Chapter 59

“Looks like you’ve a bit of a challenge for the day Quill.” Pren’s voice was deeper than I’d expected, with a slight edge to it. She was shorter than Quill, and yet the way she held herself gave off a dangerous vibe. “Succeed today with this group, and you’ll have more than earned your shot at Master Hunter.”

“You know what they say,” Quill looked from Pren to our small group, “if I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”

The two laughed at our expense, as we stood there, shifting uncomfortably and unsure of what to say. Quill had been filling us in on the various hunting tactics they used, as well as the different types of hunts. Gorillas weren’t the only prey they went after. In fact, they hunted creatures across all five of the first floors, though only Master Hunters were allowed to go on hunts on the fourth and fifth floor. Journeymen usually stuck to gorillas and jaguars on the second floor, as well as grizzlies on the third. Grizzlies, apparently, were the massive, stuffed fur covered creature full of sharp teeth and claws in the courtyard. The thing that stood nearly twice my height.

On the fourth floor they went after dire wolves, mammoths, and sabretooths. As for the fifth, he didn’t say, simply shuddered and shook his head. Which both concerned me and piqued my interest. What types of creatures existed on the same floor as the first true boss we would get to face.

“Your luck continues to show today,” Pren continued, “were short handed on Climbers today. Some of the regulars banded together and are pushing the tenth floor. We’re going to be spread thin across all our groups, meaning it’ll be hard to hit your quota.” She sighed, “still, I do have an extra Climber for you, just the one though.”

“Oh, well damn,” Quill made no effort to hide his disappointment. “Still, I know Marc and Fi were looking forward to finally climbing past the tenth floor. That was why they’d been helping with the gorilla. They were farming materials to upgrade their gear.” He looked past Pren, eyes searching. We’d been relaxing away from the entrance to the guild, which meant we hadn’t seen which Climbers had been accepting jobs with the guild today. “So, who else do I got?”

Pren pressed her lips together for a moment, taking her time before she spoke. “Since you’ve already been assigned three Climbers,” she began, “I couldn’t justify assigning one of the stronger Climbers to you.”

Quill started to protest, but she cut him off.

“The other groups are all only getting two Climbers max. And one group is going to only have a single Climber, though I’ll be assigning an additional Journeyman to help that group, even if it means an increased risk.” She looked past Quill to us. “And judging by their gear, these three, at the very least, have been productive Climbers so far. Not to mention, in theory, their teamwork should be a little better, considering they’re peers.”

I perked up at that. It was another new Climber? Someone from our platoon?

“Who is it?” I asked, my sudden outburst drawing a quick look from Quill.

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Pren didn’t answer my question. Instead, she snapped her fingers, the sound louder than I expected, like a stone cracking against a wall. A figure appeared a moment later from around the corner. A figure I instantly recognized, though, for a long moment, found myself hardly believing who it was.

“You,” I said, my mind not processing anything else to say. What could I say? What should I say? Of all the people… of all the situations.

“Here’s your new member.” Pren began again, ignoring me. “He should round out the party too. From what I saw based on their Climber IDs, these three are more offensive based. Alax here, is based on defense. Meaning you’ve almost got a right proper party of Climbers for your team, even if they’re all below level ten.”

She chuckled as she looked at us. Alax stepped sheepishly closer to us. I noticed he had a larger shield on his back. Not the small basic shield of the Reaping, but a larger concave shield known as an aspis. It was completely made of wood, save for a ring of bronze around the rim. When wielded, the shield could provide nearly full body coverage. We’d trained with them, often in combination with spears, or short slashing swords. It was definitely more durable than the shield he’d had during the Reaping, but at the same time, it was still just made of wood. I wondered if it would be able to hold up against the gorilla’s mighty blows.

“Can’t say today won’t be interesting.” Quill let a heavy sigh out of his lips, before he slapped himself on the cheeks, and smiled around. “But hey, adapting to any situation is key to being a hunter. I can work with this.” He looked slowly at each and every one of us. “I can work with them. By the end of today, we’ll have my quota.” There was confidence in his voice. I just hoped it wasn’t misplaced.

Quill may not know it, but I did. Alax had a history with the gorillas. The last time I’d seen him in the Tower, the day of the reaping, I’d witness firsthand Alax’s budding relationship with the gorilla. Or more importantly, I’d witnessed Alax getting pummeled to death, sobbing for help, by one of the massive creatures. Not his finest moment, for sure.

“I look forward to working together with everyone,” Alax held out his hand to Quill, “Alax Night at your service.”

“Quill Burr, a pleasure to have you on the team.” Quill shook Alax’s and, before he looked back at Pren. “Are we ready then?” He asked.

“Just about. We’ll be moving out in a few minutes.” she responded. The courtyard was brimming now with hunters and climbers. I didn’t know how many were going on the gorilla hunt, and how many were hunting different creatures. According to Quill, they switched which monsters they were hunting on each floor daily and based upon what types of materials the guild needed. Other guilds would request certain materials not only through the job board for Climbers, but also with the Hunters Guild itself. That would dictate what jobs they decided to put forward as well and ensure everyone in the city had all they needed to fulfill their roles as best as possible.

“Alrighty then.” Quill turned back to the rest of us. “If you’ve got to use the restroom, now’s a good chance.” He said, trying to stay lighthearted. I could hear the slight tension in his voice. His previous confidence had been shaken when he’d not received a veteran Climber. With just the four of us, all under level ten, it was obvious he was less certain in his aspects for the day. I knew I was capable. I knew Lyn and Nyle were capable. Even if Alax proved useless, I knew my team would do all we could, to make the day a success, and to keep Quill safe. Good intentions aside though, I prayed to the Tower that we’d actually be able to pull it off. After all, the only certainty within the Tower, was death. Everything else was unknown.

“Don’t worry Ash,” Alax said softly as he stepped closer to me, whispering so only I could hear. “No hard feelings from the other day.”

I felt something squirm in my stomach, as I looked Alax in the eyes. He’d called me for help, during the Reaping. And I’d instead watched him die. Was the feeling regret?

“It was the Reaping,” I whispered, “you knew the rules. You knew the danger. I couldn’t help you.”

“You couldn’t,” Alax said, placing a hand on my shoulder as he spoke. He squeezed hard, “or didn’t want to.”