Legend of the Fire Rangers - Part II

"Nic Nic!" One of the kids came running into the door, almost taking the door out of the frame in his attempt to speed up his entry.
-"Calm down kid, what is going on?"
"There is an Elf, a real elf! She is asking for you. An ELF!"
Nic froze, he hadn’t seen an elf in 140 years. Not that he could tell the kid that.
-"Where boy?"
"In front of chief Barbenji’s house."

Nic and the boy, who kept running ahead and then back, ushering Nic to hurry up. But Nic walked as fast as he always walked. His mind however was racing. They approached the crowed from the side. Four of the town guard stood around the supposed elf, with crossbows raised. It was well over a century an elf had set foot in their lands, but the old law still stood. An elf should be shot at sight. The fact that she was alive was due to the poor poor quality of the town guard, they probably didn’t fire their bows at anything but their target in the last five years. The Elf, there was no mistake, it was an elf. Was wearing full battle gear, green armour, arrows in a quiver with a bow on their back. Short swords on their sides. Their hair was raven black, and their pale white skin made their pointy ears stand out like a freshly painted shop sign. “What is all this commotion about.” Nic asked, when he was close to the group. The Elf turned to face Nic. And Nic almost fainted.

“Elise?”
“No, her daughter, Aloise. Hello dad.”
Nic was hot and cold at the same time, sweat appeared on his back while his throat turned dry. He took a step back to keep his balance as he overcame the shock. The crowed turned silent. One of the guards waved his crossbow around. “You cannot be here. It’s forbidden for elves to be in this country.”
“I’m a half-elf. What do you want me to do, cut myself in two? I’m just here to visit my father.” The guards unwilling to actually do something about the whole situation, and rather go back to playing cards lowered their bows, “Don’t cause any trouble.”

“You look exactly like your mother.”
-“I know, I’ve seen her.”
“How old are you know?”
-“One hundred and seventy-eight!” Aloise said proud tone in her voice.
“Ah your first solo trip then? And you came to seek me?” Nic did his very, very best to sound as mundane as possible.
-“Yes, you still remember the Elvish customs?. And well actually I came to find your grave. But it was nowhere to be found?”
“I died in a forest fire, my body and that of me fellow rangers burned to ashes in the blaze.”
-“Except you didn't. They didn’t.”
“No.” Nic's answer trailed a bit.
-“How?”
“I don’t know”
-“All of them?”
“Yes, it was hell on earth. The fire burned faster and hotter then we imagined, it outpaced us before we could reach the enemy. When we reached their camp, and sang the song of swords, our armour was already unbearably hot. And before we were done, we were glowing. The flames seemed to come from our swords. Everything we touched sprung into fire. Trees, bushes, tents, encampments and, humans.
After a week we found ourselves among the ashes of what once was the Mitsha forest. All alive, all in pain, all immensely thirsty. Our armour still hot to the touch, the green paint of the rangers gone, bare metal with black sooty stripes, and a faint red glow that didn’t seem to be that natural.
We tried to contact the companies that fought north and south of us. But we couldn’t find them. In our search for water, we walked in town, just abandoned by the Sillans. There we heard the story, our own story. That we had died in a big forest fire that drove Sila off. What we thought of a fire, of maybe a few hours, somehow had lasted a week. How did we survive a week in a forest fire?
The locals thought we were Silans on the run, and after we had a drink, told us to leave. II don’t know what made us decide it. But we disbanded the Lacarde Company just outside of that town in a field. And each went our own way. Most of us expecting to die soon from the burn wounds we endured.” Nic told her the true story.
“Do you know where everyone is?” Aloise asked.
Nic was slightly offended by that question. “I was, am their captain, of course I know. Out of the two hundred and twelve who stepped into that fire, two hundred and eight are still alive. All marked by fire, and time seemed to have forgotten to collect them. I’m twice as old then an average human gets.”

“What if I tell you that there is a war going on, and that I need the help of the Lacarde Company? The Fire Rangers.” Aloise wasn't very subtle in asking questions. Just like her mother.
“No, not an option, forget it.”
“But..”
“Is Elise still alive?”
“yes my mother is fine.”
“What did she tell about me?” Nic asked to change the subject.
“That she loved you, but you left when she asked you to marry her because she was pregnant.”
“That’s a lie.”
“I know, I always knew, from when I was old enough to understand what she said, I knew she was lying.”
“I never knew she was pregnant. And I left because she tried to kill me.”
“That sounds like my mother. The Elders where really upset with her, that she waisted her fertility on a human. Or that’s how they put it. They almost banished her. But grandpa refused to send her away.”
“I never met him, did you know that?”
“He’s okay.”
“At least you look elvish enough to pass as one of them”
“Not to the Elves, I don't. And these.” Aloise taped her pointy ears. “Are fake. Or well they are real ears, and they are mine. But when I was born they were round, like yours. As a baby I matured much faster than other elves. And when I was eight, grandpa took me to a healer, they cut my ears, and stitched them back together in a more elfish shape.”

They talked until the sunset, and then some more. Even though they went to sleep late, they had breakfast early.
A. “Will you come with me back to Eltrisk?”
N. “What will I do there?”
A. “Live.”
N. “I can live here just fine.”
A. “Is it? Fine?”
A. “To them you’re just an old man.” Aloise waved her hand indicating that she meant the people of the town.
N. “And to the elves I’d be a human invader.”
A. “Not if they know your story.”
N. “I’m not going to tell them.”
A. “I don’t think my brothers can keep their mouth shut very long.”
N. “Brothers?” Nic looked up surprised. “BrotherSS”?
A. “Yeah mom got more children after me. I have four brothers.”
N. “FOUR!? I didn’t know Elves could get so many children.”
A. “I don’t know. guess mom got lucky?”
N. “And they, your brothers, know I’m alive?”
A. “Not really, and only three of them are here, we set out to find your grave together, but we found non, nothing, not a trace of the Lagarde Company. Just the faint twinkle of magic in the remains of the Misha Forest. There is STILL ash on the floor there. But you might like to know that there are growing flowers too.”
N. “Oh that is nice”
A. “We couldn’t trace the magic back to it’s caster, and we suspect it might be natural or even divine of origin. But we did trace it to one man living in Swatch. He didn’t want to talk first. But in the end he pointed us to this town. Took us months to find this place by the way.”
N. “That’s the whole point.”
A. “So I didn’t tell them yet I found you, they are camping just outside of town. They might come looking soon though.”
N. “You better send them a message to stay out. One elf showing up has the guardsman already shaking their bones. But four will have them reporting it to the local lord for sure, you don’t need seasoned cavalry on your trail. Even Elves can't outrun dogs and horses.”
A. “Will you come with us? To Eltrisk.” Aloise asked again.
N. “No.”
A. “Then what will you do? Wait here till Death remembers to come get you?!”

There was a knock on the door. “Nic a letter for you!”
Nic never got random mail, once in the five years he send words to his Lieutenants, to keep in touch, that’s what they had settled upon. But he wasn’t expecting any in three more years. The message was short. It was from Charles, who was now in Swatch.

Elves are looking for you. I couldn’t resist, I may have told them to much, I don’t know for sure. Beware.
By fire and flame we shall remove evil.

N. “You’d had almost missed me.” He showed Aloise the message.
A. “You would have left?”
N. “Yes, no-one has ever come looking for us. So when suddenly people do, it cannot mean any good.”
Aloise looked uncomfortable.
N. “Or did you only came to find your father’s grave?”
A. “At first yes. But you must understand we’ve been tracking you for five years now. Do you know how hard it is to find tracks a hundred-and-seventy-six years old. And in the meantime the troubles have gotten worse. And my brothers and I have been thinking that the Fire Rangers might be perfect for the job.”
N. “What can possible a group of old man do?”
A. “You know very well that you only look old. Under that skin you are still as strong as the day you stepped into those flames.”
Nic just looked at her. She was right; he had almost forgotten it himself, so used he was to playing the old man's role.
A. “And besides, for what did you keep your armour?”
N. “How do you know THAT?” Nic was genuinely surprised, even raised his voice.
A. “I can see the glow through the floorboards.” Aloise pointed to the floor, saying it like it was the most normal thing ever.
Nic looked at the spot where he had nailed the floor boards down 20 years ago. He didn’t see anything, never had. With a loud bang the door flew out of the hinges into the room. Before Nic could stand up, A crossbow was poked in his face, he could see the barbed arrow resting on the wood. Behind it stood a man in a blue uniform, the uniform of the local lord. Several more stood around Aloise.

“Look what we got here, a she-elf. Do you know what we do with elves we find in our lands? Hmm? We drown them. Tie a big rock around their necks and drop it in the river. And let the fish gnaw your evil elvish meat from your bones. It’s been a while, but the law is the law. HAHAHAHAHAAAHAHA” It was the yellow-haired fellow in the blue uniform with greasy spots on his chest that was doing the talking.
A sharp pain exploded to the side of Nic’s head and the world went dark.

“Sir, captain Nonac, sir. Wake up.”
Nic carefully opened an eye. It was dark in his house. Someone was looking at him. He was laying on the floor. Another face appeared above him.
“Where. Is. My. Sister.”
“uugh. They took her, the soldiers from the lord. They want to drown her because she is an elf. She shouldn’t have come. You, shouldn’t have come.
“We have to safe her. If there is still time.”
“Oh there is time, knowing that lord he will want to make a grand spectacle out of this, and gather all the people to come and watch.”
“Where is she kept?”
“His dungeons I guess.”
“We have to safe her.”
“I will.”
“You got her into this mess. I don’t trust you.”
“She’s my daughter.”
“..”
“Guess she didn't tell you everything huh, looks like her mother then. Step aside.”
"She told us you might lead us to him, never should've let her walk into this village alone."
Nic grabbed the poker from the fireplace and jammed it in between two floorboards. Using it as a pry bar, he popped off one board of the beams. And with his hands, he ripped up two others. Just as he left it all that time ago. A package wrapped in waxed cloth, tied together with a rope.
“Why does that glow?” Asked one of the brothers.
“No it doesn’t” said the second, and the third looked confused too.
“Interesting. Your sister said she could see the glow through the floorboards. But I can't see it.” Nic answered. With a knife, Nic severed the rope that held the package closed. And for the first time in a century he saw his old armour, bare steel with soot marks. The first brother whistled in amazement. “So the story is true.”

"Lets get your sister” Nic said as he tightened the sword belt around his armour. He looked around in his tiny house. But saw nothing he wanted to keep. He pulled out the sword from the scabbard. And flames appeared from the blade. He stabbed the straw from his bed. And a pile of clothes. And watched the fire spread. The flames reflected in his armour and in his eyes. The brothers watched. And in silence they left the house. By the time they were at the end of the street, the flames where licking the roof beams.