The Broken Key (02) - Hunter of the Horde Read Online Free PDF Page B

said, “I’d like you to meet Swordmaster Allyn. He’s Captain of Lord Dourin’s guards.” Riyan gave the Swordmaster the bow for one of his rank. Every fighter in the world is named for the rank they have attained. Being a Recruit, Riyan sat on the lowest rung of the Guild’s hierarchy. Swordmasters were four ranks above him.
    Each rank has specific qualifications someone of the rank below must have before they can be ‘promoted’. The further up you go, the more it’s going to take to make the next level. For Riyan, the next level in the Guild’s hierarchy is that of Armsman. All he need do to be promoted to Armsman is to have memorized the first twenty Codes of the Warrior and have his Drillmaster attest that he was sufficiently skilled so as not to bring dishonor or shame onto the Guild. Then he could begin calling himself Armsman Riyan.
    His full name would be ‘Armsman Riyan of the Gilbeth Warriors Guild’, but for practical purposes, it was shortened to simply Armsman Riyan.
    “Nice to meet you Riyan,” the Swordsman replied. To use ‘Recruit’ as part of the name wasn’t normally done.
    “It’s my pleasure Swordmaster,” Riyan said. Now that the proscribed pleasantries between guild members were out of the way, he turned to Raestin. He held out the package to be delivered to his mother. “This is the package.” Raestin took it. “I’ll be there in two days,” he told Riyan. “She will get it then.” Riyan also handed over the coppers he was paying Raestin for the service. “Thank you,” he said.
    “Glad to do it,” said Raestin.
    Then Riyan again bowed to Swordmaster Allyn and turned to leave. He made his way from the foyer, glad that the package with the letter was finally on its way. Now at least his mother won’t be worrying about what had happened to him. He encountered Chad as he was on his way to the mess and joined him.
    “Tomorrow’s our ten-day,” said Chad as they waited in line for their food. Ten-day is what they called the one day in ten when they were free of drills and could leave the Guild. Of course if while they were out on their ten-day they were to get into trouble, the privilege of leaving the Guild would be revoked. Not to mention the other penalties that would go along with it.
    “I was thinking we should go see Kevik and find out how he’s making out,” suggested Riyan.
    Chad nodded. “Sounds like a plan,” he agreed. “Maybe after that we could find a tavern somewhere with a good bard.”
    Riyan thought that was a great idea. As soon as they received their allotment of food, which was almost more than either of them could finish, they took it to one of the many tables in the mess and joined a couple of the other Recruits who were already there.
    Most of the others gave Chad and Riyan a hard time as it was common knowledge they had bought their way into the Guild. All the other Recruits were legacied, meaning that someone in their family was a member so by default they could join.
    But not all were that way. The three Recruits whom they joined at the table were decent enough fellows. There was Chyfe, the ‘ch’ being pronounced as a ‘k’, who was the third son of a local lord. Five foot six, he was a bit on the short side as far as warriors went. But he was fast with his blade and could easily hold his own against the other Recruits.
    The other two at the table were Seth and Soth, identical twins. Their father was one of the guards in the service of a local lord. They were darker skinned than the average citizen of Gilbeth but not by much. Six foot one, they made an imposing pair. Seth was the more congenial of the two while Soth tended to be more reserved.
    “Riyan, Chad,” Chyfe said as they sat down.
    “How is it today?” asked Chad.
    Seth held up his knife with a slice of beef skewered to it. “A bit tough,” he said with a grimace. “I wonder if they give us Recruits the low end of the cow?” Soth chuckled at that and