Two days after repairing the guild bathhouse, I was finally able to walk without assistance. This also put an end to my bed rest, which I had only half-heartedly adhered to in the past few days anyway. Although I felt fine, Sara asked me to stay in the mansion for my own safety until I could get up and down the stairs without the help of Abby or Hannah. The others used the time to explain the big world to me, an uneducated girl from the North. Somehow I felt that this had become a running joke. Cáit seemed to notice that I was getting a bit annoyed, so at one point she took me aside and said, "Don't take it so seriously. We know you're not stupid. It's just that you don't know so much about things that we take for granted. And we find that incredibly funny.”
I could understand this explanation - and unfortunately they were right. I couldn't even come up with a good excuse for my lack of knowledge. At least by now I knew that the year was structured in the same way as in my old world. The same number of days, weeks and months. But unlike my world, there was no real weekend here. Shop hours simply varied according to the mood, whim and financial strength of the shopkeeper.

"I'm going to have a look around the town. I am looking for some spare parts for my little robot. Don't worry, I know my limits and will rest when I get tired." I said to Abby and had one foot out the door when Sara suddenly called me back, "Em! Please wait a moment."
"Did I do something wrong?" I asked irritably, but Sara shook her head and muttered, "Why does everyone always think they've done something wrong when I try to talk to them?"
"Because you really enjoy telling people off, big sis," Abby joked, but only got an annoyed look in return. 
"Actually, I was going to send you on your first quest with Cáit today. A simple gathering quest in the dungeon. Nothing really dangerous," Sara started to explain, "but you have to learn the basics sometime. And this would have been a good opportunity."
"No problem. My errands aren't that important right now," I replied, but since Sara took a surprisingly long time to continue, I asked a little uncertainly, "But there is a but..."
"Yes, indeed. When the twins found out yesterday that I wanted to send you on your first mission, they asked me if I had finally blown the fuse." 
"Stick to the truth. We didn't say that," Jacky suddenly burst out laughing next to me, "we just asked you nicely if you were completely crazy to send our little girl on a mission unarmed." Jacky was suddenly standing next to me, as if she had crept up on me in total silence. 

"Anyway, you have a shopping date with Jacky today," Sara murmured a little nervously, and when I saw the big grin on the twin's face, I got a little scared. Jacky just grabbed me by the collar and pulled me out the door. "I can walk by myself," I protested, but Jacky just got a much bigger grin on her face, "I know. I just wanted to get out of the building before Sara reminded me for the third time today that I shouldn't put you in danger for no reason."
"We're just going shopping, aren't we?" I said in surprise, but Jacky's grin got even wider at that moment, "We're not just going shopping. We're going to spend the whole day together to find the perfect weapon for you. I'm really looking forward to that." I didn't know whether to find this cute or creepy, but somehow I had the feeling that this could be fun. To my surprise, Jacky added: "Even if I seem a little crazy sometimes, you can trust my judgement in this case. Sis and I are ex-soldiers. We know all about this sort of thing."
"That's good to know," I murmured, "I don't think there's much for me to think about either. As long as I can swing it like a sledgehammer, I can handle it."
"Much too heavy," Jacky said as we strolled to a small shop in a side street, "We need something much lighter for you."
"Why?" I asked curiously, "Because I'm so small and petite?"
"That wasn't really my intention," Jacky grinned, "We know from Cáit that you can swing a hammer without any problem. The problem is that the weight makes you slow and immobile. What do you weigh now? Is it even 80 pounds?" The question was a little uncharming, but somehow the directness suited Jacky. "About 85 - maybe a little more at the moment," I replied and Jacky continued her explanation, "A decent hammer starts at 20 to 40 pounds. That would be almost half your body weight that you would be carrying at all times."

I understood immediately what she was getting at. Even without the hammer, I was much slower than Cáit. In this form, I would only be more of a burden than I already was. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find something in this shop. My sister is a regular customer here," Jacky explained as she disappeared through the door. For some reason I had expected to find a blacksmith, but in fact we were in a shop that specialised in melee and throwing weapons. The shop was empty, which was probably why the owner wasn't too interested in us waiting around. Jacky didn't seem to mind though, as she went straight to looking at the goods on display with me.
"We need something handy, light and with enough range," she muttered, suddenly not looking like the crazy shotgun lady I'd met a few days ago, "range is important because Cáit's always playing with her stupid little grenades. Always trouble with these hot-headed demolition experts." Apparently Jacky had had the pleasure of working with Cáit before. 
We examined many things, but after Jacky had put several swords, rapiers and morning stars into my hands, she suddenly muttered, "It's either too heavy for you, or the range is too short."
"And I'll probably knock myself out faster with the morning star than my potential opponents," I laughed, "But I could try a warhammer like this."

"No," a deep voice suddenly said behind me, "and if Jacky really lets you buy a warhammer, I will definitely refuse to sell it to you."
"I wasn't going to, you grumpy old bastard," Jacky grinned, "make yourself useful and help me, Mahon. I'm looking for something the girl can use..."
"I was about to ask you what brings you to my little shop. Usually I only have the pleasure of talking to Hayden," Mahon laughed, "if it wasn't for that shotgun you always carry, I would have almost mistaken you for your sister."
"How dare you?" Jacky grinned, "My smile is much nicer and my breasts are bigger. You should have noticed. You've known us both for ages."
"If you say so," Mahon shrugged, "I couldn't care less about such details."

Angus was already a big man, but I felt like a little child around this guy. He was at least six and a half feet tall and, if I had to guess, at least 300 pounds. He had probably just eaten someone like me for breakfast. Mahon wore his shirt half open and you could see his chest hair, which matched the colour of his beard and scalp hair.
"Any preferences?" he asked me, "apart from one of those war hammers? I don't think one of those bulky things really suits you."
"I wasn't serious," I grumbled, "I'd prefer something as inconspicuous as me."
"And ideally melee," Jacky added, confusing the salesman a little, "Really? I'd probably have a lot of ranged weapons for you. But melee might be difficult."
"I haven't been standing here for half an hour looking for a solution for no reason," Jacky muttered.
We then explained the requirements in more detail, which got him thinking. "I might have an idea," Mahon said to me suddenly, "Jacky might think I'm completely stupid, but it would be a weapon that could be used universally."
"Just like my shotgun," Jacky winked, but the salesman wasn't really interested in her banter at that moment, instead he asked, "Who's going to train the little one? I have something from the northern city-states that might be suitable. But I doubt if any of you can teach her how to use it."
"None of us? Not even Angus?" Jacky raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Now you've even got me curious. Besides, our little one is from the north. Even if we don't know how to use it, maybe she does."
"I would be really surprised if Angus has seen anything like this before," the man nodded, "but if our girl is from the north, it would be a good way for me to get rid of this thing. It is surprisingly sturdy for a light wooden weapon."
"But it's a wooden weapon and therefore of no interest to adventurers or soldiers," Jacky continued.

Mahon nodded and pulled a beautiful, almost black, long wooden staff with a knob out of a drawer behind his counter. "In the north they use this to kill fish they catch, but to me it looks more like a staff."
"It's a bloody whisky cane," I laughed suddenly. Of course, I'd never held one in my hand before, but I'd seen it in a couple of films. "That wasn't the term the man who sold it to me used," Mahon mused, and then I added, "Did he call it a shillelagh?"
"Bull's-eye," Mahon nodded.
"So you actually know what it is?" Jacky looked at me wide-eyed and I grinned, "I've heard of it, yes. It's usually made out of dried blackthorn wood and if I remember correctly, the number of notches made into the wood by hand indicates the number of people defeated."
"Since I see no notches, this one was probably used as a walking stick rather than a weapon," Jacky laughed, not knowing how close her joke was to reality - at least in my world. 

Even though it was probably not what Sara and the others expected, I had to buy this one. It might sound crazy, but I fell in love with this strangely shaped stick. 
"How much do you want for it?" I asked and Mahon thought for a moment, "Give me the purchase price so I can at least get out of here without a loss. Like I said, I'm stuck with it anyway. Besides, nobody here knows how to use it properly."
I couldn't refuse the offer, but I was surprised that no one knew how to use this weapon, and I said in disbelief, "Really? In theory it is quite simple. The thick part is used for blocking and striking in combat, while the stick body is used for choking."
Once again my knowledge from the films came in handy.
"I think we found my weapon," I grinned, "People underestimate me because of my looks anyway."
"Are you sure?" Jacky asked me, surprisingly unsure, and I nodded, "I recently defeated a golem with a sledgehammer that was far too heavy. Maybe we can make the root of the whiskey cane a little heavier by filling it with iron. But that's for future Em."
The biggest problem with the staff was that it was a good four-feet tall, therefore almost as tall as me. "If you want it, take it. I just don't want Sara to tell me later that I brought you back with a wooden stick," Jacky winked at me.

After I bought the stick, we made a quick detour to one of the scrap dealers before heading back to the villa. 
"We're going to try out the stick right away," Jacky grinned, "I've got some old fighting dummies lying around somewhere in one of the storerooms."
"Wait a minute? Do you live in the mansion too?" I asked, confused. 
Jacky grinned, "It's not really worth it for Hayden and I to rent an apartment here when we're away for several days at a time. Seriously, there's no better place for us to be than at the mansion. Abby's there pretty much all the time and we can trust that our things will still be there when we return from our missions."
"So all members except Angus and Kirsty live at the headquarters?" I asked in surprise. I'd never seen the twins before. "Funnily enough, Kirsty wants to move in, but Angus is still a bit reluctant. He's just a male mother hen when it comes to his little Kirsty. But at some point, even he has to realise that she is slowly but surely growing up. But I can understand him - Hayden and I have seen the three chicks grow up too."
"The three chicks?" I asked curiously and she mentioned "Abby, Cáit and Kirsty. Sara was already an adult when we joined the Guild. Right - let me put it another way, she had to be an adult."
I don't know what impressed me more - the fact that Jacky was the first person to speak so openly to me, or that she seemed to have moments when she wasn't completely crazy.

When we arrived at headquarters, Sara gave us an angry look, "You were supposed to come back with a weapon, not a weird looking walking stick. 
Hayden, who was obviously eating lunch, burst out laughing, "What did you expect? Jacky only knows guns."
"I told you. She's going to freak out," Jacky grinned in my direction, but I just shrugged, "This walking stick is called a shillelagh. It's a weapon from my homeland. And to be honest, it is good enough to seriously injure people like Shane."
Sara still looked at me doubtfully, so I said, "I'm really grateful that you're so concerned about me. But we really thought about it and didn't buy on a whim."
"And most of the weapons we had were either unsuitable, if you really consider teaming her up with our demolition specialist, or just too heavy," Jacky added. Hayden nodded and then said with her mouth full, "I have to agree. I'm not convinced that this thing is useful either. But you can't expect her to carry a halberd or a longsword with her skinny arms all the time."
"Probably not," Sara nodded and I grinned at Jacky, "looks like that's settled. Shall we go to one of your old fighting dummies and try my whiskey cane?"
"Oh my God, I've got to see that too. Wait for me," Hayden giggled, wolfing down her food.
Even though Sara probably didn't like my weapon, she had to shake her head in amusement at the moment, "I'm relying on you to make sure Em doesn't hurt herself again. She really needs to complete this quest tomorrow."
"Don't get your knickers in a twist," Hayden chuckled, "We're not amateurs. We'll take care of her."