Wayfarer (Wanderlust 2)

Bonus - Ranger

Seven years before Wayfarer

The night was frigid. Strong wind blew the snow in horizontal white lines, and howled through the coniferous trees around the camp. They had long since given up on keeping any sort of fire burning, after barely managing to warm some water for tea and fleeing to the safety of their caravans.

Jale hoped to one day be a confident enough ranger that she didn't need to travel with a convoy, but that evening she appreciated the older, more experienced rangers. Even if they were all men. Instead of settling down for the night in their separate caravans, they had decided to all stay together, knowing that they would be much warmer packed into one caravan.

And given that Veturotar, Jale's mentor, had the largest caravan in the convoy, his was the one they chose to stay in. He had had the foresight to roll out his canvas early in the morning, before the snowstorm, meaning the inside was dry aside for the snow that had blown in as they climbed inside. The five male rangers awkwardly moved around each other in the snug space, getting the bedding laid out and trying to get comfortable. Jale was laying on one of the benches, watching. She was closer to the canvas and therefore the chilly outside air, but she valued the little bit of space the bench provided her. Even more so as she watched the five men struggle to get comfortable, pressed up together, arms and legs getting tangled, grumbling and laughing.

Vetur ended up closest, and he lay on his back, looking up at her. "The luxury of travelling in the winter."

Jale laughed and rolled to peer over the edge of the bench. "You look very comfortable. Why are we travelling in the winter, anyway?"

"Somebody's got to do it," one of the other rangers, an older man named Ronar, replied. For the past few weeks, the other rangers had joined Vetur in treating Jale as a younger sister. She didn't mind, really. It was better than the other kind of attention men could be trying to give her.

"But why us?" Jale asked.

Ronar chuckled. "Weis. Our goods cost more in the winter. Supply and demand."

"Seems cruel," Jale said. "The villages need the goods even more in the winter."

"Hmm," was all Ronar replied.

"They won't get the goods at all if we don't deliver them," Vetur said. "We risk our lives on nights like this."

"Hmm." Jale echoed Ronar without truly meaning to. She tugged her blankets up to her chin. "I think transporting people would be more interesting than goods, anyway. And people don't want to travel in the winter. So I don't plan on risking my life very often."

Vetur had heard her plan before, and he just chuckled. But Ronar spoke up again. "People bring their own risks. You can't just tie them up in your caravan and trust them to stay put." His comment earned some laugher from the other three men.

Jale smiled to herself. "That's exactly why they'll be more interesting."

Ronar grunted. "Well, I'll be retired by the time you're a full ranger. So you'll have to come visit me and let me know how that business works out for you."

"You, retire? You wouldn't know what to do with yourself," Jale said.

"All right, all right," Vetur interrupted. "This is my caravan, and I say it's time to sleep. If the weather clears up tomorrow, we might be able to make it to Morie Caro by nightfall. And I am really looking forward to a warm bed without all of you tucked up beside me. So let's get to sleep."

There were final grumbles of agreement as the men adjusted themselves again. Jale burrowed further into her blankets and eventually managed to fall asleep, despite the howling wind and discordant snoring.