Chapter 11
That night as he stood with Crash he pondered over the similarity between himself and Dylan. He wondered how he would have felt if there were people like Alex and Leanna when he was his age, would he still be a Ranger. 'Yes' he thought 'I knew what I wanted to be from a young age'. He thought again about his past and as he scratched Crash's head he thought of how he met Crash:
The start of his apprenticeship had been three months of hard work. Not only did he have to learn the use of his weapons but had to learn how to do the cleaning and maintenance around the cabin in the woods. He also had to run to town every morning for fresh bread from the baker, a widow named Angela. One morning he had woken and rose, started the fire in the kitchen stove and carried in water like every day. He was just about to leave to run to town for the bread when Lars said today would be different. Jason was excited as he wondered what was going to be different. He struggled to be patient and calm though he felt he could run up the wall across the ceiling and down the other side without falling. Lars seemed to take extra-long with his coffee that morning just to test his patience. He finally finished and handed his mug to Jason who dreaded him saying he could use another cup. Jason hurried to dunk it into the wash water he had used for the breakfast dishes so he couldn't ask for another cup of coffee which earned a smile from Lars.
Lars walked outside without saying a word leaving him to wash the cup then dry it and leave it on the shelf ready for later. When Jason carried the wash water out and dumped it into the bushes Lars was nowhere to be seen. Jason set the bucket on the deck and cast about for tracks finding them heading to the stable though when he entered the stable he wasn't there and neither was his horse Leesah. Jason went back outside and cast about for the new trail but couldn't find one. After a couple of minutes he went back to the door to the stable looking closely at the ground. He hadn't noticed it before but one of Lars tracks was smudged a bit like someone had tried to rub it out but gave it up before finishing it. Jason looked closer at the ground leading away from the stable but could still see nothing. No more smudges, no tracks. He went back to the smudged track and looked again. He had been wrong, it wasn't that someone had tried to rub out the track but rather he had stepped on something that was no longer there. He looked into the shadows inside the stable following the footsteps with his eyes and watching them appear in his mind. Lars was carrying something soft and had stepped on it by accident. He stepped into the shadows straining to see, he saw it again. No it was different this time the track was there it had just been pressed down by something soft yet firm. He went back to the door but still saw no other prints. He walked around the outside of the stable and it was then he found the track. It appeared out of the wall of the stable and headed away from town. He couldn't see the individual tracks that Leesah had left but saw where the grass was slowly standing back up. He followed the trail through the grass till it disappeared beneath the trees and there he saw the smudged tracks made by a horse with its feet covered by cloth. He trailed Lars for almost a kilometer and a half before he came to where he had uncovered Leesah's feet and rode on. Jason could see the track clearly and began to run. After a short distance he stopped shaking his head at himself.
Jason knew this was a test and he had almost failed it. With his eyes he followed the dirt road as far as he could before it entered the trees. He scanned the ground to both sides and could see nothing hiding there. He stepped off to the side and started to jog forward keeping his eyes moving back and forth from the trail with the horse tracks to one side then the other. After fifty paces he slowed to a walk and while continuing to scan back and forth crossed to the other side of the trail. He walked another fifty paces then jogged for twenty five then crossed the trail again. He was still twenty five paces from the trees so he left the trail behind and moved diagonally from the trail and slipped into the trees twenty five paces from the trail. As soon as he was in the trees he stopped in the shadows till his eyes adjusted to the light level then moved along the trees parallel to the trail, moving cautiously. After a short distance he angled back to the trail and continued as stealthily as he could. When he reached the trail he looked ahead on the trail before looking back to where the trail entered the trees. He saw no one. He knelt down without actually setting his knee on the ground and studied the trail looking for Leesah's tracks. Not seeing any he looked again back down the trail this time looking for where they had left the trail. From the corner of his eye he caught a movement in the trees. He slid his eyes slowly in the general area forcing himself to avoid looking where the movement was. He again caught movement and figured Lars was moving parallel to the trail on the far side. He stayed still letting his eyes remain unfocused on any particular spot but not unfocused either.
Lars had either seen him enter the forest and was trying to move ahead or he didn't see him enter and was continuing as he was before. Jason was frozen with indecision while knowing he had to decide how to react. He could either cross the trail and try to pick up Lars tracks or he could try to track him by watching for movement from this side of the trail. He could also run up the trail trying to get ahead of him and surprise him but he knew that would end up in failure. He made a decision careful not to nod his head when he did and slid silently back about five meters from the trail and moved ahead very carefully. It seemed to be hours before he noticed the trail was now angling toward him slowly. He decided to continue straight ahead and check the trail for tracks when he intercepted it. While he was still a short distance away from the trail he smelled coffee and knew Lars was waiting for him. He looked carefully about him till he saw the slight smudge of smoke from the fire and moved away from it and circled to come from the other side. When he finally arrived on the far side he noted the smoke was blowing from the fire over him as he crept ever closer. When he was about five meters away and behind Lars he lowered himself to the ground and worked his way ever closer. He stopped several times when Lars had looked about then stood to look down the trail in the direction of their cabin. When he had sat down again Jason waited a couple of minutes then moved slowly forward. He almost smiled when he thought it would be funny if a caterpillar passed him but he kept his focus. He was an arm's reach away when Lars suddenly stood and looked impatiently down the trail again. Jason smiled when he said to Leesah "I think we might have been too sneaky this time boy." Leesah had looked at Lars then seemed to look straight at Jason then bobbed his head up and down and went back to nibbling at a bit of grass. Jason held his breath as Lars sat back down adding to Leesah "I'll give him another five minutes then go find him." Jason moved forward a bit more then reached up and tapped on Lars side. Lars jumped up and spun around while Leesah snickered. Jason smiled at Lars and said "I still have two minutes until you have to go and find me. I can go away for a bit if you want me to."
"Very well done boy. How long did we have you fooled?"
"The lack of tracks leaving the stable puzzled me a bit. It was your stepping on the sack on your way in that threw me though as I went out looking for your tracks leaving but could only see the one deformed trackyou made on the way in. When I looked inside closer I saw where Leesah stepped on your track and I understood that you had wrapped Leesah's hooves. I know to look for the secret opening, I just went around behind the stable and until I found the trail then followed till you removed the sacks. Then continued to follow your trail here."
"Strange I didn't see you following my trail. For a while I was watching the trail where it entered the trees."
"Yes, well I thought you would be so I moved off the trail to enter the forest and went alongside it till I saw you move then followed you."
"You saw me move did you?"
"Well no, but I did see movement and followed it until I smelled coffee then circled to the far side and moved in on you."
"Well like I said, Very well done boy. Now we need to get moving soon so grab a bite to eat then off we go."
Around a mouthful of food Jason asked "Where are we going?"
"Southwest." Lars said with a sly smile. Jason noted the overnight pack behind the saddle on Leesah's back. Jason knew he was in for a long day of running and he also knew he couldn't delay it any longer by eating slower as Lars would still pack up and leave when he thought it was the right time whether he was finished eating or not. Jason also knew not to eat too much so when he was finished what he thought was about the right amount he started to pack up the lunch camp which was really a coffee pot and a cup along with a few pieces of food wrapped up in cloth. Lars put out the fire making sure it was truly dead before they left the camp.
Jason jogged beside Lars as he rode, the way they had done every day for the last two months. While the distance grew and grew Jason just kept going. Ever since he could remember he had run, usually to get away from bullies but also just because it was quicker than walking. Over the last few months of hard work he had gained a fair amount of weight as he put muscle on his frame and the running kept that muscle lean. They had always ended up back at the cabin so now as they went farther he was seeing a part of the country he had never seen before. He also got to know what running in hilly terrain meant. His calves ached in ways he was unfamiliar with as the area around Eramon fief was pretty much flat. He was grateful when Lars had said they would camp for the night but never assumed he would get out of his duties because he had run all day but Lars had told him to rest as he made and then cleaned up supper.
Jason woke to the smell of coffee. He sat bolt upright ready to jump up fearing he had slept in but it was still dark and the moon was high in the star filled sky. Before he could ask why, his calves cramped so hard he wanted to cry but he sucked in his breath and gripped his calves massaging them as best he could until they released and he slumped gratefully to his bedroll.
"It's the hills that cause that." Lars began, "your body is used to running on nice flat land but you throw a hill or seven at them and you get cramps like that. You need to drink a lot of water and I've heard milk helps too. We have water but not milk I'm afraid." He passed Jason a skin of water and he took a long drink.
"Thank you." He said breathlessly. "Do we have far to go?"
"Unfortunately we have another day of this hilly terrain though the hills do get a bit smaller."
"And then we have to go back home afterward." Jason moaned. "I'd offer you a bribe to let me ride but I don't have anything."
"Rangers don't accept bribes." Lars replied with a smile.