by Spoor, Garry
“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.