Chapter 37 Declan
The next morning, the group met in the dining hall for a quick breakfast of fresh biscuits, eggs, and bacon.
I hoped that if I was my friendly, gregarious self again, they would act as though the conversation from the prior night had never taken place.
I was at home with Sil and Ridley, entertaining them with Ranger jokes and mountain tales, and had them laughing through most of the meal.
I noticed Atikus and Keelan exchange the same questioning gaze before giving up and focusing on the meal.
As Atikus reached across the table to fill his third plate, Keelan cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Declan, before we make a plan for the day, something’s been bothering me since we walked through our cases last night.”
I glared, trying to decide which conversation was bothering my brother and whether I should be angry about it being raised in front of the others.
“Has there been anything else strange going on up here? When we talked last night, you sounded guarded with how you described things at the border.”
I hadn’t expected that question. I stared at the table for a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking. “That’s a question for my Captain. I’m sorry, but I really can’t say any more.”
Keelan’s mouth dropped, and Atikus nearly choked on a biscuit.
“Declan, really?” Atikus said.
“I’m sorry. It’s just—”
Keelan rescued me. “Would I be able to speak with your Captain today?”
“Of course. We don’t get visitors from the capital often, especially famous Guardsmen, so I’m sure he’ll want to meet you anyway.” I hadn’t meant for the edge to return to my voice. “Why don’t the rest of you get ready to leave while I take Keelan to see Captain Whitman.”
Keelan took the hint and downed the last of his tea, offering Atikus a shrug.
I turned and led him two tables down from where we’d been sitting.
A pair of men were finishing their own breakfast when I interrupted.
“Sir, sorry for the interruption, but I’d like to introduce you to my brother, Guardsman-Lieutenant Keelan Rea.”
Captain Whitman rose slowly from his chair and wiped a bit of egg from his chin. He eyed Keelan, then extended a hand.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Lieutenant. Good stuff, except what Declan here tells me, of course.” He chuckled.
Keelan grasped his forearm while keeping his eyes locked on the Captain’s.
“It’s a pleasure, sir. Thank you for putting us up for a couple of days. Most of us have never seen Ranger HQ before. It’s an impressive place.”
He released his grip as the Captain sat.
“Would you mind if I stole a couple of minutes before we head out?”
“Glad to have the company. Please, take a seat.” Captain Whitman sipped his coffee. “What’s on your mind, Lieutenant?”
“It’s about something rather sensitive, sir.” Keelan glanced across the table at the Ranger who was eating with the Captain and gave Whitman a meaningful brow raise.
The Captain’s own brow lifted. “Please meet my second, Commander Geros. You can speak freely at this table. Just keep it low.”
“Thank you, sir,” Keelan said. “We’re here investigating the disappearance of one woman and the murder of another, two cases we now have reason to believe are linked. We are confident the kidnappers recently brought their victim through the pass to cross the border.
Declan stopped a cart recently driven by two men in brown robes that matched the description of our suspects. The cart was empty, but we believe magic was used to conceal the woman from his inspection.”
Captain Whitman nodded, his gaze steady, then took another sip of his coffee.
“Sir, we’re headed into the mountains today, following the trail we think they took. Before we do, I need to know if we’re walking into more than just a kidnapping. Has there been anything else strange reported recently?”
Captain Whitman’s face was granite. “What did Declan tell you? I assume you asked him before coming to me.”
“Yes, sir. He said it was a question better left to his Captain, sir.”
Whitman nodded and glanced up at me. “Geros, give us the table.”
Once Geros had left and we sat across from the Captain, his eyes found Keelan’s again. “I understand your orders are from the Captain-Commander and Arch Mage directly.”
Keelan’s spine stiffened as his eyes widened. “Yes, sir.”
“Take a breath, Lieutenant. Your Commander sent word that you were on your way and asked that I give you whatever help you might need. He was vague on the details, but I’m used to that these days, especially when a courier is involved.”
He leaned forward. “Most people don’t remember that the Rangers were originally founded to protect Melucia’s borders. The war had just ended, and tensions with the Kingdom were still high.
It took more than a hundred years for things to settle down enough for our mission to expand to forest patrols and wildlife conservation. Despite all that, our primary mission remains border security and ensuring the free flow of trade between the nations.”
The Captain finished his coffee. “Six months ago, a trader and his family left Grove’s Pass and headed over the mountains bound for Irina’s Seat, a town on a large lake close to Huntcliff. The whole trip should’ve taken them three weeks, maybe a little more with the children in tow.
Two months after they left Grove’s Pass, we received word they never arrived. In fact, the Constables in Huntcliff report they never saw them come through. Not long after, another trader went missing, then a caravan of three. During that time,
we haven’t seen a single trader from the Kingdom headed into Melucia. We would normally see one or two pass through every day. It’s getting cold, and traders are usually racing to get into or out of the mountains before the snows. In six months, we haven’t seen one—not one—inbound from the Kingdom.”
He waved a serving girl over and asked for more coffee.
“I sent a couple Rangers to the border to check things out.
We’ve always been on cordial terms with our counterparts, even have friendly competitions now and then, but not recently.
The pair I sent reported that the Kingdom’s border had been closed.
Large wooden barriers were erected to prevent passage.
Their border hasn’t been closed in ten centuries, and I can’t get any of our men through to see what’s going on.
The Commander of their forces in Huntcliff hasn’t responded to my messages in months, and our birds don’t return.
“Honestly, I have no idea what to think, but I’m worried. Your team will need to be careful as you get close to the dividing line. If you learn anything, I want to hear it immediately.”
Keelan ran a hand over his head, scratching as if to spark some thought that eluded him.
“Sir, I barely know what to say. We need to head into the mountains to follow our missing girl’s trail. Beyond that, we’ll keep our eyes open and let you know what else we find. I assume this needs to stay between us?”
“Atikus is cleared for this information. The Arch Mage was specific on that point. No one else needs to know unless things change dramatically. Use your best judgement, but understand something: I’ve been doing this a long time and have never seen anything like this.
Something serious is starting that we aren’t prepared to face. Hell, Melucia as a whole isn’t prepared for this. If you trust the wrong person, people will die. That is a fact, one you need to be aware of. Be sure before you share any of this.”
“Yes, sir. Understood,” Keelan said. “Thank you, sir. If there’s nothing else, I want to get started before we lose too much light. It gets dark fast up here.”
“You just said more than you know, son,” Captain Whitman muttered to himself just loudly enough that Keelan and I heard it as we walked back to our table.
An hour later, we stood in the middle of the road on the edge of Grove’s Pass.
I couldn’t help eyeing Keelan as I made an overdue introduction.
“This is Ranger Ayden Byrne. He worked crossing duty with me the day the cart passed. While I inspected the back, he held the driver in check. He and I have also been on patrol in the mountains several times, and I thought he might be helpful as we move beyond this checkpoint,
especially if we need to split into two search teams.”
Ayden nodded to the group. “Good to meet you all.”
Keelan remained fixed on me. “Sil, why don’t you check this area before we move into the mountains? I doubt there’s much here, but it’s worth a try.”
“You got it, LT.”
Sil spent a long time crouched over dirt and twigs.
Unfortunately, even she failed sometimes.
There’d been enough traffic this close to town to muddle any tracks that might’ve helped in their search, and I reminded them that I never saw the cart veer off the road, so looking for tracks on either side was pointless.
Keelan finally called the group back together. “There’s nothing here. Where would you suggest we go?”
I turned to Ayden and whispered, “What do you think?”
“This is a waste of time. The road is too packed for tracks, and we both saw the cart. There is nothing to follow.” He glanced down at the road a moment. “We could travel the road, but in hopes of what? Catching up? They are too far ahead for that.”
“What about the stations?”
“If they left the road, one our men might have seen something.” His gaze narrowed. “Short of crossing the border, we have no other real options.”
I nodded, turning his words over in my mind, then looked back toward Keelan.
“We could just follow the road to the border and hope we see something, but that’s more of a wish than a plan. There’s a station about halfway to the top of that mountain.”
I pointed at a spot in the distance cloaked by trees.
“The Ranger on duty up there might’ve seen or heard something. We don’t rotate the men in stations like we do patrols, so he would know this area better than anyone.”
“Anyone else? Other ideas?” When no one said anything, Keelan nodded. “Lead the way. Sounds like the best we’ve got right now.”