Mark of the Ranger

XXVI. The Chores Are Assigned

          The magic farmer that approached us turned out to be the one that was to assign us to our chores. "Ah, you must be the new shipment," he said with a completely neutral tone, as if he was talking to a large crate of tea leaves. "Let's see here." He flipped through a number of papers before finding the one that he was looking for. "Karen, you will be on pearl gathering duty." He said "duty" like "dyoo-tee," just like how wizards said it. He continued our assignments. "David C., the Asmerian. You will be herding the slimes. That's an interesting job, I can tell you that.

          "Jeffrey, you break rocks for crystals. Be wary, the sun is hot today. Elena and Isabel, you will work specifically as maids for the headmaster. Ko, I hope you like plants, that's all I can say. And Lionel..." I crossed my fingers, hoping that I didn't have to milk a geovore. "You will be working with the geovores. Bless your soul."

          "Sakes alive!" I swore, then kicked a rock. It shattered against the wall. The man who assigned chores seemed mildly amused by my obvious frustration. "Now, you must know where these places are, of course, or we can't have work done. The pearl gathering will be in the sea exit, just down that hall. The slimes are just north of here. The rock breaking is over on the other side of the island from the entrance, the arboretum is downstairs, the staircase is there." He pointed to each exit as he talked about them. "Oh, yes, I'll take you young ladies to the headmaster's room, and the geovore corral is down in the ravine. I'll lead you there, Lionel, but you all best change into different clothes. I'll see if anyone can supply any."

          The man who assigned chores left, and we stood there for the moments that he was gone. "So," I tried. "How about those magic farmers." No one responded, and for good reason. There was absolutely no positivity in our new situation, and there was no way of getting out of this, at least for now. "Well, at least we still have a month to get to the grand council," I tried again. "If we can figure out how to escape in that amount of time, we can still make it. All we need is a way to escape." No one believed me, but I kept that hope inside me, in case I ever lost my spark. That would most likely happen a lot, for geovores are high-maintenance creatures. 

          The man who assigned chores came back with a basket. He threw a worn white shirt and dusty black trousers at each of us, then gestured for us to put them on. We found privacy and followed his orders. At least this isn't as hot as my Ranger uniform, I thought. It was much cooler, which would definitely help Ko and Jeff, since they were going to be working in hot environments. The man who assigned chores then grabbed Elena and Isabel and led them to a different area, where I assumed was the headmaster's room. I felt bad for them and hoped that the headmaster wasn't fat, lazy, and not hygenic. As I waited for the man who assigned chores to lead me to the geovore corral, my teammates left, remembering what the man who assigned chores told them.

          I sat down on a stone for a moment to enjoy the rocky atmosphere. By now, all the "servants" in the large dome had left. They must have gotten back to work. The man who assigned chores returned and beckoned to me. I stood up and followed him through a door that had been thoroughly locked, through many wooden doors, so geovores wouldn't touch them, and down a flight of stairs. In front of the final door, there was a beastly beast.

          It barely fit in the hallway. Its skin seemed like it was made of very sharp rocks, and its front paws were hysterically oversized. The beast could have held Jeff's hammer in its palm. Sprouting from its palms, as well as its feet, tail, and the top of its forehead, were large purple spikes. "That's Toxiclaw," the man who assigned chores informed me. Toxiclaw began to stand up when it saw us, but the man who assigned chores waved him off, and it sat back town. We continued through the door, which had been locked thoroughly.

          Past the door was a ravine that was reminiscent of my dream from the night before we were kidnapped. The large ledge that overlooked the ravine was there, and from the bottom, I could hear weeping and the gnashing of teeth. There were a few people standing on the edge of the ledge, holding some tools that were most likely used for geovore care. They looked down at the bottom and winced. "There goes Ron," one of the people said to another. He had a Highlands accent. The other one nodded solemnly. "He was a nice man, the operative word being 'was.'"

          The man who assigned chores left, and I was left to talk to the recent mourners. "Um, hello," I said, and the two turned around. One was tall, and one was short. One was fat, and one was skinny. One was cut, and one was bruised. Both were obviously experienced in this chore. I could tell from the scars that covered their arms and heads. "You're a new one," the Highlander noticed, then extended his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Ben." Once I shook Ben's hand, the other one extended his own hand. "And I'm Tom," he introduced. I could tell now that he was a Highlander, too.

          "And I'm Lionel, but you can call me Lio," I told them both. Ben snorted. "'Lie-oh?' That's not very appealing," he noted. "How about I call you...Lion." I liked the sound of that name. Certainly more manly than Lio. "I like the sound of that," I approved. Ben smiled, showing a few missing teeth. "I'll introduce you to your new coworkers." He turned me around, revealing a wooden shack. He brought me inside, where about twenty people were gathered.

          "I have good news and bad news," he told them hiding me behind his large body. "Bad news, Ron is dead." Some people gasped, some sighed, and some nearly burst into tears. "Good news, we have a new coworker. This," he brought me in front of him, then pointed to me. "Is Lion." Some people cheered, some people smiled, and some nearly burst into tears. Needless to say, I felt welcome.