Closed Testing One's Mettle (Hadyn Skellig)

[Letixia Raigner]

Spring 11, 514 Letixia walked into Ser Ranqor's office shortly after finishing her midday meal. She'd already completed her morning trainings, enjoying the now much warmer sun. He was at his desk mulling through a bunch of paperwork, and looked up at her. "How'd training go today? I don't see as many bruises as usual." "The instructor said I've gotten better at keeping my shield between myself and my opponent. Ser." He smirked, "Well progress is always a good thing. Keep at it. You do not have typical studies today. Today, you're running an errand for me, and who knows, you might even enjoy it." He gestured to the corner of the room, in which sat a large bundle of swords in their sheaths. "All of these are some of the swords we let the squires use. I need you to take them to Sultros Blades for me. They will be inspected there, and then determined which are still fit to use, which are in need of repair, and which need to be replaced. I want you to remain there through this entire process, for every Knight should learn how to not only maintain their equipment properly, but know when it is no longer safe to use it." He handed her a sealed scroll, "Give this to one of the workers there, it will explain everything to them. I also want you to test, under their guidance, each blade before and after inspection. This way you can know when a blade is damaged or unbalanced. Understand?" "Yes, Ser." He dismissed her with a head nod. She grabbed the rather heavy bundle of swords, bent her knees, and hiked it up to her chest. She stood up straight, and began the long walk toward the smithy. She remembered to maintain proper posture while carrying the weight so she didn't injure herself. It was quite the walk, and her back and arms were beginning to get sore when her ears picked up the sound of hammers upon steel. She followed it to a small door, and slowly stepped inside. She looked around for someone to hand the order, that resting beneath her chin, trapped between it and the bundle of swords. "Hello?"

[Hadyn Skellig]

"It's a bit heavy," the female weaponsmith replied distractedly with a frown, tilting her wrist to assess the weight of the dagger, its hilt flat in her palm. Brown eyes looked up at the apprentice with an expectant gaze as she waited for him to take the weapon. The corner of the boy's lip twitched with what was either embarrassment or frustration before he accepted the faulty dagger back. He glanced toward the forge where the other two smiths and apprentices were hammering away. When he turned back to the woman he avoided her eyes. Hadyn offered him a kind smile, resting her elbow on the table beside her seat.

"This one's much better than yesterday's," she reminded him as the lad stared at his weapon with a shrug. "Balancin' a blade that small isn't easy. You'll get it. An' for petch sake smile, Pietr."

The boy looked up to see the brunette smiling at him with an encouraging expression. Instead of returning the smile in full he half grinned without much effort. The woman was ready to give him further advise when the entrance of a customer into the shop had her turning in her seat. Standing there behind a bundle wrapped blades stood what appeared to be a lady. Rising and crossing the floor Hadyn, followed by Pietr moved to assist her.

"Afternoon," Hadyn replied in greeting. The boy stepped forward to accept the armful of weapons as the weaponsmith stopped short of their guest. "That's quite n'armful. What can I do for you today?"

Art by Anona

[Letixia Raigner]

Letixia gratefully handed off her bundle to the boy, snatching the note from her patron before it fell. She thanked the young boy, then turned to the brunette woman, "Good afternoon, I'm Letixia Raigner squire to Ser Ranqor Grayne. I am delivering an order on behalf of the Order. The blades need to be inspected, repaired, or replacements ordered. I am also here to learn how to both inspect and maintain a blade properly, and to be included in every step of this process." She handed the woman the order, and stood there, trying to wear her best business smile. While waiting for the woman to read the order, she took more time to properly assess her surroundings. It was quite the impressive shop, with weapons of so many types, several of which she'd never seen. Maybe after she got better with her sword, she'd come here to pick out another weapon to learn. Perhaps an axe, or even a mace? Nearly all squires used some form of a sword, but a few were eccentric enough to try something else. Those were both the best, and most annoying, to spar. It was how she learned that every weapon type had its own strengths and faults, that they didn't simply rely solely upon the wielder's skill. Leti maintained her polite smile, waiting for instruction from the woman, not even sure if she was the one that she would be handling her order.