The sky was clear and bright as if to mock the dark atmosphere formed by the mysterious creatures supposedly appearing left and right. As they rode on their horses to the newly set gathering spot, Bryce thought to himself that out of anything, this situation would be the one thing he couldn't guess was coming.
"It's kind of funny, isn't it?" Clyde talked, breaking the silence. Bryce turned his face towards him as his train of thought dissipated. "The gathering spot is different, but it's always somewhere in a forest."
"I guess so." The mentor smiled. "Then again, most of our lives are spent in forests anyway. Would you like to gather up on a mountain instead?"
"No way!" Clyde laughed nervously. "Not with all these monsters around, let alone wolves and all that."
"I'll protect you from anything, wolves or otherwise!" Gale chimed in cheerfully.
"Me too! You two can count on us." Pfeil joined in.
"Well, it might be better if we could handle it ourselves." Bryce snickered as he caressed the wound around his stomach.
"Ah... How is the bruise now?" Clyde asked with a nervous look on his freckled face.
"It's fine, it's fine!" Bryce said with an unchanging expression.
"You're lying." The apprentice replied coldly.
"To make you feel better."
"It doesn't work."
"Would you rather see me writhing in pain? I can do that as well."
"Yes. I mean, no... It's just... Stop it!" Clyde rustled his hair in annoyance. "You should have been resting at home!"
"Clyde, it's fine. Don't you know how many of us are attending despite our condition?" Bryce argued back. "Off the top of my head, I can count at least ten people out of the fifty of us who also should have stayed, but this is important. I promise I'll rest properly once we return."
"D-do you promise?" Clyde asked nervously.
"Of course." The mentor nodded.
"Okay... But you will rest, right?" He still didn't seem to be convinced.
"Hahaha... Clyde, it's my job to be worried about you, not the other way around." Bryce smiled brightly. Clyde turned his head the other way, feeling conflicted.
At last, the gathering spot was right in front of them. At least, the map in Bryce's hands said so.
"Alright, beyond this wall of trees is the spot. Are you feeling tense, Clyde?" He asked as he leapt off his horse.
"Er... Yes, but it'll be fine." Clyde replied somewhat silently.
The pair of rangers entered the grove with their horses following behind.
This gathering spot could be the most bland camp setup Clyde had ever seen. Naturally, this was more of an emergency meeting than a gathering, but still, there was no warm campfire or any food, let alone the cheery aura that the previous gatherings all had.
"Where's Gordon?" Clyde looked around to see. There were a few rangers he could recognize, but not the Head Ranger.
"Right here!" A voice that was obviously deepened by purpose rose up behind the ginger headed apprentice. Clyde turned around to see a fair skinned, blond teen in front of him.
"Glade!" He walked over to him and shook his hand. "Where have you been? You didn't even write me one letter!"
"Ahaha, sorry about that." Glade scratched his head with an apologetic face. "The monsters appeared around Redwall first, so we were dealing with them for a while now. And even before that, the crime rate in Redmont flew up so high, it was crazy! I couldn't even take a full nap, let alone writing to you." He explained with a tired voice. "Still, it's thrilling to be in such dangerous work. I feel like a full-time ranger!" He kept talking as usual. "So, what's up with you?"
"Uh, nothing." said Clyde awkwardly.
"Glade! Where have you been, I've told you to take care of the horses!" An angry voice came up behind them as Glade got hit lightly on top of his head.
"Ah, Jacob! I was just making up lost time with Clyde. We have been so busy, right?" He kept talking like an energetic chipmunk, somehow managing to annoy the blond ranger even more.
"Ugh. Welcome, Clyde. I hope you two didn't have it as hard as we did." He briefly waved his hand at the ginger haired boy.
"Ah, don't worry... It was fine." Clyde said almost silently.
"By the way, I saw Bryce holding his stomach tightly back there, what's up with that?" Jacob asked curiously.
"Oh, well... It's from one of those monsters." answered Clyde as he nervously played around with his hands.
"Really? We never got hit by any of them." Glade uttered in surprise.
"B-but how? Their fur is far too thick, we could barely survive one encounter!" Clyde felt weak hearing Glade's words, so he immediately reacted defensively.
"Ah, didn't you strike it in the eye? They are defenseless that way, no fur on the eye, right?" Glade explained as if it was the easiest thing in the world.
If I had thought of this, Bryce wouldn't be hurt, thought Clyde. He felt his confidence slowly drained.
"So he got a direct hit? Yikes, that sounds bad. I wouldn't want to get hit by one of those." Jacob said with a painful expression on his face.
"I wouldn't mind!" Glade said cheerfully. His eyes were sparkling in excitement. "In fact, I'm a little bit jealous of Bryce."
"W-why? Where did that come from!?" Clyde reacted in surprise.
"Well, he put his life in the line for the job. That is just what a true ranger does, right? I'm jealous of that." Glade kept talking excitedly.
"Don't... Don't be! I love being a ranger too, but dying just for the sake of it..."
"Just let it go, Clyde." Jacob sighed. "That's just how he is sometimes." The tiredom could be read from his face.
Suddenly, a blue eyed, dark haired young man appeared out of thin air right beside them.
"Everyone's on the edge now, huh... Figures. You guys couldn't even notice I was here." Merlin talked in his same nonchalant way.
"Merlin, there you are. Where's Gordon?" Jacob asked, unfazed by the ranger appearing out of nowhere.
"How should I know? We've got to wait and see." He replied curtly. "Oh, you two are here too." He noticed the pair of apprentices as he spoke. "Bry's not around, though. Shocking."
"As if. Hello everyone, nice to see you." The long haired ranger appeared in front of everyone.
"Ah, speak of the devil." Merlin rolled his eyes.
"Hush, hush! No time for bickering, I have a special guest for you all." Bryce said excitedly.
"Hey, everyone!" A short guy with a thin build, beige baggy clothing and a large yellow scarf covering half his face came out from behind of the tall ranger. "It's nice to see you again." He smiled.
"Darc? You're alive?" Jacob acted surprised.
"Hurray." Merlin reacted, unenthusiastic.
"Ah... Clyde, Glade, this is Darc, the ranger of Ghoulsbane. He's a part of our friend circle, just not a frequent visitor." Bryce introduced the apprentices to the young man.
"Nice to meet you." The two of them waved hands at him.
"So you guys are apprentices? Time is flying so fast I couldn't see the two of you get apprentices." Darc looked at Bryce and Jacob.
"Well, it could help if you could lift your head from all these missions." Jacob said.
"Yeah, Ghoulsbane has nice people, but I suppose a place that gloomy is bound to have trouble both inside and around it. I have to stay on duty." Darc said proudly.
"More like you got influenced by their workaholic ways." Merlin mocked him.
"Excuse me? That's not it at all!" Darc argued and crossed his arms in anger.
"That's another thing about him. He throws tantrums like a child, so get used to him before he leaves for another mission in like, three minutes." Merlin snickered condescendingly.
"Ugh..." Darc refused to say anything.
"Now, now. Let's not end this on a sour note. It's rare for us to get together like this, after all." Bryce tried to calm them down. "That being said, we need to get back on work. Clyde, can you check around the camp? We might need some injuries treated."
"Right... Uh... I'll be doing that." Clyde walked out of the crowd, but someone held onto his hand.
"I'll lend a hand too!" It was Glade.
Two apprentices walked around the camp to check on injured rangers, but they were hard to spot even when they were laying around, so they decided to talk to anyone they come across.
"Hey! Anyone injured over here?" Glade asked to a pair of rangers who were chatting sitting on the grass. They stood up and walked over to the duo.
"Nah, we're good. Who're you?" The shorter one with a long beard and a large build asked.
"Um... We're apprentices, looking for wounded people to treat." Clyde explained shortly.
"Tha's nice, tha's nice, yer good people." The ranger nodded proudly.
"I don't believe we've met. How about introductions before you go on your merry way?" The taller, thinner one said with a gentle smile on his face.
"Sure! I'm Glade, Jacob's apprentice. This is Clyde, he's Bryce's." Glade saved Clyde from the effort of speaking.
"Ah, nice to meet you two. I'm Lance, in your service. As long as you're in my fief, that is." The taller ranger bowed slightly. He looked like a nice gentleman, if a bit too young to act that way, thought Clyde. He didn't even have a beard on his face.
"Yer too gentle, Lance! Act a bit more harsh, establish some authority, will ya?" The shorter ranger jokingly jabbed Lance on the sides. "Archard here, half Skandian, if ya couldn't tell. Har har har!" He laughed loudly. How bold and far from the model ranger, thought Clyde. Then again, he himself wasn't very fitting of that ideal either.
"Yeah, half Skandian, yet ironically short. That's our Archard." Lance laughed.
"Shaddup! I ain't taking sass from a spindling guy like ya!" Archard burst out.
"Aww, I was kidding. Trust me, he's a good soul. And just as bit of a fighter as you'd expect." Lance continued, unfazed.
"Heh heh. Ya could say that again. Lance's good people, too." Archard pat the back of the thin ranger.
"It was nice to meet you, but we should be on our way." Clyde said gently.
"Ah, happy travels!" Lance waved at them as they walked past.
"How nice! I hope we get to talk like true rangers someday." Glade said, mesmerized.
"Huh? You want us to bicker like old couples?" Clyde said jokingly.
"Well, maybe. If that's what makes us good rangers, I'm down to it." Glade smiled.
"You seem to talk about that an awful lot, huh..." Clyde said, somewhat concerned.
"You should be used to it already, right? Come on, let's go!" Glade started sprinting, leaving Clyde to chase after him.
After treating some of the rangers along the way, The two of them sat down on a patch of grass to rest for a while.
"Whew, that was good effort, Clyde! I'm sure everyone is grateful." Glade smiled at the boy.
"Haha, you think so?" Clyde blushed, being complimented on his work.
"Yep, he does." Suddenly, a voice came from right next to Clyde.
"Aaagh!" He couldn't help but be startled. The pitch black haired man near him laughed loudly. He was leaning onto a rock right beside the apprentice, hands behind his head.
"Did I scare ya? I couldn't help but eavesdrop. How are you kiddos doing?" He smiled.
"Ernest! You came too!" Glade got up and sat next to the ranger excitedly.
"Ernest?" Clyde's mind went to a conversation he had with Bryce a few months ago.
"Yep, that's me. So how are ya doing, Clyde?" Ernest wrapped his arm around the boy's neck and pulled him closer. Clyde felt disturbed by how relaxed this man was. On top of it, wasn't this the same man Bryce mentioned having a bad relationship with? Still, he had told him not to judge him based on that.
"Erm... Uh... How did you know my name?" He asked the first question that came to his mind.
"Well, a true ranger's got to know his allies well, right? Besides, I know Bryce, so I know you by proxy, too." The man explained shortly.
"Yeah... I see." Clyde replied coldly.
"So, how are you doing, Ernest? Don't just ignore me!" Glade poked the ranger.
"Heh, I wasn't ignoring ya, c'mere!" He wrapped his other arm around the blond apprentice's neck. "It's nice to see kids like you are growing up to be rangers. Are ya missing any shots lately?"
"Not at all!" Glade smiled proudly.
"I... Um... I missed a few." Clyde admitted shyly.
"A few? Really? You ought to train more, boy." Ernest said, disappointed.
"A true ranger should never miss!" Glade stated.
"Er... But I'm trying my best..." Clyde felt disturbed again.
"Eh, of course you are. But Bryce isn't really a harsh teacher, is he? Maybe ya need some effort of yourself to make up for it."
"N-no way! This doesn't have anything to do with Bryce!" The apprentice burst out.
"Don't be like that, Clyde. I doubt he meant it like that. Bryce is very great." Glade tried to calm him down.
"Exactly, Bryce is a nice fella. I've known him for longer than both of you combined, know that? We're just poking fun here'n there. No need to get worked up over it." Ernest released the boys and laid on his back once again. "I was kiddin' around. Just make sure you do your best and y'all will be fine." He smiled at Clyde. The boy looked down in embarrassment.
"Ah... sorry. I overreacted. It's just that I..."
"...feel like you are left behind?" Ernest completed his sentence. Clyde didn't even bother asking how he managed to do that.
"Yes... Exactly." He admitted.
"Don't worry about that, just focus on your job and you'll be fine. Ya got good medical skills, yeah? Then go cure 'em all!" He patted the back of the apprentice with considerable strength.
"You think so? Ehehe... Thanks!" Clyde smiled. "Then I might as well continue helping them out."
"You do that. We'll stay behind with Glade and chat a little." The ranger waved goodbye at the apprentice.
"Yep! I have much to catch on, Clyde. Hope you forgive me." Glade said apologetically.
"It's fine, really. See you later!" Clyde went on his way.
This Ernest person was really like Glade, both revolting him and making him happy when they first met. Maybe that meant that they would hit it off well later on? Clyde wondered. Well, for now, he seemed like a nice person, so it was a good thing he listened to Bryce's advice, he thought.
After helping out in the camp, Clyde almost immediately ran into his mentor.
"Clyde, there you are. Let's go, the gathering is about to start." He signaled him to get closer.
"Did Gordon come?" Clyde asked.
"Yes, exactly. Now, follow behind!" He started walking further through the grove.
Clyde looked around himself. All 50 rangers were in the fully set up council with Gordon standing in the middle and everyone else in circles, surrounding him. Everyone was talking, so Clyde couldn't make all the words out clearly. He decided to focus on the familiar voices over the other ones from then on.
"So, has everyone arrived?" The green eyed Head Ranger asked.
"Yes, I believe so." Answered Bryce.
"Good. So, I won't make this a long talk. We have a Wargal problem across the whole country." His tone got drastically serious, even more than usual.
"Yeah, that's obvious. So, what do we do?" Merlin sounded as bored as humanly possible.
"Wait, what is a Wargal?" Glade asked.
"Ancient creatures living deep in the Mountains of Rain and Night past the Celtic Fissure." Jacob explained shortly.
"So, naturally, we have to investigate the place." Bryce suggested.
"That is one part of the plan." Gordon affirmed.
"There's also the sudden raise in the crime rate. Is it relevant?" Darc spoke.
"I doubt so. Although, that is another concerning issue." Lance stated nervously.
"Eh, 'Zat right? The Wargal problem easily takes the cake, though." Archard said.
"Well, I think someone needs to check that Gallic border." Ernest suggested. The eyes of everyone locked onto him almost immediately.
"The Gallic border? Because of the latest conflict?" Gordon asked.
"Nope. Because the place is swarming with Wargals, that's why." Ernest replied.
"But how? It makes no sense for them to gather up right there." Jacob questioned.
"Actually, yeah. What's up with that? Shouldn't they have been in that mountains of whatever instead?" Merlin joined him.
"I think it has only one explanation. Our problem has to do something with Gallica. Quite simple, yeah?" Ernest crossed his arms, smirking.
"That's... Confusing, to say the least." Bryce looked disturbed.
"Confusing, but it can't be ignored, can it, Bryce?" Ernest said as if to spite him.
"I... I have to agree with Ernest here. We need to check it out." Darc said.
"Me too! We need to blend into Gallica and see what's up!" Glade said, all pumped up.
"As if you have any presence here..." Jacob looked at Glade with annoyed eyes. "Still, it's true. We need to check it out."
"Alright, one mission for Gallica, one for the fissure... mountain... thing... What else, Gordon?" Merlin summed up the conversation.
"The rest of the rangers should defend their respective fiefs. I think that should be enough." Gordon concluded the argument.
"W-wait!" Clyde suddenly yelled in a moment of realization.
"What is it, Clyde?" Gordon asked, visibly surprised.
"It's... I... Um..." With all eyes locked onto him, Clyde's thoughts were reduced to mumbles.
"Ahaha, the poor kid's just tired." Ernest laughed. "We should jus-"
"Let the boy talk, Ernest." Bryce spoke calmly, but it was the most terrifying Clyde has ever seen him.
"I just think that... That we should check for any Hyrd'mis activity!" Clyde said with the strength he got from Bryce.
"Huh? What for?" Ernest asked, surprised.
"Seriously. That's irrelevant." Merlin said, disappointed.
"Believe me or not, but... Those monsters were controlled. I remember just a glimpse of their eyes, but the feeling is the same..." Clyde felt emotional as memories from his previous adventures flooded in. "Remnants of Hyrd'mis could very well be in this movement, so we should stay on guard!" He said decisively.
"I'm still not too sure, kiddo." Ernest said, not looking convinced.
"Maybe, maybe not. Still not relevant enough." Merlin sided with him.
"I think Clyde's got a point." Bryce put his hand on the apprentice's back.
"I also think Clyde is right! We've been searching for Genovesans for a long time now, but not for Hyrd'mis. Why not?" Glade joined in.
"I also think it's best to stay cautious. My vote's on Clyde." Jacob said.
"Erm... It's too much of a reach for me, sorry." Darc stated.
"Well, I think so too. No offense, but we shouldn't spread ourselves thin." Lance agreed with Darc.
"I say we give it a shot, anyway." Archard stood with Clyde.
Suddenly, the rangers were arguing left and right for the suggestion.
"Calm down, calm down!" Gordon silenced everyone. "We shall also pay attention to suspicious Hyrd'mis activity, so it passes. Any questions?" he asked, but it was obvious no answer was expected.
"Then the gathering is nearly over. I'll be distributing the missions now." Gordon ended the conversation.
After the missions were assigned, the six rangers gathered together once more before departure.
"Clyde, just what was that? It was so cool seeing you so confident, just like a true ranger!" Glade laughed proudly.
"I dunno, sounded too cheap for me." Merlin said condescendingly.
"Er..." Clyde couldn't say anything, he couldn't handle being the center of attention for one more second.
"So, did anyone get assigned for a mission?" Jacob asked, saving Clyde from the anxiety.
"Merlin and I have the Gallic investigation." said Darc.
"Yep. What he said." Merlin nodded. "Kind of a bummer, really."
"Oh, come on!" Darc elbowed Merlin.
"Bryce and I got the Celtic Fissure. That's why I asked." Jacob explained.
"Yes, that aside, we have to tell something to you two, Clyde and Glade." Bryce said.
"Huh? What is it?" Asked Glade.
"You two should stay in our fiefs and ensure the safety of everyone there." Jacob told the two of them as he caressed his beard.
"We can't afford to leave a fief empty in a situation like this. Can you two handle it?" The long haired ranger asked them.
"Of course we can! Right, Clyde?" Glade grabbed Clyde's hand joyfully.
"Ah, yeah..." Clyde agreed.
With everything settled, the group scattered slowly.
"Wait, you're leaving now?" asked Clyde.
"Of course. We don't have time to lose, this is urgent." Bryce explained.
"We'll take a rest in the first inn, don't worry." Jacob assured him. "Glade, don't you dare do something crazy while I'm gone." He threatened the apprentice.
"I'll try my best to help out!" Glade smiled widely.
As time drove near, everyone save for a few had left the gathering spot. Clyde was about to leave as well, until he heard a familiar voice.
"...well, then just convince them to take your place, kid. It's the only way."
Curious, he followed the voice and ended up on a dark grove drowned in shadows.
"Clyde, how nice of you to join us!" Ernest said, startling the boy.
"Eavesdropping like a real ranger, eh? I'm impressed." He called the boy over.
"Erm... I wasn't eavesdropping, I was just..." Clyde mumbled, embarrassed.
"Sure, sure. Come over here now, Glade was just asking me something.
As Clyde noticed just then, the fair skinned boy was also with the ranger. Glade looked at him with a serious look on his face.
"Clyde, I've made a decision..." Glade started speaking.
"I'm going to Gallica too."
