“Hardly.” She replied. “I was just out riding with Erin Silvia.”

“You rode with Silvia?” Alex’s head shot around at the name of the hunter. Kile had to smile. Would she ever become that famous she wondered as Alex quickly took a seat beside her. Erin Silvia was slowly becoming the stuff of legends, and Alex was always eager for a new story to add to his repertoire. “What was she like? Is she nice? She looks really scary, but I bet she’s not though. What did you guys talk about?” His questions came as fast as his mouth would allow, and like him, had no sense of order or direction.

“There’s nothing really to say.” Kile replied, trying to shut him up. “We just had to straighten out a few things, that’s all, now watch the fight, maybe you’ll learn something.”

“Me? You’re the one that needs to learn how to fight.” He grumbled as he turned around, sat in the snow and pouted.

Fortunately Alex’s grudges were rather fleeting, and never lasted too long, about as long as the fight between Murphy and Carter, which came to a predictable end. Carter had gotten the big man to yield as Murphy stuck his sword into the ground.

“You’re pretty good.” Carter told him. It was the first time they had ever heard him out of breath.

“Not nearly as good as you.” Murphy returned the compliment.

Kile just rolled her eyes, was this going to be some kind of male bonding?

“You just have to keep your sword up higher and follow through with you parry, and when you go in for your attack you should really reserve a little. You don’t want to throw your entire body into it, that when you get off balance and leave yourself wide open.”

Murphy rubbed his backside where the mark of Carter’s sword was still visible. “That I will remember.” He said.

She knew that maneuver all too well as she had been on the receiving end of it during most of their bouts.

“So, who’s next?” Carter asked.

“Kile.” Daniel and Alex both yelled together.

“Thanks guys.” She said through clenched teeth as she got to her feet. She wasn’t really ready for this, not at the moment as she walked over to the circle and Murphy handed her the practice sword.

“Good luck.” He grinned.

“What? You too?”

Carter took his place in the circle. “Come on Kile, we all know you can use as much practice as you can get.” He said as he marked the ground with his sword.

“What? I can fight… I just have a little problem controlling the sword, that's all.”

“The sword is kind of necessary.”

She grabbed the practice blade with both hands, as it was the only way she could really wield it, and stood in a defensive stance. Carter launched his first attack as he came in on both sides of her, swinging first for the left side and then for the right, forcing her to shift her entire body back and forth to block each shot. Each strike rang off the sword and vibrated through her arms. He left himself wide open on several occasions, more so than when he was fighting Murphy. She wasn’t sure if it was his change in style when he fought her, or he was just providing her with opportunities, of course he could be trying to goad her into overextending her attack, she wouldn’t put that past him either. Carter was on the mind set that you did anything you had to if it achieved a victory.

It wasn’t long before her arms started to give in to the weight of the sword and her defense was moving lower and lower. Then the inevitable happened, although it happened a lot harder than she would have liked. His sword passed over the top of her guard and stuck her hard in the shoulder, causing her to curse and drop her weapon altogether.

“Kile I’m sorry.” Carter said as he tossed his own sword aside and ran up to her.

“It’s nothing.” She replied, still clutching the side of her arm. It was nothing because they were using sword blanks to practice with, had it been a real sword, had it had a real edge, had she been fighting a real battle, it would have been the end of her arm.

“Let me see.” Daniel said, pushing Carter out of the way. He rolled up the outer sleeve of the tunic and began to squeeze her upper arm. It did not make it feel any better.

“It’s alright.” She said, pulling her arm away. “I got careless, I dropped my guard.”

“I don’t think it’s broken, just bruised.” Daniel concluded.

“I could have told you that.” She remarked as she rubbed her arm.

“You were supposed to go easy on her.”  Daniel told Carter in a harsh whisper, unfortunately loud enough for Kile to hear.

“What do you mean go easy on me, have you been playing me?”

“It’s nothing like that Kile it’s just that…”

“Have you or have you not been letting me slide?”

“It’s not what you think.”

“So I’m really a lot worse they what I think I am, is that it?” She asked as she looked from Carter to Daniel. She ever looked at Murphy who was completely lost and just shrugged. “How bad am I… really?”

“It’s hard to say.” Carter replied.

“No it’s not. In a real battle, how long would I last?”

“Now wait a minute.” Daniel replied, holding up his hands to calm her down. “The cadets in the field don’t cut you any slack, and you do well against them.”

“No I don’t.” She said, shaking her head. “Oh for crying out loud… I suck so bad that you’ve been deliberately leaving yourself open. I was hoping that it was just a feint but you’re really leaving yourself open.”

“Look we were only trying to help you.”

“Help me, how is this helping me. What you’re telling me is that I’m so bad with a sword that even with you throwing a match I can’t beat you. I’m going to have my head handed to me during the final evaluation. I can’t believe this, I suck so bad that I can’t win when your letting me win, how bad is that?”

“That’s… really bad.”

“You’re not helping any Alex.” Daniel shouted.

“Look… you… fight.” Kile stammered as she handed the sword to Daniel. “At least you have a chance at this.”

“Wait, what are you going to do?”

“I’ll… think of something.” She said over her shoulder as she started to walk away.

“Nice going Carter, you couldn’t make it any more obvious.” She heard Daniel say as she walked around the side of the stables.

She pushed the stable doors open and stepped inside out of the snow and out of the light. The darkness of the stables was welcoming since it matched the darkness of her mood. Just when she thought she had a chance, just when she thought she may even make it out of the academy, she had it all taken away from her by a blunt sword. She cursed silently to herself as she fell against the wall and slid down to sit on a small pile of hay.

She really wasn’t mad at them, they were only trying to help, but that was the problem, it wasn’t helping. She had to learn how to use a sword. The Hunter’s code was very specific on that point. If they were coasting with her, then she wasn’t improving. If they were letting her win and she wasn’t, then if anything she was moving backwards, she was getting worse.

“What you need to do is change your way of thinking.”

She spun around to see the elusive stable hand emerge from the shadows of the building. How was it that this guy was everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and why wasn’t he a hunter? He would have made a great hunter sneaking up on people like that.

“What do you mean change my way of thinking?”

“Just because you’re not skilled with one sword, doesn’t mean you are not skilled with any sword.”

“You’ve been watching?” She asked, although she already knew the answer. “I know that there are other swords, but the one’s we are using are supposed to be the lightest allowed by the Hunter’s code. If I can’t use them, I don’t think I would have much success using a heavier one.”

“So you are saying that it is simply the weight of the sword that is your problem.”

“Well yeah… no… I don’t know. I mean they teach you how to fight with this wooden practice weapon and once you learn all the steps and think you're pretty good at it, they tell you to do it all again, but hey, this time you have to use this two ton piece of metal, and to top it off the whole circular defense thing just doesn’t make much sense. You’re just sort of standing there, waiting for the other person to hit you so you can hit them back. It just doesn’t seem very practical, the whole thing doesn’t seem practical.”

“And you don’t think it works.”

“Oh it works, it just doesn’t work for me. I can’t do those moves with those swords.”

“Then maybe you should change both.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“Come back here tonight, and you will.” Luke said as he backed into the shadows of the stables.

“What do you mean?” Kile asked as she followed him, but he was already gone.

 

Kile wasn’t sure what she was getting herself into as she fastened her cloak about her and closed the globe of fire away. She placed it on the chest of drawers, then opened the window on the cold winter night. She may have snuck out of her room during the summer nights, but this was a lot different. For starters, there were a lot more people out there that could catch her.

-Where Kile going?-

Even though there was no actual sound, the voice that entered her head startled her as she slammed shut the shutters and spun around. Vesper sat on the bed looking up at her with an expression that clearly thought she was crazy.

“I didn’t think you would be back so soon.” She said as she turned and opened the windows again.

-Nothing to see, too cold, everyone in big room.-

“Well, it is supposed to be the warmest place.”

-Warmer here, when ball is floating.-

“Yeah, sorry about that. But you know the rules. We can’t let that thing float around when I’m not here.”

-Come with you?-

“You want to come with me? I don’t see why not, just behave yourself.”

Grabbing the old pouch from the chair she fastened it around her waist and opened the flap to let Vesper climb in. Now all she had to worry about was squishing him as she climbed out the window.

She grabbed the window sill, swung both her legs out, and jumped down into the snow. She kept to the side of the building as she had done countless times and made her way to the dark side of the compound. There were never any guards on the eastern walls since those were the walls that were shared by the main city. She quietly made her way up to the stables and slipped in through the side door which had been left open. It was too dark to go much further and she had to let her eyes grow accustomed to the lack of light.

“I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to come.”

She recognized Luke’s voice, but couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from, as always, the stable hand seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

“How could I pass up such a cryptic invitation?” She called out, and was beginning to wonder if she had made a mistake.

A light went on in one of the prep areas as Luke hung a lit lantern from a suspended hook.

“So, what is it that you are supposed to reveal to me?” She asked as she walked into the light.

He turned to a long wrapped bundle that lay on the chair and gently picked it up. “There are many types of weapons in this world.” He explained “As there are styles of fighting. I’ve watched how you fight Kile Veller, and you’re fighting with the wrong style.”

“But that’s the way I was taught.”

Luke turned and presented the bundle to her. She was a little weary of opening things wrapped in cloth, the last one was a little hard to take, but it was clear that Luke would say no more until she did. She flipped back the cloth to reveal something in the neighborhood of either a pair of long knives, or a pair of short swords. He nodded for her to pick one up.

The weapon was about three feet long. The blade was slightly curved and only edged on one side. There was a small indentation, extending into what could only be descried as a small metal bird’s beak just above the handle which was very old and very worn, but fit comfortably in her hand. She held out her arm with the weapon fully extended and found that it had no substantial weight to it.

She had seen something like these before, or something similar, and it took her a while to remember. The hidden gallery that Mathew Latherby had revealed to her the day Tree had taken them on a tour of the grounds. That had been a year and a half ago she figured, and suddenly she felt a little older. Within that secret gallery, under the paining of the female hunter, were two swords, similar to these in design, although these were worn by use and age where those looked as if they were untouched by time.

“These are known as the Lann, blades that were used by the alverian centuries ago.”

“Risa Ta’re.” She said as the name of the Hunter from the gallery came back to her. She could almost see her sitting there among the trees, the fawn at her side.

“Very good.” Luke smiled. “Now, pick up the other one and get ready.”

She gripped the second blade in her other hand, and it felt just as comfortable, just as well balanced.

“Now what?” She asked, although she didn’t have to wait for long.

Luke threw the cloth aside and grabbed the sword that was leaning against the wall.

She hadn’t noticed the sword, she didn’t know what Luke was going to do with it, but when he swung at her head, she mangled to get both blades up, blocking the attack.

“What the hell…”

She didn’t have time to think as he spun around and came in on her other side. She easily deflected his blow again, as well as a third time. She read each attack and each time she was able to get the blades between her and the stable hand’s sword. He came in on her left side again, but this time she used just the left blade to deflect his attack while striking with the right. Luke easily maneuvered away from what could have been a rather messy end with a rather unorthodox spinning move, but then most of his combat was unorthodox when compared to the blunt force attacks of Master Boraro.

“So, it would appear that I was… not mistaken.” Luke grinned, keeping a good distance from her.

“Maybe you could explain what just happened.”

“As I have told you, there are many weapons and many styles. When I watched you in the past, I have noted that you can fight as easily with your left hand, as you can with your right.”

“Let’s just say I’ve had a few opportunities to practice.”

“What you have just shown me is that you also have a basic understanding of the Tachiena style.”

“The touchy style?”

“Tachiena.”

“I’m afraid I’ve never even heard of it.”

“I would be very surprised if you had. It was a style of fighting used by the alverian centuries ago, especially designed for the Lann.” Luke said as he set his weapon down and took the blades from Kile. He carefully wrapped them back in their cloth, and she was a little sad to see them go.

“The alverian were slighter in build than that of the vir and so their style of fighting also differed. I have witnessed the Casacure, or circle style that Master Boraro teaches, and, although it works for most vir, it requires considerable strength of arm to master, something that you, Kile Veller, do not posses.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“The Tachiena or dual style doesn’t require strength, but speed and… finesse. Attributes that most vir do not possess, but you do.  The style is… shall we say… more aggressive than that of the Casacure. You do not maintain a circle of defense around your person waiting for that one killing blow. Instead, you move in for your attack, getting under your opponent's defenses, attacking with quick skilled strikes, and then getting out. Use your opponent's weight against him, exploit the weakness of his style, and when you have weakened him, then, you go in for the killing blow.”

The idea was a bit chilling, especially the way Luke described it, but it made more sense than Master Boraro’s style, and she could already see the advantages.

“But, how is this going to help me?” She asked. “Surely they would never let me use this during the final evaluation.”

“The Hunter’s Code does not dictate the type of style that a hunter must use in combat. The only reason that the Casacure is used is that it is the simplest to teach. Almost every cadet that comes to the academy can use it effectively, some better than others.”

“Then some could use the touchy style.”

“Tachiena.” Luke corrected her.

“Tachiena.” She repeated. “What about the… swords.”

“The Lann are listed within the Hunter’s Code as acceptable.” Luke assured her.

She figured the first thing she would have to do is get a hold of one of these code books to find all the little loopholes that she had been missing. It could save her a lot of headaches in the future.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

8

 

Five weeks had past since the dreaded news of the raids in the north and information was very short coming. Each morning the cadets would fall in for roll call and wait with anticipation and fear of Headmaster’s Oblum’s appearance at the morning rituals. Anticipation because each cadet wanted to know more, what was going on, what was the crown’s response to the raids, what hunters were sent into the wastelands and what intelligence, if any, did they bring back. Fear because they were afraid of what those answers might be. The only information they received were the names of the cadets that had passed through the Pudora gate. In those five short weeks, over thirty five cadets left the academy, most of which were first years although six second year cadets and a third year were also on the list. The reality of a Hunter’s life, and ultimately his death, hit home with the fallen fourteen, the green parchment with the black border remained pinned to the bulletin board, even when the list of the civilian had been removed. Morale was at an all time low, but the academy had to get back to the business at hand, because in spite of how Eric said it, there were now fourteen less Hunters in Aru. Whether that was just an unfortunate turn of events or a sign of things to come, no one was willing to speculate.

The winter’s feast came and went without much merriment and although there was feasting in the dinning hall, it was nowhere near as festive as the year before. Kile, Daniel, Alex and Carter never attended and instead retreated to Kile’s room for their own celebration, if one could call it a celebration. It had been more of a memorial service for the fourteen, but mostly for a young vibrant hunter known as Tree, who they had all known, if but for a short period of time.

After the winter festivities, classes took up much where they had left off, but now the cadets were starting their wilderness survival training at the hands of Master Folkstaff.

Kile’s first impression of Master Folkstaff had been one of curiosity, he was not like the other instructors at the academy, he was more laid back, more carefree. He didn’t let the little nuisances of day to day life distract him from, what he referred to as, the big picture. He appeared to be more comfortable with himself and the world around him and took everything in stride. In many ways, this was what Kile always thought a Hunter should be.

He was a tall man, but then most of the instructors were from Kile’s point of view, with long black hair that was braided and hung down well past his waist. His beard, another requirement it would seem that most hunters must possess, was also braided in three even strands ending in green and yellow beads tied off with leather straps, and even though he looked almost comical, with his ill fitting deer skin jacket, knee high leather boots, dull green threadbare cloak, and wide brimmed floppy hat, he could still command more respect than even Master Boraro, he just never bothered to.

He sat quietly on the rock, leaning up against an old oak tree. His cloak pulled around him to keep the chill out, his hat pulled down over his eyes to keep the sun out. He didn’t move nor speak as the cadets fell into formation out in the open field, just outside the walls of the academy. Although there was a legitimate classroom for wilderness studies in the main hall, Master Folkstaff didn’t care for it. He always believed more in the hands on approach.

Kile was starting to think that Master Folkstaff had either fallen asleep, or worse, died of exposure, but the unorthodox hunter pushed up the brim of his hat with one finger and peered out from underneath.

“Contrary to popular beliefs, this isn’t the military.” He said as he slowly got to his feet, wiping the snow from his pants. “Ease up a bit, relax, take it easy.”

That was easier said than done, for the last year and a half they had stood at attention, it was not easy to go against training, even Kile, who still felt a rather lax attitude toward the authority of the academy, was finding it difficult. Folkstaff just shook his head and grinned.

“We’ll have to work on that.” He said “Now follow me.”

With nothing that resembled an explanation, he turned and walked away. The cadets looked at one another, not really sure what to do, when it was clear that he wasn’t coming back, they had to run to catch up. At this point there was no formation, since the Hunter didn’t appear to be following any set path, and it didn’t even look as if he had a set destination, he just went where his unnaturally long strides took him.  They crossed fields, navigated through trees, and even walked over an ice covered brook. Kile noticed a few of the boy looking back the way they had come, probably trying to figure out if they could find their way back if it became necessary. To her ways of thinking, there was no real reason to go back, and she kept her eyes on the instructor.

After they had walked for the better part of two hours, Master Folkstaff abruptly stopped and turned. The cadets in the back of the pack, who had been too busy watching where they had come from, collided with the cadets in the front of the pack who were watching where they were going.

“This looks like a nice spot.” He said as he eyed the trees around them.

It was a small clearing in the woods, nothing very spectacular in the way that it would have indicated a final destination, but Folkstaff seemed to think so.

“Well… come on, make yourself comfortable.” He said as he found another tree and brushed the snow from its roots. He sat down and watched as the cadets looked around in a state of confusion. Kile wasn’t as confused, having grown up on a farm and explored the surrounding woods with her brother, not counting the time she got lost, she was quite comfortable sitting in the middle of nowhere. She chose her place off of Master Folkstaff’s left side, where a large rock and a fallen tree provided some protection from the elements. She kicked away the snow and, tucking her cloak under her as she sat on the lee side of the rock. Folkstaff gave her a nod of approval and it didn’t take long before Daniel, Carter and Alex joined her.

“You have learned much about the mechanics of survival in the last five weeks, but you have not learned how to survive. Who can tell me the two biggest dangers to a Hunter’s survival in the wild?” Master Folkstaff asked.

He looked around and waited as cadets were still trying to find places to sit down. A few answers did fly in his direction. Food, water, shelter, enemies, wild animals, the terrain, even weather conditions were among those voiced by most of the cadets. Kile had to agree that she was thinking along those same lines, with the possible exception of wild animals, but knew those answers were not the ones that Mater Folkstaff wanted to hear. For starts he asked for two dangers, and he wouldn’t have asked the question if the answers were that obvious.

“Although they are all dangers that you will face as a Hunter, they are not the biggest dangers to your survival.” Folkstaff remarked. “The two things you have to watch out for are complacence, and the desire for comfort.”

There was an obvious level of disbelief among the other cadets as a few of them openly scoffed at his conclusion. Folkstaff waited until the group quieted down a bit.

“That is usually the reaction that I get.” He replied, and he wasn’t the least bit upset or annoyed at the reaction. Master Boraro would have gone ballistic had the cadets shown him even that much disrespect. He would have been cracking skulls by now, but Master Folkstaff just took it all in stride. This was a man that was confident in his knowledge and knew what he was talking about, not someone that had to constantly prove himself.

“Complacence, although in and of itself is not undesirable, it can be the first step on the path of giving up. It is one thing to accept the situation and deal with it, it is quite another to accept it, and have it deal with you.  When we give up our desire to survive, we give up our desire to live.”

“No one is just going to lie down and die.” One cadet yelled out.

“You would be surprised.” Folkstaff replied. “Sometimes it’s easier to just, as you say, lie down and die, than it is to keep fighting to survive, and in many cases it may not be your choice. There are a lot of factors that can influence our decisions. The cold for instance…” he said as he grabbed a hand full of snow and held it up for the cadets to see, as if there wasn’t an abundance of the stuff all around to begin with. “Prolonged exposure to the cold can lead to exhaustion to such a point where it becomes easier to just stop trying and give in to the situation. Thirst, hunger, illness, loss of blood, these weaken us and can also lead us to that same point, that mental numbness, that indifference to whether we live or we die. It creeps up on you, silently, quietly, until eventually… what’s the point. What’s the difference if I die here or over there? What's the difference if I die today… or tomorrow? You won't’ realize it's happening unless you’re looking for it, in yourself and in your companions.”

Kile was paying close attention to the man as he spoke. Not so much what he said, but how he said it. The look in his eyes, the expression on his face, she was getting the feeling that Master Folkstaff wasn’t stating facts from a book, but from his own experience.

“How would you know?” Daniel asked and for a second Kile though he had directed the question at her. “If you’ve gotten to that point of not wanting to go on, wouldn’t it be too late?”

“I know what you’re trying to say.” Folkstaff replied with a slow nod of his head since everything this man did seemed to be slow, but there was that look in his eyes, that far away expression. He didn’t just know; he had actually been there. “In many ways you’re right. It is easier to see the warning signs in someone else than it is to see it in ourselves. That is why we have to keep it in the back of our mind, so that when that time comes, you will be able to see the signs. You may wake up one morning and figure, I don’t think I’ll search for water today, I’m too tired, or the water will always be there tomorrow. Those thoughts, the ones that keep you from trying to survive, to not do what you know you should do are the first step on the path to the acceptance of death.”

“But then how does comfort fall into it?” Carter asked.

“Ah, comfort. Are you comfortable right now?”

“Um… no, not really.” Carter replied as he shifted his seat. It was almost as if talking about it reminded him of how uncomfortable the rocks were that he was sitting on.

“Is anyone here comfortable, I mean truly comfortable?” Folkstaff asked as he looked over the class.

There was a few grumbled and again the occasional snide remark that only proved Folkstaff’s point as the Hunter grinned. Kile, on the other hand, was comfortable enough, although she wasn’t going to say so.

“I’m sure most of you would probably prefer to be back in your beds right about now, or better yet, in the warmth of the dining hall with the fire burning and food laid out on the tables before you. Maybe a stay at the Purple Hog, where the beer flows like water and the mattress are six inches thick, and stuffed with down feathers.”

There was a general note of approval and even Kile had to agree, a feathered bed would be nice to try, at least once in her life.

“There is no danger in comfort.” Folkstaff assured them. “It is only the desire of comfort that poses a danger. When we go out of our way to seek comfort that is not available to us, when we pass up an opportunity for food or water that we would otherwise find distasteful, that is dangerous.

“In reality they are both mindsets, ways of thinking. We have to change our way of thinking, if we are going to survive in the wild. I’m sure some of you are sitting here today, asking yourself ‘why should I care about this when all I have to do is just ride on to the next town?’ and sure enough, most of you may never find yourself in a situation where you will have to worry about surviving on a day to day basis. Most of you will probably receive your assignments from the guild in the mornings and have them completed before the sun sets in the afternoon, and you may live out your entire career as a Hunter in this fashion, and in those rare cases where an assignment may last more than one day, you’ll have the supplies necessary to see you through, but that might not always be the situation. Case in point, your homework… we will be spending the night… here.”

“Here!”

It was a general exclamation of the entire group as they looked around their rather bleak surroundings, realizing that none of them had more than the clothes on their backs. This started out to be a lecture, now it was some exercise in survival. Some of the cadets sat and pouted, others openly complained, and a few talked about walking back to the academy, that was if they knew the way back, but in the end, nobody did anything. Typical, Kile thought, all talk, no action, she was actually looking forward to it, but by the looks on the faces of her friends, she was the only one.

“You know the basics; you’ve learned them in class, now I want to see how you perform in a more… natural environment.” Folkstaff said, getting back to his feet. “This is a solo assignment. You will all go off on your own, not too far mind you, close enough that we can all hear you scream should you need help, but far enough that you can not see your neighbor. We wouldn’t want people spying on one another would we? You will be given three hours before I start making my rounds. Within those three hours you should be able to secure your basic needs. Since there are no hostile forces or wild animals in the general vicinity, you will only be responsible for food, water, shelter and fire.”

“But we don’t have any supplies?” One cadet yelled from the back of the group.

“Yeah, how can you make a fire without a striker?”

“Or a knife, we don’t even have a knife to cut the wood.”

“We don’t have anything to hold water in, how are we supposed to hold water?”

Folkstaff just shook his head as the complaints continued; this was going to be a long three hours.

“All I’m asking is for you to try; just do your best.” The hunter said, holding up his hands to gain the cadets attention. “The wild has everything you need to survive; all you have to do is find it. This is for your own piece of mind, so you will understand what it is you’re capable of doing. Anything goes, with the possible acceptation of bodily harm to another cadet, beyond that, anything goes.”

“So we can use our edge?”

Kile recognized that voice as she turned to see Eric standing on the edge of the clearing. Of course he would want to know if he could use his edge, being influenced by the sphere of fire meant that he had one part of the assignment completed already.

“Of course you can use your edge; it is part of who you are.” Folkstaff replied.

A few cadets grinned at this, others groaned. It didn’t exactly set a fair table, some people, like Eric, would have an unfair advantage, but then fire isn’t going to build you a shelter or bring you food.

“If that is all the questions, then please, get started. You have three hours, and then I will be coming around to see how far you’ve progressed.”

Kile watched Eric disappear into the tree line on the opposite side of the clearing. She wanted to be as far away from him as she could.

“Good luck.” Daniel told her, catching her off guard.

“Oh… yeah, same to you, but then I figured you're already one up on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a healer and you’re influenced by water. You could probably make any water drinkable by… rearranging it the way you do.”

“I… never thought of that.” He said as the idea made its way into his head. “That’s not a bad idea; I’ll have to give that a try.”

“Glad I could help.” Kile mumbled as she trudged off into the snow.

 

She set off through the woods a good distance until she was sure she was out of sight of everyone. How Master Folkstaff would find all the cadets scattered about the woods was anyone’s guess. His edge, she thought, although she had no idea what that was. He must know what he’s doing she figured, and set her mind to the task at hand.

It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for, a large pine tree with low hanging branches. With a little work she could turn that into a natural shelter in no time, there, that was one task already… partly… completed. That only left food, water and fire. Water was easy, she had the snow all around her, but she would have to melt it first, which lead her to fire. That would have to be the most important obstacle to overcome.

Clearing the snow from a patch of ground she created her fire pit; close enough to her shelter to provide heat, far enough way to prevent the pine tree from going up in flames. She could hear it now, cadet sets fire to side of mountain. She dug out some stones from under the pine tree to create a smoother surface for her to sleep on, and used the stones as a fire shield to redirect the heat back toward the shelter. Using the dead pine needles as tinder and the smaller branches as kindling she was all set to start her fire, too bad she wasn’t sure how to do that.

Leon had once showed her how to build a fire when she first expressed an interest in becoming a hunter. Unfortunately he used a piece of flint and a small knife to get his fire going, neither of which Kile had on her at the moment. When she was nine she watched Erin Silvia start a fire, that was just after the hunter found her in the woods, but then she used a striker.

“Note to self, always carry a piece of flint and a knife.” She said as she sat and stared at the pile of tinder hoping that it would suddenly burst into flame. When she got around to writing that book on adventuring, she would definitely have to include a chapter on what to bring with you no matter where you’re going.

That just left the old stand by of rubbing two sticks together.

She found two straight looking sticks, at least as straight as she could find, and set about trying to rub them together over the tinder, but as hard as she rubbed, the more foolish she felt. This must be why he didn’t want them to see each other, she thought, that way they couldn’t tease each other back at the academy.

-What she doing?-

-What she doing?-

-Don’t know.-

-Strange.-

-Strange.-

-What she doing?-

-Don’t know.-

Kile set the sticks down and quickly looked around the forest, but she couldn’t see anything. The voices were rapid, chattering to one another but it was difficult to actually tell how many there were since they all sounded pretty much the same. The images that came to her in the voices, were looking down on her, and so she scanned the trees, but still couldn’t find their source.

“Is anyone there?” She asked.

-Heard us?-

-No… can’t.-

-Did, heard us she did.-

“Yes, I can hear you.” She called out quietly. The last thing she needed was for Master Folkstaff or another cadet to hear her talking to herself in the middle of the forest.

“Where are you?”

-Up.-

-Up.-

-Up high.-

She looked up into the tree again, but still, she couldn’t see anyone or anything.

“Why don’t you come out, I won’t hurt you.” She called to the voices.

-Trust her?-

-Vir… she is vir.-

-Vir can’t hear, vir don’t listen.-

-Trust her?-

-Yes.-

Something dropped out of the tree behind her and she slowly turned around as it came scampering across the snow at her,  It’s large bushy tail sticking up like a flag to mark its place on the ground. She laughed at herself as the squirrel stood up on her stone firewall.

-You are who?-

“My name is Kile, Kile Veller.”

-Kile… Kile Veller.-

“Do you have a name?” She asked the squirrel who looked up the tree as if he was somehow communicating this new piece of information to the others who must be up there.

-Tik.-

“Tik, that’s your name, is that what they call you?”

-Tik.-

“I don’t suppose you know how to start a fire… do you?”

-You are asking a squirrel how to start a fire?-

That voice she did recognize as she quickly looked around at the tree again.

“Kaza, where are you?”

The crow drifted down from one of the higher branches and landed on the rock wall, startling the squirrel, although he didn’t run very far, his curiosity kept him close.

“What are you doing out here, is there something wrong?”

-Nothing's wrong. I was just spreading my wings when I saw you guys out in the woods. Wanted to see what you were up to.-

“How long have you been up there?”

-Long enough to hear you ask a squirrel how to start a fire. If they could, do you think the forest would be safe?-

The Crow asked as he hopped down into the fire pit and kicked the tinder aside.

-It’s a good thing I did come along, you couldn’t start a fire if your life depended on it.-

“And you can?”

-I’ve seen it done.-

“Without the use of the mystic arts, because that’s not my area of expertise.” She reminded him.

-Without the use of the mystic arts.-

He assured her.

-What you need is a bow and drill, or I can fly back to the academy and fetch you a piece of flint.-

“No, that wouldn’t seem fair.” She said as she piled the tinder back up. “Besides, I want to try to do this on my own, well… with your help, if you tell me how… but then… wouldn’t that be cheating too.”

-Not the way I see it, didn’t the tall vir tell you that you could use your edge.-

“Well, yeah, but I don’t know if this is exactly what he had in mind.”

-Then how else are you suppose to use your edge. You are a rare vir, you have the ability to communicate with the natural world, that is your edge and you are allowed to use that edge during this assignment.-

“Well, I suppose.” She replied. She wanted Kaza’s help, she needed Kaza’s help, but she wasn’t going to go as far as to send him to the academy to get a piece of flint, that would borderline on the definition of cheating… in a way. “Okay, I will use my edge… and ask you for help.”

-Help?-

-Help?-

-We want to help.”

-Help Kile.”

-We want to help Kile.”

Kile looked up at the tree again as the voices came chattering in her head. How many squirrels were up there she wondered?

“I’m not really sure how you can help.” She told them, although she didn’t want to dismiss them so quickly. It was nice of them to offer, but she wasn’t sure what they could do. The only thing that came to mind was food, not that she could or would ever eat a squirrel, but they knew the area better than she did, and she had wasted so much time rubbing two sticks together that she still had to get her shelter built. She turned to Tik who was still sitting upon the rocks waiting eagerly for something to do.

“Can you find me food?” She asked.

-Food.-

-Food.-

-Food.-

-What kind?-

At least one of them was thinking, although she wasn’t sure she knew the answer. It would probably be something like an edible plant, something that a vir could eat that wouldn’t make her ill, something that could be found in the immediate area, something that they could carry.

-Yes.-

-Know where.-

-Food.-

-Food.-

The forest suddenly came alive as somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty squirrels started to pour from the pine trees all around her.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about this?” She asked as she watched them all race off in the same direction.

-Because you just set loose an army of little thieves.-

Kaza replied.

 

Kile was amazed as she warmed her hands by the fire. She would have never thought it possible to start a fire with two sticks and a length of string pulled and braided from her cloak. Kaza sat on the edge of a tree branch, not far from her, and watched. She could have sworn there was a bit of pride, a bit of swagger in the way the crow perched there.

“Proud of yourself are you?”

-I taught a vir how to harness fire.-

The crow said a he stretched his wings to the sky as if declaring it to the heavens.

“I would have figured it out… eventually.”

-Eventually takes time, and time you don’t have.-

“Well, that’s fire out of the way then, now for water and shelter.”

Water was going to be more of a problem then she had thought as she looked for something to melt the snow in. The only thing she had that could hold water was also the only thing she had that could keep it out, her brother’s hat. She took it off, turned it upside down and began to fill it with hand full of snow.

It wouldn’t do for her to just toss the hat onto the fire, it would go up in flames before the snow ever melted. Instead she moved it as close as she dared to the heat and, with the help of a pair of sticks, picked up one of the warmer stones and dropped it into her hat. With the warmth of the stone slowly melting the snow, she set about fixing her shelter.

-It would appear that you have learned a few things after all.-

The old crow commented

“It was bound to happen, wasn’t it?”

-I suppose.-

She wove the lower branches of the tree together with a few stray twigs that were scattered about. It didn’t need to be much, just enough to keep the snow and the wind at bay. When she was finished she crawled in and sat with her back against the truck of the tree, looking out over the snow covered field, and was surprised on how comfortably warm the entire set up was.

“I could really get used to this.” She said.

-I can’t-

Kaza replied as he landed in the opening of her shelter.

-I’m out of here child, this cold does not do well for my wings.-

“Morgan will probably be worried about you.”

-Worried? That old vir, he probably doesn’t even know I’m gone.-

“Thanks again for all your help.”

-You would have figured it out… eventually.-

Kaza replied as he took to the air.

She watched as the crow flew high above the tree line, disappearing in the grayness of the evening. Clouds were beginning to form now, and there was the scent of moisture in the air. Could more snow be on the way? She began to worry about the boys’ progress. Carter could take care of himself, there was nothing involving the physical side of being a hunter that he couldn’t handle. Daniel and Alex on the other hand would be struggling, well… maybe not so much Daniel, but definitely Alex. She could not see the small boy surviving alone in the woods, and his edge wasn’t going to help him much. You can’t eat an illusion. If there was a way she could help she would, but it wasn’t like she could go searching for him in the woods to lend a hand, and besides, she still had one more obstacle to overcome.

It was well into her second hour when she started to get worried. The squirrels had been gone for a long time and she was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten her. She use to watch the squirrels play on the feeders in the front yard, and although they were clever in their means of getting food, they didn’t exactly strike her as being the most focused of animals. It was too bad she didn’t have a few yarrow to help her.

No sooner had she resigned herself to go foraging for food when one of the squirrels finally arrived. He scampered across the landscape until he reached her shelter and presented her with… a nut.

It was a single walnut, although she hadn’t remembered seeing any walnut trees around, but at least it was edible, and it was a little more than she had expected. She had completed her assignment with time to spare.

“Thank you.” She said as the squirrel dropped the walnut beside her.

-Food.-

“Yes… food, thank you.”

-Food.-

“Yes… food.”

She wasn’t really catching what the squirrel was trying to tell her. The images that surrounded his words were rather confusing as all the pictures were jumbled together and didn’t make much sense, until she saw a second squirrel arrive on the horizon.

“Is that what you mean, more food is coming?” She asked the squirrel.

-Yes… food-

She watched as a third squirrel topped the hill, then another, and another, and before she knew it, there was a sea of them heading her way, their furry little tails bobbing behind them. There had only been, maybe, twenty that left the trees around her an hour or so ago, somewhere along the way they picked up a few dozen more. They came, not just with nuts and berries, but with apples, pears, onions, potatoes, even a wedge of cheese.

“What the… where did you get this stuff?” Kile asked a she started to panic. “What did you do, steal somebody’s supplies.”

-Food.-

They kept saying as each one dropped off another item, and with so many of them talking at once it was difficult to understand any of them. Somewhere, someone’s pantry was slowly being emptied.

“Tik… Tik where are you?”

One of the squirrels climbed over the others until he got in front of the group.

-Kile… help Kile.-

“Tik?”

-Kile… help Kile.-

“Yeah, you helped… I am so dead.” She exclaimed as she looked at the pile of food that they had provided for her. “Thank you Tik, but you’re going to have to bring some of this food back.”

-Back?-

Yeah, like that was going to work. Who would want an apple with little squirrel teeth marks in it?

“Look I don’t know if there are any more of you guys heading this way, but get word to them to stop the food… please.”

-Kile have enough food?-

“Yes, Kile has more than enough food… thank you.”

She had enough food to last her a fortnight.

It was like the shattering of a fuzzy piece of glass as all the squirrels scattered in every direction and disappeared among the trees. She was amazed on how fast they could move when they wanted to, but she wasn’t sure why they had. She moved slowly back into her shelter and quickly scanned the tree line of the forest, and, although she wouldn’t admit it even to herself, she sniffed at the air, there was the scent of mushrooms and wet earth, somebody was coming.

He was moving through the woods quietly, as if trying to sneak up on her, but she knew which direction he was coming from, and it didn’t take her long to figure out who it had to be.

“Folkstaff.” She whispered to herself and looked down at the pile of food; this was going to be difficult to explain. She quickly scooped up as much as she could and push it to the back of her shelter, and then piled a few stray branches over it in order to hide it. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt her.

She kept a few of the walnuts and apples aside to show him, that she, at least, had some food to meet the requirements. She set the walnuts close to the fire, and the apple she placed in her hat, which was now filled with fresh water from the melted snow. She kept one of the apples for herself. She had no problems with little squirrel teeth marks. This was what Folkstaff must have meant by overcoming the desire for comfort.

The Hunter stopped somewhere back in the woods, out of her sight, but not out of her range of smell. He was waiting and watching, probably trying to evaluate how she handled herself in a survival situation. The only thing she could think to do was to roast the walnuts. She started to break the shells and set the nuts on the stones surrounding the fire.

“I wouldn’t have thought it possible.”

He had somehow moved from that place just beyond her sight to a place just beyond her fire, and even though she knew he was around, she was still startled to see him just appear before her like that.

“Master Folkstaff.”

He said nothing as he crouched down beside her fire and looked into her shelter, then at the floppy hat filled with water and apples, then at the roasting walnuts beside the fire, and slowly shook his head.

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked as she quickly ran over everything in her mind, and she was sure she did everything right, or as right as she could remember, had she forgotten something? Food, shelter, water, fire, no, that was everything that he told them to procure.

“I have observed twenty three campsites so far.” He said as he sat beside her fire and warmed his hands. “I will admit, I did not have high expectation, but what I had seen so far, had me completely baffled. Cadets eating cold snow, chewing on pine bark, fires that were either out of control or smoking so badly it was hard to tell, that was assuming that they had fires at all, shelters that couldn’t withstand a sneeze let alone a winter wind, and then, I come here.”

“Did I do something wrong?” She asked again.

“Why do you want to become a hunter?”

The question kind of caught her off guard; it was the same questions every member of the staff had asked her at one time or another. She couldn’t recall any of them asking one of the boys the same question, only her, but she had thought she had put those days behind her.

“It was something that I’ve always wanted, every since I first met Erin Silva.” She replied, giving him the short version.

“But is this… what you really want to do?” He said, stretching his arms out to encompass the entire forest. “Is this where you really want to be right now? No roof, no walls, no protection, no comfort, no one to talk to, no one to share with, alone out here… in the wild.”

“Within nature… among the trees… with the animals…” She added and she knew she had hit on something as the hunter’s eyes lit up and he grinned. They were seeing it the same way. “Yes, this is where I want to be.”

“I am impressed cadet Veller that you, out of all your colleagues, are the only one that truly understands. In order to survive within nature, you must embrace it, not fight it, you must become it, not stand outside of it. As I see from your campsite that is exactly what you have done.”

“Thank you sir.”

“I do have one… simple… question.” He said as he reached into her hat and pulled out one of the apples. “It’s the dead of winter, where did you find these?”

“Ah… yes… that isn’t as simple to answer as you might think.”

“There isn’t an apple orchard or an apple tree in this province, let alone a walnut tree.”

“Oh… well… you did say we could use our edge…”

“Yes I did, and I am not aware of an edge that can produce fruit in the middle of winter?”

“It doesn’t sir, not exactly.”

He looked at her from under his wide brimmed hand, and slowly grinned.

“Hmm… Well, I know the Hunter’s code as well as anyone I guess, and I won’t ask you about your edge, but I am taking this apple as evidence… or as supper, I haven’t decided yet.” He said as he wiped it on his jacket. He was about to take a bite when he noticed the small teeth marks on the outer skin and looked at her curiously.

“Squirrel” She told him.

“Squirrel” He repeated as if he had to think about it for a moment. He shrugged and took a bite, then headed back to the woods.

If the apples had confused him, what would he have said about the wedged of cheese she wondered as she lay back in her small shelter.

“Tik… Tik, are you here?”

-Kile wants Tik-

She looked up to see the squirrel sitting on one of the lower branches.

“If I… showed you someone… do you think you could find them in the forest?” She asked the squirrel. She wasn’t really sure how this would work, if it would work. She had received visions or images with a few of the animals she communicated with, but she had never tried to, for lack of a better word, send an image.

-Tik know woods, Tik will try-

“His name is Alex.” She said and she pictured the small boy, his ever smiling face, his mop of brown hair, his constantly moving mouth, and forced the vision into the word as she communicated it to Tik.

-Yes… Yes… Tik can find him.-

“Great.” She exclaimed. That was easier than she thought. “How about Daniel.” She said, and then pictured the taller cadet with his beak like nose, crooked smile and vivid blue eyes merging the image with his name as she spoke it to the excited squirrel.

-Yes… Yes… Tik understand, Tik can find them.-

The squirrel seemed to be enjoying this as much as she was.

“Okay, third times the charm. This one is named Carter.” She said as she closed her eyes and pictured the larger boys, his broad shoulders, his close cropped hair, those dark eyes and that cold hard stare that he gave her whenever she messed up during practice.

-Yes… Yes… Tik know. Tik see this boy.-

“Great.” She said a she pulled the twigs off the pile of food that was hidden in the back of the shelter. “I want you and your friends to take some of this food to those boys that I showed you. Do you understand? All you have to do is just drop the food off and come back here.”

-Yes… Yes… Tik understand.-

And it appeared that the rest of the squirrels understood as well as they started to take the food away and head out into the woods. Kile managed to save a couple of apples, the onion, a few potatoes and of course the wedge of cheese.

“Good.” She said as the last of the squirrels disappeared over the hill. “Let them try to explain that.” She grinned.

 

She woke up to a cold winter wind and a rather bright morning sun reflecting off a coat of new fallen snow. Her fire had survived through the night, although it was dwindling fast as she fed it a few more pieces of wood to keep it alive. The sun was pretty low in the eastern sky, which meant it was still early. Master West wasn’t even ready to ring the morning bell yet. He was probably still huddled in his room, trying to keep warm. She pulled her cloak about her as she shifted toward the fire.

This was what it was like to be a hunter she thought as she stared out over the field. To wake up and face a new day with new possibilities. At this point she felt that there was nothing she couldn’t do; she was also sure that at some point during the day the feeling would fade.

She grabbed the flat stone that she had found the night before, when she rolled over on it while trying to get some sleep. It took her nearly twenty minutes to dig it out and it took her another twenty minutes to fill in the hole that it left behind, so she could get back to sleep. She had set the flat stone beside the fire as a makeshift frying pan. She wasn’t sure if it would actually work, but what did she have to lose. Mashing up the last apple and spread that over her cooking rock, she used a thin stone she had sharpened to slice, or mangle, the two potatoes before tossing them onto the heated stone. The onion was easier as she peeled it, crushed it and tossed pieces of it onto the potatoes; finally she broke off chunks of cheese and sprinkled that over the top.

While waiting for her potatoes to cook, she took a drink from her hat and started to make mental notes about all the equipment that was vital to survival. She would improve the list for that book on adventuring she was gong to write once she retired. It wasn’t that she needed everything on the list, just those few essential items that would serve more than one purpose.

“I’m not even going to ask.”

“Master Folkstaff.” She exclaimed as she looked up to see the Hunter standing in front of her. She didn’t smell him coming or even hear him approach this time. She even looked behind him to see if the new snow had been disturbed, there wasn’t even a single footprint to mark his approach.

“I was making my rounds to see how everyone survived the night.”

“And did they?” She asked.

“Some, it would appear, better than others.” He said, looking down at the fried potatoes.

“Care to join me?” She asked, “I’m afraid I haven’t gotten as far as plates or fork for that matter.”

“All things can be improvised.” He said as he drew his knife and set about cutting off sections of bark from one of the fallen trees nearby.

A knife was definitely on the top of her list of essentials for wilderness survival, and looking at the pieces of bark that Folkstaff brought back, plates would definitely be at the top of that list too. The fork was replaced by a stick, which served its purpose quite well, so flatware wouldn’t have to be at the top of the list, maybe somewhere in the middle.

The potatoes didn’t cook all the way through as some of the larger pieces were raw and a bit crunchy, but Master Folkstaff wasn’t complaining and seemed to enjoy the unexpected breakfast.

“So… how did the other cadets do… if I’m allowed to ask?”

“To tell you the truth.” Folkstaff said after swallowing. “Not as well as I had hoped. Twelve students had to be taken back to the academy last night.”

“Nothing serious I hope.”

“No, nothing that can’t be treated” He replied “Mostly over exposure, though there were two burns and a poisoning.”

“Poisoning?”

“There are a lot of uneatable plants and berries in the wild.” He replied, “But I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” He said as he finished off his plate, or bark. “Although, it would appear that a few of your colleagues share the same taste in food. I was unaware that there were so many apple orchards around, or pear trees for that matter.” He added with a raised eyebrow. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that… would you?”

“No sir.” She replied, “But if I did… know something. Would something like that be considered… cheating?”

Folkstaff shook his head.

“No, in survival, there are no real rules, therefore there is no cheating.” He replied. “As I said, anything goes. I allowed you to use your edge during the assignment since it was a part of you, it is a part of your identity. In order to past this… exercise, you had to know and understand all the parts that make you who you are. Your friends, whoever they may be, are a part of your identity. Now, clean up and be back to the clearing by midday, you can find your way I assume?”

“Yes sir.” She replied. “But sir…”

She had only turned for a moment, and when she looked back, he was gone. There were still no footprints on the ground, and snow had only been disturbed were the hunter had sat and where he had cut the bark from the tree, no other place marked his passing. He was just there one moment, and gone the next.

 

She was in no rush to break down camp. She finished off her potatoes, onions and cheese, making a mental note to write down the recipe for further evaluation. A few herbs and spices could have made that a very palatable dish.

She finished off the last of her water, hung her hat over the fire to dry and proceeded to deconstruct her shelter.

-Kile going?-

Tik asked as he came down the tree and sat on one of the lower branches.

“I’m afraid so Tik. Thanks for all your help thou.”

-Tik helped Kile.-

“Yes, Tik Helped Kile.” She grinned. “There’s still some food left under the tree. You can divide it among your friends, although I’m not sure how far it will go with the amount of friends you have.”

Tik hopped down from the branch and searched through the last of the food. He grabbed something, although Kile couldn’t see what it was, and took off.

She finished taking apart the shelter and returning the tree to its original condition, then doused the fire and broke down the small stone firewall. When she was finished, she left the site just as it had been. It was a bit sad though, she was going to miss her home away from home, and in many ways it was more comfortable than her cell back at the academy, except for the bathroom, that was one comfort she was looking forward to.

She headed back the way she came, up through the woods, remembering every landmark and tree in order to find her way back. When she finally arrived, what she found was not what she expected. The entire clearing was filled with large tents and campfires. There was even a large fire pit in the center of the camp where food was being cooked for the cadets.

“Kile Girl.”

That was something she didn’t miss as she turned to the source. Alex was sitting beside a campfire waving as Daniel emerged from one of the tents.

“What’s this?” She asked as she walked over. The idea that she had survived the cold night with just her little camp fire, a shelter made of tree branches and a bed of pine needles, and here everyone was sleeping in warm tents on cots. This was a bit annoying.

“It would appear that purifying water is not something that I am capable of doing.” Daniel laughed.

“I don’t understand.” She said as she looked around the campsite. Were all of the cadets here she started to wonder. “I thought this was supposed to be a solo exercise.”

“It is, or… it was.” Daniel explained. “These were some of the cadets that didn’t make it through the night.”

“Or even to the night.” Alex added as he looked down at the fire.

“When we ran into trouble, Master Folkstaff brought us back here, everything was already set up.”

So the minute they ran into trouble, they just called for help. The exercise was only for one night, they couldn’t survive one night out in the wild and they wanted to be hunters. She could understand the twelve cadets that had to be taken back to the academy. She was sure the guild would have frowned on allowing cadets to die of exposure or poisoning for the sake of an exercise, but this was entirely different.

“Is everyone here?” She asked looking around. She even spotted Eric sitting outside one of the tents with Robert and Murphy.

“Not everyone.” Folkstaff replied as he came walking up behind her.

“Oh… sorry sir.”

“No need to apologize Cadet Veller, the sentiment is mutual. Only three cadets managed to spend the entire night outside the clearing.”

“Three?”

“You, cadet Hausman and cadet Larks.”

She didn’t know who Larks was, but Carter didn’t surprise her, he could have lost his arm and still stubbornly refused to give up.

“Only three.”

“I’m afraid so. I do hope that you try better during the survival examination.” Folkstaff said as he walked toward the center of the clearing.

“Well, that was kind of… mean.” Alex pouted.

“No. He’s right. I gave in too quickly.” Daniel replied “When he appeared last night and asked if I wanted to give up, I did.”

“He asked you?” Kile exclaimed as she turned to Daniel. “He never asked me.”

“Would you have… if he had asked you? Would you have given in?”

“Well… no I guess not” She said shaking her head. Why would she, she was quite comfortable out there, in fact, she seriously wanted to go back, but then she did ask the squirrels for help, and there was Kaza. If this was a victory, it wasn’t a very clean one.

“So… how did you guys do anyhow?” She asked as she sat down beside the fire.

“Horrible.” Alex replied as he prodded the flames with a stick. “How was I supposed to know you shouldn’t eat cold snow?”

“Why don’t you tell her about your fire?” Daniel laughed.

“I couldn’t start one, so when I saw him coming, I created an illusion.”

“Yeah, he tried to fake out the instructor with an illusion of a fire.”

“It was a great illusion, one of my best, and it would have worked.”

“Why didn’t it?” Kile asked, although she was sure she knew the answer already.

“Illusions don’t give off heat.” Daniel laughed.

“If it wasn’t for that squirrel I would have probably starved to death.” Alex pouted.

“That may be a bit of an exaggeration.” Daniel corrected him as he took a seat beside the fire.

“What about the squirrels?” Kile asked. She didn’t like the way that sounded.

“Oh, it was really freaky. These squirrels came charging across the field and ran straight up the tree I’m sitting under, and then he dropped an apple on my head. What are the chances of that happening?”

“Yeah Kile, what are the chances of that happening?” Daniel asked with a knowing grin.

“Gee Daniel, I don’t know.” She replied.

“What? Did I miss something?” Alex asked as he looked between the two of them.

“There you guys are.” Carter shouted as he came around the tent. “I thought I heard you, I’ve been to seven of these tents so far looking for you guys. So, you all washed out huh, couldn’t spend even one night out in the wild.”

“Kile did.” Daniel replied. “She’s only just arrived.”

“You spent the entire night?” Carter asked, he looked suddenly deflated at the prospect of not being the only one to survive the night, or maybe it was the fact that the only girl managed to survive the entire night took away from his accomplishment.

“If it makes you feel any better, there were only three of us.” She replied.

“Only three?”

“Only three.”

“So, only you two guys washed out.” Carter laughed. “So, what happened?”

“I was able to get something that resembled a shelter, but had some problems with the water since I couldn’t get the fire started to save my life.” Daniel replied.

“Yeah, from what I heard trying to find you guys, that seemed to be the biggest downfall, that and finding food in the dead of winter.”

“Food wasn’t too much of an issue.” Daniel replied, looking over at Kile. “It was the fire that did me in.”

“That’s why you should always carry one of these.” Carter said as he pulled a small stone out of his pocket.

“Is that… a piece of flint?” Kile asked.

“Yeah.” He grinned. “I always keep a piece of flint on me whenever I go off into the woods; you never know when you need it. Truth is, I’ve never needed it until now, but I was glad to have it.”

“What about the other obstacles, Shelter, water, food?” Daniel asked Carter, but he was still watching Kile.

“Oh… food?”

“Yeah, food, you know the stuff you’re supposed to eat.”

“Oh… I… I found some.” Carter replied

“Where?”

“Around, you know, I foraged.”

“Oh, like… nuts, berries, apples.”

“Yeah, that is, you know… apples.” He replied.

“Yeah, that's what I figured, delivered by squirrels.”

 

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

9

 

The first signs of spring were finally reaching the academy as Kile sloshed her way through the mud of the compound until she caught up with Daniel and Carter as they were heading toward the stables. Master Folkstaff had spent the last five weeks giving them a refresher course on wilderness survival, covering everything from starting fires to digging latrines. Master Boraro had picked up where he left off, knocking into their heads the importance of good swordsmanship and now Master Pike was determined to challenge them and their mounts under every condition he could possibly think of. Ever since the loss of those fourteen hunters and the growing concerns of the worsening conditions on the western border during the winter, training at the academy seemed intensified, and with that intensification, came the walkouts. No names had been read that morning, but there seemed to be a few faces missing during breakfast.

“You weren’t at practice again last night.” Carter remarked without turning around. For some reason he took offense with Kile missing their sparring matches, although from what she heard, Murphy more than made up for her absence. She couldn’t tell them that she had been sneaking out to the stables late each night to learn the Touchy system from Luke, or whatever it was that he insisted on calling it. It felt a lot more comfortable and a lot more intuitive than what Master Boraro was instructing. She actually felt as if she was making progress.

“I’ll try to be there tonight.” She said.

“Hey, it’s not for me, it’s for you.” Carter remarked. “I don’t need the practice.”

“Fine, I’ll be there.” She promised.

Two sparring classes in one day, she was going to be sore tomorrow morning.

“Hey guys, wait up.” Alex cried as he came charging across the compound. “Did you hear?” He shouted.

“Yeah, we heard you.” Carter shouted back.

“No, I mean, did you hear, four more cadets walked out this morning.”

“Four more?” Daniel exclaimed. “That brings our total class down to what… just over thirty.”

“Yeah, and the first years lost nearly twenty cadets since last week.”

“It’s a mass exodus.” Carter replied. “People are running in fear of the war.”

“War? What war?” Kile asked.

“You don’t think all these little skirmishes on the western border are random do you? They're gearing up for something, and that usually means trouble.”

“Yeah, but… you don’t really think we would go to war… do you?”

“Who can say?” Daniel added. “I didn’t think there were even enough valrik left in Dalval to do this much damage.”

“But what does that have to do with the hunters, why so many drop outs?”

“If Aru goes to war, then the Hunters will be reassigned to the military as a recon group.”

“Assigned to the military?”

Great, she can finally see the end of the tunnel as a hunter, only to graduate and be drafted.

“It hasn’t gotten that far yet.” Daniel assured her.

“I don’t know about that.” Alex added. “They’re saying that another three hunters were killed over the winter that brings the total up to sixteen…”

“Seventeen.”

“… Seventeen hunters.”

“What are you the town crier?” Carter asked as he slapped Alex upside the head.

“Hey, I won’t tell what else I learned.”

“Spill it.”

“Qunton Nashes…”

“Quaineess Nyn.” They shouted together.

“How am I supposed to remember that name?” Alex pouted.

“Yeah, come on guys, he had a hard enough time remembering his own.” Daniel laughed as he ruffled Alex’s hair.

“Hey, cut that out, or I won’t tell you anything.”

Carter and Daniel looked at one another and shrugged. “Find by us.” They said together.

Kile was not so willing to let the matter drop. “What about Quaineess Nyn?” She asked, although she knew she wasn’t going to like what she heard.

“See, Kile wants to know.”

“She’s a glutton for punishment; you’ve seen her in Master Boraro’s classes.”

“Quinlinn Niss…”

“Quaineess Nyn!”

“Whatever. His exhibit was broken into again, this time who ever did it stole the ring as well as the long knife.”

“Who would want old relics from an old hunter?” Carter asked.

“Look guys, go on without me, I’ll be just a minute.” Kile said as she veered off. She didn’t wait to give them an explanation as she headed up toward the great hall.

The doors were open and classes were in session. The first years would be studying all the things that they had learned but forgot over the summer. As she stepped through the great doors, her eyes first drifted over to the locked room just beneath the stairs, the one that housed the small secret exhibit in which she was the only one that had the key. She thought about going back for it, just to see that painting again, but there really wasn’t any time.

The exhibit hall was generally empty except for a hand full of first years mulling around a few of the displays. She walked over to Quaineess Nyn’s painting. What was once the old hunter’s display case was now a vacant spot with a few stray bits of broken glass that had somehow avoided the brooms. She crouched down and ran her hand across the floor, it was Eric alright, she could tell by his scent, but why. Why would someone go through so much trouble for just a few trinkets of a long dead Hunter whose name no one could even pronounce?

“Kile, what are you doing here?” Master Adams asked as he approached. He was carrying a stack of books and looked as if he was going to, or coming from, one of his classes.

“What happened here?” She asked.

“Oh, we’re not really sure.” He said shaking his head, and she could tell that it really upset him, that someone, and not just someone but a cadet, could destroy a piece of the Hunter’s heritage. “The case was found completely vandalized, whoever did it wanted whatever was in side bad enough to go through all that trouble.”

“But, there really wasn’t anything of… value in there, was there?”

“Well, historical value maybe, but, I don’t know about monetary value.” He said, and then looked at her carefully. “Do you know something about this?”

She hesitated for a moment, but thought that someone should at least know what was going on.

“I think… Eric did it.”

“Kile, throwing around accusations without proof can get you into a lot of trouble.”

“I know. That’s why I didn’t say anything when the scales went missing.”

“You don’t know how much I hope you’re wrong.” Master Adams replied. “The Rimes are very well connected. Lore Rimes, Eric’s father, is a first cousin to High King Roland.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“No… well, now you do.” Master Adams replied. “To accuse cadet Rimes of a crime such as this, without proof, could be very dangerous.”

Dangerous? That was not a word she would have used. Risky maybe, foolish most likely, but dangerous implies danger, as in two people go for a walk in the woods but only one returns.

“I understand sir.” She said as she started toward the door.

“Kile.” Master Adams called out. “Get me proof, and I’ll stand behind, otherwise my hands are tied.”

She stepped back out into the compound. If the Rimes were directly related to the crown then that would explain how Eric was able to take the entry examination three times even if he failed the psycho portion, and how Lord Rimes had so much pull with the Guild. There was no way she could openly accuse him of a crime, even if she had proof.

She headed over to the stables where Grim was already standing outside, waiting for her.

“You didn’t break the stall again, did you?”

-No-

The horse grumbled.

-The Vir left it open.-

“Probably through it was better the repairing it all the time.” She remarked as she grabbed hold of his main and pulled herself up.

-You seem… preoccupied.-

Grim commented as he took a leisurely walk to the gate.

“Let’s just say that I have information that somebody did something, but I just can’t prove it.”

-Have you tried… hitting him?-

“What!”

-From what I have seen, striking a vir a few times usually gets a confession.-

“No I haven’t hit him… well, okay once I did but that was under completely different circumstances, and I didn’t mean to.”

-Didn’t you-

“No I did not. I don’t go around hitting my problems to create solutions.” She said as they passed under the western gates. The guards were giving her odd looks again and she had to remember not to carry on conversations with her horse in the presents of other people.

She rode up to the open field where the other cadets had already assembled and were engaged in some form of activity. They were either trotting their horses around in a large circle or watching other cadets trot around in a large circle. The entire exercise seemed pointless. The only new things were a series of fences that had been propped up around the field, a few of the more adventures cadets were trying their hand at jumping them.

“Have I missed anything?” She asked as she rode up beside Daniel.

“Nothing very important, but you get to run the course last for being late.”

“Wonderful.” She said as she looked over the field. There were a series of eight fences or gates as some of the cadets had referred to them. They had been propped up along a marked course starting from where Master Pike stood and ran the length of the field. It was a straight line, so nobody could get lost.

“So, what did you run off for?” Daniel asked.

“I had to talk to Master Adams about something.” She replied, although that wasn’t exactly true, that was what eventually happened.

“Something about Quaineess Nyn’s exhibit?”

She forgot about the field as she looked at Daniel.

“How did you know?” She asked.

“Oh come on Kile, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. I saw the way you looked when Alex told you about the theft, and then to go running off right afterward, it wasn’t that difficult to put two and two together.”

“I think Eric stole the artifacts.” She said. She hadn’t planned on saying anything to anyone but as soon as she opened her mouth it just kind of fell out.

“Kile.” Daniel hissed in a harsh whisper as he looked over his shoulder to make sure that she hadn’t been heard. “You do not want to be saying that out loud.”

She hadn’t intended on saying it at all, let alone out loud, but now that it was out there, there was no taking it back.

“That’s what I believe.” She said, defending herself.

“Look you’re not from the Callor province, you’re from the Shai Province, so you really don’t understand just how much trouble saying that could get you into, that would be like me accusing Lord Rolf of being a theft.”

Was that supposed to mean something she wondered. She just stared at Daniel, waiting for him to clarify.

“Lord Rolf… the Lord of Shai… your province.” He explained.

“I don’t know him, you can accuse him of anything you want, why should I care. It’s not as if Riverport is the hub of political activity. As long as the Lords leave us alone, we don’t revolt.”

“It’s not a joke Kile. Lord Rimes rules Callor, some say a bit too harshly, but he gets what he wants and if he wants his son to be a hunter, then his son will be a hunter.”

“Politics are over rated.” She said dismissively. She could never follow the lineage of the royal families, who was next in line for which seat. It all seemed pointless, and as long as they didn’t come into Riverport with their lordly ways, what did she care.

“Unless you are absolutely positive, do not tell anyone what you think, and even then I would second guess myself.”

“Fine, let him have the stuff, what do I care.” She replied. “Maybe I’ll follow Grim’s suggestion instead.”

“What did he suggest?” Daniel asked nervously.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She replied.

She stretched out on Grim’s back and stared up at the clouds. As much as she said she didn’t care, the problem was, she did care. There was no reason she could think of that Eric would steal from the academy. She had no real proof that he stole the artifacts, she never really saw him steal the artifacts. Even when she saw him stealing them, she didn’t see him stealing them. He had only tried to jimmy the case, but never had a chance to actually steal them. Could she say for certain that if she hadn’t been there that he would have succeeded, and if he did steal them, why not take them all at the same time, why risk going back for the rest when he already got away with it once? The more she thought about it, the more it didn’t make sense. Maybe she was wrong, maybe he didn’t have anything to do with the missing artifacts, maybe it was someone else entirely, an outsider perhaps… no, he stole them.

“Hey, wish me luck.” Daniel said as he urged Miliea forward.

Kile sat up and watched as Daniel maneuvered his mare to the starting line where Master Pike stood waiting with a timing stick. She had never seen a timing stick before but she could figure out how it worked easily enough. It was a simple hourglass suspended in a metal hoop at the end of a four foot wooden staff. Master Pike waited until the sands completely ran through, and then motioned for Daniel to ride as he turned the hourglass over in its hoop.

As the sands began to fall, Daniel rode Miliea to the first gate. It was a series of jumps. Each fence being slightly taller or slightly shorter than the next, there didn’t appear to be any pattern, just a bunch of wooden fences lined up across the long run. Daniel didn’t hesitate as he took Miliea over each jump one after the other. To Kile, his form and speed were perfect, but she really didn’t have much to compare it to. After the last jumps, Daniel turned Miliea around a flag at the end of the course and did a straight run thundering past the other cadets at a full gallop. When he finally crossed the finish line, Master Pike scribbled in his book, tapped the hour glass and waited until the sands ran out. He nodded to Daniel and mumbled something to him that she couldn’t hear.

“So, how did I do?” He asked as he got closer. Miliea was still a bit nervous around the larger mountain pony and didn’t want to get too close as she shied away, or it could have been Kile the horse was nervous around, what with the whole Maligar incident.

“Beautifully.” Kile replied.

-Foolishly.-

Grim added. Fortunately nobody heard that but her.

Master Pike called the next name on his list, one that she wasn’t familiar with, although she knew the horse’s name, Tandara, his Vir name was Thunder, and Kile thought it a bit odd that she could recall all the name of all the horses but none of the cadets. This time she was more interested in the run, if she wanted to know how well Daniel really did, she had to see how the other cadets fared, and it would give her an idea of what she was supposed to do. She watched as Tandara and his unknown rider ran the course as effortlessly as Daniel had. There didn’t appear to be any trick to it, just getting the horse over the gates and remembering to hold on.

“Cadet Alex Bartlow.” Master Pike called out as he tapped the hourglass to get the last of the sand to fall.

Alex moved Illusion up to the line. The smaller cadets looked nervous sitting upon the back of his mount, and he had every right to be. He was not a very good horseman, and he would be the first to admit it. Master Pike flipped the hourglass and motioned for them to go, but Illusion didn’t feel like it. The horse began to trot sideways and Kile knew Illusion was just showing off again. She would have to have another talk with him about his misbehaving.

Master Pike rolled his eyes and gave the horse a good swat on the hind quarters, Illusion jumped forward as rider and horse headed for the first gate, unfortunately only the horse made it over. Alex had let go in mid jump, rolled off the back of illusion, bounced off the fence and landed face first in the mud. The line of Cadets gasped at first, and then broke into laughter.

“Keep going cadet.” Pike yelled as Alex got to his feet.

Kile noticed that the Horse Master never asked if he was okay, or if he needed help, that would have been a sign of humanity and Master Pike was above that.

Alex wasn’t going to let the mud stop him. He grabbed Illusion’s reins, remounted and preceded to the next jump. She had to give the boy credit, she wasn’t sure what she would have done if that had happened to her, but Alex was Alex and he took everything in stride. Whether it was luck, or sheer determination, he managed to hang on through the next seven jumps, rounded the flag, and crossed the Finish line with a big grin on his mud covered face.

Master Pike just shook his head as he jotted something down in the book.

-This is foolish, what purpose does it serve?-

Grim asked.

“It’s to show that the cadets can handle their horses.” Kile whispered in the pony’s ear, making sure no one was watching her.

-It’s obvious that you vir have no control, nor respect for the horses, not that the horses have much respect for themselves. To debase themselves in such… frivolous activities.-

This was not what she wanted to hear. Her name was coming up on that list eventually and if Grim wasn’t going to cooperate, there was little she could do to persuade him.

“You are going to jump.” She told him.

-Mountain Ponies don’t jump.-

That was something else she didn’t want to hear.

“Keith Larks.” Master Pike called out.

Now that was a name she had heard before, the only other Hunter to pass the survival exercise beside her and Carter. She watched as the tall blond haired boy rode up to the starting line and recognized him as the cadet that she had berated about his ill treatment toward Lionora. The mare looked a lot better now and was more accepting of her rider than she had been in the past. It was nice to see that he was treating her better. They ran through the course perfectly as Lionora cleared each jump with room to spare.

“That’s how you do it.’ She whispered to Grim.

-Mountain ponies don’t jump.-

Grim replied.

Kile watched as the other cadets ran the course; most of them making it look easy. Carter and Dirk made it through effortlessly, but that really didn’t surprise her. The two had formed some kind of bond and moved in perfect unison, she would have to say that they did better the Keith and Lionora, but then she was probably biased.

When Eric and Midnight were called, the black stallion was a bit more temperamental than the other horses. He didn’t like Eric, he had made that clear during his conversations with her, and she couldn’t blame him. Although Midnight was usually docile, today was an exception. She watched in anticipation as they charged the first gate, but only Eric made it over as Midnight stopped just short of jumping and launched a rather startled greasy haired boy through the air. Eric came down hard in the mud on the opposite side, and lay there for several moments before pulling himself up. The cadets again broke out in laughter and Alex was among the loudest.

Eric was far from amused as he stood there, staring at the cadets and the laughter suddenly stopped. Kile was sure she could see the mud baking on him as he started to, quite literally, heat up. Midnight, finding himself without a rider, decided to walk back to the stables. Master Pike was beside himself; she couldn’t help but wonder how the Horse Master would mark this down in his little book. Technically Eric failed since he never crossed the finish line, but if Master Pike was as weary of Eric’s family as everyone else appeared to be, what would that mark be?

Eric brushed off the dry flaking mud and went to retrieve his mount. No sooner had he left the field then the laughter started again. Were all these people so frightened of him and his family? It didn’t seem possible that one name could generate so much fear.

“Kile.”

She turned to see Daniel pointed towards Master Pike who was looking in her direction, actually, he wasn’t just looking, he was glaring at her.

“Cadet Veller.” He shouted, and she realized it was finally her turn.

“Don’t make me look like a fool.” She whispered to Grim and the pony started forward.

As she got up to the starting line, Master Pike actually took two steps back, away from Grim. He waited until the sand had completely run through and then turned the hourglass over.

“Go.” He yelled, but Grim didn’t move.

Master Pike rolled his eyes and even dared to take a step closer, but she didn’t think he would be brave enough to swat the mountain pony on the hind quarters, not if he valued his feet.

“Some time today Cadet Veller.” He said again with as much bravado as he could, eyeing the hairy black pony cautiously.

She tried to urge Grim forward, but the pony wouldn’t move. At least she was giving the cadets along the line something else to laugh about.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, which meant there was only one thing she could do… bribe him.

“I’ll give you a piece of apple pie, if you run this course.” She whispered in Grim’s ear.

-Two-

He replied.

Great, now she was haggling with her horse.

“Fine… two pieces.” She said, giving in.

-Then hold on.-

Grim lunged forward, breaking into a full gallop as his platter size hoofs slammed into the mud. He never slowed as he reached the first fence and Kile braced herself for the jump, but it never came. Grim barreled through the wooden fence without stopping, sending out splinters of wood in all directions.

“Grim, what are you…”

But before she could even finish that thought, he was through the second gate and she had to duck her head to avoided being struck by the debris.

He took out each gate without stopping, one after the other. By now the Cadets on the line were having a wonderful time as they laughed at Grim’s run, but the Mountain pony wasn’t finished, far from it. He took out the last gate, then took the final turn around the flag wide as he headed for the finish line, coming dangerously close to the other horses who reared up to avoid being struck by the mad pony.  The cadets did all they could to keep their horses under control, some were not as fortunate as they found themselves looking up from the mud.

Grim came into the finish sideways, as his backside slammed into  Master Pike, launching the man ten feet through the air, he hit the ground in a most undignified manner.

The Horse Master was furious as he picked himself up off the ground.

“That beast should be destroyed; he is a danger and a menace.” Pike shouted as he walked up to Kile waving his finger. Grim took offense to this description as he turned and snapped at the man. Master Pike barely managed to get out of range of the horse’s teeth.

“That’s it, this horse hates me, I want him gone, do you hear me, gone.” He shouted.

“I’m sorry Master Pike. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” Kile replied, but she knew exactly what had gotten into Grim, he didn’t like to be made a fool of, and he knew who was responsible.

“I don’t care, you and that… that… beast failed.” Pike shouted from a safe distance.

“Why is that?”

“What, are you blind?” The horse master asked as he turned around, and then suddenly stopped. “Oh… sorry sir.”

“No you’re not.” Lathery replied. “But that's alright, I’ve come to expect it I suppose.”

He was leaning up against the paddock fence, his cloak wrapped around him. He was standing right where Kile had been waiting to take her run and she was positive he wasn’t there when she started. How was it that this man always kept popping up at just the right time she wondered?

“Sir, no disrespect, but clearly, even you can see she didn’t run the course, she didn’t make a single jump.” Pike explained.

“And your complaint is?” Latherby asked.

Master Pike just stood there shaking; he was on the verge of exploding and probably would have if it had been anyone but the Guild Master. Latherby just calmly shook his head as he approached. It was that calmness that annoyed Master Pike the most.

“If I’m not mistaken the requirement for the test was to run the course within the allotted time.” Lathery replied as he tapped the last grains of sand down from the hourglass. “Clearly she succeeded in that.’

“She didn’t make a single jump.”

“Well of course not, I would have thought as a Horse Master, you of all people would know that Mountain Ponies don’t jump.”

“Of course they can jump, I’ve seen it jump.”

“I did not say they couldn’t jump, I said they don’t jump. It’s really a matter of choice.”  Latherby said as he reached down and picked up Master Pike’s book. He slowly flipped through the pages.

“Choice, since when are the horses making the decisions.” Pike replied, but by the tone of his voice he was getting more irate by the minute. “If the rider is being controlled by the horse, who is the master?”

“Between a Hunter and his… or her… mount, there is no master. The Hunter’s greatest ally and companion is their horse.”

“That’s preposterous, what are the purpose of these tests, what is the purpose of an entry examination if we just let anyone become a hunter. Are we not supposed to weed out the undesirable, those that can’t hack it, or are we now giving special treatment to…”

Master Latherby suddenly turned toward Mater Pike. “To?” He asked.

“Individuals” Pike finished.

“So, you are opposed to giving special treatment to certain cadets, is that it?”

“I think every cadet should be evaluated equally. If they can’t complete the course, they shouldn’t be here; it’s as simple as that.” Pike replied calmly.

“Perhaps you are right.” Latherby said as he flipped through the pages of Pike’s book. “Oh… look here Horse Master. It would appear that you have made an error in your entry.”

“What… what are you talking about?”

“This cadet here.” Latherby declared, pointing to a name on one of the pages. “If I am not mistaken, this boy did not complete the course either, therefore he failed, but you have him down as passing, it must have just been a mistake; I’ll just correct this for you shall I.”

“There’s no need for that, there was no mistakes.” Pike replied, taking the book from Latherby.

“Didn’t you just explain to me that Cadet Veller failed the test because her mount didn’t make a single jump?”

“That’s correct.”

“And yet, she still mangled to cross the finish line within the time allotted, but that cadet failed to make a single jump and failed to finish the course, and yet you’ve marked him down as passing. I don’t understand. Who’s getting special treatment?”

Master Pike clutched the book as he stared at Latherby.

“I… may… have been hasty… about Cadet Veller’s score. Now that I think about it… She did come in under time, so… I suppose… she passes.” He said reluctantly through clenched teeth.

“See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it.” Latherby grinned.

“No sir.”

“Very good… Oh, and by the way, Cadet Bartlow also passed… you had that written down incorrectly as well.”

“Yes sir.”

“It’s as you said Master Pike, everyone should be evaluated equally. We wouldn’t want any… special… treatment.”

“No sir.”

 

“There she is.” Carter called out, lifting his cup of water in a mock salute. “The luckiest cadet at the academy.”

It was a far cry from him calling her a Jinx no more than a year ago, but Kile didn’t like the change. She didn’t like to be thought of as lucky, especially when luck had little to do with it. She also didn’t like the idea that some of the cadets were starting to think of her as a special case now. Mathew Latherby may have gotten Master Pike to change his mind and pass her, but it did little to stem the whispers that were going on behind her back. She slammed her tray down a little too hard, which silenced some of the talk in the dining hall.

“He was only joking Kile.” Daniel said.

“No he wasn’t.” She replied. “He was just saying what everyone else was thinking. That I’m getting some kind of special treatment.”

“Maybe you are.” Carter muttered.

“Is that what you think too?”

“Come on Kile, you did botch that course pretty badly, you didn’t make a single jump and you can hardly control that beast.” Carter remarked.

“I don’t think it was all her fault.” Daniel replied.

“Then whose fault was it? All I’m saying is… maybe you don’t have what it takes to be a hunter.”

“Is that it, is that your option?” She asked.

“Yeah, and it’s not only mine.”

“You don’t think I know that.” She said pushing the tray aside. Somehow she had lost her appetite.

“Why don’t you lay off Carter?”

“Oh come on Danny, she can’t fight, she can’t ride, yeah she has a bit of book smarts but that’s not going to save her out in the wild.”

“She was one of the only three that passed Master Folkstaff survival test.”

“Yeah… well I don’t know.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” She demanded, and again she managed to silence half the dinning hall.

“All I’m saying is that nobody knows what happed that night.”

“So your saying that I didn’t survive the test, that I’m actually dead out there on the hillside somewhere.”

“You could have gotten help.” Carter replied as he took a sip of his water. “All I’m saying is, nobody knows.”

“Knock it off Carter.” Daniel shot back

“No.” Kile said looking down at her tray. “He’s entitled to his opinion.”

“We all had help during the survival test that was half the point of it if you had listened to Master Folkstaff.” Daniel added.

“Oh I heard what he said, but I know that I did it by myself.”

“So, you forgot about the squirrels that brought you the food?” Daniel asked.

“That was a fluke, and I took advantage of it.” Carter remarked. “That’s what survival is all about.”

“That was not just a fluke. That was…”

“Daniel.”

That was the last thing she wanted to come out at this moment, as she looked at Daniel, who was, probably madder than she was.

“Hey, what did I miss?” Alex asked as he set his tray down. He looked from Daniel to Carter to Kile then back to Daniel. “Is something wrong?”

“Apparently so.” Kile said as she got to her feet. “I have to see to the horses.”

“Was it something I said?” She heard Alex ask as she walked out of the Dining Hall.

 

The horses didn’t need looking after as the cadets were taking on more and more of the responsibilities. She simply had to make sure that the water troughs were filled and that there were oats in the feed bin, beyond that there was little for her to do in the stables, even though, it was better than being in the Dinning Hall. The horses understood, the horses didn’t judge her, well, most of the horses didn’t judge her. She wasn’t too sure about Grim. She had hardly spoken to the Mountain Pony after bringing him back to the stables, she wasn’t’ sure if she wanted to speak to him now. He had his own way of looking at things, to him, everything was black and white. You either agreed with him or you didn’t, unfortunately she was finding out that she agreed less with him as the days passed, but at the moment it wasn’t Grim that was bothering her, it was Carter. Actually it wasn’t so much Carter. He was just putting a voice to her nagging concerns. He was just becoming a target.

Much of what he said during supper was true, that her presence at the academy did have a lot to do with Guild Master Latherby, but she had never asked the man to interfere, she never saw him around to ask him, he always seemed to pop up at the right time. Could he be watching her, and if he was, why?  He did approach her during her first week at the academy, when Tree was escorting them around the great hall. He had shown her the secret gallery and gave her the key to the door. Was it because she was the only female cadet, did he show this much interest in Erin Silva? She had never thought to ask Erin when she had the chance.

“What seems to be troubling you?”

She turned around expecting to see the Guild Master standing behind her, but it was only Luke. Her face must have relayed that relief as the stable hand smiled.

“Expecting someone else?” He asked as he carried a sack of feed to the back of the stable and dropped it onto the pile.

“No sir, I was just thinking.”

“Thinking like that can be dangerous.” He said as he wiped his hands on his pants. He stared at her for a moment, and then nodded. “Something is troubling you.”

“I… kind of got into an argument.”

“An argument?”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, it’s… with a friend.”

“I see, and what was this, argument about.”

“Pride.”

“Yours or his?”

“I little of both I guess. He said I wasn’t qualified to be a hunter, that if it wasn’t for Guild Master Latherby’s interference, I would have been thrown out long ago.”

“Do you believe that’s true?”

“In a way, yes I do.”

“So you’re saying that the Guild Master has nothing better to do than to watch after you? That is prideful.”

“No, I don’t think that’s the case, but he always seems to be popping up whenever I get into trouble with one of the instructors.”

“I see, and are you the only one that he looks out for?”

“Well, the last time he did help Alex as well, but it was because of me that he was there.”

“I am sure that the Guild Master watches all the cadets when he has a chance to watch them. Maybe he helps you out the most, because you tend to get into trouble the most.”

“Then what you’re saying is that I’m not qualified to be here, and that it is only because of him that I am still here.”

“Yes… and no. I am saying that I believe you are qualified, but also there are certain… individuals…” He stopped and looked around the stables as if he expected to be overheard, then just shook his head. “It’s not really important, what is important is what you think. Do you think you have what it takes?”

“I thought so, I’m not really sure now.”

She headed back to her cell. She wasn’t in the mood to train, not with Luke, and especially not with Carter at the moment. What was the purpose anyhow, if she couldn't even hold her own with Carter when he was letting her win, how was she supposed to pass the Combat test with an opponent that wasn’t going to be so generous. She stopped half way to the dorms. Complacency, she thought. She had fallen into that mind numbing trap where she had given up the will to survive, and to give up the will to survive was to give up the will to live. Was this what Master Folkstaff was talking about?

She turned around and headed back up the hill, pushing open the stable doors. Luke was sitting on the bench, the wrapped Lann at his side, he grinned as she entered.

“Sooner than I thought.” He said as he got to his feet.

“You knew I’d be back?” She asked.

“Of course, you are a hunter… aren’t you?” Luke replied as he handed Kile the wrapped blades.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

10

 

Spring was in the air, the snow was completely gone, and the rainy season had just begun. With the official changing of the seasons came the changing of the curriculum. Weapons training under the always delightful Master Boraro intensified, deviating from the standard sword to some of the more unorthodox weaponry such as the dagger, the ax and everyone’s favorite, the bola. Forty odd cadets swinging around bolas and only six concussions, it went a lot better than Kile thought.

Master Voreing was instructing the cadets in the diversity of the different cultures, although it appeared that he didn’t have much patience for the different cultures and described most of them as heathen, primitive or uncivilized. Master Adams switched his lessons from literature to logistics and they began to study more advanced mathematics under Master Rooqack.

The lessons that they were learning were becoming more and more practical, thing that they could actually use as Hunters, things like dealing with officials and superiors, their position on the social ladder, the proper way to apprehend a fugitive and the paper work that followed. Every day they were being brought deeper and deeper into the inner workings of the Guild, which appeared to exist for the same reason as any business existed, to make a profit. Sure, the guild provided services such as the delivery of packages, the protection of caravans, the apprehension of fugitives, and the procurement of information, but it was all done for the sake of profit.

At first it was a disheartening reality for Kile who viewed the Hunter as more of a noble profession, a savior if you will, rather than a businessman, but the more she learned the more she realized that no organization, no matter how much good it did for the society as a whole, could survive without funds. So they learned another valuable lesson, that not all assignments handed out by the guild were on the up and up, that they may be required to do things that might go against their moral character. They didn’t come out and say it and Kile was sure that if she asked, they would deny it, but the hunter’s were not above bending a few laws. This must have been too much for a few, since they lost another five cadets.

They had started out as one hundred and twenty, and in a matter of two years they were now down to only thirty five as they stood in the field, waiting on Master Boraro. Nobody knew what was going on, since none of the staff ever informed the cadets ahead of time when changes would be made, but after the roll was called, and the breakfast was consumed, instead of reporting to class, they were to report back to the list.

Master Boraro stood, waiting, and the remaining thirty five cadets waited with him. Perhaps he thought some more were coming, or maybe he hoped some more were leaving, it was difficult to tell with Master Boraro as he stood with his hands clasped behind him, his shoulders back, his chest out and his eyes fixated on a few individuals who were unfortunate enough to be standing in the front line.

Within a few minutes, Master Folkstaff arrived. He took one look at Master Boraro and just shook his head. The two hunters standing side by side were a direct contradiction to one another, and they both knew it.

“At ease.” Master Folkstaff said as he took his place before the cadets.

Boraro shot him a look that clearly stated he thought Folkstaff had overstepped his authority, Folkstaff just shrugged him off.

“It would appear that we have a lot fewer cadets than we had before.” He said as he looked up and down the ranks, and unlike Master Boraro, he appeared to be generally disappointed.

“You’re probably wondering what this is all about. Well, this is your second year evaluation survival exercise, one of the hardest examinations that you’re likely to face during your last year here. It will test everything that you have learned so far, although the test rules are simple, it will not be easy. There are three items out there, in the wild, you have five days to find them, and bring them back here. You will be broken up into groups of five, and you will be given what supplies you think you need for those five days, beyond that… pretty much anything goes.”

“Do you have anything to add?” Folkstaff said turning to the weapon’s master.

Boraro looked at him, but said nothing, and he didn’t look very pleased about it either. Something had obviously changed for this exercise, something that the Weapons Master didn’t agree with, which meant it could only work in the cadet’s favor.

“If there is nothing else, then you have three hours to form up a group of five cadets. If you can’t find a group, you will be assigned to one. Once you have your group, report to either Master Boraro or myself for group evaluation. If we feel your group is well balanced then we will sign off on it, if not, we may have to reassign members. You will also have to choose an instructor from the list on the board and report to him. He will go over the details of this exorcise and provide you with the key items that you will require. If there are no further questions, please, form up your groups.”

None of the cadets moved, they just looked to the Weapon Master. Boraro grinned as he slowly turned his head toward Folkstaff. This was some kind of power struggle between the two of them and the cadets were caught in the middle. Folkstaff didn’t seem to notice or didn’t really care as he walked back to the Office.

“Dismissed.” Boraro bellowed as he turned and followed the other Hunter.

The Cadets began to scatter, some already forming up in groups other wandering around aimlessly, Kile headed toward the notice board.

“I have a feeling this is going to be the easy part.” Daniel said as he came up alongside her.

“What, the test?” She asked him.

“No, forming up into groups.” He laughed.

She reached the notice board and looked down the list of instructors. Beside each name was a tag to be removed by the group, that way, no more than one group per instructor per instructions. She quickly grabbed the tag marked for Master Adams. If she was going to have to listen to the rules of this little game, she would rather have them explained to her by someone that didn’t want to see her fail.

“Don’t you think the group should pick together?” Daniel asked, not that he really cared one way or the other who was going to explain the test to them.

“Yeah.” She replied. “But I also know that there are a lot of instructors here that wouldn’t think twice about sacrificing four cadets for the opportunity to fail one.” She replied.

“Good point.”

“So, who is in this group… I am assuming that this is our group.”

“Of course.” Daniel replied, looking at her as if she had just uttered the strangest thing he had ever heard.

“Well, it's just that… I haven’t been around during practice too much and… well… the way Carter feels towards me. I thought you might not want me in your group.”

“Carter talks, quite a bit actually, but he doesn’t mean what he says.”

“That must be very difficult for him.”

“I mean he was just blowing off steam that day, it’s nothing personal, it just… Carter.”

They found Alex sitting on the top rail of the fence waiting for them. They found Carter leaning against one of the post beside him. He turned only when Alex tapped him on the shoulder.

“Now we are four.” Alex announced proudly as he jumped down from the fence. “Who’s going to be the fifth?” Carter asked as he looked over the group.

“Why not Murphy?” Alex replied.

The other three exchanged looks. Murphy had been coming to their sparring group on and off for the last couple of months, and was there a lot more than Kile had been recently, but there was clearly some reservation in including him.

“It’s not like we have much of a choice.” Daniel replied as he gauged Carter’s reaction. “We can either ask Murphy to join us, or see who Master Boraro saddles us with.”

“Fine.” Carter replied and clearly he was not pleased with the idea. He never trusted Murphy and he wasn’t one to hide his feeling on the matter either, but he also wasn’t one to tempt fate. There were still a few cadets that they could be stuck with who were far worse than Murphy.

“I know where he is.” Alex said as he went running off.

It didn’t take them long to find the big man, who was sitting alone at one of the tables in the Dinning Hall. He looked up when they approached.

“What’s up?” He asked, looking from one to the other.

“We have to get our group sighed off on.” Alex said as he sat down at the table beside the larger cadet.

“Yeah… so.”

“Well, come on, we don’t want to be late.” Kile replied. She knew that Carter wasn’t going to make him feel welcome and Daniel was indifferent to the situation, but she knew how it felt to be the last one picked.

“You want me… in your group?” Murphy asked, and there was a general note of surprise on the big man’s face.

“Of course we do, come on.” Alex said as he tried to pull Murphy to his feet.

“Unless you’ve already been chosen by another group.” Cater added, and he couldn’t hide the fact that he wanted that to be the case.

“No… no… I don’t have a group. I was just going to wait and be assigned to one.”

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. Come on.” Alex said, and Murphy slowly got to his feet.

Kile watched as Murphy followed Carter and Alex out the door of the dinning hall. For someone who had resigned himself to be the odd man out and found that there was a group who actually wanted him to join, he didn’t appear to be very grateful, in fact, it was almost as if he had expected it, but not in a good way.

“What’s wrong?” Daniel asked.

She was about to tell him, but shook it off. What could she tell him? That he didn’t look like he wanted to join. That might make Carter happy, but Daniel had already warned her about making false accusations, and even though Murphy wasn’t the son of a lord, he would still point out that she had no proof.

“Nothing.” She said as she pushed him forward.

They caught up with Carter and the others just outside Oblum’s office.

In the main foyer were two tables, one where Master Folkstaff sat, and the other where Master Boraro sat. Carter didn’t hesitate as he approached Master Folkstaff, something that Kile was grateful for but thought rather odd since Carter seemed to relate more with the Weapons Master than the survival instructor.

“So, you’ve got your group already assembled I see.” The hunter said as he unrolled a piece of parchment and looked the five members of the group over.

“Yes sir.” Carter replied, taking it upon himself to be the spokesperson of the group.

“Let’s see now…” Master Folkstaff said stroking his beard as he made some kind of mental note on each cadet. There was some hesitation, as if he was trying to decide whether or not to accept this group as it stood. “Two of my best students in one group, hardly seems fair.”

Carter gave a sideways glance at Kile, clearly he still had his doubts, but then she knew things that he didn’t, and she only returned the hint of a smile.

“Oh, why not?” Master Folkstaff said as he started to write down the names of each cadet on the parchment. “Did you pick one of the staff members to give you your instruction and your kit?”

“Oh.” Carter responded nervously. As the self appointed leader of the group, he wasn’t off to a good start.

Not wanting to embarrass him, Kile handed the tag to Daniel and motioned for him to hand it to Carter, who then handed it to Folkstaff.

“Master Adams.” The hunter said as he read off the tag and noted the name next to the list. “I can understand the selection. He should be in his classroom. He’ll explain the test to you in more detail.”

“Thank you sir.” Carter replied, and Kile would have sworn he wanted to salute the man.

As Master Folkstaff said, they found Master Adams in his classroom, sorting through his books. He looked up and was generally surprised to see the group at his door.

“Oh… please… be seated.” He said as he cleared off his desk. “Sorry, but I’m usually the last one to be selected. My tag remains on the board until the last group has been created and they have no one else to go to.”

He picked up a large sack from the corner of the room and dropped it on his desk, then proceeded to untie the top

“So, are you cadet’s ready for this?” He asked as he tugged at the knot.

“We’re not really sure what this is.” Daniel replied.

“Don’t worry, it’s not as difficult as they make it out to be. I remember when I took my second year evaluation survival exercise, it was actually quite a lot of fun, well… for most of us. There was that one group, but you really don’t want to know about that. The purpose of the exercise is to test you on everything you have learned so far. That includes your survival skills, you combat skills, and your edge, but mostly it’s about thinking outside the box. Kind of like the final part of the entry examination.”

Kile sunk down in her seat.

“So we can use our edge?” Carter asked.

“Of course, it’s expected. This is the closest you’ll get in the academy to your very first mission, so once you’re out there, anything goes. The Idea is that we can evaluate you, find out where your weakness lie and try to improve upon your skills in your final year at the academy. As you know, in your third year, your lessons will be more personalized. Now, let me hand out your class kit first, and then I will explain what the exercise really is. As you know, each group must consist of five members, and each member is responsible for one item, or one job within the group. For instance…” He said as he picked up the first item. It was a short sword and scabbard, about two feet long with the mark of the hunter on the hilt.

“Protection.” He said as he drew the sword and raised the blade, catching it in the light of the sun through the window. “One of you will be responsible for the protection of the group.”

“Carter.” They replied in unison as Master Adams sheathed the sword. It was an easy decision and everyone thought the same, Carter was by far the best swordsman in their class and therefore the best swordsman in the group.

“Well, that was easy.” Master Adams said as he handed the short sword across the desk to Carter who willingly accepted it. “Usually I just lay the items out and let the members of the group fight over them for the next few minutes. A couple of black eyes and a few bloody noses and they usually come to a decision.”

The next item up for bid, Kile thought as she remembered the auctions that came through Riverport during the summer, was a leather satchel with a long strap.

“This is your survival kit.” He said as he opened the satchel’s flap. “Inside you will find the necessity of survival, including a piece of flint, a knife, a cloth for filtering, a water skin and of course, your first aid supplies as well as a few other essentials.”

It was another mutual agreement, and again it was logical. First aide was Daniel’s specialty, that was his edge, and even though he didn’t need the satchel, he was still the obvious choice. Master Adams handed it to Daniel who slung it over his shoulder.

The Hunter looked into the bag and grinned, he seemed to be enjoying this too much.

“The next three items won’t be as easy to hand out.” He said as he drew the last three items from the pack and laid them out on the end of the desk. There was a key, a rolled up piece of parchment and a small, but all too familiar, black ebony box.

“You’ll probably remember this from your entry examination.” He said as he tapped the small ebony box. “If you get into any trouble, and you can’t go any further, just open this box and you’ll be brought back to the academy by Morgan.”

He picked up the parchment and unrolled it. It was a map with three areas clearly marked.

“This is where the items will be found.” He said as he pointed to the map. “You must collect all three and return to the academy within five days. Try not to lose the map, if you do, it will only make the exercise harder.”

“But… doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?” Alex asked.

“You may be hunters.” Master Adams said as he rolled the parchment up. “But that does not mean you are treasure hunters. As a hunter you are not going to be searching for lost temples or forgotten civilizations, your assignments will be more practical and you will, for the most part, know where you are going ahead of time.”

“The last thing is in many ways the most important. Only with this key will you be able to open the chests that contain the items that you must collect. In each area marked on the map, you will find several chests. Your key will only open one. The chest cannot be destroyed nor moved from that site, so you can be assured it will be there when you get there. You can thank the mystics for that. If you lose this key, well… then you might as well use the box since you have no chance of completing this assignment.”

He tossed the now empty sack on the floor, leaving only the three items on the desk.

“I think Kile should have the Key.” Carter announced. It surprised Kile more than anyone else, lately she had been under the impression that Carter thought she was less than capable. She looked over at him and he shrugged. “For obvious reasons.” He added.

What reasons were those she wondered, and then looking over at Murphy and Alex, and understood what Carter had meant. Alex wasn’t very reliable and would probably lose the key the first chance he got, and as for Murphy, well, Carter just didn’t trust him.

“Good choice.” Adams replied as he handed the key to Kile.

She held onto it tightly. It was an odd looking key, not like the ones she was familiar with. It had a red gem on one side and instead of having a single row of teeth it had three, creating a kind of three pointed star at the other end. She wasn’t sure how the last choices were made, but Murphy ended up with the map and Alex had the small ebony box.

“I think we’re making good time.” Master Adams replied. “I don’t remember it every going this smoothly.”

He reached up behind him and pulled down one of the larger maps that were attached to the wall. In the center of the map was the city of Azintar along with the Hunter’s Academy.

“This is what’s going to happen from this point on.” He said as he pointed at the map. “At noon today, Morgan will transport you to a random location, somewhere around here.” He said and he circled a huge section of the map with his finger. It appeared to be a mostly wooded terrain with a river running through it just north west of the city.

“Your first goal is to figure out where you are, beyond that you can go after any of the three items in any order, it doesn’t matter. Once you collect all three items you have to make your way back here.” He said and pointed to the Hunter’s Academy, which was the obvious destination.

“That’s pretty much all there is to it.”

“What about food, water, shelter… you know… those things?” Alex asked.

Kile remembered from the first survival exercise that he hadn’t managed to acquire any of them, so she couldn’t blame him for being nervous.

“I’m getting to that.” Master Adams said, calming the boy down. “You will be allowed to pick up any supplies that you feel you need at the quartermaster. You want tents, you can have tents, you want food, fill your pack with food, whatever you want, the quartermaster will provide you with.”

“Oh, that’s not too bad.” Alex said with a sigh of relief.

“But remember your logistics, the more you carry, the slower you move, so you have a choice. Take everything you can and not finished the test on time, or take nothing at all and never finish the test, the choice is yours. I suggest you discuss this among yourselves and head down to the quartermasters before it gets too crowded.”

They left Master Adams room more troubled than when first went in, although now they knew what they were in for. It was as Master Folkstaff had alluded to, the test may be simple, but it was far from easy.

Carter strapped the sword on as they headed toward the Quartermaster, and he seemed to walk a little taller now that he had a weapon strapped round his waist. Alex clutched the small box with both hands for fear of dropping it and released the Mystic that he believed was inside, although Kile could have told him that the mystic didn’t actually sit in the box and wait until someone opened it, but she figured that if Alex thought there really was a mystic inside, he would be a little bit more careful with it. Murphy looked as uncomfortable as Alex did as he clutched the map, and she wondered if they were ever going to be able to read it if he didn’t ease up on it. The big man's eyes roamed the compound as if he was searching for someone, if he found them, he never let on. As for Daniel, he walked with the satchel hanging at his waist and in many ways it made him look more the part of the healer.

She saw other groups in similar situations, their own responsibilities weighing heavily on them. Was this what it was like to have a real assignment? With this much tension it was surprising that hunter lived beyond a couple of years.

They reached the quartermaster’s and stop just outside the door.

“What are we picking up anyway?” Carter asked.

“Food, water, tents, blankets, cots, sleeping bags, pots, pans, utensils…” Alex was ticking off each item on his fingers and when he ran out of fingers he just started over again.

“We can’t carry all that.” She told him.

“Sure we can, we have Murphy.” Alex replied, but Murphy wasn’t paying much attention and just nodded when he heard his name mentioned.

“We shouldn’t need all that, we should travel light.” Carter replied as he turned to Kile. “What do we really need?”

She was a little surprised. Carter still didn’t believe she passed the first survival exercise, and now he was asking for her advice.

“Well, we should keep it simple, we can move faster if we don’t weight ourselves down, but there are a few items we should pick up, if just to make things easier.” She said as she tried to remember the list she had created when she was sitting under the tree branches.

“We should get some tents at least.” Alex begged.

“Tents will really slow us down. It’s only going to be five days; Blankets should be more than enough.” Carter replied.

It didn’t take them long to form a list as they entered the Quartermaster’s, but they came out with more supplies than they had intended, thanks primarily to Alex who was grabbing just about anything he could find off the shelves. There were pieces of equipment that he picked up that they couldn’t even identify, but he insisted that they would need it, that was until they told him he was going to have to carry it himself. Alex was a little more selective after that.

The Quartermasters was well stocked for just about any condition and he added a few things to their list that even they hadn’t thought of, like a lantern, it had never occurred to them that one of the items that they were searching for could be hidden in a cave or some other dark place. It was a little odd that the Quartermaster would have suggested that, since he hadn’t to the group before them, but he gave them the lantern and gave them a wink and they figured that he might know something that they didn’t.

They picked out five standard backpacks along with the supplies, and distributed the weight between them. Murphy had agreed to carry the lion's share, but Carter was still leery of the big man and declined. His excuse was that each member should carry their own weight, something that Alex protested, but nobody listened.

“We should probably bring along an extra set of clothing as well.” Daniel suggested as he scanned the heavens. The dark clouds threatened yet another day of rain.

“You don’t think that will be too much?” Carter asked.

“Not as much as them.” Murphy replied as he pointed to another group that had just emerged from the Quartermasters. They were weighed down by just about every piece of equipment available.

“How far are they going?” Carter asked.

“Maybe they don’t plan on coming back.” Kile suggested.