Here is the next chapter already. Enjoy!

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The next day was spent at Oakfield. Wyot got trained mostly in horse riding and caring for his horse. Some more time was spent getting to know the commands Torch listened to and getting to know Torch's warnings for danger. As the day came to a close, the three men were standing just outside John's house.

'I think your apprentice is ready, ranger.'

'Thank you for your time John.' With those words, Nyer jumped on his horse. Wyot quickly followed his example. Torch stood completely still as Wyot jumped on his back. Even after just one day, it felt like a familiar place, sitting on Torch's back.

'Yeah, thanks for teaching me', Wyot said as well.

A big smile appeared on John's face. 'I've done it with pleasure young man.' He put a hand on Torch's back and looked up at Wyot. 'Take good care of him, he's a good boy.' And with those words, the man stepped away from the horse.

Wyot didn't really know what else to say – he didn't really know the man – so just nodded and spurred Torch.

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The evening sunlight warmed their backs as they rode back over the path they had taken the day before. But this time, Wyot was riding instead of walking. And it felt really good. He didn't have to trail behind anymore while Nyer was riding.

And Torch was a really fun horse. He was very fast, seemed to have a lot of endurance and looked very intelligent. And as John had said over and over again, he was one of their best horses. The ranger corps had first only used the Belgae horses, who were known for their endurance, intelligence and good senses. But after a couple of years, they started to mix in other types of horses, mostly Gaelic. Torch had been the child of one of those mixed horses with another horse, a Hibernian.

All the Belgae horses were similarly coloured with a hay-coloured pelt with darker manes. But due to the mixing with other types, the newer ranger horses had gained darker spots on their pelts.

'Why don't you have a ranger horse?' Nyer's horse didn't really look like any of the ranger horses on the farm, except for the horses that were purely there for breeding purposes. Cliff was a dapple grey horse. The undertone to its fur was light grey, with small darker grey spots across its fur. Its manes were a darker tone of grey. And, there was some white around the face. And this looked nothing like the light-coloured horses on the farm.

He really is very observant.

What do you know about it, Nyer answered his horse.

You told me yesterday, remember?

No, actually, I don't. Nyer really couldn't recall ever telling Cliff anything about Wyot's observance.

Well, maybe you should just answer his question then.

Nyer only now realised he had not answered the boy's question yet.

'I got Cliff when I was little, before I joined the ranger corps.'

'But then why didn't you get a new horse when you joined them?'

Cliff snorted loudly. Like I need replacing.

Keep it down, will you.

'There wasn't an official ranger's horse yet, everyone just had their own. And Cliff's well trained so I didn't need a better one.'

Of course, you didn't need a better one, because I'm the best.

Do you really think so? You don't think some of the youngsters could beat you?

They could try. I'll gladly race any of them.

Of course you will.

Is that sarcasm?

No, I would never say something like that sarcastically.

You're doing it again.

What? Nyer desperately tried to contain his laughter so Wyot wouldn't hear it. But his apprentice was riding a few meters ahead of him on the small path.

But he didn't realise his apprentice was having a similar situation.

But how can you talk? While not talking?

I just can.

So you just telepathically read my mind to know what I'm saying?

I don't know, I really don't.

I do like it though. Nyer can be rough company.

He doesn't seem that bad.

It's not that he's bad company, he just doesn't talk much, really only when you ask him something or something really has to be said. Like if I haven't made up my bed yet.

You don't like making up your bed huh?

How would you be if you had to rearrange all the straw in your box every single day?

The horse's only answer was a snort.

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They had reached the busy, commercial road once more. The sun had set so it was hard to see even a few metres ahead. Wyot had only realised they had reached the bigger road once Nyer came to ride next to him. And even then, he could barely make out his mentors figure from the dark shadows.

It was too late for any travellers on the road. Most of them would've found a tavern to rest, others would be camping in the woods. And so they ended up passing no one on their way back home. Wyot had realised only recently, he had been calling the ranger's place home. It felt weird still, leaving his family. But Nyer had taken him in, and he was feeling better and better day after day.

As they entered the meandering side trail leading them home, Nyer took the lead. Wyot simply followed his mentor, in silence. It was quite clear Nyer wasn't up for conversations at the moment.

After a couple of minutes, they had arrived at the open place in the forest. A short whinny sounded from inside the stables. They was another horse here, so probably also another human. Nyer, yet again, seemed unbothered by this revelation, and simply dismounted. He had bound Cliff's reigns together and let them hang over his neck. He did, however, fling his bow on his shoulder. Even though he suspected he knew what was going on, he was trained to always be ready.

'Who is here', Wyot asked while struggling to climb from Torch's back. His feet was stuck in the stirrup, which caused him to dangle in midair while clinging to his horses back.

Are you planning on getting down? Torch asked mischievous.

Wyot grinned painfully at his horse and muttered back not unfriendly: 'Oh, shut up.'

'Someone I might know', was Nyer's only answer, before adding to it. 'You can put the horses in the stables?' It was asked like a question, Wyot had learned it was meant as a command. So, he would be the one to stable the horses.

Meanwhile, Nyer had made it to the veranda, when the door opened slightly. A sliver of light was coming from the inside, lighting up Nyers face. He dropped fast, and rolled over to his left, drawing his saxe at the same time. Having completely disappeared from the person on the inside, Nyer allowed himself some breathing room, and slowly rose back to his feet, careful to avoid the beam of light.

He climbed up onto the veranda on the far side, away from the door, careful not to make any sounds. Simultaneously, he noticed Wyot had freed himself from his horse's grasp, and had made his way to the stables. Good, that way his apprentice wasn't going to get in his way. It could end up rather disastrous otherwise. He was trained, but not good enough yet.

So, Nyer slowly crept up to the front door. Once the door was within his reach, he stopped for a second. He had already formed a plan, but wanted to hear what was happening inside. When he couldn't hear anything, he opened the door.

Jumping out of the way to avoid any easy attacks, Nyer entered the room. Saxe in hand, he was faced with another man. He was slightly taller, and a squared, thick, full beard was peeking out from under the hood of his ranger cloak. Nyer sheathed his saxe and plopped down in one of the comfortable chairs near the fireplace.

'How nice of you to unknowingly break into our house', Nyer stated, though a slight smile lingered on his lips.

The other man shook off his hood and sat down in the other chair. His bald head made him look a lot older than he actually was. And with his piercing blue eyes and thick beard, he looked more dangerous as well. He was wearing a traditional grey, brown and green ranger cloak. 'It's not like you wouldn't do it to me', he answered, his voice rough and low.

Nyer contemplated those words for a second, but had to agree with the newcomer. 'Fair enough.'

The ranger laughed openheartedly, then asked: 'How's your apprentice doing?'

'Ok I suppose', Nyer answered, unsure what to say. This was his first apprentice, and he didn't yet know their supposed progression scale. 'We'll see at the gathering.'

Meanwhile, Wyot had unsaddled the horses. Now, he was carrying the saddlebags and extra quivers over to the house. Stumbling over his feet, he entered the room. Quickly scanning it, he noticed the newcomer was a fierce man, with a thick, blond beard, and a clean shaven head. He was sitting with Nyer at the fireplace.

'Ah, there he is', he spoke friendly.

Wyot dropped the saddlebags on the table, then walked over to the stranger. 'I'm Wyot, Nyer's apprentice', he introduced himself.

'You look like a real ranger', the man said. 'I'm Ivar Wolfson, ranger n°19.'

Nyer remained static, but only grunted: 'Don't get his hopes up too much, he's got a lot to learn.' Wyot was used to this type of treatment from his mentor, but Ivar wasn't having it.

'Don't be so harsh on the boy, I'm sure he's worked extremely hard.' Ivar smiled again, and put his hand on Nyer's shoulder. 'I'm going to find a place to sleep in the stables.' And with those words the ranger walked out the front door, leaving Wyot and Nyer alone.

Once he had left, Nyer rose from his seat and mumbled something to himself. Wyot wanted to ask lots of things. Who the newcomer was? Why they were here? But Nyer, as per usual, was one step ahead.

'A friend of mine, he's the ranger for Norgate fief.' Nyer set down his bow on the table and looked at the paperwork with a grim face. He'd have to do some work before heading of to bed. But to his apprentice, he said: 'You better go to bed too Wyot, tomorrow will be a long day.

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Wyot was woken up by his mentor entering the room. Through sleepy eyes, he noticed Nyer was fully dressed, with only his cloak missing.

''Morning', he simply said before leaving the room again, closing the door-curtain as he went.

After getting dressed quickly, and grabbing his belt, Wyot emerged from his room. On the other side, the two men were sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of coffee. Ivar offered him a short smile as he entered, then turned back to his friend.

'I hope they can hold their own for now', he muttered as Wyot grabbed himself a cup of coffee. His long, brown hair was hanging in front of his face. It had grown quite a bit since arriving here, and was starting to bother him.

'I'm sure they'll be fine for a week or two', Nyer answered his friend. He emptied his cup and stood up. 'I'll saddle the horses', he stated, before putting on his cloak and walking out of the front door. Meanwhile, Ivar was reading more paperwork, so Wyot decided to leave him in silence.

As soon as Wyot finished his meal, Nyer walked back in. Rain drops were covering the surface of his hood. His boots were covered with specks of mud. Ivar stood up, and grabbed his own cloak. Wyot followed suit, grabbing his own.

'Are you ready', Nyer asked him, and Wyot nodded fiercely. He was ready to do whatever.

'Good', his mentor simply stated. He presented Wyot with two saddlebags, asking him to fill them with his spare clothes and weaponry. Because while they could use their metal weapons, a bow would not take kind to the rain.

A few minutes later, the three of them were sitting atop their horses, ready for a long day in the saddle. Cliff was as calm as ever, his grey dappled coat glistering in the rain. Ivars horse was equally as calm. It was a completely brown mare, a fair bit taller than Torch and Cliff. Similar to her rider. Torch, compared to the other horses, was exited. He was hopping from one leg to another, throwing his head back to gesture Wyot to go faster.

As Wyot was keeping himself busy with Torch, the other two rangers rode calmly, without making excess movement. Though their eyes, hidden under their hoods, were scanning their surrounding thoroughly

They travelled like that for hours, switching between riding and walking. Their conversations were few and far between. Nyer only talked when explaining Wyot something. The rest of the time, their horses kept them company.

Wyot noticed the landscape change slowly, from thick woodlands, to more open land, a mix between forests and meadows. The rain had continued to fall throughout the day. And although their cloaks kept them relatively dry, the three rangers were still miserably wet.

Once the evening approached, Nyer finally stepped off his horse. Kneeling down to assess the tracks on the ground, the ranger noticed a trail consisting of horse hooves leading into the woods. They had tried to erase it, but it couldn't escape a trained eye like Nyer's. He gestured to the others to dismount, as he took the lead.

Wyot jumped from Torch's back. This time successfully. 'Why are we heading into the woods', he asked his mentor.

The ranger stopped and gestured to the ground. 'You tell me.'

Wyot knelt, and ran his fingers over the ground. It was covered in fresh mud, due to the rain, and fallen leaves. In some places however, the leaves were trampled slightly. If Nyer hadn't pointed it out, he would've never noticed it.

'Animal tracks', Wyot answered his mentor.

Nyer nodded calmly. 'And what type of animal? How long ago has it passed this place? How many were there?'

That, he couldn't tell. The tracks were visible in the mud, which told him they had passed by only recently. Otherwise, the tracks would have faded due to the rain. But the prints were so hard to distinguish Wyot couldn't tell how many there were, or what type of animal it was.

'They've passed by recently', he answered.

'Is that an hour ago or a week ago? What's recently?' Nyer seemed unimpressed.

'Definitely not more than two hours ago', Wyot guessed. The rain was falling too hard for the tracks to be visible for long.

'Good', Nyer simply stated, before dropping Cliffs reigns and kneeling next to his apprentice. 'See that?'

He was pointing to a bush, on one of its branches hung a piece of grey cloth. Wyot nodded while grabbing it from the branch. It was linen. 'Someone lost a thread of their clothing.'

'Exactly', Nyer answered. 'So, what does that tell us?'

'There were humans, with horses.' The tracks were too deep to be simply human.

Now, the ranger raised on of his eyebrows. 'Humans, plural', he asked.

Wyot corrected himself. 'One, maybe multiple.'

A voice sounded from further ahead in the forest. There, Iver was standing where the ground tilted upwards, and was dryer. 'Definitely multiple', he told them.

Nyer jumped back into an upright position, and walked over to his friend. The water was rolling off the little hill, providing them with clearer tracks. His trained eye noticed two sets of horse and rider. Additionally, he could see one set of hooves was smaller than the other.

'Ranger and apprentice', he told Ivar, and the other ranger agreed. Wyot had made his way over, and was admiring them. He could barely make out the tracks, and these guys were exactly stating who had passed by. Sometimes he felt a little useless around here. Nevertheless, they moved on, venturing deeper and deeper into the woodlands.

'Where are we going', Wyot asked. Because despite their lengthy travels, no one had actually told him what their end goal was, or why they were following these tracks.

It was Ivar who answered. 'You'll see when we get there.' And with that, the conversation was shut off.

Wyot turned to Torch, who had kept him company along the way. He went to walk next to the horses head, softly brushing its flanks with his hand.

You've also got no idea where we're going?

Torch only snorted in response. Something that could be considered the equivalent of raising ones shoulders.

Why does no one want to explain anything?

They're waiting for the right time. The horse looked at him with giant, brown puppy eyes.

Now seems like a great right time.

They're not going to tell you anything before they want to. You'll have to wait.

The conversation with his horse hadn't been very helpful, but he gave up, knowing he'd have to wait. As the hours went on, they kept trotting through the woods. Wyot used this time to try and walk as softly as possible, which wasn't easy with the many autumn leaves on the ground. Meanwhile, Nyer and Ivar were holding a whispering conversation in front of him. The sun had now fully set, coating the forest in darkness.

Eventually, the two rangers came to a halt.

And Nyer spoke: 'Welcome, to your first official Ranger Gathering.'