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Every Success Counts The field is in ruins and the bodies are already decaying and smelling of guts and feces. You want to lose your meal, but there are others so you breathe slow and shallow. The creature responsible for this massacre is long gone, but a few huge scales are stuck in the ground or have taken out a roof. Some resistance was made but the wooden fortress walls were shattered and likely the villagers never stood a chance. A few of your loyal Scouts are among the dead. Their swords bloodied and bows hard used and now broken. Arrows were shot almost exclusively at the western wall. The trees there were basically flat and look more like kindling than the tall pines they were just yesterday. You had helped build this wall and train the villagers. It was hard to see how ineffectual it all was. Your eyes keep moving back to the tree stumps and wall debris in the west. These aren't normal damages? You think, what dragon would bother trampling trees when it could just swoop down and land on the village itself? Good question. So if not a dragon, then what made this horrible scene before you? You find yourself walking up to one of the scales that protrudes from the dirt. It's cracked, probably when it hit the earth. When you yank on it, a piece falls to your feet. It's not small, but it has unusual layers within it. You turn to get your Commander's attention, but the Commander is already at your side. "Corporal. Take this piece to the Sages in Fayettes. They will know what we are dealing with here." You nod smartly and remove your gear. The pack would have to stay. You grab some rations and your water skin and shove a dagger in your boot. The Commander's Aide hands you a City-State Marker to get whatever help you may need to get there, faster and in one piece. You hang the marker around your neck and stare at the scale. It's a bit unwieldy and looks heavier than dragon scales. You squat down and manage to pull it up on its edge and test its weight before pulling it up to your chest. The scale is warm and doesn't really smell like anything. That's helpful at least. Your wry humor makes you smirk, internally of course. You ask the Aide what direction to head off in to join up with the trail that leads to the Town of Fayettes. "If you move through the woods here," the Aide points to the south, "you can move up to the crags and then drop down onto the trail from there. Make it quick, but don't get foolish and get hurt. We can't afford that, do you understand?" You nod understanding, even if it was a ridiculously obvious command. You head out, walking at first, keeping an eye on your prize possession. If it rocks too much, it may escape your grip. Not a good thing to have happen, especially since you have yet to move out of sight of your group. You get into a groove and begin the slow gaited run for the Sages. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Grip Strength! We know it's important, but do we focus on it enough to really improve our abilities? I don't. So this week we are doing some exercises to increase our hand, wrist, and forearm strength. The vid here is a good place to start. If you don't have dumbbells, try using a jug filled with a challenging amount of weight in it. Do as the vid says, warm-ups and then 3x20 for the exercises. Do all these up to 3 times this week. Report back on Sunday evening, U.S. EST, at the latest and let us know how your hands are faring. Good Luck Scouts! Hand, wrist, and forearm exercises with Dr Levi Harrison