The chimney above Thane's workshop was always spitting out smoke, a testament to how much that weaver worked. The name 'weaver' was a title granted to a craftsman who specialized in making equipment out of behemoth parts. They performed a vital function in every Hunter's Association outpost.

  Thane was particularly famous, having made swords that could be engulfed in flames, bows that fired elementally-charged arrows, and more. The fire-resistant greatshield that Commander Winston wielded, the same that saved Korin many years ago, was crafted by that very man.

  As Em and Korin made their way to the workshop, one of them couldn't work away the jitters.

  "Korin, are you cold?" Em asked, having noticed that he was shivering.

  "Oh, no. It's just that I've never formally met Thane. Almost a decade working at this outpost, and all I really know is that he's our weaver. Feels like I'm about to meet a celebrity or something. What's he like?" Korin turned to Em only to have her avoid his gaze.

  "Definitely not what you would expect," she answered reluctantly. "Yes, Thane's amazing at what he does, but… aside from genius, eccentric is the next best word to describe him."

  The workshop was always open. That was to say there was no door, only a ragged cloth, worn away by time and weather. Be it day or night, anyone who passed by was blasted with hot air, a sign that the forge within burned as eternally as the sun.

  Shae was inside, speaking with Thane when they came in. The weaver's voice was raspy from decades of working next to the forge, voluntarily shaved bald so that hair wouldn't catch alight, and although not as large as Winston, his muscles were taut against his soot-stained tanned skin.

  Broken equipment displayed all along the walls of the round workshop. Bows snapped in two, chipped greatswords, and cracked shields to name a few. An odd choice not to show complete or untarnished equipment instead.

  "That's our newest hunter, eh?" Thane looked Korin up and down like he was appraising a behemoth part, but ultimately appeared unimpressed.

  "I'm—"

  "I know who you are, Korin. Another hothead who thinks too much of himself. Well, what needs making?" the weaver asked.

  Stunned by the man's brash behavior, it took until Em nudged Korin from behind that he placed the four mirasaul dex claws onto the counter.

  "I want to know what we can make out of these," Korin said.

  Thane grabbed one at random and licked it, tapped it with a finger, and pressed the claw to his ear like it was a conch. Korin was flabbergasted, but Shae watched on with amusement.

  "Adolescent female, recently pregnant, and bled out to death? Hmm…" Thane gave it a good, long second lick.

  "How did you—" Korin's jaw dropped. "Do all weavers examine parts like that?"

  "Nope. Only Thane. I used to hunt behemoths just to see what he'd do and if he'd get them right," Shae recounted with a nostalgic smile.

  "He also did that with the orodon bone of my spear," Em said.

  Eccentric was right.

  "I was hoping you could make a grappling claw. I want to be able to scale the canopy like a mirack," Korin explained.

  "Consider it done. Will take a bit of time though. And you, girl?" Thane asked Em.

  She declined without a second thought. "My hands are full wielding a spear, and scaling trees and branches sounds scary. I'll pass."

  "One grappling claw for me then. The other three… Can you hang onto them for Jonah and Jenna when they drop by? Jenna killed one of the miracks, so it's only right they get a chance to make use of the parts," Korin insisted.

  Thane nodded, then called over to one of his apprentices, a man younger than Korin, whose face and blonde hair was dashed in ash.

  "Yes, Weaver?" The boy pulled off his goggles and accidentally smeared his eyes, wiping away the sweat.

  "Grit, bring me two of them steel claws," Thane said, pointing to a shelf behind them.

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  After finding a towel unblind himself from the soot, Grit went to retrieve two grappling claws. He dragged a heavy crate out from underneath the massive stone shelf, then rummaged through the many pieces of equipment until he found two gauntlet-like contraptions. They were claws meant to be fixed onto the entire arm and chest.

  "Use this in the meantime. You'll want to practice." Thane pushed them across the counter.

  "Lemme give you a hand before you hurt yourself." Shae helped Korin slip the full-leather sleeve on his left hand and arm, then buckled the straps across his chest and under both shoulders. The metal claw attachment came next, fixed onto the forearm. Having this on for even a few minutes was going to tire out his arm. It was just going to be something he had to get used to.

  "You know what modifications and enhancements are?" the weaver asked.

  Korin and Em shook their heads.

  Thane brought forth two weapons from under the counter. One was a five-inch dagger with a crimson crystal in place of the pommel, and the other was a shortsword with an extended hilt that opened to reveal a long steel wire inside.

  "Modification refers to any mechanical or technical adjustments to an equipment. Enhancements are anything that musters up elements to your equipment," Thane explained.

  Like charged arrows or igniting swords. It would be nice to give the greshen steel knife an enhancement, but Korin couldn't imagine how expensive that would be.

  Shae picked up the dagger and struck the counter with its pommel. Fire sparked from it. She swung the empty space before them, drawing a brief line of flames before going out.

  "By Reia's sacred spear, there are minerals and metals with incomprehensible energies to them. Copper taum generates and conducts electricity. Malachite brimstones can start fires like flint and tinder. Powder from aquaspar calcites draw moisture from the air to produce water, but don't count on them if you're in Ag. We use these powers to get an edge over behemoths. Others, well… have less than savory intentions with them." Shae made a face only for Thane to give her a troubled look.

  The four of them knew that well. The entire outpost did. There were kingdoms beyond the Frosted Reach, far from Karacos, that were constantly at war. Although the Hunter's Association had little to do with their quarrels, it wasn't rare for greater civilization to stick their noses in hunter business and draw them into conflict.

  One being, much to Commander Winston's frustration, was to send minerals that Shae described for their use.

  "Alright, how does this claw work?" Korin was eager to change the subject and try out the claw.

  Shae donned the second one without any help. She appeared to already be accustomed to it.

  "You fire it by pressing your thumb on the big knuckle of your index finger," Thane began. "It checks two spring mechanisms in order to trigger, so either one by themselves won't cause it to fire when you don't want it to. Release the claw by performing the same motion. Your max reach is fifteen meters, and the tensile strength is around 200 kilograms."

  "This is kind of… uncomfortable. Don't you have something smaller, like just on my wrist instead?" Korin asked.

  "Weavers tried to make something like that in the past, and it would pop a hunter's wrist right off. Decommissioned those right away. Thane's got one of the older models if you want to try it." Shae grinned, almost daring him to take that chance.

  Korin and Em gulped hard.

  "Okay. Discomfort it is," he said.

  That explained the sleeve and why the harness went under both shoulders. It needed to carry the weight of a grown adult after all.

  "Try and keep up, kid!" Shae fired the claw out the door and propelled outwards, landing sideways on a wooden post.

  "Be careful!" Em implored.

  "What's the worst that could happen?" Korin pointed his left arm at the same post and touched his thumb to his index knuckle. However, he was not prepared for how fast it turned out to be and body slammed into the post.

  Above him, Shae bursted out into laughter. "Full marks from me. If that's how you land from now on, I'm all for it!"

  The metal claws clamped onto the post, and when Korin performed the same finger gesture, they snapped back onto his forearm like a bear trap. He dropped to his feet, thoroughly embarrassed when he heard Em trying to keep from laughing.

  "Again," Shae said.

  "Hold on! You're throwing me into the fire here. Can we take the lessons a little slower?" Korin pleaded, still reeling from the pain of getting bodied by the outpost.

  "You need a carrot, huh? Let's see, if you manage to catch me… Private hunting lessons and a new greshen steel weapon?" she suggested.

  "Wait, you serious?" he asked.

  As quickly as the huntress released the claw, she fired it to the roof of Thane's workshop, then again to a higher point in the outpost.

  Korin chased after Shae with the claw, this time doing his best to keep proper footing. Every location he grappled onto left him hanging around or smashing into a building. Meanwhile, Shae landed with the elegance and finesse of a cat each time. Their gap grew wider every second.

  Korin saw only one way to catch up. A shortcut from a wooden outcrop on the side of the command nest would bring him right next to where Shae was headed. He judged it to be several meters further than the claw's max range, but one good jump should bridge that gap. He took that chance, pushing off with both feet. The claw fired away, but the tips of the metal fingers scraped the ledged and missed. Now he was plummeting.

  "Come on, come on, come on!" Korin repeatedly touched his knuckles, but the claw wasn't retracting fast enough.

  "Korin!" Em screamed from below.

  Before hitting the ground, Shae swooped in to catch him and swung them gently to the ground.

  "Thanks…" Korin breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Thane was right. You really are overestimating yourself." Shae folded both arms and sighed.

  "Sorry—"

  The huntress flicked his forehead.

  "Don't apologize. Be better. You're a hunter now, but you're still a long way from ivory or obsidian," she scolded.

  When Em caught up to check on them, Shae gave him a hard pat on the back. She dove off the walkway, grappling down to the tradeyard in style.