Mark of the Ranger

XV. The Volunteering Is Confirmed

Clink, clink. The sound of Infernas' new workers hammering away at the new buildings he had told them to build gave him a certain satisfaction. He had destroyed the Deadlands, and he and his dragon, Moonshadow, had razed the countryside. However, the Deadlands were being rebuilt as Infernas' new empire, as fire may destroy, but it lays the foundation for greater, stronger things. He had no idea what to call the said new empire just yet, but he would find a name soon. As soon as he did, the people from his village who had mocked, teased, and doubted him when he was a child would no longer do such things, and not just because they were dead. It was just a matter of time before he finally obtained the empire he always wanted.

*****

Maddie would not stop pestering Isabel. It was really beginning to infuriate her. "I saw you kiss him, Isabel. Stop denying it," she incessantly pestered. Isabel groaned for what must have been the thirty-eighth time since they had gotten on the bus. "I told you, Maddie, I only did it because the Alchemist told me to! He has a plan, but I don't know what it is. And before you make the same argument, I know that the Alchemist can't see the future!" she explained once more. Maddie waved it off and denied what was clearly the truth again, as she had thirty-seven times before. Were all people from the Null World this horrible? If so, how did they ever achieve greatness? Did they even achieve greatness at all? However, thinking about the Null World reminded Isabel of something. "Oh, that's right, Maddie. Thanks for the enchanted lip gloss. Without it, they never would have caved," Isabel thanked Maddie. Maddie simply gave a salute as her way of saying no problem.

*****

I awoke with a snap back into reality, as I always did. I could barely remember the events of the previous night, although I did remember we had planned to ask Oculus if we could escort the new Grand Wizardess, Isabel Norrima, to the next grand council meeting. I quickly took a shower and dressed in my Ranger Gear and awoke my male compatriots, then called to Karen and Elena. They awoke quickly, as wood elves and mermaids often do, and after we all were ready for the day, the day when we would begin our undoing. A cheerful little thing, really.

My team and I, with David at the lead, dashed to Oculus' office. "So, I'm going to assume that we are going to escort the Grand Wizardess?" I said to my makeshift leader. I was glad when he chuckled instead of groaned. If I didn't know any better, he may have sounded happy about my latest decision. Had Isabel kissed him, too? "Yes, we are, and there's nothing you guys can do about it. What do you know, maybe it'll be fun," he assured us, though Elena muttered something that Karen laughed at. We arrived at the fancy door with "OCULUS" printed across it in Marking pen. I hadn't noticed it before, so Oculus might have put it there last night after a complaint had been filed.

David opened the door, just as last time, and let us walk in before he followed and shut the door behind us all. We strolled, more confidently this time, up to his desk and snapped him out of his stained glass trance. He jumped a little in mild surprise, then turned to look at us, his one red eye burning a hole in my mind. "What is it that you children would like to discuss?" he asked us. We glanced between each other, then silently nominated me, the village idiot, as the spokesranger.

"Is it true that you ask a team to escort the Grand Wizardess to the grand council meeting every year?" I asked, putting slight emphasis on the grands by standing on my toes when I said them. Oculus nodded, seeming a little off-guard by my inquiry. "Yes, yes, I do. Are you saying you would like to volunteer? Did the Alchemist bribe you into volunteering? While his rewards are worth the dang--"

"Yes, sir, we would like to volunteer, and no, the Alchemist did not put us up to this. The Grand Wizardess asked us," David stepped in, cutting Oculus off. Oculus nodded again. "Well. The Alchemist bribed Isabel, then. But, no matter! If you are volunteering, then volunteer you shall. Allow me to communicate with the Guild, they are moving her to her new suite." Oculus then turned and put a cream-colored metal hand on his stained glass window. The surface rippled, and showed the face of one of the officials at the Guild.

"Hello, Frank, we have our volunteers." Oculus gestured at us. Frank smiled. "Well, good. We'll tell Isabel in a moment. She's getting situated with her new room--"

"WHAT SIZE PERSON WAS THIS BED MADE FOR?!?" Isabel's voice came from behind Frank. Frank gave us another smile. "She's used to sleeping in smaller beds, it seems." Jeff had to hold in a chuckle. I nearly burst into laughter myself, instantly curious to see just how large Isabel's new bed was. Oculus said a few more things, having Frank write down our names, then he closed the communication window. He turned towards us. "Well, let's hope you people are normally sized, or else Isabel will most likely throw you out the window," he joked, then gestured out the door. "The bus will pick you up within the hour, and you will reach the Guild in that same time." The team and I left, then spent a moment in uncomfortable silence.

"Well, now we won't be bored," Ko supplied, the optimist of our group. Elena kicked him in the shin. Both were right, of course. This adventure would certainly be interesting, but it wasn't the smartest impulse decision we had made. "Don't worry about it," David assured us. "We'll be just fine, trust me."