hilt. It was almost reaction. All of the practice he had been doing must have been paying off. But he also worried that touching his blade was a threat. Lance slowly let it go and put his hands in the air.

"What is it your doing there?" Lance asked. Trying to ease the situation. "You know, pirates..." He was thinking of telling a story of treasure, but he didn't want her to think he was trying to rob her of something. "Large eagles would start their nests by first digging a big hole and then building on top of it using webbing of bushes and, then they would use mud to bind it all together." Lance said, he didn't know if it was true, he just was talking, he had a tendency to do that. "those birds, I've heard they are beautiful creatures, soring across the sky. Makes you want to sing doesn't it?"

WC: 480

by **Evalynn Frostfawn** on November 3rd, 2023, 1:09 pm

“You’re talking nonsense.” Eva lowered her dagger a bit, but didn’t sheathe it quite yet. Her guard was still high and her judging eyes were still scrutinizing the man in front of her. “You are out of your way, coming all the way out past the cemetery.”

Was it working? Eva was trying to sound tough and intimidating even though she had no experience with it. She was just copying what she would hear from work and put on a serious tone. She felt confident enough in herself to continue the intimidation tactic to get more information out of him.

“What is your real reason for being out here? Are you seeking to lie with the many dead bodies as well? Or join the ranks as a lost adventurer and just become a story of old? I can help with either one if you don't give me the answers I seek.”

She felt like she nailed it. That last part sounded ominous enough to build fear and have them thinking twice about what to do next right? Eva held a faint smirk on her face to add to the confident air she was putting on. And with her added storytelling skills, she even tried to make it sound a bit more dramatic than it really is. Though, everything she said was rumors whispered around the tavern that she had decided to use. Nothing she said she had witnessed or experienced, but how would this stranger know anything?

WC: 247

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by **Lance Windhelm** on November 3rd, 2023, 7:25 pm

Lance's hands were still up. "Look, I'm not hear to hurt you. I went to seek out a carpenter and got turned around. I'm new to the city, so I'm still learning my way around." He said and started to lower his hands. "Do you know how to use that thing?" He pointed towards the knife. "I can show you a couple moves I learned from The Proving Grounds. I even have these we can use." He pulled out the wooden daggers from his pack. "This is the reason I was looking for a carpenter actually." Lance kept going, he tried to shrug her intimidation off with a kindness.

Lance was nervous. People in Sunberth could be vicious. He has seen it first hand. He wasn't ready for a knife fight, he wears them just in case, but he hasn't had to actually defend himself with it. He tried to go over scenario after scenario in his head. If she did this, he would do that. Trying to picture it in his minds eye without sacrificing his concentration on the conversation. He was also afraid if he misspoke she might take it the wrong way.

The lady must know more about eagles that he did. Calling him out on his nonsense, he just smiled at it earlier. He didn't know what he was saying before. He couldn't even recall the last time he's heard about such an animal, let a lone seen one. Lance started to think about a more common animal around the city that he knew, Rats, he should have talked about Rats. How they eat anything and how they have poor vision, at least he gathered as much from seeing them run into objects. Though, they seemed like great swimmers.

WC: 293

by **Evalynn Frostfawn** on November 4th, 2023, 12:29 pm

Eva studied the man a bit and narrowed her eyes as she slowly lowered her dagger. She understood how being new to the city would look like, as she was still learning as well, but some denizens would lie to get close to their targets. Eva wasn’t going to lower her guard, even if he mentioned what he was out doing. Instead, she stepped to the side to show the man her homemade training dummy.

“I am installing an outdoor training dummy, for more dagger training. I wanted fresh air today instead of training inside.” She then looked at the man's wooden daggers and sighed. “You can buy better ones at The Outpost, but I suppose those ones will allow you to train against a dummy for a few rounds.”

She was lying, she didn’t know if they would break in one on one combat against another. She just judged them by how shoddily made they were. The one she got from Moritz also looked better when she first got it, but now it just looked worn out. Eva sighed and bit the inside of her cheek in thought as the man's offer to teach her made her consider bringing him along. She needed a body to practice with as it was most effective for her, and even if he was a stranger, he could fill that position for now.

“Why don't you show me what you can do on this dummy, then I will consider your offer a bit more.”

Eva sheathed her dagger and turned and grabbed the dummy, plopping it into the hole and shoving the dirt back in so it stood upright. After packing it in nice and tight, she stepped to the side and gestured for the man to begin. She didn’t know what all she was looking for, but she did remember how she sort of acted when she was first learning and it was not the prettiest.

WC: 324

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by **Lance Windhelm** on November 6th, 2023, 5:35 pm

Lance watched the lady put her dagger away and point out that she was going to set up a dummy for practice. He hadn't thought of going to the outpost to by buy wooden daggers, but he was sure that she was correct. Everything seemed nicer there. But when put side to side with Sunberth, almost everything was nicer. It's run down buildings and denizens that just want to fight and exists in a state of anarchy put a sharp contrast with any other place in Mizahar, he was sure.

Lance dropped his pack and unhooked his longsword from his belt, then set them on the ground. His sword leaned against her house, making a small space his pack sat in. Lance took one of his daggers and placed himself in front of the dummy. His nerves were starting to settle a bit, but he stayed aware of the ladies position. He listened intently for any movement of her feet or anything that might indicated she was going to attack. Buy the sound of it there was no one else around, at least not that he had to worry about.

Lance took a stance. One that he had learned from The Proving Grounds and struck at the dummy with his knife. He stabbed the thing in the lower right side with his right hand, keeping his left arm up. Then, lifting the weapon to his left, brought it down to cut across the chest of the dummy. His technique was sloppy, his footing was probably off, but he felt good when the weapon struck. He did that a couple times and then looked back at the lady.

"Did you want to give it a try?" He handed her the wooden knife. He'd be happy if she took the knife, her putting the blade away was a big step. They might be able to get a long after all.

He would make way for her and watch. Keeping an eye on her movement. If she had any issues with her stance or how she was holding the weapon he would attempt to shower her what he was taught in class. But with only one class his skills were for sure on the rusty side, or completely incorrect.

"Oh, what was your name again?" He asked while she practiced. "You really live out here huh?" He said. He looked at the house, it seemed basic enough. But it was better than what he had at the Inn. "What drew you to this place?"

WC: 421

by **Evalynn Frostfawn** on November 8th, 2023, 1:47 pm

Eva watched the man as he unarmed himself then lined up with the dummy. She had little to basic knowledge on using a dagger, but had enough to know whether she could be slightly better or not. With this man, it seemed he had just picked up a dagger yesterday and was trying to put all his knowledge into use to seem tougher. Eva had no complaints, someone of his level wouldn't be difficult to deal with if her assumptions were correct. When it seemed he was finished, he offered Eva his wooden dagger and asked if she wanted to give it a go. She planned on it, but wasn't planning on using a wooden dagger.

“No thank you, I will use my dagger. I need a better feel for it rather than using something so light.”

She gave a nod of her head and took his place before standing in front of the dummy with a relaxed posture. She breathed before lunging forward with her dagger and stabbing into the top of the pole where the neck would be. She gave a grumble as she stepped back and relaxed again. She wanted a more centered stab, not one that would veer off to the side. So she mentally imagined how her feet were positioned and her body moved before altering the position and trying again. This time, she went way off mark and hit into the stuffing of the dummy where the left lung would've been. Then that's when the questions started, as she prepared for her third attempt.

He was asking some basic but, in her opinion, personal questions that felt too nosy. Asking for her name was okay, sort of, but mentioning where she lived and why was a whole different thing. Once again, her guard went up and she faced him again with a bit of suspicion in her eye.

“Call me Lynn, and try to keep your nose to yourself. The questions about my home aren't related to the practice.” She stepped aside and gestured to the dummy. “Would you like to take over, or may I continue with my tests?”

She wasn’t trying to sound rude, but she didn’t like sudden questions from strangers. She was surprised that she was even considering letting him train here, but having another body is beneficial. Now, when she stepped aside for the man, the dummy now had a large hole in the stuffing on the left side and a notch taken out on the upper left, but other than the stuff she caused the dummy was still in good shape.

WC: 433

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by **Lance Windhelm** on November 8th, 2023, 6:18 pm

Lance watched as the woman attacked the dummy with her dagger. Her actual dagger. He thought that would harm the thing, ruin all the hard work at creating it, but maybe that is what it was for. To simulate the strike to an actual body and to be replaced when it was broken. Lance put the wooden dagger into his bag and pulled the iron one out of it's sheath. It was significantly heavier than the practice blade.

"Maybe I should go an buy a different one." He thought to himself.

When the woman looked back and snapped at him he raised his arms in difference, palms up, fingers out, and gave a half smile. He was just trying to be friendly, but like most Sunberthians this woman wanted to keep to her self an she made it known. Lance wouldn't try and offer up any more information about himself for the duration. His mouth kept quiet while she practiced and when she was done he went back to it.

He speculated she was from Sunberth. Maybe not her family but she sounded as if she had been born here. Somewhere where she couldn't trust anyone, somewhere where she had to rely on herself for everything. Where things might come out of the dark and attack you for no reason, or to eat you. Sunberth also did that to people that stayed for too long. He worried he would be that way some day. Watching her, he hoped he wasn't looking into a mirror, showing him his future.

He tried to imitate her stance, and strike where she did. The blade bouncing off the "neck" of the dummy. Then he tried to hit it again where the lung would have been, but his blade only scratched at the surface and bounced off. Lance tried to step back and thrust it into the things chest, then stomach. The knife hardly going into it. His hand started to slip on the handle as he started to sweat.

It was harder than most people made it look. The blade of the weapon wanted to bounce off whenever it had a chance. He tried to recall what the students were doing at the proving grounds, how they moved and strike. Maybe that is what he needed, another couple lessons from someone who knew what they were doing.

He made room for the woman again, stepping aside. Lance would watch her to see if he could pick up any techniques he might have been missing.

WC: 420

by **Evalynn Frostfawn** on November 9th, 2023, 1:04 pm

She watched with eyes like a teacher as she took in what he was doing. It was obvious that the man had been training with dummy weapons for a while and that this time was his first time holding a dagger that wasn't made of wood. She gave a couple thoughtful sounds before he stepped aside and looked at her to take over.

“I believe you should stick to practicing with the wooden weapons. You do well with those, and need more grip strength before you try a real dagger.”

These were only suggestions she was basing off observations she had just seen. However, unless the man had low stamina and was already tired. Then that would explain why his hands seemed to slowly lose grip on his dagger.

“If you are tired, you can take a break while I practice. I don't have food or drink to offer right now, so I am sorry for that.”

She said this as she stepped up to the dummy and proceeded to practice her thrusting more. Her aim was always just slightly off from where she wanted it to be by a few inches, but at least she was hitting in the general chest area. She didn't realize it, but she also wasn't breathing as hard as she would normally be at this time. She felt cooler too, which she thought was a blessing since it would probably get really hot in the training room. The only thing that stayed the same was her sweating like a dog under her head scarf which caused her scalp to itch. She quickly wiped a bead of sweat off her brow and stepped aside, taking in a deep breath and leaning her head back to relax.

WC: 291

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by **Lance Windhelm** on November 9th, 2023, 5:02 pm

"I think I'll stick with the real one. Got to get used to it some time. The weight in the fake ones seems to be too far off." He smiled.

His eyes landed on his dagger that he had bought. It had a wooden handle and two iron hand guards that jetted out the front and back, and then a long iron blade that stretched outwards. It seemed pretty beat up from use over time, he wasn't the first owner, and may not be the last.

As the woman gave him space and said he can rest he thanked her and then proceeded to continue on the dummy. His stance, trying to mirror hers, and his thrust to the chest, also trying to copy her form. His knife wasn't hitting anywhere near target when he was going at attack speeds. But when he slowed down, he could land them well.

He slowed his movements down, like slow motion he practiced shifting his body weight, following the blade, keeping his left arm up for a guard, and poked the dummy in the chest. Right where he wanted it to land. Then he repeated that, but the second time he went a little faster. The third time he went even a little bit more faster. And when he had gotten up to the fourth time he was at normal attack speed. He did better, but it was still far from perfect. Lance had accomplished a pierce into the chest, and the weapon hadn't bounced off, but it wasn't right on spot, and his footwork still needed adjusting.

He did that a couple more times. Slow at first, faster, and faster still, till he was up to speed. Lance remembered what he had heard about practicing. If you practiced wrong you could learn wrong, so practice slow, get everything perfect, then transition that perfection into perfect practice. "Perfect practice makes perfect." He thought.

When he had finished with the dummy. Lance stepped aside and went to take a seat next to his pack. He pulled out his water skin and took a long few gulps. He looked around and took in the scene, practicing his knife skills on some distant part of the city with a stranger who was unwilling to share much about herself. It is remarkable how outgoing he had become since his first getting to Sunberth. He was afraid the place would ruin him.

"Well... I'm not from around her. I'm from Zeltiva. Grew up around the Svefra. If you know who they are. Wonderful people. Family people. The birds and the fish... Boy do I miss home." He said longingly. Looking off into the distance but lost in a memory.

The fear had all faded. This woman didn't want to hurt him it seemed. She just wanted to protect what was hers. He could understand that, so did he. But he wasn't an enemy, and he hoped that opening up a little, though it might not make her talk, would shower her that.

WC: 504