by Jon F. Merz
“Sure sounds like murder to me.”
“I’m not going to debate semantics with you,” said Felix. “But perhaps view it this way: if we don’t act - if we don’t take the proactive step of removing the offending individual from circulation - then one death will be the least of our worries. Our entire race will be wiped out. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have the death of a criminal on my conscience than know I was responsible for wiping out my entire race.”
“Indeed,” said Wolfric. “But I’ve never killed a man.”
“You will,” said Felix. “And by the time we’re done with your training, you will be very good at it.”
Wolfric watched the stream bubbling nearby, flowing over rocks as if they weren’t even there. The flow of life, he supposed. And he was getting ready to be a big part of it. He’d never taken such a huge step before. He’d never thought his own life was worth very much at all. And yet, now he was being asked to join a cause that was far bigger than himself.
Join or die, he reminded himself.
He knew nothing about what Felix was capable of, beyond what he’d demonstrated back at the dungeon. But if that was any indication, then he could certainly kill Wolfric easily enough.
And a part of him wanted to know how Felix operated. What he did. What he knew.
“There will be adventure, won’t there?”
Felix grinned. “More than you could ever wish for.”
“And danger?”
“More than you would ever expect.”
Wolfric sighed. “Very well, then. When do we begin?”
Chapter 3
But before they did anything, Felix insisted that Wolfric sleep. “There’s no point in traveling any further while you’re exhausted. You’ve been through a great deal and I want to be certain that you’ve recovered enough of your constitution before pressing you any further. You’ve already demonstrated the ability to withstand massive amounts of punishment. Now I must see how quickly you are able to heal yourself.”
The combination of blood and the wine made Wolfric less than argumentative. “If you insist. But shouldn’t we at least make for an inn so I might sleep properly?”
Felix shook his head. “No. The Burgermeister will no doubt send patrols out looking for us. If we show up at any of the inns for a miles in any direction, word will get back to him. Better that we rest here in the deep forest than risk being spotted and engaged before you are properly rested. At least when we ride out of here, I will know that you are recuperated and capable of fending for yourself.” He cocked an eyebrow as he examined Wolfric. “Well, perhaps not entirely capable just yet, but you should at the very least be able to hold your own until I can kill whoever stands in front of us.”
Wolfric frowned. “I’m not sure that was much of a compliment.”
Felix grinned. “You won’t find me complimenting you on much, aside from when you give me everything that I ask for. This job doesn’t come with fawning admirers who think everything you do is superb. You will first have to meet my standard and exceed it. Then - when and if you graduate from my tutelage - you will have the inner drive to always exceed your own standards.”
Wolfric leaned back on the grassy moss and took a deep breath. “I’m too tired to argue with you at the moment. Perhaps some sleep would be a good thing.”
Felix nodded. “Indeed. You rest. I’ll keep watch. Later on, you will take watch while I catch up on my own sleep.”
Felix’s words faded even as Wolfric touched his head to the soft moss and fell into a deep sleep.
From where he stood, Felix watched him and a vague smile crossed his face. There was a great deal of work to be done with this one, he decided. And he wasn’t entirely certain that Wolfric would be able to endure it all. But then again, time would tell.
If they had enough time.
Wolfric awoke with a start. The sunlight seemed weaker than when he’d gone to sleep. He turned and saw that the yellow orb had sunk into the trees. Felix sat at the base of a tree some distance away from where Wolfric slept. Seeing that he was awake, Felix rose easily and crossed back toward him.
“How long was I asleep?” asked Wolfric.
Felix shrugged. “As long as was necessary I would expect. How do you feel?”
“The best I’ve felt in weeks.”
Felix nodded. “Excellent.”
“But you haven’t rested.”
“I will. The priority was making sure you recuperated enough. I am somewhat accustomed to resting far less than most people would expect.”
Wolfric looked at where Felix had been sitting. “Why did you choose such a place to sit? What was wrong with staying here?”
“A very good question,” said Felix. “How about you answer that question instead of me?”
Wolfric frowned. “Another test?”
Felix chuckled. “Definitely not a test. Not even close. But think of it more as an exercise. I want to hear what you think. I want to know what you see.”
“All right…” Wolfric looked back at the position again. The tree that Felix had been sitting under was obviously old judging by the width of its trunk and the canopy it offered. Branches arced off the main trunk and swept close to the ground. It was also away from the waterfall. And if Wolfric had been snoring…
“The tree offered protection,” he started.
“How so?” asked Felix.
“The trunk would have offered concealment from anyone approaching from your rear position.”
Felix cocked an eyebrow again but said nothing.
Wolfric continued. “The tree sits a fair amount of distance away from the waterfall. The sounds of the water wouldn’t have interfered that much with your ability to hear movement in the forest.”
“What else?”
Wolfric felt his face get hot. “If I happened to be snoring…”
“Oh yes indeed,” said Felix. “You most certainly were. And a sound such as I have never heard before in my entire life, let me assure you.”
“So, yes, you might have been able to hear better by not being close to me.”
Felix looked at him. “Is that all?”
“I think so,” said Wolfric.
“Not bad. If that was a test, I suppose I’d give you a barely acceptable mark.”
“Barely acceptable?” asked Wolfric. “What did I miss?”
“The most obvious of all,” said Felix. “Yes, you pointed out the fact that the tree offered me concealment and an excellent observation vantage point. But you left out the very reason why I chose it in the first place.”
“Which was what?”
“You were my bait,” said Felix simply.
Wolfric frowned. “What did you just say?”
“Bait,” said Felix. “I needed to know if anyone was tracking us - if they were close enough to creep up on our position and take us by surprise. For all I knew, they might think we’d split up and you were alone, feeling safe enough in the forest to let your guard down.”
“But, if anyone had been following us…they might have killed me before you could stop them.”
Felix sighed. “Alas, that is the tricky part of the thing: sometimes when you set out bait, a fish will indeed come along and snap it up.”
“I could have been killed,” said Wolfric. “I thought you were going to take care of me. I thought you…” His voice trailed off.
“What? You thought what? That I was your friend?”
Wolfric said nothing.
Felix shook his head. “I’ve known you for less than a day. I’ve known of you for a bit longer than that. Neither one of these facts makes me consider you a friend. Not at all. You are my student. Or my squire if you prefer. You are here to do exactly what I say, when I say it. At this point, you are nothing more than a criminal I have been charged with rehabilitating. If that rehabilitation fails then I have been ordered to kill you.”
Wolfric looked up at him. “Would you really do that?”
“Yes
.” Felix held up his hand. “But we are a far ways from that happening. Provided you do what is expected of you and show me that you are capable of becoming what I am.”
“And what are you exactly?” asked Wolfric. “Surely you have some sort of title within our community.”
Felix eyed him. “I do at that. But the name must never be uttered by you. Ever. To do so would be to expose the fact that I exist. My survival depends on no one knowing what I am - what you might be one day as well.”
“So what is it?”
Felix smiled. “You’re rather stubborn when you’re after something, aren’t you?”
“I guess.”
“Good. That shows promise. I like that you don’t give up. That might be the first point in your favor.”
“Only one?”
“So far.” Felix looked out across the trees and then back at Wolfric. “I am known as a Fixer.”
“Fixer.”
“Yes. It’s my job to fix situations so our secret remains safe.”
Wolfric got to his feet, surprised at how much stronger he felt already. “Would you have really let someone kill me?”
Felix grinned and pulled back the cloak he wore to reveal the small handheld crossbow. “They wouldn’t have gotten close enough to harm you.”
Wolfric smirked. “Maybe I don’t hate you after all.”
“Oh,” laughed Felix. “You will. I guarantee it.”
Chapter 4
“Where are we headed?” asked Wolfric later that morning.
Felix pointed their steeds to the east and glanced back at Wolfric. “Vienna.”
“Is that where you’ll start training me?”
Felix chuckled. “My dear boy, your training has already begun. Vienna is just one of many parts that you will undergo. The journey to reach it should take us several days. Between then and now, we will camp each night in the forest. We will spend part of that time training in the various aspects of our work that do not necessarily lend themselves to being taught within the confines of a city.”
“Like what?”
Felix urged his steed to a steady trot. “How to move in the forest without making noise. How to conceal yourself for the purpose of reconnaissance. How to plan an infiltration. How to make guesses as to what the weather will be like in coming days. How to forage for food. How to build a shelter.”
“Anything else?” asked Wolfric. “That sounds like an awful lot of work.”
Felix adjusted the reins a bit. “That’s the very least of it. I will also be putting you through strenuous physical tests. As a Fixer, you are expected to be in top condition for the job at hand. That means excelling in areas of physical fitness. You will learn to run and climb all manner of surfaces. You will develop more muscles than the puny ones you currently possess. You will learn methods of combat, both unarmed and armed. You must be the ultimate member of our society. In order to do the job with which we are charged, your training is - must be - absolute. It will do us no good to send you forth in such poor condition that any mere Burgermeister can have his way with you.”
Wolfric winced. “I wouldn’t say he had his way with me.”
Felix laughed. “Really? Then what would you call it? You saw the way I handled those guards? That is what you must be able to do. You will be trained to act without thinking, without hesitating. Decisive action is a Fixer’s best tool. While others hem and haw, we act. Our decisions must be made utilizing our instincts and knowledge, not wavering because of hesitation. Hesitate in this job and you will certainly be killed.” Felix shook his head. “And I - our people - cannot afford for you to be killed on your first outing.”
Wolfric sighed and urged his horse to catch up with Felix. Felix caught the action and pointed.
“Dig your heels in just a bit and he will respond better than if you work the reins. He is trained to the same standard as mine, but he will not adhere to that training unless he respects you. Here again, the importance of decisiveness. Your steed will sense your hesitation and fail to comply with your demands. Give him no reason to argue and he will not.”
Wolfric nodded. He waited another moment and then swiftly dug his heels into the horse’s sides. Instantly, his mount sped up until he was trotting at the same pace as Felix’s.
Felix smiled. “You see?”
“I do.”
“Good,” said Felix. “Now that we’ve discussed that and I’ve made corrections, I do not expect to have to make them again. This is also part of your training. If we go over something once, you must commit to remembering it. I don’t have the luxury of time in training you. Work is never far away. And this is anything but a vacation for either one of us. Show me that you have the aptitude to do this job and the willingness to learn and that will go a long way toward carrying you through your training.”
“I understand.”
By noon, they were on a road headed east. Wolfric wondered how far they’d traveled and whether it was possible that the Burgemeister might have sent men this far ahead of them. He voiced the question to Felix, but his teacher only shook his head.
“It is doubtful he would. Men such as the Burgermeister are big fish in a little pond. He is well aware that his authority is severely limited. I doubt he would risk exposure by venturing too far out of his domain.”
“But he could,” said Wolfric.
“Of course,” said Felix. “But you must always ask yourself two questions when considering a situation: is it possible and is it probable?” He waved a hand as they passed a farmer pulling a wagon. “Is it possible the Burgermeister sent men ahead of us? Certainly. But is it probable? No.”
“He could surprise us though,” said Wolfric.
“Indeed,” said Felix. “And we will be as wary as we can be without appearing paranoid. You will have to develop an ability to be aware without looking as though you are trying to be. See things without appearing to look. Hear without seeming to listen. In this way, you will acquire all sorts of knowledge, but people will never suspect that you are in possession of it.”
“There is so much to learn,” said Wolfric then.
Felix nodded. “Absolutely. For instance, what was the farmer hauling in his wagon that we just passed?”
Wolfric started to turn around but Felix stayed his action. “No, tell me what you saw.”
Wolfric frowned. He’d seen the open back of the wagon. He’d seen the hay stacked high. The farmer had walked alongside the horse that was pulling it.
“Hay,” he said finally.
“How many wheels on the wagon?”
“Wheels? I didn’t-“
“Think,” said Felix. “See the scene in your mind’s eye again. Tell me what you see when you look back inside your head.”
Wolfric shut his eyes for a moment and saw it again. “Two,” he said.
Felix pulled his cloak a bit closer. “Good. In the future, you will need to be faster than that. Your survival might well depend on noticing details like that. We do not have the luxury of ignoring anything. As word of what we do grows, there will undoubtedly be those who will seek to stop us. They might well try to surprise us. Noticing the little things might mean the difference between life and death.”
“Over a wagon wheel?” asked Wolfric.
Felix eyed him. “You said he was hauling hay, right?”
“He was.”
“And how many men do you think you could conceal within that hay if you needed to?”
Wolfric raised his eyebrows. “Men?”
“If you had to hide them in that hay in the back of that wagon, how many could you fit in there? With weapons.”
“Perhaps three,” said Wolfric.
Felix nodded. “Exactly. What other people see as a farmer hauling hay down an isolated stretch of country road, I see - and you must learn to see - as a potential threat of four attackers.”
“Four? I thought we agreed three was the maximum amount he could hide in there.”
“We did,” said Felix. “But yo
u forgot about the farmer.”
“The farmer?” laughed Wolfric. “He was old and bent and looked in terrible condition. Honestly, he might have been half starved.”
“And if he was one of us, he would be gifted with extra strength and vitality. We are not in the business of underestimating. Anyone has the potential to be a threat. You must absolutely remember that.”
“Balanced, of course, with the probability of whether they are a threat or not,” said Wolfric.
Felix looked at him for a moment and then broke into a grin. “Exactly. Exactly. Very good, Wolfric. You see? You might just have the aptitude for this job, after all.”
Chapter 5
They rode hard for eight hours until Wolfric’s backside felt rubbed raw from the saddle. Finally, Felix led them off the main road and deep into the woods again for several hundred yards. When they came to a small clearing surrounded by dense oaks, Felix held his hand up and slid from his mount, walking it over to a tree and motioning for Wolfric to do the same.
Wolfric slid down and instantly winced. “I may never walk again.”
“You’ll get used to it,” said Felix. “You’ve never ridden that long before?”
“Depends,” said Wolfric. “I’m more used to short jaunts between towns than I am long excursions.”
“Another thing to work on then,” said Felix. “You must be able to ride all day and all night if necessary. Our work sometimes mandates swift response to a crisis. If you are not able to fulfill that function then what is the point of even trying in the first place?”
Wolfric rubbed his bottom. “I’ll get used to it.”
Felix walked his mount to a small stream and stroked the horse’s mane as it drank. He nodded for Wolfric to do the same.
Wolfric led his horse over and watched as the steeds drank their fill. They’d certainly earned it, driving hard all day.
“How many miles do you think we covered?”
Felix looked at him. “You don’t know?”