Legend of the Fire rangers - Part III

Behind them, they could hear the town's alarm bell going. The fire in his house had been found. Nic didn't look behind, that live was in the past now. He kept going. They were taking a shortcut through the woods on their way to the castle. What they were going to do once there, he didn't know yet. But looking upon the stronghold might give them an idea.

"My name is Nicolay. What are your names?" Nic asked the three brothers. "Ettrian, Nevar, Faelyn." They answered one by one. From oldest to youngest, if Nic had to guess. They looked quite alike, not that different from their sister. Same dark hair as their mother.

Nic could hear himself walk across the forest trail. He did his best to activate his old ranger training, but in the dark, he had a hard time avoiding the crunchy leaves and sticks. The three brothers following him however were making less noise than an owl in flight. A shadow moved in front of him. He stopped, standing as still as the trees among him. There was someone else.

"Ah there you are." it was Aloise. "Your armour is like a lighthouse in these woods." She continued before any of them could respond. "We have to run."
"What did you do?" It was Nevar who asked.
"Just RUN!"

In the distance, the barking of dogs could be heard. Nicolay turned east and started running faster. The river was one and a half miles away. If they wanted to lose the dogs, they needed to get splashed. "You three, swim straight across, then lose those arrows to any man or dog who shows up on this shore. We," Nicolay pointed to Aloise "are going to swim downstream as fast as we can.".
"See you in the Awake & Bake Inn, in Renryn, in seven days." Nic told the three brothers. "Lets swim."
Nicolay hoped that the Lord would either take his loss, or not expect elves to go to a city and try to comb the forests with his hounds after losing them on the river.

They didn't talk during the swimming. Nicolay was leading. He tried to stay in the fastest flowing water, but not come to close to the shore they left from. But during the night that shore stayed empty, either the guards went the other way, towards the nearest bridge, or the brothers had taken them out.

By sunrise, they got out of the river, and climbed ashore to continue their way walking. Two people swimming would draw way too much attention. Aloise stood shivering on the small beach, water dripping from her clothes. "Can we make a fire to get dry, and warm?" She asked.
"No time." Nicolay answered, "We need to get out of here."
"Easy for you to say, you are already dry."
Nicolay was a bit surprised, but she was right. The water had evaporated out of his armour, and he was dry and warm. Eloise escaped her capture without the armour or much of the clothes she'd been wearing when she walked into town. She just got a tunic and leggings. And now she stripped herself of both and unceremoniously dropped them over the cuirass of Nicolay, and the water in her tunic started hissing and steaming. A few counts later, her clothes were dry.
"That works too." Aloise said.
"You need some shoes"
"And you need to get out of an armour that shines like a lighthouse."
"I don't think many people can see that. You are the first in 170 years to mention it. Although Nevar could see a dim glow too."
"Besides that, a bare metal armour is unusual in these lands." Aloise mentioned.
"We'll see about that. Let's move, or do you want to keep talking until the dogs find us again?"
They set off to the east, keeping between the trees.

"What are a knight and an elf doing in my woods?" An old voice spoke out. And an old lady appeared from behind a big oak tree. A basket full of mushrooms on her arm, and a black cat rubbing off on her long skirts. Aloise her eyes got big, "Vèsajeksa?" She asked, surprised. Nic could've punched her.
"It's been a long time since I've heared someone speak in Colla. But I do remember that you treat my kind better then the humans do." With those last words she looked at Nic. "You won't have a problem with me." Nic mentioned.
"So you're on the run from lord Gamarius? The birds told me." With those words, a large black raven cawed from a branch just above her. "He won't find you here. Follow me."

"Are my brothers okay?" Aloise asked. "Please stop asking questions, or do you have a hidden purse that you can pay for the answers?" Nic whispered to her. Aloise looked confused. "I don't know, they are beyond my vision. And I don't need coin, mister knight." The old lady answered both. "That, just makes it worse." Nic mumbled under his breath. "I'm not a knight tho, just a swordman, a simple ranger. Never taken the knightly oaths." The old lady spun in place. Looking at Nic. "There haven't been rangers in a hundred years. The army has pathfinders nowadays."

"But you're right, human. Normally, I ask for payment for my services. I intended to just help you. Help is free. But now I want your story." The old lady said with a smile. "My name is Nicolay Nonac." Nic answered. "Aloise. Just one name for me, I'm not that special." "Nice to meet you. I'm Tess. This is Lady Bacon." She pointed down to the cat. "My cabin is just a few minutes away. I'll make some stew. You tell your story. And I think I'll have some clothes that will make you stand out much less on your journey."

The cottage was small, but comfortable. The air was soon filled with the smell of a very good mushroom stew, reluctantly Nic told his story. Aloise had fallen asleep on the couch and Lady Bacon was snuggling up on her. "That's a very interesting story. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of it actually. You and your man are good at keeping out of sight and your mouths shut. I can't actually tell you what kind of magic is at play here. That's beyond my skills. Neither do I see any light from your armour or feel any heat." After they had dinner, a Raven bobbed on the window still, outing a single caw. Tess looked at the bird and frowned. "No-one is on your trail, but they are tracking the three other elves. I might be able to do something about that." Then . spoke something in a language Nic and Alice both didn't understand. The raven cawed. "Yes I know you like rabbit."

Without any explanation, Tess started rummaging in a chest and a cabinet, giving Nic a light tabard without any sigil. and a grey cloak. For Aloise she had a yellow dress and a royal blue cloak, and a pair of boots. "If you follow the trail leading southeast, you should find a ruin to the left of the trail around sunset, spend the night there. There's a spell over the hearth, a fire will not be seen. From there you should reach the first village by noon."

"If you need help, come to Eltrisk. You'd be welcome." Aloise said as a goodbye to Tess.