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Late the following morning, three of the rangers return to the guild hall. Hillman and Rodnick rode on to the master scrivener's shop and residence. Upon arriving, they dismounted their horses, going into the shop. Manta, the master scrivener, looks up, sees Hillman, and starts to look irritated. "You were supposed to be here yesterday. Not off to a good start, are you?" before hillman can reply, Rodnick steps forward, making sure the brooch with the ranger (apprentice) emblem can be clearly seen. Manta looks at the ranger apprentice for a moment before asking, "Something I can help you with, Ranger?" With a little irritation showing in his voice, he replies, "Hillman here is late because he was helping the ranger guild in a rescue mission." Rodnick pauses long enough to make sure he has Manta's full attention before continuing, "a rescue mission to save a ranger. Senior Ranger Jasper has instructed me to inform you, Master Scrivener Manta, that Journeyman Scrivener Hillman has earned the full appreciation of the ranger guild.

He also states that if you have any questions or concerns with his lateness, you should come to the guild hall tomorrow, where we will be presenting Hillman with an official letter of appreciation, assuming, of course, you will release him to come to our hall at the 12th hour." Manta looks at the young ranger apprentice and wonders if it would be worth while to try and bluster him into saying he will not allow it. Looking at the youngsters, he decides it is not worth trying. 'Besides, who wants to anger the ranger guild?' Out loud he replies, "Of course, young man, of course, I didn't know." Pausing for a moment, he asks, "May I come along? I have never been to the ranger hall before." Rodnick pauses for a moment before replying, "Senior Ranger Jasper thought you might want to come. I am to advise the two of you that it will take about two hours, and you should not eat the noon meal before coming... Now, if you good sirs will excuse me, I must be getting back to the guild hall."

As he turns to go back out the door, he says to Hillman, "May I see you outside for a moment before I go?" Hillman looks at Manta, who nods his head. "Of course, Rodnick, after you," he replies, gesturing towards the door. Once the two young men are outside, Rodnick walks over to the horse Hillman had been riding. He rubs the muzzle of the horse and looks to Hillman. "His name is Dobbin. We tried to train him as a ranger horse, but he wouldn't take to some of it. He's a good horse, just not a ranger horse, so we can't keep him. I talked to Jasper about you wanting to be a traveling scrivener after training with Master Manta. The Jaffa Ranger Guild would like you to take him. i have been asked by jasper to teach you to care for him and his equipment." While Rodnick was talking, the look of shock and happiness grew on Hillman's face until he looked like he might burst. Horses, especially trained or even partially trained horses, were expensive. rodnick continues, "tomorrow when you are presented with the letter of appreciation, you will also officially be given ownership of the horse. We will stable him for you for the first two weeks so that you may learn to care for him and his gear. After that you will have to stable him elsewhere." Hillman walks up next to Dobbin, stroking his kneck in complete shock, he can't speak for a moment. At last he says, "Rodnick, I don't know what to say! A horse of my own? That will most certainly help with my adventures after training. I... I don't know what to say. Thank you, thank Jasper, and thank the Ranger Guild for me!" Hillman is so happy he is close to tears. Rodnick gives him a moment, then asks, gesturing towards Manta's shop, "Do you believe he will give you grief over being late?" Hillman has to suppress a laugh, saying, "Are you joking? You just told him he better not have a problem with my being late, that I was helping the ranger guild. Who wants to piss off the ranger guild?!?" Rodnick makes arrangements for Hillman to come to the ranger guild hall after lessons so that he may teach Hillman the care of his horse and gear. Rodnick mounts up, takes Dobbin's reins, turns, and rides away.

Hillman returns inside to see Manta waiting at the counter for him. "The full appreciation of the ranger guild? Tell me about your adventure; they don't just hand out those letters." Hillman takes a seat across from Manta and tells him of the encounters with Mirian, the trip to the guild hall, the trip back to Mirian, and then the trip back to Jaffa. manta reminds him as a journeyman he is free to come and go as he pleases as long as he attends the class that he is contracted to. hillman is silently pleased that Manta does not appear to be bothered with his lateness anymore. "Master Manta, sir, I hope you will understand; I am exhausted and would like to lie down. Can someone show me to my room?" Hillman picks up his packs, looking hopeful to Manta. "I have two apprentices right now, and they are both occupied at the moment. I will show you to your room." Manta makes a 'follow me' gesture and then walks down the hallway.

The following day, Hillman meets Manta at the front desk of the scrivener shop. Both are dressed in their finest clothes. As they walk to the ranger guild hall, Manta is telling Hillman what an honor this is. "Be humble and respectful. These are very serious men and women." Manta rambles on until they arrive at the entrance of the hall. Hillman pulls open the door, gesturing for Manta to go first. As they enter, they notice that Rodnick is the only one in the foyer area. Rodnick steps forward to greet them. "Welcome to the Ranger Guild Hall, Master Scrivener Manta and Journeyman Scrivener Hillman. I am apprentice ranger Rodnick. I have been tasked with being your guide while you are here." Turning to Hillman, he continues, "Journeyman Hillman of the Scrivener Guild, you have been invited here today to receive a letter of appreciation from the Jaffa Ranger Guild Hall. Once we enter the meeting hall, you will follow me to the front of the hall. your geust will stay at the back of the hall until he is invited forward." With that, in almost military precision, he turns in the opposite direction of the canteen. The two scriveners follow him in humbled silence.

Upon entering the hall, Manta moves to the side, in the back of the room. As they entered, twenty men and women stood, approaching the aisle that Rodnick and Hillman were walking down so that they were walking between them on their approach to the front of the hall. As they approach the front, Hillman notices an older man standing at a podium. When they are about ten feet from the man, Rodnick stops and turns to Hillman, instructing him, "Do not move until he tells you to." Rodnick then moves a step and to the left behind Hillman.

Hillman and the man look at each other for a moment before the man finally speaks, looking directly at Hillman, "I am the master of the Jaffa Ranger guild hall. It is my job to oversee, guide, and protect the rangers of this region. Recently, one of my rangers was in danger. I wasn't there to protect her. Thank you, Nomar, for being there to assist her. despite your discomfort with ranger horses. You rode the ranger horse back to Jaffa to let the guild know of Ranger Mirian's predicament. By your actions, Ranger Mirian was only in danger for half the time she would have been otherwise. For this, we appreciate your assistance." The rest of the rangers in the room echo the sentiment, "For this, we appreciate your assistance."

The master ranger picks up a scroll case from the podium and extends it towards Hillman. Nervously, Hillman looks over his shoulder to Rodnick, who moves his head, indicating he should go get the scroll case. Hillman slowly moves forward, lifting his hand to receive the scroll case. After taking the scroll case, he moves back to his original place, standing there. Rodnick leans forward, whispering, "Read it." Fumbling a little bit, Hillman opens the case, letting the scroll slide out; he opens and reads it.

as Hillman is rolling up and replacing the parchment. Master Rudy looks to the back of the hall. "Master Scrivener Manta, would you please come forward?" Manta moves forward, not sure why the master ranger would want him. When he is beside Hillman, he looks up, expectantly, to the master ranger. "Some of my rangers thought you might have some concerns with Journeyman Hillman being a day late for his training with you. I am hoping that any concerns you might have had have been taken care of." Before Rudy was done speaking, Manta was shaking his head. "Master Ranger, if I may? At first sight, yes, I was irritable at his arriving a day late. But once the apprentice ranger that arrived with him explained what had happened, my displeasure disappeared. I was delighted that one from the scrivener guild could help one from the rangers guild." With some hesitation he continues, "Because he was a day late starting the class, I will have to extend the training time by one day to make up for it." Rudy looks to Manta, replying, "I understand; we have a similar rule: 'Start late, stay late.'" Manta smiles up to Rudy, "Yes, sir, thank you for understanding." "Thank you, Master Manta. Please step back; we have one more item for Hillman before we enjoy the special appreciation meal." Looking curiously about the room, he steps back, even with Rodnick. Master Rudy looks back to Hillman. "Jasper and Rodnick have informed me you would like to be a traveling scrivener. As a traveler, you should have a horse. As a part of our appreciation, we are gifting you Dobbin, the horse you rode from Jaffa and back. you will also be given a basic set of gear to go with him. Rodnick has agreed that for the next two weeks he will make himself available in the evening to teach you to ride and care for your new horse and gear. Does this suit you, Hillman?" Hillman is almost stunned with excitement; it takes him a moment to reply, "Yes, Master Rudy, it suits me very well. Thank you so much for the horse. It will make my adventures so much better. I...I don't know what to say..." Rudy looks at the overwhelmed young man replying, "Your actions spoke for you. Now, Rodnick, please escort Hillman and his guest to the canteen. We have had a special meal prepared in your honor." Rudy turns from the podium, going out a door located behind it.

Rodnick steps up to Hillman, putting his hand on Hillman's arm. With a big smile he says, "Come on, you are not going to believe the feast they are setting for you." Hillman just stands there for a moment looking at Rodnick. "I really didn't do anything so special as to deserve all this. a letter of appreciation, a horse, and now a feast." Rodnick smiles again. "Come on, Hillman, it wouldn't do to be late to your own feast." He leads Hillman away with Manta right on their heels. When they arrive at the canteen, Rodnick leads them to a table where Rudy and Jasper are already seated. While Hillman and Manta are seating themselves, Rodnick turns to join the apprentice table. Before he can get away, Jasper calls out, "Rodnick, I think you should join us. I do believe at least some of the discussion will involve you." Rodnick gives the two ranger leaders a surprised look, sees that Jasper means it, and seats himself. "Thank you, Senior Ranger Jasper." Jasper looks to Rudy, chuckling, "Don't thank me yet. We are about to give you a whole lot of extra work."

Rodnick looks to Jasper, who smiles and nods. "We don't think you will be too unhappy with it though. You see, Jasper here not only told me our new friend wants to be a traveler but also that he is not prepared or trained for it. We not only want you to train him to take care of Dobbin, but we also want you to give him some basic training for being on the road and in the forest." Looking to Manta, Rudy asks, "How long is his training with you going to be?" Manta looks to Hillman, then replies to Rudy, "This language course will take six months." Jasper looks to Rudy, who nods his head in a 'go ahead' gesture. Jasper looks to the two young men, then continues, looking to Rodnick, "Rodnick, we want you to give him all the weapons, horseman, and forestry lessons you can. If our friend is going to be a traveler, we want him to be as prepared as he can be." The two young men smile at each other, then at Jasper. They both turn to Jasper and Rudy. Rodnick replies, "That would be wonderful, sirs."

The food is brought out,and Hillman is very impressed with the food presented on the table. There are platters of meat: venison, quail, chicken, beef, and meats he could not identify. He knew that platter had fish on it; being from a small inland village, he wasn't familiar with the types of fish. There were breads, fruits, vegetables, and mead to wash it all down. Once done with the meal, the desserts are brought out: tarts with custard or honey and sweet pastries with preserved fruits or creams. Hillman ate enough that his pants were uncomfortably tight; he didn't mind though. In his life he has never seen a feast like this before and will probably never see one again.

Long after the feat has concluded and Manta has gone home, Hillman and Rodnick continue talking about the plan to train Hillman to be travel-ready. As Jasper will be overseeing the training plan, he has instructed Rodnick to submit a six-month plan. The biggest impediments they both see are that the training will need to be held in the evening and on the seventh day, the traditional day of rest. Hillman laughs, saying, "I don't believe it will be much of a problem on my side. If the ranger guild asks Master Manta if he is alright with this plan, do you see him saying 'no'?" Rodnick pauses for a moment, cocks his head sideways, then joins Hillman in laughter. "No, probably not," he agrees, then continues, "We really don't like taking advantage of our position with the other guilds more than we have to. never know when we might need their help."

The two young men go over the six-month plan one more time, decide it looks good, and decide to call it a night. Rodnick looks to the window to see it is full-on dark now and turns to tell Hillman, "Wait for me at the front foyer. I am going to my room to get my weapons to walk you back to your guild hall." As he gets up to go, Hillman asks him,"Is it really necessary to weapon up for a walk to my guild?" Rodnick stops, looking at him in some surprise. "You do know that we are not far from the docks? Your guild is even closer. The sea sometimes brings some unsavory types to our streets. always best to be prepared." With that said, he goes to his room while Hillman heads to the front foyer.

When Rodnick reappears, he is wearing his cloak with the apprentice ranger guild brooch clasping it around his neck. Hillman also notices that he has a sword at his hip and a bow in his hand. "Don't worry, Hillman, I doubt we will need any of these weapons; however, the more ready you look, the less likely you are to be jumped." Rodnick holds open the door for Hillman. On the walk home, he thinks about what he has already learned, and it's only been one day in the city. 'Being friends with the rangers is a good thing. They take it very seriously.'

After about 15 minutes they arrive at the hall. The two men say their goodnights; Hillman goes inside, and Rodnick waits until he hears the locks fall into place. Rodnick stands there for a moment listening, looking around for any movement. Hearing and seeing nothing, he crosses the road, going to the next crossroad, watching and listening. When he gets close to the crossroad, he steps deep into the shadows, waiting. Soon he decides no one is following him. 'Time to get back to the guild and get some sleep. I and my new friend are going to be busy for the next six months. Staying close to the buildings and in the shadows, he soon returns to the guild, going straight to bed.