Mark of the Ranger

XLIV. Grand Council Meeting

The pedestal, just as Isabel had hoped, had brought them all to the grand council. Not precisely in the room, but in a waiting room with a door leading to it. At a desk nearby, there was a blonde woman sitting down, a pencil in her hair and another in her hand, furiously scribbling on a piece of paper. She seemed mildly busy. Isabel called over to her, "Um...Hello? I'm here for the grand council meeting. I'm the Grand Wizardess." The woman looked up and beckoned Isabel over. Isabel obeyed, and the woman--most likely the secretary--checked her mark. Once she was sure it was real, the she snapped, and the door to the council room opened.

"The stone soldier may come, but not the Rangers." The secretary's voice seemed tired and hoarse. Oric followed Isabel into the room, where the rest of the grand council was waiting. "About time," the Alchemist criticized. Sitting there was not only the Alchemist, but also the rest of the council--Isabel's personal heroes since she could walk. There were all of the Ranger leaders--Oculus, from the Outlands, Reyder from the Badlands, O'naharu from the Woodlands, Lyros from the Highlands, but there was an empty space where Isaac from the Deadlands was supposed to sit.

There was also the head councilor, a blind old man that was wiser than most would believe. There was the Scribe, a mysterious magician, and Death, who had an explanatory name. He was Death, and nothing else. Also there was the Grand Warlock, and an apparition--most likely taking the place of Bippilousivolous, better known as Bippy the Spectacled, who was the leader of the dragons. Alchemist pointed to an empty space next to his chair. With a whisper of smoke, a chair formed there. Isabel sat down without question. She knew the Alchemist's powers--the ability to change things into something else, as long as it didn't have a core.

"We were just about to start," the head councilor said. Isabel was confused. "But I left only a week ago--"

"Time passes when you do nothing but walk," the Grand Warlock interrupted. The Scribe nodded, then wrote something down with his pen and parchment. There was silence for a moment before Oculus spoke up, breaking the tension. "Now, for the first problem, which we all know of, as we saw the fire on the way here. Infernas had taken over the Deadlands." The Alchemist snorted.

"He would never be able to defeat the rest of the Five Lands, especially if they united," he shot.

"The problem would be getting the lands to unite. The Ranger leaders and I have been in every meeting, and we know how they don't get along," the head councillor responded. The Alchemist nodded, then materialized a piece of buttered toast from the air. "I suppose you have a point. We need to unite them with a common cause."

"But what will that cause be?" Oculus asked.

"We need to think of one by the next Ranger gathering," O'naharu mentioned.

"How about we just tell them we have to defeat Infernas?" Isabel tried.

"None ah dem, except fah maybe ahr top commandas, know even a fraction o' 'is powa," Reyder grunted. There was silence again. The Grand Warlock finished the conversation. "We have three months to think of a reason, and something that the Rangers will understand. We will cross that bridge when it is built." He used an expression that Isabel had heard a similar version of, but it had a different wording. Isabel supposed it was just to enter that expression into the context.

"Second problem," Bippy's apparition declared. "The new rise of magic farmers, and their blatant tax eva--Alchemist, could you please take this seriously?" the Alchemist was eating more buttered toast while somehow making his chair spin. He stopped. "No," he denied, then continued spinning. Isabel, knowing a little bit about magic farmers from the nine days she spent there, tried to answer.

"I was captured there for nine days, and I know about some of the things that go on in those places," she started. Unlike most adults, the rest of the grand council paid attention to her and let her speak. They actually recognize me as the Grand Wizardess, she thought to herself with a touch of euphoria. Even the Alchemist stopped spinning to listen. "As I was saying," she continued.

"I know that they raise geovores in horrible conditions. I know that they force people to dive deep into reefs to look for pearls. Not only that, but also to gather fruit from trees, break magic ores, care for the geovores, herd slimes, and--" she shivered, remembering that time. "--'care for the headmaster.' A noble female snow elf and I were forced to do that last job. I can't erase it from my memory, no matter how hard I try. I knew that there was some sort of evil in that place--" The door burst open, and Oscar walked in.

"Oscar?" Isabel asked. Oscar smiled, a glint in his eye. "Around here, they call me the Headmaster." He winked at Isabel, and she almost laughed at the ironic humor of his name and the place where she had first seen him. The Alchemist snapped again, and a chair appeared next to Isabel's. Oscar sat down. "I'm sorry that I'm late, but I have a new lead that might deal with both our problems." The grand council leaned in, clearly interested in what Oscar had to say. Isabel was just as interested, and she leaned in with the others.

"There are rumors of something strange in the magic farm that I had visited before the Grand Wizardess and her escorts came. I tried to investigate, but the guards were more vigilant than I thought. If we were to go back again, we could possibly find what we needed to look for." The rest of the grand council whispered amongst each other, not sure what to think of Oscar's news. Alchemist, however, had doubts. "How are we to know that this isn't a trick?" he asked suspiciously.

"You don't. You'll just have to take my word for it," Oscar answered, his face filled with honesty. He then changed his face to a smile. "Third problem," he declared, making everyone quit their conversation, "We have a new Grand Wizardess, and she doesn't have her dragon."

"That can wait until later," the Grand Warlock cut him off.

"Drat. You foiled my plan," Oscar muttered. "Well, what shall we do about going back to get this new lead?"

"We'll send Rangers," Lyros finished. How they were going to do that could have been debated, but they didn't debate. Isabel looked at Oric, who had been standing there silently the whole time. Isabel turned back, seeing nothing alarming on his stone face. "Now, we have to get Ebony, so our new Grand Wizardess can meet her," the head councillor mentioned. Isabel perked up, thinking about her dragon. The head councillor finished the meeting up with a few words. "Now, remember, our tongues are bound with secret. We are not to tell anyone about what had gone on in this room until the Rangers' gathering. Meeting adjourned."