[D1 LE] Dinner Before Bed

[Taochusu]

Taochusu returned to the dining hall to get something to eat before turning in for the night. He grabbed a bowl of some sort of stew and found a place at one of the tables. It had some sort of meat in it and that was what he needed. He took a strong whiff of it and nodded before taking time to offer thanks to the animal and the Seidou for providing for him.

[Ryoshun Mai]

Mai usually didn't eat much in the evening but today she had worked hard, and dinner was needed to finish the last few details on the wooden weapon strapped to her back. Fierce, jagged teeth already filled most of the slots along one edge.

A small bowl of the stew would suffice. It smelled pretty good and looked hearty.

[Taochusu]

Taochusu lifted the bowl to his lips and began drinking from the bowl directly, as though the stew were water. There was a bit of dribbled juice at the corner of his mouth when he lowered it. Much of the liquid was already gone. Then he reached into the bowl and plucked out a chunk of meat to chew on wiping his mouth with his forearm.

He looked over to Mai and spoke with a mouth that was still partially full. "They make pretty good stew here, eh?"

[Ryoshun Mai]

She nodded, wincing inwardly. "Hai..." Mai, herself, chose to eat with a simple wooden spoon. So these are what true ronin are like....

"The meat is cooked well." She paused, "are you a traveller?"

[Taochusu]

He nods and swallows. "Yeah. Hunter mostly. But I've taught myself a bunch of stuff to get by. Haven't had a tribe since I was about 12."

He takes another piece of meat. "And you? You look like you spend much more time in civilized company than me." He pops the piece of meat in. At least he didn't talk with his mouth full that time. But there was still a bit of dribble from the meat.

[Ryoshun Mai]

"Ryoshun family here, a crafter myself. I can fish and cook, but I am most skilled at crafting weapons. I was born in the northern mountains and swore an oath to Nazo when she formed the Bat clan." She seemed to be ignoring the dribble quite well, all things considered.

"Speaking of...," she paused in eating to pull the weapon from her back and popped the last few strange teeth in.




((Four called raises, one free, (unbreakable) making to be given away= 47 VP spent

Success! 0k4 unbreakable "jo staff" made, 3 glory points gained!))

[Taochusu]

"Never seen anything like that," he says, looking at the curious weapon. "So you know Taiko then? I met him earlier when I moved an anvil for him. He said he was a part of the Bat clan too."

[Ryoshun Mai]

"Taiko-kun and I go way back." She smirked a little inwardly. "He's a great guy, just don't tell him I said that. It will go to his head."

[Taochusu]

"Really? I wish I could tell anyone from my tribe how much I liked them. But they're all gone now," he says with a shrug. The intricacies of friendly rivalries were apparently lost on Taochusu. "Taiko seems like a very capable man."

[Ryoshun Mai]

"He is very capable. As are many back home. We have those trained in the priestly way and those specialized in the crafts."

[Taochusu]

"Only priest I've ever really met was when I was much younger. I don't really know what they do honestly. But I've traded with a few armor and leather craftsmen. Learned enough to preserve skins for later trade. But mostly I've only figured out how to make arrows, huts, stools and bowls. That kind of stuff. And how to cook a little. I'm definitely no craftsman, not beyond what I need to survive," he says. He picks up his bowl again to drink the rest of the liquid from it before wiping his mouth clean with his forearm once more.

[Ryoshun Mai]

"Our clan lacks those specialized in the art of protection, to be forthright. Sure a lot of us can pick up a weapon in a pinch if a bandit attacks or a wild dog, but we really would benefit from learning from someone more specialized."

"In terms of the priesthood, well, I know little about their art. Our priests are a bit different than those I have heard of in tales. They can draw energy from within and make miracles happen. Perhaps Taiko-kun can tell you more. I would love to see what you can produce and if you are ok with it maybe give a few pointers."

She swung her carving knife experimentally at the new weapon and grinned as it did not chip. She offered it over, "test the balance and the weight."

[Taochusu]

Taochusu took the weapon and held it firmly. It was balanced much differently than what he was used to, not top heavy enough for his liking. And a lighter wood than any club he would choose to use. "It's well made, I can tell that much. But it's not something I'd really be good with. It's not really... how do I put it? When I use weapons they're usually heavier and the weight is focused on the point of impact. I usually use a hammer. I've used an axe before too though that broke years ago. This feels more like it's designed to connect over a larger area. Which is good against someone that's not wearing armor. I'm sure that someone that knows how to use lighter weapons than I'm used to would be able to make great use of it though. I imagine it might take someone about as powerful as me to make full use of it too. Each barb here? They spread out the force of the impact. And if it's supposed to be like an animals teeth, that can actually work against someone that doesn't have a lot of power. Once an animal bites they use their power to pull through the flesh and create worse wounds. This will certainly puncture, but without the proper power it will be exceedingly difficult to tear with that many punctures."

He hands the weapon back. "For example." He stands up and shows a scar on the side of his leg. "This was from a wolf. It was able to bite in but when it pulled it only drug me to the ground, it couldn't tear away the flesh because it's size and it's number of teeth were mismatched for tearing away flesh in a quick manner."

He then turns and shows a spot on his hip. "But this is from a bear cub. Even though it was small for a bear, they have a lot more power. When it bit in it was able to pull away the flesh easily since it had about the same number of teeth dug in but much more strength."

[Ryoshun Mai]

Nodding, she agreed with the assessment. "I will need to find someone strong and trained in staves who can use it effectively." She winced at his wounds, but knew what point he was getting at.

"What do you think about a weapon for people who are going at hands on combat with these types of teeth over the back of the hand?" She made a punching motion. "They are from a giant fish called a shark, where the water is salty. They have rows of teeth like this apparently."

[Taochusu]

"I mean, I think that getting that close to anyone that has a bigger weapon is a bad idea, but as a backup if your weapon gets damaged? I'd rather have something sharp on my hands like that if I had to fight with them. But that might also make it more difficult to grip a normal weapon. I'd have to try it out to know if it would be useful, but it's also not something I've trained myself to do. I really just know how to use big axes and hammers personally. The few times I've been in a brawl I mostly had to just rely on my size and tackle the other person," he says with a shrug.

"If you put those on something shaped more like an axe, that would be something I could use more effectively. Or if you covered a big club with them on all sides, a bit more spaced out. Like those tetsubos they have around here."

[Ryoshun Mai]

Mai nodded, listening closely. "I appreciate your insight. I need feedback from the combative types to design better weapons. I will have to see what I can come up with. Hopefully, there will be time to gather materials and work as we travel."

"You said you hunt, perhaps I could get some of your bones? The shoulder blades and maybe the long thick thighs?"

[Taochusu]

"Sure, when I next get some. I don't have any on me anymore. Not sure what animals range south of this mountain though. Hopefully there's stuff larger than rabbits, foxes and birds. Though I doubt I can catch any sharks. I'm not great at fishing, I can only make basic fish traps and those sound like they're quite big if they have more than one row of those teeth."

[Ryoshun Mai]

"Apparently, they sometimes bite people. At least, that is what I was told. Any large animal will do. Carnivore fangs work for adding a nice edge, but as you said the weiler needs added strength."

[Taochusu]

"I do have a wolf tooth I think," he says with a chuckle. "But it's still inside my leg. I couldn't get it out and the wound healed around it. I can still feel it from time to time. I don't think it's the whole tooth though."

[Ryoshun Mai]

"Hrm, perhaps if after this adventure a priest can extract that for you. It would make for an interesting souvenir and perhaps remedy any pain."