Chapter 10: Investigation

Kelrian arrived at the Farstrider Enclave after riding for an hour. He brought his horse to the stable next to the building. One of the stable master's apprentices took the horse and guided it inside. Kelrian gave the boy a silver coin before he turned around and regarded the impressive building next to him. It was not a closed building with closed rooms like most of the other important buildings and houses in Quel'Thalas. It was a very opened place where lots of rangers were gathered. They could enjoy the fresh air while they talked about certain topics or discussed missions and tasks.

There was a large platform at the back of this building. A red and golden coloured mandala decorated the ground of the platform. In the middle of the platform was a fireplace around which a few rangers stood. There was even a Ranger-Captain among them. From the platform run two bent stairs-like paths which led to the top of two round turret-like building parts. There were also a few large pillars which supported the building's roof. The roof, which was covered by yellow tiles, only protected the Farstriders from rain which came from above.

Kelrian regarded the magnificent building for a few minutes before walked over to it. He was greeted by the recruits and rangers he passed and he greeted them in return, of course. He even spotted a few recruits he knew very well but he didn't walk over to them. He didn't want to be late so he hurried to the turret-like construct on the left side of the building. He took a deep breath, collecting himself before he knocked at the door.

"Who is it?" asked the most beautiful voice he had ever heard.

"Kelrian"

"Wait a moment" Sylvanas responded. "You may enter now" she said after a minute.

Kelrian didn't hesitate to open the door, entering the room immediately. He closed the door behind him, turning his head to the direction where he expected Sylvanas. But she wasn't sitting on her chair behind her desk. Instead, she was standing next to the door and regarded her apprentice curiously.

"I'm here" she said, smiling as Kelrian got startled by her sudden appearance.

He turned around immediately, holding his hand over the spot where his rapidly beating heart was. "You frightened me, Sylvanas"

"It was not my intention to do that. Sorry"

"You don't need to apologize" he said, smiling at her.

Sylvanas pointed at the chair in front of her desk, offering him to take a seat. He gave her a nod and walked to the chair, sitting down. Sylvanas walked to her chair and sat down as well. She pulled two glasses out of a drawer and filled it with moonberry juice. Kelrian thanked her and emptied half of his glass immediately.

Sylvanas smiled at him. "You seem to be very thirsty"

"The sun was shining all the way down at me when I rode from my home to this place. It's pretty hot outside"

"Indeed, it is"

"Thank you for offering me this drink"

Sylvanas chuckled. "You don't need to thank me for that. It's nothing extraordinary"

"I still want to thank you"

She returned his smile. "What can I do for you, Kelrian?"

"Who said that I want something from you?"

Sylvanas tilted her head. "Why else would you come to me?"

"Am I not allowed to just be around youor do I need to have a reason when I want to spend time with you?"

Sylvanas chuckled. "I'm flattered, you are the first person who pays me a visit without wanting something from me. So, once you are here, I want to talk to you about something"

Kelrian gave her a curious look. "I wanted to do the same, to be honest"

"So, you came to me for a reason I knew it" she said, giving him a teasing smile.

"Well, I... yeah. You are right but I'm also here because I really enjoy your company"

"I enjoy your company as well"

Kelrian's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

Sylvanas gave him a nod. "I would never lie to you" she said, putting her left hand on his right hand. Kelrian looked down at their hands, blushing as Sylvanas' hand caressed his.

"I believe you"

She smirked. "You better do so"

"About what do you want to talk, Sylvanas?" he asked, wondering if she also wanted to talk about the night two days ago.

"About the celebration and what happened there" she didn't break eye contact with Kelrian as she spoke.

Kelrian sighed out in relief. "That suits me fine. I also wanted to speak to you about what happened there. What happened between us, to be exactly"

"I think it is obvious what is going on between us" statemented Sylvanas.

Kelrian tilted his head, giving her a surprised look. "So, it was not the alcohol which led you to kiss me"

Sylvanas' facial expression became upset for a very short moment but then it became normal again. "Of course not. The alcohol may have strengthened my back but my feelings for you were already there since the first day I met you"

Kelrian was silent, not knowing what to say in response. He hadn't expected that Sylvanas' feelings for him existed since the first day they met. He had expected that her feelings for him had developed over the past years. Just like in his case. Finding out that she had feelings for him since ten and a half years made him speechless. He just stared at her, returning her smile.

She wasn't nervous at all. But he was, even though he had no reasons to. Sylvanas had told him that she was feeling something for him. She didn't seem to regret the kiss nor did she ignore him. These were good signs. Still, Kelrian felt insecure for some reason.

His gaze fell back on Sylvanas' hand which was resting on his. She intertwined their fingers and caressed the back of his hand with her thumb. She continued to smile at him, telling him that she was serious about her feelings for him. But Kelrian was still insecure. He felt unworthy of her. There were so many other men who were worthier than him, who also had a higher rank than him. They weren't expelled from their families and regarded as shames.

He, on the other hand, was just an ordinary recruit while she was the Ranger-General. She was Sylvanas Windrunner, the most beautiful woman of Quel'Thalas. And he was just the son of a priest who wanted to be a Farstrider. He was nothing compared to her.

"I fell for you from the first day we met" Sylvanas repeated. "I knew from day one that you were special. You haven't gotten much practise with the bow when you attended the first examination. You wanted to become a Farstrider so badly and you did everything to become one of us. You practised hard and you always stood up when you stumbled over an obstacle. You never gave up, even after you failed the second time. You pulled yourself up and worked harder. You passed the third entrance exam and even the intermediate exam.

I admire your will power and your stamina. Others would have given up after the first or second failure but you didn't. You ignored the opinions of the others and you tried it over and over again. You did it. You became a recruit against the expectations of many high ranked rangers. I knew from the beginning that you will make it through the exam one day. I really admire you Kelrian and I can't hide my feelings anymore. I have hidden them for ten years because I was insecure. But I'm not anymore. Not after our kiss, which felt right to me"

Kelrian was silent for a few minutes. He stared into those gorgeous blue eyes which regarded him curiously. Sylvanas' and his fingers were still intertwined but he didn't mind that. He really enjoyed close contact with her soft and skilled fingersbrushing his while looking into her eyes made his heart beat faster. His body reacted positively to her, only his mind was unsure of this entire situation. He was still insecure about everything.

He didn't know what would happen if a relationship between them wouldn't work out. Would she get distant to him? Would she put him in another regiment? Would she treat him differently?

'Do I have similar feelings for her? Do I love her? Or do I only regard her as a very close friend and as my mentor?' he asked himself.

He had feelings for her but he was not sure if these feelings were similar to the ones Sylvanas had for him. He had talked with Liadrin about his feelings but he was still insecure. Insecure about everything.

"But you are not favouring me because of your feelings for me, aren't you?"

"Of course not. I favour you because I believe that you can become one of the best Farstriders if you train hard enough"

"I'm glad you believe in me, unlike everyone else". His response sounded sadder than it was supposed to be. Sylvanas put her other hand on Kelrian's shoulder, patting it softly. Her smile was enough to drive out all worry and sadness. He returned her smile, staring into her eyes. She did the same, caressing the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Now you know how I feel about you. Is there anything you want to say to me?" Sylvanas asked curiously. She was hoping that he would tell her that he loved her. Such a confession would make things a lot easier for them.

"We...ll...I..." Kelrian began but stopped speaking when he noticed that he was stuttering. He closed his eyes for a few moments, calming down eventually. He opened them and stared once again into Sylvanas' gorgeous eyes.

"I'm not sure what to think at this very moment. I'm flattered but I don't know exactly how I feel about you. I feel more than friendship, I know that for sure but I'm still unsure about my feelings... I need more time to figure out how I feel about you..." he responded quietly, looking ashamed at his feet.

He felt Sylvanas' hand under his chin. He didn't want to look at her but he had no choice because the Ranger-General lifted his chin and forced him to look at her. A quiet sigh of relief escaped his lips when he realized that Sylvanas was neither angry or hurt. On the contrary, she gave him an understanding look. Her likable smile comforted him and convinced him that everything was alright.

Sylvanas didn't show that she was a bit disappointed. She could understand him so she didn't want to push him. She assumed that he felt unworthy of her or maybe he was just insecure about his feelings. She couldn't know that but she didn't want to ask more questions because she didn't want to put him under pressure.

She was a hunter and hunters often needed to be patient. And Sylvanas was a patient person. She wouldn't have gone without sex for sixty years if she wouldn't be a patient person. She was waiting for the right person and she was pretty sure that Kelrian was the right person she wanted to be with. She just had to give him enough time. Pressuring him would only scare him away.

"I understand you, Kelrian"

"Do you really?" he asked.

"I do. I don't want to put pressure on your shoulders and I don't want to push you. I understand that you need time to think about everything. Just keep in mind that I will never be angry about you if you don't feel the same and I won't treat you differently if you reject me. We can't force anyone to love us. Take your time and tell me how you feel as soon as you are ready. And don't be afraid of me. I'm a big girl, I can handle rejections"

Kelrian didn't say anything, he just nodded to her. He looked at their intertwined fingers, then at Sylvanas. He remained silent for a few moments before he spoke eventually. "Thank you for your understanding"

"No problem, Kelrian"

"May I go now or do you have something else you want to talk about?"

"Not now. You can leave if you want"

Kelrian pulled his hand away and stood up. Sylvanas did the same and walked to him, guiding him to the door. She opened it but put her hand on Kelrian's cheeks before he could walk out of the office. She leaned in and kissed his left cheek softly, giggling when she saw the deep blush on his face. He stared into her sky-blue eyes for a few moments. He realized too late what he was doing, so he couldn't stop it. He mimicked Sylvanas' move and kissed her cheek softly. His face became as red as a tomato when he pulled back.

Sylvanas made an amused and satisfied face but she didn't say anything. She just caressed his cheek for a few moments and looked at him. "Don't forget that we and the rest of the group will meet in Fairbreeze Village in two hours"

"Don't worry, I won't be late"

"Good" responded Sylvanas and gave him her brightest smile, regarding him for a few moments before she waved at him and closed the door after he had left her office.

---

Kelrian arrived in Fairbreeze Village. He looked around, noticing that no other member of his group was here. He was half an hour too early so he thought about what he could do until the others would arrive. He looked over to the market house where the village's traders were selling their goods. He was figuring out if he needed something from them. Nothing came in his mind which he really needed. Nevertheless, he decided to walk over to the house to find out what the traders were offering.

He spotted two women and one man in the shop. He had met these traders a few times whenever his group had made a stop in this village to buy supplies. Kelrian had gotten known to them a little because he had talked to them from time to time. The woman with the silver dyed hair was Sathiel. She was at least double the age of Kelrian and sold items which could be used for mining or dyeing cloths and other materials. The other woman had the name Marniel Amberlight and wore a beautiful yellow-purple coloured dress. She was selling various delicious food and drinks.

The last trader was named Halis Dawnstrider and wore purple leggings and a turquoise tunic. He sold bags and other stuff which could be useful for an adventure. Kelrian greeted them, observing their offerings. He talked with them a little, mostly about casual topics and his apprenticeship. He wished he could stay longer and talk more with them but he had to look out for the others. He bought a few flasks filled with melon juice, giving Marniel a few more coins as a bonus. She nodded to him and gave him a thankful smile. Kelrian put the flasks in his bag and said goodbye to the traders before he left the shop.

He walked to the centre of the village, noticing that Zetai and Kelia were standing in the near of one of the smaller houses. They were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice Kelrian, not even when he approached them and stopped right in front of them. He waited a few minutes, not saying anything while he listened to them. They were talking about dragonhawks and other beautiful creatures which lived in the forests of Quel'Thalas.

Kelrian cleared his throat after he had listened to them for a while, greeting them as soon as they turned to him. Kelia pulled him in a quick hug while Zetai offered him a handshake. Kelrian didn't hesitate to accept the handshake, smiling at his friend.

"Have you seen the others?" Kelrian asked curiously.

Kelia shook her head. "No, we haven't. We haven't seen the Ranger-General either. Normally she is at least half an hour earlier than us but today she isn't. I wonder why"

"Maybe she is busy because has to do a lot of work so she can't allow herself to be here earlier and do nothing while she is waiting for us. Even if, I'm pretty sure she will arrive on time" responded Kelrian. He thought about the stacks of documents he had spotted on Sylvanas' desk. He was wondering how many hours she would need to work them off. She wouldn't finish the stacks in a few hours, he knew that for sure.

But she would finish them sooner than others would because she was a really hard-working person who did her work no matter if she liked it or not. She would do everything which was necessary. She didn't even mind working a lot longer than she had to. No matter if she would have less free time or less time to sleep. She only went to her home when everything was done.

There had been times where Sylvanas hadn't left her office for a whole week. She had constantly worked off the stacks of documents and only made pauses to eat or sleep for a few hours. Her sister had told her more than one time that she didn't need to do this, that she could take an assistant who could help her but Sylvanas insisted on doing this on her own. Alleria had accepted her decision because she was tired of discussing with her stubborn little sister.

"Who will arrive on time?" asked a familiar voice. The recruits turned around, making surprised faces as they saw Sylvanas standing to their right. None of them had seen her coming nor had they heard her. None of the recruits had heard any footsteps as if the Ranger-General had appeared out of nowhere.

"Nobody, Ranger-General" responded Kelia.

Sylvanas raised an eyebrow. "You were talking about me, weren't you?"

"Yes, we were. We were just wondering why you didn't arrive earlier as usual"

"I have assumed that. I was busy with a lot of paperwork so I didn't manage to come earlier" responded Sylvanas. Her gaze shifted from Kelia to Zetai and then to Kelrian. "All of you look very relaxed so I assumed you get enough sleep. I've been afraid that some of you would still be affected by the after-effects of the alcohol. It wouldn't be the first time that a few recruits would be missing on the first day of the following week after such a celebration"

"Well, Saith and Vendora are still missing" said Zetai.

"I'm pretty sure that they will come sooner or later"

Indeed, they did. They arrived five minutes later. Unlike Zetai and Kelrian, they hadn't drunk much at the celebration so they didn't feel unwell. Kelrian and Zetai didn't feel unwell either because they had slept a lot while Saith and Vendora had been able to use their free time differently. They hadn't needed to sleep half of the day to feel well again.

"Now that we are complete, we can finally begin" statemented Sylvanas.

"What are we doing?" Kelrian asked curiously.

"We are investigating something"

"Investigating something? What do we investigate?"

"Bandits. Bandits have been seen near this village. We need to catch them. We can't allow that renegades and criminals threat, harm or rob the citizens of Quel'Thalas. It's our duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves" explained Sylvanas.

"Where do we start our investigation?" asked Kelia.

"We will check the surroundings of the village and speak with the inhabitants. Saith and Vendora will speak with them and gain as many useful information as possible. Kelia and Zetai will take a closer look at the nearest forests. It's not unusual that bandits set up their camps in forests. They also love to hide in dark caves. Kelrian and I will follow the main road which leads to the next larger city. Maybe we can find some tracks there. We will meet again in four hours" told Sylvanas. She asked if someone had questions but none of them asked her something. Everyone understood what they had to do.

Nobody had an objection so the group split up. Kelrian found himself next to Sylvanas as they walked out of the village to the main road which was wide and plastered with firm stones. The main road was taken by lots of people every day so Kelrian was asking himself why the Ranger-General wanted to investigate it. It would be almost impossible to figure out which footprints belonged to traders, inhabitants of the village or visitors, and which footprints would belong to the bandits.

He was not even sure if the bandits would have taken this road. It didn't make sense to him that bandits would show themselves on a well-known and often used road where everyone could see them. Bandits would only take this road when they would be sure that no one could see and recognize them. That would mean that the bandits came at night when it was dark and most people were sleeping. If they had used this road.

Kelrian didn't say anything. He just followed Sylvanas, keeping his eyes on the ground and on the surroundings at the same time. They followed the main road for a while without finding anything useful. They came to a crossroad with three paths which led in three different directions.

Sylvanas stopped in the middle of the crossroad, observing every path closely. Kelrian didn't know what she had seen to decide to take the path to the west but he followed her without asking questions. Kelrian was still curious why Sylvanas had taken this way so he asked her after they had walked for twenty minutes.

"I haven't found much, only a few pieces of cloth and a few rusty coins. There are no real hints that the bandits went this way" told Sylvanas, looking at him over her shoulder while she continued to walk.

"So, why are we following this path then and not the others?"

"For some reason, my gut instinct told me that they went this way. This is only an investigation. We aren't chasing them. We are not in a rush so we can take a closer look at every path they might have taken. I've heard that the bandits had been in this area, so we have to observe more than just the village and the nearest forest. We have to investigate the entire area around it"

"I'm not sure if we will find many hints in this area"

"I understand your doubts but there aren't many villagers we can question so we have to find hints elsewhere"

"I understand that but we have no hints which could help us. We have no clue where we should start with our search. We are just wandering around and hope that we find something. Maybe we should have asked the villagers together and then go to the places where the bandits had been seen. We have to be really lucky if we want to find anything here"

"Trust me, Kelrian. I'm doing this for quite some time. I have investigated lots of things and followed lots of groups of bandits since I became a ranger. I have lots of experience. Trust me, I know what I'm doing"

"I believe you" he responded quietly.

"So, why do you doubt my decisions then?"

"I'm not doubting your decisions, Ranger-General"

Sylvanas stopped and turned around, looking at him. "But you don't understand why we are doing this, right?"

"Well, I..." he said but he was too nervous to finish his sentence. He returned Sylvanas' staring and took a deep breath before he responded to her without stuttering. "I'm not convinced that we find any hints in this area. There are so many footprints on the ground that it would be impossible to find out which belong to the bandits. If any of these footprints belong to them. We don't even know if they went this way"

"Do you trust me?" asked Sylvanas and stared deeper into his eyes.

"Of course I do" Kelrian responded immediately.

"Why do you doubt my decisions then?" she asked with a strict expression on her face.

"Errm..." Kelrian had no clue what to say at this moment. Of course, he trusted Sylvanas. She was the best ranger of Quel'Thalas and she had a lot of experience. Sylvanas knew what she was doing because she was doing that for quite some time. Kelrian regretted immediately that he had doubted her. If Sylvanas was sure that she was following the right path then she was following the right path. He knew that she was never wrong about her assumptions. She always trusted her instincts which had never led her on a wrong trail. She just followed her instincts which told her to follow this path.

"I'm sorry, Ranger-General" said Kelrian eventually after he had been silent for a few moments.

"It's okay" she said, giving him a small smile. She put her hand on his shoulder, patting it softly. He returned her smile, staring into her gorgeous eyes. Sylvanas cleared her throat after a few minutes, bringing him back to the present. "Can we continue walking then?

"Of course, Ranger-General"

"I think I told you that you can call me by my name when we are alone"

"I remember that but I thought you meant it only when we are in a closed room where nobody can hear or see us"

"Do you see anyone in our near?" she asked as she spun around and pointed at the surroundings.

"Well, no but what if an invisible person follows us?"

"Are you serious about this?" asked Sylvanas, assuming that he had meant this as a joke.

"Of course not"

Sylvanas chuckled. "Good, let's keep moving then"

They didn't find any useful hint in the next thirty minutes. They came to another crossroad, taking the way which led to the west. They followed this path for a while and then they came to a small forest, in which lots of trees with colourful leaves stood. Some of them had orange and even red leaves, others had green or yellow leaves. The Eversong Forest was known for its variety in tree species and for its beauty. They regarded the forest for a few moments before they entered it, beginning to walk straight through it. They checked their surroundings closely, stopping after a while.

Sylvanas bowed down and stroked over the ground which was covered by lots of colourful leaves. There was a small pile of leaves which stood out from the even swept it away, smiling when she saw something beneath it. They found the remains of an extinguished bonfire.

"I knew there had to be something beneath it. It was too obvious. This is not the work of professional bandits. Professional bandits would have covered her tracks much better. I would have still been able to identify them but it would have been a lot harder. But this is too easy. This can only be the work of amateurs" she explained.

Kelrian crouched next to her, regarding the bonfire from the near. "The burned pieces of wood are still glowing. This bonfire was extinguished recently, which means that whoever has made this fire shouldn't be far away from us"

"You are absolutely right"

"There have to be footprints somewhere we can follow"

Sylvanas pointed at the tree stump. "There is another hint"

Kelrian stood up and walked over to the stump, pulling the knife out which stuck in it. "This is not a casual knife" he statemented after he had observed the knife for a minute.

Sylvanas walked over to him, taking the knife out of his hands. "This is a troll knife" she said eventually.

Kelrian turned his head, looking at her. "Are you sure?"

She looked at him, tilting her head. "Of course, I am. I've been fighting trolls for decades"

"But that doesn't have to mean that the owner is a troll. Maybe these bandits are renegade humans or elves who obtained such a knife somewhere"

Sylvanas looked at the ground, observing the footprints in front of them. "These are no human or elven footprints. Whoever was there had no shoes and only two toes. These can only be troll footprints"

"I can't believe that trolls dared to come in our lands. Do you believe that they are these bandits?" Kelrian asked curiously.

"I don't think so. My informants would have told me if trolls would have been seen in our lands. The trolls have been here but I believe the bandits are still somewhere. This means that we have a bandit and a troll problem at the same time"

"Maybe we have only one problem"

"What do you mean?"

Kelrian didn't say anything. He just pointed at the freshly turned over ground behind a small bush. Sylvanas didn't hesitate to walk over to the bush. "If only we had shovels" she muttered. Kelrian came to her, regarding the ground as well. "Do you think that someone has been buried here?"

"That could be possible". She turned her head, checking her surroundings. Her eyes widened a little when she spotted a large amount of blood on the ground near them. It was definitely fresh blood.

Sylvanas walked over to the spot, bending down to investigate this. "This could be troll blood or human blood. It's hard to differentiate it. It doesn't really matter which blood it is. What matters is that a fight has happened here recently. We have to investigate this but we have to be careful as well. We don't know how many enemies are in our near"

"I..." Kelrian started but was interrupted by a loud war cry. He turned around, spotting a troll who was holding with a spear and was running towards him. It was unmistakable that this troll wanted to kill him. But this troll was not alone. Two other trolls followed him and charged towards the two elves.

The elves couldn't use their bows because these trolls were already too close to them. Sylvanas had no other choice than drawing her blades from her belt.

"This is not good" Kelrian muttered as he drew his sword, holding it in front of his body. He was ready to block the first attack. He was ready to defend himself against these intruders and he was not scared even though they were one more. Sylvanas Windrunner was on his side, so he should be able to kill these trolls with her help. He was hoping that at least. He couldn't know that these trolls were not the only trolls in this area.