Hunter's Academy (Veller)

by Spoor, Garry

  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 discov
ered 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. H
e 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.