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Post by iphigenia on Dec 3, 2010 20:12:21 GMT -5
Iphie worked hard at the different drills and practice steps. She was enjoying the tedium of it all and the fact that while she got better there wasn't much worry of making a mistake and ending up short a few pints of blood.
"Thanks, though I doubt I'll end up needing the desert survival advice." She replied when given the manual, "It'll still probably end up being really useful though." Iphie took the manual and stashed it in her bag to look at later.
After more time of practicing, Iphie felt she had a good handle on the swinging of the sword, but the time to practice had also given her time to think. "It seems fine, but I don't know. I don't know if I really need a sword, all it's doing is making it so I can hit things further away which is good but I don't know." She let her arm hang at her side. "Maybe I'm just thinking to hard about this."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Dec 4, 2010 21:33:47 GMT -5
"Yeah, could be..." Dusty shrugged a shoulder, "Still, I'd recommend it. Your not always going to get the drop on everybody. And when your facing someone who knows what their doing, you might just be in a situation you can't punch your way out of. Shield or no shield."
Dusty dropped the fake sword to the ground and leaned on it. Tilting her hat towards the back of her head, the detective gave Iphie another quick look-over.
"But...somethin' tells me you've already been through that part. Like I said, fightin' with a sword ain't just about the offense. It's also about the defense. You may not fancy the reach advantage, but when someone else has it, you're really gonna feel it."
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Post by iphigenia on Dec 5, 2010 23:30:30 GMT -5
"No, no that's not it. The reach is good. I'm just not getting the rest of it. If reach is what I'm after why not just use a pole," She gestured at some men training with staffs. "or a tree." She muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry, I know I'm being difficult." She shrugged and took a few more swings with the blade. "I don't know what I'm doing. I got beaten pretty badly almost two months ago. Maybe I'm compensating for that. First time I've ever lost, hell first time I've been hurt worse than a few bruises since I was nineteen." She sighed and swung the sword around in one of the patterns she had learned. "Times are changing I guess."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Dec 6, 2010 15:01:05 GMT -5
"Ah, don't worry about it..." Dusty said, giving the frail looking girl a hearty and jovial slap on the shoulder, "Stick with learning yourself some basics and you'll do fine. Styles may be different, but if ya understand how a sword-fighter thinks, you'll be able to defend yourself better against 'em."
Dusty listened to the tale of loss and defeat. She had already seen her share of those, among her own little victories. Losing could hurt. A lot.
"Well, your still alive, ain't ya?" she grinned, "Any fight ya make it out of breathin's gotta be better than bein' buried. 'Sides, sometimes ya learn more from losin' than ya do from winnin'. 'Least that's what the ol' Drill Sergeant always told us. Well, yelled at us. Then he'd have us beat the crap outta each other for the rest o' the day. Hah! The Sarge sure was a piece o' work!"
She cleared her throat and looked back towards Iphigenia, "Er...sorry, got a little carried away, there. Anyways, like I said, you made it outta one helluva situation. Least that's what it sounds like ta me. So, what can ya take away from that? How'd this nasty piece o' work beat a powerhouse like yourself?"
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Post by iphigenia on Dec 6, 2010 23:25:00 GMT -5
Iphie looked at the ground. "I was outnumbered but that's how it always is so it didn't bother me. Just a bunch of soldiers who thought I'd be a good girl and spread my legs for them so I killed a few. The others joined in and I killed them too. Then the one I thought was the leader came at. I split his skull with a rock and he just laughed at me. I don't think he was human. He attacked me really hard and I just kept blocking with a rock until he got lucky."
She shuddered and forced herself not to gag. "I...did something I never should have done and I think I killed him. I don't think anything could survive that. But there was one in the trees that I didn't see. She was the real leader. Asked me to join her and kicked me a lot. I thought I was going to die." Iphie took a few deep breaths to calm down, her hand was tightening on the handle of the wooden sword.
"I just ran, managed to escape but she didn't chase after me or anything as far as I know. Just let me go. I survived with some cracked ribs and a scar. She swung the sword...hard. It whistled through the air and kicked up a small cloud of dust without touching the ground. "She saw me at my worst and she didn't even flinch." She swung it again with the same effect. "And her second in command wouldn't die." Another swing. "I'm scared if she shows up again I won't be able to do anything. I don't want to die."
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Dec 10, 2010 13:12:37 GMT -5
Dusty listened with growing concern as Iphie related the story of her defeat. It was a rough to hear and had an all too familiar ring to it. This soldier was unnatural. And the leader...
'No. Couldn't be. They're all down south. I doubt anyone else from the Canyon has made it this far up.' Dusty thought to herself. She rubbed her chin and took up a contemplative look.
"I see what's got you concerned." she finally spoke up, "Facing down people like that. Most folks don't handle it too well. 'Specially when they're the ones used to getting folks all surprised and unnerved. Your case just got a whole lot more interesting."
Blue eyes sparked as Dusty looked back at her student, "But I tell you what. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be able to take on thirty of these guys without even breaking a sweat! Ain't no way I'm letting some suped up psycho and a possibly undead gentleman get into my friend's head. I faced way too many like 'em to allow this to peacably! I'm running ya through the gauntlet, Iph! Then, next time ya run into this gang, we're gonna show 'em what a fee lessons in tactics can do to turn tables right around."
Dusty was grinning at this point. She clapped a hand down on Iphie's shoulders. Her expression quickly hardened, however, "Just one question. What'd their armor look like? Did they fly any colors?" she paused and looked off a moment, "Alright, that was actually two questions..."
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Post by iphigenia on Dec 10, 2010 17:39:53 GMT -5
"It was regular armor I guess." She thought back to the scene and remembered how her hands had gone through it like paper. "It was well made I think. It looked very good and maybe custom for each of them. It was also really well kept. Shiny, no rust. As for the colors..." She tried to remember before the fight started.
"I'm not really sure. I came across them while they were resting in a clearing and there wasn't exactly a standard bearer during our fight. Sorry, is it important?" Iphie hoped it wasn't too important, though if it was important enough to bring up it probably was. More and more she regretted that whole day. Nothing had gone right and it seems that even more things were going wrong that day that she didn't know about.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Dec 10, 2010 23:10:53 GMT -5
"All details are important. Even the tiniest ones can speak volumes." Dusty smirked at Iphie, "But I wouldn't get too worked up over it. What you've told me already has shown a great deal."
Dusty's expression had been shifting since Iphie dove back into those painful memories. It was necessary, just to be certain. But, it appeared as if a great weight had just been lifted off the detective's shoulders.
"From your description I'd guess they don't got a standard outfit. Them folks were mercenaries, not fightin' for any country of their own. Especially if they had custom armor. Ain't no army gonna outfit their troops with pricey stuff like that. Ya did good. Group like that ain't gonna be a pushover. And look at you! Ya walked away from it all and went out an' got yourself a shield an' some lessons! Hell, I ain't even done with the first day of trainin' an' ya already got feelin' all proud!"
She grinned, giving the fragil looking girl a few more hearty slaps on the back. She certainly could take the exhuberabt displays of friendship that Dusty was rather partial to.
"Now don't you go beating yourself up, over it. We know a little 'bout this gal of yours, but we could use some more info. I say we go 'round some of the merc hang outs and do a little talking." Dusty said, "That'll wait till tomorrow. Meantime, I gotta get ya comfortable with a sword."
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Post by iphigenia on Dec 21, 2010 5:19:05 GMT -5
Iphie enjoyed the time they spent training and worked hard at it. By the end of it she could at least swing the sword competently, though against a well trained foe there wasn't much she could do against it. After such a successful day, in her opinion at least, Iphie was glad to set up another meeting, and best of all, it was late enough that she would have her shield. She couldn't wait to show it off, especially after paying so much, and what better way to show it off than using it.
A few days later...
Iphie was there early this time, though she had dressed slightly more appropriately for the cold, failing that once was plenty. So morning found her in the practice yard in fairly thick pants and a shirt with proper sleeves. It didn't look all that warm but she had made an effort. Of course most people weren't paying attention to that. On her back she had strapped the shield. It gleamed whenever it caught the light, there were no frills to it, no fancy decorations, she hadn't been able to afford that so a smooth, polished face reflected the sun like a mirror. But that wasn't what set the shield apart either. What caught the eye was the fact that it appeared about nine inches thick. They didn't realize that it was nine inches thick and it was pure. The whole thing weighed just shy of a full hundred pounds, slightly more than the woman who carried it. Of course Iphie didn't care for the weight.
When she had arrived, Iphie had looked for Dusty and, once satisfied that she was there early enough, dropped the shield down where it hit the dirt and frost with a thud and the point left a nice dent. She then proceeded to sit on it and reread the manual Dusty had given her. She had already read it many times and felt quite confident in her knowledge of it. She felt very good about today and couldn't wait for everything to start.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Jan 6, 2011 10:25:23 GMT -5
A few days had done wonders for Dusty. She was in a much better frame of mind to face the horrid temperatures that today would bring. Strolling along the detective took a glance at the soldiers making use of the field. Soon she caught the glng of a sun off of the shield and it's owner perched atop.
"Hey, Iph!" she called out. It was recognize the sheilds owner. It was an impressive and heavy looking thing. And Iphie did not look like she would be able to drag on the ground, let alone lift it up. But, Dusty knew better than to question the strength of her student.
"Fancy piece of hardware ya got there!" she dropped the training weapons on the ground, "We'll make good use of that. Meantime, I'm thinking we could try a bit of a different exercise."
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Post by iphigenia on Jan 7, 2011 13:32:39 GMT -5
Iphie hopped off the shield and waved. "Hi Dusty." She picked up the shield with her left hand and looked over it. "I really like how it turned out and I don't think anything is going to pierce through it." She let it stick back into the ground. "What sort of exercise have you got in mind? I'm up for just about anything." And she was surprisingly. There was a joy in learning that she hadn't felt since the brotherhood taught her to read and she looked forward to discovering what else there was.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Jan 8, 2011 14:22:22 GMT -5
"Observation, buddy." Dusty smirked, "It can bail ya outta some nasty situations. As importan as the basics are, knowing what's going on around you is equally important."
Dusty's eyes took a quick tour of the training field. Returning to Iphie she grinned, "So! Take a look around and tell me what ya see. Look for the details. No matter how small or insignifcant they may seem, details are always important."
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Post by iphigenia on Jan 12, 2011 0:08:35 GMT -5
"Well," Iphie paused and looked around. "there's a pair of guys over there practicing with swords." She gestured at two men sparring. "Four more over there are stabbing at scarecrows." Iphie looked around at the rather empty yard. "Oh, there's a cat over there on the wall." She pointed at the cat, rather proud of noticing it. The rather sickly looking thing was sunning itself on the wall, despite the cold. Despite being so obviously underfed, it was incredibly furry.
Iphie liked cats, personally. They were rather self sufficient but still came about for company. Most animals didn't like her but cats didn't seem to mind.
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Post by Dusty Dawson on Jan 12, 2011 17:13:03 GMT -5
"Well, that is all the information that appears on the surface." Dusty said, "But what cam you tell me about these guards? What do their actions suggest? They are practing, but how capable are they?"
Dusty paused and looked back around. Details could often be over looked and there was no way she could expect just anyone to pick up a skill that took years to develope. Which is why she pursuing today's lesson. She was sure Iphie could handle it, she just needed to be persistant in her instructions.
"Take a closer look." she encouraged, "Watch all of them carefully. Everything they do can tell you all you will need to know."
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Post by iphigenia on Jan 16, 2011 16:33:09 GMT -5
Iphie took a closer look. "The two sparring are pretty good, and they probably do this a lot together because they don't look like their trying very hard and it looks really easy. The ones on the scarecrows aren't as good but they're all better than me." She'd probably break it if she tried anything on the strawman. Control was something she was having trouble with. It was like when she had first woken up. She began to look at the scene like her masters had taught her.
"So they're all better than me but if it came down to it I could kill them all before they got to me." She tried to see anything else. "The cat's not well fed so it's not a palace pet which means it got in from the outside. The sudden ruckus might scare it and I could follow it. Cats normally like to hide but stray cats tend to run more than hide because stray cats are smart and have plans. If I chase it, it will lead me to where it got in and that should be an easy way out with minimum damage to myself, the scenery, and whatever I was sent to retrieve." She glanced at Dusty.
"Well guards might be lazy but they probably wouldn't ignore a cat. They might give it something to eat or they'd kick it. If they fed it then it would stay around them hoping for more. If they kicked it then the cat would find someplace in with less guards. So it's escape isn't likely to be heavily guarded." Iphie beamed, she was sure she got it right.
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