Ralph was tucking into the salmon stew Anika had prepared. She tried talking to him but he was absorbed by the food and didn't pay any attention to her.

"Ah, that was a fine meal. You would make a promising chef I can tell you that."

"What about my Hunter training? Do you think I'm ready now?"

After studying her for a few moments, he licked his fingers and wiped them on his trousers. He stood up and told her to follow.

"Your training with me is coming to an end. This is the point where you have a choice to make, all I ask is that you consider this carefully because it is not a choice that can be unmade. We Hunters have access to a wide variety of skills, some of which you have already learned, and all that remains is for you to master them."

"Now, I don't want you to get me wrong. I don't want you to think that specialising in a certain path will prevent you from enjoying the other aspects of being a Hunter. But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me start by explaining the options you have before you."

He picked up a rifle and showed it to her. It looked heavy, and it had some very interesting modifications, one of which looked like a scope for aiming through and the other was some sort of canister.

"As a Marksman, you will specialise in firing all kinds of ranged weapons. With enough training you could take down the smallest rabbit from the furthest distance and some of the largest beasts in the outside world, all by using the right tools for the job. Being a marksman is not just about having the best aim, often it is about understanding your weapons and using them to their full advantage in the right situations. The badge of honour for a Marksman is to set up and prepare the shot so that the target goes down in one hit. Think about that for a while."

He gave her the rifle so she could take a look and have a go at aiming through the scope. It was too heavy for her, and she could only imagine what the recoil would be like when it was fired.

"If being a Marksman is not your thing, you might consider being a Trapper. Trappers have an intimate relationship with their environment, more so than other Hunters. They can create a web of traps and distractions, guiding their prey into the perfect spot for them to make the kill. You might think trapping is only useful for animals and beasts in the forest. Perhaps you think humans and other races in the kingdom would be too clever to walk into a Hunter’s trap. Let me tell you this, the perfect trap is often laid close to the more obvious one. So you see, decoys and distractions are also a part of the Trapper's toolbox. As with the Marksman specialisation, you will still have access to some of these skills as you progress and perhaps take up training with other Hunters in the kingdom. But to excel as a Trapper you will find that often there is little need to ever fire a weapon to take down your target."

"Finally, let me tell you about becoming a Beastmaster. This is a path that requires a great deal of dedication and sacrifice, but the rewards are worth it. You will learn to tame a wild beast, and with some effort I can teach you how to train the beast to fight by your side. Now, don't go thinking you can abuse the beast or run it into its own death to save your skin. A Beastmaster puts the health and well-being of his or her companion before their own. Over time, a bond of loyalty will develop between the two of you. You will find that by putting your companion’s needs above your own, a loyal beast will stay by your side and fight for your cause until its last breath. Something else to keep in mind is this; the more time you spend with your companion, the more attuned you will get to their senses."

Anika had decided, but she still took time to think for a while. It wasn't because Ralph had said anything new, she understood the main strengths and weaknesses of the three paths. Her decision to think it over once again had more to do with how momentous the decision felt. She wasn't sure if she would regret it but choosing Beastmaster still seemed like the best choice.

"I would like to choose the path of the Beastmaster."

You have chosen specialisation: Beastmaster

Accept Yes/No

After she accepted her specialisation, she was greeted with a new page on her character profile. It listed the entire progression tree of the Beastmaster and showed her she had four talent points to spend. The only talents and abilities available to her were listed as Tier 1. Although at first she thought it would be impossible to read through them all and choose, she realised that she only had three choices to begin with, the rest were greyed out and required her to spend further talent points before they would unlock.

Expert Trainer 0/3

Beast Insight 0/3

Improved Speed 0/3

The Expert Trainer talent improved her chances of taming a beast in the wild. It would also increase the bond of loyalty between her and a companion. With only four points to spend, she read further before committing to any of the options.

Beast Insight was a talent that would allow her to become more attuned to her companion. Spending points in this talent would enable her to understand the needs of her companions to a higher degree than normal.

Finally, she read the description for Improved Speed. This one was easier to understand, it meant that she could move faster if she had a companion by her side.

She didn't have a clue what talent choices to make, improved speed seemed an obvious choice because moving faster would always be an advantage. At the same time she felt she didn't have enough information to make a wise decision.

"A Beastmaster, eh? Well, let's get you started with the first requirements."

He walked over to the stables where his dogs were playing and picked up a large leather collar.

"You'll be needing this. First, let me tell you how it works. This is a training collar, you can use it on many animals, but there are some who are immune to its effects. Now, it may sound like a simple task, because all you have to do is get this thing around the neck of your future companion. The trick is to get this done without first hurting the beast. It's not possible to just sling this thing around its neck after having beaten it half to death. Best for it to be unaware of your presence, too much aggravation or animosity towards you and the chances of being successful will be very slim. If a beast thinks you are trying to hurt it, it will resist. Try to find ways of gaining its trust or at least distract it before you get the collar out."

You receive item: Training Collar

You have learned a new skill: Tame Beast

"Thank you." Anika remembered some of the tamed beasts she had seen in the Hunter guide the previous day. They had all been fierce-looking creatures. How on earth was she supposed to go about getting a collar around an animal without it either running away or attacking her on site? There were some tricks of the trade, but from what she had read, she also knew Hunters would spend hours tracking and attempting to tame their companions. The more wild and fierce the creature, the more preparation and skill was needed.

"Do you think I could have a quick go at practising with one of your dogs? I want to be sure I know how to use this thing before I try it for real."

"In principle, I would have no problem with that. The problem is that my dogs have already been tamed and they are loyal only to me. That thing won't work on mine or any other Hunter's pets. Wild creatures only. If you need a bit of practice before we put your skills to the test, I recommend that you have a go with one of the smaller creatures running around the woods. Rabbits can be hard to catch but I'm sure you can manage one pheasant. If you are lucky to find one, an owl taking a nap during the day might also be an easy one. How about we meet here first thing tomorrow morning, I want you to have a companion with you, then I'll show you how to train it to fight by your side."