The soft dawn light drifted through the forest canopy; blues, pinks, and a deep gold coloured the sky, greeting the new day with warmth. Will stretched from his guard position, shaking the off chill that had settled during his watch. Looking around, he noticed the small layer of frost on their gear. He was disappointed at the lost time, Angie and Maddie could have traveled all night if necessary, but Johnny had not developed the endurance for that yet. Shaking the others awake, he set out to get firewood.
The relatively dry forest was full of dead branches and bracken. Will followed the track left by the thieves, not wanting to stray too far, and also wanting to see where it led. No sound rose as he seemingly glided across the ground. Suddenly Will stopped, he saw something out of place out of the corner of his eye. He knelt down, gathering an armload of wood and quickly headed back to camp.
I need to speak to Maddie about this. He never saw the shadow detach itself from a tree ten meters to the left, and melt into the morning shadows.
Maddie was the first to notice his approach, raising her hand in greeting to her former mentor. Will nodded at her dumping his load of firewood in the arms of the half-awake apprentice knight. With a glimmer of humour, he spoke;
"Johnny, Angie. Get the fire going, make up some breakfast and coffee. Maddie, come with me, I want to show you something."
Angie nodded stoking the banked coals from the previous night's fire, while Johnny grumbled something under his breath joining Angie. Maddie shook herself, before following Will out of the camp. Will quickly led the way to where he had seen the anomaly. Reaching his destination Will turned to Maddie.
"What do you see?" He asked.
That simple question, asked thousands of times during her five years of training, struck a chord in Maddie's memory. Look at the ground, what can I see?she thought. After completing her first year, her mother had come to terms with the fact that her daughter was a Ranger, and would be until it came time for her to take the mantle of Queen. Maddie dropped to her knee, unconsciously rubbing at her hip.
She noticed a couple of things, the first was that the thieves' tracks ended, and resumed a few meters away on a well worn path. The second, the ground was uneven and a small, thin stick was raised off the ground, almost unnoticeable. She followed the strange, segmented branch along to the nearest tree, where she found a hidden contraption; it was a small string system that ran up a tree.
"It's called bamboo, I encountered it in Nihon-Ja. It's very strong, very light, and thin. The natives used it as an activation trigger for many things." Will mused.
Maddie nodded triggering the mechanism. A weight, attached to the string, dropped from the upper branches of the tree. As the weight fell, a reed pipe fixed to the string moved quickly through the wind, producing a single, clear note that sound like a bird call. Will beckoned with his hand, turning from the warning system.
"We best return to camp to eat before we go on ahead, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not fight on an empty stomach." Will joked lightly, heading away from strange warning system. Maddie followed, her mind wondering what the implications of setting off the call.
Back at camp, the Task Force ate and packed quickly, pausing only long enough to discuss what Will and Maddie had found. Angie and Johnny both walked away with confused faces, trying to decipher the meaning of what the warning system meant. Will noticed the looks of befuddlement on all their faces, and laughed inwardly. They're overcomplicating it, it's simple, the thieves have been warned.
The Task Force moved swiftly through the trees, finding more and more signs of activity in the area. The trees towered over them, enclosing them within its leafy green prison. The team looked around, noting all details, the scuffing of leaves, marks on trees, another warning system. Angie found a concealed look-out post, for someone small, nimble, and agile.
Approaching a clearing the team stopped. Maddie was certain she had heard voices, and a look from Will confirmed her suspicions, he had heard them too. Signaling with her hand, Maddie instructed Angie and Johnny to enter while she and Will melted into the trees moving around the perimeter with knocked bows, covering all angles within the clearing.
Angie and Johnny entered, eyes watchful for further signs of the thieves' passing. What Angie noted first was that the ground had been swept; she could see the distinct markings of sticks and leaves being drug over the ground. Second the path of the thieves had completely vanished, instead there were a dozen sets of prints moving around in spiraling patterns leading back out of the clearing.
Angie stopped where the tracks converged, kneeling to inspect the tracks. She took a deep breathing clearing her mind before going through Will's checklist, it was still the only way Will had found to help Angie focus. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and holding it in while she counted to ten. She opened her eyes, looking down at the tracks.
What do you see? All of the tracks began in one spot, and lead out of the clearing. There were no tracks entering the clearing besides the ones she and Johnny made.
What does this tell you? What did this mean? Obviously that something about this spot was important. But it was just the starting point, the tracks moved out of the clearing. The small glade was being protected.
What does that tell you? This tactic was meant to distract them from the actual path the thieves took. Something about this point, and clearing, was important.
What are you going to do with this information? This was where Angie always stumbled. Four and half years under the tutelage of Will Treaty and she was still indecisive. That was the reason Will had added the question to his check list, so he could hear her thoughts. Mostly she was on the right track, but having Will tell her she was right was always comforting.
"What do you see?" Johnny bent down looking over Angie's shoulder. After four years with Will and Maddie he could determine that there were tracks there, and the direction they were traveling, but little else.
"They start here," she answered quietly. "They wander around a bit, and leave the clearing."
"What? Did they come out of the tree?" he joked looking at the thick trunk of the oak they were standing under. He ran his hand over the rough bark trying to determine of the tree was hollow with a hidden door, like the look-out Angie had already found.
"That post really intrigued you didn't it?" Angie smiled standing up, dusting off her knees.
"It was inside a tree," he emphasized the point. It was not a regular occurrence to have a look-out inside the trunk of a massive tree. Johnny was still trying to determine how whoever made it, made it.
"A hollow tree," Angie scanned the woods around the clearing slowly. She knew Will and Maddie were watching them, was Will satisfied with her actions in the clearing? Probably not since she and Johnny were talking. She bit her lip, seeing where Will was moving around the clearing, watching her. It was a good thing this was not one of her final assessments, she would have failed.
"It was still a tree," Johnny moved away from the tree, following a set of tracks to the edge of the clearing. His time on the Task Force had taught him a few things, like help where you can or they revoke coffee privileges at the campsite. The tracks stopped just outside of the clearing, and completely vanished. "The tracks are just in the clearing," he reported.
"Do they lead to a tree?"
"No, they just vanish."
What does that tell you? These thieves were really good at not being found.