The Cause

Will was bored. There wasn't anything to do on his fief. Will had fed Tug, went to the inn, explored the castle, and practiced his mandola until his fingers ached.

Then came a knock on the door, "Ranger, sir. I have a letter for you." Will frowned thoughtfully and went to open the door. A pigeon-handler was there and handed him a parchment. Will opened the neat paper and started to read.

Dear Will,

Sorry to bother you, but there is an emergency. Alyss, Horace, Jenny, Cassandra, and I were going to visit you. We were going to go through this forest that we were going to investigate and was said to be haunted when we were ambushed. Horace and I managed to kill some of the attackers. Then the leader fought us, both. He was much better than Horace and I combined. The bandits captured the girls and disappeared into the forest. I couldn't track them down due to the thickness of the forest. The bandits probably know the forest like the back of their hands. I hope that you can help us, Will.

Your friend,

Gilan

"Thank you," Will said to the pigeon-handler. "I will give you a letter to send back to Gilan." The man nodded. Will quickly scribbled a letter:

Dear Gilan,

I will be there soon, I hope. Meet me at the forest you mentioned in your letter.

Your friend,

Will

The handler took the letter and walked away. Will went back inside to get ready for the trip.

…

Alyss slowly gained conscious. She tried to move her hands and saw that they have been tied to her back. She was tied to a tree in the middle of a clearing. Alyss looked to her right and left. Jenny was on her right and Cassandra was on her left.

"Where are we?" Jenny asked.

"I don't know," Cassandra replied. "Look." She was looking straight ahead. Jenny and Alyss looked in the direction the princess gestured and saw twenty-five bandits drinking, laughing, and talking. A bandit noticed that the girls were awake and came over.

"Well!" he exclaimed. "Our slaves have woken up!"

"What do you mean slaves?" Alyss asked defiantly. The man shrugged.

"We're going to sell you to slave traders. Right, boss?" the group of bandits silenced and turned to stare at the boss. He was a big man, beer on his whiskers, and had on, not rags like the other bandits, but clothes fit for a king. The leader walked over to the bold girls. Alyss recognized him as the man that beat both Horace and Gilan in combat.

"We are only selling the cook and the courier," the leader said, "for the princess, we are going to ask for a large ransom from the king." The girls were surprised that the bandit knew their positions. The bandits laughed at their shock.

"Yes, Sir!" the first bandit raised his hand in salute. The boss looked around the fire.

"Be sure to keep it down," he warned them. "I don't want that da-" suddenly he was cut off with a cry of pain. A bandit fell down, stone dead. The bandits could see the arrow planted in his heart from his back.

"It's the ranger!" the leader cried. "Circle around me!" They started to run to the forest. More arrows started to rain down on the helpless thieves. Soon all but the leader of the bandits lay dead. Alyss, Jenny, and Cassandra were shocked that the bandits, alive and panicking a few minutes ago, are now dead. Then a figure drop from a tree. The girls could see that he had the markings of a ranger. He had a double scabbard with the throwing knife and the saxe knife. In his hand was a longbow and he had an empty quiver slung on his shoulder. The boy also had the ranger cloak and the hood covered his face. The strange thing was that he also had two swords in curved scabbards. He was a bit taller than Alyss, but not by much.

"You!" the leader drew his sword. There was the usual hiss of the blade onto the scabbard.

"It's been a while, no?" the boy said with a hint of humor. Alyss thought he sounded like someone she knew.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!" the bandit began to back away. The girls could see the fear on his face.

"Sorry. If I want my pay, I will have to kill you," the boy drew his swords. Unlike the straight blades the girls were used to seeing, these swords were curved. They then realized that this boy was an assassin. He did a back flip and charged in with a kick. The bandit danced around and thrust a forward blow. The boy blocked it with one of his swords. He grabbed the collar of the larger man and lifted him up. It seemed impossible, but he threw the man over to a tree trunk. The bandit slammed into the trunk, unconscious.

"Good. Less pain for him," the boy strolled across the graveyard, saxe knife hissing. The girls closed their eyes, hearing nothing. They opened them and saw the boy leaving, saxe knife in its home.

"A little help here, please?" Jenny asked politely. He looked in their direction and strolled over, his saxe knife hissing out of its scabbard. He slashed at the ropes and waited.

"Thank you," Cassandra said. The ranger nodded. He took her hand and kissed it.

"Glad to be of service, your highness," he looked at the sky. "Almost sundown." He started to walk away.

"Wait!" Alyss held out a hand. The boy turned.

"My Lady?" he bowed.

"Can you help us? We're a bit lost," she explained.

"Of course, this way," he walked into the trees, the girls behind him.

…

"This was the forest where you lost them?" Will, Horace, and Gilan were at the entrance of the dense forest. Horace nodded.

"This is the spot that the leader of the bandit group wiped me and Gilan out," he shook his head. "I never seen anyone use the sword the way he did."

"Do you think he was taught by McNeil?" Will asked Gilan.

He shook his head, "McNeil won't teach a bandit how to use the sword." Blaze snorted.

How long are we going to wait?

"In good time, Blaze," he patted his horse.

"Let's go!" Will urged Tug and the horse charged into the forest.

"Wait!" Gilan and Horace chorused together. Too late. Will and Tug were already gone.

"Come on, Gil!" Kicker started into a canter.

"I know it's our girlfriends we're after. But there's no need to rush!" Gilan called. No response. He sighed, "Let's go, Blaze."