"Knights you say?" Strider nodded at the tall man standing across from her. They stood in a dimly lit cabin, a small fire crackling in the brick fireplace to Strider's left. Behind the well built man was a small stove, and close by it were a small wooden table, rectangle in shape with pale tan chairs settled around each edge of the pale table. The floor was a dark wood, nailed together tightly. There was one door leading off from the main room, which now stood closed. A grey and white mass of lengthy fur rested in front of the fire place, rising and falling gently. A grey ear was flicked up, listening to every hint of sound. The rest of the main room was bereft of much else than hard wood.
The burly figure standing before Strider looked doubtful, and Strider felt a flash of red hot anger at his immediate disbelief.
"Kerjack, they were Knights, I know that for sure." Fighting a losing battle against the frustration that rose in Strider's mind, the girl paced across the room, casting elongated shadows across the wall as she moved in front of the firelight. "It was pretty obvious, the massive Battlehorses and heavy suits of armor were pretty convincing to me."
Kerjack nodded as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Kerjack was quite older than Strider, and his dark hair showed the slightest hints of grey here and there, but his physical shape and abilities suggested other wise. He was fit for his age, and while he was an advisor for the rebel group known as The Shadows, he preferred to do his fair share of fighting.
"Were they of the Cult?" He asked blandly. Strider shook her head and gave vent to an impatient sigh. "I didn't see any of there surcoats clearly, I wanted to get as far away from there as soon as possible. It wasn't a risk I was rightfully willing to take, not with Glade with me."
The Cult of Day were The Shadows mortal enemies. The two groups had clashed repeatedly for years, and now the battle was being driven into the Kingdom of Araluen. The normally well matched opponents had recently become more and more unmatched. The renegade Knights of the Cult had slowly began to overpower The Shadows, the result was devastating. The rebel forces were dwindling now, and time was wearing thin. The Cult had the Kingdom of Araluen in there sights, and they would stop at nothing to surpass there mortal enemies to wage war with the Kingdom.
Once more, Kerjack nodded and Strider realized that they seemed to be doing quite a lot of that lately.
"There's a chance they might be Araluen. Surely they would want to replenish the garrison after the raid, it's better to be cautious about this for the moment though." Kerjack reasoned evenly. Strider found the older mans opinion plausible, but there was a nagging doubt in the pit of her stomach.
"There was something else…" The girl started, the anger and frustration having vanished from her voice. Kerjack looked at her inquiringly. "I saw too cloaked figures, they had longbows slung across there backs, and I know it might seem absolutely irrational, but I think they were Rangers…"
Kerjack looked taken back. "Rangers?" Strider nodded and mentally kicked her self for using the highly abused gesture. "I'm almost sure of it, which I cant say is a good thing. I mean if were stirring up enough trouble in the forest to attract them were heading for a downward spiral, and fast…"
"I have to say I agree with you." Kerjack admitted quietly. "what's your next plan of action then?" The senior warrior asked, his gaze leveling to meet Strider's , the girl looked away into the coals of the fire. The flickering flames emitted a ominous glow, and Strider let out a sigh as she stared at the orange glare of light.
"I'm going to speak to them…" Strider murmured in an almost inaudible voice as she finally met Kerjack's gaze with her own.
"I hope your not serious." He told Strider, an outraged look in his eyes. "After all, what if your wrong, and they aren't even Rangers? Then what?"
Strider shrugged. "I don't know, I was sort of counting of them being Araluen Ranger's who would be happy to know that there about to be invaded by a Cult." Kerjack shook his head.
"You need to think this through Strider." Kerjack's voice was stern, and suddenly Strider felt like a defiant child again, only now she could fend for herself, without the help of others.
"Kerjack, normally I would agree with you, but I can't shake this feeling. If there really are Rangers at the garrison and we stand by and do nothing about this now, it will be too late next time." Strider's gaze was growing in defiance, Kerjack felt a surge of warmth at the girl's stubborn and defiant ways. She hadn't changed the slightest bit through out the long time Kerjack had known her.
"I can see your set in your ways about this." Kerjack said with a defeated sigh. He shifted his weight uneasily, his brows came together as he mulled over the argument made by Strider. Finally, after several moments of consideration, Kerjack came to a decision.
"It's not up to me to stop you from going…" He said slowly, his gaze probed Strider's calm faced exterior. The girl almost couldn't suppress the burst of triumph. Kerjack's reply was a long ways short of his approval, but it was better than his absolute disapproval.
Strider nodded, and this time, she decided the gesture rather fit the moment, particularly because she felt if she spoke she might explode with happiness. So she compromised, choosing to stay silent as she gathered a small dagger to hook to her belt, along with a lengthy dirk, which fit snugly into her right boot. Besides that, Strider neglected to bring anything else but her cloak and mask, which at the moment were already draped around her. They hung loosely from her small frame, and Kerjack could see the slightest hint of innocence in her eyes. Suddenly the wise and noble Kerjack thought for, that a moment, the girl standing before him wasn't a experienced fighter, but a fragile figure. Kerjack watched as she made her way to the door, the figure stopped and looked back at him. A question was forming in her hazel eyes.
"Kerjack?" She asked in a confident tone. "Yes?" He replied evenly, a smile playing on the corners of his lips. He already had guessed what she would say next, as it was something she had said to him many times before.
Strider's eyes filled with humor, and her tone was light hearted as she spoke. "If I'm not back by night fall, send the dog." Kerjack grinned, understanding the well meant jibe between the two. The grey lump of fur in front of the fire place merely twitched at the word 'dog'.
Without waiting for a reply form Kerjack, Strider pushed the door of the cabin open and made her way out into the midday sun.
Halt's eagle like gaze scanned the surrounding area of the garrison for the third time. Again, he saw nothing more than the endless tree trunks, the occasional low lying tree branch and the dry, dusty earth. There was no sight of the lithe figure that had swiftly absconded from the garrison. As an expert tracker, Halt had found following the boot prints left on the musty ground rather easy to follow, and it was clear to Halt that the daring mystery man had a follower. Two sets of boot tracks led threw the forest, almost the same in size, they left a steady trail heading south. From the scuffled dirt and the deep imprints in the hard parked earth, Halt had gathered that they were running.
It would have been relatively easy for the Knights, along with help from the Ranger's to catch up with the strangers and find out exactly what business they had snooping threw a deserted garrison. That is, of course, if the prints in in the dirt hadn't vanished. The foot prints became closer as the mysterious figures had slowed there pace, then without much more warning, the tracks in the dirt had trailed off into little scuffles in the dirt.
Both Halt and Gilan had come to the same conclusion as they examined the daunting trail. "They've covered there tracks." Halt had murmured first, and Gilan had nodded. "They were leading us on, maybe even in the wrong direction completely." The young Ranger said with a sigh.
It was slightly discouraging, and Halt was quick to realize that they were dealing with someone a little more experienced than they had expected. In response to the trifling discovery, the Rangers had made there way back to the garrison. Now they stood along the wooden walkways mounted along the edge of the garrison. Halt surveyed the forest constantly his trained eyes catching the slightest hints of movement. To his dismay there was little that moved at all during his watch. An occasional bird fluttering from tree to tree, squirrels foraging intently as they struggled to find the slightest morsel of grain to feed on. Other than that, there was nothing else to be seen, heard, or observed for the moment.
The lack of movement in the trees unsettled Gilan as he stood next to his former mentor. There was something unnerving about it all, and it was becoming more and more of a distraction to the young Ranger. It constantly felt like someone was watching him, and it kept him glancing over his shoulder. Halt seemed to notice the nervous action.
"Rather irritating, isn't it?" The Ranger said dryly.
"That's one word that describes it." Gilan retorted softly. "What do you think we should do now?" He asked, having already mapped out his own plan of action, he was still curious of Halt's own plans.
"We could probably find the real trail, and follow it to our mysterious strangers, or we could let them go." Gilan looked at Halt with a questioning glint in his eyes. "Let them go?" He repeated, and Halt nodded. "If they have business at the garrison we could assume that they will come back at some time or another."
"And what if they don't? What if this is our only chance to follow them?" Gilan questioned.
"That's unlikely. If these are the same people who raided the garrison, they've been here for quite awhile. From what we know about the raid, it was quick, and highly successful. There was nothing left when they finished. They must have already planned the attack, from start to finish." Halt explained grimly.
"So, in other words, it's unlikely that they're done here. They plan to finish what they've started." Gilan ventured, and Halt nodded.
"That's exactly what I think there going to do, and it's up to us to stop them." As Halt finished there was a suddenly whinny of alarm from the shaggy Ranger horses, which stood obediently still nearby the Rangers. The conversation between the two Ranger's was over. Instinctively, they moved into the cover of the patchy shadows, their horses now falling silent.
They only made it a short pace or two when they heard the muffled voice coming from a tree several yards away. It was a smooth sound, with the slightest hint of a indistinct accent.
"Or more accurately, it would be up to The Shadows."