“So, who’s ready to go in?” our tutor asked.
Most of us raised our hands.
“Wrong!” Rutmonlir bellowed. His voice shook pebbles loose on the upper slopes and sent them bouncing down the mountainside. “You’re all too low level to go walkabout in a vigorous zone. Ain’t that right, young Kegohr?”
All eyes turned to Kegohr, who looked shamefaced down at his feet. The only one not looking his way was Vesma, who glared daggers at Master Rutmonlir.
“Yes, Master,” Kegohr rumbled as he leaned on his giant mace.
I’d been enjoying Rutmonlir’s gruff, no-nonsense demeanor as a striking contrast from the formality of so many guild masters. But now, I found myself souring against him. There was clearly something in Kegohr’s past, something painful enough to shame the bold half-ogre, and Rutmonlir was using it despite that pain, perhaps even because of it.
“You’re going to use lures to draw the beasties out.” Rutmonlir held up two glowing objects. One was an amber-colored stone in the shape of a teardrop, only a few inches long. The other was a glowing red ball the size of Kegohr’s fist, trapped within a wire cage. Both were attached to leather cords. “The little one’s for ember sprites, and the big bugger’s for scorched salamanders. They can’t resist them.”
He continued. “You’ll need to work in groups, whichever beastie you’re after. There ain’t enough lures for you to do both, so get into groups of three and decide what you want to be able to cast—Flame Shield or Untamed Torch.”
Before the rest of us even had time to form groups, Hamon strode out of the throng. He leapt lithely up in front of Rutmonlir and snatched the larger lure from the master’s hand.
Rutmonlir snorted. “Feel like a challenge do you, young Hamon? And who’s gonna take that on with you?”
“No one,” Hamon replied. “I can do this on my own.”
Rutmonlir’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment, it looked like he would discipline Hamon. But then, he snorted again, and his beard shook as the breath burst through it.
“All right, you cocky little bugger,” he said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” He glared at the rest of us. “Don’t you lot go getting ideas. Just because I’m happy to see him get his head bit off doesn’t mean you can do the same.”
I figured if Hamon could take the monsters on by himself, then I could do the same. I was about to tell Rutmonlir that I’d be going solo when I saw Kegohr with Vesma standing beside him. The other initiates seemed to be avoiding the two I’d faced in the practice yard. Whether it was because Kegohr was wild, I didn’t know, but it looked like they’d need my help in the challenge.
“You two want to work with me?” I asked.
“Sure!” Kegohr gave me a broad smile, and he lumbered toward me as though he wanted a hug.
“Great.” I took a step back before he could wrap me in his massive arms.
Vesma groaned. “Fine,” she said. “You’ll do.”
I couldn’t help feeling as if she was just downplaying my skills since I’d beaten her when we’d spared. I didn’t mind though; I liked proving people wrong.
“What are these techniques we have to choose between?” I asked.
“Flame Shield does what it says,” Kegohr explained. “Summons a shield of flame around you. It can burn up incoming arrows and hurt attackers. Untamed Torch lets you shoot fire from your hands. Good for attacking, especially once you get good at it.”
Untamed Torch sounded a lot like the sword I’d had back on Earth. I recalled the magical weapon and wondered whether I’d ever see it again. Acquiring these new techniques would, at least, make up for losing it, but I still had so much to learn about this world.
My new teammates were far more knowledgeable than me on almost every subject, and I wondered whether they had some kind of trick that would help me progress at a faster rate. Anything helpful for the coming battle against the magical beasts might give me an edge.
“Any tips?” I asked.
“No. You should have done your homework.” Vesma glared at me, so I decided to turn my attention to her more helpful friend.
“Did you work this stuff out thanks to being a wild?” I asked.
“From my da,” Kegohr said. “He was a great fire Augmenter, wanted me to follow in his footsteps. Taught me theory when I was just a sprog—what the arts and techniques are, what beasts you get them from, what’s good to use when.”
I wanted to say something about how proud his father must be that Kegohr had joined a fire guild. But he’d talked about his “da” in the past tense, and from his tone, it didn’t sound like his father had just retired. I decided to wait and ask Vesma about it later.
“Untamed Torch sounds good,” I said. “I’d like a better ranged attack than Stinging Palm.”
“I want Flame Shield,” Vesma said.
“One vote each way,” I said. “I guess it’s up to you, Kegohr.”
“I’d rather be safe,” the half-ogre said. “Stay on my feet long enough to get in there with my fists. I want Flame Shield.”
In all my years of learning martial arts, I’d always been more drawn to aggressive moves than defensive ones. I liked to get up in my opponents’ faces, not wait for them to come to me. But I needed people to work with, not just today but in general, so I was willing to go with the views of my new friends.
“Let’s go catch some sprites, then,” I suggested.
We fetched one of the smaller lures from Rutmonlir and joined our fellow students around the mouth of the Ember Cavern. The entrance to the cave was vast, a gaping maw in the side of the broken-topped mountain. There was a flat, open space outside the cave mouth and the teams of initiates spread out around its edge. We laid our
