CHAPTER 2 - Berrigan

Thomas was settling into his apprenticeship well. He had always been an active sort of boy, used to spending long days outdoors. While the complicated lessons on history and strategy he got as a ranger's apprentice were much more demanding than the simple reading and arithmetic lessons he had received in the village school, he found he could also keep up with the theory part of his education well enough. It had been two weeks now since he arrived at the ranger cabin and he was starting to settle into a routine.

More importantly, he was starting to build a strong bond with his mentor, ranger Berrigan. He had at first been completely in awe of the highly respected ranger, who had already been around before the war against Morgarath. However the man's kind, cheerful disposition soon helped put the boy at ease. Particularly the nights around the campfire where Berrigan brought out his gitarra to play some songs helped Thomas see the man as a person rather than a mystical figure.

The two found that their voices sounded well together and spent many pleasant hours singing. Thomas already knew most popular folk songs by hard and quickly learned the more obscure songs in Berrigan's repertoire as well.

However, such frivolities were contained to the evenings, and only occurred as a reward for a hard day of work and training. Today that started off with some laps around the obstacle course that Berrigan had set out in the forest around the cabin. It was designed to train both agility, endurance and strength.

"Okay so you got the hang of the obstacle course by now right?"

Thomas nodded. The course was not that complicated, just exhausting. There were many things to jump over, and many places where the ranger insisted he had to do a pirouette. Or several pirouettes, that would make him dizzy and occasionally fall off an obstacle. Most pirouettes of course had to be done right before walking a tightrope over a supremely dirty pond.

"Well, since you now understand all the steps I figured it is time to increase the fun with a bit of time pressure."

Thomas did not like where this was going. Suddenly he noticed that Berrigan had brought his instrument case along, from which he now produced his gitarra.

"I find that counting is a bit too arbitrary for timekeeping. The numbers are just so abstract. When using music on the other hand, you can tell at any point in a song whether you are halfway through, or nearing the end." Berrigan paused for dramatic effect, his eyes shimmering maliciously. "A nice side effect is that it is apparently extremely aggravating to whoever has to run the obstacle course if they must complete it during one song while I am pleasantly seated by the sideline, playing my gitarra."

Thomas absolutely did not like where this was going. But the older ranger was not finished yet.

"You of course have to sing along, so that you can easily keep track of how many verses you have left to complete the course."

Thomas did not like it at all.

From that day on they would go through this ritual at least once a week.

Berrigan cheerfully walked across the gathering grounds. It was his apprentice's first gathering, and the boy was off somewhere bonding with the younger crowd. The boy had been very excited for this moment, his longing to meet all the other rangers far eclipsing the nerves for his exams.

He was startled as one of his favorite colleagues approached him. He had not seen Halt since last year.

"Berrigan, your apprentice is an arrogant little shit."

"Hello to you too Halt."

Berrigan frowned. Thomas had his flaws as anyone does, but the boy was definitely not arrogant and he did not like it when others criticized him. That was his job. And unfair criticism was even worse.

"What makes you feel this way?"

"Well we just put his year group through their fitness assessment, that exam takes the form of an obstacle course you know."

Berrigan's face went 'aha'. A smile started to spread.

Halt frowned in confusion.

"He was the fastest, but the way he rubbed it in the other's faces is just not an acceptable attitude. He actually started singing some ridiculous sea shanty during the race. He later tried to convince us that he does not feel superior over the others, but how arrogant do you have to be to feel the need to show off that you can sing while still running five paces ahead of your competition?"

By this point Berrigan was doubled over in laughter. He slowly regained his composure, then developed some sympathy for his apprentice.

"I presume you decided he needed some form of punishment. Dare I ask what you did with the boy?"

Halt shrugged.

"Threw him in a moat."

It was yet again time for the yearly gathering and Thomas eagerly met up with his old mentor. The years had been kinder to him than to Berrigan. The man had gained many gray hairs, and lost half a leg. The latter put him into early retirement sometime ago. He was not the first ranger to incur such an injury. When it first happened the commandant had been worried, as rangers who were cut off from active duty that suddenly tended to become despondent.

This ranger, however, had borne it all with equanimity. He had once before had to resort to his back-up career as a jongleur, when Morgarath had kicked him out of the corps. While he could have lived in reasonable comfort off the pension from the ranger corps alone, he did not like to be idle and picked up the mantle of jongleur again. He traveled around, albeit a little more slowly than he was used to, and entertained welcoming crowds in taverns along the way.

He still got his share of adventure, and could travel more freely than when he was attached to one fief. He still regularly made himself useful to the crown by gathering intelligence under the cover of his role as musician. Moreover, he mused, he had to fill out far less paperwork. Retirement was definitely not too unpleasant.

What also helped was that his old fief went to capable hands after his retirement. His former apprentice had by that time gained enough experience to handle a fief as big as Weslon and was promptly promoted to the post. Thomas still knew the place well from the time of his apprenticeship, and from the occasional visits to Berrigan he had been able to make in the years thereafter.

Thomas even had an apprentice of his own now, and thus it had all come full circle. The two were, in fact, looking at said apprentice now as he completed his second lap on the obstacle course for his fitness exam.

"Remember when you first took your fitness exam?"

"Shut up Berrigan."

"I have never seen someone as disgusting as you after crawling out of that moat Halt threw you in."

"I have never seen someone as disgusting as I felt then either. Now kindly shut up."

"Never smelled anything quite as disgusting either."

Thomas heaved a long-suffering sigh.

"You are aware that I have been faster than you for years, and now even have twice as many legs? I am sure that the moat is still where it always has been, and suspect it has not become any cleaner."

Berrigan threw an arm around the younger man's shoulders.

"Did I not raise you better than to harm a defenseless invalid? Make some coffee for this poor one-legged beggar will you."

Thomas grumbled, but could not completely suppress a smile. He would not say it aloud, but the genuine lack of resentment in Berrigan's voice when joking about his missing leg lifted a weight off his shoulders. He had not realized how much he had worried that Berrigan would change as a person after he was forced out of his ranger life. The old ranger was still as active and cheerful as ever. And, annoyingly but Thomas would not want him to be any other way, still as mischievous.