The Arch-Mage

Chapter 3

When Miran woke up from his much needed nap, he could hear the howl of hunting dogs. And they sounded close. The hunter was lucky because they were surrounded by massive oak trees that had branches that could handle his weight. He quickly climbed to a high branch and, when he finally reached it, grabbed an arrow and put it in his bow. The fugitive lied in wait, barely breathing, for whoever was about to appear. Time passed and he could hear the howls distance themselves from him. After a few tense minutes, he put his arrow back in his quiver and climbed down the tree. The man grabbed headed out at an impressive speed. He had been going straight to the capital these past three days but that was not an option anymore, if those hunting dogs came from his town, they must have been badly trained for them to mislead their master but the hunters could recognize him so he had to avoid them hence his decision. After making his decision, he headed north-east instead of just east.

He had been walking for a couple of hours when he ended up on a beaten path. Miran decided that following the path would be wise since no-one expects a criminal to walk the street. After a little while, he was overtaken by a carriage.

Excuse me, sir. Said Miran
What is it young man, I've got business to attend to.
Would you let me ride you carriage, I would make it worth you while. Claimed the hunter while showing him some money
Of course you can ride.
Thank you sir

Miran quickly hopped on board. Now that he had gotten a ride, it would take around an hour to get to the capital. The man watched as trees and people went by them. He would finally be free from Malik and his goons. When they reached the capital, Miran got off and paid the man. The capital was nothing like what he expected. There were no big walls blocking him entry, no guard watching who entered. The streets were filled with different shops that sold everything from swords to perfume. The country-boy was in awe of the variety, it was like nothing he had never seen before. It's when he finally saw a guard that he remembered his objective, meeting Aran. He decided to ask a nearby fruit merchant the location to the nearest barracks.

Excuse madame, can you point me to the nearest barracks?
Of course sir, go straight for the next 5 streets the turn right, you should see it then. She answered with a heavy accent
Alright thank you.
If you don't mind my asking, are you back from the front lines?
No, I intend to go fight the elves though.
I see... well good luck!
Thank you.

Miran quickly followed the woman's directions. And there it was, a small fort in the middle of town. He hesitantly walked through the gates and stopped in front of a desk. Behind the desk, a short man with glasses looked up from his papers and looked at him.

Can I help you with something? Asked the man
I believe you may, I am looking for Aran.
Lieutenant Aran?
Yes, I believe so.
Gimme a minute. Riggs! He screamed

A tall and slim holding a mop walked through a door and stopped when he could see the short man.

Yes sir?
Go get lieutenant Riggs.
He's in a training exercise at the moment.
I don't care, get him now.

The man named Riggs quickly disappeared and reappeared with Aran a few minutes later.
What is it constable, I'm a busy... Well well well, Miran its been what, 2 days.
That it has sir. Can I talk to you in private?
Of course you can. Said Aran while dragon Miran away from the constable
Do you remember our little bar fight?
Yes.
Well, after that, the noble's father put a warrant out for my arrest. I don't know what to do, I've been running for the past few days and I'm freaking out.
Damn, that got serious pretty quickly... I can help you but only under one condition.
What is it?
Join the army.
What?
That way the nobles won't be able to touch you and I could keep an eye on you
... How do I sign up? Answered Miran after a few moments of thinking
You go see the constable over there and you say that you wanna sign up for the elite unit, it's the one I'm supervising. I warn you now, it's gonna be tough.
Have you seen what I can do, I think I'll be alright. Quickly answered the fugitive with bravado he didn't feel.
All right then, let's go.

The two walked back to the office and got Miran signed up for the unit. After that, the two accomplices headed to the other side of the barracks. The hunter was anxious to meet the rest of the people he would spend his life with. He walked through the gate and watched as the sight in front of him unraveled. Two spear-bearers, one swordsman and one bowman. That was all there was in this elite unit. Miran quickly suspected that there was more than it seemed.

Well Miran say hello to your new family, you will be working with them for the next few year.
Sir, who is he supposed to be? Questioned the swordsman
He could my drinking buddy or a farmer for all you need to know! Barked Aran
Alright sir! The soldiers exclaimed
Now I expect all of you to show him around. I will tell you this now since this information is important to the five of you. Miran can not, as far as we know, use magic.
Why is he in this team then? Asked the bowman
He's here because he is one of the strongest people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and, from what I've heard, is an excellent marksman while being very agile. He's also very quick to react, I've seen him dodge a knife swipe that I would have been unable to dodge. Even without magic, he is probably able to keep up with you.
That's impressive!
Now Miran, let me introduce to you the team. The archer is Gregory, the swordsman is Wulf, the two spear-bearers are, from right to left: Elsa and Ares.
It's a pleasure to meet you all.
You too man.
Alright, everyone back to work. Miran with me.

Gregory was a very slim and tall man. He had grey hair and brown eyes. Wulf was of average size, had brown eyes and black hair. His face was riddled with scars. Elsa was a young woman with brown hair and brown eyes. She was slim and small but well-developed. Ares had red hair, grey eyes and had quite the stature. Like Elsa, she was quite developed. After Miran had quickly analyzed his teammates, he followed Aran into a different training ground.

Let me explain to you what we will be doing. Since they all have magical abilities, they will be working on them while we work on your swordsmanship, on your marksmanship and train your body.
Is that all?
Now let me give you the breakdown. For the next month, we will be you working on training you body and your swordsmanship. Swordsmanship in the morning and body-building in the afternoon. At the end of the month, you should be able to fight me to a standstill.
Alright sir, when do we start?
Right now.