Tower of Lore

Chapter Seven: Lindsey's Weapon

Alexander paused at one of the long shelves and studied its contents for a long moment. “What’s wrong?” Lindsey questioned.

“Lord Dusty could not possibly carry those particular weapons as is. There is no practical way.” He leaned forward and grabbed a strange square bag. “This will work.”

“What’s that?” It reminded Lindsey of a pizza delivery bag at this point.

“A scabbard of course.” Alexander took it and tied a long black sash to it. “He can not just run around the tower with these hanging free. He gave the bag a pat as he tied it around Dusty’s waist with a firm tug. “I have one weapon I would like to show you, Lady Lindsey.”

“For me?” Lindsey took a small step forward. “What is it?”

“While I am not yet sure this is the weapon that is meant for you, I would like you to take it with you. It will serve well if you end up in the direst of circumstances. It might appear like a normal stiletto dagger, but I have modified this particular blade myself.”

Lindsey crept closer to his side and turned her attention to the weapon he was referencing. “Wow,” she whispered. She picked it up and frowned over at him. It’s heavier than I thought it would be.”

“Ah,” Alexander smiled at her. “That would be from the extra feature I added. A bit heavier perhaps but far more useful in an emergency situation. Even capable of saving your life, My Lady.”

Lindsey flushed at the word. She really needed to get control of herself when he embarrassed her so easily. “What’s the extra feature?”

Alexander flipped the knife into the air and sent it soaring. Lindsey flinched but with a serene smile, Alexander grabbed the blade as it came down by its glistening point. “Look closely, Lady Lindsey.”

She did as bade and a single button on the handle beneath the blade. “What is that?”

“This weapon will not do a lot of damage normally. It is small and it will annoy your attackers if you used it as such. This button will emit gas throughout the point of the blade. Harmless when pushed outside in the air, but will be intensely damaging if pushed while inside a body.”

“Is it safe for me to take?” Lindsey stared at it. “Just how damaging is intense? What does it do?”

Alexander’s tail drooped a bit. “It is best that we do not go into details of what exactly the injuries it can cause. I will explain it in as simple terms as I can without going into too vivid detail. It will inject poison directly into the body, and the effects will be quick.”

Lindsey’s hand fell away from it. “I don’t know if I want to deal with a weapon like that.”

“It’s for emergencies, Linds, I’d feel a lot better if you had that.” Dusty piped up.

Lindsey glared at him once more but once again the lug head didn’t notice her ire. “I’m not worried about having a weapon, Dusty, I’m worried about stabbing myself or an ally with that thing on accident.”

“A wise reason to be cautious.” Alexander nodded. “However, a simple press on the button will not be enough. You have to hold it down for at least three seconds uninterrupted, and it will release one burst so it is not a one-use weapon.”

Lindsey eyed the weapon again with a frown. “And you’re positive that the poison it shoots can’t hurt anyone out in the open?”

“Yes, it is formulated to only work with blood.” He picked up a scabbard and offered it to her. “This will go on your leg to prevent any accidents, do you desire help, My Lady?”

Lindsey watched as he knelt before her. She had to admit, it was nice being treated like a lady. She glanced over at Dusty to gauge his reaction and saw one of her own trade-marked glares directed at her. Good, he deserved to suffer a bit. “Yes, please.”

Alexander nodded and taking the scabbard he threaded it through another black silk belt. He wrapped it around her lower thigh and Lindsey swallowed. It had been ages since there had been any physical contact, and the blade was going a bit higher than she had imagined. Her cheeks burned as his swift and steady hands encircled her thigh and he tightened the apparatus.

“Glad to see that’s handled now,” Dusty grunted.

Lindsey hid a smile behind her hand. “Alexander, I really don’t feel any of these weapons calling to me, are you sure that I’ll find one?”

As soon as the fox stood up Lindsey noted Dusty’s audible sigh of relief. “Indeed, there will always be a weapon that is perfect for you. I gave you a defense weapon for now for you are a Lady.”

Lindsey frowned. “And that means I can’t fight?” She glanced down at the dagger and calculated how far she could throw the thing.

Alexander stepped back as he raised his paws to defuse the situation. “Apologies, I did not mean to offend. I only sought to give you an extra layer of protection. This tower is indeed very dangerous and Lord Dusty has picked a weapon he plans to use as both range and melee, though they were created for melee.” His eyes narrowed a bit on Dusty.

“Then I just need a ranged weapon,” Lindsey surmised. “I have a melee one, though it is for emergencies, and nothing else in this place interests me. The bows did look nice though.”

“A bow and arrow?” Alexander nodded. “An odd choice in this tower, but as you have already witnessed I do possess quite a collection of them.” They walked back to the bows and he held out a paw toward the collection. “Search carefully, Lady Lindsey and let me know if any sing to you.”

Lindsey stared at the wall. This could be a history lesson with all the different types that were represented. Bows that hunters used in the past, stronger bows that were used for battle, even a smaller bow that looked like it had been used in a game she remembered. “Alexander, what about this one?” She pointed to the slim longbow with dark red tones.

“A very nice choice, My Lady. Shall we take it over to the archery range and get some practice with it? You can work on this while Lord Dusty focuses on learning how to turn a melee weapon, into a range one.”

Dusty rolled his eyes at the two of them. “I’ll be just fine, Alex. You don’t need to worry. These things are already singing to me about how they’re going to help me save this tower and save it so Linds and I can go home.”

“Why do you refer to Lady Lindsey as Linds? Are you unable to say, Lindsey?”

“It’s a nickname.” Dusty snapped.

“I see, but it’s just a syllable more, I do not feel her name needs to be shortened at all. It is quite beautiful.”

“Thanks, Alexander,” Lindsey resisted the urge to grab her burning cheeks. She didn’t need to draw more attention to herself.

“Call it my pet name for her then,” Dusty’s grip on his bag was so tight his knuckles turned white under the stress of it all.

“She is your pet?” Alexander speculated on it a moment. “How curious.”

“I’m not his pet,” Lindsey snapped. The red in her now wasn’t embarrassment anymore, she was going to strangle Dusty next chance she got.

“Yeah, she’s not my pet,” Dusty agreed. He gave Lindsey a smile that sent a different sort of shiver through her. “She’s my fiancee.”

Dusty would be so dead during this trip, and she’d make it look like an accident.