Pinning down the basics (Attn :Johanarra)

[Blade]

Rurak woke early in the morning as was his pattern. He always liked to catch some time out on the range early in the morning. It was the perfect time to be alone and just think while he rythmically pounded away at the targets down range. It was a nice day, with a slight breeze coming in over the Mountains of Mist. His pattern was tight after only a few rounds, so he drifted down range to the further targets. It was amazing how much his shooting had improved just in the span of time he had been with the band. The daily shooting sessions had really improved his range and accuracy. Now though, it was time to share some of that knowledge with one of the newest members of the archers.

 

Truth be told, the archers could use the members. They were slightly under the numbers the commander probably would have prefered to use, and he had been known to use archers pretty heavily in some of his larger campaigns. Setting his bow down, he pulled the arrows out of the target and slid them into his waiting quiver, then settled down to wait for the new recruit to show.

[goldeneys]

Johanarra woke up to the sun just coming over the horizon, getting up with the sun was not unusual for him, when he was a boy on the farm, he would often get up before it. He jumped out of his bunk and dressed. He picked up the bow and quiver he had brought with him. It was a good Two Rivers bow. He went to the range where he was to meet his teacher. He saw one man sitting, waiting it looked like, he must be the one. He walked towards him.

[Blade]

Tipping his hat forward to shade against the morning sun, Rurak saw someone coming towards him in the early light. Since nobody else was really up at this hour, he assumed it to be the new recruit he was supposed to teach. Hopefully the man had been able to get a good nights sleep and a hot meal in before turning in last night. The man had looked tired and his clothing spoke of long days spent traveling to get here.

 

As the man got closer, Rurak quickly pulled himself to his feet and dusted himself off. He stuck out a handshake to the recruit and introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Rurak Gistere. We met earlier, but I don't believe I had the opportunity to introduce myself. Anyhow, I will be your instructor on the finer points of archery. No doubt you've already had at least some kind of instruction or self teaching, so many of this may be redundant, but it's important, so we'll cover it as quickly as possible so that we can move onto the finer points. Now first off we'll go over bow care, lemme take a look at....by the light is that a two rivers bow?" Rurak exclaimed. "However did you manage to get a hold of one of these?! From the wear on this thing it looks well used, so you couldn't have just gotten it, and by your accent I assumed you to be from the borderlands. Most people haven't even heard of a two rivers bow let alone handled one!"

 

Shaking his head ruefully, Rurak continued. "Well, I must say this is a fine bow, but there are a few things that need to be done to take care of these bows. Let's hear what you know about the basics of bowcare first though"

[goldeneys]

ooc: sorry for the long delay.

 

Jo walked up to the man and shook hands, Hi, I'm Rurak Gistere. We met earlier, but I don't believe I had the opportunity to introduce myself. He was about to say something when the man kept talking right over him, Anyhow, I will be your instructor on the finer points of archery. No doubt you've already had at least some kind of instruction or self teaching, so many of this may be redundant, but it's important, so we'll cover it as quickly as possible so that we can move onto the finer points. Now first off we'll go over bow care, lemme take a look at....by the light is that a two rivers bow?"

 

"Yes" he managed to get out before the man started up again ""However did you manage to get a hold of one of these?! From the wear on this thing it looks well used, so you couldn't have just gotten it, and by your accent I assumed you to be from the borderlands. Most people haven't even heard of a two rivers bow let alone handled one!"

 

He was about to answer the man's question when he continued, "Well, I must say this is a fine bow, but there are a few things that need to be done to take care of these bows. Let's hear what you know about the basics of bowcare first though."

 

"Well sir," he replied glad to be able to talk a bit, "the basics, I always unstring it when I don't need it, and I never leave the string on during rain of course. I don't know that much about taking care of it, in Saldea I had a rack in my bedroom where I would keep it, I bought it from a merchant, it took me all the money I owned, Master Amar, the blacksmith to whom I was apprenticed, loaned me some money as well."

[Blade]

"That's good, that'll keep your bow in shape for a good long while, and just about everyone knows to keep the strings dry. However, there are a few things you might want to do so that your bow can last you a lifetime. I don't know if you already know this, but every so often you'll want to be putting a thin layer of beeswax on that string to help it retain its spring. The wax also allows the string to go through short periods of time when you absolutely have to use it in the rain.

 

Another thing, you'll want to put a coating on the outside of your bow as well in order to keep it from warping or getting damaged in any other way. One final thing you want to do with that bow. This is generally speaking only particular to this bow, because it's made of yew. Yew is the secret ingredient that makes that bow so powerful, but it is also highly temperamental. In extreme weather, such as extreme cold, you want to warm your bow up first before firing it, other wise it's possible that your bow might snap like a twig in your hands the first time you draw it back. And in your hands, I'd say it's all the more likely" he jested with a twinkle in his eye.

 

"Now, on to the actual shooting. I'm suposed to teach you some of the band's methods of shooting. If you'll stand there and knock an arrow, I'll stand slightly behind and of to the side and shoot over your shoulder. This'll give you a feel for the combat situation when the band fires in groups."

[goldeneys]

"That's good, that'll keep your bow in shape for a good long while, and just about everyone knows to keep the strings dry. However, there are a few things you might want to do so that your bow can last you a lifetime. I don't know if you already know this, but every so often you'll want to be putting a thin layer of beeswax on that string to help it retain its spring. The wax also allows the string to go through short periods of time when you absolutely have to use it in the rain.

 

Another thing, you'll want to put a coating on the outside of your bow as well in order to keep it from warping or getting damaged in any other way. One final thing you want to do with that bow. This is generally speaking only particular to this bow, because it's made of yew. Yew is the secret ingredient that makes that bow so powerful, but it is also highly temperamental. In extreme weather, such as extreme cold, you want to warm your bow up first before firing it, other wise it's possible that your bow might snap like a twig in your hands the first time you draw it back. And in your hands, I'd say it's all the more likely."

 

At that Jo almost punched him in the arm like he would have done to one of his friends back home, but just in time he realized that this was his superior, and he couldn't go around treating superiors like old friends. All he said was "Thank you for the tip sir, I'll try to keep that in mind, and," maybe he shouldn't say this to his superior, but, Oh well, it couldn't hurt to much. "just remember not to trip over your own bow, you don't look like the most agile person, and you might trip, fall, and suddenly have a two peice bow."

 

"Now, on to the actual shooting. I'm suposed to teach you some of the band's methods of shooting. If you'll stand there and knock an arrow, I'll stand slightly behind and of to the side and shoot over your shoulder. This'll give you a feel for the combat situation when the band fires in groups."

 

"Ok" he said getting into position."