Open [Training Grounds] Shot Through The Heart

[Garland]

Fall 60 516AV

Garland walked through the empty areas of the Training Grounds, the entire squire force are either sitting on their asses waiting to be called for patrol or having knights babysit them while they are on patrol.

They are being trained for things like this, there are plenty of knights, that's for certain, but there are more squires, ready to take action, not all were ready to fight beasts made of fog, but hiding in the barracks and crying in the corner didn't help.

Garland raised up his hand-crossbow and looked down the sights. "I can barely see anything." He said to himself, the fog just seemed to mute everything around him.

There was really no point having knights patrol this area, the only people that frequent this place is squires, and knights. All of the squires are out patrolling or in the barracks. The knights were just out on constant patrol, always vigilant.

But not vigilant enough. Here Garland was, in the abandoned Training Grounds, with nothing but his weapons, and boredom, a dangerous combination to be sure.

Garland went over to the range, barely seeing the shape of the target. He aimed down his crossbow and took his time looking down the range. Getting himself ready to draw his shortbow.

Garland wanted to train his speed with throwing down arrows at targets, he was no hunter or archer, but learning and improving was what he came here to do, and you can only learn so much hitting a dummy with a sword.

Garland fired his crossbow and tossed it to the side and then drew the bow he had on him. He pulled out an arrow and nocked the arrow on the bow.

He pulled the string back, all the way to his chin. He released the arrow and let the arrow fly into the thick fog. Garland didn't hear thuds of the arrows on the target, but he was sure that the targets were there, why wouldn't they be?

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

Fall of the 60th 516av

"Ferrin keep your blade up." Ferrin sighed, they've been at this for bells, sword practice isn't a thing that Ferrin liked to do most of the time, especially when he's not fighting anybody, Ferrin was sure that Ser Xervos would make him do this all day and not have him practice with another opponent. The fog bothered Ferrin, the squire heard rumors of things coming out of the fog and attacking people, the fog seemed to be spreading to, he hoped that this wouldn't be a long term thing, the fog.

The Squire's arm was sore, and Ferrin wished that he could use his longbow more, Ser Xervos told him to bring it with, it's resting over his shoukder, his quiver strapped around his waist, it's a little snug, but it's somewhat comfortable able the same time.

"Your tired..." Ser Xervos said bluntly, resting his hands on his hips, the Knight looked at Ferrin a bit studying him, "nearly three seasons, and yet, we still have much more to learn... from both of us." Ferrin was unsure if the Knight was talking to him, but the squire couldn't really tell what the Knight meant, but it made Ferrin smile, good thing the Knight wasn't looking, as Ser Xervos faced Ferrin once again, Ferrin's expression dulled, there was an audible echoing sound, like wood skipping against the dirt and ground, Ferrin could feel some of the dirt kicking up, he swiveled his head around vigorously, wondering where the shot had come from, he was alarmed.

"Hey, who shot that?!" Called out Ferrin in awe, wondering what or whom it was. Ser Xervos was looking around to, "Garland... was that you m'boy?" Ser Xervos said, he eyed the other squire through the fog. Making sure that it was Garland. "C'mere boy."

[Garland]

Garland thought he was alone out here. Most squires had training cancelled until the fog lifts, in fact Garland was here hoping to avoid the knights.

Of course one or two would be here, they had to make sure there were no weak spots in the city's defense. With monsters popping up everywhere, the worst place for them to make some sort of staging area was the training grounds.

It was relatively close to the barracks and dorms, if those were to fall into monster hands, or claws, the squires and knights would be at a disadvantage.

Garland heard someone calling through the mist and he walked towards the voice, it seemed familiar but he couldn't quite place it. "Yeah! Sorry about that, I thought I was the only one here, and that there's a target here, guess the knights moved it."

Garland saw a knight, he had seen him before, but couldn't quite place the face. Then he saw Ferrin a little ways further back, apparently training his swordplay. "Ferrin! What are you doing here?"

Garland picked up the arrow and gave the syliran salute to Ser Xervos. "Ser, sorry about the arrow." Garland put the arrow back into his quiver. "I was practicing my form. I hoped it didn't hurt you two."

Garland looked around. "Were you two training here? I thought training was canceled because of the fog."

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

Ferrin was surprised to see at least even one other person besides him and Ser Xervos here at the Training Grounds, whilst other Knights gave their squires days off for training for the most part, but they were still needed to work on patrols more often than not, and Ferrin and Ser Xervos both had done a few patrols within the past few days. So, Ser Xervos decided to take this quietness to his advantage and train Ferrin, the squire needed it also, as he might be a little rusty, he shows it... well that's what the Knight saw from him at least.

Out of all of the people, Garland decided to stay and train... but to make things even more peculiar, Garland was practicing with a ranged weapon, something that Ferrin doesn't usually see in him at much, he was practicing with a Crossbow; it surprised Ferrin nonetheless, but if Garland needed help in training, Ferrin wouldn't mind to help a friend out.

"Garland, where's Sera Catherine?" Ser Xervos asked the squire kindly, it was definitely out of the Knights comfort zone, but if Garland's going to be around then often, the Knight would have to tolerate the squire, and right now, that Knight's worries are about Sera Catherine, why would Garland train without her? Whatever it is, the Knight shouldn't hone in on it much.

"Your practicing the crossbow Garland?" Ferrin asked as he observed the instrument in front of him, it certainl was unique for what it was, but Ferrin assumed that he can still shoot farther than that crossbow with his longbow. Ferrin smirked at the thought, but he was sure that Garland or his patron hadn't noticed, hopefully.

"Oh no, you didn't hit us, just kicked up some dirt that's all." Ser Xervos said to the squire.

"Perhaps we can arrange a shooting competition. Good thing I've asked Ferrin to bring his longbow, what a coincedence." Ser Xervos said looking at the two.

"I'll do it." Ferrin said, waiting for Garland to see what his input was.

[Garland]

Garland gave a nod. "Sera Catherine is away on patrol near the Mithryn Outpost. She rarely has time to train me, but I make due with what I have."

Garland looked over to Ferrin with a smile. "Practicing as well? I'd be more than happy to have a little competition with Ferrin." Garland did not have Ferrin's speed or power with the longbow, his hand-crossbow was not as made for long distances, power drops off at a certain range.

His weapon was made for a quick shot at medium range, the only good thing about the hand-crossbow is that it was easier to use, training a hundred longbowman would take time, training a hundred crossbowman would take half as long.

"What competition do you have in mind? I do have a shortbow with me, I was hoping to practice both today." Garland reloaded his crossbow and primed it, he was careful not to place his finger on the trigger while it was primed. "A simple target practice competition or something a bit more active?"

Garland had noted the small building off to the side where he and Ser Samuel had their spar. "A sort of gauntlet over there, I'm sure we can set up a few dummies in there, no one is using the place for the moment."

The building itself was not connected to the rest of the keep. It looked more like a large storeroom, but inside it had hallways, rooms and narrow-corridors. When you walk in there is a relatively large open area for indoors training if training outside was not possible.

The building was there to stimulate the corridors and halls of the city, so that squires and knights would know how to fight in close-quarters.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

"So it seems," Ser Xervos said, watching Garland with little suspicion. The Knight played with his thumbs a bit, trying to come up with a fun way to learn how to shoot a bow. Ser Xervos wondered if there were any way that they could make training interesting to the eye of a man. Would it make a difference if there was?

"Practicing as well? I'd be more than happy to have a little competition with Ferrin." Said Garland.

Ferrin looked up, the Kenashian was sure that his patron would allow him to train with Garland, after all, Sera Catherine was out doing patrols, as this fog was really getting more dense by the day, and it appeared that it wouldn't leave any time soon.

"Would that be okay Ser Xervos?" Ferrin asked a bit confidently, looking at his patron with a curious look, and making sure to not take some sort of stand with the man.

"I suppose, Garland, we could do some bow training, I've been meaning to aid Ferrin with his archery skills, even though he's been taught back in Kenash it seems by his father." Ser Xervos made a cringing look as he mentioned Ferrin's father, Ferrin expressed a little empathy to the older man and sighed. The Squire felt a little upset knowing that he left his family behind, they've traveled so much, they're probably out there looking for him now. Ferrin wondered why they haven't chosen Syliras yet.

"I propose a deal..." Ser Xervos said, he felt in his pockets for his coin pouch, which contained about a handful or so of Golden Mizas and what not. "The best shot, out of ten shots, wins whatever I have in this pouch." Ser Xervos offered, holding up the coin pouch so the two could see, Ferrin inspected it, and he figured that it wouldn't hurt to earn a few coins, he was pretty good with his longbow, but he didn't really know how to use the other types of bows out there. Jade was better than he was with her shortbow, Garland brought his shortbow and crossbow.

"A twist... to make things more interesting." Ser Xervos paused, and Ferrin's chest instantly dropped, and now he felt at a disadvantage. "You two have to use something other than what your skilled in. Ferrin; if you haven't used a shortbow or a crossbow, I recommend the shortbow. And Garland, the Longbow, it's good to know a variety of ranged weapons." Ser Xervos said. "Deal?" He looked at Ferrin and back at Garland. Ferrin nodded, "Sure, deal." Ferrin said waiting for Garland.

[Garland]

Garland was no good with ranged weapons whatsoever. The only reason he liked using the crossbow was that it was easy to use in a pinch and not entirely useless when things get up close and personal during a fight.

But learning about new weapons was a good deal, and a longbow isn't that different from a shortbow. What could possibly go wrong?

"That sounds interesting. Are you up for it Ferrin?" Garland could barely see through the fog and honestly, this sounds like a horrible idea they were shooting blind, luckily no one else is here.

"I hope we're not having a competition for a bunch of seashells. Wouldn't be the first time I got tricked like this. There was this one time in the orphanage, a bunch of kids found a huge sack, they thought it was filled with gold and no one wanted to open it in case some grubby hands decide to take the loot."

Garland handed over his hand-crossbow to Ferrin and took the other squire's longbow. "But one of the kids had a small cutting knife and cut the bottom of the sack when no one was looking, turns out the entire bag was full of seashells from fisherman when left to take a whiz."

Garland looked out at the distance, he wasn't even sure if the targets were there, Ferrin wouldn't have too much trouble at close range, all he had to do was point at shoot. Though at this range, he may need to aim up a bit.

"Are we doing this at the same time or one at a time? We'll start on your signal, Ser." Garland place the quiver on the ground rather than on his back, he felt it would be easier to pick it up rather than reach around his back.

Garland tried to remember how Alex stood with his longbow, the only thing he remembered was that he aimed the bow high and just lowered it to draw it back. "I'm ready."

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

"That sounds interesting. Are you up for it Ferrin?"
"Oh for sure, Garland. You're on." Ferrin replied exuberantly, the Squire coursed a thin taunting like smile across his face. He felt that he was going to win, despite the fog, nothing else was going to hold him back, and he always enjoyed a good challenge.

Though, the only thing that held him back without thinking, was a crossbow. His father hadn't ever taught him how to use one in his life before he entered Syliras, he felt doomed, Ferrin figured that Garland had at least a little experience in wielding a longbow, or any bow in that matter, since Ferrin remembered that he had a short bow, and at home somewhere, probably. Unless, he got rid of it, Ferrin was sure he wouldn't rid of his short bow, since they've costed a fair amont of Mizas.

I hope we're not having a competition for a bunch of seashells. Wouldn't be the first time I got tricked like this. There was this one time in the orphanage, a bunch of kids found a huge sack, they thought it was filled with gold and no one wanted to open it in case some grubby hands decide to take the loot."

Ferrin chuckled. "Man, perhaps it was just some prank pulled by one of your elders?" Ferrin retorted, he smiled, teasing Garland, but he gave a sympathetic nod and patted his friend on the shoulder. "Though, it would've been nice to see some gold in there." Ferrin said.

"Trust me." Ser Xervos spoke up, "If it were for seashells, we'd be up by the beach." Ser Xervos replied.

"But one of the kids had a small cutting knife and cut the bottom of the sack when no one was looking, turns out the entire bag was full of seashells from fisherman when left to take a whiz." Garland added. Ferrin nodded and smiled. He made sure to remember that.

The fog was sure a tight rope to untie. The squire peered through the fog along with Garland, and Ferrin was sure that the targets were in range. All Ferrin needed to do was slightly tilt the crossbow up; right? He saw some men who trained with the crossbow at the pits hold it up slightly to aim, and used the sight to center the shot. How hard could it be?

"Are we doing this at the same time or one at a time? We'll start on your signal, Ser."

Ser Xervos nodded and spoke. "One after another, best out of ten." Ser Xervos said. "The one who bests out of each other wins the coins. If tied, repeat, but best of out five for round two." The Knight said as he looked at both the squires. Ferrin took hold of Garland's crossbow, and adjusted to the weight of the ranged weapon. Ferrin switched his arrows with Garlands bolts as they prepared.

"I'm ready." Was what Garland said. Ferrin didn't feel ready, but he also didn't feel like he was going to lose, he had determination.

"Me too." Ferrin said.

"So Garland, as I see it, you want to go first, remember best out of ten, and each take turns. One after another, they have to hit the center. You can go when your ready."

[Garland]

Garland nodded and watched the target in the distance. gauging the distance, it looked at if it was around thirty to forty meters.

Garland could probably... not nail it at all. With the fog, the range, and his skill, he'll more likely hit the dirt or send the arrow flying over the target. Garland raised up the bow and lowered it, pulling the bowstring back as he did so.

Garland felt the tension in his arm as he pulled the string back to his cheek. He closed his one eye and took aim, he felt his arm tensing and shaking. He released the string, sending the arrow flying through the fog, punching a hole through the mist.

The arrow was no where near the target, but they couldn't rightly see where the arrow landed, but they could say for certain that the arrow was not on the target.

"Still going to say Ferrin would win, compared to a longbow, a novice crossbowman would have to be have a better chance of hitting than a novice longbowman because of the shaking. The only downside of a crossbow is reloading the darn thing. If anything the crossbow is accurate, but not fast." Garland stepped back and let Ferrin take the range.

"Ferrin, you're not using a full crossbow, that's a hand-crossbow, it's smaller, can be fired with one hand, it's not long enough to be held with two. Keep your arm straight as you point and just pull the trigger."

Garland didn't much care about the winnings, and in truth he enjoyed teaching, although he wouldn't say he was good at it, he was charismatic and enjoyed giving tips and tricks to people. Unfortunately he wouldn't make a very good formal teacher, mostly because plans and lessons would just be thrown out the window when he walked into the room.

Garland flexed his arm a bit, feeling his fingers ache because of the bowstring. He now remembers why he prefers crossbows. He waited for Ferrin to take the shot, he would think Ferrin would hit the target, but at this range and in this fog, he wasn't sure, it could go either way.

[Ferrin Al'Mandrikan]

"Still going to say Ferrin would win, compared to a longbow, a novice crossbowman would have to be have a better chance of hitting than a novice longbowman because of the shaking. The only downside of a crossbow is reloading the darn thing. If anything the crossbow is accurate, but not fast."

Ferrin looked at Garland with a confused look, he was uncertain. The hunter hadn't really used a crossbow before; in fact he had never used a crossbow, and never really decided to study the anatomy of a crossbow. He should understand the simplicity, of loading a crossbow, he figured how hard it will be. Aiming, since he never used a crossbow, he wasn't sure how the aiming would work.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that Garland; I don't even know one thing about a crossbow, besides there size and shape." Admitted Ferrin warily. Ferrin pulled out a bolt from the Quiver, and adjusted it within the crossbow. It took him a chime, nonetheless, he managed to get it to fit.

"Ferrin, you're not using a full crossbow, that's a hand-crossbow, it's smaller, can be fired with one hand, it's not long enough to be held with two. Keep your arm straight as you point and just pull the trigger."Ferrin nodded, all he needed was one arm? To use the crossbow.... it'll feel different totally.

"Just one arm?" Asked Ferrin. The hunter shrugged and pointed towards the target, well, from what he could see of it at least. He took a few weary breaths, praying to Sylir that his shot won't hit anybody. He fired, pressing the trigger, the bolt whistled through the fog, creating an open, empty line of space. It zoomed over the target, from what Ferrin could see. Ferrin smiled, slightly embarrassed, he couldn't use a crossbow, but Garland was a nice guy, and wouldn't usually criticize him for missing. After all, Garland missed his first shot too.

"Round two?" Ferrin turned to face Ser Xervos, the Knight nodded.

"Whenever your ready." The Knight replied, Ferrin looked at Garland.

"Let's see if you can hit the target." Said Ferrin smiling.