Hunter's Academy (Veller) (44 page)

“Classes are dismissed for today.” Erin said as she turned to face the cadets that still appeared to be in shock. “Please make yourself available for questioning.”

She walked passed the cadets into the
headmaster’s office where Master Boraro was being treated by one of the healers, although not very willingly. His face looked a mess but it was mostly due to the broken noise, the rest he couldn’t very well blame on Kile.

“She’s out of here, that little bitch is out of here.” Boraro
shouted as he pushed the healer away.

“And why is that?” Folkstaff asked. “Because she set you on your ass
?” He laughed.

“She struck a staff member, that is grounds for dismissal, and I want her out of here.” Boraro yelled.

“Yes, it wouldn’t do for people to know that the Weapon’s Master of The Hunter’s Academy was bested… by a little girl.”

“Robert, please… this is serious.” Oblum remarked
. “Why don’t you question some of the other students and see if you can’t get a clear line on what actually happened.”

“Yes sir.” Folkstaff replied.

“It doesn’t Matter, she’s out, she’s gone.” Boraro said, pushing the healer away for the third time. By now the healer had given up and was packing his supplies. “That's what you get for letting people like… like her into the academy. Orseen blooded, ill disciplined peasant child. She struck a staff member”

“That’s… not exactly true.” Master West spoke up.

“Explain Carl.” Oblum commanded.

“Master Boraro exceeded the limit of the training, and the skill of the student. He initiated the dual and connected with the first significant blow.”

“So you struck her first.” Oblum replied, turning to the Weapon’s Master.

“I was defending myself.”

“No sir, from what little I saw… it went beyond that.” West added.

The conversation paused as the door opened and Master Adams stepped into the
office; the first thing he looked at was Boraro’s face. The man had a towel over his nose trying to stem the flow of blood.

“Folkstaff told me what happened.”
Adams replied, and it was clear that he couldn’t quite believe it until now.

“We are attempting to ascertain who the responsible party
was.” Oblum stated.

“Well sir, if I’ve gotten the story right, the injury occurred during training.”

“That is correct.”

“Well, according to the Hunter’s Code, there is no fault… on either side.”

“Explain.”

“During a training exercise, such as sparring, there is an u
nderstood risk of injury. Therefore neither party is held responsible for injury inflicted upon the other.”

“There you go.” Oblum said, throwing up his hands. “No need to drag this out any
further.”

“Well sir.”
Adams interrupted. “There is a stipulation that injuries upon a student at the hands of an instructor, could result in disciplinary action.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Boraro snapped.

“You could lose your job.” Erin replied.

“I don’t think that actually applies here.” Oblum added. “I think it would be best if we just… let the matter go.”

“Are you serious?” Boraro shouted. “Let it go. Look at me, that little peasant bitch broke my nose and you want to let it go. There was no way she could have defeated me that easily unless…”

“Unless what?” Oblum asked.

“Unless she used her edged, that's it, she used her edge against me somehow, that had to be it.”

“If that is true.” Master Adams replied. “Then that is a case for dismissal, and possible prosecution under the Guild Laws. No hunter may use their edge against another hunter for any reason.”

“Is it true Carl, did she use her edge?” Oblum asked Master West who now looked as confused as everyone else.

“Um… I… I just don’t know sir. I didn’t see the whole thing.”
He replied.

“So you’re saying that she could have?”

“I suppose… well… yes I guess that is possible.”

“There you see.” Boraro said, pointing to West. “She used her edge, that’s why she bested me.”

“That’s not exactly what he said.” Erin added.

“I
will send a cadet to fetch Morgan.” Master Adams replied as he headed for the door.

“What can you tell us about the fight? What exactly did she do that makes you think that she used her edge against you?”

“Well… I felt dizzy, and there was that one moment that I couldn’t see.”

“Was that before or after she broke you
r nose?” Erin asked.

“You’re not helping.” Oblum replied.

“Oh come on, let’s at least have a note of realism here. He got careless, picked on the wrong student, she kicked his ass and now he’s crying foul. If it had been any other student but Kile, this wouldn’t have even gotten this far.”

“Her movements.” Boraro
exclaimed.

“What about her movements?” Oblum asked.

“They were fast, too fast to be normal, that’s her edge.”

“Oh come one, just because you’re old and slow doesn’t mean the cadet should be. Do we
even know anything about her edge, whether she could even use it offensively?”

“I believe that question should be directed t
o me.” Morgan replied from his overstuffed wingback chair that had suddenly appeared in the corner of the headmaster’s room.

“Where the hell did you come from?” Oblum demanded. He was unaccustomed to people appearing in his office without using the front door.

“A cadet had informed me that there was an emergency meeting that I was to attend, I must admit that I was unaware of such a meeting and thought I should pop over to check on it myself.” Morgan replied as he set his cup or rosemary tea down on the side table “I do hope this is not going to take long, I still have so much work to do.”

“We want to know what cadet Veller’s edge is.” Boraro demanded.

Morgan brought his fingers together as he pressed them against his bottom lip.

“No.” He replied.

“No, what do you mean no?”

“No. I
cannot divulge what a hunter’s edge is. It is clearly stated in your own code that the edge is known only between the hunter and the mystic that instructs him… or, in this particular case, her.”

“She’s not a hunter.” Boraro shouted.

“So, am I to believe that you have come to the decision to expel her from the academy?”

“No, no one is being expelled.” Oblum replied.

“Then I am afraid that I can not help you.”

“Perhaps you can answer a few questions about her
edge, without telling us.” Erin suggested.

“That I could do.”

“Can her edge be used offensively?”

Morgan thought about it for a moment as a grin slowly crossed his face.

“I suppose, although not very subtlety” He replied. “For this particular situation, since you feel you need to ask… I would have to say no.”

“This is ridiculous.” Boraro replied.

“Not that ridiculous.” Master Adams said as he stepped into the room. “I was talking with Folkstaff outside and according to the cadets, there appears to be a mixed opinion about what happened, some are saying she used her edge, some are saying she didn’t, and most admit they don’t know one way or the other.”

“Cadet Veller’s edge is more… shall we say… for information gathering, not combat.” Morgan replied as he took a sip of his tea. “Although I would have to say, that under certain circumstances, she could use it for offense, but it would not go unnoticed.”

“So, it wouldn’t be in… say the sphere of water.” Adams suggested.

“Water, absolutely not.” Morgan replied.

“Why do you ask that?” Oblum asked Adams as he shifted a look toward Boraro.

“Folkstaff. He did a reading that indicated that arts dealing with the influence of water had been used recently within the list, although with all the cadets and activity in that area, he can not pin point the exact time or location.
We haven’t had rain in the last eight or nine days, and what with the temperatures as hot as they have been, the ground is bone dry, except that small area where the incident took place is covered in mud.”

“Interesting.” Morgan added.

“Why would that be significant?” Oblum asked the Mystic.

“Because, if I am not mistaken, Master Boraro, you are influenced by the sphere of water, are you not?”

“How dare you.” Boraro shouted jumping to his feet. “You have no right to reveal my edge to others.”

“Oh please, I am not your mystic, so there is no pack between us.” Morgan said with a
dismissive wave of his hand.

“Not to mention the fact that you made a big deal about your campaign against the black water prates.”
Erin replied.

“Indeed.”
Adams added. “If I recall the story you told, you said that you walked out to the boat, under the water where you waited until nightfall to climb aboard the ship.”

“Water breathing, water walking, It does not take a mystic to identify a hunter influenced by the sphere of water.” Morgan concluded.

“Master Boraro… Garret, did you use your edge to affect the outcome of the battle?” Oblum asked.

“If he did, he didn’t do a very good job at it.” Morgan
added.

“Oh come on.” Boraro shouted as he turned and looked in each of their faces. Somehow he had lost control of the
argument; this was getting away from him fast. “For what reason would I have to do that?”

“To humiliate a cadet.”
Erin added.

“Is there some way to tell if an edge has been used
and how it was used?” Adams asked the mystic.

“The amount of mystic energy that you hunter’s use, appear as little more th
an background energy. It is not very discernable from what naturally occurs. Therefore, since I was not looking for it, I would not see it.”

“But are there tests you can do, some type of spell or something.”

“Spell? Spell? You make me sound like a side show conjurer. It’s not as if I can… wave a magic wand over the spot and have it reveal its secrets. The process is rather lengthy and drawn out.”

“Then it is possible?”

“Yes, yes it is possible.” Morgan admitted.

There was a knock on the door that caused
Adams to turn around, and he quickly stepped aside, Mathew Lathery entered, the man appeared to be in very good spirits.

“I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.” He said looking at the Hunters that had gathered in the headmaster’s office.

“Sir, we didn’t know you were at the academy today.” Oblum said as he rose from his seat.

“I was just in the area and thought I’d see how the cadets were faring.”

“Well sir, there seems to have been a slight incident.” Master Adams replied.

“But we have
it under control sir.” Oblum added. “There's no need to trouble yourself.”

“Trouble myself? Nonsense. The welfare of the academy is paramount to the survival of the guild, perhaps I can lend a hand in solving this little… incident did you say?”

“There was an altercation between a staff member and a cadet.”

“Oh, you mean the fight that just occurred.”

“You saw it sir?” Erin asked with a note of surprised. Nobody had even mentioned that the Guild Master was present, and the fact that he may have been there and didn’t even try to stop it was even more confusing.

“Oh yes, I saw the whole thing,
it was incredible.” Mathew laughed as he casually took the seat opposite Oblum’s desk. “The way that cadet fought, she’s going to make an excellent hunter… oh, and you did pretty good too Master Boraro, but you really need to learn to block those shots better, and not leave yourself so exposed.”

“It is Master Boraro’s request to bring charges against Cadet Veller for the use of her edge during the conflict.”
Adams announced

“Really?” Mathew replied, although he didn’t appear to be as
surprised as he sounded, he turned and focused on the Weapon’s Master. “Is this true Garret?”

“Um… yes sir… it is true.”

“I see, well, so be it. We can not have hunter’s using their edges against other hunters… it goes against… some law or something doesn’t it?”

“Yes sir,
it's written in both the Guild Law and the Hunter’s Code.” Adams replied.

“Is it… well… I knew I read it somewhere.”

“The problem is. We don’t know if she actually used her edge.” Erin said. She always had a difficult time reading the Guild Master. It was hard to tell when he was playing and when he was being serious.

“Oh… I see.
Well, I believe I witnessed the use of some type of mystic arts during the battle, a water edge if I’m not mistaken. If that is the case, I’m sorry to say that she will have to be expelled.”