The World of the Ranger

Chapter 5

Just as Jilly had expected, her slumber that night was bliss. The soft sheets instantly engulfed her in an uninterrupted sleep. She woke up refreshed, an excellent remedy for the blisters and aching calves of yesterday's trek.

She stood up, stretched, and went over to pitcher and basin. The water felt cool and pure on her skin. After washing, she donned her vest, cloak and pulled her boots and weapons belt on. She slung her bag over her shoulder and then proceeded downstairs.

Jilly walked over to the bar to meet Joel, who was working busily on a pot of coffee. "Morning," she greeted him. "Making coffee?"

"Yes, ma'am," Joel responded heartily. "Sometimes Ranger Will comes in for a cup or two. Or three. Sometimes even four... anyway, I like to be prepared when he does stop by. Care for a cup?"

Jilly shook her head "No, thanks. Just a glass of water." Despite her love of all things Ranger's Apprentice, Jilly loathed coffee.

As Joel shortly interrupted his coffee-making to get her water, she tried to get more information on Will. "So, speaking of Ranger Will, would you happen to know where he... lives? I need to talk to him real quick before I move on."

He turned back to her with the water. "Of course," the innkeeper replied. "Down the High Road, take the left road just before the bridge through the forest. Don't you know?"

She gave him a look over the rim of the cup. "Not from here. Remember?"

He looked at her knowingly. "Ah. Right." A bell rang from behind the kitchen door. "Breakfast. What would you care for?"

Jilly judged the scent in the air. "Bacon and eggs. And a biscuit. With jam if you have it."

"All right, then," he said, and disappeared into the kitchen. Eventually, he came back out with a steamy plate smelling deliciously of breakfast. Jilly wolfed it down, while at the same time slowly savoring each bite. Joel smiled. "I'll tell Katharine you like it," he said.

"I do," she said between bites. She quickly finished the plate, which was taken from her by Joel. "If that'll be all," he said, "You can pay and return your key to Felix."

Jilly turned to where he pointed and recognized the boy from last night behind the counter fumbling with something. She smiled. "Thank you, Joel," she said and pulled her key out of her pocket.

As she got closer to him, Jilly could see Felix meticulously placing a numbered tag back on the key it had broken off of. After watching him for a few moments and realizing he was too focused on the key to notice her, she spoke. "Hi, Felix."

He jumped slightly, as if being yanked from a trance. "Oh, hello, Jillian."

She held out her key to him, and he took it from her and hung it on a peg behind him. "Oh, actually, it's... just Jilly. How much?" she asked, pulling out the small pouch of money.

He moved his finger down a list on the counter. "Let's see..." he said softly, partly to himself. "Um... two silver pieces," he said promptly and looked up at her. She dug around in the pouch for a moment, then pulled out the requested amount. Felix took the coins and put them in some sort of container behind the counter. She stood there for a second, unsure what to do, then abruptly said, "Well, see you around," and walked towards the exit. Her hand was on the handle when she heard Felix's voice behind her. "Jilly?"

She turned back, a questioning look on her face. "Yeah?"

He smiled at her and nodded, "See you around."

She flashed a smile back, turned around, and walked out the door.

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Feeling refreshed from her night at the inn, Jilly stood there for a moment, thinking about which way to go. She decided to look for Will Treaty's cabin. From what she remembered in the Lost Stories, the cabin was deeply set in the forest near the castle. She walked a distance forward until she reached the main road, and turned left, the direction in which she saw Redmont Castle in the distance.

As she made her way through Wensley village, Jilly noticed a pattern in the buildings and homes: they were composed of either plank or log walls and thatch roofing, plus a few shingled roofs. She assumed the time period was pretty far back from 2014, since the technology around here didn't appear to be too advanced. The castle was built with stone, but she guessed stone was for the larger buildings only.

Eventually, she reached where the village ended and the forest began. Jilly walked along the slowly curving edge of the trees until she found an opening about six feet across, with a weathered road that looked as though it was used frequently.  Hoping this was the right way, Jilly turned down onto the path and let the forest envelope her. Any noises the village produced were muffled and lost in the trees.

After walking for about ten minutes or so, she thought she saw the edge of a building. Quickening her pace, Jilly abruptly walked into a large cleared out space. There was a stable to the left about two stalls wide in which she could hear a horse's whinny. A cabin stood in the middle of the clearing, with various workspaces surrounding it, an axe and woodpile, a well near the back of the trees. Several targets stuffed with hay lay to the right and placed at varying ranges.

As she moved closer to the cabin, Jilly saw a small stall attached behind it and a porch in front. The porch held a water barrel about three quarters full and a bucket next to it. There were also two canvas chairs with wooden frames and a small table between them. She climbed the slight step up the porch and saw an oakleaf emblazoned upon the door frame. This must be it, she thought. Taking a deep breath and hoisting her bag higher on her shoulder, she knocked.

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YES. Another chapter. You were probably like, "Ugh, she probably quit on the book, now I'll never know how it ends." And honestly, I wouldn't blame you for thinking that. This has been weighing down really heavily, especially since I had the draft STARTED. It was just sitting there like "Finish me! Finish me!" and I'm like, "Yeah, one sec," and that sec turned into many seconds! So, in an immense apology, I'm sorry to leave y'all hanging all summer! I'm glad to get this down off my shoulders and really plan to update faster now. I'm thinking maybe every other week? Because, like, I have a nice storyline in my head, I just need to get it down. So again, SORRY and hopefully faster uploads. Thank you for patience!!! <3

Until next chapter,

happy_writing