Sorry, Wrong Store... (Danyella)

by **Berus** on March 11th, 2011, 2:50 am

9th of Spring, AV 511

Berus wandered through a doorway and into a shop. He was staring down at a piece of paper, totally perplexed by the directions written upon it. He muttered to himself as he glanced around the store. There was a simple wooden counter, tools lying around, and the wall bore several finely crafted weapons. This could not be the place that he had been looking for. Ugh, I hate directions…

He had wandered around this unfamiliar area for a long time, trying to piece together what his friend had written down on the small scrap of paper. Unfortunately, he had apparently taken some wrong turns and gotten completely lost, just when it began to snow with force. Still, he was desperate to obtain what he sought and had soldiered on in the face of cold, confusion, and downright clumsiness.

He looked around again, spotting a massive man behind the counter who had his back to him. The man was doing… something… but the inquisitive bard couldn’t quite tell what. With every second that passed, Berus was surer that this wasn’t the right place. It had matched the description though! Sort of. It was hard to tell places apart when all the buildings conspired with each other and decided to give the bard a hard time by all looking the exact same!

His eyes also spotted a smaller woman and, since he was rather in awe of the massive, muscled Vantha behind the counter, decided to accost her instead. If he didn't try and just walked back out into the snowstorm he'd never find what he was looking for... He gathered his courage and walked forward, flashing a charming smile. “Do you perhaps sell hats? Pretty hats with elaborate feathers? Preferably blue, if you please.”

by **Danyella** on March 11th, 2011, 3:39 am

Danyella walked up to the counter, saw the man's kind green eyes and smiled. Her own eyes turned a pleasant amethyst. She chuckled, "I'm sorry hun, that would be Skyglow Hold. Unless it's made of metal, then welcome to the right place." Her smile brightened, "I see you are a musician," she said noting the lyre out of his pack, "Do you need help finding the Hatter?"

She smiled, not often did nice, soft guys walk into her shop. Most that came through were battle hardened brutes. It was a nice change of pace. "Which hold are you from?she giggled. She looked back at her dad, who was shaking his head smiling as he worked with molten steel. She turned back to the man practically beaming in her smile.

by **Berus** on March 11th, 2011, 3:53 am

Oh dear, that explained it. I was running around in the wrong hold! Curses to whomever had given me this horrible sense of direction. Probably my father, crazy old man is always getting lost everywhere… had to pass on his genes to me and not my brother… Oh well.

Berus laughed, imagining a metal hat. Pah, who would wear that kind of thing, and what possible purpose could it have? Shaking himself from his thoughts, he turned to the smiling young woman. “I’m Berus, a bard in my own mind, and I am from the Snowsong hold. I don’t think I really want to take a trip out to Snowglow at this point, the snow out there’s getting pretty bad and I’ve been running around in it for quite some time.” Berus smiled for a moment, and then realized with a start that he hadn’t remembered to properly greet her. “And what is your name?” he asked, holding his hand out for a friendly handshake.

by **Danyella** on March 11th, 2011, 4:00 am

Danyella blushed and went to shake his hand. She then remembered she had her gloves still on and fumbled to get it off. "My name is Danyella, and you sir are?" She grasped his hand hoping he wouldn't notice her calluses much. Her dad in the background was holding a flaming sword, as she grasped his hand.

"So what is it you do? As you can tell I pound stu.. Err... I hammer thin... I make metal stuff," she said surprisingly flustered. "I've never made an instrument before but I like trying new peop... Things." she suggested

by **Berus** on March 11th, 2011, 4:37 am

Berus laughed, amused a bit at the girl’s nervousness. However, it quickly abated when he spotted the hulking man in the back waving a flaming sword around and smiling viciously. Berus shuddered a bit, trying to play it off on the cold. He still managed to keep a smile as he replied. “I dabble in music for money, but I spend most of my time wandering around reading stories and practicing acrobatics.”

He glanced around for a moment, casting for something to put his mind off of the giant flaming sword. “Err, I think this lyre is doing alright for now, though I must admit there’s one rather pesky string that insists on snapping at the most inopportune moments,” Berus sighed. “I do admit though, I have been getting interested in traveling outside of Avanthal into the wilderness, and I think I may need a weapon for something like that. Do you perhaps know anything that might suite my size?” Berus tried to act casually and not notice the Danyella’s blushing, but his eyes flickered between green and blue at their handshake.

by **Danyella** on March 12th, 2011, 1:02 am

Danyella's eyes quickly shifted into a bright emerald, as she studied the man's body structure. "Do you have any experience with a particular type of melée style?"

She began rounding up weapons. First she grabbed a medium grade spear with a standard tip, followed by a handaxe. Looking back at the bard she also grabbed a set of hand to hand knuckles, a longsword and shield, and finally a metal quarter staff. She carried them outside and gestured to have him follow her. She went around back to the training yard and set the weapons down and began stretching. "I want you to find which feels more natural to you." She drew her hammer and continued stretching. "First you will attack the test dummy. Attack to kill. Then I will attack you and you must defend. Understood?"

She wondered which he would like. He wasn't too tall so medium ranged weapons would suit him. She hoped he didn't hurt himself, while easy on the eyes, he was clearly no warrior. She would help him as much as she could though. He might live longer that way.

by **Berus** on March 12th, 2011, 1:32 am

“Alright..” Berus said, removing his pack and setting down his lyre, trying to decide which weapon to select. Whatever he picked needed to be accurate enough to hit the dummy… but still able to fend off any attacks the apparently strong girl would throw at him. By the way she was handling that hammer it looked as if she could deal out some major pain. This trip could end up with my head underneath that hammer if she’s not careful… Why is it that the cute ones are always the most deadly?

He waved away the hand knuckles almost instantly; he had neither the skill nor strength to fend off any attacks with those. He similarly shrugged away the handaxe, reasoning that it was a weapon meant for powerful slashes that required the wielder to be a strong warrior. Berus’s puny frame just wouldn’t do. The quarter staff, meant for strong crush attacks, was also thrown out. He eyed both the spear and longsword and shield for a moment, trying to decide which would benefit him the most. The longsword was always a marvelous weapon in the stories, but the shield might prove cumbersome to one of Berus’s slight form and athletic build. So, the bard tentatively picked up the spear.

He grasped it in both hands, trying to test if the weight and length of the weapon would make it impractical for one of his height. This could certainly keep my enemies at a good distance, and most attacks with it would keep me out of range of quick counterattacks, he reflected. He thumped the spear on the ground, thinking that he’d made his choice. The spear was a reasonably fast weapon and it wasn’t too heavy, and he could only imagine the acrobatic moves he could make with the pole-weapon.

Smiling, he grasped his weapon in both hands and charged at the dummy, stopping at the last moment and stabbing the spear toward the dummy’s chest. It connected, barely, and Berus grinned widely at the feat. However, his smile disappeared rapidly as he misjudged the force of the blow and overbalanced. He fell face-first down onto the ground with a yelp.

by **Danyella** on March 12th, 2011, 2:33 pm

She chuckled at the bard's mishap. She reached a hand down to help him up. "Keep playing around with it, I'm going to grab a couple of different types of polearms for you to try." She walked around back inside, a cute smile adorning her face. She grabbed a few medium spears, one with a wooden shaft, another made of whalebone. She also grabbed a trident, a halbard, with it's long axe blade, and club spear. She brought them back out and sat down, wondering which the bard would choose.

She decided to test them out as well while she waited on him, she picked up the halberd, it's weight severely throwing off her balance. She had to use most of the muscles in her legs, torso, and arms just to hold it steady. She adjusted her grip to the middle of the halberd, it helped her get steady. She attempted to swing it, lost balance and lodged it into the ground. She pulled it out and fell backwards and lost her grip on the halberd. It flew threw the air and imbedded itself into a nearby shop.

"So... What do you think?"

by **Berus** on March 12th, 2011, 7:44 pm

Berus immediately picked up the wooden shafted spear, deciding that he needed something that was light and fast. He was, after all, more of a flexible, fast fighter rather than a powerhouse capable of crushing right through armor. The spear was five feet in length, a halfspear really, and wasn’t too heavy if he held it in both hands. “I think I’d prefer more of a stabbing weapon, like this light spear, rather than a clubbing or slashing weapon. I don’t’ think I can put quite enough force behind a slashing weapon and I’m just not into the sound a bone makes when it’s crushed.” Berus grinned a little.

However, his eyes widened the next moment as she accidently hurled the massive halberd through the air and into a nearby shop! I guess that’s what you get for working on tools all day, enough power to chuck a halberd right through an opponent! I should have ate more vegetables growing up... “Are you alright?” he asked, this time offering his hand to Danyella. He put the butt of his spear in the ground to help him balance as he went to pull her up. “I do think I’ll try this weapon, if you don’t mind,” he said, replying to her question. His eyes sparkled green as he considered himself fighting with this mighty weapon.

by **Danyella** on March 13th, 2011, 6:58 pm

She laughed, a bit embarrassed. "I'm fine, now for the next thirty chimes, I want you to simply attack nonstop on the dummy." She settled on her favorite rock and began to intensely scrutinize his form. She would have to use a premade wooden staff but could adjust the head weight to be more balanced for him.

She grabbed her sketch book from her work apron and began designing simple punch spears, javelins, and heavy spears. She carefully watched him, scrutinizing on the grips of his hands and they strains in his upper body. She pulled out her hammer and prepared for his second test. "Let me know when you are almost done." she said, a playful but dark smile teasing her lips.