The Ranger (Book 1) (25 page)

“I don’t know,” James replied. “I just hope it never comes to that.”

“Well, you’d better make up your mind,” Thomas said, his voice raising a bit. “If what they’re saying is true, we may have to make that decision soon. You know that the Draylor are the strongest supporters of the abbeys. It’s been two weeks since we’ve seen hide or hair of them. This could be the beginning.”

James didn’t answer. They walked on in silence. The sun had risen, but the overcast sky made the day seem gray and dark. There were no other travelers on the road.

“Keep your guard up,” Auna whispered as he drifted back to Vincent. “There is something very strange going on, and I don’t like it.”

They stopped briefly for lunch around noon, more for the monks than anything, and continued. There was still no sign of any other travelers on the road. Vincent was starting to grow uneasy as the day dragged on.

Late in the afternoon rain started to fall. They were approaching the mountains, and the terrain was becoming steep. The monks continued without a word, but Thomas and James started to complain under their breath.

A sharp horn blast from the right of the group cut their complaining short. It was echoed by another blast from the left. The Monks stopped and huddled together.

“We need to keep moving,” Auna shouted, but they didn’t listen. “This isn’t good,” he was standing next to Vincent once again. “We need to act quickly. You take the left side; I’ll have Lauren take the right. You’ll probably need to use Furtivos.”

Shouts thundered from both sides of the road. Vincent could vaguely make out the shapes of about twenty men on his side of the road through the rain. They all seemed to be waving some sort of weapon.

Thomas and James were with Vincent on the left side of the road. Vincent embraced his token and sent it flowing through his body. Everything slowed as Furtivos took effect. He drew his swords and sprang into action as the first of the bandits came into full view. He darted through the group of thieves, cutting them down where they stood. Thomas and James stood transfixed, unable to move as they watched.

They battle was over quickly. The few thieves that had survived fled to the mountains. Thomas and James still stood in awe.

“Search the bodies,” Auna commanded. “We need to determine where they came from.”

Vincent started searching thorough the bodies. None of them seemed to have any sort of distinguishing marks on them, but they all had very full purses of gold tied to their belts. Vincent cut the purses from their belts as he went and brought them to Auna.

“Is this all there was?” Auna asked disbelievingly. “No pendants, no tattoos, no masks, just the gold?” Vincent nodded as Auna opened one of the purses. A look of shocked horror cut across his face as he pulled one of the coins from the bag. “This is very bad.”

“What is it?” Vincent asked as Auna passed him the coin. It was small and had an imprint of a hand in the middle.

“It is a special coin,” Auna explained, “that is made explicitly for the Order. When a Sanctuary receives gold, it is melted down and turned into statues for the altars, or coins, to buy provisions. When the gold returns to the hands of the Empire, they melt it back down and turn it back into Imperial coins. Having this many coins from the order could only mean that they got them directly from someone connected with the Order.”

“Who would do such a thing?” Vincent asked in disgust.

“There are lots of people that give in to greed,” Auna said somberly. “Not everyone joins the Order from devotion to the Goddess. Some people are looking for riches and when they find that they can’t get them through the Order, they become corrupt. It is my guess that someone in the Sanctuary in Senno was approached by a Magi operative, and accepted their proposal.”

“Then should we turn back and investigate?” Vincent asked.

“No, that would be playing into his hands,” Auna replied. “We need to keep moving to Spacco. They can investigate for us. Our mission takes priority here.”

“I’ve got the monks calmed down,” Lauren said as she walked over. “We should be able to continue soon.”

“Excellent,” Auna said, “I’d rather get into the mountains before we set up camp: there are more places to conceal ourselves.”

They formed their lines again and continued on the road. The rain had stopped now, but the sun was setting and it was getting dark fast.

“There should be a cave just off the road that we can stay in,” Auna called back to the group. The terrain was very rocky with a few ragged trees poking through in places. Auna led them around a large outcropping of rocks to the mouth of a shallow cave. The monks quickly huddled in the back as Auna started a fire.

“We’ll take turns on watch,” Lauren whispered to Vincent. “I’ll take the first shift.”

It was almost completely dark outside the cave now. The sun had set and the howls of wolves could be heard once again. The night passed slowly. Vincent thought he could see the dim silhouette of the wolves at the edge of the firelight, but they never came close.

The dawn was a welcome guest. Vincent had slept little between his shifts at watch, Lauren even less. Auna hadn’t seemed to sleep at all. The four Knights, however, had slept peacefully along with the monks and they grumbled loudly at being awakened to travel once more.

The sky was still overcast when they set out that morning. A light fog hung over the mountain, adding to the tension that Vincent felt.

They moved cautiously over the rough terrain. Once again they were alone on the road. This time it was a relief, as at times the passes through the mountain were only wide enough for the group to travel single file.

“Hey Ranger,” Thomas called to Vincent as they walked. Thomas and his companion were still following a short distance behind the rest of the group, “How did you do that yesterday?”

Vincent didn’t answer.

“Ranger, I’m talking to you,” Thomas said, a little louder, “are you deaf? Tell me how you moved so fast.”

Vincent was biting his lip to keep from answering. It pained him not to be able to speak with his friend.

“Ranger,” Thomas called a third time, this time catching up to Vincent and grabbing his shoulder, “Answer my question, or are you too high and mighty to speak with us mere Knights?”

“The Ranger knows his place,” Auna said firmly, moving back to stand beside Thomas, “and you should learn yours. Rangers do not speak when on a mission.”

“But I see the three of you talking all the time,” Thomas protested angrily. “You’re keeping secrets from us, like the ability to move fast. I want that too.”

“You are not ready for that,” Auna said sharply. “One as self centered as you has much to learn before such knowledge is passed on. The Rangers talk to me, because I am their commanding officer here, and they talk to each other to co-ordinate their efforts. That is all they need. Now, leave this Ranger to his duties.”

Thomas glared at Auna, but remained silent. The group moved on, Thomas and James still followed behind, but they didn’t say a word.

The fog didn’t let up in the following days. Lauren picked her way carefully at the front of the group, painstakingly scouting ahead through the fog to lead the group around danger. Twice she called a halt as a troll lumbered across the road they followed, oblivious to their presence. For the first time, Vincent was grateful for the fog.

By sundown on the fourth they had reached the highest point in the pass and they stopped to let the Monks rest. The climb had been difficult, and even Vincent was relieved when Auna called the halt. The spot was on a flat shelf that had a sharp drop where the road began winding its way down the cliff face.

The monks quickly went about starting a fire to warm themselves. Vincent took his turn to stand watch. The night air carried strange howls; not wolves this time, but haunting, shrieking howls. The monks went to sleep quickly, as they were exhausted from the long climb through the mountain. The knights, however, stayed up sitting around the small fire.

Lauren lay not far from Vincent, tossing restlessly. Finally she got up and came over to him.

“I’m hungry,” she grumbled, “I hadn’t planned on being out here this long and my rations are all gone. I’m going to try to catch a rabbit. That should fill me up.” Lauren stalked silently into the night.

Lauren hadn’t been gone long when she rushed back to the group, empty handed. Vincent was about to ask her what was wrong when she started kicking dirt onto the small fire that the knights sat around.

“Put it out,” she whispered frantically amidst their complaints, “and keep your voices down.”

“What is it?” Auna asked quickly.

“Griffins,” Lauren panted. “There’s a whole flock of them just over that ridge.”

“Is there any way around them?”

“They’re a little way from the road,” Lauren answered. “With a bit of luck, and the Goddess willing, we should be able to sneak by, but we’ll have to move in complete silence.”

“There’s no other way?” Auna probed.

“No,” Lauren said quietly. “The road beyond here follows the side of a cliff. It’s a difficult descent in daylight, under normal circumstances. I don’t know how we’ll do it like this.”

“We’ll just have to go slowly and carefully,” Auna concluded. “That’s all there is to it. We leave now; I’d like to put as much distance between us and them as possible. I don’t want to risk a confrontation, not under these circumstances.”

The monks grudgingly formed their line again as Vincent and Lauren woke them and herded them down the steep, cliff-side road.  They had to move slowly to keep from slipping. Every rock that tumbled from the path sounded ominous as Vincent continually looked upward, expecting to see one of the great winged beasts descending on them.

It took the better part of two hours for them to descend the cliff face, but Vincent was relieved when they finally reached the bottom unnoticed. The griffins had stared circling in the air, casting long shadows in the moonlight, but they were much too high to have seen them.

Auna still appeared troubled, despite having escaped undetected. Vincent slowly edged his way over to where he sat, deep in thought.

“What is it now?” Vincent asked quietly.

“It’s the griffins,” Auna replied vacantly.

“What about them?” Vincent inquired curiously. “They didn’t notice us and it would appear that they aren’t going to give us any trouble.”

“That’s not it,” Auna sighed. “Griffins aren’t native to these parts. They come from north of Eresia, across the desert. They shouldn’t have been here in the first place, which means that someone probably brought them, and that someone was probably a Magi.”

Vincent didn’t like this new bit of information. He sat quietly thinking it over.

“Anyway,” Auna continued, “we seem to have eluded them for the present; but we need to be watchful, I doubt that whoever sent them will give up easily.”

The remainder of the night passed uneventfully. Vincent could hardly sleep as he continued to watch the sky, still expecting the griffins to drop from above. The griffins had disappeared by the time the sun peaked over the horizon.

The group continued on the road, traveling a little faster now. Vincent was still watching the sky behind them, but there was no sign of the griffins in the air. The further they got from them, the more confident he felt that they had escaped them.

The sun was hanging low in the sky as they neared the end of the mountain pass. The ruins of an ancient gate stood at the mouth of the pass, great stone pillars jutting into the sky amidst the rubble. The horizon opened up beyond them and the world seemed to carry on forever. Vincent paused to enjoy the beauty of it.

A screech from above halted his musings. His eyes were quickly drawn to the sky in front of them. There, perched on the last column of rock, was a griffin, spreading its wings as it prepared to take flight.

Vincent’s heart skipped a beat as three more swooped in to join the beast. The monks were frightened by the appearance of the beasts and started huddling together, unsure of what to do. Vincent embraced his token and prepared himself to use Furtivos. Auna looked at him and shook his head.

“Furtivos will do little to help you here. You may try anyway,” Auna whispered, “but you can’t go throwing fireballs at them. We’re going to have to run for it. Once we’re out of the mountains, it’s only a short distance to the city. The guard there should be able to drive them off. Lauren will try to hold them at bay with her bow till then.”

“Knights,” Auna called to the rest of the group, “This is a very dangerous situation. Griffins are very powerful creatures and have instincts to defend themselves against the powers of our tokens. You can try to shoot them out of the sky with your powers, but you will simply be wasting your energy. We need to run. Beyond the pillars where the griffins are sitting, the ground quickly levels out and the road follows a straight course for Spacco. You must run and not look back. If you have any extra weight, I suggest that you lose it. The Rangers will draw them away as best they can.”

The knights started emptying their packs and discarding their spare clothes and anything else that they didn’t deem essential. Lauren, meanwhile, was stringing her bow and counting her arrows.

“Let’s hope I have enough,” she whispered.

The knights finished their preparations and they all got ready to run.

“Rangers,” Auna called from the front of the group, “you take the lead. Engage the griffins as we run past. Once we’re clear, fall in behind to keep them back.”

Vincent and Lauren took their places at the front of the line. Vincent drew his swords, hoping that he would find some way to keep the griffins back.

“Now!”

They dashed forward. Vincent reached the columns as the griffins launched themselves into the air. He could hear Lauren’s arrows whistling through the air as the others started hurrying past.

One of the griffins dove toward the frenzied monks. Vincent quickly jumped, pushing himself off of one of the pillars, and launched himself at the diving creature. They collided in mid-air. Vincent managed to slash though the tough skin of its leg, but he received a large gash in his left arm from one of the beast’s talons.