With several days having passed since it originally arrived, Etrius was hard at work fixing up its new house. Luckily it wasn't alone in this effort. Inside, and emerging from the shadows, small creatures were covering the stone floor with wooden planks. Most of the floor was already covered, leaving only the kitchen and area around the fireplace bare stone. Not only were they doing that, but they also replaced all of the broken windows and took residence in the wooden blinds, leaving the inside in darkness.

Etrius, on the other hand, was climbing down a ladder having just finished patching the holes in the roof and repaired the chimney. This cabin, though still rough looking, was in much better shape than it originally had been. Looking at it, Etrius almost wanted to smile at its progress. Maul too seemed pleased as the shed proved to be sufficient as its own dwelling. Though with everything that has been done, there was still much more that needed to be done.

Furniture, kitchenware, cooking implements, most household goods, and the lawn were things that Etrius needed to take care of. Though now that it thought about it, there were still some things that it needed in town. A scythe to cut the grass and weeds for one. Some rope and a bucket for the well it found buried in shrubs as well as some more nails. Having some spare time, thanks to the help of the crawling shadows, Etrius decided that now was the perfect time to head into town. Leaving Maul to enjoy itself, Etrius headed down the mostly dirt road.

Arriving in town, Etrius headed towards the familiar hardware store, passing many of the townsfolk who gave it curious looks but didn't attempt to speak to it. Uninterrupted, Etrius entered the store.

 

"Welcome back." Aaron, the owner, called out. "You forgot something?"

"Yep." Etrius said. "I need a scythe, rope, a bucket, and, unsurprisingly, more nails."

"Just sold out. Buckets aside, I got what you need." He said.

"Weird thing to have sold out." Etrius said.

"I was thinking the same thing." He said. "Didn't know buckets were this popular. Heck, they've been sitting unsold for quite some time now."

"Nothing you can do about it." Etrius shrugged, grabbing a scythe from the wall. "Can I get an extra blade, one for weeds?"

"Of course." He said.

 

As Aaron moved into the back of the shop, Etrius grabbed a coil of rope and box of nails as well. Neither task took long and soon Etrius paid in full.

 

"You hear the news?" Aaron asked.

"I've just been working on my house, so probably not." Etrius said.

"Rumor has it, the capital sent a ranger here." Aaron said.

"Oh, is that so?" Etrius asked.

"Yeah." He said. "The man who was guarding the gate said that she was wearing a black cloak and hood."

"That's cool." Etrius said.

 

Aaron looked at Etrius, and Etrius looked at him.

 

"So, any reason for a ranger to be sent out here?" He asked.

"Twelve witch hunters gathered in the capital." Etrius said.

"Glad you made it out." He nodded.

"I am very glad I made it out." Etrius said.

"Funny to see a ranger run from a threat to the kingdom."

"Leave that stuff to the knights. We get paid to go after poachers, not those psychopaths."

"What about the other rangers in the capital?"

"Three others requested to transfer after me but all got denied."

"And why did you make it out?"

"I actually know one of the witch hunters and he sent me a letter beforehand, so I managed to get out the day they arrived."

"Insider knowledge huh?"

"You're making it sound worse than it actually is."

"That's exactly what it was though."

"Whatever, I'm just glad that I got out before they did anything."

"Well, if any witch hunters tell you that they're coming here, tell me and I can take my wife out for an extended vacation." Aaron said.

"Will do." Etrius said.

 

Waving goodbye, Etrius exited the shop, with the scythe in one hand and the extra blade, along with the rope and nails hidden under its cloak. Upon emerging, a local child and his mother cried out in fear and ran the other way. Hearing that, Etrius remembered a certain someone that was also known to make children cry. She likely already got its letter, and she may have even sent one back, though Etrius hasn't received anything over the past few days. Not wanting to seem desperate and send another, Etrius headed home, which was still being worked on by crawling shadows.

The next day, early in the morning, Etrius was working on the grass with its newly acquired scythe when it spotted something interesting. Rather, someone. Shivering slightly, was a boy, barely in his teens, with a brown bag slung over his shoulder. Though it couldn't get a good look, Etrius was sure that his bag read "mail". Looking around nervously, the boy took out a single envelope with an official blue wax seal on it. Raising its scythe and using it as a walking stick, Etrius took a step towards the boy, but not before shaking the weeds at its feet as to signal that something was there.

Looking up at this noise, the boy laid eyes on Etrius. Turning pale, the boy froze at Etrius' approach. Immediately, Etrius realized its error. A figure in a black cloak with a scythe at a thought to be an abandoned building? Obviously the boy was scared. Terrified even. Though much like the cackling of the crawling shadows, and the devious hum of the Deacons, Etrius found the situation to be humorous.

For just a few steps and what likely felt like a lifetime for the boy, Etrius stood before him and reached his hand out to take the letter. As it did so, Etrius noticed the name tag on the boy.

 

"Michal." Etrius said, reaching for the letter.

"AHHHHHH!" Michael screamed out.

 

Dropping the letter, Michael, the delivery boy, ran for his very life. Not that it was in any danger whatsoever. Watching him go, Etrius chuckled along with the shadows and Deacons. Picking up the letter, Etrius read it. As expected, it was addressed to it, from Lord Haywood. Turning back to the house, Etrius spied Maul, looking at it with a judgmental stare.

 

"What?" Etrius asked.

"…" Maul looked away, disappointed in his master.

"They thought it was funny." Etrius said pointing at the crawling shadows.

 

Leaning its scythe against a tree, Etrius opened the letter and read the contents. There wasn't anything that Etrius didn't expect. In short, it was a thanks for its swift arrival, routine pleasantries, a time and place for a scheduled meeting, and that she, Lord Haywood, and the town expect good work from it in the future. So, nothing out of the ordinary. Conjuring a small flame, Etrius burned the letter, picked up its scythe, and continued its work. It would need to do something with all this grass and weeds, but that wasn't much of a concern. What was though was the fact that Etrius realized that it probably needed to get Lord Haywood a gift.

Not because it was expected of rangers to do so, but because she would probably like one. Then again, if it did give her a gift, others might see it as Etrius trying to gain favor with her. So, the real question would be what kind of a gift to give her, and how? Should it be at the meeting when pleasantries are exchanged, or some other time later in a more personal manner? Then again, why should Etrius care what others thought? And like that, Etrius decided to give her a present as soon as reasonably possible. As for the present itself, Etrius elected to give her some assorted candies from the capital. That was half because it was something that Etrius had on hand, and also because Etrius knew that  Lord Haywood liked sweets. With that, Etrius could only hope that she didn't realize that its gift to her was a last minute thought. Putting that out of it's mind, Etrius continued its work.

 

Sitting in her study, Torie wondered if Etrius bothered to bring her a gift or even thought about it. Knowing it, there was a possibility that it did, and a just as likely possibility that it didn't. Truthfully she didn't care if it did, but would be happy she got something. Pausing from her writing, she listened to the sounds of birds outside. Listening carefully, she could hear the sounds of citizens walking, and a few scattered conversations, one of which caught her attention.

 

"-And the phantom called out his name!" A younger sounding voice said.

"You think he just escaped death?" Another asked.

"I saw the phantom leaving the hardware shop yesterday!" A third said.

 

"A phantom, huh?" Torie asked.

"Oh, so you heard about that?" Zen asked.

"Barely." Torie said. "What's that all about?"

"Some of the townsfolk got scared by the appearance of Ranger Washington and started calling him a phantom or wraith." Zen explained. "I haven't seen her myself, but one of the maids came back crying after seeing him."

"…" Torie was taken aback. "Did he do anything?"

"She was holding a basket full of bread." Zen said.

"…" Torie wasn't sure of what to say.

"…" Zen continued her work.

"Right…" Torie said. "Should we do something about that?"

"He's apparently keeping to himself in that old cabin near the forest." Zen said.

"Why there of all places?" Torie asked. "We aren't lacking in housing and even if we were, he could have stayed here."

"Even if he is a ranger, a man staying in the same residence as an unwed woman is something that would cause rumors." Zen said.

"I suppose so…" Torie muttered.

"That being said, the meeting is in that 'open door' style that you were talking about." Zen said. "Any rumors about her will be dispelled with them."

"Oh, I'm not sure about that. Knowing him, he might try and play some sort of prank or other trick on everyone."

"The ranger?"

"Yes."

"Is he…"

"Etrius is a good pers- eh…"

"You can't even say it!" Zen said.

"I wholeheartedly trust him." Torie declared.

"Do you think they just wanted her out of the capital?" Zen asked.

"I'm not sure myself." She said, tapping a letter on her desk.

"And what's that?" Zen asked.

"It's from my cousin. Apparently witch hunters had gathered in the capital and caused serious amounts of damage and injuries."

"So he escaped?"

"Probably."

"Well, he is a ranger, not a soldier. What's the damage?"

"I'm not too sure of the extent, but it seems like most windows are broken and all the furniture in the noble and royal districts were upside down on the ceiling."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"That includes the beds, and it happened at midnight."

"That sounds worse, but not as bad as it could be."

"Yes, to be honest I think they got off lightly considering all of the witch hunters that gathered."

"I'm glad that they're over there and not here." Zen said.

"Indeed, we should consider ourselves lucky." Torie nodded.

"As lucky as we are, we are still falling behind on our preparations." Zen said.

"True, though there's not much we can do about that." Torie sighed. "That being said, I'm looking forward to a break."

"Though I loathe to admit it, I will be glad for an end to this paperwork." Zen agreed.

 

As the familiar sound of writing and moving paper filled the office, as the two worked even as the sun set.