Chapter Thirteen

  Ways of a Winter Hunter

  Hurlorn, Dewman, and Luris followed Gerbil into the winding maze of the Severed Mountain’s caverns. Gerbil lit the way with a small torch burning atop his staff.

  “I’ve worked as a woodcutter for a few seasons, the Woodcutters say that a bronze axe won’t get you through a single tree, say the metal is too soft, say there's a reason we stopped using it once we figured out steel,” Hurlorn said.

  “True, the holy metal may not be able to service us in spring,” Gerbil said, “But you’ll find that in winter it's the only metal you can count on. Bronze was the first gift given to us by the Goddesses, they saw that man could do great things if he could learn to use tools, so we took bronze, shaped it, and molded it into simple hammers and blades. We used the bronze to fashion skins into clothing, cut meat into food, and build our first homes,” Gerbil smiled, “It is by the blessing the Goddesses put in bronze that a winter hunter’s weapons can harm the monsters,” He led them to the armory.

  “Do you got something like the Hunt Master’s sword? The long one he carries?” Hurlorn asked as the boy entered the room.

  Gerbil put the burning tip of his staff to a bronze line of metal and sent a swirl of flame to light the armory. “You speak of no ordinary longsword, that is the weapon for a hunter of the highest order, wielded by Duncan Hightower himself, a weapon blessed by druids of old and embedded with holy runes of the language of Goddesses, that is a rare sword, and unfortunately this old druid lacks the skill to make you one of those, but you should find our stock here fine enough for the start of your journey as hunters,” Gerbil said, stepping aside and giving the boys room to explore.

  Dewmen spotted a quiver of arrows in the corner of the room, hanging on the wall under the finest bow he had ever seen. He lifted the bow and while it looked to be made of stern wood it had an odd kind of weight to it, “What is this bow made of?” he asked.

  “Bullelk antler, sanded, smoothed, and crafted with care, those arrowheads are Bronze tipped of course. Heard that you were a Bowman, take a look at them,” Gerbil said.

  Dewman picked up one of the arrows, and spun it around in his hand, “I’ve been shooting bows since I was a boy, but I’ve never held an arrow with this kind of craft. The ones I could buy from traders were always so weak and didn’t fly right, I ended up making some of my own, but even those are nothing compared to the craftsmanship and balance these have,” Dewman brought the arrow up to his eye and inspected the shaft, “I didn’t even know a shaft this straight could be made by human hands,” he said.

  “Winter Hunter craftsmanship, second to none,” Gerbil laughed.

  “I like these,” Hurlorn said, taking a pair of doubled edged hand axes off the wall, “Worked as a woodcutter for a few seasons, the woodsman said I had a talent with an axe, are these meant to be used as a pair?” Hurlorn said taking a few swings with them.

  “Two weapons, yes, I knew I had you pegged for a Ravager style, you’ve got that look in your eyes,” he said.

  “Ravager style?” Hurlorn asked.

  Gerbil, turned to the young hunter, “There are many styles of combat that the Winter Hunters have developed in their training, the Ravager style is one that only the strongest and most determined hunters can master,” he said.

  “The Hunt Master uses two swords, is that the style he uses?” Hurlorn asked.

  “No, he was trained under the arm and shield, the Vanguard style. He chose it because he wanted to protect, and protect he does. He may use two swords in a pinch and may have gotten some training in that style. Don’t think you just need to devote yourself to one form of combat, as a Winter Hunter you must be versatile, different combats require you to be versatile, able to change their style on a whim, but it’s good to master one, as you grow into being a hunter you will combine the various lessons of every way of combat into your own style, not a single Winter Hunter that ever was who knew all the same attacks as another. If you boys are to fight together, you must make sure your styles can complement and aid each other.

  “How far can these arrows fly?” Dewman asked, running his thumb over the bronze arrowheads.

  “Far as you can send them,” Gerbil said. He turned to Luris who had been a bit quiet, “You boy, any weapon here you fancy?” he asked.

  “I know I want a shield, you said this was Vanguard style right, the kind that makes sure no one gets killed?” he asked.

  “Vanguard? Takes more bravery than one would think, sure you’re up for it?” Gerbil asked as Luris took an oak shield with a bronze rim around it off the wall. He spun it in his hand and tested its weight, “Yeah, I think so,” Luris said.

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  “You remind me of Cailean, I can spot a hunter’s style from a hundred paces,” Gerbil rested a hand on Luris’s shoulders, “You seek to protect your brothers, admirable,” he said, giving Luris’s shoulder a pat. “But know that a Vanguard does not just defend, it attacks as well,” Gerbil reached for a Bronze shortsword hanging next to the shield, “This weapon belonged to a hunter I met in his youth and buried at a fine old age, his name was Tymer, look closer at that shield boy,” he said, turning to Luris, holding the blade in his hand.

  Luris inspected the shield by the fire, while still sturdy and sold, it carried a few dings and dents on it.

  “Every one of those dents comes from that shield being used in service of his brothers, you may put a few dents in that shield yourself,” Gerbil said, handing the sword to Luris. The young boy took the blade and gave it a few practice swings.

  Cailean then entered the armory, “See you boys have found your first weapons, I remember taking my first weapon,” he looked over the boys, and when he turned to Luris he smiled, “Sheild huh, is there a fear in you boy?” he asked.

  “No,” Luris said, looking down.

  Cailean put a hand on Luris’s shoulder, “No need to be embarrassed, there was a fear in me too, I think we both took a shield for the same reason, we wanted to protect ourselves, but we also wanted to protect our brothers, I couldn’t protect mine,” Cailean looked down, “And I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since,” a forlorn smile came across his face. He looked to the other two, “Dewmen, you got to show me your skill with that bow, your brothers say you’re one of the best shots they’ve ever seen. How many paces can you hit true from?” he asked.

  Dewman threw the bow over his shoulder, and picked up the quiver of bronze-tipped arrows, “Once hit a white rabbit in the dead of winter, forty paces,” he said, trying to sound proud.

  Hurlorn was the most eager of the three boys to start training, “Think you can show me a two-weapon fighting style, how did you learn it?” he asked.

  “I was never really trained in it, just kind of picked it up, had to learn it fast when I was facing too many monsters for one sword to handle,” Cailean said, then turned back to Luris, “I’ve learned every shield technique one could learn, I’ll show you what I know, but you’ll only be able to learn your style in actual combat. There's only so much that training can teach you,” he said as he led the boys out of the mountain and into the snowy ground outside the entrance.

  “Let’s start with Dewman,” Cailean said, “Knock an arrow, and try to hit one of those trees,” he said, pointing out some dogwoods fifty paces from the entrance of the mountains. “Don’t worry about the bronze, it’s not as strong as steel but it can hold up to some target practice, and you need to learn how to fire these arrows if you’re to use them,” Cailean said.

  Dewman nodded and took the bow off his shoulder, “This is the best damn bow I’ve ever held,” he said, taking a bronze-tipped arrow from the quiver and knocking it. He raised the bow and pulled the arrow back, closing one eye and taking careful aim for one of the trees.

  “Don’t think too hard,” Cailean said, “As you train as a Winter Hunter, you’ll develop a kind of sense for battle, a kind of focus,” he said, standing behind Dewman as the other two watched him.

  Dewman loosed the arrow, and it sailed through the air, it sliced the side of a tree and fell over to the ground.

  “Damn it,” Dewman said, “I would usually hit it, I’m just not used to these kinds of arrows, they’re so well made, I’m used to having to correct my shot, I’m not used to something that flies this straight,” he said.

  “That’s what training is for,” Cailean said, “Try again, trust your weapon, and trust yourself,” he tried to encourage Dewman as the young man knocked another arrow.

  “Use your senses, feel the winds of winter, feel how they want to push your arrow away, let them blow through you without causing you any reservation, trust yourself, trust your aim,” Cailean said.

  Dewman drew his arrow back, and let it fly, trying not to try too hard to aim it, knowing that he was wielding a weapon of the highest craftsmanship. The arrow flew through the air and embedded itself in the tree.

  Cailean smiled, “Good job,” keep practicing, I’ve seen Marksmen Hunters strike rabbits in the dead of winter, white rabbits hiding amongst a pile of snow, gave me a good bit of meals they did,” Cailean said.

  “We’ve had our share of rabbits for dinner growing up, in winter and in spring,” Dewman said as he drew another arrow and sent it flying, hitting so close to the first arrow the tips of the arrows ground against each other.

  “Impressive, keep practicing, hone those senses,” Cailean said.

  Hurlorn stepped forward, bronze axes at his side, “Master Hunter, you fight with the two weapon style, I think I can do that too,” he said, “Can you teach me?” he asked.

  “I can only teach you so much,” Cailean said, “Just enough to get you ready for your first hunt, that’s where you’ll learn what you need to learn about your weapons, I fought with a man who used two axes, he got a killing blow in on the monster that killed him,” Cailean said, “He died in my arms,” Cailean took a deep breath, and a line of steam ran out of his nose.

  “I’ll show you the basic moves, I’m new to two-weapon fighting myself, I haven’t learned much but what I have I’ll teach you, Goddess forbid you to find yourself in the kind of melee I was in when I learned the two-weapon fighting style,” he then turned to Luris, “And you, you might be the one student I could teach the most too, tell me about your weapon,” Cailean stood towers tall over the young Luris.

  Luris drew his sword, “It’s a short sword, one-handed use, it’s umm, bronze,” he said, “Belonged to a hunter who saved many brothers, it-”

  “I told you to tell me about your weapon,” Cailean said, “Not the sword, the shield, that’s your weapon,” he said.

  Luris looked to the shield, buckled to his wrist, “This?” Luris looked up, “This is just to make sure I don’t get killed,” he said.

  “Look at that weapon, look at the bronze ring around it, careful, that’s as sharp as any sword, I decapitated a Spider Folk with one of those, that’s the secret to fighting with sword and shield, it’s a kind of switch, your sword is going to be defending you, and it's your shield that’s going to let you get the kill,” he said.

  “I’m ready to learn,” Luris said, tightening the shield to his arm and drawing the shortsword. Cailean turned to Hurlorn, “You two, spar up a bit, focus on technique, and don’t go hurting each other, you’re not trying to kill another man, not yet at least,” Cailean said.