Callie's Heroes

PART I - … AND MY BOW!

“It’s Ranger!” Vanis, Lena and Xin all shouted at the same time.

“You are Ranger,” Tazrok echoed a moment later.

“Huh?” Callie said. “A Ranger? Oh! You mean like Aragorn? He didn't use his bow that much.”

“Aragorn?” Master Thorn asked.

“Yeah, dark, brooding guy, hangs out with Hobbits, has a thing for Arwen?”

“Is this Aragorn a person you remember?”

“Um,” Callie stalled, suddenly remembering she shouldn’t remember anything, “I think? I think those are all names from a story of some kind?” Callie quickly put on her most-puzzled look she could muster. “Why can I remember that?” she added for good measure, since it worked last time.

“Ahh, I see,” Thorn said, seeming to accept the lie.

“So what does this Ranger class actually do, besides archery stuff?” Callie asked, trying to move past the awkward moment. “I guess I don’t really know.”

“Historically, a Ranger would be the protector of the lands, defending it against bandits, poachers, monsters and other threats. Able to survive for weeks in the wilderness alone doing their duties,” Master Thorn said.

“Historically? What about now?”

“As part of the Army, in a combat role, they act as long-range attack with their bows, as scouts, ruin raiders, and, as needed, monster hunters. Their skills and perks include many specialized archery attack skills, some melee combat perks, as well as a few other non-combat nature-oriented ones.” Thorn handed Callie her two-colored wood block. “When you meet with Trainer Reynard later today, you’ll want to give him this block so he knows you’re one of his students.”

“Thank you, Master Thorn,” Callie said, cradling the block of wood in her arms. She resisted a slight urge to bow to him.

“Recruit Vanis,” Thorn said, looking to the Elf.

“Sir?”

“I am placing Recruit Calliope in your care until such time as her memory returns. I expect you and your team to fill in the gaps in her knowledge and generally try to keep her out of trouble in the meantime. I wish you luck with that; she’s a Gnome. No matter what, though, you are not, any of you, to fall behind or fail in your class training.”

“Understood, Sir,” Vanis acknowledged.

“The same applies to you, Recruit Calliope,” Thorn continued. “Presuming you reveal your Ranger class tonight, you will be held to the same recruit standards as everyone, despite your unusual race for the class. Resist the urge to make any Gnomish mischief while you are here, if you are able.”

“Okay,” Callie said, nodding vigorously, but with still a nervous knot in her stomach.

“If you aren’t all planning to share a bunkhouse, that will change. Advise the housing quartermaster of this and refer them to me if there is an issue.”

“We have already decided to house together,” Vanis said.

“Very good,” Thorn said as he looked at the red bow he was holding.

“Recruit Calliope, I had this bow made as a surprise for my son, who is turning ten in a few weeks. The normal longbows that Rangers use for training are twice your size; far too large for you to use effectively. Tomorrow, you are to report to the weapons forge and let them know you need a new bow made to the proper size for you. It will take them at least a week, so you may use this one until your new one is ready.”

“Wow! Thank you so much,” Callie said, accepting the Gnome-sized weapon. She imagined being able to fire arrows as fast as she could pull the string, a new arrow forming out of thin air every time. Machine Gun Callie!

“One last thing, Recruit,” Thorn began, “should you fail to confirm your class in the morning, reach out directly to me or to my staff. We will work together to find another position for you that will suit your remaining perks and satisfy the requirements of your Conscription. Certainly Captain Kela could find a use for your Bookkeeping and Logistics perk.”

“Sure, whatever works,” Callie said absently, still examining the magic bow.

Thorn scowled, realizing his instructions were largely being missed, and looked up at Vanis.

“We will see to it,” Vanis said with a confirming nod.

“At that, I don’t believe there is anything else to address as part of your intake,” Thorn said, “Earick?”

“No, Master Thorn. They have all been recorded and given their color identifications.”

“What is next?” Xin said.

“Next you will go to the next red flag," Earick said, "where they will take care of your housing. Since you have already decided to share a bunkhouse, it should not take long.”

The band of five exchanged a few final pleasantries, and then set off down the path to the next station, leaving the Training Master behind with the Scryers.

A short, Dwarf male sat at his table, reviewing various documents.

“Hello,” Lena said.

The man looked up quickly. “It’s about time you got here! You are the last group, yes?”

“I believe so,” Lena said. “Our registration took longer than expected. There were some complications.”

“I wish someone had told me, I was about to come to you. I could have been done already.” The man leafed through a thick book before coming to the page he was looking for. “For housing, the first thing I need to know is if you are all going to house together. You look like a group.”

“Yes,” Lena said. “The five of us.”

“Very good, that makes it easier. There is only one bunkhouse built to be large enough for Ogres, so knowing there was an Ogre recruit in camp, I held that one. It contains two Ogre-sized beds, and five for smaller people. It also has both regular and Ogre-sized latrines.”

“Sounds ideal,” Vanis said.

“The Dwarf looked up, “I do recommend not using the Ogre one by mistake, laddie. Could be … pretty bad if you were to fall in.”

“Definitely understood,” Vanis said, with a light-hearted laugh.

“Otherwise, I just need your first names for the roster and we should be done.”

All five took turns giving their names while the Dwarf wrote them into the ledger. “You are in the bunkhouse with the red and yellow sign on it, although it will be pretty easy to see which one since the door and building is so much larger than the others. In fact, we sometimes refer to it as ‘Ogre House’. You will also put this identification into your basket with your clothing so it gets returned to you.”

The Dwarf handed out a small wood block, about the size of a deck of playing cards and much smaller than the class blocks each had received previously. Each block sported the promised red and yellow circles.

“Why do they use colors for everything?” Callie asked Lena.

“Because some people cannot read, Callie,” Lena answered. “You will see many instances where signs and such use color combinations, or pictures, rather than written words.”

“Oh. That actually makes sense,” Callie said.

The Dwarf looked down at what looked like a diagram of multiple houses, grunted, and then looked up. “You do have one extra normal-sized bunk in your bunkhouse. Would you have any problems with us assigning someone to it?”

“Um,” Vanis began, turning to the rest of the group. They all shrugged. “It appears that would not be an issue.”

“Excellent. I don’t know if we will need to put someone there, but knowing you do not object helps. There are two or three singles still pending assignments, and someone always needs to be moved in the first couple days. We don’t like to add them to some tight-knit groups unless we have no choice or it’s alright with the group. That tends to be a setup for personality clashes and we hate having to move people around more than necessary.”

“I can believe it,” Lena said. “We’re not here to cause any problems, so would welcome whomever might need the space.”

“Great!” The Dwarf quickly made a note. “There’s also an extra Ogre bed in your bunkhouse, but your Ogre is the only one in this recruit class, so it won’t be needed.” He made a few final notes and then addressed the group. “At this point, the next stop will be to see Quartermaster Balneis at the bathhouse. She will assist with getting you situated and get you your robes. I think we will have some that are large enough.” He gestured with his chin towards Tazrok.

“Thanks!” Callie said.