Chapter 11: Skirmishes

The troll with the spear came closer. He was a large, muscular male with green skin, a short red mohawk and two large tusks. He wore a leather vest and leather pants but he didn't wear any shoes or gloves. The other trolls wore similar clothes but they had no spears. They carried large, very sharp knives on which blades fresh blood stuck. They looked really fearsome with their tall sizes and their angry faces. But Sylvanas wasn't scared nor was Kelrian.

The two elves couldn't use their bows because the trolls were too close to them. But they didn't need their bows to defend themselves. Both of them were excellent fighters. Kelrian had never killed an enemy before but he wouldn't hesitate to defend himself and kill his opponents if necessary.

The troll with the spear approached him and tried to hit him but Kelrian managed to sidestep the attack at the last moment. The two trolls with the knives ran to Sylvanas and attacked her but she blocked their attacks with her two blades. Kelrian tried to hit his opponent with his sword but the troll was not as slow as he had hoped. He jumped to the side and pushed the tip of his spear in Kelrian's direction. The blond elf managed to shove the tip away with his sword, causing that the spear missed him.

Kelrian came closer to the troll, grabbing the handle to the spear. It was not possible to snatch the spear away but at least he managed to push it away so that the spear couldn't hit him. A frustrated noise escaped the troll's lips as he realized that Kelrian managed to keep his weapon away from him while using only one arm. It was clearly visible in the troll's eyes that Kelrian's strength surprised him. He hadn't expected that Kelrian was that strong.

Kelrian's facial expression didn't change as he noticed the expression the troll made. He didn't get cocky nor did he do something rashly. He tried to hit the troll with his sword but the troll managed to grab his upper arm and shove it away forcefully. Kelrian gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain the troll's tight grip was causing. He noticed that the troll's eyes rested on his arms which meant that he wasn't paying much attention to what his legs were doing.

Kelrian acted quickly and kicked the troll's left knee as hard as he could. The troll loosened his grip on the spear as a painful cry escaped his lips. Kelrian also noticed that the grip on his hand had been loosened as well so he managed to free his hand and rammed his sword in the troll's chest. A pained scream followed by a large amount of blood came out of his mouth. Kelrian didn't hesitate and disarmed the troll, impaling him with his own spear. He beheaded the troll, turning to Sylvanas immediately.

Sylvanas had already killed one of them and was currently fighting the other. Kelrian rushed to her and rammed his sword in the troll's back, thrusting it deeper until it came out of the troll's chest. Sylvanas beheaded the troll and gave Kelrian a thankful nod. She put her swords back on her belt and pulled her bow from her back. She pulled an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it for the case that more trolls would come to them.

Sylvanas' assumption turned out to be true as five trolls came in their field of vision. Kelrian had also nocked an arrow so he was also ready to shot. Two trolls fell before they even realized what happened. Two more died before they came too close to the elves, meaning that only one troll remained.

Sylvanas pulled a knife out of her belt and flung it at the troll, hitting him in the eye. The troll cried out in pain and stopped moving, trying to remove the sharp object. That gave Kelrian enough time to shot an arrow which hit the troll right between the eyes. A very loud cry escaped the troll's lips, then he fell backwards and landed on the ground. Sylvanas nocked an arrow, walking forward without losing sight of her surroundings. She regarded the troll with one eye, checking if he was really dead, while her other eye observed the surroundings.

He was still alive for some reason but he didn't move at all. He was breathing heavily, his eyes stared at nothing. Sylvanas looked at Kelrian, receiving a nod from him. He nocked an arrow and kept an eye on the surroundings as Sylvanas lowered her bow and drew one of her blades from her belt. She ended the troll's life by piercing the blade through his heart.

Kelrian turned his head as he heard a very quiet noise. His eyes widened as he saw the arrow which flew through the air. He noticed that whoever had shot his arrow, had aimed at Sylvanas. But it was too late for him to warn her. A loud cry escaped Sylvanas' lips as the arrow hit her in the left shoulder. She didn't drop her bow, even though the pain she was feeling was unbearable for the moment.

Kelrian's eyes were widened in shocked as he checked the surroundings in panic. He needed to find out where the attacker was so he could eliminate him. Another arrow hit Sylvanas, this time in the left upper thigh. She cursed loudly and pulled a much larger knife out of her belt, throwing it at the direction where she assumed the archer was.

The corners of her mouth formed a small smile for a short moment as her ears recognized the muffled cry. She pointed at the direction, giving Kelrian the signal to fire. The young male shot an arrow in the direction, hearing another pained cry, this time it was much louder. Sylvanas found shelter behind a large tree so that no arrows could hit her. At least no arrows from the direction where they had been fired previously. She pressed her back against the tree trunk, holding a knife in her left hand for the case that another attacker would approach them. Fortunately for them, nobody came.

The two elves waited for a few minutes but no one came. Sylvanas looked at Kelrian, receiving a nod from him. He took his sword and walked slowly to the nearest bush. As a recruit he hadn't learned the technique yet which would allow him to hide in the shadows and become invisible. He had no other choice than walking to the bush, risking that any attacker could jump out of the bush and attack him.

He checked if the bush was empty before he hid in it. He checked his surroundings, looking out for more enemies. He spotted no one. No living person at least. Not far away from him laid a dead person on the ground. Like his tribesmen, the person was an Amani troll under the command of Zul'jin. A knife stuck in his neck and an arrow in his left eye. He was clearly dead and it seemed that he was the last troll in this area.

Still, Kelrian remained careful and didn't do any rash moves. He returned to Sylvanas, letting his eyes wander from corner to corner with each move he made. He found Sylvanas still leaning against the trunk. She was biting her bottom lip and her beautiful facial features were distorted in pain but other than that she was fine.

"It seems that all attackers are dead" spoke Kelrian, observing the arrows in Sylvanas' body. He was no doctor and no healer but he was pretty sure that Sylvanas wouldn't go far with the arrow in her left upper thigh. Even if he would remove it, she would still hobble. He approached the Ranger-General and put his arms around her upper body, helping her to get in a comfortable sitting position.

"I didn't see the arrows coming. I would have dodged them if I would have seen them earlier"

"Now it's too late to blame yourself, Sylvanas. The attackers are gone at least. We need to find a way to treat your wound" spoke Kelrian.

"I wish now that we would have taken the horses but I had decided to go without them because I wanted to focus better on observing the surroundings to find tracks and other hints. We could need them right now" she hissed.

"It would have been difficult for you to ride with this wound. I mean it would have been possible but it would have really hurt" explained Kelrian.

"I know but I have ridden with worse wounds in the past. I would have endured the pain for sure"

"I believe that" responded Kelrian. "Anyways, I guess we have to walk then"

"I can't walk on my own with the arrow in my upper thigh" statemented Sylvanas.

"I know that's why I will support you"

"We are easy targets for every bandit or troll if we move like that. Maybe it's better if you leave me here and run to the nearest village to get help"

"I won't leave you alone, not even if we would know that no troll or bandit would be around" responded Kelrian, looking into Sylvanas' eyes. He signalized her that he was serious about this. He would never leave her side no matter what would happen.

"I can take care of myself. I'm a big girl"

"I would believe you under normal circumstances. But you are hurt and you can barely move your left arm and left leg. I won't leave you here, not in this condition"

Sylvanas sighed. "Fine. But first, you have to break off the arrows"

"I can also remove them. I may be a bad priest but I still know how to treat wounds. If I break off the tips, I can pull out the arrows and dress your wounds"

Sylvanas nodded to him, staring at him with a determined expression on her face. She bit her bottom lip hard to prevent that a loud scream escaped her lips as Kelrian broke off the tip of the arrow in her shoulder. A scream was still hearable but it was muffled.

Kelrian pulled out the arrow carefully, signalizing Sylvanas to press her hands on the wound. She did as she was told, looking at Kelrian who pulled a bandage out of a small pocket which was attached to his belt. He unrolled it and wrapped it tight enough around the wound to stop the bleeding. He did the same with the wound in Sylvanas' upper thigh. She gave him a thankful nod, accepting his hand which helped her to get up.

Kelrian wrapped his arm around her shoulders, allowing her to do the same. Kelrian blushed a little when their bodies came in contact but the blush faded then he realized that this was a dangerous situation and not a comforting situation like the situation on the balcony two days ago.

But for some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about the celebration and what had happened there. He remembered the moment where they had kissed and had pressed their bodies together. He remembered how warm his body had been when Sylvanas had pressed her lips against his. He remembered how good her body had felt when they had embraced each other.

He shook his head, banishing these thoughts out of his mind for the moment. This was not the right moment to remember the comfortable and passionate moment they had shared together. This was not the right moment to think about something else but Sylvanas' security. She was injured and wasn't really able to defend herself. It was his task to protect her no matter what would happen.

She was his Ranger-General, his superior and his friend. Probably more than a friend because she was interested in him and he assumed that he was also feeling something for her. He was still not sure if he loved her but he knew that she was important to him and he considered her more than just a friend. But it was not the right moment for figuring out if he wanted Sylvanas the same way she wanted him.

He needed to bring her to safety. He needed to bring her to the nearest safe place. Fairbreeze village was too far away from them. They had needed a lot of time to get to this place so they would need more time to get back because they would be a lot slower than usual. Kelrian knew that there was a farm in the near. He knew he had to bring her to this farm, hoping that the inhabitants could help them.

"Where are we going?" asked Sylvanas as soon as she realized that Kelrian didn't intend to go back to Fairbreeze Village.

"There is a farm in the north where we can get help. We would take too long to reach Fairbreeze Village. The chances, that some bandits are going to attack us if we walk the entire way back to the village, would be pretty high. We wouldn't need long to reach the farm so it's better if we go to it than to Fairbreeze Village" explained Kelrian.

Sylvanas was silent for a few moments, thinking about what he had just said. "You are right" she admitted eventually.

Kelrian didn't respond to her. He kept a close eye on the surroundings as he walked, making sure that he didn't hurt Sylvanas. They left the forest faster than expected and came to the main road. They walked for a while, stopping from time to time so that Sylvanas could relax her injured leg for a few minutes.

They came to a crossroad and followed the path which led to the north. Kelrian was pretty sure that this was the right way. He was pretty sure that this path will lead them to the farm they were looking for. They followed the path for almost an hour, only stopping when they noticed that three persons were coming from the opposite direction. Kelrian and Sylvanas stayed on the same spot, regarding the three persons as they come closer.

Kelrian allowed Sylvanas to sit on the ground before he took his bow and nocked two arrows, aiming at the three persons. The strangers stopped when they noticed that Kelrian was ready to fire arrows at them. This gave Kelrian and Sylvanas enough time to scrutinize them closely.

They saw a human male and a human female supporting an injured male high elf. All three of them were wearing black clothes, some of them looked like rags while others had a much better quality. The lower halves of the persons' faces were covered by black scarves. Lots of daggers and large knives hung on their belts. It was unmistakable that these guys were bandits. Maybe the bandits Sylvanas and her group were looking for.

The clothes of the injured man in the middle were partly ripped, smaller and deeper cuts could be found on his exposed chest. He was also hobbling which meant that he had been hit in the leg or in the foot. Kelrian took a closer look on the cuts on the bandit's torso. These cuts were differently shaped, meaning that no ordinary knife or blade had caused these wounds. He had not enough experience to know what sort of a knife had been used to cause such wounds. But Sylvanas had the experience so she knew that a troll knife or sword had caused these wounds. She concluded that the bandits had bumped into the trolls or the other way around.

It didn't matter who saw who first. Things had become violent for sure. Sylvanas assumed that this had resulted that this bandit had gotten injured and that someone had been killed. Sylvanas was pretty sure that either trolls or bandits had been buried in the freshly filled hole.

"Don't you dare to come any closer" shouted Kelrian with a strict voice. His narrowed eyes rested on the bandits. He was ready to let loose his arrow from his bow if any of these bandits would do a wrong move. Sylvanas' arm hurt so much that she was sure she wouldn't be able to hold her bow properly. But that didn't mean she was defenceless. She had pulled three daggers from her belt which she would throw at the bandits if they would try something. A precise dagger right between their eyes would be enough to take them down.

One of the bandits, the woman, lifted her free arm, the other was still wrapped around her companion's shoulders. "We don't want to cause any trouble. As you can see, we are injured as well"

"You fought against trolls, didn't you?" asked Sylvanas. Her eyes didn't leave the bandits. She regarded them closely, trying to predict what they would do.

"We did but we didn't plan to fight them. They came out of nowhere and surprised us while we were resting"

"So, the campfire was yours"

The uninjured male nodded. "About fifteen trolls attacked us. They had bows, axes, swords, knives and very large spears. We killed six of them but we lost eight of our comrades"

"So, you fled but you returned later to bury your dead. But why did you make another campfire?" asked Sylvanas.

"It started as a campfire but we wanted to turn it into a pyre for the dead trolls but the remaining trolls returned before we could burn them"

"They chased you" statemented Sylvanas.

"They did but they stopped following us after a short time. Probably because they wanted to collect their dead" she said.

"The trolls are dead so you have no reason to keep fleeing from them"

"You killed them?" she asked, making a surprised face.

"We did but that doesn't mean you are safe. You are criminals who are threatening defenceless traders and villagers. Normally, I would kill you right on the spot or arrest you at least but the clash with the intruding trolls has wounded us all. You have two options. You will leave Quel'Thalas and never return but you will also promise to never do criminal activities again. Or you fight and die today" spoke Sylvanas. She made a determined face, signalizing the bandits that she was serious about this.

"You are allowing us to go?" asked the injured man. He was not the only one who had a surprised expression on his face. The other bandits and even Kelrian were more than surprised about Sylvanas' offering. They had expected that she would capture them or kill them. But she didn't intend to do that.

Kelrian was asking himself why she was doing this. He believed that she could kill them alone only with her daggers, even in her condition. On the other hand, the bandits didn't deserve to die. They may have stolen and threatened innocents but they didn't kill anyone. At least not until this day. But this could change in the future so Kelrian was not sure if letting them go was the right choice. He knew it would be hard for them to capture these bandits without killing them. If Sylvanas would be able to walk on her own it would be no problem. But she was injured so she couldn't help capturing them.

So, Kelrian had to face these bandits alone and he knew it would be pretty hard for him to fight them and protect Sylvanas at the same time. Letting them go for now was the right decision. Kelrian was hoping that at least.

He looked at Sylvanas, noticing that she was still having this strict look on her face. He looked back at the bandits, noticing that they had stuck their heads together and were discussing the offering. They pulled away after a few minutes, looking at Sylvanas and Kelrian.

"We thank you for your offering, Ranger-General. We also thank you for avenging our fallen comrades. We will promise that we will never steal again or do other criminal actions"

"I hope for you that you will keep your promises, otherwise I will hunt you until the end of the planet. I have my informants and spies everywhere, so I will find out if you do criminal things. Trust me, I won't stop until I get you and make sure you get your just punishments"

"I believe you" said the woman and lowered her head in respect. Sylvanas' facial expression didn't change. She continued to stare at the bandits with narrowed eyes, signalizing them with a gesture to walk past them. Kelrian had put his bow on his back and drawn his sword for the case that the bandits would change their minds and attack them. But they didn't. They passed Sylvanas and Kelrian without trying anything. The elves two waited until they were out of their sight before they turned their heads to look at each other.

"Do you think it was the right choice to let them go?" asked Kelrian.

"It was not the best decision overall but it was the best decision in this situation. I believe that you would have managed to defeat these bandits alone. If they were ordinary bandits at least. But we didn't know how good they were so it was the best to not make it escalate. I don't want you to get hurt for no reason. You mean a lot to me"

Kelrian bowed down next to her, regarding her closely. "I would have defended you, even if it would have cost my life to save you"

Sylvanas put a hand on his cheek. "But I don't want you to lose your life"

"I know but I will become a ranger in two and a half year which means that my life could end every day if a sudden troll attack comes. We are rangers, we have to risk our lives every day for the greater good"

"I know that. You don't need to tell me this. I'm risking my life every day as well" she said, caressing his cheek softly.

"I know and I admire you for your courage. You don't think about yourself in the first place, whenever you do something. You think about the many lives you could save. You wouldn't mind losing your life to save others. I've met other recruits and rangers whose mindset is different. They would protect our people but they wouldn't give their lives for them"

"I know. It's so sad some people under my command still have this mindset but what should I do? The Farstriders need every single ranger and recruit they can get. We have lost a lot of good rangers over the past decades. The skirmishes with the orcs and trolls have cost countless lives. The skirmishes with the trolls won't stop if Zul'jin stays alive. We need to take him down one day but to achieve that we need more warriors and rangers like you. You belong to the best recruits we currently have. You also don't mind risking your own life. I appreciate your courage but I don't like that you risk your life. I'm afraid that I could lose you.

"Now I'm confused. You told me that you want your subordinates to risk their lives for the greater good but you don't want me to risk my life"

"You know why. I'm in love with you" responded Sylvanas. She took one of his hands and intertwined their fingers. Kelrian regarded Sylvanas from head to toe. His gaze rested long on her beautiful face before it shifted to her breasts, her exposed belly, her thighs and then to the wound in her upper thigh.

He realized that he really hated seeing Sylvanas being hurt. He had been unsure about his feelings for her but at this very moment, where he realized that they both could have lost their lives today, he found out that he had similar feelings for Sylvanas. She was important to him. She was not only his superior or his role model. She was also his friend but not only that. She was more than an ordinary friend for him. She was his love interest. She was the one he had feelings for. He had had a few girlfriends in the past but none of these had ever been so important for him as Sylvanas.

He would do everything for her. He would do everything to save her even if he had to sacrifice his life. She was worth all efforts and all pain he would have to endure to protect her. Normally she didn't need protection because she was the strongest and most skilled ranger in Quel'Thalas. She was better than everyone else. She was smarter than everyone else and she was prettier than everyone else. But she was more than that. She was friendly, funny, self-confident, brave and much more. He loved to talk with her and spend time with her.

And unlike most rangers Kelrian had met, Sylvanas was not arrogant and didn't think she was better because she was a trained ranger. She didn't think she was better because she was the best. Every person in Quel'Thalas was equal in her opinion. She treated everyone the same, even Kelrian. She didn't treat him differently during the training. She was in love with him so she was afraid that he would lose his others, she didn't want that he would risk his life. But other than that, she treated him like everyone else. She was just very afraid of losing him.

Kelrian looked back at her, staring into her eyes. "I think I have similar feelings"

Sylvanas' lips formed a smile, her hands caressed his cheeks. "That's all I wanted to hear" she said as she closed the distance between their faces and sealed her lips to his. Kelrian didn't hesitate to kiss her back, putting one of his hands on the back of her head as he deepened the kiss. He noticed that Sylvanas was asking for entrance by biting his bottom lip. He parted his lips, allowing her tongue to sneak in his mouth. Sylvanas didn't hesitate to explore his mouth with her tongue, licking every reachable corner. Kelrian brushed his tongue past hers to get in her mouth, mimicking her actions.

His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, his skin was tingling nervously. Sylvanas' heartbeat was also very fast and her skin also tingled. She noticed that the tips of her ears became stiff which was a sign that she was really enjoying this kiss. This was the second kiss they had shared in ten years of knowing each other. There weren't enough words for Sylvanas to describe how good this kiss felt for her. It was awesome enough to make her hold the kiss until she had to pull back because she needed to breathe.

Sylvanas was breathing heavily as she regarded the young man in front of her. He was also out of breath, his cheeks were reddened a little but he didn't look at the ground. He stared into her eyes. The face he was making told the Ranger-General that he had enjoyed the kiss as well.

"We need to talk about us when we have the time. But for now, we need to reach this farm. But we will talk about everything, I promise. I just want to say that I'm glad you are feeling the same" she said with a wide and happy smile on her lips.

Kelrian returned her smile, helping her to get up. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders, her other hand rested on the hand of the arm which was wrapped around her shoulders. She pressed her body against his, smiling when she noticed that his cheeks became redder. She put a quick kiss on his cheek, signalizing him to start walking. He made sure that Sylvanas wasn't feeling unnecessary pain as they walked as fast as Sylvanas' hurt leg allowed it.