Hunter's Academy (Veller)

by Spoor, Garry

  “Knock it off Carter.” Daniel shot back

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “Daniel.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “What seems to be troubling you?”

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

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

  “No sir, I was just thinking.”

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

  “I… kind of got into an argument.”

  “An argument?”

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

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

  “Pride.”

  “Yours or his?”

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

  “Do you believe that’s true?”

  “In a way, yes I do.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “You knew I’d be back?” She asked.

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

  ***~~~***

  10

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “What, the test?” She asked him.

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

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

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

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

  “Good point.”

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

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

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

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

  “That must be very difficult for him.”

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

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

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

  “Why not Murphy?” Alex replied.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “Yeah… so.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  “What’s wrong?” Daniel asked.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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