After ten more minutes of creeping around silently, Blake finally reached what he seemed to be looking for.
"We're here," he announced, setting down the bundle and kneeling to untie it. Natesse looked around at the space; it was a large area with sparse trees compared to the forest they had been traversing. Gaps in the canopy allowed bright sunlight to illuminate the area, and there were patches of relatively large, open space. All in all, it was an airy, bright, and fairly open break in the darker, green lit woods
"Okay, weapons!" Blake rolled out the blanket to reveal several strange looking weapons attached to the cloth in a row. There was a beautiful, dark recurve bow with a matching quiver, and two knives in a double scabbard. Then there was a thick, gold, heavy looking blunt object. Next to it was a simple sword's scabbard, the swords hilt and handle poking out. A third, much smaller knife - a dagger, really - was in a separate scabbard. All in all, it was a strange collection.
"Of course you know all about the bow and double scabbard, but let's just go in order, shall we?" Blake said. Natesse agreed with the same excitement. She grabbed the bow with some confusion, however.
"I already have a bow."
"Well, yes. But the bows Rangers have are made remarkably better than anything issued to the archer force."
"How'd you know it's from the kingdom?" Natesse asked, surprised.
"The purple grip. They all have that. Anyways, those bows are all sixty pound draw weight. This recurve has a seventy pound draw weight. Try shooting it."
Natesse lifted the bow, surprised by how light it was. She ran her hand along the smooth bowstring before selecting an arrow from the quiver. She chose her target - a knot in a tree seventy meters away - and drew back. Instantly, she noticed a difference. The bow pulled back much smoother than she was used to. It was also heavier, but she could manage. She released the arrow after a second, and off it went, racing to the tree. It stuck into the soft wood above where she was aiming, and she let out a huff of frustration.
"Did that not hurt?" Blake blurted out.
Natesse turned to him, confused.
"Should it have? I have my arm guard." She held up her left forearm.
"Oh." Blake's face fell. "My mentor caught me in my haste," he said, rubbing his left forearm as his eyes focused somewhere in the past.
"I still missed my target," Natesse said solemnly, bringing him back. She slung the bow over her shoulder, along with the quiver.
"Don't worry, I expected that," Blake reassured her. "I'm sure you noticed how much smoother the bow was, because of the craftsmanship. It's also heavier, so the trajectory was flatter. It's built for long distance shooting with a low draw weight," Blake explained. "You handled it very well though, and I want to focus on your archery. I'm thinking we should get you on a longbow in a month or two."
"What's the weight?"
"Anywhere from seventy to ninety."
Natesse nodded. I can do ten more.
"Anyways, next are the knives." Blake picked up the double scabbard. He carried it towards her, reached around, and fastened it around her waist.
"This is how you wear the scabbard. Rest it on your left hip. Good. Now, draw out the larger knife. That's your saxe knife. Finest steel in the kingdom; few swords could put a dent in it! It's the most ideal for a knife fight, but you can also throw it if you need to." Natesse slid it back into its scabbard and pulled out the smaller knife. She was surprised to find it was narrower at the hilt, fanned out, then narrowed again at the tip. She scrutinized it curiously, and felt how balanced it was.
"That's your throwing knife. Perfectly balanced for distance throws. Try hitting that moss," Blake said, indicating a patch of moss the size of a plate some ten meters away. Natesse looked at the moss dubiously.
"I've never trained with knives," she said.
Blake only shrugged and waited. With a sigh, she brought back her arm and snapped it forward as hard as she could, aiming for the moss best she could. The knife spun pitifully and buried into the dirt several meters short and way off to the left. She heard Blake snicker and whipped around to glare at him murderously.
The look on her face brought on loud laughter, and soon Natesse was laughing, too. The two bent over at the knees, both laughing hysterically.
"Guess you have a ways to go with knives," Blake finally got out. Natesse straightened up a relaxed grin on her face.
"That I do."
"Look, we'll devote whole days to knives, but for now, let me show you one thing." He slid his own throwing knife out of its scabbard and walked over to her. He handed her the knife and told her to draw back her arm. Immediately, he pushed down her elbow.
"Draw back your forearm, not your whole arm. Good. Now, when you release, keep your elbow still and bring your forearm forward. And don't try to kill it; technique will propel the knife more." He held her elbow with one hand, and brought her forearm forward with the other repeatedly, demonstrating the path of her arm. "Try it," he said, stepping back. Natesse took a deep breath, pulled her arm back, exhaled, and brought it forward. The knife spun end over end until it hit level with the base of the tree, only a meter to the left this time. Natesse smiled.
"Much better," Blake said approvingly. "Keep practicing and you'll have it in a few years!" He said cheerfully. Natesse grimaced.
"Alright! Next order of business! This is a striker." Blake held up the gold object. "You wrap your fist around it and knock it on someone's head. Then, voila, they're out. Very handy for catching a prisoner without killing them," he said matter-of-factly. He put the item in Natesse's outstretched hand, and told her to store it in the pocket of her tunic. Then, he handed her the sword.
"That you settle on your right hip. There's a place for the scabbard to attach to your knife belt."
"Since when do Rangers have swords?"
"Since everyone found out our only weapons were bows and knives. It's practical," he said, shrugging. "And very new. Actually, we'll both learn the sword with Battlemaster Rochester. I've trained some already, but I still need plenty of work." Natesse listened with excitement, then an annoying thought came in her head. Drake's going to be there. She had wiped him from her mind for a week now, and she was finding that she quite enjoyed that.
"What is it?" Blake asked, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Nothing." she responded too quickly, but Blake only raised an eyebrow. With a sigh, Natesse decided to let it go. Whatever, I can't completely avoid him. He's here for two years and Marlite isn't that big.
"What's next?"
"Lastly is the dagger." He handed her the final weapon. "Nothing special, just a last ditch effort. Like I said, most folks know about our double scabbard and bows. The sword isn't exactly hidden, either, so this dagger could be important. You can keep it anywhere. Mine's in my boot, but it doesn't matter. Whatever is most comfortable and natural for you, as long as you can reach it quickly." Natesse thought about it for a moment before rolling up her left sleeve. She slid the adjustable band holding the small scabbard three quarters of the way up her forearm and tightened it there. Then, she rolled her sleeve back down. She was pleased to see that the bump was almost invisible.
"There! You're armed to the teeth now." The two smiled at each other.
"This is awesome! When can we go on missions?" Natesse enthused.
Blake simply laughed and knelt down to roll up the empty blanket. When he was done, he headed towards their two knives and Natesse's arrow.
"You have plenty to learn before we're ready for that. Of course, I can't control when crime happens, so you'll probably see a lot before you're ready to handle it. But you seem to be a fast learner, so I'm hoping we'll move quickly. First, we have to practice unseen movement a lot more, train with the sword, knives, darts, and get you strong enough for the longbow, though of course you can use your other until then. Then you need to learn tactics, mapmaking, camp making, cooking, how to make a fire-"
"Wait a second, cooking? Why in the King's name do I need to learn cooking?"
"Firstly, cooking is very important when we're on a long camping trip and need a pick me up after days of hard traveling. Secondly, if you're going to swear, don't take the King's name," Blake said seriously. Natesse apologized, mentally cursing herself for slipping up and resorting to her bad habit in front of a King's Ranger. "Use Gorlog if you must."
"Who's Gorlog?"
"A Skandian god." Natesse frowned.
"Good; I hate Skandians," Natesse said with ill concealed anger.
Blake glanced at the sky.
"I'll save that conversation for another day. Right now, you need to get home before it's so late you draw conspicuous glances." Natesse looked at the sky, too, and realized it was almost dusk. "If you go now you'll catch the stream of farm owners headed in for the night." Natesse nodded and the two took off for the cabin. Natesse was off guard when Blake started to run, but she followed his lead. It took them a much shorter time to get back to the cabin.
"Nice to see you have stamina," Blake commented as they stepped inside.
"Please. That distance was nothing," she retorted, taking off the distinctive Ranger cloak regretfully. She also took off her assortment of weapons in exchange for her old bow and hunting knife duo. Then she put on her brown cloak and tucked away her hair.
"I'll see you same time tomorrow?"
"Sounds good. I think I'll get a messenger pigeon by tonight saying that Cassandra has been debriefed. You might move in by tomorrow night or Monday morning," Blake said cheerfully. "Then, the real training can start! We won't be limited to secrecy or ten hour days."
"So you think Queen Cassandra won't opt for a secret female Ranger?"
"No - it'd be a pain to keep under wraps. Besides, it's not like it wasn't going to happen eventually. You'll be doubted and tested for years, but people will realize how strong you really are. You're confident enough to shut out their criticism."
"Thanks, Blake." She gave him a tight farewell hug, his second hug of the day, and left.
She had a feeling she'd like this new life.
