It was a bright, beautiful day in Greenfield. The morning lights flashed brightly on the trees just behind the oak hut of Ranger Bryce, painting the fresh green leaves to a bright color. The town square was slowly coming to its usual lively nature, and the rangers of the Fief, who were up before the rise of the sun, had just finished the chores around the house. The curly, ginger haired apprentice was outside, dusting the rugs with a stick. The long haired mentor was inside, preparing coffee for breakfast while the soup made from mushrooms his apprentice collected himself was steaming off, scattering its strange yet delicious smell all over the hut.
"Clyde, breakfast is ready! Come over, will you?" The soft yet deep voice of Bryce was heard from inside the hut. The shaggy bearded ranger opened the window of the hut, filling it with the smell of the fresh grass and a serene breeze. Clyde could see the mahogany table adorned with the cups and bowls from outside.
"I'm coming!" He turned his back to the dusted rugs and put the stick away, sprinting towards the oak hut.
"It's especially beautiful this morning, isn't it?" Bryce smiled as he pulled a chair to sit on. He kept his hair untied in the mornings, so the usually calm and refined ranger made his apprentice chuckle as he struggled to drink his soup without dipping his hair in it.
"Come on, your hair is always curly like that. You wouldn't understand my troubles." He joked as he realized the tips of his hair was wet from the soup. "Oh dear."
"Then... Why don't you tie it up? Here." Clyde threw his mentor a hairtie, which he promptly caught in his hands and proceeded to put his hair up in a ponytail.
"Thank you." Said Bryce as he took a sip from his black coffee. "Say, how is Jacob and his apprentice doing? I haven't heard of them for a while." He asked, looking at the view from the window.
"Glade? He's OK. I wrote to him recently." Clyde answered as he took a bite out of a small loaf of toasted bread in his hands. "I don't know about Jacob, Glade doesn't talk about him that much." He drank a little bit of milk coffee from his cup.
"Ah, I see. I hope the Genovesan business is done with." Bryce said, thinking about the incident with the assassins two years ago. Time flows fast, he thought as he eyed the teen in front of him, the same person that once couldn't reach his waist in height.
"You really had a growth spurt, haven't you?" The mentor asked, feeling proud of the boy.
"Huh? W-where does that come from?" Clyde uttered, flustered.
"Nowhere, just reminiscing." Bryce chuckled as he finished the rest of his soup.
"Ah, now that I remember, Mark told me to send you over to the castle." He added suddenly.
"Really? Why?" Clyde asked with a confused expression.
Bryce shrugged. "I didn't ask, so we'll know when we go."
"I can go myself." The apprentice said somewhat curtly.
"Alright. You know the path up there, right?"
"Yes, it's been two years!" Clyde uttered in an annoyed tone. As the ginger haired apprentice moved in a hurry to change his clothes, a few strands of his hair that would never settle down wiggled in the air. After wearing his green cloak, a light, lime coloured sweater and his beige pants, he approached the door.
"Take care, Clyde!" Bryce said as he waved his son goodbye.
"You too!" The boy smiled sweetly and closed the wooden door.
Standing before the door of the hospital room, Clyde knocked lightly.
"Come in!" The voice of the Head Healer came from inside the room. The ginger headed boy opened the door and went in.
Inside the room smelled like medicine and herbs, and many herbs were stocked on counters inside boxes, each labelled with names. Tools were neatly put on a desk next to rows of beds for patients, and standing among the rows was the dark haired healer with sideburns, Mark.
"Welcome, Clyde!" He turned to the boy and offered a handshake, which he took.
"Hello, er... What am I... needed for?" He asked curiously.
"Ah, Bryce didn't tell you? Then I'll explain." said Mark. "Do you remember when we first met?" He asked the apprentice.
"Yes, uh, I think it was a long time ago." Clyde scratched his head, looking around the room.
"Yet you knew an exotic cure I couldn't dream of trying to use." As Mark said these words, Clyde's freckled face turned slightly pink.
"I'll cut to the chase. Would you like to take medicinal classes here?"
"H-huh?" Clyde felt confused for a moment. "But I'm already..."
"A ranger, yes. But you can still come here when you find some free time, right?" The healer insisted.
"Well, I guess..." Clyde still felt a little unsure.
"It's okay, you don't have to decide now. Please let me know when you want to answer." The man smiled gently.
"Thank you, sir." Clyde nodded and smiled back.
"It's really hard to realize how time flies past, right?" Mark suddenly asked.
"Hm? Oh... Yes, it is."
"When I was about your age, being the Head Healer on top of the loss of my mentor felt like a nightmare. But now that I look back, it was what made me who I am." The healer remembered the old times.
"You're lucky, Clyde. You still have your mentor to rely on." He smiled sweetly once again.
"Y-yeah..." Clyde said, avoiding eye contact. "I just kind of wish I... Nevermind." He shook his head and headed for the door.
"Thank you for the offer, I'll think about it!"
"No problem, Clyde. Take care!" Mark waved him goodbye as the apprentice walked out.
"He kind of reminds me of how I was before I got appointed here." The healer thought out loud. "I wish I could thank you before then..." He looked at a hanged painting of his late mentor and sighed deeply.
"Clyde, Welcome!" The long haired ranger greeted his apprentice in front of the door. The ginger headed boy went in after answering by nodding.
"So, how did it go?" Bryce asked as Clyde sat on a chair to rest.
"I might take lessons from Mark... Is that okay with you?" The boy asked, feeling somewhat guilty.
"Of course! I mean, it was your own decision in the beginning." Answered the mentor, surprised.
"Really?" Clyde asked in disbelief.
"Yes, really." Bryce smiled at his apprentice as he nodded.
"Thanks!"
The afternoon went pretty calmly as the rangers did their daily patrol and checked the stable to look after their horses. Gale was getting older and slowly becoming an adult. The chestnut coloured coat of the horse looked very clean from Clyde's dedicated grooming. Young Pfeil beside him also sported a very clean smoky cream coat thanks to Bryce.
Returning from the stable, there wasn't much else to do, so Clyde gave himself to his daily accuracy training. His archery skills was pretty good in terms of a ranger, considering how he started out. Still, he felt like he was running behind Glade and Merlin, so he used the fact as a source of motivation to train more and more. Bryce also joined in, and the two of them kept chatting about daily, forgettable small talk in bliss as they shot their arrows one after another.
As the evening came, the skies were now a perfect mix of purple, red and yellow from the sunset. The crowd on the Greenfield streets was slowly scattering away as the shops slowly started to close, except for the inn and the tavern.
While Clyde was resting in the hut, Bryce went in with a few letters in his hand.
"Clyde, catch!" He threw him one of the letters and watched in glee as the boy snapped it in the air like a cat and started reading it. It was a letter from Glade.
"Dear Clyde,
I've returned from the mission! It went pretty well this time. I'll tell more about it in the Gathering. But there is a long time for that still... I wanted to meet the other rangers, too...
Well, at least I get to see Redmont again! Jacob won't stop complaining about all the work, but I love being a ranger. I'll definitely become the best of them, too!
Anyway, how are things with you? I've missed you after not seeing each other for so long. Write me back!
Glade"
Clyde smiled as he kept reading about the antics of his strange friend, and shook his head sideways.
"What does it say?" Asked Bryce curiously.
"Usual Glade stuff... Rangers." The boy snickered.
"That explains it, I suppose. You were having so much fun reading it." Answered the mentor, also smiling.
"I have received news too. But not something heartwarming, I'm afraid." Bryce picked a letter from the pile he put on the table and started reading it.
"What does it say?" Asked Clyde curiously.
"About a widely known bandit leader's last appearance. Apparently, he was last seen on Ghoulsbane." Bryce answered, deep in thought.
"So, what is it?" The boy asked again.
"Well, it's a mission to spot the criminal and either subdue or kill him. He likely has a group of other criminals with him, too." The mentor replied.
"When are we going?" Asked the ginger headed apprentice.
"We? Oh, about that..." Bryce scratched his head, somewhat unsure. "I was thinking of sending you to this one alone."
"Really? Oh... I see." Clyde looked a little unsure as well, but he didn't want to show that to his mentor.
"If you're not OK with it, we can do it together, too." Bryce said. "I just thought you might want to try something on your own. People your age tend to do that, after all."
"Huh? N-no, it's fine, I'll go!" Clyde waved his hands, not wanting to be misunderstood.
"Are you sure? You look a little pale." The mentor felt concerned for a moment.
"Really, I'm just fine. I actually... I want to prove myself too." The apprentice said with a serious tone.
"If you ever get stuck, send me a letter. There aren't any other cases around, and it seems like there won't be for a while. It's Greenfield, after all."
"Haha, yeah..." Clyde smiled, then looked around the hut. "I'll get my stuff, then."
"You're leaving right now?" Bryce said, surprised.
"Early bird gets the worm..." The ginger headed apprentice rummaged through his equipment inside his small room, taking his longbow and the belt with the sheathed knives, which hung over a nail stuck in the wall. He grabbed his medicine bag as well, then put everything to where they belonged and exited the room.
Seeing him so excited, Bryce couldn't help but laugh.
"...and early Clyde saves the hide, apparently." He added to his apprentice's words.
"Okay, I'll head out now." Clyde made sure he didn't forget anything and walked towards the oak door of the hut.
Before the apprentice left, Bryce smiled and pat his curly, ginger head.
"H-hey, No headpats... I'm not a child anymore!" Flustered, the apprentice quickly opened the door.
"Sorry, couldn't resist!" The mentor laughed loudly and handed him the reports in his hand, along with a small map. "These will come in handy."
"Thanks!" Clyde took the papers and waved his mentor goodbye. Bryce waved back and slowly closed the door.
"Whew... I hope I did what was right. Be safe, Clyde."
Clyde went to the stable and prepared the saddle of his horse with the chestnut coat. To bind it tightly, he made sure Gale didn't take a deep breath to loosen the ties when he exhaled it. After he was done, he got on the saddle and lightly pulled the reins to start the journey towards Ghoulsbane. The reports said the last sighting was there, so the apprentice thought it would make sense to search around the Fief for any information first.
"It has been a while since we got to adventure like this." Said Gale excitedly.
"Hasn't it? Except this time, we go on our own." The ginger headed ranger replied.
As the chestnut coloured horse treaded the slightly moist ground beneath, Greenfield looked smaller and smaller until it couldn't be seen anymore. Clyde took out the small map that he kept in his pants' pocket and checked the road ahead. One year ago, he had been to Ghoulsbane for a short while with Bryce and Merlin, but that journey was from Norgate to that Fief, therefore a different path than Greenfield's.
"Okay, I think we go straight for a while, then turn from that forest path, and then..." Clyde whispered to himself.
"Are you feeling comfortable with the map? I can lead us I you'd like." Gale tried to be helpful.
"Don't worry, I got this... I think." The freckled face of the apprentice was focused on the small map. Clyde was not that good at cartography and map reading at first, and only recently started to be adequate for a Ranger.
"If the others don't have any problems with it, I shouldn't too." He put the map away and grabbed the reins of the horse. The journey to Ghoulsbane had begun.
"Okay, turning from that hill, we should go straight and we will make it... Probably... I-I mean, surely!" Clyde said, somewhat concerned. Gale made no noise and kept walking.
"It's getting boring... Hey Gale, what's up?" The apprentice asked in a lonely manner.
"Do you miss the others, already?" Gale let out a question instead of an answer.
"I don't miss anyone, I was just bored." Clyde sighed as the duo kept walking through their path.
"The other horses were fun, too. I miss Feder already." The ranger horse started talking again.
"I can understand. I mean... for me, it would be like if Bryce had to retire. That just sounds... harsh." Clyde replied. A mild breeze ran through his hair, making the few strands that refused to stay down wiggle as they moved.
"He complained all the time, but he was a nice guy. I was honoured to walk with him."
"D-don't talk like he died!" Clyde reacted suddenly.
"Okay, okay. Don't be so tense. I'm still here." The horse tried to calm the boy down.
The path seemed to go on and on as Clyde looked around for any suspicious activity, and soon both he and his steed felt tired and hungry. Clyde jumped down and walked alongside Gale for a while to let him rest as he took out the map once more.
"I see... From here we can head to a small town or camp around here." He thought aloud as they walked. "Which one sounds better?" He asked to his horse, petting the beige mane of the horse.
"You're the boss." Gale said contently as Clyde's hand ran through his coat.
"Well, then... We could go to the town. It's... a bit of a walk from here, though..."
The horse made a noise that could only be explained as snickering. "You really just want to sleep in a bed, don't you?"
"Yeah..." The boy smiled. "You would like a barn to stay in, too."
"Touché!" Gale said excitedly as he thought of a comfortable sleep.
"Then, let's walk a bit more." Said Clyde, and they headed towards the town through the shadows of the nearing night, slowly unveiling its glittering stars among its deep blue colours.
Near midnight, The worn out apprentice walked with his horse to the entrance of the town. The town was a really basic one, with nothing in particular that would be worth noting. However, the perceptive eyes of the boy noticed that without a proper wall or any form of defense, it looked rather vulnerable. Walking inside with tired steps, he nodded to the sleepy guard that was leaning onto his spear which clearly used to be a pitchfork, as he nodded back, immediately recognizing him as a ranger by his clothing and the green and gray coloured cloak.
Clyde searched for an inn that still had its lights on in the middle of the night, walking past the small, one story buildings that he assumed were either the people's houses or small facilities like bakeries. With the darkness laid over everything like a curtain with no light source in sight, he couldn't notice the details.
Suddenly, a very dim light striked Clyde's eye. As he approached the source of the light, he soon noticed it was a small inn with a ln old barn near it. The boy smiled and pet the mane of his horse, then he walked over to the front door of the inn to speak with the innkeeper. Paying a small price for one room to stay in, he also paid for his horse to stay in the barn and eat some tasty hay.
As he thanked the innkeeper and left to place Gale in the barn, he noticed that there was a faint hint of music coming from the room next to the entrance of the inn. He shrugged and wished his horse a good night, then headed back to the inn.
Inside the inn, Clyde subconsciously went over the the room that he previously heard the music from. Inside the room was a fireplace built from bricks which stayed connected to the stone wall supported by wooden pieces, which had several drawings hung over it. He sat down on the somewhat comfortable stool that had a small cushion over it. Inside the warm place, the calm sound of the stringed instrument the bard across the room played scattered around the corners, making the boy feel even sleepier. The woman, who sat comfortably on a chair in the corner, had a big red hat that covered her face when she tilted his head just right, so Clyde could only see her long wavy hair reflecting the light of the bright fireplace, mixing the orange colour of the fire with its own earthy, yet strangely lively brown colour.
I must be falling asleep, the boy thought, his thoughts slipped into deep spots and refused to switch over, and so did his eyes. He shook his head lightly and got up. As the woman stopped playing, he put a silver coin that he took from his pouch on the table she was sitting next to. As he felt the need for a short rest even more desperately than before, he climbed up the stairs of the inn and opened the door of his room to find a modest, yet comfortable view in front of him. Clyde changed his clothes, put his weapon belt in the corner where his bed laid, and accepted the invitation of his soft blanket to fall asleep and go deep into the realm of dreams.
With the first rays of sunlight hitting the window of the room, the apprentice ranger had already woken up and changed his clothes back to his usual work attire. After donning his cloak, he grabbed his equipment and opened the door. Downstairs, he could hear a song, likely sung by the same bard he had met beforehand. With nobody else besides him, the innkeeper and the bard inside awake, Clyde was impressed by the punctuality of the young woman.
He bid his farewells to the innkeeper and left the building to continue on his journey to Ghoulsbane. However, just as he took the first few steps out, a woman ran towards the boy, stopping right in front of him. She wheezed and coughed for a few moments, breathing heavily. Clyde waited for the woman to regain composure, unsure of what to do.
"Forgive me, lad. Are you... Are you the ranger that stayed in that inn?" She asked anxiously.
Clyde was aware of the effect rangers had on the townspeople, and a small town that didn't see any rangers frequently would only escalate the frightening nature of them. He had even heard of a few people thinking that they were wizards that disappeared into thin air using dark magic.
"Yes Miss, I think I am." Clyde replied calmly. He combined the speech of his fellow rangers in his head to form a distant, yet dependable tone.
"Ah, thank heavens! Please help us out!" The stubby, somewhat old lady cried out.
"Okay. Calm down, please. What is the problem?" Clyde replied again.
"The boar... It attacked my husband, he barely escaped with his life! I heard our neighbours lost almost all their crops too." She explained in panic.
"Haven't you contacted a Fief? They would love to set up a boar hunt." Clyde offered a solution.
"We tried, believe me, we did. But everyone's so busy with the damned Genovesans and this new problem with the Galls... There was no time for us poor people, apparently." She tapped her foot on the ground repeatedly as her troubled face turned into a somewhat disgruntled one, then she realized she ranted to an official and apologized profusely.
"It's okay, it's okay." Clyde tried to calm the lady down. "I'll try to handle that boar. Just tell me where you last saw it."
"Oh thank you, dear ranger. We are saved!" The woman ran back as hurried as she was when she arrived.
"But... I've never seen a boar hunt before..." Clyde mumbled to himself nervously. He tried to remember the details about a casual conversation he had with his mentor a few weeks ago.
"Ah, yes!" He suddenly remembered. The point of the boar hunt was to use its immense speed and strength against itself by setting a pike against it. The animal would get its head pierced by the impact, freeing the hunters of the troubles of fighting with a boar. Clyde got a clear idea of a plan and ran to the nearest carpenter he could find in the town.
"Excuse me!" He knocked on the door and got in. "Are you working here, sir?" He asked to the man sitting on the stool inside the wide room with various carpentry equipment scattered about.
"Huh? Yes, lad! I am. What do you want?" The man suspiciously looked like he got caught sleeping.
"Could you make a barricade with spikes on them?" Clyde asked. His plan was to avoid risking anyone's life by using a pike given to a person that most likely didn't know how to use one. Seeing as the only guard he saw in the town used a pitchfork in place of one, he thought that would be the best course of action to take.
"Sorry, lad. Fresh outta wood." The man said, then slowly started snoozing.
"Fresh out? Er... Don't you have at least some?" Clyde asked.
The man didn't answer. He had pulled the knit hat to cover his eyes, likely feeling too sleepy to get onto work in the morning.
"Okay... I'll just try another carpenter, then." Amazed by the man's incompetence, Clyde strolled the streets to find another carpenter, but it appeared that the one he just got out of was the only one in the small town.
"S-seriously..." He took deep breaths and headed back to the inn to find someone that could help. He would have tried to hunt the boar on his own, but he didn't know if he could succeed.
"If only Bryce was here..." He imagined the man who was once a knight could easily handle the pike in this situation, but since he was alone, he had to solve it by himself.
"Hello?" He opened the door and went inside the inn, but the inn was as empty as it was before. Clyde slowly started to realize why the boar was such a threatening sight for such a defenseless little town. He etched it in his mind to write in the reports later to provide more capable people in there, but then he realized that this task wasn't even in the reports and that he still had to go to Ghoulsbane. The ginger headed apprentice gave out a big, painful sigh.
"May I help you?" The teasing voice belonged to the bard from before. Now that she was standing on her feet, the green eyes of the woman was clearly visible.
"Ah, it's... None of your concern, sorry." Clyde didn't think a bard could be the answer to his problem.
"Well, you looked very troubled outside. I figured you'd need help." She said innocently. However, Clyde caught a sly smile on her face that didn't look so innocent.
"You were watching me?!" He lost composure for a moment.
"Well, the scenery gets so dull after a while. Couldn't help it! Besides, you handed me a silver coin. That's kind of a big deal for a poor little gal like me, you know." She answered. "Aren't you a ranger? I bet you're on some mission."
"That is also none of your concern." Clyde felt a little annoyed. "If you don't have anything to help with the boar problem, please don't disturb me."
"Oh, the boar? Can't you just put a few arrows in it and call it a day?" The bard replied jokingly. However, as she saw Clyde leave, she moved quickly to stand in front of him.
"Wait, I can help, really." She looked serious enough for Clyde to keep his cool.
"Okay, then... Just come with me." He headed out once more.
"Alright, so... how can you help?" Asked Clyde, right in front of the inn.
"By offering you common sense." She replied in the same mocking tone. "If you can't set up a trap, then just hunt it like a rabbit."
"Rabbits don't really... Charge at you." Clyde replied back curtly.
"Well, yes, but can't you get it to trip or something? Then you can pin some arrows on it and be done with it." She advised.
Thinking about it, Clyde found it somewhat reasonable. If the boar's charging could be stopped, it wouldn't be much different from any other target.
"I'd need a bait to lure it out first." He suddenly realized that the fact that he can't shoot an arrow from horseback, which would make dodging the boar and moving around harder than it would be otherwise.
"Why don't you use your horse? I've seen lots of ranger horses befo-"
"No way!" Clyde cut the bard off before she could finish her sentence.
"Okay, okay... Then let it be me."
"W-what!?" Clyde was surprised by the sudden offer.
"Well, I am a wandering bard. I know my way around fights. Pretty sure a boar won't be a problem." She uttered nonchalantly.
Clyde sighed and touched his herb bag. Perhaps he could use his concoctions to help? He wondered.
"Alright... Have you heard of its whereabouts?" Clyde asked.
"Sure have, the townspeople are so chatty, as always. Follow me." She took the lead towards outside of the town, but Clyde stopped her, as he had yet to take his horse with him.
Walking towards the entrance of a nearby forest, Clyde followed the bard with Gale. They haven't ventured too far inside when Clyde sensed an abnormal movement in the forest. It was rushed and forceful, as if whatever was there was tearing the forest apart.
"Let's... Let's move out a little." He advised.
"Huh? Why?" The woman asked.
"Do you want those to be your last words? Listen to Clyde!" Gale said angrily, but the woman couldn't understand him like rangers could. Nevertheless, she moved aside as the noises got louder.
Suddenly, a large boar appeared from the depths of the forest and went outside as it didn't hit anyone in its path.
"Look at the size of that thing!" The woman yelled in awe. The boar looked really ferocious with its sharp and pointy tusks. As soon as it slowed down and stopped, it turned around and focused on the woman in the vibrant red dress.
"S-stay still! I'll pour something slippery on the ground." Clyde shakily took a bottle out of his medicine bag and locked his eyes on the boar.
"What are you talking about?" The bard yelled.
"It's fine, just stay there!" The ginger headed apprentice focused fully on the boar's movements and as soon as it moved the slightest, he opened the cork of the bottle and sprayed the lime coloured liquid onto the ground. Reacting to the grass beneath, it foamed and formed a slimy obstacle in front of the vicious animal. The boar noticed the green substance, but it couldn't slow down as it had built too much speed. Trying to stop charging, it slipped and fell onto the softened, foamy soil.
"What just happened?" The bard asked in shock. Clyde didn't wait a second as Gale jumped next to him, and he grabbed his bow from the saddle of the horse to make his first shot. He sensed the slight wind, focused on the eye of the beast and released the string of the bow, all in just a couple of seconds. The arrow flew and hit the boar right in the left eye. It stayed still for a moment, but then turned crazy with horrifying, shrieking noises and finally got on its four legs. It charged on Clyde losing no time, but the ranger horse nearby was much faster. Clyde held onto Gale's saddle and pulled himself up just a few moments before the boar hit the tree behind him, and the chestnut coated horse dashed in a crescent shape before stopping and letting the apprentice get off.
The bard finally got her composure back and took out a large knife from her belt. The dizzy boar limped around as she ran up to it and threw her knife right over its right eye.
Now completely blinded, the frenzied animal screamed in pain as sharp metal was lodged in both of its eyes.
Clyde steadied his breaths and drew another arrow from the quiver on his back. He focused once more and shot a final arrow that went right into the boar's skull, bringing the rampage of the beast to an end.
"Right through the skull... How did you do it?" The bard asked in awe.
"We... Uh... Tend to do that." Clyde couldn't know what to say and blurted out the first thing that came into his mind.
The truth was that the arrow stuck on the skull of the animal was a special one specifically made to pierce armor, but the novice ranger didn't know if that was important information or not.
"You tend to do that, I see." She giggled. "So, do we carry it back to the town to sell? A fresh boar would catch a good amount of gold, I say." She added, somewhat greedily.
"Do what you want, but... Just clean the foam before that." Clyde said nervously. He wasn't sure if the concoction would be safe to consume, and he assumed that it wasn't.
"Then I'll be doing that. Where does the wind take you from here?" The bard asked cheerfully.
"Why are you so interested in that?" Clyde uttered, flustered. He got back on Gale and slowly walked to the distance.
"Well, interesting people... Interest me." She said, charmingly. Clyde didn't respond besides grabbing the reins of his horse a bit tighter, causing Gale to run faster.
Watching him go, the bard giggled. "See you around, silent ranger."
"That was a fun exercise, wasn't it? And that bard was so cute, wasn't she?" Gale excitedly talked to his owner as he walked steadily towards the main route of the town.
"Hush you!" Clyde said, with a reddish tint of color on his freckled face. He took out his map and looked at the surrounding landscape.
"We aren't far off... Before it's too late, let's go!"
The apprentice and his horse kept going towards Ghoulsbane to fulfill their mission.
"Okay, I think that hill over there is... Wait, no..." Clyde was having a difficult time comparing the surroundings with the map, as the hills and trees and rocks started to appear increasingly often.
"Okay, okay... I think I got this." He focused on the map once more.
"This was the fifth time you've 'got this'. Are you really sure you don't want help?" Gale chimed in. Clyde rolled his eyes as he tried to figure out the path ahead them.
"This time, I'm sure... I think." The ginger headed apprentice scratched his head and put the map pack in his pocket. The rocky terrain and the grass gradually regressing told the duo that Ghoulsbane was near. After all, it was a mostly empty Fief that stood next to a cemetery, which was also not so rich on soil and plant life. The only form of vegetation could be the forest near the Fief and nothing more. People who came to this place usually wanted to rest and calm their heads in silence, or to pray for friends and family long passed away.
"Okay, so now we look for the cemetery, the rest should be easy." Said Clyde in a reassuring tone. He wasn't sure if he was reassuring Gale or himself.
However, his doubts vanished and scattered like dust as soon as he saw a glimpse of the Fief in the dark. The journey took around three days or so, Clyde had lost track of the time after they left the small town from before.
"See, Gale? I told you!" The apprentice smiled in glee.
"Oh dear, I have been proven wrong by the mighty and fearsome Ranger Clyde himself..." The horse tried to simultaneously cheer up and annoy his owner.
The Fief was just a few more minutes away. Clyde checked the guard tower from far away to see if they were around, and greeted them with a handwave once he got close enough. As a ranger, that alone was enough to be let in most Fiefs. Getting past the gates, Ghoulsbane's gloomy, yet calm feeling dashed around the apprentice's heart. However, he didn't waver and stepped in after getting off Gale, searching for a barn or stable for him first.
As the Fief had only one inn, he doubted it would have multiple barns that he could pick from, so Clyde settled in for the first one he saw. The old owner of the place greeted the apprentice and they compromised on a suitable price to let Gale stay in and get food for the night. His conscience clear with his horse resting in a comfortable place, Clyde decided to stay at the small inn of the Fief before investigating. Though, since the townsfolk were asleep and everywhere was shroud in darkness, the bandits could hypothetically try to enter the Fief for thievery. Clyde made sure to sleep while being fully alert, ready to jump out of the bed and into the fight if necessary. However, even after he started to sleep on the simple bed of his room, nothing disturbed him or anyone else.
When the boy woke up, the first lights of the sun had yet to hit the ground, and there was no noise coming from the town center. Normally, one would expect it to get livelier as people begin to wake up, but Clyde wasn't so sure of this in the quiet little Fief. After getting out of his room, he paid for a light breakfast made of an egg and diced vegetables and got out of the inn to visit the hut of Darc, the busy ranger of the Fief.
The hut was not too far away from the town, but much closer to the forest. After all, it's a ranger's hut, thought Clyde.
As he walked over to the front of the hut's door, he looked around curiously. The hut and the place around it was as bland as Ghoulsbane itself. Then again, Clyde didn't think it was better or worse than his home back in Greenfield. It must be the atmosphere, The boy thought as he knocked on the dark oak door.
"Hello, uh... Darc? It's Clyde." He said, then waited for a few seconds before knocking again. "Are you in there?"
It was apparent that the ranger was once again away on some mission.
"I should have known... He's always so busy." Said Clyde to himself as he sighed deeply. He had the chance to meet this ranger twice on his lifetime and missed both. From what he heard, Darc didn't join in a lot of Gatherings either.
"Okay, so then... I'll do it on my own. Just like I should." He tried to boost his morale.
Walking back to the town, he decided to talk to the townspeople to see if anyone knows about the whereabouts of the bandit group.
The town was a bit more lively than before, but people were not open for a chat as everyone was busy doing something. Whether it be work or chores, the people of Ghoulsbane seemed to be dedicated to what they do. Following that logic, Clyde decided to go to the inn and listen to the innkeeper.
"Bandits? Lemme think..." The man said to the ranger as he cleaned the counter in front of him. As Clyde looked around himself, he could see how clean the place was. The counters, tables, goblets, glasses and tableware, no matter what it was, it was sparkling clean. The place also didn't smell weird or disturbing. In fact, the boy could smell a faint hint of lime in the air. Then he wondered why the innkeeper was working so hard for a place that gathers such small amounts of customers, but he could see the sparkling joy in the man's eyes. He must love his job, Clyde thought. Then he turned to himself and felt a little bitter. He was running into all sorts of problems, and he was sure he didn't have that glint in his eyes anymore. Could it be that...
"Ah!" Clyde shook himself awake of his thoughts. Nowadays, he seemed to fall deep into his inner self more often than before.
"Are you alright, lad?" The innkeeper looked concerned. The look of the man's face reminded Clyde of his mentor.
"Yes, I am. Don't worry about it, please." The boy smiled nervously and played with the strands of his curly hair as he sat in front of the counter. "Could you remember anything?"
"Ah, yes, yes..." The man rubbed his chin as he looked rather troubled. "There were a few break ins and other crimes in the past few weeks, but it wasn't just one person. It was like a bunch of bandits just decided to take their anger out of our poor Ghoulsbane." He said, scratching what remains of the white hair on his head.
"Was this recent?" Clyde felt excited.
"Yes, the last one was a week ago, my lad. I advise you young people stay safe in these times. Lots of people out there to take advantage of you, you see?" The man said with a fatherly attitude.
"I'll be careful, thank you." Clyde replied as to not make the man concerned. "But I still feel curious. Where do they even come from?" He asked once more.
"Who knows? The guards looked into it more than we have, but nothing came out of it yet." The innkeeper answered. "Darc, that ranger lad, doesn't stop going on missions for a while, so we can't ask him either."
"That sounds pretty bad..." Clyde was about to lean back, but then he remembered that the stool he sat on didn't have anything on its back and almost fell down. Thankfully, the innkeeper didn't notice.
"Come to think of it, that pretty cloak of yours remind me of the ranger but you look too young for that sort of thing." The man pointed out.
"Haha, what a coincidence..." Clyde laughed off the subject, as he didn't know why he was hiding the fact that he was a ranger to the guy, but he felt like the intimate personality would fade if he came to know that.
"A-anyway, I have to leave now. Take care!" He suddenly got up and waved the man goodbye.
"Stay safe, my lad! Stay safe." The man went back to cleaning the counter.
"The guards... Okay." Clyde mumbled to himself as he moved towards the guard tower near the gate. There were two men guarding the place, and one of them saw Clyde approaching.
"Greetings, ranger. How can I help?" He said as he saw the anxious look on the boy's face. Weird, he thought. Usually, rangers wouldn't be very expressive. Perhaps there was something bothering this young man?
"I was wondering about the criminals from a week ago. Did you find out where they stay?" Clyde asked.
"Stay? I think they would just move on from here. Why would they need to plunder a town for so long?" The guard said.
"Well, didn't they continuously target this place?" Clyde said back. As the guard in front of him thought about his words, another, slightly shorter guard arrived next to him.
"Greetings ranger, can I be of service?" He asked.
"I'm handling it. You go back on watch." The guard beside him told him off.
"It was about time we switched places, then. I'm bored." The shorter guard said nonchalantly. Clyde couldn't believe his eyes as he saw the two of them bickering about their jobs in the most work oriented Fief in the country.
"Uh... Hey... Could you listen to me?" He tried to chime in the conversation, but the men didn't even hear him.
"Excuse me!" He yelled with all he had, to finally get them to notice the situation.
"Ahem... My apologies, ranger. I was just about to say-" The taller guard spoke in visible frustration, when the other one cut his words:
"About those bandits, yeah? We couldn't keep track of where they went, but the markings on the ground took us to somewhere between the cemetery and the forest."
"As I said..." The taller guard started talking in an annoyed voice. "The bandit in each case was different, so we thought it was just misfortune."
"I see. Thank you for your time." Clyde said politely and left before he could hear the two of them continue their arguing.
After he returned to hid room in the inn, he took out the reports from his bag and read them once again. The bandits were indeed different in each case, but they were more likely to be a group acting together rather than just misfortune, so he decided to ignore the comments of the guard from before. After all, Bryce had explicitly stated that it was a bandit group, so there wasn't much room for any doubt. However, Clyde couldn't get why they kept targeting this old, silent Fief. The reported burglary attempts were for the simple places like the blacksmith, tavern and so on, but also, for some reason, Darc's hut. Clyde scratched his head as he tried to make sense of the situation, but ended up giving up and stuffing the reports back into the bag. As time was getting closer to the evening, Clyde decided to take a small nap to investigate around the place at night. If they were camping in one spot, going out to scout in dark would make it easier to stay hidden. Setting up a small plan in his head, Clyde closed his eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.
At midnight, the boy opened his eyes and got up the bed. He changed his clothes and wore his leather shoes. He silently slipped out of the inn and took Gale off the barn.
"Why so sudden? I was sleeping..." The horse whined to his owner as Clyde pulled the sluggish horse throughout the road.
"I need your help. Can you watch my back?" He asked.
"You can always depend on me!" The horse said proudly.
"You were complaining just a second ago." Clyde chuckled. Gale turned his face away as if he was mad at him.
The traces of the bandits were a week old, and likely were mixed into the ground by now, but the apprentice ranger could still read out some of them thanks to the soft soil of the place and the fact that not many people visit there. Even if they were slightly erased and mixed in with the forest critters' traces, Clyde could find a way through the forest to their camp, or so he hoped. As he walked towards where the traces took him, he signaled Gale to follow. As they went deeper into the forest, the shadows from the trees made the dark night shade even darker, troubling his sight until he could get his eyes adapted to the darkness and continue tracking down the traces.
Finally, through the trees and the bushes, Clyde could see a small light source, likely a campfire.
"Gale, stay here." He tried to tell the horse with his eyes.
"I'll tell if anyone comes by." The horse said back. Clyde smiled, laid down on the ground and started to slither towards the camp. Since he lowered his body, he doubted anyone would see him. Bryce had taught him well when it came to this type of movement, because he himself likely had to learn it properly to hide his tall body back when he was an apprentice.
As soon as he felt like he was close enough, Clyde got behind the nearest bush and started listening. The distance between him and the campsite was very close, and he could see the run down place with a few small tents barely capable of taking two people in, and a pathetic looking campfire that should have been extinguished ages ago. Though, since Clyde had already found them, it didn't matter anymore.
A man with dirt and charcoal on his face was talking to the other five people around him, this person was likely the boss around there, thought Clyde.
"...and then we go plunder the place however we like it." He likely had just finished another raid plan.
"But Boss... Why do we wait until tomorrow?" One of the bandits asked.
"If it was a one time thing, do ya think we would wait?" The boss said as if he was scolding the guy. "We ain't leavin' until we get those reports."
"Why do we need the reports anyway? We gonna play ranger?" Another man protested.
"Shush!" The boss hit the man in the head with a burnt stick they had likely used to roast something. "They're paying us like those damned Genovesans, Genovesans, you idiot! It doesn't matter why we need anything."
"Eh... As long as it's money..." The man said back, caressing the newly surfacing lump on his head.
Clyde noted whatever he heard in his mind to add to the reports later and took a quick peek at the group. If this was all of them, he was going to deal with six people at once. If it was one on one, he could handle it easily, but six made him feel a little anxious. Still, he had to prevent their plans somehow. He had time before the next day to try and stop them, because if they went for the hut, they could break down the door and steal as Darc was far away minding his own mission. He couldn't let that happen.
Clyde slowly lowered his body down again and crawled away. However, just as his luck would have it, he felt a strong urge to sneeze. He tried to prevent it, but could only do so much before letting it out uncontrollably.
"Bless ya." He heard another bandit, and felt relieved as he noticed they thought it was someone among them.
"I didn't sneeze." He heard another noise and hurried out of the place, but just as he was about to leave, one of them saw the shadowy figure crawl away.
"Hey, I saw something over there!" One of the bandits pointed at the figure.
"I'll check it." Another one walked over and started going down the same path as Clyde.
As the man walked behind him, Clyde either had to start running or avoid being seen, but seeing as the man also brought a lantern with him, The boy took a deep breath and bolted out. As he ran towards Gale, he took a peek to his behind to see four of the bandits chasing after him. He hadn't brought his recurve bow with him as it would limit his movement, so all he had on him was the saxe and the throwing knife, and neither would be enough to take out four people.
As soon as he saw Gale, the chestnut coated horse ran up to him and let him ride on the saddle. With Gale, Clyde opened the distance between the bandits and himself quickly, but the forest got thicker and thicker as they tried to get out of it, until riding a horse and walking wouldn't be of much difference in the forest path.
"Clyde, let's split up." Gale proposed.
"What!? Are you out of your mind?" Clyde didn't want to leave his friend and let him go towards an uncertain end just to save him, but Gale wasn't about to obey him when it was his life in danger. He threw Clyde off gently and let out a loud whinny.
"I'll be fine, just wait for me!"
The boy ran in the opposite direction after seeing Gale go, as he thought otherwise both of them would be caught. As he kept running, he noticed that the bandits weren't tailing him anymore and finally managed to step out of the forest, panting from exhaustion.
What was he going to do? Without Gale, he had no chance against the bandits and even if he called the town guards for backup, they could threaten him with killing his horse. Whatever Gale did, he had to get out of there alive and meet with Clyde.
The boy sighed and sat down in an obscure spot in the shadows to wait for Gale. As he looked at the sky, he could see the moon fading away as the dark blue color of the night was introduced to much lighter shades coming from the sun that was about to arrive. Clyde waited patiently, yet anxiously for the ranger horse to arrive. The moon almost disappeared, yet there was no trace of Gale. Clyde waited and waited but to no avail.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the silent ranger from before." Clyde turned his face to the familiar voice to see the bard smiling at him.
"You..." Clyde couldn't even say anything. He was worried about Gale, but by this point, it was obvious that he was captured.
"Are you OK? It doesn't suit a ranger to sit down brooding, you know." The bard said.
"I know." Clyde got up and stared up the blue sky. He didn't have time to deal with people. He needed to get Gale as soon as possible.
"What's the rush?" The woman said as the boy went past her. "Is this also 'None of my business'?" She added sarcastically.
"Exactly." Clyde took another step forward, but then he noticed he didn't know what to do. He was just trying to get away from her.
"See, there's something upsetting you since... I don't know, all the time? Are all rangers like this?" She asked with playful curiosity. Clyde sighed and sat on the faded grass once again.
"No, they aren't like this. I'm... I'm not the best example..." He cupped his face in his hands. "It's... Really, it's fine. I don't need to... I can't talk right now."
"I didn't say anything, though..." The woman looked at the broken ranger with a concerned face. "Are you sure you don't need to talk?"
"I don't want to bother anyone with my foolish problems." Clyde replied.
"Foolish? No, no, no. I've gone down that path, it's just better to let it all out." She said understandingly. The boy wondered why this woman became so caring towards him suddenly.
"I... It's just... I don't think I'm good enough." He sighed deeply and kept going on. "I've got many friends that are just better than me, and they're always doing their job perfectly well..."
Glade, Bryce, Merlin, Jacob... They were always around, at least one of them, whenever Clyde joined a mission. Was he incapable of acting without them? He wasn't able to do anything completely on his own, he thought to himself.
"...Then there's me who just loses his horse like an idiot and messes up at everything once he's alone." Clyde felt choked up as he felt small droplets flow from his despairing eyes. The only reason he had accepted the solo mission was because he wanted to grow out of his dependent self. He felt like he always troubled others around him, especially Bryce, and he didn't want to be clingy around them and drag them down with him.
"I hate it when I have to admit it, but when I'm alone, all I can do is worry and nothing more."
"I hear you. That sounds bad... Because you make it sound bad." The bard replied with a straight face and laid her back to the ground.
"Look at the stars above. It's a bit faded since it's almost morning, but you can still see them, right?" She said as she took a relaxed position. Clyde looked up and stared at the blinking stars.
"Well, yes but... I don't get you." He said.
"Look at them, because when you see just a single star in the sky, it looks pretty but when there are a lot of stars... It still looks pretty." She said, raising her hand and pointing at the fading glitter.
"And by that, you mean?" Clyde said, looking at her with a confused face.
"I'm saying it doesn't matter whether they help or not. We're all human, of course we'll get help from time to time."
"B-but I'm a rang-"
"I said human, no exceptions. One riot, one ranger? Pah! I'd like to see them try. When it's tough and you need help, you need help. That's how it is." She said confidently. Clyde looked deep into the woman's eyes. It looked like she was saying these right from her heart. It was unlike her sugar-coated, deliberate acting. In fact, he was sure that she herself poured her worries and troubles out in her own way.
"I... Thanks. That made me feel better, it really did." He smiled at the bard sincerely and stood up. "But there's still a problem. A material one that I need to solve. Will you help me with it?" He reached out his hand to her and she caught it, allowing Clyde to help her up.
"That's why I followed you here." She formed an impish smile on her face.
"Followed me? Just how did you know I was here?" Clyde asked, surprised.
"Well, you have your secrets, I have mine." She winked at the ranger.
"Well, whatever... We need to take out six bandits and save Gale on top of it. What's out plan?" Clyde took on a serious attitude. The mission's end was approaching.
"What a doofus, that kid calls himself a ranger? We got his horse right 'ere, let's see 'im fight without this pretty lady!" The bandit leader laughed loudly and slapped the back of the chestnut colored horse.
"Just so you know, I'm not a lady." Gale said, frustrated. However, there wasn't anyone who could understand him in the camp. The six bandits looked gleeful as they saw the sun rise, as the ranger that ran away didn't even bother returning after the last night. That meant the missing ranger's hut was wide open for them to take.
"Hold it!" An unfamiliar sound was heard in the camp, far away from the spot they stood on to bind the savage horse to a tall tree.
"What was that?" The leader asked, shocked.
"I'll check." The man that had almost caught Clyde before stepped in again, but this time, a few more of his friends tagged along, just to be safe. As they approached the tree that seemed to be the source to the noise, the charming voice rung out in the form of a song, drawing in more bandits to see what was going on.
Around the emptiness of the town,
Inside the shadows hiding from the sun,
When you need help surrounded by evil,
He shall come and punish the devil
Looking around, making no sound,
He is our Silent Ranger
He is the shadow that's moving around
He is our Silent Ranger
"What's that song? I thought it was the ranger!" One of the bandits yelled in complaint. "He brought someone else! Get down and show yerself!"
The shadowy figure atop the tree branch jumped down and showed themselves to the group of bandits. Wearing the green camouflage cloak was not the ginger haired ranger, but a woman with wavy long hair.
"What the... It's a girl!" Another bandit said excitedly.
"It's up to you now, ranger." The woman smiled silently.
The bandit leader wanted to stay behind to keep an eye on the horse, but decided to leave at the last second once he heard the song of the bard, leaving two of them behind to keep on watch. This was the one small mistake that the leader did that would later come to his downfall.
Suddenly, the one of the bandits nearby Gale felt a sharp pain in the head and lost consciousness in a moment. The other bandit looked at his collapsed ally in shock as he saw a metal object right next to him. The moment he flinched for a second, another one came right on his head to knock him out as well. Both of his strikers hitting right on the mark, Clyde moved swiftly and cut the ropes binding the horse to the sturdy tree.
"Clyde! I was worried you forgot about me and got a new horse." Gale said cheerfully.
"No horse holds your place, Gale." Clyde smiled and stroked the cream colored mane of the ranger horse.
The bandits had the woman bound by the ropes, and they quickly came to notice the couple of unconscious bandits and the missing horse. As they felt more confused by the moment, another melodious voice came from the woman.
Around the emptiness of the town
Inside the shadows hiding from the sun
When you need help surrounded by evil
He shall come and punish the devil
Looking around, making no sound,
He is our Silent Ranger
He is the shadow that's moving around
He is our Silent Ranger
Around the violence of the real life
Appearing suddenly, carrying a knife
Wherever he has to take the plunge
He shall smile and get them expunged
He is the night
He is the might
He is our Silent Ranger
"The second signal... Let's go!" Clyde said, jumping on the saddle of his horse.
Marching through the forest, Clyde and Gale reappeared on the campsite. Clyde lobbed a bottle of cloudy liquid over the bandits, and the moment it hit the ground, the lid of the bottle came off and released a smoky gas all over the three bandits and their leader.
"Wh-what's going on now!?" One of them screamed.
"We're under attack, imbecile!" The leader yelled in rage.
Jumping off Gale, Clyde ran right into the smokescreen and took out his knives. He stabbed one of the bandits in the stomach as he was looking around trying to see, and removed it quickly, ending his life suddenly. Clyde didn't even look at the corpse, and wasn't sure he would ever want to. The other two had noticed him as the smoke slowly started to disperse, and one of them swung a large blade at the ranger. Clyde took his throwing knife and used the saxe blade with conjunction to deflect the blow. As the bandit's surprised eyes faced the ranger, the last thing he saw was the throwing knife coming right towards his face. The last bandit found an opening as the clouds of smoke dispersed entirely and slashed with the long dagger in his hand. Clyde dodged the attack narrowly and tripped the large man with a sweep. With only his saxe knife left in his hand, Clyde tried to finish the bandit off before he could get up, but the man tackled the ranger and got on top of him, grabbing Clyde's hand that held the blade firmly. Just as he raised his dagger, Gale appeared out of nowhere and kicked him off the boy. Clyde threw his saxe knife to the chest of the bandit and slayed the man right then and there. Exhausted, his eyes searched for the leader. The common bandits were not superb combatants themselves, but the leader that bossed the around could be different. However, Clyde noticed that the leader was nowhere to be seen, along with the woman.
As he anxiously kept tracing the forest with his eyes, Clyde heard a third verse of the song faintly coming from the west.
He won't lose
He won't excuse
He's our Intelligent,
He is our Brilliant and
He is our Silent Ranger
The short song was much more faster than the other verses, and sounded more like a plea of help than a song.
Clyde rode on Gale and rode towards the source of the voice. The bandit was moving swiftly, dragging the bard with him. He is just a dirty coward, thought Clyde, with a momentary anger surfacing on his face.
Suddenly, when the man saw the mounted ranger coming towards him, he stopped and drew his blade, pushing it against the woman's neck. Clyde pulled the reins lightly and Gale stopped in his tracks.
"Come one step closer and the lass dies!" He screamed devilishly.
"Just use your bow!" Gale told his owner.
"I can't, it's just a recurve bow, it can't hit a target that far." Said Clyde.
"Not when you use it with me." Gale suggested. Clyde looked at the woman in distress and grabbed his bow. With a light tap on the horse's back, Gale rose up and stood perfectly still. Atop the horse, Clyde aimed with the bow and imagined the arrow flying straight into the man's heart. He could do this, he knew he could, because the training of two years and more couldn't fail him now. With help or not, he knew his own strength, and he knew what he needed to do. Even if it was his first time shooting atop a horse, the arrow made a small arc in the sky and travelled all the way to stick right into the bandit leader's heart, killing him instantly. The woman was unscathed, albeit shocked seeing the man beside him dead in a second.
"Are you okay?" Clyde asked once he reached her. The bard smiled.
"Well, I was almost afraid I couldn't return you your cloak." She handed the green cloak back to the boy.
After the couple of unconscious bandits were bound and sent to the guards for interrogation, Clyde returned to the Ghoulsbane inn to get everything set for the journey back home.
Once he got out and rode on Gale, the woman approached him one more time.
"To be honest, that was a pretty fun adventure I had with you, ranger." She smiled.
"I appreciate the time you spent on me." Clyde smiled back.
"Well then, if you're leaving, I hope we meet again one day. I'm a wandering bard, after all."
"I hope so. When we meet again, try to be less intrusive, won't you?" Clyde asked jokingly.
"Haha, sorry. That's just who I am. I shall miss you, silent ranger." The woman waved at Clyde as he started leaving.
"I have name, you know. It's Clyde!" He yelled on the way.
"You never asked but Barbara's the name!" The bard yelled back and giggled.
It was a nice, calm night in Greenfield. The gentle breeze brought with it a relaxing feeling. As he closed the windows, Bryce untied his hair and changed his clothes before going to bed. Another day without Clyde started to feel kind of bland, but he was glad the kid could get some time for himself. Bryce hoped that Clyde never realized that his soft mentor was worrying to death about him, he didn't want to make him feel bad about doing something in his own for a change.
Suddenly, a knocking was heard on the oak door. Bryce walked over to open the door and found the ginger headed apprentice in his worn out state, smiling at him. Before he could say even a word, Bryce pulled him into a large hug, leaving him breathless for a few moments.
"Clyde, you're back!" Bryce said, smiling.
"Yeah... I'm glad I am." Clyde smiled back.
For the remainder of the night, Clyde told all about the journey to his mentor and made sure not to miss any detail. Bryce felt a bit distressed when he heard of the bandits hired to steal information from the rangers.
"First the Genovesans, and now this... It just adds up to the mysteries." Bryce stroked his shaggy beard as he spoke.
"What do we do?" Asked Clyde.
"Well, the investigations still continue, so we write the reports and wait."
"Ahh, the reports... Can I leave it to you? I'm so tired." Said Clyde sleepily.
"I thought you wanted to try your hardest on being a ranger. This is also a part of it, isn't it?" Bryce said back mockingly.
"Aah, please Bryce, I'm dying..." Clyde said in an exaggerated way.
"Nope. I've decided to be a strict mentor from now on." Bryce crossed his arms and smiled, looking at the tired apprentice meaningfully.
"Dad, come on... Please?" Clyde looked at Bryce with his blue eyes.
"You know I can't say no when you call me that, you monster!" said Bryce. "We'll split fifty fifty. Is it a deal?" He extended his hand to the boy.
"Deal, deal!" Clyde shook the hand of his mentor.
"Alright, it's time to sleep now. You look like a ghoul right out of Ghoulsbane." Bryce pat the back of the boy and sent him to his room.
"It's time to sleep for the old Bryce, too." He yawned and went to his own room. Everything went well and Clyde handled things in his own way. After all, one of these days, he wasn't going to need him anymore, but Bryce wasn't as worried now. In fact, he was more proud of his son than he ever was.
Hello everyone! Silent Ranger's returning with a short story this time. Before we move onto the rest of the story, I plan to have just one more short story, this time about Bryce. I hope you enjoy it!