Taking Aim

[Irriari]

7th Day of Summer 513 AV

After asking around, it hadn’t been too difficult to find the location of the Defiled Blade within the city. It was located within the Merchants Ring, in a large stone building near an engraving shop. Irriari noted the location of the engraving shop for later and opened the large door to the weapon shop. The store interior was extremely busy and littered with benches where smiths worked on various projects. A handful of apprentices scurried back and forth to deliver orders and assist where they could.

Irriari spotted one who looked to be free and gestured him over.

“I know this is a forge, but I’m looking for arrows that can fly over long distances while still being accurate. I also need something for my forearm, to protect my arm from the bowstring. Do you have anything like that here?”

The boy thought for a moment and pointed to a collection of arrows that were labelled and organized in cylinders along one of the walls.

“We’ve got flight arrows in the furthest bin there, twenty arrows for three golden mizas.”

He nodded upward to a study wooden shelf above the arrows that contained more archery gear.

“And you’ll find your arm guard up there, for a golden miza. There are also gloves for the same price.”

The youth spoke quickly and was obviously unnerved by the presence of a zith within the shop. His next question was spoken quietly, as if he hoped that she wouldn’t hear.

“Anything else you need?”

The zith glared at the young boy until he looked away. Irriari chuckled and posed her next question loud enough so that the smiths could hear her.

“Do any of you know what a yukman is? I’m supposed to kill a few of them along the south side of the lake.”

An older smith with a salt and pepper beard looked her up and down before replying.

“Yukman are petching blights. They’re unnatural if you ask me. The look like us, but they’re dirty. The blasted things have big heads and small bodies with an ugly mouth full of teeth. I don’t know where they come from, but they look like they roll around in rocks and dirt for fun. Maybe they do. But they’re dangerous, especially in groups. If you underestimate them like the last fool that walked in here, you’ll die.”

He nodded once and resumed sharpening the blade that he had been working on prior to her interrupting. Taking her cue from the interaction, Irriari knew he would speak no longer on the matter. With that, she grabbed 20 of the flight arrows and found an armguard that fit well around her furred arm and paid the four golden mizas to a nearby apprentice.

Irriari left the shop and headed to her home to prepare her supplies for the hunt that would take place later on that night.

[Irriari]

The walk back to her house was relatively short, and Irriari used the time flex her arm with the guard on. When the straps were loosened slightly, it would fit over her leather armor nicely, and would provide a layer of protection for the exposed portion of her forearm. As she walked, Irriari stretched her arm back and forth and swung it in the air, ignoring the laughter of the humans that were too far away for her to bother with. After a few chimes, the zith came to the conclusion that she couldn’t wear the guard while fighting unarmed, as it would hinder her wrist movement too much.

Fifteen chimes later, Irriari was home and happy for the four hours she had alone before sundown. She made her way to the unoccupied bedroom that housed her gear and poisoncrafting supplies. Her zith crafted shortbow was laid on the straw mat alongside the longbow that she had taken from the slavers she had killed. Irriari picked it up and examined the wood for signs of wear and tear that were beyond to norm. A few of the teeth and bones that were embedded into the wood had been cracked and damaged over time, but the limbs remained in good condition. Next, the zith ran her fingers along the bow string, checking that the sinew had not unraveled or broken since her last inspection. The sinew was still intact, and Irriari smiled at her luck. The bow was one of the better weapons created within the colony, and she was always proud to be able to use it, though she knew that better bows existed.

Next, she inspected the bottom of her climbers quiver and pushed against the leather to make sure that the stitching was still stable. While the check was silly, she performed it out of habit. Irriari ran her fingers over the leather strap and buckle while looking towards a wall. If there were small cracks in the leather, it would be easier to feel them then it would be to detect them with her eyes, so she tended to look away in order to sharpen her focus. There was a small crack that was forming in the middle of the strap, near one of the unused buckle holes. Eventually, it could split further and ruin the strap, but it could be easily fixed when the time came. For now, her quiver was useable. Irriari removed her miza pouch from the inside, and placed fifteen of her newly purchased arrows inside. The remainder of the arrows were laid flat on the ground next to her armor piercing arrows. Lastly, Irriari began the painstaking process of inspecting her armor for issues that would give her enemies an easy target. She felt the inside of the armor first, looking for places where weapons pierced through the leather. Her fingers found all of the normal dents and divots from her fights in the grasses of Cyphrus. While she had used the armor during all of her travels, she had been in few fights since she came to Ravok. The process took a quarter bell, but it was incredibly reassuring to feel the leather in her hands again. She scanned the outside of the armor with just her eyes. Irriari paid special attention to the torso portion of the armor and tilted the armor to examine it a different light. The dark armor revealed dirt easily, but many other things that marred the surface were obscured by the dark pigmentation of the skin.

The zith blinked at the end, happy to be done with the tedious chore. While it was less than exciting, it was one that she had grown used to in the colony. Many times, the Elders had damaged their equipment before a trial to make sure that the young fighters had prepared adequately. She shuddered when she remembered the young boy who hadn’t examined his sword before a fight. It had been broken in such a way that when he struck outward to hit his foe, the blade had broken from the handle. After that, all of the young warriors had learned their lesson.

With nothing else to do, Irriari donned her armor and made her way to the southern edge of the lake near the trading post.

[Irriari]

The trip to the southern trading post had taken three bells by ferry. and Irriari was immensely glad when it was over. Boats made her nervous, and her muscles were constantly tensed and prepared to push her off the boat and into the sky. Thankfully, the boat had remained in one piece. Irriari stepped off the ferry and made her way towards the tower at the edge of the lake. A few guards were lounging against the far side of the wall that was out of sight of newcomers. The small group seemed to be enjoying their break until she walked up. They group tensed and grabbed their weapons. Their leader stepped forward.

“What do you want, you petching furry scum? The ferry is that way, though your kind would do better off away from the city of Rhysol.”

He sneered at her as the other guards burst into laughter at his insults.
Irriari glared at the man and waited for the group to settle down before speaking.

“I’m looking for some yukman that were spotted around here. Unless you’d like to throw yourself at them and stab them with your pathetic swords, I’d like to know where they are so I can handle them. It’s obvious that you guardsmen aren’t qualified to handle such a task.”

One of the guards moved forward, obviously intent on attacking her. As he did, the leader thrust out his arm to stop the man.

“Now, Alec, you know what the commander said. No more fighting, even if I would enjoy seeing this winged freak put in her place.”

He glanced at Irriari and jerked his thumb to the east.

“The yukman are that way, beast. I hope they break that furry little neck of yours.”

Irriari began walking towards the east and looked over her shoulder to address the men one more time as she left.

“The tables are that way, since your kind can’t seem to actually fight, you should probably finish filling out your paperwork.”

Irriari walked towards the edge of the lake and took to the sky, hunting for the group of yukman that Bohir had mentioned. She flew along the edge of the lake, hoping that they would be close to the trading post. Surely, the job notice would have been more specific if they were far away from the trading post. After ten chimes of flight, Irriari saw movement past a large log that had made its way to the sandy shore of the lake. Upon flying closer, she noticed a large group of yukman tearing away at a raw deer. A quick count confirmed what Bohir had told her- there were seven yukman that would need to be killed. Irriari shrugged her right shoulder enough to allow the bow to fall to the inside of the crook of her elbow. So far, the yukman hadn’t noticed her. Irriari moved her bow to her left hand and pulled a fresh flight arrow from her quiver. She switched her bow back to her dominant hand and nocked the arrow to the bowstring and pulled it back until it was taut. It took a quarter of a chime for Irriari to aim while flying. Eventually, she settled on aiming for the torso of the closest yukman. The zith closed one eye, aimed down the arrow and let go of the bow string. The arrow flew true, but the movement of her body caused the bolt to land in the creatures lower ribcage. The beast howled when hit, and the rest of the yukman looked up and around, confused by the sudden amount of noise that was coming from their companion.