Both the general supplies and weapon shops were on the same street as Pruna's armory, so it didn't take long going from one to the other. The first stop was the shop of Brion Fellhammer to buy weapons for Juno and Sam as well as replacing the missing throwing darts from Rob's set of three.

As they entered the shop, there was already quite a crowd browsing for goods. Most were just wandering up and down the aisles picking up a sword here and an ax there. Giving them test swings and then putting them back.

As he headed towards the line leading to the front counter, Rob said, "Why don't you two look around and I will get in line. I just need something small."

Juno and Sam wandered off towards the various weapon racks. A few minutes later, Rob found himself next in line, overhearing the conversation in front of him.

A man of average build, probably a fighter by the looks of his gear, said to the grizzled man behind the counter, "Are you insane? You want how much for this?"

Robert saw the tint of the man's skin change a deep red shade as he replied, "Look, son. I've about had enough of all of you adventurers today. The prices are the prices. If you don't like them, then you can continue down the street, but I guarantee you will not find anything of the same quality for less."

The man paused for a moment and slammed the sword he'd been looking at onto the counter and turned away as he said, "You can keep your damn sword. I'll find something better."

The man behind the counter exhaled deeply, closing his eye, probably to calm himself, and said, "Next." In a bellowing, angry voice."

Robert walked up and said, "Good morning, sir. Can I assume you are Brion Fellhammer?"

"Yes, that be me. What is it you want?" He answered with an edge of irritation to his voice.

"Excellent, both Lewee Windcrag and Pruna told us to come here to get outfitted. I have two friends looking for main weapons, and I need at least two throwing darts."

"So Lewee sent you? Good, good. What is it your friends be needing?"

Rob pointed towards Juno and said, "She is proficient with the quarterstaff," he shifted to point at Sam and continued, "and Sam there is proficient with battle-axes, I believe. Can you assist them?"

Brion rounded the corner of the counter and walked directly towards Sam without answering Rob's question. "Oy, boy! Your half-elf friend here says you be looking for a battle-ax."

Sam spun towards the older man and responded, "Yes, I'm looking for a solid battle-ax that I can level with. Maybe even upgrade if that's possible."

"Well, you've come to the right place. There are several different options."

Brion and Sam fell into a conversation about various axes' pros and cons, and Rob soon lost interest. He saw a few racks of smaller knives and throwing implements to the side of the front counter where a timid young girl now stood in Brion's place. He walked over and began picking up and testing the weight of the various implements.

While none of them were throwing spikes, he did find a collection of throwing stars, knives, and even one or two throwing axes. He wasn't sure which to get because he really hadn't had time to train with them. As he tested each the girl slowly approached, but didn't say anything until he started to look at a set of throwing knives with elongated leaf-shaped blades.

"Oh, those are very good." She blurted out.

Rob smiled and said in response, "Oh, really. What makes them so good?"

The girl instantly dropped her shyness and began pulling several different types of throwing knives off the rack and putting them on the counter while starting her explanation, "Oh, they are good because they are a nice balanced blade. That means you can throw them blade or handle first. While they are a bit more difficult to master than something like this," she held up a knife with a smaller handle and larger blade, "they can be thrown whichever way you want. Blade first or handle first. I find they are better for a quick throw."

The girl put down the knife in her hand and continued by holding up another knife, "This knife is meant to be thrown handle first, which is also effective, but depending on how you are carrying it, to begin with, you might need both your hands to draw and then throw it. It's a little less practical for fighting."

"I see, that is very helpful information," Rob said as the girl continued talking about the positives and negatives of the different types of knives on display.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

A few minutes of explanation passed, and the girl asked, "So, which ones do you think you like?"

Rob contemplated for a moment and said, "I think I like the ones you recommended. The set of three balanced knives. The problem is I already have a sheath for my throwing spikes." He turned over his wrist showing her the bracer on his left arm.

She bent over the counter and said, "We do take trade as well. This looks to be of decent quality, but you are missing two spikes. Did you know that?"

Rob laughed. "Yes, that was one of the things I was looking for here."

She smiled and said, "Unfortunately, we don't usually sell throwing spikes. They are a little less useful than a knife and don't pack as much of a punch when they hit their target. You also have to be very proficient in your throwing skill since they are only useful against the body's vital areas."

Robert thought about his character creation trial and how lucky he had been. "Oh, I didn't know that. I don't actually have the throwing skill yet, but I want to learn."

The girl straightened up and said, "Ok, in that case, I will cut you a deal. We will take the bracer and spike in trade. I will not only sell you the knives and replacement bracers that you can store them in, but I will give you a lesson in Throwing." She closed her eyes for a moment mumbling a few numbers, and then continued, "All of that for four gold."

Rob didn't actually know if that was a fair price or not, but he'd just paid eight gold for two sets of leather armor and a chainmail shirt. "How about three gold?"

The girl thought for a moment and said, holding her hand out to shake Rob's hand, "Deal."

Rob took her hand, thinking he may have just overpaid. "All right. So, where do we practice."

The girl reached over the counter and started working on his left bracer's straps and said, "Oh, we can go out back for a few minutes." She stood up taller and said in a louder voice, "Pa, I'm going to take this guy out back and teach him the Throwing skill."

Brion answered, "Aye, I'll cover the shop."

Rob pulled out three gold and put it on the counter as she finished removing and then attached replacement bracers to both of his forearms. "There you go. Three gold."

"Thank you for your business. Oh, by the way, I'm Una, Una Fellhammer."

She finished adjusting the bracers' buckles, and Robert said, "Pleasure to meet you, Una. My name is Rob."

"Pleasure, Rob. Now follow me." She said quickly, walking to the other end of the counter and through the curtain leading to the back.

On the other side of the curtain was a small room filled with crates, a desk piled with papers, and a cot. She walked past the mess and out the back door. Outside was a small courtyard that reminder Rob of pictures he'd seen in his history class about a type of home called a townhouse. It was a narrow yard that stretched back about twenty feet and was maybe ten feet wide. On the opposite side was a man-shaped silhouette painted on the fence with deep gouges concentrated in the head, chest, and to Rob's discomfort, the groin area.

"This is where I practice. So, you should stand there." She said while pointing at a spot about fifteen or sixteen feet away from the target. "That is an optimal distance, in my opinion. You can hit things from farther away, but the further you get from your target, the less likely you will hit well. You can hit if you are closer, but I would say less than four or five feet is not that useful. Just stab them at that point. You also have a bow, so depending on your timing and speed, distances beyond twenty feet might be more effective with a bow."

Robert listened to her go on about different distances and techniques. He'd never heard anyone talk about anything as passionately or obsessively as she spoke about knives. After she finished explaining different techniques, she stood at the line, demonstrated a few methods, and practiced them afterward. His first few attempts bounced off the fence harmlessly, but after focusing on one technique, he hit the fence two out of three times. He still had poor aim, and one might hit in the chest and the other three feet to the side of the target, but it was a start.

When she finished teaching him an announcement popped up in his notifications:

Congratulations, you've learned a new skill!

Skill Learned: Throwing Knife Proficiency

Level: 1 Beginner

Sweet! Now you can throw pointy things at bad guys and miss most of the time.

She must have been able to tell he'd learned something and clapped a little while saying, "Congratulations!"

He smiled. "Thank you very much for the lesson. I should be getting back to my friends. Can you show me the way back in?"

"Sure, follow me." She said as she smiled and turned back into the shop.

When he entered the main shop, both Sam and Juno were at the front counter finishing their transactions. "Hey, what did you end up getting."

Sam almost jumped forward and said, "I got this sweet double-bladed battle-ax. Brion said it would be a good weapon for me until I advance to the intermediate level of my double-handed ax skill."

Juno smiled and said, "I got a metal banded quarterstaff. It should serve me until my intermediate skill develops as well. Where did you go?"

"Una, Brion's daughter, taught me the knife throwing skill after I bought these." He held up his hands, showing the sheaths with two throwing knives on each bracer's underside.

She stepped closer and said, "Those are cool. Maybe next time, I will have to have her teach me too."

Robert thought about something and turned to Una. "What level do I have to be to teach a skill to someone?"

Una perked up a little and answered, "For basic skills like knife throwing, you have to attain twenty levels. That is the equivalent of moving to level 1 intermediate since the first or beginner tier of a skill has twenty levels. Intermediate has forty levels, and advanced has forty more. Then you get into mastery, which, as far as I know, has not top end."

He turned back to Juno and said, "If I get to intermediate, I'll teach you if you can wait that long."

"Sounds like a plan to me." She answered.

Sam interrupted, "We should really get going. We have one more stop before heading out, and I don't want to spend all day just buying gear."

With that, they said their goodbyes and headed back onto the streets of Andhull to find the general goods store and then the closest gate leading into the area beyond the city walls.