The Ranger: Epilogue & Afterword

EPILOGUE

Weeks went by and The Ranger buried his old crewmen out of respect of their body's return to the land. He decided it was perhaps, time to move on from his tree haven and further explore the land he had come to call his new home.

He also wanted to honor the quest he originally accepted by King Adric. The Ranger took an oath. That oath was his word. His oath was his life and he would honor it. After the wreck he had to recover his mind, body and spirit. After this betrayal, would he ever be able to fully trust anyone again? Did he have sound judgment too? Was that his weakness? The Ranger contemplated these thoughts while looking over the deep blue sea. It met with the sky with almost no distinction. The waves rolled in over the green marine layer giving way to the white sandy beach.

* * *

He took the dead men's clothes and rags. He was also able to find a cloak in the storage of his ship.

He gandered once more the skeletal remains of his old vessel. Ah, the ship, although it had just made it to the island, he couldn't deem it fit for the sea. He did have it back though. It had come home.

* * *

After walking for some time, the jungle mysteriously transformed into a forest like it always had.

After some significant time deep into the mystic woods, he came upon some rich and meaty smells, he followed them and they eventually led him to a small town. Incredibly shocked and much to his surprise it was populated with all sorts of life; villager's and merchants!

Was this mysterious land part of a much bigger one? Not a lone island like originally surmised?

The Ranger pulled the hood of his cloak over his face. Were they friendly folk or a fearful lot? Only by entering the town and observing them would he know. Aside from finding his next clue about the King's daughter, what he was absolutely dying to know was, how was their ale?

* * *

On the beach, the mast of The Ranger's small rowboat still stuck up out of the dirt. The worn, wooden dragonhead grinned in defiance of it's destroyed body. The Ranger's people had believed these fantastic and dangerous creatures were gods which helped them sail fast and plunder great riches. A hooded giant figure approached the wood sculpture.

It outstretched its muscular green, scaly, forearm and placed its hand on it. A slight hiss could be heard.

THE END



AFTERWARD

What moved me to write such a fantastic tale of survival? Well, part of it was out of an urge to tell a realistic tale set in a sort of enchanted world. The Ranger is modeled out of two characters. One is out of my many days of gaming; the character was an ex-pirate who struggled to turn from his old ways and take on the more enlightened ways of The Ranger. I had created a whole backstory for him while playing D&D. The character had a preference for battle axes and wouldn’t take much guff from anybody.

Many years passed since those imaginative gaming days but the passion for role playing and that particular character never died. As I would drive back and forth to work, sometimes for hours on end, I would contemplate his adventures. What really was his story? He would be running through the woods in pursuit of someone or in a rush to save that someone in time. As I passed numerous forests on the road, my imagination wouldn’t leave me alone! The urge to tell an honest to goodness realistic fantasy story was bubbling though.

The second character that inspired me was The Man with No Name from Sergio Leone’s The Good The Bad and The Ugly. I had heard that fantasy films and stories are just westerns set during the middle ages. I found that idea fascinating! I thought, what if I sort of combined the spaghetti western with a fantasy world and a little bit of Rambo thrown in. The result is what you just read. There’s a definite tip of the hat to Sergio Leone, with some of the long pauses and looks between characters and also with The Ranger being the less then perfect anti-hero.

This story is meant to stand alone, but I intend to write at least two more. These stories will be part of a ongoing tale dealing with The Ranger and a mysterious beastly character. This monstrous character was heavily influenced and created my late friend Wayne Boyce.

The Ranger - Chapter 9 - Wulfric

                             CHAPTER 9

                              Wulfric

The Ranger moved and twirled into the dense bushes and foliage.

"C'mon Captain! Where are you hiding now coward? Said Wulfric."Come out! Let's finish this!"

The Ranger shot out of the bushes to the left of Wulfric and sliced his left hand which held the hand axe. The Ranger then swooped down and picked it up, immediately parrying with his dagger. This blocked

Wulfric's blow from above but not the front kick to the chest. The Wulf dove on to The Ranger with his knife in both hands pressing it down about an inch from his face.

"I want that damn treasure Captain!" Said Wulfric somewhat muffled as he struggled for the kill.

"I hope it was worth dyin' for Wulfie," The Ranger replied in a 

mocking tone.

Completely covered in dirt, they rolled around several times. The Ranger was now on top of Wulfric holding his axe on above his head. Wulfric grabbed a small rock on the ground and smashed it against The Ranger’s left side of of his head. He saws brief stars and felt brief intense pain, the next thing he knew Wulfric was on top of him.

The Ranger's refined hearing senses, perfected by Leto, could hear the heavy footsteps plodding through leaves and bushes. The large, brown beast had returned. He spotted the grizzly in the corner of his eye. Wulfric rose up, gleaming knife in hand ready for his killing stroke. He held The Ranger's right arm down keeping his silver bladed beauty at bay. He instantly kneed Wulfric in the groin. He moaned and this loosened his grip on The Ranger's right forearm.

The Ranger extended his arm high above his head, parallel with the ground, tightened his grip and with full force, gritting his teeth, plunged the axe deep into the left side of Wulfric's neck and collar bone. Crimson blood sprayed everywhere including all over The Ranger's face and body. A huge droplet of blood landed on his eye patch, giving him a seemingly round red pupil against the black cloth.

The Ranger wasn't sure if it was an instant kill. Wulf rose to his feet howling as he backed up a few steps. The distractions in the fighting made The Ranger forget about his giant spiked trap directly behind the villain. Just one more step backwards and his opponent would fall through the leafed foliage thinly disguised as leafed ground.

As much pain as Wulfric was in, The back of his heel felt the emptiness of the pit. He smiled at the blood eyed man and once again raised his right arm in a sure killing stroke.

Wulfric wasn't even able to lower it as the giant brown beast flanked and tackled him from left. It’s immense strength and weight of the enraged grizzly bear fell upon him. Finally, it had a real dinner to dine on. It had patiently waited for the victor, whether it be Wulfric or The Ranger. Some small part of it hoped it would be the one with the longer hair, the other had fed it a good fish days earlier. The long haired man drove his knife deep into the bear's chest but to no avail. The bear scraped and scratched into his chest and belly. It bit deep into his already blood spattered neck, cracking and shaking it. Wulfric's limp body followed suit.

"Captain! Captain!" Wulfric maniacally screamed, “not like this!”

The Ranger ignored his plea for help. He could not do anything about it anyway. The starved beast

had already killed Wulfric several moments ago and his mind didn't fully comprehend it yet. He had also, made a deal.

It was a non-verbal agreement between hunters. The bear let The Ranger go, as long as he stayed out of his way

next time. He had lived up to that promise.

The Ranger almost felt sorry for Wulf as he walked away exhausted. Wulfric made his choice just like the others. He was even worse because he infected some decent crewmen with his sea madness. His thought about his ship, in tatters, it was sea worthy no more much to his disgust. As for his trusty silver axe? It would find its way back to him after the bear finished its meal. It always did.

The Ranger: Chapter 8 - On The Beach

                             CHAPTER 8
                             

THE BEACH

The Ranger was carrying three large branches when he sensed a change in the wind, after that he heard sounds that could be interpreted as voices. "But all the way out here though?" The Ranger thought.

He instantly dropped the sticks where he was and ran to the coastline. As he made his way to the coastline his eyes widened in amazement. It was his ship! It was a ghost of its former self, weathered, holed and worn. It resembled a ghost ship, come to think of it, his ship had always looked kind of like that. Yep, it was definitely his ship. She had come back to him much like his trusty silver axe always had. The ship was part of him except for the hand-picked vermin that now infested it like a sick disease.

He overheard their voices and he hid behind a tree waiting for the right moment to reveal himself.

Wulfric, Edward and William came down the ropes over the bow of the deck.

"Alright, let's spread out a bit. He could be here, but let's not announce our presence." Said a cautious Wulfric.

A bit too late for that, The Ranger thought briefly.

"He could take us all out with one axe throw." Said William.

"Might even take less then that," The Ranger said. The three of them whipped their

heads around immediately.

The Ranger stood with his back to the tree line facing his treacherous foes.

"Well, it looks like you survived Captn'" Said Wulfric.

"Good observation" said The Eye-Patched Man, with his arms crossed in front of his chest, leaning

against a palm tree. "You're gonna wish I didn't."

The three men turned towards the voice with their hands holding their crossbows and daggers.

They stood facing him for what seemed like a lifetime. Each one waiting for the other to draw

their weapon. Who would be first?

William was the first to throw his dagger, Edward soon followed firing off an arrow from his crossbow.

The Ranger quickly bent backwards as the arrow zoomed past his chest by only a few hairs. He straightened up and

bashed the dagger out of the way with his axe.

He grinned, confident in his trained and honed reflexes. "My turn!" He quickly shouted then brought back his right hand then launched the silver blade forward. William ducked the spinning blade and it found it's bloody home in the chest of the man behind him. Fountains of blood spurted from his chest.

"Get him!" Wulfric shouted, pointing his short sword at The Ranger, their old captain.

The Mutton-Chopped Man sprang into the jungle-forest immediately jumping over the tall grass.

The remaining three chased after him. Edward stopped for an instant to ponder his actions, the jungle was immensely dense,then he ran through the tall grass.

All was going to The Ranger's plan.

* * *

The Ranger was already twenty yards away. He knew the jungle-forest very well after these many days. He yanked at his weighted camouflaged pulley lift and it hoisted him into the air, shooting him straight up as the giant stone next to it fell straight down. On the wooden platform where his make-shift long bow had been waiting for him, he grabbed it and knelt behind the brown branched railing. He thought for a moment, He could just let them get lost and let the jungle naturally take them, slowly devouring them with thirst and hunger. He could let them eventually kill and eat each other.

He decided against it, why let nature take away his fun of the kill? No, he would be merciful and play the part of death himself since He made the mistake of trusting them. He incorrectly misread their characters. He most now undo the mistake he allowed into this world, then he would give them back to the land. They would be Corrected and hopefully purified for the gods and land to re-use in a better way. She would use them to feed the animals and rejoin the soil.

His anger wouldn't allow it anyway, he needed to let his festering rage out of its cage. The whole process of picking them off would be a definite test of his skills, especially after being shipwrecked for many, many, days and weeks. After many days of boredom and solitude, this would be very fun for him. He was also curious to see if his man-sized snares would work.

Suddenly, he spotted William noisily brushing the thick grass and brush out of the way.

The Ranger then loaded an arrow onto the vine bow string. He then put the deadly bow and arrow down to just watch William slowly activate the stick trigger on the ground holding an green looped lasso.

He stomped on the trigger as he heard some rustling in the distance.

The loop tightened around William's ankle and hoisted the rest of his body about five feet in the air.

The Ranger descended from his rope vine and stealthily approached him weaving in and out of the dense vegetation until he finally faced his upside down ex-crew mate face to face.

"Why'd ya do it Willy?" The angry Ranger questioned.

"Captain look! Wulfric’s forcing me to kill ya. I didn't want to do it!"

The Ranger stood a foot away from him as he searched William's face for the truth in his words and found none, only panic grasping for any explanation that would do.

The Ranger's face tightened and he clenched his teeth as the dagger quickly slid across William’s neck. Blood sprayed onto his face. Willy seemed to speak as the crimson liquid rand down from his neck. He thought the traitor mouthed the words sorry, but he couldn't be sure, nor did he care. They were all way beyond sorry.

The Ranger sheathed his dagger."Too bad Willy, you were a decent row man."

He crouched and crept off to his next position.

Edward, in the meantime, had taken it upon himself to climb halfway up a tree. He brought his old telescope to scan for any traces of his former Captain. All he saw was green leaves and a few colorful birds perched on an odd branch. He didn't have time to sight see weird exotic birdies.

Frustrated and already tired, he descended the tree and spotted some shade and a place to rest.

A smooth rock seemed out of place among the grass away from the trees and gigantic rock wall. The wall itself seemed to move backwards, suddenly Edward saw a huge shadow grow over the ground as a huge rock fell off the top of the wall crushing Ed instantly.

The Ranger watched the whole action from a safe distance camouflaged in tree leaves around his head and shoulders. He stood up and looked at his mantrap in awe because he thought that out of all the traps this one would work the least. He approached Edward with his bow and arrow in hand.

Edward's torso was partially splayed out above the edge of the massive stone. Blood ran out of his mouth. The Ranger looked down at his eyes with a trace of remorse. Edward was instantly dead but to The Ranger Edward had always been the one to easily roped into bad situations like this. During his time on The Ranger's ship Wulfric and the others would always talk Ed into doing something for their own amusement. Whether that was a foolish school boy prank played on another crewman or a task that no one wanted to perform. Ed was the man to be suckered into doing in it. He feared that this was the reason Edward laid there bloody. Yes, part of him felt remorse for the trap could have killed the man that conned him into this doomed quest.

The Ranger shook his head, but wasn't Ed a man? Even naive men as slow as he, were able to make decisions. For those who weren’t quick, surely they can still think with their hearts? Hadn't Ed's heart warned him against this action? Was Ed so slow as to not listen to his heart? Perhaps yes, but in the end the Ranger had to reconcile that he picked him to be a crewman on his ship. It was his poor decision to take such a man upon their king blessed venture. The Ranger now felt guilt picking such a man for his crew. This all fueled The Ranger's anger even more towards Wulfric.

* * *

Wulfric chopped through the dense jungle. The green leaves seemed to grab at his arms. Still Wulfric hacked them off as he vigorously, with The Ranger's axe, left to right. Already, his axe was on his way back to him.

Wulfric swore at the effort it took to clear the jungle. His arms were like heavy weights pulling themselves down. Wulfric's anger alone allowed him to clear the final leaves. Finally, the jungle cleared and gave way to tree branches, grass and stones. The jungle had, to his amazement, transformed seemingly into a forest.

Wulfric used his heavy breath to scream for The Captain. He screamed out of exhaustion and frustration. The Ranger put him through. He didn't understand why the jungle had cleared into a forest clearing, but he was too angry to care. "Captainnn!!!!!!" Wulfric yelled into the air. His arms were wide, axe in hand. "Let's finish this!"

For several moments there was absolute silence, then the trees shook, branches snapped. He looked all around him not

knowing the direction he would come from. He heard light feet hit the ground behind him.

The Eye Patched Man tossed the rope vine behind him. It seemed to spiral but up into the trees, running home to a high branch. He and Wulfric locked eyes, their eyebrows smashed together in intense anger and concentration.

The Ranger: Chapter 7 - The Bear Returns

                             CHAPTER 7
                         THE BEAR RETURNS

He pulled the axe from the tree bark, the echo still ringing in his memory. Almost immediately afterward he heard a loud growl from the bear about forty trees south of him.

The Ranger had only hunted just enough for himself and hadn't been greedy. Leto had taught him the laws of the land, the laws of the forest. The same laws of the birds and the animals on the ground. Never take more then you need, whether that be firewood, shelter or food.

The large beast hadn't been exactly starving as of late but The Ranger had been a lot more successful with his diligent hard work. It seemed to him that the bear was jealous.

Could this be the answer?

He walked to the nearest tree which held his nearest weapons. His hand-axe was fastened in his vine belt.

He wanted something with a longer reach so it would reduce his chances of an injury.

The bear spotted The Ranger from a distance. He hadn't picked up his wooden missile yet.

The great brown moving mountain slowly approached him. At a few bushes distance it stopped and their eyes locked.

There was a long pause as they waited for each other to move.

The Ranger thought, to hell with it, it's now or never. The beast growled as The Ranger quickly picked up the spear and braced himself behind it. The grizzly bear stood on it's hind legs. The Ranger allowed it to show off as this towering mass growled with its lips sneering.

Let'em vent and get it off his chest but let'em know if he tries to take me down, he'll have a fight on his hands he The bear swiped at the pointed thick stick..

Anger stirred in The Ranger and he poked back(imagining if the bear had flanked him, it would be out of his front sight and

there would be no hope).

This enraged the great brown bear further as the its long white mouth daggers were unsheathed.

The Ranger didn't really want to kill it but if he was pushed enough he would no doubt would let The Bear be free of its frustrations.

       I'll let him get it off his chest, he thought, but I'll let'em know if he tries to take me down he'll have a fight on his hands.

The bear swiped at the pointed thick stick. Anger stirred in The Ranger and he poked back.

To the distant right, deep in the woods, The Ranger spotted a deer. His keen senses had been perfected during

his training with Leto. Always observe your surroundings even under heavy stress and distraction.

The Ranger strategically moved himself so he was between the deer and the bear.

The deer was perfectly still, ready to bolt at a moments notice.

The Ranger stabbed at the bear a few more times. It moved around his spear. He raised the axe from his belt

and raised it in the air. The deer quickly pranced off. The large brown beast spotted it out of the corners of it’s eyes and ran after it. The Ranger took some deep breaths. "I hope you get'em. For both our sakes" Said The Ranger. He picked up his spear and walked back to his tree hut.

The Ranger: Chapter 6 - The Betrayal

                           THE BETRAYAL

It was a rocky, wavy night on The Captain's great wooden ship. The light inside the cabin was lit by only two candles among the five crewmen. At this time The Captain had been sleeping in his quarters.

The men spoke in whispers. Wulfric, The Captain's right hand man led the discussion.

"He's holding our on us!" Wulfric said, trying hard not to raise his voice. He's gonna take the treasure for himself and when he's done with our little adventure he'll dump us, giving us only a few gold pieces."

"How do ya know? He's holding out on us? He's been right about everything so far..." replied William.

"I'll be damned if I just get a few coins after this. Bullocks!”

Edward punctuated after propping himself off the wall.

Wulfric re-established his argument, “He was a pirate, he sailed with

The Frederic’s, we can't trust him in matters of gold and payment. He also intends to take the king's daughter for his own. Maybe make her his wife." Said Wulfric.

"Heh, I would too!" Replied Edward. “The king's daughter is fair indeed!”

William shot Edward a slight scowl."The king hired him, he trusted him." Said Edward.

"The king's a fool. He hired him because he knows the seas in this part of the world, from his days as a pirate." Said Wulfric. "He also hired him because he used to be a thug."

"He knew he was a Ranger though," William countered.

"A sneaky thug," Wulfric re-countered. "I say we take the ship now while

we're very close to our treasure."

                                * * *

The winds picked up severely at the ending of Wulfric's plan.

The boat rocked and rocked as thunder and lightning rumbled and flashed over the dark wavy sea.

The Captain suddenly woke from his slumber and was impressed to find his men at their positions trying to manage

control of the boat under the violent dark storm. Wulfric moved the steering wheel left to right.

"Wulf, give me the wheel," said The Captain starting to approach Wulfric. He slowly turned around and looked

at him from across the deck. "...no..." replied Wulfic, smiling.

The Captain could feel the vibe shift against him. He looked at their faces. The men stared back. The Captain put his hand besides his dagger which resided on his hip. "Fellas, you picked a hell of a night for a mutiny..."

The Captain then fought his way through the flying fists, on his wobbly ship, making his way to the captain's

quarters. He head-butted a crew member and kicked another one in the gut.

At this point the whole ship was fighting with itself during the wild storm. A couple men were

thrown overboard as the boat swayed up and down. The Captain dodged a dagger as it sunk into

the rim of the wooden doorway. He didn't even have time to realize the proximity of the projectile. He quickly

spotted his silver hand axe on the wall, it seemed to call out to him. He immediately grabbed it. The

ship shifted up and dropped him backwards. He knocked his head hard against the cabin wall almost blacking out.

He was incredibly dizzy as he slowly got to his feet. Only five of the crewmen were left now.

The Captain witnessed the steering wheel spinning, in front of it Wulfric stood facing The Captain. They shot hard stares at each other from across the deck. The Wulf stood with his dagger ready and The Captain stood with his axe in his right hand.

They stared at each other for what seemed several minutes but in reality was only a few grains of

sand, falling down the bottom of an hourglass. Suddenly, the wind knocked the whole crew to their feet.

The Captain was knocked to the side of the boat. This time he blacked out quickly once or twice amid the

chaos. He had to find the strength to get to his feet. His arms pulled his body up by the railing and looked down at the small row boat on the side of the mother ship. It was securely held in place by a few ropes.

The large boat rocked and swayed as one of the crewmen grabbed The Captain, but the momentum of the boat's swaying threw both of them overboard. The Captain fell and hooked his axe onto the ledge

of the ship which held the small one-person vessel.

One crewman splashed into the dark turbulent sea below.

He hooked his right arm around the ledge of the small boat. He used the rest of his limited strength to hook his right leg onto the ledge, then the rest of his body.

He couldn't rest yet though, the cold water at the bottom of the vessel kept him from taking possibly his last nap. He managed to pry his axe from the wooden ledge.

Would he ride out the storm, hiding in the attached boat and then make his stealthy return to the top? Taking bloody revenge on the crew that betrayed him?

Would he reclaim his ship and mission? Or would he brave the seas alone? A wanderer on the open sea, therefore cutting his losses.

As he pondered this he quickly thought of his mentor's advice on revenge.

Although revenge had been a common attitude and way of life among his fellow pirates, Leto had taught him a new way, a better way.

"To revenge is easy but to forgive is hard and forgiving oneself even harder! However,this forgiveness benefits yourself for the greater good. To give back to the greater good is to give back to the forests, the trees and the entire world.” These were Leto's words which he must now live by, The Ranger’s code. His decision was made. The boat was probably doomed anyway.

She had taken on too much water.

He decided to cut the rope in the rear of the rocking row boat.

This meant he had to time the rocking perfectly with the release of the front rope that held it in place.

He waited and on the upswing he snapped the front rope with the sharp weapon,then on the second downswing he forcefully jerked the boat halfway off the main vessel’s platform, careful not to go

all the way and immediately capsize. One the next downswing he jerked again successfully shoving the boat onto the top of the violent waves. He had done it! The rowboat had separated itself from the

mothership.

The Captain put his head down for a moments rest. However, as soon as he did a crewman, burst out of the water with a dagger in his mouth. His hand was on the railing of the one man rowboat. His face showed

that he had no intention of sharing the ride.

The last of The Captain's adrenaline gave its final burst as his deadly hand axe descended onto the man's hand, causing blood to squirt out in all directions. Echo's of the yell could still be heard in

The Ranger's head.

The Ranger: Chapters 4 and 5

                                                                  CHAPTER 4

        The pointed spears were sharpened and ready. He made sure that any loose spears were firmly planted in the ground.
        The Ranger pulled himself out of the hole. He walked out next to the covered death pit. The cover was made of long tree branches crossed together in a kind of grid, tied together with vines. He threw a few more green leaves on the camouflaged floor to blend it in with the brown and green ground.
        Next, he went to check his deadfall. He had mixed results with his snares so he decided to make one for a bigger game. He managed to harness every bit of his considerable strength to move a massive four foot tall boulder from the fringes of the dense jungle forest. He rolled it in place and found a big enough branch to barely hold it up. On the branch he
placed bait, in this instance he choose mice and squirrels, the larger game would usually pounce or move the bait enough to bring down the branch and the huge stone upon it's head.
        His food, while still evasive at times became much easier to trap as the days went by. His skills with his spear, axe and bow also improved ten-fold.

                                                                         CHAPTER 5
                                                                   THE TREE TOWN
       
    As the days progressed, The Ranger became more and more aware of his surroundings and which routes would lead him back to his home camp in the tree forest. For a while he put visual aids on the path back to his isolated home. These consisted
of yellow flower pedals that he stuck on the trees, along the route using sticky tree sap. Later he memorized the route and eventually the shortcuts to each path.
        Leto had taught him long ago; at first, go the way you know, then make a quick shortcut.
        Although he had no sense of danger at the time he felt the need for shortcuts anyway, if not for efficiency, then for the peace of mind. He was a Ranger and it was in his code to be prepared no matter the situation. He marked a time tree near his home. Home, he thought, what was that anyway? Was anyplace truly home for him after all these years? Yes, home to him was where ever he chose to call his home at the time. He thought about giving up marking the tree. Why bother? He didn't expect to get rescued and wasn't even trying to. His Ranger skills allowed him to live off the land, especially after training with Leto all those years ago. With his training he could even live somewhat comfortably, totally confident of his skills with hunting and fishing. The mission, however, had popped back into his mind. He gave the king his word that he would find the stolen treasure and rescue his daughter from the thieves that stole her as well. It wasn't in the ranger code to live up to his word but he felt it should be because sometimes your word ensured your survival. For now he had to concentrate his efforts and thoughts on claiming this region of land from the animals and elements. This would give him the clarity of thought he desperately needed right now. He needed to his mind to be clear and reflect on the events of the betrayal that had unfolded and why. He had to construct his one man tree town.


                                                                      *        *        *

        Over the course of these long days he had constructed and carved out a hidden doorway in several large trees. The trunk of them were about as wide as two to three men side by side. Inside the opening he carved out a stairway spiraling up to an opening at the top of the large tree. He was proud of this transportation project, it took him many sums and moons to complete. At the top of the opening he carved out he had constructed a planked rope bridge using thick carved wood from the forest. They were tied together with jungle vine which the environment had enough of. It wasn't the sturdiest bridge and he fell through once or twice but this would force him to re-examine his knots and make the bridge even stronger. His lite diet made his weight less of an issue as well. Truly this was a bridge made just for him, no one else would dare walk on it. He had built a bridge system. At least two of them reached back to interconnect with the trees. At each treetop he would leave at least one weapon, a spear at one, bow and arrow at another. At the ground floor he had constructed a system of several traps for catching and slaying food.
        He had dug out a deep pit at the bottom and placed many wooden spikes at the floor. These waited to skewer the next big game animal foolish enough to fall through the leafed camouflaged pit, providing he didn't himself. The Ranger had also created new pulley system out of the pit. It would pull him out by yanking down on the vine rope attached to a thick tough branch above. He had to test it several times because of his weight and the possible weight of the big game he would
hold in his arms.
    He also spent much of him time building several snares and big game traps outside the perimeter of his home base camp. One of these snares was simple but used for bigger game then rabbits.
    A lasso of vine rope sat blended into the ground. The  rope ran up a small tree, sticking out of that was a hooked wooden anchor that hooked into the tree branch of this small tree. If the lasso was pulled, the anchor would easily come off and release the tension of the large tree branch above and pulling its target into the air leaving it dangling and vulnerable.
        Another one of his favorite death traps, the death seat, involved a massive huge rock supported by two thick sticks camouflaged near the back of it. These two branches supported its immense weight. Under the shadow of this rock a large or small animal would rest underneath it as protection from the sun. Holding up the stone bottom was a small stick with a long vine rope looped around it. The pressure from the weight above would shove the stick forward pulling the rest of the rope above it and in turn pulling out the two branch supports where the two rocks met.
    The Ranger's hope was that the top rock would fall after the two sticks were pulled out from it, instantly killing or at least pinning the large game underneath.
    He understood this snare had a high percentage of failure
but the reward of a deer or elk as a food source afterwards would be worth it.

The Ranger: Chapter 3 - The Bear

                                                                     CHAPTER 3
                                                                      THE BEAR

        The Ranger had taken the same time to sharpen some spears for his daily fishing routine. It was a beautifully magical sunny day. He entered the water, stepping onto the small rocks. The shallow part of the river was almost perfectly clear.
    It stemmed from a short waterfall to his left. The waves and fish continued downstream past him and skipped into the air and down another waterfall to his right. Over the white misty edge of that waterfall. Several small fishes could be seen jumping through the watery edge and into a huge fanged mouth.     Its jaws snapped down onto one fish, only catching air. The rest of the fish were just a little too fast and agile for the bear's claws.
        After several failed attempts at spearing many silver and multi-covered fish, The Ranger looked down the river to spot the huge brown grizzly bear fishing as well. Although The Ranger was a good distance away from it he stood ready.
    At least he had a weapon to defend himself he thought. The Ranger continued to strike at the fish standing ankle deep in shallow water. He peered down at the bear again, The huge beast didn't seem to notice him...
    As soon as The Ranger looked back down he saw a plump fish oblivious of the predator above it, slowly making its way down the stream. The Ranger swung his spear quickly down into the top of the fish. He brought it up, thankful for his first wet wiggling meal of the day. The corner of his mouth curled up. The mighty brown bear roared at him. It was angry the Ranger had
intruded into its food bank. He decided to use this precious energy source and invest it to make a friend. He threw the wagging fish at the bear's jaws. It consumed the fish in just a few snaps. The Ranger smiled, stood his ground and continued to jab his pointed spear into the glistening water.
        Back at his home camp he put a few more logs and sticks on the fire after cutting them up with his axe. After cooking the bright silver fish on a skewer, he finished his last bite. Reinvigorated he knew he couldn't rest long...

                                                                      *        *        *
    The Ranger knew he had to keep moving, improving his shelter. He knew the key to this would be in layers. Hacking away at several branches that provided huge fan-like leaves as a canopy he gathered a dozen wide green leafs that would act as a patches to his roof.
    After some struggle wrapping the leaf patches into place, he cut down some thicker branches to build a better bed. By placing the long wood branches next to each other he was able to, at the very least, get him off the ground. He used the remaining vines used to fix his roof and wrapped them around the top, middle and bottom of the row of logs, tightly securing them together. He also replaced the original mossy bedding with new moss.
    He also had to get moving on a new set of snares and traps. The more traps, the greater his means of survival. He searched for huge rocks that could serve as even bigger death traps for the unfortunate critter that decided to take the bait and activate the switch. After finding two he cut up some more branches to keep the heavy stone balanced.

                                                                    *        *        *

    The Ranger started to dig a pit that would be perfect for a dead fall. The amount of work digging would take at least half of the day to complete so he decided just to start on it and dig a bit more each day so he could conserve his energy for another weapon to create.
    He went back to his camp and looked at his spears that he painfully crafted. He had a handful of vine in his right hand. He picked up one of his small spears and wrapped the green string looping it around the top and tying it in a special tight knot he learned while sailing with his crew. He did the same to the bottom pulling the strong vine up while keeping tension and pressure on the branch while is sat on the huge stone in front of him.
    It took just the right amount of pressure to make his new bow without snapping it. Leto had trained him well in the art of bow making.

                                                          *                 *                 *

He finally had a decent bow but needed arrows. He had to hurry, there was only so much daylight left. He got to work immediately, quickly hacking off a few more limbs from the surrounding trees. The Ranger used his axe to sharpen the branches into sharp points.
        The Ranger tapped the top of his finger on the arrow, it drew a small drop of crimson blood. The corner of his mouth angled up again.
        He loaded the arrow onto the sliced groove at the back of its base. He spotted a green leaf hanging down from a little tree. Instantly he let go of the back of the arrow.
It pinned a leaf to the front of the tree bark.
        It was good to know that his aim was still true.

                        *        *        *

        Later that night, after throwing a few more sticks and logs on the fire. The Ranger slept in his newly repaired shelter.
    He growled and yelled a few times as his head moved right to left. The images in his head flashed on and off through blackness. He was on his ship. He held up his hands, they
    were covered in blood. The blood was all over his crew mates as they lay dead on the deck floor. He yelled in sorrow and anger, looking up at the five floating red-robed wizards. These men, however cruel they may had been to him were the closest thing he had to family. The wizards looked down as to pity him. He was almost nude and he didn't have any weapons so he used only one, his savage rage. He went into an enraged frenzy growling and yelling in defiance. The leader of The Red Wizards was in the middle of the floating group. He shot out a dark pointed object from his hands. It headed straight at The Savage's face.
        The Ranger held his hands to his eye patch, while still asleep, covering it as if he
was in intense pain.

The Ranger: Chapter 2

(continued from chapter 1)

Certainly, the stick trick had been the hardest thing he had done on the island thus far. His arms were exhausted from rubbing the sticks together profusely, he was parched and needed water soon. As he lowered the burning stick into the pit, he smothered it into the dry leaves and kindling. For a moment there was nothing, then a light smoke flew out of the wooden pile lighting up a red glow. His hard work had paid off but he knew he couldn't rest yet. He had to keep moving and gather things for shelter.
    He journeyed back to the salvageable parts of his small wooden boat. The front part of the boat was in shambles. The back was still usable. The rounded bottom part of the boat was cracked in half. He dragged the bottom of the boat with his formidable strength, his back was towards the tree line. He let out an intense exhale as he dropped it on the ground. The Ranger hacked down a few more thick branches. In his arms gathered some large tree leafs and put them on top of the branches.
    After he dropped the leaves and branches on the ground he instinctively turned his head hearing some rustling behind him. He slightly smiled. He knew the dense jungle-like forest was full of life; deer, fox and various other furry creatures. He would eat well tonight.
    The Ranger tilted the boat onto its side, planting the thick branches under the rim of the elevated boat. On the ground he laid down various green leaves and Old Man's Beard green moss leaving a kind of leaf bed.
   
                                                             *        *        *

    The Ranger noticed night was coming fast and he didn't have much time to finish his shelter. He threw a few more thick branches on the blazing, smoldering fire and walked back to the shambled boat to retrieve his rope. Sometimes when he thought about rope he thought about his old mentor.

    He was a sort of small, tan, bald-headed man. Old, the wrinkles on his were definitely present but they weren't excessive. The Pirate suspected he was older then his actual years.
    "Savage!...Savage!..." said Leto. The Pirate was panting, exhausted and he stopped and turned to Leto. "Free your bounds!" He shouted.
    The Pirate looked down at the thick rope around his wrists. He pulled and rolled his hands and wrists in circular motions. He pulled and struggled again but to no avail. He growled.
    "Savage! Use the blades in your mouth for more then just crushing them together." Scolded Leto.
    The pirate looked at his mentor puzzled for a moment, then he looked down at the roped bounds and immediately bit down into the rope. Munching and slicing through the rope with his teeth. At least this method stood a better chance against the rope then using his hands. He frantically chewed away at the bounds but even at that pace it was taking a long time.
    Leto swept at The Pirate's feet with a long wooden spear. He fell on his back and shot Leto a mean glance as he struggled with his rope bounds.
    "The enemy won't wait for you!" Leto pulled out his sword and swung downwards towards The Pirates face. The Pirate held up his chewed bounds to block the swing. The sword cut deep into the rope. It didn't snap but he instantly took advantage of the blade by trapping the blade between his wrists and twisting the rope around the blade and now The Pirate had possession of the weapon. He held up the sabre as if to strike Leto. "Good, you finally learned to make your circumstances work for your benefit. Now we use the rope for our shelter," said Leto.

                                                                   *        *        *

    The Ranger's mind snapped back to the present. There was only about eight feet of rope left but it was more then enough. Looping the rope over his shoulder, he made his way back to his quick shelter. He looped the rope around the two Y shaped tree branches holding up the roof of the tent, part of the torn canopy from his boat folded over the rope. The canopy was incredibly wet as it just started to dry above the fire.
    Night time was quickly approaching. He was rapidly running out of energy and needed to rest, but he know that if he slept now he would miss out on any chance of food early the next day.
Missing that early food source would cripple his energy level that we would need.

                                                                  *         *        *

    He had to at least set up a dead fall or two before the day ended. He pushed through his exhaustion and found several heavy rocks. He first placed them at the corners of the tent holding the canopy firmly to the ground. He was so tired that even this process made this arms drag.
    He felt heavy and light headed at the same time. He shook his head keeping his wits about him, he searched in the low light for a couple of short sticks that could support a foot long rock. After running, his hands clumsily felt through the dirt and rocks he found one that could possibly support the weight of a deadly huge rock. He found a place near a small hole in the ground to place his deadly trap. The huge rock he found barely sat still on the stick. He adjusted the for balance and realized his chances of catching small prey were low since he had no bait. His eyelids weighed heavily upon his face. His head nodded a couple of times. He needed sleep immediately. The Ranger got to barely got to his feet and staggered the encampment. Darkness was now upon him as he lost his balance and fell to the ground. He almost crawled to the fire but mustered the last of his energy reserves to get back to his knees. He would sleep more comfortably then the night before! He crawled to him modest camp entrance and collapsed into the opening headfirst almost caving in the tent with his feet.
    As his world went black he remembered the enduring face of Leto smiling at him for another successful day of survival completed.


                                                                  CHAPTER 2

    The Ranger awoke to the sounds of birds chirping. Daylight shined through the trees. The Ranger slowly got to his feet and checked his leather boots for any deadly creature that may have been dwelling in them. The shelter had survived the first night, but there was still room for improvement.
It rained for a spell overnight. The rain had fallen through the holes but only spilt on his chest and legs. He cursed himself for not setting up at proper container to collect the water. He quickly sucked up the water droplets on his chest and arms. This tiny bit of water was already helping.
        He got to his feet and sluggishly looked at the wet vegetation all around him and sucked more water from the the nearest green palm leaf. He then tore off the huge leaf and folded it into a cup. He took some of the rope line from his ship's mast, poked a few small holes into the top edges of the fragile palm leaf and carefully threaded the line through the holes. He had made a very crude and simple container for water. It would not last him more then a day or two but at least it was something to place the rainwater in for now. He planned on upgrading the container by using tree bark later. For now he had to gather as much water and save enough for later before
the sun would dry up his wet haven of liquid life.
        He picked up his trusty axe which gleamed under the sunlight. It was hidden under some moss on purpose. The Ranger would never allow an enemy to find his weapon and kill him in his sleep. Not that there was anyone on the island he thought but he did it out his combative instincts.
        He loved having his hand axe with him again and it reminded him that he wasn't truly alone, his silver ally was with him. It would assist him in living in
anyway it could.
       
                                                                  *        *        *
       
        The Ranger was hungry and knew it was now time to hunt. This had never been a problem, especially since Leto instructed him in the ways of the hunt many years ago. He looked forward to checking his small dead fall traps first. Maybe a small mouse or other editable creature would be lying there waiting for him to cook it.
    The first trap he checked, the rock was lying on the ground. Something had activated it, but whatever it was it succeeded evading death. Feeling a little disappointed but unsurprised, The Ranger set forth for his second option, making another weapon. He had to use his nearest resource for this and the forest trees were plentiful here. Thank the gods he had his sharp silver friend.
       
                                                                 *        *        *

        There were plenty of branches to choose from. He found one and immediately hacked if off with the blade of his axe. He was thankful that the edge wasn't dulled yet. He sharpened the branch into a sharp point. He also chopped down several others and took them back bundled in his arms to home camp. It was safe to have extra hunting weapons in case he lost one or damaged it. They could also be used for another trap to catch prey.
        After some hard shaves and some burning in his right arm he tossed the spear into the air and caught it. He did this to test the weight and grip, but mostly for the pleasant sense of completeness, it gave him satisfaction.

The Ranger Chapter 1

Prologue


Black clouds rolled through the sky dropping wet pellets. As violent gigantic waves mirrored the clouds, a small wooden boat defiantly sailed through the peaks and valleys of the dark sea.
The Lone Man in the boat was in silhouette as he struggled to keep his tiny ship level. His arms had given up on him ages ago and he knew it was useless
to keep rowing through the beastly storm. The only thing he could do, is defiantly sit down in his boat, and hold the sides of his vessel as a tower-like wave approached him. All was black.

Chapter 1

Pieces of The Ranger's boat were scattered throughout the shore of the new land he slept on. The waves continued to slowly pour in, reflecting
the light of the yellow sun. His boat stuck out of the sand. The head of the mast resembled a dragon's head, it stuck out at a slanted angle. It seemed to jut out and pierce the clouds, almost as if it were billowing smoke from its fiery breath.
The Ranger suddenly awoke on the shore, face down, then face up as he coughed out sea water.
The mutton-chopped man donned an eye-patch over his right eye.
It covered an injury that occurred during a tragic battle aboard a ship and under mysterious circumstances, circumstances not even he remembered.
He lost consciousness before it happened.
He looked around, hardly believing his fate. What were the chances he would make it into shore the previous night? He assumed the gods were keeping him alive for some purpose unknown to him.
Immediately he sat up as the sun basked down on him. Although he was exhausted and a little bruised he knew he had to get to work immediately to stay alive.
Survival, he had learned, was not something he could take his time with. He knew the benefits of fast preparation, water, a quick basic shelter and
fire. Luckily, materials for fire had been instantaneous. He found a small hole in the ground. He quickly used a stick to check for life.
It was his code, The Ranger's code, not to destroy an animals home and certainly not while it was in it. He examined the outside of the hole and hadn't seen any footsteps. The lair had been abandoned long ago. He placed some dry leaves and dry sticks in it.
The Ranger stopped to look at the vast treeline the island had to offer. The gods were blessing
him indeed. Suddenly, his body jolted as he remembered something. Was it there? Did he still have it?
The Ranger immediately ran to his boat, now in total shambles. He frantically looked around for the thing that had served him for many years. He spotted
the gleaming, silver hand axe under a few of the boat's torn floorboards. It seemed to call for him through the wooden debris.
The weapon had been dear to him over the years, it wasn't passed down from family because he didn't have much of one.
From a very young age, he was put to work on a ship almost like a slave.
This silver weapon was given to him by Leto, his mentor of long ago. He had taught him the ways of The Ranger and helped him give up the ways of the savage.
The Ranger didn't waste time. He cut down small branches and gathered more kindling. It was nice to have his axe back, it was not only an invaluable extension of his arm, but he also considered it an extension of himself. Once he gathered all of his materials together he dropped them into the small hole and prepared the fire.
It was never easy, even for the most experienced Ranger to start a fire.

Casino Royal Quick Review

Having just recently watched Casino Royal (The Daniel Craig version) I was amazed about how much the screenwriters adapted from the book.
Bond is especially chatty in this, which I thought was interesting. This is an introspective Bond, who isn't proud of his license to kill which he was qualified for due to his combative experience during WW2. I'm surprised they never integrated his military background into the movies.
It makes perfect sense that he was a soldier, now that they mention it it makes perfect sense that he would have all of those deadly skills.
Anyway, I'm keeping this short. This is a pretty good first story of the series even if there isn't much action in it. The characterization is great. The last line of the story made it into the movie and it's great!

The Wolves of the Calla

I've just finished The Wolves of the Calla. It's the fourth book in The Dark Tower series by Steven King. It picks up with the three characters (or four characters if you count their pet Oui) finding their way to a desert-like town town called Calla? They run into Callahan a kind who's a
kind of drifter.
He talks to them about the town he lives in & about their dire situation. The town is having a problem with their young children getting kidnapped. Roland (the leader) & the rest of the team are reluctant to help & get involved in their war.
Once they get to the town they discover that the town's children are being sacrificed to these things called
'The Wolves' raiders on horseback with lightsabres for weapons and wolf masks on their faces. Roland & the team agree to help the town in exchange for access to a cave where they can time travel in hidden doorways back to NYC in which they can continue their quest to find the
Dark Tower.
What I liked about this book of the series is that they have a bunch of new phrases that come with the new town that they're helping; "Say thank ya'" and "Thank ya sai" are two phrases that hilariously persist along with the number 19. It's a number that pops up numerous times in this book series, so much so that it's been popping up in my own life in the last few weeks, eerie.
Probably the best thing about the book, that stands out, is Callahan's 'origin story. He comes from Eddie Dean's NYC but a slightly different version of it. He worked in a homeless shelter & as a priest that lost his faith and has become a drunk. He ends up befriending a fellow social worker who he refers to as "fucking beautiful." he falls for this guy but there's a problem, vampires that invaded the town, much like the Wolves have in Calla.
They show up at a bar where Callahan's friend is drinking. One of the vampires ends up feeding on him. Callahan fends them off & kills them. During this time "Someone Save My Life Tonight" is playing. This song is the theme of the book, much like Velcro Fly by
ZZ Top which kept popping up in the last book, "The Wastelands." The phrase, someone Save My Life Tonight comes up almost as much as the number 19 does.
The climatic showdown with the Wolves, while short, is well planned and well executed.
King never ceased to amaze me with
The momentum and page turning rhythm of the story. There's plenty of material in each book & most of it is perfect engaging storytelling. I think the book excels when it sticks to the main characters: Roland, Eddie, Susannah & Jake. In Wizard and Glass I felt Roland's story was a bit too long even with the late great Frank Muller narrating.
It really stinks that Frank couldn't narrate the rest of the series and it just breaks my heart how he passed. I really like King's speech at the end where he talks about the effect Frank Muller had on his writing the rest of the series. Frank had a unique gift at creating a variety of distinct voices. Long days and pleasant nights in heaven Frank. You re-inspired my imagination. Thank ya, sai.