ok, She’s a soldier, not a carpenter. If the abbey was being attacked by a horde of hobgoblins, she’d be great. Fixing a door, not so much. It’s rather unfair to chastise her, especially as the one doing the chastising isn’t fixing it either.
Yup, that’s a great summary of the situation. ^^ Unfortunately (?!), the abbey has never yet been attacked by a horde of hobgoblins, so Nansa’s specific skills are not much in demand and have been mentally reduced to “can swing heavy stuff.”
If the abbey were attacked, all of the sisters would be very good at fighting back … except Tulinn … what would she do? Even Vireh could totally scare them away and even make them sick if she’s in one of her contagious moods.
Tulinn would be great in a battle. Being able to become invisible means that she would be able to spy out enemy positions without being seen. Being insubstantial means that she can’t be hurt.
Brind and Vireh are too nice to be in a battle. If I was fighting I would want Tulinn (spy), Hrae (spy/assassin), Nansa (soldier) and Sepia (transport).
Tulinn is totally justified in not fixing the door herself. It must be frustrating to be the bossy oldest sister who always ends up cleaning up after everyone … but, you can’t actually clean things given that you’re ethereal and all.
Then again, I’ve noticed subtle hints that Tulinn is not actually the oldest but that there is a mysterious other sister (see Tulinn’s character description and ch. 1, p. 11) … do I smell a villain … or two?
The only worse option would be for Tulinn to address the fire girl and “ask” her to fix the door. She could, though, by burning it to ash and it will never “get in the way” again! ;)
I’m not certain, but I think Brind might not be able to leave the fire (and we’ve seen no sign of powers at a distance a la the Human Torch). Somebody else would still have to be enlisted to carry her over in a brazier or something.
Reminds me of a book I once read, where the warriors would mainly sit around and drink all day long. Which I guess is a privilege you earn when you’re first in line to risk your life in battle. And it’s not as if anyone who’s not a warrior is able to force them to do otherwise. But if a warrior isn’t really needed at the monastery, perhaps Nansa could learn some carpentry? I mean, if hunting isn’t enough?
While a book might certainly help, I consider carpentry enough of a practical skill that good old fashioned trial and error ought to be enough for the simple stuff.
Ed
That depends on ones attitude. If one just tries carpentry with an attitude of “it just has to be good enough to work”, trial and error carpentry is mostly error and never really good enough to work well. The same thing goes for the attitude of, “I’ll never be able to do this well, I’ll just make do with what I can do.” Or anyone who takes pride in their carpentry too soon. (It’s OK to take pride in “look how much better I did today than yesterday/last week/whenever”. But if you’re still producing a crude work product, to think that you’re awesome – that causes one to stop progressing.)
On the other hand, if one approaches it from a continuous improvement perspective, yes. And if one adds scientific methods, most certainly.
16 thoughts on “Chapter Two – Page Nine”
Azure
ok, She’s a soldier, not a carpenter. If the abbey was being attacked by a horde of hobgoblins, she’d be great. Fixing a door, not so much. It’s rather unfair to chastise her, especially as the one doing the chastising isn’t fixing it either.
Rachel
Yup, that’s a great summary of the situation. ^^ Unfortunately (?!), the abbey has never yet been attacked by a horde of hobgoblins, so Nansa’s specific skills are not much in demand and have been mentally reduced to “can swing heavy stuff.”
J-Dawg
If the abbey were attacked, all of the sisters would be very good at fighting back … except Tulinn … what would she do? Even Vireh could totally scare them away and even make them sick if she’s in one of her contagious moods.
Francisco
Tulinn would be great in a battle. Being able to become invisible means that she would be able to spy out enemy positions without being seen. Being insubstantial means that she can’t be hurt.
Brind and Vireh are too nice to be in a battle. If I was fighting I would want Tulinn (spy), Hrae (spy/assassin), Nansa (soldier) and Sepia (transport).
Francisco
Sorry, Hrae would be (spy/assassin/negotiator). Tulinn and Sepia wouldn’t be too bad that the negotiation game either.
Francisco
All 4 of them would be good at carrying messages. Of course, for Tulinn, it would have to be committed to memory.
J-Dawg
Tulinn is totally justified in not fixing the door herself. It must be frustrating to be the bossy oldest sister who always ends up cleaning up after everyone … but, you can’t actually clean things given that you’re ethereal and all.
Then again, I’ve noticed subtle hints that Tulinn is not actually the oldest but that there is a mysterious other sister (see Tulinn’s character description and ch. 1, p. 11) … do I smell a villain … or two?
Francisco
I suspect the eldest sister died.
replacement sparrow
Also sort of hilarious, seeing as how the door isn’t actually in Tulinn’s way. Sure, it probably causes strife among /her sisters/, but still. XD
Rachel
Hee hee. It just offends her on principle, one supposes.
Azure
The only worse option would be for Tulinn to address the fire girl and “ask” her to fix the door. She could, though, by burning it to ash and it will never “get in the way” again! ;)
Andy H.
I’m not certain, but I think Brind might not be able to leave the fire (and we’ve seen no sign of powers at a distance a la the Human Torch). Somebody else would still have to be enlisted to carry her over in a brazier or something.
Gillsing
Reminds me of a book I once read, where the warriors would mainly sit around and drink all day long. Which I guess is a privilege you earn when you’re first in line to risk your life in battle. And it’s not as if anyone who’s not a warrior is able to force them to do otherwise. But if a warrior isn’t really needed at the monastery, perhaps Nansa could learn some carpentry? I mean, if hunting isn’t enough?
Azure
Perhaps if one of the many books they received as payment for their services over the years was about carpentry?
Gillsing
While a book might certainly help, I consider carpentry enough of a practical skill that good old fashioned trial and error ought to be enough for the simple stuff.
Ed
That depends on ones attitude. If one just tries carpentry with an attitude of “it just has to be good enough to work”, trial and error carpentry is mostly error and never really good enough to work well. The same thing goes for the attitude of, “I’ll never be able to do this well, I’ll just make do with what I can do.” Or anyone who takes pride in their carpentry too soon. (It’s OK to take pride in “look how much better I did today than yesterday/last week/whenever”. But if you’re still producing a crude work product, to think that you’re awesome – that causes one to stop progressing.)
On the other hand, if one approaches it from a continuous improvement perspective, yes. And if one adds scientific methods, most certainly.