Respect

For Stone Keep and its Citizens
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fearecia
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm

Re: Respect

Post by fearecia »

The dwarves were eyeing the dragonkin like she'd gone mad. This was their defense against magic instructor? A tiny sprite? Gretchen, to her credit, wasn't remotely intimidated by the assembled troops that, should they be able to reach her, could probably squash her easily. Instead, she sat easily on Fearecia's shoulder, her grin matching the dragonkin's own.

"Alright then. Folks, this is Gretchen, and she's going to be helping me teach you how to combat mage spells," Fearecia began. Gretchen took the moment to stand up on the dragonkin's shoulder and take a small bow. "Now, this is going to be a bit interesting, as the usual tactics to disrupt a mage's spells will not remotely work with her. Also, my scales and training make me generally immune to most offensive spells, so you'll have to bear with me while I pretend to be affected." There was some amused chuckling at that. "So, we're going to start simple, then expand."

There were nods all around. Gretchen took to the air as Fear walked over to Scott, retrieving her shield. She'd had to make a special trip to the lockers last night to fetch it; she hadn't use the thing in ages. Like all her weapons though, she'd had the inside lined with leather, so she wasn't about to borrow someone else's shield. Putting the shield on her left arm, she fiddled with the straps a bit, getting it comfortable once more. It felt really strange to use the thing.

"Ready, Gretchen?"

The little sprite nodded, lightning starting to crackle between her fingers as she chanted the words.

"When dealing with spells, the absolute best thing you can do is dodge. Failing that, spells can be deflected. A shield is one of the best tools for that, especially one with a polished surface of some kind." She hefted the shield in front of her, the surface shining in the morning sunlight, and gave the little sprite a quick nod.

Gretchen loosed the spell, the lightning arcing across the distance with vicious speed. Fear crouched, lining up the shield and tilting the top forward slightly. The spell hit and bounced, the lightning grounding out into the dirt. "Shields however, are not required." Nodding, she dropped the shield and took out her katana, gesturing for Gretchen to fire again. Once again lightning flared and the dragonkin moved the flat of her blade to intercept it, this time sending the lightning directly back at the little sprite. Gretchen's eyes widened in surprise as the lightning arced back at her, impacting her shimmering magical shields. Thankfully, the shields held, the lightning crackling out into nothingness.

"Take a rest, Gretchen," Fear said, grinning. The sprite muttered and fluttered back over, taking a seat on the dragonkin's shoulder once again as she slid her katana back into its sheath. The ebon kin turned turned back to the troops. "Clearly, you can deflect a spell back at the caster, which, as you can see, very few of them expect. However, doing so is a fairly risky endeavor, and you are very likely to miss. So, for now, just work on blocking the spells. Aiming them at the ground is your best bet. As you get better, we'll trade shields for your axes, and you'll practice with those." She paused a moment, making sure everyone was keeping up with her. "Also, I want you to pay close attention to what it looks like when Gretchen casts particular spells. Knowing what spell is coming at you is key. If you see the motions for an ensnare spell, just take cover, because there is no deflecting those things. Questions?"

"Are we supposed to swing at her?"

Gretchen giggled. Fear smirked. "Oh, definitely. I doubt any of you will be able to hit her, much less get close. Those wings give her a massive advantage over you guys. Also, as you saw, she has protective shields, and enchanted armor. Good luck hurting her with a single blow."

There were several dubious expressions amongst the troops, but they stayed quiet. Clearly, none of them could see how a teeny sprite could affect them. Especially not when Fear made it seem so easy to block a spell. Yet, no one else piped up.

"Alright. Everyone, shields and axes. Gretchen, let me know when your draughts run low. I have some herbs in my pouch."

Still looking doubtful, the dwarves dutifully gathered up their weapons. The shields were all the basic variety, but they would do the trick of deflecting the spells. Provided the dwarves managed to get the hang of it, that is.

"Everyone ready?" Nods, and some snickering, echoed back at the dragonkin. Fear smiled. "First person to impact her shields wins. Gretchen, take it away."

The summoned lightning ripped through the entirety of the troops all at once.
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fearecia
Posts: 340
Joined: Sat Apr 26, 2014 2:09 pm

Re: Respect

Post by fearecia »

Gretchen was 11 inches of pure, pink haired mischief. Like the dragonkin, she was very accustomed to people underestimating her due to her size. Very often she was brushed aside, ignored, even absently smacked around because people just didn't see her. Needless to say, it was very entertaining to be displaying just how mighty she could be.

Per her agreement with the dragonkin, she kept the lightning storm spell at a very low power. The worst anyone would experience was some singed hair. Still, it had the desired effect, sending the majority of the dwarves ducking for cover. A few managed to get their shields up in time, sending lightning flying everywhere. One rebounded and struck the dragonkin, who merely looked amused as it danced across her scales.

Another hail of lightning followed, effectively pinning down the dwarves. Fearecia watched them closely, lounging back out of the way and waiting for them to catch onto the real lesson. Sure, they were meant to learn how to deal with a mage, but there was another, older lesson she truly wanted to reinforce.

A dwarf took a risk and charged Gretchen, axe swinging wildly past his shield. The little sprite simply flew higher into the air, out of reach, and sent a quick zap at his butt as he ran past. Poor fellow about jumped out of his boots.

Over in the corner, some shields had started to huddle together, providing a protective barrier while their wielders conversed. Occasionally a beard would peak out from a little hole in between the shields, only to duck back quickly. Slowly, more shields made their way towards the group, fewer and fewer trying to be lone heroes.

The dragonkin couldn't help but grin. They doing exactly as she had hoped and drawing together to figure out a solution to their dilemma. As always, teamwork was the real lesson here, and one Fear was elated to see them returning to when confronted with uncharted territory.

The group of shields suddenly started moving, retreating over to where the practice weapons were stored. The few stragglers retreated with the main group, causing Fear to gesture at Gretchen to pause for a moment. The little sprite took a deep breath before taking a swig from her draught, grateful for the reprieve. Whatever were they up to?

There was some shuffling, the movements hidden behind a wall of shields. Then, slowly, in unison, the shields began to advance again, marching steadily towards the tiny mage. Gretchen raised an eyebrow in question and Fear nodded; have at them. The little sprite upped the anty, adding fireballs to her cascade of lightning.

The shields started to fan out in a semi-circle, all the dwarves staying carefully behind them. Gretchen frowned, unable to target anything besides shield faces. The dwarves were being extremely careful.

Finally, in a break between casts, the archers popped up from behind the shields. Swiftly, they took aim and loosed a volley of arrows, hoping to catch the sprite in the crossfire before ducking back behind the shields.

Panic seized Gretchen as she realized a dozen arrows were suddenly careening straight for her. She quickly muttered the words to a fireball spell, hoping to knock out the vast majority of the arrows, but fizzled the spell in her speed. With a wet splat, a padded arrow knocked into her shields, leaving a bright blue paint splotch behind.

The dragonkin smiled. They'd even made sure to use the padded arrows so as to not accidentally hurt the wizard. Slowly, she began clapping, applauding the dwarves for a job extremely well done.

Gretchen huffed and dispelled her dragon shards, letting the paint splatter fall to the ground. Grumbling good naturedly, she returned to her chosen spot on the dragonkin's shoulder. Slowly, the dwarves peeked out from behind their shields, unsure if the magical barrage was over or not.

"Congratulations, all of you," Fear rumbled, her pride showing through. "You did precisely what I wanted you to: band together to defeat the enemy. You also assessed your resources, improvised, and adapted to the situation. You even showed restraint in dealing with the threat. Bravo!"

Grins split bearded faces, high fives being shared between friends. They'd done well today.

Fearecia let them have their celebration for a few minutes. They'd certainly earned it. "Alright. Now, Gretchen will show you how to recognize different spells and how best to counter them. After that, I'll show you the weak spots to target on a mage's body to interrupt their spell casting for good."

Gretchen flew off her shoulder and down to the dwarves, the troops gathering around her eagerly. They'd passed their test for today, but they weren't done learning quite yet.

The ebon dragonkin grinned, watching them, once again extremely pleased with their progress. They were just about ready.
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