"Whew... Finally, some signs of a civilisation." The dark haired ranger said as he panted from the intensity of the hot weather. Reaching a town to start investigating the Wargal problem took longer than he thought because of the Crescent Scourgers blocking their path more often than ever.

"Isn't it too hot? Why are you still wearing that thing?" He mockingly asked Darc as he pointed at the yellow scarf the ranger had pulled up to his nose.

"I get the chills pretty easily, don't you know?" Darc smiled at him.

Merlin sighed deeply as he locked his gaze on the road. Even though he knew in his mind that they roughly had a few minutes to arrive, it felt like it was taking hours and days. Even their horses, who were usually chatty at least among themselves, were too tired to make a sound.

"You don't need to hide it, you know." He turned his face to Darc again as he leaned forwards. "They'll eventually notice anyway."

Darc giggled gently and turned his face forwards. "Only the three of us know. It's been like that for years. Don't worry Merlin, I'm really good at hiding."

The bored ranger exhaled loudly as if to announce his boredom to the world. "It's the one thing you learned from them that's useful."

"Come on, come on! We'll be there soon." Darc poked him cheerfully. This was not an easy job to do on horseback, but he managed to stretch just enough to not fall.

"Aargh, won't I get a moment of peace on my own mount!?" Merlin exploded as Darc laughed. He shook his head and took one more gaze at the horizon.

They were almost there.

"Two cups of coffee, please." The blond apprentice took out a few metal coins from his pouch and handed it to the clerk in front of the counter. The innkeeper's thundering voice could be heard from one floor above. It was a nice thing he got a girl with a gentle voice to take the orders instead of him, thought Glade.

"Here you go, sir." The girl put the coffee cups on the counter as he thought silently.

"Thanks Glade! I'll pay back for it on the next stop." Clyde said cheerfully as he took the cup in his hands. He wasn't thinking that talking in merchant's language would work out that well. As he took his first sip, the curly haired apprentice noticed that the cup had a small pattern of flowers on it, which reminded him of his mentor.

"No, no. It's my treat. A ranger's gotta be generous, right?" The sound of Glade rejecting the offer scattered his thoughts. "Besides, I don't buy anything often." He smiled at Clyde.

Clyde smiled back and took one more sip. "Well, it's true that the herbs don't come in cheap when I can't pick them myself."

"You packed some salves with you again, didn't you?" Glade said, as he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, it's too much of an obsession to just let go, I guess." Clyde admitted. "It's comforting to have a skill you can always depend on."

"Shouldn't you depend on your bow the most, though?" Glade pointed out. "Or the cloak, for that matter."

"Huh? Well, yeah... But..." Clyde looked away. He saw the escape in finishing what was left in his cup in one gulp and fixing his sights on the window of the inn. For a wooden building, it looked pretty comfortable with the large fireplace inside. Even if it was empty due to the moist and hot weather, it gave the inn the feeling of home, so much that Clyde noticed that he ignored what was past the window entirely. As he took a large breath, he felt himself go out of focus from the calmness of the day.

"Hey, look who's coming." Glade poked him, once again snapping him out of his thoughts. Looking behind subtly, he noticed a couple of rangers who just stepped inside the inn.

"Hey, you have coffee, right? Fetch us two cups." Merlin said as he walked in with tired steps and sat in front of the counter, next to the apprentices. His eyes were closed as he released a deep breath.

Darc sat right next to him and thanked the clerk as he received his coffee. He watched Merlin grab his own drink and take a sip. The teens next to him looked rather excited... Or frightened. Come to think of it, he seemed to remember those two from somewhere.

Suddenly, Merlin spat out some coffee in shock as he opened his eyes to notice Clyde and Glade sitting beside him.

"You! Wh-what are you two doing here!?" He exclaimed in surprise.

"Wait, were those Jacob and Bryce's... Oh..." Darc realized the situation.

"Ah, Merlin! What a surprise to see a fellow ranger here!" Glade said with a smiling face.

"What a surprise? The only surprise here is the audacity of you rascals!" Merlin burst out.

Darc put his hand on the dark haired ranger's shoulder as if to warn him about the weird looks he got from the folks inside. Merlin sighed and took another sip from his drink to regain his composure. After they were done, they paid for a room and went upstairs to talk without a crowd to listen to them.

"Weren't you guys supposed to hold down the fort in Greenfield and Redmont?" Merlin tried to ask calmly.

"Uh, allow... Allow me to explain." Clyde felt overwhelmed by the sudden change of mood.

"They forget to give you these files!" Glade chimed in as he handed Merlin the notes he got from Ernest.

The ranger's face grew even more furious after scanning through the pages.

"How did they manage to forget an important detail like that?" He looked at the apprentices with doubt.

"Everyone was in a hurry, they could have just forgot. Besides, we did what Gordon told us and delivered the files he gave to us! Everything is alright now."

Clyde noticed Glade's lie immediately, but he thought that mentioning that Ernest gave them the notes could harm the old ranger's reputation. After all, he trusted in them enough to hand them valuable information. Perhaps Glade was also trying to protect him?

"Well, why did he give it to you two instead of... I don't know... Anyone else? A courier? Besides, don't you have a Fief to keep?" Merlin kept going.

"We left our Fiefs to Lance and Archard." Clyde explained.

"See, Merlin?" Darc smiled, convinced. "They don't seem to have gone rogue or anything. It's best to assume-"

"Yeah, yeah, okay." Merlin cut him off. "I was just surprised to see you here, that's all."

"I can understand how you feel, but..." Clyde replied nervously.

"It's fine, we're rangers, after all! True rangers always trust each other, or so our motto says!" Glade chimed in cheerfully.

"Er... Pretty sure our motto is 'One riot, one ranger' but whatever." Darc chuckled.

"So, do Bryce and Jacob know that you guys are here?" Merlin asked.

"It was urgent and they told us at the last minute, so we only left after they had already left." Glade continued to spin the lies.

"Alright, you guys are hiding something from me and I don't like it." Merlin crossed his arms in frustration. "Whatever, are you going back now?"

"What? Going back?" Glade felt a wave of nervousness in his gut.

"Yeah. You gave us the files, okay. Now you can return to Araluen and take over your Fiefs." Merlin replied with a sly face.

"Well, actually..." Clyde tried to intervene again until Glade cut him off.

"We were thinking that we'd stay with you and help!"

"Help? I don't think taking apprentices on a mission like this is right." Darc said with a disappointed look on his face. "You guys can get seriously hurt."

"You'll die." Merlin explained shortly.

"What? No way! We got through here with no scratches!" Glade exploded proudly.

"No, what I mean is..." Merlin sighed yet again, tired. "You just won't survive here. Not with us, anyway. Just go back to Araluen."

"Ernest sent us here." Clyde blurted out in a moment of desperation.

"Clyde!" Glade turned to him in fury. Clyde hadn't seen him this angry in his whole life.

"Ernest? Okay, that explains everything." Merlin put his palm on his face and mumbled. "Darn, he just gets whatever he wants, that guy."

"If Ernest is in this, then he should know that they are good enough for this, right?" Darc asked to Merlin calmly.

"Yes, but he can't consider the... extras... of this mission. So no, you guys can't come either way." Merlin said decisively.

Clyde felt even more desperate watching the disappointed face of Glade. "But... We-"

"Clyde, look at me." Merlin grabbed him by both of his shoulders and looked directly at his eyes. Surprisingly, his deep blue eyes did not look like a threatening, endless chasm. It was a glance of geniune concern.

"Look at me and tell: How can I tell Bryce, with your dead body in my hands, that you died because of me allowing you to go on? How do I tell him that I couldn't say no to you, an apprentice? Do you know how much he loves you? Like his own son... No, as his own son. Do you get it?" He said calmly.

"I..." Clyde couldn't say anything.

"I don't mind." Glade replied with a creepy smile on his face.

"What was that?" Merlin released Clyde and turned his face to the blond apprentice.

"I said that I don't mind." Glade looked at him with a challenging stare.

"Dying for the rangers' cause is not a bother for me. It shouldn't be a bother for Jacob, or Bryce. They can be sad, sure, but this is a part of the job. All of us knew losing meant death at any time but we still joined in the corps. How is this any different?"

Merlin stood there silently for a minute that felt like eternity. "You will sneak in anyway, won't you?"

"I will."

"Cheeky jerk." Merlin said with audible resentment. "Damn it!" He kicked the furniture in the room in fury.

"M-merlin, hold on, calm down!" Darc warned him in concern.

"Okay! Okay. You two will tag along." The dark haired ranger said once his anger subsided. "But! If you ever complain about anything, I'll report you two and get you out of the corps even if you survive."

Glade and Clyde nervously looked at each other. Glade was trying to give off a proud and responsible look, but even he had limits. Darc was completely silent. Just like Clyde, he couldn't do much but mix into the background as the rangers with intense personalities clashed.

"I wouldn't threaten you with this but I can't have you acting like you please. Not here. No hard feelings, right?"

Both of them nodded silently.

"Good. Now let's rest a little." Merlin finished the conversation. "My back is killing me."

.•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•.

After waking up from a surprisingly comfortable sleep despite the recent matters, the group of rangers got out of their rooms and decided to grab some food for breakfast before leaving the town.

"So... Was the reports of any help?" Clyde asked as he bit into the fresh bread loaf in front of him. It was a light meal, but he felt really hungry after spending days gnawing on hard meat with the texture of leather.

"Sort of. I actually went out early and gathered some intel." Merlin replied. He hadn't touched his food yet. "The townsfolk don't know that much about the nobles, but there's this fuss about a 'White Ball' or something like that."

"Huh... Hold on, what is a 'White Ball'?" Clyde asked curiously.

"A ball is when the nobles-" Glade started to explain until the curly haired apprentice stopped him.

"I know what a ball is. I still come from a noble family, besmirched or not." He explained with a disappointed tone.

"Haha, sorry. I always forget about that." Glade smiled apologetically.

"I think a White Ball is when it's for maidens and their chaperones only." Darc seemed to be the one that knew the most about it, so everyone silently agreed on the definition as they ate.

"Why throw a ball like that all of a sudden, though?" Clyde wondered.

"There might be an ulterior motive, but maybe not. People want to have fun, after all." Darc answered as he began to wonder himself. "I was more focused on how many nobles will attend."

"If there's going to be that many, let's just slip into it and check everyone at once." Merlin suggested.

"Huh? We can do that?" Clyde was surprised.

"Of course we can, we're rangers!" Glade replied merrily.

"The couples' rule is a problem, though. We are four guys and the ball is more focused on women." Darc said nervously.

"It'll be fine. We'll find some couriers to go with us." Merlin said back nonchalantly.

"From where? And even if we find any, we will derail their missions and mess something else up. It's too risky." Darc rose up. Clyde noticed that he was unusually defensive, even compared to the usual friendly quarrels he had with the aloof ranger.

"It's not risky at all. We'll go in and take you two as servants. Can't we do that?" Merlin kept going.

"As I said, it is focused on couples, not just nobles. Even with the proper disguise, four people is a bit too much."

"Then one of us can go!" Glade said mischievously.

"W-well..." Darc was cornered.

"Makes sense to me. We can get Glade and leave Clyde behind for one night." The dark haired ranger approved Glade's idea.

Clyde stayed silent. He knew that Glade was better than him in missions, but Merlin spouting it out like common knowledge hurt regardless. He tried not to get his emotions in front of the objective and listened to the others.

"Hey, why just Glade?" Darc asked hastily.

"He's better."

"Merlin!" The scarved ranger burst out in anger.

"What? Clyde can find his own way there or just investigate around the town." Merlin started to feel annoyed.

"I-it's okay, Darc! It's true that I'm the worse ranger out of the two of us, I'll just find another way in." Clyde muttered nervously to end the argument.

"Well, okay... Just don't lose our trace. We wouldn't want to get separated in a situation like this." Darc sighed, conceding defeat.

After constructing the basics of their plan, Darc and Merlin left to investigate the noble houses further. The apprentices were strictly told to stay in town, so there wasn't much to do but train.

"Bullseye!" Clyde cheerfully looked at the arrow stuck in the middle of the tree the apprentice aimed at. Unlike their usual practice, the two of them picked far away targets on purpose to increase the difficulty.

"You don't need to yell like that, you know." Glade said as he chuckled. "It makes you look unprofessional."

"Well, if you didn't strike each of them with a bullseye you'd shout when you got one too." Clyde retorted.

"Maybe I would." Glade scored another perfect shot as he spoke. "Whew... Is Merlin back yet?"

"Yes I am." The dark haired ranger appeared from behind.

"Yes, we are." Darc said as he glared at Merlin.

"Gah! I didn't notice..." Glade looked disappointed.

"Merlin, Darc! Welcome back." Clyde smiled at them sincerely. He was excited about the mission despite his obscure role in it.

"Let me guess, the left tree is Glade and the other one is Clyde, right?" Merlin pointed towards the trees.

Clyde and Glade approved with their heads.

"I guessed so. The gap between you two isn't closing any time soon, I guess. At long distances, anyway." The tetchy ranger walked back towards the town and signaled the rest of them to follow.

"We're moving soon, just one last plan rehearsal and it's the last night we spend here."

"That was quick... I don't want to think about the boiling road again..." Darc yawned.

"Maybe you should remove the scarf and stop being a living blanket." Merlin teased him.

"Says the guy who stole my blanket yesterday night."

"Did not."

"You did, you diiid!"

"Did not!"

As the two of them kept their quarrel, Clyde sighed and followed the group after picking the arrows from the trees.

.•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•.

"Okay, ready to leave?" Darc said as he checked his equipment for the last time.

Everyone nodded as they hopped on their horses.

"Are we back on business? Hurray!" Gale said excitedly.

"Darn, the horses are at it again." Merlin rolled his eyes.

"Well, it's better that they have the stamina!" Darc replied, optimistic.

"Uh, we should get a move on." Clyde said as he grabbed the reins. The rumors of the White Ball were easy to find but arriving there wouldn't be as easy, according to the duo of seasoned rangers. Everyone got ready for a long trip and started riding.

The journey was going eventless as everyone silently fell deep in thought. The horses weren't very eager to talk either, as the sun set slowly, taking the color of the pale yellow grass, leaving a gloomy, bluish husk behind.

As Merlin momentarily eyed behind the road, the wind went through his messy hair, relieving him of the hot weather for a second.

It would be very calming if he hadn't seen three ominous figures approaching them from afar.

"Crap! No, not again..." The surprised ranger bit his lip nervously.

"Merlin, what's-" Darc was about to say until he saw the Scourgers coming through. "Oh dear."

"Clyde, Glade, move out!" Merlin commanded suddenly.

"What, why? What's going on?" Asked Glade.

"Get away!" Merlin yelled.

"Glade." Clyde looked at the blond apprentice in the eye and the two of them nodded, changing their direction to outside the road.

"Okay... You ready?" Merlin took out his twin saxe blades and gave a sharp look at Darc.

"It doesn't matter. We have to be!" Darc took out his bow. He had prepared it beforehand, unlike Merlin.

"How fast are they? I doubted that we would be found again this quick." He mumbled to himself as he took a quick look towards the horsemen.

They started to crack their whips threateningly as they got closer and closer.

"Their horses are faster!? How are they catching up?" Glade was dumbfounded. These people, who appeared out of nowhere were now assaulting the couple of rangers with long leather whips. None of Ernest's notes or advice mentioned such an abnormality.

"They're three people... We have to lend them a hand!" Clyde said as he held onto his medicine bag with tense hands.

"Actually... Since we're behind them, we can get them caught in a pincer movement." Glade proposed as he pulled the reins of Pegasus slightly to charge ahead.

"Wait up!" Clyde went forward as well.

"Look at them, they're set on separating the riders from the mounts. If we get them off their horses, those whips are useless." He pointed out.

"That's it! Do you have anything useful for that?" Glade asked excitedly.

"Let me check... Er..." The curly haired apprentice ran through the bag to find a semi-translucent, yellowish fluid in a small vial.

"Okay, just coat your arrows in this!" He handed the vial to his friend.

"You go on ahead!" Glade pointed forwards, watching Clyde go as he opened the vial.

The Scourgers repeatedly attacked with the whips, not giving the rangers any time to counterattack.

"Why don't you give us a break? Your noodles aren't impressive." Merlin tried to break their spirit for an opening, but they were as silent as ever. The one in the front swung the whip around with such strength that even Merlin couldn't predict its range. Just as he was going to attack, an arrow pierced the arm of the man, making him drop the whip at once. Just a few seconds later, it went numb, disturbing his balance and causing him to fall by Darc's arrows.

"Wh- I missed!" Glade said in visible distress.

"What do you mean?" Clyde asked from behind.

"I... I was aiming at the heart..." Glade took a moment to shake it off.

Distrupted by the sudden attack, the other Scourgers looked behind as Glade charged forwards, hitting another one with the drugged arrow.

"Clyde, that was the last one!" Glade warned him.

The curly haired apprentice charged through, then commanded his mount to stay up and still to let him aim well.

However, just as he shot the arrow, the enemy dodged the shot by ducking at the perfect time.

"Huh!?" Clyde was sure he did everything correctly, yet still the arrow missed completely.

The last Scourger furiously swung his weapon and caught Clyde by his arm. The barbed surface of the tips hurt him intensely as the leather pushed into his skin.

"Argh!" He dropped the bow in pain.

Just as the Scourger was about to pull him off his mount and drag him across the ground, a sharp blade cut through the weapon.

The man turned around in surprised as another knife went right into his stomach, ending his life instantly.

All off them jumped off their horses. Both Merlin and Darc looked very tense.

"Ahh, ow... Just what was that?" Clyde held his arm tightly as he whimpered.

"Yeah, mounted soldiers with whips capable of dodging our arrows? That's not normal. Even for a ranger's point of view." Glade said as if he was protesting.

"That's... Let's just continue for now." Merlin said silently.

"T-that's not fair, we told you our secret!" Clyde glared at him angrily as Glade joined him, nodding at his words.

"Guys, please. We need to find somewhere safe to rest. At least... just wait until then." Darc said with a painful expression.

.•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•. ✿ .•°°•.

The evening breeze came early, cooling down the weather. As the grass waved around, the group lit up a small fire to cook coffee. After readying the sleeping bags, Merlin sat down and leaned his back on a tree stump, breathing deeply as if he wanted to feel the relaxing breeze all over his body. His eyes sleepily watched the rest of the rangers.

"Whaat!? Glade, you used up almost all of it! No wonder they collapsed like straw dolls in seconds..." Clyde disappointedly looked at the nearly empty vial.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll just buy you the ingredients later." Glade snickered.

"It's not something you can buy, but since you offered... Hmm..." Clyde smiled mischievously and crossed his arms triumphantly.

"Okay, the coffee's on you for the rest of the year." He poked the chest of the blond ranger jokingly.

"Huh, a year!? You're kidding, right? I-it's not that expensive, right?" Glade yelled in panic.

"Clyde, answer me! Clydeee!" He chased the boy who snickered as he delved into the forest.

"Go get some wild game while you're out!" Merlin yelled at them from where he sat and watched as Darc took the place next to him.

"Close one, right?"

"Yup." Merlin checked the coffee pot over the fire as he nodded ignorantly.

"Hey, should we really light a fire in this situation?" Darc questioned.

"Pssh. They lost at least five more of their best to us. They can't afford to send more. This was their last gamble." Merlin explained.

"Well, not like I don't want some good food myself." Darc smiled.

"We brought it!" Clyde and Glade came back after a while, carrying a large, skinned rabbit with them.

"That was somewhat quick." Merlin said, unimpressed.

"I picked some mushrooms on the side!" Clyde showed them some brown mushrooms.

"Oh course you did. Just be careful not to poison us or anything." Merlin replied instantly.

"We'll handle it! Hey Clyde, watch me." Glade said cheerfully as he prepared the meat.

The two of them cooked a pot full of rabbit stew with delicious seasoned mushrooms diced in it. The tender rabbit meat had taken the juice of all the ingredients. The group enjoyed the meal as everyone drunk their coffee.

"You guys know how to whip up something nice! This reminds me of my time as an apprentice..." Darc went back to his memories as he ate.

"Meh, I don't really know if it's that good." Merlin said as he handed Glade his empty bowl.

"Seconds?"

"Yes." The tetchy ranger barely managed not to drool.

"Hey Clyde, how's the arm?" Darc asked the curly haired apprentice as he sat next to him, having finished his meal.

"Ah, it's fine, I took care of it." Clyde answered meekly. He still wasn't fully used to the new ranger.

"Let me check." He took a look at the wounds on the arm.

"Ow!" Clyde pulled it back slightly.

"It hurts a lot at first, but it'll be just fine." Darc revealed his own wound to him.

"See? We're wound buddies." He smiled gently. Clyde smiled back hesitantly.

"Darc, are you worried about me?" He asked.

"Me? Nah, not at all. Just checking." Darc replied, looking away.

"Hey, let me see that wound." Clyde took his hand and inspected it.

"Aah, this won't do at all! Who treated this? You don't slap that warmweed everywhere..." He started to treat the wound again as Darc stood there without a clue as to what's going on.

"There, that's better... I think." Clyde wrapped the wound back and released a sigh of relief.

"I didn't know you were that good at treating wounds." Darc said, impressed.

"My uncle was used to this stuff. He was a good teacher." Clyde replied briefly.

"Okay! Everybody listen to me." Glade suddenly sprung up after cleaning the bowls and putting them away.

"Huh, what's up?" Darc asked curiously.

"I think it's about time you guys explain just what the hell was up with those horsemen." Glade replied with a deadly serious tone.

"Ugh, you just wouldn't forget about it, would you?" Merlin scoffed at him, disrupting his comfortable position.

"They're just some bounty hunters sent after us." Merlin started talking.

"They're the Crescent Scourgers." Darc opened up suddenly.

"Darc!" Merlin turned at him furiously.

"Crescent Scourgers? What is that?" Clyde questioned.

Darc sighed loudly. "Look, you two. We're affiliated..." He stopped for a moment. "Used to be affiliated... with a certain group called The Blue Moon Association."

"I don't get it... but that sounds shady." Glade blurted out.

"Seriously, Darc..." Merlin took a few seconds to get his composure back. "Okay. The Association is a big secret. They basically kill anyone that has ever heard of them, and they are big on any kingdom, including ours." Merlin took on the explanation process. "They are bad guys, they're after political power, they're stronger than all of you. And yes, we used to be a part of it."

"But now you're not?" Clyde uttered, dumbfounded. "Which means..."

"They were trying to murder you two specifically." Glade completed Clyde's sentence.

"But... For how long? And what do they do exactly to get this kind of strength... I don't get it." He added.

"Guys... We should leave it at that. I'm terribly sorry but even this much is going too far." Darc said hesitantly.

"You see, we didn't want you in because you'd be hunted down as well. Even if one Scourger returns to give info to them, you guys will be in the blacklist forever." Merlin sighed.

"So, you were just trying to protect us." Clyde uttered silently.

"Yes, as always." Merlin nodded.

"We didn't make things easy for you then." Glade crossed his arms.

"It's fine. You guys are rangers, after all." Darc reassured him.

"But... Don't the others..." Clyde started speaking before being interrupted by Merlin.

"No, Bryce and Jacob don't know about it. Nor does anyone else in the Corps, for that matter."

Darc started speaking after a moment of silence. "We didn't have a choice in joining them, but-"

"Oh no, you did have a choice. I didn't though." Merlin said with some resentment.

"That's not wrong, but let's not bring the past into this." Darc said with saddened eyes.

"Anyway, the rest of the road may or may not be safe. You guys still in?" Merlin asked, changing the topic.

"Of course we are!" Clyde said with determination.

"We wouldn't have it any other way. What is a ranger without the courage?" Glade nodded cheerfully.

"You two are going to die." Merlin shook his head in exaggerated disappointment.

"Well, don't be like that, we need to attend that ball." Darc chimed in.

"Yeah, you'll live your noble fantasy for once then." Merlin poked fun at the scarfed ranger.

"Ugh, you're horrible!" Darc argued back as the two apprentices watched, seeing things return to their usual way slowly. Even though this new mystery was revealed, Clyde and Glade felt like there was a long road to go, in every meaning of the word.