Fandom High School

Rosa had made a suggestion to Amaya that they try and see, if their last class, if they could use those reindeer floating around for targets, but Amaya vetoed the idea. Not because of any particular love for little tiny reindeer, but mostly because the logistics of getting them into the danger shop was faulty and not worth trying to herd them. And Rosa immediately lost interest when Amaya suggested she just program her own floating reindeer for their sim.

So there were no reindeer, just the usual practice dummies and targets on the field in the Totally Not A Ren Faire training grounds, as well as racks and tables bristling with weapons of all kinds.

"Well," said Amaya, greeting them with a nod and a pull of her gloves, "welcome to the last class. As your final, you'll have the opportunity to just spend more time with more weapons at your leisure. Want more sword practice in? Grab a blade and get hacking. Want Detective Diaz to go over proper axe-throwing technique? That's what she's here for. Want to know more about the difference between a halberd and a glaive? Believe you me, I will be happy to help you out there! You may also find some more unfamiliar weapons among the ones we've covered, so it's a good opportunity to learn something we didn't have time for, or if you have any questions about anything we didn't go over, now's the time. Basically, just a nice catch-all wrap up for whatever you'd like to do or work on to bring us out. So let's just get right to it!"

The racks that usually stood bristling with weapons behind Amaya in their training field were definitely being put to good use that morning, lined up with a broad assortment that should leave no guesses as to what the subject of today's class would be.

And, even if there were guesses, Amaya was obviously about to answer that question straight away. "Polearms!" she declared happily. "Close range combat weapons that usually involve something sharp and pointy at the the end of a stick! And, well, consider it the spear's fancier, more elaborate cousin who maybe went to some kind of posh military school, or the like. Though not quite as varied as the sword, there are a multitude of different styles of pole arms, from your halberds to your glaives. Tridents count, so do harpoons, bardiches, war scythes, and lances! Even the humble spear itself! So since there's plenty to talk about today, and plenty of techniques to go over, let's not waste another moment and get right into it!"

And get right into it she did, in the hopefully-by-now expected exhaustive fashion, covering everything from how the concept came about to a more detailed breakdown on how the various different heads of polearms evolved over time, complete with a flowchart and several actual examples of this evolution, with an emphasis on how their versatility and effectiveness, as well as the low cost and ease of production, which lead to a lot of experimentation with styles, which is why so many pole arms'll look so different, even among the same kinds, and why they became so popular as a weapon on the battlefield, especially when you start getting into how effective they were against enemies on horseback.

"Now, generally speaking," ha!, "as you may have noticed by the development of the weapons, pole arms can be divided into three broad categories: those designed for extended reach and thrusting tactics used in pike square or phalanx combat, those designed to increase leverage, thanks to hands being able to move freely towards several different leverage points all along the pole, which could maximize centrifugal force against cavalry, and those designed for throwing tactics used in skirmish line combat. Since we've talked a little bit about throwing spears in our last class, we'll be mostly focusing on thrusting and leverage today. Your focus should really be on what makes the pole arm different from other weapons we've studied in this class so far: the range, the length, and, really, how you use it changes based on the positioning of your hands on the shaft."

"Heh," Rosa contributed helpfully, because it never, ever got old, "shaft."

Aaaaand Amaya was just going to ignore that, thank you, and instead, she was just going to take a few more moments to get into even more specific details about some of the more well known pole arms and what classified them, although... "As I mentioned, there's been a lot of playing around with different forms of pole arms over the centuries, so this is not even remotely exhaustive, but it' a good look at some of the differences. Hopefully, you'll be able to see if those differences make much...well, difference...once you get out there and get a feel for them yourselves.

"And, with that, we'll turn it over to the Detective, unless there's any other lingering questions about pole arms before we start getting into the more hands-on stuff."

"Welcome back, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with her usual nod, and that little eager smirk on her face that meant she was ready to talk your ear off about some weapon or another before letting you loose on some poor practice dummies. "Last week, we did a little bit of long, long, long distance destruction with catapults and trebuchets, so today, we're going to take it down a notch--ha HA! ARCHER HUMOR!-- "with something a little more...handheld. That's right, today, we're going to be talking about bows!"

( Shot through the heart. )

"That just about covers the basics," Amaya grinned faintly. "If there's any questions, though, let's have 'em, and then we're going to get to work. First, before we get to the fun part, I'm going to teach you all how to actually string a bow, though, because a bow's not much good if you've gone and snapped a string or worn it down and can't replace it with a new one. Then it's off to Detective Diaz, where she'll go over nocking, aiming, and shooting at the targets we've got set up over there, and I'm sure, by the end of the class, if you're not an expert already, you will be!

"Or," she added, chuckling faintly, "at the very least, since we're in the Danger Shop, if you're not an expert by the end of class, at least you'll not have lost an eye."

Missed class last week? What missed class last week? Surely, neither teacher knew what you were talking about.

But anyway, onto class for this week! Back out in the usual training field under the watchful shadow of that model castle on a hill, the table beside Amaya was set up with a smaller variety of weapons, and most of them were actually wooden rather than metal, and she greeted the students with a grin.

"Welcome back, everyone," she said, "and, since the school trip is up next week, that means this week, we're actually going to take a little time to get to know the weapons culture of our destination before we head out, which means we'll be doing over some of the traditional weapons of the Māori people of New Zealand! Now, the Māori tended to favor hand-to-hand combat, and so the weapons they used are reflective of that, and they usually crafted their weapons out of wood, whalebone, greenstone, and regular stone, which is, admittedly, a bit further out of my expertise, although I've had a hand at a few of those materials over the years as well.

"So, today, we're going to talk a little bit about the patu, the mere, the wahaika, the taiaha, and the kotiate, what makes them different, what they were used for, and how to use them. So let's jump right in with the patu..."

This week, the class would not be outside in Ren Faire tournament grounds, because this week was the week where Rosa got to pick the location, which meant they were basically in some kind of abandoned warehouse. All the practice dummies were wearing black ninja masks like B-movie criminals because Rosa really did need to lay off the late-night shitty action movie marathons, and there were a few tables with a wide variety of small bladed weapons waiting to be used and explored

"Welcome back, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with a nod. "Last week, we learned about swords, and this week, we're going to be working with something similiar, but smaller. In a way, we're doing this a bit backwards, since swords very likely developed from these weapons, but I do like to start with the classics. So, I hope you're ready, because today, we're going to learn about..."

Amaya had barely trailed off before Rosa yanked one of the weapons out of the wood of the table, threw it past her co-teacher, until it struck firmly in the center of the chest of one of the dummies with a slight wobble at it stuck.

"Daggers," Rosa concluded helpfully.

( Daggers! )

"Well," Amaya sighed a little, shaking her head, "I do think having a switchblade makes you cool. But that's enough about the history aspects of it. Pretty basic, pretty broad, because a dagger's just one of those weapons that's so logical that it makes its way into just about everything, but if you have any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to go into a little more detail. And if not, I'll be handing you over to Detective Diaz, who will go over with you some of the different ways to use a dagger in combat, and then you'll have the chance to give it a try with the practice dummies yourself."

The training field was just a little bit different this week, most notably in the fact that the tables and weapons rack held a wide variety of familiar weapons that had been covered throughout the semester, and there was a long table with a few chairs at it in front of them, and Amaya held a small stack of papers in her hands.

"Well, everyone," she said with a nod, "we've made it to the end of the semester, which means today's class is going to be a good overview to test what you've learned. Literally, as we've compiled up a little exam for you covering all the weapons we've talked about to see what you remembered about them all."

Was the test the result of Amaya's love for imparting weapons knowledge? Was it the result of Rosa's desire to torture students? Was it both?

Both. It was definitely both.

"But," Amaya added, "it isn't very long, and we tried to keep the spirit of the Basic part of the class title in mind when we put it together, so I don't suspect it will take too long. Which means, after you've dealt with the technical aspect, you've got the rest of the class period to do what you can with the practical aspects. All the weapons we've covered are here again today, as well as a few we didn't get to, so if you want to squeeze in some extra practice or ask any lingering questions, today's the day to do it. But first!" She waved the papers and then started to hand them out. "Let's get these exams out of the way!"

The danger shop training grounds was set up just like it usually was every week, but there was one key difference in the class that morning, and that was the fact that one of the teachers was definitely a very large black panther at the moment.

And the other teacher was just going to do have to do the best she could with that information.

"Well," Amaya said, giving the students an apologetic smile as panther!Rosa lay beside her with a look that seemed to shift between complete disinterest in everything and considering the students as potential tasty snacks (well, maybe not Graham; not a lot of meat on that one), "as you can see, Detective Diaz is currently a large cat, which sort of makes our plans for this weeks' class a little trickier to pull off, especially when it comes to the training sessions, but that just means we've got to be a little....creative....and talk about bagh nakh today!

"Bagh nakh," Amaya continued, plucking up one such weapon, "sometimes called tiger claws are said to have their origins around India in this world, and are basically an ancient version of your modern day brass knuckles, just a lot pointier, which, as I'm sure you all know by now, is right up my alley. Designed to fit over the knuckles." here, she took a moment to show off the one way, before fitting them on the other way, "or be concealed under and against the palm, it consists of four or five curved blades affixed to a crossbar or glove, as you can see, and is designed to slash through skin and muscle, as Detective Diaz will show you in a moment.

"Much of the history suggests that it was a preferred weapon for assassins, back in the day, and it was said that many kept their hidden in their turbans, and, quite often, it would be a secondary weapon when dual-wielding...a sword or other such weapon in one hand, with a surprise bagh nakh in the other, and, just like the brass knuckles of today or other such easily concealed blades, it's a popular self-defense weapon in dangerous areas. There's also been sport involved around the bagh nakh, appropriately called 'claw wrestling,' which, you know, is like regular wrestling...but with claws.

"We are not going to be claw wrestling today. Well, I suppose we could be, if you wanted, but we'll get to that shortly..."

Well, shortly being a relative term, because now Amaya was going into her usual bits about the structure, design, and variations on the design part of the lecture, with several examples and occasionally getting very deep into the details of the differences.

"Now, obviously, Detective Diaz has real claws today instead of the bagh nakh, but we'll see how well the weapons compare to the technique of the real thing. Any questions before I unleash the beast on you all?"

Rosa seemed to perk up a bit.

"Er, on the practice dummies," she clarified. "Unless her on the practice dummies."

Rosa's shoulders sank back down.

"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted the class with her usual eager grin. "So far in this class, we've talked about some of the more sophisticated of the basic weapons that have proven worthy through the test of time and improved on various technology through the ages, but today, we're going to step back a little and explore a more basic weapons....as the title of the class might suggest we would!...that you don't really see as much of today, but really, that just goes to show how diverse weapons can be, and that you don't even need a whole lot of fancy metal and steel to have a good effective weapon! Don't get me wrong! Sometimes, nothing's going to beat a solid sword or axe, and I'm not just saying that because my career depends on it! But that's the beauty of weapons, really. You have choices. And today, with that in mind, we're going to be be talking about the atlatl!"

And this was when Rosa stepped aside to gesture at the table that was behind her, with several atlatl's waiting to be used, with the world's most unenthusiastic "Ta-dah."

Look, wasn't it enough that she'd even let Blackstone convince her to keep up with the 'ta-dah' in the presentation in the first place for this lesson?

( Yeet them Spears! )

How exactly did a early modern 21st century former Brooklyn cop learn to be so good with an ancient hunting tool that was actually illegal to use in several countries? That was a good question. No, she would not be answering it.

"And that," Amaya concluded, "is that. Now it's your turn. If you have any technical questions, feel free to ask them, otherwise, head on over to the training ground, grab your weapons, and give it a try!"

The danger shop setting of your weekly weapons class had changed substantially this week; instead of the big grassy field and tournament banners with a castle (only a model!) looming over from a hilltop, the class would find themselves on a long stretch of sandy beach beside a turquoise-blue ocean, with the thick tropical jungle on the other side, in what was clearly a recreation of some of the landscapes that had filled their vacation last week. And the nice thing about the danger shop recreation? Neither of your instructors had to be even remotely fussed about what the humidity might be doing to their hair.

( Bring on the Badiks! )

"Naturally, then," Amaya flashed another grin, "we're going to be learning to fight with the badik in the traditional dueling sense! There are, of course, a few other fighting techniques that Detective Diaz here is going to show you, and then we'll go around, partner up, and get to dueling! Any questions about the badik itself before we jump into the fray? If not, I'll hand it over to the detective and we'll get started."

Today was finally the day where that castle sitting up there on the hill overlooking their Danger Shop training field became so much more than only a model...

It was going to become the target.

And the weapons they were using today were definitely not going to fit on a table or a rack.

"Siege weapons!" Amaya announced happily, excitedly, gesturing to the small collection of various delightful mechanical wonders around her. "Specifically, petrary weapons, which are a classification of siege weapons that involve flinging heavy objects or missiles, typically large stones, though not always. And before anyone asks, no, we will not be flinging each other, even if it is the danger shop. I'll admit, it's kind of a jump from some of the more traditional melee weapons we've been covering so far, but they're fun, and a nice little break for your arms this week, so you're welcome. They're not exactly the most practical of weapons in this particular day and age...they're not really the most practical of weapons outside of war in general, for that matter, if I'm entirely honest, but I dare anyone to give one of these a try and then look me in the eye and tell me that they didn't have a good time with it."

A faint blush may have sprung up with those words this time around, but Amaya was clearly moving forward.

"Petrary weapons were developed as a way to break down fortresses and walls to gain points of entry into enemy strongholds. Some of them are gravity operated, like a trebuchet, where a large counterweight is used to propel the missile, or they're tension operated, like a catapult, where the throwing arm is pulled back and then released.

"Today, you'll have the chance to give four different petrary weapons a try: the classic catapult, the traditional trebuchet, a biting ballista, and the more manual mangonel..."

And if anyone in particular was wanting a complete and detailed dissection on exactly what made each one different in painstaking detail, you were in luck! Because that was exactly what you were getting, as Amaya launched into how each one was made, how to use one, what the benefits and downfalls of each design was, and all the thrilling science behind it all. Look. They were both weapons and machines. She was going to geek out about them. It could not be helped, especially since she was covering both sides of the class that day. Rosa was still absolutely there, she wouldn't miss siege weapon day for anything if she could help it, but Amaya definitely had more experience with them than she had, in a rare turn of events, so she was more than happy to let the blacksmith take the entire lead on the class.

She would, however, be testing the machines right along side the students. Bashing down fake castles never got old.

Amaya knew that the students, too, would likely be itching to go break down some fake walls on that nice stately castle (even if it was only a model), so she wasted no more time after she'd concluded her exhaustively handwavey lessons on each one.

"If anyone wants me to go over anything again once they actually get up to one of the machines and start to figure out how to put all of this into practice," she said, "just let me know. But I think you're ready to give it a try, so go ahead," she lifted her hands, pounding one fist into her palm, "and let's get our siege on."

"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted the class with the usual eagerness that came with the prospect of getting to blather on about weapons to a captive audience for a certain amount of time, easily one of her favorite things ever. "And welcome back! I hope you're feeling limber and ready to work those arms today, because we're moving onto a personal favorite of Detective Diaz over here, and, really, that's no surprise. Today, we're talking all about axes!"

( What kind of woman doesn't have an axe? )

With that, Amaya concluded her ramble lecture and turned a faint grin to the students. "Are there any questions? If not, I'll turn it on over to Detective Diaz."

This week, the class would not be outside in Ren Faire tournament grounds, because this week was the week where Rosa got to pick the location, which meant they were basically in some kind of abandoned warehouse. All the practice dummies were wearing black ninja masks like B-movie criminals because Rosa really did need to lay off the late-night shitty action movie marathons, and there were a few tables with a wide variety of small bladed weapons waiting to be used and explored

"Welcome back, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with a nod. "Now that we're in week two, we can start getting into the good stuff, and start working with actual weapons. Well. Not actual weapons, since we're still in the danger shop, but you know what I mean. And the first weapon we're going to learn about is..."

Amaya had barely trailed off before Rosa yanked one of the weapons out of the wood of the table, threw it past her co-teacher, until it struck firmly in the center of the chest of one of the dummies with a slight wobble at it stuck.

"Daggers," Rosa concluded helpfully.

( Daggers! )

"Well," Amaya may have groused slightly, "I do think having a switchblade makes you cool. But that's enough about the history aspects of it. Pretty basic, pretty broad, because a dagger's just one of those weapons that's so logical that it makes its way into just about everything, but if you have any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to go into a little more detail. And if not, I'll be handing you over to Detective Diaz, who will go over with you some of the different ways to use a dagger in combat, and then you'll have the chance to give it a try with the practice dummies yourself."

As everyone gathered for one last time (for this semester, anyway) in the training field under the little castle on the hill (which was only a model), Amaya dropped a large wrapped bundle on s table between them and unrolled it reveal a small scattering of weapons.

"Now, they're far from perfect," she said, by way of introduction, "rough mock-ups at best, there's only so much a person can do in a week, but I took some of your designs from last week and tried to put them together. Anything that was beyond my ability, we just let the Danger Shop," she hitched her thumb go the rack behind her, "do the work. So today, what we're going to do is just see how these ideas work as actual weapons. Give 'em a go, share them with each other so other people can try 'em, see what works, what doesn't, and talk about 'em a little if you like. Pretty simple. And of course we've got all the regular weapons we've covered so far in you want a little more work with the basics.

"So come on up, find your weapon, and let's get to work!"

"Morning, everyone," said Amaya, getting the class started with her usual firm nod, a pound of her fist into her palm to show that, now that the air was clear and there were no awkward children situations to deal with, it was obviously time to buckle down and get back to serious work. "We've talked a little bit about a few range weapons, namely ballista, the classic bow and arrow, and some spear-throwing, but today, we're going to turn our focus onto the crossbow, which is sort of like...bridging the gap, a bit, between the more rudimentary bow and the more modern gun, though it's also quite a bit of a thing all on its own. Let's get into it."

And into it they got, as Amaya started out with the most basic of the designs available on the tables, and moves through the history of the weapon's development through the ages until she got to the contemporary equivilent with all its shininess and bells and whistles. Of course, the history, while extensive, still had nothing on the lecture once Amaya got into explaining how the crossbow actually worked and the exploration of its various parts.

She was, as usual, not about to leave any bolt unbolted! "Simple enough, right?" she concluded proudly. "Let me know if you have any questions," because who knows, maybe she did leave something out?, "and if not, then we'll turn it on over to Detective Diaz with the practical lesson."

The racks that usually stood bristling with weapons behind Amaya in their training field was definitely being put to good use that morning, lined up with an an assortment of weapons that should leave no guesses as to what the subject of today's class would be.

And, even if there were guesses, Amaya was obviously about to answer that question straight away. "Polearms!" she declared happily. "Close range combat weapons that usually involve something sharp and pointy at the the end of a stick! And, well, consider it the spear's fancier, more elaborate cousin who maybe went to some kind of posh military school, or the like. Though not quite as varied as the sword, there are a multitude of different styles of pole arms, from your halberds to your glaives, tridents count, harpoons, bardiches, war cythes, and lances! Even the humble spear! So there's plenty to talk about today, and plenty of techniques to go over, so let's not waste another moment and get right into it!"

And get right into it she did, in the hopefully-by-now expected exhaustive fashion, covering everything from how the concept came about to a more detailed breakdown on how the various different heads of polearms evolved over time, complete witha chart and several actual examples of this evolution, with an emphasis on how their versatility and effectiveness, as well as the low cost and ease of production, lead to a lot of experimentation with styles, which is why so many pole arms'll look so different, even among the same kinds, and why they became so popular as a weapon on the battlefield, especially when you start getting into how effective they were against enemies on horseback.

"Now, generally speaking," ha!, "as you may have noticed by the development of the weapons, pole arms can be divided into three broad categories: those designed for extended reach and thrusting tactics used in pike square or phalanx combat, those designed to increase leverage, thanks to hands being able to move freely towards several differnet leverage points all along the pole, which could maximize centrifugal force against cavalry, and those designed for throwing tactics used in skirmish line combat. Since we've talked a little bit about throwing spears in previous classes, we'll be mostly focusing on thrusting and leverage today. Your focus should really be on what makes the pole arm different from other weapons we've studied in this class so far: the range, the length, and, really, how you use it changes based on the positioning of your hands on the shaft."

Aaaaaand Amaya was just going to ignore that snort from Rosa at that line. Instead, she was just going to take a few more moments to get into more specific details about some of the more well known pole arms and what classifies them, although... "As I mentioned, there's been a lot of playing around with different forms of pole arms over the centuries, so this is not even remotely exhaustive, but it' a good look at some of the differences, and hopefully, you'll be able to see if those differences make much...well, difference...once you get out there and get a feel for them yourselves.

"And, with that, we'll turn it over to the Detective, unless there's any other lingering questions about pole arms before we start getting into the good stuff."

Well, Amaya definitely thought all this history and technical stuff was the good stuff, but she knew her audience, as well.

"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted the class with her usual eager grin. "So far in this class, we've talked about some of the more sophisticated of the basic weapons that have proven worthy through the test of time and improved on various technology through the ages, but today, we're going to step back a little and explore a more primative weapon that you don't really see as much of today, but really goes to show how diverse weapons can be, and that you don't even need a whole lot of fancy metal and steel to have a good effective weapon! You don't even need all that big, heavy hardware that you found with last week's lesson to get a good launch on a projectile, either. Don't get me wrong! Sometimes, nothing's going to beat a solid sword or axe, and I'm not just saying that because my career depends on it! But that's the beauty of weapons, really. You have choices. And today, with that in mind, we're going to be be talking about the atlatl!"

And this was when Rosa stepped aside to gesture at the table that was behind her, with several atlatl's waiting to be used, with the world's most unenthusiastic "Ta-dah."

Look, wasn't it enough that she'd even let Blackstone convince her to keep a a 'ta-dah' in the presentiontation in the first place?

( Yeet them Spears! )

How exactly did a early modern 21st century former Brooklyn cop learn to be so good with a primitive hunting tool that was actually illegal to use in several countries? That was a good question. No, she would not be answering it.

"And that," Amaya concluded, "is that. Now it's your turn. If you have any technical questions, feel free to ask them, otherwise, head on over to the training ground, grab your weapons, and give it a try!"

"Morning, everyone," said Amaya, greeting the class with the usual nod on the usual training field in the usual mock kingdom of the danger shop program, with a few racks and tables of this week's weapon and her leather-jacketed teaching partner beside her. And boy was she glad to put her mind on something else that wasn't flowers for a while! "Now, next week's the school trip, and so Detective Diaz and I wanted to focus on a type of weapon that might have been common in the area we'll be going to. And for that, the most obvious and basic weapon that we could focus on would likely be a spear, but, I'm going to be honest with you, there are so many interesting weapon designs that have come out of this vast continent through time that it would almost be a shame to focus on basically just a long stick with a sharp pointy end to it when we could be talking about something like this!"

With that, she held out one of the weapons.

"Or this! Or even look at this! Amazing! So let's talk about some of them before we get around to giving them a swing or a throw for ourselves.

( Out of Africa )

"But, with that said, that's quite a handful of interesting new weapons to explore, so I'll hand you over to Detective Diaz now and you'll be on your way to giving them a try yourself."

"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted the class with the usual eagerness that came with the prospect of getting to blather on about weapons to a captive audince for a certain amount of time. "And welcome back! I hope you're feeling limber and ready to work those arms, because today, we're moving onto what's been turning out to be a favorite around the island, and, really, it's no surprise, and that is axes!"

( What kind of woman doesn't have an axe? )

With that, Amaya concluded her ramble lecture and turned a faint grin to the students. "Are there any questions? If not, I'll turn it on over to Detective Diaz."

It had taken a little bit of convincing, but Rosa had managed to sway Amaya a little for the setting of today's class, which was far more 'abandoned warehouse' than 'Ren Faire tournament grounds, though still with a good amount of practice dummies (all wearing black ninja masks like B-movie criminals because Rosa really did need to lay off the late-night shitty action movie marathons) and a few tables with a wide variety of small bladed weapons available to them.

"Welcome back, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with a nod. "Now that we're in week two, that means we can finally start getting into the good stuff, and the good stuff is actual weapons! Starting this week with..."

Amaya had barely trailed off before Rosa yanked one of the weapons out of the wood of the table, threw it past her co-teacher, until it struck firmly in the center of the chest of one of the dummies with a slight wobble at it stuck.

"Daggers," Rosa concluded helpfully.

( Daggers! )

"So, that's enough about the history aspects of it," Amaya offered. "Pretty basic, pretty broad, because a dagger's just one of those weapons that's so logical that it makes its way into just about everything, but if you have any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to go into a little more detail. And if not, I'll be handing you over to Detective Diaz, who will go over with you some of the different ways to use a dagger in combat, and then you'll have the chance to give it a try with the practice dummies yourself."

There was really no building up to their last lesson in this class with a dramatic reveal, since the topic of the lesson was a little hard to miss, and so Amaya didn't bother, and was going to jump right into it.

"Siege weapons!" she announced proudly, excitedly, gesturing to the small collection of various delightful mechanical wonders around her. "Specifically, petrary weapons, which are a classification of siege weapons that involve flinging heavy objects or missiles, typically large stones, though not always. I figured, since Detective Diaz couldn't make it into class today on account of other obligations, this is a good one, because siege weapons is the one area of weaponry where I've got significantly more practical experience than she has. And before anyone asks, no, we will not be flinging each other, or buildings!," since that was a thing now!, "even if it is the danger shop. I'll admit, they're not exactly the most practical of weapons in this particular day and age. They're not really the most practical of weapons outside of war, if I'm entirely honest, but we all know now that a catapult can be used in unexpectedly useful ways, and I dare anyone to give one of these a try and then look me in the eye and tell me that they didn't have a good time with it.

"Petrary weapons were developed as a way to break down fortresses and walls to gain points of entry into enemy strongholds. Some of them are gravity operated, like a trebuchet, where a large counterweight is used to propel the missile, or they're tension operated, like a catapult, where the throwing arm is pulled back and then released.

"Today, you'll have the chance to give four different petrary weapons a try: the classic catapult, the traditional trebuchet, a biting ballista, and the more manual mangonel..."

And if anyone in particular was wanting a complete and detailed dissection on exactly what made each one different in painstaking detail, you were in luck! Because that was exactly what you were getting now, as Amaya launched (ha!) into how each one was made, how to use one, what the benefits and downfalls of each design was, and all the thrilling science behind it all. Look. They were both weapons and machines. She was going to geek out about them. It was just her job, really!

But she also knew that if she were a student in this class, she'd be itching to go break down some fake walls on that nice stately castle on the sloped hill in the distance (it was only a model), so she eventually got around to wrapping it up. "If anyone wants me to go over anything again once they actually get up to one of the machines and start to figure out how to put all of this into practice," she said, "just let me know. But I think you're ready to give it a try, so go ahead and let's get our siege on."

The thing about having a good chunk of your workshop cut in half due to your teacher and some of your students being stuck in a hole for a lot of the lessons was that you had to be a little more discerning with what you actually got a chance to cover. As it was, a summer session wasn't nearly enough to get through all the weapons Amaya would have liked to have gone through, and while there was a lot to be said about covering all the basics and high-points and giving a firm comprehensive study, there was at least one weapon that Amaya and Rosa were both in firm agreement could not be missed, even if, technically, there were probably more diverse topics they could be covering.

"Morning, everyone!" Amaya greeted the class with her usual eager grin. "So far in this class, we've talked about some of the more sophisticated of the basic weapons that have proven worthy through the test of time and improved on various technology through the ages, but today, we're going to step back a little and explore a more primative weapon that you don't really see as much of today, but realyl goes to show how diverse weapons can be, and that you don't even need a whole lot of fancy metal and steel to have a good effective weapon! Don't get me wrong! Sometimes, nothing's going to beat a solid sword or axe, and I'm not just saying that because my career depends on it! But that's the beauty of weapons, really. You have choices. And today, with that in mind, we're going to be be talking about the atlatl!"

And this was when Rosa stepped aside to gesture at the table that was behind her, with several atlatl's waiting to be used, with the world's most unenthusiastic "Ta-dah."

Look, wasn't it enough that she'd even let Blackstone convince her to do a 'ta-dah' in the first place?

( Yeet them Spears! )

How exactly did a early modern 21st century former Brooklyn cop learn to be so good with a primitive hunting tool that was actually illegal to use in several countries? That was a good question. No, she would not be answering it.

"And that," Amaya concluded, "is that. Now it's your turn. If you have any technical questions, feel free to ask them, otherwise, head on over to the training ground, grab your weapons, and give it a try!"

Well, well, well! Would you look at that! Class could finally be in session because one of the teachers wasn't stuck down a hole and both of them had gotten that silly layaway business out of the way well before class had to start!

Hopefully, it was quite the same for everyone else attending the class, which was being held in the Danger Shop, of course (despite both teachers feeling a bit that the lack of danger took some of the fun out of it, but they were both old enough hats at this to know better). And, if the students didn't know any better, they'd feel a bit like they'd been transported to the battle field of some Ren Faire somewhere, a large training area with a medieval flair, with a wide space for movement and a collection of practice dummies, as well as several racks of the Weapon Du Jour! gleaming in the bright fake sunlight.

"Welcome to Weapons 101," Amaya started, giving the students a nod and a small pump of her fist, before she sorted and rolled her eyes, "finally! It's been a little rough getting properly started, which means we'll have to trim some of the fat and cut out some perfectly fine and exciting weapons, but what can you do? 'Round here, one of the first lessons you learn is to think on your feet and adapt. That said, we'd be a bit remiss if we didn't at least start with one of the most basic and ubiquitous of weapons, one that some might find a little archaic but never fails to do its job of slicing, dicing, poking and prodding, and that is the sword."

( SAWORDS! )

She nodded to the class again, lifted one fist to pound decisively into the palm of her other hand. "So let's get to it."

Well, the trip into the school for her class that morning had certainly made Amaya a bit...distracted, already thinking of getting the Crumbler all set up for snow-plowing and (apparently!) candy-crumbling, and she'd considered that maybe this was a good opportunity to get her students to thinking creatively on how to actually handle these aggressive peppermint treats, but, well, they didn't quite know enough about them yet, and she'd hate for it to turn out to be a bit more they they could handle, so she was sticking with her original lesson plan for their final class.

Which meant out of the snow and back to nice sunny, temperate Daventry, and into the large pavilion where the Tournament of Knights would finally come to an end, with several tables set up on a stage that looked quite a bit like chessboards but with little tiny clockwork figures of each of the students and little armed soldiers on them instead, one for each of them.

"At last," she said, "we've come to our final class and our final event of the Tournmanet of Knights, which is usually a Duel of Wits, but we're modifying it a little bit today because," her hands danced in the air a little, "blah blah blah, context of the class, yadda yadda yadda. Hop up on the stage and find the board with your little avatar on it--" and they were all very distinct representations of each of them, so that shouldn't be too hard to find! "--and consider that your little mechanical self has about four mechanical knights to combat! The only thing is, you've got no weapon! In comes..."

And here she gestured at a table with plenty of little tiny clockwork pieces, as well as pieces of Lego and other building toys, bits of plastic, screws and nails and thumbtacks, and basically a wide variety of moddable but miniature parts and pieces.

"...your assignment! Today, you'll be using anything you can find on this table to create little weapons for your little selves, which your little selves will then use to fight off the little knights! Take a moment to consider how our mechanical fighters move, then consider what sort of weapon you might be able to make so that you can clear the board of your competition! And, if you survive, well...these little figures aren't the danger shop, I actually whipped them up a little, so if you'd like to keep them as a symbol of your hard work and inginuity in this class, well, please do."

She was a little proud of her little clockwork class, really, and it was the sort of thing she'd have loved at their age.

Especially to take and start tinkering with all on her own.

Even though it was likely to make her a little...well, she didn't want to use the term homesick, but this was one of the few things about the place where she'd come from that she tended to miss the most, Amaya decided to finish up the last bit of her class in Daventry (although it made no sense to get to Daventry by way of Kolyma without a good deal of extensive travel, but, again, the geography in her world always seemed a bit more of a vague idea than actual facts, anyway). So the class would be lead through a lush wooded area, on the edge of a much darker forest.

"Well, everyone," she announced proudly, "we've finally made it to Daventry, and we've made it just in time for their annual Tournamet of Knights! And, as it turns out, you're all competing! Now, since we've been traveling together for a while now, we can skip the whole Getting to Know You part of the tournament, and skip right to the best challenge of them all: obtaining the eye of a hideous beast! It's a tradition around these parts, for knight-hopefuls to track down one of this land's many hideous beasts, extract the eye, and bring it back to present as a token of your worth. Some people in this town complain about the barbaric events, but it's a tradition that I think anyone should be proud to be a part of. If I were competing, I'd go after the biggest, scariest beast I could find, even if it meant certain death. As they say, fortune favors the bold.

"Thankfully, for you all, since this is the Danger Shop and all, you don't quite have to worry about that." Her face broke into a grin. "So you've got no excuse.

"So you know the drill by now. Take a look around, see what you can find, and see what you can cobble together, then head on into the darkness of the Old Woods here," she hitched a thumb behind her toward the forest, "and see what beasts you can find and use the weapon to obtain an eye. Good luck in there. I'm eager to see what you come up with."