Chapter 71

"Hey, that's my schtick, find your own!" Riley complained.

They had been sitting on a roughhewn bench with Cid for the last five minutes, outside a non-descript yet massive iron banded wooden door.

Tobias' foot would not stop drumming.

"Sorry," he stopped for a few seconds, only for his left to get underway.

"I'm going to put you on a diet of clover next!" Riley threatened, drumming her own hindpaw in emphasis.

"Maybe you should," He chuckled and ruffled her ears. "How are you doing with all of this?"

"Better than you. If you keep being all neurotic, I'm going to fill up my anxiety bingo card. Zing!" She did a happy twirl before pressing up against his twitching legs.

"You two are more married than some couples I know," Cid said, his eyes pained.

All of the blood had drained from his face as his hand began to tremble.

"He bought me for a silver. Gotten your money's worth yet?" She asked, cocking her head in his direction.

"Riley, you're trying too hard. I'm ok, this is just... big. Life seems to be conspiring to throw me under one of those busses you like to go on about," he said gravely, taking a deep breath only to let it out slowly.

"So, any decision on how you want to play it? Do I talk, or do I keep up the dumb animal act?" His anxiety was like a transmissible disease, her own heart fluttering at her words.

"There are three kinds of people in your life, people you can't trust, people you have to trust, and people you should trust. The three generals are in that third category. Your secret gives you an edge out there. It won't so much in here. You're both Rangers, I trained you both as well as I know how, and that's quite rare for one in your position outside the first tier. Be straight, and they'll treat you straight," Cid lectured.

"But I ate Commander Iskaros," Riley objected.

"The rotten son of a bitch had it coming. Rangers are supposed to be able to rely on each other. We don't sell out to nobles or anything else; that loyalty is life or death. He forgot that, so you did us all a favor by sending him hopefully somewhere far worse than this. He...killed one of our own. That's unforgivable," Cid winced and rubbed at his chest over his heart.

"Excuse me," he rose to his feet and began to pace.

"I vote we play it straight, but it's your call, Riley," Tobias echoed, before rising to stop Cid.

He put one hand on his shoulder, "You need to go on medical and give yourself time to heal. You aren't taking her loss well, and no one would expect you to. You want us to play it straight? Play it straight with yourself. Do what you need to give yourself time," Tobias insisted.

Somewhere, somehow along the way, in a few short months, Tobias had become a man.

Riley watched him in awe of how he had changed. He carried himself differently like he knew what he was about, back straight and eyes forward. Tobias no longer looked down as if unsure. When he moved, he charged or stalked instead of shuffled.

"A far cry from someone who couldn't touch their magic," She mused to herself before looking down at the stones, "Unlike me lately."

"I hear you, but I need to get back out there, to my woods..." Cid deflected.

"And I need you to be my instructor. You told me I'd stop being your trainee twenty minutes after you were dead? I've seen enough to know I still have plenty left to learn," Tobias said with a gentle smile.

"Son, you're going to be one of the good ones," Cid praised, looking at him like a proud dad.

Riley wanted to cry; instead, she flattened her ears, "I used to watch shows like this when I was depressed."

"Rileyism," They both said in chorus, laughing.

Cid took his seat only for a tall, spindly man in a bronze torc to emerge from the chamber.

"The Generals will see you now," He said, giving a slight bow before holding open the door.

Riley braced herself for wonder and hopped in to find a mostly empty room with three ancient rangers sitting behind a table.

In the corners hung the banners of the Ashenrealm; a cockatrice reared back in a heraldic pose, but otherwise, it was plain and, in some ways, banal.

Even the rangers themselves looked no different, save that they were older than Cid.

A woman sat central, flanked by two men. All wore combat leathers, bearing no indication of rank save for the patch every ranger had on their right shoulder. The same sword with the tip pointing down was there, but behind it was the heraldic cockatrice of the realm.

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None had companions present. Cid and Tobias walked in and stood side by side as Cid announced them.

"Rangers Cid, Tobias and Riley reporting as ordered, Sir!" He came to stiff and rigid attention, as Riley did her best to mimic, sitting by Tobias straight and pretty, her ears erect and forward, paws hanging out front.

She felt ridiculous.

"Ranger Riley?" The woman asked, shuffling through papers, "You mean the companion bound to Tobias?"

"Hello," Riley had this part down. Each of the three generals shared suspicious looks of surprise.

"Ranger Tobias, explain," ordered the lady ranger.

"Riley is a liminal. She's sapient and has undergone the same trials and training that I have, her status as a companion notwithstanding. She is not currently under my binding but has acted as my partner in the magic. We've been operating by contract," he explained.

"You've been operating like a first tier team? Interesting," said the old man on her right.

"Cid, you neglected to report this?" The old man on the left asked.

"Yes, Sir, I did. It was their secret to keep and a sign of respect and trust that the rangers have earned that they are revealing themselves now," He replied with practiced politics.

"We had to earn your trust? That's not normally how it goes," The old lady ranger smiled wryly.

"I was advised by Grandmaster Silas to not broadcast her status and have done my best to limit the knowledge as a result. It's not been the most successful ruse. Riley tends to stick out," Tobias explained.

"I do. It's the ears and the sass," she confirmed.

"If you are to be considered one of us, you will follow our custom and speak when addressed by your superiors," The old man snapped.

Riley firmed her stance, "Yes sir, sorry sir."

"Cid, it does seem as if you trained her," The old man on the left stroked his long white beard, his most prominent feature, as he stared at Riley with brilliant yet tired blue eyes.

"She's run every mile, faced every test, save for a few that physical limitations prevent. I'd stand by her training like I would any of my students," he reported with obvious pride.

"Very well," the lady ranger looked to each of her fellows, who nodded, "it seems we have three rangers to question. We understand you arrived at Timbergarde for the final module four days ago?"

"That sounds right, but the days are a bit fuzzy if you'll permit the inaccuracy, Ma'am. The sleep suds and subsequent interrogation make it a bit foggy. That said, everything proceeded as normal save that Zorna wasn't with me upon waking in the holding cell. It wasn't until the module completed that things began to tilt," Cid's left hand was shaking as he wrestled with his trauma.

"I see, so there was no indication that Ranger Iskaros was compromised then?" Said the old ranger on the right.

"None whatsoever. Everything was normal until it was time for us to make our escape. That's when Iskaros emerged and killed Zorna in a ritual partially conducted by the companion to Chadrick of Astor, Duke of Ashenrealm. He would have killed Riley as well, and potentially all of us, save for her unique nature."

The three generals began to murmur between themselves, whispering back and forth.

"What aspect of her nature? Ranger Riley explain," The lady ranger asked.

"I'm of celestial and chaos by ability resulting in the life confluence. Something in the ritual responded to the chaos magics I can control. I don't understand it much. I was yanked here from the Astral three almost four months ago, but what was intended to, I guess, devour my soul, well...something instinctual within me turned it around, and I..." She paused.

"You what?" The lady ranger demanded.

"I devoured his soul instead, got a power boost, and a lot of guilt. I apologize for my hesitation. It's just... I'd never want to do that to someone, and didn't even know I could! It's been hard to cast since." She replied in unabashed honesty.

"Recognizing Riley as we are, we have the account of three rangers in good standing that Iskaros was involved in some kind of conspiracy.

That's irrefutable from where I'm standing," said the older ranger on the left.

"Remember, two of them have been operating under magical contract, utilizing first tier methods; all of this is unprecedented. This whole situation is one unusual event piled on to another, Hilvar," the ranger on the right said.

Riley perked at the name.

"Granted, but it's not so unusual amongst our first tier counterparts, as you said. Sapience is common among their companions, and their words are treated with weight. Do you want to tell an elder dragon they're lesser, Sylvanus?" He pointed an accusing finger.

"Let's return to the report. Cid, you've forty years of honorable service. Do you swear by your magic and your spirit by the testimony of these two?" She asked.

"General Kivara, I swear by my spirit and my magic without equivocation. Iskaros betrayed the order, and these two are telling the truth as they know it, as have I. I swear by the spirit of my Zorna," Cid's lip quivered.

"And you two, do you also so swear?" Kivara asked.

"By spirit and by magic, I do," they both echoed as Riley saw the familiar prompt.

"I was afraid of that, a thrice sworn oath. They wouldn't risk their magic to throw off suspicion. That would be suicide," Sylvanus groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"But it seems we have a countermeasure in place. If Riley can subvert the ritual, we have an edge in investigating this further," General Hilvar offered like a ray of hope.

"Send them back to Ashenvale and investigate the high nobility; it wouldn't be the first time we've done such a thing," Kivara covered her mouth in thought, narrowing her eyes at Riley.

"Careful, some things should not be spoken of too loudly. The past should stay the past, but what end would our investigation accomplish? The Duke of Ashenrealm is an untouchable by any standard of justice unless we're talking about our own justice," Sylvanus pondered as they each turned towards him, blanching pale.

"Mavora has been identified as an infernal that is harvesting souls. Some things cannot be allowed to continue. It's always been up to us to save the kingdom from itself, and it seems Chadrick is either compromised or participating. The Blackblades were founded at the end of the Ashen Wars for just such a purpose. We act when others cannot," Hilvar said with greater confidence than his look portrayed.

"There has been unusual activity surrounding the capital city as of late," Kivara squinted as if looking for something.

"The murders? Do you think they could be related? If we're going so far as to accuse, we should investigate first. No action can be taken unless we are beyond certain. These aren't just nobles. This is the royal house," Sylvanus argued.

"They might be, regardless, enough of the nobility have been touched to grant us the pretext, some cover at least, but the greater concern is our rangers. Iskaros was thought to be the best of us. If an infernal was able to coopt him, this could go deeper. We may not be able to trust each other," Hilvar worried as each of the three regarded the other uneasily.

"Let's not go that far. The Infernal lives off our darker fears and our paranoia. It will do nothing for us to feed into its machinations with unverified suspicion. We need to continue the audit, find out how many of our people they've compromised, and discuss matters in private. You three, dismissed," Kivara said suddenly.

Cid and Tobias bowed as they all made their way out.