[Fantasy] The Unburnt Ranger - Part 1

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White, fluffy clouds were moving across the pale blue sky partly blocking the bright sun. All around birds were singing in a soothing tune. Like most mornings, the market in Ascot was in full swing. Children were running around smiling and laughing while their parents shopped groceries.

From the outside, Ascot seemed like a very peaceful village - but it has a dark story.

At night, fifteen years ago, Ascot was suddenly in flames. Many died and many survived. There was one survivor who was supposed to have lost his life but miraculously didn’t. The villagers were all certain he was dead, but when the fire had stopped, they found him alive and unharmed.

Back then, he was only a baby.

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“Did you see that?” Ren shouted excitedly.

Cedric woke up from his thoughts and looked around confused.

Ren, looking mad, pointed at the training dummy.

Cedric noticed the arrow in the dummy and stared at it looking amazed.

“You hit the bullseye!” he said, feeling proud for his friend.

He stared for another second but then leaned back and got lost in his thoughts again. Ren put down the bow and quiver and sat down next to him.

“What’s wrong?” she asked worryingly.

“Nothing.”

“I can clearly see there’s something on your mind.”

There was a long pause. Ren was getting impatient and started ripping out grass.

“Just having some weird thoughts”, he finally said and stood up, “Come on, let’s continue with our training.”

Ren tried to say something, but Cedric ignored her.

He picked up Ren’s bow and loaded it with an arrow. He pulled back the string as far as he could and aimed at the bullseye.

This one will hit, he thought just as he released his grip.

He watched anxiously as the arrow soared through the air and hit the tree behind the dummy.

Ren pretended to look astonished for a short moment and then burst out laughing.

“Close one”, she laughed.

Cedric felt disappointed in himself. He almost never hit the target, and he didn’t understand why. Everything felt so right up until he released the string.

“You’ll hit it one day”, Ren said cheerfully, “Anyways, I think this is enough for today.”

She smiled and helped him pick up the arrows.

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The sun had set and the darkness had fallen. It was a quiet night. No owls could be heard and there was barely any wind.

There was a mysterious vibe in the air.

Cedric had only walked for a short while when he started hearing faint voices. He turned around and realized the voices were coming from the east watchtower.

Strange, he thought curiously, it’s rarely ever manned.

That’s when he remembered what Ren had told him the day before.

“I heard someone speaking of a secret meeting earlier today. He mentioned you. Not quite secret anymore, I suppose”, she had said and laughed.

This might be that meeting, he thought.

If the meeting was about him, he had to listen. After a quick second of internal debate, he decided to climb it. It was risky, but he had a strong feeling he wouldn’t regret it.

He moved a little closer to the tower so that he could better plan his strategy. Only guards and a few other people were allowed in the watchtowers, so the stairs wasn’t a choice. He’d have to climb it from the outside.

There was one guard circling the tower every few minutes, so if he timed it correctly and climbed quickly he wouldn’t be spotted. The tower wasn’t very well made so there were stone bricks sticking out in many places. Climbing the tower was definitely possible.

He started sneaking towards the back of the tower where he wasn’t visible to the guard. When he was sure nobody could see him, he started climbing quietly, one step at a time.

He had gotten a third of the way when he heard the guard beginning to circle around the tower.

Cedric could feel his stomach turning to ice.

Don’t look up, don’t look up, he thought, fearing he would be spotted.

When the guard was right under Cedric, he stopped.

And looked up.

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Picture from pixabay