By The Sword - Homepage

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My blade rose, his blade fell.

The shriek of clashing metal split the air, sounding off my dash through his guard. He stumbled to the side. I heard the sound of his blade clattering to the ground and smiled. Finally. My hands adjusted on the grip, making sure I had a firm hold, and I whipped my head backward.

My eyes scanned the scene, the ranger’s training room filling my vision. Under me was the black mat that we always trained on, beyond that was the wooden wall with the ranger’s emblem on it. The golden crescent-shaped arrow shined down on me perfectly.

Between the mat and the wall, however, was my real problem. In the time it had taken me to admire the room, he’d already picked up his blade, and I could see him calculating in his head. I bit back a curse and ran at him, trying to put him on the defense. Giving him time to figure out what to do was not going to bode well for me.

The loud stomps of my metal-clad feet rang out through the room, ruining whatever sliver of surprise I might’ve garnered while he thought. I furrowed my brow, ignoring the sounds. We’d agreed to spar in our ranger’s outfits to make it more realistic. And, hearing just how loud I was when running in the metal-inlaid boots, it was definitely working.

Jason flicked his eyes over me, bringing up his own blade. Sunlight glinted off its straight-edged silver surface. My eyes snapped to his hands, seeing the way his fingers curled on his blade, pushing force to the side. The movement flashed in my mind, memories of previous fights welling up. I knew exactly what it meant.

My feet pushed on, beating on the mat with force. I flexed my fingers on the grip of my sword and narrowed my eyes. He was expecting me to do a downward slash, probably one leading into sideswipe. He was ready to block me at every turn. But I wasn’t ready to get blocked.

I brought my hands up, my curved blade looming over him like a deadly presence, and brought my blade down. In a way, it was exactly what he’d expected, but in another, it wasn’t. My sword came down right over him, but in the middle of the motion, I twisted it with my wrist, wrenching the blade to clash with his from the side. My eyes flicked across the fight, moving from his feet, to our blades, to his face. His eyes widened as my blade clashed with his at an angle he didn’t expect.

I dug my feet into the ground, pushing force into my strike as the edge of my blade dug into his flat. A grunt slipped from his curling lips and I saw the shaking in his hand, but no matter how hard I pushed, the smirk on his face didn’t fade. For a second I was confused as my arm strained, but when he pushed back, I realized my mistake. I’d entered a battle of force and it was one my body was not ready to win.

My stance changed subtly, a new maneuver appearing in my head. It was one I didn’t quite know if I could pull off, but if I wanted to win, I had to. The smirk on his face only grew as my blade was steadily pushed farther from him, but it didn’t matter. In a flurry of movement, I ducked to the side and angled my blade. The horrifying slash of metal screeched through the room as my blade scraped down his and into the open air.

The smirk on his face dropped when his arms flew up, his blade now pushing on nothing. I wanted to just watch his confusion, to relish in his expression, but I didn’t have the time. I twisted my head, my feet already scrambling on the ground, and brought my blade up at his side.

A flurry of clangs rang out in my ear and I felt tremors in my arm, but I didn’t let up. He had blocked my strike. I knew he would. My sword retracted, and, as quickly as possible, I threw it in at another angle.

The muscles in my arm screamed for mercy as my next strike was blocked as well. I gritted my teeth and kept up, the strikes and movements mapping themselves out in my head seconds before they even happened.

Our feet danced on the mat as I kept up my attack. The flurry of blows happened in a blur, only barely tracked by my eyes, but I kept up. He stumbled backward, reeling from one of my strikes, and met my eyes. I stopped for a second, air flooding into my lungs as my mind scrambled for my next move. The thought took too long, however, and he was rushing at me again.

I bit back a curse, bringing my blade back up and rushing to the side. I had to get away from him, I had to put his strike out of range. I could not be put on the defense.

Wherever my feet took me as I dashed around the mat, his sword followed me close behind. Every time I thought I could turn on him, every time I thought I could clash blades with a counterattack, he was never there. He was always just out of reach, or just off to the side.

My mind yelled at my legs, forcing them to move as I ducked low to evade a strike. His blade cut through where my head had just been and the sound of split air echoed in my ears, overpowering the pounding of blood for a moment. That strike was way too close.

Dashing away, I furrowed my brow and watched his movements. His legs carried him confidently as he held his blade firm. He was rushing at me again, no doubt ready for another strike. My body was tiring, I could feel it in my bones, but I knew that his wasn’t. I couldn’t just keep running away, he’d outlast me like that.

As he ran at me, I watched him carefully. He was putting me on the defense, I couldn’t allow that. It was one of the first lessons I’d learned in my training, and I had to instill it in this body too. I knew he wouldn’t let down his guard, so I had to find a weakness in it.

The look on his face radiated arrogance as he held his sword high. The strike he was about to make was obvious, but it had enough force to knock me to the ground. Trying to block that strike was only going to leave me stumbling and left with a guaranteed loss. No, I told myself, there had to be another option.

And that option presented itself when the strike came down. My body was already moving by the time my mind had figured it out. His strike came down angled to the right, but he was also stepping forward with his right, leaving the entire side open. Before his strike could connect, I brought my blade up, forcing it against the flat side of his.

The loud clang of metal split the air once again and he was sent reeling. His footing was disrupted, his blade was deflected, and the look on his face showed it all. A counterattack formed in my head and I was on it a moment later, the taste of victory in my mouth.

His gaze snapped back to me as he tried to ready himself. He adjusted his grip, probably thinking he had time—which he would’ve two weeks ago—but right now, he didn’t. In a movement that I had to force my body to make, I reached him in a heartbeat and swung my blade up from below with as much power as I could.

My blade rose, his blade fell.

The screech of metal rang out in my ears, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to my core. My blade split the air with a precision I hadn’t seen in ages and I held my arm high. The tremors of contact still twitched in my bones, but I relished in it.

I saw his hands move, his body trying desperately to stay in, but I didn’t allow any of it. And as I brought my blade back down, holding it up to his neck, I realized something indisputably great. I had finally won.

The sound of Jason’s pained grunt accompanied his blade clattering to the ground. Each soft thud of metal on the black mat rang impossibly in my ears as the epitome of satisfaction.

Jason’s eyes darted to me, boring into my soul. The faded hazel-green of his gaze shined brightly on me. The anger was pure and visible in his eyes. His nostrils flared and he pushed himself back up into a standing position as I retracted my blade. His mouth snapped open, a quip obviously ready at his lips. But he didn’t speak. He couldn’t speak.

I had finally won.

I enforced my grip on my blade, feeling its weight once more. Its mere existence was a comfort for far too many reasons. Its weight was perfect, its cut was deep, but it was also his.

I’d finally beaten him, the skill in my head and skill in my hands finally meeting to surmount his force. And I’d done it with his own sword.

A wicked smile danced at my lips, threatening to break into a laugh as I watched Jason pick up his blade. The one on the ground was similar to mine. It had a similar weight and a similar cut. But the blade in my hand, with its black handle and the beautiful scabbard it came in, was one I wouldn’t have traded for the world.

Plus, I reminded myself, it was his.

“Good form,” Jason mumbled, his eyes flicking to my blade as he sheathed his sword. My grin only deepened.

“Was it?” I breathed.

He shot me a glare, one full of an intent I knew all-too-well. “Yes,” he said through gritted teeth. “It was.”

I nodded, balancing the blade in my hand as casually as I could. I rolled my shoulders and twisted my neck, feeling the tension leaving them. My eyes drifted over the doorway, the weapon rack, the emblem on the wall. But I didn’t look at him.

From the corner of my vision, I saw Jason staring at me. His sandy hair wilted a bit, a strand of it falling in front of his eyes. But he kept up the stare.

“You must’ve caught me on a bad day,” he said, already beginning to smirk again. “Congratulations on beating me for the first time.” He flashed me his teeth, his near-perfect pearly whites.

I stopped my visual tour of the room and stared back at him. “I think I caught you on a perfectly fine day,” I said. I kept up my grin, pushing down the frustration that had built just under the surface. I’d won this time. And I had to make sure he knew it.

“I don’t know if I’d say that,” he hesitated, his smirk ticking down the slightest bit. “But you’re definitely getting better.” His words came rushed, as if pushed out through his teeth. The knight in me took it as an insult, but I took it all the same.

“Yeah,” I said, trying to keep up my smile. “World knows that I’ve had enough time to practice these last few weeks. Without any assignments, I’ve really done nothing but.”

I heard the bitterness in my voice, even if I’d tried to suppress it. And from the way Jason looked at me, I could tell he’d heard it too. I hadn’t meant to be bitter. I had to be thankful that I was even still given a place to stay, but with nothing to do, that didn’t mean as much.

My jaw tightened as I remembered why I’d been given nothing to do. I’d been tasked with something as simple as retrieving a package by my town’s Lord. I’d come back empty-handed. I’d made excuses, I’d talked back. And by the end of that day, I’d left him dead.

A shiver raced down my spine as the memories passed. I pushed them away, hiding them behind the justification I always used. He hadn’t been human, I told myself. At least, not by the time I’d gotten to him. He’d been a kanir, a bloodthirsty beast that had tried to murder me in cold blood. What I’d done was in self-defense. It had attacked first.

But now he wasn’t a kanir, my mind reminded me. Now he was dead.

“Well,” Jason started. “I’d consider you lucky, to be honest. With the shit happening in the forest again, ranger work has been more just waiting around to do paperwork than actual hunting.” Frustration bled into his words more and more as he went on. I could see the way his idle hand clenched around the sword at his waist.

I squinted at him, his words replaying in my mind. I’d heard that complaint before, from almost a dozen of the rangers, but I’d never seen for myself. They’d all been as vague as possible, saying there was ‘something wrong with the forest’ but never explaining what. From what I’d gathered, game was down, there were fewer magical beasts, and some weird force that came in cycles was the thing causing it all.

To me, that sounded like a good thing. If there was less to hunt, there was less danger and the town was safer. From how I understood it, that was our job, to keep the town safe.

“What’s going on with the forest any—”

“And you still have only beat me without the use of magic,” Jason said. His oppressive smirk cut off my words before I could finish my sentence. My unfinished question hung in the air for a moment and then died in the dozens of comments that rose to my lips.

“That’s not fair and you know it,” I said guardedly.

Jason rolled his eyes, adjusting the sword on his waist before walking over to the weapon rack. “It’s true though,” he said, my eyes tracking him the whole way.

The smile dropped off my face, contorting into more of a sneer as I glared holes into his head. I wasn’t normally this petty. I’d never used to be this petty… but he knew how to push all the right buttons.

I bit down hard, adjusting my stance. I didn’t want to accept it, but he was right. If he’d been using even a small bit of his magic, I would’ve lost in an instant. I could still remember the pain from just one of his weighted strikes.

My shoulder rolled in its socket, the pain of that fight fresh enough for me to feel. In my body, I was barely keeping up with him even still. Even with all the training I’d forced myself to do over the past couple of weeks, I was still messing up. My body just wasn’t strong enough, or it just wasn’t fast enough, or it just didn’t listen.

A new image, one I hadn’t seen in forever rose up in my mind. My old body stared at me through the mirror of my homestead, its sweeping blonde hair, its defined muscles, its accomplished stature. That is what I had to become. And that would’ve wiped the floor with Jason at any time of the day.

I wanted to comment, to brag, to taunt Jason with my previous accomplishments, but I held my tongue. It wouldn’t have made any sense, and he would’ve just gotten suspicious. I was on a whole new continent, I reminded myself. These people didn’t know me, at least, not the old me. Some things were just better left unsaid.

Jason switched his knife for a new one on the weapon rack, balancing it on his finger. “You’ll get there one day, Agil.”

I blinked at him, tilting my head. It took me a second to realize what he was talking about. But as soon as he smirked at me, fiery sparks flying off the knife in his hand, I knew exactly what he meant. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

Seeing that I’d gotten the message, Jason let out a short chuckle before removing his concentration from the knife and cooling it in the air. The blade’s shiny metal glinted at me, staring me right in the eyes as the soft red of the heat he’d pushed into it cooled away.

“Fucking showoff,” I muttered to myself, earning a sharp laugh.

I wished I had magic, I really fucking did, but I’d been born without it. I still remembered the classes my king had mandated we take in Credon and what the teachers had said about me. I chuckled at the memory, watching parts of it in a blur. I remembered their faces and the things they’d said, but their names were just out of reach.

But that had been that, and I’d accepted it then. No matter how hard I’d tried, it was something I had never been able to learn. Back home, it hadn’t been much of an issue, but here, it was a whole different beast.

My mind drifted to the back of itself as I thought about magic. I hadn’t seen it move in weeks, not even a stir. I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t know why it was sitting in the back of my mind. But it was, and it was magic all the same.

It was just… magic I didn’t have access to.

When I’d killed Arathorn—the name still stung to think—it had flared up with energy, filling my body with power. I still remembered the white flames; the way they’d fueled my soul, the way they’d dealt the final blow, the way they licked my skin but never seemed to burn.

I cringed, the memory feeling like a freshly opened scab, a scar on my mind that would never stop bleeding. It had helped me then. It had saved my life. But ever since then, it just lay dormant in my mind.

“Agil!” Jason said in a frustrated tone. I shook myself, whipping my head to the source of the sound. Jason was glaring at me, standing by the dark wooden entrance to the lodge.

“What?” I asked, almost cringing at my own voice. I sounded so clueless, like a fucking lost child. He must’ve said something that I’d missed while lost in my thoughts. Again. It was happening more often now… I’d never used to get so lost in my thoughts.

“Are you coming?” he asked, twirling the knife between his fingers.

I raised an eyebrow, immediately berating myself. I didn’t know what he was talking about, and I did not want to ask.

“Where?”

Jason’s eyes narrowed on me. “To town hall.”

I offered him a smile. “Why?”

“Because Lorah called all off-duty rangers to meet there?” Jason tilted his head, rolling his wrist as if to get the gears in my mind working. “Were you not listening?”

I almost shook my head, admitting to the truth, but another comment rose to my lips. “I was too busy relishing in your defeat.”

Jason let out a laugh before he could stop it, rolling his eyes. “Right,” he said. “Well come on, I have to be your escort through town.”

The smirk that had been building died at my lips. Right, I remembered, I had to have an escort. I snapped my lips shut and gave Jason a nod. His face went serious—a look I didn’t often see on him—and he nodded back.

Jason halted the knife in his hand, quickly sheathing it back on his belt. He glanced back at me, watching me put my sword back into its scabbard. I smiled, my lips ticking up a hair, and followed Jason as he pushed his way out of the lodge.

My eyes were downcast as the town hall came into view. I stared at my feet, watching my boots glide over the cobblestone as I followed Jason. It was easier to focus on the pain in my legs. I didn’t need to look around, and I didn’t want to either. I didn’t need to see the people again, to watch the glares of disgust or fear they threw my way. I’d seen enough of that.

From the corner of my eye, I caught the sight of multiple rangers going into the town hall. The distinct dark blue cloth and the emblem embroidered on their arm told me everything I needed to know. I turned my gaze up as the town hall neared, taking in its majesty.

The large wooden building dwarfed everything around it. The simple but sturdy stonework of its foundation already set it apart from most of the basic houses, but the large, sweeping wooden roof was what really made it stand out. Every time I walked near it, I couldn’t help but be impressed. And even now, averting my eyes from the people around me, the feeling hadn’t changed.

Jason walked up the shallow steps onto the building’s preceding porch and dragged me in his wake. He glanced back at me, sparing a smile that really was more of a smirk than a grin, and pushed his way into the door.

I followed after him, already hearing the commotion from inside. My hand held the door open, letting the warmth of the room clash with the cold air for a moment as I looked back.

My eyes danced across the street, a genuine smile growing on my lips as I watched the morning market still starting up and all of the people it contained. Children carrying crates for their parents, a couple hugging in the doorway of their home, a man arguing with someone at their stall.

My smile grew as I recognized the man. Arl, I remembered with fond memories. He was a farmer... Or, he used to be before his parents kicked him off the farm for stealing from them. Arl was a good man, most of the time anyway, and he’d been great company for me when I’d had to go grocery runs. At least, back when I was still even asked to do that kind of thing.

“For the world’s sake, close the damn door!” someone said from inside the hall. I recognized the voice, but I couldn’t place it to a name. I knew it was a ranger, at least.

I watched Arl stop arguing and storm away from the shop, probably just on his way to start up an argument with someone else. A sharp breath left my nose and I held up my hand to wave to the man.

Arl, even stewing in his anger, saw my hand and looked up. A smile started growing on his face—probably just because someone waved at him at all—but when he saw who I was, the smile died in an instant. His eyebrows dropped to the ground and he glared at me, turning around without even a wave back.

Right, I told myself as I lowered my hand. Things were different now.

They’d said I would be fine, that nothing was going to happen to me. But looking out on the town that I now called home and getting glared at by people I could’ve, at one time or another, considered my friends, it didn’t feel like nothing. It didn’t feel like nothing at all.

I turned around, heeding the request of the angry ranger, and walked in the hall, letting the door close behind me.

My eyes flicked around the room, watching the almost a dozen rangers, all dressed in their uniforms, sitting at tables and chatting amongst themselves. I recognized some faces, too. I saw Myris, his bold grey hair sticking out amongst the crowd as he talked with a few rangers I barely knew. I saw Lionel standing over by the fireplace by himself, twirling a knife in his hand. But there was one person who I didn’t see.

“Right here,” Jason said, his voice right by my side. My hand gripped on my sword as I twisted around. Jason smirked at me, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back up against the wall. “It’s almost winter, you really shouldn’t be holding the door open like that.”

“Right,” I said dryly. “Do you know why we’re even here anyway?”

Jason shrugged, leaning his head up against the wall and motioning for me to get out of the doorway. “No, but it’s probably nothing too big. It’s only a meeting for all of the rangers who don’t currently have assignments. Like us.”

The comment stung, even if he’d lumped himself in the same group with me. “We’re in the town hall though,” I said, my eyes scanning over the large room. “So it has to be at least somewhat important right?”

I saw Jason bite back a chuckle. “We’re only meeting here because this is where Lorah has been spending most of her time. With the whole…” he glanced at me, hesitating for a moment, “situation, she’s been put in a leadership position of sorts.”

I nodded, my list of questions only extending. “So she’s acting as the town’s Lord?” The idea of her replacing Arathorn seemed… wrong to me. Part of me liked the idea that I was serving my town’s Lord more directly, but based on experience, she was not the right person for the job.

Jason almost snorted. “She’s more just desperately looking for a replacement. With everything that happened,” he neatly sidestepped the mention of it again, “the agreement between the rangers and Sarin was in trouble. She’s really just trying to get everything formalized so that we can get back to hunting and maybe even stop the shit happening in the forest.”

I nodded again, squinting my eyes. There it was again, the mention of something happening in the forest. I hadn’t even been the one to ask and he’d still been vague. Was it something that I was already supposed to know? The possibility was there, but I still wanted to ask.

“Stop what—”

A loud slam echoed throughout the room, cutting me off, again. I hadn’t even gotten through two words this time. I whirled my head around, my ears having already pinpointed the source of the sound.

Lorah looked back at the door she’d just slammed—the one to Arathorn’s old office—and scowled. She adjusted the silver-lined hood nod draped off her back before turning her attention to the room.

The whole room went quiet as Lorah strode to the center. Even as frustrated as she was, she still walked with power in her step, and we could feel it. Each step from her metal-plated boots rang out impossibly soft, but among the spell of silence, it could be heard by every pair of ears in the room.

I stood at attention, turning away from Jason and toward my leader. Even Jason straightened up and gave her all of the attention he could without pushing off of the wall he was leaning on.

Lorah raised her right hand. The air around me felt lighter a tiny amount and I knew what she was trying to do. The fire in the room’s fireplace and the torches on the walls all flared brightly for a moment before returning to normal.

Lorah looked around, confused for a second before a look of realization settled on her face. I heard a faint chuckle from somewhere in the room. That was what she did to raise the lights in her office. But she wasn’t in her office.

The misstep didn’t faze Lorah though as she cleared her throat and stared out at us. “Rangers,” she said, power dripping from her tone. “I’ve called you here for news.”

Jason finally lifted himself off the wall.

“After everything that has happened with the situation the town has been put in recently,” Lorah’s eyes stopped on me for a heartbeat, staring into my soul before she moved on, “a candidate for the new Lord of Sarin has been found and duties should soon return to normal.”

I furrowed my brow, glancing at Jason. All I saw was satisfaction in his eyes.

“He’s not from here, he’s from one of the mountain states.” Lorah continued in the same powerful voice. “But he knew our previous Lord very well and jumped at the opportunity to come here.”

Lines appeared on my forehead as I turned toward Jason again. “What are the mountain states?”

Jason blinked, turning to me slowly. Seeing no sign of sarcasm on my face, he tilted his head. I didn’t correct myself. “How do you not know?” he asked in a hushed tone, not even taking the risk of talking over Lorah. “You’ve been to one.”

I started to shake my head before realizing what he meant, the obviousness of the name slapping me in the face. “Norn?” Jason nodded. “So there are more towns in those mountains?” Jason scrunched his nose and nodded quickly, turning his attention back to Lorah.

“We’ve got rangers already on their way to bring him here,” Lorah said. I heard Jason mumbling something under his breath. “And with that transition set in motion, assignments will be given out regularly again and we’ll finally be able to deal with the scourge in our woods.”

Lorah ended her announcement with a smile that told everyone in the room she was done talking. As soon as it set in, a commotion broke out, multiple rangers voicing their enthusiasm on the matter.

I turned to Jason, who was still mumbling to himself, and cocked an eyebrow.

He stopped mumbling, his eyes moving to me. “Nothing,” he said. I waited. “It’s just that… Kye got to go retrieve the new Lord of our town and I’ve been stuck here doing bullshit.”

Right, I thought. It made a lot of sense. Kye had left on a ‘special assignment’ days ago, but she hadn’t told me what it was. “Well, you won’t be doing bullshit anymore.”

Jason laughed slightly. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But dealing with the forest’s cycle right now is nowhere near as exciting as taking the trek all the way to the mountains.”

There it was again, a mention of something wrong with the forest. He’d mentioned its ‘cycle’ this time. I didn’t know what that meant, but I sure as hell wanted to find out.

“And,” Lorah said, commotion dying down around her voice. This time I’d been cut off before I’d even started speaking. “Those of you with assignments already know you have them. We’re going back to normal, so I expect them done when they’re supposed to be done.”

Jason’s smile turned back into his signature smirk and his eyes were already meeting with other rangers in the room. I watched him, the smile on my face fading by the second. If assignments were back, and we were already supposed to know if we had them…

“Fuck,” I said, the curse slipping out of my mouth. I stared at Lorah, watching the way she adjusted her platinum hair for a second as she went back to the office. I took a deep breath and walked toward her, leaving Jason by the door.

I hadn’t been told about any new assignments before the announcement. That meant that I wasn’t getting any new assignments. And I did not want to be lounging around the ranger’s lodge doing nothing. Not anymore.

“Lorah!” I called as she walked through the office door. I caught the door before it fully closed, the sight of the office filling my eyes. The commotion behind me was immediately drowned out, overpowered by the pumping of blood in my ears.

The ground was clean and organized, much more so than when Arathorn had owned the office, but I could still see the piles of books that I’d tripped over tucked against the wall. A shiver raced down my spine. The desk was the same, a large, ornate piece with organized stacks of paperwork on it. Even the window was the same—albeit no longer boarded over—and the sunlight poking through it was the only source of light in the room.

“Agil?” Lorah said to me, ripping me from my thoughts. I tore my eyes off the room and focused on her. She stood in front of the desk, almost exactly where Arathorn had stood before, twirling the little knife in his hands. I could still see the gash in the desk where he’d stabbed the knife in.

“Y-Yes,” I said, focusing on the words I’d wanted to say. I shook my head. “About ranger assignments?”

Lorah’s raised eyebrow lowered again. “Ah. I assumed you would want to talk to me about that.” Her lips curled into a warm smile. “As I’m sure you’re aware, you did not get a new assignment.”

I tried my best not to let my frustration show in my tone. “Yes. I’m just wondering… Why not?”

Lorah’s smile wavered a bit. “Well, you’re in a bit of a special situation… wouldn’t you say?” I nodded. “Doing assignments in the forest right now—with the cycle being as it is—is not a good idea for you.” The question once again sprouted in my mind but Lorah continued on without pause. “And with the opinion of the town being as it is, I didn’t want you to be doing that kind of work anyway.”

Frustration slowly turned to rage in my head. My hand clenched on the grip of my sword by my side. “So what am I supposed to do?”

Worry and fear reared their ugly heads in my mind, prompting questions that I did not want to ask. What if they’d lied to me? What if everything was not fine? What if they kicked me from the rangers and left me out to die, again? I shook off the questions as best that I could, praying to the world that I would never have to answer them.

“Well,” Lorah started, something new in her voice. She picked up a piece of paper off the desk behind her, scanning it quickly. “I actually have a task specifically for you.”