Ok, so this is Chapter 10! A milestone in the story line and plot! Enjoy! Please Review! I like advice on my writing, it's greatly appreciated!
The morning dawned bright and humid. Dew drops soaked the leafy fronds of the underbrush and grass, trees branches were drenched with water. The heat of the sun was veiled by the wind, and the fresh air felt good as Strider made her way to the small cabin at the far side of the Shadows encampment. The small dowdy cabin felt like a long lost home Strider had left behind. The door creaked softly behind her and she closed it as quietly as possible. The squeak seemed loud enough for the world to hear.
"I'm awake you know." Strider's shoulders sagged as she heard Fell's voice. She had half hoped he'd be asleep, and she wouldn't have to face him and the lecture she knew was coming. Strider had already heard how wrong her actions had been at the garrison from Kerjack, and she didn't want to hear it again from Fell. Wounded or not, he would talk until Strider's mind was numb with boredom. Putting aside for the moment all her hate for lectures, she moved threw the cabin, receiving a grunt of a greeting from the ever still form beneath the fireplace.
"Morning Ghost," She whispered. The grey furred hound kicked a hind leg in acknowledgement. Strider smiled, some things would never change. Stepping roughly, Strider came to stand in the open doorway to Fell's room, the only other room in the cabin. Her boots made muted sounds against the floor boards, and she leaned on the door frame in typical Shadow uniform.
The room was small, with a clear window and heavy weather shudders that were rarely of use in the thickly forested encampment. There was a neat and tidy night stand next to a wooden bed frame and a soft cotton stuffed mattress. A light wood desk and a oak chair stood in the far corner of the room. Morning sunlight streamed threw the open window. Across one wall was a rack, covered in maps and scrolls of all sorts.
Fell was settled comfortably on the bed. He looked slightly paler than Strider had last remembered, but his eyes were as bright and as keen as they ever had been. He was laying on top of the covers, wearing a pair of clean trousers and bandages from the waist up. Strider stood in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe.
"You wanted to see me?" She prompted. Fell's expression was one of amusement.
"I do?" The amusement turned to puzzlement and Strider managed a weak grin. Guilt and grief crept up inside her.
"From what Jag told me, that seems to be the case." Strider's tone was dull and rueful. Fell let out a sigh.
"No morning greetings, no humor, not even sarcasm. You must've really messed up."
Strider shrugged. "I wouldn't say 'messed up', I think saying that I 'stepped out of line' would be more correct."
Fell nodded, he seemed to still be amused by Strider's open reluctance. "You could start with telling me what happened. I heard that you fought with The Battlemaster of Meric."
It was Strider's turn to sigh, she looked away. She didn't answer.
"One of his men insulted the Shadows, and you hit him?" Fell guessed. Strider shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another. Fell was suddenly reminded of an animal pacing in a cage.
"One of his men made an offensive comment, and he stopped me from replying. Then I hit him."
Fell rolled his eyes, his amusement broke free at that moment. "You couldn't have done him and yourself a favor and remained quiet, and civilized?"
"Since when was I ever civilized?" Strider asked, cocking an eyebrow at Fell.
"You've got a point there," Fell admitted, he sat up and winced. "I could use some help," He said as he swung his legs over the bed, Strider gripped his hand and pulled him to his feet. He swayed momentarily, leaning on Strider to find his balance before he continued. He smiled, and the gesture sent a spark of warmth threw Strider.
"Just between you and me, I would have hit him if you hadn't."
Strider looked up at Fell inquiringly, he was smiling deviously.
Fell grinned wider as he elaborated, he moved to the desk, and found a clean shirt in one of the compact little drawers. "Nobody silences my Deputy except me." Behind Fell, Strider blushed. The leader of the Shadows pulled a clean white tunic on with a grunt of discomfort, Strider helped him get the garment over his head. He led the way out the small bedroom into the combined kitchen area, moving with an awkward uneven gait, he managed to put a kettle of water to boil for coffee.
While they waited for the water to boil Strider and Fell settled around the small table. Fell struggled to find a comfortable position that didn't send pain searing threw his side. He yawned, then he turned onto more serious matters to discuss.
"I guess this means were done with the garrison, and the Ranger's and Knights."
Strider shrugged, "We might be done with all of Araluen, for awhile at least."
Fell nodded. "They might be smart to throw us out of their forest anytime."
"That's alright, if they throw us out of Araluen, we could throw the Ranger's into the river."
Fell grinned, "As long as I get to help."
Rowan collapsed happily onto the soft sheets. Clean linen made contact with his skin, and he wished he could lay on the bed and sleep forever. Soon after dawn, the Knights who had stayed at the Faladore Inn had come to relieve Cedric's own party from guard duty. After a long explanation of the previous night and a short ride they were finally back at the village. The warm clean beds of the Inn had greeted the exhausted Knights without protest.
Downstairs Rowan could hear the muffled voices of his brother and the Ranger's, he struggled to make out the words, and with a sigh of defeat he closed his eyes and let the warm embrace of sleep take him, still clothed in boots and all.
"We need to get a message to Baron Arald, he needs to know of this," Halt said quietly. Cedric, Gilan, and Halt were sitting around a small wooden table in the Inn discussing matters of their somewhat horrifying discoveries.
"The King should know as well," Gilan added.
Cedric shook his head in disbelief. "You don't really believe the Shadows do you? They're closer to enemies than this so called 'Cult of Day'. If anything, we should be telling the Baron and the King to drive them out of Araluen instead of worrying about some war that might never happen."
"Cedric, I don't think we should let them slip threw our fingers, but we can't ignore this, they wouldn't have helped us if their wasn't some truth to what they've claimed."
Cedric didn't look convinced, "I still don't trust them, they're a little too feral for my liking."
Gilan shrugged, "I guess you can't argue with that, they don't really seem to be all that civilized, even as a group."
"Either way," Halt continued softly, "The Baron needs to know that the Kingdom of Araluen may be facing an attack. We still have the captured Cult members to deal with, they might be able to tell us a little more about themselves, and the Shadows."
At Halt's last statement they seemed to reach an agreement. The prisoners had been left at the garrison, where they could cause little trouble. Moving them back to the village seemed useless, there was hardly anywhere adequate to keep them. Letting them go was simply out the of the question.
Fell was confined to the cabin for the day, and he took the time to catch up on lost sleep and read threw important maps and documents. Strider had spent most of the morning and a decent part of the afternoon scouting and filling in for sentry duty with Glade. Once the sun had reached it's peak of the day Strider led Glade back to the encampment for lunch.
The cabin was quiet, but the dog rose to greet them, Strider ruffled Ghost's ears and sent Glade to check on Fell. He was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Hey, Fell you ok?" Glade asked, his leader turned to look at him.
"Yes, bored, but otherwise alright. What brings you by?"
Glade grinned, "My mentor, and your babysitter."
Fell grinned crookedly back at him. "What's for lunch?"
"What ever Strider decides to burn."
"Hey! I heard that!" Strider called from the kitchen, Fell's grin widened. He sat up and Glade helped him limp to the kitchen table. Glade offered to cook, and Strider agreed, he began chopping vegetables while Strider rummaged around the homely cabin looking for a first aid kit. Once she found one she joined Fell at the table. He was trying unsuccessfully to pull his shirt over his head, he looked at Strider helplessly and stuck his arms into the air. Strider grinned and pulled his shirt over his head for him, placing the light tunic on the table. His chest was a light tan, like the rest of him, his muscles were only vaguely defined against his skin. Bandages wound themselves tightly around Fell's midsection from the waist up. Strider unwrapped the bandages around Fell while he tried to stay perfectly unmoving, then she began to critically examine the wound. Fell winced and let out a deep breath, Strider took notice of the still ripe pain in Fell's side and gingerly examined the wound. She felt delicately along the edges of the wound for any inflammation and checked the stitches holding the gash closed. Fell flinched as her fingers brushed deftly against his skin. Strider met his eyes and swore that he was looking straight threw her. She drew her hand back quickly, but Fell stopped her, catching her hand in his own and instantly regretting the shot of pain the sudden movement sent threw his side.
"It's ok, you just caught me off guard," He told her, he let go of her hand and she turned to the medical kit to gather a healing salve, hiding the flush of embarrassment that clouded her face. She carefully applied a healing salve to the wound to stop infection from taking root and wrapped Fell in bandages once more.
"I think your going to make it," Strider told her leader as she stood to put the medical kit away, Fell reached for his clean tunic and contemplated the best way to put it on with the less difficulty. Strider came up behind him, he looked up smiled and handed her the tunic before sticking his arms straight into the air once more.
"If you would so kindly," He prompted, and Strider grinned as she pulled the shirt down over Fell's head. He slipped his arms threw and pulled the shirt down around him.
Strider caught the pungent scent of beef stew and she gravitated to the kitchen to help Glade carry the dishes to the table. They ate in a companionable silence, occasionally speaking of the days news and anything that was of importance.
"What about the horses?" Fell asked to no one in particular.
"What horses?" Strider and Glade looked utterly lost.
"The Ranger's, they're still here aren't they?"
Strider nodded and leaned back in her chair, she tapped her chin, thinking. "Yeah, their still here, what do you think we should do with them?"
Fell shrugged, "They'd catch a hefty profit if we sold them, but I think it'd be better if they were returned, maybe as a truce negotiation."
"That makes sense, I guess we'll take them back today," Strider sighed, she didn't really want to do anything other than sleep. She felt frail and withered, the battle at the garrison had drained her, and she felt as if she could sleep for a week. She mentally cursed her responsibility's, and reluctantly rose to her feet. Her feet roared their protest, and she felt oddly weary.
"I've got to get going then, but Kerjack will be by to check on you both later, so don't go anywhere." Strider smiled deviously and Fell cocked an eyebrow.
"Both of us?" Fell and Glade spoke unison.
Strider nodded, "You two can keep each other company, have fun." She slipped out the cabin door and left Glade and Fell to themselves. Fell laced his hands behind his head and let out a sigh and he looked at Glade.
"Want to play cards?"
Strider tightened the girth strap on the bay Ranger horse and checked that the reins were in their place. She had considered walking the horses back to the garrison but decided that riding would be a lot faster than leading them behind her. She chose a mount and swung up into the saddle. The bay held steady as she gripped the reins, she nudged it's side gently, and for a moment nothing happened. Then, without much warning the horse shook gently and then bucked wildly. Strider sailed threw the air, she landed on her back with a solid thud in front of the horse. The shaggy mount was looking at her with an accusing stare. Strider could hear muffled laughter and a deep chuckle as Kerjack pulled her to her feet. She rubbed the stinging pain from her shoulders. Around the clearing she could hear laughter, and she felt for a moment like she could be everybody's fool all at once.
"Looks like I'm walking," She said, feeling her ears burn hot with embarrassment.
Walking wasn't half as bad as Strider had expected it to be, and the horses trailed after her willingly, their hooves clopping dryly against the Earth. Strider had scaled a tree stiffly, and was shading her eyes to peer over the wall of the garrison, like she'd expected there was a change of watch, and the Ranger's were no where to be seen. She didn't recognize any one else, which was no surprise, and she cursed under her breath as she realized she'd have to walk all the way to the Faladore village and back to return the horses. Strider climbed down the tree lithely and untied the horses reins from a low hanging branch and began the painstakingly slow trek to the Faladore village.
By the time she had made it to the edge of the forest the sun was dropping behind the trees, she spotted a shape moving threw the toppled masonry near the village. She whistled sharply and he turned to look at her. The cowl of her cloak rested on her shoulders, and her face mask was a scruff at her neck.
"Hey! Tell the Ranger's I've got their horses!" Strider's voice rang clearly across the void between herself and the village.
The boy looked startled, but he raced off towards the Inn and left Strider to wait alone by the edge of the forest.
Rowan broke into a slow jog as he made his way to the Inn, he'd recognized the ghostly figure in the dying sunlight, and now his mind was racing. He hadn't expected to see a Shadow again, let alone have one come looking for the Ranger's. After several hours of sleep and a quick meal Rowan had been assigned to watch duty. He cursed himself, why did trouble always seem to find him? He opened the door to Inn, panting slightly, he blinked several times until his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and he spotted the Ranger's and his brother sitting at a table. Rowan lost his nerve, and he walked slowly to the table. He felt oddly exposed around the Ranger's, and a fear crept up inside him. The three men turned to look at him expectantly as he stepped up to the table.
"Their's someone waiting for you," He told the Ranger's. Halt looked at him with a dark stare and Rowan wished he could close his eyes and run away. Instead he continued to speak.
"It's that girl, with your horses. She's waiting for you." Understanding dawned in the Ranger's eyes and he stood, Gilan following his sudden movement. He nodded to Rowan who stepped aside to let them threw. Cedric was several steps behind them, and Rowan decided to trail after them, he needed to get back to his post sooner or later.
Strider was leaning against a tree, staring into the sky, it was streaked with light and dark orange, scarlet and red, and a thick band of midnight sky. She was entranced in the beauty of it all, and she didn't hear the Ranger's stealthy approach.
"I didn't think you'd bring them back to be honest."
The girl leaped back, startled. She relaxed a little as she recognized Halt. He was gentle rubbing Abelard's muzzle. Gilan was comforting his own mount.
"That makes two of us." Strider retorted, her still holding how startled she'd been. She took note that both Ranger's were carrying their weapons, and she smiled on the inside, they were wary of just about everything it seemed, but she couldn't blame them.
"You walked them here?" Gilan asked and Strider rubbed her sore shoulder remembering her failed attempt at mounting, she had always felt she was a decent rider, she could at least stay in the saddle, most of the time.
"I had to,"
A grin showed on the corner of Gilan's lips and Strider felt hot with embarrassment once more.
"If that's all, I've got to get going," Strider turned to leave but Halt stopped her.
"How's Fell?" He asked, his voice never wavering from grim.
"He's fine, cranky, but he'll live." Strider tossed the words back over her shoulder and kept walking, feeling slightly stung, the Ranger's had known their horses would refuse to let her mount properly.
Abelard tossed his head and let out a neigh suddenly, Blaze was doing the same. The Ranger's exchanged looks that Strider didn't see as she continued to walk. Her boot was only inches away from the ground when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Halt took a step forward but was too late.
"Strider!"
The man lunged from the undergrowth, he slammed into Strider's exposed side, the two collided into the ground, Strider felt her head spin as her lungs retched the air from her chest. She let out a gasp of pain, her attacker was at least double her size, and her had pinned her to the ground, he pulled a knife, and Strider saw an arrow appear in his shoulder and he screamed. Strider took the moment of opportunity, she drew her knee up into the man's gut and scrambled out from underneath him. He writhed in pain on the ground as Strider drew herself to her feet belatedly. She'd been caught completely off guard, and suddenly she felt ignorance, but it was too quickly being drowned out by fear.
The attack had only begun, and someone grabbed Strider from behind. She struggled against their grasp and groped for a knife on her belt. A blade prickled her neck and she made a snap decision. Gilan saw the fear in her eyes, he pulled his sword free of it's scabbard at his waist and moved forward. Strider's elbow made solid contact with the man who held her, the knife at her neck dropped to her shoulder and she ducked out of his grasp, expecting the murderous pain of a dagger in her back at any second, it never came.
Gilan's sword swept past Strider as he stepped around her, with a flick of the glimmering blade the Ranger sent the dagger sailing from the mans hand. Gilan rushed the man and rammed the hilt of his sword into the side of the mans hand, he dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
Strider stood facing the first attack as he rose to his feet, she pulled a knife free from her belt as he stepped forward, his eyes showing malicious hate. Strider took a step back, she felt fear rising up in her, blood pounded in her ears and she swore the Ranger's must've heard her hearts' rapid beating in her chest. Before the assassin could take her life, someone took his.
Another arrow appeared in his back, he staggered forward, his eyes showing astonishment as he collapsed to the ground, dead.
"Are you alright?" Halt asked gently, Strider nodded, trying to keep her breath from coming in ragged gasps.
"Yeah, thanks…"
Gilan had dropped to one knee next to the unconscious man. They wore matching jerkins and dark breeches. They had several knives on their person and Gilan didn't spend much time locating all of them. He turned to look at Strider.
"Their assassins," He said, but Strider already knew this, and she felt anguish rearing up inside her, the lies, the secrets, the empty promises all came flooding back to her.
"They were targeting you, do you know anyone who would hire them to kill you?" Halt's voice seemed far away and Strider thought she might faint, it would definitely be better than staying conscious she thought. Gilan carefully examined each assassin in turn as Strider stood staring blankly at the ground, from the looks of their weapons and gear they weren't bandits, they were trained killers, and they'd made their target clear. He turned to Strider, awaiting her answer to Halt's question.
The girl sank to the ground, leaning against a tree, she twined her fingers in her short hair. She looked up, and the tormented gleam in her eyes as she spoke was almost tangible. Her words were short, and they sparked questions that Ranger's were wary to ask.
"My brother."