Hunter's Beginning (Veller) Read online

  “Sorry sir.” Kile apologized as she slumped back in her chair.

  “I do understand.” Morgan replied softly. “But I tend to forget.”

  “Sir?”

  “You’re going through a lot Kile. You feel like you don’t fit in at home, you couldn’t fit in at the tower, and now you don’t even fit in at the academy. You’re striving to make a connection with something, anything, even if it is across the ages. I’m not going to tell you that things will get easier from this moment on, they won’t. In fact I fear that things in general are going to get a lot worse, but what you have to concentrate on, is the here and now. You have a gift that no other Hunter has ever had before you. You can let it control you, or you can control it, it’s your choice.”

  “I want to control it.”

  “Very well.” Morgan smiled. “There are several… abilities that were stated in the text that I think merit testing, to see how similar your gifts are with that of the alva.”

  “So, what are they?” She asked.

  “Well, let’s see.” Morgan said as he got to his feet, taking the book with him. He set it on his desk and began to scan through the pages. “Well, since we already know you can communicate with certain animals, we’ll try this one.” He said tapping the pages as he turned around. “Have you ever spoken with a plant?”

  “Oh wonderful.” Kile replied as she flopped back in her chair.

  They spent the next three hours in the attempt to communicate with every plant that Morgan had in his possession, from his beloved African violets to a Heartleaf Brunnera and even a Hearty Dagger Leafed fern that hung in the corner. She even spent a few minutes trying to converse with the rosemary, but never received so much as whisper in reply from any of them. It was rather disappointing, since the alva in the text was able to receive messages through plants, some from miles away. The idea of being able to hear what was happening back home by tuning into a corn stalk or listening to the carrots would have been an interesting ability, but in some ways Kile was glad. If she was able to speak with the vegetables, she would have a hard time eating them, and then where would that leave her.

  “Still nothing.” Morgan sighed as he took the plant away. Kile felt like apologizing, but wasn’t sure what she was apologizing for.

  “I’m sorry.” She said anyway.

  “It’s not you child, you tried, you just can’t communicate with plants. What you have might not be the same ability as what is described in the text.”

  -Of course it is the dead of winter, plants do sleep.-

  “There’s a scary thought.” Kile replied.

  “What’s that?”

  “Kaza just suggested that plants sleep in the winter.”

  “Well, that is a possibility; maybe we should try this test again, sometime in the spring I think. Plants should be active then. Is Nullus in agreement?”

  “Yeah, but he really wishes you wouldn’t call him Nullus.”

  “I’ve been calling him Nullus ever since Black gave him to me.”

  “Yeah, but he says his name is Kaza.”

  “Fine, I will call him Kaza from now on.” Morgan promised as he flopped into his chair.

  “I should probably get going.” Kile replied, although the thought of making her way back to the dinning hall was not very appealing.

  “Won’t you stay for supper; it’s only stew but its better fare than what you’ll get in the hall.”

  “Well… yeah if you don’t mind.”

  “Child, if I minded, would I have suggested it?” Morgan replied as he rose from his overstuffed wingback chair and reached into the sphere of fire. His hands and arms disappeared into the flames and when he pulled them back out he was holding a large black pot. He set it down on the table that still wasn’t there and removed the lid. The room was instantly filled with the aroma of stew and Kile realized she was a lot hungrier than she had thought. He produced two bowls, from where she could not tell and began to ladle out a serving in each one. He handed one to her and then returned to the comfort of his chair.

  The bowl was a lot hotter than she thought and she had to set it down on the edge of the table that still wasn’t there, of course she had to find the edge of the table first. A year ago this would have been incredibly out of the ordinary, now she was starting to get used to it.

  The stew was a mixture of vegetables and meat with a few spices and herbs thrown in for taste. It was a bit strong on rosemary, but she wasn’t all that surprised.

  “It’s my mother’s recipe.” Morgan replied as if reading her mind.

  “Your mother?” She asked.

  “I did have one you know.” Morgan said, raising an eyebrow, “But not for long.”

  “What happen?”

  “The red illness took her, which was… I don’t know, so many years ago, I think I was eight at the time. I grew up pretty much on my own after that, until the mystics found me.” He said, falling silent as he stared into the fire. It seemed everyone had a hard life Kile thought as she watched him.

  “I never knew that the things I could do were… out of the ordinary. My mother never told me. You see we lived in a small house just outside of town. My mother was a kind of healer back then, I don’t think there was much of the mystic arts involved, I think it was mostly just common sense. The town’s people, they avoided us, thought she conversed with the Oni, but if they needed help or someone was sick they came running. She never turned them away, of course when she became ill, they never came. It was almost three years later that the Mystics arrived, when they saw what I could do they took me back to the tower, not that the town’s people cared, I think they were quite happy to be rid of me.”

  “What town was that sir?” Kile asked after a moment of silence. Morgan looked up as if he had just realized she was talking.

  “You know, I don’t remember. Funny that.” He said as he set his bowl down.

  Subject changing time Kile thought.

  “Sir, earlier you mentioned something about things in general getting worse before they get better. What did you mean by that?”

  “Well.” He said as he stared at her. She had the impression that he was separating facts, what he could tell her and what he shouldn’t. “There have been a lot of skirmishes on the western front lately. Nothing really major at the moment, but the uhyre appears to be acting up, and there have been some rumors that people have seen brunrik on the border along with the valrik, and that the uhyre may actually be organizing.”

  “But why now?”

  “Who knows? It could have something to do with the crowing of the new king I suppose. I was never one to believe in coincidences.”

  “The new king?” Kile asked, she wasn’t even sure what had happened to the old king, or who the old king even was.

  “Of course.” Morgan replied, as if it was common knowledge, and maybe it was but not to Kile. “Prince Waltair III was crowned high king of Aru last year after the death of this father his royal highness king Jusen Waltair. It came as no surprise, the King had been ill for some time.”

  “But why would that cause a problem?”

  “I’m sure Master Voreing has explained to you the situation surrounding the current high king of Aru.”

  Kile tried to think back on what Master Voreing had taught them about the royal family, but it was very little. He seemed to have skimmed over that subject, and when he had spoken of the royal family it was usually rather brisk and to the point. She had often thought that he had a personal grudge against them.

  -Prince Roland wasn’t supposed to be the next high king-

  Kaza said from his perch high atop the shelf.

  “What do you mean?” She asked the crow.

  “You are not seriously going to take political lessons from a bird.” Morgan said in an exasperated tone. “If you must know, Prince Jonland was to be king, if it wasn’t for his assassination.”

  “Prince Jonland was assassinated?”

  “Child, do you know nothing about the ro
yal family? Prince Jonland was six years Prince Roland’s senior and was to be high king of Aru upon their father’s passing and almost did when the king was near death following an unfortunate hunting injury. Jonland was in his late teens by then and took up the crown in his father’s absence. There were a lot of people that did not wish to see Jonland become king, they feared him.”

  “Feared him? Why?”

  “I could not say. That was just over twenty years ago. It was soon after that that the young prince was assassinated.”

  “But why, who would assassinate the Prince?”

  “Who’s to say? The assassin was caught, the trail was quick and he was taken away to Blackmoore, that’s all I know. If you wish to know more, you should speak with Master Boraro. If I am not mistaken, and usually I’m not, he was instrumental in bringing in the assassin, and escorting him to Blackmoore after the trial.”

  All this information was new to Kile who had to admit that she wouldn’t have recognized the King if he came through the front door right now with his entire court in tow, but to think that Master Boraro, her least favorite instructor, had a hand in something this great was even more newsworthy. She had often thought the weapons master was nothing more than a simple Hunter, but maybe this was the lot of a simple Hunter. Would she ever be called upon by the royal family to great deeds that were historically significant? Of course she was getting ahead of herself, she would have to become a Hunter first.

  “And you think that because Prince Roland is now high king that the uhyre are causing trouble?”

  She couldn’t really draw a connection between the high king and the uhyre clans, but it was clear that Morgan could.

  “If it is true, then I feel things could get much worse.” Morgan replied.

  “How much worse?” She asked.

  “If what news we have received is true, there could be a war brewing on the horizon.”

  War, the word sent a shiver down Kile’s spine. Not since the Mudd Wars has there been a real war in Aru since it was established. It wasn’t that Aru was a kingdom of peace, there were always skirmishes between provinces over land and mineral rights, as well as minor conflicts with the Baala empire, but war with the uhyre was something entirely different.

  “Who are the brunrik?” She asked. Living back in Riverport she knew none of this, her lack of knowledge was staggering and in many ways embarrassing.

  -They are the Orcs of legend.-

  “But I thought Orcs were more of a myth.”

  “In many ways they are.” Morgan replied. “The story of the orc does not do justice to the tales of the brunrik. They are a foul creature, more vicious, more evil, than any of the stories of Orcs that you may have heard. If these rumors are true…” He didn’t finish the thought, he just shook his head and fell silent.

  “But are they… true?”

  “There’s no knowing. The Royal council with the new King’s consent has dispatched a few Hunters into the western regions to find and prove, or disprove the existence of the brunrik. Right now, it’s just a waiting game.”

  “Sir, where is Grover’s Den?”

  “Grover’s Den? It’s on the western border in the province of Denal.”

  That was where Tree was at this moment, or maybe he was one of the Hunters that was sent to gather information, either way it places her one step closer to the war by association. Suddenly she felt very alone and very cold.

  “Are you alright Kile?” Morgan asked.

  “Yes sir, just a chill.” She replied.

  “Well, with those drafty dorm rooms I’m not surprised.” He said as he got up from his seat and moved over to the shelves. He began to sort through his curiosities before finally coming up for air. “This should help.” He said, holding a small metal box.

  “What is it Sir.”

  “Nothing at the moment.” He said as he handed to her.

  As Kile held the small box, visions of the final exam at the mystic tower flashed in her head. She hoped she wasn’t supposed to deliver this somewhere. Although the size of the box was about the same, the composition was entirely different. Instead of the intricate black ebony box that now sat on her chest of draws back in the dorm room, this one was quite plain and made of a rough metal.

  “If you will open that for me.” Morgan said as he rolled up the sleeves of his yellow robes.

  Kile flipped the lid open and peeked inside, sadly it was empty, no peppermint imp in there, not even a flustered mystic.

  Morgan reached into the floating sphere of fire and pulled out a small handful of flame. He held it in one hand, whispered something over it and then covered it with the other. When his hands parted, the flame was floating in its own small globe, a mini version of the fire that kept Morgan’s tower so warm. He motioned for Kile to use the box.

  She held the open box under the flame, lifted it up gently until she caught it, and then closed the lid. The box was surprisingly cold, in spite of the fire that now burned inside.

  “There you go.” Morgan said as he rolled his sleeves back down.

  “There I go what?” She asked, still holding the box.

  “Your own portable heat sphere.” He said. “Just open the box and let the little thing hover. I wouldn’t touch it if I was you. Without the influence of fire, it would be… well… just that, touching fire. It’s a combined spell of fire and wind, but it’s quite effective”

  Kile looked at the large sphere of fire that hovered in the middle of the mystic’s room, then at the small box she held in her hand. If it gave off a fraction of the heat that Morgan’s did, it would easily heat her cell, and then some.

  “Thank you… but… can I really take this?” She asked.

  “Well of course you can.” Morgan said dismissively, and Kile didn’t dare ask him again for fear of him changing his mind.

  “Then I better go sir.” She said and slipped the box into her tunic.

  “I will study the text further and devise a few more tests for you to take. I’ll send Nullus… I mean Kaza, to fetch you when I have something.”

  “Thank you sir.” She said as she walked into the foyer. She pulled her cloak over her head and put on her hat before taking a deep breath and stepping back out into the cold evening air.

  The rest of the cadets would be heading toward the dinning hall, those that weren’t already there, so she decided to avoid it all together. She touched the small metal box through her tunic to assure herself that it was real. If this worked as well as she hoped, she could wait out the entire winter in her own room, she wouldn’t have to share the dining hall with the other cadets. All she had to do was make one final stop before getting back to her cell.

  The kitchen staff was in full swing as they prepared for the evening meal and acknowledged her with a simple nod of the head or a quick greeting as they went about their work.

  “What, more kitchen duty?” Big Joe laughed when he saw her standing in the doorway.

  “Not today sir.” Kile assured him. “Do you mind?” She asked, pointing to the back room. Joe just waved her on. She had been trying to find Vesper for the last two months and she had returned to the back room as often as she could. It was the first place she had found the yarrow and it was the last place she had seen him. At first she had to make up an excuse to give the cook for snooping around the kitchen, but it got to a point where they no longer asked and she couldn’t really come up with anything believable anyway.

  She moved through the main kitchen, trying to keep out of the way as she ducked into the back room. The place was still stocked with potatoes, but at least she wasn’t the one that had to peel them, that was left to the cooking staff, but at the moment the room was empty.

  “Vesper?” She called out as loud as she dared, but there was no reply, and she was starting to get worried. With the boys helping her peel the potatoes, the yarrow wouldn’t dare show himself. For a while she could feel his presence in the room, watching her from the shadows, and she had always made it a point to
toss a stray piece of potato in his general direction, but that was the extent of the contact. After a while she began to notice his absence, he just never came back. She had visited the back room when she could, to see if he had returned, but so far she had little luck.

  “Vesper?” She called again, holding out a piece of apple she had saved for him. She crept around the floor, looking into the dark corners for any sign of movement. She knew he wasn’t around, she couldn’t feel him, but then she could be wrong.

  “Have you lost something dear?” One of the assistance asked as she poked her head into the room given her quite a start.

  “Yes madam, I guess I have.” Kile replied.

  “Do you need help finding it?” She asked as she stepped into the frame of the door, wiping her hands on her apron.

  Yeah, can you come down here and help me find a small white rodent that answers to the name of Vesper. That probably wouldn’t go over very well she thought.

  “No, thank you anyway.” Kile replied.

  The assistant looked at Kile and smiled politely as she backed out of the room. It was the look that one gave a crazy person crawling around on the floor holding a piece fruit. Kile threw the apple at the far corner and sat with her back against the wall. Where could he be she wondered. He had shown her dozens of places through the compound as well as the city where yarrow like to hide, could Vesper be in one of those places.

  She closed her eyes and thought of the yarrow as loud and as hard as she could. When she opened her eyes, there was still no sign of him.

  “Vesper?” She called one last time, and then thought better of it as half the cooking staff came to look in on her.

  “What is the matter child?” Joe Spece asked.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bother anybody.” She said as she got up from the floor. “Just… forget I was here.”

  She pushed past them and back out into the snow.

  Kile made her way across the compound to the silence of the dorms. The place was nearly vacant now with the supper shift in full swing, although a few of the cadets would return for the night, most of them would stay within the warmth of the dinning hall. She was just glad she no longer had to clean it. She moved down the hall to her own cell and closed herself inside. As much as she hated to admit it, Tree was right, the small cell had become her sanctuary as she flopped onto the bed, the only problem was, it was as cold inside her sanctuary as it was out.