Hunter's Beginning (Veller) Read online

  “What do you mean, what are you talking about?”

  “Are you saying the nightmare is an event that occurred in the child life, based upon actual events?” Folkstaff asked.

  “Yes.” Erin replied.

  “And you were present when these events took place?”

  “Yes. Five years ago, I was the Hunter that found Kile lost in the woods just outside of Riverport, It was the incident that she wrote about in her essay, and the basis of her nightmares.”

  “So you… were the female figure in her nightmare, the guardian that saved her from the wolves.”

  “Yeah, yeah, something like that.” Erin replied, but it wasn’t anything like that. Something did happen in those woods that night, but it wasn’t her that saved them from the wolves, not the way Kile remembered it.

  “Then why would she lose her identity to the beast as opposed to her own self, if, as you say, the incident actually took place. What did happen?”

  “What about the final test.” Mathew interrupted. “She was the only one to find a solution to the final test.”

  “We weren’t talking about the final test. We were talking about the dream interpretation.” Bells responded

  “Yes, but dream interpretation is so… boring. Everybody sees something different in it... don’t they? You see a child with aggressive issues, I see a child that wants to run with the wolves. You see… two interpretations and no answers. Now the final exam, that was interesting.”

  “You have to admit, she did find a solution.” Folkstaff remarked.

  “There isn’t a solution to the final test. It’s meant to evaluate how one faces failure.” Garret explained.

  “But she did solve it.” Mathew replied.

  “No, she broke it.”

  “There was nothing in the rules that says one could not break the test in order to solve it.” Folkstaff added. “Besides, the means were right there, just because we didn’t see it when we took the test doesn’t mean it wasn’t possible.”

  “It was a fluke, dumb luck. If the mouse hadn’t gotten caught in the stasis field she would have. You know that as well as I. If she hadn’t knocked the gem so close to the door, it would have closed off the room preventing her from going back in to get the gem in the first place. It was a string of luck.”

  “Luck or not, She seized the opportunities that the fates had provided for her whether they should have been available or not.” Folkstaff said as he sat up in his seat. “In my opinion, that is the mark of a great Hunter, therefore… I must agree with Erin. Kile Veller should be given a chance to prove herself at the academy, if not for her sake, then for the sake of the Academy.”

  “That makes it three for and three opposed.” Mathew said. “It all comes down to Morgan.”

  “What comes down to Morgan?”

  Where once stood an empty seat was now filled with the presence of a middle aged man draped in yellow robes. He had a narrow, gaunt face that was framed in white hair. One thin finger pushed a pair of wire rimmed glasses further up his pointed nose.

  “Nice of you to make time for us.” Garret snapped, more out of surprised than anger at seeing the man suddenly appear.

  “Time? One does not make time. One only uses the time that one has.” He said, leaning back in his chair. “Am I to guess that the topic of such a heated discussion would be one Kile Veller?”

  “And how would you know that mystic.”

  “Simple deduction. How many cadets could you refer to as she?”

  “He’s got a point there.” West remarked, which only received a stern look from Garret.

  “Suppose you tell us whether or not SHE has what it takes to be a Hunter, or can’t you deduce that.”

  “It would appear that you fail to understand my role in these evaluations. I do not make my decision on the bases of your tests, but simply on the evaluation of the individual and their influence of the mystic arts. Now, if you will, there is a total of three hundred and six cadets who have applied for enrollment into the Hunter’s Academy. It would appear that you have wasted enough time on one, let us now continue with the next three hundred and five shall we.”

  ***~~~***

  7

  Kile Veller lay on the cot, staring up at the cracks in the ceiling. She was sure there were a few more up there since she had last counted, before the test took place. She was beginning to wonder if those cracks may have been inadvertently caused by her. She had not counted on the door breaking, or the wall for that matter, or even the ceiling. It all came down to shoddy craftsmanship and a building inspector on the take. There was no way that was up to code and it couldn’t have been all her fault, but in the end it didn’t matter, they would find a way to blame it on her. Anything that got broken back home was automatically her fault, even if she was nowhere near it. Then what? Will they make her pay for it? They could try but all the money she had went to the expense of getting to the exams in the first place.

  Kile sat up and looked over at the small table in the center of the room. She had no idea how hungry she had been, but she made short work of the food that they had provided for her upon her return. Unfortunately the table was now void of anything edible, and she was still hungry, she was probably making up for all those opportunities she skipped during the test. It was funny how much more relaxed she felt now that the burden was lifted. There was no way they were ever going to let her into the academy now.

  It had been hours since the test had ended, what was taking them so long, probably tallying up the cost of the repairs she thought as she walked over to the table and searched the empty bowls for anything she may have missed. Say what you like about the place but they can set a good table.

  Kile paced the floor and even put an ear to the door, still there was nothing. No sound, no noise, just silence. Maybe everyone went home and forgot about her. She picked up the small ebony box that had been lying on the floor near the door where she had dropped it. She had thought about opening it, just to see what was inside, but truth be told she wasn’t even sure the test was over. It would be her luck to open the box now; just to fail after all she had gone through. It was funny, she thought, how one clings on to those last lonely strands of hope even when all else is said and done. She placed the small ebony box carefully on the table and then tried the handle of the door again, still locked.

  Kile returned to the cot and stared up at the cracks in the ceiling. No, there were definitely more there now than there had been before as she began to count them one more time. The noise at the door made her lose her place as she jumped to her feet. It was the sound of a deadbolt being drawn back, which confused her since she had never remembered seeing a deadbolt on the door in the first place. Here it was, the verdict. Lay it on me warden, I can take it.

  The door swung open and an aged man in long white robes peered in. He looked around the room once, as if making sure it was safe enough for him to enter. He was another mystic she figured. It was easy to tell from the way he was dressed and the look on his face as he surveyed the room. He looked past her several times as his eyes were slowly drawn to the ceiling. He shook his head, and sighed before he finally acknowledged her.

  “You will come this way.” The Mystic said in a soft and calm voice. He didn’t wait for her to answer, he just turned and left.

  “What about the box?” She called out after him.

  His head popped through the doorway once more as he slowly surveyed the room again, his eyes going to the cracks in the ceiling. At first it appeared he didn’t know what she was talking about, but he looked at the small ebony box that was still sitting on the table and a slight smile crossed his lips.

  “It’s yours… if you want it.” He said with a shrug and he stepped out of the room.

  Want it? Why would she want it? That box was nothing but trouble from the moment she picked it up, and besides, it wasn’t very big and wouldn’t be very useful. She grabbed the box and stuffed it into her shirt before following the white mystic out i
nto the hall.

  The mystic said nothing as he led her through the dark corridors. She knew if she asked him anything about the exam or her grades he wouldn’t give her a straight answer, if he gave her an answer her at all. She was beginning to understand these mystics, and she wasn’t sure if she should be worried about that, or annoyed.

  The old mystic walked with a slight shuffle, what comes with living in such a damp tower, his white robes dragging behind him on the floor. With nothing else to look at, Kile couldn’t help but look at those robes and how clean they were. One of the many chores she had back home was washing the bedding each week, and no matter how hard she scrubbed, no matter how many times she washed them, she could never get them as white as the robes this mystic was dragging through the dirty hallways. She had thought about asking him about his laundry, but that was probably done with some strange mystic art, mastered by the sphere of dirty laundry or some such nonsense. She giggled in spite of herself and the old mystic suddenly turned around. Kile jumped back a few feet worried that she may have broken some unwritten law of the tower by showing a bit of mirth, but he said nothing and simply waved his hand toward one of the doors. It opened slowly by itself and she could now hear the talk and laughter of people inside.

  “You will wait in here.” The mystic said.

  Kile looked into the room, and was actually happy to see the other cadets. She hadn’t realized how much she missed the noise and company of other people even if they, for the most part, ignored her, of course if they knew what she had done to the testing area that would only confirm their beliefs that she was a jinx. It didn’t really matter; the noise alone was enough for now, even if it wasn’t directed at her. She turned to ask the mystic how long it would be, but the old man was gone, clean white robes and all.

  Kile stepped nervously into the room, the door closing behind her preventing any means of escape. She had expected the noise to stop as soon as her foot touched the floor and every pair of eyes turn toward her, but it appeared that nobody even noticed she was there, and for that she was grateful. She kept to the outer edge of the mob, staying close to the walls, moving around the perimeter of the room, and taking it all in one conversation at a time. It was amazing how much you could learn simply by listening. For starters, she learned that only one person had finished the test, and that the sudden shaking of the tower which was now believed to have been an earthquake, had startled the mystics and caused a bit of confusion on the streets of Littenbeck. She also learned, more by observation than by listening, that the number of cadets had greatly decreased. There were only a third of them left now, possibly even less since the exam had started. Quite a few must have either dropped out or had been forced out, was she the next to go home, were these the one’s that didn’t quite have what it takes to be Hunters, and they were just waiting to be escorted out of the tower.

  The idea didn’t bother her as much as she thought, nor did it comfort her as much as it should. If nothing else, at least she could say she tried, and she had a wonderful story to tell anyone who would listen, even if they wouldn’t believe her. She wasn’t sure she believed half of it herself. Of course there was the downside of going home, having to marry that little troll of a boy, assuming she could even go home. It was something that lingered in her mind, but now she was away from the farm, she was on her own, who’s to say she couldn’t just keep going, to see what the world had to offer someone like her. Her only regret would be leaving her mother behind without a word, but Kile knew in her heart that she would understand, and as for her father, well, the less said about him the better.

  “Kile!”

  The fantasy was shattered by the sound of her name as she spun around, looking through the crowd to see who it was. It felt so long since she had heard anyone speak her name, she was beginning to wonder if the tower might have taken that as well. Kile scanned the group of boys, of which none were looking in her direction. She told herself that it was because they believed she was a jinx, otherwise it would be a blow to her ego.

  Alex Bartlow pushed his way through the crowd waving frantically. She smiled and carefully waved back, actually it wasn’t so much a wave as it was a slight movement of the hand to say, I see you, I hear you, now shut up.

  Not far behind him came the taller form of Daniel, he still appeared to look a little distracted but otherwise in good spirits. She was surprised on how happy she was to see the two of them.

  “So, you’re here too?” Alex said as he got closer catching his breath. “What did you think about that last test?” He asked. “Did you hear, they’re saying that somebody actually made it out?” As always, the boy didn’t wait for any answers, he just continued to ask questions. Kile was sure that he would carry on a conversation with himself quite easily if nobody bothered to stop him.

  “Nobody got out” Daniel replied, “There was no way out.”

  “No, it’s true, I overheard two of the mystics talking about it when they came and got me, one of them said that somebody managed to get out but made a real mess of the place. They think that was what the commotion was all about.”

  “It’s not possible.” Daniel repeated, but he wasn’t all that convincing.

  “It isn’t?” Kile heard herself ask before she realized she was even speaking, she would have to more careful of that in the future.

  “No, it some mental test, probably designed to see what we would do if we couldn’t complete a mission or something like that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, from what I could gather, the last part of the last test was set up so that you had to fail it, but you had choices on how you failed. You see… you get to this large room with these great big doors, and the closer you get to the doors the more the doors close. It’s impossible to get out of the room. Carter told me he tried to fake his way through, but it didn’t work.”

  “How did he do that?” Kile asked. She wasn’t sure if she should be annoyed that Daniel thought he had to describe the last obstacle to her, as if she wouldn’t have seen it for herself. It was clear that nobody, now not even Daniel, had any hopes for her completing the exam.

  “Oh, he used his arts somehow, probably tried to create an illusion of himself as a decoy. He really didn’t explain it, all I know is he said he made a run for it, and the faster he ran the faster the doors closed. If he couldn’t outrun the doors I doubt if anyone else could.”

  “I’ve seen Carter’s illusions,” Alex remarked. “They wouldn’t fool a blind man, let alone a magical door.”

  “Couldn’t he just opened the box, take whatever was inside out, and leave the box behind?” Kile asked. That was what she had planned to do if her first idea hadn’t worked as well as it did, of course she didn’t really plan on destroying half the testing area or causing a small earthquake or panicking the citizens of Littenbeck.

  “Wouldn’t have worked.”

  “How do you know? It might have.”

  “Actually.” Daniel grinned sheepishly. “That's what I tried to do.”

  “You did?” Alex responded. “You didn’t tell me that, I didn’t even know you got that far.”

  “Well yeah, but it was really thanks to that strange earthquake.”

  “What was inside?” Kile asked. The last thing she wanted to talk about was the so called earthquake that appeared to be the center of attention. Who would have thought that brining down a thirty foot high stone door would have caused so much trouble?

  “To tell you the truth… I’m not really sure. I don’t think there was anything inside, not really anyway.”

  “Well, what happen?” Alex asked eagerly.

  “Well… I opened it, you know, thinking that if I could get the contents to the end of the test it would count as passing, or at least something.” Daniel replied. Opening the box meant certain failure and it was obvious he was still trying to justify his actions, even to himself. “Well… when I opened it there was this loud bang and a large puff of red smoke that scared the l
ife out of me. When it cleared there was this mystic standing there with his hood up and everything, I couldn’t see his face. He just pointed at me and said. ‘You failed.’ Then the next thing I know I was standing in my room.”

  “Wow, maybe I should have opened mine, I wouldn’t have been stuck in that pit for so long.”

  “Which pit?”

  “Oh, the one with the sloping floor. I even sent an illusion of myself across the floor, but even though my illusions are a lot better than Carters, they don’t have any real weight to them, so they didn’t set off the trap. I thought it was safe, slid right down into the pit, landed on my ass.” He said to the laughter of the other two. “I sat down there for nearly an hour before a mystic showed up

  “What did he say?” Daniel asked trying to keep a straight face.

  “I guess he started to say “you failed.” But then everything started shaking and he looked really scared. He zapped us both back to my room, then ran out the door leaving me alone.”

  “Well then, time wise you were ahead of me. I only just got to the room when it happened. The floor was just starting to tilt and I was sliding backward trying to grab hold of anything that I could when everything started shaking. I thought it was part of the test at first, but something happened to the floor. It kind of shifted, then the left side dropped and the whole thing just got stuck at this weird angle.”

  “Oh come on, why are you always the lucky one?” Alex complained.

  “How did you stop from sliding?” Kile asked. That was a problem she had. If she hadn’t managed to wedge the butter knife in between the stones, she would have ended up where Alex did, in a dark hole on her ass.

  “Oh… I harden the mud on the floor so I could climb out.”

  “I didn’t know you could do that.” Alex replied.

  “Neither did I” Daniel confessed. “It just came to me while I was clinging on to the floor and trying not to slide back any further. During the mystic arts part of the exam the mystic said that I was influenced by water, and that the healing arts are just a part of the water arts. So, I figured that if I could manipulate the water in the mud I could harden it.”