“Miss Aria?” The tentative tone caught her off-guard.

“Yes?”

“May I join you?”

“Oh, certainly.” She gestured to the chair next to her, and the young man sat down a little nervously. “What can I do for you?”

“Uh, you gave a recruitment pitch?”

“And you’re interested?!” Honestly, she was surprised that anyone would take her up on her job offer, but she’d rehearsed this part a gazillion times with Buhne just in case.

“Well, possibly. I'd like more information.”

“What’s your name?”

“Zaghaft.” He glanced around, noticing Raz who was snoring loudly with his face buried in his arms on the table. “Erm, is he ok?”

Callida laughed. “Just passed out drunk. I don’t really know him, but he drank two enormous tumblers full of beer.”

“Ah,” Zaghaft nodded his understanding.

“So, Zaghaft, what information were you hoping for?”

“Well, first, you said that you train new hires? How does that work, exactly?”

“I will hold morning classes regularly and work with you individually as needed or upon request in the afternoons.”

“Do we get paid for attending training? Or do we need to pay you?”

“Oh, you don’t pay me for the training, but the jobs are how you earn money. Clients pay half up front and then half upon completion of the job. You take seventy percent of the total fee. The other thirty percent pays for your training and the administrative costs.”

“What does a job typically pay?”

This was the part she was excited to deliver. “It depends on how many hours you work, but we charge a Tankam per hour, so that’s seven Velli per hour that you keep.”

“Seven Velli?!” Zaghaft’s jaw dropped.

“Is that a problem?”

“Uh, no! No problem. How much work would you expect someone like me to get?”

“Well, you have to meet certain training standards first, so it would depend on how quickly you get through that, but after that, about a job per week. Jobs can take anywhere from two to ten hours. I know it’s not much, but occasionally, if a client really likes someone, they will request them regularly.”

Callida watched as Zaghaft ran the math. Seven Velli an hour was an extremely tempting offer as most brawlers made that in about a week of nightly fighting. “When are you hoping to start training?”

Callida’s lips twitched as she prepared to drop the hammer. “That depends. I need a certain number of new sign-ons before it’s worth my time to start training.”

“Oh? How many sign-ons are you talking?”

“Ten, minimum, preferably double that.”

“How many do you have so far?”

“Counting you, one.” The disappointment on Zaghaft’s face made it hard not to laugh. “Of course, if you were to help me find more interested talent….” She didn’t need to continue as Zaghaft’s face had already lit up.

“I’ll spread the word.”

“You do that, but first, add your name and contact information to my sign-up list. I’ll let you know when I start training.” He eagerly took the pen, and Callida stood up to shake his hand once he returned it. “I look forward to working with you, Zaghaft.”

***

It was well after midnight, and the boys had picked the room with her bed in it to discuss their findings. Callida was so tired, it was tempting to knock them all out just to get them to shut up. Everyone had played their parts perfectly. Buhne was the perfect gambler, chatting up all the other gamblers, though he hadn’t found anything suspicious among them. Ablenkung had figured out the exact layout of the building and talked to many of the staff to figure out who was loyal to the arena and could be called upon should the bandit situation get out of hand. Spahen and Bern had watched from above for anything suspicious, Erkunden had wandered the floor, listening in on conversations and looking for patrons that seemed out of place. He'd found one or two that he wanted to look for again the next night, but he hadn't found anything concrete. They were discussing their plan for the next day at torturous length, Callida doing her best to ignore them in favor of sleep….

"Oh, Primordials! Do you mind?!"

"Sorry, Beta, but we didn't find much tonight," Spahen explained. "We're going to have to rethink our strategy."

"What do you mean, we didn't find much?!" Callida said angrily and snatched at a collection of ignored papers she'd set at the foot of her bed for the boys to include in their discussion. "Recruiter's name is Razvedchik. 'Goes by Raz. Stars mean strong interest, X means failed recruitment. Not sure what the other symbols mean. And that's a time and place for their information meeting. The other list is the group of guys interested in the bodyguard gig." She threw the papers at Spahen and flopped back onto her pillow, pulling the blankets up over her head.

"Wha- where did you get these?!" Spahen stammered.

"From Raz. He's trying to recruit me. Can we go to bed now?!"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Sorry, Beta."

The boys left for the other room to look over her findings, and Callida rolled over, falling asleep within seconds of their departure.

***

Callida woke up a few hours later, her internal clock responding to the first glimmer of twilight. She groaned and tried miserably to roll over, but she just couldn’t get back to sleep-- the woes of keeping a strict military schedule her whole life. Frustrated, she got up, washed her face, checked to make sure that her roommates were still sleeping and then quickly changed into her training clothes before grabbing her sword and heading outside.

The mountain air was cool and foggy as was often the case this early in the morning. She started with a warm-up jog around the inn. It was a lot bigger than it seemed from the inside. She stretched, working to loosen her cranky, sleep-deprived muscles. Finding an open lawn, she closed her eyes and drew her sword, working through her basic forms by feel, memorizing the proprioceptive positions of her limbs, matching them to the illustrations of proper forms in her mind’s eye. She started again with the first form, moving more and more quickly through each subsequent form until they all blurred together. It was time to mix things up, conjuring up an opponent in her head to counter and attack with her eyes still closed.

When she opened her eyes again, the morning light had shifted from a pale, barely-there glow to a level that one would be able to read a book with. She recentered herself on the lawn and closed her eyes again, listening to the morning sounds, breathing in the smells, feeling the foggy air hit her skin, honing her senses. After a few minutes, she heard the sounds of approaching footsteps on the grass and opened her eyes.

“Papa?”

“‘Want someone to train with?” Bern asked with a small smile.

“Uh, sure. Have you warmed-up yet?” He shook his head, and Callida started a second jog around the inn, inviting Bern to follow her with a wave of her hand. Once back on the lawn, Callida led a silent second round of stretches for Bern’s benefit before drawing her sword. “Ready?” Bern nodded and drew his own sword in response.

Callida started small, building up the speed of her attacks gradually, pushing Bern to the absolute limit of his capabilities. Bern was a decent swordsman, better than the average Bear Tribe soldier, but still not much of a match for Callida. While Bern struggled to keep up with her, Callida wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

“You weren’t kidding.”

Callida disengaged and spun around to the sound of the voice lingering near the treeline across the lawn from the inn. “Raz?”

He winced and rubbed his temple. “Not so loud, please. It’s been a while since I had that much to drink.”

“That may have been my fault,” Callida grinned, adjusting her volume. “What brings you here?”

“Oh, I was in the neighborhood and followed the sound of swords clashing,” Raz smiled back at her. “Who’s your friend?”

“Echt Unwahr,” Bern extended his hand for Raz to shake in greeting. “Aria mentioned meeting you at the arena last night. She says you’re a recruiter?”

“You told him about me, huh?” Raz seemed pleased.

“You were interesting to talk to,” Callida shrugged.

Raz chuckled. “How do you know each other?”

“Through work,” Bern answered quickly before Callida could panic.

“Are you business partners?”

“Oh, no. We just collaborate occasionally.”

“What do you do then, Echt?” Raz asked, obviously intrigued.

“I connect security guards to training resources, like Ms. Mendacium here.” Bern was spinning this tale as quickly as he could come up with it, just hoping that it was believable.

“Are you a trainer too?”

“No,” Bern laughed, “I’m not qualified for that. I’m just a middle man. Aria needed someone to warm-up with this morning, and I had some business to discuss with her anyway.” Bern turned to look at Callida. “You’re sure you’re not available this week?”

“Um….”

“The job I found is pretty lucrative if you can find time for it.” Callida’s mind went blank, her eyes wide. “Although you said you’re in the process of recruiting for a new branch of your bodyguard business. How involved is that?”

“Uh, it’s pretty involved. I need to start training my new recruits and find a few more recruits, and… stuff,” she ended lamely. “Sorry. This week really doesn’t work.”

Bern sighed defeatedly. “I’ll have to ask Gespenst then. He’s not as good as you though.”

“Next time?”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Bern grinned. “Well, I should be off. Nice meeting you, Raz.” Bern left with a small salute.

“So, you are a contracted trainer in addition to running a business?”

“Guilty,” Callida cheesed and blushed.

“Are you still interested in contracting as a trainer with us?”

“Like I said last night, I’d like more information first, but I plan to be at the meeting.”

“We will want more information from you as well: a resume to start with, and a demonstration of what you are capable of wouldn’t go amiss.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Callida agreed.

“Your friend, Echt Unwahr, was it? He would make a good reference for you, and I’d be interested to get his contact information.”

“Why’s that?”

“Well networking, of course! He’s in a similar business as you and me; we can all help each other.”

“Help each other?”

“Naturally-” whatever Raz was about to say was interrupted by the arrival of Erkunden.

“Hey, Aria, I was looking for you. I ran into Echt. He said I could find you here.”

“Oh, yeah.” Callida froze again, trying not to panic. “Uh, Raz, this is my business partner….”

“Stetig,” Erkunden extended his hand to Raz in much the same way that Bern had done. “It’s Raz?”

Raz took Erkunden’s hand with a nod. “You are Ms. Mendacium’s business partner? Are you also a trainer?”

“Oh, Primordials, no! I handle the business side of things-- the paperwork, scheduling, contracts and the like-- while Aria does the recruiting and training.”

“Ah.” Raz’s eyes had glazed over after the word ‘no’. “Well, Aria,” Raz smiled at her, “I’ll see you at the meeting, if not sooner.”

“Yeah. See you then,” Callida nodded and turned to follow Erkunden back to the inn.

They walked in to find the rest of Squad 14 waiting for them in the lobby, ushering them both quickly back to their rooms. Callida was so frazzled and tired, she just wanted to curl up and cry. After giving them the update, she flopped face-first into her pillow, covering her head with her arms.

“Hey, Beta, are you ok?” Bern sat down on the bed next to her to voice what everyone was thinking. “A resume and demonstration aren’t such a big deal, and I don’t have a problem being a reference for you.”

“This is getting so complicated,” came the pillow muffled reply. “I’m going to slip up!”

Buhne chuckled. “Ah, this is nothing, Beta. You can do it.”

“But I’m so tired!” Callida lifted her head slightly only to flop it back onto the pillow with this last declaration.

“Take a nap!” Spahen grinned. “We’ll go to the other room to get your resume written.”

Callida grunted her acknowledgement, and Bern tossed a blanket over the top of her before following the rest of the squad out.

***

The next couple of weeks leading up to the information meeting went by without a hiccup or much to report. Squad 14 spent their evenings at the arena, Callida got her minimum ten recruits (times three), of which she was surprised to find Drucken among the list of sign-ups, and had to follow through on her promise to start training. Her days were quite full with group training in the mornings on the lawn outside the inn, small group and individual training in the afternoons followed by a quick bath and glam-up with Buhne before heading to the arena to watch the matches. Rinse and repeat. Callida did find it gratifying to observe her recruits’ rapid progress in the ring, however.

She was less enthusiastic about the amount of attention Rohling was paying her. Every evening, he’d find some sort of excuse to sit with her for a while and watch a match or two. It made her nervous because each visit presented a new opportunity for her to slip on some detail of her cover story, and Rohling wanted to get to know ‘Aria’, asking her probing questions. She was having to adapt real stories about her past with details that conformed to the cover. It was exhausting and so, so stressful trying to remember it all.

She was grateful when the day of the information meeting arrived. At least today they would make some progress, maybe formulate a new plan? That was the goal anyway. Before leaving for the meeting, Buhne made sure Callida was dressed to kill, finding a new outfit for her at a local clothing store of the leggings and tunic variety, but the tunic featured off-the-shoulder sleeves and a skin-tight, semi-corseted bodice with a deep V-neckline held together by criss-crossing, decorative lacing. It wasn’t her favorite look, but it wasn’t any worse than the slit up to her hip in her black dress. At a minimum, the leggings were flexible and therefore practical for fighting in.

With her makeup done and her hair a cascading waterfall of citrusy gold down her back, Buhne declared her ready, clucking in approval at his handiwork. “What do you think, boys?”

“You do good work,” Bern provided the obligatory compliment with an irritated roll of his eyes. “How are you feeling, Beta?”

“‘Ready to get this over with,” Callida answered honestly.

“I meant about the outfit?” Bern pressed.

She smiled crookedly. “Not my favorite, but it’s practical enough and not too horrible.”

Bern nodded as Ablenkung got up to add his own slight modifications to her outfit, a thin dagger to slip down the front of her corset and the apparently standard pouch of sedation needles carefully secured under the top fold of her right boot. “Just a precaution,” he grinned in response to the exasperated look on Callida’s face.

***

The location on Razvedchik’s paper took Callida to a small but busy tavern near the arena. Raz was easy enough to spot sitting in a back corner with a young man Callida recognized as one of the brawlers, and Callida quickly moved to join them.

“Ah! Ms. Mendacium, I’m glad you could join us,” Raz stood up and pulled the chair out next to him for her. “Did you bring your resume?”

She nodded distractedly. “Is this everyone?” Callida asked, eyeing the brawler on her other side.

“Oh, no,” Raz chuckled. “I’m expecting one or two more people to show up before we go to the meeting.”

Callida frowned. “This isn’t where the meeting is being held?”

“Of course not,” Raz smiled easily. “We wouldn’t all fit in this establishment. This is just a convenient location to meet up so I can take you to the meeting. It’s a bit out of the way and might be challenging to find unless you know where you are going.”

“I see. Forgive me for finding that a little disconcerting,” Callida said, leaning back in her chair to cross her arms.

“And why is that?” Raz asked.

“As a young woman, you can never be too careful. Meeting up in a public location is fine, but leaving for an unknown, hard-to-find, previously undisclosed second location with a man I barely know is a little suspicious. Would you not agree?”

Raz chuckled. “But you are hardly just any young woman, Aria. Your recruits have shown a marked improvement in the ring the last couple of weeks which I can only attribute to your capable training. Such a teacher must also be quite skilled.”

“And thus your interest in me,” Callida sighed and glanced blankly at the door of the tavern as Spahen and Bern walked in and found a table across the way near an open window. This was all part of the plan, but she didn’t think that they’d anticipated the meeting relocating. The door opened again, and Drucken walked in with another young brawler she’d been training (Jung, is that his name?).

Raz smiled at them and waved them over. “I’m glad you boys could make it. Ms. Mendacium, I believe you are already familiar with Drucken and Junglin. And this fine young man is Immer,” Raz indicated the brawler already sitting at the table. Callida made eye contact with each of the men in turn before staring blankly out the window near Spahen and Bern. “Well, I believe we are all here now. Shall we?” Raz stood up and gestured to the door. The men walked out promptly, but Callida side-eyed Raz, not certain that she wanted to go with him and hoping that her comrades would provide some silent instructions. Raz offered her his hand which she took hesitantly. “There’s nothing to worry about, Aria,” he tried to assure her.

“Forgive me for not taking your word for it,” Callida replied sharply.

“I sense some bitterness,” Raz said, raising his eyebrows.

“I’ve had perhaps too much experience with men.” It was an easy excuse.

Raz smiled; he seemed amused by her lack of trust more than anything else. “Is that what prompted your study of swordsmanship and martial arts?”

“It certainly contributed to my motivation.” Callida turned away as Raz laughed, glancing towards the window again on her way out.

“This way,” Raz directed the group toward the trees behind the tavern, guiding them into the woods. Callida couldn’t help but notice that Drucken, at least, seemed to already know where he was going, occasionally stepping out in front of Raz in anticipation of a turn.

He’s already been recruited, Callida pondered. Does that mean he’s been spying on me, coming to my training? Is that why he was so hostile during my recruitment pitch? But now wasn’t the time to worry about such things. She needed to memorize the route to the meeting place and look for useful landmarks.

“What are you thinking about?”

His voice startled her. “Nothing,” she said curtly as Drucken fell into step with her.

“You’re scowling,” he laughed, a sound that Callida found jarring at this particular moment. She chose to ignore him in favor of concentrating on the path in front of her. “I have to admit, I was wrong about you, Aria.”

Well, now she was curious. “How so?”

“You’re good. Really good,” Drucken seemed to think that this explained everything.

“Hm.” Callida was less than impressed by this answer and sped up in an effort to leave him behind. He caught her arm, his grip strong and firm but also somehow gentle, pulling her to a stop.

“Aria, you’re a good teacher.”

She brushed him off. “You’re already a member of this private army, aren’t you?” Drucken’s eyebrows raised in surprise, but he didn’t deny it. “Do you have any honest interest in working with me as a bodyguard? Or did you sign up to see if I was any good in advance of this meeting? What have you told your superiors about me? And why do they have such a strong interest in me?”

Drucken cleared his throat, taken aback by the abruptness of her questioning. “Like I said, Aria, you’re really good, and, well, we could really use you. Do you have any idea how rare your skillset is?”

“No.”

“Well, it is. Finding you was providential.”

“How so?”

“We lost our trainer a few months ago. ‘Got old and died in his sleep. And then you showed up!”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Drucken. I haven’t signed on. I’m only coming to the meeting to get more information and see if the gig is a good fit for me.”

“Right,” he dropped his gaze and shuffled his feet, giving Callida an opportunity to start following Raz again.