“Oh but son, don’t you remember?”

Kile had the feeling that Daniel’s father had the same warped sense of humor that Daniel had. It must be hell during the holidays.

“You’re not going up on stage alone, are you dear?” Mrs. Leary asked, leaving the boys to argue among themselves. “Oh we can’t let that happened, can we Howard?”

Kile had forgotten that little detail. It didn’t make that much of a difference but a family member always went up on the stage to assist the graduating cadet. It wasn’t that they really needed assistance, but they were given their probationary certificate, their destination papers, their graduation banner, their ceremonial alumni long knife, and then they were expected to shake hands with the members of the council as well a few of the witnessing hunters. The family members were there just to hold all the junk.

“I’m sure she doesn’t want some complete stranger up there with her dear.” Mr. Leary replied, like his son Daniel, he was not one to get overly emotional, or tread where he didn’t feel comfortable.

“I’ll be fine ma’am.” Kile assured the woman who now looked saddened by the idea of her going up there alone.

“But…”

“Patty.” Mr. Leary said in a soft, yet strong voice that clearly told her to drop the subject.

“What about Erin Silvia, she’d go up with you if you asked.” Daniel suggested. He looked around the Great Hall for the female hunter.

“She’s one of the hands we have to shake.” Kile told him, “I’ll be fine. Vesper will go up with me.”

“Who’s Vesper dear?” Mrs. Leary asked.

Daniel quickly turned his mother away from Kile and pointed across the room. “Oh, look ma, there's Alex and Mr. Bartlow.”  He said as he gave her a gentle push in their direction. “Why don’t you go say hi?”

“Because we came down here with them.” His mother responded.

“I think these two want to be alone.” Mr. Leary said, directing his wife toward the opposite side of the room.

“Well it was nice meeting you dear.” Mrs. Leary said as she was being pulled away.

“What was that about?” Kile asked

“Mother is deathly afraid of mice, and yarrows are not that far from mice. If you don’t want to see her screaming for the door in the middle of the ceremony, you may want to tell Vesper to keep his head down.”

“Point taken.”

“I better go with them.” Daniel replied. “You know, if there is a sufficient gap between us, I can go up as your second.”

“All you want to do is hog the spotlight, I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but if you want…”

“Don’t worry about it and go tend to your mother.” She told him.

She watched Daniel go and only then did she realize how envious she was of him.  Now that her father was gone, she knew her mother wouldn’t hesitate to be by her side, but her mother was never in the best of health, and the trip wouldn’t do her any good. If push came to shove, all she would have to do is stuff the junk in her pocket or her courier bag, as long as Vesper didn’t protest.

“I don’t really have to ask if you’re Kile Veller, do I?”

She turned to see a tall young athletically build man standing behind her, he must have been waiting for Daniel and his parents to leave before he approached. He was dressed in traveling leather and had a bit of road dust on him. A badge sown to the arm of his jacket identified him as a hunter, probably a level five or four based upon his age, and the fact that hunters of higher levels don’t wear badges. He had a dark completion, a long narrow face, short cropped hair and eyes that were so dark they were almost black. She knew she had seen him somewhere before or at least she had seen those eyes.

“Yes, I’m Kile Veller.” She said as she tried to run back through her mind to find this man’s name.

“You don’t recognize me.” He said with a hint of a smile.

“I’m sorry.” She admitted. It just wasn’t coming to her.

“I not really surprised, we only met once and that was very brief. I’m…”

“Rick.” She exclaimed as the vision of the thin young man with long black hair came back to her.  He was a friend of Tree's. He was the one that had given him the message of the Troll of Blackmore when he was escorting them around the compound. His grin assured her that she had gotten his name right, how could she have forgotten those black eyes. “Your hair is a lot shorter, and you’ve… grown.” She said, stepping back and taking him all in.

“I can say the same for you, although your hair is a lot longer.” He grinned.

“So, what are you doing here? You have a message to deliver?”

“Actually it's a personal matter.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, nothing like that.” He laughed. “I’m here to fulfill a promise I made, to a mutual friend.” He said, pointing to the pin on her tunic.

“Tree?”

“He told me I had to be here for your graduation.” Rick said. The memory of his passing was still weighing heavy on the young hunter.

“Well, he did say that he was going to be here, but I had just assumed he was telling me that to… you know… raise my spirits.”

“No, if there’s one thing I knew about Tree, if he said something, he would follow it through no matter what, he thought highly of you.”

“I don’t know why, it’s not like I knew him all that well. I really only knew him for a few days.” She replied.

“Yeah, but you reminded him a lot of his little sister. She was determined to be a hunter as well.”

“Did she ever try?”

“No.” Rick said, shaking his head. “She went to the other side when she was only thirteen. It hit Tree hard, they were really close, but I think he always knew that they wouldn’t be apart for long, but here I am talking about sad events on what should be the happiest moment of your life, and yet you don’t seem to be all that happy.”

“Oh, it just all this ceremonial stuff.” She replied. “I would be happier if I could just grab my papers and be out of here.”

“Just like Tree.” Rick laughed. “But I wouldn’t worry. It may seem long now, but once your name is called, just move through the line, take the stuff they give you, hand them to your second, shake a few hands and keep heading for the door.”

“That’s just it, I don’t have a second.” She replied.

“So I’ll be your second.”

“I can’t do that to you.”

“Why not, is it the way I’m dressed.” He laughed as he held up his arms and turned around, almost knocking the drink out of some woman’s hand.

“Okay, okay, you can be my second, just leave the civilians alone.”

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

21

 

“A young man by the name of Moran Leafter saw a need for an individual to exist outside the walls of civilization, to protect the people from the wild that surrounded them, and he set about to fulfill this need. In time the small villages became towns and the towns became cities and as the population grew, so grew his popularity. So Morgan Leafter gathered together some like minded individual and started the Hunter’s Guild, but that wasn’t enough. He knew that the cities would grow even larger and the need for more Hunters would follow. He knew the responsibilities that would be laid upon those Hunters, and he realized that not just anyone could shoulder those responsibilities, and so the Hunter’s Academy was formed, that was over four hundred years ago. Since then the Hunter’s Academy has done its best to sift through the possible candidates and choose only those that were smart enough, wise enough, brave enough, and had the heart to become Hunters. The academy could give them the skills and the tools, but the heart, they had to find on their own. And so, allow me to introduce to you, the four hundred and sixty third graduating class of the Hunter’s Academy.”

The applause was deafening, but that was in part due to the echo of the half filled Great Hall. Guild Master Latherby stepped down from the podium and surrendered the attention to Sir Oblum Hansen. The headmaster tugged at his shirt collar as he shook the Guild Master’s hand and stepped up on the stage. He waited until the audience quieted down before he even tried to speak. He was a man of few words, unless he was addressing his cadets, then he could be rather long winded, but in this setting, wearing those clothes, he wasn’t willing to prolong this any longer than he had to, and skipping his speech, he got down to what he felt they came to hear.

“Will the cadets please come up when I call their name?” He said as he unrolled the list and tried to flatten it out on the small podium.

“Robert Jacob Adams.”

A young man dressed in his Guild issued uniform got up from the front row along with an older gentleman who was probably his father. He took the stage, if it could be called a stage; it was only a raised platform, no more than six inches off the Great Hall’s marble floor.

Sir Oblum handed him two tightly wrapped scrolls. One would be his probationary certificate to be presented to the guild house upon his arrival. It was simply a signed document acknowledging his completion of three years at the academy and giving him all the rights afforded to a probationary level five hunter. The second scroll was his destination papers. They were actually more important because they told him where his guild house was. That would be the house he would be assigned to during his probationary period and probably most of this Hunter career. The cadet handed the two scrolls to his father and shook Sir Oblum’s hand, but that was just the beginning. In order for the boy to get off the stage, he was forced to walk through a gauntlet of Council Members and level one Hunters, each one extended a hand to be shaken.

Along the way he was given the Hunter’s Academy banner. This was a cheap piece of green cloth, mass produced, bearing the coat of arms of the Hunter’s Guild. The cadet handed this to his father.

Next he received the Hunter’s Guild badge. This would be sewn to his jacket or other article of clothing and was only worn by fifth and fourth level hunters. Officially it was a mean of identifying new members of the guild, unofficial it was a version of a toe tag. If he was found dead on the side of the road, and assuming that the badge hadn’t been stripped from his uniform, or his uniform stripped from him, his body would be brought to the nearest Guild house for proper burial procedures. The Cadet handed this to his father.

The next item was the alumni long knife, originally referred to as the ceremonial dagger, but due to the religious sounding connection, the name was later changed, and it serves no useful purpose that anyone could remember. The cadet handed this to his father.

By this time the probationary level five hunter Robert Jacob Adams shook fourteen hands before finally reaching Guild Master Mathew Latherby who presented him with the Hunter’s ring. The ring was a simple silver band with a green emerald that was worn by all hunters as a way of identifying one hunter to another. Under the Hunter’s Code, no hunter could perform an act of aggression toward anyone wearing the Hunter’s Ring. It was always worn on the left hand’s ring finger, and only to be worn on the right hand should a hunter find himself in a tight spot  and wished to let other hunters know he was in a tight spot without actually having to tell them, or if the hunter lost his left hand. Probationary level Five Hunters Robert Jacob Adams put the ring on his finger, shook the Guild master’s hand and finally stepped off the stage, now they only had thirty four more cadets to go.

In the past the graduating hunter would also have received his sword, or weapon of choice, his code book and his courier bag as well as the rest of the items. The weapons had a tendency to be too bulky for the second to carry and during one ceremony a second dropped a warhammer on a council member’s foot, delaying the graduation ceremony for three hours. The code books just took up too much space on the stage, and as the Quartermaster had explained, the newer hunters stopped using the leather courier bags in favor of the soft cloth pouches.

Probationary level Five hunter Robert Jacob Adams looked relieved as he returned to his seat, but not as relieved as his father.

“Carl Sins Arthur”

Another cadet in another Guild issued uniform got up and made his way to the stage, followed by a younger man, probably his brother, and it started all over again.

“Alphabetical order.” Kile sighed. She tried to go over all the names of all the other cadets and although she couldn’t recall every name, she was pretty sure that they all came before Veller, and if they didn’t speed things up, she wouldn’t get up there until late tomorrow morning.

“Alexander Cappa Bartlow.”

Alex jumped up and was on the stage shaking Sir Oblum hand before his second, his father, was able to get out of his seat. The hyperactive chipmunk had set a speed record as he received his items and shook all fourteen hands and was sitting down before half the council member realized that another cadet had gone by.

Now if everyone moved like that Kile thought, they could have the entire ceremony over and be at the feast in less than ten minutes.

She tried to listen and connect the names to the faces. She hated to admit it, but she really didn’t care all that much about these hunters, there were only a few that she called friends and even if the rest had come to accept her, she had not forgotten how they treated her, but, out there, in the wild, if she did come across them, it would be nice if she knew their names. They had it easy, she was the only girl that had graduated the Hunter’s Academy in the last twenty some odd years, they already knew her name.

She watched each cadet receive their papers, and even though she didn’t dislike them, she did feel a certain distance toward them, as if she was no longer a part of the whole academy thing. She put it up to the excitement of graduating and getting out into the real world, but she couldn’t convince herself that that was the whole truth, that it wasn’t something else.

“Carter Roland Hausman.”

Carter rose straight up from his seat, tugging at the base of his tunic to straighten it before walking to the stage. With his back straight, chest out, and arms swinging, she wondered if he knew how foolish he looked. He should have enrolled in the military if he wanted to march. Carter’s second had to be his father, He wasn’t as tall as Carter but his broad chest and missive arm left no doubt that he was a blacksmith. He seemed awkward in this place, surrounded by so many people; he would be more at home standing in front of a forge swinging a hammer. People had to get up out of their chairs and give him room as he tried to maneuver between the rows, and he stepped on no fewer than three sets of toes, one belonging to Mr. Leary.

Carter’s procession through the line of hands was considerably slower as he stopped before each member, and Kile was sure he was going to salute them, and when he stopped before Master Boraro, he did. As much as she liked Carter, she could easily see him falling in with the sons of Terrabin, they seem to share that military thinking. She felt sorry for his father thou, the man was clearly out of his element and every time his son stopped, prolonged his agony of standing in front of all these people. He even looked out into the audience with a nervous smile on his face. It definitely wasn’t the weight of the objects that had this man sweating, she was sure he could have just picked up the stage, people and all, and walked off with it, He just didn’t like crowds.

When Carter got back to his seat, his father wisely decided not to attempt to navigate the row of people and instead tried to blend in with other displays around the Great Hall.

There were a few more names, a few more handshakes, a few more minutes that slipped by that Kile would never recapture. What was the purpose of all these ceremonies, all these little rituals, all these traditions? The entire thing could have been handled in three minutes if they just gave them their papers and sent them on their way.

“Daniel Peter Leary”

Daniel went up on stage with is father in tow. She watched as he shook each hand, it didn’t matter who was attached to that hand, Daniel received it with a firm grip and a neutral smile, the peacemaker. If he hadn’t been blessed with the art of healing he would have made a decent politician, or even a negotiator, he never leaned one way or the other, weighting every matter before giving his opinion, which he seldom had. Even the speed at which he navigated the line was natural, it wasn’t as fast as Alex, but it wasn’t as slow as Carter, it was always down the middle. He reached the other side, slipped on his ring, shook the Guild master’s hand and nodded to Kile as he stepped off the stage. He was going to have an easy time in the Guild, spending all his days at the hospital, but it was what he wanted, and for that she was happy for him. The gods knew she could never do it. She leaned back to listen to the rest of the name.

“Kile Lucinda Veller.”

Somewhere between Daniels nod and her name she must have zoned out as she felt Rick jab her in the side.

“You want to graduate, don’t you?”  He said, motioning for her to get up.

She jumped out of her seat, knocking it over and felt every pair of eyes fall upon her. This was a good start she thought as she took a deep breath. She rested her hand upon the courier bag that she wore to make sure it was still closed and Vesper was still inside. The last thing she wanted to end the ceremony with was the image of Mrs. Leary running for the door screaming.

Kile walked to the stage with her head held high as she came before Sir Oblum.

“Congratulation Kile.” The old man said as he handed her the two tightly rolled scrolls, each one tied with green twine and bearing the Hunter’s Seal.

“Thank you sir.” She said, shaking his hand and handed the two scrolls to Rick.

Of the fourteen people in the line, eight of them she had never met before and didn’t even know, and probably would never see again. They were the members of the Guild Council, but what made it awkward was that they knew her, and a few of them didn’t hide the fact that they were not happy with the event that was about to transpire. The others were probably just better at hiding their disapproval, but each member did his job and shook her hand, congratulating her on a job well done, even if they didn’t know what that job was. Most of them wouldn’t even look her in the eye, and their handshakes were less than enthusiastic.

The first person that she did recognize was Master Voreing, but he shook Kile’s hand with as much interest as those of the council members as he presented her with the Hunter’s banner, at least he made eye contact. She handed the Banner to Rick and moved down the line to Erin Silvia. Erin gripped Kile’s hand tightly and presented her with the Hunter’s badge.

“About time.” She whispered.

“Thank you.” Kile replied.

After Erin there was Master Adams who was also eager to shake Kile’s hand. He didn’t have anything to give her but his friendship and a smile since he had already given her the code book. The next in line was Master Boraro. It was here that things got a little awkward. The weapon’s master never extended his hand to Kile, which was okay with her, since she never extended her hand to him. The two just stared at each other, a sort of mutual disrespect before Kile went on to Master West who presented her with the alumni long knife, something that Master Boraro was suppose to do, the change did not go unnoticed. There was a slight murmur in the crowd as peoples started whispering, but by that time she was already receiving her ring from the Guild Master.

“Congratulations Kile.” Mathew said, and instead of handing her the ring as he had done with the last thirty four cadets, he put it on her finger himself.

“Thank you sir.” She replied, gripping his hand.

As she stepped off the stage she wanted to keep walking, the open doors were right in front of her, she could be in the stables and on her way before anyone could stop her, well almost anyone.

“Seat.” Rick whispered in her ear as he directed her back to her chair.

“I was going.” She shot back.

“Tree said you had more guts than brains.”

Someone was kind enough to stand her chair up for her while she was on stage, but she didn’t get a chance to sit down.

“Probationary Hunters will now come to attention.” Sir Oblum commanded from the podium. He waited until all the new hunters were standing.

“So, here we are.” He said as he looked at each one of them, much like he looked at them the first day at the academy. “In spite of all that I’ve done, all that has been thrown at you, you’re just too damn stubborn to get the hint. You’re still here.”

There was an uneasy murmur amongst the civilians, but the cadets understood where Oblum was coming from.

“Well, you finally did it, you finally graduated and now, I can’t call you cadets anymore, among the other things that I can’t call you anymore. I guess I’ll have to get used to calling you Hunters. Well, get out there hunters, you have a job to do.”

Those words marked the end of the graduation ceremony as the old hunters, the new hunters and the civilians began to exit the Great hall for the feast that was awaiting them in the dinning hall just down the hill.

“So,” Rick said as he handed Kile her stuff. “What was that between you and Master Boraro?”

“Nothing.” She replied. She had to wake Vesper up so she could store a few things beside him in the courier bag. “We had a bit of a disagreement.”

“A disagreement, I’ve seen old soul puss when he’s being disagreeable, and that was not disagreeable, that was downright loathing, so what did you do? Did you break his favorite weapon or something?” He said jokingly.

“No, just his nose.”

Rick stopped in his tracks and stared at her. “You broke the weapon’s master’s nose.” He exclaimed in disbelief. “Tree really was right; you do have more guts than brains.”

“It was a minor disagreement.” She assured him.

“Minor, what would you do if you were really annoyed with him, break his neck?”

“Funny, real funny.”

“Well, I’m a getting a head start, after I visit the feast that is. I’ll see you around Kile.”

“Thanks for everything Rick.”

“That was uncalled for though.” Daniel said as he came up behind her. “What Boraro did was uncalled for.”

“Oh, I don’t care about him anymore; I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing him anytime soon.”

“Still, I thought he would have had a little more class than that. For all his talk of social status and social graces you would have thought he’d have some.”

“Not really.” She replied.

“It really doesn’t bother you that he ignored you like that in front of everyone.”

“Everyone, come on Danny, the cadets, the council, half the staff, they all wanted me gone. If anything I earned that, if nothing else it showed that I got under his skin.”

“You’re as bad as your horse, you know that?”

“Thanks, I’ll take that as a compliment.” She grinned.

“Hey, come on guys, we want to find out where we’re going.” Alex shouted, waving his destination papers in the air. Carter and Murphy were standing beside a few of the displays off to one side. They had agreed that they would open their destination papers together, even though Carter had already broken the seal on his papers; at least Murphy was still waiting.

“Who wants to go first?” Daniel said.

“Carter’s already got his open.” Alex said with a note of disapproval.

“Fine, if it’s that important to you, I’ll go last then.” Carter replied, and set his scroll down on one of the display cases.

“Then Daniel should go first, since we already know where he’s going.” Murphy said.

Daniel shrugged a silent agreement, cracked the seal on his papers and slowly unrolled the parchment. He began to read.

“Oh no.” He said as he faced suddenly dropped. “They wouldn’t.”

“What… what did they do?” Alex asked, jumping up to read the paper that Daniel kept pulling away from me.

“They sent me to…”

“To? To where?”

“To… to the Littenbeck Guild Hospital.” He laughed.

“Oh very funny.” Alex pouted.

“Okay, okay, Kile’s next.”

Kile took a deep breath and broke the seal on her papers. She unrolled it slowly and read out the destination.

“It says here I’m to report to Coopervill.”

They looked at one another and shrugged.

“Never heard of it.” Carter replied.

“Me neither.” Murphy added.

“Oh well, that’s one we’re gong to have to look up on a map.” She said as she rolled the paper back up and slipped it into her courier bag. She hadn’t expected anyplace grand, she had a feeling that the guild would want to place her as far away from the action as possible. Then again that could be the paranoia setting in and Coopervill could be a very active place, although she doubted it from the faces of the Guild Council.

Alex broke his seal next and the look on his face was one of utter amazement, it had to be someplace impressive since it almost left the little hunter speechless.

“Baxter’s Bay.”

Was the only thing he managed to squeak out, it was barely above a whisper, but Carter heard it loud and clear.

“Oh yeah right.” He said, grabbing the papers from Alex. He read the destination and then shoved them back into the smaller Hunter’s hand. “That’s it, I give up.” He said, throwing up his hands in defeat.

“He’s not really…” Daniel started as he grabbed the crumpled sheet from Alex.

“Oh yes he is, he’s been assigned to Baxter’s Bay.” Carter said in disbelief.

Kile wasn’t sure what the big deal was about Baxter’s Bay, having never been there herself, but she knew it was a prime destination, even Tree wanted to be assigned there and Erin had spoken about taking some time off in Baxter’s Bay.

“Where are you going Murphy?” She asked, noting that he had already unrolled his scroll.

“Says here I’m to report to Luth.” He said, shaking his head.

“There’s another one we’ll have to look up.” Daniel replied. “Go ahead Carter, we’re two for two.”

Carter unrolled his scroll.

“I’m going to Glovgon.” He said with an anticlimactic note.

“That’s a Lumber town in the south west part of Blackmore.” Murphy said. “I have, or had a cousin who moved down that way. Don’t know if he’s still there, or even if he’s still alive.”

“Want to trade?” Carter asked.

“If I was going to trade, I’d trade with Alex.” Murphy replied.

“I ain’t trading with nobody; I’m going to Baxter’s Bay.” Alex grinned as he hugged the paper close to his chest.

 

One place was as good as another when you don’t know where the other place is she thought as she looked over the map that was included with the destination papers. They had given her three weeks to report to the Guild House in Coopervill, now all she had to do was find Coopervill. She sat in her old seat at the back of the dinning hall as the noises of the festival filled the air. The Guild had spared no expense on the graduation ceremony. They hired the same bad magician the same armature juggler and the same band as they had during the winter’s feasts. They must receive a discount on package deals.

The food was laid out on a long table along the south wall where anyone could grab whatever they wanted. There was some singing, some dancing and Alex upstaged the magician with his illusions, but right now the maiden in white was playing one of her haunting melodies and the people stood and listened and Kile watched it all from the back of the room.

She was starting to feel more and more isolated from the people around her, even from her friends. Was that because of her edge she wondered as she watched Vesper pull apart the salad she no longer had an interested in. She was more at home with the horses and the dogs, and of course the yarrow, than she was with other people.

Mrs. Leary must have noticed her sitting alone and started to walk over, with Daniel right behind her. Kile grabbed Vesper from the table as the yarrow squeaked a protest at being shoved into a bag. She dumped the rest of the salad in with him to quiet him down.

“Why don’t you join in with the festivities dear?” Mrs. Leary asked as she approached.

“I’m fine thank you ma’am.” Kile replied. “The day’s been a bit much for me.”

“Oh, I understand dear.” The older woman said with a lopsided smile. “It was because of that rude man during the ceremony wasn’t it? He upset you, didn’t he?” Mrs. Leary said as she scanned the room.

Mrs. Leary has been knocking back the cider a bit.

“I don’t think Kile wants to talk about it mother.” Daniel said, coming to Kile’s rescue.

“Well, someone ought to give that young man a good talking to, there was no reason to be rude like that.”

“Mrs. Leary, may I speak with Daniel alone for a moment?” Kile asked as she got up from the table.

“Of course dear, you don’t need my permission.” Mrs. Leary replied, and then whispered rather loudly in Daniel’s ears. “You better hold on to this one dear.”

Daniel’s face was red when he followed Kile outside.

“I’m leaving.” She told him.

“What, because of what my mother said. She’s not used to these types of festivities; she had a tendency to… drink a few.”

“No, your mother is sweet, it’s just that… I don’t know. I just don’t fit in here, I guess I never did. All these people, all this noise…”

“I know.” Daniel said with the same lopsided smile that his mother had, but for some reason, his was sadder. “You’ve changed… a lot.”

“Lets’ not go there.” She warned him.

“I don’t mean physically, I mean mentally, spiritually. I’ve noticed that you’re more comfortable in the stables than in the dinning hall that you sneak out with Oblum’s dogs rather than hang out with us. You’re a lot more in tune with the natural world than what you may think; just remember which world you come from.”

“Will you… give my goodbyes to the others? I don’t really want to drag this out.”

“Of course, they’ll understand, well… maybe not Alex.”

“Alex will get over it; he’s going to Baxter’s Bay, besides… we’ll see each other before long. I’m sure I’ll be delivering messages to Littenbeck in no time, and if not I just have to write them myself so that I can deliver them.”

“Well, when you do, address them to the guild hospital in care of Certified Level Five Hunter Daniel Leary.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself Probationary Level five. You haven’t received your certificate yet.”

“One month, that all I have to wait, one month.”

-We go? Want to say goodbye.-

Kile opened the courier pouch and Vesper climbed out on her hand. She lifted him up before Daniel, who looked at her with the ‘what am I suppose to do’ face.

“He wants to say goodbye.” She told him.

“I never said goodbye to a yarrow before.” Daniel said as he stroked the rodent’s head. “Goodbye Vesper, keep an eye on Kile for me, will you.”

Vesper squeaked his assurance even if Daniel didn’t understand, Kile did. She lowered her hand beside the bag and Vesper jumped in.

“I have a feeling I’ll be hearing about you quite a bit.” Daniel grinned. “There aren’t many hunters like you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She said, and she gave her friend a hug then turned and headed toward the stables, not looking back.

In some ways she was glad she was leaving, it some ways it was easy, but there would be things she would miss, Daniel being one of them. She knew she told him that she would write, that she would keep in touch, but how many times had she heard that same thing. That was the problem once you parted. You always want to keep in touch but it never happens. You always say you’ll write but you never do. She wondered if this would be the last time she ever saw him.

She entered the stables and found Rick packing his saddle bags.

“Party over so soon?” He asked.

“It is for me.” She replied. “How far are you going?”

“South a ways, little town of Norton, I have some messages I have to deliver there, don’t suppose you’ve heard of it.”

“Sorry.” She replied.

“Don’t be, you’ll start to learn where all the cities, towns and farmhouses are located throughout Aru.”

“How about Coopervill?”

“Coopervill? Yeah, I’ve been up there once or twice.”

“Care for some company, at least part way?” She asked.

“Sure, why not. How long will it take you to get ready?”

“Been ready.” She replied. “I been ready before the graduation ceremony even started. I have all my stuff waiting for me in the stall beside my horse.”

“You’ve really eager to get to your new home.” He laughed.

“Home?” She asked, she knew the word, but the meaning was foreign, did she ever have a home. “Yeah, I guess so.” She lied.

“Well then, let’s get you set shall we. Where’s your mount?” He asked as he headed into the direction where the fourth year horses had been stabled.”

“The stall all the way at the end.” She told him, and then realized her mistake. “RICK WAIT.”

There was a loud thump followed by a scream then a crash.

-Thirty seven-

She heard Grim laugh.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

22

 

“Look, I really am sorry about that.” Kile said for what had to have been the tenth time since they left the academy.

“It’s alright.” Rick laughed. “He just caught me by surprised, that’s all. Scared the living daylights out of me.”

“Yeah, he has a knack for doing that, and he won’t do it again if he knows what’s good for him.” She replied, directing the last part of that statement at Grim.

Grim snorted his reply.

They had traveled for nearly four hours along the road, moving farther and farther away from the academy. She thought that the more distance she placed between it and her, the more homesick she would feel, but it never happened. It was the same feeling she had when she left Riverport for the entry examination in Littenbeck. There were people she left behind, people she would miss, but the place was never home. It was just another stop on a longer journey. She had the feeling that Coopervill would be the same; all she had to do was figure out where this journey was taking her.

They had stopped only once for Rick to “get his bearings” as he put it, but she was sure it was closer to ‘finding a tree’ and she waited with the horses while he disappeared into the woods.

He called his mare Rain Cloud which really didn’t surprise her since she was a gray horse and most hunters were lacking in originality. Her real name was Taiala, and although she wasn’t overly impressed with her Vir name, she was beginning to accept it. Taiala and Rick had been traveling together for the last three years, ever since he graduated from the academy and the mare had grown rather fond of her owner. Kile also learned a few things from the horse, such as Rick’s full name, Richard Dropus Stewart, and that he liked to play the flute, although he wasn’t very good at it and he had a nasty habit of eating Omna. She had never heard of Omna, but according to Taiala, it had a really bad smell that was offensive to the horse, but it was the stories of the raid on Grover’s Den that interested her. It was the place where Tree had died along with thirteen other Hunters, and although Rick said he was carrying on Tree wishes by being at her graduations, she really hadn’t placed him in Grover’s Den at that time. Unfortunately the mare didn’t understand everything that had gone on during those events, and what information she was able to give her left her with more questions than answers.

They had stopped for the night in a small clearing where the road forked in two. Rick pointed out the Hunter Marks that had been placed on the tree designating it as a safe place to camp, and while he got the wood together for a fire, Kile set about unpacking the horses. She wanted to talk to Rick about Tree’s death, but she wasn’t sure how to broach the subject, or if Rick even wanted to talk about it.

“I’m afraid this is about as far as we can travel together.” He said as she handed him his saddle bags. He started pulling rather large quantities of food out, and she wondered if he left anything at the feast for the other guests. “I’ll be taking the south road to Norton in the morning; you’re going to have to take the north road to get to Coopervill. I’d like to take you all the way but… I have to complete my assignment first and if we divert you’ll never get to Coopervill in time.”

“No, that’s alright, I don’t mind traveling alone.” She said, although with Grim and Vesper, she wouldn’t be alone.

“It took me a lot longer to get used to that part of the job.” He laughed as he tossed her a few apples from his food stash. “I… noticed… you were only eating fruit at the feast.” He said as he glanced down at the beef that he had skewered on a stick and was reheating over the fire. “If you want some you’re more than welcome…”

“No, no, please enjoy, this is more than enough.”

She took the fruit and sat down on her blanket across the fire from him and began to cut one of the apples into thin even slices, dropping them into her courier bag. Rick was watching her, and although he was a bit confused by this, he didn’t ask her about it.

“Can I ask you why you don’t eat meat?”

“It’s kind of complicated.” She replied.

“Is it like a religious thing?”

“A what?”

“A religious thing, you know, you’re not allowed to eat meat because it goes against your beliefs.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s kind of like that… in a way.”

“That's cool, I can respect that. I was raised a Thian myself, but I seldom practice it.”

Kile smiled and nodded, having no idea what he was talking about. Religion was just another one of those things that her father didn’t believe in, so it was never discussed in her family. Most people didn’t talk about their religion since the churches were divided between gods, goddesses and demigods and then there were all the saints and the conflicting ideas, and a simple discussion on religion often resulted in a fist fight.

She dropped the last slice of apple into her courier bag, put the small knife away and started to eat the second one herself.

“So… you were at… Grover’s Den.” Kile said between bites.

Rick looked up from the meal he was preparing with a haunted look in his eyes. Maybe that wasn’t the best way to approach the subject, but she wasn’t getting any answers by hesitating.

“I’m sorry, if you don’t want to talk about it.” She said.

“No, that’s alright. You just kind of caught me by surprise. How did you know I was there?”

To tell him that his horse, who didn’t really like the name he had given her, told her that he was at Grover’s den would probably make the discussion a little more awkward.

“When you talked about Tree… I… just assumed you were there.”

He nodded, accepting that conclusion, but he didn’t speak for a while as he gathered his thoughts.

“I wasn’t actually there when he died.” He said, and it sounded as if he was apologizing for his action, rather than explaining them. “What you have to understand is that Denal is a very small province when compared to Callor in both resources and finances, and the towns along the border like Grover’s den, rely heavily on both Denal and Callor for their protection. When the uhyre began to amass along the western boarder Lord Warren of the Denal province hired Hunters to escort the people of those border towns to safety. What we hadn’t expected was that the Callor troops that were there supporting the Denal forces would suddenly withdraw, leaving the boarder towns defenseless.

“Tree was stationed at Grover’s Den at that time, but you already knew that. He saw it as his duty to make sure that the people of that town reached safety. With only the soldiers from Denal to help him, the Hunters agreed to stand alongside him at the breakpoint to slow down the uhyre when they crossed the boarder.

“The valrik launched several attacks, each on fiercer than the last. They didn’t seem to regard their own lives, much less ours. They just came over the boarder, mindlessly attacking anything in sight. Tree was wounded during the second attack and I tried to get him to retreat with the civilians but he refused. He knew they couldn’t hold off the valrik for long, I’m pretty sure he knew he wasn’t going to survive the night, but I’ll be dammed if he wasn’t smiling all the while. That’s when he gave me his pin, told me to give it to you, told me I had to be at your graduation ceremony because he made you a promise, and he hoped you would understand.

“Since my… edge… allowed me the most… freedom, I assisted with the actual evacuation, getting as many civilians out of harms way as I could, before the real invasion began. It was… completely… senseless. There was absolutely no point to it. The uhyre overran the lines, ransacked the outposts, burned everything down, killed every living thing in their way and then… they just… retreated back to the wastelands, as if it was… nothing.”

Rick fell silent for a while, staring into the flames of the campfire, poking at it with a long stick and Kile could see the tears in his eyes as he tried to hold them back; he quickly brushed them away with the back of his hand and forced a smile.

“I went back with the remaining Hunters… but by then…” He just shook his head. “If Callor hadn’t pulled out, they might have stood a chance, at least better than what they had.”

“Why would Callor abandon them?” She asked.

“Who knows?” He said, still staring into the flames. “With the loss of the boarder towns Denal shrinks a little more and Lord Warren’s power along with it. Maybe Lord Rimes saw an opportunity to expand the Callor province without having to lift a sword, maybe he saw no reason in risking his soldiers in a battle he knew he couldn’t win.”

“Maybe he was paid off.” She suggested.

Rick quickly looked up and she had expected him to scold her for making accusation again the Rimes family again, but the look in Rick’s eyes told her that she may have hit a mark she wasn’t aiming for.

“Don’t think you’re not the first person that believes that.” He said.

His eyes slowly scanned the clearing around them, as if he was expecting someone to be stepping out of the trees at any minute. It would appear that a lot of people were paranoid these days.

“The very day after the Callor army pulled out…” He said in a whisper as he leaned over the fire. “…was the day the uhyre attacked. I don’t believe in coincidences. A buddy of mine, a solider in the Callor force stationed at Greenwater was ordered out one day before the uhyre forced overran that place. He says it was just luck, I’m not so sure.”

The talk was treason, pure and simple, whether it was true or false. True, and the treason was placed upon the Callor army and Lord Rimes for allowing an invading force to enter Aru unchecked. False and the treason was placed upon two hunters sitting in a clearing, speaking out against the cousin of the king.

“We’re just Hunters.” Rick announced. “We shouldn’t be talking about such things, Politics and governments do not concern us.”

And the haunted look on his face was slowly replaced by the familiar smile.

“So, you have anything you wish to ask an experienced hunter like myself.” He said with a grin as he leaned back away from the fire.

“You’ve only been in the wild for three years.” She replied.

“Oh yeah, but they were a long and eventful three years.” He laughed. “Well, if you don’t have any questions, How about I play you a tune?”

He reached into his belt pouch and pulled out a small silver flute and began to play, and to say that he couldn’t play very well was a gross understatement. She must have made a face because he suddenly stopped and looked at her.

“You have a problem with my playing?” He asked, and at first she thought he was genuinely annoyed.

“Well…” She started to say, not sure whether she should lie or tell him the truth. Neither one would bring her much reward. If she told him the truth he would only be upset and if she lied, he would continue to play.

“Don’t say it, I know.” He said, and he looked at the flute as if the instrument had let him down. “I picked this up with my very first pay, no, this is my second flue, Rain Cloud stepped on my first flue, I don’t think she appreciates good music either.”

“Maybe that’s why she stepped on it.” Kile replied.

“You’re probably right; I just can’t get the hang of it.” He said, and he blew into the flute again. It gave out a high pitched shrill. Taiala whinnied at the noise and Grim wasn’t much better, although Kile wouldn’t repeat what the Mountain Pony said, but even she had to cringe at the sound.

“And that was only after three years of practice.” Rick said with pride.

“I use to like the sound of the flute.” She said.

“Then here, you give it a try.”

“I can’t play this; I wouldn’t know where to start.” She said as she took the flute from him. It was about a foot long with more holes in it than she had fingers to cover them with.

“Oh it's easy.” Rick said as he came around the fire, sat down beside her and showed her how to hold it.

It was a strange experience all around for Kile, one having to hold a flute and secondly having a guy sitting that close to her with his arms around her trying to show her how to hold a flute. Truth be told, she preferred just the flute. She played the small delicate instrument and managed to make a sound that couldn’t be called music, but it wasn’t nearly as hard on the ears as what Rick had played.

“See, you’re a natural.” He said as he moved over to his own blanket leaving her with the flute.

“Somehow I don’t think so.” She said, trying to hand it back.

“Keep it.” He told her, “Rain Cloud will love you for it; maybe she’ll even talk to me again. I guess I’ll buy myself a lute next time, what do you think?”

“Talk to you?” She asks. She looked over at Rick who was now stretched out on his blanket.

“Well, not literally.” He laughed. “But, she hasn’t been as responsive lately. I’m wondering if Grover’s den was too much for her.”

“If you don’t ask me how I know, I can tell you something about Rain Cloud that might help.”

This got Rick’s attention as he rolled over and looked at her suspiciously.

“Okay… shoot.”

Now she was in for it she thought, she couldn’t just leave well enough alone. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes and tried to get everything out as fast as possible before she had time to regret it.

“Her name is Taiala, she’s not very fond of the name Rain Cloud, she doesn’t like your flue playing, she hates the smell of Omna, but she does like you. Good night.”

Kile quickly rolled over on her blanket, pulling it around her so that she was facing away from the fire and away from a rather stunned Rick.

 

The next morning she awoke to something that smelled wonderful. It took her a few moments to realize where she was and what was happening as she turned over in her bed and saw Rick cooking something over the open fire in a small pot.

“Morning.” He said when he noticed her moving.

At first she had thought she had overslept, but it was still dark and the sun wouldn’t be up for at least another hour.

“You’re up early.” She remarked as she tried to stretch the kinks out of her back. It was true that a good soft bed was no comparison to sleeping on the ground with only a blanket to keep you from the cold earth, but the same could be said in reverse. She realized she was still holding the flute in her hand and quickly slipped it into the courier bag.

-What's this?-

Vesper asked as he tried chewing on it to see if it was edible.

“Leave it alone, it’s not yours.”

“What not mine?” Rick asked. He looked around the campsite and probably thought he had taken or used something that belonged to her.

“No not you. I was… oh, never mind.” She said shaking her head.

It was too hard to explain this early in the morning.

“Well, breakfast is ready, I hope you like it, and don’t worry its vegetarian.”

“Veggie- what?”

“Vegetarian… You are a vegetarian… aren’t you?”

“I’m not sure. Am I?” She asked as she sat down in front of the fire and tried to look into the pot. She had never heard of the word before, although she had heard of vegetable and that was what it looked like.

“Vegetarian, it means you don’t eat meat.” Rick explained.

“There’s a word for that?”

“Yeah, what did you think it was called?”

“Most of my friends just referred to it as strange.”

“I’m not surprised. I’ve known you for two days and you have to be the strangest Hunter I’ve ever met.”

“Thank you, I take that as a compliment.”

“Yeah, I figured you would.” He said as he dished out two bowls full of what appeared to be a viscous green liquid. He handed one to Kile who was a little hesitant to accept it.

“Look, I know I promised, but that stuff about Rain… I mean Taiala, was that true, are you on the up and up or are you trying to play me?”

“Why, did she respond to the name?”

“As a matter of fact she did.”

“So, what difference does it make where I got the information from?” She replied as she started to eat her vegetarian breakfast. He was definitely a better cook than he was a musician.

“Even about Omna?”

“What is Omna anyway?”

“You’ve never had Omna, oh, you don’t know what you’re missing. Real Omna is made of strips of rabbit stewed with garlic, onions and pepper and rolled in this flat doughy bread, but you have to go to Baala to get it. You can get something similar on this side of the border but they make it with beef, not rabbit, so it’s just not the same, but then, you don’t eat meat so you wouldn’t like it anyway.”

“No, I don’t think I would, it sounds… horrible.”

“Well, the problem is, you see, it tastes really good, but once you eat it, it sort of upsets the system.”

“That’s enough.” She said holding up her hand. “I don’t think I want to hear any more, it’s no wonder Taiala doesn’t like it.”

They finished their breakfast with a bit of small talk as Rick told her about Tree and their days at the academy together. She liked hearing about Tree, and he needed to reminisce about his friend, so she listened to everything he had to say. The sun was already starting to peek over the trees by the time they packed most of the stuff away.

“Okay, let’s see that map of yours.” Rick said as he tied the last bag closed on Taiala. Kile unrolled the map that came with her destination papers.

“No wonder you couldn’t find Coopervill, it’s not even on here.” He said as he crouched down beside the now spent fire and using one of the flat rocks as a table and started to write on the map. “You see, this is where Coopervill is.”

“There’s no road going up there.” She remarked.

“Well, there is, it’s just not on this map. Here’s Coopervill, here’s Noxton, and somewhere around here is Shrop.” Rick said as he marked a few new locations on the map. “Coopervill and Noxton are mining towns and Shrop is big in lumber.”

“Who names theses places anyway?”

“I know. I had to find this little town called Fish Knees. I never knew fish had knees until got there. If you’re really interested in the history of any town, there’s always some old man sitting outside a local pub that can tell you all the stories you want to hear for a pint.”

“I don’t think I’m that interested.” She assured him.

“Well, I know Coopervill was named after the copper that was mined there. It was originally called Copper Village, and then somehow they changed it to Coopervill. I know because I spent two weeks trying to find Copper Village and nobody knew what I was talking about. The road is here, just follow this road up past Marcin’s pass, you should find your way into Coopervill. The whole trip should take you about six days at a quick pace.”

“Well, that’s sounds nice.”

“I’ll also suggest that you get yourself some new clothes, the uniforms attract too much attention, and right now I don’t think Hunters need any more attention in that area. You’re also going to want to keep your weapon handy, you’re less likely to draw any unwanted attention if they think you can take care of yourself, and if you broke Master Boraro’s nose, I’m sure you can.”

“Should I be worried?”

Rick sighed, which, she was starting to learn, meant that what he was about to tell her, wasn’t going to be the whole story.

“Truth be told I wouldn’t have chosen that location for a probie hunter, but I suppose someone has to be assigned there. Coopervill is the only place in that area with a Guild house, so you may be bounced between Coopervill, Noxton and Shrop. All three are still in the Denal province, so the guild house answers to Lord Warren, which is to your advantage, but if you really believe what you said last night, then think about this.  The Denal province is stuck between the Western Boarder and the Callor Province.”

“And Denal doesn’t have the resources to defend themselves, and there’s little chance that Callor would come to its aid.” She concluded.

“Not unless Lord Rimes is ordered by the crown, and even then, it’s hard to say how long it would take him.  Once you cross the river at Marcin’s pass, you’ll be in the Denal Province.”

“Thanks Rick.” She said as she rolled up the map and her papers. She slipped them into her Courier bag with a little difficulty since Vesper was trying to push them out.

“I don’t know why you’re thanking me, I’m telling you how to get there, by this time next week you’ll be cursing me for giving you directions. You’re not that far from the western boarder Kile, just watch yourself. Something’s is going on, I’m not sure what it is, but I have this strange feeling that someone may be hunting hunters.”

That was a theory that she could have done without.

“Well, there really isn’t much I can do about that.” She said as she walked over to Grim who was waiting impatiently.

“There is one more thing I need to know.” Rick called out.

“What’s that?”

“What do you have in that courier bag?”

She opened the flap to the bag and reached inside. Vesper seized his opportunity and quickly crawled up her arm and sat on her shoulder, staring at Rick who just stared back.

“That’s what I thought.” He said nodding at the yarrow before turning around and walked to where Taiala stood. “Well, I guess this is really it. I’ll see you around Probationary Level Five Hunter Kile Lucinda Veller.”

“Not if I see you first Certified Level Five Hunter Richard Dropus Stewart.”

“Hey, how did you know my full name?”

But it was no use, she was already gone.

“She’s is definitely one of the strange one, isn’t she Taiala?” Rick asked his horse as he mounted up. The mare whinnied in reply.

“I agree.” He replied, but he really had no idea what the horse had said. “But it’s always the strange ones that become the great ones.”

 

Kile was finally alone, and finally on her way. She was heading to Coopervill, she had three weeks to get there and if Rick hadn’t steered her wrong it should only take six days, and that was more than enough time to get the lay of the land. It felt kind of strange to be out on her own, away from the academy, away from the instructors, away from her family and friend, well, all except for Grim and Vesper, as long as they were around, she would never be alone.

There was a strange bond, or simply an understanding between the Mountain Pony and the yarrow. She couldn’t call it a friendship, not yet anyway. For all of Grim’s complaining and ill tempered behavior, he had no problems letting Vesper ride on his head. It was kind of comical to see the little white rodent sitting between the ears and among the thick black coat of the Pony, but as long as neither of them were complaining, why should she.

She pulled out Rick’s flute and started playing, although she wasn’t sure how to actually play a song, she just strung together notes that sounded right. There may not have been a proper melody, and some of the notes may have come out a little bent, but every musician must start somewhere. Vesper liked the sound of the flute, but like most things, Grim thought it pointless, although he didn’t complain when she played it.

As they plodded along the road she tried to mimic the sounds of the birds, trying to capture each note with the flue, and a few of the friendlier birds would even come down to help her out. They would repeat the same notes over and over again until she could find it on the flute.  It was only when Grim had seven or eight of these birds sitting on his back, tweeting the same sound over and over again did he lodge a protest with a slight hop that forced the birds to take flight, but not for very long.

They stopped for the evening in a small clearing off the side of the road; there wasn’t much of a reason to start a fire. The food she had didn’t need to be cooked, the nights didn’t get that cold yet and as for keeping the wild animals at bay, well she would have actually welcomed them.

They started the next day early, getting on the road and getting on the way. Kile took Rick’s advice, and strapped the Lann to her back and the long knife on her belt. That would be Risa Ta’re’s long knife and not the Alumni Long knife that was given to her during the graduation ceremony. She still hadn’t figured out what to do with that or the cheap green banner. Her first thought was just to ditch it, or maybe she could sell it. Food and lodging didn’t come cheap, especially for an ornery mountain pony. Eventually she had decided that she would send it to her brother, it seemed proper in a way. If she were really mean spirited she would have the banner draped over her father’s grave, she still wasn’t ruling that one out.

The day brought her to Marcin’s Pass, a narrow path cut through the very end of the mountain range. If she had followed the map, and had gone around, it would have taken her an additional two or three days, Rick’s short cut would put her in Denal by tomorrow at the latest. She started to think back to the book on adventuring that she would write upon her retirement from the Hunter’s Guild. A well drawn and up-to-date map was an essential piece of adventuring equipment. Maybe that was something that she should think about doing instead of the book. She could draw her own map, map out the entire kingdom of Aru. She could even indicate the different species of animal life in each area. There aren’t many cartographers that could get a bird’s eye view of the surrounding territories. Then when she was done, she could take on Baala, maybe even try that Omna that Rick spoke about… then again she wasn’t that adventurous. There was always the Western Boarder, the place that some call the wastelands, or the western flat lands, as far as she knew they had never been mapped. Of course there was that slight problem with the whole ‘valrik trying to kill you’ thing that would make mapping a little difficult.

The pass opened up into a natural bridge, with the waters flowing far below. Rick had told her that she had to cross the river; this must have been the river he was refereeing to. Grim didn’t hesitate as he walked crossed the narrow bridge and she pulled out the map to see if the river even had a name, which of course, it didn’t.

“How does the Guild expect you to find anything, if they don’t give you a proper map?” She complained as she shoved the map back into the courier bag.

-Maybe it’s another test.-

Grim said as he plodded along the road, now coming down out of the hills.

“You don’t really think so… do you? I mean I graduated. Why would they be trying to test me?”

-Are you sure you graduated?-

“I’m sure you’re trying to play mind games.” She replied, but it was a good question. When she took the entry examination, they had convinced her that she was being attacked by valrik and was actually killed by one. Who’s to say what is real, but if this was all part of the entry examination that would have meant she never left the Mystic tower, and the last three years never happened. The thought of that sent a shiver down her spine.

“What’s wrong?” She asked when she realized Grim had stopped.

-Which way?-

The road split in two, one side continued west, the other side went north. Kile pulled the map back out, but she knew there wouldn’t be any answers on it.

“Great, we’re lost.” She said.

-Speak for yourself, I'm not lost.-

“If I’m lost, you’re lost, unless you know where you are right now.”

-Of course I do… I’m right here.-

“Infallible logic as always Grim.” She said as she dismounted. “We’re not lost, everybody else is.”

She walked up the road a bit and took a look around. The mountain range in the east that they had crossed earlier that afternoon was still visible. The tree line ran along the lowlands and plains stretched out before her. There was no sign of civilization, at least none that she could see.

“Would it kill someone to put up a signpost?” She yelled. “According to the map, or at least the parts that Rick filled in, we should be close to Coopervill, and it would stand to reason that if Coopervill is a mining town, then it should be north of here, toward the mountains. Well, that’s my theory anyway, anyone else care to venture a guess.”

- I suppose your theory makes sense.-

Grim replied.

“Thanks for your support.”

-Food-

Vespers thoughts were so loud and so primal, that when she heard them she instantly felt hungry.

“Where?” She asked as she turned to see the yarrow sitting upon the pony’s head, staring toward the northern road.

“I guess we’re in agreement then.”

She climbed back up on Grim and turned the pony north towards the mountains. The sun was approaching the noon hour and hopefully they would find Coopervill before dark.

As Grim walked the North road, Kile pulled out her code book to refresh herself on section 2B, the section on what she was suppose to do when she reached the Guild house. She didn’t have to be there for another two weeks but what else was she going to do in a mining town until then. If it had been someplace like Littenbeck, or, dare she say it, Baxter Bay, then maybe she could spend some time seeing the sights. The mining town couldn’t be much bigger than Riverport, and she could see all of Riverport in one afternoon.

Another reason to start as soon as possible was the money, she didn’t have any, and any little bit that she could scrape together now was only going to help her in the future. When she receives her certification, the guild will no longer pays her way, that’s how Oblum had explained it to her and she knew she read something to that extent in the code book. But there was a section on one of the pages that did list the expenses that the Guild would cover even when she was certified. She was looking for that list when Grim had a sudden burst of speed.

“Grim.” She called out as she shoved the code book into her bag and grabbed Vesper as he slid down the horse’s neck. She stuffed the yarrow in the courier bag as well and grabbed hold of the pony’s mane with both hands as he continued to pick up speed.

“What is your problem, slow down?” She yelled, but he wasn’t listening, he was heading for something or somewhere. The trees were flying past her and the mountain range was coming closer. Was this Grim’s home she wondered? Was this where the Mountain pony had been captured? Had he found his herd? She could see nothing familiar from the time their identities merged, but it was clear that Grim detected something.

The road turned right, but Grim didn’t as he charged straight on, running flat out across the fields and through the trees.

“Grim stop… whoa.” Kile yelled as she pulled up on his mane. “You stop now or there’s no…“

A low branch put an end to her threat as it swept her off the back of the horse, dropping her in the middle of an apple orchard.

“Oh he is so dead.” She mumbled as she got to her feet, rubbing her backside and watching him disappear through the hedge.

“You alright Vesper?”

-Me okay-

They had found civilization, at least the apple orchard looked tended to. They couldn’t be far from Coopervill now.

“I guess we’re on foot, for a while.” She said as she set off after her horse.

Fortunately she didn’t have very far to walk, as she fought her way through the hedge she found herself standing in the front yard of a small farm house. She also found a large shaggy black horse standing in a rose bush with his head stuck through the kitchen window of the house and his face in an apple pie pan. There was a young dark haired woman in the kitchen with a startled look on her face, holding another pie away from the mountain pony.

Kile’s first thought was to just keep walking and pretend she had never seen the mountain pony before. Who was to say otherwise? She could walk to Coopervill, find the Guild house and see if they could provide her with another horse, the only problem with that scenario was that Grim had all her belongings still strapped to him, which meant that she had no choice but to retrieve him.

Grim had finished off the first apple pie before Kile could reach him, and he was stretching his neck through the window, reaching with his tongue for the second one that the young lady was still holding. She was sure that this woman was about to scream at any minutes, bringing the town guard running, assuming that Coopervill had a town guard, but what the woman did next surprised her even more, she held the pie that she had risked life and limb to protect, closer to the horse so that he could eat it.

“Grim.” Kile shouted as she crossed the lawn. “You dumped me in the filed to satisfy your addiction?”

She looked through the window at the woman that was holding the pie pan for Grim to eat from. The pie didn’t last very long and Grim was already licking the edge of the pan. The young woman didn’t appear to be as angry as Kile would have thought; in fact she appeared to be quite thrilled with the hoses and his appetite.

“I am so sorry ma’am, I don’t know what got into him. I’ll pay for the damages of course.” Kile assured her as she grabbed Grim’s mane and tried to pull the pony back, but he wasn’t budging. Maybe she should look into having him fitted for reins, whether he wanted them or not, but that would cost, and at the moment she didn’t even have money to pay for the pies he had just eaten.

“I’ve been told that my pies are good, but I have to say that no one has gone through that much trouble to get one.” The woman laughed.

She was taking this better than Kile would have thought, unless the young woman just wasn’t all there.

“I really am sorry miss.”

“Oh please, don’t worry yourself over it.” The young girl replied as she set the pie pan down on the sill for Grim to get at, and disappeared from the window.

“That’s it, that was your last pie.” She told the horse, who was still licking the empty pan. “You dump me on my ass in the middle of nowhere just so you can eat. You can ignore me as much as you want, it doesn’t change anything.”

The young woman came out of the front door of her house, wiping her hands on her apron as she stepped over the plants that Grim had crushed to reach the window. She didn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that her house had been invaded by a mountain pony, or that the same pony devoured two of her pies and crushed her roses.

She was a little taller than Kile and possibly a little older. Her hair was long and braded so that it hung down the center of her back, her eyes were a crystal blue, and her complexion was flawless if you disregarded the flour that marked her cheeks. She had obviously been baking and now had nothing to show for it.

“I am so sorry.” Kile apologized again.

“Oh stop your worrying.” She said with a smile, “there was no harm done, although I must say I was a bit startled.”

She stepped toward Grim and struck his side with the palm of her hand, it was not an attempt to discourage him, or to scold him, just to let him know she was there, it was also something that you just don’t do with a mountain pony, but Grim didn’t seem to care.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a horse as… unique as this, what's his name?”

“Grim… his name is Grim ma’am.”

She thought about it for a while, and then smiled.

“It kind of fits him.” She said and then turned her attention to Kile. “You’re new here as well, aren’t you?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Please, I’m far from being a ma’am.” She laughed, “The name is Alisa, Alisa Reaba.”

“Kile, Kile Veller.”

Alisa stepped back to take a good look at her.

“My first guess would be military, but there are no women in the military.” She said.

“No ma’am.”

“Again with the ma’am.” She laughed. “You Kile are as odd as your horse. What business do you have in Coopervill, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Well, at least she was in the right place that was a start.

“I’m looking for the Hunter’s Guild house.”

“Are you planning on hiring them?”

“Actually I’m a certified level five hunter, well, I’m still probationary, but I’ve recently graduated from the Hunter’s Academy and I’ve been assigned here.”

“You’re a hunter.” Alisa said, and her eyes lit up. “I didn’t think that girls could become hunters.”

“Well, there is nothing that says they can’t, but there are only two now, Erin Silvia and myself.”

When the name of Erin Silvia didn’t spark a reaction, Kile knew she was a long way from home.

“Well then, you’re in luck. For hunters we do offer reasonable stable fees.” Alisa announced.

“Stable fees?

“Why yes, I thought that what you came here for, to stable your horse.”

“Actually I didn’t realize this was a stable, I thought it was just an orchard.”

“It is, and it isn’t.” Alisa replied. “We grow apples as well as a variety of other vegetables for the markets in town and a few of the inns, but we also stable horses and we have a blacksmith on call once a week.”

“I’m afraid I can’t really afford stable fees right now, I haven’t been paid and I’m not sure when I will or even how much I’ll get.”

“Oh, not to worry.” Alisa said with a wave of her hand. “I wasn’t planning on you paying me now. I usually collect at the end of each month.”

“You collect, so this is your stables.”

“Left to me by my father who passed away two years ago. I’ve been running it ever since.”

“Alone?”

“Oh no, I have a few people working for me, like Carl over there.” She said as she waved to a large burly man. He came walking across the field toward them, wiping his hands on a rag that he stuffed into his back pocket.

“Yes Miss Reaba?”

“Carl, could you take Hunter Veller’s horse to the stables.” She told the large man.

Carl was a little surprised to see the horse with his head still in the kitchen window, but he didn’t say anything about it. He walked over to Grim and when he couldn’t find the horse's reins, he turned to Alisa for help.

Kile approached Grim from the other side so Carl couldn’t see what she was doing. She had to climb up on the window sill to get to his ear.

“You owe me for dumping me on my ass back there.” She scolded the pony.

Grim said nothing in response.

“I suppose you want to stay here, at these stables?”

-Will there be more pie?-

“Not for you there won’t, unless you behave yourself and you’re not doing a very good job at that.” She said, raising her voice enough that both Carl and Alisa were now watching her.

“Look Grim, I thought we made a deal here, you help me, I help you. What is it that you want? Do you want me to release you back to the wild?”

-No.-

That simple response caught her off guard, she was not expecting that. She was under the assumption that Grim wanted his freedom.

“You don’t want to go home?”

-Not yet, I’m having too much fun with you.-

“Fun? This is fun?”

-It is for me.-

“Wonderful.” She said. “Are you saying you want to stay with me?”

-For the time being. I like you Vir. There aren’t too many Vir that I have the opportunity to speak to.-

“Then why are you making this so difficult?” She asked, again loud enough to get a response from Alisa and Carl, who by now probably through she was as crazy as her horse.

-It doesn’t have to be difficult vir. You’re the one making it difficult. You put too much pressure on yourself, you worry too much about how others perceive you. You are different then they are. What is so wrong about that?-

“Nothings wrong with that… well, almost nothing. The point is I have to live among the Vir I can be acting too strange now, can I.”

-Like now.-

Grim asked as he looked back over his shoulder at Alisa and Carl who were watching the exchange between the redheaded woman and the long haired shaggy mountain pony.

“Yeah, like now.” Kile replied gritted her teeth. “Alright, here is the new deal. You stay here, you behave yourself while you are here, and I’ll see if I can’t get Miss Reaba to bring you a slice of pie every once in a while. Would that satisfy you?”

-For now.-

“Great, Follow the man into the stables, pick out a stall and behave yourself.”

-For now.-

Grim said as he moved back from the kitchen window and headed off toward the stable, not stopping for Carl. The man had to run to catch up, and when he did he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do.

Kile jumped down from the window sill.

“So, is he going to behave?” Alisa asked.

She couldn’t tell if the young woman was trying to be funny or serious with her question. It wasn’t every day she saw a woman converse with her horse in such a manner.

“For now.” Kile replied. “He can be a bit… temperamental.”

“I have a feeling that he is going to be a very interesting boarder.” Alisa said as she took Kile by the arm. “And you a very interesting client. Shall we go inside for a cup of tea while we discuss the arrangements?”

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

23

 

The little town of Coopervill wasn’t as little as Kile first thought, it was roughly three times the size of Riverport, but where Riverport was compact in the sense that most of the businesses were located in a central hub surrounded by farms, Coopervill was more spread out. She was expecting a mining town to be a group of modest houses surrounding the entrances of large caves, but instead she found a self sustaining community, it was really her lack of experience that had led her to that assumption. The only town that Kile knew was Riverport. She had seen nothing of Littenbeck but the single street that she walked through to get to the Mystic tower, and her only views of Azintar were from the Academy compound outside the walls. Even though she was a probationary level five hunter, she still had a lot to learn.

She spent the next two hours discussing everything from the latest fashion to the rumors of war in the west, all over a pot of tea and a slice of apple pie. Coopervill was an out of the way place and there just wasn’t that many people passing through. Alisa was determined to learn all that she could about what was happening outside of the Denal province, unfortunately Kile wasn’t able to give that much information, so most of the questions Alisa asked were about life at the Academy, the one topic that Kile really didn’t want to talk about, and although the conversation did seem to be one sided, with Kile being grilled by Alisa, she did manage to learn a few useful things about the town of Coopervill.

For starters it was the only town in the area that had a Hunter Guild house, but she already knew that, what she didn’t know was that there were already two Hunters assigned to that house. One was named Copper, or Irons, something in that area, Alisa really didn’t know and she really didn’t seem to care, the other hunter was one Marcus Taylor, a name that Kile was familiar with.

Marcus Taylor was the local hero, the men admired him, the ladies adored him, and Alisa was no different. She regaled Kile on the tales of the Hunter to such a point that Kile started to dislike the man without even meeting him. She knew it wasn’t fair, but anyone that boasted that much couldn’t be that good. The one adventure that Alisa told that did catch Kile’s attention was the tale of Marcus Taylor and the Troll of Blackmore.

The Troll of Blackmore was one of the four legendary open scripts, and the one Tree wanted to fill himself, but he never got the chance. When Tree was starting his probationary year, Marcus Taylor had been given credit for bringing the Troll in, she was there when Rick gave him the news. She never did find out why Tree was so eager to go after the Troll, and now she’ll never know.

If the story could be believed, Marcus defeated the troll with his bare hands in a fight that lasted four days, wrestling him to the ground and eventually pulling the Troll's head off. There were a few variations to the story, mostly about the weather and how long the battle actually took, but it was a tale that was widely accepted in the town of Coopervill. Kile had learned about the different species of trolls found in Aru, and there were four basic types, and none of them had detachable heads, so the story just didn’t sit well with her.

“I should really be getting to the Guild house.” She said as she finished off her cup of tea. It was a sight better than what Morgan had been serving her during her visits to the mystic, but it still wasn’t to her taste.

“And I have two more pies to bake before tomorrow.” Alisa laughed as she cleared away the table.

“I will pay you for those…when I get settled in.”

“Oh please, I told you not to worry about it, it was no big deal, and I enjoy baking. I’ll just tack the cost of the pies onto your monthly bill.” She grinned.

She still couldn’t tell if the young lady was serious or not, but when it came to money she was sure Alisa didn’t joke about it too much. She had managed to turn her father’s failing venture into a thriving business in as little as two years. Although, Kile had to admit, she could have chosen a better name for it. The Apple Blossom Livery would not have been her first choice for the name of the stables. Alisa’s only competition in town was a place called the Bent Shoe, and even if that wasn’t a great name either, it was a little easier to use in a conversation. She just couldn’t see anyone like Master Boraro checking in at the local inn and telling everyone that he had just put his horse up at the Apple Blossom, it was kind of a conversation killer.

Grabbing her hat from the back of the chair she checked on Vesper who was sleeping soundly in the courier bag before heading for the door. Alisa walked her down the front path to the main road.

“Now it’s easy.” Alisa told her as she stepped out into the road pointing toward the west. “You want to take this road until you reach the Bird and Bay, head north, across the bridge, then take the first right at Old Lester’s place, past the Mining Company and you’ll find the Guild house.”

“Oh, is that all, am I going to need a horse to get there?” She asked

“No, of course not. It may seem far but this town isn’t all that big. You’ll get the hang of it before long. Look, you can see the Bird and Bay from here.”

“Well, if you don’t hear from me in a couple of days, you may want to send a search party.”

“And I thought Hunters were supposed to be able to find their way anywhere.” Alisa laughed.

“That’s only in the wild.” She replied as she hoisted her pack onto her shoulder and set off down the road.

 

The town was well established and relatively old, if the trees and the hedges that surround the small houses had anything to say about it. Most of the structures were built of stone with wooden or thatched roofs, but then if Coopervill was a mining town, that shouldn’t come as a big surprise, even the roads were covered in gravel.

It took her only three minutes to reach the center of town, or what she belied to be the center of town. There was a huge round stone dais raised a few feet above the graveled street, and a small flight of wooden steps running up one side to reach it. On her right a large burly man standing in front of a forge, with a hammer in his hand was flattening thick pieces of metal into thin pieces of metal and on her left a horse drawn carriage was loading supplies from a dry good store. Across from her was the Bird and Bay, or at least that's what the sign might have read that hung over door if she was close enough to see it. Two men sat outside on an old bench starring up at the sky as they drank their pint.

She took the north road up through town, passing a few other small businesses along the way. For a mining town they seemed to have everything here to meet their needs, not unlike Riverport. There was a Taylor, some kind of meeting hall, even a hospital of sorts. She wondered what Daniel would have thought of the small house that probably couldn’t hold more than one patient at a time, but then Daniel would already be surveying the Guild hospital of Littenbeck by now.

She stopped to watch the river flow down from the mountains and meandered its way to the sea or possible the ocean. Two boys were throwing sticks in the water and watched them as they floated under the bridge and disappear from sites, something that she did with her brother down by the creek back in Riverport. She often wondered what it would be like to build a raft and just sail to the sea, although the creek back home wasn’t deep enough or she might have tried it. The boys stopped only for a moment to watch her pass, then returned to their game, it was either a lack of curiosity on their part or sticks floating on the water were more interesting than she was.

Old Lester’s place was a pub, and probably a rowdy one from the looks of the exterior. At the moment it was pretty quiet, but she was sure that when the sun went down and the miner came back from the mines, the pub would be more active, this was a place she would have to avoid. The gravel road split in two, one running up toward the western tree line, the other followed the river back toward town. It wasn’t difficult to locate the Mining Company on the River road, it was the largest building she had seen in town so far and bore the name Denal Province Mining Company in large white letters across the front of the building with, what she assumed was, the Denal Province coat of arms. Further up the river road she saw something she had recognized, a large green banner flapping in the breeze, bearing the symbol of the Hunter’s Guild.

The Guild House was made of stone and wood, and looked very much like the rest of the building in Coopervill, if it weren’t for the green banner outside she would have passed it, thinking it was just another house. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but in retrospect, she hadn’t thought much of the academy when she first arrived there either.

As she walked up the narrow path, she saw a plaque bearing the hunters symbol on the right side of the door, the familiar sword and arrow crossed on a field of green, although the wooden plaque hadn’t been green for ages, the symbol was still the same. Over the top of the door a wooden sign read “Hunter Guild House Local Chapter 42.” She wasn’t sure if the chapter number was significant or not since they were never told about it back at the academy, but she committed it to memory just in case. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves, opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was dimly lit and had that dusty damp smell, like an abandoned building which really needed some airing out. A few chairs leaned up against the front wall along with a bullion board that had so many pieces of paper pinned to it that it was difficult to tell if there was actually a bulletin board behind it or not. The shutters to the windows were closed, letting in a filtered light, adding to the general gloom of the place.

Across the room was a huge reception window, opening into the main office, to the right of the window was a flight of stairs leading to the second floor, to the left was a door, probably a means of getting in and out of the office.

The reception window was set rather height, not designed for short girls and she was forced to lean over the sill to look into the office.

“Is there anyone here?” She called out.

“Just a minute, just a minute.” Came the rather dull response.

She explored the room a bit more as she waited for the owner of the voice to come to the window. She started to read the messages posted on the bulletin board. They appeared to be job requests for the guild, some of them dating back several years, one was even older than she was. They covered everything from lost pets to someone requesting a hunter to guard their vegetable garden from rabbits.

“What can I do for you miss?”

Kile turned to see a thin old man staring at her from behind the reception window. He was bald, with little tufts of gray hair around his ears which kind of stuck out from the side of his head. He wore a pair of thin wire rimmed glasses that hung on the end of his rather bulbous nose, and his attire was as drab and as unkempt as the rest of the Guild House.

“Well, I don’t have all day.” He said.

There was absolutely no fluctuation in his voice, he didn’t raise it, he didn’t lower. It just stayed at the same monotone level.

“You did come here for something, didn’t you?”

“Oh, yes sir, sorry sir.” Kile said as she reached into the courier bag and pulled out her papers.

“What is the nature of your request?”

“My request?”

“You did come here to request the services of a Hunter, did you not?”

“Um… no sir.”

“Then I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place.” He said and he started to turn away from the window.

“Excuse me sir, I am a Hunter.”

The old man stopped and looked at her, and it was the first expression that she had seen on his face since entering the House. It was one of half curiosity, and half annoyance.

“You know from the Hunter’s Academy, this is the Guild House… isn’t it?” She asked. It would be her luck to be in the wrong place.

“Yes this is the Guild House and I know what a Hunter is little girl, you don’t look much like a Hunter to me.”

She quickly handed him her certification papers as well as her destination papers. The old man pushed his glasses up his nose with on bony finger as he unrolled the scrolls and began to read them surprising fast, muttering to himself all the while. He looked up once at Kile and then back down at the papers, and seemed to be rereading them.

“Says here you’re Hunter.” He admitted after a few moments.

“Yes sir. Probationary level five Hunter sir.”

“You’re a…”

Here it comes she thought. She knew what this was about; he was just another member of the Guild on a long list of members that didn’t think a girl could be a hunter

“… a bit short to be a Hunter.”

Now that was not something she hadn’t expected.

“Never mind, Well… everything seems to be in order.” He said and then double checked the scrolls just to make sure. He took her papers and filed them away, or rather stuffed them into a box under the window and proceeded to pull out a small stack of papers, dropping them on the sill in front of her. “Fill these out.”

She took the papers and flipped through them. “What are they sir?” She asked.

“Standard consent forms, liability forms, burial request forms, next of kin forms…”

“Yes sir.” She replied cutting him short as she moved away from the window. She looked around for a place to sit and chose one of the chairs that rested up against the wall. Wiping off the layer of dust she took a seat beside the door and started to fill out the forms. They were as depressing as the old man had made them out to be.

Where do you want to be buried when you die? How do you want to be buried when you die? Who’s getting everything when you die? It was as if the Guild didn’t want you to survive. There were also several legal forms so the Guild couldn’t be held responsible if pieces of you were lost on an assignment. Then there was another form that simply stated that a Hunter takes full responsibilities in the event of a failed assignment, in other words, if the person the hunter was supposed to be protecting dies, it’s basically the Hunter’s fault.

She began to fill out the paperwork the best she could, it didn’t really mean much in the long run. Her family could never come after the Guild if something happened to her and if she did snuff it, they wouldn’t be able to afford having her brought back to Riverport for burial anyway. She was pretty much on her own. Under the topic of how she wants to be buried, she did think about putting down a request to be set to sea in a burning boat, something that she had read about in one of the cultural books that Master Adams had lent her. It seemed like a very dignified funeral procedure, but one that that Guild almost certainly wouldn’t honor. They’d probably just stuff her into a wicker basket, set it on fire and drop her into the nearest lake. The thought of it actually made her laugh.

“And what do we have here?”

Kile looked up from her half finished forms to see a tall, lean man with long dark hair and a thin mustache that draped down each side of smiling mouth. He had dark eyes that seemed to stare through her and she felt a little uncomfortable.

“Do you mind, you’re blocking my light.” She replied.

“Ooh, a feisty one. Well little lady, if you're looking for a hunter, there’s no need to fill out those papers, you found me, I am the Hunter of love.” He said as he struck a pose, the whole act was so humorous that she essentially laughed in his face.

“Does that really work?” She asked him.

The smile on his face suddenly disappeared, replaced by a look of confusion, it was clear that this was not the reaction he usually received.

“Well… um…”

“Steele, leave the young lady alone.” The old man said from the window.

“Maybe next time then.” Steele replied, his suave smile returning as he brushed back his long hair.

“Great, I’ll write you in, right after being dropped into the lake.” Kile said as she returned to her forms. He didn’t understand what she meant, but he knew he wasn’t making any headway as he walked over to the Old man at the counter.

“What gives Kane?” He asked as he got closer.

They started to talk about something that Kile couldn’t make out so she returned to her forms, only a few dozen more sheets to read through and fill out.

“A Hunter?” Steele cried as he glanced over at Kile, she didn’t bother to look up as he came walking back over.

“You’re a Hunter?”

“That's what my papers say.” She replied, still filling out more of the forms.

“Well… um… look that whole hunter of love thing, I’m really sorry about that. I thought you were just another civilian, I didn’t know you were one of us.”

This time she did look up.

“One of us?”

“Well yeah, if you’re a hunter, then you’re one of us. Hunters watch out for one another, especially up here in no mans land. The name is Steele, James Ril’em Steele, but most people just call me Steele.”

Steele, of course, not copper, not iron but Steele, well, Alisa was close.

“Veller, Kile Veller.” She said, shaking the man’s hand.

“So, you’ve been assigned to us and the great town of Coopervill.” He said with little enthusiasm. “Who did you manage to tick off?”

“Just about everyone.” She replied.

“Figures. I’d love to show you around the place, but I’m heading out again.” Steele said, and held up a hand full of scrolls to prove it.

“Maybe next time.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” The Hunter grinned. “I’ll see you later old man.” Steele called out as left through the front door, letting it slam shut behind him.

Kile finished the last page of the last form, scribbling her signature on the last line and stacked the papers back up. She brought the entire bundle up to the window were the old man stuffed them into the same box he had stuffed her other papers into without even looking at them.

“You’re going to want to watch yourself around that one.” He said as he gestured toward the door that Steele had just used. “He’s got a reputation around town.”

“Yes sir.”

“First things first, I’m not a sir, I work for a living. The name is Samuel Kane. You may call me Kane.”

“Yes sir… ah… Mr. Kane.”

He mumbled something, probably nothing that she wanted to hear, although she did catch the words “probie”, “rookie” and “cadet”. He disappeared under the reception desk and came up with even more papers, fortunately he didn’t hand them all to her, and instead placed them on his side of the window sill.

“You’re not scheduled to start for another two week, not that it means much to me. You’ll be staying at the Bird and Bay inn.” Kane told her as he took the first sheet from the top of the stack and scribbled what she figured was his name along the bottom. “The guild provides two meals a day as well as a room while you on probation, you’ll eat these at the Bird and Bay, if you don’t eat there, you pay for your own food, understand.”

“Yes sir… Mr. Kane sir.”

Kane shook his head and sighed as he filled out some more lines on the paper before handing it to Kile.

“Give this to the proprietor of the Bird. He’ll know what to do with it.”

The old man flicked through the papers and pulled out another sheet somewhere in the middle of the stack and began to fill it out.

“Your mount will be stabled at the Bent Shoe…”

“Um sir… Mr. Kane… sir, my horse is already at the… Apple Blossom.”

It was a difficult name to use in casual conversation as she thought it would be.

“The Apple Blossom Livery?”

“Yes sir.”

Kane crumpled the sheet of paper, tossed it in the general direction of a waist paper basket, which it never reached, and pulled out another sheet. He started filling it out.

“Your mount will be stabled at the Apple Blossom Livery. The Guild provides stabling for one horse while you are on probation. Give this to the proprietor; he’ll know what to do with it.” He said as he handed Kile the second sheet of paper after scribbling his name along the bottom.

He flipped through his stack of papers again, and pulled out a third sheet and began to fill that one out as he had done the others.

“Items that you may require will be purchased from Mr. Wollory at the Dry Goods store opposite the Bird and Bay. All items will be reviewed for necessity. If you purchase anything that the Guild House representative, which is me, deems to be unnecessary, you will be responsible for paying the cost yourself. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

He scribbled his name along the bottom of the sheet of paper and handed it to her.

“You will present this to Mr. Wollory. He’ll know what to do. These contracts end upon you achieving your level five certification, after that, you will be responsible for stable fees, room and board, as well as any supplies that you need. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“As I’ve said, you are not scheduled to start for another two weeks, but there are always deliveries to be made. Assignment scripts are on a first come first served basis. If you want to work, report here tomorrow morning, the earlier the better. There are also the open scripts on the board. Those that are deemed unimportant or too trivial to be assigned, but for a probie they may help you become more familiar with the people of Coopervill as well as the surrounding area, you're going to be here for a while. Do you have any questions Probationary level five Hunter Kile Veller?”

“No sir.”

“Then get out here.” The old man said as he walked away from the window and disappeared into the back room.

 

Kile stepped back out into the street, it was getting late and she was starting to get hungry, tea and pie only went so far. She sorted through the papers that Kane had given her. The one for Alisa could wait until tomorrow, she wouldn’t be expecting her back today and she didn’t need the information on the paper until the end of the month anyway. As for the sheet for Mr. Wollory, that could also wait until she actually had to go to the dry good store for supplies, which meant her next stop would be the Bird and Bay.

She followed the river road back to the bridge, the two boys floating sticks were long gone, probably back home having their own meals. She headed back toward the center of town and back to the large building that she had assumed was the Bird and Bay.

It was a tall two story structure with a wide sloping roof, several chimneys and a lot of windows. The two ends of the building actually wrapped around to the front so that the front door was set back and covered by the second floor, the sign that hung over the entrance didn’t actually say the Bird and Bay, it was closer to the “ird ad By” and there was a large bluish gray splotch below the wording which could have either been a bird or bay, it was impossible to tell.

The two old men were still sitting on the bench outside the door and reeked of rum. One whistled as she passed, the other made a comment that she couldn’t quite make out since she wasn’t fluid in the ‘drunk old man’. She ignored the both of them as she pulled open the door and entered the inn.

This must be the place that everyone comes to at the end of the day to eat or just to have a few drinks before heading home, since there didn’t appear to be an empty seat in the house. Every table, every booth and every bar stool looked occupied. A couple of people did look up from their evening meal when she entered but didn’t seem to take much of an interest in her, which suited her just fine. For a place that seldom had visitors, they didn’t seem all that interested in strangers.

She headed for the bar where an older, heavy set woman with dark brown hair tied up in a bun was serving drinks. When the barmaid saw Kile approach, she wiped her hands on her apron and fixing her hair before coming out from behind the bar to greet her.

“You look lost dear.” She said, almost having to shout to be heard over the noise in the room. “Can I help?”

“I’m supposed to give this to the proprietor.” Kile replied as she held out the sheet of paper with Samuel Kane’s name scribbled on the bottom.

The women looked a little confused as she took the paper and read it.

“Oh, you mean the owner. That would be Gus. You follow me.”

Kile followed the barmaid as she made her way across the crowded floor to the back room of the dining hall. For a heavy set woman she moved with a lot of grace, navigating her way through the constantly shifting chairs and moving people without making contact with any of them. Kile wasn’t so lucky as she managed to get bounced between one person to the next, finally being shoved forward almost running into the back of the heavyset woman who stopped to open the kitchen door.

“Gus, you're needed up front.” She shouted.

She stepped back away from the door, as if expecting it to suddenly open, which is exactly what happened as a large, heavy set man with a stained apron and wild black hair stood in the threshold of the open door, carrying a large club. There was a grim look on his face as he quickly scanned the main room. When he didn’t see what he was looking for, he turned his attention to the barmaid.

“You won’t be needing that.” She said as she took the club from him.

“Then wacha calling me out here for woman?” He asked in an irate tone.

It was clear from the way that he had come charging out of the kitchen he was expecting trouble, to be prepared so fast would indicate the trouble was not foreign to this place.

“For her.” The barmaid said as she placed a hand on Kile’s back and pushed her forward.

“This?” Gus replied with a touch of confusion as he started to look Kile over. He walked around her, checking on her from both sides and Kile felt as if she was on display. “She’s not very big is she, she’s got no meat on her. She’d break in a summer breeze.” He said a he stood in front of her, crossing his thick arms over his chest. “Why would you want to work here?” He asked her.

“I don’t sir.” Kile replied.

“You don’t, then why are ya bothering me, I have mouths to feed.”

“She’s a Hunter Gus.” The woman said handing the man the sheet of paper that Kile had given her.

“A hunter, she ain’t no hunter.” Gus replied and grabbed the paper from the woman. It took him a few minutes to read it before he started to shake his head.

“Very well, follow me.” Gus said with a heavy sigh, shoving the paper into his pocket. He pulled off his apron and tossed it into the kitchen then led Kile to the far side of the dinning hall. He didn’t have any problems navigating the main room since the main room navigated around him. When he reached the set of double doors, he pulled them open and waved her through, once they closed behind them, the sound level dropped drastically.

“A hunter huh? You’ve been through the academy and everything?” He asked as he directed her to a flight of stairs.

“Yes sir.” She replied.

“So, you got yourself assigned here huh?”

“I guess so sir.”

“Yeah, you guess so. Well, just so you know, I don’t want any problems you understand, no loud noises, no fights in the dining hall, no freaky creatures in your room no sword marks on the walls or the bedding, no burn marks on the floor or the ceiling, keep your mysticism to a minimum, I don’t want my customers scared off. Just because the Guild pays your stay here, doesn’t mean they own the place, you remember that.”

“Yes sir.”

“Nobody stays over, do you understand, I don’t want to see any late night guess or anything like that, no pets, no animals, no men, nothing, you want to do that, you find yourself some other place to stay keep your jobs away from my establishment.”

“Yes sir.”

“Yeah, we’ll see.” Gus said as he pushed open the door at the top of the stairs and stepped out into another hallway. This one had rows of doors, probably all rooms, how many of those were actually occupied she had no way of knowing, but again, since Coopervill didn’t get many visitors, there couldn’t be that many occupants. It would appear that the Bird and Bay made its wealth from its food and drink and not the beds it provided. 

Gus led her to the very end hall, as far away from the noise and his patrons as he could place her. She wasn’t sure if he was being generous or cautious. Stopping at one of the doors he fished out a large key ring and began to sort thought the variety of keys that he had hanging on it.

“Cleaning is done once a week. Leave your door unlocked for the cleaner, especially if you’re not going to be around, If the door is locked, your room don’t get cleaned. Don’t leave anything valuable or potentially hazardous lying around, I will not be held responsible for missing items, and I do not take injuries to my staff or the Bird lightly, so if you have any of those magical do dads, keep them locked away. ”

“Yes sir.”

After trying about a dozen or so keys on the lock and searching through two dozen more, he finally found the right one as he unlocked the door and stepped into the room, Kile followed.

She was expecting something like her cell back at the academy but this was completely different. It was about three times the size with a real bed and a real mattress and large windows on two of the walls and a bookshelf on the a third. Beside the bed there was a chest of drawers, a table, two chairs and a large trunk at the foot of the bed.

“The bathroom is across the hall.” He said as he walked through the room, giving it a last look over. She couldn’t be sure if it was for her benefit or for his, as if he was mentally taking inventory in the event of damage. “It’s a public bathroom, but as I don’t rent out this wing too often, you’ll have sole use of it for now. If you want to take a bath you’ll have to either stoke the fire for the hot water yourself or you can pay Chip, but don’t abuse the privilege.”

Gus opened the windows to let in some fresh air and took a small key off the top of the chest of draws.

“A hunter huh, Well, I guess they know what they’re doing?” He said shaking his head. “What does your father think of you being a hunter?”

“Not a whole lot sir.” She replied.

“I bet he was dead set against it.”

“You can say that.”

“No daughter of mine would ever become a hunter, I can tell you that.” Gus commented as he headed for the door trying to get the key off the key ring.

“I suppose you’ll be wanting something to eat.”

“If it’s not too much trouble sir.”

“Well, it is, but I can’t let you go hungry your first night here, bad for business. Take your suppers earlier from now on, before the paying customers arrive, I don’t want to loose a table to the Guild. The kitchen is closing in two hours, so you better be downstairs in one. This is the key to the door. This is the key to the trunk. Lose the key to the door you pay extra, loose the key to the truck, you’re out of luck. Do you have any questions?”

“No sir.”

“Then let me get back to work.” Gus said as he stepped back out into the hall. “Oh yeah… Welcome to the Bird and Bay.” He shouted over his shoulder without looking back as he descended the stairs.

Kile quickly checked the key in the door, then closed and locked it. She dropped her pack on the floor and fell into the bed. It was incredibly soft as she sunk into it. It would be her first night in a real bed in nearly three years, not that she could ever compare it to her bed back in Riverport.

-He gone?-

Vesper asked as he nervously climbed out of the leather courier bag.

“Yeah, he’s gone, you can come out now.”

The yarrow crawled out onto the bed to take a look around.

-He scares me. He’s loud.-

“He is loud, but being in that dining room all the time, he probably doesn’t realize how loud he is.”

-Don’t like him.-

“Why not, he doesn’t seem that bad.”

-He don’t like Kile, I don’t like him.-

“I don’t really think it’s me he doesn’t like, I think it hunters in general, which means you should probably watch your step around here. The last thing we need is to get thrown out of here because you’re in my room, it’s not like we have any money to find another place.”

She pulled open her bag and dumped the contents on her bed. Besides the meager equipment that the guild provided for her, there really wasn’t all that much in there, four small ebony boxes, a bent brass key, a green piece of cloth, an alumni long knife, a hunter’s arm badge and a few pieces of clothing that may still fit her, but there was something extra in the pack that she hadn’t seen before. It had been balled up and shoved into the very bottom of her bag. As she unfolded it, she found an old leather jacket. It was worn in places, ripped in others and faded all over, it looked as if it had seen better days, but the sleeve of the jack bore the hunter’s badge. It wasn’t exactly the same badge as the one she had received during the graduation ceremony; this one was older and faded with age. The jacket had a musty smell, but there was also a familiar scent to it.

“What do you make of this Vesper?” She asked the yarrow as he came over to inspect the new garment.

-Green woman.-

The yarrow said after giving it a good going over.

“Green woman?”

That was a new one she thought as she picked up the jacket and slipped it on, that was when she found something lodged in the right sleeve. It was a narrow box tied up with a ribbon that had been wedged in there. She pulled it out and instantly identified it by the marking on the lid, “Carlson’s Confectionaries”. She untied the box and opened it to reveal rows of peppermint imps.

“Green woman?” She asked vesper who was now sniffing through her other stuff.

-Green woman.-

Vesper replied, and within those words Kile saw Erin Silvia, dressed in her green uniform that she wore at the graduation ceremony. It was clear by the scent on the leather jacket, and the peppermint imps stuffed in the sleeves that it had to be Erin’s jacket from when she was a level five hunter. She didn’t know when Erin had slipped it into her bag, since she had hidden her bag in the stables for a quick getaway, but Erin was a certified level one hunter, finding a cadet’s bag would be nothing to her. She straightened the jacket out.

“Well what do you think?” She said as she turned to model it for Vesper.

-Too big.-

“Yeah, you’re right, Erin was bigger back then than I am now. You know, I saw a tanner, maybe I can get it altered… when I get paid.”

She placed Risa Ta’re’s Lann and a long knife in the trunk. Actually the Lann and the long knife belonged to her now, although she would probably always think of them as Risa’s. She was about to close the trunk, then slipped the box of peppermint imp in with them. Everything of value under lock and key she told herself as she locked the trunk. She placed the four small boxes on the chest of drawers and placed the bent brass key, which no longer had a lock to fit into, in one of the boxes. She wrapped the Alumni long knife in the cheap green banner and set those on the shelf as well, the first chance she got she would mail those to her brother back in  Riverport, he’d get a kick out of those. The clothing she just stuffed into the top draw of the dresser.

“So much for unpacking.” She said as she tossed the bag into the corner of the room. “I guess I’m going down to eat, you stay out of trouble, and I’ll bring you something back.” She told Vesper as she pulled her jacket around her and headed out the door.

 

 

 

***~~~***

 

 

 

24

 

She stood on an island surrounded not by water, but by clouds, swirling black and gray clouds with flashes of lighting striking just below the surface. The island was small and dominated by the largest oak tree that she had even seen. The branches stretching out above her so far that it blocked out the night sky. Beneath the tree, standing beside the trunk was a blonde haired maiden dressed in tanned leather. She appeared to be trying to get Kile’s attention, but all she could say was tink, tink, tink.

It was that rather annoying sound that awoke her from her sleep, the steady tink, tink, tink from the blacksmith’s hammer across the street. Didn’t that man ever sleep? It was the same noise she heard when she went to bed last night. It was no wonder that Gus didn’t rent out this part of the Inn, no one in their right mind would have been happy sleeping here listening to the steady tink, tink, tink of the blacksmith’s hammer, but that, of course, only applied to paying customers. She was still on the Guild’s tab, so she didn’t have a right to complain.

She lay in bed and tried to capture the dream, but it quickly faded from her grasp. Who the maiden was and why she needed to speak with Kile so badly went unanswered. There was nothing to be done about it and she let the matter quickly slip from her mind as she watched the clouds through the large windows and the morning sunlight resting across her clean white sheets. It was her first night in a real bed and it was something she could really get used to. Her bed back in Riverport, which was her only means of gauging comfort when she reached the academy, was nothing more than a lumpy mattress when compared to the overstuffed beds at the Bird and Bay, she wondered if this was what Master Folkstaff had referred to when he spoke of the desire for comfort.

There was something strange about not having to get up in the morning, sure she had to get up eventually, but back in Riverport there were always chores to be done and her father would never allow idleness, and at the academy they were called to roll by the ringing of the academy bell, now all she had was the tink, tink, tink of the blacksmith’s hammer, but it didn’t spur her to get up. She could stay in bed all day watching the sunlight move across her bedroom floor, watch the clouds float by her window and listen to the tink, tink, tink of the blacksmith’s hammer.

Like she could really do that.

Climbing out of her bed she pushed open the windows that looked out onto the streets of Coopervill. There were people already going about their business, as they carried their boxes and the bundles from one place to the other. Everyone had a place they were coming from and a place they were going to and they greeted each other as they passed on the street. It was active, but it was nothing like Littenbeck, where you couldn’t walk the streets for fear of being swept up by the masses and carried to destinations you hadn’t intended to go to, Coopervill was more… friendly.

She dressed in her hunter’s uniform, since it was the only thing that she had to wear, put on Erin Silvia’s jacket, even if it was a size or two too big and grabbed her brother’s old hat from It’s resting place on the table.

“Vesper.” She called as she unlocked her room door.

The yarrow poked his head out from the bottom drawer of her dresser.

-We going?-

He asked.

“I’m going, you’re staying.” She told him as she grabbed the courier bag from the back of the chair. “I’ll get our first assignment from Mr. Kane, you stay out of trouble.”

Telling a yarrow to stay out of trouble was like telling the sun not to rise in the morning.  She knew Vesper had explored the Inn last night, and she was sure he was eager to share with her all the little secret places he discovered in the old place, but that would have to wait until later.

She locked the door behind her as she stepped out into the hall. Not so much to keep Vesper in, that would be futile, but to keep other’s out. Gus had informed her that they clean the rooms once a week, He had neglected to tell her what day of the week that was. The last thing she needed was for him or one of his staff to find Vesper.

She could either stop for breakfast first and then head over to the Guild house for her assignment, or get her assignment first and then have breakfast. Kane did say she should be there early and she wasn’t overly hungry, probably the excitement of her first day as a hunter… a probationary hunter. The meals at the Bird and Bay were actually pretty good, or at least the one she had last night had been. It was a far cry from the academy food, and when she told Beth, the barmaid, that she was a vegetarian, the older woman didn’t bat an eye as she served Kile her supper. She would have to thank Rick for that bit of information.

The Dinning room was practically empty compared to last night. There were a few people sitting at the tables beside the windows and a few seated at the bar, but for the most part the place was quiet.

She stepped out of the Bird and Bay and into the center of town and was greeted by the tink, tink, tink of the blacksmith’s hammer. What ever that guy was working on, he was definitely going hard at it.

The walk to the Guild house was uneventful and quiet, the people she passed seemed friendly enough and a few of them even nodded and greeted her with a good morning. As she reached the guild house she opened the door and stepped into the damp gloom. This place could do with a good dusting.

“Hello.” She called out. “Probationary level five Hunter Kile Veller reporting for duty.”

“Yes, yes, on moment.”

The familiar monotone voice echoed from one of the back rooms.

A second bulletin board caught her eye, she hadn’t noticed it yesterday, but then she had so many forms to fill out she wasn’t really looking. This one wasn’t as well papered as the other one, in fact it only had a few postings, but the posting were much more interesting. These were the famous open scripts. Bounties that any Hunter could pursue if they felt they had a chance to succeed.

She was surprised to see a lot of the open bounties were vir. They never really discussed the types of bounties back at the academy, but she had always assumed that they would be mostly of the non-vir variety, something like the Troll of Blackmore, one of the four legendary open bounties, but to see so many vir faces staring back at her was a bit strange, that wasn’t to say they were all Vir. There was a dowger that had been raiding farms in Noxton, an Ogre that was terrorizing the southern section of the Denal province and something lurking in the woods just outside of Shrop. There were also quite a few postings for the uhyre races, no big surprised there since the events that took place on the western outpost last year. There was even one for a rogue wolf in the woods north of Coopervill, and in many ways that one was right up her alley. An open script could bring in a decent amount of coin, especially for someone with empty pockets. She reached for the paper then hesitated. Going after an open script on her first day as a probationary hunter wasn’t going to win her any point with the Guild Council, in fact, it may appear to them as a dangerous and reckless act. She had promised Master Adams she would keep her head down and not rock the boat. Let somebody else take care of the wolf she thought as she continued to look over the board.

Most of the vir that were posted were wanted for the theft of various sums of money or properties from different people, and extra rewards were offered for the return of objects that had been stolen. These bounties were posted by the citizens of Coopervill as well as the surrounding town. Unlike the ones on the first bulletin board, these ones were not as trivial. There was one posted by Virgil Temms, the blacksmith, another by Oliver Wollory, even one by Gus Prain, the proprietor of the Bird and Bay.

Prain, Gus Prain, why did that name seem so familiar. She didn’t have long to think about it.

“Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself?” Kane said as he leaned over the sill of the reception window.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re a probationary level five hunter, stick to class E assignments. You’re not ready for that board yet.”

“So you do have an assignment for me?” She asked excitedly.

“Probies.” Kane mumbled as he turned to yet another bulletin board that was hanging behind him.

If all Guild houses were run like this one, then the bulletin board manufactures must do exceedingly well dealing with the Hunter Guild she thought as the old man ran his fingers over the posts until he found what he was looking for. Pulling the sheet from the board he silently walked out of the room and left her standing there. She was starting to think that he forgot about her and had gone back to doing whatever it was that he was doing back there before she came in. After a few minutes he returned with a leather satchel stuffed with papers and dropped it on the sill. He pulled out yet another sheet of paper from the desk and filled in a few lines before scribbling his name along the bottom.

“You’re delivering this to Tobery.” He said, sliding the satchel across the sill toward her.

“Delivery?”

“Probationary level five hunters do class E assignments.”

“Yes sir.” She replied, a little less enthusiastic. She really didn’t expect to be given a great assignment on her first mission, but looking over the open bounty board may have gone to her head. The most important thing now was to keep that head down, not rock the boat so much. Tree had explained that the Guild would not be very appreciative of a probationary hunter that went out looking for trouble, and Master Adams had alluded to the fact that the Council would be keeping a watchful eye on her personally. She didn’t want to delay her certificate any longer than she had to, or worse, fail her probationary year altogether.

“You are to deliver this to the Guild House in Tobery. Give it to the House Master, make sure he signs for it, if he doesn’t sign for it, you don’t get paid.”

“Yes sir.” She replied as she took the paper and stuffed it into her courier bag.

“Oh yeah, and this came for you yesterday.”

Kane pulled a letter from a small cubby hole on the back wall and handed it to Kile.  She recognized her brother’s handwriting, as sloppy as it was.

“How did this get here?” She asked.

“Guild takes care of their own.” He replied.

“Yeah, but I’ve only just gotten here.” She said staring down at her brother’s chicken scratch handwriting. It wasn’t addressed to her at Coopervill, it was addressed to her at the academy, which meant the Guild forwarded it to Coopervill to have it waiting for her, or whoever delivered it was really fast. She looked up to see Kane staring at her impatiently.

“Is that all sir?”

“What more do you want on your first assignment?” He replied. “Now get, I have work that needs to be done.”

She stuffed the letter into her courier bag and slung the satchel over her shoulder before heading back out into the street. A delivery was the standard first assignment for any hunter, and she figured the sooner she got it over with the closer she would be to getting certified, and paid. The only thing now was to find out where Tobery was. She could consult the Guild map, but she wasn’t holding out any hope for that.

As she headed back toward the Inn, she noticed the Tanner was open. She pulled at the sleeves of the old leather jacket.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to ask.” She said as she pushed open the door.

The place had the distinct smell of leather, but then what did she expect from the tannery. Like the Guild house it was dark inside, the windows provided little light, especially when the shutters were closed.

“May I help you?” A thin man asked from behind the counter. He was wearing a leather apron, big surprise there, and a loose fitting tan shirt that had the sleeves strapped down by leather bracers. He wasn’t old, but he wasn’t young either, probably in his forties. His hair was black with streaks of gray and his eyes were just starting to show the signs of age.

“I was wondering if it was possible to alter a jacket.” She asked.

“Oh yes, it does need a bit of taking in.” He said as he came around from behind the counter and started to pick at the jacket she was wearing. “It's very soft leather, very worn, it shouldn’t be that difficult to do, but wouldn’t you be more interested in a newer one.”

“It’s a gift, from a friend.” She replied.

“I see.” The tanner said as he walked around her, still tugging at the edges of the jacket. He stopped when he saw the badge sown on the sleeve.

“Your friend was a Hunter?” He asked.

Why the disbelief in his voice? Didn’t she look like the type of person that would have a Hunter for a friend?

“That’s right.” She replied.

“Do you want that removed, it would avoid confusion.”

“No thank you.” She said with a smile. “I’m a hunter as well.”

“You’re a hunter?” The tanner asked. Again, there was that disbelief.

“Yes sir, I just started today.”

“Did you now?” He said with a little skepticism. He finished looking at the jacket, walked back behind the counter and scribbled some things in a little notebook. “It will take about a week, at best. You’ll have to leave the jacket with me of course, and come in for some measurements when you’re ready.” He told her.

“At the moment I’m on an assignment.” She replied. “Maybe when I get back, and I have a little extra coin on me.”

“When you’re ready, I’ll be here.” The man said with a smile.

She had a feeling that he was probably going to inquire at the Guild house on whether or not she was actually a hunter before he would even accept the job, but that was okay, he could have his doubts, all she needed was the jacket altered, and maybe a pair of those new leather boots over in the corner, and a set of those bracers the man was wearing would be nice. She deiced to get out of the tanners before she spent the money she didn’t have yet. As she stepped out into the street she was nearly run over by an overweight man in a dirty white shirt and brown pants.

“Hey, what’s up?” She cried as she stumbled out of his way.

“Oh… sorry kid… didn’t… see you… there.” The man said between heavy breaths. He didn’t look like the kind of man that usually ran from place to place; in fact he didn’t look like the kind of man that moved from place to place, and the nerve of him calling her a kid, why she was seventeen… well, almost seventeen.

“What’s the rush?” She asked, biting her tongue.

“A Hunter… has returned… they say he bagged the Ogre of Black River Falls.” The man replied as he wobbled his way past her.

The Ogre of Black River, she had just read about him on the Guild House bulletin board, well, she hadn’t really paid that much attention to it, it looked as if it had been stuck there for a few years, or possibly even decades. She was more interested in the vir bounties. Could it be Steele she wondered, he did say he was on assignment maybe that was the assignment he was on; if it was him, he was really good at what he did. He only left yesterday afternoon.

It wasn’t difficult to see where the activities was taking place; it was in the center of town around the raised stone dais just outside the Bird and Bay Inn. The crowd was starting to gather and Kile could now get a good idea of just how many people actually lived in Coopervill. The whole center of town was packed as people were shoving and pushing each other to steal a glimpse of the Hunter that brought in the Ogre of Black River. She had to see this with her own eyes, call it professional curiosity.

The closer she got, the more chaotic it got, as kids and adult alike were screaming and shouting. It was difficult to actually hear what they were shouting since, they weren’t all shouting the same thing at once, but some of it was just encouraging the hunter to show off his trophy.

Being small did have some advantages as she squeezed her way through the spectators to get a better look. Breaking through the wall of people she could finally see the Stone dais, and the man that stood upon it, and the thing that he held high in one hand. It was a severed head, but not a man’s head, it looked nothing like a man, it was the ugliest thing she had ever seen and she assumed it was the head of an Ogre. He held it up to the cheers of the crowd.

It was the first time she had ever seen an Ogre, or at least the head of an ogre, and it sent a shiver down her spine. It was not so much the sight of a man holding up a severed head, it was the fact that it was an Ogre’s head. Didn't Master Adams tell her that the Orseen were blood kin to the Ogres, and was it not also suggested that she may be of Orseen blood. Was she, in some strange way, related to that? If it was true, then she could almost forgive Master’ Boraro’s prejudice.

She pulled her eyes away from the Ogre and looked toward the Hunter. He stood over six feet tall with broad shoulder, massive arms and the whitest hair she had ever seen. He was a lot like the portraits that once hung in the great hall, standing there with the head of an Ogre in his raised left hand and large sword gripped in his right, striking a pose as his hair blew in the wind. She had often thought those portraits were exaggerated, but seeing this man now, she wasn’t so sure. There was something strange about him, this hunter, and Kile couldn’t put her finger on it. It wasn’t his stature, or his flowing white hair, it was something about his eyes, his steel gray eyes. He wasn’t looking at the crowd; he seemed to be looking past it, focusing on something that only he could see.

She turned to an elderly woman who was staring in awe at this god like being, or that’s what she thought, by the expression on the old woman’s face.

“Please ma’am, could you tell me who that is?” She asked, getting the woman's attention.

The woman appeared to be dazed and it took her a moment to actually acknowledge that the Kile was even standing there.

“That child… that is Marcus Taylor, the greatest hunter in all of Aru.” The old woman said.

“He brought in the Troll of Blackmore a few years back.” Someone added from behind her.

“They say he’s going after the Minotaur of Calder falls next.” A dark haired man commented.

“Now that takes courage.”

“Or stupidity.” Kile remarked.

One lesson she had never managed to learn at the Academy was when to keep her mouth shut, especially when making a comment about someone while surrounded by his adoring fans. Several people within earshot slowly turned to look at her.

“Wow, is it really that late.” She said as she looked at the angry faces. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” And with that she quickly ducked out through the masses of people, pushing her way back, against the motion of the multitude until she was back out into the street. More people were heading toward the raised stone dais. They were coming from all over Coopervill to see the great Hunter Marcus Taylor. She ducked under one of the awnings as men, women, and children continued to arrive. Where were they all coming from, and what was the great appeal of this Hunter?

Would she be up there some day she wondered? Would the people of Coopervill come from all over to see her standing upon the stone dais, praising her as she held up her trophy? Somehow the idea of standing up there, holding a severed head didn’t really appear to her. It wasn’t what Hunters do, or at least that was what she had thought, but at the moment she was only a level five hunter, Marcus Taylor had to be at least a level two, possibly a level one, maybe she had it wrong.

It was no good trying to get back to the Inn, not with all these people standing around the entrance and not when she managed to tick off a few of them. She looked up at the sign of the awning she was standing under. It was a simple wooden sign that read ‘Wollory’s Goods’. This was the place that Kane told her to purchase her supplies. She had no place else to go as she pushed open the door.

There as defiantly a lack of lightning in Coopervill as this store was just as dark and as gloomy as every other place. There was also that dampness mixed with the smell of wet leather and just a touch of that musty odor that one find in an unused attic. The walls were lined with shelves of supplies, everything the aspirating adventure needed and then some. Its selection rivaled that of the quartermaster’s back at the academy, but that could be due to the fact that this place has so many varieties of each item. How many different lanterns were there and what about tinder kits? There was an entire section dedicated to tinder kits.

The prices seemed reasonable, but then she never had to shop for supplies before and couldn’t really compare them to anything. She had often accompanied her brother down to the dry good store in Riverport, but that was for seed or farming equipment, she never had to purchase a traveling blanket, or backpack, but if the Guild had recommended Mr. Wollory’s store, and they were paying the bill, who was she to complain. She fished the sheet of paper from her courier bag and walked up to the counter.

Mr. Wollory was a heavy set elderly man with gray hair that barely covered his head. He was slow and walked with a slight limp as he moved around behind the counter. He turned to Kile with a smile that started at his mouth and ended in the twinkling of his eyes.

“Who do we have here?” He asked in a cheerful and rather loud voice.

“The names Kile sir, Kile Veller.” She replied as she handed him the paper that Kane had signed.

“I’m afraid these old eyes ain’t what they use to be.” The old man said as he pulled out a pair of glasses with shaky hands and had to try a few times before he actually got them on. Even with the glasses he still squinted and held the paper a few inches from his noise to read.  “Well… I’ll be. It says here that you’re a hunter.”

“Yes sir, Probationary level five Hunter.” She replied.

“Well… congratulation.” The old man grinned. “The Guild could use some prettier members. So, where are you out of Hunter?” He asked as he came around the counter and started to pull things off the shelves.

“Riverport originally.”

“Expect ya haven’t been back there in a while.”

“No sir, not since I took the entry examination.”

“Mystic Tower still as messed up as ever?”

“You’ve been there sir?”

“Sure have, but that was some time back, almost sixty years now.”

“You took the entry examination?”

“Took it, passed it, entered the academy when I was fourteen, became a hunter when I turned eighteen.” Mr. Wollory smiled wistfully.

“So you’re a hunter.”

“Was a hunter.” The old man corrected her. “I took an injury to my leg trying to bring in a bounty. Mean customer, nearly tore it off. Healers said I’d never walk again, but I showed them. Yeah, but it ended my Hunter days. Tried to go back after they fixed me up, nearly got myself killed on a routine delivery assignment. I knew then that my hunting days were over."

He fell silent for a while, as if the memories of those days were still fresh in his mind, as well as the pain. She couldn’t tell what hurt him more, the pain in his leg or the one in his heart.

“Ah, listen to me prattle.” The old man said as he brought a few more things to the counter. “You can’t relive the past, that's what I say. Maybe it’s for the best. I’ve seen the direction the Guild is moving in, it ain’t good.

“So, you’re a probationary level five Hunter that means you just got out of the academy.”

“Yes sir, almost a week now.”

“I haven’t been back at the academy in years, I’ve wanted to go, see what the old place looked like, see if it’s changed much, never really had the chance.”

“I couldn’t really say sir. I know they were doing some renovations to the Great Hall and the stables when I left.”

“I never got my portrait in the Great Hall, but then I never got past my Level three certification.” He laughed. “Don’t suppose any of the staff are still there from my days, they were old when I was young, most likely on the other side by now, don’t ya think?” He laughed again as he started to remove the things from the counter and shove them into a large backpack.

“Who ran that place back then?” He asked as he pause and looked up at the ceiling, trying to chase the memories in his head. “I believe it was an old hunter by the name of Estryneld, or something like that, never liked the man, too head strong for me, ever heard of him?”

Kile had to think for a while, the name didn’t sound familiar, but if she was doing the math right, this man had to be about eighty years old, and that was way before her time.

“I can’t say I’ve heard of him.”

“Good, good, hate to think they were teaching you young’ens about him.” Mr. Wollory grinned. “He was one of those… what are they calling themselves now, sons of…”

“Terrabin.” She finished for him.

“Ah… so yah heard about Terrabin D’al?”

“Only in passing.” She replied.

“Yeah, sum bitch wanted to turn the entire Guild into a military for hire. Never happen, never happen.” Mr. Wollory said shaking his head, he stopped and slowly look at her. “How do you know about Terrabin?”

“I had the misfortune of crossing paths with a few of his followers.” She replied. “They don’t seem to like me much.”

The old man laughed so hard that he nearly choked. “Good, good for you, Guild needs a little spirit. If those sons of Terrabin aren’t taken to you, then you on the right track.” He said as he grabbed a leather tube that was hanging on the wall behind him and set it on the counter.

“So, they’re doing a little renovation huh, well, it’s about time. The place really needed it back when I was studying there.”

“Well, it’s not like they had much of a choice, there was a fire in the great hall, and somehow it spread to the stable.”

“Really now?” He said shaking his head. “It’s a shame about the stables though, the time I spent in there with Luke cleaning them out, well, I could tell you stories about that place.”

“Luke?” She asked. It was a strange coincidence that this old man and she both spent their time at the academy cleaning out the stables with a man by the name of Luke.

“Well sure Luke… well, that’s what we called him… now what was his full name. It was kind of strange, foreign if you will. Lukane, Lukor…”

“Lukiena?”

“Yeah, yeah, that's it, Lukiena, Lukiena Elemsia Morten.” The old man shouted as if he had just found a long forgotten piece of treasured history.

Was it the same Luke? Of course that was sixty odd years ago, and although the stable hand looked ageless, she doubted if he was that old. It had to be a coincidence, just two people with the same name, the same very long rather unique name.

“So, this Luke, what… did he look like?”

“Well, it’s been some time. Mind don’t work the way it use to. If I recall right, he was a small man, a bit thin with blond hair, quite spoken. Had a tendency to sneak up on you when you weren’t paying attention. The times he caught me off guard I can tell you. It was like he just stepped out of the shadows.”

“How old would you say he was?”

“Luke? Probably on the other side by now, as I said, that was some time back. I mean when I knew him he was… I don’t really know how old he was, it was always hard to tell and he was very private man, never spoke much about himself. If I had to guess, I’d say, when I knew him, he was maybe in his late twenties, early thirties, but my memory isn’t as good as it use to be.”

Just another coincidence Kile told herself. Two men, sharing the same name, were working at the same place, were about the same age and possible looking exactly the same. It was just a long string of coincidences. What else could it be?

“Well… it was nice talking with you Mr. Wollory, but I should really get going, it looks like the crowd outside is breaking up and I have my first assignment to complete.”

“One moment Hunter.” The old man called out as he picked up the backpack and tossed it to her. “Don’t forget your supplies.”

He was a lot stronger than he looked, this eighty something year old man, she realized as she caught the backpack and nearly collapsed under the weight.

“What's this?” She asked.

“You forget, I was a hunter too once.” He grinned. “You probably came here with nothing but that Guild issued uniform on your back, a sad bag of worthless supplies, and a map that couldn’t lead you to the sea.”

“You’re right.” She said, “You were a hunter, but I can’t afford this.”

“Oh please.” Mr. Wollory said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “The guild provides for its own, and Kane will believe anything I tell him, as far as I’m concerned everything in that pack is essential. If you want to pay me back, stop by every so often and tell an old man the adventures you’ve had.”

“I’m making a delivery to Tobery. That’s not going to be very exciting.”

“If there’s one thing that I found out about assignments, there’s no telling how they’ll turn out.”

That was actually not very encouraging she thought as she left Wollory’s goods with more things than she had ever dreamed of purchasing. Fortunately the excitement around the stone dais had died down and only a few stragglers remained to reminisce about the events that took place only five minutes ago. She carried her new backpack across the street to the Bird and Bay.

“Someone’s been shopping.” Beth called out from behind the counter as she crossed the dining room floor.

“You might say that.”

“Got your first assignment did you?”

“Yes ma’am.”

She replied, not wishing to stop and talk at the moment, but not wishing to be discourteous either.

“I saw you had some excitement out front.” She added.

“Oh that.” Beth said with a smile and longing look toward the front doors, but more toward the dais that was now vacant. She was another adoring fan of the Hunter Marcus Taylor and Kile would have to make sure she didn’t say anything to upset her.

“Does it bring in much business?” She asked.

“Business, well, not much. They come to hear his tales and they return back to their shop or the fields. It doesn’t really pick up here until around noon or the evening hours as you saw last night. So if you want your breakfast, now’s the time to get it.”

“Thanks, I’ll be down shortly, I just have to sort some things.” She replied and made a quick, but dignified move, to the stairs before Beth started up again. She left the barmaid still staring at the front door, probably wishing that the great Hunter Marcus Taylor would walk in and sweep her off her feet. It was those fantasies that Kile just didn’t have any time for.

Unlocking the door to her room she stumbled in and dropped the pack on the bed.

-Kile home.-

Vesper cried as he came out of the bottom draw of the dresser and quickly climbed onto the bed.

“We have our first assignment.” She told him. “We’re making a delivery to Tobery this afternoon.”

-Tobery… where Tobery?-

“I have no idea, but we’re going there.” Kile replied as she unfastened the top of the backpack and dumped the contents out on the bed. It was more supplies than she had brought with her, but then Mr. Wollory already knew that.

Most of the stuff that the old man had given her, she already had, the only difference was that the new supplies were of a better quality than the supplies from the academy, the tinderbox and striker alone proved that. The one given to her at the academy was a lump of flint and a small piece of steel, the one that Mr. Wollory gave her contained a piece of flint, a few steel bars, some cedar tinder and a few pieces of burnt cloth all sealed in a waterproof container, there really was no comparison. She sorted through the rest of the supplies, those things that she could identify and would definitely use, she set on the table, as for the others, like the strange black oily substance in a horn, she set aside to one of the shelves until she could figure out what they were used for.

When she was finished she had a new tinder box, a healer’s bag even if she didn’t know what half the stuff in the bag was used for, a set of lock picks although she had never picked a lock in her life and wouldn’t know where to start, a water skin, and some hardtack which she wasn’t planning on eating any time soon. There was also a new cloak, thicker and more durable than the Guild issued one, but the item that she found to be the most useful was what was inside the narrow leather tube.