MR. DAYHOLT turned back to his work and let his wife take over.
"This is also for you." She said, handing me a sword. It was long, double-bladed and lighter than any sword I had ever held.
"It will hold up." She said, noting my skepticism. "I found a way to heat the steel that allows me to pound it thinner without compromising the integrity. It's the perfect example of 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'"
I examined the weapon in my hands. The handle was a wooden grip textured with a creeping vine pattern, but varnished and smooth. The Amulet crest was carved into the hilt where the blade met the handle. My name was engraved in ornate cursive down the middle of the blade. It took almost the whole length of the sword. I handed the weapon to Leland to examine, leaving the accompanying sheath on the counter.
"This one is for your archer." Mrs. Dayhold continued moving to the next pile. "I've been led to understand that he already possesses a very fine bow, so I stuck to arrows. This is a specialized quiver that has two different sections. The right side contains your typical steel-tipped arrows. These on the left have a bit of a twist. I've strung a spool of steel wire into the shaft. The end of the wire gets left behind on the bow string when the arrow is fired and only lets out line until the arrow stops moving. Each arrow is equipped with 200 yards of wire capable of supporting 500 pounds. This key will rewind the spools." She put the key in a pocket on the back of the quiver.
The quiver itself was quite simple. It had a pair of straps that looped snugly over the shoulders and around the arm, and an adjustable leather strap ran across the chest. The cap of the quiver was hinged onto the top and was meant to flip away from the archer's back so it didn't block access to the arrows.
"This is for your viking." She continued, moving on to a coiled whip and belt. "It's a fairly standard bullwhip, but the handle is designed to be strapped to the wrist if the user desires. This essentially makes the weapon and extension of the owner's arm. The handle also detaches and can be used as a short-distance blow-gun. The darts are stored in the grips on the handle."
She quickly demonstrated the removal and loading of the blow-gun feature and placed the whip back on the counter. Beside it sat a dark tan belt with a strap that buttoned around the whip.
"This is for the Japanese soldier. I'm sorry to be so general, but I wasn't given names for these orders." she continued in a very professional manner. "This is a Daisho. I'm sure I don't need to explain this to you, but I'm going to anyway. The long one is a Katana and the short one is a Wakizashi. Both come in bamboo scabbards that can be worn around the hips, behind the back, or over the shoulder; whatever the owner's preference may be."
"These were fun to make." She giggled, moving on to the next pile. Before her sat a squared leather case, snapped shut. I opened it to reveal a stack of three-pointed throwing stars. Blakely-Rose would go nuts when she got her hands on this. "I've made sure they're all balanced so they throw correctly." Mrs. Dayholt assured me. The belt the case was attached to was strung with small leather loops, each containing a diamond shaped throwing blade with a looped handle on the handling end. The sunshine filtering through the windows caught on the razor-sharp blades.
Leland had become distracted by the object sitting at the very end of the counter.
"What is this?" He asked in confusion. "It looks like a combination of a yoyo and a plumb line."
I met Mrs. Dayholt's eyes and felt a smile grow on my face.
"Willow is going to have fun with that one." I said looking at the unique weapon in Leland's hands. It was thrown around like a whip, but returned to you like a yoyo. The "plumb" on the end was actually sharpened to a point sharp enough to take a man's leg off if given enough velocity. The steel wire it was strung on cut almost as well as the blade itself did. And the scariest thing about it was that it was small enough you could tuck it in the wrist cuff of your shirt and nobody would know it was there.
It took a very unique set of skills to be able to use the weapon safely. Willow was the only one I'd met who had done it, and he had done it almost completely on his own. Leland looked at me in bewilderment, still not sure what exactly the object in his hands was supposed to do.
"This one's for you, Commander." Mrs. Dayholt crooned, drawing his attention to the pair of swords resting on the counter. These weren't just typical long swords though. The pair of scimitars glistened in the sunbeams. They were paired with a sheath set up like August's quiver, strapping around the shoulders and across the chest. The swords sat in the sheath resting crossed across the wearer's back. Leland's face lit up like a little kid who had just been given a puppy. He gingerly picked the sword up and ran his fingers along the cold steel. His initials were carved into the butt of both handles.
I had never seen a grown man so excited before. I couldn't help but snicker at his reaction. Mrs. Dayhold met my gaze and sent me a wink that said "That one's a keeper." I rolled my eyes in response, but smiled again when I saw the look on Leland's face.
"I hate to break up your little lovefest there Commander, but we need to get back. We have a carriage caravan to catch." I reminded him.
He slid the swords into the sheath and strapped it to his back as I strapped mine over my left hip. Mrs. Dayholt carefully placed the rest of the special orders in a wooden box and snapped the lid into place. Mr. Dayholt came up and put his arm around her shoulders as she handed the box over the counter to Leland.
"You all have a nice day now." he called as the bell range once more and we walked back into the street. Leland carefully placed the box among the rest of the crates in the cart and untied the horse's lead. We walked back to the palace at a fairly brisk pace. We were scheduled to leave at noon and the sun was growing higher by the moment.
When we reached the castle, wagons were being loaded with luggage and diplomats were being bundled into carriages. The syndicate gathered around us as I opened the box of their new weapons.
"We all have some fresh equipment, courtesy of Her Majesty the Queen of Kavan." I announced and handed everyone their pieces and demonstrated the special features.
"There will be time to admire them later. For now, it's time to hit the road." I said sternly as I saw a guard bring a horse.
Someone had taken the cart away and put a saddle on the large draft that had pulled it. Leland checked his cinch and jumped onto the back of the humongous animal. I mounted the horse that had been brought to me as the rest of the syndicate shuffled into their carriages. Leland and I would be leading the caravan and August and Arius would bring up the rear. Leland gathered his reins and signaled his horse to step up.
"Let's move out!" He bellowed.
×××××××××××××
Author Note!
Hi everyone ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thoughts >
Feelings >
Predictions >
Random >
How is your day today? Was it bad? Good? In between?
QOTD: Favorite animal (s)?
I actually don't have a favorite animal. I like them all.
But doesn't mean i don't have ones i like more than others...
I've always like owls and panthers. I think they are cool.
—
I found this game that i want to get one day, but why do i still dress like Gen X even though i'm a Gen Z😭😭
Love you all thank you for reading! Xoxox 💋💋
- Mickey ✨