"A true weaponsmith does not merely sharpen swords. He must be knowledgeable about all forms of weaponry, from bow to sling, from spear to scarf. He must be able to bring out the hidden strengths of each, knowing just the right improvements to make. It is said that even a pointed stick can slay a dragon, if it has been in the hands of a master smith." --From "The Lesser Magics and Why You Should Respect Them," by N. DuNord -------- SKJAM!, Inc. Presents A Rocketarian Pictures production in association with Improfanfic (*) Suikoden: Distant Shores Created by Illyria and Todd Harper Part Three: Into the Woods by Scott K. Jamison --------- "Berry picking? I thought you said you didn't believe in treating soldiers like servants." Lierni looked cross, which had been her usual expression since being captured. "I don't," replied Kyrina. "Foraging is a part of any soldier's duty. And looting will only carry us so far. As it happens, the prickle berries in the nearby forest are now in season. Thus, berry picking duty." Tavia cast her mind back to her childhood, not that long gone. "Prickle berries? They make a nice jam, but they're not so good for eating raw." Lierni managed a moment of wistfulness. "Jam would be nice..." she murmured. Her face turned sour again as she looked down at the hard bread that passed for breakfast. "Fine then." Kyrina brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear. "Hurry up then, we'll want to catch the most of the morning light." ------ Despite Kyrina's words about duty, there weren't any other "soldiers" visible in the party assembled just inside the keep's gate. Tavia and Lierni had been joined by half-a-dozen older women, all obviously used to working the soil. There was also a boy about the same age as Reid, in a craftsman's tunic, who wore thick canvas gloves. He stared at the girls with obvious curiosity. A pile of baskets lay nearby. One of the women clucked over the sorry state of Tavia's uniform, and promised to mend it later. "Can't have you looking a fright, dearie!" Her cronies cackled in appreciation of what was obviously an old joke. Kyrina and Reid approached, the latter carrying something in his arms. He was talking to the woodswoman. "Really sorry about this, but Commander Senrou said I had to do it today. I guess you're on your own in the forest." He stopped just short of the berry pickers. "Good morning, Tavia, Lierni." "Good morning, Reid." Tavia looked at Li, but the other girl was pointedly ignoring the squire. "You'll probably need this," said Reid as he handed over Tavia's sai. "B-but...you're giving it back?" Kyrina nodded. "The local woods is no Erisan Forest, but there are wild animals and the odd monster or two. I'm good, but I can't protect everyone at one time. You're on your honor not to turn that on me, of course." "Of course," Tavia replied. "What honor I have." "And your glove, Miss Totorika." Lierni actually gave a smile as she donned the leather gauntlet. Her familiar blurred into visibility as she chucked it under the beak. "I've missed you too, Arrano." The bird disappeared to the non-physical realm, and the gates opened to let the party out. ------ Kyrina took point, and the older women followed, leaving the three young people bringing up the rear. Tavia took a better look at the boy. He was about average in height, with a ruddy face and squinty eyes suggesting he spent a lot of time near a fire. But he didn't have the build of a smith, and she wondered what his craft was. Whatever it might be, it apparently paid well, as a faint jingle came from the full large canvas pouch at his belt. Lierni had heard it too. "I'm surprised you carry such a heavy purse. Rebels can't pay too well." The boy grinned, showing a gap where an upper incisor should have been. "It isn't money, Miss." He had a slight accent that Tavia placed as coming from the far north of the archipelago. "My name's Pane Panschild, and I'm a glassmaker." Waiting a moment for Li to introduce herself and not having it happen, Tavia said, "I'm Tavia Reinschild, and she's--" "Lierni Totorika, I heard. Any relation to the Lindael Totorikas? My old master, Respo, trades with them." Lierni gave a curt nod. "Yes. His work is good. Or so my mother says." They all ducked to avoid a low-hanging branch. "Do rebels need a glassmaker? It's rather a luxury, isn't it?" asked Tavia. "Yah, that it is," admitted Pane. "And there's no room in the keep for me to ply my trade. But I owe Commander Senrou a debt, and until I can find a Window crystal, I can't be a master anyway." ------ They had arrived at a berry patch, and the group spread out to cover more ground. Tavia started on a bush, then noted that Li hadn't moved. "What's the matter?" The mage frowned. "How are you supposed to pick these things? There's all those little thorns in the way." Indeed, the reddish-purple berries grew very close to their defense. Tavia chuckled a bit. "That's why they're called prickle berries. You just have to be careful, like this." She slid her hand in gently, and plucked a berry, then drew it out, only to catch the fleshy part of her thumb on a thorn. "Ow!" "Careful, eh?" "It's been a few years since I did this last. My hands must have become bigger while I was at the Academy." The Academy...Tavia had almost forgotten about it for a moment. The pang in her heart was nearly as painful as her thumb. She sucked on the wound for a moment. She steeled herself. Time enough for sorrow later. "Let's try that again." This time she was more successful, and the girls soon got into the proper rhythm for picking, despite a few scratches. ----- The sun hung high at noon, and the group took a break. One of the older women had a balm for scratches, and Tavia flexed her hands to keep them from cramping. "Mind if I join you?" asked Pane. The boy's gloves, now hanging at his side, were stained with berry juice. Then again, he wasn't scratched. "I don't mind," said Tavia. Li didn't contradict her, and the boy sat down beside them. They started gnawing the midday meal, more hard bread with a few of the berries. "A bit bitter, but not bad," commented Li. "Probably quite nutritious." Pane looked a bit nervous as he asked, "Is it true that you attacked the foraging party, and crippled a man?" "They attacked our school first!" Tavia snapped. Li had her mouth open, but failed to say anything. Evidently, Tavia had stolen her line. "Sorry, sorry. Just curious." Pane rubbed his short hair anxiously. "I've heard a bit of high-minded talk," said Li, "But I've seen nothing yet that convinces me you `rebels' are anything but robbers with delusions of grandeur." "Couldn't tell you, I don't follow all that political talk too well. But I know Commander Senrou's a good man, and if he believes this cause is just, then it's okay by me." Pane punctuated his statement with a wide-armed gesture. "Right. I have a question for you then. Why do you need a Window crystal to be a master?" Tavia took a swallow of water. Pane sat up straighter. "Without a Window crystal, it's a lot harder to purify glass and shape it just so. And there's colors you can only get with the aid of Window magic. So I have to get one if I want to open my own glass-making business. And that's why I'm out wandering the land instead of in a cozy little shop." "Couldn't you just buy one? I know Rune crystals are expensive, but you could pay in trade, right?" "I'm afraid not. No one knows how to make Window crystals any more. Not sure why." Li seemed glad to finally have a chance to show her knowledge. "It's because only three runemasters ever did, Dylan Windsong and his two apprentices. Master Windsong figured out how to make them by accident, and got rich selling Window crystals to all the glassmakers of his time. That's why there's so much famous glassware from about three hundred years ago. "But none of them ever wrote down the formula, and the two apprentices died before they took apprentices of their own." Pane nodded. "Figured it was something like that. Anyhow, the only ways to get a Window crystal are to have someone give it to you, and Master Respo isn't ready to retire for a long time. That, or find one of the ones that were stolen and hidden away." "So you're treasure hunting?" asked Tavia. "More or less." Li got up and started walking towards the woods, and Pane started to follow her. Tavia caught his arm. "You don't want to do that." "What? Oh." Pane's face turned a little redder. "Aah! Spider!" Lierni's scream roused the entire group, and both Kyrina and Tavia ran towards the sound, with Pane and the older women close behind. When they found the mage, only a short distance into the woods, her Rune was glowing. Tavia looked around for the spider, but didn't see it. But maybe that dark patch on the ground? Kyrina shouted, "Wait, don--" But it was too late, and the blinding flash of lightning arced from Lierni's hand into the underbrush. "Ha! Got it!" said Lierni, a little wobbly. The woodswoman knelt over the impact crater. "Your aim is commendable, Miss Totorika. However, this was a non-aggressive breed of large spider. And I'm afraid we won't even be able to salvage the venom sacs." "Oh. Well, it shouldn't have sneaked up on me like that." Li brushed herself off and tried to look dignified. Kyrina was equally dignified. "In future, don't go wandering off like that. And please verify your targets. I'd hate to lose one of our group to friendly fire." Li rolled her eyes. "As you wish." ----- It was a much wearier group that headed back through the woods at dusk, carrying full baskets of berries, and several rabbits Kyrina had managed to shoot. Tavia had asked the closest of the old women why she was with these rebels. "Because my husband is, dearie. An army marches on its stomach, you know. Someone has to make the food, and patch the uniforms, and mend the tents and all. That, and we had nowhere else to go after Lord Venall stole our farm." "Oh. But--" Lierni cleared her throat. "Oh, Mistress of Forest Beast Identification?" she asked in a tone of false honey. Kyrina turned. "What?" "Is *that* an aggressive species of large spider?" Lierni pointed up towards the treetops, where a spider the size of a war horse was scuttling down towards the party. "Yes." Kyrina readied her bow, while Tavia and Lierni moved in front of the women. Just as the spider arrived, Pane stepped in front as well. "You're going to fight that thing with your fists?" asked Tavia. "No, I have a weapon." Pane dug into his pouch. Conversation took a break as the spider leaped. Kyrina's arrow lodged itself in one of the beast's eyes, and Tavia got in a solid hit with her sai. Lierni maneuvered to get a clear shot with her lightning, but Pane stepped in front of her. "Take that!" he shouted as he threw a glittering multi-colored substance at the creature. It didn't seem to have any effect, and the spider spat a greenish fluid at Kyrina. "Poison!" she gasped, stumbling as the venom took effect. Tavia moved to the side to distract the creature from attacking Kyrina while she was down. Close in, she could see a glittering in the joints of its exoskeleton, where at least some of Pane's weapon had stuck. She aimed for a leg, and succeeded in getting the spider's attention. Lierni shoved Pane out of the way and released a bolt from her Rune. That shook it. Kyrina had uncorked a bottle and was swigging the contents, presumably an antidote for the poison. Tavia continued to harry the spider, which was beginning to slow. Then she slipped on some ichor, and it connected with a leg. The spider closed in on her, its jaws dripping with venom. Then Tavia heard a "No!" and saw another glittering spray hit the creature's eyes. This time she could see that it was bits of glass, and several of them had struck home, blinding the spider. Tavia thrust her sai into the beast's thorax, just as another arrow sank deep into its head, and Arrano buzzed its left side. The spider shuddered and died. Tavia rolled to the right, narrowly avoiding being pinned. There was a brief moment of silence as everyone checked themselves over, and then a whoop from Pane. "Yah! We did it!" "Right." Lierni had her hands on her hips. "I could have taken that thing out in half the time if you hadn't gotten in the way. And what kind of weapon is broken glass anyway?" "Uhh, the one I use?" Pane backed away a bit. "For such a pretty girl, you sure get angry a lot." "Don't try flattering me, you bumpkin! Just stay out of my path from now on!" Kyrina straightened her hair. "If you children are quite done squabbling, we need to get back to the keep by nightfall." Tavia took another look at the spider. "You said you wanted the poison sacs?" The woodswoman nodded. "For making antidote, right." Tavia bent over and cut out the sacs. While she was there, she noticed something stuck to one side in the spider's mouth. It was a small waterproof pouch. "Wonder what's in here?" Tavia opened it to find an assortment of coins, obviously the property of some traveler who'd fallen prey to the spider before. "You keep those," said Kyrina, suddenly at her elbow. "Right of salvage." "Can we go now?" asked Li. "Yes." And so they did. ----- A bit of meat with the evening meal made it a slightly livelier affair, and afterwards, some of the soldiers set up drums for dancing in the mustering area of the keep. Tavia enjoyed watching the old-style country dances, as the soldiers competed to see who could leap the highest. Li grumbled at her side. "We should be getting some sleep. There will be hangovers in the morning, mark my word." The music switched to a couples dance, and the men and women present paired off. Pane came over and asked, "Will you dance with me, Miss Totorika?" Li looked at him scathingly. "Not in a thousand years." Tavia sighed. "I'll dance with you, Pane." It was a no-touching dance, and one she knew the steps to, so she didn't mind. "Er, thank you." They went out to an open area and began to dance. As they whirled, Pane asked, "Is it something wrong with me?" "How do you mean?" Back to back now. "Lierni. I get the impression she doesn't like me." "I think she's just upset," Tavia said. "She's never been one to calmly accept things. And we aren't in the best of positions." Spin to a different partner and back again. Pane frowned. "It's just, she's so pretty, and I don't want her to be angry at me." He looked at Tavia. "Uh, I'm not saying you're not pretty. You've got nice eyes. Clear, and trustworthy." "You are a flatterer." Tavia smiled. "But we're still prisoners here, and we'll probably be your enemies someday." The music stopped, and the dancers sat down. Li grabbed Tavia's arm. "How could you smile at him? He just wants to take advantage of any girl he can." "I don't think he's that bad. Hmm. Have you seen Reid at all since we got back?" "No. Why, are you going to dance with him too?" Tavia laughed. "No, just wondering. I wonder, too, what Senrou had him doing today...." Anything, she thought, to keep from wondering what Adele was doing.... TO BE CONTINUED New Star this Chapter: Pane, the Chisou (Earthbound Grandness) Star. Author's Notes: In each game of Suikoden, there are the characters you tend to use a lot, the characters you only use when the game forces you to, and the characters that don't get much use at all. An example of the latter is the "Window" character, whose sole purpose in the game is to change the color and shapes of the message window. Since this is a text medium, that job is, well, pointless. So instead, I've given him a minor combat use. That said, Pane may never be in the main party again. Heck, depending on the plot needs, he might not even be seen until the Window crystal is found and Tavia recruits him permanently. But a fellow can always hope he's useful. Thanks to my prereaders, and here's hoping I haven't ruined all of DiPiCarat's plans.... peace, SKJAM! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - Share your holiday photos online! http://photos.yahoo.com/