Anarchistbanjo's World

It was an hour later when the first air sled appeared and circled over them. By then they were three miles away from the abandoned camp and heading upstream. They waved but the medic didn’t wave back. After circling a few times he simply left.

Tobal was feeling uneasy about the situation and knew continuing upstream was a mistake. It would give the impression they might follow the stream back down again to return into the forbidden area. With this in mind he checked his location on the map and set out directly cross-country toward the gathering spot. Twice that day air sleds checked on them but simply flew over without circling.

They made a few dry camps before reaching water again and the going was extremely rough. The terrain was much more rocky with less vegetation and animal life. More than once Tobal was grateful for Melanie’s prowess with snare and sling. Things would have been much more difficult if he had been on his own out here.

There were no more air sleds and Tobal felt relief but remained careful. Camps he chose now were secret, hidden and very hard to find. People could pass a few yards from his shelter without knowing he or Melanie was there. They found caves to sleep in and built fires with dry wood that would not smoke and give away their location.

Melanie took to this new training like a duck takes to water. She was naturally secretive and suspicious of strangers. She moved so quietly with the ability to appear and disappear that she seemed like a ghost. She laughed when he told her that though.

Basically Tobal was an even tempered teacher and she was quick and eager to learn. After two weeks of training she had learned navigating by map and compass. While she was an expert with the sling, it took her a while to get her first deer with the bow, mainly because of the terrain they were traveling in.

She was now providing the food for both of them and learning to construct various shelters. It was mid July and there were plenty of berries to eat as well. They saw larger animals like deer, bear, cougar and mountain goats. It was certainly an area not occupied by anyone else.

After two weeks of wandering they found a small hidden canyon with it’s own small waterfall and plenty of game. It was a box canyon with only one entrance that was a narrow crack in a rock face. They only found it by accident when Melanie was checking places to set out snares for the night.

It was this remote little canyon that he decided to make his permanent base camp. They spent the remaining time building shelters. He finished his teepee and used the blanket material they brought as outer covering. Together they built a permanent smoker and rack for sun drying jerky in the hot summer sun and completed a sweat lodge they were both dying to try out.

One morning Melanie came running to him all excited. She had found a honey tree. It was a rare treat and Tobal knew it would make a big hit at circle if they could find a way to get the honey without killing the bees. In the end they covered themselves with poncho material and smoked the bees out reaching into the tree with heavily protected hands and arms. They took two canteen cups full of the rich honey comb and honey leaving the rest for later. Tobal wanted the bees to survive and keep a constant supply of honey available.

Time passed quickly, it was almost the full moon and they were far from the gathering spot. To make things even more complicated they would be coming into the gathering spot from the valley and not from the cliff trail most newbies entered on their first time into the area. He didn’t know how that was going to work out and decided to think about it later when they got closer to circle.

With a smirk of satisfaction he stepped around the boulder from the wide trail onto the narrow ledge and sat down to wait. He had decided the best course was to simply take her up the trail to where the guards would be waiting. He told her to wait five minutes before following him back down and thought the guards would understand what was going on. He passed the area where they had taken him without incident and felt things were going all right. He was totally unprepared for the blood curdling scream and sounds of struggle he heard coming from the other side of the boulder. He should have given her some kind of warning he realized. It was too late now.

Racing back around the boulder he saw Melanie standing with her back to the cliff face, a bloody knife in her hand and a crazed look on her face. She saw Tobal and flung herself into his arms sobbing hysterically and trembling violently.

“They attacked me.” She kept sobbing. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”

One of the guards lay sprawled on the trail bleeding fiercely from a gash in his shoulder. Tobal recognized him as a Journeyman named Dirk. The dark haired girl was applying first aid to her fallen companion and ignoring Melanie as if she didn’t exist. The third guard was presumably running for assistance back to the camp.

Tobal held her shaking body keeping her steady until she cried herself out. He didn’t know what to do. Other guards would be coming soon and he was going to be in big trouble. He couldn’t think of anything to say and quietly led Melanie back down the trail. They heard the sound of running feet and moved quickly into the shadows as a group of six guards raced up the trail toward their fallen comrade.

Getting back on the trail they entered the camp and Tobal tried finding someone with a red robe that could straighten this whole mess out. He found Ellen, the High Priestess, by the circle and turned Melanie over to her. Melanie clung first to him as he tried to leave and then to Ellen for reassurance and safety after Ellen convinced her that every thing was going to be all right.

Tobal explained the situation to Ellen and Melanie was aghast and horrified to find out she had attacked and wounded someone that was only trying to initiate her into circle. She was furious at Tobal for setting the thing up and Ellen had to forcibly restrain her from attacking Tobal in her fury. Ellen took it in stride and chuckled a bit.

“You certainly have what it takes to belong to our clan,” she said. “Things will be alright. Don’t worry about it.”

When the guards came to get her Ellen suggested not to fight but go along with them peacefully for her initiation and entry into the clan. Tobal saw with amusement that Rafe was one of them and the dark haired girl another. There were six guards coming over to where Ellen, Tobal and Melanie were talking. Although some of the guards looked angry, Rafe was smiling. Tobal gave him a bear hug and couldn’t help but notice that Rafe flinched as if he were injured or hurt. But Rafe gave no sign anything was wrong and the guards took a peaceful and submissive Melanie to get ready for her initiation.

As they left Ellen turned to him with a grim look on her face and said, “I think you’ve got a little explaining to do to Zee and Kevin. They were looking all over for you after circle last month. I’ll be wanting to talk with you a bit later myself, ok?”

“Oh, damn!” he said. “I forgot all about them! When do you want to talk with me?”

“Sometime after circle.”

Word soon spread that Tobal’s newbie had skewered one of the guards on the way into camp. The guard was doing fine and in no danger. Most clansmen treated it as something that was highly funny but Tobal was not amused. Things had gone horribly wrong and someone could have been hurt or even killed and he felt responsible.

He was at the center of the circle proclaiming Melanie ready for her first solo when he noticed the red-haired girl, Becca, staring at him from the left side of the fire. Turning away, he continued talking and then resolutely returned to his sitting spot determined not to look in her direction again. He had seen the wonder and astonishment on her face and knew she was as surprised to see him as he had been to see her.

Tobal’s situation was unique in that he was acting as a sponsor bringing a person into the clan for the first time and at the same time proclaiming that person ready to solo on their own in less than a month. This was not a normal situation and Melanie’s escapade with the guards made a lively buzz of conversation around the camp as people congregated before the circle and chatted together. To his relief the elders approved her solo.

There were some farewells as some three year Masters left to become citizens. August was hot, very hot even in the mountains. He was thirsty and walked over to the beer barrel.

“Hi Nikki,” he said.

“Oh,” she looked startled and turned around toward him. “Hi.”

“Congratulations on soloing.”

“Thanks.” She said and bit her lip. For some reason she seemed a bit cool towards him.

“Is there anything wrong?”

“No,” she said, “ I’ve just got to get going. I want to train a newbie and need to get my things ready to leave early.” She turned and walked away from him.

“Good luck,” he said to her back as she walked away. There was something definitely wrong and it seemed to be him for some reason.

Moving over by the circle he saw Angel dressed in a black robe and was surprised that she was a Journeyman with three chevrons.

“I thought you were an Apprentice,” he told her. “When I saw you in sanctuary with your broken leg you were dressed in gray.”

“That was because of my injury,” she told him. “When I went through processing for treatment I was given the old gray stuff and my other clothes were ruined.”

They chatted for a bit and she was pleasant. It must just be the Apprentices that were pissed at him.

“Who is that dark haired girl with Dirk?” he asked suddenly. “I’ve been meaning to find out her name for two months now.” He blushed a bit.

Angel laughed. “That’s Misty, she’s only got one more fight to win before she makes Master. Perhaps she can fight you, get you ready for being a real Journeyman?” She winked.

Tobal was embarrassed and changed the subject. He always had trouble with girls and didn’t really know how to take them.

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Chapter 10

Now that she was calmer and accepted the situation things went smoothly. He helped her go through her equipment and made sure she was wearing her med-alert bracelet. He explained about sanctuary, how the food and water were safe to drink but really nasty tasting and how everything was calculated to encourage people to leave as soon as possible.

Tobal showed her the compass and map and which items were more important than others were. He advised her to grab a couple extra blankets off the beds and showed how to pack everything tightly into a pack that she could carry.

He decided to wait out the rain. There was no sense traveling in such bad weather and he spent one more day at sanctuary getting to know Melanie and teaching her how to use the supplies. He explained about the maps and compass and how to read them. On the morning of the 2nd day the rain had stopped and it promised to be mild and clear. The sun was shining. The air was fresh and clear. It was a perfect day for traveling and he started by having her triangulate their location and finding it on the map.

In high spirits they headed straight for the lake cross country to the South East where his main camp was. Melanie was leading the way and tying knots in her cord every ½ mile. Since her steps were shorter than Tobal’s she used a higher number of steps before tying the knot but the principle was the same.

Things didn’t go as smoothly as they had when training with Rafe, especially since he had lost most of his emergency supplies in the flash flood. They did not have much food in reserve and at first needed to rely heavily on the nasty tasting stuff they brought with them from sanctuary.

Melanie proved a quick student with an animal instinct toward self preservation and survival. Tobal made a walking stick for her and showed her how to use it. As they traveled toward the lake he taught her many of the things Rafe had taught him. He taught about testing food to see if it was edible and collecting herbs as they went along. She caught on to snares with an uncanny sense of how animals thought and where they made their trails.

More times than not it was Melanie’s snare or trap that held the rabbit or quail and not Tobal’s. She turned out to be a much better trapper than he was. He comforted himself with the thought they had plenty of meat and spent a few days smoking jerky and building up their emergency food supply.

Melanie proved to be a natural with a sling and said she played a lot of baseball as a kid. She was already skilled in archery, which she learned in high school. She had been on the school archery team.

There were less than 24 days until the next gathering and Tobal wondered if Melanie would be ready. He suspected she would given how fast she caught on to things. He would know for sure by the gathering and pushed the thought out of his mind.

As they drew near base camp his spirits rose and he began describing the beautiful place he had found. She was a good listener and never seemed to tire of his stories and descriptions. Tobal was a good instructor and leader. All thoughts of Becca Morgan were forced out of his mind by the demands of teaching Melanie and he pushed her to the limit. Still there were nights he lay looking up at the stars wondering about and dreading the next gathering when he would see her again.

Melanie thrived in the outdoors environment. Her face became tanned and happy. Her body became hard, brown and sinewy. The bruises on her face disappeared and her laughter was infectious. She became relaxed and easy with herself and with Tobal. The only unusual thing was how she always seemed to have a knife in her hands, sharpening it, tossing it up and catching it, spinning it and even throwing it. Her speed was unnatural. Once they startled a quail at their feet. As it burst into flight she threw her knife with blinding speed and killed it. She took the tail feathers of the quail and wove them into a pretty necklace she wore around her neck. She said she would be making a cloak out of them one day and he believed her.

It was four days when they reached the lake. Tobal looked around his camp with a mixture of shock and grief. There was nothing left standing. It had been vandalized and burned until nothing was left. Two of his food caches had been plundered but luckily they hadn’t found the third in a hollow spot of an old tree and sealed with rocks for protection from squirrels and other animals. As they opened the cache and divided the food Melanie started a fire and began making supper. Tobal wandered the ruins in stunned disbelief with tears stinging his eyes wondering why anyone would have done this. Gradually grief gave way to intense anger that rolled in his belly and glinted harshly in his eyes. He started looking around the camp for signs of who had done this thing.

He found some tracks and sign but wasn’t good enough at reading them to discern much about what had really happened. Obviously three people had come along and destroyed the place. All of his hard work was gone and his supplies ruined. It was hard to tell what was missing or just scattered. He was able to retrieve a few tools. Everything else was a loss.

The attackers left no trail to follow. Not wanting to stay in the remains of the camp they set out around the shore of the lake. There was a waterfall at the far end of the lake where a mountain stream fed into the lake and Tobal wanted to explore that. He had noticed it on his first trip around the lake and something about it called to him. Now he wanted to check it out more closely.

The country was rough and they were careful to keep their own trail hidden. The next camps Tobal and Melanie made were small and well hidden. They now knew why no one else built anything on the lake. It was an obvious target for anyone going up or coming down stream. It was simply not safe and asking for trouble to build there permanently.

The end of the lake with the waterfall was very rocky and difficult to travel. There was no shore and the rock simply dropped down into the water. What Tobal had in mind was finding some way to go upstream and explore with Melanie a couple weeks until the gathering. Perhaps he could find a better place to set up a main camp. With this goal in mind they struggled through the maze of rock, boulders and vegetation until reaching the edge of the water on the left side of the waterfall.

The waterfall was thirty feet high and you could tell it was ancient since it had once been ten feet higher. Erosion by water in the stream bed caused the rock on both sides of the stream to rise like stone pillars hidden by pine trees and forest vegetation. It was a small stream only ten feet wide. The falling water arched over a narrow ledge that disappeared into blank stone wall at the other end of the fall. Where they stood the ledge opened into a small patio like area that was flat and free of rock. It was less than a foot higher than the lake and formed a deep pool.

The water fell into the lake with a roar and violence that made the water churn and froth, but on the side where they were standing the water was inviting and made just for swimming. There was a ledge slightly below the surface of the water so a swimmer could easily climb back out after diving into the icy water. Tobal probed the hidden ledge with his walking stick and the shock of discovery made icy chills explode at the base of his spine. It wasn’t a ledge at all. It was the first of at least three steps that had been deliberately carved into the rock leading down into the pool of water. This was something he needed to explore more deeply on his own later.

The discovery of the stone stairs made him more alert and he carefully examined the small patio area where they stood. Melanie shared his excitement and enthusiasm. She finally found what they both were looking for. The cliff face jutted out in a rough and uneven manner. She had been following the cliff face and turned a sharp corner that couldn’t be seen from the patio area. In a small recess there were distinct foot holes and hand holds carved into the face of the cliff leading up the cliff where they seemed to disappear.

Tobal was first up the cliff and pulled himself onto a wide ledge that wasn’t visible from below. He helped Melanie over the edge and they both looked around with interest. There was vegetation since top soil had collapsed from above and fallen down. Trees, shrubbery and vines found footholds in the small layer of top soil and clung desperately to the rock.

Near the trees a narrow crack in the cliff face formed a small chimney that could be climbed by pressing the body against one side and gradually working up the remaining fifteen feet to the top. They took off their packs and cut one blanket into strips, braiding it into a short rope they used to lift their packs up the chimney.

Grabbing onto foliage and tree roots Tobal pulled himself out of the rock chimney helped Melanie out and coiled the rope putting it into his pack. At the top the soil was heavier and the foliage more dense and almost impossible to get through. The ring of foliage gave way to pine trees and the footing got easier. He could see what looked like a clearing ahead and started toward it.

They broke into the open and looked around in wonder at what had obviously been a camp. There were the remains of permanent shelters and kitchen area. Near the river was a large circle ringed with stone seats that must have been used for ceremonies and initiations. Further up a small hill were the remains of a sweat lodge and beyond that a patch of volunteer corn was still coming up in patches after all these years. It must have been fifteen or twenty years since anyone had visited or used the camp.

A large cairn of rocks dominated the middle of the site and covered with offerings. They were a strange assortment of man made objects weathered and destroyed beyond recognition of what they once had been. There was a haunted feeling that struck him and he had the sudden conviction he was looking at a mass grave of those that once lived here.

This was the place he had been dreaming about. People had once held gatherings here just as they did at circle. What had happened? How and why had they died? Had they known his mother and father? Was this the place Sarah’s mother and two brothers were buried? A certainty deep in his gut told him that it was. All these questions were turning in his mind, but even more forcefully was the instinctive knowledge that they needed to get out of here fast. They couldn’t be found in this place.

He knew with sick certainty this was why no one was allowed to build camps near the lake. There was some secret hidden here that was meant to remain hidden. It was dangerous to stay because they could be tracked by their med-alert bracelets. Medics would be coming soon by air sled to check on them unless they got out of the area quickly.

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The cheerful, easy piece of mind he had experienced during his solo was gone and he stumbled blindly along. The connection he had formed with nature was temporarily forgotten as the sun beat mercilessly down on him during the day and he slept on the hard ground during the night. The next two days it rained mercilessly and he narrowly avoided a flash flood that swept his camp away with most of his belongings.

Luckily he still had his map and compass in a pouch around his neck and was able to triangulate his position. He was wet, cold, tired and hungry as he trudged across a muddy terrain made slick in spots by red clay that clung to his shoes making every step a challenge. The water had filled his shoes and sloshed between his toes. He could feel blisters beginning to form on his heels from the chaffing.

When he arrived at sanctuary nobody was there. He was a disappointed but also very humbled that he had lost most of his supplies in the flash flood including his jerky. As he chewed down some of the nasty tasting stuff from the machine he resolved to wait right there until someone did show up. There were usually several new people each month that somehow arrived at sanctuary from where ever they came from. Remembering Rafe’s advice he stripped completely leaving his gear in a corner and went through the medical exam again getting a new set of robes, pack and med kit and most important fresh socks and a new pair of hiking boots.

Tobal thought about using the new robe as a rain coat or slicker and grabbed several blankets to take back to the lake as a covering for his teepee. He went through the contents of the new pack, med kit and found another knife, razor and toothbrush to replace those he had lost in the flood. He looked at his old wet hiking boots wondering whether he should keep them or not. Besides being soaked, they were almost worn out from the rugged life style of the past two months. He decided to hang onto them anyway. Boots were hard to come by in the wilderness and homemade ones just didn’t have the comfort of these heavy duty hiking shoes.

He was feeling satisfied with his pack and starting to feel better in general when he heard footsteps entering the building and a timid “Hello.”

He froze in the darkness waiting. There was a short silence and the footsteps continued until he heard the familiar mechanical voice saying.

“Do you seek sanctuary in the city of the sun?”

A timid female voice answered weakly, “Yes, I do.”

Tobal moved silently to the edge of the dark archway and looked into the other room. He saw a slight figure with her back toward him. She was entering the sliding door into the exam area.

Yesterday he had gone through the exam wearing his med-alert bracelet and it had been nothing like the two day processing he had gone through the first time. It had only taken about 3 hours before he emerged with his new clothing and gear. He knew it would be two days for this newbie to finish processing so he settled down to wait. The pouring rain continued and he assumed Zee and Kevin had decided not to travel in the storm and would be coming later after the weather had cleared.

It was around noon on the second day that a sure footed hulk came through the door dressed in the gray tunic of an Apprentice. It was a boy Tobal had seen at circle briefly but hadn’t talked to. He felt this hulking boy had been hostile toward both him and Rafe. Tobal remembered the boy’s name was Victor, but most people called him the Ox, probably because he was so slow and big. The Ox stopped and grinned when he saw Tobal.

“Anyone come in yet?” He asked.

“Yeah, someone’s processing right now,” Tobal replied.

The Ox padded over to him, his bulk towering over Tobal in a menacing way. He could see the five chevrons on the Ox’s sleeve and knew the Ox intended to claim this newbie for himself.

“You’d better run along little boy,” the Ox told him. “I’ll take care of this one.”

An icy feeling settled into Tobal’s gut. He felt sick and powerless to stop what was happening. The Ox was too big for him to take in a fight. He sat back on one of the cots without saying anything. A small flicker of triumph gleamed in the Ox’s eyes as he turned and went outside for his pack.

Moments later Tobal heard a door slide open and the girl, now dressed in a gray robe and carrying a bundle, stepped into the darker room where he sat waiting. As if on cue the Ox came stomping in and walked up to her. He roughly grabbed her arm.

“Come on, I’m your new teacher,” he growled. “Let’s get going.”
She shrank back obviously terrified and Tobal instinctively stood up without thinking.
“Wait a minute Ox,” he said. “I’ve been waiting here three days and I think you’re rushing things a little bit. She might prefer to go with me than go with you.”

His challenge stopped the Ox in his tracks.

“You still here scarface?” He asked, “You’d better run back to Rafe before I mess you up.”

“Why don’t we just explain the situation to the newbie,” said Tobal reasonably, “We can both talk to her and she can make her own decision about who she wants as a teacher.”

The Ox didn’t even wait. He spun and lurched over to where Tobal was standing, grabbed him by the tunic and threw him down on the floor. In disbelief Tobal narrowly missed being kicked in the face by a huge boot. This guy was really trying to hurt him! He rolled hastily to his feet and watched the Ox with fear in his eyes. There had been no real warning. Tobal was caught completely off guard by the viciousness of the attack and had no idea what to expect next. The Ox was obviously used to getting his own way and was coming around the end of the cot to close with him and give him a real pounding that could involve serious injury.

Instinctively Tobal’s hand went to his knife and he held it in front of him protectively with the edge upward. The Ox halted, shock registering on his face. He was obviously not used to being threatened with knives and didn’t know what to do about it.

Sensing an advantage Tobal took a quick step toward the Ox, waving the knife slightly.

“I said let’s talk to her. Let’s explain things to her and then let her decide.”

The Ox stood still, not moving, a nervous tick showed on his left cheek and his eyes were bulging. Like most bullies, the Ox was a coward at heart. He was clearly unprepared for any of this and didn’t know what to do. The silence built until his nerve broke, unwilling to challenge Tobal any further he spun away with a dangerous glint in his eye.

“I’ll remember this.” He said and stalked heavily out of the room.

Tobal turned toward the girl who was shrinking from him in fear. Then it occurred to him he was still brandishing the knife in a threatening way. He put the knife away blushing.

“Sorry about that,” he said in an embarrassed way. He felt a red flush creeping up his face making the muscles go tight and pulling the scar tissue making it stand out in the dim light. He was uncomfortably aware of how he must appear to this frightened girl.

“Sorry,” he said again weakly and sat down on the edge of a cot.
“It’s ok, don’t be afraid. I’m Tobal, What’s your name?” He asked trying to lighten the situation a little.

“Melanie,” she whispered. “I’ve come to seek sanctuary but they stole all my things!”

She burst into tears not able to take any more. Despite himself Tobal chuckled at the irony of the situation. Apparently she knew as little about sanctuary as he had when he first arrived a little over two months ago. He lay back on the uncomfortable cot and looked her over with interest. She was taller than he had first thought and came up easily to his shoulder. Her dark hair was straight and stringy and her face was thin and long but her eyes were dark brown and vulnerable right then. Her shoulders were shaking and she was obviously going through an ordeal.

“You’re not from around here are you?” He observed thoughtfully.

She whispered “No”, with a sad and lost look on her face that told him she didn’t really want to be here now either.

“Why did you come here then?” He asked.

Gradually her story came out. She had heard about the mysterious, Forbidden City of Heliopolis and of how anyone, no matter their race, religion or past could go there and claim sanctuary. There were rumors of time travel and witches circles and magick. She had run away from an abusive home to get here and now she was scared. She didn’t understand anything about this place.

“It’s not at all like I thought it would be,” she confessed tearfully.

“You ran away from home?” Tobal asked.

She blushed and her face went red to the roots of her dark brown hair. That’s when Tobal noted in the dim light the remains of a black eye and a yellowing bruise on the left side of her face. This girl was not a stranger to violence. He shuddered to think of her with the Ox as a teacher. She was seeking sanctuary in a totally different way than he had claimed sanctuary. He had been seeking for clues about his parents and their deaths. She was simply looking for a place of safety.

Not quite knowing how to begin. “This is kind of complicated,” he said at last.

“Sanctuary is not that easy and becoming a citizen takes a long time.” He began lamely. “You see, they don’t just let people into Heliopolis….”

She started to clench up and quiver at his words fighting back tears and he motioned her to keep quiet and let him finish. He tried a kindly smile and saw her flinch at his attempt.

“Heliopolis only grants citizenship to those that have proven themselves worthy of being citizens. Claiming sanctuary just means you are applying for citizenship and willing to prove your worthiness.”

He stopped as he realized she didn’t understand a word he was saying. He tried again.

“You just had a medical exam right?” She nodded. “You’ve also taken a bunch of tests and been given a pack with some clothing and a sleeping bag right?” again she nodded.

“What you are now expected to do is go out and prove that you can live off the land by yourself for an entire month.”

She looked at him in shocked disbelief. Her eyes were starting to widen in horror with dawning comprehension.

“You mean there is no sanctuary here?” She asked.

His face relaxed into a grin as he sat up once more on the hard cot.

“There is safety and sanctuary in a way. A group of us live outside the city in the wilderness. We have all claimed sanctuary, even Ox whom you already met. We are proving ourselves worthy of becoming citizens of Heliopolis. The requirements are completion of three degrees of work and study. The Apprentice degree is to learn how to survive alone in the wilderness for an entire month or 28 days, which is the moon cycle. You do this without any assistance from anyone else. Once you have soloed you are expected to train six other people to solo. Training these six people proves your mastery and ability to survive in the wilderness. Once these six people have soloed you are eligible for the Journeyman degree which we can talk more about later.”

“Ox has already trained five people to solo but I haven’t trained anyone yet. I just finished my own solo three days ago. I came here hoping to find someone to train.”

She was much more curious now and attentive to what he was saying.

“Ox came here to find someone to train and we had a little personality clash as you noticed”, He grinned ruefully. “At least I’m still alive! I thought he was a little too offensive for my taste.” He looked at her solemnly and said, “I’d be glad to teach you the survival skills needed to solo and receive the Apprentice degree if you would like.”

She looked at him with a glint of humor in her eyes and a light smile on her face.

“I’d like that very much Mr. Tobal,” she said.

“Tobal,” he replied, “Tobal.”

“Mr. Tobal,” she said, “ I like your style.”

“Drop the “Mr.,” he said, “just Tobal, ok?” They both laughed.

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