Peacebringer

Chapter Ten - Into the Caves

Finn peeked out from behind the rock, and Asha saw his face begin to melt again.  His hair became darker, his nose grew longer and more pointed, and he grew taller.  He had disguised himself as an adult man.

“What was that for” Asha hissed.  

“The rangers have seen me in my normal form before,” Finn’s voice didn’t even sound like his own anymore.  It was lower and raspier. “I changed so that they won’t recognize me.”

“And what am I supposed to do?”

“They don’t know you’re a member of the resistance.  It won’t matter if they do see you.”

“We’re still out after dark,” Asha repositioned her feet.  Crouching was making her legs go numb. “That by itself will look suspicious!”

“Leave it to me.  We’ll say we are visiting someone sick or something.  I’ll pretend to be a doctor and you can be my apprentice!”

Asha nodded.  It was a fairly solid plan.  Hopefully they wouldn’t need it.  They both stood cautiously and started back on the path.  They could still hear the rustling.

“Besides, it might not even be a ranger,” said Finn in his disguised voice.  “It might just be a bear.”

“That might be worse!”  Asha could still feel her heart pounding.  

The rustling grew closer.  

A black, hooded figure emerged from the forest.  It was definitely a ranger, with the gliding way he walked.  

“What are you doing out so late, and so far from the village?” This ranger’s voice wasn’t raspy.  It was a smooth baritone, unlike any ranger Asha had ever heard.

“I’m a doctor, and this is my apprentice,” Finn gestured to Asha.  “We are on our way for an emergency visit!”

“We were called to help deliver a baby,” Asha interrupted.  Finn glared at her. “The doctor in town wasn’t available, so my cousin there sent for us to help.”  The lie came so naturally Asha even partially convinced herself. She had always been good at talking herself out of an awkward situation.  Finn glanced over at her, seeming impressed.

The ranger seemed to nod, although it was hard to tell under the hood.  The ranger hoods had a sort of sheer panel over the face, completely concealing them from view.  They seemed especially hard to read in the dark of the forest. The answer seemed to be good enough for him, anyhow.  

“Carry on, then.” He drawled in the silky smooth voice.  He turned and walked away, his footsteps not making a sound.  The only noise was the rustling of his cloak against the leaves of low-lying bushes.  

As soon as he was out of sight and earshot, Finn motioned to Asha to follow him.  They turned deeper into the forest, and suddenly approached a large rock face.

“Are we at the bottom of a cliff?” Asha whispered, careful to make as little sound as possible.

“Yes, the ranger camp is on the other side.”  Finn seemed to be looking for something on the smooth gray stone.  “There’s a cave passage that has a shortcut so we don’t have to go around.  It should cut a few hours off our journey and keep us far from the rangers.”

“Good, so where is it?”

“Well, I’ve never actually used it…”

“Great, a lot of help you are!”

“Well Havi’s dad did tell me that there’s a secret entrance.  It was enchanted by the resistance.” Now Finn had his hand flat against the rock face, and was passing it over as he walked along it.  “It’s supposed to open if you press the rock in just the right place.”