After some time had passed and Samuel had gotten used to living a regular life of working, eating and sleeping. He spent days working and free time studying more about the republic and its people. Reading in the local library for what he needed when he meant to continue his journey.
One evening as he sat in the tavern for some good food, he noticed what looked like a ranger of sorts having a drink in a secluded corner. He took a breath and approached the ranger.
"Hello may I sit down here?" Samuel asked with a small smile as politely as he could.
"Sure go ahead kiddo." The musuclar woman who Samuel had thought to be a man from the strong build said. "If you are looking for some fun with an older woman I will haveto disappoint ya! I ain't into kids." She said with a chuckle. Making Sam blush.
"No I simply wanted to ask about.. well you look like a ranger." Samuel tried salvaging his pride before it was too late.
The woman raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah I am a ranger alright, I scout the forests for dangers to towns and villages. Although its rare for any interesting things to happen this far out." She shrugged while taking deep gulps of her ale. "Pwaaah! This ale hits the spot though! Ss only thing worth it this far out!" She smiled at her drink.
Samuel nodded along, repressing his anger about his village and nothing 'interesting' happening so far out in backwater towns and villages. "I was actually wondering if you could teach me swordsmanship?" Was what Samuel asked instead of saying anything spiteful.
"Kid I don't do charity! It would be a nice change of pace but between my job and my little free time..." She stopped speaking after Samuel had placed a pouch of money in front of her.
"I was of course going to pay you. Between my job at the lumber mill and me trying to study so I can apply to magic college when I become 17 I dont have a lot of time either." Samuel explained.
The ranger opened the small purse... looking at the measly 11 silver pieces. It was a lot of money for someone so young which means that he had probably saved money for ages. "Between my work and your's I think I can provide you with some basics." She said with a sigh.
"One hour per evening every evening I can provide as long as I am not off on a mission. The time and place will be behind the old church. It's abandonded so it will be the perfect place." She sighed while gathering her few things.
"Great!" Samuel almost jumped up in joy with a smile. "When do we start?" He eagerly asked. "Also what do I call you...." He awkwardly asked after a few seconds of silence. The Ranger laughed loudly. Making other patrons look their way. "Kid we start right now, and you can call me Captain Faleah. But while we train you either call me captain or Ma'am." She sighed at the energy of youth.
She was nothing more than a soon to be middle aged human woman with nothing more than a low rank as captain. 'But perhaps this will be more fun than I thought' she started planning all the ways to have fun and kick a new trainees ass.
After taking some training swords from the local Rejgarde (Militia) she walked over to the church where she had instructed the young man to wait.
That night. Samuel went to bed, dirty and with more bruises than he had ever had before - his entire body was creaking as if he had been working an entire week in the fields, or at least thats what he felt like. He was in so much pain it took him quite some time to fall asleep. She had gone way over time with almost 3 hours of drilling basics into him and beating him plenty of times using the basics.
The next day he woke up with most of the pain still there. 'She told me working at a lumber mill was the best way to gain some muscles needed for being a strong warrior.' Was all he could think as his body was hurting and he started wondering if it was really worth it if this was meant to be his life for the next year.
Sam wanted to complain and not move a muslce the entire day of work, but he was used to the tough hard work that being a farmer could entail when it was sowing and ploughing season. He was quite used to hard work. So transporting logs and carrying wood all day went on like usual. When one learns from a young age to not complain about hard work it becomes much easier to make the day pass without a problem after all. Samuel inwardly thought to himself.
That day he was so tired from his body hurting and completing his job however that he just felt like going to sleep first and eating later. He barely felt the small young woman bumping into him.
"I am so sorry!" Was all she said and quickly paced out of there probably embarrased about it.
She quickly rounded the corner and Samuel put his hand on the door to the tavern when he felt something was missing. 'My coin purse!' His mind mustered every swear word it could and he quickly ran after the girl. His mind too tired to remember what she looked liked, only the general shape he could remember.
Thankfully she had not gotten far. Samuel rounded the corner to the semi busy street and caught a glimpse of her from behind as she blended in with the crowd. He quickly walked with anger in the same direction looking for her. Ignoring all the annoyed people swearing at him for walking so carelessly.
He saw the shape turn into an alley, so he quickly followed. Where she picked up pace when she probably realized someone was following her. She turned one alley and then the next and so on. At this point both running. Samuel was too tired and annoyed to realize they were probably on the outskirts of the town at that point. When he rounded the next corner everything went black.
Samuel groaned in pain as he started looking around in his dazed state. Three young men with small wooden clubs stood there chuckling while the young woman had stopped in the alley. Samuel could see that there were several children of different ages in the alley. "Thieving pieces a shit." He said as he tried standing up - only for the 3 young men to start kicking him and making him fall apart trying to defend himself from the attacks as best he could on the ground.
Samuel could feel the taste of blood in his mouth and started feeling like he was slipping away again when he heard a yelp. He looked up to see one of the thugs with a small knife in his arm. Everything was blurry and shaking but he held on to consciousness.
"Watchu punks doin to mah trainee?" Captain Faleah's voice cut through the air with hostility. The Ranger captain had come to his aid. The two remaining thugs charged at her with their clubs. But as Samuel had found out the day before it was pointless. One got his nose broken in an instant and the other sweeped off his legs and knocked out with the flat side of a sword.
The third had ran way after pulling out the dagger. The only one that still held onto his club was seated against a wall with a bloody nose and tears blinding him completely. Faleah quickly took a look inside the alley and looked even angrier.
Samuel did not know why she looked so angry and he didn't care at that point either. He slowly stood up supporting himself with the nearby wall. Looking at the thief that had stolen his pouch, a pretty girl probably younger than him, with a very slender build. White hair and a green eye left eye and a brown one on the right. Which left Samuel dumbstruck. Before remembering everything that had happened so far.
"Return my pouch please!" He angrily said. The girl looked between him and the ranger before finally throwing back the pouch which Faleah caught in her free hand and throwing it back to Sam. Faleah took several steps forward with authority making the children in the alley quiver and looking scared. She took from her own pouch a gold coin and threw it at the thief girl.
"Why did you give thieves money?" Samuel wheezed out in slight annoyance as he slowly walked out of there with Faleah's help. "Why not report them to the guards?" He continued on. While Faleah stopped a bit later and had him sit down. "Not everyone is blessed with a good life." She replied. "Not everyone has the luxury of finding a job. Not everyone is born into this world with a loving family!" She snarled at him, making him feel shame... he had not done anything to earn his job it had simply been given to him.
"Now I dont agree with thieving." Faleah was quick to continue without letting him say anything else. "But I also dont like seeing children going hungry." She dragged Sam back to his feet and brought him back to the tavern. Where they both shared a meal in silence just enjoying the food.
"That money hopefully gives them food to eat for months." Faleah sighed to herself after several more moments of silence. While Sam just nodded as he started getting up to go to bed. Before being stopped by Faleah. "Now you got yourself beaten up, so tonights training we will save the sparring and only work on basic movements instead." She said with the smile of a devil.
Samuel whimpered like a sad dog but went along with her anyway. He didnt even remember the rest of the night and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Faleah was a tough drill instructor.
That over the next few weeks grinded his mind into a militaristic approach. Samuel found out bits and pieces of his mentor. She was a ranger that had disobeyed orders to save people rather than complete a mission. She had been through hells with keeping her station and been demoted several times. Before they decided she should be put in a region where nothing ever really happens.
Like with most things, she opened up about the deepest scars when she got drunk. Like the fact that she had lost husband and son to a plague spread by necromancers many years back when she was young. She was just eating and drinking the rest of her life away.
At least until Samuel had gotten her to be his mentor. She was drunk less and less as the weeks went on and started asuming a more friendly approach but tough as hell like a drill instructor should be.
One month passed followed by the next. Samuel saw the 'thief girl' as he had nicknamed her, several times just buying food. But he ignored her most of the time even though she threw him angry glares every time. Samuel had gotten well into the swordsmanship training now. Between the though work and lumber mill and his training, the pain was mostly gone and he had started getting an outstanding physique. 'Worthy of a true recruit of the military.' Faleah often said.
Time went on and Samuels hard work never stopped. He had swore to never stop walking forward, to one day become the sword that helped destroy dark cults so that what happened to him would never happen to any innocent again.
The naievety of youth. But something worthy to strive for nonetheless.