Closed [The Wooden Door Dojo ]A Honing of a Body Part III

[Crylon Stonecraft]

9 Summer 518 Heading out onto the lakeshore, Crylon prepared to get off the flat water vessel which took one in and out of the city. As he was traveling at a somewhat odd time of the day it was not overly crowded, most people having already set to their day of labor. Crylon usually did likewise and rode in first thing in the morning, but as he had been up late the night before for work he had slept in. This gave him the odd experience of traveling in the middle of the day which was a somewhat quieter affair. Not empty by any means, but certainly less crowded. But he had wanted to work out, to hone his body in combat and work a bit more, which meant heading to the lakeshore to the Dojo. As they arrived at the lakeshore Crylon was about to depart when he noticed a small metal tin sitting abandoned on the water vessel. Pausing in his exit Crylon looked about, unsure where it had come from or who had left it. No one had been standing near it that he could recall, and no one was looking about for something they had lost. But he also did not recall seeing it sitting there when they had set out which meant it had to be someone on boards... Having paused upon landing Crylon ended up being the last person on board. One of the workers manning the boat saw him and the small item and began waving his arms at Crylon. “Hey, get off, we are heading back to Ravok. And take your junk with you!” “But... Not mine... I saw, it left....” Clearly not in a good mood due to an interruption to his work, the worker began to wave Crylon away more animatedly. “Well then its your lucky day, you have just won a free busted metal tin. Enjoy. Finders keepers and all that. Their fault if they cannot keep a hold of their stuff. Now take it and get off, or you are coming back to Ravok with us and I am gonna toss it in the lake while crossing.” Crylon, somewhat at a loss for words, nodded and scooped up the metal tin. It had a small metal latch on the front, but overall was quite worn and used. Perhaps why it had been left behind. As soon as he was off the flat vessel began to head off, barely waiting for Crylon to fully clear himself over its threshold. With the new tin in hand Crylon headed to the Dojo to start his day properly by working his body. Having been there before it was relatively easy to find due to Crylon's inherent Isurian sense of direction. Upon walking in though he found the building mostly empty, which in hindsight Crylon realized was not so odd it being the middle of the day. Only Johan sat in the front training area by himself. Oddly enough he was accompanied by a small metal cage, which upon closer inspection held a black mouse. “Ah, metal arm, good to see you again. After your last visit I got some padding to use for your arm. Watcha got there?” Crylon quickly regaled Johan with the tale of the boat and the tin. Johan simply smiled and shook his head. Crylon in turn questioned the man about the mouse, attempting to copy his common phrasing into his own words. “And you, friend Johan? What you got there? Mouse?” With a one armed shrug Johan responded. “I am just holding it for... A friend... But you are here to train yes? No one is here now, why don't we spar? I'll go get your padding and we can get to it. Maybe you actually remembered a bit of the stuff I showed you before, eh?” WC: 638

[Crylon Stonecraft]

When Johan returned he was holding several items. The first was what appeared to be the thick sleeve of some odd coat, however missing the rest of the garment. It was heavy padded cloth in appearance, and when he took the offered bit of clothing he could feel how thick it was. Crylon slipped it over his left arm. He did not particularly enjoy covering the clear sign of Izurdin's gift, but as he was doing so to train and hone his body so he felt Izurdin would understand. But still he felt the need to make a small apology and perhaps prayer in Isur to the diety. He was fairly certain the man did not speak Isur, and so felt safe in doing so in front of the Ravokian. “Izurdin, I regret the need to cover your blessing, but do so to glory you. Know that I only cover it so that I can train, to better myself and shape and hone my body to better serve you. For though your gift is mighty, it could endanger my partner who I spar with. Thank you for your daily reminder in my glorious arm of your will and might and let me serve you.” With a smile Crylon looked up, ready to begin. However as he went to move forward Johan handed him another piece, a thick leather glove. It was a bit oversized, not perhaps meant for the smaller body of an Isur, but fit well enough. He supposed it was for the same purpose as the arm cover, to protect his target from being hurt overly by any landed blows. “Right... Whatever that was about, lets go! Lets start out with some simple punches and kicks, and move into some more free form combat, alright?” Crylon nodded, stepping forward and doing his best to take on the forms Johan had shown him the last time they had trained. A slight bend to the knees and elbows, holding his arms up in a defensive posture. And legs apart at the proper distance, not too far or to close. Stance, it seemed from his previous lesson, was important. To far apart and one could not get the right force, too close together and it made you too easy to knock over. Moving forward, shirtless but wearing his new arm and hand covering, Crylon bobbed about a bit before throwing a few punches at Johan. He twist turned his body, using its entire mass behind the punch as he had been shown, or trying to. First one arm, then the other. Johan easily sidestepped both in turn, as if they were nothing more than the buzzing about of a fly. Johan in turn waited a few moments, and then dove forward to strike at Crylon. With an odd pushing motion he sent Crylon's padded arm out of the way, and made a pair of light palm pushes again Crylon's chest with his one arm in different spots. Taking a step back from the pushes, Crylon tried to focus on Johan's motion to understand what he was doing before striking. Alas it was beyond him, whereas he was clearly indicating his moves before he made it. Pushing forward again he tried to make a feint with his left arm, before actually striking with his right. Johan pushed it aside with a simple application of his hand at Crylon's elbow, which he then turned into a grab and used to curl Crylon about. Crylon was force to follow along with the grab to lessen the pain as his arm was bent in an improper way. As they continued to spar the mouse in the cage across the room began to make loud noises, squeaking and biting. Somewhat out of breath from their exertions, Crylon held up a palm and then nodded at the creature. “Friend Johan, is your animal okay?” “Probably just hungry. Say, that kind of looks like a meal tin, does it perhaps have some food inside? Have you looked in it?” Taking a break Crylon headed over to the small tin and picked it up. Opening it he found oddly enough a mushroom shaped pastry. However the oddest bit was that it was still hot, almost like it had fresh from the baker. It had small bits of nut on it, though Crylon was not sure what. Taking it out and closing the tin which he set aside he showed what it had held to Johan. “A muffin. That will do. Give her a bit then while I go get some water.” WC: 762

[Crylon Stonecraft]

As Johan headed off, Crylon headed over to the small creature in a cage. On closer inspection the cage was made of small bits of metal, almost wire but thicker, with a thicker focus around the tiny door. The door had a simple latch, a bit of metal extending outward through a loop and keeping it closed. Taking off the glove so he could interact better, Crylon carefully opened the door and fed in a broken off bit of the hot muffin. The mouse moved forward as he shut the cage and began to nibble on the bit of muffin. Crylon himself broke off a small bit and began to chew, finding that along with the odd nuts on top it had some kind of fruit or something similar inside. He could not name it, but it was squishy and pulped as he chewed. For a few moments as he waited Crylon puzzled over how the muffin was still hot. Insulated perhaps? It did not look fancy in any fashion, but as it had not been hot to the touch perhaps that was the case? Crylon was not sure how exactly that could be done, but it seemed the most logical answer to the question. As Johan returned he was holding a small bowl or dish in one hand, and a red ball under the crook of his armpit. It was a reminder that while Crylon had his simple arm and his magnificently gifted arm from Izurdin, Johan had but one. And yet, Crylon thought, he fought like a man with three. “Keep the glove off. I want to try something new, hear its good for hand eye coordination. We'll try it out as a bit of a breather before going on to more sparring alright? I'm trying to decide if it works, if I should get more or not.” Crylon nodded, watching as Johan set aside the dish, opened the cage, put the tiny dish holding water inside, and then closed it again. The mouse, focused on the food, did not turn but continued to eat. Johan threw the ball to Crylon, and with a sudden jerk he moved to catch it in his free left hand. It took a few grabs and fumbles but he managed to catch it before it hit the ground. Crylon in turn offered the muffin to Johan, who took off a chunk and began to chew. Setting aside the ball for a moment Crylon moved to open the muffin tin and place the remainder of the muffin inside. However as he did he was surprised to find another muffin inside. This one was the same size and shape, but covered instead by tiny blackish purple things Crylon could not name in common. He was sure there had only been the one muffin inside however, so could not imagine how another one could have placed itself inside. He did not think he was mis-remembering... But how? “Friend Johan... Before, tin empty, took out only muffin. Now, go to open, another... Muffin.” Johan moved closer, looking inside. Crylon for emphasis opened and closed the tin a few times, then held it open to show the new muffin inside. “What? No, you must not be remembering right. Here, if you've got an extra muffin just set the half eaten one next to the cage, I'll feed the rest in bits to the mouse. Saves me from having to get more food. Tins do not just randomly fill with new food once you take out the food. Don't be silly. Come on, lets get back to training. I think that's why your here, not worrying over muffin tins.” Letting out a sigh and pushing the thought aside, Crylon took one last chunk of the muffin to eat and began to chew, before placing the remainder aside on the floor. Closing the muffin tin Crylon took one last look. He was fairly sure there had only been one muffin inside... And also, he did not think both muffins would have fit inside at once. Picking up the ball, from touch it appeared to be made of wood and covered in paint, Crylon moved back to the center of the room and tossed it to Johan. Johan in turn bounced it off the floor unexpectedly, sending it to Crylon in an unexpected direction. Crylon was forced to take several steps and fumbled with both hands before managing to capture it. Maybe, Crylon though as he tossed it back to Johan, there was something to this eye hand training after all. WC: 761

[Crylon Stonecraft]

The two continued playing with the ball, trying to pass it in different unexpected ways to the other. First Crylon tried bouncing it as Johan did, passing it at an odd angle. Johan took a step to the side and caught it with his one hand, before launching it directly at Crylon's chest. Crylon in turn was forced to open his arms and catch it like a nest, capturing it with his arms to stop it from bouncing away. Next Crylon tried going high overhead in an arc. Johan was forced to take several steps backward as Crylon had unintendedly arced it too far, but extending his single hand he again managed to easily catch it. Then Johan did something he had not considered, throwing it hard upward and bouncing it back downward at Crylon from the ceiling. Crylon made a mad dash to catch it, but missed and was sent scurrying after the ball across the room while Johan chuckled. It seemed Crylon was getting as tired from this exercise as their earlier sparring. “Here, that is enough for now. Why don't we go do something else... Bodybuilding perhaps? Work on building some muscle and definition. Carry the mouse will you?” Crylon nodded, carefully taking the mouse cage in two hands. He glanced at the muffin tin, pondering on it for a moment, before following Johan into the back room. There he found all manner of equipment for use in training the body. Once he set the cage down Johan began stretching, and Crylon did his best to imitate the preparatory motions. First they bent at the waist, trying to touch their toes without bending the knees. Once this was held for a few moments they unbent, and then began to bend each leg in turn in a sort of lunging motion. Then it was the arms, holding them up behind their back as far as they could without bending at the waist. A trickier thing than Crylon would have thought. Lastly they did some additional arm bending, crossing and bringing them around their body with each limb in turn and using the hand to pull the limb into a good stretching position. For the last bit Johan simply mimed this for Crylon's benefit. Once they were done stretching Johan led him over to a series of bars and weights, most already loaded with weights. Johan took a smaller one handed one and lifted it to a standing position by using his knees. “Don't forget, don't lift with your back. Lift with your knees. And once in position focus on the arm you are training, not using the rest of your body to lift.” Crylon nodded, taking a weighted rod in both hands, which had large lumps of iron weighting each end. Bending his knees as he had seen Johan do Crylon lowered himself, and then unbending his knees came back to a standing position. Watching Johan repeat the action a few times Crylon did likewise, swinging and moving the weight upward to neck level before bringing it up over his head. This was he learned a bit extra tricky, as his left arm was almost twice as strong as his right. It meant he would either need a pair of one handed weights of varying size, or a specially loaded bar. “Friend Johan... I lift... Uneven. My left, not just harder. Also stronger. Left is easy to lift, only strain right.” Johan nodded, motioning at two different separate solo weights. “Try them then. This one for your left, this one for your right. Want to get the workout even, even if you do so by making it uneven.” Reversing the motion Crylon dropped the weight back to his face, then down to his chest, before bending at the knees to lower it. Then hopping over to the two new weights he grabbed one with his right hand and the other with his left. He could feel the different already, as the left weight was about half again as heavy as the right. He decided he would go with it for now, but when he had the chance would need to inspect the weights and find the right mix. As it was he focused on the form he was to use, unbending the knees to raise to a standing position. Then he pulled it up to his face, and with an extension of his arms thrust the weights upward to hold them in the air over his head. Johan smiled, nodding at Crylon. “Good, now do that another twenty or thirty times.” Crylon smiled and nodded in return, continuing on the exercise and muscle work as instructed while Johan did likewise with his one arm. WC: 786

[Ruvya]

G R A D E

Observation +1
Scavenging +1
Socialization +1
Rhetoric +1
Unarmed Combat +1
Animal Husbandry +1
Acrobatics +1
Bodybuilding +1

Scavenging: Finder’s keepers
Unarmed Combat: A fighting stance that grounds you
Feeding a mouse a muffin
Acrobatics: Paying catch to hone hand-eye-coordination
Bodybuilding: Basic stretches to warm the body
Bodybuilding: Lift with your knees rather than your back
The Strange Replenishing Muffin Tin


+ Magic Muffin Tin

I am very much enjoying Crylon solos, you always balance details and skills with entertainment well! If you have any queries about your grade feel free to shoot me a PM!