With the introduction of additional spear training, Niall’s days were now packed from the moment he woke to the time he went to bed. However, even though the progress was incremental, he could see it was worth it. As the weeks passed, each training run was easier, even as the distances increased and the instructors started to make them wear leather armour and then carry packs as they ran.

Similarly, his skills with the sword, spear and shield improved rapidly. In the training sessions the instructors had added full-speed free-form sparring, albeit with blunted weapons, to the mix. The recruits who had been taking part in the extra sessions shone here, quickly showing their ability to beat their contemporaries. That had the side effect of increasing the numbers who decided to join the extra sessions. Many of those who had mocked the idea were forced to change their tune when sprawled in the dirt facing the consequences of falling behind.

The extra training sessions exacerbated the clear divide in the recruits. Those who attended were predominantly from working-class backgrounds. They were used to early mornings and hard work. As importantly, many of them had experienced first-hand what could happen in an assault by a Bulvine war band. Almost all of them knew someone who had lost their life to a Bulvine attack. As a result, they threw themselves into the extra work, well aware of the risks they would be facing in a few short weeks.

By contrast, Killip had created a group around him that largely consisted of the wealthier recruits from the larger towns. They showed no interest in the extra training sessions. In fact, they tried to get away with doing as little as they could in the training they were forced to participate in. As far as Niall could tell, they took the effort they saved in this way and channelled it into taking every opportunity to belittle the others. After a few attempts to impress the gravity of the situation on them, Niall and the others ignored them.

The extra training paid off though. While it took until the end of that initial month of training for Killip’s crowd to get their Militia Recruit class, those that put in the extra work saw the class appear a substantially earlier than the rest.

At the end of the first month, the recruits were lined up after a long run. It was another bright sunny day and they had been driven hard. Niall was looking forward to washing before lunch. However, instead of Sergeant Strang dismissing them, Lieutenant Bligh stepped forward.

“Recruits, the majority of you have achieved your Militia Recruit class. As a result, we can now move onto the next stage in your training. That consists of two parts. Firstly, you have the start of some weapons skills, but that is barely a beginning. You will start to train with only your battle-ready weapons and armour from today. Blunted weapons lead to blunted reaction.

“Secondly, weapons training is only part of what a militia needs to do. You also need to become proficient in activities like small team patrols, standing watch, setting up camp, building barricades amongst others. Together they make up the Patrolling and Field Camp skills. You need those before you can become Militia 1.

“To that end, we will be dividing into patrols. I have appointed the Patrol Leaders. You will be working in those patrols for the rest of your time here both in training and out in the field. The list of patrols, and their Patrol Leaders, are on the door of the barracks. That is all. Dismissed.”

As the Lieutenant and the Sergeant walked off, Niall joined the others clustered around the barrack door. Eventually he managed to make his way to the front of the scrum. He looked around in confusion. He had been named as a Patrol Leader.

“Congratulations Boss.” Niall turned around to see Huff and Tierra standing behind him.

“Boss?”

“Yup,” Huff said, “we’re your patrol, along with Mak, Rafaela and Fangast.” He named three of the other recruits who had been taking part in the extra training.

Niall looked back at the list. It was true. He turned back. “I’ve never led anything before. I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“Don’t put yourself down,” Tierra said. “You’ve organised all of the extra training. Without you many of us would be struggling. You’ll do great.”

“Yeah, you deserve the promotion, as does Trintor and Lupa,” said Huff. “That idiot Killip though, how on earth did he managed to get Patrol Leader position?”

Niall shrugged, “Well, like him or not, he’s a leader amongst his own people. And, annoyingly, he’s a natural with the spear. I guess the Lieutenant recognised that.”

The following two weeks were spent learning to work in their patrols. The activities were the same, but they were expected to do everything as a group. With real weapons, combat training took on a new level of urgency with one, or more, of the recruits having to be sent, or carried, to the Healers. Niall welcomed the new intensity. The more the training felt like a real fight, the better prepared they would be when it came to battle.

Having started to check his Testimony obsessively several times a day since he had arrived at the army camp, Niall had decided it had become distracting and so had asked Pobble to let him know when there was something worth looking at. As, day by day, those around him boasted of their new levels, he found it increasingly harder not to check. Therefore, it was a relief when one afternoon as he was alone scrubbing the showers, he felt Pobble doing the mental equivalent of clearing his throat. Immediately Niall called up his Testimony.

TESTIMONY: Niall Vendra

ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 40

Endurance: 51

Agility: 32

Will: 31

Perception: 32

CLASSES:

Junior Smallholder 6

Apprentice Blacksmith 6

Acolyte Healer 8

Hunter 3

Brawler 2

Militia Recruit 10

- Short sword 8

- Spear 7

- Shield 5

- Light armour 5

- Patrolling 4

- Field Camp 5

UNALLOCATED SKILLS:

- Meditation 5

- Flow 8

- Steelmind 12

- Telepathy 1

“Does that mean I’ve maxed out my Militia Recruit class?”

“Yes. Niall’s Testimony is almost looking respectable. The fact that all of Niall’s attributes are each over thirty means he should not be troubled by an average person, should he irritate them. This is a good thing as Niall is very annoying.”

“So, what happens now?”

“Niall’s skills should continue to improve as he works at them, but now Niall mostly just needs to wait to evolve into a proper Militia.”

***

One evening a week later Sergeant Strang flung open the door to the barracks. “All Patrol Leaders to report to the Officer’s briefing room immediately. Follow me.”

As the Sergeant turned on his heel and walked off, Niall looked around. The confusion he felt was mirrored on the face of the other Patrol Leaders. Lupa clapped him on the shoulder as she walked past. “Come on little man, let’s find out what this is all about.”

Niall shook himself out of his lethargy and jumped to his feet. Whatever Lieutenant Bligh wanted, it wasn’t going to become any easier if he was late. He joined the pack of Patrol Leaders and headed out of the door.

The Sergeant led them across the army camp to a large building Niall had not entered before. Strang unhesitatingly walked in and led them up a flight of stairs. After passing down a long corridor, he stopped abruptly in front of a door and rapped sharply on it.

“Enter.” An unfamiliar man’s voice called out. The Sergeant opened the door and ushered them in.

Niall walked through to find himself in a room that resembled a large classroom. Individual desks were laid out in neat rows and there was a blackboard on the wall at the front of the room. Corporal Tate was sat behind one of the desks in the front row. The Lieutenant stood behind a large desk at the front of the room beside an older man in an army uniform. They were both looking down at a map.

The man looked up as they entered. “Thank you, Sergeant. Patrol Leaders, please take a seat.”

He gave them a moment to sit before he spoke again. “My name is Major Lukan. I am in Lieutenant Bligh’s line of command and therefore you are in my line of command. A situation has arisen that she will be briefing you on shortly. This would normally be dealt with by a squad of regular soldiers, but she has asked that it be assigned to one of you. I have agreed, but I am here to make it clear that if none of you wish to volunteer for this mission it will not reflect poorly on you. By most standards this is beyond what we would expect from fully trained militia. I will not allow any of you to be pressured into this mission. That is all. Lieutenant Bligh, over to you.”

The Major walked to the back of the room with a ramrod-straight back and turned to face the front. Lieutenant Bligh followed him with her eyes as he walked away. She stared at her commanding officer for a moment and then looked at the Patrol Leaders.

“Patrol Leaders, a pack of dire wolves has launched attacks on farms in a village a few days’ march from here. They have asked for our help to eradicate them. The dire wolves have already killed several members of the local population and have injured a number more. Last week, the situation escalated and the dire wolves took a child that had gone to play in the woods.

“As the Major says, this is something that would not normally be allocated to Militia Recruits. However, it is being put in front of you for two reasons. Firstly, the Bulvine raids this season have been more aggressive than in the past. All of the professional troops in the region are needed to contain those. Secondly, I believe the best training you can get is in the field. The more of you who get a taste of combat now, the better our chances of survival. Any questions so far?”

Niall looked across at Lupa as she stood up. Her face was serious and unusually pale beneath her tan. “Can I confirm you said dire wolves, not just wolves Lieutenant?”

“Yes, Patrol Leader, that is correct. I’m not going to sugar coat this for any of you. Dire wolves are around twice the size of a normal wolf and significantly more intelligent. We believe this group has been driven out of their previous pack and ranged further than they would normally go. As they have already killed humans, they no longer have a natural fear of us. The hunters that they killed were experienced and skilled; they will not have been taken out easily. In fact, the only reason we know these are dire wolves at all is because one hunter managed to make it back before she died. The advantage we will have over them is our discipline and team work. However, I do not underestimate the danger. Most militia would not be expected to deal with dire wolves.

“As the Major says, this is a volunteer-only mission, but as Patrol Leaders you will speak for your entire patrol. If you step forward, you will be volunteering them as well. You will not think that is fair but it is the price of leadership. Corporal Tate has already volunteered to lead this mission. She will ensure you do not fall behind in your training and also do her best to keep you alive. Any more questions?”

“Why can’t we send more than one patrol.” One of the Patrol Leaders asked.

The Lieutenant opened her mouth, but before she could speak the Major’s voice rang out from the back of the room. “That was my decision. This is a dangerous mission, the likelihood is that some, or all, of the patrol will not return. I cannot run the risk of the local Militias being weakened too far. One patrol is already a substantial proportion of this year’s cohort. Losing more than one would be unacceptable.”

Trintor spoke up. “What will happen if none of us volunteer?”

“We will inform the village we are not able to help.” The Major continued to speak from the back of the room. Lieutenant Bligh was visibly irritated but remained silent as her superior officer spoke. “In a time of limited military resources, tough decisions need to be made. The village will have to cope the best it can. If there are still any herds to protect, we will look at it again after the Bulvine warbands have retreated for the season. Anything more? No. So who wishes to volunteer.”

Niall looked around at his peers. Lupa sat in her chair with her arms firmly crossed, she was glaring at the Lieutenant as if she had offended her in some way. Trintor looked troubled, but like many of the other Patrol Leaders stayed in his seat looking at the floor. Killip and the other wealthy Patrol Leaders smirked at each other. No one moved. Lieutenant Bligh looked around the room as everyone avoided her eyes, her shoulders rigidly square.

After a long silence, the Major spoke from the back of the room. “As I thought, Lieutenant. Patrol Leaders, thank you for your time, you are...”

“I’ll do it.” Niall realised he was on his feet. He could recall the wolf he had faced in the woods just a few months earlier. The pungent smell of its fur filled his memory once more, the sound of its panting breath echoed in his mind. That flame inside him burned just a little bit harder. He knew that his was not a wise choice, but he could not just stand aside.

The Major walked to the front of the room, the click of his boots on the wooden floor dropped crisply in the silence. He turned and looked at Niall. Niall stood straighter and looked back. “Are you sure, Patrol Leader? I will give you one chance to withdraw your offer, but after you leave this room, there is no going back. The honour and reputation of the army will not allow it.”

“Yes, Sir.” Niall was not at all sure, but the memory of the wolf was still clear in his head. A vision of bigger and smarter wolves attacking Raintor and the people in it came to him. He did not know these people, but despite everything inside him screaming that this was a bad idea, he could not let them suffer.

The Major continued to stare at him then shrugged. “Then I wish you the very best of luck. I hope to see at least some of your patrol back here in a few weeks. Lieutenant, Corporal, I will leave this with you.”

With that, the Major nodded at them all, gave Niall another searching look, and walked out of the room.

The Lieutenant nodded at him. “Thank you, Patrol Leader Vendra. Find the rest of your Patrol and bring them back here for a full briefing. The rest of you are dismissed.”

Niall walked out of the room with the other Patrol Leaders, his head churning with thoughts. He had not made it more than a few steps out of the building when he felt a hard shove at his back and went sprawling onto the ground. He looked up, expecting to see Killip sneering down. Instead, he was shocked to see Lupa standing over him. Her fists were clenched and her eyes flashed with anger.