The Apprentice

He stood there pacing back and forth. The elf was called forward first. Her broody and dark persona seemed like she has the dread knight thing down. Am I in the wrong place? He asked her to step back after she introduces herself. He beckons me forward. The same general questions are asked of me. I answer and step back. I look over her and her disdain can be felt like needles. How dare anyone challenge her for this spot. The third looked like a young farmer. So we have the dark mysterious elf girl and the innocent farmer. He wouldn’t want me a soldier with a sea of regrets.

The farmer steps back and joins us. He continues pacing back and forth. Silence fills the air. The girl seems to feed off of this tense energy, yet the farm is staring at his shoes sheepishly. He speaks, “Do not resist this test.” He approaches the girl and stares deeply into her eyes. This last for a few moments. He walks over to the one who brought us here. They talk for a moment. It looks like he picked his favorite. “You are dismissed”, said the one who brought us there. She was clearly upset. The two of us stood there. The farmer and the soldier. I was next. He looked into my mind and I could feel the past whirl up. “No don’t look at the child, anything but that”, I screamed in my mind. It was too late. He paused for a moment looked me over. He glanced at the one who summoned us and I grabbed my bag tighter ready to walk out, but he walked over to the farmer without a word. Does he not realize, I killed a child! I don’t deserve to live. That pup was only four years of age. Should I pull myself? He finished with the farmer. No hesitation after he finished. “What deity do you follow?”he asked. “None”, I replied, “But I am open to exploring that path.” Wow, that sounded cheesy. It was like the first day of boot camp all over again. He asked the same of the farmer. “Rurga”, he replied. A God of truth, justice, and oaths; what a way to go.

Then the kicker came the scenario. Who was guilty. I couldn’t find out. There had to be someone. I just couldn’t find it. We were in separate rooms, so it was all me. I thought and thought. Who was it? He came into the room. “I can’t kill anyone because I don’t know for sure who did it.”, I said head hung low. The Man reach out his hand, “Come with me, your training starts now.”

The Man With No Name’s Apprentice

Picture by The Bureau Investigates.