The letter came one early summer morning. It was delivered to Callia at her home in Shepherdstown. Perusing the outside thoroughly, she frowned, as she did not recognize the signet mark. Another job offer, she thought to herself. Shaking her head, she tossed it onto her table with the dozens of others she received on a weekly basis. Being a famed adventurer had its perks as well as its drawbacks. Someone always seemed to want something. Shaking her head, she grabbed up her practice swords and headed for the practice arena that Lord Darvic Eath had had built several years ago before he became the Lord of the town.
Today she planned to meet with several new followers who'd come to lend their services to her. She hoped to discover how well each of them could handle a blade. Training would commence as soon as she could ascertain what their strengths and weaknesses were.
As she reached the practice arena with her boon companion, Verrshaun, accompanying her, she surveyed the six new recruits. There were two elves, two humans, a half-elf, and a half-orc. She eyed each of them intently, mentally summing up what each of them might be able to do.
Although Callia was very friendly to her followers and took pains to make sure each was comfortable with her, she didn't always curry familiarity with them. There were a number in her service whom she'd helped along the way. She wondered though if she should've been more personal with them. Perhaps she would talk to Verrshaun about that.
"Form up," she barked as she dropped the practice swords on a weapons rack. She watched as they moved to form a straight line. She quickly took stock of each one of them. Both silver elves, a male and a female, were wiry and slight of build. She surmised that both could be trained to fire a bow and wield a light weapon with finesse. The humans, both males, seemed to be of similar stock. Their builds were very blocky with broad shoulders and deep chests. She surmised that perhaps they came from peasant stock and were no strangers to hard work. She guessed they could be brothers. Perhaps training them with axes would be good.
She flicked her eyes over the female half-elf. She clearly took more from the human side of her mixed ancestry than from the elven side. She also seemed to come from a heartier peasant stock as well, but she had a decisive edge to her. A certain look about her that spoke of experience beyond that of a commoner. Callia figured she'd delved into adventuring and would most likely have a preference in weapons.
She moved to the last person in the line. Never before had a half-orc come into her service. Callia had spent most of her life not having a fondness for half-orcs. And clearly this one was more orcish looking than those she had met in the past. This half-orc was big and muscular with a plethora of scars crisscrossing his craggy face and upper body. It seemed to her that he had led a hard life. He looked very much like a battle-hardened warrior and she suspected he was quite familiar with a great axe.
"I am Callia Blackhawk-Darksbane, but of course, all of you know that. It's the reason you are here. I am here not only to get to know you, but to be your friend. It is my goal to train you all to properly defend yourselves and this town as well. It looks like to me that some of you already know your way around the business end of a weapon. Some of you look like you've either been warriors or had some adventuring experience. I want to know all about that. I also want to know if you have never so much as swung a sword, fired a bow or the like. I am here to train you. I am your friend, your mentor, and your instructor. I will not laugh at your mistakes or make light of your inexperience. I, too, began as a novice. So before we begin, I would like to know something about all of you. Where you are from and what kind of experience you may have. We will start with you." Callia stated as she motioned to the half-orc.
He stepped forward, towering over her by more than a whole foot. "I am Londar of the Bloodfang tribe. I was one of the younger warriors of my tribe until humans attacked us. My mother was Orc and my father was human. It was his people who sought to destroy my tribe. They felt anger for what happened to my father at the hands of my mother's people. They chased us for years, slowly whittling our numbers. We fought back. We fought for our survival. Then two years ago, they launched a large attack and very few survived. My mother perished in that attack. I was one of the lucky ones to have survived. I have spent much of the time since wandering from town to town. I found work on the docks, but I wanted to do more than just be a lowly half-orc dock worker. I heard of you and heard of your greatness. It has been said you have befriended other half-orcs so I came here in search of you." Londar replied.
"It is true that I have befriended other half-orcs, one of which is a very good friend to me." Callia said, "You said you are a warrior. Have you a preference of what type of weapon you wield?"
"I have often been called a barbarian. I favor axes most of all and muscle powered weapons."
"Since you have experience, we will work together with a great axe. I have one I believe you will like. As you were."
Londar nodded and stepped back in line. She moved on down the line, stopping in front of the female half-elf.
"My name is Aeslin. My human father raised me after my elven mother left to return to her people. I hold no hard feelings toward her for it. My father does, but he remarried a human woman. My stepmother didn't want me around so I left his home five years ago and have made my own way in the world. I've done some mercenary work. I'm pretty good with a bow and a longsword. I heard them speak of you down in the Dancing Jug and decided to seek you out." Aeslin explained.
Callia nodded. "You had that look about you that you had some experience. The longsword is a very reliable weapon. We shall work together on that."
Callia moved down to the two humans who seemed to be brothers or of some close relation. "And you might be...?" she asked as her eyes flicked over each of them.
"I am Joss Tulach and this is my brother, Valthus. We hail from the Heartlands. We heard of you in tales told by a traveling bard. He spoke of your great adventures and bravery. We wanted to know what that felt like so we left home and came to offer our services to you. I fear, though, that neither of us have experiences as warriors. We are farm lads."
"Have you ever used a weapon before?"
"I have used slings to catch small game and both of us have used a farmer's scythe to harvest the grain. Father had a crossbow. He showed us how to load and fire it. Occasionally we had problems with goblins or kobolds." Valthus spoke up.
Callia eyed them carefully. They too were about a half-foot taller than she with broad shoulders and deep chests. Both had ginger red hair and bright green eyes. Freckles dotted their cheeks and noses. "How old are each of you? Have you always done farm work? Are you skilled in any trades?"
"I am nineteen," Joss spoke up, "and Valthus is eighteen."
"We have always worked on our father's farm. We both know all about how to run a working farm. We raised cattle, sheep, and pigs. We learned of animal husbandry. We both know how to shoe horses. There isn't much about running and working on a farm that we don't have knowledge of, but as far as skilled trades go, we don't have one, unless it has to do with a farm."
"Have you any hopes and dreams beyond working a farm?" Callia asked, praying that one of them had some kind of ambition.
"I always dreamed of learning more about the wild." Joss replied
"There is a grove outside of the palisade walls devoted to a nature deity. I am thinking you should learn the ways of a druid or perhaps a ranger. Perhaps I could speak to Lord Eath and have him recommend someone to instruct you in those teachings. Would you like that?"
"Very much so. Thank you. You are every bit as great as the stories say you are," he exclaimed.
"And Valthus, what of you?"
"I wish to work with horses. Perhaps work with my hands, become a blacksmith or a farrier." Valthus replied.
"I think that can be arranged. There is a good blacksmith here in Shepherdstown I can get you an apprenticeship with. I shall have you work with him." Callia replied. "As for weapons training, I will work with you in the meantime. I believe there are flails that are no harder to wield than the farm implement versions you are already accustomed too. We will start with that and work our way up."
Both Joss and Valthus offered words of thanks before returning to their places in the line. Callia smiled at the eagerness the two commoners exhibited before moving onto the last two elves.
