"Wow!" The princess exclaimed as she observed the three arrows Barda had finished creating. She didn't know much about arrows, but she could tell that they were not ordinary. The metal used looked a lot like the bow with the strength of a mountain, or so it was rumored to be.
Even Lady Ellen was impressed as she looked at the arrows, but her interest lay on Barda. She watched the intense focus and attention he gave to his work. To say that she was impressed was understating it. It was beautiful to look at, Barda at work. His products were even more marvelous. Watching an author draw and then to see perfection emerged was always a sight to see.
Barda's arrow was left to be cooked and cooled. Now that he had time, he tentatively looked at the two women. With a weirded-out smile, he greeted, "hey."
"So this is where you've been cooped up in all this time?" Lady Ellen exploded with rage, remembering why she'd come to seek him out.
"I've been gone long enough to be missed?" Barda teased her before asking seriously, "how long have I been gone?" Barda knew down to the nanosecond how long he'd been gone, but he still asked. A normal human wouldn't know, and he was planning to feign having lost track of time, which was true in some way. If you take out the 'lost track', to 'better priority'. I take it back, it was not true in any way.
"You've been gone all day and now it's almost evening!" Lady Ellen stated, not buying the whole 'lost track of time routine.' She was exaggerating, of course, since it was barely afternoon, but in the forging room where there is no outside light, one can lose track of time.
"So this is what you've been working on?" Lady Maara wasn't one for tantrums. Instead, she held one of the brand new arrows in her hands as she examined it. She enjoyed the feel of it. The metalwork alone was exquisite.
Seeing the shiny new arrows, even Lady Ellen was intrigued. She took one and examined it as well, admiring its work. After seeing the new weaponry, the duo agreed that they have to see the arrows in action. They wanted to see what was so different about the new arrows, and how the would perform under the experienced hands of Barda.
Both women had no qualms about how powerful Barda was, especially with a bow. Now seeing him go out of his way to work on a few arrows. That coupled with the fact that he had taken his sweet time working on the arrows. Having been gone for so long, he had only made 4.
Arrow making was a complicated problem mainly due to the archer's dilemma. Most contemporary bow designs try to get the bow out of the way by angling it in some way or other. These are proper bows that can be used by professionals and amateurs alike.
However, for a longbow, there was just no going around the fact that the bow was in the way of the arrow. Instead of it being a guide, it deflected the arrows, leading to many amateurs and poorly designed arrows being deflected.
The only way around this was in the design of the arrow. An arrow needed to be streamlined to pierce through the air as it traveled. It also needed to be sharp enough to cut through the target, getting to the organs as intended. It needed proper wind buffering as it traveled as a way of taming the air it was passing but also using it to remain afloat for longer. Finally, an arrow needed to snake its way around the bow to remain on target.
All these factors considered made arrow design quite complicated. On top of that, it was rare to see a metallic arrow as they were never as flexible as they needed to be. It is noteworthy that a metallic arrow could not snake its way around a wooden bow.
Of course, none of these women knew this. They were just interested in seeing the arrow's performance. They believed that these arrows must have been more than anything they had seen, and the two of them combined had seen quite a lot.
Given the tense environment and the threat of war, it was not that hard to find a training ground where Barda can do his thing as they were littered everywhere. Lady Maara was not having any of that. As the Crown princess, she got to enjoy certain privileges such as access to the specialized training environment for the palace elites. She insisted on using those, stating that any lesser testing ground would not showcase Barda's talent enough.
Without any argument, Barda and Lady Ellen had the princess lead the way to the training grounds.
"I never thought I would see you here," Sir Branton said as she saw the princess and her group of three enter the main training ground. From what Barda could see, there were several soldiers, numbering in the thousands, training here. Located in the innermost walls, this specialized training ground was used by the very best of elites the army could produce.
It was always a source of honor for any soldier much less anyone else to train in such grounds, and only the very best could be allowed on such grounds. The advantage was that there was better training equipment and resources available for usage. That coupled with the diet and nutrition provided served to do one role above all, make a great soldier amazing. Any product of the inner city training center was undoubtedly a great soldier and a powerful elite.
Due to the impending war, the city was not being stingy at all. They had lowered a lot of the regulations and standards that had applied during peace times. Right now, they had to maximize the strength and defense of the city.
Part of the standards being lowered was the access granted to the city center training grounds. More soldiers were training there than usual, and more equipment and resources were being rushed in.
Despite that, for security reasons, they couldn't just allow anyone in the most sensitive area of the city, the inner sanctum. The soldiers granted access were properly vetted as they were being brought in. They were still the best, they just loosened the standards of 'best' to fit more.
There was another group of soldiers in the training grounds, those with status. With status came access, and even the great city of Tristan was not exempt from that. These soldiers were heirs of grand lands and titles. Sir Branton wouldn't be left behind, taking the time to show off the place to the prince of Reuze, his guest.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Lady Maara was vexed by the implication. If anyone had access, it was her. She could go anywhere she pleased. At her position, there were very few things out of her reach in Tristan.
"I just thought you had other duties," the viscount said, feigning his ignorance. "As princess, don't you have important matters to tend to?"
"I am here to train, just like everyone else," the princess said as she stormed past the group. Barda followed, feeling vexed as well, as was Lady Ellen.
"Perhaps then we can join you, see the stock of mercenaries you brought with you." Sir Branton said as he gestured to the two following the princess.
Sir Branton had always had a massive crush on Lady Maara since he was small. As the son and heir of a respectable Marquise, he was born with the title of Viscount. His access didn't pale in the least compared to Maara's. In his mind, she was destined to be his queen while he was king. It wasn't a bad plan, just one hitch.
Maara had no feelings for him. She had rejected his advance at every turn, opting to keep their interactions at a minimum. It was clear that he never entered her sights even once. As someone who was used to have everything he ever asked for, this was a big slap on the face. Unfortunately, this came from some whose background and status was higher than his, making him unable to react.
"Sure, come along, but you get to show off what you have." Lady Maara was not crazy about the idea of having the group tag along, but she couldn't simply reject him. There was a visiting dignitary that she had to show respect to, the prince of the Great City of Reuze.
"If that's the case, then how about a wager?" This came from the prince of Reuze.
"Too bad we are only going to do some archery, nothing serious." The princess replied amicably. She didn't want some complications and bets as she was just here to watch Barda show off his new arrows.
"Excellent, my man here happens to be great in archery, how about it."
"What's the stakes?"