The Rangers of Aleera

Chapter 21

Ainnileas and Dante lead a group of ten Rangers and militiamen, including themselves, through the Whispering Wood. The men following them were all volunteers. Mara had wanted to go with them, but Ainnileas refused to allow her to come. Dante knew it was the father in him not wanting her along, but he also knew the girl was too inexperienced in battle. She was talented with the bow but that was the extent of her battlefield experience. Jelina had taught Richard what signs to look for since he had tripped a trap and she had to free him while Ruarc, Alistair, another Ranger, Elohim bless his soul, and their collective Wolfhounds fought off the slavers trying to collect him. He'd insisted afterward to the point of annoyance that Jelina teach him the signs. Her lessons were helping them now, even if it caused them to move slower than he liked. They finally reached the old fort and saw that it was more active than they had originally thought.

"There's so many," Ryman whispered.

"Here's what we'll have to do," Ainnileas said. "We'll need to take out a guard or slaver and then replace him. We can infiltrate the fort that way."

"Sounds like a plan," Dante said. "But there is a problem." Ainnileas looked at him. Dante motioned to his forehead. "They'll notice that five of us are Rangers."

Ainnileas looked over at the other Rangers. Each of them had varying degrees of tattoos, Dante's a bit more being the commander. He turned back towards the fort. Dante could just see the wheels turning in his head. He'd come to understand that the man had once been a soldier and had resigned from the King's Army to be with his family. He was a widower raising three children, according to the militiamen he'd spoken to. Dante wondered if he'd had to do this sort of thing before.

"The Rangers will need to take out the guards. They have helms."

Dante nodded. He could see the man was a natural leader and strategist. He would have made it far into the ranks had he not resigned.

~~~

It took them several days to infiltrate the fort. No alarm was raised and the slavers and guards didn't seem to notice that their companions had been replaced. Ainnileas and the Rangers slipped into the armory to retrieve Jelina's weapons and armor. As Ainnileas put the weapons and armor into an armory bag, Richard picked up a massive greatsword.

"Dante," Richard said as he turned towards them. The Ranger Commander handed Ainnileas Jelina's quiver before turning to his fellow Ranger. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. He'd only known one person with a greatsword like that. On the pommel was etched a desert lion and on the blade closest to the hilt was etched the Rangers' symbol.

"I know that sword," Ainnleas said as Jelina's bow disappeared into the pack. "But how did the Moldovans get it?" A wonderful question since Dante had been told the sword's bearer was dead.

"Jelina is not the only Ranger here. Free as many as you can but the Rangers are our priority."

~~~

It had been several weeks since Ruarc's bittersweet reunion with Jelina. Since then, the Moldovans had been determined to break her. The faces of those executed slaves remained in his mind. He had been able to tell that their spirits had been broken. Every day, the Moldovans would take Jelina elsewhere in the fort and hours later would return her to the cellar. He couldn't and wouldn't imagine what they were doing to her. He prayed that her strength, will, and overall stubbornness prevented them from succeeding at their task. But her exhaustion was showing more and more each day when they threw her back into their cellar. It pained Ruarc to not be able to protect her from them and his heart broke at seeing her physical strength wane. He felt so helpless. After the last return trip, she'd been so weak she couldn't even get up off the floor. Ruarc had carried her to the far side of the room. It had brought great pain to his broken arm to do so, but that pain was nothing compared to the pain in his heart. Now he was leaning against the wall, cradling his she-elf love with his good arm. She had fallen unconscious and was lying limp. Her hair had come undone and was hanging down her back and pooling on the floor like a frozen brown waterfall. Her shirt was torn and bloodstained, leaving her left shoulder bare. He pulled her closer to his chest as the door opened once more. Two men he didn't recognize came into the room. They looked around until they spotted them. Ruarc made up his mind just then to fight them off. If he died, then he would have died trying to protect her.

"Sweet Elohim!" one whispered.

The other looked out the door. "I think we found her," he said. Three more men came into the room. Ruarc knew that two were guards, judging by the helms. One removed his helm and Ruarc gave a relieved breath. One of the men he had assumed was a guard was Dante.

He and another man quickly crossed the room. "What have they done to her?" the man asked, horrified.

"You have to get her out of here," Ruarc said, close to begging them. "Forget about me. She has to be freed."

"Ruarc?" the man asked. The Ranger recognized him then as the captive Jelina had fled with.

"Get her out of here."

"That was the plan," Dante said.

Ainnileas slung the pack he was carrying over his shoulder with the strap across his chest. He gently took Jelina into his arms and stood.

 "But we're taking you, as well." Dante helped Ruarc to his feet.

Another man joined them. "We need to get moving." Dante gave Ruarc support and they fled the cellars.

~~~

Their escape route was blocked by a dark-haired man and two guards. The man wasn't a large man nor was he small. But he looked as if he knew how to use the sword at his hip.

"Oh, crap."

"Trying to steal what rightfully belongs to Moldov, I see," the man said.

"I don't see anything that belongs to Moldov," Ainnileas retorted. With Jelina in his arms, he was not going to be able to defend himself if it came to a fight.

"Stand aside, Moldovan," Dante said. "You will not hinder us."

"And what will you do, Ranger, to stop me?" He motioned to their group. "You have six injured or half-dead people here. How are you going to stop me? Fight me? The moment the sounds of battle begin, guards and slavers will descend upon you and we will have ten more to add to the Arena roster. Give me the she-elf and you will be free to go. That is all I want." He took a step towards Ainnileas. Ainnileas felt his sword leave the sheath moments before it cut into the man's chest, leaving a gash. Ruarc had pushed off Dante and had drawn the former captain's sword.

"You will not touch her!" he said, fiercely. The man fell, gasping and clutching his chest. The two guards looked at him and then back at the group. They decided they wanted no part in this and fled.

Ruarc replaced Ainnileas' sword. "Sorry, but I could not let him take her."

"If you're done, we should go. Now."

They left the man on the floor, blood flowing freely, and spirited out of the fort.

~~~

Conaire had received word that all of the Rangers they'd captured, including Vashti, had escaped and that Nikolai had been gravely wounded trying to stop them. He threw open the door to the healing rooms and strode in. Nikolai was lying on a bed, his chest being tended to.

"He's been slipping in and out of consciousness. We found him in one of the halls. He'd attempted to get help, I'm led to believe, before his wound overcame him."

Conaire looked over at the man he considered his friend. The mercenary looked to be out at the moment. "Will he live?"

"It's hard to say right now. Only time will tell."

"A... few of... them... were... Rangers...," Nikolai suddenly gasped. He seemed to be struggling to keep his eyes open. "They... freed... the others... The... Ranger... we caught... The... Desert man... He... is the... one... who... did this... I ... tried... to take... back... the elf..." His voice was full of pain. "I... tried..." Nikolai fell back into unconsciousness.

Conaire's jaw set. So the Rangers had figured out that they had their precious elf. He was going to bring that blasted she-elf back to Moldov even if it killed him. He would regain his honor if it were the last thing he did.