Chapter 3, revised.

Gilan and Halt rode side by side on a thin trail that led to Halt's cottage. The hooves of their horses made hollow sounds against the tightly packed dirt. Shortly after the brief meeting with Baron Arald the two Ranger's had met outside the tower. They traded little words of greeting to one another, the matter at hand was serious.

Cedric had left to go his own way with the rest of the Knights who were being treated to a banquet after there long day of traveling, leaving Gilan and Halt to calmly make their way to Halt's cottage to discuss what was really going on in Redmont.

As they made there way along the trail they didn't speak. The air had cooled slightly since night had fallen, but it still remained miserably warm. Each gently gust of wind felt like a short burst of air from a hot oven, and Gilan silently wished it would rain soon.

It only took a few dreadful minutes of steady riding to make it to the secluded comfort of Halt's cottage. The air in the cottage was cooler, and Gilan felt relief flood through him as he took a long look at the cottage.

Nothing had changed since Gilan's apprenticeship. The small cabin still consisted of three rooms. The first being the largest, where Gilan now stood. The room consisted of a small kitchen, living room, and dining room combined. The small kitchen area had a stove, and several feet away from it was a small oak wood table with three matching chairs set around it. In the living room there was a fireplace with a few oak logs stacked along side it. Two comfortable chairs stood around the fire place. There were two doors on opposite sides of the small house, each led to a small bedroom. Memories of Gilan's apprenticeship flooded over him like him like a cold breeze after a hot day.

The metallic sound of pots being moved around brought Gilan back to the present, he turned to see Halt, mixing together a quick beef stew. At the mouthwatering scent of the stew Gilan realized how hungry he was.

Halt set the pot onto the stove to let it cook before taking a seat at the small table. Gilan hung his cloak on the back of a chair before sitting across from Halt. The hood of Halt's cloak was pushed back onto his shoulders, revealing the grim face of the Ranger. A comforting sight it was to Gilan to see his former mentor in good health. There was an awkward moment of silence between the two before Halt decided to speak.

"Gilan, the reason you traveled with the Knights to Redmont isn't because they needed your help, it's because I need your help."

Gilan gaze his former mentor a puzzled look, he was about to ask a question but Halt waved his hand to stop him.

Halt met the younger Ranger's gaze evenly, his dark eyes turning solemn as he spoke. "There's been some trouble in the west woods near a garrison of ours. Guards of Redmont were assigned to be guarding the encampment."

Gilan listened intently as Halt trailed off, the young Ranger hid his annoyance at Halt's short explanation. "So what's the problem?" Gilan asked, his voice hushed.

"They're gone."

At Halt's words Gilan scowled, he didn't understand. "What do you mean, 'they're gone'?"

From across the table Halt leaned forward slightly to rest his elbows on the table, his dark eyes flashed with a emotion that Gilan couldn't identify. Guilt? Fear? Worry? "The garrison has been raided. There's nothing left, no guards, no supplies, no one. I've been questioning a nearby village, just outside the boundary of the west woods. They're terrified of the woods. They claim there's 'ghosts' lurking through the trees, and that they are responsible for the attack."

Gilan gave Halt a questioning gaze. "You don't really believe there's ghost in the woods do you?"

Halt shook his head. "Ghosts don't exist, but something in that forest does, and we're going to find out what."

As Halt finished his sentence Gilan frowned again and voiced a simple question that had been on his mind since Halt had first brought up the news of the garrison. "Why the both of us? Surely you could handle something like this on your own?" Halt rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Without a doubt, but these attackers are said to be quite devious. After there raid they left, leaving the garrison unmanned by anyone. With the village so close to the woods there's a chance that it will be attacked next now that the garrison is gone. The Knights of Meric should do a good job of guarding the village while we investigate."

Gilan thought for a moment, taking in all the details of what Halt had told him, the problem could be serious. There was no telling how powerful the attackers might be, for all the Ranger's knew so far it could be an army waiting for them in the west woods. Gilan concluded there was only one way to find out. He leveled his gaze once more with Halt's.

"It seems like we have a lot of work to do then, when do we leave?" A bright grin found it's way onto Gilan's handsome face, across from him Halt stood, the hint of a smile on his lips.

"Two days." Halt murmured as he stood to pull the fragrant soup off the stove.

Cedric was walking along the courtyard of the castle, dressed in his normal attire, a surcoat of good make and clean trousers, the beginnings of a smile never fading from his tan face. The Knight was enjoying his stay in castle Redmont, not even the recent news of the garrison raid had put a damper on his demeanor. He was as calm as a flowing stream and he couldn't help but be optimistic about the way things had gone so far.

He was on his way to the Baron's office to speak about the woods in the west. Cedric had been informed about the village, and Arald had wanted to further discuss the details of the village and woods.

Suddenly his aura of joy was shattered. Two guards escorting a struggling individual caught his eye. It was a kid, no older than fifteen, each guard held onto one of his arms strongly as they moved him towards the prison cell that awaited him.

The boy had coffee colored hair, with water blue eyes that burned with a determination to fight until his last breath, and from where Cedric stood it looked as if he would. The boy was wearing a pair of worn trousers, a dark jerkin, and soft soled boots.

"Let me go!" He hissed through gritted teeth as he fought vehemently at their grasp. The guards paid no attention to him, telling him that he was a thief, and he was going to get what he deserved.

"Stop!" Cedric shouted before he realized what he was doing. The guards turned to look at Cedric with a puzzled gaze. They knew who he was, he'd spent most of the day speaking with the guards, trading news of their castles between each other. Now Cedric had a feeling he was going to become a character disliked by them.

Now the boy was looking at Cedric, staring at him with a benumbed look. Cedric was lost for words, for a moment he seriously doubted the identity of the child.

"Cedric?" The boy mumbled, utterly abashed. It was him, Cedric knew it. He was staring at his little brother, being dragged away by the guards.

"Rowan what in the world is going on?" Cedric asked, his smile had faded, his joyful demeanor seemed to disintegrate as the scene unfolded. It had been years since Cedric had seen his little brother, the last he'd heard of Rowan was of his disappearance.

Now they stood face to face, their gaze's leveled, their thoughts racing. The guards didn't seem to notice all too much, they were simply focused on taking the thief away to a cold cell to think about what he'd done. The young boy had been caught trying to steal a bag of rice from a small market stand in the castle courtyard. The guards had been quick to catch him.

"You two know each other?" One of the guards asked, his tone showing a hint of annoyance. Cedric nodded briskly. "Yes we do, I'm his brother, please let him go." Cedric's voice had lost the confidence t usually carried, in it's place was concern for Rowan.

The second guard let out a short sigh before he spoke. "We can't do that, there are no exceptions for law breakers, no matter who they're related to." At that, the guards resumed tugging Rowan along towards his bleak fate.

"He's just a kid!" Cedric shouted, moving to confront the guards. His eyes simmered with anger. He couldn't let his younger brother be dragged off, even if he was a thief.

At Cedric's rebellious action a heated argument broke out. All the time the guards held tightly to Rowan, refusing to let him out of their grasp. Cedric was done pleading, and now he shouted at the guards, losing his grip on his usually well kept composure.

As the argument carried on, more guards gathered, along with commoners eager to see what the racket was about. Cedric was losing the argument, and so he chose a different approach to the situation at hand.

"If your taking him to the dungeon then your taking me too!" The guards seemed to like the proposition offered up by the Battlemaster. They took both Rowan and Cedric to the prison. They both went willingly this time, and as they walked, Cedric avoided the sidelong glance he received from Rowan.

The Baron was sitting at his desk, his secretary, a fairly short man with a loud voice stood before him. The man had just finished his report, informing Arald about a letter of report from one of the many villages spread out among Redmont. As the secretary had spoken, Arald listened absentmindedly, filling out a lengthy piece of paperwork.

"My lord?" The secretary asked when the Baron didn't respond. Arald looked up, and instantly realized his mistake. "Sorry Martin, I'm just overburdened with all this paperwork." The Baron said with a gusty sigh.

Martin nodded, accepting the apology in a professional manor. "Is there anything else you require before I depart, my lord?" The Baron frowned for a moment, then he looked up, remembering the meeting he had planned with Cedric. The Battlemaster hadn't showed up.

"Actually, yes.," The Baron said, sitting up straighter and taking his tired eyes off the paperwork in front of him. "Do you know where Battlemaster Cedric is?"

Martin nodded. "Yes, my lord, I heard he was in the dungeon."

The dungeon was cold, damp and unwelcoming to all. Rats scurried along the floors. A strong fetid odor filled the air, it seemed to cling to everything in the dungeon, along with it's captures. There wasn't the slightest hint of sunlight, only the faint glow of torches, mounted on the walls outside of the small cells.

Cedric sat next to his younger brother on a small bench in a cramped cell. They hadn't spoken, the tension in the air seemed to crackle like static. Rowan wasn't sure if Cedric was mad at him, and he hadn't summoned up the courage to ask, creating an uneasy silence between them.

Finally, Cedric broke the uncomfortable tension. "It's been awhile…" The Battlemaster said, his tone dismal. Rowan glanced at his older brother warily.

"Yeah, I guess it has…"

"Where were you all this time?" Cedric asked, feeling the curiosity flare to life inside him.

Rowan shrugged. "Anywhere. I went off on my own to find work. For awhile, it worked."

"Where did you work?"

"In Caraway for a while. I worked on a farm and cared for the horses. The farmer let me sleep in the loft, and his wife was kind enough to include me in the family meals. It was too good to last. The farmer found someone else to do the work I was doing, and since then I haven't found any work. I ended up here in Redmont, I've been stealing only what I need to survive on." Rowan glanced once more at his brother, reluctant to see the outraged reaction of the Battlemaster. It never came.

Cedric simply nodded. He looked at his brother, not wanting to believe that his younger brother had run off only to end up like this. Rowan did look rather scrawny, he was thinner than Cedric had ever remembered him before he'd run away. He had dark circles under his eyes and hollowed cheeks to. Apparently he wasn't a very good thief.

"I didn't think I'd see you again, honestly." Cedric said bleakly.

"Neither did I, and I never thought we'd sit side by side in a prison cell for something I did." Rowan grinned slightly, and he was glad to hear the soft chuckle of his brother next to him.

"I'm sorry I ran away, and I'm sorry you found me while I just happened to be getting thrown into the dungeon." Rowan spoke in a nervous tone, he hadn't expected the reunion with his brother to be so subtle.

"I guess we're both sorry. So I'm going to make this right. Your not going to steal anymore, and I'm going to take you in as my student."

Rowan gave his brother a puzzled look. "Your student?"

Cedric nodded. "I'm going to train you to be a Knight, as long as you promise never to steal again. And I mean it, not even a coppers worth of anything."

There was little consideration in Rowan's quick response. "It's a deal, but how are you going to get us out of here?"

Cedric shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge when we get there."

As Cedric finished his sentence heavy footsteps echoed through the dungeon, followed by two deep voices. Cedric quickly recognized one of them as Baron Arald, and he felt a ping of anxiety in his mind. He'd missed the meeting with the Baron.

A torch approached, and Cedric could make out the bulky figure of the dungeon master, carrying a heavy set of keys in one hand and a torch in the other. He was being followed by The Baron of Redmont, who looked rather unpleased. His brow was furrowed as he saw the distinctive shape of Cedric behind the iron bars of a prison cell.

"Cedric?" The baron asked in disbelief, for the moment not believing it was in fact the Battle master of Meric fief, to his dismay it was. "My lord." Cedric said, moving to his feet calmly.

The Baron sighed mentally, he wasn't sure what to say to the battle master. He'd heard of the incident in the courtyard. Arald didn't approve of Cedric's actions at all, he found the Battlemaster's actions drastic and rational at the least.

"We need to talk about this." The Baron said simply, his eyes boring into Cedric's. Though his gaze never wavered, Cedric knew Arald was speaking of Rowan.

I hope you all like Rowan's first meeting.