After three dusty days on the road, where Teacher did his best to break my spirit, we arrived at Roddan.

The town itself wasn’t much to look at. It was smaller than the town with the Magistrate, that I just now realized I hadn’t gotten the name of.

“Teacher, what was the last town’s name?”

He looked at me like I was an idiot. “Bershal.”

Bershal…why did that name sound familiar. As our horses walked down the street, I racked my brain until I remembered. That was the town Navae said she was from. I cursed under my breath. She may have been there and I could have confronted her and her partner, assuming she actually lived there and didn’t flat out lie to me.

It was irritating to miss that opportunity to find out but I'm sure I would come back through there eventually, even if it was just to head back home at some point.

Teacher dismounted his horse and I followed suit as we walked them up to a single-story stone building off of a side street. The building was rather plain to look at but it gave off an impression of being imposing. Made from large stone blocks and thin windows with angled sides at the top and bottoms. It reminded me of castle arrow slits turned sideways. But the windows were about two hands-width tall. I didn’t understand why they built it like that but they must have had some reason. The doorway too was set back in an alcove that was barely wide enough for one person at a time. The only ornamentation was a symbol I didn’t recognize, carved into the area above the door.

“Welcome to headquarters.” Teacher said proudly before slapping his horse's reins in my hand. “Tie him up good, if he gets loose, I’m gonna tan your ass with my stick.” I made sure Teacher was through the door before I mumbled in reply, “asshole.”

I walked the horses over to the hitching post and secured them before getting their feedbags out and placing them over their heads. I didn’t know how long we were staying, so I left all the tack on. They needed a good brushing as well but it would have to wait.

Dusting myself off as best as I could, I stepped through the doorway and into the dark interior of the building. What greeted me was a rather cozy sitting room with a desk at the far end and a door behind it. A mousy-looking woman looked up from some paperwork.

“Greetings, how can the Order help you?”

“…Um, I um… I came with Teacher.”

She looked at me funny, “Teacher?”

I swear Teacher refused to tell me his name just so I would stumble into awkward conversations like this. “Yeah, he didn’t give me his name, the Pyron guy that just came in.”

“Ah. You must be the boy he was…mentioning.” I was pretty sure she was going to use a different word there but I chose to let it slide.

“Yeah, the name is Bakus.”

“Lovely to meet you, Bakus, my name is Samantha. So you survived the city?”

“Yeah. Are you also a Chosen?” I asked hopefully.

“Oh, goodness, no,” she tittered. “It would be a mighty waste to have a Chosen sit all day as a secretary. But bless your heart for thinking I was.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean-,” she cut me off.

“It’s fine, young man. Why don’t you have a seat. It could be some time before the director is done meeting with “Teacher”,” she added with finger quotes and a giggle.

After taking a seat, I had to ask. “So you know Teacher?”

“Oh certainly. But I won’t tell you his name, if that’s what you were wondering. The man has a bit of a temper you see. Nothing he would be foolish enough to direct my way, but…”

“Yeah, if he found out I knew he might take it out on me.” She nodded. Wonderful, I thought.

“Have you learned what your calling is yet?” she asked as she walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a large bound book.

“Still working on that. It's been less than two weeks since I survived the city.”

“Really, usually it’s a few months before one of our members drags a new Chosen in.” she looked around conspiratorially before lowering her voice. “Not all Chosen are as agreeable as you,” she winked.

“How do they know that the other person is a Chosen if they don’t see them exiting the city?” I asked in curiosity.

She plopped the heavy book down on her desk before tapping at her chin. “I guess it’s ok to tell you, you are a new Chosen after all. There are different ways to tell but the most accurate one is that when they are near another Chosen, you can sorta feel them in a sense. Almost like other Chosen cause interference. It's worse with the untrained as they aren’t capable of focusing their intent.

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She asked me a few questions and began writing the answers in the book. Apparently, it was a tome to record all of the Chosen in their order since its inception. She just finished when the whole building shook. She sighed, putting the cap back on her ink and wiping off her stylus.

“It seems, Teacher has angered the director.

“Terrani?” I asked as I gripped the arms of my chair as Samantha nodded. The building shook yet again. At least now the sturdy design made sense.

“Gabrielle is usually pretty mild but Teacher tends to set her off. As you can imagine he likes to do things his way.”

I nodded as another wave shook the building but it was less intense than the last one. Soon after the shaking stopped, so either Teacher was dead – one could only hope – or director Gabrielle had vented her rage at the man. I found out half an hour later when Teacher came storming out of the backroom in a huff.

I think I did an amicable job of hiding my smirk when Teacher glared at me. “She wants to speak with you, get in there,” he jerked his thumb over his shoulder and stomped off out the front door.

Not wasting time, I got up and strode through the door and down a hallway. At the end of the hall was another door with a sign that read Director. I gave it a knock before entering.

“Come in,” a gravelly but feminine voice said from the other side.

Suppressing my nerves, I entered the monster’s den. Sitting behind a thick stone desk was a willowy thin woman. She was tall too but I couldn’t tell how tall because she remained seated.

“Sit,” she ordered, gesturing to an uncomfortable-looking stone chair across from the desk.

Not wanting to get on her bad side, I did as ordered.

“So, you managed to survive the city.” It was a statement, not a question. “I was surprised to hear of anyone even attempting it. Were you aware that an imperial notice must be issued before attempting the journey?”

My mouth worked like a dying fish as I tried to think up some excuse that wouldn’t piss her off.

She slammed her fist on the desk, causing it to shake as she let out a deep rumbling laugh. “Bwahahaha, that was a joke kid. He said you were a bit uptight but Mother above if you aren’t gullible as well.”

“…Wh- What! That wasn’t funny at all,” I argued, crossing my arms in anger.

“Lighten up, kid. What's your name anyway?”

“Bakus,” I harumphed.

“Hmm, an islander, yes?” she leaned back in her much more comfortable-looking chair, with a slight smile on her face.

“My mother was. My father was a mainlander but I was born there and came to the mainland when I was four or five.”

“That is one heck of a move. What brought it about, if I may ask?” she seemed genuinely curious which threw me for a loop since I had been dealing with Teacher this entire time and she opened with a rather tasteless joke to scare me.

But I didn’t see any point in not telling her. “My father is a merchant, he is always looking for the next big profit,” I replied bitterly.

“Oh, sounds like you don’t much like your father?”

“It’s personal,” I replied flatly.

“Fair enough. So, Bakus, as for how things work around here. We try to pair new Chosen up with a mentor to teach them the ropes and what we do to keep the realm safe.” I was getting a sinking feeling. “But…the only Chosen currently available is,” she sighed, “Teacher. Honestly, I can’t believe he forced you to call him that, but I agreed that I wouldn’t disclose his name if he agreed to continue to teach you.”

“There has got to be some other way. Can’t I just wait around for the next Chosen to come along?” I plead.

“Sorry, I can’t have you hanging around and causing trouble for the locals. The only other option is to send you out solo and from what your Teacher said, you haven’t exactly unlocked your calling yet.”

I deflated as I realized there was no way I was going to convince this woman to change her mind.

“Don’t be so down. He may be an ass but he is one of the best swordsmen in the Order. Try to at least learn those skills until you master your calling.”

“What about pay? It's not like I have money to survive and Teacher isn’t big on sharing.”

I felt the room shake a bit before it settled. “Yes, I am aware and have talked with him about his behavior. He will no longer be taking any coin from rewards you rightfully earn. You will also receive a monthly stipend from the Order. It isn’t much I’m afraid so you will have to make do by hunting bandits or surviving in the wilds if you spend it all at once.” She pulled open a stone drawer that grated awfully in the austere room. She pulled out a small bag and tossed it to me.

I fumbled it for a bit before finally getting a good grip on the bag. Opening it up, I found two plates marked with one hundred and ten additional plates. It was more money than I had started my journey on but considering the prices I had seen in bigger towns, wouldn’t last me two weeks if I stayed at inns.

“That’s your stipend for next month and the payment for the days since you joined up with Teacher. You are considered an initiate but once you prove you can work alone and have mastered your calling to some extent, that will be doubled. Now, I assigned Teacher and you another mission. Before I get into that, has he bothered informing you of what the Order even does?”

“No, but I’ve read stories.” She rolled her eyes at that statement.

“Yes, and that is all they are. We protect the realm from dark forces to put it simply. Bandits don’t technically fall into our job description but if we run across them, it's usually best to just kill them and claim the reward. That being said, we have reports of a possible cult near elven lands.”

“Wait… elves? Like the pointy-eared variety found in…stories?” I asked in wonder.

She scoffed, “no, they are human. These people simply call themselves elves. They are a reclusive lot that tends toward body modification in their search for perfection of form. You’ll see what I mean when you visit their village to question them. Now, you should hurry up and take the east road out of town. I doubt your “Teacher” waited for you to finish speaking with me.

I cursed as I shot out of the chair. I remembered to bow to the Director as she smiled back before rushing out the door. Sure enough, Teacher’s horse was gone.

I would have to push to catch him but I needed arrows before I left town. A quick search brought me to a general store where I purchased ten hunting arrows. They weren’t as nice as my old ones with the ceramic tips but at least these stone-tipped arrows should fly straight.

It took pushing my nag a full hour before I caught up with Teacher, my arrival eliciting a soft grumble from the man that made the hurried trip to catch him somewhat worth it. Maybe now I could turn the tables and make his life hell.