Chapter 9 – First Impressions (Jacob)
Jacob kept his head down and his tail drooped as they headed back inside. He knew it was his fault that Leon lost the race, even though Leon kept telling him to stop worrying about it. But that was only half of what bothered Jacob, because now Leon was riled up at other recruits. First he butted heads with that Enzo guy, and now he had a problem with Corvo.
"Are you serious?" Leon confronted the Snivy as they followed the crowd back into the guild hall. There was an edge to Leon's voice, kind of like yesterday when Corvo sent them off to Moonrise Canyon.
"Serious? About what?" Corvo replied innocently.
"You couldn't outrun him," Leon continued, "so you pull some kind of crazy stunt and get him in trouble?"
Corvo shrugged. "Don't know what you're talking about, sawjaw. I was the victim there. I was ahead of the pack, I'm sure you saw that. Then that gray guy pummeled me!"
"…Hey bro?" Jacob joined in. "What if Corvo isn't lying? I mean, he did get bruised up pretty badly."
"See that?" Corvo pointed at Jacob. "Your brother knows what happened. He saw the same thing as everyone else. You're just reading too much into this, sawjaw."
"My name is Leon," he shot back, then shook his head. "Jacob, you know who this guy is. He gave us 'easy work,' then almost got us arrested twice in one day. Are you really going to believe him?"
Jacob shuddered a bit. The last thing he wanted was to argue with his brother. "Umm, well, when you put it that way…"
Leon nodded. "Exactly. And William–" he turned his attention toward him. "You were in the same race. You saw Corvo take a dive, didn't you?"
Will shrugged. "I wouldn't know," he said. "I was behind them. All I noticed was a big splash."
Jacob guessed that William didn't like being put on the spot, either.
"Why don'tcha just let it go?" Corvo scoffed. "Or are you just mad cuz I got something you wanted, but didn't get?"
"But you didn't get it fairly," Leon replied. "I put in an honest effort. And I was actually gonna win, but helping a friend was more important."
Jacob stood to the side, bashfully rubbing his arm.
"All you did was make a scene," Leon finished.
"Hmm.'" Corvo made a silver coin appear in his hand, like a magician's trick. He looked away from Leon and into his own reflection with a smug grin.
"If you gotta eat, does it matter how you get your food? All that matters is your belly's full by the end of the day, so you got strength for the next one." He glanced back at Leon. "Get mad at me all you want, sawjaw, but it won't change much."
William glanced at them, but didn't say anything. He followed Corvo.
Leon curled his hands into fists and gritted his teeth as they walked away.
"Leon," Jacob put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't want us getting in fights."
His brother's hard expression melted. "I know, I know… Sorry."
"I don't like seeing you mad like that. It scares me." Jacob thought back to when he and Leon went to school back home, and how Leon looked at so many other kids like they were enemies.
Leon relaxed. "I'll be okay, don't worry. It's just a few setbacks." He smiled.
Jacob perked up slightly, though his worries weren't all gone. He knew that a few bad things in the morning sometimes ruined a whole day, like waking up with a sore neck, or having an undercooked breakfast. "Hopefully there aren't any more, um, setbacks."
"Well come on." Leon pointed ahead, where the rest of the recruits shuffled inside. "We can still turn it around at whatever we're going to next."
Jacob raised his head and tail back up, smiling slightly. "Like we always do."
"Just don't listen to what Corvo says, alright?"
"Got it," Jacob replied. "Unless he's got peanut-butter cookies, then I might listen."
Jacob giggled, but Leon shook his head, giving him a 'this-is-serious' sort of look.
They rejoined the group, but Jacob couldn't help but wonder about Leon. Since yesterday it's like he's been… off. First he didn't want William to come with them after the clinic. Then he's been on edge ever since they met Corvo, and the more Leon sees him, the worse he seems to get. What was up with him? Jacob couldn't put his finger on it.
Back inside, they were led through the halls into a large room with rows of chairs and long desks. Each one slightly higher than the last as they went up stairs, all facing a board against the wall at the other end of the room; it was some kind of classroom. Hold on, a regular classroom?
Jacob sighed. "I thought we were done with classes and stuff?"
"I guess it kinda makes sense," Leon replied, leading them up to a pair of seats in the second row.
"I thought we'd be outside," Jacob added. "Learning how to fight and all that stuff."
"I mean, that's what we just did."
"Pfft," he waved Leon off. "You know what I mean."
The two claimed a pair of seats toward the middle of their row as the remaining seats were taken. Jacob looked around as the recruits chatted amongst each other, filling the classroom with a general hum. His eyes wandered over to William and Corvo, who were sitting on the left side of the third row. He wished they arrived sooner, so then they could've sat with William. But then again, he was sitting next to Corvo, and Leon would just get mad again.
A thought crossed Jacob's mind and he spoke up.
"Hey, Leon? I know you don't like Corvo, but what about William?"
Leon went quiet for a few seconds, like he was thinking his answer through. "Well, I think he's a pretty good guy. He's helped us out plenty." He gazed in William's general direction, seeing him sit with the Snivy.
"But I'm not sure why he's hanging around Corvo. I wouldn't, that's just asking for trouble."
Jacob rested his chin in his hands. "Maybe he's just keeping an eye on him? You know, making sure he doesn't pull any other tricks."
Leon's face lit up. "Oh yeah, good point, Jake!" He seemed to relax. "I was kinda worried, but that makes sense. He–" Leon suddenly stopped and he formed a puzzled expression.
Jacob tilted his head. "Is something wrong?"
"Uh," Leon scratched his shoulder. "Who's that behind you?"
Jacob turned around–
–and came face to face with a curious-looking Bulbasaur, who was staring intently at Jacob. Or rather, at Jacob's tail; his flame was reflected in the Bulbasaur's eyes.
"Oh!" Jacob yelped. "Um… Hi?"
The strange Bulbasaur kept staring for a moment, then looked at Jacob and smiled. "Heya," he greeted.
Leon stood on his chair, peering over Jacob at the Bulbasaur. "Can we… Help you with something?"
"I'm good! Name's Chase, glad to meet ya. And that's a fine flame ya got there, buddy." The Bulbasaur smiled as warmly as a campfire.
"Umm, thanks. I-I guess?" Jacob slinked back into his chair, leaning closer to Leon.
His brother leaned toward him. "Kind of an oddball, huh?" Leon whispered.
"He's friendly though," Jacob replied. "Or at least, he likes fire?"
A grin stretched across Leon's face. "If you twirl your tail maybe he'll do a backflip."
Jacob nearly burst out laughing, but he suppressed it to a snort. Meanwhile, he took a moment to check his pocket watch.
Pop!
The ticking hands read that it was just a minute before 10 AM.
As if on cue a lone mon entered the room. They were two-legged, with an orange body adorned with some kind of yellow tube vest, twin tails, and a fin atop their head: a Floatzel.
"Good morning, everyone," she announced, adjusting her glasses. "Iam Professor Veronica. And I will be facilitating your educational pursuits as you train with the Wolfhaven Guild." She grinned as she surveyed her students through her lenses. "And we'll begin today with–"
"Hold up," a Vigoroth in the back row called out. "Why do we gotta take classes? I signed up to be an adventurer, not to go back to school!"
The students started murmuring again, including Leon and Jacob.
"Maybe we've got a class full of rebels, huh?" Leon joked.
Jacob giggled. "I can recruit them for our gang!" He closed and stowed his watch.
"Those two are one and the same," the professor replied calmly. She sounded like she expected this. "Strength alone is good only for small-paying, physical labor. An adventurer needs to be strong in many aspects. Strength, intellect, and spirit. All of these skills work together to bring you success."
"Spirit? What's she mean by that?" Jacob wondered.
"Willpower, I guess," Leon offered. "Or she's gonna turn us into ghost-types."
"By boring us to sleep?"
"Like back home," Leon snorted. "But so far this has been far from boring." He eyed the Vigoroth nearby.
"But there's still no point in studyin' a bunch of random facts!" the white monkey barked. "Why do I need to know how tall a specific mountain is, or the name of some dead guy who did something a long time ago?"
"The same reason why you pick up heavy objects only to promptly put them down," Veronica replied coolly. "You don't lift weights solely to become skillful at lifting weights; you do so to strengthen your muscles so you may accomplish many kinds of physical feats. The same principle applies here; strengthen your mind so that you may be prepared to solve complex problems you'll find yourself in, out in the wilds."
Jacob felt like a spark just lit in his mind. "That actually makes sense," he said as his tailflame brightened.
"Yeah, kind of," Leon agreed. "At least she's answering the questions, and not just yelling at us for asking them."
"You mean like Mr. Coburn back home?"
"Yep…"
Leon and Jacob rolled their eyes at the unpleasant memory.
"That's dumb," Vigoroth scoffed, resting his head on his fist. "There ain't nothing my claws can't solve."
Suddenly, Jacob was a lot less empathetic toward the Vigoroth.
Veronica stared up at him unflinchingly. She tapped her fingers on the table as she spoke. "Hmm, In that case…" In a blink the professor leaped up, pushing herself airborne with two jets of water. She soared over everyone, and Jacob leaned to the side– along with other students– to avoid falling water droplets. Veronica landed on Vigoroth's row, making him nearly fall backwards out of his seat. She spoke quickly.
"You're miles away from home, your entire team is exhausted. One of them is knocked out, another has an infected wound, and the third one is going insane. You're all starving and parched, but you're out of supplies. The flora is toxic, the water is contaminated. The sun is setting, temperature is dropping, and a storm is rolling in."
She leaned in and spoke forcefully. "What is your plan for you and your team to survive the long night?"
Vigoroth's fur stood on end, like he was just struck by lightning. All he did was hang his mouth open and made an "uhhh" sound.
"That sounds kinda specific," Leon whispered. "Doesn't it?"
"What do you mean?" Jacob whispered back.
"I mean…" After a couple seconds, Leon shook his head. "Nevermind."
"I'll write it down," Veronica announced, standing up straight. "You'll answer it on your own time and return it to me in my quarters tonight, as you're suspended from today's lesson."
Vigoroth's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Say what?!"
"And if you fail to produce an adequate solution, you'll be docked an extra point on top of the point I'm docking you now for disrupting my class."
Vigoroth was stunned silent. Professor Veronica walked back down to the front of the classroom, where she wiped her glasses with a cloth.
So she talked about points, too. Just like Flint. They mentioned gaining and losing them, but how did it all work? As the professor started writing down the troublemaker's homework, Jacob decided to speak up.
"Um… Excuse me. Professor?"
"Hmm?" She looked up at Jacob. "Yes, young Charmander?"
"Professor, I was just wondering about something. The Quartermaster told us we could lose points, and go under zero. What if we lose too many?"
"Ah, so old Flint left out that detail, has he? Ah well." She lifted up her writing quill and slowly paced back and forth behind her desk.
"You've likely noticed how crowded the class of recruits is. It's not feasible for us to fully enlist everyone who applies, but still, our guild tries to give each applicant a fair chance. So, our point system is used to determine who graduates to full membership. And it is possible to have negative points, as your fellow student has so graciously demonstrated."
All eyes went toward the Vigoroth, who'd sunk as far as he could behind his desk.
"And you'll be walking on thin ice if you do. Normally, we decide who stays and who leaves by tallying points after the Wolfhaven Hunt. But if you reach negative three points before then…"
She scanned the room as she paused, making sure everyone was listening. "You'll be disqualified and sent home right then and there."
A solemn silence hung in the air as the students took in the news.
Jacob gulped. "They can kick us out just like that?"
"Don't worry," Leon reassured him. "We'll only get the boot if we're bad. And I can think of plenty of guys here who'll get thrown out long before they'll even think of us."
"If I may, professor?" William spoke up, siphoning the room's attention to him.
"You may," the professor replied cordially. "What would you like to ask?"
"I understand that you feel disrespected," William began. "But do you think that this may be somewhat harsh on Vigoroth?"
The Floatzel professor tapped her chin with her writing quill. "…That's a fair question. I admit, my methods may at times appear draconian." She glanced down at her desk, continuing to write. "But I hope that, by the end of your training, you will understand that I am not strict merely for the sake of it."
Just then, her tone and expression softened. "I speak on behalf of all the instructors here when I say this: we want all of you to be as prepared as possible, and to respect whatever challenges lie on the road ahead." She glanced up again, surveying her students with a stern face. "It's no exaggeration to say that the most difficult training you receive in these halls won't hold a candle to the more extreme dangers you'll weather in the wilds."
"Extreme dangers," Jacob echoed under his breath. "Hey Leon, you said her story was specific. Do you think she…?"
Leon didn't say anything, but locking eyes with Jacob told him what his brother was thinking. Whatever example she used to grill Vigoroth earlier must've been something she lived through herself.
"I think I understand," William replied. "Thank you."
"Of course," Veronica nodded. "Now then, before I continue I need to gauge where you're all at, academically speaking." She tore off the topmost sheet of her notebook, then beckoned the Vigoroth. "Granted, your classmate here hasn't been the best to represent you…"
Once again everyone in the room stared at him as he sheepishly accepted his homework, then quietly slipped out of the hall.
"But I'll waive this incident, just this once, and give the rest of you the benefit of the doubt. Now then."
The Professor lifted a hefty tome onto the desk, setting it down with a thud! and opened its yellowed pages. The sound of flipping paper filled the room, then she stopped and traced a finger through the text.
"Young Charmander," she called, looking at Jacob. "Your name, please?"
"J-Jacob," he answered.
"Ah, Jacob. Answer me this, if you'd please." She read from her tome. "To the southwest lies a place called Mount Nemesis. Tell me, how did that name come to be?"
"Ooh, I know this one!" Chase piped up.
Unfortunately, Jacob didn't. He sat there, stunned and quiet. Mount Nemesis? He never even heard of a place like that before! Would it be better to just make up an answer, or to just say he doesn't know? On one hand, he knew he couldn't fake an answer to save his life. On the other hand, he didn't want to see what the professor would do if he said "I don't know." But after a few seconds the professor spoke up anyway.
"Ah, so you don't know. Not to worry, my intention is to start high on the scale and work our way down. Anyway, the history behind Mount Nemesis is rather obscure. It was the scene of an unlikely yet decisive victory, during one of the early wars for control of our province: Chronovania."
A history lesson? Normally Jacob would be falling asleep at his desk, but battles and wars? They didn't talk about that much at school back home.
"There was a Monferno, named Ezekiel, who was a member of the uprising. He was held captive by the loyalists at a fortress now lost to history. He and his fellow prisoners escaped, and at the mountain yet to be named, he led a resistance against the loyalists, who outnumbered him and his rebels four to one. Despite the odds, Ezekiel won decisively with only a few casualties. He was given the title of 'Nemesis' by his enemies, and the mountain was named after him, with a modicum of respect."
"Yep, and Nemesis was a really fitting name for 'em, too," Chase spoke up. "They say he started off as a farm hand, workin' on his family's land. But loyalists ended up razin' it, casualty of a nearby battle. His home came crashing down, like a meteor crashed into it. Big, bright flames all over the place! Jumping from one thing to the next! Anyway, he was the only one who survived. So he took up arms with the uprising, swore to avenge his family."
"Very good, young Bulbasaur," said the Professor. "Historians debate how much truth there is to his backstory, but I digress. The story of Nemesis is a truly fascinating one, as well as the uprising he fought for. I would encourage you all to pursue it on your own time."
The rest of the class started to murmur to each other, chatting about history. Jacob felt his head spinning a little. "Do you remember any of this from school?" he asked Leon.
"Kind of." He rested his chin on one of his hands. "There's been plenty of wars and smaller battles fought all over Chronovania. Nearly all of them were lords fighting over the land."
Jacob thought back to that worn-down stone fort they saw the other day. "But that doesn't happen anymore, right?"
Leon shook his head. "All that ended a little over two-hundred years ago when Hyperion divided and conquered the competition. He united the province and became its first emperor."
"Oh yeah!" Chase spoke up. "He was a Hydreigon, and totally brutal. Wiped out anyone who stood up to him. But he wound up making things pretty peaceful once everyone fell in line."
"I never heard of any of this," Jacob said. "Then again, I probably slept through that class too."
"I slept through all of them," Leon shrugged. "You're a good pillow, Jacob"
"Wha-?!"
Chase and the brothers burst out laughing together, with the Bulbasaur making a comment about a "heated pillow."
"Alright, alright," the professor quieted the class. "We'll now resume the lesson." Once again she flipped through the pages of her tome. "Young Smeargle, your name?"
"Cheyanne."
"Answer me this…"
Veronica went on, asking history questions around the room. More details about war before the first empire, natural disasters, and some politics sprinkled here and there. Jacob was a little relieved, because most of the other students didn't know the answers to their questions, either. Though the Professor didn't seem too happy about it.
"Hmm. Seems that schools don't push you as hard these days," she said. "Especially compared to when I was a student. One final question…" Her gaze wandered around the room. A few of them tried to duck down to avoid getting put on the spot. But she eventually called on someone.
"What is your name, young Cubone?"
Jacob's eyes went wide as he looked over at–
"William," he announced.
"Very well William. This question should be trivial." She cleared her throat. "In the center of our town there are statues that depict the legendary figures who helped found Wolfhaven. They are said to be 'powerful beasts who represent fire, thunder, and aurora, respectively.' What are the names of these legends?"
"That sounds more like 'bedtime-story trivia,'" Leon mumbled.
Jacob nodded, and smiled. When he was little, his favorite story that his parents told him was about the legendary beasts: Entei, Raikou, and Suicune.
In one of those stories, a village gets ravaged by natural disasters. A lightning storm destroys the fields, then sparks a great big fire. The fire decimates the villagers' homes, and to top it off a flood washes over them, ruining the farmland. But then the legendary beasts appear, one of each of the disaster's elements, and they use their mastery over nature to stop the disasters from spreading.
They save the villagers, but their land and homes are decimated beyond repair. So the three beasts lead them on a journey to settle new, better lands. They travel far through harsh elements until they reach their peaceful, habitable land. And in the end the survivors name their settlement Wolfhaven, to honor the beasts who had saved them.
Jacob loved that story, and always thought it was cool how the town had that sort of myth around it. He was sure that it was one of William's favorite stories too, since… Memory loss…
"Oh no," Jacob muttered.
"What's wrong?" Leon asked.
"I promise you it's not a trick question," the professor said, as a little time had passed while Jacob was daydreaming.
Jacob clenched his teeth and his tail flared. Of all the students she could've picked, she picks William, who wouldn't know anything. Jacob hesitated, meeting Leon's gaze, but he spoke up. "Um. Excuse me, ma'am?"
"In a moment, young Charmander," Veronica answered swiftly. "And it's 'professor.'"
"But Professor…!"
Veronica snapped her fingers and shot Jacob a silencing glance.
Jacob, after overcoming the stun, quietly groaned and slumped back in his chair.
Leon turned toward him. "You need to be careful bro," he whispered. "Or you'll get in trouble."
"But William can't know the answer!" Jacob hissed through his teeth.
"No more interruptions, please," the Professor cut across. "Now then," she turned her attention back toward William.
"I think she's getting mad," Jacob whispered.
"Well… What can we do?" Leon shrugged. "Seems like she wants an answer from William, no one else."
"It's an easy, non-trick question. You can give me the answer, or you can give me one of your points." The professor leaned forward on her desk. "Which will it be?"
Jacob felt his heart race. William didn't deserve to be put on the spot like this! He tried to think of a way to explain without setting the teacher off, but then William spoke up.
"Professor Veronica," William said as his eyes met hers. "I wouldn't know the answer to that question."
The room fell into an eerie silence. Almost everyone stared at William. Some of them looked like they wanted to laugh, but held it in out of fear of the professor.
"…Not even a guess?" the Floatzel asked.
"I cannot provide you with one," William replied, his tone even. "I apologize."
Professor Veronica sighed, leaning her head on her left hand while tapping her desk with her right fingers. She mumbled something Jacob couldn't hear, then spoke up. "Young Cubone, how have you never heard of the legendary beasts? Where could you have come from, that you wouldn't know something so common?"
William paused for a second, then answered. "I… can't answer that, either."
A few disproving murmurs floated through the room as recruits whispered to one another. A Tyrogue in the third row craned his head in William's direction. "That wasn't even funny the first time," he jabbed.
"Excuse me?" William replied as most of the room looked at the Tyrogue.
The professor stood up. "Settle–"
"I know what you're doin'," Tyrogue pointed. "You're just pretending to not know, aren't chu? Looking for attention, I hate liars."
"That's enough," the professor raised her voice.
"He's not lying!" Jacob shot up from his seat, drawing all attention toward him. The murmurs grew into a choir of "oooh" as he challenged the scuffle mon.
"Jacob, what are you doing?!" Leon hissed through his teeth.
Jacob was thinking the same thing as he trembled. "What-am-I-doing- what-am-I-doing- what-am-I-doing-"
The irritable Tyrogue shot Jacob a dirty look. "Hell'd you say to me?"
Leon tried to talk Jacob down. "Don't–"
"William isn't lying," Jacob pressed on, "he really doesn't know! He lost his memory! Why else would he–"
"Enough!" The professor silenced the entire room with her booming declaration.
Jacob gulped and sat down almost immediately. The professor swept her fiery gaze around the room once again, as if daring anyone to step out of line. Once she seemed content, she quietly blew out her remaining temper.
"Whatever the reason is," she began, "it's abundantly clear to me that many of you are woefully undereducated. To remedy this, you're all getting an assignment."
Everyone groaned, and many of them shot menacing looks at Jacob, William, and the Tyrogue. "Summarize the history of Wolfhaven, no less than five pages, due tomorrow. To that end, I'll–" She stopped and shook her head, as William had raised a hand. "Yes, young Cubone?"
"I'm sorry, professor," William said. "But I can't help but feel that it would be unfair to punish everyone over my mistake. If you could–"
But the professor held up a paw, cutting William off. "If you want to make this about you and be a team player, then you can take one for the team."
She swiftly wrote down a note. Just as the class dared to whisper to each other again, she spoke up. "Detention with the groundskeeper tonight, and until further notice," she said shortly. Dead silence followed as all heads turned to the Cubone again.
"And if there's anyone else who wants to get themselves in trouble, now's the time to speak up," Veronica added.
"…I– I do," Jacob quietly uttered.
"Jake," Leon protested as the Floatzel eyed them.
"I… don't want him to be all alone…" Jacob explained.
"Then I suppose you may join him," the professor replied, sounding exhausted.
"Me too," Leon said, standing up. "We're a package deal," he added, tilting his head to Jacob.
More murmurs passed through the room as their spectacle unfolded. Behind Jacob, he heard Chase mutter something about them being brave. Right now he didn't feel brave, but the encouragement was nice, at least.
Professor Veronica sighed. "I see you're looking to break the record for the strangest class I've ever taught."
She adjusted her glasses, pushing them further up her snout. "Very well then, detention for the three of you, and anyone else who interrupts my lesson going forward. You'll see me after class. If there's nothing else…" She flipped to a page in the middle of her tome. "Perhaps I can actually begin the lesson."
So the professor went on with her lecture, going over general history of Chronovania, Wolfhaven, and the guild. She read from her book, wrote on the board, and sometimes acted out an important event on her own.
However, Jacob couldn't pay attention. He was still reeling from the spectacle that he, Leon, and William were all a part of. It was as if he could feel everyone's eyes glued to him, loathing the three of them for getting homework sprung on everyone. They probably all hated them, now.
After a while, Veronica dismissed the class as her lecture finally ended. The recruits stood up and began filing out into the main hall.
"C'mon," Leon said quietly. "Let's get going."
Jacob stood up, but flinched as something tapped his shoulder. This was it, someone was gonna start a fight with them over causing trouble. He glanced over his shoulder…
It was that Bulbasaur, Chase. He looked at Jacob with a soft, sympathetic expression.
"Hey, I just wanted to let'cha know. If you got time after that detention, whatever it is, I'll be in the library. I can help you guys with that homework, if you like."
Jacob's jumpy heartbeat calmed down a little. After all that, and someone was willing to still be nice to them? Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Still, they had to get lunch and find out what detention involved. But still, it gave Jacob enough hope to brighten his tailflame.
"O-okay," he nodded. "Thanks."
