Volume 2
Chapter 3: Salamanders and Smithing
"Sound the alarm, we've got Grimm at the south wall!" A guard barked to his comerades. Another pair of guards began ringing a bell to alert the villagers to the danger. Captain Egret raced up to team Icicle, weapon clutched tightly.
"We are on high alert!" He barked. "All of you, prepare ranged weaponry and man the battlements, wait for my command to fire!" Whilst their orders were clear, a feeling spread across the young hunters about his orders. And how it put pain to their usual style of combat.
Nevertheless, they obeyed and took to the battlements, Cedar had his crossbow ready to go with Yasmin holding her pistols beside him. Isaac's shotgun wasn't going to be very effective at this height and Lariah's flail was practically useless for range. That left the shooting up to Cedar and Yasmin. It was hardly efficient, Cedar thought, but there wasn't anything else they could do for now. The Grimm were rising.
The first Grimm Cedar had spotted was no longer alone, more alike it had crawled out of the earth to join it. Cedar recognised its four legged stature, its long tail and pointed head. It was a Salamander, a common Grimm type around the area of Vault, much like how Beowolves were common to Vale. On their own they weren't too bad but in a group they could be real trouble.
"Ready! Take aim!" Captain Egret ordered his men, standing on the battlements with a variety of weapons in hand. The majority of them wielded crossbows but others had rifles and machine guns, though they were battered and old. Together their defence seemed a little ragtag. Below, the Salamanders advanced on the walls, scrambling across the rocks and crags toward the walls. "FIRE!" The Captain barked, his men opening fire on the Grimm below, a flurry of arrows and bullets raining down.
A number of the Salamanders were destroyed with the gunfire but the white shells over their backs protected the others. Their front line was within close range of the wall and their heads turned up, mouths opening wide. From their jaws, flaming sparks burst out and soared at the guards. They quickly took cover from the fire, avoiding their fire for now.
"Whoa!" Cedar gasped, a fireball only just missing his fox ears when he ducked. He had an idea to help stem the tide. He loaded a water dust bolt into his crossbow and peeked over the wall, firing down into the crowd of Salamanders. The bolt struck one of them and burst into a tidal wave of water, washing back the group and knocking them into their fellows.
"Nice shot!" A nearby guard cheered as the rest rose from cover to open fire again. More Salamanders fell but even more were crawling up from the earth behind them, spitting fireballs tat them. Next to him, Cedar saw one of the guards take a fireball right to the chest and fall backwards, burning and crying out in pain. Across the wall, several other guards took hits and they fell back to safety in the village itself.
"Why're there so many of them?!" One of the guards shouted nearby.
"This isn't normal!" Another agreed. They were taking more hits every second. Cedar was aghast at the sight of the guards falling back, blasted with burning brimstone. Their efforts from the wall weren't going to keep these Grimm back. They had to get down there!
And when he heard a battle cry from Lariah, Cedar knew he wasn't alone thinking that. The copper haired girl dropped from the wall with her flail ready, advancing on the crowd of Salamanders.
"Eat this you stupid lizards!" Lariah spun her flail overhead and brought it down on one of the crowds, the explosion rocked the wall and destroyed the group in a cloud of dark vapours and fire dust. But now Lariah was alone, with an agitated group of Grimm bearing down on her.
"Stay on the wall! Don't go down there!" Captain Egret tried to order them but seeing their teammate in trouble, Isaac, Yasmin and Cedar couldn't bare to stand by and watch. All three vaulted the wall and dropped down beside her.
"Lariah, you pin em down, I'll blow 'em away." Isaac instructed. "Yasmin n' Cedar, cover our sides. Let's send these varmints packin'!"
"Right!" Cedar nodded and moved to the left, Yasmin going right whilst Isaac and Lariah held the centre, the team making their own wall to protect Tarutarus. The Salamanders came in an unruly horde, crawling across the ground toward the students, a wave of chaos ready to crash upon a wall of order.
Cedar and Yasmin opened fire to thin their numbers, Cedar's bolts taking down a couple with well placed headshots whilst Yasmin emptied her gun chambers, shooting as many as possible before reloading. The front line Grimm reared back and spat out a volley of fireballs at them. Cedar opted to dodge, dashing and ducking to avoid them, the blazing balls bursting on the bastion behind his back. Yasmin used her semblance to split into three and then opened her pistols into fans, using the canvas to block the fireballs. They were holding out for now but there were still many Grimm left to deal with.
This was where Lariah came in, letting the Grimm close in around her.
"Pressure…" Her aura began to glow. "DROP!" Her semblance kicked in, the low gravity field expanding around her. The enemies encroaching hit the field and found it far tougher to keep moving, digging their claws in to drag themselves closer to Lariah.
Isaac followed up Lariah's move, using his mighty shotgun to blow the beasts back, pellets shredding their shadowy selvesto scraps. He felt strained, Lariah's gravity field was making him heavier too, but he had enough resistance to fire all four barrels in quick succession. The last shot was an ice dust shell, creating a little blizzard of crystalline shards, cutting down even more of the Salamanders. Once they'd been cleared away, Lariah released her gravity field and Isaac sighed with relief.
"Phew… dang that thing is heavy." he wiped his brow.
"Don't rest yet, here comes another wave!" Lariah reminded him as more Grimm bore down on their position.
At their sides, Cedar was struggling to hold the Grimm back alone. When he stopped to reload his crossbow, a fireball struck him in the chest. He gasped as his aura dropped and almost didn't see an incoming claw swipe from a Salamander. He threw himself left to avoid it and took a bad tumble for his efforts. Once he was standing, he slipped his weapon onto his arm, the sword blade sliding out. It was time to put miss Lariet's training to the test.
The Salamander lunged at him and Cedar ducked under, sticking his blade up to slash the beast's underside before he jumped away. He'd expected it to turn to attack, but realised he'd failed to take it's tail into account as the sharp appendage whacked him in the back. He gasped in pain, leaping back to avoid another swipe of its claw. He sprang forward from his dodge and pierced his blade into the Salamander's left eye. It screeched in pain and unleashed a tongue of fire from its mouth, singing Cedar as he ran to avoid it.
With it now blinded on one side, Cedar kept to it's right to remain out of its view. It blindly swung it's tail and Cedar spied an opportunity. Remembering his parlour technique for springing off a railing, he jumped and landed briefly on the tail, then using it as a springboard to keep up and over the beast. With one last blow, Cedar drove his sword right into the Salamanders neck, going all the way through. The fire died in its throat and it thrashed around before fading into darkness once again. Cedar felt a little spark of pride, a flashy finish and clear improvement to his sword swinging skills… but he remembered, more Grimm were coming. He turned back to the looming threat, crossbow aimed at his enemy's head.
The crowd of Salamanders was thinning now but team Icicle had lost their ranged advantage and had to fight up close. The Grimm were edging around Lariah's flail and dodging whenever she swung at them. Isaac was using his mace but the Grimm were fighting back using their tails to block his swings and chipping at his aura. Yasmin was holding her own, her graceful slashes cutting at the Salamanders but she was being forced back by the enemy's sheer numbers.
"Retreat! Now!" the bark of Captain Egret alerted them to matters atop the wall. The guards had recovered and re-armed themselves, prepped to counter attack. Not one of the students argued this time, turning and running for the wall. The guards opened fire and blew apart the remaining Salamanders, only one surviving the shots. And before it could recover, a loud bang echoed across the village as it's head was taken clean off it's haunches. The barrel of Captain Egret's halberd rifle smoked slightly as he returned it to a neutral position.
"Team Icicle! Get back behind the wall, immediately!" He barked, the gates swinging open below him. Despite their victory, Cedar got the impression the Captain was angry at them. They traipsed back into the village, a little winded from the battle as evening had become night. But even now, Cedar felt a little happy. Tarutarus was safe.
"You four acted recklessly and irresponsibly!" the Captain scolded them whilst a doctor tended to the wounded. "You leapt into enemy lines without support and abandoned your posts!"
"Sir." Yasmin interrupted, looking even further annoyed than she was in the morning. "With all due respect, had we stayed on the wall, your men would have died. We saved your t-"
"That's a poor excuse!" the Captain dismissed her comment. "I do agree, your fighting skills saved my men tonight." his voice lightened up ever so slightly, much to Cedar's surprise. "But when you leapt into battle, my men could no longer cover you without fear of friendly fire! When you fight alongside fellows, you must remember to work with them, not against them!"
His words brought Cedar around. He was right, with them in the fray, the guards couldn't shoot for fear of hitting the four of them. He hasn't even thought of that… it wasn't often he'd had that kind of backup against Grimm after all.
"Yes sir." Lariah spoke up, her head bowed. She had led their charge after all and she looked guilty. "I just… couldn't stand seeing them get hurt."
"It's alright." The Captain patted her on the shoulder. "You meant well. Consider this a learning experience. Now, go and get some sleep, your shift is over." The Captain smiled ever do slightly, breaking his gruff exterior and showing that he still had a heart, deep down.
Team Icicle trudged back to the Feather Bed inn and had a simple supper in their dining room. Only when they reached their room did anyone finally speak up.
"Who does he think he is?" Yasmin sat on her bed, frowning indignantly. "Ordering around huntsmen like he understands who we are? He's just a simple village guard."
"Yasmin?" Lariah looked at her in surprise. "What's the matter?"
"That Captain Egret." she said with a slight sneer. "He has no idea how huntsmen operate. His stupid guards should have been down there with us rather than cowering on the walls."
"Hey, that's not fair." Cedar spoke up. "He was right, we shouldn't have jumped into the fray like that."
"If we hadn't, the town would've been swarmed." Yasmin insisted, gripping the sheets on her bed. "They should be thanking us, not scolding us."
"Ya need to calm down, Yasmin." Isaac said. "I'm sure the fella's had plenty of experience. He knows what he's talkin' about."
"He doesn't have a clue." Yasmin spat. "We're a bit more important than a bunch of feckless guards."
"Yasmin!" Lariah exclaimed. "That's so unfair and you know it!"
"It's true." Yasmin folded her arms and looked aside. "Forgive me for feeling unappreciated today."
"That doesn't make it okay to have that attitude." Lariah stood up to her, hands shaking slightly. "I get it, you've had a tough day today, but don't blame it on them." She looked away as a lump of guilt formed in her throat. "It was my fault, I jumped in ahead of anyone else."
"You're a huntress, you should-" Yasmin tried to argue.
"No!" Lariah suddenly snapped. "We're not hunters, we're hunters in training! We… we should be listening to the adults, not acting like we know everything!" The copper haired girl rubbed her eyes, Cedar shocked at this vulnerable side to her. As she sniffed and rubbed her eyes slightly, a uncomfortable silence settled over the room, punctuated only by Lariah's whimpers. Yasmin's scowl faded. She sighed and slipped her hand into Lariah's, prompting her to look up.
"You're right. I'm sorry, Lariah. You too Isaac, Cedar." she looked at each of them. "I was so wrapped up in how bad I was feeling, I didn't take any of your feelings into account." her face darkened slightly. "...I may hate my brother for what he told me this morning, but if I act like this? I am no better than him."
"That's not true." Cedar suddenly spoke out, having had enough of them all being upset. "You have the guts to admit it. He doesn't. And… that's important, you know?" his mind drifted to his sister as he spoke.
"I suppose you're right, Cedar." Yasmin sighed and her smile finally returned. "I'm glad I have such good teammates." Lariah suddenly hugged her tightly, still crying but now she was at least smiling.
"Yasmiiiiiin!" she wailed, squeezing her tight and sniffling into her shoulder. It was a messy end to the day as tensions broke and emotions bubbled to the surface. But when they finally settled down and slept, Cedar hoped they had proven they wouldn't so easily be split apart.
The morning in Tarutarus was bright and cheerful. Cedar looked out the window, the little village of Tarutarus was bathed in a warm morning glow as farmers got to work tilling the volcanic soil, women hung up clothes to dry and children ran on the streets. It was almost idyllic and it made Cedar wonder if he was dreaming.
By the time he was dressed and had his breakfast, he felt confident assuming it was no dream. Today there were assigned with more menial tasks to help out the townsfolk, as Miss Lariet told the over breakfast with orders from Fenix. Lariah and Isaac would be helping to work the fields, no doubt because of their strength, Cedar thought. Yasmin had been assigned to help make some new clothes with the village tailor. Cedar meanwhile was asked to go assist the town blacksmith for the day.
So the four went their separate ways and Cedar headed to the forge. The forge itself was mostly outside, connected to a trading post where the weapons made were sold and displayed. Cedar could practically feel the heat radiating off of it as he approached.
"Good, you're here." a voice alerted him to the presence of the smith himself, a tall stalwart man with tan skin and greying hair that could have once been white. His apron was thick with soot, numerous burn marks forever emblazoned upon it like the scars of battle. "My name is Gryphon." he introduced himself, his deep voice slithering out of his tightly knit jaws. "For a start, remove that scarf and your jacket. They'll only get in the way."
"Um, sure, okay." Cedar was somewhat taken aback but did as Gryphon said, folding up his jacket and placing the clothes on a nearby table, along with Rundasbane.
"You have some experience making weapons, yes?" Gryphon asked, tossing an apron at Cedar which he managed to catch, using his face.
"Some experience, yeah." he got the apron on and tied up the back. "Mostly welding, soldering, mechanism stuff…" his voice trailed off as he noticed Gryphon looked disappointed.
"So nothing of traditional smithing, smelting or metal work." he grumbled. "For now, just follow my instructions to the letter, alright?"
"Yes sir." Cedar was eager to get to work and prove his worth. In practice, that was much harder than he thought.
The forge was hot, despite being outside and Cedar found himself sweating profusely before even an hour had passed. The metal and tools Gryphon worked with were heavy and dirty, putting further strain on the little Faunus as he hefted large clumps of ore and carried hot shafts of metal to and fro, dunking the completed blades into a pot of water, an almighty hiss making his ears quiver each time. Thick acrid smoke filler his nostrils and he found himself coughing a few times. The day took its toll, tiring him out and making his arms ache, his back sore and his eyes water.
But he steeled himself. He fought with the limits of his endurance and his strength. If he couldn't even handle one day in a forge, how would he ever make it as a huntsman?
"Mr Gryphon?" Cedar spoke up as he put down a hefty blade onto the anvil.
"Just Gryphon is fine." The smith corrected him, bringing his hammer down upon the metal.
"Right, sorry. I wanted to ask, why did you look disappointed earlier?" The hammering stopped. The forge was quiet, save for the hissing of coals.
"Just a matter of teachings, young man." he said almost somberly. "Forgive an old man's thoughts that a hunter academy would teach the older ways of weapon crafting." Cedar was beginning to see what Gryphon was hinting at.
"Is it that important? Aren't the newer techniques just improvements on the old ones?" Whilst Cedar had indeed made Rundasbane himself, most of it has been with pre-made parts he'd bought and he'd had the advice of an instructor. Hearing himself say that, he wondered if he was showing his inexperience to the blacksmith.
"No, i'm afraid it isn't." Gryphon shook his head. "Modern methods focus far more on the electronic side of weapons than the materials and making it yourself." he moved over to the nearby work surface and plucked Cedar's Rundasbane off of it. He twisted the handle and the blade sprung out, the smith inspecting it closely and running his finger along it. "As I suspected. Recomposited metals. Stable but this won't last for very long. I'd wager it will be maybe a month before this metal cracks." Colour drained from Cedar's eyes as the blacksmith ran a finger along the edge. "And with this kind of metal, you'll be sharpening it far more often. As it is, it would be hard to puncture a Grimm again."
"I guess… I still don't know much about weapons yet." he lamented, folding his arms. It was hard to argue with a true professional after all. But then, Gryphon gave him a pat on the back.
"I'll make a deal with you, young man. If you listen to my advice and learn about smithing, I will help you forge a proper blade for this weapon." The very idea of having a professional teach him another way to hone his weapon making skills made Cedar's ears stand up in surprise.
"Really? Sure, i'll do my best Mr Gr- I mean, just Gryphon!" The Faunus managed to stop himself tripping up again which seemed to amuse the blacksmith, a wry chuckle escaping his lips.
"Alright. Then let's get back to work. I want you to watch me hammer this metal. Think about how your blade was made as the shape forms." Gryphon beckoned him as he began to slam the tool down on the hot metal once again. Cedar's eyes took in every detail of the process, every spark that merrily bounced off the steaming steel, every slam that made his ears quaver, every slight burst of heat that wafted into him. He took it all in.
After that, it was continuing to work but this time paying more attention to what Gryphon was doing. The way he checked the metal, the way he swung his hammer, the way he sharpened the blade on the grindstone in the corner. Most of what they were making were swords and arrowheads, no doubt for the crossbows the town guards used. It was considerably more basic than the weapons Cedar was used to seeing people swing around, but there was a certain beauty to them. Pure workmanship with no technical additions to it whatsoever. Simplicity, just like the rest of Tarutarus.
"Alright, I think it's a good time to break for lunch." Gryphon said, wiping his brow and slipping off his gloves. Cedar did the same, thankful to get out of the smoke even with how much he'd been observing and learning that morning. "You come back after lunch and i'll show you the specifics, alright?"
"Okay!" Cedar bounded off to find his teammates, he had plenty to talk about now!
"...and it's so cool just to see it so, raw like that, you know? It's so much different to weapon work back at the academy!"
"I'm happy for ya Cedar, but can we maybe talk about somethin' else now?" A beleaguered Isaac responded to the excited Faunus who had been talking nonstop about the blacksmith's forge. "We been talkin' about this since we dun' sat down."
"...oh." Cedar snapped out of talking to realise his three teammates were all sick of what he was saying but had been too nice to speak up about it. "Sorry."
"It's fine." Isaac chuckled, picking up a small sandwich on his plate. "We'd just like a turn talkin. Right Yasmin?" He prompted her whilst he took a bite out of his lunch.
"I would like to, yes." Yasmin nodded, idly swirling a glass of water like it contained a fine wine. "I must admit, I've always had a little dream of designing some clothes myself… aaand that is not what I am doing working with the village seamstress." she rolled her eyes. "But it's still good work, nonetheless."
"That's the right attitude." Lariah nodded, a sprig of cress hanging out of her mouth. "Farming was kinda boring but it's a great workout!"
"That it is. Takes me back to…" Isaac was about to say when he glanced at Yasmin. "Well, ya know what I mean." Cedar smiled at the cowboy taking Yasmin's feelings into account, whilst munching on another sandwich.
"I can't believe it's already lunchtime." He mused, looking up at the clear sky. It was only their second day in Tarutarus but Cedar already felt like he could call this place homely. Familiar. Perhaps even comfortable.
He could get used to this...