Mark of the Ranger

XL. The Woodland Rangers

I woke up in some dank place, my eyes covered by a blindfold. I was tied to a chair, my hands bound behind me, cords wrapped around my abdomen to tie me to the back, as well as my legs tied to the seat, and my feet tied to the legs of the chair. I struggled for a moment, trying to see if I could undo the ropes. I tried for a few minutes without avail before Ko spoke up out of nowhere. "Hey, look on the bright side, people. This is the second time we've been captured in one mission! That's got to be a new record."

"That's...That's not a good record, Ko," I reminded him. He simply scoffed, and I went back to attempting to escape. Whoever had tied these knots had done an excellent job of it, because I couldn't escape, and I wouldn't be able to without dislocating an appendage. I heard a door open, and a few footsteps. Two men were talking, one voice low and gravelly, and one voice calm and smooth.

"You're telling me you found these people on the path? As in, the path to the grand council?" The smooth voice asked. The voice was familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Yes, Commander," the gravelly voice answered. "They're trespassers."

"Did you check any of them for sun marks or Ranger Marks?"

"All but one had a Mark of Strength, and one had a sun mark on the back of her neck. They're trespassers."

"Dan, those are probably the Grand Wizardess and her escorts."

"Oh." The footsteps drew closer, then the smooth voice spoke again. "Lio? Is that you? Cut the ropes!" I felt a sharp razor blade swiftly cut open my bonds, and I brought my hands in front of me. I removed my blindfold and rubbed my wrists, which had been dug into by the ropes. I looked up at the owner of the smooth voice, and remembered where I had heard it.

"Commander Jordan," I said to the friend I had acquired at the Warlock's Ball. "Pleased to see you again."

"Same to you," Jordan drawled, then stepped back so I could stand up. Jordan told Dan, the Woodland Ranger next to him, to check Isabel's sun mark and see if it was golden. Dan confirmed it was, and his commander slapped him in the face, then put his head in his hands.

"Sorry for causing you people this trouble. There's only three weeks left to get to the Grand Council, and I don't want to hold you back any longer," Jordan told me after he lifted his face up again. "But, there is still plenty of time. Why don't you rest here for a few days, and Josie and I will help you to the council?" I thought about his proposition. We might not be able to afford losing a few days, but we would be able to go much faster with two commanders on our side, armed with bowedges.

I, not one to rush decisions, consulted my crew. "I don't know," Karen pointed out. "They did kidnap us and all." I waved her ridiculous notion off, then responded with a better point. "That was Dan, an incompetent Ranger." I heard a gravelly voice call out "HEY!" in indignation, so I reminded myself to be a bit quieter.

"I think it's a great idea," Isabel said, and Elena agreed. David and Ko did, too, raring for adventure. Jeff seemed lost in thought. I asked him if anything was wrong.

"This could be an elaborate trick," he reminded me. I thought about that, and realized that Jordan could have acted like the capture was unintentional. "But, then again," Jeff continued, "We would have two commanders, armed with bowedges and seven Marks, to protect us. Then comes the question of whether or not that's allowed for our mission."

"The point is to get Isabel to the grand council safely," I reminded my childhood friend. Jeff nodded, then elected to agree to my plan. With that, I told Jordan that we accepted his offer. He heartily grinned, then ran off. Another Ranger, a female, told us to follow her outside. We did, and she disappeared with stealth.

"Strange," I remarked, but didn't say anything else. We looked around at our surroundings. We were surrounded by a village of expertly built log houses, built into trees. I assumed that there were other rooms at the tops of the trees and a staircase inside each tree, but I didn't know much about Woodlandish architecture. The trees must have been at least twelve feet thick, and well over eighty feet high. They were so high, I couldn't even see the tops of them. I asked a Woodlander near mr if I could see inside one of the houses, They thought I was strange and waved me off.

Out of nowhere, Commander Jordan emerged with his partner, Josie. Well, I had assumed she was Josie from her body shape, for her face and head were covered by a hood and a wooden mask. The person I assumed was Josie took off her mask and hood, proving my hypothesis and completely numbing all important functions. "I heard about the mission," she told me, sashaying up to shake my hand. I returned the favor, trying my best to look her straight in the eye. "We greatly appreciate your help," I managed. She seemingly had more important things to do, because she turned and sashayed away.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Jordan asked me when she had left. I tried to respond, but my brain was still numb. Jordan clearly understood, because he nodded with a smile and left me alone to re-organize my mind. As I was just about finished, I heard a voice come from behind me. "Lion! Check this out!" The voice, which my brain was able to say belonged to Isabel, called. I turned to face the voice just as its owner grabbed me by the wrist and began to drag me across the village. "You've got to see this!" She said again.

And it was truly a sight to behold.