The Rangers looked at each other in disbelief.
The barbarian village was huge. Huts as far as the eye could see. The place filled with so many barbarians you couldn't count them all.
“Keep low. We can't risk being spotted,” Arkan said.
“There's too many of them,” Farondil whispered.
“What do we do now?” Jennifer asked.
Arkan ducked his head behind the hill until he was out of sight. “We aren't going to be able to take on the whole village by ourselves,” Arkan replied.
“But we can't just leave now. Not after coming all this way,” Belim said.
“You're right. We aren't just going to run away like cowards. We first need to locate the prisoners. Our goal will be to get them out with the least amount of barbarians dead.”
“Shouldn't we kill as many as we can?” Jennifer asked.
Arkan shook his head. “That will only increase the risk of the barbarians raising the alarm. We don't want the whole village coming down on us.”
“And how do we all go about the village looking for the prisoners?” Garel asked.
Demorac spoke up, “I could go by myself and find them. You know that I'm the most stealthy out of the group.”
Arkan scratched his stubble. “Demorac may have a point. The whole group of us going through the village will no doubt be more dangerous.”
“The village is way too big for just one person. There's got to be hundreds of huts to search and we have no idea where the prisoners are.”
“I'm glad you nominated yourself,” Arkan said.
Belim pointed at Garel and laughed.
Garel could only roll his eyes at the situation. “That's fine.”
“Then when night falls, Demorac and Garel will sneak through the village until they find the prisoners.”
Demorac and Garel agreed.
“But if you find them, I want you to do nothing and report back. Do I need to repeat myself?” Arkan asked.
“Of course not,” Demorac replied.
–
The Rangers sat behind the hill and waited for night to come. The barbarians used torches throughout to light the village but there were plenty of shadows for a Ranger to hide in.
Demorac and Garel took off their packs to lighten the load. Demorac dropped his Mace and borrowed one of Garel's many daggers.
Arkan put his hands on both their shoulders and looked them in the eyes.“Remember, you're Rangers of the Dark Forest. Be safe and good luck.”
Garel and Demorac disappeared into the night.
Jennifer could hear the blood pulsing in her ears. If they were found, things could get ugly pretty quick.
“Do we just wait for them to come back?” Jennifer asked.
“Pretty much,” Arkan replied.
“But isn't there something we can do to help?”
Arkan held Jennifer's hand. “I know how you feel but we can't risk being spotted. That might get them killed and us at the same time.”
Jennifer turned back to the barbarian village. The torches flickered in her eyes and she couldn't find Garel or Demorac in the shadows. She hoped that they would make it back in one piece.
But she hoped above all else that her parents would be found.