The Tracker: Book 1 of the King's Hand Series Page 6

  The town was so appreciative of Roland. It could have been a bad winter for Halfway if it wasn’t for the food brought in by Roland. Charles was so thankful he gave Roland a small spoke shave. It was curved so that it would shave to a perfect round arrow. Jake at the blacksmith gave him a couple of throwing knives and a stone to sharpen them with. The tailor gave him some thread. And one of the guards gave him some bees wax. Roland was set. He had more items than he could ever think about.

  By the time spring arrived he was another year older. He had trained about all he could with his father. His mother had more to teach him but he really needed to get the experience to build up his talents. Just because someone knows the spells it doesn’t help if they don’t have enough experience to cast them. So he needed more experience.

  The winter had been good for him and the experience. For most men they would have been ecstatic. He realized if he was going to get beyond the average he would need to put in a bigger effort for experience. The trip to the pass was good but that was probably limited. The orcs would be expecting someone and there were just too many of them if they were looking out for trouble. He would like to get some assistance on his Animal Bond. His mother felt like he needed to go to the capitol to get help. If he went their he would have to pay the mage guild to register as a mage.

  He didn’t want to join the mages guild he just wanted to register so they wouldn’t hunt him down as a rouge mage. The forester guild wasn’t exactly what he wanted to do with his life either. His father loved his guild. They put him in the middle of nowhere and left him alone. For his father that was what life was all about. His mother being elf wouldn’t lower herself to join the mages guild. That left the Adventures Guild or the military.

  The military was out. He would make a good scout for them but he was a free spirit and he wanted to go when he wanted to go. His parent allowed him a lot of free space. The military was to regimented for him. The Adventures Guild seemed to be a good fit but from the stories most died young. He and his parents didn’t want him dead anytime soon. Being a Half-Elven his mother expected him to live a few hundred years. His parents did train him well. He was adventuring in the Alondale Forest since he was able to walk. Well that was what he thought would be his best plan. Find out about the bond, register with the mages, and join the Adventures Guild.

  The next day he talked to his parents about his decision. They weren’t too surprised at all. Seems they expected it. His father and mother were really happy about his decision. “Ok, you do realize most parents are upset with their kids joining the Adventures Guild?”

  It was his mother who spoke up first. “Oh why do you think we pushed you so hard to get experience and train? Since you were able to walk you were out in the woods exploring every inch of the woods nearby. We knew the day would come and you would make your choice for yourself. We are just glad you didn’t join the military. That would have turned out badly for you.”

  “I came up with the same conclusion. I’m not one who would enjoy the regimented environment.”

  His dad hugged him next. “Listen, that sword you took off the orc. Take it. I made a scabbard for it this winter. When you get a chance get some lessons on the proper use. Your bow is your best friend but sometimes if you’re fighting up close because it just happens sometimes you need to have a good weapon. If you sell that gem of yours, you can purchase some training. It might save your life in a pinch. I’ve also made you two new quivers. I made them so they will attach to the two sides of your pack. With three quivers you should be able to get 20 in each of the quivers and your quiver on your hip can hold 12. That would give you 52 arrows. Your mom has something for you too.”

  “I made you some pouches to go in your pack. They are filled with herbs. I put together all the asp poison in a jar for you. The pouch for it is surrounded by fur to protect it from breaking. I also got you a book with some empty folios in it. Write down your experiences. Track your skill and record what you learn. It will pay dividends in future. Last but not least I made a cape out of that big Mountain Wolf’s hide. It will keep you dry and warm. Not sure how Wolf will take it. He didn’t seem to mind it when I showed him.”

  Chapter 4

  Onward Toward Adventure

  Roland took a few days to get ready. He had collected about 30 silver over the years for his pelts and hides. He did make a hidden pocket in his pack. He put the Lava Gem in it. If mages were desperate for a gem like this, he didn’t want to make himself a target. He would let the bank deal with the auction for him. Wolf couldn’t believe he was taking everything in his pack. Wolf just turned and walked away into the forest and waited patiently.

  The goodbyes were tough. Being a young man he wouldn’t admit to any type of teary good bye. He would miss his parents. He would visit when he could. But this was Halfway to nowhere. He finally turned and started walking.

  Wolf was waiting for him as they entered the heavy woods. The goal was to get to Baron Alondale’s Castle within the week. They had an Adventures Guild chapter house there. He could join the guild there. He would get as much information about the guild there before getting to the capitol. On the way their he would practice the Navigation spell and as always the Change Self spell. Wolf refused to have an illusion cast on him in the woods. In the city it was one thing but in the woods he had his own camouflage.

  Even with the speed Roland and Wolf could travel it still took a week to get to Castle Alondale. The last day they came upon the road leading to the castle. The road was so muddy that they just stayed in the woods a ran parallel to the road. About a half mile before the castle the road was paved with cobbles. This was something new. Roland cast illusions on himself and on Wolf. Now he looked like an older teen aged human and his large dog.

  The gate guards were half attentive. “State your name and business here at Alondale and how long you’re going to be here.”

  “My name is Roland Forestson this is my dog Wolf and we’ve come to join the Adventures Guild. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here I’m sure it won’t be for a day or two. It sort of depends on what the requirements of the guild are.”

  “The guild is down the main street. When you get to the town center it will be off to your left. It has a guild sign you can’t miss it.”

  That was easier than Roland thought it would be. Wolf wasn’t comfortable with all the people but they didn’t care about a dog. The dogs in town cared. They knew he smelled like a wolf and they might bark but Wolf would just have to make a low growl and that would send them off running. Dog’s and wolves were much more attentive.

  The guild chapter house was a two story building. Every building in town was built with rock. Winters had to be cold. In the middle of the town center was a pump for water and a large pool next to it. Roland took his time and filled his canteens. Further down the same road he could see an open market. He would like to see that.

  There was a Mage Guild chapter house on the opposites side of the square. He thought he might visit it and get registered before heading over to the Adventures Guild. As he entered he was welcomed by a gentleman who looked as board as one could get. “We don’t allow dogs in here.”

  “I’m here to register as a mage with the guild and he and I are bonded so I think he needs to be here.”

  “Oh, we’ve never had anyone who has been bonded to an animal. We don’t have a master who could train you. I’ll send you to Mage Sabastian. Wait here for a minute.” He went to the back of the room and left by a large door. There were portraits of mages all over the room. They had brass name plates under each proclaiming who the mage was and what his talent was. They were old men with robes of color. They were all old and had beards. Maybe mages were required to have beards?

  The gentleman returned a bit later. “Master Sabastian will see you know. Down that hall final door at the end. Knock before entering.”

  Wolf and Roland walked a long hallway. Doors were evenly spaced on both sides of the hall. Each door had a name plate announ
cing whose office. The last door was a bit bigger and the name place was bigger and had bigger lettering on it. It said “Master Mage Sabastian.” He knocked and waited.

  “Come in.” Roland and Wolf entered. An old man with a purple robe pointed at a chair for Roland to sit in. The man had wrinkles on wrinkles. He had a beard that had the last three meals in it. His hair was between white and grey. Whatever his hair color he had in earlier days was long gone. The desk was huge. I needed to be, there were scrolls and books all over the place. The rest of the office seemed to have everything in place. There were book shelves on two of the side walls. A window behind the mage was looking into a formal garden.

  “Well you’re a unique individual. You don’t look like an elf and I sense you have some type of illusion going on around you and your dog. Who are you and what kind of magic can you do?”

  “Well my name is Roland and this is Wolf.” He dropped the illusion on both he and Wolf. “I’m a Half-Elven. As you can see Wolf is a Mountain Wolf. My mother taught me Illusion magic and my Animal Bond started last year.”

  “Well that explains the Animal Bond. Never seen anyone besides an Elf or a Half-Elven have the gift of Animal Bond. Do you practice any other types of magic? I’m a tracker and I can cast Shadow Meld and Navigation. I use some mana when I work with herbs and their elixirs and poultices. It just makes the cures a bit more effective.”

  “Well the only Animal Bond mage we have is in the Capitol. He is an Elf and a bit of a political. I can’t remember his name at the moment. I’m not sure how he will accept you as a Half-Elven. I seem to remember Elves don’t like Half-Elven much. Now I’m not saying he will have a problem with you just that prejudices happen in this world. I will send a recommendation with you. Give it to him and he might take you as an apprentice. At least he will know someone besides himself that will be in his school of magic. Now I am going to charge you 5 silvers to register. I know it’s a lot of money but the registration helps pay for the guild requirements. You will have to get with your master for future payments.”

  He handed a medallion to Roland. “Place some mana into the medallion. It will automatically place your name on it with your school of magic. Have a good trip to the capitol and make sure the door is closed when you leave.” The man went back to reading his scroll.

  Roland cast illusions on himself and Wolf before they left. He put the medallion around his neck. It actually put all the schools of magic he used. Animal Bond, Illusion, Tracking, and Herbalism. He would have to keep this out of sight. It was good to be registered. Unregistered mages (except elves) were tracked down and killed by anyone who wanted the reward for doing so. For inexperienced mages this was a big danger. For experienced mages it was more dangerous for those tracking them.

  He left the Mages Guild and headed across the street to the Adventures guild. The building wasn’t as nice as the mages. It did have a nice porch on it and there were a three older men sitting in chairs watching the world walk by. One of the old guys snickered. “So did those mages kick you out now you’re coming over here to find a guild who would take you.” All three began to laugh at his comment. “Don’t worry about it boy. We take anyone who is foolish enough to sign on. We lose so many adventurers every year we have to take on more fodder.” The sent another wave of laughter through the group.

  Roland and Wolf walked into the guild hall. It looked more like a tavern. The mages guild was a stark contrast to this place. A man was sitting behind the bar. He looked up from a book he was writing in. “What can I do for you young man?” The man was clean shaven but he had a horrible scare running down left side of his face. His left eye was cloudy. He had scars up and down his hands and arms. He was looking fit and trim, despite the scars and he was very dark from spending time out in the sun and weather. He wore a buckskin shirt. Not what you would think of a man standing behind a bar.

  “I’m here to join the guild.”

  “Do your parents know your joining? We don’t require your parents to know but it helps keep me from being yelled at.”

  “They know. They even knew long before I knew that I would be joining the guild.”

  “Where are you from? I haven’t seen you around here.”

  “I live on the other side of Halfway in the Alondale Forest.”

  “Halfway to nowhere. That is a long trip just to get back to the edge of civilization. Most men coming from up there are a bit tougher than the those from the more civilized areas of the country. So what is your name?”

  “My name is Roland Forestson.”

  “That explains it. Has your dad ever left the forest since he took the job as forester?”

  “He goes to Halfway quite a bit. Probably 4 or 5 times a year. He works with the outpost up there.”

  “Young man that isn’t considered leaving the forest. Most foresters out this direction stay away from town. They like their trees.”

  “Now, what about you joining the guild. What do you want to know?”

  “Well how much does it cost? What are the requirements of the guild? Am I allowed to travel to the capitol?”

  “Well that’s a few questions. It costs a silver to join. If you don’t have the coin, you can’t join. We really don’t have any requirements. The job board is over there. It has jobs you can take by what rank you are. When you start out you will be a level one. You can only take a level one assignment. Keeps new people from dying so quickly. The higher the level the harder the jobs you get. Once you reach level 10 you will get level 2. Now once you reach level 2 in the guild you will be required to take 10 jobs before you can reach level 3. You also have to reach level 25 in experience. You can also travel where you want to go. We are a free spirit bunch. There may be times when the guild calls you up to help with a situation. That rarely occurs and it usually has to do with the protection of people.”

  Roland handed over a silver. That was cheaper than registering with the mages guild.

  “By the way my name is Ethan. Level 4 semi-retired. I run this guild hall. Perk for those who move up in rank and get crippled like myself. Sign this paper. Make sure you sign it with your real name off your status panel. When you go to another guild hall let them know your registered in Alondale. All your records will be kept here. You can change guild halls but I wouldn’t worry about that till at least level 3.”

  Roland took the paper that was handed to him. It was a contract. There were a few rules written on it. First don’t kill other adventures unless in self-defense. Keep guild secrets. Obey the laws of the land you’re in. Twenty percent of all rewards go to the guild. That sounded fair. Roland signed his contract and handed it back to Ethan with a silver piece.

  “Now if you break any of those rules it will show up in red. Then you will have a problem with the guild.”

  “How will you know if I break the rules? The contract doesn’t know what I am doing.”

  “Contract mana. Once I stamp it the contract is sealed and you are under guild law.” He stamped the contract and the medallion sitting next to the contract showed Roland’s name and instead of a number one showing it showed a number 2. “Ok. Your holding out on me Roland. You’ve had to have quite a bit of experience to come into the guild as a level 2. What gives?”

  “Well, I’ve been killing goblins and orcs for the last several years. Wolf and I are quite good at tracking and hunting.”

  “Orc and goblin killer! I said those of you living in the forest were made of tougher stuff. You going to let your dog join the guild?” This caused Ethan to laugh at his own joke.

  “Can Wolf join the Guild?”

  “I never seen it done before and I don’t actually think it’s possible. You see if he has a status panel and I’m not saying he does either way but you would need to know his true name. And being a dog I don’t think he could tell you what it was.” This brought on some more laughter.

  Roland looked at Wolf. Sorry Wolf I never asked for your name before. Wolf just seemed right.

  Wolf looke
d up at Roland and an image came into his mind. It was a shadow. It moved like Wolf but in the form of a shadow.

  “Ethan, here is a silver. Shadow would like to join the guild.”

  “Listen, you are just going to lose that silver piece. Now I’m not objecting to bringing in more money for the guild since I need it for the guild hall but you’re just losing your money.”

  “If I get his name right you have to take him right?”

  “If you can get his name right I’ll let him join.”

  Roland wrote out “Shadow” on the contract. He handed it back to Ethan and he stamped it with the guild stamp. The medallion sitting next to the contract changed adding the number 2 to it along with the name Shadow – Mountain Wolf.

  Ethan was a bit shocked. “Well that isn’t right your dog isn’t a wolf. You must have gotten the name right but something went wrong with the magic.”

  Roland dropped the illusion and Shadow stood still without the illusion he was all Mountain Wolf. Ethan was even more shocked now. “How in the world?”

  “We are bound. Please keep this a secret. I show you just so Shadow can be part of the guild. Gives me an excuse to bring him into the guild hall. I’m sure some guild halls don’t allow animals. If he is part of the guild they can’t kick him out.”

  “I’ve never heard of anyone being bound before or even what that means. Your secret is good with me. Most of us in the guild have secrets and we protect them. When you get to the capitol and you can go the main guild house. Go upstairs to the second floor. There is a room up there that has all the members of the guild. A seal is on the wall for every member that is alive. If that adventurer dies the seal turns grey and after a few days, it crumbles to dust. That is how the guild keep track of its members. Go in there and see if your wolf has a seal and see if it looks like the others. That would be a hoot if it looked different.”