Apprenticeships are an integral aspect of Arlin’s economy. Getting an apprenticeship under an accomplished craftsman is viewed with high renown. Arlin’s government tries to incentivize the practice through means such as tax cuts, which has led to some industries being flooded with apprentices.
***
Wandering through the camp at night felt surreal. The guards were all in an extremely casual mood simply watching the bunks to make sure nobody escaped. The entire walk, I could feel them watching me. I tried to keep my eyes from diverting and to only focus on Elm in front of me.
The walk was slow, but it gave me a good perspective of the size of the camp. It was a fair distance, but actually going through it directly showed how simplified the design of this place was. It was all just one giant rectangle extending outwards from the mine with the armory and office at the back.
“Don’t meander.”
My attention snapped back from my surroundings directly back to my new mentor. I still had no idea what he was planning, but the fact that he seemed so adamant on this fact meant that it was important.
***
As we stood at the door to the office, I took a deep breath before stepping inside, not knowing what to expect. I’d only seen the guard captain on a couple of occasions, and all of them had been from a distance. He was an elusive figure to me throughout my 2 years, so I had to brace myself for anything.
“Hey Elm!”
“Good evening, Roy.”
I stood aghast as I watched the two men walk up to each other as though they were the best of friends. The man who Elm had just called Roy was a fairly stout man with blindingly bright yellow hair and oddly soft facial features.
“I got some brandy if you would like. You do look like you could use it.”
“Damn right I do. Oh, and this is the kid I was telling you about.”
He turned to me, his happy demeanor switching back to an authoritative tone.
“Get the fuck over here and introduce yourself.”
I immediately walked forward to stand by Elm in front of the captain’s desk while he was pouring out a glass for Elm, which he quickly took and started drinking from.
“Good evening sir. My name is North. I’m from Corith.”
“Corith? I remember the 9th campaign being pretty damn short. 3 weeks, if my memory serves me correct.”
A frustrating smile came across his face as though he were rubbing in the destruction of my homeland.
“Nice to meet you. You can call me Captain Galen. Old Elm over here is the only one who can call me Roy, so keep that in mind. You know, he’s actually older than me? He was alive during the 3rd campaign! Isn’t that crazy?”
I stared at him, perplexed, then looked at Elm. Despite the difference in position, Galen appeared to hold some deep respect for a man who was currently dressed in rags. I didn’t have any idea of the history between the two men, or much of Elm’s history in general, but it all felt entirely off.
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As I stood there silently, Galen began to study my body up and down before turning back to Elm.
“I never thought the person that Elm would take as an apprentice would be a Corithian. Seriously, what do you see in him? I mean, he’s not the largest we’ve got.”
He isn't wrong…
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders, and he’s pretty damn efficient in the mines. There’s some natural talent with handling magore. I think he’s got all of the traits to end up as a good magore technician in the future.”
Elm grabbed a seat and placed himself down, taking another sip of the brandy. Galen followed suit, which left me as the only one in the room standing. Galen gave another shit-eating grin as his eyes moved in between myself and Elm.
“Out of all of the places to take an apprentice, you choose here. I never took you for a man with a big sense of humor, but it seems I’ve been proven wrong.”
Elm shrugged before letting out a small laugh. I was missing out on some context that neither men seemed interested in giving. It all just felt wrong, watching these two men who held two almost antithetical positions talk so casually.
“Doesn’t matter much, I guess. Listen, North. Elm came to me with a bit of a proposition. He wanted to take you as an apprentice in order to help with the upkeep of the tech at the camp since things have been getting a lot more hectic. I’d thought he’d do it long before that, but I guess something about you caught his eye. In return, I’m allowing you to help out your friend… Sasha?”
“Sera.”
“My bad. I’m allowing you to help out your friend Sera and give her meals despite her current lack of mobility. Once she’s up again, she’ll be working with the penal laborers. It’s much better than… you know. You should feel lucky that this guy here took a liking to you and wanted to help you out.”
I turned to see Elm staring at me, his face completely neutral. It finally clicked with me why I was able to bring her meals. It was all because he’d cut out a deal. Something about the situation felt off with how lenient the guards were being, but it made sense now.
“Thank you sir.”
Both men stared at each other as if sending a silent message before Elm finally got up and moved back to my side in front of the desk, the captain still seated.
“Well, I think that’s all. Elm, you mind heading outside? I’d like to talk to him alone.”
Elm nodded before heading outside, leaving me trapped inside with the captain.
“Well, it’s nice to see old Elm warming up to a person for the first time in a while. I just wanted to talk a bit about your lady friend, Sera.”
I stared at him, still frozen at the same spot I had been the entire time.
“I’m sorry about what my men did to her. It was a holiday and they were all in high spirits, and some of them got a bit too rowdy. It happens sometimes, and each time is a tragedy for the camp.”
I clenched my fist as I tried to hold myself back from saying anything.
“I just wanted to say sorry. Although I will say that me allowing you to bring her food is a little bit like dumping it out onto the dirt. Sure, she’ll be working the basic labor jobs of the camp. That’s fine. But we have enough penal laborers to go around, and while I don’t mind having one extra, her main purpose at the camp is to do the mining. If she’s not doing that then she’s wasting a bunk. I’m really sorry, but I can’t go against protocol in this case, and the most I can give is 60 days. It’s not much, but I hope you can make your peace with her before then.”
It came together for me at that moment. It was all fake. The smile, the pity and the idea that he cared about any of our lives was all just one massive facade. Other than Elm, his opinions on us were the same as the rest of the guards.
“You can head out. I’m confident he can make a good technician out of you.”
I nodded, walking out into the night where Elm was waiting for me. I could feel him studying me as I exited.
“Whatever he said in there, forget it. If you actually plan on actually saving everyone, you can’t be getting emotional over things like this.”
He was right. I couldn’t and I knew that. But there were already so many question marks that Elm had created during that meeting, and I couldn’t wrap my head around them. It was just a pathetic situation that I knew I needed to get over.
“Let’s get moving. You’ve got a lot of work to do and I’m not letting you slack off for shit. I’m helping you, so you damn better prove you’re actually worth something beyond a walking candlestick.”