A Ranger From Adamnar

Lord Chasimar met Alana in front of the main building. “I was beginning to think Waylan wasn’t going to let you go after all,” she said.

Alana was still distracted as she contemplated what Waylan had said to her. “What?”

“Is there something wrong?” Lord Chasimar asked. “Did he give you a hard time about leaving?”

Alana frowned. “Why would he do that?”

Lord Chasimar shook her head and said, “Never mind.” She walked around to the side of the main building. “There’s something I need to show you before you begin patrols. If you would please come with me.” She led the way to a set of stone stairs that went up the side of the building. She went up the stairs and Alana followed close behind. At the top of the stairs a Ranger stood in the entrance of a large, roofed platform. A short, stone wall ringed the granite platform and the only opening was at the top of the staircase. Hanging from the low roof of the platform was the large silver bell that she had seen many times when she was cleaning the arboretum roof. The Ranger was clearly standing guard on the platform.

“Hello Addins,” Lord Chasimar said when she reached the top of the stairs.

“Hello, Lord Chasimar,” Addins replied. “Another Ranger for patrols?”

“Yes,” Lord Chasimar replied. “This is Alana. She will be on short range patrols.”

“Ah yes, Ranger Alana,” he said with a smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.” He stepped aside to let Lord Chasimar and Alana pass. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Alana nodded and said, “I’m glad to meet you too, Ranger Addins.”

Alana noticed that the platform rose above the roof of the main building and she could see above the walls of the stronghold in all four directions. She looked up at the huge silver bell. The clapper looked to be almost three inches around and it was etched with magical runes, as was the outer rim of the bell.

Lord Chasimar walked over to the bell and said, “This is the general alarm bell. It is only rung when the stronghold is under attack. Only Adamnar Rangers in good standing can ring the bell and only Adamnar Rangers who have touched the clapper can hear it. No matter where you are on patrol, you will be able to hear the bell. That is the call to return to the stronghold to defend it.”

Alana stared in wonder at the bell. The magic that created it must have been very powerful. She turned to Lord Chasimar and asked, “Has the bell ever been rung?”

Lord Chasimar shrugged and replied, “It has not been rung in all the time I have been here.”

Ranger Addins said, “This bell has not been rung in over a hundred years. Not since the war with the Tagonic elves.”

Lord Chasimar nodded, “There it is,” she said. She motioned for Alana to come closer. “Touch the clapper so you may hear the bell.”

Alana stood directly underneath the bell. The clapper had a long silver chain attached to it. She had to stand on her toes to reach it. When she touched the clapper, Alana felt a faint tingling sensation run through her.

“Good,” Lord Chasimar said as she started back down the stairs, “Now we can get to your assignment.”

Once they had gotten back to ground level, Lord Chasimar walked toward the main gate. “The primary task of short range patrols is to protect the trainees,” she began. “Because of the attack on your group during trials, we decided to shadow the trial groups as well. The only group short range doesn’t shadow is Pellou’s. We use mid-range patrols for him.”

Alana chuckled, “That doesn’t surprise me.”

Lord Chasimar smiled. “I’m sure.” After a slight pause she continued, “My goal is to have you become a patrol leader. You have shown great promise in the area of leadership.”

“Thank you, Lord Chasimar,” Alana said.

“Don’t thank me,” Lord Chasimar replied. “It’s all your own doing. Anyway,” she went on, “with that in mind, I’ve assigned you to my best patrol leader.”

As they approached the front gate, Alana could see a group of twelve Rangers on horseback gathered together. “Good, they’re ready to go.” She stopped walking and turned to Alana. “Shadowing trainees is not the only task of short range patrols. Today you will be escorting Gervis Torella’s merchant caravan into the stronghold.”

To her surprise, Alana saw Ben ride toward the group leading Starlight. She threw a startled look at Lord Chasimar and said, “You’re assigning me to Ben’s group?”

Lord Chasimar smiled. “Yes. I told you I was assigning you to my best patrol leader. That’s Ben.” She paused and then said, “I know the two of you are involved. It’s not the first time and it certainly won’t be the last time a patrol leader was involved with one of their group. We thought about trying to stop it, but we had more to lose than to gain by doing that. I have already spoken to Ben about it. I have no doubt the two of you can be discreet.”

“Yes, Lord Chasimar,” Alana answered quietly. She looked over at Ben, who was grinning from ear to ear, and said, “He never said anything.”

“He didn’t know about it until this morning,” Lord Chasimar replied with a half smile. “I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it from you for long.” She began to walk toward the patrol group again and said, “Let’s introduce you to the rest of your patrol group.”

Ben dismounted and met them halfway. He put out his hand, smiled broadly and said, “Welcome to our group, Ranger Alana Nadran.”

She took his hand and said with a twinkle in her eye, “I’m glad to be here, Patrol Leader Benarion Hadrigan.”

“Everyone is eager to meet you,” Ben said. “They’ve all heard how good you are.”

Lord Chasimar said, “Well, I think you can take it from here, Ben. The caravan is about a day out, according to my reports. You should be able to get to them before moonrise if you ride hard.”

“Yes, Lord Chasimar,” Ben said. After Lord Chasimar left, he and Alana started walking toward the patrol group. “I brought your pack and your saddlebags are full.”

Alana smiled and said, “Thank you. Was Laren in our room?”

Ben nodded, “Yes. She helped me find everything.”

Alana looked over at her horse and let out a quiet gasp of delight. “You brought my long coat.”

Ben grinned and said, “I know how much you like it and you haven’t really gotten a chance to wear it since your uncle gave it to you.”

She grabbed his hand and gave it a quick squeeze before letting it go. “Thank you. I wish I could give you a kiss, but you know what Lord Chasimar said.”

“Yeah, I know,” he replied. “But everybody in the group already knows about us anyway. They’re happy to have you on because we already have the reputation for being the best and you’ll just add to it. Just to be safe though,” he added with a wicked grin, “I’ll take that kiss later tonight when no one else is around.”

“I like that idea,” she replied softly.

“Me too,” he murmured. Then with a quiet sigh he said, “We need to get going if we’re going to make it there by moonrise. Let’s mount up. I’ll introduce you to everybody along the way.”

“Yes, Patrol leader Benarion,” she said with a mischievous grin.

They made it to the caravan before moonrise and relieved the mid-range patrol group. Alana was surprised that there were only a few guards with the caravan and mentioned it to Ben. “Most of the guards don’t come in here,” he said. “They’re really not much good in the forest. That’s why we escort the caravan in.” He looked down the line of four wagons and added, “This is only a small part of Gervis Torella’s caravan anyway. Most of the wagons are back in Erordinville restocking for his trip to Seldonia City. He’ll probably be taking an Adamnar Ranger with him when he leaves here.”

“Taking a Ranger with him?” Alana asked. “What do you mean?”

“Torella likes to have a Ranger scout with him when he travels,” Ben answered. “Rangers are much better at spotting trouble than ordinary caravan guards. They keep the caravan safe and he pays very well for it. I’ve heard he pays the Ranger five hundred gold pieces for the trip. Of course the trip takes almost a whole year from Erordinville to Seldonia City and back.”

Alana’s eyes widened. “A year. That’s a long time on a caravan.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’ve never done it,” Ben replied.

Alana watched while the drivers unhitched the horses and the pack handlers set up the wagons for the night. She took a deep breath and said, “It’s so nice to be outside the stronghold. I haven’t been this far out since the trials.”

“It is nice to get out here once in a while,” Ben said.

Alana looked over at him and asked, “Do you ever think about going farther?”

“You mean on long range patrols?” he asked.

Alana shook her head, “No. I mean adventuring. Going outside the stronghold boundaries and just…adventuring.”

Ben frowned slightly and replied, “I never really thought about it. I like being a stronghold Ranger. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.” He looked over at her and asked, “Why, are you thinking about leaving Adamnar?”

Alana gave him a quick smile and replied, “No, not really. I was just wondering, that’s all.”

Ben pulled her close and walked them both back behind one of the wagons. “Well, just so you know,” he whispered in her ear, “I like having you around.” He brushed her face with his fingers. “By the way, you still owe me that kiss.”

Alana grinned and put her arms around his neck and said, “And I always pay my debts.” She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him deeply. Ben slid his hands down to her backside and pulled her closer. She felt his body harden. She pulled back a little and said softly, “We have to wait until we get back to the stronghold.”

Ben sighed and said, “I know.”

The pair heard someone clear their throat. They both whirled around and saw one of their group standing there with a half-smile on his face. “Um…Ben, the area is secure. Do you want to set up the watch?”

Ben’s face reddened and he replied, “Yes, Handor. I’ll…be right there.”

Alana waited until Handor walked away before she started to giggle. She glanced down and said, “You’d better wait just a little bit before you go out there.”

Ben took a step back from her and murmured, “This is going to be harder than I thought.”

Alana stared at him wide-eyed with her hand over her mouth to quiet her laughter. Finally she managed to gasp out, “It certainly looks that way.”

Ben stared at her for a moment in confusion, then his eyes widened and he burst out laughing. “All right you,” he said after he stopped laughing. “Go check with the lead driver to make sure all the horses are settled.”

“Yes, Patrol Leader Benarion,” she said in mock submission.

“Go on you,” he said with a laugh.

Alana walked around the wagon down to the front of the caravan where she thought she might find the lead driver. The night air was chilly and she was glad that Ben had brought her long coat. She saw that the pack handlers and the drivers were gathered around a fire listening to a Bard strum a soft melody on his lute. She paused to listen for a moment. She liked it when Bards came with the caravan. That meant there would be entertainment in the tavern.

Alana scanned the group around the fire until she saw the lead driver. She waited until he looked up, then she caught his eye. He nodded and got up from his seat around the fire. He was a big man in his mid-forties, broad shouldered with a bit of a belly from one too many ales around the fire. He towered over Alana when he stood in front of her. “The horses are all bedded down for the night, Ranger…?”

“Alana,” she said.

“Alana,” he repeated. “The name’s Jake.”

“Thank you Jake,” she said and started to turn away.

“Wait,” he said. When she turned back he went on, “If you don’ t mind me asking, what’d you do to earn your long coat? It’s not too often I see one on a woman.”

Alana smiled and nodded in understanding. “Where are you from?” she asked.

“Galablent,” he answered.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said with a slight grimace.

Jake let out a short laugh and said, “Yeah. It’s even worse since the old baron died.”

Alana let out a snort of disgust. “So the younger vermin is running things now. Too bad.” She saw that he was waiting for her answer so she said, “I saved my brother from being trampled during a stampede.”

Jake nodded. “That’d get you a long coat for sure.” He tilted his head slightly and asked, “That wouldn’t be Alana Candril by any chance, would it?”

Alana was caught off guard and couldn’t completely hide her expression of surprise. “It’s just Alana,” she said quickly.

Jake nodded. “All right. Well, I’m probably gonna turn in soon. Good night Ranger…Alana.”

Alana got a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach which she tried to ignore. “Good night, Jake,” she replied and turned to go find the rest of her patrol group.

It seemed like forever before they left the damned stronghold. Jake had gone to Gervis Torella as soon as the caravan got back to Erordinville and quit as lead driver. Then he bought a horse and headed back to Galablent. The reward Baron Galablent was offering for information about Alana Candril’s whereabouts—ten thousand gold pieces—would pay for ten lifetimes as Torella’s lead driver. Jake rode as fast as he could without killing his horse and rode well into the night. The sooner he got to Galablent, the sooner he would be a wealthy man.

He didn’t notice the highwaymen until they were on him. He never heard the whistle of the arrow that entered his chest. He only felt the cold blackness begin to envelope him as he fell off his horse. His last thoughts were of Baron Galablent and the gold he would never have.

One of the highwaymen rolled Jake onto his back and cut his throat for good measure. He checked the pockets of the dead man’s coat and said, “He’s got nothin’ but a few silver pieces.”

The other thief said, “Just take the horse and leave him for the vultures.”

“Wonder where he was goin’ in such a hurry?”

The other highwayman chuckled and said, “He ain’t gonna get there now.”