Kylar gave the man a smile, reconsidering his original thoughts and judgments. Crazy as he may be, and easily excitable it would seem, he was a genuinely good man. He thought for a moment, then looked to the man and chuckled. "Perhaps not for that deed alone, but if you are heroic like that - continue to be. As long as you devote your good deeds to Karem, I have no doubt she will notice you - as she did me. Of course, I can't speak on her behalf, but that's my honest opinion."
Kylar smiled to the man. "Indeed, lived in Venora for a few Arcs now. It's beautiful, I've loved every day of being there" he said whole-heartedly. Hearing that the man's grandmother was a duchess threw every inch of confidence he had though. This man really was powerful. "I haven't met her, although I'm sure it would be an honor to."
Kylar stopped and laughed heartily when asked about Crimson. "No, she doesn't have either - but she's beautiful nonethless" he said, amused. Then he stayed still as Tristan watched his fangs, wandering what was going through his head. Realistically, what could be going through his head, Kylar asked himself? Either he saw little special, which Kylar doubted, or he was fascinated. But whether it was fascination or fear was a different matter. Perhaps a combination of the two.
After Tristan had finished with Zi'da, he watched as he stood and aimed his crossbow. "I'll be fine" Kylar said, stepping back a little so he wasn't directly in a line of fire. To his surprise, Tristan hit a target. Not to his surprise, it wasn't the target he was originally aiming at. Not that he would admit that, it seemed. Kylar smiled to the man. "Well, let me give you a scenario to imagine" Kylar said with a smile. "The one you were aiming at was a bandit, a truly horrific man. The one you ACTUALLY hit was a civilian being held hostage. See the problem?"
Kylar then pulled out another bolt. "If you lie to me, you lie to yourself - and that won't help. You can do this and I know that, so do you. So try again, alright?"
“Then I’ll continue to be heroic”, Tristan replied and grinned, although, he realized, it probably wasn’t that easy in reality. Being a hero, he had discovered, was hard work and unpleasant a lot of the time, and he also had absolutely no idea how one devoted one’s deeds to Karem and prayed to her. Was he supposed to say something in particular or act a certain way? Being devoted to Ilaren seemed very easy to him in comparison. He just drank a lot of wine. Sometimes he even went to one of the many taverns in Andaris and paid for drinks for everybody.
“In that case”, he decided as Kylar told him it would be a honor to meet the duchess. “You could just accompany me to Sabaissant the next time I visit my grandmother, and I’ll introduce the two of you. I’m not sure what she thinks of Lothar though”, he admitted. Lothar seemed like a very animalistic race to him, and Duchess Ebony was a proud and proper noble lady. She might look down on Kylar a little. “You could even bring your wife. It’s a shame she doesn’t have fangs though.”
He had definitely not expected Kylar to notice that he had hit the wrong target. On the contrary, he had expected the man to praise him, and looked at the Lothar expectantly and with a huge smile on his face as a consequence. As the man criticized him instead though, the smile immediately disappeared, and the noble looked a little lost and confused – but only for a moment before his eyes lit up. He had just had an excellent idea!
“I could just persuade the bandit that I’m on his side and that the hostage would only have given him trouble and try to kill him again later”, he countered. “Or I could offer myself as a hostage instead. I’d probably be worth a lot more than his previous hostage. I’m sure I’d find a way to get out of that unpleasant situation with my life intact and even gain something from it.” Tristan Venora wasn’t a man that gave up that easily – although the bit about how he was lying to himself did make him think.
He didn’t like how it made him feel, so he took the bolt from Kylar and loaded the crossbow again to distract himself. This time he went through the necessary steps much more slowly to make sure that he got everything right and then aimed at Warrick again.
There was a loud sound as the bolt made contact with the sculpture. This time the Patron Saint of Death really died, and Tristan almost dropped the crossbow and applauded himself because he was so proud of his accomplishment. “I did it!” he exclaimed.
Hearing the man say he would continue to be heroic made Kylar smile a little, and he made no attempt to hide it. It was hard to be a hero, and Kylar knew that much. But when somebody knew the risks and still continued to do the right thing, it was an incredible person - no doubt about it.
It was something Kylar prided himself on, and he surrounded himself by people that also prided themselves on it. Atashi, for example. Crimson to, although she couldn't help in combat. But she had always supported him.
Kylar looked uncomfortable when he was told he might be meeting the Duchess. He didn't think he deserved such an honor. The fact he was teaching a noble to use a crossbow was honor as it was, meeting the Duchess would be beyond that. He didn't want to be rude, however. Deserve the honor or not, the offer was being given to him. "That's incredibly kind of you, but only if it wasn't a bother. I wouldn't want to take up any time from your grandmother that she doesn't have. But if it wouldn't be a bother, I would be more than honored."
Kylar listened to the man's response, amused. He had to give credit where it was due, it was an interesting comeback. But it didn't take much thought on how to counter it.
"Well, that may be true. But you just killed a hostage, so whether you make it our alive or not - an innocent died. Not very heroic, if you ask me" Kylar chuckled. He was enjoying this, a lot. Albeit strange, Tristan was friendly and fun to teach. But his sudden determination made Kylar curious. Instead of commenting, he stood by and watched.
When Tristan hit the target, Kylar stood and smiled, watching his face fill with pride. He walked over to Tristan and gave him a nod, before sticking out his hand in a friendly manner. "Now THAT was the bandit."
“Why should it be a bother?” Tristan asked in confusion. “If anything, it will make the trip to Sabaissant more interesting because I’ll have somebody to talk to. I usually get bored quite easily. As for my grandmother’s time”, He paused here and furrowed his brow a little. He wasn’t entirely sure how much free time the duchess had, but then he decided that she probably had lots. If she had time to tell Andráska and him off because they had gotten high and drunk in her bedroom, then she also had time for a guest who had helped her grandson.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much”, he continued and smiled brightly at Kylar. “If you want to meet her, I’ll make it happen. You just have to tell me when you would like to see her. Maybe you could also bring your wolf. I don’t think grandmother has ever seen a talking wolf either.” He wondered what she would say when they confronted her with Zi’da. Would she want to stroke him as well or run away screaming?
Kylar had pointed out that, no matter what happened, the hostage would still be dead though, and Tristan stopped thinking about Duchess Ebony running through the palace screaming and nearly tripping over her long skirt in the process and sighed instead. “You are right, that’s probably not very heroic”, he agreed somewhat reluctantly.
“Have I mastered the crossbow now?” he asked hopefully as Kylar informed him that he had finally managed to kill the bandit. He looked at the Lothar’s extended hand for a moment before he shook it, grinning all over his face as he did so. “How do we continue from here? Do I just keep on shooting sculptures or are there other things I can do to practice?”
“I think the crossbow is quite an interesting weapon”, he remarked. Shooting things was fun! It might even be more fun than stabbing things with his fancy cane sword, he decided. “I would like to continue using it. Maybe I’ll even buy myself a crossbow.”
Kylar couldn't help but chuckle when the man said it would be interesting to have Kylar come, and when he said he could bring his wolf. It was a friendly chuckle, and it showed on his face that he was happy to hear that he was welcome in the presence of multiple nobles. "Well, we will have to arrange a time for that, it sounds fun" Kylar said. "I'm sure Zi'da and Crimson would also love to come, if they were welcome. As long as Zi'da won't scare Duchess Ebony, of course. But he can just go invisible should he have to."
Again, Kylar couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Mastered is a strong word, one I wouldn't use for my own skill either. But you hit a target, which took me a fair few more shots than you on my first try. Keep at it, and you'll master it in no time at all."
He shook back the man's hand, before pondering his question. Mostly, for practice, Kylar had just shot things. It was a difficult weapon to practice without just using it. But he did have a few ways of training himself that he thought might help Tristan. "First, just launch bolts at targets. Maybe invest in some actual targets. Then, once you're hitting consistently, aim from further back or at different angles. Try to aim for specific points of the target. I suppose the final thing, but one I haven't practiced much, would be moving while shooting. But that might be a bit extreme, and should only be practiced when you're confident you can do it without hurting yourself" he explained, as he picked up his crossbow bolts that had been fired. "That's about all I can teach you, for now. I just have one more question."
Kylar then took out his coin purse, filled with just over two hundred gold. "How much for a sculpture? I think it would look beautiful in my house in Venora, or wherever I go."
As Kylar told him that it had taken him quite a few more shots to hit the target on his first try, Tristan smiled all over his face and immediately stood a bit straighter, with his head held high. He was incredibly proud of himself. Maybe he had finally found a weapon that he was good at! Who knew, maybe he would even surpass Kylar in a few months!
“I could do that”, he agreed as the Lothar mentioned investing in actual targets. “Although it won’t be as fun as shooting sculptures. Real targets would be easier to replace though”, he realized. “It takes me at least a few breaks to make a decent sculpture. I think I’ll buy a few targets. Maybe I‘ll even turn part of my garden into a crossbow training area. If I do that, you can come here if you ever get tired of training with the Iron Hand.”
Having said that, he continued to listen to Kylar. It was all very good advice in his opinion. As the Lothar mentioned shooting while moving, he immediately thought of riding. He had a horse, Maxos, who wasn’t doing much besides standing in a rented stable and waiting for him to make one of his occasional trips to Sabaissant. If he found a way to load and fire a crossbow from horseback, the animal would finally be good for something besides that!
For that it would be necessary to replace the stirrup part with some sort of other mechanism though. For the first time Tristan regretted not paying attention in school when they had covered physics. Maybe he’d actually have an idea how to modify the crossbow then.
As Kylar told him that he had one more question, Tristan raised an eyebrow. He fully expected the Lothar to start talking about financial matters now, so when he asked him about the price of a sculpture instead, his eyes widened, and he looked totally surprised.
“Well”, he began. “That depends. If you want one of the sculptures we used as targets, you can have it for free. I doubt that anybody will buy them at this point. If you want me to make a sculpture from scratch on the other hand, the price depends on the material and who or what you want me to make a sculpture of – and whether you want me to make any additions to the sculpture.”
“You’d look good in blue and with three eyes for example”, he informed Kylar in a very serious tone.
Kylar smiled. "Targets are easier to replace, but if you have the time to make sculptures for every time you want to train, then I suppose they work" he said, amused. Then Tristan made the invitation of coming around again, if he made the training ground. Kylar frowned, his eyes dropping. Did he tell the man? No, it wasn't his place to. Perhaps one day he would write to him instead, tell him where he was. Apologize for holding the truth from him.
He broke his frown with a mostly forced smile. "That would be nice. Perhaps one day you'll be able to teach me a few things, if you have your own private training yard" Kylar offered, his smile becoming genuine at the idea. He loved the idea that someone he taught might one day surpass him. It was thrill, and it meant he had made such an influence on them.
Tristan's surprise made Kylar happy. Sculptures weren't his taste, normally. But he had to admit, as bestial and mutated as they were, they were well made. Besides, where Kylar was going, he'd want to remember everything he could of Rynmere. "Well, I can't really afford the time to model for a sculpture, if you would need me to. But what about that one?" he asked, pointing to the last standing sculpture. "But I can't take it for free. Allow me to pay you something, please? Even if it's just a small sum of gold. I have two hundred gold nels on me, so name a price."
After making whatever deal they did with the sculpture, Kylar would then smile politely to the man and take his stuff with him. He put all of his bolts back together and put his crossbow on his back, before smiling politely and putting out his hand one last time. "It has been a pleasure, Lord Tristan Venora. I hope we cross paths again one day," he said, before taking his stuff and leaving, making sure to wave goodbye as he went.
“That one?” Tristan asked and looked at the one sculpture that was still standing and didn’t have any additional holes. It was the sculpture of the blue woman with the square head, one of his earlier works. “Sure, you can have it. I’ll even wrap it with some fancy paper or put it into a bag so that you can transport more easily. As for the price …”
He found it strange that Kylar insisted on paying even though he couldn’t be that rich, being a soldier. Tristan himself had no problem accepting free stuff, even though he had a lot of money. Since he didn’t want to make his teacher unhappy though, he asked, “How about thirty nels? Does that sound okay? It’s really just an old sculpture that was taking up space in my workshop, so I don’t want to make it too expensive.”
Kylar certainly smiled politely at him a lot, so Tristan did the same while he watched the man pack his things. “The pleasure was mine”, he replied because that’s what you usually said when somebody told you that it had been a pleasure and shook the Lothar’s hand. “You know where you can find me. I’m usually either here or in my grandmother’s palace in Sabaissant, so if you ever feel like paying me a visit, feel free to do so. I love having company.”
He waved to Kylar as the Lothar left, and then he took the two sculptures that had been shot and put them back where they belonged. He had just had an excellent idea. He decided not to repair them. Instead he’d simply rebrand them and claim that they were sculptures of people that had been wounded in the civil war. Things that had to do with the war and the bravery of Rynmere’s citizens always sold well, so maybe he’d finally be able to get rid of them.
Story: 5/5 Collaboration: 5/5 Structure: 5/5 These points can/cannot be spent in magic
Awarded Knowledge
Crossbow: How to Aim
Crossbow: Stable Positioning
Crossbow: Use Feet to Manipulate it
Immortal: Karem
Karem: Immortal of Hunting
Kylar: Eyes and Fangs of a Wolf
Kylar: Lotharro
Kylar: Wolf Companion
Race: Lotharro
Weapon: Crossbow
Weapons: Require Strength
Extras
Loot & Losses
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Injuries
+30 gold nels
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None
Fame
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Devotion
None
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None
Comments
Tristan is such a spoilt brat! Wow! xD
Very funny thread, thoroughly enjoyed reading that! Looking forward to Kylar's trip to meet Duchess Ebony!
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