From the Ruins

Chapter 6

Gidget glared at the machine, frown and eyebrows scrunched.

"...what is it?"

Garin made an offended noise. "It brews tea! How is that not obvious?"

The little inventor straightened her glasses and looked at him and the...brewing pot.

"I fail to see how this contraption is meant to brew tea."

It honestly looked like it was slapped together parts, welding marks looking more like globs than actual lines. Gidget was slightly concerned that this was the work of the master smith of Oshara. It appeared to not have a container for water and no place for a cup to catch the tea itself.

Garin was busying himself with another project. He and the archer were gathered around two pieces of wood that looked like they had recently been a bow. Made sense. Luc had a large quiver on his back, fairly standard for most archers, but what caught her attention were the small compartments on his thighs. Arrows fletchings were poking out over the lips of each of them, full to the brim. Judging by the depth of boxes, they were nearly as long crossbow bolts. Gidget had only seen Luc with a longbow – knives as well. He had a good eye with both.

"Garin, I'm telling you," Luc was saying, "I fell off Kaido and crashed through some trees."

"Why did you even fall off Kaido, to begin with? Luc for as long as I've known you, you're one of the best fliers in this country," Garin scolded, his hands hovering over the bow.

Gidget edged closer, stepping over Garin's large land dragon – wingless and covered in thick muscle – and examined the bow closer. It was interesting, the inner part had been lined with a metal alloy, keeping the curve of each arm perfect. The handle had been what snapped, no metal to protect it.

"What's so special about it?" she asked, pushing her glasses back up her nose.

Luc looked over at her and then back to the bow. "Well, not only is it Garin's best work, it's literally one of a kind."

"Aren't all bows one of a kind? No piece of wood is ever the same." Kierce tittered on her shoulder, tail poking her cheek and chiding Gidget for being blunt.

The archer took a deep breath, counting seconds before releasing it slowly. Thankfully for him, Garin stepped in.

"I could have done better, but we were in the middle of a military camp, not my smithy, Luc." Garin turned to Gidget and smiled gently. "But to answer your question, Gidget, this bow is special because of how it's made. The wood is Glacier wood, pretty hard to get ahold of since those trees are in deep into the Warps."

Gears turned in her head. Glacier wood was also fairly hard to form correctly, let alone carve out. The curve of Luc's bow was deep compared to other longbows, and the tips were curved back. While Luc was an excellent shot, this bow didn't have much for distance, opting more for accuracy from what Gidget could tell.

She looked up at Luc who was still pouting, sort of. He was making a face; she couldn't tell what expression he was going for at the moment. "What's your longest shot?"

Luc glanced down at her, Kaido eyes guarded. "Seventy-five yards. Stationary."

Gidget picked up one of the ends of the bow, eyeing the curve. Just as she thought. Luc had chosen to go more with accuracy than distance, and if they were going to be infiltrating Athal in any way, shape, or form, they were going to need him from a distance. That distance was nothing to scoff at though, still fairly impressive for a marksman.

"If we make the curve shallower, you could up your distance to a hundred yards easy," she said as she set the piece down. "The farther away you are from the target the greater the chance we will have success. Take them by surprise as they say."