Journeyman Assassin

by Brian Keller

  That evening, having seen it before, the boys were able to contribute more to preparing the campsite. While the rabbits Maro hunted today were cooking, Cooper asked the questions that he’d kept to himself all day, “Where do you expect us to be tomorrow?” The two men glanced at each other then looked back at him. Maro spoke, “Tomorrow? Why?” Cooper related what he’d overheard them say earlier today and the men seemed to relax. Binru answered, “We’re taking you to your next classroom, boys.” Maro nodded, “It may take a day or so to find your teacher though.” A few minutes later, Maro gave the meat a pinch and reported, “Dinner’s ready.”

  Soon things were packed up in preparation for the morning and they settled in for sleep. Cooper kept hearing a noise and sat up to listen more intently. It only took a moment to realize it was Kolrem’s stomach. Cooper wasn’t sure whether he should chuckle or frown. Kolrem was certainly used to larger portions, and Cooper blamed himself for their current predicament.

  Chapter 18

  The following morning everything started to feel routine already. Each boy had started identifying certain tasks as ‘his’ and soon they were underway again. Today, before lunch, they turned and entered the wood. Cooper had thought that maybe it would feel secure to be closed in again, like it felt in the city, but this was closer still and didn’t feel secure at all. In the city, he knew where to look for threats, for danger. This was completely foreign. Cooper asked, “Why are we here? Within the forest?” The men shrugged and Maro spoke, “This is where your teacher lives. Be patient. We’re almost to the campsite.”

  “Almost” proved to be a relative term. Two hours later, they entered a clearing with a small ring of stones in the center. Off to one side, along the western edge, there was a lean-to that had a small pile of wood stacked within it. As they entered the clearing, Cooper could see that the ground sloped lower on the far side and there was a shallow stream flowing from west to east. Maro led the horse to the lean-to and hobbled him. He turned to face the deeper forest and called out, “Hello!” He gathered his bow and arrows and laid them off to one side, then shouted again, “Hello!” He turned to Binru, “I’ll leave the unpacking to the three of you. Just bag up a couple small loaves and wedges of cheese for me. I’ll manage my own meat and likely bring some back here in two days. Unless I find him sooner, that is.” Binru chuckled, “You mean, unless he finds you, right?” He chuckled again. Maro ducked his head and grinned, “Whichever. I’m grabbing a skin of wine and one of water.” He tossed the skin for water to Cooper, “Top that off for me, won’t you?” Less than ten minutes later, Maro was walking west, further into the woods. Every so often he’d pause and call out. It didn’t take long before they were no longer able to hear him.

  As soon as they’d unloaded the horse and made preparations to stay for a couple days Cooper suggested to Kolrem that they practice. Kolrem gave him a wink, “Mister Skran isn’t here to keep you safe now.” Cooper smiled, “Well then, you’ll just need to go easy on me, I suppose.” Kolrem looked around them, “We have all this space. Mind if I stretch my legs while we spar? It might be good for both of us.” Cooper shrugged, “Let’s try it and see.” Kolrem began with a tremendous burst of speed, but not so fast that Cooper couldn’t follow his movements. Kolrem ran towards a tree, leapt up and kicked off of it, and launched himself at Cooper. As soon as Kolrem started running Cooper had drawn his blades. Binru witnessed Kolrem’s acceleration and Cooper’s practiced blade handling and exclaimed, “Wha-!”, then shook his head and went back to packing tobacco into his pipe. The boys met with a clash and went back and forth for the next ten minutes without stopping. Cooper worked to control the inside lines as much as he could, forcing Kolrem to adjust to the outside or use Talent to get in. Cooper took a few hits that would’ve been lethal but both boys controlled their strikes. After they disengaged, they both took a few deep breaths and Kolrem commented, “You seemed to handle that fairly well. Can you go faster than that?” Cooper shook his head, “I doubt it. You got a few hits in that I just couldn’t block.” Kolrem looked uncertain, “I seem to recall an occasion when you moved every bit as fast as I can.”, Cooper shook his head, but Kolrem continued, “Still, just now I was moving fast enough that no one else in class would’ve stood a chance. Rukle’s fast, but he would’ve been swamped in the first few seconds and Birt’s affinity didn’t grant him much speed. How old are you now?” Cooper shrugged a little, “Eleven. Should be turning twelve this Spring.” Now it was Kolrem’s turn to shake his head, “I don’t think I even want to be in the same room with you when you Manifest.”

  Kolrem began practicing patterns and combinations by himself. Cooper walked over to his bag and retrieved his old tethered gaff hook. This weapon hadn’t seen the light of day in a year or more. He began practicing with it; swinging it by the tether, then tightening the swing and whipping the hook towards a tree as he released his hold on the line. He started with some hesitance but as he got a feel for it again his movements became smoother, more focused. Kolrem had stopped. Cooper heard him call out, “What have you got there?” Cooper pulled in the hook and coiled the line before letting Kolrem examine it. As Kolrem turned it over in his hands, Cooper explained, “I had a smith in the Waterfront make it for me. I needed a weapon that I could reach out with. This was before I joined the Guild.” Kolrem looked at Cooper from the corner of his eye, “I don’t want to ask why you had this made, do I?” Cooper grinned, “You can ask, but I don’t have to answer.”

  Binru was relaxing in the shade, seeming to enjoy the fact that he had nothing to do. In fact, the only thing the boys heard from him was the announcement that the nearby creek was merely a trickle, and didn’t have any fish in it. It wasn’t quite a complaint, more of a statement laced with disappointment. Cooper and Kolrem occupied the next two days with practicing, either alone or with each other. They had tried to include Binru, but he laughed them off, “Nope. You two are already out-doing this old man. You boys have fun.”

  Late afternoon on the second day, Maro returned. He was dragging most of a deer behind him. It had already been field dressed, and one of the haunches had been removed. Maro dropped it in the center of the clearing, “Someone hang that up in a tree, please. I’ve been walking and shouting for two days, and dragging that since morning. I’m going to rest for a few minutes.” Binru got out a length of rope, tied one end around a hatchet and threw it over a large tree limb about twenty feet above the ground. He untied the hatchet and tied that end to the remaining rear leg of the deer and began hauling it up. He got the carcass mostly off the ground and then called to the boys, “This’d be easier with three of us!” The boys each grabbed onto the rope and began to pull.

  A voice coming from the trees brought them up short. “A better rope would make that easier as well.” In their surprise they released the rope and the deer fell flat to the ground. The three of them spun around, searching for where the voice may have come from. A man, slightly shorter than six feet tall, dressed in a cloak of mottled green and brown stepped from the trees nearby. He had been nearly invisible until he’d moved. As he stepped out he pushed his hood back revealing reddish brown hair bundled in a ponytail behind his head. The man had a wide forehead and bright green eyes. He had prominent cheekbones and a strong chin. Overall his features made him look slightly bull-ish. As he drew nearer, he spoke again, “I am Utsef. And you are early. Two or three months early, if I judge the season correctly. Though I was told that there might be three of you.” Maro had heard Utsef speaking, and got up, “You choose now to reveal yourself?! How long have you known we were here?” Utsef turned to focus his attention on Maro, who appeared to wither under the gaze. Maro recovered, “My apologies, sir, but I’ve been dragging that deer all day while shouting for you.” Utsef nodded, “I know. Amazing you were able to even find a deer, let alone shoot one, with the din you were making.” He glanced at the rope, up and over the branch; shaking his head. “Your rope is in terrible condition. Though I suppose for leading
a horse or hoisting a deer, it’s adequate. Why don’t you tie off to the horse to lift the deer?” As he turned away Cooper could see the hint of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

  Once the deer had been secured, Cooper turned to Utsef, “Sir, what did you mean when you said we were early?” Utsef looked over at Binru and then Maro. The two men nodded. Utsef took a breath and turned to face Kolrem and Cooper again. “I usually get a few students every year. Sometimes none, but usually one or more, and never more than five.” Cooper was looking around the clearing, “And I’m guessing you teach students how to survive in the forest?” Utsef released a quick, hearty laugh then replied, “No! Not survive, thrive!” He turned back to the two men, “How long are you staying? Leaving tonight? Tomorrow? Longer?” Maro answered, “At daybreak, I think. Unless you need something from us…?” Utsef was shaking his head, “I have everything I need… unless you come across a woman that wants this kind of life!” He laughed again. Cooper began to wonder how long this man had been out here by himself, and how long he’d had to laugh alone at his own jokes.

  Utsef turned to Binru, “Do you have a kettle tucked away in that gypsy wagon you call a pack saddle?” The older man nodded and Utsef spoke again, “If you’ll hang it above the fire pit, I’ll put together a meal that you’ll remember for a very long time. We’ll need a few herbs and tubers. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Utsef had made a hearty stew from Maro’s fresh venison along with herbs and roots he’d collected in the forest. At last Kolrem was smiling. In fact, he’d started smiling as soon as the scent of the stew began wafting around the clearing. Kolrem had leaned over the pot and inhaled deeply, “How much longer, sir?” Utsef chuckled, “You must learn to become more patient.” Kolrem looked chagrined but his reply sounded firm, “My patience shall be restored once my belly button becomes less acquainted with my backbone, sir.” At this Utsef laughed wholeheartedly, “Well said, lad! Well said.” He was still chuckling as he edged past Kolrem and began to stir the contents of the pot.

  The five of them managed to eat almost the entire contents of the kettle. As they sat around the fire, Kolrem was using a scrap of bread to soak up the last of his stew before pushing it into his mouth and patting his belly. Cooper asked, “Sir, how long should we expect to have to stay here?” Utsef turned to study him for a moment before replying, “It sounds like you’ve already decided to dislike being here. You have never been outside the city, until now?” Cooper ducked his head, “No, sir.” Utsef nodded, “Like most of the students brought to me. Most of them don’t want to be here… at first. Within six to eight months, many of them are unhappy to leave. Not all of them, of course, but many of them.” Cooper’s eyes grew wide, “Six to eight months, sir?” Kolrem added himself to the conversation, “Eight months of meals like that and I might stop being so hungry.” Cooper muttered, “Not likely.” Utsef laughed and Kolrem asked, “What? You say something?” Cooper smiled, “I said, ‘I’ll believe that when I see it’.” Utsef laughed a little louder.

  Utsef stood and ladled a small portion of stew into his bowl then carried it to the edge of the clearing. He approached a huge tree and balanced the bowl carefully as he skillfully pulled himself onto the branches above him. Cooper walked to the base of the tree so he could see what the man was doing. Utsef pulled a large leaf from the tree and laid it on a thick limb where it grew away from the trunk. He poured some stew onto the leaf and then crushed a small handful of herbs and sprinkled them onto the stew. Cooper waited until Utsef had returned to the ground before asking, “Sir, why did you do that?” Utsef had an amused expression as he said, “Because I don’t like waking up with my boots tied together.” This was the only explanation the man offered, and he walked away before Cooper could ask anything else.

  Utsef pointed at the two boys, “Come with me. Classes start now.” Kolrem was slow to rise, “Ohh, I should’ve guessed. I shouldn’t have eaten so much.” Their new teacher led them out of the forest, back the way they’d come. When they got to the edge of the trees, Utsef made a sweeping gesture in the direction of the fields of tall grass and said, “Go out and cut down as much grass as you can carry. Cut the grass just above the crown, where it emerges from the ground, and put it in piles to be gathered up.” The boys hesitated, in case more instructions might be forthcoming. There wasn’t. Utsef raised his voice slightly, “Hurry! While there’s still daylight!” The man walked out into the grass with them. The stems were at least waist high but hadn’t yet formed seeds. Utsef knelt down and drew a knife; or at least it looked like a knife at first. The blade of the knife had an extreme curve, almost half moon shaped. Cooper knew that kind of blade was called a sickle and it was more of a farmer’s tool, for harvesting. While it was apparent that it could be used as a weapon, it would certainly be awkward to employ. Still, Utsef used it to very quickly build a pile of cut grasses. Once he’d built a large pile, he compressed it, wrapped a cord around it and tied it off. He told the boys, “You’ll each want at least a half dozen bundles like this. We’ll take all this back to camp and I’ll show you how to weave your sleeping mats. Mats aren’t as good as a bed, but it’s much better than just lying on the ground.” In a little over an hour their teacher told them, “We should have enough now. Gather up the bundles. Let’s get back to the camp.”

  Once they’d reached the camp, they all sat near the fire as Utsef showed them how to arrange the grasses, overlap, weave and twist them together to make a kind of loose, flimsy cord. These could then be lined up and woven together to make their mats. Utsef added more dried kindling on the fire to give the boys enough light to make their mats large enough to sleep on. As the boys wove their mats from grass, Utsef stepped to the edge of the clearing and stretched his hammock between two trees. When the boys finished with weaving they went over to inspect it. Cooper observed, “It looks like a fishing net except that it’s gathered on the ends.” Kolrem nodded his agreement and Utsef replied, “That’s actually a fair description, though the spacing of the knots is more like a cargo net, than a fishing net.” He paused, as if to collect his thoughts then continued, “Over the next two weeks or so, you’ll both get an accelerated curriculum. Normally students are brought to me during the beginning of winter and they have been supplied with amenities; blankets, winter clothing, and such. We have a couple months before winter, but you’ll be busy making the things that you’ll need before the weather turns cold.” He noted the boys’ troubled expressions, “It’s nothing to be worried about. I will be showing you how.”

  Utsef took off his boots, climbed into his hammock and got settled. As he lay back he called out, “Maro! Do you have any use for the pelt from the deer?” Maro was seated on the ground, leaning back against the saddle, “I have no plans for it. But I would like to leave right after eating in the morning. If you intend to skin it, you’ll need to be quick about it.” Maro unrolled his mat, wrapped himself in his cloak and lay down.

  The boys began stirring before sunrise. As Cooper sat up he heard Utsef’s voice, “Shake out your boots before pulling them on your feet. You will be amazed at what might crawl into them during the night.” In response to hearing Utsef’s voice, Kolrem stirred and muttered, “Whatever might crawl into Cooper’s boots and stay there is deserving of everyone’s pity. I can’t imagine a worse fate.” Cooper chuckled as he shook out his boots, “At last, he gets a meal in his belly and his humor returns!” Utsef was busy at work peeling the pelt from the deer, making light cuts as needed to release the skin as he worked his way down the carcass. As he drew the skin down he explained, “Once I get the hide off, we’ll stretch it tight and scrape it. I’ll show you how to crack its skull so we can get the brain and fluid as well.” Kolrem looked baffled, “Why should we do that, sir?” Utsef smiled, “Because we use that to tan the hide. Otherwise it becomes rigid, curled, and unusable. Oddly enough, every mammal has precisely the right sized brain needed to tan its own hide. Almost like Nature planned it.”

  Wh
en it was time for the men to leave, the boys helped load the horse and shook hands with each of them. Maro shook Utsef’s hand and asked, “Six months? Or eight?” Utsef shrugged, “I think these boys seem clever. I think they’ll learn quickly but, in this case, that might mean I can teach them more. Come back in eight.”

  With no further discussion, the two men lead the horse out of the clearing and soon disappeared from view. They hadn’t even left the clearing and Utsef had already returned to gather the deer skin and begin rolling it up. He told the boys, “We’re leaving. Gather your belongings, we won’t be returning here until it’s time for you to go back. Cooper couldn’t help thinking that tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough for him. The boys rolled up their sleeping mats. Cooper hadn’t thought that the mat had made that much difference when he’d first laid on it, but when he awoke he did feel like he’d slept better, and he didn’t wake up wet with morning dew. While the boys packed up to leave, Utsef inspected the clearing, walking all around it. Occasionally he’d pick up a bit of something and continue his search. After a few minutes, the boys were ready to go and Utsef was just finishing his efforts. The teacher approached the fire, tossed several bits of rubbish into the coals and stirred them in. The few remaining items he hadn’t tossed into the fire were deposited in a sack. Utsef took a few steps into the trees and retrieved a small bag with straps on it. As he held the bag behind him and slipped his arms through the straps, Cooper recognized it as a small backpack. With a toss of his arms and a shrug of his shoulders, Utsef positioned the backpack firmly behind his shoulders. The pack, tucked under his cloak the way it was, gave Utsef the appearance of a hunchback. Utsef noticed the boys smiling. He looked over his shoulder, “I know, but in the forest it’s a matter of function, rather than form. As long as it does what you need, what does it matter if it’s ugly?”