41 Did I Pass?

"Why am I the one who is reporting first?"

"You're always the one who has the most to say. You probably have a record of what happened written down. And most importantly, one of your main jobs was to be an observer. So how did they do it?"

"Well, I do have records of what happened during our time away. I have written down on a week-by-week basis, what I felt were the most important or any other noteworthy events. So there are about 25 of these reports. Do you want them now?"

"Not now, I do not want to do too much work today. You're the only one I am going to talk to today about the trial. I just wanted to get your thoughts. I want to get an idea of what I can expect throughout the week. I want everyone to have some time to relax and to be together."

"Fine by me. So, what do you want to know about first?"

"I want to know how things were like at the start, how things were like in the middle, and then how they were towards the end. I'll also ask you some questions I think of. Start by answering the first question, don't hold anything back."

"If I had to grade them on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give them a 7."

"Why?"

"One of our constant problems had to deal with leadership, it was a problem we had since the beginning. It wasn't a single person's fault, honestly it was more of a group problem. The main problem I had was the fact that I was able to get away with a lot.

I was not in a position where I should be making decisions for the group, yet they listened to whatever I said. There were times I actively went against the will of the leader at the time. I wanted to see if whoever was in charge would actually stand their ground or push back.

None of them did that, it's not their fault either. I just underestimated the amount of faith and trust they all had in me. When I gave them horrible ideas or acted out on my own, even if it went against what the current leader thought was best, I still had everyone's support.

That was not a good thing, luckily things worked out for the best. But they shouldn't have let me do that. It doesn't matter if it was a good or bad idea, letting someone go against a leader time and time again is not good for the group."

"I understand what you are saying. So who was the leader."

"We had 3 leaders and they were each in charge for 2 months. For the first 2 months, our leader was Blaise. After that it was Ganzaya, and then it was Brennus. We couldn't decide on a leader early on, this was the best compromise we could make at the time.

I think it was a good compromise. The three of them got some experience leading and they were able to learn from each other. They also started to understand what it takes to be a leader."

"What did you do to challenge their authority as leaders?"

"The main thing I did was act out on my own, doing what I thought was best for the group. Depending on what I was doing, I gave the three of them a fair shot at stopping me."

"How did you do that?"

"I told them exactly what I would be doing, especially if it went against any orders they gave. Or I explained what I was doing when I was caught doing something."

"Did they even attempt to stop you?"

"To be fair to them, they did try to stop me. The problem was that they let me keep talking, once that happened they were done. They should have known by now that they can not outtalk me. I think the problem was that they didn't have enough confidence in themselves."

"That is something only experience can fix. Did anyone try to stop you?"

"I would have done more things on my own or in secret, but I was constantly being watched by your daughter. She often reported what I was doing to whoever was in charge. I can't blame her, I did a lot of questionable things on my own for the good of the group."

"What did you do?"

"You can read about what I did on my own in the reports I wrote. You will find a lot of information there. You will know the thoughts I had at the time, their exact response to what I said, and what I did exactly."

"It looks like everything I want to know is in those reports. Looks like I have to do some reading today. For now, let's focus on things you did and not what the others did."

"What do you mean?"

"You have the most diverse skill set in our tribe. And I know there are a lot of things that only you can. I want to know what your job was specifically. How did you spend your days out there?"

"My job was to be the doctor, not much happened on that end. Most of the time I spent my time giving Dahlia and El medical training. They made some good progress, they learned how to make medicines and how to properly treat wounds.

If there is anything they don't know or need help with, it is written down somewhere. So they should be fine when I am gone. Other than that, I made sure the others ate properly and made them rest when they needed to."

"Who were the ones who got wounded?"

"It was me, Blaise, Bren, Ganzaya, and Cole. We were the ones who went out on patrol regularly. That meant we meant we often found ourselves face to face with danger. I might as well say this now, but I was the one who got injured the most."

"How did that happen?"

"Fighting with other people. We did not run into a lot of people, but a lot of them were friendly. Yet for some reason, I was the one who encountered bandits the most often. It wasn't too bad, most of the time I was able to handle it on my own."

"Did you have to handle it on your own?"

"I didn't have to do it alone, but I did. I do not have a good reason as to why I did this. Just personal reasons that make sense to me alone. The best I can say is that, uh, hmm."

"Take your time."

"You told me to use these 6 months to prove to you I have the strength to travel alone. I guess deep down I also had to prove that to myself as well. I didn't know how I would do that, so I tried to do as much as I could on my own. And I was satisfied with the results I got."

"So how did you handle things on your own?"

"I would talk it out if it was possible, most of the time that worked out. If there is one thing I am good at, it's talking my way out of danger. Yet there were times where fighting back was either the only option left or was our best option. So I did what I had to for the group."

"In other words, you ended up killing some of them?"

"Yes."

"So how many times did you have to do this?"

"Like I said earlier, we didn't run into too many people. Luckily for us, killing wasn't something we had too often. Yet it was something that had to be done 40 times, and 20 of those kills were mine."

"Was it hard?"

"No, not at all. I wish it was a lot harder for me, but that's not what happened. After the first few kills, I may have felt a little shocked. I quickly got over it, I am still not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. Still, I do not regret any of the decisions I made out there."

"..."

"..."

"Not the response I was expecting, but it also doesn't surprise me. You were always different from the others. I wasn't there and I don't know what happened, I just have to trust your judgment."

"..."

"Why are you making that face? What are you trying to say?"

"I don't know how to say this without sounding like a madman."

"I never know what to expect with you, so just spit it out and get it over with."

"I still have the bodies with me."

"Why?"

"I didn't know if you wanted proof. So I stored them away with a spell. I didn't expect you to just believe me when I said I killed 20 people. Much less if I said I killed all of them on my own."

"I'm no expert, but I have fought mages before. Your magic is strong enough to kill, and not a lot of people know how to defend against magic. It's not that unbelievable."

"I didn't kill all of them with magic. I can show you the bodies."

"Why do you want to show me the bodies? No, that doesn't matter. I just want you to get rid of them."

"I didn't know how else to prove to you I have the strength to off on my own. You weren't there to see what I doing, but I can at least show you the end result. I thought seeing the corpses would help you make a decision. I don't know what I was thinking, but we are here now.."

"Haaa, let's get this over with. Show me the bodies, but not in here. We have to find a good location for this. I do not want anyone to walk in on us. I have no idea how to explain what we are doing."

"I do have to warn you though, the kills made with magic are not the cleanest."

"Morgan, I am no stranger to bloodshed. Nothing you show me will shock or scare me. I have lived a long time and I have seen a lot of things. I understand what you are thinking, it's okay. Follow me."

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"10 with magic, 5 with arrows, and 5 with a spear. You didn't rely solely on magic, that's good."

"Did I pass?"

"No matter how much I want to say no, I can not deny your strength. You're too versatile of a fighter. You're calm enough to avoid making reckless decisions. You're smart enough to use every you can think of to your advantage. I know you will do fine out there. I just worry."

"..."

"I am going to miss you."

"Me too. I love all of you and this wasn't an easy decision to make. But for my own peace of mind, I need to this."

"Have you decided when you are going to leave?"

"I am thinking about leaving when I turn 15. That gives me about 2 weeks to finish getting ready and to say goodbye."

"Make these 2 weeks count."

"I'll try, but it's going to be hard trying to say goodbye to everyone."

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Support level C attained.