Hunter's Academy (Veller) (76 page)

The next stop
would be Coopervill and her first payday.

When the first signs of Coopervill came into view, Kile had mixed feelings. On the one hand she welcomed a descent meal and place to sleep, as well as her first pay, but on the other hand she enjoyed the freedom that the road provided for her. No one was telling her what to do, where to go, how to do it, but then given the course of her first delivery, maybe some should have. It all came down to the outcome, as long as the Hunter succeeded, no one really cared how they did it, and she had made not one, but two deliveries.

She rode into the Apple Blossom Livery where Alisa was waiting for her at the door. The young woman was wiping her hands on her apron as she came down the steps, a sure sign that she had been baking all afternoon.

“Hail the returning hunter.” She laughed and held Grim’s nose as Kile dismounted. “So, how was your first assignment?”

“Uneventful.” Kile replied as she unfastened her supply pack from the pony. “As I said, it was just an average delivery.”

“Well, then you were in the wrong place.”

“Why, what happen?”
She asked.

“
The story is that Marcus Taylor captured the Minotaur of Calder Falls, single handedly, can you believe it?”

“Wow, that is… hard to believe.”

“I’ll say. He’ll go down as one of the great heroes of our time. I mean to think…”

Alisa was cut short as Grim stomped his foot and snorted.

“What’s with him?” The young woman asked, stepping back from the Mountain Pony.

“Oh nothing, I think he’s been looking forward to a piece of your apple pie. He’s just being a little impatient.” Kile replied.

-Captured the Minotaur single handedly-

Grim snorted again.

“Well, he does look hungry. It’s a good thing that I’ve got a few pies cooling in the kitchen now, but then I always seem to have a few pies cooling it the kitchen.” Alisa laughed. “I’ll have Carl take him to the stables and clean him up.”

-I can find my own way.-

Grim replied as he set off for the large barn.

“You’re going to have to tell me how you trained him so well
. I have horses that won’t obey anyone.” Alisa remarked as they watched Grim slowly walk away. “You’re also going to have to tell me why you have a yarrow sitting on your shoulder.”

“Oh, this is Vesper, he’s a friend of mine.”

“A friend you say.” Alisa replied with a nod. “You realize you have spinster written all over you.”

“Yeah, and I’m in no rush to change that.” Kile said as she hoisted up her pack. “So, anything else of interest I should know about, besides the great Marcus Taylor.” She added
trying to change the subject, the last thing she wanted to discuss with Alisa was her love life, or lack of one.

“Well, news is that the
province of Setton has just mustered their troops to guard the western boarder Lord Eeny has petitioned the crown for more men.”

“That’s to be expected.” Kile replied, although she wasn’t sure where the
province of Setton was located or even who Lord Eeny could be. She really should have paid more attention to her political studies.

“Oh yea, and there was an interesting rumor that came out of
Callor, it seems that one of their outposts was attacked by a wili.”

“Really.” Kile said, trying to avoid the pun. “What exactly is a…
wili.”

“A
wili? Oh… It’s an old legend around these parts. My father use to tell me stories about them. Supposedly they were maidens that died before their wedding night and can't rest because of their unsatisfied passion, so on a rainy night they dance naked in the town square, or capture the hearts of men on the open road, luring them away with their beauty down into the waters where they feed on their blood.”

“How pleasant.”

“Well, an outpost of lonely men, you could see where the desire to see a wili would come from. Of course there are stories of them being these hideous demons, but I think I like the beautiful maiden version myself.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kile replied as she shouldered her pack. “I better get this paper work over to Kane at the Guild House if I want to get paid.”

“Remember, we’re going shopping tomorrow.” Alisa told her as she handed Kile back her keys. “We’ll try to find you something more suitable to wear than that.”

Kile neither agree, nor disagree to the shopping expedition, but bid Alisa
goodbye and headed down the road to the Guild House. As she passed through the main hub of town, heading for the old bridge and the river road, it was clear that the conversation on everyone’s lips was Marcus Taylor and the Minotaur of Caldor falls. By the time she had gotten from the Apple Blossom to the Guild house, she must have heard six different versions of the story of the Great White Haired hunter and each one was more unbelievable than the next. He had now defeated the Minotaur with his bare hands, wrestling it to the ground and getting him into some type of choke hold until the beast either gave up or passed out. It depends on which story was being told. How was it that the tale of an event that happened no more than a week and a half ago could have gotten so out of hand so fast?

When
she entered the Guild House, she wasn’t in the best of moods. It wasn’t that she wanted anyone to know that she defeated the Minotaur, or actually Grim had defeated the Minotaur, it just annoyed her on how readily people were willing to accept the stories of Marcus without any form of proof.

“Back from your first assignment I see.” Kane said in that same monotone voice when he saw here enter.

“Yes sir.” Kile replied, setting both signed documents on the window sill. “I have this…”

“Reverse script.” Kane finished for her as he picked up the second sheet. He looked it over, nodded and stuffed it into a large box under the window before returning to the back room.

Kile paced the floor of the Guild House as she waited. She looked at the open script board to see Eric’s face staring back at her. They hadn’t changed his affiliation with the water sphere yet, that was going to get some unlucky hunter toasted. Egomaniacs biting off more than they could chew, misinformation on bounties, paper work that constantly needed to be filled out, forms and scripts that had to be signed, a general distrust toward the Guild by citizens, this was not what she sighed up for.

“Here’s your pay for the deliveries.” Kane said as he dropped a small coin purse on the counter that actually jingled.
She picked it up and held it in both hands. It might not have been much by most people’s standards, but it was more money than she had ever had in her life. She stuffed the coin purse in the courier bag and headed back out into the street.

Kile walked back through town to the Bird and Bay Inn, it was pleasantly
quiet. The activities of the night had yet to start and if she was lucky she could have her meal and be out of the dining area before they did.

“
Returned in one piece I see.” Beth commented from behind the counter. “How was your first assignment?”

“Uneventful.”
She replied as she headed for the stars and up to her room.

She opened the door and dropped the pack on her bed, and felt like following it, but she wanted to get something to eat first. The room, thankfully, was
in the same state as how she left it, even with the unmade bed. At least Gus meant what he said about the cleaning and locked doors, if they couldn’t get in, they didn’t clean. She placed her Lann and Long knife in the truck before locking it up again, then dumped the contents of the purse on the table and counted it out.

She was still on probation, which meant that she wasn’t responsible for paying her room, food or stable fees. She wondered how long that was going to last. It wasn’t that she wanted to stay on probation, but as long as she was, she had more money to do with as she needed, and at the moment that need was to send some of it home. As she counted out the coin she was sure she could live off of half the sum, of course that would mean cutting
costs where ever she could. Master Folkstaff was rumored to have never stayed at an inn; living in the wild outside the town he was first assigned. If push came to shove, she was sure she could do the same thing, she was pretty good at surviving in the wild and that was where most of her new friends were, and if that didn’t work there was always the Guild House, although she dreaded that idea.

She
slid the coin back into the purse. The only thing now was to find out how to send it to her brother all the way in Riverport. She was sure that the Guild would provide the service, she just wasn’t sure if they would charge her for it.

She brushed out her hair, shook out her clothes and headed down for an early supper.

Kile sat at a booth in the corner of the Bird and Bay, well out of
sight of the otherwise normal patrons. She was scribbling on a piece of paper the list of things she needed to buy as well as the things she wanted to buy and figure out if she had enough money to buy anything. There were some things on the list that she could probably get through the Guild, other things she knew she couldn’t and a few things she would be too embarrassed to ask for. She just hoped that Alisa wasn’t joking when she offered to help her pick up a few things, some of this stuff she wouldn’t even know where to find in Coopervill.

The waitress came around once to set down a cup of tea before heading back to the kitchen. The Bird and Bay had twenty seven different
varieties of tea on their menu, so far she had sampled four of them, and she didn’t like any of them, but she was determined to find at least one that she could say she enjoyed. She took a sip of the tea and then set it aside, make that five flavors she didn’t like. It was kind of a personal quest, Morgan had his rosemary tea and Alisa drank a kind of Apple cinnamon tea, Kile wanted a tea of her own. She didn’t like ale, or any of the strong drinks the Bird was known for, so that left just the water and the juices, but with winter on its way, it would be nice to have a warm drink now and then, the juices would wait until summer, there were forty two varieties on the menu and she would try them all.

She turned over the sheet of paper and started to scribble a few more notes on the back. She would send at least half her pay home that way, even if she couldn’t be there, she could still help her brother and mother out financially. It would have to be sent to her brother
directly; she wouldn’t want her mother to worry too much, even though that’s what mother’s do. Maybe in a year, when things settled down or when she settled in, she could take some time off and return to Riverport for a visit, although she really wasn’t sure if she wanted to go back, or if she could. So many things had changed, that was another place, and another time.

The waitress came with her meal and stopped short of
the table as Kile quickly removed the papers and waited for her supper, but the plate never came. The waitress was distracted as she looked toward the front of the room. From where Kile was sitting she couldn’t see what had captured the young waitress’s attention, all she knew was that her supper was hovering just above her table, slowly tipping toward hers. She reached up and grabbed it before she wound up wearing it. The sudden loss of the plate broke the waitress’s trance as she turned and looked at Kile. There was a moment of confusion on her face, as if she was trying to figure out what Kile was actually doing, sitting there.

“It is my meal… isn’t it?” Kile asked.

“Oh… yes… sorry.” The waitress apologized meekly as she slowly turned to face the front of the room again.

What was so interesting that
almost had her wearing her evening supper? She tried to see over the counters and the dividing wall, but the reason she had chosen this booth was because it isolated her from the rest of the dinning room.

“Isn’t he incredible?” The waitress said her gaze still fixed to the front of the room.

“I wouldn’t know.” Kile replied.

That was the wrong thing to say as the young waitress shot her a glance that would have caused Grim to back down. She quickly turned and stormed off.

“What?” Kile shouted, but the waitress didn’t turn around as she disappeared through the kitchen door.

“Mind if I sit down?”

She turned to see a rather large, broad man with shocking white hair and steely blue-gray eyes. He looked a lot taller standing up of course the last time Kile saw him he was laying face down in the mud, actually it was more like he was slumped over his horse, either way it was difficult to judge his height. He didn’t wait for an answer as he slid into the booth. He was a big man; broad shouldered, and took up the other half of the table all by himself. The waitresses were quick to respond, really quick, Kile had been sitting at the booth for nearly half an hour before anyone came to take her order, this guy sits down and has four young waitresses fawning all over him.

The big man looked up at one of the girls, and their eyes connected, Kile could have sworn that those steely blue-
gray eyes turned into a kind of golden yellow as he spoke, but it was something more than that, something that Kile could feel but she just couldn’t put her finger on.