Ranger's Oath

by Blake Arthur Peel

  Despite my attempts to lose myself in the scenery, the question Owyn had asked me last night still nags at me. If you could go back, would you change your decision? My answer had been no, but that was just my gut reaction. As I sit here, riding uncomfortably in my saddle, I can't help but question that answer.

  It leaves me feeling uneasy for the duration of our journey.

  By midafternoon, the surroundings start to become more familiar to me. Even my untrained eyes can spot landmarks that I noticed just the other day.

  We are getting close now, I think to myself, hand straying up to my talisman.

  Elias seems to notice the same thing, and it is not long before he pulls his horse to a stop, gesturing for us to gather around him.

  "You mentioned that you fought the darkhound somewhere around the clearing," he says with the same gruffness that I have come to expect from him. "The deer are about two hundred paces in that direction. Owyn, you take the lead from here. Take us to where you killed it."

  Nodding, Owyn pulls ahead and begins leading us through a dense thicket of trees and up a gently sloping hill. I start to feel tense as we draw near to the area we had fought the demon, as if there is still danger lurking about. It becomes obvious to me that I am not alone in feeling this way. Both rangers have their bows out with arrows nocked, eyes warily scanning the woods around us.

  I wrap my fingers reflexively around my talisman, though I do not attempt to pull in any source energy. It makes me feel better to feel the warm crystal against my skin.

  Then, my eyes catch a glimpse of something lying in a gulley, a sight that sends a shiver down my spine.

  Resting in the ferns is the still form of a dead mule.

  We are here, I find myself thinking, my palms becoming sweaty. Its corpse should just be on the other side of the thicket.

  Owyn dismounts and begins tying up his horse, gesturing silently for us to do the same. Due to the uneven terrain, it would be easier for us to continue on foot. After making sure that our mounts are secure, we begin hiking through the underbrush and toward the small clearing beyond.

  As we walk, I begin to see signs of the battle we had fought with the demon. Gouged earth here, scratches on a tree there. I even see the scorch marks on the ground that had been left by my magefyre. There is only one problem.

  The darkhound's body is gone.

  Owyn sprints over to the bushes where we had left it, bewilderment painted clearly on his face. "It was right here!" He exclaims, poking through the bushes with the bottom of his bow. "I swear, we left it here in the bushes."

  Elias looks about, his brow furrowed. "It is clear to me that there was some sort of fight here, but I see no sign of a demon."

  "It's true," I insist, joining Owyn in the search for the shadowling. "I shot it with a beam of radiant magic and it landed in these bushes. It was clearly dead."

  Elias folds his arms in front of him, frowning at Owyn. "What sort of game are you playing, boy?" His voice is low and gravelly, reminding me of a growling wolf.

  "I'm not playing a game!" Owyn's voice grows louder, tone clearly indicating that he is upset. "That thing, the same one I saw a week ago, almost killed us! We left it with a smoking hole in its chest and headed straight for Forest Hill."

  “There’s a spell,” I say, cutting in gently but firmly. “It can detect the fell energy left behind by demons. If you give me a moment, I can prove that we are not lying.”

  Elias stares at us both and raises a skeptical eyebrow. Then, abruptly, his skepticism is quickly replaced by a look of concern. He cocks his head to the side and appears to be listening for something, the way a dog might listen for some sound imperceptible to human ears. Then he curses.

  Drawing his long-bladed knife, he casts his eyes about the thicket, searching for something that Owyn and I cannot see.

  "What is it?" I ask, reaching my hand back up to touch my talisman. "Is something wrong?"

  Owyn narrows his eyes and cocks his head as well. "I hear it too. We are not alone." He knocks an arrow to his bow in one swift motion and draws, looking around at the trees surrounding us as if looking for a threat. Then, finally, I notice it as well.

  Too late.

  Hooded figures begin stepping out from behind the trees - a few at first, but then more. Soon, we are completely surrounded by men in black cloaks, crossbows pointed directly at us. I count nearly two dozen, but their numbers are not what trouble me. It is the bird-like emblem sewn across each of their cloaks.

  Nightingales.

  One of the men steps forward and removes his hood. He is a rugged-looking fellow with a bushy black beard and a puckered scar on his cheek. He fixes us with a dangerous stare. "Put down your weapons and nobody will get hurt. We have you surrounded, and we will not hesitate to kill you all."

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Owyn

  I watch in mute horror as Elias drops his knife in the dirt and removes his bow, complying with the traitor's request.

  How could he give up so easily? I think to myself, furious.

  Two hooded men, crossbows still trained on his heart, approach Elias and pick up his weapons, proceeding to search him more thoroughly.

  As if on some hidden cue, the rest of the Nightingales surge forward, closing in on me and Zara. I stand there for a moment, staring down the shaft of my arrow at a gaunt man holding a crossbow, when the bearded one speaks up again, his voice course and sounding annoyed. "This is your final warning, boy. Put down your arms and submit. Your stubborn pride isn't worth losing your life."

  Finally, painfully, I lower my bow, fixing everyone around me with a hateful glare.

  Anger boils in the pit of my stomach as the Nightingales pat me down and remove my weapons. They are comprehensive in their search of my person, and rough in the way they tie my hands in front of me, cinching the rope tight against my wrists efficiently.

  I look around and see that Zara is receiving similar treatment. Apparently, they recognize the grey robes that Zara is wearing, because they make a point of removing her talisman.

  Once we are defenseless and tied up, the bearded man, who I assume is their leader, orders his men to blindfold us.

  Great, I think bitterly. Insult to injury.

  Thick cloth is tied around my head so that my eyes are covered, the scratchy fabric stretching from my forehead to the tip of my nose. It is uncomfortable, but it is nothing compared to the rope digging into the flesh of my wrists.

  Suddenly, I feel something sharp prod me in the back. "Move," a raspy voice orders in my ear. "And if you even think about running, I'll slip this knife right in between your ribs."

  "Got it," I reply, though my voice is full of defiance.

  We begin to walk.

  Our captors lead us through the woods in a haphazard path that I'm sure even Elias cannot remember. My guard is kind enough to ensure that I keep up with the hurried pace of the group by jabbing me every so often with his blade. His pokes are not hard enough to injure me, but it is more than enough to keep me from slowing down.

  The Nightingales mostly travel in silence, guiding us through the forest to an undisclosed location. I pass the time by fantasizing about breaking free from my bonds and sticking my captor in the eye with his knife, but I make no effort to escape.

  If anyone has a plan to get us out of this mess, it is Elias.

  It seems that we are walking for hours, and eventually I realize that we are moving uphill. I take a deep breath and notice the scent of pine in the air, trees that only grow in the Ironbacks. Could we be heading toward the mountains?

  Every so often I trip over a rock or a root, but rough hands make sure that I do not stumble and slow the group down.

  I am able to glean little from the snippets of conversation that I manage to overhear, but there are several words that stand out to me. Kingsmen. Bad omens. Dagger's Point. That last one sounds like a place. Perhaps that is where we are going?

  We are given sips of water and bites of grainy bre
ad, but we are never allowed to remove our blindfolds. Apparently, the Nightingales don't want us to see where we are going; that way, we will not be able to disclose the location of their hideout in the future. Smart move, I think to myself. Though, I bet Elias will be able to figure out where we are within a minute of getting his blindfold off.

  "Where are you taking us?" I ask to no one in particular during one of our infrequent breaks.

  I hear a few people chuckle around me.

  "You'll walk until we tell you to stop, little ranger," someone replies with a snicker. This elicits more laughs from his fellows.

  "You lot are traitors and cowards," I growl in return. Somewhere I hear Zara quietly begging for me to stop. I ignore her warning, the words bubbling out of my throat like a pot of boiling water. I don't care that Elias and Zara are listening. I don't even fear for my life.

  My anger against the Nightingales runs too deep.

  "What," I continue with a sneer, "are we to become your prisoners? Forced to be bargaining chips so that you can get a little gold from the king? You're nothing more than bandits and cutthroats, too weak to mount any real sort of rebellion–"

  The breath is blasted out of my lungs as somebody punches me in the gut. I double forward and fall hard on my knees. My ears fill with raucous laughter that makes my face flush with heat.

  "We're taking you to our leader," says a familiar voice above the laughing. I recognize it as belonging to the bearded man with the scar. He sounds deadly serious. "These are dangerous times, and to catch two rangers and a mage exposed in the wilderness is a rare find indeed. We will take you William Pyke, and he will decide what to do with you."

  I manage to finally suck in a ragged breath as he raises his voice and yells, "Move out!"

  We begin our hurried march again, and this time I decide to keep my mouth shut.

  Hours pass and, judging by the drop in temperature, it is getting close to nightfall. The skin on my wrists is raw and bloody from rubbing against the coarse rope, and every bouncing step is agony on my hands. Then, when I feel like I cannot possibly go any further without passing out from pain, I hear the grating sound of metal hinges and the creaking noise of a large door or gate being opened.

  My senses tell me that we have once again come to civilization.

  The scents of wood fires and cooking stew fills my nostrils and the pinging sound of a hammer on an anvil rings somewhere close by, along with the chatting voices of dozens of people whispering eagerly about the new prisoners.

  We have finally arrived at the Nightingale camp.

  I feel my feet stepping on a wooden platform and soon we are being ushered up some stairs, the buzz of the populace growing fainter behind me. It comes as something of a surprise, however, when I am forced to my knees and the blindfold is torn unceremoniously off my face.

  For a moment I blink against the sudden brightness.

  When my vision clears, I see that Elias, Zara, and I are kneeling in a wide chamber of roughly hewn timbers in front of two iron braziers containing flickering orange flames. On either side of us I see our captors, still aiming their crossbows at our chests, facing forward with grim expressions on their faces. There are several black banners in the room depicting the silver image of a nightingale in flight.

  In between the braziers stands a man behind a desk covered in maps, papers, and books. He is tall and well-muscled, and is wearing a steel breastplate and a wolf pelt cloak around his broad shoulders. He looks at each of us with appraising eyes.

  "What have you brought me, Barus?" His voice is powerful and strong.

  The bearded man, apparently named Barus, steps forward and salutes the man in the breastplate. "General, we captured these prisoners near the border of the Arc of Radiance, not far from the village of Haven. These two are rangers, and the girl is a mage from Tarsys."

  The general nods, but his face remains stoic. "I see. And what business do two rangers and a mage have so close to the border?"

  I want to stand up and scream at this man, tell him that the rangers may go wherever they damn well please. But I wisely bite my tongue and remain silent.

  After a few heartbeats Elias speaks up with his head held high. "The Emberwood is our responsibility as rangers of the crown. There have been many disturbances in the forest lately, and we were attempting to investigate the matter when your men apprehended us."

  He and Elias lock gazes and for a moment it feels like nobody breathes.

  Then, the general breaks the uncomfortable silence. "Disturbances, strange occurrences, abductions... these are dangerous times indeed." He reaches to his belt and pulls out a serrated knife from a leather sheath. "And often," he says, looking down at the jagged blade, "dangerous times call for desperate measures."

  He steps out from behind the table and approaches us, his studded boots thudding noisily on the wooden floor. Walking with a determined stride, he approaches my master with the knife gripped firmly in his gloved fist, a resolute look in his eyes.

  Elias does not react at all, merely kneels with his back straight and his jaw set.

  I clench my teeth as the general stands in front of my master and raises the knife in front of his chest.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Zara

  My stomach convulses as the Nightingale general raises the knife.

  This is it, I think frantically. He is going to execute us in front of his men. We're all going to die.

  Looking right into Elias' eyes, the big man brings it down and slices, not into the ranger's body, but into the ropes binding his wrists. He saws through the bindings in short order and soon, Elias is free.

  I let out a breath that I did not know I had been holding.

  The general steps over to Owyn next, then to me, using that wicked-looking knife to cut our bindings before returning it back to his belt. He steps back and gestures for us to stand. "Forgive us for the rough way you were treated. It was not my intention to have you taken prisoner. But you must understand, we take the security of our people very seriously."

  Owyn and I look at each other incredulously, but as usual, the unflappable Elias is unfazed.

  "Why have you brought us here?" He asks, voice steady and cool.

  The general regards us for a moment, then looks over to the other Nightingales in the room. "Barus, please give us some privacy."

  The bearded warrior raises his bushy eyebrows and eyes us uncertainly. "But... general, are you certain?"

  The general nods. "Yes. Now, leave us be." His commanding tone is final.

  Warily, the cloaked men withdraw, leaving us alone with their leader. Before Barus shuts the door, he fixes each of us with one final glare.

  Then the door shuts, leaving us alone with the general in front of the crackling braziers.

  The big man lets out a sigh and walks back to the table, leaning heavily over the maps with his back to us. "My name is William Pyke," he says. "I am the leader of this expeditionary force and the lord of Dagger's Point."

  "Dagger's Point?" Owyn blurts out.

  I see Elias give him a sharp look.

  "Yes," replies Pyke. "That is the name of this fort. Its purpose is to serve as a staging ground for the Emberwood, and keep a careful watch for King Aethelgar's agents." He turns around and looks at us, folding his arms. "It would appear that we have found some."

  "General Pyke," Elias interjects, taking a step forward. "Why have we been captured and brought here? You know as well as anyone that we are not mere soldiers."

  It's a fair question, I find myself thinking as I rub the tender skin on my wrists. Harming mages or rangers are capital offenses under the king's law. Though, I suppose the Nightingales care little for the laws of the land.

  "I will answer your question," Pyke says coldly, "but not before you tell me why you were investigating the border."

  Elias hesitates. "It is our duty as rangers."

  "Then why is there a Conclave spy in your company?"

  "Hey!" I find myself
saying. "I'm not a spy!" All eyes turn to me, and I can feel my cheeks growing red. I silently berate myself for the outburst.

  "As I said before," Elias continues, as if I'd said nothing. "We were looking into the recent disturbances that have been reported, and trying to uncover the truth of what has been going on in the Emberwood."

  Pyke pauses for a moment, then asks more slowly, "And what has your investigation uncovered?"

  Elias eyes the general, then matches his cold tone with one of confidence. "One of our villages, a small community called Haven, has been destroyed, its inhabitants murdered. There have been reports of strange... animals roaming the wilderness. And your very men, or men wearing your colors, attacked the inn at Forest Hill and murdered several people under my protection. They were good, honest folk that did not deserve to die."

  This seems to put Pyke on the defensive. For a second, he looks almost surprised. Then, his hardened frown returns as if it had never left at all. "Those were not my men," he replies, turning his head to gaze into the coals of one of the fires. "Not anymore, anyway."

  We are all silent for a moment, letting his words sink in before the general begins to talk again.

  "Those men had been turned," he says, looking back to regard Elias with a subtle hint of apprehension. He clearly feels uncomfortable sharing this information. "They ceased being human weeks ago when they disappeared while on patrol."

  "General Pyke," I say, drawing the big man's attention. "I have been aiding these rangers in their search for truth, and I believe that we have uncovered something that could be a danger to both the Nightingales and the entire kingdom. Something that, until recently, has only been thought to be a legend."

  "So," he says, looking at me intensely. "You've discovered the demons, then?"

  Elias, Owyn, and I all share the same look of shock.