Reward

Dawn. The first rays of sun, weak but clear, touched the tops of the tallest pines as Ren and Liam emerged from the tree line, moving towards the shallow valley where the North Gate waited. The air was still bitingly cold. Ren carried his original knife openly at his belt, the rolled tarp slung across his back, the precious book secured inside his tunic. Liam walked beside him, his limp less pronounced but still present, the worn second knife strapped tightly beneath his trouser leg against his calf. They both carried small, stiff bundles of smoke-dried wolf meat.

They weren't the first. Ren scanned the approaches to the gate. Other pairs were converging, shuffling out from the forest edge like ghosts. Maybe two dozen pairs, perhaps forty cadets in total. But their conditions varied drastically. Some walked relatively steady, merely exhausted and thin. Others leaned heavily on their partners, faces gaunt, tunics torn and stained. A few were clearly injured, favoring limbs. Ren saw at least two pairs where one cadet was half-carrying the other. Not everyone who left had returned the same way.

Waiting just inside the threshold of the open North Gate stood the senior instructor from the briefing, flanked by Vorl and Grak. Their faces were stone, unreadable in the pale morning light. As the first pairs reached the gate, the senior instructor's sharp voice cut through the air.

"Halt. Present selected items."

Ren and Liam joined the ragged queue forming just outside the gate. When their turn came, they stepped forward. Ren laid his items on the ground as instructed, the sturdy knife, the folded canvas tarp, the slim leather-bound book. Liam stood beside him, trying to keep his weight even, his face carefully neutral.

The senior instructor's gaze flicked over Ren's items, then to Ren himself, then to Liam. The instructor paused for perhaps half a second, eyes briefly dropping to Liam's leg where the knife was concealed, though no bulge was obvious through the loose trouser cloth unless one knew exactly where to look. The instructor's expression didn't change.

"Acquisitions noted," the senior instructor said, his voice flat, directed somewhere between Ren and Liam. "Fall in."

Relief, washed through Ren, though he allowed none of it to show on his face. He gathered his knife, tarp, and book. Liam let out a breath he seemed to have been holding. They stepped past the instructors, through the gate, into a small, paved processing yard just inside. The air immediately felt different. Other pairs who had passed inspection stood waiting numbly in loose groups.

Ren and Liam found a spot against the cold stone wall. They watched as the last few pairs were checked. A couple of pairs only presented two items. Finally, the last pair cleared inspection.

With a resounding clang that echoed off the stone, the heavy North Gate was pulled shut. The sound sealed them in. The test was over. They were back inside the grey walls.

The cadets stood in ragged groups in the small processing yard just inside the North Gate. The immediate relief of having survived the wilderness was quickly replaced by the familiar tension of instructor scrutiny. The senior instructor, flanked by Vorl and Grak, surveyed them, his expression unreadable.

Instructors moved among the pairs, conducting brief, functional checks. Vorl paused before Ren and Liam. His single eye assessed Ren's bound leg, then Liam's tightly wrapped forearm, noting the dried bloodstains. He prodded Liam's arm near the wound, eliciting a sharp intake of breath but no cry. Satisfied they were functional, or perhaps simply noting the damage, Vorl moved on without comment. Similar cursory inspections happened down the line. 

Once the checks were complete, the senior instructor stepped forward again. "The Test is concluded," he announced, his voice sharp and clear. "Initial assessment is complete. Performance varied considerably." He scanned the cadets. "Rewards are issued based on performance tiers. Tier One: Increased rations, three days. Tier Two: Increased rations, seven days; one gear exchange token. Tier Three: Increased rations, ten days; two gear exchange tokens; performance notation."

A tense silence fell as the instructor held up a list. He began reading out numbers in a clipped, detached tone.

"088, 101: Tier One." "030, 061: Failed. Report for reassignment." The two cadets were immediately pulled aside by guards. "015, 055, Tier Two." ...He continued down the list. Ren listened intently. Some pairs who had returned looking relatively unharmed received only Tier One, others who looked battered received Tier Two. The criteria were clearly more than just physical condition upon return. Finally: "007, 011: Tier Three."

Ren felt Liam shift slightly beside him but kept his own face carefully neutral, merely meeting the senior instructor's indifferent gaze for a moment before it moved on. Tier Three. The highest. He didn't know exactly what "performance notation" meant, but the extra food and whatever the gear tokens were good rewards. He wondered briefly if the wolf kill had been factored in, but the instructor offered no specifics. 

the list was finished, nearly a third of the returning cadets had been deemed failure and received no rewards.

"Dismissed," the senior instructor stated. "Midday meal commences in thirty minutes. Then return to standard duties." Vorl and Grak began barking orders, herding them out of the processing yard and back towards the familiar stone corridors leading to the central complex.

The transition back to the facility's rigid routine was immediate. They were marched to the Mess Hall. The procedure was the same, but when Ren and Liam reached the serving point, the ladle dipped deeper into the stew pot, filling their bowls noticeably higher than those of the cadets designated Tier One or Two ahead of them. Small chunks of what might have been actual meat, floated in the thick broth.

They found a space on a bench and ate. It was the first clear reward. Ren ate steadily, aware of glances from other cadets nearby. He met Liam's eyes across the table and a slight smile passed between the two.