The Rangers of Aleera

Chapter 51

Darien soon came to learn the real names of those in "Maethor's" house and who they really were. He hadn't expected Maethor to be Ranger Commander Dante. He was surprised to find that two others besides his sister were also Rangers and that one of the Aleerians was a Priest of Elohim of the Neamhain Order. But it was the stories that they told of Jelina's escapades that drew him most. From drawing the attention of the enemy to nearly single-handed victories, it was hard to imagine the innocent little sister with a natural wonder of the world around her that he had once known had become a deadly and fearsome warrior in her own right. But Darien knew no matter her skill and battle prowess that she would be overwhelmed and captured if the Moldovans ever discovered who she really was. Although he was sure they'd have less amongst their ranks afterward. Not only would she be executed so would everyone in this house for harboring her. It was how Moldov kept their slaves in line and why they were so afraid to rise against their masters. Very few were even brave enough to risk death to try to escape. The Moldovans loved showing the slaves that they were nothing but property and their lives would never be their own. It was a sad existence, a life in chains. He was constantly reminding himself that he was a free man. He kept expecting to wake up each morning back in that cell with Tobias. He missed the Ranger's jokes. He'd been told that Marcus and Gavius were just going to let him die of his wounds and that Tobias overstepped his place in Moldovan society. Darien had no idea what punishment he'd received for that but he knew that it must have been severe enough to prevent his return to the Arena. Jelina assured him he was still alive. He still couldn't believe Jelina had returned to Moldov. Even with it being thirty years, Moldov had not forgotten her crimes. Every slave spoke of her in awe. First, there had been talk of another escaped slave and an execution perhaps in a few days. But days, weeks, months passed with no word of the slave or her whereabouts. As the years passed, she was spoken of in awe. All he'd known was it had been an elven girl and he'd vaguely wondered if it had been one of his sisters or even one of his clanmates. It wasn't until he'd seen her at the feast that he discovered that Vashti had been his sister. In truth, it did surprise him that she'd escaped the way she had, but he wasn't too surprised that she'd remained thus. Even as a child, she'd had a talent of staying unnoticed. As he came to know the Aleerians better, he came to know that Jelina and the man posing as her bodyguard, Ainnileas, were lovers and that at one time she and the Desert Ranger, Ruarc, had been. It made him think of the woman he loved. Malia had been a fellow elven slave in Wolman's house. When his belongings were sold to settle his debts, Darien was sold to the Arena while Malia was sold to another noble house. They hadn't seen each other since that day, although he searched for her face in the nobles' viewing boxes at the beginning of every fight. Richard's lightheartedness grew on Darien and the two were fast becoming close friends. Richard was still fairly young, barely past thirty, but he'd spent most of his life fighting and selling his skills to the highest bidder. He, like Tobias, was immune. He'd found out the hard way his immunity and had gone to the Rangers expecting to die or at least find a cure.

"If I was going to die, I at least wanted them to kill me. I didn't want a slow and painful death like I'd heard in the stories," he'd said. "Turns out they decided to test me instead and offered me a place amongst them. Best decision of my life." The stories Richard told of the other Rangers and his own battles were quite amusing.

~~~

Darien had begun to notice that Ruarc was slipping out of the manor in the dead of night, always returning before the others were aware. The elf wouldn't have known himself if the nightmares of his days in the Arena hadn't caused him to rise. Finally, curiosity couldn't let him be still. When Ruarc slipped out, Darien followed him. With as dark as the man was, he found it hard to follow Ruarc. When they reached the crypts, Darien's curiosity peaked even higher. Was he meeting someone? He soon found the answer when a young woman just as dark as Ruarc stepped out from amongst the monuments. She seemed to be agitated and Ruarc was trying to calm her down. Darien couldn't hear what they were saying and he didn't dare move any closer. After about an hour, they parted and Darien briefly considered following her to discover who she was. He pushed the idea down and followed Ruarc instead. He'd never known the city very well in the daylight and in the dark, he'd easily become lost. He waited a few minutes after the Ranger disappeared into the manor before slipping back in himself. A hand suddenly grabbed him by the shirt and slammed him against the wall. An arm rested against his throat.

"Why were you following me?"

Darien made a mental note to work on his tracking and trailing skills. "I was curious on why you were sneaking out?"

Ruarc glared at him. "How long?"

"Tonight was the only night I followed you but I've noticed for a few weeks."

Ruarc let him go. "Your trailing skills need work."

"I've noticed."

"Have you told anyone?"

"You should know the answer to that."

Ruarc was silent for a few moments. "She's an informant. She agreed to give us information in exchange that I tell her about the Southern Desert. She's one of my people but was born in captivity."

"Do you trust her?"

"I'm not sure yet. That's why the others don't know about her yet and I'd like to keep it that way."