Hudsonville: Tales of the Hunted

Chapter 6: Ranger Danger

"You're going to get yourself killed."

"If you're so worried about it, maybe you shouldn't've told me where to go."

"Dude, I thought you were just gonna talk to them!"

"I am gonna talk to them, don't you worry."

"That's not the part that scares me." Vick trailed off as he looked towards Andy's clenching fists. The two were on their way to Black Peak—Cici, despite her offer to be a guide to the settlement, lagged far behind. Regardless of the group's pacing, an anxious anticipation built up in their minds the more and more Andy explained what he had intended on doing once he got there.

Boy, those Rangers had hell to pay.

The boy stormed along with little regard for his own wellbeing, his own safety—he was absolutely determined to find the person in charge and demand to know everything; if Butch was the one who attacked his family, if they were truly planning on having him go unpunished, anything they knew, really. After finding all that out, Andy was going to beat the living daylights out of whoever was responsible for covering this whole thing up, starting with Hudson himself...that was the initial plan, at least. The more he climbed the mountain, and the more Vick yammered on about the danger the Rangers posed, Andy's confidence began to wane. However, stubborn as he was, he was not going to allow himself to sit idly by as some grave injustice was allowed. There had to be some form of consequence—that was only fair in his eyes.

After traveling by foot for the better half of the day, the high rooftops of the encampment at last came into view. The teenaged trio each breathed a sordid sigh. It was a scenic journey, for sure, but the stress put on their legs going uphill for so long was due for some much-needed relief.

"How much further, do ya reckon?" Andy asked, turning to Cici. It took her a moment to respond, carefully trying to split their stems down the middle of a leaf—sheesh, if only she was this concentrated on the mission at hand.

"Cici?"

"Huh? Uh—I think like, four, five minutes? It's a bit further ahead than it looks."

"We haven't seen any guards yet," Vick observed. "Not too late to turn back."

"You really don't have to tag along if you don't want to."

Vick hummed and considered the offer, shaking his head. "No, I'd rather not miss this."

As he rolled his eyes, Andy spotted a few stands high up in the trees—watchpoints, he figured, the same kind he'd likely been seen from during his initial journey toward town. Sure enough, keeping his gaze fixed to the canopy, he managed to gander the odd body mulling about here and there, guardsmen draped in sturdy leather armor. They gave him and his colleagues the stink eye and gestured to one another. A few more guards, positioned at the ground level, began to make themselves known, coming out of the brush and onto the trail, halting the triad in place.

One guard, an Elf, was incredibly tall, with a wild beard as bushy as the long hair that fell around his shoulders. The other that joined him, a lizard-like woman with long dark spines, was half as tall as the teenagers, although built with four times the muscle. Accompanying the two guards, a wing-bearing creature about the size of a husky stomped its heavy talons onto the path—like a gryphon, bearing the features of both a bald eagle and a big cat—this one had a face like an owl, and the impressive neck-work to boot, as it twisted its head to inspect the teens. .

"You children are a long way from home," spoke the elf. "State your business or begone."

Andy stepped forward, taking in a shaky breath and puffing his chest out. "I'm here to speak with whoever is in charge."