But for a Slime

“Hunter job? Is that the… a combat job?”

“Ah, no. The hunter job is a commoner job. It uses the bow.”

Garnedell interjected at that, “I… yes, there is a commoner job named hunter. Many at the village were hunters. But they did not have… I’ve never seen them use your weapon.”

Joe frowned then nodded his head. His bow was a more modern and well-crafted recurve bow while the hunters of the village basically just used a short spear bent into a bow shape.

“The hunters used the long bent stick… thing? That was their bow. There are many kinds of bows.”

Garnedell nodded at that, understanding coming to him, “Those are also bows?”

Joe smiled, “There are many kinds of bows. These are… well, the recurve bow is one of the best you can get with simple manufacturing…” Joe trailed off at that, shaking his head softly before continuing, “Well… basically. Might be able to make a compound bow… should be able to even if it’s just medieval manufacturing… would be hard to figure out all the numbers and diameters… lengths of the…”

Joe trailed off into thoughtful mutters for a time, lost in thought and the two guys left him to his thoughts. After a block or two, Joe kind of became aware and glanced over to see the two guys silently waiting for him.

“Oh! Sorry. Uh… got lost in my thoughts.”

Zilnek simply smiled at that while Garnedell nodded, “It is OK.”

Joe smiled, “Thanks for being kind.”

Garnedell looked up at Joe and chuckled, “And your kindness to us.”

Joe grinned back and shrugged, “Anyway… bows.”

Garnedell nodded, “And hunters.”

“Ah right… hunters. So… hmm.”

Joe flipped open his status and went to the available skills page before scrolling to his hunter job, pointing to the hunter job and bow skill.

“See here? This is the hunter job. This is the bow job. It is a growth skill.”

Zilnek looked eagerly at that status while Garnedell grew excited, “Why does the hunter use that weapon? Commoners… do they fight?”

“No. Commoners do not fight. And hunters aren’t really fighters. Hunters fight with a bow to hunt animals.”

Realization came to Garnedell as he seemed to put together the bows the hunters had used when Joe had taken them all out hunting for the feast, “Hunters attack animals.” He probably never saw a hunter use his bow… never left the village… and would the villagers practice? Maybe? Probably. It is a growth skill… but… donno.

Joe took a deep breath before nodding, “Our hunters also sometimes trap, but they usually take a projectile weapon.”

Joe’s sentence culminated in another swell magic bursting forth and Garnedell’s thoughtful reflective statement told him exactly which word had been translated.

“Weapons harming from… a distance. That… you have more than this bow?”

Joe nodded, “Yes. We have many kinds.”

“Could I… learn others?”

Zilnek quickly interjected, “Me, too?”

Joe smiled, nodding, “Maybe not others… but at least the bow. You want to practice with yours, Garnedell?”

Garnedell quickly nodded with a grin and Joe turned to look at Zilnek.

“For you… Uh… why don’t you see if you can pull my bow first, though. We might have to make you your own.”

Both guys smiled at that and Joe grabbed his bow, handing it to Zilnek. Zilnek reached for it eagerly then suddenly stopped himself.

“Can I hold… another weapon?”

Joe was taken aback before remembering the ridiculous weaponry limitations and he scowled, “You know what. Probably not, but let’s double check. I’ll hold it. You try to grab it and let me know if you think you can take it.”

Zilnek nodded, and this time his eagerness was not blunted. He quickly reached out to grab the bow, then yelped when it wrenched painfully from his hand. Joe grunted as the bow jerked hard, spastically jerking away from Zilnek’s touch.

“Whelp… guess that answers that question.. uh… one of the goblin king’s rings. Let’s try that.”

Zilnek nodded again, pulling off his goblin ring before looking up at Joe.

“It’s called…a bow, yes?”

Joe nodded, “Yup. Bow. The ‘mini spears’ are called arrows. So together, they are bow and arrows. But the weapon is a bow.”

Zilnek looked up at Joe, considering for a bit, then seemed to make a decision, whispering, “Bow and arrows.”

Huh… ok, that was probably pretty smart… considering sword and sword and shield are considered separate weaponry. Still… how can you … what would be a bow without arrows? Joe pondered it a bit before realizing that Zilnek was looking up at him excitedly. Joe smiled and handed the bow to him, still holding it firmly in case there were issues.

Zilnek took it gingerly, then with more enthusiasm and confidence as the bow did not riot in his hands. Noticing, Joe released it and allowed Zilnek to hold it. Joe smiled to see Zilnek’s glee and then glanced around. He noticed the street had quieted, with a crowd slowly forming around them and Joe grimaced. Right. Probably not a good place.

“Hey, guys? How ‘bout we head to the inn. We can practice in the inn’s courtyard.”

Zilnek focused on Joe, tearing his eyes away from the bow, then began glancing around. He quickly noticed the crowd and struggled to hide his embarrassed pride.

He nodded, “That seems wise, Joe.”

Joe smiled and the three turned and quickly left the area, heading towards the inn. While they walked, Zilnek toyed with the bow, excited to be holding it. He soon began asking questions, their speed of delivery taking on machine gun like speeds and soon the two were having an avid discussion about the bow. Garnedell answered some but was soon adding his own, and Joe turned into an encyclopedia for a time, answering their questions.

In almost no time, the three were in the courtyard of the inn and Joe was explaining specific details of the bow, including stance, draw, and breathing techniques once again. Zilnek listened diligently, but so did Garnedell, taking to the refresher and enjoying it. That proved a relief to Joe even as Joe got into teaching the two boys. Garnedell ran upstairs and grabbed his bow and arrows as well about half way through the lessons before sprinting back down and joining them back out in the courtyard. Zilnek listened politely but then grew impatient and turned to simply using the bow, but when he tried to draw the bow, its strength proved overwhelming and Joe frowned. Well, that makes sense. If a hundred is average human strength… normal guys would struggle with this bow. Zilnek’s… missing a lot of strength! So was Garnedell when he did it… so…

“Well… you aren’t strong enough, Zilnek.”

Zilnek looked up at Joe, and appeared devastated.

Joe noticed then chuckled, “Relax. You are just too weak, for now, to use my bow. We’ll have to go make one for you.”

“Yeah. It was too strong for me as well, Zilnek,” Garnedell chimed in with a clap on Zilnek’s shoulder.

Zilnek’s despair quickly changed to relief and amazement, then awed hope, “My… my own! Really!?”

Joe laughed, “Yeah. We would have to anyway. We each need our own. Already got Garnedell his, so… Yeah. You should get one, too. I just needed to know how strong to make the bow.”

“You know how to make one?”

Joe sighed at that, shaking his head, “Making one is simple in practice, but I doubt very much that I’ll be able to do so very well. We’ll probably have to make a lot before we make a good one. But… ”

Zilnek’s happiness quieted at that, but Joe had already turned away, “Come on. Let’s head to the carpenter’s guilds. We need wood. And string… so the cloth workers as well!”

“Huh?”

“We need wood and string.”

“Now?”

“Do you want a bow?”

Zilnek’s quiet evaporated as he leaped to his side, excitement vibrating through his body, “Yes! Thank you, master! Thank you so much! I would love one!”

Garnedell grinned with humor and glanced up at Joe as Zilnek and Joe glanced at Garnedell as well, both smiling at Zilnek’s enthusiasm.

Joe chuckled,his annoyance over Zilnek tempered by his enthusiasm and willingness to learn, “Well, let’s go get you one then. That way you can practice with Garnedell and I.”

Zilnek’s joy withdrew a little and he looked to Joe, but his smile couldn’t be hidden, “Thank you, Joe.”

Joe glanced at Zilnek and the two smiled, nodding, before heading down the street in silence for about a half a block before Garnedell and Zilnek once again began asking many questions about the bow. Zilnek was still holding it, and began inspecting it carefully while they spoke and walked. The twenty minute walk to the artisan section of the city went quickly and they soon came to the woodworking section, the deep smell of lumber permeating everything.

There were no lumber yards or large wood stockpiles as all the woodworkers seemed to be more devoted to the art of the fine crafting. The largest were furniture workers. Joe wandered from shop to shop, inspecting carefully until he found a shop making some kind of device of which he had no idea of its purpose, but it included a long straight rounded piece in it that Joe hoped could translate to a bow easily enough. He guided the other two in and they all entered the shop. There were a few small showcase pieces at the front, but the majority of the shop was dedicated to the actual craft. It was less of a sales store and more of a craftsmen’s work shop. A large table sat in the middle with dozens of odd tools of which Joe realized he really didn’t recognize any. Joe wasn’t exactly well versed in woodworking, but the typical expected tools just as hatchet and saw, appeared to be completely missing. This was a surprise to Joe, but he said nothing and simply waited.

In the middle of the room, over the large work table, a slim wiry man toiled over a piece. The man was about as tall as Joe, which he was surprised by, as almost everyone in the town proved remarkably short compared to him. The carpenter also had a shimmering quality to him that Joe just quite couldn’t catch. Something… somehow… shimmered about that man. Some form of glamor, or vision. An illusion or an odd artifact of light just out of reach of his senses vibrated and glimmered off the man. His skin almost seemed to take on a rainbow sheen to it but simultaneously seemed utterly mundane and normal. There were other oddities that made him truly ‘not human’ but they were all remarkably muted or small changes that really only stood out when deliberately focused on. Joe found all of it bizarre and interesting, but quickly shook it from his mind when the man called out.

“What do you seek?”

Joe turned to the carpenter and spoke as he held up his bow, pointing to the grip and limbs, the wooden shaft, “Ah! Yes. Master carpenter. I seek to duplicate this, if you would.”

* * *