“I need all the candidates to line up over there,” he shouted, trying to be heard over the ruckus. “Parents and guardians stand behind your child or children,” he added, as the Mayor once more shoved his aide to start making more notes. Leo was first to walk amongst the unorganised crowd of people all shoving and pushing to get nearer the front. Jake and Mason seemed content to let their friend take lead, as they slowly moved a pace behind him.
The effect was almost instant, as the people hushed and moved aside, allowing the three black-robed figures to move unhindered to the front. Alec, seeing his opportunity to take control, once more reiterated his request that they should line up accordingly. After a few moments of uncertainty, he was glad to see them finally do as was asked, and doing it silently as well. Samuel then gestured for Sasha and Kenton to see if anybody might be suitable for the guild, and to make the most of the window of opportunity the sorcerers had given them.
Potential warriors were usually much easier to spot, as they were often youngsters who were much larger or stronger than most. With Kenton and Samuel scanning quickly along the line of youngsters they both singled out the same two people, and after discussing it quietly amongst themselves immediately discounted one of them. Despite Samuel being the man in charge, it was clear he valued Kenton’s input, and was more than happy for him to announce the selection.
Kenton stepped up to a youth that he assumed to be about sixteen or seventeen years of age. With short black hair, and standing almost a foot taller than most of the other candidates. Kenton spoke quietly with the boy’s parents, as he gestured for Alec to take the details and write out a small ticket for compensation. “If you keep hold of this,” Alec said handing the small slip of paper over, “Samuel…him over there,” he added pointing to the man in charge, “Will pay compensation at the end of selection…You are entitled to five gold crowns, acceptance of payment constitutes a binding agreement that your son is now a member of the Caldronian guild,” he said before continuing on with several other clauses and conditions.
With their selection made, Kenton held out a hand of greeting to the new recruit, before gesturing for him to stand over to one side. The first pick had been made, and after Samuel had also introduced himself to the new apprentice, gestured for Sasha to walk along the line next.
The Mayor, who once more started intervening, shoved his way over to the new recruit they had just selected, “Take his details…I want compensating as well,” he shouted to his aide, shoving the poor man forward. Samuel’s patience was wearing thin, and took a deep breath as he held out an arm stopping the Mayor’s man from nearing any further. “The guild only compensates the parents or legal guardians…We do not feed the coffers of useless, overweight, annoying men like you…Now move before I really lose my temper!” he snarled finally feeling his annoyance getting the better of him.
The man did finally retreat away from the new recruit they had just selected, but decided instead to move to where Sasha was walking slowly up and down the short line of prospective apprentices. Rangers looked for different attributes in people than those of the warrior faction, and instead of size and brute strength, looked for people who appeared astute of mind and agile. Having already been told the kind of people to look for by her superiors in the guild, she actually felt quite nervous, worried slightly she might get the choice wrong.
In the line-up she thought at least three of the youngsters looked to be possible candidates, although she also knew she would have to speak to each and ask a few questions to get a sense of their level of intelligence. She recalled some of the things she had been asked during her selection, and thought about asking questions along a similar line; after all, if her Master had been pleased by her replies then the answers she had given must have been the right ones.
She stopped at one of her possible new intakes and started by casually asking the lads name and age, noticing how he appeared almost transfixed on her strange looking clothing, as most usually were. After chatting for just a minute or so she decided she had learned enough, and although the boy might suffice in the future, she did not think him mature enough to cope in their current situation. After signalling for Alec to take note of the boy’s details she then explained her decision to the lad’s parents stood just behind him, and although they were clearly disappointed to hear their son was not quite yet ready, they were told the boy would be taken on the next intake.
As Sasha walked along once more, the large overweight figure of the Mayor kept getting in the way, causing her an obstruction. “Move please,” she said firmly placing her hands on her hips to show she was not fooling around. Alec was still taking notes from the previous applicant, so unable to intervene, and could only watch as the Mayor made a very serious mistake. “Don’t you talk to me like that you stupid little girl!” the man snarled, grabbing and holding her by the arm. “Although you are quite a pretty thing,” he added almost drooling as he looked down at her fine figure.
Sasha just reiterated her warning, and said quite firmly that if he did not let go, he would be sorry. The Mayor just scoffed thinking that being much larger than she was, and the fact she was a young woman she posed no threat. However, he was soon to learn the error of his ways, especially as he decided to grab a quick grope of her behind, forcing Sasha to make her move. Within the blink of an eye, she had managed to release his grip, and twist the man’s arm up behind his back, before she kicked the back of his knees, sending him forward face first into the dusty ground.
There were a few gasps from those looking on, and only Kenton’s quick actions saved the man from having his throat slit, as Sasha whipped her blade from its sheath and held it close to the Mayor. “Sasha let him go…We cannot afford to waste time cleaning the mess up,” he said gesturing for her to put the dagger away. After looking up at the young warrior, and with her breathing heavy, she took a deep breath and nodded her understanding. However, with a final show of her annoyance she deciding to give the man one final kick in the ribs as she turned to walk away and carry on with her job in hand.
The Mayor cursed and swore, clearly struggling to get to his feet unaided, calling for his aide to help him. “I want her arrested…Guards!” he shouted. Samuel sighed as he knew this entire situation was getting out of hand, and lowered his hand down to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it should the need arise. Sasha may have been a little hot headed, but she was under his command and as such would stand by her, whatever the outcome.
The situation appeared to worsen as a man holding a sword ran over to where they were stood, quickly followed by three more. If this is what accounted for the town’s guard, Samuel thought that he nor any would-be attacker had anything to worry about. Aside from the man at the front, it was clear by the way each held their weapons that none were swordsmen of any calibre, and he was certain one of them looked like he was holding the weapon for the first time.
He heard the Mayor shouting his orders again, “Arrest this bitch! She has just assaulted me…” However, the man apparently in charge of the town guard merely looked over at the fat slobbering oaf, before re-sheathing his sword and stepping over to Samuel. “What has he done now?” the man asked sounding a little out of breath from his short run. Samuel thought that perhaps this man at least showed some modicum of sense, and decided to explain the situation as it actually happened. The guard nodded, and seemed to think for a few moments, “All these people were witness to the events as you say?” he eventually asked gesturing to the line of townsfolk still awaiting to see if they were suitable for the guild. Samuel nodded, “Feel free to ask any of them,” he said, “But I will not have you, nor any of your men. so much as lay a finger on any of mine,” he added quite firmly.
The guard turned, and all of Samuel’s group stood close together watching on, with Sasha especially keeping a watchful eye on the Mayor, who still seemed intent on shoving his young aide around, as if he were the one to blame. After chatting to a few of the town folk the guard then casually walked
over to Samuel, “Can we talk?”
“Of course,” the young warrior replied, although keeping himself on a high state of alert, just in case the man’s intentions changed.
After gesturing they walk to one side, Samuel listened as the guard explained several things about the town’s mayor. Apparently, not only was he allegedly pilfering the coffers of the state, although there was no proof other than the word of the very aide working under him. “I am alone here, the other guards under me are all as crooked as the Mayor himself, so you will understand that I have to tread very carefully,” the man continued.
Apparently many of the townsfolk were also very much against the greedy man running their affairs. “Why not get rid of him then?” Samuel enquired not quite sure how such politics usually worked.
“He’s been in the position for years, appointed by the governments own officials in Surmont. The only reason I’m still in my job is that I’m paid by those in the capital and not him.” Samuel nodded his understanding, and decided there and then to make a few changes.
“Is the Mayor’s aide a trustworthy man?” he asked thinking aloud.
“Aye, Robert his name is, I feel sorry for the poor lad really, but to his credit he was willing to swear testament to the crooked dealings of the Mayor,” the guard replied, just looking back around to check no one else could over hear his words. Samuel nodded again, “And you think we now have reason enough to have the Mayor arrested?” he asked. The guard thought so, and with so many witnesses seeing the man assault Sasha, as well as grope her behind, he would have great difficulty in wriggling his way out of any charges brought against him. The only problem was that several of the guards in the town were in the payroll of the Mayor, and if they dealt with him, they would need to deal with those as well.
Samuel pondered a little whilst pacing back and forth, much to the annoyance of the Mayor who was still shouting for his guards to arrest Sasha. However, with Leo, Jake and Mason, stood calmly in front of her, none had the confidence to carry out the Mayor’s wishes. Samuel knew what needed to be done, and came up with, at least that is what he thought, a quite brilliant idea. “You think the town will be run properly if I leave you and the Mayor’s aide to run it?” he asked the soldier still stood before him. The man replied almost instantly to the affirmative, “But I would need new guards if we are to keep order,” the man added. Samuel had already considered that, and the answer to which was all part of his ingenious plan.
Before proceeding however, he thought it best to explain what he had in mind to the soldier. The man listened and nodded, seemingly thinking it would work, as Samuel explained what he wanted to do. It was clear that there where perhaps half a dozen or so youngsters that could make the grade in the guild, just not yet. “You are to be Captain of the town Guard, and I want you to train these youngsters to wield a sword and use a bow,” he explained. The newly appointed Captain nodded, as he was told he would be needed to give these youngsters all basic training in combat. Samuel hoped when the guild next came calling for recruits, there may well be a few more selectable candidates.
With the plans all made, Samuel and the Captain walked over side by side to where the Mayor was still cursing. “Kenton, would you please escort this poor excuse of a human being to the town’s garrison, and place him in a cell,” Samuel asked his fellow warrior. His colleague looked a little puzzled at the request, but after a second or two comprehending what he had been asked, duly obliged by grabbing the Mayor by the arm and twisting it behind his back. “Right, now if someone could point me to where the prison cell is, I’ll throw this fat blubbering oaf inside for you,” Kenton asked aiming his question to anybody that was listening.
Despite the Mayor’s expletives, the crowd actually cheered and laughed as Kenton was shown the way to a large brick building by one of the townsfolk. The guards under the Mayor’s command, realising the man paying them was being removed, had a choice to make, either they helped to rescue him, or they quietly disappeared. Leo thought one of the men in question looked as if he might try to be a hero, so decided to be proactive in his thinking. Holding his palm out just slightly he concentrated until a small glow of energy appeared. The ball of white light was not particularly amazing to behold in any way, but it certainly had the desired effect.
Samuel watched on as all of the guards, quite sensibly, decided to drop their weapons. Now he just needed to work out which ones were loyal to the Captain and which to the Mayor. With the situation finally dealt with he quietly reminded Sasha as to the reason for them being there, and asked her if she wished to make a selection for the rangers. However, in addition he asked her to point out any that she thought might be suitable in the future. As the ranger stepped forward again to continue her task, Samuel thought it best to also explain his idea to the others, as Alec in particular would need to make records, and some kind of binding contract.
With her new directives in her mind, she immediately went back to the young lad she had earlier dismissed from her thinking. “Right so we decided this one for future, not quite ready yet,” she said smiling to the youngster hoping she did not sound condescending. She looked up at the lad’s father, stood proudly behind him, and watched as the man gave his son a nodding approval.
Alec, in his new role, immediately followed behind her, and returned to taking down the notes he had started making before the incident with the Mayor. Samuel in his role as commander, explained to the boy’s parents exactly what was going to happen. “For now your son will remain here, helping as part of the town guard, and partake in basic weapons training with the Captain…Him there,” he added pointing to the very same. “However, on next intake, whenever the guild deems it necessary we will take him with us…” he added, trying to think on his feet of what to say.
“In agreement you will be paid half of the normal compensation now, and the balance when we enrol your son in to the guild,” Alec said helping his new commander out.
With the crowd now buzzing at the chance of more being selected, especially as Samuel and Kenton picked another they had considered to undertake a similar agreement, Sasha still walked back and forth, up and down the line, again and again. “She is being thorough, I’ll give her that,” Mason whispered over to Jake as the pair watched on still waiting for their turn. The pair of them though had already singled out just two possibilities amongst the crowd before them, discreetly using their magic abilities to sense any magical force in the crowd.
“I can only sense two,” Jake said quietly to Mason beside him.
“Same here, although I thought for a while it was three, but one seems to have gone. Still that’s two more than I thought we’d find in a town this size,” his friend replied. Although Leo was not there to select, being as his skillset differed greatly from the other two, he felt a little left out at not being involved in the selection. “Do you think I should just see if I can sense anybody else?” he asked, more because he wanted to be involved as to actually believing he would find anybody else. His answer was given as both Mason and Jake turned to him, and despite their faces being covered by their hoods, he knew the answer was a resounding no. “Just thought I’d offer,” he said quietly to himself, deciding to watch Sasha instead.
Chapter 3.
Sasha had walked up and down for nearly twenty minutes, and being as the crowd was now becoming restless, Samuel thought he needed to assert a little pressure. After calmly walking up alongside her, “If you don’t think any are suitable, you don’t have to pick for the sake of picking,” he reminded her. Sasha sighed, when she had been given the task of being a selector, just like the Masters, she had thought it something that was easy. Now she was here and doing the job she had been given, it was certainly anything but.
Eventually she turned to Samuel, “I don’t want to make a mistake,” she whispered, “What if I pick one and they turn out to be useless?” she asked. Samuel looked down at her and smiled, “Then so be it, but you won’t know if they are any good unless you pick
them will you?” he said. Without giving it a second thought she turned around and pointed to a much younger boy than any would have considered picking. Probably no more than thirteen years old, the lad was somewhat scruffy looking, thin, with very short dark hair and a dirty face. An old lady stood behind the boy, and after Samuel had checked Sasha’s choice, called Alec over to take details.
The lad was called Jon, and lived with his grandmother. Both his parents had long since left the scene, his father had apparently gone off with another woman, whilst his mother had just got up one morning and left, with nobody seeing or hearing from her since. As Samuel handed the old lady the gold coins, he could tell that she had mixed emotions about her grandson being selected. On one hand it must have been a proud moment to see him being taken away to live a better life in the guild, but on the downside he could tell she was concerned about living her days alone. Of course, having a large amount of gold to spend might well make those days somewhat more bearable, and for once he did not feel any regret about handing the coins over.
Fortunately for the young commander, Mason and Jake had all but narrowed down any perspective candidates to just two. One girl and one boy, both in their early teen years, and both completely unaware that their lives could change, and that they had the potential to become sorcerers. Both Mason and Jake walked slowly, as all sorcerers seemed to do when carrying out selecting duties, giving them that look of mystery that people seemed unsure of.
The Rogue Sorcerer: The Caldronian Guild : Book 2 Page 2