Ranger

Chapter 8

Jewel

I was so overwhelmed by my work that I needed a break. I walked away from the camp to a green field. I laid down in the grass and enjoyed feeling the warmth of the sunlight on my skin and the gentle breeze. Part of me wanted to simply stay there all day and forget about my responsibilities at the camp. Maybe it was selfish to think so, but at the camp everything I did was for someone else. I couldn't remember the last time anything had been done for me.

"At last we meet," someone said behind me. I turned to see a man standing there. He wore a black robe and held a staff with skull carved from black stone for a headpiece. I got to my feet as fast as I could. Then I remembered that I had foolishly left my staff back at the camp. Without it I had little hope of defending myself. "I have been looking forward to this moment, priestess." He said the last word with contempt.

I stood there trying to think of what to do while he walked around behind me. He caressed my face. It felt like maggots crawling over my skin. I shivered. "Your skin is so fair." He ran his fingers through my hair. "Like golden silk-"

I couldn't take it anymore! I pulled away and raised my hands towards him. A flash of light made him flinch back with his hands over his eyes. I turned and made a dash for the camp, but I didn't get very far. He spun me back around. I saw a burst of color and felt myself landing sprawled out on the grass.

"Insolent wench!"

After a few seconds of disorientation I looked up to see the man grinning down at me. He was holding a dagger with a long, undulating blade. The shape reminded me of a slithering snake.

"You have tenacity. I will grant you that," he said. "But it will not save you now."

"Please," I said. "You don't have to do this."

His grin got even bigger. "But I do. You see, your dissection will be repayment for all of the frustration you have caused me. You will not enjoy this, but I certainly will."

"Leave her alone!"

The man and I both turned to see Kroger running towards us. His claw eviscerated the man's throat the instant he completed his spell. His eyes opened wide as he put his hands over his neck. Blood gushed out between his fingers as he opened his mouth to make a sort of gurgling sound before dropping.

At the same time Kroger combusted. He landed in a heap of burning flesh and fur. His long, mournful howl ripped my heart open.

As soon as the flames were out I knelt down beside him. I wanted to touch him, but his body was too hot. Instead, I stayed with him and prayed, not because I thought there was any hope of saving him, but because I wanted to give him his final rites. My tears sizzled and evaporated as they landed on him.

After I finished praying, I sat there for a long time. I missed him so much already. He had been my best friend, and I didn't know what I was going to do without him. He had always been able to cheer me up when I felt hopeless. He could make me laugh. He could make even the most mundane situations fun. Without him life was going to be so boring.

I heard some people running behind me, but I didn't bother looking. If they were enemy soldiers coming to kill me I wasn't going to offer any resistance. I didn't care any more.

"Jewel?"

I turned around to see Kroger's group of ranger friends.

"Where's Kroger?" they asked. I pointed to him. They joined me around him. Some of them cried while others sat in silence.

Eventually one of them got to his feet. "I guess we should get out of here," he said. He bent down and lifted Kroger's body over his shoulder. The wind carried away the bits of Kroger that flaked off where he was touched. Then all of us started walking back to the camp.