Clara starts shooting too.
"That thing isn't too hard to hit. We should make dull arrows and then we could shoot each other." Clara suggests at the funny sight of Tarjun trying to get out of the way of Jewel's stray arrows.
Jewel returns with the arrow that flew past the target. "I should learn how to make a bow and make a longbow. It's Erastil's preferred weapon. I wonder if Dad knows how? If he does I'm sure he'd teach me...."
She runs off toward home. Do you know how to make a longbow? All we've got are little bows. Erastil uses a longbow and I should learn!"
"I can add a few feathers if that makes it more fun for you." Stemming her hands in her waist she flaps with her elbows and makes chicken noises while running in circles.
"But this chicken will shoot back. As what are you dressing up?"
"Have you ever seen me using one? Go ask Gertrud." Dad shouts back.
Jewel stops and just looks at her dad, obviously thinking about something. "Right. I don't remember ever.... OK."
She turns and runs over to the Johnson's looking for Gertrud. "Mrs. Johnson? Do you know how to make a longbow? We've been practicing with the little bow. But since I'm a cleric of Erastil I think I should learn his weapon. But I think I need to learn to make one so I can have one the right size for me."
Gertrud is busy cutting a deer into meal sized chunks. She takes a deep breath, pauses for a moment and then replies "Yeah, go to the woods and find a fresh branch, your size, arm thick with no branches growing out of it. Then you come back."
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"Why dress up when I'm already your favorite target as my good old self, eh?" Tarjun retorts, though more teasingly than angrily.
"Wonder why Jewie's taking so long. No fun."
Out of boredom, he grabs the bow and starts having a go at the log. They're rather precise shots. One arrow sticks itself into the wooden man 'forehead', and Tarjun whistles. "Hey, lookatthat! Headshot!"
Pierce says, "Don't know why we don't have crossbows. I once saw a ship that had a huge crossbow attached to the deck. It fired arrows with shafts that were bigger around than Clara's head! I bet that would make people stay away from your houses." He grumbles. "If we're buildin' stuff anyways, why can't we build somethin' cool like THAT?"
Jewel nods, "My size, as thick as my arm and no branches. Hmm.... No branches so it won't have split grain and be weak? I didn't think of that. I'll go looking. Thank you!"
She heads back home to the barn to find a hatchet. It takes a little while since she is looking where she thinks Tarjun might have put it rather than where it belongs.... Running back to the group she gets in sight just in time to see Tarjun's third shot. "Great shot Tarjun! I'm heading into the woods to find a branch for a longbow. Mrs. Johnson said it should be as long as I am tall, as big around as my arm, and with no branches. Might take a while to find that. Anybody want to come? Maybe find a branch for yourself?"
"The big crossbows on the pirate ship were made of metal. At least the important parts. And I don't think we can do that."
Jewel pauses at the thought. "Crossbow? Big like on the ship. Yes, metal parts, and the metal has to flex and return when released. I don't know how to work metal, especially like that."
She starts away again, heading towards the woods. "Longbow sounds simpler. Just gotta find the right branch."
"Do your folks only fight with weapons you make yourself?" Pierce complains. "I didn't make my sword, someone bought it. Good bows are probably expensive too, just like crossbows. Anyways, we might as well be throwing rocks at this stump."
"I'm for buying good weapons too. Pierce, just show me the shop and the bag of money we are going to buy them with!" Clara replies.
"Did I mention that I want to live in a big city? Besides my mom people here fight with pitchforks, if at all."
Jewel turns at Pierce's question. "Who would we need to fight? Ghosts? Black-elf spider ladies? A crossbow wouldn't help you much there. We use a bow or spear for hunting mostly. Come on. Let's find a branch the right size for a bow." She turns again and continues away. "There aren't any pirates in these parts! Except maybe Clara...."
"Yes, I'm the most vicious, malicious and dangerous creature in this area!" Clara boasts.
After some searching a large hazel bush is found that has a couple branches that meet the requirements.
"Did you bring a saw?" Clara inquires (rhetorically) "Or are you going to ask the beaver to cut it for you?"
Jewel glances at Clara wondering if the question is serious. "Mr. Beaver might cut it for us if I asked. But I'm not sure I could explain why we can't do it for ourselves, or why I want this. But," She pulls out the hatchet that she had borrowed. "I think a hatchet will work quicker."
She clears the area around the wanted branches carefully, then carefully chops each branch many times until they are cut sufficiently to remove with an easy chop.
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"Cut a couple of them, Jewie, I don't know if I'll get a bow right on the first try!"
There were, he knew, people whose sole job was to turn useless branches into workable bows. He'd have to work from memory. Still, he's pretty confident he can manage - eventually.
The first branch ends up looking more like a really bent staff than a bow.
The second, however, looks a lot better. "There!" Tarjun exclaims proudly, after attaching a piece of rope to the ends of the improvised weapon. "Anyone wanna try shooting with this?"
Jewel looks at both attempts. The second looks much better, but.... "I think we need a better cord for a bow string. Maybe Mrs. Johnson could help us with that? A string wouldn't last forever so would have to be replaced."
"Let's bring both bows. That first one might be fixable...."
"That doesn't look like branches." Gertrud comments when Jewel comes back.
"Seriously? Those are toys, that look like a bow. Ask your mom for some kitchen yarn and complete it, so you can play." Gertrud replies.
"If you want to make a longbow, you bring back branches. And it will be a bow in half a year."
Jewel looks, critically this time, at the 'bows', then at Gertrud. "A half a year? Six months? It takes that long to...."
"We can go and cut more branches. But what takes six months? It doesn't take that long to carve the wood."
"It takes the wood that time to dry. You don't want your bow to change every other day, because the wood is still drying."
"Where do you want to start? Wanna make the steel yourself?" Gertrud replies with a grin.
"Have to dry the wood? But it wasn't in water?"
Jewel hears the exchange between Tarjun and Gertrud and wonders, "How do you make steel? It's a metal. Don't you have to dig ore and then melt it or something like that?" She looks a bit confused then adds, "I'm beginning to understand Clara better...."
"Trees are alive. If you cut them, they bleed - resin. And that needs to dry. Without getting really wet by water. With that you get rotten wood. Even for furniture you take seasoned timber. And for a bow you need to be much more careful." Gertrud explains.
"As for steel, I'm no expert. But you have to start with wood, that you dry, and then build a huge pile of firewood that you cover with earth and then let it burn for a while to turn it into charcoal. And with that you can then melt the ore in a furnace to make cast iron. And from there, you go and do more stuff to make that into steel. That you then have to forge to form the arms of the crossbow."
"The one I currently have, I made myself. But things that take a lot of time to make cost a lot of money to buy. What do you have more - time or money?" She inquires.
Jewel sadly looks at the branches that she had cut, and Tarjun had worked on. Pretty useless now. "Time obviously. And I just wanted a longbow because it's Erastil's weapon of choice. I thought that as a cleric of Erastil...."
"So. Once I go and cut another branch. Do I need to do anything special to dry it? Is it OK to hang it in the barn? And six months, or should I leave it hanging longer just to be sure? And how about the bow string? You make that yourself too, right? I really want to learn all of that. I think I need to know!"
"You bring it here. You as a follower of Erastil shouldn't have problems following simple instructions. We take it one step at a time." Gertrud replies. "And patience is a very important skill when working on a bow. As it is when working on the field."
Jewel listens to Gertrud and nods. She had made a bow for herself that Jewel remembered her having for as long as Jewel had memories of her. "OK, and thanks. I'll go back where we got those two and cut a new one. I'll make it a little bit taller than me since I'll probably grow a bit before the bow is ready. And I can be patient. I'll just think of it as a lesson about Erastil."
She heads back to where they'd found the previous branches, looking for another one, better than the others and about 6" longer than she is tall.
"That is a lesson I could teach you, but most of the options that might look appealing to you - so not hard work - your parents wouldn't approve of. And they won't work in Oakstedt."
"Also high profit comes usually with high risk and the chance of really painful failure. How about you ask my mum. She can tell you for sure."
With that last suggestion you notice the hint at a joyful smile that comes with mischief.
Jewel wanders through the forrest unti she sees a really nice branch in an Ash tree. About 10' usable length a bit thicker than needed and only tiny branches with a few leaves coming out here and there. The only downside is the height, where it would need to be cut and the tree not offering any handholds on the trunk to get there at 15'.
Jewel walks around the tree, looking up at the branch that she thinks would make a good longbow. It was perfect, straight and no splits or large branches growing off of it. But, there was no way for her to reach it. She didn't have the power Clara had to levitate up to chop the branch off.
She does have a thought to cut down the tree, but that ends almost as soon as it happens. Wasting the life of a tree so she could have a branch to turn in to a bow.... Well, it would take six months. What was one more day?
She marks the location of the tree so she can find her way back to it. Tomorrow she would prepare a spell to 'attack' the limb at distance. And going forward she would remember to leave spell slots open for just such times as this. She remembers doing it before. Before the 'adventure' and the need to have combat magic ready. Such silliness wasn't needed, at home.
Once she has the area fixed in her mind she heads back home to find her brother and friends.
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"That is a lesson I could teach you, but most of the options that might look appealing to you - so not hard work - your parents wouldn't approve of. And they won't work in Oakstedt."
"Also high profit comes usually with high risk and the chance of really painful failure. How about you ask my mum. She can tell you for sure."
With that last suggestion you notice the hint at a joyful smile that comes with mischief.
"Is she still around?" Tarjun looks keenly interested in hearing more.
"She hasn't said goodbye, so she better is." Clara comments.
"She's for sure somewhere around." Gertrud replies.
Seeing Jewel come back empty handed a while later she wonders if she gave up, but doesn't comment.
Noticing Gertrud Jewel changes her direction. "I found the perfect branch, but it's out of my reach. I won't chop down the whole tree for one branch, so I'll go back tomorrow and get it when I'm better prepared." She gives a grim smile. "I can't levitate like Clara can. But Erastil gives me other options. One day delay for a six-month task is acceptable. Thanks again!"
Heading over to rejoin Tarjun and Clara she calls out, "So, anything happen while I was roaming the woods?"
"What did you do with those other sticks? We could still use them for quarter staves, until they warp or split."
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"Yeah, we've got to find Clara's grandmother and ask her how to make money really quickly," Tarjun replies cheerfully.
"I left the sticks with the target. I wasn't gonna make any bow and quarter staves at the same time! I've got a life, ya know!" he says vehemently - but his smile makes it clear he's joking. "Let's go seek out Mrs Johnson senior. Maybe she's around the house," he sets off determinedly.
"Well, you heard Mrs. Johnson. Those sticks won't work for making bows. I figured rather than waste them we could practice with them as staffs. So why are you wanting to make money really quickly? That sounds dangerous!"