The pitter-patter of rain thumped on Halt's cowl. It drifted down and fell on his eyes. Blinking the raindrops away, Halt looked down, so the rain couldn't land on his face.

The light drizzle soon turned into pouring rain. Abelard trotted alongside of Blaze, Bloise and his horse Riku following behind. The warm, piercing rain made it difficult to move around, but the three ranger horses managed.

A sudden flash of light entered Halt's vision, but it faded just as soon as it appeared. A loud boom followed. The rain then poured down as hard as it could, completely soaking Halt's cloak.

Groaning, Halt shivered and looked back at Bloise. "Bloise," he started. "You know this land better than I. What's the nearest place we can take shelter?"

Bloise tilted his head. "That would be Castle Norgate."

Halt nodded and swung his head back around as he beckoned Bloise to lead the way.

Soon enough, Castle Norgate and its small village came to view. Halt huffed a breath of relief as Bloise led him to the inn, The Snowy Stag.

They entered the building, leaving their horses under a roof with some other horses, and everyone instantly silenced.

The two rangers stood side by side, looking at the guests in the inn. Every guest had their eyes on the rangers, either of fear or curiosity.

"Wut can I git ya?" A rowdy, cheerful voice yelled across the room.

Halt raised an eyebrow as Bloise stepped forward. "Dinner and a room, please."

As the innkeeper and Bloise took care of payment, Halt gazed around. Everyone had gone back to their conversations, and a jongleur was even present, singing a song while playing a lute.

Halt took a seat in the corner of the room as he waited for Bloise, who was approaching. He looked around at the people sitting around them. Most of them had moved away from him, but one stayed where she was. She was wearing the classic white courier's gown. A blue cloak was hanging loosely from her right shoulder, fastened by a bronze laurel branch pin.

"I've already ordered a dinner for us," Bloise said as he sat across from Halt.

Halt, facing Bloise once again, slowly nodded. "We should leave tomorrow morning if we should want to arrive at Araluen in a day or two."

"Agreed."

Then a serving girl brought upon their meal. A loaf of fluffy bread was set in the center of the table with some butter, and two bowls of lamb stew were placed in front of the hungry rangers. Along with that, a cup of coffee was set in front of Halt, and water in front Bloise.

Halt frowned at Bloise as he took a scoop of honey for his coffee. "You don't drink coffee?"

Bloise wrinkled his nose. "It never caught on with me. I prefer water."

Raising an eyebrow, Halt softly muttered to himself. "A ranger who doesn't drink coffee.."

Bloise shrugged at the comment, but said nothing else. Instead, he changed the subject. "So..." he whispered. "This cult.. What are they like?"

Halt tilted his head. "They are cloaked with deep purple, not as dull as Genovesans though. And they're strong and great with fighting together."

"Together?" Bloise echoed.

Halt nodded. "Together. I don't know how strong they are individually."

Bloise nodded, but abruptly looked up to the side. Halt did the same. The courier girl was standing there at their table.

Her black hair shined in the candlelight of the room, and her green eyes glinted with curiosity. The girl took a breath. "I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," she started. "What is this cult you speak of?"

Halt and Bloise made eye contact, neither of them wanted to tell the courier.

"You can trust me."

"Well, umm..." Halt muttered. "It's called the Amethyst Order.

"Amethyst Order?" the girl echoed.

Halt nodded and said nothing else, still unsure if he should tell. Sensing his troubling thoughts, the girl pulled chair over and sat down.

"Let's start over," she said, her skills of a courier definitely showing. "I'm Genevieve, but you can call me Gene. What are your names?"

Bloise answered. "I'm Bloise, and this is..." he trailed off, knowing that Halt was famous.

"And I'm Halt," Halt continued.

Genevieve widened her eyes. "Halt?" she echoed. "You mean the Halt that helped defeat Morgarath?"

Halt nodded.

Genevieve quieted and looked down. After a moment, she looked back up, every sign of awe gone. "Okay," she said. "Now, we know each other. So... What is this Amethyst Order?"

"It is a cult," Halt simply said.

Bloised looked at Halt with exasperation before turning to the courier. "It is a cult that kidnaps children. That is all we know."

"That's terrible!" Genevieve exclaimed.

Halt and Bloise said no more as they continued their meal. Genevieve awkwardly sat there, looking around. After a few minutes, she turned back to the rangers. "I assume you two are tracking this cult. Is there any wa-"

"Let me guess," Halt muttered, interrupting her. "You want to join us."

Genevieve blinked. "Is it possible?"

"Well," Bloise started, "don't you have a station here in Norgate, Gene?"

Genevieve meekly nodded. "Yes, but I'm not really needed at this moment." She paused. "Or any time in the past months. It's been quiet."

Halt slumped down. "Would you follow us if we said no?"

"Of course," Gene simply responded.

Halt sighed. "Fine. You may join us."

A/N:

Sorry for the late night-ish update! I has an orchestra field trip to a water park today. It was fun.

And this chapter has at least 3 drafts, which took me a lot of time since I had to attend many school performances and ceremonies this week.

But that aside, how did you enjoy this chapter?