My second week of actual Ranger training has just completed and while it’s made this week feel like it was actually two, I feel good about it.
Ranger training has been a bit hard to fit into my schedule since I haven’t been fully cleared from my duties as a messenger. As it stands, I basically do my messenger work in the mornings while I do my training regiments in the evenings. As I’m being told, I’m not the only one doing this but this does mean that we won’t be cleared as actual rangers for a while. We technically aren’t training at the same pace as the others and so aren’t going to be allowed to fully clear the potential exams until later.
I mentioned that my previous week (which wasn’t really a week, just a couple days) of training was basic stuff and that hasn’t changed too. Just added a lot of depth to those basics. Last week was just the testing of what we knew in terms of the stuff we were learning and then building a small off from there. This week was definitely more in depth on what we were learning and what we’re being tested on. Basic map-reading became a more in-depth introduction about the nature of cartography, the reading and measuring of maps vs on the ground walking. A simple study of animal tracks became a more studious instruction on the identification of tracks, local animal habits and diets as well as their more likely territories and their overlap. This was the basics for this and from the two weeks, it’s a lot to learn in a short amount of time. While I’ve never been smart, I’m picking up on this pretty well. Or at least that’s what my instructors tells me. He’s says I’m doing ‘pretty well for a city kid’. Don’t know how he knew that but I guess things must have fallen down the grapevine.
When I’m not learning to be a Ranger, I’m back to my usual routes around the town. As is, the town is basically shaping up well. Everything is running smoothly to the point where my job isn’t as required due to the lack of information that needs to be ferried around. It makes me feel a little redundant as many of the other messengers are also feeling that strange listlessness that from not being able to do anything but still being on stand-by for doing it. Its actually a bit sad when I write this. The messenger job is basically going to be dead and some of the other messengers I’ve talked to don’t really have anything else lined up after it’s dissolved. I’m slightly worried about them.
Another important note this week was the attack of another monster. This one not as big as the Land Shark but still no more potentially deadly. Thankfully it wasn’t due to the effectiveness of how well the town managed repel the beast fairly easily. The beast appeared in the northern quadrant of the town which was near the more residential area. Due to this, there were a lot of people for the monster to get but also enough officers and rangers in the area to take it out. The last two attacks have really managed to get the town efficient in its defense against fantasy monsters. Although that could just be because this time, the monster was relatively small, only being the size of a slightly large tiger. The only thing that made it more dangerous was the monster’s hide being tough and its roar doing some weird stuff to people, making them go loopy for a bit. The lucky ones manages to shake it off before the beast closed in on them but others just passed out. I wasn’t there to see it but having to gather the reports from the people there was strangely part of both of my jobs. As a messenger, needing to get detailed description of scene and event for the Rangers’ and Police Office, and as future Ranger to know the monsters I’ll probably have to be aware of in the wild. Weird that.
This does remind me to mention that most of the week, us N.Rs actually had the Land-shark for dinner. I’m pretty sure it was Monday, Tuesday and today but I’m pretty sure were having it again for tomorrow. It wasn’t bad. Sort of refreshing because the meals have been getting lighter on meat since maybe the second week here and it was a welcome surprise. Hard to accurately put a taste on it. I think it taste like a more chewy pork but Harris says it’s a tougher fish. I’m pretty sure his taste buds are out of whack as Samantha leaned more towards my description than his. No one’s been sick either so that means that the meat is at least safe to eat on the regular. Probably not going to eat like that a lot considering what it took to get there but it’s good to know that we can at least still eat some of the things out in the wild. Just got to figure out where each one lies on the 'edible' and 'not edible' chart.
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Twice this week, I’ve had some pretty fun nights back to back in the bunks too. Harris and Samantha have been coming back pretty much the same time as me, tired but not exhausted. This led to us bunk mates hanging out until we basically passed out, just shooting the shit until none of us could.
Harris has been doing well at his work and has been apparently making pretty good impression with the others outside his work too. To the point that a lot of the people who we encountered around the area I visited him at one time, knew Harris in some way. He explained most of the stories of knowing them, which tended to involve him saying something stupid and just being able to turn that into something they could talk about for half an hour. It was pretty nice hearing and talking with him and the others at the bar. I will admit that I’ve been a bit consumed with work as of late so even though I meet several people a day, I tend not to socialize a lot despite that.
Samantha is also pretty well known as well but it definitely within a smaller circle of people. I meet a few of them near the hospitals but most seemed to be heading in for their night shifts. Turns out that the local hospital still does night shifts but at a reduced rate. More to keep a reserve of doctors on standby if anything goes wrong late at night which doesn’t happen much. At least for now. I’ve heard talk among the more senior Rangers that they might institute more nightly scouts due to the perceived increase in nocturnal hunters that might be around in this new world.
Samantha was thinking about taking some nights shifts soon too just to round out her time at the hospital and qualify for some more positions. From how she described it, the Head of the Hospital is looking to turn everyone with a medical degree or some knowledge of health into a nurse/doctor hybrid. There weren’t that many doctors in the town to begin with and seeing as they couldn’t hire out for more talent, the next best move was to make the talent. So everyone would be taking some smaller extra classes to improve their medical knowledge and expertise. But it wouldn’t be done all at once, and would be done in some sort of tier system; with those putting more time earlier on getting the better chance of being trained first. She seems excited for it while her friend Elisa wasn’t as excited for it. Hadn’t seen her around much since she tended to keep to herself and Samantha more than with the others N.Rs but from what Samantha has said it mostly cause her family is very important to her and that even taking this trip without them was a lot of work on both her and Elisa’s family’s part. This new situation is becoming a bit of shock to her. Not going to lie, started to feel a little bad about not worrying about my parents as much since I heard that story. It’s not like I had a bad relationship with them but her story made me think about how little I’ve spent time thinking about them and it’s been a month or so. Stuff has happened but it feels a little strange.
Despite that, it’s nice hanging out with Harris and Samantha. It helps with the 'getting back into the normal atmosphere' that was life before the Event, even if we never knew each other from before it. The fact that we can meet at the end of our shifts and just talk about random stuff really does relax my mind a bit. While not often, I think I get stuck in my head a lot and tend to think about what’s going on out there. Monsters that look like D&D rejects are honestly pretty scary when you know that the whole ‘DM imagination’ thing is none-existent and you are in the life you are now. Talking to them just sort of reminds me that I’m not alone in seeing that. Whenever the topic of the outside world comes up between us, there is definite tension in how we talk and our reactions. It probably sounds sadistic or mean but the small look of unease and fear that both Samantha and Harris have sort of calms me down a little. Not because of some weird hero-complex thing (I hope not at least), but just because its sort of grounding to know you aren’t the only one dealing with it.
It’s hard to see that sometimes, even though it there.
That would probably be my first lesson in this thing if I’m trying to do like what the old man said he would. “Everyone is dealing with a weight of the world. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean its not there. Remember that, and remember to share another's load when you can.”