None of the final three Assessments the following day provided a similar degree of spectacle as Orbahn’s party managed. The most excitement came from the second Assessment of the day that involved the party undergoing testing to be attacked by water dwelling monsters right at the beginning of the course.
Unlike what Orbahn had thought the previous day, those monsters (which reminded Alice of the creature from the Black Lagoon) where listed as Sapient in the Monster Hunter Compendium.
And after the party managed to fight their way through them, the monsters that were still alive approached the raised platform where the Assessment Administrators observed.
Patty, Daryl, and a Faerie mage from the Consortium hopped off the platform to discuss with them and provide first aid.
I wonder if I’ll ever get used to seeing stuff like this, Alice thought as she watched Patty apply antiseptic to a fishman’s lacerated scales. She pulled out a needle and filament to sew the gash shut and the fishman recoiled, shaking its head. The Fae mage leaned in and spoke quickly to Patty who turned red and quickly stuffed the sutures back into the bag. The Fae and the Fishman laughed, though the sound and the sight of it’s needle thin teeth raised the hair on Alice’s arms.
Patty seemed undisturbed, if a little embarrassed.
“It’s eery, huh?” Dahlia whispered. “We don’t have a lot of interaction with them outside of hunts.”
“Why would they be hunted at all?” Alice asked.
Dahlia tilted her head.
“You don’t know, huh? Well…” She looked across the crowd.
Patty had switched to applying a bandage to the fishman’s arm instead.
“It’s… a complicated issue and hard to describe it, but it boils down to the fact that they’re intelligence is different. They can communicate with anyone who speaks the Fae language, but they still behave according to nature and like the animals from which they’re derived. Sometimes, disease or magic surges make then go crazy… There are a lot of factors”
Alice’s disapproving scowl caused Dahlia to step back an throw up her hands.
“Don’t get me wrong! We don’t hunt them just because! That’s against the law!”
“Sapient monsters have to cause a serious threat to public safety for a Hunt to be issued,” Felix said.
“Most of the time they keep to themselves and we leave them alone. Sometimes we even work together. Like so-” He nodded his head. “But when their job here is done, they’ll be returned back to the river they call home and forget about how we worked together today. When they get hungry, they might even attack humans or fae later on if they can’t find their usual food.”
Alice’s frown remained and she shook her head. “I understand what you’re saying, but I can’t say I get it.”
“Maybe it’s different in New York…” Felix muttered.
Alice’s head snapped in his direction as Dahlia elbowed him hard.
“Ow! What the hell, Dee?”
“We agreed last night not to bring that up!” Dahlia hissed.
Orbahn sighed and shook his head.
Alice looked at each of them in turn then at the larger crowd around them. If someone was listening, Alice couldn’t tell. Still, she felt a brief surge of panic as Eve’s warnings returned to her mind.
“We’re not required to watch the Assessments, so why don’t we go to the Dove Tail and have lunch?” Orbahn said. “We can talk there.”
Their group turned to leave and Alice caught sight of Eve watching them go. She raised her hand to wave, but Orbahn scowled and stepped between their line of sight.
The four adventurers left the training yard.
________
“I can’t believe I said all that,” Alice said as she picked at the rabbit haunch on her plate. Even though she lived in New York city before she died, Alice grew up in a poor mountain town and was no stranger to rabbit.
Though, she’d certainly eaten it more often in just the two and a half weeks since she’d been in this new world. It seemed like a staple meat in Root Hollow.
“I have rock climbing and hiking experience so I’m not usually scared of heights. I’m amazed it hit me like that.”
“We knew you weren’t from Rothnia, but we had no idea you weren’t from anywhere in our world at all,” Dahlia whispered.
“There were signs when we thought about it though,” Orbahn said.
Alice lowered her gaze as she piled a bit of rabbit and stewed vegetables onto a slice of bread and took a bite.
“Did Eve tell you to keep it a secret?”
Alice paused mid-chew and looked at Orbahn. His face had grown so serious the past few days, unlike his beaming and playful personality when they’d first met.
The change made Alice nervous. Still, she nodded and swallowed.
“She said it was the safest option, because even though everyone in the Guild is really nice you can’t be too careful.”
The guild members being called nice by Eve stirred conflicting emotions in Orbahn’s chest. He sighed and shook his head.
“I guess she’s right,” he said. “After you fell asleep last night the three of us talked it over and decided we weren’t going to bring it up until you were ready.” He glanced to Felix who was busy trying to figure out how to eat his lunch with his heavily bandaged hands.
“We don’t have any intention of telling anyone else either.”
Alice’s shoulders relaxed. “Thanks.”
“SO, the reason you’ve been spending so much time with Eve is because she was teaching you about this world huh?” Dahlia asked as she leaned closer to Alice who nodded.
Orbahn sipped his ale and shook his head.
“You don’t need to do that anymore,” he said. “We can teach you anything you need or want to know. In fact, it might be best for the four of us to move to a new Guild branch entirely.”
Felix, Dahlia, and Alice all stared at him.
“What are you on about?” Felix scowled. “You want to move Guilds? NOW? After everything we’ve gone through?”
“That’s exactly why,” Orbahn pointed his ale mug at Felix. “We had to fight tooth and nail for that Assessment after three years of being told no by Eve. The secretary. Not the Captain.”
“Yeah, but even you said last year that Eve was only following the Guild by-laws,” Dahlia frowned. “She’s always been more than fair to us. She treats all of us kindly too. She’s always going out of her way to do what she can for us when she’s able.”
“It was just a suggestion,” he mumbled.
“Hey…are you okay?” Alice asked. “I know I don’t know you guys that well, but something seems to be bothering you.”
Dahlia stole a slice of bread from Alice’s plate and nodded.
“She right. You’ve been acting weird,” she said. Felix agreed as well.
“I just… have a bad feeling about the Guild here recently,” Orbahn said. “If I’m wrong, making accusations will do more harm than good. My gut is just telling me it’d probably be better to move on.”
“Well, I’d rather not,” Dahlia said. “It can be annoying to argue with them sometimes, but I like our Captain and Eve. We also get better jobs here since we’re so close to the border.”
“I agree with Dee,” Felix added. “If you shared your suspicions with us that might change things. But if you’re going to keep it to yourself I’d rather stay and keep an eye on things myself.”
The three faces at the table looked at Alice.
“Root Hollow is all I know of this world,” she said. “To be honest… suddenly pulling up roots sounds kind of scary.”
Orbahn sighed again and nodded his head.
“I understand,” he relented. “I won’t force us to leave, just… everyone keep your eyes and ears open alright? You three are my priority. I don’t want us to get hurt.”
“You’re being really ominous,” Dahlia frowned.
At that Orbahn’s smile returned.
“Am I? Sorry,” he replied. “I promise I’ll tell you guys when I know more.”
He pulled his leg of rabbit apart and just like that Dahlia turned her questions to Alice. She asked where “New York” was, who was its ruler, and what kind of monsters did it have.
Alice laughed and answered simply. But the people at her table couldn’t fathom a world where drakes and fishmen were written about in stories but didn’t really exist. The mood lightened, but Alice couldn’t stop thinking about Orbahn’s suspicions.
He’d said they were about the Root Hollow guild as a whole but it certainly didn’t seem that way to her. Especially not after their exchange before lunch.
But why is he being cautious of Eve all the sudden? Alice picked at her food some more but her appetite had gone.
I wish I new more than nothing. I wish…
I wish I could see Eve.
Alice scoffed at herself. It had been, what, two hours since they left the training grounds? Could she really only go that long before she started to miss someone that insisted on being a stranger?
And yet…
She hoped Eve’s workload would be finished after the Assessments. She really, really, wanted to spend time with her.
Despite Orbahn’s warnings.