"Raise your fist higher."
Astrid listened to Muti's commands without complaint, though she had to grit her teeth. What was most frustrating was that the forms that Astrid had learned for grappling in the guardsman barracks at home were very different from those that her party member was drilling her through. So much of the grappling and fist fighting techniques from before were focused more on incapacitating and keeping herself from being hurt while someone else came to support her. Muti's techniques were instead focused on debilitating, crippling, and even killing whoever they were fighting.
They were drilling the next morning, though Muti had actually stepped back to keep herself from practicing. Initially, she had tried to engage Astrid in a spar, but when the Warrior commanded her to step back, the Barbarian didn't complain. Instead, she walked Astrid through a kata focused on mobility and sharp, deadly movements that brought her back to the same ready position.
"Nobody came to wake me up."
Skandr's voice carried through the sand pit and Astrid felt her stomach sink a little. She hadn't come up with anything particularly profound or impactful to say to him, and she feared that he would make good on his words from the day before and cease delving with her and Muti altogether. For a moment, she almost considered running, but instead she stayed strong.
"Since we aren't going to go into the Dungeon today, we figured we'd let you rest however much you needed."
"But you woke Muti up?"
"If only." Astrid scoffed while she glared at the Barbarian. "She woke me up right as dawn broke."
"There are no days in which you can rest entirely. If you do so, the body becomes soft and it is even worse for the mind if you rest. There is a saying among my people. If I translate it is… still stone becomes clay. Bleh. It does not translate." She waved her hand and Astrid and Skandr shrugged.
"At least you're not down in the sand tumbling with her."
"I had to convince her not to! She wanted to spar with me, but I refused to let her."
"I do not approve of the softness," Muti confirmed, "but I do feel that perhaps I should rest a little more today."
Skandr raised his eyebrows as he looked at Astrid. "You managed to talk a little sense into her? This seems easier for you after breaking her nose last night."
"Yes, it is." Muti smiled as she said it, though Astrid's stomach dropped lower at the mention of the argument. "She has shown her fury and her purest emotion distilled. Her rage came from loyalty and love, and while I do not feel that same love, I do understand the loyalty and pride. I will gladly follow a leader who is driven by the desire to grow stronger and to protect those who she counts as her own. I do not need to prove myself as strong or capable at this point, I need only show that I will continue to be a capable subordinate."
"Huh." Skandr pursed his lips as he listened to what she said. Then, he turned to Astrid and said, "There are a couple things that I said last night that I regret. I do trust you to keep me safe, and I do trust you to delve with me. You've shown yourself to be a capable companion and a strong Warrior who will do her best to keep her party alive. In the Dungeon, I can't think of another person my level I'd rather have by my side. The problem is that the rest of what I said still stands. Do you have any sort of an explanation about how I can trust you to interact with people or to speak with people and won't get us thrown out, jailed, or even killed?"
Astrid let out a long breath as she fell out of her kata's stance. Muti clicked her tongue, but didn't say anything as Astrid turned and spoke to Skandr directly.
"I have plenty of excuses, but that isn't what either of us want to hear. I have gotten better than I used to be, which might not be a particularly reassuring statement, but it is the truth. Again, that isn't really an explanation, it just lets you know something about me. I thought for most of the night about this, and all I can say is that I hope you understand what my goals in the long-term are. I'm working to become good enough to become an Arcanite delver, and though if I get to that point, I'll be able to disregard and disrespect people however I like, to get there I'll have to occasionally eat crow, bow the head, and accept insults.
"Hopefully, for my entire journey, I will have people like you on my side, helping me to allow cooler heads to prevail and to become more patient and understand than I've ever been before. More than people like you, I want to have you by my side, Skandr. I trust you, your mind, your battle sense, and your actions. I trust you to bring me to heel if necessary, and even if I grumble about it, I'll do it. If there's anything that I can do to better assure you that you can think of, I would be more than happy to do them."
Skandr sighed. "Honestly, I'd kinda hoped that you would have some answer that would just fix everything. Because I want to delve with you and I want to trust you, I want to continue being your friend. But I also don't want to get myself killed because you lost control of your emotions."
Astrid could only nod in response. She didn't blame him, and if somebody had jeopardized her own delving career in the same way that she had through her actions, then she would have reacted the same way.
Skandr rubbed and scratched at his head and face for a moment before he said, "To hell with it. I'm going to trust you. I don't want to be let down, but if I am, I guess I'll say it's my fault. Do know that I will do my best to stop you from doing something so stupid again."
:Like I said," Astrid said her voice rising in hope, "I want you to do that! Anyway, that you can help me to not be an idiot is something that I more than welcome."
Astrid jogged up to Skandr and extended her hand for a shake. He shook his head with a wry quirk to his lips as he accepted the handshake. His hands were so much smaller than hers, but he held the grip firmly, despite the disparity in their Power.
"If something like this happens again, and I don't end up in prison, I don't think I will stick around. But until then, you've got a Lightningmage on your side."
"That's more than I was expecting. Thank you, Skandr. I really appreciate it."
He waved his hand through the air dismissively as he looked at Muti and raised his hands in a ready position for the kata. "I should probably get my practice in as well before I get to attempting to improve my spell. I've got a couple ideas, but physical exercise helps to clear my mind."
Muti chuckled aloud as she leapt forward and took Skandr in a rough hug. Then, without a second thought, she bit deeply into her lip and allowed her lips to be bloodied before kissing his forehead and whipping around to do the same to Astrid again.
"Didn't we do this yesterday?" Astrid asked Skandr.
"Yes."
"But yesterday's bonds were broken by the shedding of blood. Today, blood is again spilled to reforge the previous relationship and our companionship. It is renewed!" Muti planted the same kiss on Astrid's forehead, and the same shock travelled through her.
Astrid let the blood slowly thicken and dry on her forehead as she settled back into the kata's base position. As soon as both of her party members were ready, Muti's face shifted from joyful and excitable to deadly serious. "No, Skandr, that is terrible!"
***
Half an hour later, Skandr was done and retreated to the side of the arena to work on his spells. His muttering about different properties of lightning was something Astrid and Muti both couldn't help but overhear, but it didn't mean anything to either.
An hour after Skandr's retirement, Astrid had worked up a good sweat and stepped back. Muti rolled her shoulders and seemed to accept the fact that the training was done.
"We must find you a new shield today." Muti's words were absolute as Astrid pulled her helmet and arming cap off to wipe the sweat from her face. "We have the funds to replace it now, and if we do not, we can borrow more. No longer will I be subjected to the sound of your weapon breaking."
"We're not gonna borrow more." Astrid said flatly. "Honestly, I figure we just go ahead and pay off the last of Skandr's debt at this point, because we are being targeted with deadly attempts even with the debt. It's not doing much."
"If that is our desire, then we can pay off that debt and search for an opportunity to get sufficient funds to purchase true equipment for you. Through another loan."
"I agree." Skandr said without looking up from his notebook. "Even if we do end up getting a frontliner soon, your abilities with the shield need a fitting piece of equipment to go with. If not, you're wasting your skill and you're making yourself much less capable than you would be otherwise."
Despite herself, Astrid needed to agree with what she was being told. There was only so much that she could do with the shambles of a shield that she still held onto. The wood was splinters that needed to be replaced wholesale at this point and it wouldn't be long before the integrity of the shield itself was compromised. If it broke in the middle of a fight, the change in weight and balance could possibly be deadly for her or another member of the party.
"You're right. Both of you. I say we go ahead and pay off your debt, Skandr, which should be about 50 silver still, right?"
He nodded.
"Then, after we pay off the debt, we'll move forward with finding the shield."
"And we absolutely will buy you one today? No, 'oh we'll get it tomorrow' chicanery, right?"
Before Astrid could respond, Muti cocked her head and looked at Skandr. "What does this word mean? Shickyary?"
Skandr laughed a little to himself as he repeated, "Chicanery. It means something like stupid things."
"Ah that is a good word. Chicanery, mmm."
Astrid shook her head in acceptance, mostly just thrilled that the party wasn't about to fall apart. "I'm pretty dirty, and it'll probably be better for us if I look at least a little presentable before I go into a shop in the hopes of buying something without getting ripped off."
"Then I'll keep working in my room while you get clean and ready to go." Skandr's answer was second nature, reflecting what the party always did to ensure that none of their number was alone and unsafe. Astrid and Muti both nodded along, and Astrid turned to the Barbarian as she asked, "Would you like to join me?"
"I am not dirty." Muti scowled as she answered. "I washed yesterday."
"You don't have to come if you don't want to. However, sweat makes you stink, so you'll probably start to stink a little sometime soon."
"I do not sweat like you. Did you not realize?"
Astrid met Muti's eyes before turning her attention to look over the other woman. She wasn't wearing her damaged armor, but it was still a warm morning, and Muti had moved through most of the movements of the kata alongside Astrid. Her face wasn't flecked with sweat and neither her underarms nor any other part of her body seemed to show evidence of wetness.
"How did I never realize this?" Astrid wondered aloud.
"Probably because she's always covered in blood when she would be sweaty." Skandr said, looking at the Rogue and realizing as well that she was not sweating.
"Well, you're free to join me if you want I suppose."
"I will take my rest, as you so often demand."
Astrid raised her eyebrows in surprise and approval. Then, she turned to Skandr and again said, "Thank you."
"All other things said, I am your friend, Astrid. I want to continue to delve with you, to fight alongside you, and to move further along in this adventure we're making for ourselves. I hope I'm not making a mistake by trusting you again, but I don't think I am. Am I?" Astrid listened to the tremble and vulnerability in his voice and was reminded that this wasn't a test or him being snarky, but that it was a moment of genuine weakness. Astrid remembered what he had said about not really having any friends or family for years, and she wondered how much he would put up with simply because he was, in many ways, lonely.
She made a resolution to herself not to betray that trust that was being extended to her. She nodded firmly as she met Skandr's eyes. "I promise, I will listen to your advice and, to the best of my ability, keep my head down, so I don't start any fights. I will finish them though."
"I sure hope so." Skandr grinned as he said, "Have a good bath."
Astrid nodded as she turned to walk to the bath. She'd have to be quick to make sure that they had enough time to look at every shop before she made her decision. This new shield was going to be a new companion, so she had to be careful to make the right choice!
***
Astrid's hair hung in wet ringlets around her face and she pulled it back into a simple tail instead of braiding it as she usually did. She sighed at the relief from pressure of having her hair pulled so tight, and stepped forward with Skandr between herself and Muti.
They'd gone to two shop fronts that carried delver equipment and items, but the three shields that were on sale between the two fronts were far from what she wanted or needed. The closest to good for her was a heater shield meant for somebody significantly smaller than her. It was a good design, and the materials would last at least as long as her current shield had, but it was a thin plate of steel over wood, and the metal would be quickly deformed while gnolls and other monster attacks damaged the structural wood underneath.
Even so, Astrid was far from disappointed or unhappy. She'd saved the two shops that she had the most expectations for for last. One was an honest to the Duchess Smithy, where good quality if entirely mundane equipment was forged, while the other was a storefront that was, unfortunately, under the control of Aarta. Even if they did have a slightly less than cordial relationship with Aarta, he was a purveyor of high-quality goods.
The first place they stopped by was the Smithy, where the clerk recognized Astrid at a glance. He smiled and nodded as he said, "Welcome. We do have one new thing. It's not necessarily exactly what you're looking for, but it could be a possibility for you. It's more expensive than the others you've seen, and for good reason."
"And the old ones that I've looked at so many times?"
"Still unsold. Nobody around here has been looking for tower shields like that, so there's still those two."
"Well, bring those out at the same time as the new one that might be what I'm looking for. Today's the day that I'm buying, and I've got one other place I'm looking at after this, but I'm fairly certain I'll buy something from here."
"Is that so? Astrid, you've done a whole lotta window shopping and I've never seen you spend a copper. Maybe today will be the day that the long-standing bet is finally finished."
"People have bet on if I'll spend money?"
"Not on if, but when you will. We've seen your shield, and we know that it needs to be replaced before too long. You're making good progress in the dungeon, but not good enough to move on before it breaks or you recognize it needs substantial repairs or replacement."
Astrid grumbled good-naturedly, but she also realized that the clerk, Jonas, was right.
"Whoever it is who bet on today, they're gonna be happy, because even if I decided not to, my party is here to force me to make a decision."
"I'll believe it when I see it!" He called over his shoulder as he walked into the back of the store. He had the first two shields out in that first load, and Astrid looked them over. Both were tower shields, like her own, though each a slightly different design.
One was all solid oak behind the front façade, which was a hammered sheet of iron that wrapped around the entire front and the first several centimeters around the perimeter of the back of the shield. Though this shield was of a sturdier design than the heater shield she had turned away from earlier that day, Astrid still didn't love the solid metal front as it would be much harder to repair by herself than one that was primarily wooden. The other was a strange entirely wooden design. The craftsman that had created the shield used a Skill or magic to somehow coax a log into the shape of a shield. It was interesting, but without the metal banding or individual subsections of the shield, Astrid feared that it would crack in half and be made useless with a single unlucky blow.
"Now, I'm gonna get the other one out. I'll tell you right now that it is smaller than these. Not by too much, but it is a heater. And don't grumble, this was made with a larger person in mind, so it is larger than the regular heater."
"You don't need to sell me on it right now, just let me see it." Astrid waved off the clerk who chuckled. Just a minute later, he came back with the shield. The face of the equipment was a solid, dark iron, lightly embossed with meaningless filigree, but generally unremarkable in appearance. It was large enough to be about the comparative size of a regular heater shield for Astrid, which was a large mark in its favor, even though it would be smaller than what she was used to.
"So, before you hold it to test its size or anything, I will let you know that it is heavier than you think, and I need to call out the master before you touch anything."
Before the sentence was finished, the Smith poked his head out from behind the wall, where the equipment for the forging itself was located. He nodded as he walked out, soot and charcoal staining his lined face and arms. His heavy leather apron and thick wool shirt sported more of the same marks, and he said, "Glad to finally meet you, miss picky. I am going to come out from behind the counter and explain a couple things to you."
Astrid felt her eyebrows rising with every new word, and she had a sneaking suspicion she knew what she was about to be told. And if it was true, and the price wasn't too exorbitant, she suspected that she had found the new shield for her.