So I had no idea what to name this chapter so I was just kinda¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Now I'm taking any name suggestions for this chapter. Also, I intended this chapter to have nearly 4000 words at first but decided that's too long and instead split it into two chapters.
Chapter 6
Albert Slice, the leader of the Masters of Death gang, a small but deadly organisation, sat in his large tent examining a map of Gorlan. He was debating with himself whether to strike the large village Treebee, or the small town Holeout.
Treebee would be very vulnerable at this time of the year, six of its families had fled from Gorlan fief. The village also does not have a peacekeeping force or a watch to protect it. Any resistance given when they raid would likely be unorganised and scattered.
Holeout, however, would have more goods and valuables to be ransacked. It just became big enough to be call a town anyways so Albert doubted that a town's watch had been established. Even if there were some type of organised resistance, Albert's men would still wipe them out easily, though they might suffer some casualties. Then again, he rarely gave his men's lives any thoughts. Yes, they would strike Holeout tomorrow. Following that will be Treebee.
Albert exited his tent to shout out their target for tomorrow when he saw one of his men arriving at camp on horseback. That would be one of the assassins returning from a mission. The man stayed mounted in front of Albert. The Masters of Death had recruited several professional assassins to their ranks recently. Their job was to eliminate anyone that the gang thinks of as a nuisance or threat.
"Mission gone well?" He asked, not that he was concerned. The assassin wouldn't be back yet if it hadn't.
"Yeah, poor bastard didn't know what hit him." The assassin replied.
"I trust that you didn't leave a trace back to our camp?"
"Doubt those villagers can even spot it, much less follow it. By the way, where's Sneak? He has returned from his mission, hasn't he?"
Albert shook his head.
Then, from the trees, a green shafted arrow slammed into the assassin's throat, killing him instantly. Albert screamed in terror and fell to the ground in shock. Another green shafted arrow followed shortly, this time hitting the man nearest to Albert, injuring him. Albert scanned the tree lines but could not see anyone, even though he arguably had the keenest eyes in the gang.
Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses, the clanking of armour and men running could be heard. A group of a dozen fully armoured knights had charged right into his camp, followed shortly by three dozen men at arms. The members of his gang were fleeing, being captured or killed.
Shaking himself out of shock, Albert scrambled upright, mounted the horse that his assassin comrade had fell off of when he died, and galloped the opposite direction from the knights and men at arms. He was the leader of the gang so if he were to be captured, he would likely be hanged or at the least sentenced to rot in the dungeon for all his life.
Maddie was watching the assault on the Masters of Death's camp being undergone from the nearby tree. The plan was that Maddie would pick off as many as possible with her longbow to cause chaos, which would be the signal for the attack, then the cavalry would charge the camp, followed shortly by the men at arms. It was a simple plan, really. But then again, a simple plan had less elements that could go wrong.
After signalling for the men to attack, Maddie would continue providing support from a range and had the job of picking off escaping gang members. Right now she could see a man on horseback fleeing from the scene. Maddie raised her already half-drawn bow, aimed, drew, and fired in an instinctive motion that had been drilled into her through years of training. She watched her green shafted arrow soar through the air and knew it was a good shot. The arrow slammed into the man's right shoulder and he fell from his horse. Judging from a distance, she could tell that the man was still alive, which was good. Baron Damien had told her during the briefing of the plan to maim and injure, but not kill. The members of the Masters of Death gang needed to be brought back alive for trial.
As Maddie continued shooting, incapacitating at least three more men from one hundred and twenty metres (400 feet) away, she noticed something was wrong. The assassin they'd captured told them that there were twenty people in the gang excluding him, but from here she could only count fourteen gang members, the Masters of Death were easily distinguishable from the surcoat-wearing knights and men at arms.
Suddenly, half a dozen arrows sailed through the air and landed in the masses of knight and men at arms. Five of the arrows hit, killing or injuring their targets. Maddie traced the trajectory of the arrows and found six figures holding crossbows, approximately ninety metres (300 feet) away from the fighting, aiming at the knights and men at arms. They had obviously either escaped or were not present during the initial assault and had grouped up to rain arrows on Maddie's allies. If this continued, they would suffer many casualties.
Thinking quickly, Maddie pulled out six arrows from her quiver and held them all in her draw hand. Then, she aimed, drew and fired them in quick succession, instantly having another arrow in her hand once she fired one. It was a skill that Will had taught her during her fourth year of apprenticeship. You hold all of the arrows that you're going to shoot in your draw hand with your ring and pinkie fingers, then you quickly rotate an arrow into your drawing fingers once you fired one. By doing this, you won't need to reach for more arrows from your quiver each time you fire, saving precious time. Maddie had downed all six of the enemies within four seconds, a speed and accuracy of which she was amazed by. She didn't even know how she pulled it off, the chance that at least one of her arrows would miss was nearly certain.
Then the victory horn sounded shortly after, Maddie knew the horn signalled victory for the Gorlan garrison. She could hear the cheering all the way from the top of the tree. Maddie climbed down the tree and joined the troops below. She saw that they had captured nine members of the Masters of Death gang, including their leader, Albert Slice. But their side hadn't got off easy, one knight and eight men at arms laid dead, some of their comrades were wrapping up their bodies with sheets so they could bury them at later time.
When the troops saw her, many of them cheered and ran to compliment on her archery skill, obviously they had seen what she'd done to the enemy crossbowmen. Most enthusiastic out of them was Tim. He came out from the masses of men and gave her a hug that nearly suffocated her. He finally let go after ten seconds when he realised that he was hugging a princess and doing so without consent could actually be considered treason. He apologised but Maddie told him it was fine, just make sure he doesn't accidentally break her ribs next time.
That night, Baron Damien hosted a feast to celebrate the downfall of the Masters of Death. Maddie was the centre of attention, many of the surviving combatants had exaggerated her feats in the assault. Somehow people, even nobles, believed that she had single-handedly brought down thirty men with only ten arrows (how is that possible?), even though there were only twenty people in the Masters of Death gang. She even tried to convince people that those tales were all just exaggerations but they just said she was being too modest.
Many of the people at the feast commented on how unusual it was for such a girl like her to be a Ranger, a role that had been known to have only been occupied by male. Most asked her why she joined the Ranger Corps, in which she replied. "Why not?"
It was near the end of the feast when Tim joined her, sitting down on an adjacent chair. "So… how do you like the feast?" He asked.
"I don't like being the centre of attention. I actually have stage fright sometimes when standing in front of too many people." She admitted, blushing a tiny bit. Tim realised that Maddie always blushed when admitting something she doesn't want most people to know or is embarrassing.
She looked really pretty when she blushes though. He thought. Then he shook that thought away. Stop it, Tim, she's freaking royalty! You just a lowly knight descended from a long line of lowly farmers. You've got no chance.
"Stage fright? You?" Tim asked, surprised.
Maddie nodded. "I didn't know until I had to deliver a speech during my mother's coronation. The moment it I stepped on the stage was the moment I wished my cloak could make me invisible. I nearly passed out actually." She chuckled at that embarrassing moment. "If Will hadn't been backstage to urge me on, I would've probably ran off into the woods and try to hide there for a month."
"He means a lot to you, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, if it wasn't for him, I would be one of those spoiled, snobby rich kids who never worked a sweat in their entire life. Basically I won't be a very good queen. Plus I would've never discovered this heavenly drink." She held up her mug of coffee, which Baron Damien had ordered to always be served to Maddie whenever she was in castle Gorlan since he found out how addicted she was to the beverage.
"That it definitely is." He smiled warmly.
The days after arresting the Masters of Death, Maddie noticed that words of her feats in the short battle had gone out around the immediate vicinity around castle Gorlan. It had been so exaggerated and blown up that people would swear she shot down forty people hanging upside down from a tree three hundred metres (1000 feet) away while blindfolded. It was amazing how much people can stray from the truth just to make an interesting story.
One of the good things that came from those exaggerations was that many people tend to show respect and deference to Maddie whenever she rode past on Bumper. Many even bowed.
They're doing it because I'm here. Bumper said to Maddie.
"Sure, Bumper." Maddie patted the piebald horse. She still didn't know whether other Rangers talk to their horses, though she highly suspected that Will often conversed with Tug while she wasn't listening.
Nothing major had happen since the Masters of Death for several weeks. Most of the work since then had just been catching thieving teenage delinquents and sometimes hunting pests that's been eating the crops. Maddie had gotten bored of those quickly and was often wishing for something really interesting or thrilling to happen.
If only she had known the future, she would've been careful for what she wished for.
Ooooooooooh, guess what's going to happen in the next chapter guys. I planned it be quite interesting
Hint: I brought back someone or something from the first Ranger's Apprentice book.
