by Eric Vall
The rest of the meal was mostly uneventful. I was too starved and sore to really get into a conversation, and Braden didn’t pursue one either. So we just scarfed down our meals and then went back for seconds. By the time we were done, there were only about two dozen left in the dining hall.
“Bathhouse?” I asked my roommate.
There was no hesitation. “Bathhouse,” he echoed.
We left the dining hall and crossed the open yards of campus to the bathhouse. It was busier than usual, but that wasn’t a bad thing. As we entered the foyer, I spotted three women from upper years standing by the hall that led to the female baths. They all wore bathrobes, some quite loosely, and were all smiles and giggles and all pretty to boot.
One of them, a fair-skinned girl with long black curls, noticed me and whispered something to her friends as they too glanced my way. They all giggled. The girl with the curls then winked at me, and the three of them turned and disappeared down that hallway. I sighed.
“I love this school,” I mused.
Braden smirked. “Yeah, I bet you do,” he said with a knowing smile. It was a shame they didn’t have co-ed baths, though I understood why they didn’t. Oh well.
We entered the men’s bath, and I inhaled the scent of soap and fragrant oils. It was more crowded than I was used to, but we’d come pretty late, so it was understandable. We walked along the sides, careful not to trip. Most of the baths were occupied with a fair amount of our fellow students, but we finally found one that only had four other occupants. That would do.
As we stripped out of our clothes, I remembered the first real encounter I’d had with Gawain. He’d tried to be an ass to Braden and me, and I hadn’t taken to that at all, resulting in him trying to hit me. He’d missed, and I’d thrown him into the bath. That was the first volley in our war of insults and fists over the next several weeks, culminating in my victory over him in the Dance of Wills. Since then, he hadn’t shown back up at school, and I wanted it to stay that way.
Once our clothes and things were folded into the small lockers on the side of the room, I eased my sore body into the hot water. I sighed obnoxiously. The warmth was heaven on my rattled bones and bruised skin. It made the pain in my ribs feel distant and relaxed my strained muscles. I could have laid there all night.
Braden went off on his own to bathe, and I lounged in silence for a good while, content to let the soothing warm water envelop me and heal my battered body. I could hear the distant chirping of crickets and cicadas in the summer air as well as the constant gossipy chatter of the other students in the baths. It was a good cadence to lose yourself in.
A while later, we met by the lockers to get dressed after we were finished bathing. Once we were dressed, we quickly exited the bathhouse and made our way back to our dorm.
A minute into our silent walk, Braden sighed. “I needed that.”
I nodded. “Definitely.”
After more silence, I stretched my arms and massaged the back of my neck. I felt a lot better, but I hadn’t washed away all my soreness. “You know,” I began. “That was one of the better fights I’ve had in a long time,” I told him. Braden smirked. “You might be able to give Nia a run for her money.”
“Eh, I don’t know about that one,” he said with a shake of his head. “She scares me.”
I laughed. “Well, maybe not. Point is though, you’ve come a long way, my friend.”
“Thanks, Gryff,” he said with a bashful grin.
“And,” I added, “you’ve really stepped it up with Rori and Layla.”
He snorted. “Did you get me a prize, professor Gryff?”
His tone was mocking, but I could tell he was joking. “I just thought I’d compliment you. I’m proud of you. The progress we’ve all made is impressive.”
“Well, thank you.” He stayed silent and pondered that as a thought occurred to me.
“You know, I never asked, but why are you afraid of monsters?” It was an innocent question though I was a little worried that maybe I’d brought up something he’d wanted to keep hidden. Still, It was a curiosity I’d had for a long time, and while I suspected it didn’t come from a good place, he needed to overcome his fears, for his own sake if nothing else.
Braden though smirked. “You mean besides the obvious reasons like they’re terrifying and unending and they threaten our entire existence as a species?”
“Fair enough,” I said with a laugh. “Yes, besides that.”
He leaned his head back and rested it on the tile behind him. “With those things… well, I’ve encountered monsters in the past.”
“Haven’t we all?” I quipped.
“Unfortunately,” he said, his voice growing more ominous. I frowned. This wasn’t going to be a happy story.
“What happened?” I prompted.
Braden ran a hand through his hair. “The Flint Family, if you didn’t know, are the owners of the Flint Trading Company, one of the largest shipping and trading companies in all the Enclaves. We move food, medicine, weaponry, general goods, everything. You name it, and we probably move it.”
I whistled. “That’s impressive. I’d heard of them, but I guess I never equated the name to you.”
“That’s fine by me,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not one for all the fame and luxury my family name brings.” He paused and looked up at the stars. “The company was founded by my grandfather years ago. Before he died, he split it between my dad and uncle.”
“Let me guess, family strife?”
“Actually, no,” Braden answered. “My dad and uncle were twins, best of friends, perfect business partners. My father handled the business side of things, and my uncle was more of the promoter and hands-on with all the workers. He’d hired most of them, after all. Anyway, the plan was of course for the business to run through me and my cousin Bertram one day. But…”
“But?” I asked. This was when the badness would come. I could hear the tragedy in his voice.
He sighed. “Ten years ago, I was accompanying my uncle and cousin and their family as they rode with one of the shipments. I’d been visiting my uncle’s side of the family in Garvesh, while my father held an important meeting here in Varle. We were on the way here to celebrate my father and Uncle’s birthday. However,” he paused to lick his lips and take a deep breath, “we were beset my monsters from a random rift along the road.”
My heart dropped. “Shit,” I whispered.
“Yeah.” He sighed and closed his eyes. “They killed everyone except for a few caravan guards and me before a response squad that just happened to be in the area helped us. I… I w-w-watched monsters butcher my family. After that… well, let’s just say nightmares became a frequent part of my nightly routine.”
“Damn, I’m sorry Braden.” I only hoped my voice conveyed all the sympathy I had in my heart for him. “That’s certainly a sensible reason to fear monsters.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I still have those nightmares from time to time.” He flushed slightly. “That’s why I rustle around and moan in my sleep sometimes.”
“That just makes it even more incredible that you’ve managed to come this far,” I told him with an encouraging smile. I leaned over and clapped a hand on his meaty shoulder. “Most people aren’t nearly strong enough to ever overcome their fears, much less face them head on, especially something as visceral as monsters.”
“Thank you, Gryff, I appreciate it.” He hung his chin into his chest. “So now you know why I am so… skittish, I guess.”
“Again, my friend, you’ve come a long way,” I enthused. “You’ve certainly curbed your stuttering, and you’ve been much more assertive lately.”
He considered that. “True. It helps that people have stopped treating us summoners like we’re useless. Mostly.”
I cracked my knuckles, which was more painful than it should have been, but I had just been in a fight. “And we won’t stop, my friend. Not until summoners everywhere have the respect they deserve.” We had to earn it,
Braden had to earn it. Layla too.
“That’s your mission, Gryff,” he said and then smiled. “But I’ll support you all the way.”
I grinned. If we had drinks, they would’ve been raised.
Chapter 13
The next day, Braden and I made our way to Arwyn’s class. We both wondered if the beautiful redheaded professor would teach us anything new right before the exams at the end of the week. It wouldn’t be so bad if she did since I wasn’t at all worried about failing the exams.
A few minutes after everyone was seated and situated, Arwyn strode into the room from her quarters right next door.
She placed her books and papers on her desk and shed her white adept robes then hung them on the back of her chair. She wore a sky-blue blouse that was tight at her chest and waist that showed off the feminine curves that made her so perfect. The top of the blouse was unbuttoned and revealed the milky flesh beneath, her cleavage looked great as her huge breasts strained against the material.
I would have been more excited if I hadn’t already seen her in all her bare-naked glory already. Still, it was a welcome sight.
“Today, I have a special lesson planned for you,” she began. “We’ll be talking about the monster hunting industry, and how there are others who participate in it outside of the military.” She flourished her hands and gestured dramatically at the open door.
Footsteps echoed off the stone floor as a man stepped through the doorway. He was middle-aged, with a shaved head and a long red beard that was slowly turning gray in spots. He had a severe face, two pale eyes with shadows under them, sallow cheeks, and a rough set of lips that had scars all over them. He did not seem like a happy sort of person.
“This is Lieutenant Jovic,” Arwyn said by way of introduction. “Second in command of the Black Wind, a mercenary company out of Karesh Enclave.”
He stepped to the front of the class with his muscular arms folded behind his back. His eyes scanned the class, his broken lips curved to a smile. His chest was broad and puffed out against the starched gray shirt he wore. Over that, Jovic wore studded leather armor that looked impeccably made, strapped with knives and vials of potions which gave me the impression that he was a very intimidating and well-prepared man.
“Thank you, Miss Hamner,” the lieutenant replied, his voice gravelly and harsh. “With the unified military almost exclusively focused on the world-wide monster threat, other duties are left to private military contractors to deal with. You might have heard of us, we are called ‘freelancers.’”
I’d heard that term before. They went around doing the work that the military and local police forces couldn’t whether it was because the military was spread too thin or the police were under-manned. I’d seen them on occasion while traveling with my mentor Maelor. Sometimes they were morally upstanding, but others they were far more… questionable.
Lieutenant Jovic echoed most of what I’d just thought as he said, “The services provided by companies like mine are numerous but usually revolve around security work, private investigations, and bounty hunting.” He put his hands on his hips. “However, arguably our most important service is that we help close out of the way rifts that the military doesn’t have the manpower to deal with.”
A few hands went up on that. The lieutenant called on Miri, a short girl on the left side of the room with shoulder-length black hair.
“How can you go about doing that?” she questioned. “Wouldn’t you need banishers?”
“We have banishers, of course,” Jovic answered. “How else would we close the rifts after all?”
“How do you get them?” the student in front of me, Folli Dedarian, asked.
Lieutenant Jovic chuckled, which made him seem warmer than I’d originally perceived him to be. “They seek us out and join us. It’s quite simple. Most are unregistered though older banishers retired from official military service are hired on occasion.”
Nia raised her hand. Jovic lifted an eyebrow and pointed at her. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Since banishers are the rarest and arguably the most important type of mage, why would the military allow unregistered banisher adepts to roam free and join these freelance companies?”
He considered the question and stroked his beard. “While it is true that banishers are in high demand, the military leaves them alone if they’re on a freelance response squad. If a banisher is in the military, then they would be on a response squad regardless, so as long as they’re doing that, the military isn’t too concerned.” His face darkened before he added, “It’s for this reason that banishers have the least freedom when it comes to their lives among any of the magic types.”
That grim statement stayed with us. Most people knew that the military could indiscriminately draft mages into their academies and then force them to serve. I was a textbook example of that. I hadn’t any choice in the matter. While I didn’t know how people in the Enclaves felt about it, us wilders weren’t particularly fond of being forced into service. I didn’t mind it now, for I truly wanted to help the world and save people from monsters, but people deserved a choice in the matter. After all, mages could die fighting against monsters just as easily as regular soldiers.
Layla sat a few rows over from me, and she frowned hard, her brow furrowed as she stared at her desk. I knew for a fact that she hadn’t liked being drafted. She’d just been a girl living in the slums of Varle, trying to eke out a living while she avoided a troubled home life, but a freak encounter revealed her magic, and now she was here.
It had turned out all right for her in the end, but she’d been hellbent on getting kicked out of the Academy when I’d first arrived. She didn’t want to lay down her life for the military, and as much as that had changed, I still understood how she felt.
“Basically,” he said as he brought his gloved hands together, “there are far too many rifts and too few resources within the combined military to deal with it, so us freelancers are in high demand.”
Arwyn moved next to him. I hadn’t noticed before, but he towered over her, and she wasn’t a short woman. She smiled as she said, “We thought it best to inform you students of what other options you can pursue once your obligatory five years of military service are complete, assuming, of course, that you wish to leave.”
I hadn’t put much thought into what life would be like after my term was over. As it was now, I had nearly three and a half more years at the Academy, then those five years of military service. Assuming I survived that eight years stretch, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. It hadn’t been something I’d thought about even when I was still working with Maelor, which was probably the reason they had brought in the guest speaker.
“Also,” Arwyn continued, “there’s always a possibility that you’ll have to work with freelancers out in the field. It’s good for you to recognize these groups and foster working relationships with them. After all, we’re all on the same side against the monster onslaught.”
A student in the front named Trill Garrow raised his hand. He was a wind mage from the slums of Varle like Layla though he’d eagerly volunteered for the Academy. The sides of his head were shaved, with a slicked-back crop of sandy hair on top. He was a nice enough sort, and he hadn’t been an ass to me like many others had been when I’d first arrived.
Jovic crossed his arms. “Yes?”
“How do you get paid?”
A lot of us nodded, curious. I was all for helping people in my future, but as mages, we needed to make a living. I knew that once we were in full military service after school, food and board would be taken care off and we would receive a stipend. I didn’t know how much that was though.
The lieutenant laughed. “I always get asked that, but it’s a fair question. We get paid by commission so it can vary. Bounties will vary on the crime and the history of the perpetrator, same goes for when we do investigations and security work. The higher the workload and risk, the more we get paid. As for closing rifts, we get paid the same flat rate
by the military for each one. We turn in the remains of the Catalyst stones we destroy as proof of the deed.”
I raised my hand, and he called on me.
“What does that pay?” I asked.
He smirked. “I’m not at liberty to give you a specific figure, but I can tell you that freelancers get paid quite handsomely for our services.”
I nodded, satisfied. I figured that they were probably paid well. After all, I expected to be paid accordingly if I went around saving people. Maybe not enough to be rich, but enough to make a good living. Even Maelor and I had been paid well, but we’d also been in a profession with high demand. Freelancers seemed to be in the same situation.
Jovic fielded more questions after that for the rest of the class, but there wasn’t any information that I didn’t already know from my life with Maelor. Soon enough, the class was over, and we were ushered to our next one, but what the lieutenant talked about stuck with me for the rest of the day.
At lunch, I sat with Layla and Braden as usual. Today we had pork roast and steamed vegetables, along with boiled crab that was imported from the far eastern seas. I’d never had crab before, and it was amazing, though it was difficult to open the shell to get at the meat. Worth it when I did though.
As we ate, my eyes wandered and found Nia. She ate alone as was her prerogative. It wasn’t as if people didn’t like her, but she didn’t like people, and it didn’t help that most were intimidated by her. I didn’t blame them. She was as intense a person as any I’d ever met, but she had a soft side that she didn’t show to anyone other than me.
Our eyes met for only a second, but as soon as they did, her cheeks reddened, and she averted her gaze. My shoulders sagged. That shyness was new. I’d hoped her kiss wouldn’t make things weird going forward. Looked like I had to move ahead carefully.
I was thankful that neither of my friends had noticed, Layla especially. She wouldn’t let me hear the end of it if she knew me and Nia had that kind of relationship. I didn’t need her teasing me or all the questions she would pepper me with. I loved Layla, but she could overwhelm a person with her curiosity. Braden finally broke the silence of our meal.
