Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 674(@200wpm)___ 540(@250wpm)___ 450(@300wpm)
Hawk inclines his head. “Gwenna. Kipp. Good to see you both. Are you here to find a master to pledge to?”
Something about the way he says it makes my nerves ping, but I ignore it. I’m sure I’m just reading it wrong. “We were hoping we could be your fledglings again. Serve you.”
Hawk’s expression turns pained. “Ah. I…” He clears his throat. “I wish I could choose you, but I cannot.”
A cold chill washes over me and I glance at Kipp. If Hawk won’t take us, what do we do now?
Six
Raptor
Recruitment day is always a brutal sort of thing. There are so many hopefuls that crowd into the Great Hall who don’t get picked for one reason or another. Perhaps there’s a personality clash with a master, or there’s a prior obligation of some kind that they think they can still manage while being enrolled. Recruits don’t realize just how much work becoming a fledgling entails. You can practically hear the dreams crashing to the ground around you.
It’s common for some of the guild members to come and get a good look at the soon-to-be fledglings. I’ve always crowded inside the hall with all the others to check out the competition. I imagine some get a vindictive sort of pleasure at being one of the few who have passed the tests, and some are probably reminiscing about their time as a fledgling.
I’m usually not all that sympathetic to those who are turned away. It’s just part of guild life. You either get in, or you don’t. Some try again, some don’t. But the woman and slitherskin standing in front of Hawk are so earnest and hopeful that it pains me physically when Hawk turns them down. I knew he would, and yet it’s still difficult to see.
Hawk is under instructions from Head Guild Master Rooster to take on five new repeaters so he can keep a close eye on things. I know from talking to Hawk that both of these two were the terrible Master Magpie’s students last year and got into trouble when Aspeth did. Aspeth was removed from the guild entirely but was so knowledgeable about Old Prell that the archivists snapped her up. It didn’t hurt that she was a holder’s daughter, either. Having holders owe the guild is always a good thing. The others on her fledgling team weren’t as lucky as Aspeth. They were going to be expelled, but the group had managed to find a few Greater Artifacts, which made the guild quite a bit of coin. There’s a guild rule that any fledgling who finds a Greater Artifact is automatically made into a full-on artificer, but that couldn’t happen with these students due to the trouble they were in. They were stripped of fledgling status and demoted to repeaters instead of being kicked out entirely.
The little round woman and the lizard must have been expecting to serve with Hawk again. He had a motley crew last year and word got around, especially after Master Magpie was removed from the guild and Master Hawk took her place. Anyone who came from that old fledgling team would have a difficult time getting someone to look past the rumors of stealing to consider them. The fact that it’s a woman and a slitherskin? Not gonna happen.
Which makes me want to take them both under my wing. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, I reason. I’m supposed to get friendly with all the repeaters anyhow, right? I eye the unlikely pair. I know a bit about them from Hawk’s stories of the craziness that happened last year. The slitherskin is named Kipp. He never talks, but he’s competent for his small size. Arrogant, Hawk had called him. Good with blades but he knows it. I’m amused that such a tiny creature could be an artificer. I doubt he even comes to my waist. Any knife he wields will be little more than a toothpick. Still, a small size can be useful. He can get into places others can’t. I’ll be curious to see if he’s a liability or an asset.
Is he the one Rooster is looking for? I wonder. I contemplate the slitherskin while he stands next to the human female. If I’m honest, it could be him. There are no slitherskins currently on the guild’s roster. It’s entirely believable that he’s simply going to remain in the ranks of the repeaters and work on getting rich from the inside. If he can get into small spaces, perhaps he’s the one sliding into the guild’s locked vaults and stealing what’s there. It bears watching, certainly.
My gaze moves to the human female. She’s a bit younger than Hawk’s wife, Sparrow, if I recall correctly. Can’t remember her name. She came with Sparrow from the hold, but she was a maid or a servant or something. I’ve seen her with Sparrow several times and remembered her because she’s built just how I like them. She’s short, but a tasty treat. Her breasts are overflowing handfuls, and her hips are nice and thick in the trousers she wears. Her waist nips in, emphasizing the exaggerated curves of her form. Her hair is dark and pulled back into a no-nonsense bun at the back of her head, and when she moves, it’s with both purpose and skill. There’s no awkward clumsiness to her motions, which I find appealing.